Expect the Unexpected

Returning home after a long day at NCIS, Ziva David opened her apartment door and closed it behind her. She set her keys down on her kitchen counter before grabbing an apple from a fruit bowl. Taking a bit of the apple, Ziva sat down and closed her eyes. It had been a very, very long day.

The apple was sweet and she enjoyed its wonderful taste. At that moment, Ziva felt the need to take another bite before falling asleep. She sighed and then opened her eyes. Only a small desk lamp was on, leaving the rest of the apartment in darkness.

Ziva had no clue what crept about in the shadows. She had no preparation when a masked figure jumped out of the darkness. Surprised, Ziva’s reaction time was slowed by a millisecond, but that was all it took… A sharp prick in her neck let Ziva know that she had lost the fight before even landing one punch.

Feeling lightheaded, Ziva collapsed into the darkness.

((-))

Monday morning arrived too early for Anthony DiNozzo. He walked to his desk and sat down. The first thing he did was glance over at Ziva’s desk, mostly because he wanted to annoy her. She wasn’t there. That seemed odd to Tony because Ziva practically lived at NCIS. “Late,” Tony chuckled. “Ziva’s gonna be late. Oh is she going to get it!”

Timothy McGee stepped off the elevator and as soon as he got to his desk, turned on the computer. It was odd that Tony got to work before Ziva, but even odder when McGee got there before she did. I was only joking that Ziva would be late. Tony thought to himself. But maybe she will be…

“Where’s Ziva?” McGee asked suddenly looking up from his computer.

Tony shrugged. “Am I supposed to keep tabs on her?” Tony questioned with a grin. “Or do you have a crush on her?”

Rolling his eyes, McGee sighed. “I was just asking. Isn’t she normally here before us?” McGee asked.

For a moment, Tony had a feeling. He felt like something was wrong, but shook it off. She could have just had a hot date last night… Tony said attempting to reason with himself. “Yeah, but who knows? She’s only late if she doesn’t show up before Gibbs.” Tony replied.

“Then she’s late,” A voice boomed behind them.

Turning quickly, Tony saw that it was Gibbs. “Hi boss,” Tony said cheerfully. “How much trouble is Ziva going to be in?”

Without answering, Gibbs sat down at his desk. “Don’t you have some paperwork to do DiNozzo?” Gibbs barked without looking up from a file.

“On it boss,” Tony answered crisply.

((-))

After forty minutes, Gibbs was beginning to get irritated. He looked over at Ziva’s desk and saw that it was still empty. “DiNozzo!” Gibbs said sharply.

Looking up, Tony saw the exact same thing as Gibbs. The empty desk. “Yes boss?” Tony asked.

“Call Ziva’s cell. Call her apartment. Go to her apartment. Go to the moon. I don’t care what you have to do. Get her down here.” Gibbs said angrily.

Nodding, Tony picked up the phone. He called her cell phone, but got no answer. He called her apartment, but no answer. This got Tony’s attention. “Gibbs, she’s not answering her apartment or cell.” Tony said firmly.

Gibbs looked at Tony. He could tell there was concern under his tone…and Gibbs felt it too. Why would Ziva be late? Gibbs wondered. “Forget the paperwork.” Gibbs ordered. “Gear up. We’re going to her apartment.”

((-))

Arriving at her apartment, the first thing Gibbs saw was that the door was slightly ajar. He knew in his gut that he was right. Something was wrong. He pulled out his gun. McGee and Tony followed his suit.

Gibbs entered with the other two agents following him. They cleared the small apartment within seconds. “Clear!” McGee called.

“Clear!” Tony said.

“Clear!” Gibbs replied.

Meeting in the small kitchen, Gibbs noted a half eaten apple. “It’s odd.” McGee said quietly. “The entire apartment is…clean. It looks untouched. If something happened to Ziva, I would have thought there would be signs of a struggle.”

McGee voiced the same thoughts that Gibbs and Tony were having. “Excuse me? Excuse me? What are you doing here?” A small, frail voice called from the door.

Spinning around, they saw an elderly woman at the door. “Who are you?” Gibbs asked rudely.

The woman sighed. “No manners! I should be asking you that. Do I need to call the police?” The woman asked.

Tony held out his badge. “Federal agents ma’am,” Tony said trying to be as short and sweet as possible.

Appearing flustered, the woman clutched her chest. “Oh dear! I am so sorry! My name is Emily Swan. What is going on? Has something happened to Ziva? She’s such a sweet girl. When I broke my back, she took care of my mail, my plants and Mr. Fluffy, my cat. Is she hurt?” Mrs. Swan questioned.

“We’re just wondering where she is.” Gibbs replied in a kinder tone.

Mrs. Swan sighed. “Well, her brother came last night. He was carrying her out of the apartment and when I asked what was wrong with her, he said that she just fainted. He said he was taking her to the hospital.” Mrs. Swan stated.

Exchanging odd looks, Tony and McGee could help but feel their concern growing. “What did he look like?” Tony questioned.

Thinking for a moment, Mrs. Swan pursed her lips. “If memory serves me, he was a handsome boy. I suppose he looked like Ziva…You know what I mean…Middle Eastern. He had such a heavy accent and a very, very nice smile.” Mrs. Swan said with a smile.

Gibbs gave her a small smile in return. “How old would you say he was?” Gibbs asked.

“Younger than me!” Mrs. Swan said with a grin. “But of course almost everyone is… I’d guess he’s about thirty.”

“Thank you very much Mrs. Swan.” Tony said dismissively.

The old woman nodded before returning to her own apartment. “That wasn’t her brother.” McGee stated softly.

Giving him a ‘duh’ stare, Tony shook his head. “No! Really? Wow, I never would have guessed that!” Tony said sarcastically.

Tony waited for the slap to the head, but it never came. He glanced over at Gibbs. “Boss?” Tony asked.

Looking up at him, Gibbs had something in his eyes that resembled sadness. “Put on gloves. This is a crime scene.” Gibbs stated quietly.

((-))

Ziva awoke and found herself in a dimly lit room. “How very clichéd!” Ziva snorted into the empty room. “Couldn’t put me in a basement with a decent light!”

She noticed that her hands were bound in a cold metal as were her ankles. They were not handcuffs. Attempting to break them off, Ziva found that she could not. This stuck her as odd and she was suddenly more alert. “You cannot take them off.” A voice announced in heavily accented English.

Looking up, Ziva found herself looking at a Middle Eastern man. She had not noticed his entry. “Surprised Ziva? I was told you were very intelligent and I expected to have to take you with more force. Getting lazy with the Americans? Ah well, that is no matter. You are here.” The man said calmly.

Giving him the fiercest stare she had, Ziva felt nothing but hatred towards him. “I better be going Ziva, but I shall return…” He promised before quickly walking out the door.

Confused and curious, Ziva had many questions. The most important was why hadn’t she heard him? Had she really gotten lazy? Ziva could almost hear her father’s taunting voice, “Expect the unexpected Ziva…”And for many years, Ziva thought she did. She expected every move, anticipated every step…but she was wrong. She never expected this to happen…