"Alright, that's good to know. Thanks, Boss." Tony ended the call and flipped his cell phone closed.
Ziva sat on the couch and looked at him expectantly. "So, did they get them?" She questioned impatiently. Gibbs had refused to allow her to be a part of the team of agents raiding the house where Ahmad had informed them the members of the cell would be hiding, after being attacked at the warehouse.
"Yeah, they got them. Gibbs took more agents this time and totally surrounded the place to be sure no one escaped. They caught eight more. So, it looks like we'll be attending the awards ceremony after all. Better get dressed."
Ahmad had also informed Gibbs that the cell had planned to take Ziva out at the awards ceremony, along with as many dignitaries and agents as they could manage before they were caught. Although all NCIS personnel were being required to attend, Ziva had been ordered to remain at Tony's until they were sure the entire cell had been captured and there was no longer a threat.
The awards ceremony was being held in honor of another NCIS agent, Agent Gabriel Reeves. He was being awarded the Naval Meritorious Civilian Service Award at a banquet being held in the Athens Room at the Hotel Monaco.
Ziva got up from the couch and followed Tony to his bedroom.
Tony went to his closet to find a suit while Ziva grabbed a dress hanging on the back of Tony's door which they had retrieved from her apartment after leaving NCIS. It was going to be a few more days before her apartment was back in order; the hole in the wall would have to be repaired and the carpet cleaned to remove the bloodstain, as well as clean up the broken glass and furniture.
Ziva stripped her clothes off and stepped into her dress; the little black dress that every woman owned. Hers was simple and elegant. Not flashy; sleeveless with a scooped neckline. It reached just above her knee to showcase enough leg to warrant a second look, but not too short so as to appear inappropriate.
"Tony, can you come zip me up?" Ziva stood with the back of her dress unzipped, holding her hair off of her neck.
"I'm always willing to help a pretty lady get dressed," Tony replied and walked over to her.
Ziva laughed. "Or get undressed."
Tony reached Ziva and grasped the tiny zipper in his fingers. He began to pull it slowly up her back, admiring her smooth skin as he did, lightly skimming his fingers over her bare back as he followed the zipper upward.
As Tony reached the top of the dress, he leaned forward to connect the little clasp at the top that prevented the dress from becoming unzipped. As he did so, he pressed his face against the soft, silk of the hair she held aloft and breathed in its flowery scent. It smelled like tropical flowers. Tony had seen a bottle of Herbal Essence Infusions shampoo in the shower earlier after returning from Ziva's apartment. He was changing shampoos.
"Your hair smells amazing," He said into her neck as he began to trail kisses from her ear downward.
"Ummm…" Was Ziva's only reply as she leaned her head forward to allow him better access to her neck.
Tony pulled the zipper on the dress right back down again. He slipped his hands inside the opening and reached around to grasp her breasts in his palms. Ziva moaned and arched her back.
"Tony, we're going to be late," She said without much conviction.
"We'll just have to be fast then, won't we?" He replied.
Ziva's response was to turn to around and kiss him hungrily. She quickly stripped him of his clothes and shoved him forcefully onto the bed before removing her dress and underwear. Then she straddled Tony and began kissing her way down his chest.
Tony groaned and reached for her, pulling her mouth back up to meet his again. He reached between them and positioned himself between her legs. Ziva raised her body slightly to allow him access and when he was in place, slowly lowered herself, taking him in, bit by bit. It was slow torture for them both.
Once Tony was fully inside her, Ziva began to move, painfully slowly at first, then faster as she found her rhythm. Tony gripped her hips as he kissed her. This was exquisite torture. As Ziva continued to move and her breathing grew heavier and quicker, Tony could feel her inner muscles begin to tighten and he was grateful, for he didn't know how much longer he could last. When he felt her legs begin to tremble and the first convulsions of her orgasm, he let himself go on a low moan. Ziva let out a scream and collapsed on top of him.
"Now we need another shower," she commented breathlessly.
X
Between some quick dressing and Ziva's driving, God help them, they made it to the ceremony on time.
They were seated at a table with the rest of their team, facing the stage. Jimmy Palmer sat at one end of the table with Abby next to him and McGee on her other side. Ziva was sandwiched between McGee and Tony who was flanked by Ducky with Gibbs seated at the other end table, on Ducky's right.
Tony leaned over and whispered in Ziva's ear. "I'm so bored!" He said on an exaggerated moan that caused Ziva to snicker.
She leaned forward to reply and as she did so, Tony got a nice view down the front of her dress.
"Tony, I don't think fun is the intention." She whispered back.
"Well, it's my intention and I can have lots more fun at my place with you than I can here." He spoke in a low voice and brushed his hand over her thigh.
"Patience, Tony. There'll be plenty of time for fun later." She said and ran her foot up his calf under the table with a wicked smile on her face.
"If you keep that up, I'm not going to be able to wait until we get home." He whispered very close to her ear and his tongue darted out to quickly nip at it behind her hair.
Ziva drew in a sharp breath. She glanced around at the others who seemed to be as enthralled with the speaker at the podium as Tony was. She could only imagine one other person who was more impatient than Tony and that was Gibbs. She smiled at the thought. She whispered in Tony's ear again.
"I'm going for air. Meet me outside in five minutes and I'll see what I can do to hold you over until we get back to your place." She whispered, then quietly got up from her chair and walked out of the room.
Tony began counting in his head. When he got to 300, he took a breath and tried to appear nonchalant as he scooted his chair back and made his way to the back of the room and out the door Ziva had went through a few minutes ago.
When he stepped outside, he looked around for Ziva. The Athens Room faced a bank of elevators and there was a small alcove to the right, almost unnoticeable and to the left were restrooms. Tony didn't see Ziva anywhere and decided to check the alcove, thinking she may have hidden there in case Gibbs or one of the others decided to go to the restroom.
Tony looked, but Ziva wasn't there. He was starting to get a little worried feeling in his gut, but he tried to push it down. As he turned to walk towards the restrooms, he saw something in the corner of his eye; a small white cloth thrown into a potted fern that sat by the alcove. He picked it up by the edge, being careful not to get his fingerprints on the cloth and brought it to his nose to inspect it. He knew what he would find, but he had check; it smelled strongly of chloroform. That worried feeling in his gut blossomed into full-blown fear.
Tony ran back towards the Athens room and went straight to Gibbs.
"Boss, Ziva's gone. Something's wrong." He said in an urgent whisper.
Gibbs looked at him and said, "Are you sure DiNozzo? Did you check the restroom?"
"Yes, she went out a few minutes ago for air. She didn't come back so I went to check on her," he lied.
Gibbs wasn't so sure about that. He had noticed Tony and Ziva whispering and the looks passing between them. He had also noticed Ziva leave the room after whispering to Tony and Tony's quiet exit just a couple of minutes later. But, he wouldn't deal with that now, if Tony thought Ziva was in trouble then Gibbs agreed. Tony was a damn good agent with great instincts.
"I looked around outside, but couldn't find her. But I found this." Tony held up the chloroform soaked cloth and Gibbs could smell the drug.
"Alright, I'll get McGee and we'll meet you outside." Gibbs replied.
Soon after the three agents stood outside the Athens Room while Gibbs addressed them.
"McGee, call the front desk and tell them to seal the building. We have a potential terrorist inside and we don't want him getting out. Tell hotel security to be on the look out. We're assuming whoever has Ziva is armed and dangerous." Gibbs ordered.
"Yes, Boss." McGee pulled out his cell phone and made the call.
Tony turned to Gibbs. "I thought you said you got them all; no one got away." He looked questioningly towards his boss.
"We did get everyone there, Tony. One of them must have seen us coming and slipped out before we got there. Let's hope it's only one." Gibbs said.
McGee snapped his phone closed and turned back to face Tony and Gibbs.
"Boss, the building has been sealed. No one gets in or out and security is searching for Ziva. I gave them a description of her and warned them of the threat." McGee reported.
"Good. OK, let's spread out and begin checking room by room including staff break rooms and supply closets; they couldn't have gotten far. Security's got the main floor. McGee, you take this floor, Tony, you take the third floor and I'll take the fourth and we'll work our way up from there." Gibbs ordered.
They began checking their respective floors; sweeping all of the rooms, including guest rooms; knocking on doors and searching the room after flashing their badges.
Tony found no sign of Ziva or anyone on his floor, and neither did McGee.
Gibbs search of the fourth floor had turned up nothing so far and he was beginning to think he wouldn't find anything until he reached a small room with a sign on the door that read, employees only. Whoever had gone in last hadn't seemed to realize that the door didn't catch when they closed it. There was a tiny crack through which Gibbs peaked inside. It appeared to be a staff break room with a counter running down one wall with a sink at one end and a refrigerator against a wall. Also a table and a few mis-matched chairs were placed in the center f the room.
He saw Ziva slumped and tied to a chair with her head lolled to the side, still unconscious from the drug. Gibbs pulled out his phone and called Tony informing him and McGee that he had found Ziva and they needed to get to him quick.
There was one man in the room with a gun in his hand. He had a bag and he pulled out what Gibbs assumed was a silencer attachment. The bastard had to have subdued Ziva or she would have killed them. No way would the man have been able to grab Ziva and drag her up here, much less, tie her to a chair, otherwise. Even if he did have a weapon, that wouldn't stop Ziva.
Tony and McGee arrived moving silently down the hall to join Gibbs. He held up a fist, a signal them to pause, and stood in front of the door. He pushed it open and stepped silently into the room.
"Freeze, NCIS. Put the weapon down now!" Gibbs ordered.
The man turned swiftly to face Gibbs, his weapon pointed at Ziva.
"Come closer and she dies," He warned.
"Put the weapon down or you die." Gibbs returned.
The man just tightened his grip on the gun and placed his finger on the trigger.
"I'm going to tell you one more time to put the weapon down, and then I'm going to shoot you." Gibbs said again.
"She will die, too. It will be worth it." He grinned maliciously at Gibbs.
Gibbs pointed his gun at the man's head and placed his finger on the trigger.
Both men glared at each other and a shot rang out. Then there was silence.
TBC…
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ziva’s not quite out of the woods yet.