Hello readers! I'm back but this time, I am going to attempt a case fic – as you might have guessed from previous stories of mine, I am not much of an angst bunny so there will be some moments of humour in here and the usual team banter (I don't need to tell you that there is going to be Tiva and McAbby do I?)
So here we go, enjoy!
Disclaimer: As much as it kills me to say it, I do not own NCIS. But then again, Christmas is coming and I have been good this year...
The girl kept running. Heart racing in her chest, she looked down at the bitumen road below and noticed the slight beams from headlights, the sound of tires scraping around a corner increasing her sense of urgency, I have to keep going. They'll find me too... she thought, a strangled sob leaving her throat as she turned sharply left into a dark alleyway.
When dark spots began to appear in front of her eyes, she stopped and doubled over, her body shaking with fatigue and anxiety. Breathing heavily she looked around the dimly lit alley, the only source of light being a flickering streetlight over hanging the fence.
Leaning against a wall, the girl remained completely silent. The rumbling of a car had faded off into the night and was replaced with the sounds of the occasional rat scurrying down the street. I'm safe... she reassured herself weakly. Peering around the corner she saw a phone booth, heart lifting at the thought of getting help, she rushed over and dialled 911.
'911, what is your emergency?'
Voice cracking slightly, she whispered 'Please, you need to help my parents! 545 Ample Street DC...' a crack startled her, spinning around she found herself face to face with a man in a mask. Before she could scream out for help, her world went black.
'Having fun, Tony?' Ziva asked rolling her eyes at her partner who was attempting to flick paper wads into McGee's trash can without a great deal of accuracy. Tony looked up and gave her a slightly lopsided smirk.
'More fun than you Zee-vah! How's that paperwork coming?' he asked coyly. Ziva narrowed her eyes and looked pointedly at his own stack of files 'At least I have made progress' she bit back 'I have not seen you lift a thumb all day!'
Tony looked at her adamantly 'Have too!' he said childishly 'The term you are looking for, Probette is finger. Thumb just doesn't have the same ring to it, see?' he continued while throwing a sugar sachet at her lazily.
Ziva shrugged and threw it back (emitting a yelp from Tony as it hit his forehead) before looking at Gibbs, who was coming down the stairs from MTAC – McGee following.
'Finished playin' around DiNozzo?' Gibbs growled. Tony's mouth popped open slightly 'Ziva started it Boss!'
Gibbs ignored this, instead deciding to let his hand connect with the back of the senior agent's head. Tony's eyes widened slightly at the impact while Ziva just gave a satisfied smirk.
'Grab your gear!' Gibbs ordered before turning to McGee 'Call Ducky' the agent quickly obliged after securely placing his gun into its holster.
'What we got Boss?' Tony asked as he rushed into the elevator where Gibbs, Ziva and McGee were already waiting.
'Double homicide DiNozzo' he replied. Ziva sighed slightly 'Perfect way to start a Monday'
Gibbs looked around the small living room, or what was left of it with a familiar sense of emptiness. Tables were overturned, and blood splatter was a common feature on the crisp white walls. Gibbs moved over to Ducky who was looking over their female victim with a shaky sigh, the medical examiner looked up briefly 'I know what you are going to ask Jethro. This woman died from a gunshot to the chest, it would have been quick but it doesn't make it any less gruesome' he explained pointing to a dark puddle over the left side of her shirt.
'McGee' Gibbs said simply.
McGee looked up quickly from his camera 'Her name is Sophia Arnolds, Boss - works in Navy intelligence, she would have been in contact with some very delicate information, might be motive'
Gibbs nodded shortly and glanced at Sophie's husband, From across the room, Tony approached with a Navy ID.
'Lance Corporal Martin Arnolds, he joined the core in 2003 and according to the calendar on the fridge, just came home from 3 months afloat' Tony said easily before looking at Ducky hoping that he would elaborate further.
'This poor fellow shows signs of struggle, there are bruises around his wrists indicating he put up a very good fight, I am not surprised he is very well built' Ducky said pointing out the areas in question
'The fatal blow however, seems to be this stab wound just below the left lung – blood would have seeped into his lungs, causing a slow and painful death' Ducky explained sadly.
Gibbs moved away from the living room where Palmer and Ducky were now moving the bodies onto gurneys. Moving into the kitchen he spotted Ziva looking down at something.
'What did ya find Ziva?' he asked approaching her.
Ziva turned around holding a photo frame loosely in her gloved hands, flipping it around the smiling faces of their victims and a young girl, no more than 16 sitting in between them with a smile gracing her features.
'We need to find her Gibbs, she could be in danger' Ziva said softly as she looked down at the young girl's face, reminding her of her younger sister Tali greatly.
'If you are talking about the girl Agent David, my officers already found her' came a voice from entrance.
Gibbs looked at the metro police officer with impatience 'Where is she?'
The officer looked back, his face gaunt 'She's in Bethesda – we think she was attacked sometime early this morning, her name is Carrie Arnolds' the officer explained quickly. Gibbs frowned, pushing
past the officer he looked at McGee and Tony 'Alright. McGee – go back with Ducky and Palmer, there is a hell of a lot of evidence here so Abby is going to need some help. DiNozzo, you and David meet me at Bethesda' Gibbs barked.
'We are looking for Carrie Arnolds' Ziva told the nurse while flashing her NCIS badge. The nurse's eyes widened slightly but she nodded, after shuffling around through a few files she opened one quickly before looking back at Gibbs 'She is in room 332' she offered quietly 'According to this, she only came out of surgery a few hours ago – I can't guarantee that she will be ready to talk to you'
'What required surgery?' Tony asked as the nurse led them down one of the corridors. She didn't respond until they reached the room – the nurse's hazel eyes travelled up to meet them 'She required several stitches, a blood transfusion and cast for her right arm'
Gibbs pushed open the door and entered the sterile room where a pale looking girl lay sleeping on the hospital bed, the only sounds being her uneven breathing and the heart monitor.
The nurse quietly walked over to the girl and pushed back some of her dark brown hair to reveal a large gash that had been stitched up efficiently.
The girl inhaled deeply and stirred slightly, her hand moving up from her lap to touch the stitches. As her fingers grazed the cut, her eyelids shot open to reveal a pair of grey –blue eyes filled with confusion and pain.
'Where...' she whispered groggily.
The nurse motioned for her to be quiet 'You are at Bethesda' she informed the girl. Carrie looked around the room slowly before her eyes rested on Gibbs, Ziva and Tony. She opened her mouth to ask a question, but the nurse cut her off.
'My name is Nurse Marilyn, can you tell me your name and age please?' the nurse said politely.
Carrie rolled her eyes 'My name is Carrie Arnolds, I am 15 years old.' She said simply 'Is this a trick question?'
Nurse Marilyn looked back at the NCIS agents with worry before turning back to Carrie.
'What is the year?'
'2009' she said with slight impatience 'Who are you people? And where are my parents?' she asked looking directly at Gibbs.
'We'll handle this' Tony said pointedly to the nurse who nodded stiffly, obviously not wanting to be the one to break the news to the girl.
'Just press that button if you need anything dear' she told Carrie politely before leaving the room. Carrie didn't respond to the nurse, instead she waited with a set jaw for Gibbs to explain.
Once the nurse had left the room, Gibbs took a seat in the chair beside Carrie's bed, Ziva and Tony deciding to lean on the wall behind.
'Who are you?' Carrie asked again expecting an answer.
'My name is Leroy Jethro Gibbs; these are my agents, Ziva David and Anthony DiNozzo. We are from NCIS' Gibbs explained while Tony and Ziva gave a wave of acknowledgement.
'NCIS stands for...' Tony began.
'Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I know, my dad told me' she said looking down at her broken arm.
'Where are my parents?' Carrie asked looking up again with a slightly lost look, her stubborn attitude melting away.
Before Gibbs could answer, his phone buzzed. It was Abby.
'Gibbs! I have some evidence here and you aren't going to like it!' Abby began.
'What is it Abs?' he asked quietly.
'Uh, it's not exactly easy to explain – we have to show you otherwise you are going to be completely confused...' Abby continued to babble.
Gibbs rolled his eyes slightly 'I am completely confused now Abs! Can it wait?' Gibbs said with a sigh.
'Sorry Gibbs, but this is seriously important'
Gibbs ran a hand over his face 'I'll be there soon Abs' Gibbs muttered before closing the phone.
Carrie threw Gibbs a puzzled look, but Gibbs simply turned to Ziva 'Need you and Tony to handle this. Abby says it's urgent' he said before standing.
Tony and Ziva exchanged glances before nodding, Gibbs turned back to Carrie who was watching their interaction intently 'Tony and Ziva are gonna talk to you for a while, okay?' he told her. Carrie nodded slowly, fatigue evident on her features.
Gibbs left without another word leaving Tony and Ziva with the young girl. Ziva moved to sit where Gibbs had been previously and began.
'Carrie. The year is not 2009; it is the 24th of July 2010 you are 16 years old' Ziva explained quietly. Carrie lost the small amount of colour in her face and opened her mouth in shock.
'Wh-what? How can that be?' she spluttered, her hand going up to her mouth.
Tony cleared his throat 'you were in a...Accident. From what we know, you fell and hit your head on the pavement, it was slippery'
Carrie reached up feeling the jagged bumps of the stitches with a wince 'I-I lost a year of my life?' she whispered, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
'Not necessarily' Ziva interjected 'It might come back with time'
Carrie wiped a tear away quickly 'with time? I want to see my parents!' she choked out.
'I'm sorry'
'Where are my parents?' Carrie practically screamed. Ziva reached out and touched her arm in an attempt to calm her down 'Your parents were found this morning...' Ziva began, trying to ease gently into the truth.
'Found...wait' Carrie said holding up a hand, her whole body visibly shaking 'My parents are...dead?' she asked in pure disbelief, tears coursing down her face.
'I'm afraid so, we are going to find out what happened and throw the bastard behind bars' Tony said bitterly.
Carrie let out a small sob and closed her eyes 'I'm trying to remember...anything – I just can't! I want to help' she said opening her eyes again.
Ziva nodded 'It is alright, if you remember anything, call me I will answer no matter what the time' she said handing the girl a slip of paper. Carrie gave a shaky nod 'Where am I going to go? Mom and dad were my only family left!' she said worriedly.
'Don't worry about that right now, okay? You just sit back with your pudding and get better' Tony said with a small smile.
Carrie returned a weak smile, tears still running down her cheeks. Tony and Ziva both bade their goodbyes before leaving the girl to mourn in private.
Gibbs walked into Abby's lab where McGee was working alongside the scientist on the computers.
'What's so urgent Abs?' he asked approaching the pair with a Caf-Pow in hand. Abby turned around and gasped appreciatively when she saw her motivation.
'Gibbs, you just made this day a little bit better!' she exclaimed hugging him tightly.
Gibbs looked at McGee who just shrugged before looking down to Abby's head 'Abs, I need to breathe' he said uncomfortably as Abby squeezed the air that remained in his lungs out.
Abby quickly let go with an apologetic look 'Sorry Gibbs...Anyway!' she burst out while taking her treat from his hands.
'McGee and I searched our Lance Corporal's laptop; it took some serious skill to crack it Gibbs!'
Gibbs wasn't surprised 'His wife worked in Navy intelligence, she would have known her way around computers'
Abby smiled 'Exactly, so we took it a step higher and hit gold'
McGee nodded 'An email was sent to the Lance Corporal three days before they were murdered, I have tried to trace the ip address but I keep getting stonewalled. Here's the email Boss'
Gibbs walked over to the computer and squinted at the message on the screen.
We want that information. You have three days before we come and take it ourselves. If you alert authorities we will know. Three days Lance Corporal.
Abby frowned at the message once Gibbs turned back to face them 'Think of what could be in that file Gibbs, could be information on navy weapons, people... if the killers took a copy of it we had better hope that they aren't as smart as McGee' Abby said biting her lip.
Gibbs nodded and looked at the man in question 'How close are you?'
'Uh, not very but I'll get in touch with MTAC. Might be able to get in touch with Sophie's boss and get a copy' McGee mused more to himself than Gibbs.
Abby made a sound of contemplation 'I don't know Timmy, what if she was the one behind the information? What if this is the motherboard?'
'Keep going Abs, put an extra Caf-Pow on my tab' Gibbs said before departing for the elevator.
Abby smiled widely at that 'I will hold you to that Boss Man!' she called out.
Ziva swirled the last of her wine around in the bottom of the glass before draining it, the one glass just enough to make the stress of the day a little less. Looking down at her book Ziva curled her feet up and tried to focus after a full 5 minutes, she just found herself reading the same sentence three times over. Shutting the book with a sigh, she leaned back and tried to close her eyes.
'Zivi, be careful okay?' Tali said quietly, tears swimming in her wide eyes.
'I will not be gone for long Tali'
Tali looked at her with a sad smile 'That is what you said the last time you went away on a mission! Then 2 months later you were home!' she exclaimed. 'Look after Ima, okay?' Ziva requested. Tali ran into Ziva's arms and squeezed her tightly 'I am more worried about you! At least you will not hog the bathroom!' she joked, wiping a tear away. Ziva snorted 'See? You will be fine without me for a while'
'Tali is gone Ziva, the cafe was destroyed' Her father informed her.
Ziva's eyes snapped open as the sound of her phone tore her out of the sad last moment with Tali.
'David' Ziva answered as normally as she could.
'Z-Ziva?' a nervous voice whispered.
Ziva sat up in her bed, pushing the curls out of her face 'Carrie? Is everything okay?' she asked firmly the clock beside her bed read 0230.
There was the sound of breathing for a minute before she replied.
'I- I had a dream, there was blood everywhere...'
That's it for now slight cliffhanger there (don't bite my head off!) I hope you enjoyed, please leave your thoughts and suggestions, this is my first case fic so everything helps!
Thanks for reading!