𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

THIRTY TWO | your peace

"Jenny Shepard." I greet the red-headed woman with a kind smile.

She presses her cheeks against mine, hugging me informally. "Eva. How nice to see you again."

Next to her stands an unfamiliar woman with dark, wavy hair. "Ziva David, Mossad." The brunette extends her hand out. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Special Agent Evaline Giudice. And likewise." I shake it politely. "What are you doing here, Jenny? I thought you'd be halfway across the world by now."

"You. . ." Jenny tugs on the ends of her blazer, "are looking at the new director of NCIS."

"Congratulations." I smile brightly, this time opting to hug her.

"I would have stopped by your apartment in New York, but you failed to mention you'd already moved to D.C.."

"I needed a. . .change of pace."

After introducing themselves to Tony and Gibbs, Jenny walks up to her new office, and Ziva steps away to answer an urgent phone call.

This leaves the guys to corner me. "How'd you know the new director?"

"Run anti-terrorist ops with her at age seventeen?" Gibbs stares in Ziva's direction, squinting his eyes in thought every few seconds.

"Of course not." I roll my eyes.

Men.

"Then. . ."

"She's my godmother."

After returning from her phone call, Ziva sits at McGee's desk.

There's not a single doubt in my mind that Gibbs will send at least one of us to follow her when she leaves.

Ziva and Gibbs go back and forth, arguing about their personal beliefs about Ari and the mistake Mossad made in Norway.

"You two. Elevator. Now." Gibbs beckons us onto the lift before shutting it down completely.

"Huh. Not as exciting as I thought it would be." I grumble under my breath before turning to the older agent. "So, this is what it's like to be you and Fornell during one of your secret meetings."

Gibbs places his hands on our shoulders, leaning forward near our ears. "I want you two on Ziva's ass. Tail her."

"And why do we need to do that?" I cross my arms over my chest, glancing back at the man.

"She's been in contact with Ari." He presses the button to open the doors. "It's the only way she could know I hung up on him."

Once he's gone, Tony and I are left alone on the lift.

"Do you. . .do you ever get the feeling that Kate's still here?" I smile to myself when a graceful breeze brushes past my figure almost symbolically, and the doors close.

A small tear falls down my face.

"Like she's somehow still with us?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

A round of pizza and milkshakes, Tony and I are standing inside a hotel while cold rain continues to pour outside.

Tony keeps glancing down at his watch. "Are we supposed to just wait out here until she finishes in the pool?"

"You can." I pull my hair out of its ponytail, letting it fall down my shoulders. "I'm going in for a little midnight dip."

My hand latches around my gun, and I let out a breath.

"Keep my gun safe." I place it in his hands. "Kate got it engraved for me for Christmas."

But he shoves it back into my hand. "Ari is out to get you. How can you possibly get him if you don't have a weapon?"