A/N: This story is dedicated to Cricket Songs for helping me through the publishing process and Semper Fi Sweatshirt for being a good pal :)
It was cold, bone-shatteringly so. Fifteen year old Jessica Blue walked a little faster down L Street, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Going out without gloves or a warm coat had been stupid. Really, really stupid. What was she doing out here anyways? She had a math test tomorrow that she should be studying for. The Hunter Academy wasn't forgiving of low test scores. Jess fingered the locket around her neck as she hurried past Joe's Car Repair. That was when she heard the cries for help. Loud, piercing, like some sort of horrible bird. They seemed to be coming from a narrow allyway between an Italian eatery and a thrift store. Jess fought the urge to flee, and stepped into the dark space. At first she saw nothing. Then, as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she noticed the body. Blood ran in rivulets down the man's face, staining the pure snow scarlet. Jess gasped, feeling bile rise hotly in her throat. Then she saw the note, pinned to his chest. The soggy paper was bright red, like someone had splashed it with Chanel Redcoat nail polish, the kind that Jess' classmate's wore. But thick black writing showed through the blood. It read, simply, 'You're next.'
Chapter Two
" Well, Probie, to tell the truth, my weekend was horrible!" Tony slammed his backpack down on his desk, causing paper clips and staples to jump.
" I'm not a Probie anymore, Tony." McGee complained. Ziva, who had been in the bullpen since 0500 that morning, glanced up from her typing.
" What went wrong, Tony? Another girl throw Moby's Dick at you?" She asked innocently. McGee and Tony both burst out laughing.
" It's Moby Dick, Ziva. Just Moby Dick." Tony managed to cough out. Gibbs sailed past, a coffee cup in hand.
" Nothing funny about a dead Marine on L Street." He ordered. " Grab your gear!"
The team leaped into action, grabbing their backpacks and following Gibbs into the elevator.
" Moby's Dick." Tony muttered, still chuckling.
...
The allyway was swarming with Metro cops and curious bystanders, not to mention a few reporters hovering around the fringes of the crime scene, hoping for some footage for the nightly news.
" Marine Captain John Willis." Tony read aloud from the man's dogtags. " Still in his uniform. Wonder why."
" Well, DiNozzo, that's your job, isn't it?" Gibbs asked, kneeling to confer with Ducky.
" It looks like a .45 slug to the chest. It didn't hit his heart, but nicked a major artery. He bled out within minutes." Ducky reported. " And Jethro, look what Mister Palmer found." He held up a soggy scrap of paper, soaked through with blood. Gibbs took it between gloved fingers.
" You're next." He read aloud. Gibbs was still musing over who the message had been intended for when Tony and Ziva appeared with a teenage girl between them.
" Jessica Blue." Tony clamped a hand down on her shoulder. " She found the body."
Gibbs nodded and stood up.
" I'm Agent Gibbs, NCIS. You found the body, huh?" He asked, steering the scared-looking girl over to a relativly quite corner of the ally.
" Agent Gibbs, there was a note pinned to his chest." Jessica reported, eyes wide with fear. " I think it was meant for me."