For the Classic Crossovers challenge at NFA; a crossover between NCIS (based on Season Three with a surviving Kate Todd) and the classic Charlie's Angels series (based on Season One).
Prologue
late April, 2006
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Janie del Prado and Michael Morton were out for a nice Sunday drive, in this rural eastern Virginia county, halfway between Washington and Richmond.
According to those who knew them in their Fairfax neighborhood, the model and her ex-Marine husband were the perfect couple.
Janie came from an affluent southern California family, and the beautiful, blonde, tanned Venice native had made a nice modeling career for herself. Michael was blue-collar, raised by a single mom from West Virginia, and had saved the lives of his platoon in a sneak attack by terrorists in Afghanistan.
He had no real family, as his mother died of cancer before his honorable discharge, and struggled to find work after relocating to northern Virginia. She was very close to her family, but possessed an independent streak that mom and dad found disconcerting.
She met him on the rebound, having been taken for a ride by a football player who was committing himself to her and at least one other woman in 17 other NFL cities. They hit it off and - against her parents' wishes - married eight months later.
His mother would have loved her if she was still alive. Her parents hate him, but she's in love, and he with her.
Somewhere in eastern Virginia, Spotyslvania County, on a country road, a county police deputy came across an abandoned Corvette, off the road, next to a tree. The deputy went to take a close look, and found Janie del Prado's body laying back in the drivers' seat, shot twice in the chest.
Forensics found no fingerprints on nor in the car - nor on the body.
No sign of Morton was seen, other than his fingerprints on the passenger seat and door.
Spotsylvania County Police put out a BOLO for Morton, and no one's seen him since they were spotted leaving a Fairfax-area restaurant after church, headed out for their drive.
Three weeks later, mid-May
Los Angeles
The Charles Townsend Detective Agency
Antonio and Melody del Prado sat on the couch in the agency's main office, still forlorn over the loss of their middle daughter. They loved her greatly, as they do their other five children, and three weeks after burying her they're still mourning her death - and growing angrier and angrier about the man they suspect caused it.
Antonio - who inherited a great fortune from his father and made his name as a movie director - knew Charlie Townsend from numerous social gatherings in Hollywood and L.A. He and Melody - an actress and singer - decided to approach Townsend after everyone else they had gone to didn't respond as they thought.
They met Townsend's representative, John Bosley, at the agency's office, and waited for its three private investigators to show up.
All were held up by traffic, but made it by 1:30 p.m.
Black-haired Sabrina Duncan; brunette Kelly Garrett; and blond Jill Munroe had established themselves as beautiful, high-class, professional private eyes, among the best in L.A. and probably the entire United States.
All were dressed stylishly and appropriately for a corporate atmosphere, all wearing suits and heels. Jill and Kelly wore satin blouses, Sabrina a turtleneck - it was cooler than normal for early May.
Antonio and Melody both knew that none of these women floated on their looks - they may use them to get people off their guards, but all three were very competent investigators. They had to be - "Charlie's Angels" were perhaps their final resort.
"You've met my angels," Charlie said, from the 30-year-old speakerphone on Bosley's desk. "I like to say, 'once upon a time, there were three beautiful girls who went to the police academy, each assigned very hazardous duties. I took them away from all that to work for me.'"
Melody chuckled. "They're very beautiful," she said, "and I have heard how good they are."
"Thank you," Sabrina Duncan said. "You're kind to say that. Before we go on, I wanted to say how sorry we are for your loss."
"Thank you," Antonio said. "Janie is...was...very special..." There were no tears from either parent; they had shed a million in the past three weeks. Now they wanted answers.
"Angels, you know the details of the case?" Charlie said on the loudspeaker.
"Yeah," Jill Munroe answered. "I am curious about the reaction by the local police in Virginia."
"We're more than happy to help," Kelly Garrett said, "we're wondering why it's gotten to us. Why the police aren't doing what they're supposed to do."
"The Spotsylvania County Police told me this is an 'open-and-shut' case," Antonio said. "They're dragging their feet. Not just moving too slowly for Melody and I, not moving at all."
"Says here," John Bosley said, looking at the case file, "the police put out a BOLO for her husband, who's missing."
"Scum," Antonio spit out.
"Excuse me?" Jill asked.
"Scum of the earth," Antonio said, slowly and angrily. "He did this. He took her. He's behind this somehow."
Sabrina looked at the case file, at the note from Charlie about the parents and their opinion of Janie's husband.
"Mr. and Mrs. del Prado, Michael Morton is missing. They didn't find his prints on...Janie. How...how do you know he is involved with her murder and not a victim himself?"
"Miss Duncan, he seduced Janie!" Melody shouted. "He was a drug addict! My husband knows a federal agent in Washington who says he was connected to a drug dealer that Naval intelligence has tried to capture for months. I know, I know, I know this...Morton...he killed our Janie!"
The del Prados gave each Angel, and Bosley, a fierce look.
"We are getting the run around from the county police in Virginia," Antonio said. "We went to the FBI in Los Angeles, spoke to an agent in Quantico, and were told it is not the FBI's jurisdiction. We went to the Naval intelligence in San Diego-"
"-NCIS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, they call it-" Melody.
"-NCIS, investigators, intelligence, whatever they are, we went to their field office in San Diego, and their agent at Camp Pendleton," Antonio said. "They told us they had no jurisdiction. Now you can see why we came to Charles, and to you."
The del Prados grasped each other's hands, and Melody laid her head on her husband's shoulder.
"These federal agencies and county police may not care about our Janie, but she is our life..." Antonio's voice trailed off, as he looked down at the floor, then up at Sabrina. "You have to help us."
"Mr. and Mrs. del Prado," Sabrina replied, "we have dealt with some pretty difficult situations before. We've dealt with federal agencies. Let us deal with these people, on your behalf. We'll help find who killed your daughter, and get justice for her."
"And," Townsend said on the speakerphone, "having worked for a federal agency myself - the CIA - many years ago, I know people in Washington. I'll talk with them, while the Angels go to Washington and Virginia to speak with the appropriate agencies."
Washington, D.C.
Navy Yard
NCIS Headquarters
Although he's already got an important case on his hands, NCIS agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs knew his Major Case Response Team needed to handle the Janie del Prado murder investigation.
And his boss - NCIS Director Jenny Shepard - was ordering him not to take it up.
"Jethro. You have two drug dealers," - Brian and James Dempsey - "both moving drugs for South African drug cartels, selling them to Naval personnel in Norfolk, on base in some instances, presenting a threat to Naval facilities and personnel," Shepard told Gibbs in her office, as he stood in front of her desk, with her seated behind it.
"Then, according to Agent Yates, one of them" - James - "the one we don't have in custody is a suspect in half-a-dozen homicides. And according to Agent Yates and FBI, he's suspected of running his own drug ring here in Washington."
"I know what Cassie said, Jenny," Gibbs said. "Bring her into the case to help me with the Dempsey brothers. I've already got four agents, not counting myself. Let me borrow another agent-"
"-for the del Prado case," Shepard replied. "It's a civilian case, even if the missing husband is an ex-Marine-"
"-and the county cops down there dropped the ball-" Gibbs.
"So you want it," Shepard told him. "I need you to get these brothers. That's what your team will concentrate on. I'll assign del Prado to another agent here or to Norfolk."
Gibbs, exasperated, turned to leave Shepard's office.
"Jethro," Shepard said, "we're not equals anymore. We're not teammates working together in Paris. When I give you orders, I expect you to carry them out without question as your Director and your boss."
"I know you're the Director, Jenny," Gibbs said, leaving to make his way to the bullpen where his team worked.