Nexus: Ziva Payvan Book 2

by EJ Fisch

  “Is that what it is, a temper?” Aroska asked, bristling a bit. “You heard her story. How did you expect her to react when the man responsible for all of that showed up?”

  “I probably would have done the same thing,” Kat admitted, “but not when he could have given us information. Not if it could wind up hurting my only allies.”

  “Look,” Aroska said. “If you’re looking for an apology, you’re probably out of luck. She’s on a mission right now, and the best thing we can do is stay out of her way.”

  “Do you always bow down to her like this?” Kat asked with a scoff. “Ever wonder what it would be like if the galaxy didn’t revolve around her?”

  The sharp response caught in Aroska’s throat before he could say it, and he realized he understood exactly how Kat felt. In his mind he saw himself sitting in Ziva’s living room two months earlier, asking Skeet and Zinni the very same question Kat had just asked. She had a lot of learning to do…they both did. He by no means wanted to “bow down” and always let Ziva have her way, but neither did he want to hold her back from something toward which she was so driven. Still, if that drive resulted in her getting hurt, captured, or killed because her head wasn’t in the right place, something needed to be done about it.

  “Like I said, I’ll talk to her.”

  -80-

  Kat’s Hideout

  Chaiavis

  It was nearly an hour later that Kat and Aroska arrived back at the garage. Ziva heard the car approaching even before the overhead door began to rise – she’d left the man door open to get some air and the familiar whine of the engine carried through.

  She looked up from her work long enough to acknowledge them. The rifle itself was complete and the last batch of ammunition had just finished cooling. All that remained was to load the thing.

  As her hands worked, her ears registered Kat’s footsteps hurrying up the stairs and Aroska’s pausing a few steps from the car. In her peripheral vision, she could see him standing there, watching her in the same manner as he had the night before. She tried not to let it bother her, but somehow he always managed to get the best of her. She sighed and held up one of the rounds. “Have you ever seen a bariine alloy projectile?”

  He shook his head and approached. “Is it like a frag round?”

  Ziva nodded and handed him the bullet. It was about the length and thickness of her little finger, tapered on both ends to ensure an easy transition from the mag into the modified plasma cell and firing chamber. It was still slightly warm to the touch and had taken on a dull grayish-brown color.

  “Let me show you something,” she said, taking it back from him. She held it up to his forehead between her thumb and forefinger as if it were a dart she was about to throw at a target. “What you’re seeing right here is going to be the last thing Dasaro sees before his miserable existence comes to an end.”

  The look on Aroska’s face was priceless. He brushed her hand away, the shock morphing quickly into anger. “You need to calm down, Ziva.”

  “Calm down?” Her eyebrows immediately dropped into a scowl. “This is calm, Aroska. You’re never going to see me calmer.”

  He returned her scowl with one of his own. “You’re not calm. I can see the hatred in your eyes. Your mind is running in overdrive.”

  “So I’ve been doing some thinking. What’s wrong with that?”

  “No you haven’t. You just blew a prisoner’s brains out in the middle of an interrogation. You’re not thinking – you’ve lost your mind!”

  She set her jaw and stared him down for a moment. “Believe whatever you want,” she growled. “I know what I’m doing. I’m tired of running, okay? I’m tired of all the sheyss I’ve gone through because of Dasaro. It’s time to put an end to it.” She began stuffing the rounds into the mag.

  “And you seriously think going after him like this is going to fix everything?” Aroska scoffed. “You’re smarter than that, Ziva. I’m sorry about everything that’s happened to you – I’d want to kill the bastard myself, but not like this. Maybe you think this is your battle, but you’re not the only person he’s tried to kill. Think of Kade, of Kat. They’re victims just as much as you are. We’ve come this far as a team, so let the rest of us help you now. We can all sit down, come up with a plan. I urge you to think this through.”

  “I have thought it through!” Ziva retorted, slamming the mag up into the rifle.

  He grabbed her hand. “Then reconsider!”

  “I’m not going to argue with you anymore.” Ziva wrenched her arm from his grasp. “Contrary to your belief, this is my battle, my business. I don’t understand why you can’t leave me to make my own decisions.”

  “It’s because I’m concerned about you! You’re treating this as more of a revenge trip than anything else and your personal feelings are starting to cloud your judgment. You know better than that! Someone’s going to wind up getting hurt.”

  “Oh, so now you’re going to try to teach me a life lesson, is that it? In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been at this a lot longer than you have.”

  “That doesn’t mean you’re not capable of making mistakes!” he cried. “Ziva, you’re the most powerful, brilliant woman I know, but you frustrate the hell out of me. I know how skilled you are and I know how much pride you take in that, but I cannot even begin to tell you what you mean to me.” He stopped short and shook his head, clamping his mouth shut before he could continue.

  A prickly sensation crept over Ziva’s skin and the hairs on her arms stood on end. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Sheyss,” he muttered, turning in a slow circle and bringing his hands to rest on his hips. “A week ago, I was sitting in my bedroom with a gun in my hand trying to muster up the courage to end it all when I heard someone in my house. That someone happened to be you.” He shrugged and let out a short snort. “That’s right, Ziva. Whether you like it or not, you have once again saved my life. I’m just trying to save yours.”

  Ziva was growing nearly as tired of this guilt trip Aroska was trying to send her on as she was with Dasaro and his crew. Hearing of his near suicide caught her off guard and confused her, and judging by his demeanor, this was what had been plaguing him for the past several days. But now was neither the time nor the place to be discussing such matters. She picked up the modified rifle from the table and secured the strap over her shoulder. “I don’t need anyone to save my life,” she muttered, stepping toward the car.

  She started across the floor, annoyed by the sound of Aroska’s heavy footfalls as he stormed after her. Did he seriously think he was going to stop her? What was he going to do, tie her up? Render her unconscious? Shoot out her knee again? She balled up her hands, ready to deliver a blow if needed.

  When he reached her, she barely had time to half-turn before he caught her face with a firm hand and pulled her to him. Before she could register what was happening, he had his lips pressed to hers, so suddenly that she couldn’t even voice a protest. Her left fist hovered in mid-air, frozen halfway through the process of delivering a hard hook. Aroska pulled away after a moment and it was over just as quickly as it had begun.

  It was almost as if he had sucked the life out of her because for what seemed like a long time, Ziva could neither breathe nor speak. Aroska was silent as well, eyes closed as he gently traced her scar with his thumb. It was all Ziva could do to keep from shaking as she removed his hand from her face and lowered it back to his side. Still at a loss for words, she swallowed and edged closer to him, leaning up into his space and placing a hand on his chest. “Aroska,” she murmured.

  His only reply was a nervous “Hmm.”

  Her hand curled abruptly into a fist, taking a handful of his shirt with it. “Unless you want me to castrate you right here and now, you will never try anything like that ever again. Do you understand me?”

  Aroska hung his head and looked away. “Yes.”

  “No, I’m not sure you do.” Ziva took hold of his jacket and f
orced him back against the wall, pinning him there with her forearm across his chest. “I’m not going to lie – we make a decent team. You’re a good man, Tarbic, and I know you mean well, but I’m counting on you here. You’re telling me my mind’s not right? It’s certainly not going to help if yours isn’t either. You’re going to have to make a choice – either you do what I say and help me out here, or there’s the door.”

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have. It was a stupid—”

  “No!” Ziva exclaimed, holding her hand in front of his mouth. “I don’t want your apologies. What’s done is done, and you’re not going to bring it up ever again. Got it?”

  He nodded, still reluctant to make eye contact. “Let me help you.”

  Ziva released him and took a step back, placing her hands on her hips. “Two months ago, you shook my hand and told me you wanted to be my friend, and that’s what I need you to do right now. You can be a friend by watching my back and staying out of my way. I have tried to be as patient as possible with you, but I swear if you ever pull another stunt like that or you try to talk me out of something again, I will kill you.” The realization that she was serious took her by surprise.

  There was a long pause where the two of them refused to look at each other. Ziva turned and stared out the door, rubbing her hand over her mouth in hopes that it would keep her jaw from trembling. In all reality, she was terrified by what had just happened, and the fact that she was terrified scared her even more. She wasn’t sure what Aroska had hoped to accomplish. It had been a foolish, impulsive move, and if anything it had destroyed whatever shred of focus she’d had.

  Ziva sighed, taking a moment to calm her nerves and her thundering heart. “I’m going to need a spotter,” she said, turning back to look him in the eye. “Trying to take a shot from anywhere on this blasted planet is going to be hell. Do you still have the comm Foda was using?”

  Aroska’s face was pale as he fished the device out of his pocket and slapped it into her open hand.

  She hesitated a moment, closing her fingers around his hand before he had a chance to pull away. She tightened her grip, ensuring she had his full attention. His eyes flitted about just as they had in the kitchen with the kytara, settling on her for only a split second before darting away. Ziva shook her head. “Damn it, Aroska,” she muttered through clenched teeth, “what the hell were you thinking?”

  He didn’t give her an answer, but she hadn’t wanted one. She took the communicator and headed upstairs, where she found Kat and Kade sitting at the table in awkward silence. By the way they squirmed and refused to make eye contact, Ziva guessed they had not only heard but had also witnessed everything that had just transpired downstairs. The last thing she wanted – or needed, for that matter – was for such a ridiculous incident to be affecting everyone in such a way.

  “Pull it together, people,” she said, placing the communicator on the table beside Kade’s computer. “We need to pull Dasaro’s comm code from that and get a fix on it. Can you do that?”

  Kade hesitated a moment before nodding. “I can.” He plugged the device into the computer.

  Ziva leaned down over the table. “Listen – we’ve all got scores to settle with Dasaro. I’m doing us a favor here.”

  She left it at that.

  -81-

  Haphezian Embassy

  Chaiavis

  The woman behind the desk looked as though she’d spent a few too many hours there and acted as though she’d dealt with a few too many incompetent visitors. She kept a distasteful eye on the three HSP captains, and for a moment she looked like she was considering turning them away.

  “I’ll need to see some identification, then,” she said with a sigh.

  Dasaro reluctantly pulled out his credentials, as did Nejdra and Kyron. “HSP, special operations,” he said.

  The woman swiveled to face the computer at her workstation. “What’s the name?” she asked, rolling her eyes down to the screen.

  “Kat Reilly,” Dasaro replied. “She lived here at the embassy dorms since birth, left about seven years ago. Hometown is thought to be Argall.”

  For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was a gentle tapping as the woman’s fingers flew over the keyboard. Her search queries produced the appropriate results and she projected them via hologram so the three agents could see.

  Dasaro’s eyes went straight to the address listed under CURRENT RESIDENCE. “Sheyss,” he muttered. It was the same address their search at HSP had produced, the little abandoned apartment not far from where they stood now. “This is the only residence you have listed?”

  The woman nodded. “What you see there is everything we’ve got.”

  “We’ve already been there. It’s empty.”

  “Captain, I don’t know what to tell you,” the woman said with an exasperated sigh. “This is the last known address we have, and if she’s not there I don’t know where she is.”

  Nejdra stepped forward. “Is there anyone we could talk to who would know?”

  “Honey, let me explain something to you. The majority of our Residentials who leave never come back. The ones who do are free to come and go as they please – quite frankly, no one really pays attention to who’s hanging around because once they’re of age, they’re not the embassy’s problem anymore. It’s doubtful anyone knows where she is because they probably don’t care.” She deactivated the hologram and stared up at them for a moment, letting her words sink in. “Now, if there’s nothing else, I’ve got work to do.”

  Dasaro sent her a hot glare, though she didn’t notice with her gaze directed toward the computer. He turned and waved Nejdra and Kyron toward the door. “Thank you for your time,” he muttered.

  -82-

  Government District

  Chaiavis

  The Haphezian embassy was dwarfed by the other buildings around it, any of which would have made decent snipers’ nests. Ziva settled down behind her scope, lying on her stomach with the rifle’s bipod resting on the lid of a locked control panel. Aroska had assumed a similar position to her right, surveying the area through a high-powered spotting scope. The airspace around the embassy had less traffic than they’d expected, reducing the risk of accidentally hitting a vessel and therefore making the shot much easier.

  Kade had successfully traced the location of Dasaro’s communicator and had transferred the tracking data to a small viewscreen that was now positioned between them on the roof. They’d followed Dasaro and his crew there to the embassy and had performed a brief flyover – the little HSP ship hadn’t been hard to spot. Then it had just been a matter of finding a vantage point with a decent line of sight. Now they waited, concealed in the shadows under a massive holoprojector that displayed a glowing advertisement.

  “Wind is ten kilometers per hour, north-northeast,” Aroska said. “The area is clear for now.”

  Ziva made a slight adjustment to account for the breeze and swept her gaze over the landing area and the embassy doors. The knowledge that Dasaro was in the building brought her a twisted sense of comfort that almost made her forget about killing Foda and arguing with Aroska. The Cobian’s communicator was connected to a portable comm system that sat between them.

  “I know you need to do this,” Aroska said, “but I just don’t want you to end up regretting it. I mean, do we know for sure if Dasaro knows you’re alive? Are you sure you want to risk revealing yourself?”

  “Hush,” Ziva hissed. A tingle of excitement surged through her at the sight of the three figures exiting the embassy. She took a deep breath and let it out through her nose, eyes unblinking as she stared through the rifle’s scope. She’d been anticipating a faceoff with Dasaro for the past six days, and now that she had reached one, she was feeling almost giddy. She drew another deep breath to steady herself.

  The three captains had paused on the steps outside the door and appeared to be caught up in heated conversation. Dasaro had his back to her and seemed to be yelling at Nejdra and Kyron. Judg
ing by their faces and his antics, it was as if their day had just been ruined by whatever news they’d received within the embassy. Ziva smirked and let the crosshairs fall into place against the back of Dasaro’s head – they had yet to find out what a ruined day was really like.

  “Call him,” she instructed.

  Aroska put the scope down and set up the transmission, which connected through the earpiece Ziva wore. Dasaro paused his ranting long enough to look down and check his communicator. He rolled his eyes when he saw the incoming code and answered immediately. “Yes,” he said.

  The look on his face when he heard her voice nearly made Ziva shudder. “By the time you’re able to trace this transmission, this conversation will be over,” she said. “Don’t bother.”

  For a moment it looked as though he was going to drop the communicator. “Ziva, how nice to hear your voice,” he said, shooting a glare at each of the other captains. “What am I going to do with you? You just won’t die.”

  “You should have thought of that before you set me up,” Ziva replied. “Tell me, did you really think it would be so easy to bring me down? Just ship me off to prison, maybe get me killed. Didn’t matter as long as I stayed quiet, right?”

  Dasaro chuckled and turned, facing in her general direction. “Oh Ziva, I give you more credit than you might think. I knew you could never be fully contained, though I have to admit I had hoped things would turn out more favorably for me.”

  Somehow Ziva didn’t believe him. Her finger itched to just pull the trigger, but there was information to be gained yet, and there was something just as satisfying about getting inside Dasaro’s head as there was about killing him. “What do you want with Kat Reilly?” she asked.