Noah entered the restaurant and immediately identified his contact sitting at the bar. Barely acknowledging her presence, he approached the maitre d' with his most charming smile. "A table for two, please," he intoned. "Somewhat private, if possible," he added, hinting at a possible romantic nature of his meeting.
"Do you have a reservation?" the employee asked, somewhat embarrassed as he gauged Noah to be an important person, by his demeanor.
"The name's Cort Mathews," he provided, the lie rolling easily from his tongue.
The man checked his list before continuing, "Why yes, Mr. Mathews, right this way," he said as he motioned for a lesser host to take his place and seated him personally. "If there is anything we can do while you wait, sir, please do not hesitate to ask."
"Thank you," Noah replied dismissively. The lady at the bar turned sideways on her stool, several inches of leg peeking out from the slit in her long, brown skirt. Noah allowed his gaze to trace her body from toe upward, slowing as he took in the hint of cleavage she had decided to show when she had chosen not to fasten the top three buttons of her white blouse, and even longer when his gaze traveled higher. Her long, black hair was falling over the right side of her body, exposing her neck on the left side. Even from this distance he could see her pulse pounding. He licked his lips, and felt his body responding sexually to the thought of having a true lunch with his contact. But he knew the rules. You shouldn't play with your food. Not if she doesn't initiate it. And besides, she couldn't be food anyway – he was working.
When his eyes finally made their way to hers, she was already staring at him. She smiled seductively at him. After all, it's not every day an obviously wealthy, extremely attractive man notices you in the way he had just noticed her. And he hadn't exactly tried to hide his interest. Noah raised his glass of champagne, and an eyebrow, as he motioned toward the empty chair across from him. She smiled, as she stood and crossed the room to join him. He stood and pulled out the chair for her, pushing it in behind her as she sat. She turned to smile at him, "Thank you, Mr…?"
"Mathews; Cort Mathews," he introduced himself. "And you are…?" he returned her question with a grin.
"Sophie Hart," she answered, her dark eyes shining with undisguised interest. Of course, he knew she was lying. The pheromones weren't the only advantage to sending a vampire undercover. Her real name was Sonya Harvey, and she was an undercover FBI agent turned traitor whose loyalties lay with Al Qaeda. But he played along.
Back at the NCIS offices, in MTAC, Director Jennifer Shepard watched the scene in the restaurant unfold with a smile. When you've got, you've got it. And Agent Diamond definitely had it. Her smile quickly faded when she saw something that had the potential to blow their whole operation out of the water. Roy Sanders had just entered the restaurant.
"Noah," she spoke, knowing he could hear through his ear wig. "Sanders just walked in. You have to get out of there. Fast," she added as she saw the younger man notice Noah. "Dang, he's made you," she said. "I'm coming down there to back you up," she said as she secured her weapon and quickly left MTAC. She called Gibbs and Fornell for backup on the way, and prayed this would turn out. They couldn't afford for this operation to backfire.
Noah quickly excused himself from the table and intercepted Sanders before Sonya saw him. Or so he hoped. He led Roy into the lobby and began speaking to him in hushed tones. Roy shook his head, not quite understanding what Noah was saying.
"It's not a date, Roy, and you aren't stupid," Noah explained. "Stop trying to figure me out, and let me get back to work." Not realizing how much Roy had perceived his operation as betrayal, and not expecting the younger vampire to defy him, Noah didn't bother to explain the details of his motives. What he didn't count on was that Roy's feelings for Ziva had grown stronger than his fear for him.
Director Shepard walked into the lobby of the restaurant just in time to see Sanders approaching Diamond's table. Darn! Without even hesitating when the maitre d' called her name, she moved quickly to join them, hoping to diffuse the situation before too much damage was done.
"Master, I know it isn't acceptable for me to disagree with you but you specifically gave me license to fight with you for Ziva's hand. On even ground," Roy said, not backing down. Sonya looked from one man to the other in confusion, not yet grasping what was going on.
"Your employees call you Master?" she asked incredulously.
"Only the overly eager ones," he insisted. It was at that moment that Jenny Shepard reached the table. Noah knew the instant she arrived, because Sonya recognized her. She immediately moved to step away from the table.
"Get her out of here and keep an eye on her," Noah ordered Roy, wanting to make sure the Director was protected, as he went after their target. The operation could still be kept from backfiring, although their prior initiative would now be impossible.
Roy grabbed Jenny by the arm and led her out of the restaurant, just as Fornell was arriving.
"My car is over here," she motioned him to the correct vehicle, Roy taking the drivers' seat. Noah appeared right behind them, their traitorous terrorist in tow. He opened the back door and ushered her inside.
"We need to get back to the NCIS offices," Noah told Roy as calmly as possible. "Preferably before her backup arrives," he added, wanting Sanders to hurry.
Gibbs pulled his car in next to Fornell's. The two men and Maggie stood just outside the vehicles, watching Noah and the young FBI agent climb into Jenny's car. Weapons were drawn, as the searched the area for any signs of possible backup for Harvey. The sound they heard next would haunt each of them for years to come.
Roy Sanders cranked the key in the ignition. Unfortunately, engine wasn't what fired into life, but the bomb that had been planted in Shepard's car.
THE END
Author's Chapter Notes:
I will be revisiting this world for a sequel, but I have some other stories to tell first.