CHAPTER ONE
Marine Sergeant Alan Lees had been in many life-threatening situations. He had neutralised more that 200 IEDs during three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. His squad members called him Sergeant Freeze because they reckoned he must have ice water flowing through his veins; he was cool and calm under pressure, using everything he had learned in fourteen years in the Corps to minimise risk, to maximise his own, and therefore his team's chances of survival.
He was one of the best at what he did, and he loved doing it, loved the Corps, it had been his family since the day he enlisted at eighteen. He had never known fear, dying was an occupational hazard in his line of work; he had learned to deal with it, he had looked death in the eye on an almost daily basis and never once had he been scared, until now...
Two days later
"That is beyond gross!"
"Ya think Tony?" Tim took another photograph, then stepped aside to allow the recently arrived ME access to the body. On arrival Tim had quickly taken fingerprints and confirmed that the body was that of Marine Sergeant Alan Lees; reported UA only yesterday. His did not look to have been an easy death; his face was contorted in an agony that even the effects of early decomposition could not hide. But it was his chest that held the attention of everyone at the scene...or rather what was left of his chest. His breastbone had been cracked open, exposing his inner organs, and his heart...his heart was gone.
"COD shouldn't be a problem Duck."
"Indeed not Jethro, if I took everything at face value, but I will take the Sergeant home and you will have my report in the fullness of time." Ducky removed the liver probe and took another look at Alan Lees' chest. "He's been dead between six and eight hours, and from an initial look I would say that whoever took his heart knew what they were doing. Come along Jimmy, our sergeant has things to tell us."
Jimmy and Ducky carefully secured the body into a black body bag and headed back to NCIS. Gibbs and the others continued the painstaking search of the area around the body. Another derelict building in a rundown area of DC, the body could have remained here undetected for weeks, but a homeless man seeking shelter from a sudden thunderstorm that morning had seen a door slightly ajar, rushed in and almost fallen headlong over the body.
Ziva had spoken to the man, but all he could tell them was that he didn't remember seeing the door open before today. He was still badly shaken by what he had seen, and had been more than willing to accept the offer of coffee and doughnuts from the departing Metro PD officers.
Tony fastened another evidence bag and put it in the crate ready for transport. "You thinking organs for sale Boss?"
"It's possible Tony, but at this stage of an investigation anything is possible. We've done all we can here, and Ducky won't start the autopsy 'til the morning, let's get the evidence logged and call it a day."
The others were keen to get to work on this new case, but they had come here on the back of a twenty-four hour city-wide red alert, and Gibbs knew they would work better after some proper rest.
Tim walked slowly from the parking garage to his apartment, it was a pleasant early summer night, but he was in no mood to take in the night air, he wanted a shower, then sleep. As he put his foot on the steps to the front door of his building he noticed the security light didn't come on, he made a mental note to report it to the building manager…tomorrow would be soon enough. His hand was shaking slightly as he put his key in the door, he must be more tired than he'd thought, a shiver set him trembling even more…he felt…
"Hello, is someone there?" Tim called into the darkness, there was no answer, but he was sure there had been something…he shrugged his shoulders and headed into the building, he felt a little more relaxed once he was in his own apartment; before he headed for the shower, he double-checked all the locks, he was just tired and spooked after seeing Sergeant Lees' body, but it didn't hurt to be careful.
They were all at their desks by 06.30, and it didn't take long for them to discover more about who Alan Lees had been, and what a loss he was to the Marine Corps. Tim put up his list of citations on the plasma and each of them read in silent admiration; Gibbs bowed his head and offered up a promise that he would catch whoever had done this to a hero.
Ducky conducted the autopsy with his usual professionalism and efficiency. The remaining organs were weighed; blood drawn, photographs taken, any unexpected fluids or hairs on his skin were sent to Abby.
Abby quickly ran the blood tests, and with a slight tremor in her voice she had given Ducky the information.
"There were no drugs in his blood Ducky, not even a trace of barbiturate…Ducky, does that mean, you know, he was conscious when the guy who did this started to open his chest?"
Ducky sighed deeply, just when he thought he had seen everything…"Yes my dear, I'm very much afraid that's exactly what it means."
He started his report, ensuring everything was painstakingly recorded; nothing left to chance. When they arrested the bastard who had done this Ducky wanted to be sure that he had done everything necessary to secure a conviction.
Gibbs and his team had been speaking to some of Lees' squad, his commanding officer, members of his family; and so far they could find no reason why Lees had been targeted, if indeed he had…this was already starting to look like a random killing, but as they all knew, looks could be deceiving.
They were back in the squad room, making phone calls, collating what they had so far. Tim had keyed in the information they had on how Sergeant Lees had died and entered them in ViCAP, if there were any other cases like this on record, they should know soon, he really hoped there were no other cases like this one…A man had his heart out cut out while he was still breathing; that was something Tim wouldn't want another person to go through.
He didn't want to waste time waiting for results that may never come, so Tim started running Sergeant Lees' phone records and financials. He was scrolling down the first page of phone records when his computer started sending out intermittent beeps. There couldn't be a ViCAP match already; he clicked on the open tab and found the words ACCESS DENIED filling the screen.
"Boss...we're being shut out!"
"Who McGee, FBI?"
"No...Looks like CIA."
The last initial was barely out of his mouth when the phone sounded on Gibbs' desk.
"Yeah Leon, I thought they might." He put down the phone knowing full well they'd all be watching. "Seems the CIA wants a meeting."
Trent Kort strode purposefully into the Conference Room, this building held no pleasant memories for him and he would have been happier if his Director had given this assignment to someone else; but it had been decided that he was the best man for the job, so here he was opening the door to another confrontation with NCIS. Kort was a little taken aback to see all the members of Gibbs' team waiting inside, but he certainly wasn't going to let anyone see his discomfort, least of all Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
"So why is the CIA interfering in my investigation?"
"And a very good day to you Special Agent Gibbs."
"A dead Marine doesn't give me any reason to think this is a good day Kort, not unless you're here to tell me who killed him."
"Then you will be gratified to know that I am here to tell you who is responsible for the death of Sergeant Lees."
Gibbs was on his feet immediately. "I'm listening."
"Not even an offer of refreshments…"
"Damn it Kort! There's a decorated hero lying in Autopsy who had his heart ripped out of his chest; I don't have time to play nice."
"Do you ever?" Kort sat down at the head of the table. "I would like to say it is good to see you all again, but as Gibbs pointed out, this is no time for niceties. I am here to tell you what I can."
He handed Tim a thumb drive. "Agent McGee, would you open the file labelled Lejeune please?"
Tim glanced over at Gibbs and received a nod. He inserted the drive in the Conference Room computer, opened up the file and displayed the contents on the plasma. He handed Kort the remote and sat back down beside Tony. Kort clicked the remote and a headshot of a man in US Army uniform was displayed.
"This is Captain Abel Lejeune, US Army, Silver Star, Bronze Star, two purple hearts; he was found last Monday in Baltimore."
Another click and one of Captain Lejeune's autopsy photographs filled the screen. Ducky sighed. "Another life ended too soon. Was his heart taken?"
"It was."
Tony was losing patience. "Come on Kort, why is the CIA involved in a homicide?"
"Because we think we know who killed him." Kort clicked again and the picture changed to that of a bespectacled man wearing a white lab coat. "Alexander Carlin, a molecular scientist working with Special Projects for the DoD. He was leading a team looking at ways of…altering the human cell structure…make wounds heal faster, allow soldiers to go longer without food, or rest…things seemed to be going well according to Carlin's reports, but then…it would appear that he has gone rogue. He was last seen two months ago, just as the trial volunteers started to exhibit extreme changes in character…"
"Frankenscience…" Abby whispered the word in a tone of disgust.
"Miss Sciuto?" Kort was distinctly unimpressed by the interruption, but Abby wasn't about to hold her tongue.
"You people, you always want to warp science…twist what should be good and pure into something…"
"Abs, enough…let's hear him out."
"But Gibbs…"
"Not now, we have a case, remember?"
Abby was suitably chastened, and she sat quietly as Gibbs sat down beside Kort. "You going to tell us what makes you so sure Carlin is our killer?"
"I believe there was DNA evidence on Lejeune's body. You will find all the information you need on that thumb drive, and when you've seen it you'll know why Carlin is your man…His work involved a number of volunteers, all from the military; initial results seemed to show an improvement in stamina, but it would appear that had less to do with any changes in their cell structure, and more to do with a cocktail of drugs that Carlin was using on them."
"Who was meant to be supervising this guy?"
"Come on Gibbs, do you have any idea how many projects are being worked on at any one time? It's almost impossible to keep track of every one, sometimes a project drops off the radar."
"So why did this one finally come to your attention? Or did you only notice when men started dying?" Ducky was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his anger under control.
"No Doctor Mallard, it was three months ago. One of the volunteers was taken ill and had to be admitted to hospital. His wife came to visit and he didn't even recognise her; then his blood tests showed some…anomalies, and alarm bells started to ring. One of the DoD's top scientists was sent to Carlin's lab, he spent a few days there and everything seemed above board."
"There's a but coming Kort, I know it."
"Correct Agent DiNozzo, four days into his visit Doctor Sarwan was savagely beaten by another of Carlin's volunteers. It was a completely unprovoked attack and by the time they pulled a 240 pound Marine off him the doctor was already unconscious."
"Did he recover?" Ducky's initial anger was giving way to concern that there may be more deaths to be laid at Carlin's door.
"He will eventually, which is more than can be said for Sergeant Jarrom; he has an inoperable brain tumour. The medics give him less than six months…"
"Was the cancer triggered by the drugs?"
"It seems likely, another volunteer has early stage leukaemia, they're hopeful they've caught it in time."
Gibbs couldn't sit still any longer, he started pacing the floor. "What about Carlin, was he allowed to carry on?"
"No! His programme was suspended immediately, and all his files were confiscated. There was a debriefing scheduled, but…"
"He never showed, big surprise Kort. You should have had him arrested."
"For what Gibbs? Bad science…that's all it was at that stage."
Tim had only glanced briefly at the autopsy picture of Lieutenant Lejeune, but he took a good look now. "Looks like it's gone beyond science…that's cold blooded murder."
"Agreed Agent McGee, and that is why I have been authorised to speak with you. Gibbs, you have another question?"
"Do you have any idea why he's removing the hearts?"
"Doctor Sarwan suspects that Carlin has been experimenting on himself…but he could find no proof. Obviously the balance of his mind is seriously disturbed; it's hard to see any sane reasoning behind what he's doing."
Tony gave a derisory laugh. "Come on Kort, you're not telling us Carlin's turned into a movie cliché…the mad scientist."
"How would you describe this DiNozzo?" Kort glanced at the screen. "It suggests to me that Alexander Carlin has crossed that fine line between genius and insanity."
"Not just crossed it Kort, he's gone miles beyond the line…So give me something I can use, tell me where we can find Carlin."
"I wish I could Gibbs, we lost track of him just over two months ago."
"So where was he then?"
"Houston, Texas; he was sighted trying to gain access to one of the DoD facilities in the city, but his ID had been suspended, so he couldn't get in, since then, there had been nothing, until the Lejeune killing. And now…we suspect given the condition of your sergeant, that he was in DC three days ago."
"That's all you've got?"
"Like I said, everything you need is in those files." Kort got up and walked to the door, he turned around to face them all. "We are all aware of your opinion on apologies Gibbs, but I truly am sorry these brave men died as they did, and I wish you every success in finding the man who killed them."
As the door closed behind him Tony gave a grimace. "Why is it I always feel like I need a shower after I've been near that guy?"
Tim took the thumb drive down to Abby's lab and they got started dividing up the files. Forensic reports for Abby, Lejeune's autopsy report for Ducky, names of volunteers and associates of Carlin for Gibbs, Tony and Ziva. Tim was given the task of trying to find any links between the two victims, other than their grisly deaths.
The consensus of those who knew him was that Carlin had a brilliant, but brittle mind. His academic career had been stellar. He was a qualified doctor at nineteen, a Ph. D at twenty-one; a seamless move into the research sector had seen him winning awards both for his insightful experiments and his published papers. But there had been instances of a volatile personality, one who suffered fools not at all, and by fools Carlin meant anyone who didn't come close to his own exacting standards. He had been disciplined more than once for using physical violence at work, but his employers usually managed to hide things under the carpet, he was too valuable an asset to be lost to the private sector. So he'd been moved to a smaller project, one that gave him the kind of autonomy he craved, but which had ultimately led to his loss of control.
"Told you, mad scientist."
"Tony, why must you relate everything to a movie? This man…he has taken two lives…two hearts…do you see anything sane in that, because I cannot."
Gibbs shook his head slightly. "Maybe he's not mad, could be that's he's evil, have you two thought of that? Maybe he does this just because he can."
They had been throwing ideas back and forth, trying to get a handle on the man who had become a monster.
"Hey McSilence, you got any dazzling insights for us?" Tony had been so intent on his portrayal of Alexander Carlin as the archetypal scientist turned crazy loon that he'd only just noticed Tim hadn't said a word. He was bent over his keyboard, his eyes occasionally flicking to his monitor. Gibbs made his stealthy way to Tim's desk and Tony smiled as he waited for the head slap to be administered. But instead Gibbs asked quietly.
"Tim, is there a problem?"
"Problem? No Boss, I found something the victims have in common…"
"So share it with us McGee, put it on the plasma."
Tim clicked the remote and three headshots were displayed, Lees, Lejeune, and Carlin. Ziva looked puzzled.
"Carlin is not a victim McGee."
"But he has things in common with our victims, height, age, eye colour…and there's another thing…"
