A/N: Okay, guys, this is my first fanfiction, so be warned! It might not be pretty, but at least I tried. Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, unfortunately.

Quantico, Virginia: 0330 Hours

The night was still and silent, and a light mist filtered through the dark cul-de-sac. Two figures staggered stumbled along the sidewalk, one of them listing dangerously towards the street. The girl clung to the man's neck, her cherry lipstick smearing across his cheek as he leaned in for a kiss. Their loud, drunk talk penetrated the fog and floated upwards towards the glow of the streetlight.

" C'mere and give me a kiss, Allie." The man said, giving the girl a little tug towards him. She mashed her lips against his and the taste of alcohol was strong between them.

" Tell me you love me, Allie." He commanded, their fingers wrestling for dominance.

" I lov-love you." The girl slurred, her high-heeled boot catching on the curb and sending her sprawling. She let out a little scream and the man knelt to help her up.

" C'mon, Allie-bear. Let's go home." He ran his hands lightly over her hips, checking for injuries. " Get you into bed."

" Stud." The girl gave his chest a light push. " I lov-" Her declaration of love with cut short by three rapid gunshots.

She screamed and tried to tug her lover into a run, but he had collapsed, deadweight, to the ground. Blood spilled between her fingers, staining her jacket scarlet. She kept screaming, and screaming until lights flicked on in the neighboring apartments.

In the chaotic darkness, nobody saw the shooter flee. Nobody even looked.

Washington Navy Yard, 0600 hours:

" Tony, I do not understand why this is so important to you!" Ziva said as the elevator pinged open and a rush of agents spilled out.

" Ziva, it's the midnight screening!" Tony snapped. " And it's the first time the film has been shown in the US!"

Ziva shot him an annoyed glare. " How did you come by it, then?"

" My dad dragged me along on a business trip to Japan when I was 10. He left me alone in the Tokyo Marriott for the whole day, and the only thing on TV was Japanese horror films." He replied, tossing his things onto his desk. Ziva gave him one of her narrow-eyed stares.

" Bickering again?" McGee asked, taking a sip of coffee. Tony gave a humorless chuckle.

" We were simply discussing Tony's unhealthy obsession with foreign horror films." Ziva cut in. McGee raised one eyebrow as he puffed on his coffee.

" Sounds like another one of those obsessions that ends with you getting your head stuck in a vacuum cleaner."

Tony glared. " That time at Bed Bath and Beyond was not my fault."

McGee gave his coffee a little puff of air and added sagely,

" Tony, it took three people to pull it off."

Ziva smirked. " You got your head caught in a vacuum cleaner?" She asked. Tony turned on his computer.

" It was an accident."

" He wanted to see what it would be like to float in space." McGee told her. Ziva raised her eyebrows and turned to Tony, who looked away.

" What were you too doing at Bed Bath and Beyond anyway?" Ziva inquired. Before McGee could reply, Gibbs swept through the bullpen.

" You can talk about DiNozzo's stupidity later. Got a dead Marine in Quantico."

…

Click. Ziva snapped a photo of the young Marine. Click. She took a shot of the woman's purse that was lying a few feet away. Click. She turned on a dime and snapped a picture of a surprised looking Tony.

" Do I need to remind you about McGee's book?" Tony asked, referring to Ziva's character in Deep Six who constantly took photos of her partner at crime scenes.

Ziva snorted. " I was just capturing the moment…Space Cowboy."

Tony grinned. " Firefly reference! Love it!"

" Firefly?" Ziva asked, confused. " I thought that they were bugs…"

" Tragic." Tony shook his head. " Tragic. Serenity ring a bell? Space cowboys, Nathan Fillion…no?"

Ziva shook her head. Tony gave her a pitying look and returned to the crime scene at hand.

" Shot to death." Ducky announced. " It would appear to be a .44, but Abby will know more when she runs some tests."

" Two shots to the torso, Dr. Mallard." Palmer reported. McGee glanced up from his place at the dead Marine's hand.

" His fingerprints ID him as Corporal Matthew Halden, age 26. " McGee reported. " He transferred from Pendleton six months ago."

Gibbs nodded, a sort of hardness in his eyes. There was a moment of silence. Everyone felt the heavy weight of a young life cut short.

Meanwhile, Tony and Ziva were pacing around the empty street, searching for evidence.

" The shooter must have been on foot." Tony said. Ziva pressed her lips together and her dark eyes darted around the street.

" Only a very stupid man would shoot from on foot." She announced. Tony looked miffed.

" Well, how do you know?" He asked.

" Look! The street is a dead end! Nowhere to run." She answered, pacing forwards and pointing. Ziva was right. The street ended in the marina. A few boats had been hauled to rest in the nearby parking lot.

" There's nowhere a vehicle could have waited." Tony agreed. " Unless it was parked on one of the side streets."

Ziva dragged Tony over to the place to where the Corporal had been found. She looked around, scanning the street, and her eyes were calculating.

" The shooter came from one of the buildings." Ziva announced. Tony looked surprise, even doubtful.

" What makes you so sure?" He asked. Ziva scoffed.

" Tony, I spent years conducting assassinations much this one. It would be most logical for the shooter to fire from the window of one of those apartments across the street."

Tony squinted into the sunlight. " You said assassination. Does that mean…"

" Yes." Ziva replied. " It appears to be a professional hit."