Prologue

The slick, muddy ground didn't help much as the tall plain-looking man tried to gain traction. Of course it didn't help that his shoes weren't cut out for off the beaten path jaunts and, of course, there was the matter of his 'cargo'.

The trash bag drug along the muddy trail as the man pulled it behind him. A loud noise wrecked the silent wood and the man, the killer glanced at the black heavy duty trash bag. At first everything looked fine but upon closer inspection, he noticed a large rip down the underside of the bag, exposing a white cloth.

Glaring at the blinding cloth, the man let go of the trash bag and headed back to where his truck was on the side of the dusty dirt road. There wasn't anything to do now but watch and wait.

Chapter 1
Gibbs' Point of View

I found the usual chatter in the bullpen especially grating to my ears this morning. Not because I'd had a bad night (Tony hadn't came over and kept me up) or because I had too much bourbon (barely had any); no I was more irritated today because of one person: Vance. Just thinking the name of the 'Director' made my blood boil. It's not that he'd done anything to piss me off, it's that he hasn't done anything recently. My gazed roved around the bullpen. Tony leaning jauntily back in his chair, relaxed; Ziva scribbling away at paperwork she didn't finish the night before; McGee typing away at his computer. There's a saying, 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' I took half a second to ponder that until my desk phone's shrill ring reached my ears. Picking up the phone, then briefly listening to the voice on the other end, I hung up and face my Agents. "Dead Navy captain found up in the woods; gear up." I barked and swept out to the elevator.

Whipping out the cell phone I rarely use, I called the morgue. "Got a body in the woods Ducky." Without waiting for an affirmative, I snapped the phone shut and pocketed it. The ding of the elevator doors sliding open reminded me of the case at hand. Without another thought to anything else I got into my car and headed out to the crime scene.

*************************************************

It was colder than I anticipated but it had rained in the area recently, judging by the mud caking my shoes. Shrugging I walked along the edge of the trail, careful of any footprints that might belong to the killer. The body was somewhat near to the start of the path, but not much. EMT's had removed it from it's plastic black prison. Standing almost over the body I could easily make out the features; slightly line face, indicating his age to be early to mid 60's and his graying hair parted and combed, military style. The uniform was that of a Naval Captain and other than a bit of dirt from where he lay, it was spotless and neatly pressed as all Navy uniforms are.

Footsteps behind me and the sounds of voices alerted me to Ducky, Palmer and my Agents. "Hello Jethro. Ah yes what do we have here?" I nodded my greeting as the Scottish ME knelt down to examine the body further. "Ah you poor lad. Well at least it seems you didn't suffer much; ligature marks on his neck suggest strangulation with a thin rope or wire. Other than that, the Captain's body has suffered no other injuries." The rest of Duck's long-winded speech was lost to me as I studied the body closer. Something in my gut told me to look again.

As my eyes raced over the Captain's prone form I noticed a slightly crinkled piece of paper tucked into the collar of the seaman's shirt. "Tony! Get over here and make sure you're wearing gloves!" I yelled knowing full well my voice would carry to where my Senior Field Agent was photographing the area. "On it Boss." I heard the young Italian reply. As soon as Tony stood next to me I gestured to the paper, almost as white as the uniform, caught up in the collar. Tony bent down to retrieve the missive ( and I got a nice view of his ass). I watched, almost holding my breath as he unfolded the note and smoothed it out. 'Hello one and all. This is just the first move in my little game. Care to play Agents?'

"Boss what do you think he means? It's like he knows for certain NCIS is on the case." Tony asked, his cop background kicking in. "Or that we're not the only 'Agents' who will be assigned the case." I replied giving him time to process the meaning. "What you mean the Feds? As in FBI?" Tony asked. My lips formed a grim thin line at that acronym. "More specially, the Behavioral Analysis Unit. If we show them the note." Tony's dark eyebrows raised as he leaned in a little bit. "Are we going to show anyone the note Boss?" I sighed and ran a hand through my close cropped grey hair in frustration. "We probably will. Vance would find out eventually then all hell will break loose."

Fortunately we decided to show the note to Ziva and McGee, who tried to analyze it but his computer skills only go so far. It was then we knew the BAU had to be called.

************************************************
Quantico Virginia
J.J.'s Point of View

I took no notice of Garcia and Morgan standing near the conference room until Morgan's next few words. "Sorry I missed our movie night Angel." I heard the dark skinned profiler say. Garcia shrugged and smiled a bit evilly. "Oh don't worry Handsome. I have a list of ways you can make it up to me." Closing my eyes tightly, as if to block out that innuendo etched in my brain, I took a deep breath then opened my eyes. Its way too early in the day to even be thinking about sex, let only hearing about it. Or at least hearing a hint about it.

Luckily Hotch came by at that moment and I remembered the case file in my hand. "Hotch! We may have a case." I said loud enough for him to hear me. As I thought, he turned on his heel to face me. All thoughts of overheard innuendoes forgotten, I rattled off the information I'd gotten from Agent Gibbs. That man was tough; as a ex-Gunny should be and I could tell he excelled at his job. Hotch nodded once before going to the rail and leaning down over the bullpen. "Reid, Prentiss, Rossi. Got a case." the stern man fairly growled. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Morgan and Garcia go to the conference room. I followed them in and stood by the projector screen as the others came in.

As soon as everyone had settled I launched into my customary rundown. "Early this morning I got a call from NCIS Agent Gibbs. He told me they think they have a serial killer on their hands. The body they found, one Navy Captain Daniel Fowler, was perfectly fine save for the strangulation mark around his neck. The odd thing was there was a note attached to the Captain's collar. It said 'Hello one and all. This is just the first move in my little game. Care to play Agents?'"

Immediately Reid spoke up. "The greeting implies prior knowledge of who would handle the crime scene, as does the use of the word 'Agents' versus, say not adding that title." the genius leaned back a bit as he said his piece. Rossi nodded thoughtfully, never one to dispute anything Spencer said, if only because he knew he was right 99% of the time. "Well what could he mean by saying Agents plural? Could he possibly have been at the scene while NCIS was there and overheard them talking amongst themselves?" Morgan piped up.

"It's quite possible. Why else would the killer use the plural form of a word if he didn't know more than one agency would get the case." Hotch remarked. I sighed. We had gone in circles and there was still one thing we didn't know. "What kind of serial killer is he though?" I asked. Emily answered this time. "He seems to be an Organized Offender; prepared, meticulous, and obviously he had planned the murder from the start." The others nodded before Hotch announced we were leaving for Washington D.C. In ten minutes. 'Here goes nothing.' I thought as I headed to the jet.

AN: First NCIS story, let alone a Criminal Minds/NCIS crossover so please be kind. I'd like to thank Blackberryhunttress for helping me get this idea off the ground. Enjoy.