Disclaimer: I still don't own NCIS or any of its characters. :(
Hey everyone....I am SO sorry for not updating sooner! I have been hit with more schoolwork than I've ever had before, but I type up the next chapters as soon as I get the chance! Oh...I forgot to mention....I've decided that this is going to take place after the episodes of the 7th season, so for those of you who haven't watched this season yet, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. Sorry for the late notice, haha.
Thank you so, so, so much for all of the Story Subscriptions, reviews, and all of the Favorite Author/Story adds I got! Hopefully ya'll will like these upcoming chapters...please keep reviewing!
Thanks again!!
Chapter 2
McGee sat behind his desk, tapping his fingers impatiently. He was staring at his computer screen, trying to figure out their victim's computer codes.
The sailor was, surprisingly enough, a John Doe. They had run both his prints and facial recognition, and searched through every database imaginable, but still, nothing had come up. They were getting frustrated. If he had really been a sailor in the Navy-he had been wearing a Naval Officer's uniform when he was found, after all-he would've come up right away. But somehow, this particular John Doe had managed to conceal his identity very well. And now, McGee was stuck with figuring it out.
He sighed, watching the hundreds of pictures flashing in front of his eyes. He glanced up suddenly, as the elevator doors opened. McGee let out a breath of relief, partly because it wasn't Gibbs coming to look for answers yet, but also because it was one of his favorite people in the world: Abby Scuito, forensic scientist-goth-extraordinare.
"Tim!" She cried out as soon as she saw him. "I haven't seen any of you guys almost all morning...where have you been?"
"We had to go back out to the crime scene to double-check for any form of ID."
"Oh....I'm guessing you didn't find anything?"
"Nope."
The elevator doors suddenly opened again.
"Tony!" Abby squealed as she ran over to hug him.
"I just saw you a couple of hours ago, Abbs," he grunted as she tackled him.
She rolled her eyes and moved on to Ziva, who was right behind Tony. "I've been waiting all day to show you something!" She took her hand and led her right back into the elevator. Ziva happily complied, glad to get away from work for a few minutes, and went along silently, listening to Abby babble as they went down to her lab.
Tony, meanwhile, sat down at his desk, pulled out a sandwich from his file cabinet, and began eating it. McGee rolled his eyes, trying not to acknowledge the fact that he was starving.
"Do you always have to eat right in front of me?" He sighed.
Tony stared at him. "Where would be the fun in eating this in private?"
He rolled his eyes a second time and turned back to his computer screen, attempting to ignore the obnoxious noises Tony was making. "Whatever."
A few minutes later, Ziva came back up the elevator and sat at her desk. She immediately started on the paperwork that had piled up on her desk, smiling.
"So, what did Abbs have to show you that was so important?" Tony asked, grinning mischievously.
"I do not believe that is any of your business."
"Of course it is. I'm the Senior Field Agent. Everything is my business."
Ziva rolled her eyes. "You can not always get what you want, Tony."
Tony stopped to look up at her, silent. Ziva did not move her head, although she could feel his eyes burning holes in her, staring at her intently. The room was silent for another minute, Tony never taking his gaze off Ziva. McGee noticed nothing, however. His eyes were slowly shutting, his head falling further forward every few seconds. His head abruptly hit his desk with a thud, and he immediately snapped up. Tony ripped his eyes of of Ziva to look at McGee.
"Late night, Probie?"
McGee gave him an angry glare. "Yes, Tony. I stayed up late looking for anything to help us out with this guy's identity, while you were comfortable in your own house, sleeping."
"Ah, you got that right," he smiled, kicking back in his chair as he put his hands behind his head.
Both McGee and Ziva rolled their eyes at him for the millionth time that day, and continued their work. Tony glanced at McGee, then down at the paperwork in front of him, and then back up at Ziva. What had she meant, you can't always get what you want? She continued to keep her eyes downcast, refusing to look up at him.
Tony's thoughts were interrupted by Gibbs, who was walking briskly across the bullpen, stopping at his desk to pick up his stuff. "Grab your gear," he ordered, walking back out to the elevator.
The team automatically snapped to and followed Gibbs to the van.
"Where we goin' Boss?"
"Meet Jacob Cohen," he replied, handing Tony a folder.
Tony opened it to find a picture of a suave-looking man, who had bronze skin and a perfect smile, along with dark hair and piercing brown eyes.
"Who is he?"
"Found his prints at the scene."
"Gotcha," he replied as they got into the elevator.
"NCIS!" Ziva called through Cohen's front door. There was no answer.
"NCIS, open up!" she repeated. She glanced at Gibbs when still no response came, when there was an abrupt bang inside the house. The team quickly drew their guns out of their holsters as Gibbs motioned towards the door. Ziva nodded and kicked the door, opening it with one fluid movement. They filed in, quick and silent, carefully holding out their guns.
The team dispersed throughout the house in their usual pattern, when there was suddenly another loud bang from the kitchen area. They made eye contact, nodded, and then quickly walked to the kitchen.
Tony burst through the door, and was surprised to see a large calico cat on top of the counter, knocking over glass plates.
"Clear," he sighed, putting his gun back in his holster, as everyone else did the same. The cat jumped off of the counter and quickly ran to the back of the house.
The team, however, suddenly heard a car pull up in the driveway. They walked to the front door and looked outside, where a man that they recognized as Cohen got out of the driver's side. He was carrying a brown grocery bag in his hand, his cellphone pressed to his ear.
"Jacob Cohen?" McGee called out.
"Uh, yeah," he replied, confused. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Agent Timothy McGee, and these are Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo, and David."
"NCIS," Ziva spoke up. "Naval Criminal-"
"Investigative Service." Cohen finished, smiling at her. "I know."
She smiled back. "Would you please step inside for a moment? We have some questions."
"Anything for you," he winked, leading them inside.
Gibbs smirked as Ziva stared after him for a second, and then followed the rest of her team in. Tony looked back at her, mimicking Cohen. She rolled her eyes as he winked at her, mouthing, "Anything for you!"
They shut the door behind them and sat down in the living room upon Cohen's request.
"I'll be right there," Cohen called, walking to the kitchen to put away his groceries. He finished, and then bent over to clean up the broken glass, sighing. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that cat." He threw away all of the tiny fragments, and walked to the living room. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Well, I think Ziva would like you to-"
Ziva smacked Tony on the arm before he could finish. McGee pursed his lips, suppressing a laugh.
"What Agent DiNozzo meant-"
"Very Special Agent DiNozzo-" Tony interrupted, at which the entire team rolled their eyes.
"-was to ask for your whereabouts during early Tuesday morning," Ziva finished her sentence, glaring at Tony.
"This Tuesday?" He asked, trying to remember. "I believe I was running."
"You believe, or you were?" Gibbs asked, expressionless.
"I was. I get up at five every morning to run."
"Can anybody verify that?" Gibbs noticed how Cohen looked to his left before he answered.
He sighed in response. "I don't think so."
"Have you...heard anything about a murder around here recently?"
Cohen looked up at Gibbs. "Is that what you guys are here for? You think I killed that sailor?"
Gibbs only stared at him, silent, as did the rest of his team. He finally broke the silence with the question that sliced through the air like a knife.
"Did you?"
At this, Cohen snapped up from his seat, angry. "Why would you think that?"
"Your fingerprints were found all over the crime scene."
"What crime scene?"
Gibbs sighed. "You were in the military?" He asked, although it was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes sir. A year ago, there was a roadside bomb in Iraq- I was injured and got sent home." He sighed again. "I was a Marine up until then."
Gibbs slightly shook his head. "Once a Marine, always a Marine."
"Well, my platoon doesn't seem to think so."
"What do you mean?" Tony asked.
He paused, remorse washing over his face. That bomb killed three members of my platoon. And it also killed nine kids." He paused again, looking down, his eyebrows knitting together in an effort to hold back a rush of emotions. "And they're saying I set it off." He shook his head. "They don't want anything to do with me anymore."
The room was silent for another minute, and Gibbs, for the second time, was the first to speak up. "Why do they think that you set it off?"
He sighed, clasping his hands together, laying his arms on his knees.
Ziva watched him closely, studying his expression.
"In a way, I did." He stopped for a second as everyone but Gibbs rose their eyebrows. "I was disregarding direct orders from my platoon leader. Those nine kids, they were trapped in that car. We knew there was a bomb in there. And I knew that those kids were gonna die one way or another if we didn't get them out of there. So, I started looking for a way to break in the car. I was told not to, over and over again, but I didn't listen. I just kept working. But it..." he trailed off, looking out of the window to Ziva's right.
"How long were you in the hospital for?" McGee finally asked.
"About seven months."
"And the others?"
"Dead on impact."
McGee nodded, typing something into his PDA. His phone abruptly rang, however, and he stood up to walk across the room as he answered it.
Gibbs continued talking with Cohen as Tony and Ziva listened intently. After a few minutes, McGee hung up his phone and came bck over to Gibbs.
"Abby and Ducky say they need us back there."
"Now?" Ziva asked.
"Yep."
Gibbs nodded, and the team all stood up, along with Cohen.
"We still need to talk to you about the case. Stay here in-" he was cut off.
"Town. I know." Cohen finished quietly.
"Thanks," McGee said as he walked out the door behind Gibbs.
Cohen nodded as Tony and Ziva headed for the door. "Yep."
Ziva suddenly turned around. "I am sorry for your loss. All of them."
He glanced down at the floor, then looked back up. "Thanks." He smiled at her.
She smiled back and followed Tony outside.
"Soo...do you believe his story?" he asked.
"What is not to believe? It appears that he has gone through quite the ordeal."
"Well, yeah, but.."
"But what?"
Tony shook his head as they came up to the car. "Nothing."
Ziva glanced at him, and then slid into the backseat, as Tony opened the passenger door, where McGee was sitting.
"Probie." He jerked his thumb backwards as Ziva rolled her eyes.
"I got here before you, Tony."
"Do you see concern?" He gestured towards his face. "'Cause I don't."
McGee sighed, unbuckled the seat belt, and got out, allowing Tony to move into the seat.
"Ah, thank you, Probie." He closed his eyes, leaning back against the seat.
Gibbs turned to look at him. "Are you done?"
Tony's eyes snapped open as he leaned forward. "Uh, yeah, Boss."
"Good."
The elevator doors opened, and the team quietly walked to their desks to drop off their gear. Then, they went back to the elevator and headed to Abby's lab.
"Yeah, Abbs?" Gibbs asked as they walked into the room.
"So, I thought you might be interested in this," she started, opening up a new window on her computer. "Guess what I found?" She turned to Gibbs, a bright smile on her face.
"What?"
"Our John Doe's identity," Abby remarked proudly.
The team rose their eyebrows and leaned forward to look.
"Who is it?" Tony asked.
"Joshua Lutz. And....drumroll please!"
Tony drummed his fingers on the shelf, smiling and winking at Abby.
"Thank you," she smiled. "Joshua Lutz is Jacob Cohen's very own fraternity brother!"
Tony abruptly stopped drumming. "Well that's interesting."
So, any good? I apologize if I'm messing up any military terms...I'm doing my best to research them!
Thanks again for everyone's support...I'll update as soon as I can! Thanks! Review, review, review! :)
