It had started like any other call…
"Let's go, we've got a dead marine. Grab your gear."
The group jumped up as Leroy Jethro Gibbs powerwalked through, giving himself just enough time to slap Tony DiNozzo upside the head. The younger "Very Special Agent" immediately shoved the magazine he had found into his desk drawer and grabbed his backpack and hat. Ziva David and Tim McGee smirked and followed suite, jogging to keep up with their team leader.
They reached the crime scene without much talking or fanfare, each taking up their respective duties as Gibbs surveyed from afar. The marine in question was lying in a drainage ditch beside the road, his hands bound behind his back with barbed wire. Ziva photographed all that she could find as Tony sketched the scene.
"Any witnesses, Boss?" Tony asked, glancing towards the older man.
Gibbs shook his head. "As soon as Ducky gets here and figures out a time of death, we'll see about any cameras in the area."
As if on cue, NCIS's M.E. van pulled into the spot beside Gibbs' vehicle. Doctor Mallard and Jimmy Palmer jumped out, grabbing what equipment they needed before heading straight for the dead body.
"I told you, Mister Palmer, that we should have taken a left on Lincoln, not a right," Ducky complained to his assistant.
"We couldn't take a left, Doctor Mallard. It is closed two blocks down for construction. I had to detour to the right." Jimmy panted as he tried to keep up with his superior.
"The construction on that road has been finished for nearly a week now, Mister Palmer. Perhaps you should check the traffic conditions more often than your Facebook page. Ah, Jethro, I apologize for the tardiness," he said, turning to face Gibbs.
Gibbs shrugged off the apology. "Time of death?"
"Well, give me a few minutes and I should have that for you. Mister Palmer, the bag, if you would be so kind." The medical examiner said as he stepped forward to examine the body. Tony and Ziva backed away to give them room to work.
"I'm telling you, Zi, the hands are tied just like…"
"Please do not reference another one of your movies, Tony." Ziva rolled her eyes, and shot a glare at her coworker. "I have heard enough of them for today. You are beating a dead cow."
"Horse," Tony corrected absently. "And I wasn't going to say a movie. You act as if that is all I can talk about or something."
"Huh, perhaps because that's how it seems to be sometimes," she snapped, turning to replace the batteries in her camera.
"Easy there, tiger. What's got you in such a huff?" Tony asked, hands raised in mock surrender. The hint of concern in his voice, however, was real enough.
Ziva sighed, staring straight ahead. "It is nothing important, just troubles with the landlord of my apartment is all," she said, rubbing her temple with her right hand.
Tony nodded. "Ah, the old landlord problems. Let me guess, he forgot to turn on your hot water again? No, wait. You're electricity bill came back doubled? Or your neighbors complain too much when you bring company over?" The last comment earned him a smack in the arm.
"Well you wouldn't really know much about that, would you, Tony?" quipped McGee. He had heard the majority of the conversation and couldn't resist poking a bit of fun at the senior field agent.
"Shut it, McProbie. I doubt you've had very many gamer-girls over yourself."
Gibbs ignored the bickering of his team, still looking over the body. A small bit of paper was sticking out of the man's pocket, catching his eye. As he carefully removed it, Ziva walked over holding the camera.
"A picture. Do you know the man, Gibbs?"
Gibbs stared at the picture, trying to pinpoint the tickling at the back of his mind. There was something familiar about the face that he couldn't place. "Nope," he finally answered, allowing her to photograph the evidence.
Tony glanced at the photograph. "Huh. What do you think, boss?"
Gibbs shrugged, placing the portrait into a plastic bag and handing it to McGee. Speculation wasn't his strong point; he'd let DiNozzo handle that area.
"I would estimate that this man has been dead for about ten hours now, though the moisture could have skewed that number a bit. I'll know more when we get him back to autopsy." He held up a hand, cutting Gibbs off before he could speak. "And I'll get you cause of death then too, Jethro." Gibbs smirked and turned away.
"So, what do you think, Tony? Mob hit, terrorist plot?" McGee asked. The crime scene was just finishing getting cleaned up and put away, while Palmer and Ducky loaded the body into the van.
"I don't know; kinda sloppy for a mob hit. I mean, there were prints and everything." He muttered, rechecking his material before heading out. "And the marine was PFC, so not a huge target for a terrorist. What do you think, Ziva-"
"Shh!"
Tony and Tim both turned sharply at their coworker's abrupt hush. Ziva held one of her hands up for silence, the other resting on her gun. She quietly made eye contact with them, then pointed down the road littered with storage containers.
Tony's eyes went wide, and he quickly turned. "Boss, I think you should see this."
Gibbs glanced up, and then immediately reached for his gun. The man walking down the street was of average height with short brown hair, identical to the picture the dead marine had carried.
"Just wait," Gibbs breathed, nodding towards Tony and Tim to draw their weapons. The man didn't seem to notice the agents; his eyes were on the ground in front of him as he listened to whatever was going through his ear buds.
When he was one hundred feet away, Tony stepped forward. "Okay pal, stop walking and keep your hands where we can see them."
The man froze, jerking his head and looking at the agents. His gaze was startled, but calculating. Gibbs felt his gut flinch as the man took a fraction of a second to assess all of them. Something was wrong.
The pause lasted a full two seconds before the man turned and ran, ducking his head and trying to put any debris he could between himself and the guns. Tony and Ziva immediately gave chase as McGee and Gibbs ran back to the car and peeled out, going around the long way to cut him off.
Ziva's heart pounded as she tried to keep up with the running figure in front of her. It was hard to catch a glimpse as he dodged in between storage containers and boxes, and she growled in frustration; even if she were allowed to use her gun, it would take a large amount of luck just to hit him. She nodded at Tony, who sprinted around a large container in the opposite direction of their target. She rounded the corner and pulled her gun up. "Freeze!"
The man ignored her, ducking behind another corner. She holstered her weapon and followed. Tony rounded the opposite corner at the same time, right in front of the stranger.
There was no time for either agent to react; the man struck Tony in the jaw, disorienting him, before landing several hard blows to his ribs and midsection. He finished by knocking the agent into the side of the metal container, effectively knocking him out.
Ziva watched the entire thing happen in slow motion as she sprinted towards the fight. Her mind churned, trying to understand how Tony had been taken down so easily. She reached the man just as Tony fell and immediately attacked him.
The stranger twisted in time to see her, blocking each attack as she threw it. She attacked faster, drawing her knife mid-swing and slicing towards his throat. He easily stopped it, dodged another fist, and then twisted her arm quickly. The blade sliced across her thigh, causing a gasp of pain. A knee to her stomach and a swift elbow to the back of her neck was enough to subdue the ex Mossod agent.
The stranger let out a breath, leaning on the storage container for support.
"Okay, now freeze." Tony's voice croaked out. He had pulled his gun, still lying on his back. The man looked at him, once again calculating his chances.
"Go ahead; I'm waiting for an excuse." Gibbs snarled, coming out from around another corner with McGee. The stranger looked at all the agents again as Ziva slowly stood up, looking murderous. Slowly he raised his hands and dropped to his knees.
"Permission to kill him, Gibbs?" Ziva asked, still glaring at the man. Gibbs curtly shook his head.
"Get him back to base, throw him into interrogation. At least two guns on him at all times. If he twitches, shoot him."