Gibbs led Jenny into autopsy where Ducky was working. Their dead petty officer was laid out on one of the autopsy tables, but on this occasion the cadaver was covered, revealing only his head and arms. However, this was still enough to make Jenny uncomfortable.
She'd never encountered a real life dead body before, apart from relatives and friends who had passed away; this was the first time she'd had to face someone she didn't know and who had been murdered.
Ducky looked at the young woman accompanying Gibbs and tried to hide his smirk. He'd known Gibbs for a couple of years and had gotten to know his personality and quirks quite well; so he knew that his chauvinistic tendencies were not going to take too kindly to this latest development.
Looking at the young woman he could see that she wasn't comfortable with the cadaver on the table, it was obviously her first, so he put her out of her misery and covered the petty officer completely. He could see that, already, she was trying to prove herself to Gibbs, and probably all the other males in the building, that she could be as tough as them.
'What've you got Duck?' Gibbs asked the ME.
'Something that's puzzling me Jethro.' Ducky replied as he led the special agent to the x-ray board. 'Here you can see a very clear brake in the fourth vertebrae where his neck has clearly been snapped, but there is some sort of metal object inside the break.' He explained as both Gibbs and Jenny examined the x-ray.
'It looks like part of a syringe.' Jenny suggested as she looked at it.
'That's a very good guess my dear, it's exactly what I thought; although I won't know for definite until I remove it.' He replied. 'I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Doctor Donald Mallard, but my friends call me Ducky.'
'Nice to meet you Ducky, I'm Jenny.' She replied as she shook his hand.
'You two finished?' Gibbs asked irritably.
'It's going to be another couple of hours before I've completed the autopsy; but I'll place a full report of my findings on your desk.' Ducky said as he turned his attentions back to the case.
On hearing what Ducky had to say Gibbs swept immediately out of the room, leaving Jenny standing with a confused look for a few moments. Eventually she realised that she was required to follow him as the shock of his rudeness wore off.
'Where we going?' She asked once she'd caught up to him in the bullpen, observing the fact he was gearing up.
'We're going to speak to Petty Officer Martin's commanding officer; someone has been lying to me and I expect to find out who.' He replied as he rushed out of the bullpen, closely followed by Jenny.
She found the journey excruciatingly quiet with Gibbs not answering any of her questions or even making the effort to form a casual conversation. She was beginning to think that she'd made a mistake joining his team and was starting to consider asking for a transfer; however, she knew if she did that she'd appear weak and that was something she wasn't.
They arrived at the ship docked in the port and found the area to be bustling into action. Some of the naval officers were coughing and most were covered in black soot.
'What happened?' Gibbs asked as she approached a senior naval officer he'd obviously spoken with before.
'We don't know yet Agent Gibbs. All I can tell you at the moment is that a fire broke out on the ship and then there was a small explosion.' The navy captain explained.
'Many casualties?' Gibbs asked.
'Fourteen injured, five dead and two officers are unaccounted for.' The captain said.
Jenny looked at the chaos around her; no matter what training had thrown at her, she'd never encountered anything like this.
She followed the Captain and Gibbs onto the ship and down to where the fire was started and was stunned by what they found. That part of the ship was a wreck, surprising them all that anyone had survived. The metal was buckled in places from the heat of the fire and from the force of the explosion; the remains of furniture that had been inside the rooms affected were scattered everywhere. It was clear that it had started in one of the sleeping compartments, and as they drew closer a rancid smell filled their nostrils, making Jenny retch.
The source of the smell soon became apparent when they entered the room to find a badly burnt body, laid on the remains of his bed. The room was a smouldering mess, with fire crew still working on making the area safe.
'When can we start processing the scene?' Gibbs asked the fire chief.
'Not for a while yet; come back in a couple of hours, we should have her secured by then.' The chief replied.
'So what now?' Jenny asked as she tried to hide the fact she was holding her breath.
'We start asking questions.' Gibbs said as he led her back out into the fresh air. 'One of the first rules of being an investigator, never let suspects stay together.'
'That was one of the things they taught us in training.' Jenny replied with a sarcastic tone, slightly incensed that he would assume she wouldn't know that.
'Uh huh, so in that case what's the best way to distinguish the suspects?' He asked, a little smugly, especially when she didn't reply. 'Treat everyone as a suspect, separate them all.' He added.
She stayed silent for a while, feeling a little embarrassed that she'd not thought of that answer, but was pissed that he was constantly testing her.
'I guess they didn't teach that in training. You'll soon learn to forget everything you were taught in training; the best way to learn how to do this job is on the job.' He said, his tone a little softer than before.
She took out her notebook and pen and walked away from him towards the building where all the navy personnel had been sent during the fire.
'Where are you going now?' Gibbs shouted after her.
She turned round and walked backwards for a few steps.
'No time like the present to start learning.' She said before she turned to face the other way and continued to walk inside.
Gibbs watched after her for a few moments before shaking his head following her. He could see that his initial instincts about her had been right, she was going to be a real handful.
