Gibbs strode into the bullpen only to stop suddenly when he noticed someone else was there. A young woman, probably in her late twenties, sat at Kate's desk.

She had dark brown hair and eyes that matched and although her posture was relaxed Gibbs could tell that she was coiled for action.

"Agent Gibbs?" she questioned when she saw him.

"What?" he asked rudely, in no mood to put up with anything else today.

She stood gracefully and stuck out her hand, "Ziva David."

He just glared at her. After a moment and a glare of her own she withdrew her hand. "I am looking for Jen. I was given to understand that she would be expecting me."

Gibbs just rolled his eyes and said, "Kate. Take Miss David to the director."

"No need, Jethro," a voice called from above. He looked up to see Jenny walking down the stairs. "I barely got off the elevator before I heard."

He watched as Jenny approached the newcomer, a warm smile on her face.

"Shalom, Jen," Ziva said, and they embraced.

Jen returned the greeting, "It's been too long, my friend." Jen turned back to Gibbs and he looked at her expectantly. "Ziva and I used to run counter-terrorist ops in Europe. She will be joining your team for the duration of your investigation."

"Why?" DiNozzo asked as he looked her over. He was curious, far too curious in Gibbs' opinion, about this woman.

"Consider her a loan from Israel," Jen said with a small smile.

"Mossad?" Gibbs asked, directing the question to Ziva.

She nodded, "I am Officer Haswari's control officer."

Gibbs' answer was cut off by Tony's sarcastic, "Well you're doing a terrific job."

Ziva blinked, "I disagree. Ari has become a liability and I did failed to anticipate the possibility of his defection. According to Jen there is no evidence to suggest that this is only to maintain his cover."

Tony's jaw dropped at her lack of comprehension and Kate smiled a little and put out her hand, "Well, you're here now, so we can work together to catch him."

"Thank you, Agent Todd," Ziva said, and took the offered hand.

Gibbs' brow furrowed, "How do you know her name?"

Ziva looked back to Jen, who answered for her, "She profiled you for Ari. After your first run-in it was necessary to know more about you in case Ari brushed up against NCIS again."

"What?" Gibbs asked dangerously. "He almost killed Kate earlier."

As he said it he was making connections, filling in what had bothered him the most about Ari targeting Kate specifically. His eyes widened in understanding, although the rest of his team was oblivious to his revelation.

He put a hand on Ziva's shoulder and steered her towards the elevator, "A moment alone. Now."

Ziva didn't look at all put out and Jen didn't try to stop him, although he could feel her gaze boring into his back.

She let him push her into the elevator and remained silent as the doors shut. Once the elevator started to move he flipped the switch and it halted, the lights going out.

"You profiled me and my team?"

"Yes."

"How much do you know?"

"About whom?" she replied coyly.

He growled, knowing that Mossad had the connections and the means to dig into places that no one wanted unearthed. "Me."

"I know a lot about you, Agent Gibbs," she answered.

"You found out about my wife and daughter?" he asked, and he couldn't keep the pain out of his voice when he mentioned them.

Her gaze softened and she replied quietly, "Yes."

"It was in your profile that you gave to Ari?" he continued.

"Everything I found I put in the reports," she said. "At the time there was no reason to suspect anything and it was a viable request since he already had an incident with your team."

Gibbs stared at her, knowing that she was right and that it wasn't her fault, but hating that she had helped Ari.

"He almost killed Kate," he repeated. "He should have been aiming for me but it was her instead."

Ziva's eyes fell shut in understanding, one hand coming up to rub her forehead, "You think he is going after your team to hurt you." Gibbs nodded.

She shook her head, both hands coming up and curling into fists and then she threw them back down to her sides, "I do not know what Ari would do anymore." She turned away from Gibbs and said quietly, "How did I miss this?"

He watched her carefully, not sure if her reaction was that of an officer who had failed their assignment with disastrous effects, or something else. She seemed more upset than mad, but he couldn't read her very well.

Something had been bothering him so he shifted the conversation, "How did you know that Ari was a traitor?"

"I did not leave for America with the belief that Ari had betrayed me- us. Had betrayed us," she corrected herself, not giving Gibbs a chance to jump on the slip. "I was ordered by the director to come here and pull him out. It was the director's belief that Ari had been here too long. We had seen no results and the director has now terminated the mission.

"I landed earlier today and contacted Jen because of NCIS's history with Ari. And because she is a friend. She had contacted me several days ago and informed me of certain events which I was previously unaware of." She cut herself off, looking more than a little pissed, and Gibbs didn't push her. "She told me to come to NCIS and on my way here she called again to inform me of what happened on the roof with Agent Todd," her eyes hardened. "I have no doubt now that Ari was planning to betray us from the beginning."

She swallowed and every investigative sense that Gibbs had developed from his time as an agent was ringing. He wanted to press her for more information, he knew that there was more to all of this and there were things she wasn't saying. But he had to remind himself that she was Mossad. Putting their shaky alliance aside, he was hesitant to push her any more in case she lashed out.

As it turned out, he didn't have to make a choice. With a deep breath and an exhale, Ziva was back in control. Her eyes were focused and her body radiated energy.

"What leads do you have?"

He flipped the switch and sent the elevator back to their floor. "We'll regroup now. I want whatever information you have on Ari. I wanna catch this bastard soon."

"You will have to beat me there," she answered coolly as she slipped past him and out of the elevator. "I have orders to kill him at the first opportunity. And I do not miss."

He shook his head, a grin pulling at the edge of his mouth, and followed her back to his desk. McGee, DiNozzo, Kate, and Jen were still there and they waited expectantly.

"What've we got?" he asked. They looked at him blankly before erupting into motion.

He focused on his team, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Jen move closer to Ziva and whisper something. Ziva shook her head and whispered back.

DiNozzo spoke first, "Cops picked up the bodies on the roof and taped off the scene. Apparently there was an explosion on the roof?"

Jen walked back and said, "Yes. That's why the roof caved in. Isn't that right, Agent DiNozzo?"

Tony looked at her for a moment and then smiled, catching on, "Right. The explosion. Anyway. Bodies are being sent to Ducky now."

Kate picked up, "Their cars are being sent as well as ours, and evidence from Ari's sniper nest is being processed by Abby."

"McGee," Gibbs called.

McGee looked lost, his eyes darting back and forth between DiNozzo and Kate, who were smirking, "Um, I'll run the plates on their cars?"

"Do it. Check their id's once Abby confirms it. And call Danbourneand tell 'em we found their drone," Gibbs said. McGee nodded and got to typing. Gibbs beckoned to Ziva.

"Go over any information you have about Ari with Kate and DiNozzo," he said. Jen nodded her head in the direction of her office and he followed her up. They were silent until they were in her office and the doors had been closed.

Weasel and Hawk stepped out of the shadows and Gibbs almost jumped at their sudden appearance. "Madam Director. Agent Gibbs," Weasel said.

Gibbs nodded and saw that the kid had put his mask back on, along with all of his gear and armor. He didn't resist the urge to scowl but no one reacted.

"Yes Weasel?" Jen prompted.

"We have received orders from Hokage-sama and were instructed to inform you of the change," he said tonelessly.

"And?" Jen said, and Gibbs got the feeling that this was often how their conversations played out.

"Hokage-sama has ordered my team to remain here for the time being and to work closely with Agent Gibbs' team. Jiraiya-sama is being sent for and he will be here within three days at the latest. He will be able to deal with Orochimaru better than us."

Hawk spoke up, "Hokage-sama does not think it's likely that Orochimaru would stick around, but we cannot take that chance. At least two of us will be with your team at all times. Bear will return later today but Dragon will take longer."

Gibbs wasn't happy about being babysat by a kid, but he couldn't pretend that he didn't feel better about having some very qualified backup watching them with Ari gunning for his team.

"Fine," he said, wanting to get this over. "Jen, what's with David?"

"Ziva?" she asked, looking genuinely surprised. "What do you mean?"

He scowled, "C'mon Jen. What's she doing here?"

"As I'm sure she told you already, she's Ari's control officer. As such this sort of concerns her," she answered lightly.

"That's not what I meant. What does she know? She showed up today, coincidentally?" he looked skeptical.

"That's right," Jen said with a smile. "You don't believe in coincidences." She shook her head. "Ziva is a friend, we've worked ops together before and I know her. When I took this job I was made aware of her position as Ari's control officer. I contacted her discreetly and asked her what was going on. She was unaware of what had happened. She dug a little deeper and called me back the next day."

Here Jen broke off, her face flashing with anger, "It seemed that Director David had been keeping her in the dark about recent activities. Due to his deep cover, she hadn't had direct contact with Ari for some time. There was nothing she could have done."

"Director David?" Gibbs asked intently.

"Yes," Jenny's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"She's his daughter?" Gibbs demanded.

"Yes. His oldest daughter," Jen answered, and something in her eyes kept Gibbs from asking about his other children.

"She saved my life, you know," Jen said softly. Gibbs started at the revelation and the sudden topic shift. "In Cairo, two years ago." For the second time that day he held back from pushing for the answer he wanted so badly.

Jen didn't offer anything and instead took the conversation in another direction again, "Ziva is aware of the existence of ninja. Mossad occasionally brushes up against them, and there are a handful that work for them. As the director's daughter and one of his top agents she has known of them for some time. If something were to happen involving them, she can handle herself. Other than that, do not mention Weasel or his team unnecessarily. We are sticking to an explosion on the roof. I was rather vague about Ari's attempt to murder Agent Todd. I'd prefer to keep it that way. Inform your team as well."

Gibbs just nodded and then took advantage of the silence, "I need a minute with Weasel, Jen."

Jen, to his surprise, looked like she had been expecting that, and nodded over his shoulder to Hawk who nodded and disappeared.

Jen walked to her door. "Five minutes, Jethro," she said, closing the door behind her.

Weasel, sensing the atmosphere, removed his mask but remained silent.

Gibbs took a step closer so that he was directly in front of Weasel and he perched on the end of Jenny's desk so he didn't tower over the kid. "I don't like this."

Weasel frowned lightly, "You are not required to."

Gibbs softened his tone, "So how old are you, Itachi?"

The kid jumped at the name, his eyes narrowed, but he replied, "Itachi is Japanese for Weasel, my code name. And I am thirteen."

Gibbs nodded but didn't trust himself to say anything for several minutes. Something about his name didn't sit right with him, but he liked the sound of 'Itachi' better than 'Weasel' so he supposed it didn't matter.

Itachi watched him curiously and then offered, "Age does not matter in my village. I have noticed that your children do not fight but my village and your country are very different. Do not mistake me for an innocent teenager. I have been trained for this since the moment I could walk; this has been my purpose since I was born."

Gibbs was silent, mulling over everything the boy had revealed, "And your family?"

Something changed in Itachi's eyes, "My family is an old clan. We have been in the village since before it was even a village. My father is shinobi and leads the Police Force. I am the prodigy of the clan, meant for great things as a member of the shinobi population."

Gibbs couldn't stay silent any longer, "I had a daughter." The kid watched him carefully, although he didn't look surprised. "She was eight when she and my wife were murdered. I can't imagine raising her and training her to be a killer."

"Then it is a good thing you were not put in that position. Contrary to your belief, Agent Gibbs, beginning the training early is the most humane way. Children can be trained to let go and coached through the transition much more easily than an adult who has had years of experience to teach him the opposite of what we do."

Gibbs could barely let himself see the twisted logic in the kid's statement before Itachi continued, "In ANBU you have no name. You have no face. You have no emotions. There is no past. There is no future. There is only the mission."

There was nothing Gibbs could say to that and the boy seemed content to let the silence ring until Gibbs had recovered. "I don't like it," he repeated firmly. "Nothing about this is ok."

"You only have a problem with the idea because you perceive me as you would a child of your world. You must let this go. Hawk and I will be your backup until Dragon and Bear return. You know I am capable."

Gibbs nodded reluctantly, "I don't think I've thanked you yet for saving Kate's life." He looked him in the eye and said carefully, "I know you're capable. That's not the issue."

Itachi replied firmly, "That is the only issue that matters."

Gibbs smiled ruefully, "I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it then."

"That would be easiest for the moment," Itachi agreed with a smirk.

"Fine," Gibbs said, and stuck out a hand. Itachi gripped it firmly and they shook. "Then let's catch these bastards."

Edited and re-posted on 4/11/14

Future chapters are being developed for a possible continuation of this story