A/N: Apologies for the late update…work gets in the way sometimes…well read and hopefully enjoy this chapter ;oP

Disclaimer: Not mine :'(

The Mummy and His Money - Chapter 2 - Surveying the Scene

When they reached the scene there were state police vehicles and a pick-up truck 'probably the guy who found the body' Caitlin thought. They walked through the trees and small bushes, the leaves and twigs crunching beneath their boots. The state trooper lead the way to the scene, informing them on what had happened, "Bow hunter was tracking a deer, stumbled across the drop tank."

Rick looked up and stood as he saw Gibbs and the team arrive. "He's the one who opened the hatch?" Gibbs asked the state trooper pointing towards a man dress in camouflage clothing.

"Yup, that's right?"

Gibbs surveyed the scene. He looked above at the trees, no breaks in the branches. Caitlin watched her husband. She followed the direction of his eyes. 'No breaks in the tree branches.' she thought. Tony watched his team mates then looked to where they were looking, "No gap in the trees." he stated what they were thinking.

They gathered around the pod, "Hmm." Ducky mused. They all peered into the pod. There inside were the mummified remains of what appeared to be a Naval officer.

"How did he get so…"

"Mummified, I believe is the word you were looking for." Ducky jumped in. He knelt down next to the hatch of the pod, "The tank itself must have been airtight, creating hermetic environment."

Whilst Ducky talked Caitlin snapped some shots of the mummy inside the pod. Present with the mummy was some golf clubs.

"No air, bugs or critters." Tony said looking up from his sketch pad.

"And more important, no bacteria." Ducky stated, raising his hand and pointing his finger upwards.

"You got an estimated time of death yet, Duck?" 'That was a stupid question.' Kate thought.

"Very amusing, Jethro." Gibbs smiled.

Tony was fiddling with one of the gadgets. Trying to find out where they were on the map.

Gibbs walked over to Rick.

"Wanna tell me what happened?"

"Well, at first I thought it was a missile or a bomb or something like that until I tapped it. It sounded hollow. I cleared the leaves away and found a hatch." he explained.

"Curiosity got the best of you?"

"Well, wouldn't yours?" he questioned Gibbs back.

Gibbs laughed, "You know what, it probably would've." Rick chuckled lightly at Gibbs' answer. "You remove the flight bag?"

"Yeah."

"Did you touch anything else?"

"Nope, not after I saw King Tut." Gibbs nodded.

"We need to take your prints."

"Why?"

"To separate them from any others we might find on the tank."

"Yeah, sure."

Gibbs thanked the man and went back to join the team. Caitlin was busy photographing, Tony sketching and Ducky looking over the body - or The Mummy.

Jethro stopped next to Kate. "You ok?" he asked his wife.

"Yeah, I'm good." he was worried about her.

"What'd'ya got?" he asked.

"Well apparently this flight bag belongs to Lieutenant Commander Farnsworth. He could be our mummy."

"Dunno. Bag it."

Ducky had finished looking over the body, "I can't do anything more for this gentleman until we cut him out of this pod."

DiNozzo, whilst sketching, had been trying to figure out what this pod actually was and then it hit him, "Boss, I know what this is."

Gibbs and Ducky looked up, "Err, an external fuel tank?" Ducky looked at Jethro.

"Ha, it's a three hundred and seventy gallon external fuel tank, to be exact," Gibbs rolled his eyes, "off an F-14 Tomcat. Some of them were converted into either camera or cargo pods. This one," he pointed to the pod, "is a cargo pod."

Caitlin took a picture of Tony, he blinked at the flash. "Well…I'm impressed."

"Well, Kate…I didn't become an NCIS Special Agent yesterday." he stopped and then realised, "As a matter of fact it'll be-"

Gibbs cut him off, "Two years today."

"Wow, Gibbs that's touching, remembering the that you hired me."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time, DiNozzo." Tony looked hurt by that. Ducky gave a little smile and Caitlin hit Jethro's arm playfully. They shared a smile.

"Is it okay to touch?" he asked Ducky.

"Ah, by all means Jethro." Ducky moved away so that Gibbs could take a look.

Gibbs examined the mummy's uniform, "Hmm."

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"Our sailor was a lieutenant. The flight bag's not his"

"Did you see his tags?" Kate stood next to her husband.

He pulled out his flash light and examined around the mummified lieutenants neck. "Nope."

"Okay, let's take our Lieutenant and his pod back with us. Duck, get a flatbed. "Ducky nodded and went back to his truck. Jethro looked at his wife. She knew that look, "You're going to suggest that I ride back in the flatbed with the driver, aren't you?"

"Wasn't a suggestion." he smirked at his wife. She narrowed her eyes at her husband, "I didn't think so."

Once everything was bagged, tagged and loaded into their trucks they set off back to the navy yard.

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