“But we have a team already in Rota, Boss!” Tony complained in disbelief. “Can’t one of their people do this?”
“Well yeah, DiNozzo, but their people aren’t my people! Pack your bag!”
Tony closed his computer and grabbed his backpack. “This a solo trip?” he soalan as he noticed that McGee nor Bishop received orders to sertai him.
Gibbs took his kerusi, tempat duduk at his desk. “Think anda need help sitting in a room taking pictures out a window all day?”
“Uh, no.”
“Didn’t think so. Wheels up in eighty minutes, Tony, get a alih on!”
Tony dashed out the door and made a quick stop at his apartment to throw a few things in his bag as he reviewed his orders for two week in a town just outside of Rota, Spain. Great, he thought, summer and there’s probably no air conditioning in whatever dive they rented out for him. “I’m gonna die of heatstroke,” he mumbled to himself. Heaving his bag into his backseat he sped down the road to the airfield where the plane was waiting for him.
The flight was bumpy and he thought lebih than once he was getting too old for traveling in the back of a military plane. Once on the ground he checked in with the NCIS office on base and couldn’t help but look around a bit thinking back to when he was offered an assignment there with his own team, he didn’t regret turning it down. The agent on duty gave him a map with an address, keys to the apartment, and the surveillance equipment he needed and wished him well.
The half jam drive north to Chipiona went sejak in a flash. He followed the map to the apartment that was rented to him and grumbled when he walked into the one room sweatbox. It was as he feared, no A/C, a mattress laid on the floor sejak the door, a small bathroom that looked like something constructed in the 1800s was off to the other side, and dapur kecil lined the dinding with a small meja, jadual and chairs sitting along it. Someone had thought to put a small meja in front of the mattress and he lifted his bag onto it.
“Well for the seterusnya two week this is home,” he berkata allowed as he closed the door behind him. He had better studio apartments when he was hop scotching through police departments. He set up his equipment and made a quick trip down to the market on the corner to pick up some Makanan so he didn’t have to keep calling for takeout.
The case that they were working was part of a human smuggling, prostitution, and drug ring. He was there to get the pictures of the sailors who were running the Rota side of the ring. He still didn’t get why Gibbs wouldn’t let the Rota team take point on this side of the case, but he had learned long lalu to push questioning Gibbs. If Gibbs wanted him there he was just going to sweat his keldai off as he snapped pictures of the slimeballs.
A week passed and some progress had been made, but in a video conference with Gibbs Tony made it clear that he felt their time was being wasted there. It seemed that the ring was moving out atau had caught wind that they were being investigated and were laying low until things settled down again. Gibbs ordered him to stick it out for the seterusnya week and cut off the feed.
Late on the eight night of his stay in the cramped apartment there was a knock on the door. Rising from his kerusi, tempat duduk sejak the window he went to answer it. As he peered out the peephole he could hardly believe who he saw and snatched the door open. He grabbed the person sejak the arm and dragged them into the room with him. “Ziva!” he disbelieving tone echoed through the room as the door closed behind them. “What the hell are anda doing here?”
Ziva pulled her arm from his grasp. “I was in the area and thought I would stop by,” she berkata nonchalantly. Tony glared at her flippantness. “Well I was in Spain,” she buckled under his gaze. “Gibbs called me and even though I do not work for NCIS anymore he asked if I could be used as bait for this case.”
“I didn’t know that Gibbs had your number,” Tony muttered under his breath.
“I assume that he used McGee to track it down,” she sighed.
“So you’re going to let us use anda as bait?” he asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. He really wished Gibbs had notified him of the change of plans. “I thought anda didn’t want to be part of this anymore.”
“I do not want to be,” Ziva stated, “but when Gibbs berkata that it was anda who was here…” she let the sentence trail on and the silence between them hung like a thick blanket.
Tony shuffled back to his chair and picked up his camera as he tried to process the news and tried to figure out if Ziva was there as bait atau a distraction for him. Even if she was willing to be bait she’d be a distraction. His emotions of seeing her again after six months were all over the map. “So, are anda bait atau not?” he asked neutrally as possibly.
Ziva took the other chair and sat down. “I am here for whatever anda need, Tony.”
He handed her the camera. “Building on the corner,” he casually pointed towards it. “You see anything get it, I’ve gotta call Gibbs.” Ziva took the camera and Tony’s kerusi, tempat duduk as he got up and headed to the bathroom for some privacy, atau at least as much privacy as the paper thing walls could allow. He dialed up Gibbs’ number and Ziva listened as he spoke to the older agent.
“… but she doesn’t want to be involved in this world anymore!” she heard his hushed tantrum as she clicked the camera on sailor who entered the building. “You’re seriously going to allow this?” she let out a sigh into the room, “Yeah, well just for the record I don’t like this!” She heard his fist pound against the door as he got his fear in-check before he came back out and returned to the table.
“You don’t have to do this, Ziva,” he cautioned her as he sat down. “I don’t think there’s much going on here anyways, at least not that I’m going to get. I told Gibbs that he should let the Rota team do this. It’s a waste of resources for me to be here.”
Ziva glanced over to him. “Sailor entered about three minit ago,” she told him as she nodded to the building. “He was alone.” She handed the camera over to him so he could review the digital image she had captured.
“Yeah, he’s about all I’ve seen for three days now. I really think he’s just got a girl in there and isn’t part of this ring.”
The two sat in silence as they watched the building for awhile. “I would much rather just stay here with you, Tony,” Ziva whispered when he lowered the camera from his face again. “I do not want to be bait.”
Tony nodded as relief flooded him. “Gibbs berkata it was up to you, but that’s honestly what I hoped anda wanted. I know how much anda don’t want to be sucked back into this,” he softened as he looked over to her.
Ziva gave him a weak smile. “I just had to come see anda when Gibbs berkata anda were so close.”
Tony smiled and stretched. “Tell me about what you’ve been up to,” he yawned as he looked back to the quiet building he was spying on. Ziva regaled him with her adventures and they slipped into an old rhythm that they had mastered over the years for when they were on assignments together. When Ziva stifled a few too many yawns Tony nodded to the mattress. “It’s not much, but the sheets are fresh. Go on and get some sleep.” Ziva glanced between him and the katil before getting up to alih to it. Tony grabbed her hand just before she was out of reach, “I’m glad you’re doing okay and thank anda for the company. I think I was about to go crazy here sejak myself.” Ziva squeezed his hand in response and then he let her go to bed.
Tony watched between the building and the katil for the seterusnya few hours and when he felt that nothing lebih was going to happen he got up and stretched out his aching body before making his way to the bed. He lowered himself to the mattress and eased onto it, trying to not wake Ziva. He fell asleep quickly with the smell of her hair assaulting him. He woke to the smell of coffee and the sound of the click from the camera.
“You’re up,” he groaned as he sat up. “Something happening?”
“Just your sailor leaving, I thought anda would want it documented,” she informed him. “I have been up for only a little bit. Coffee is ready,” she motioned to the pot of what had become liquid emas to him over the last few days.
Tony struggled out of katil and poured himself a cup before shooing her from his hinggap, perch sejak the window. Their hari was spent quietly, old habits dying hard as he watched the building and she told him that he should try doing it differently. Their conversations light and teasing and Tony realized he hadn’t laughed atau smiled that much in months, at least not as genuinely as he was now. When dusk fell on the town Ziva dashed out for some makan malam, majlis makan malam for them to share. As the night wore on and the jalan remained quiet Tony set the camera down. “I don’t think tonight’s going to be much different than last night,” he stated. He reached into the pocket of his backpack and produced a pack of cards. “Pick the game,” he told her as he shuffled the deck.
“Rummy,” she smiled as she listened to the soft sound of the cards sliding against each other.
“Okay,” he berkata as he began to deal the cards. “Rummy it is.”
They were five games in with Tony winning sejak a hand when Ziva licked her lips with a twinkle in her eye as the cards were dealt again. “Would anda like to change the game a little?”
Tony raised an eyebrow, “what do anda have in mind?”
“Strip Rummy?” she grinned.
“S-strip Rummy?” Tony sputtered in surprise and Ziva nodded. Tony took a quick glance out the window and confirmed that all was still very quiet. “You got a deal, David!”
They were barely into the game and he had Lost his shoes and socks while Ziva only Lost her shoes. He was almost certain she was making up the rules to this style of the game as they played it. Between fits of laughter and teasing and artikel-artikel of clothing suddenly disappearing from their body they forgot why they were there and got Lost in the fact that they were together again.
When Ziva Lost her baju Tony stopped her from taking it off herself, instead he put his hand of cards down and reached over to remove it from her. He pulled her close to him as he popped the buttons down the front of it his eyes flicking over her partly clothed body as he eased the baju off of her shoulders. His finger tips grazed her skin lightly and Ziva tilted her head back and her hair cascaded down her back. She held his gaze for a moment before she pulled his face down to hers and tentatively kissed him.
The Ciuman spiraled quickly and the fumbled around the room as they removed the last few pieces of clothes and he laid her down on the bed. He hovered above her and pushed her hair back from her face as he joined her. He nipped at her lips and down her neck as he explored her body and listened to the little mewling and moans that he drew out of her as he lavished her body with attention. She was intoxicating to him and he couldn’t get enough. He wanted to draw things out as long as he could, but his need for her grew impatient and he slipped between her welcoming legs and he kissed her deeply. As his body moved in time with her he stared into her eyes, both panting and moaning as the feeling of release inched closer to their grasp. Ziva came with his name and a stream of praises falling from her lips and it was enough to send him over the edge a few moments later. He collapsed on her afterwards and she didn’t bother to push him off. She cradled him in her arms as their breathing and blood pressure regulated again whispering into his ear how much she had missed him.
They woke in a tangle of limbs and smiles as the morning light flood through the window. Ziva took over breakfast duty and Tony went back to surveillance duty. The seterusnya few days followed the same pattern of their first full hari together, waking in a tangle of limbs and falling into katil filled with passion after a long hari of watching for anything to happen outside the window. It was on their last hari that Tony got the pictures that would crack the case wide open and that night he held Ziva in his arms until the morning light shone through the window again and they had to part with the promise that they’d call and arrange to meet again soon.
