A/N: Hey guys this is my first story here, in fact the first story I have ever written. English isn't my mother tongue and I have never been in the states so all the things I mention are either looked up or pure fantasy (mostly looked up though). I hope you'll enjoy reading. This is set mid-season 3, but Jenny hasn't cut her hair yet.
Thanks Jojo for all your support (and for a really horrible nickname)
-V.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! I guess you know that...
Red ink on their foreheads
Chapter one: Jonathan Kapmann
Friday 01/20/2006
Director Jennifer Shepard sat alone at the desk in her office at 11:30 PM. It was freezing cold outside, she had a migraine, and was in a desperate need of sleep, but she couldn't even think about leaving for the night. Sighing she buried her head in her arms.
The MCRT had been called to a crime scene earlier that day. An elderly woman had found a dead Staff Sergeant in a forest outside of DC, hidden in the bushes on a clearing. It had been the second marine they had found with red ink on his forehead and a single gun shot wound on the back of his head the month, wearing his uniform and a black tie.
So far they had no trace of their killer but on the neck of the second victim, right above his pulse point, they had found a smeared partial finger print which Abby was running through AFIS. Despite the goth being her usual happy self, she couldn't give them much hope of a break-through because even if the guy was in the system, it would be a little miracle if they got a hit because of the condition of the print.
Slowly, Jenny made her way out of her office, past the desk of her loyal assistant. Cynthia was long gone but on the other hand which sane person wouldn't be on a Friday night at half past eleven?
She headed to the bull pen from where she could hear the voice of her former lover and partner Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
"DiNozzo!"
"Right Boss, shutting up now."
"David, McGee, update"
Ziva David, former Mossad assassin and new Mossad-NCIS liason officer, stood up and brought the picture of Staff Sergeant Jonathan Kapmann on the plasma screen.
"Jonathan Kapmann, age 38, no kids and not married", her heavily accented voice filled the room, "His friends say they don't know anything about a girlfriend. His biological parents died in a car crash when he was seven, but he was adopted soon after by Thomas and Leyla Ryan, good friends of his parents' living in Minnesota. He made his basic training on Parris Island, was then stationed in Quantico and was deployed twice to Afghanistan."
"McGee"
"Yes boss, I checked his cell phone, call logs and bank accounts but couldn't find anything particular."
"DiNozzo"
"Right, I looked for possible similarities between Kapmann and our first victim Staff Sergeant Dean Morrison." He put a second picture on the screen. "Guess what I found!"
"DiNozzo, don't make me headslap you!"
"Okay, sorry boss. Obviously both of them were Staff Sergeants and were trained on Parris Island, but not at the same time. They were born in Minnesota and adopted in their childhood. We found them wearing their uniform and an extra black tie, with red ink on their foreheads. They were killed with a single gun shot to the backs of their heads after the bones of their right hands had been broken."
"Anything else, Special Agent DiNozzo?" Jenny asked from the top of the stairs.
"No ma'am, but I'll keep on searching."
"Agent Gibbs, may I have a word with you?"
"Yeah" With that Gibbs went towards the elevator. "You comin' Jen?"
"Thanks a lot Jethro" Jenny hissed as she waited beside him for the elevator. "Where are we heading?"
"Forensics. What do you want Jen?"
"Well Jethro, the SecNav is breathing down my neck on this one. Obviously he has had a special interest in Staff Sergeant Kapmann's career so I need good news for his briefing tomorrow morning."
With that the elevator opened and they rode down to Abby's lab.
Despite the ungodly hour Jenny and Gibbs could hear Abby's music blaring in her lab as soon as the elevator doors opened.
"Ah, and Jen, before I forget it: don't interfere with my case!"
Although he stoically didn't look at her while he was speaking, she could practically hear him smirking. She contemplated shortly if she should headslap him but chose a slap to the forearm, accompanied by a hissed "Jethro!", as her measure of choice. The only response she got was his melodic chuckle that remembered her of the happy times in Europe and tempted her to just forget the time that had passed and to stumble back into his arms. Before she had the chance to get lost in or god prevent actually act on her wishful thoughts, Gibbs had entered Abby's lab and turned her music down.
"Gibbs, my silver-haired fox! You brought the Director along! I'm sorry but AFIS hasn't got a hit yet. But you have to think positive el jefe. Although even I am not sure if the quality of the print is good enough to get a hit though. We just have to stay patient and have good thoughts only..."
"Abby" Gibbs stopped her rambling with a low growl. "Do you have anything else?"
"No, besides the finger print on his neck, our killer left no forensic evidence behind."
"Don't worry Abby, patience has never been one of his forces anyway." Jenny grinned.
"Well I remember at least one other person who could never pace herself." Gibbs responded lifting his right eyebrow.
"Really Jethro?" She made a few steps in his direction. "I remember fairly well when we were in Positano, you..."
"That's low Jen. I caught a bullet the previous week!"
"Okay, then what about..."
Before Abby, who had a Cheshire grin on her face, was able to find out a still unknown piece of her bosses' past relationship, their banter was interrupted by the sharp ringing of Gibbs' cellphone.
"Yeah, I'm coming. – That was Ducky, he has just finished Kapmann's autopsy." Gibbs told them while he was leaving Abby'lab.
"Don't you forget something el jefe?" Abby shouted behind him. "You didn't give me a CafPow!."
"Next time, Abbs, be patient."
"I will go with you Jethro." Jenny said and added as answer to the glare she received "I won't interfere!"
"Yeah because that always works oh-so-well. Besides, I thought you don't like autopsies?"
To his luck the elevator arrived at this moment and the exiting McGee saved him from the fiery temper of his redheaded boss.
"McGee, what are you doing here?"
"I'm gonna help Abby. She asked me to bring her a CafPow! and as I couldn't find anything in Kapmann's financial records even after I had checked his tax returns I thought I would be of better use down here..."
"Call me as soon as you have anything."
The last thing Gibbs and Jenny heard from inside Abby's lab was her squeal of excitement as McGee handed her her daily caffeine dose.
After the doors of Autopsy closed with a familiar whoosh behind them, Ducky stopped his conversation with his patient and turned to his visitors.
"Ah, Jethro. And Jennifer, my dear. How are you?"
"I am fine, thanks Ducky. What about you?"
"Well, besides the fact that mother's corgies seemed to keep me awake all night long and I couldn't get any sleep, I am quite fine myself."
"Duck" growled Gibbs whose patience was wearing thinner by the minute.
"Yes, here we go. Come over here Jethro. Do you see the pattern of blood splashes around the entry wound? That suggest the weapon was at least several inches away from the skull of our Staff Sergeant. Are you alright Jennifer?"
"Yeah, I' fine. Just still not very fond of autopsies, I guess."
"You wanna sit down Jen?" Jethro asked with concern in his voice.
"I'm alright. Just go on with your findings Ducky."
"Well, he wasn't shot from a distance either so I suppose the shooter stood about five feet away from him."
"Do we have any indications if the shooter was a man or a woman?"
"No, as the body was found where he had been shot, he had not been moved so the task at hand could be easily accomplished by even a petite woman. There weren't any bruises or defense wounds on his body so he either knew his murderer or was badly surprised."
"What about the time of death?"
"He was murdered twenty to twenty-four hours ago, that means between midnight and four AM. In fact his case remembers me of an autopsy I performed as a young doctor in Edinburgh back in the day..."
"Bye Duck."
"See you Ducky."
"You know my boy, it is quite a shame they never want to hear my stories."
When they came back to the squad room, Jenny and Gibbs saw the team standing around the plasma screen. Ziva was sending DiNozzo her deadliest glare as she said "I swear Tony, if you pull that stunt one more time, I will kill you with not only one paperclip."
"Ziva, really, I would never do such a thing. Probie here saw everything. Hey McScarypants, help me already or are you too afraid of Zee-vah?"
"Tony, we really don't have time for this."
"Oh, come on McLoser, neither Gibbs nor the Director are in earshot. What's up guys? They are behind me, aren't they?
*whack*
"Ya think DiNozzo? We have two dead marines, found within 15 days, and you have nothing better to do than to annoy David and McGee?"
"Sorry Boss, shutting up now."
"You find something?"
"Not yet, Gibbs, but we'll keep looking."
"Jethro, don't you think it would be better if they went home and caught a few hours of sleep?"
"Gee, thanks Director"
*whack*
"DiNozzo, did I say you could go?"
"No boss, won't happen again."
"Special Agent Gibbs, I do not appreciate..."
"Be here at 06:00 sharp! You too DiNozzo!"
The team grasped their backpacks and went in direction of the elevator before Gibbs had the chance to change his mind.
"You should go too, Jen. You look exhausted."
"Well, thanks an awful lot Jethro, that is exactly what a girl wants to hear at, er, quarter to one in the morning. I take a nap on the couch in my office. I have to be in again at 06:15 and I have already dismissed my security detail."
"No problem Jen, I'll drive you. Meet you at my car in five."
So, what do you think?