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Closing the closet, she headed toward the door and heard the handle jiggle. Oh, God. He’s back. She looked around the room for a place to hide. If she’d thought about it earlier, she’d have unlocked her side of the adjoining door. It would’ve been the easiest way of escape. Since she had decided to keep it bolted on her side, using it was impossible. There was a couch, but that wouldn’t provide any cover. What the hell am I going to do?
Rushing over, she threw herself onto the floor and rolled beneath the bed. This was one time being so petite worked in her favor.
She lay there motionless as she heard the door open.
“Shit,” a man’s voice hissed.
Ziva could see the closet from her hiding spot. Although the room was a jumble, the guy seemed to head straight for the closet. That struck her as odd, but it meant he knew what he was looking for.
Although she couldn’t see him, she saw his feet as he stopped and opened it. The blankets were tossed back onto the floor near the bed, blocking her view. Moments later, she heard the bag unzip.
Then it sounded like the bag was picked up, and the man was walking away. Whoever it was didn’t seem worried about the room looking ransacked or if he should look for an intruder. She heard the room door open and close again, and she was alone. He’d known exactly where to look and what to find. Was he working with Alexander Henderson or against him?
Fearing someone could still be in the room, Ziva didn’t come out of her hiding place immediately. After a few minutes, with no further sounds or movement, she pushed the blankets away and rolled out. Looking around the room, it appeared exactly the way she’d left it: a hot mess. He’d touched nothing except one thing. One deadly bag.
Her heart sank. There was nothing she could do to stop him, any more than she could Alexander. If she’d made a peep, one of those guns most likely would’ve been used on her. In this hotel the manager would turn a blind eye to her death, no different than he did to everything else going on here.
Saying goodbye to the guns wasn’t an option either. She might not know where they were going, but she knew with that kind of firepower it wasn’t for anything good.
With a heavy sigh, her entire body weakened with defeat. She had more questions than she’d had before. Is that guy working with or for Alex? Because if he is, I’m sure this is not the last I’ll see of him. But if he’s working for the government and collecting what they were promised in trade, the guns are long gone and so is he.
Ziva couldn’t picture they’d pass up money for arms, but in conjunction with bribing them, they most definitely would. She realized her first thought about Alex’s plans for the guns was wrong. The sweetness she’d seen in his eyes was a façade. Alexander was worse than James. Not only was he here to feed his sick pleasure, but to deal in illegal weapons as well. Tabiq didn’t need any help getting more corrupt than it already was.
Ziva wished she’d opened the bag to see what else was in it besides guns. From the weight, it could have been anything. The stakes had grown higher, and she was in way over her head.
Standing in his room wasn’t going to accomplish anything. And if Alexander returned and caught her, she wouldn’t leave anytime soon, if at all. She had a feeling he already questioned why she was around yesterday. He seemed oddly aware, as if he’s known she was there. Finding her here now would confirm his suspicions. Opening the door, she peered down the hallway. All was quiet, thankfully. Quickly she slipped out of his room, closed the door gently, and went back to her own room.
As she turned the lock on her door, she noticed her hands were trembling. Bringing her hand to her chest and covering it with the other, she tried to calm her nerves. Ziva was playing a dangerous game, and with people way out of her league. She’d thought she could use technology to bring these detestable activities to light. This ordeal wasn’t as simple as snapping pictures and putting them on the Internet. This was about fighting to save innocent lives. Maybe my own. He didn’t give me this room freely. Do I stay to find out? This crazy plan may be the only way I find the proof I need. I just need to live long enough to share it with the rest of the world and pray someone out there cares enough to help. A stream of tears rolled down her face as she walked to her bed.
Ziva, who only moments earlier had been exhausted and fighting to keep her eyes open, now lay on her bed forcing herself to memorize everything she could about Alex and the events that had taken place. She might be only one person, but she’d heard it enough in her life: it only took one to make a difference. If it were the last thing she did, she’d make him pay for what he was about to do. And if I can, I’ll stop you before you do it.
