RULE ZERO

Chapter 2

"What have we got?" Gibbs asked, striding into the bullpen where DiNozzo, McGee and Ziva were standing in front of the large television monitor.

DiNozzo quickly swiped the remote from McGee's hand and punched a button. A picture and service record appeared on the screen. "Our victim is Petty Officer Second Class Reginald Butler," DiNizzo said. "Currently assigned to the Dudley Knox Center for Naval History here at the Navy Yard. Spotless service record. Parents George and Amanda Butler live in Gainesville, Texas, where Daddy Butler teaches history at Gainesville Junior High; perhaps why Junior was working at the Knox Center."

McGee snatched the remote from DiNozzo and pressed a button. A new photo and service record appeared on the screen. "Butler roomed with Petty Officer Second Class Michael Desharra, currently assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise, which sailed May 11 and has been conducting carrier quals in the West Atlantic. We confirmed that Petty Officer Desharra is aboard."

Ziva held up a stack of papers. "I have a list of all the vehicles which entered or departed the Navy Yard in the last twenty-four hours. Ducky has confirmed the time of death as between midnight and three a.m. I am checking all the vehicles, starting with those that left between midnight and three on the assumption that the killer would have left soon after he dumped the body."

"Never assume," Gibbs said. "The killer might still be on base. What did we get from the security cameras?"

"Nothing, boss," McGee said.

"Nothing?" Gibbs asked.

McGee hit another button on the remote. Various windows appeared showing footage from security cameras around the base. "Footage from the security cameras is stored automatically on secure servers in the Security Office. The footage from outlying cameras is fine, but when I tried to access the footage from the cameras covering the loading dock and the parking lot outside building 57, the Knox Center, I get this…" He pressed another button and a Tom and Jerry cartoon appeared in a window on the monitor. "Someone wiped the footage and overwrote it with this cartoon."

"Any other cameras tampered with?" Gibbs asked.

"No," McGee answered.

"Have you got a time?"

"Whoever it was erased the footage from between one a.m. and four a.m.," McGee said.

"That gives us our window," Gibbs said. "Ziva. Check with the guards on duty that night. See if anyone saw anything. DiNozzo…"

"Victim's apartment?" DiNozzo asked.

"Start with his co-workers," Gibbs said. "See if there was anyone who had a reason to kill him. And have security canvas the scene around building 57 to see if they can find anything. That's our likely murder scene. McGee, get those security servers to Abby. See if there's anything she can recover from the footage, or any clue as to who erased those tapes."

"Technically, they're not tapes…" McGee began.

A look from Gibbs was all it took to send McGee scurrying toward his desk. "Getting the servers now, Boss."

"Gibbs," a voice called from above. Gibbs looked up to see NCIS director Leon Vance standing at the railing outside MTAC. "My office," Vance said, and then stuck the ever-present toothpick back in his mouth and walked toward his office.

Gibbs turned to find his team looking at him expectantly. "Well what are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?"

At that the team scattered like quail before a bird dog, each to their respective assignments. Gibbs nodded to himself and then walked slowly up the stairs toward the director's office.

Vance was sitting behind his desk, looking over a piece of paper when Gibbs entered. Vance looked up and nodded toward the chairs in front of his desk. Gibbs stepped between the two chairs and assumed something vaguely resembling a relaxed parade rest. "You wanted to see me, director?"

Vance repressed the urge to order Gibbs to sit. Instead, he leaned back in his chair so that he didn't have to look up at him. "SecNav is on my ass about this one," he said. "It doesn't look good to have bodies showing up at NCIS's doorstep."

"Yeah," Gibbs agreed.

"Have you got anything so far?" Vance asked.

"Got my people working on it," Gibbs replied.

Vance stood up. "That's not what I asked. What about this 'Rule 40' carved in his chest? I've heard about your rules. You think there's a connection?"

"Don't know yet," Gibbs said.

Vance glowered.

"Something else, Director?" Gibbs asked.

"You want me to come out and ask it?" Vance exploded. "Okay, I'm asking. Did you have any connection with the victim, Special Agent Gibbs?"

"Not that I am aware of… Director."

Vance shook his head in frustration. "Keep me in the loop on this one, Gibbs. I know you like to play it close to the vest, but it's my ass hanging out on this one, too."

"I'll make sure you get copies of all my reports," Gibbs said.

Vance shook his head. "Get the hell out of my office." But there was no heat behind the words.

"Have you ever had a body wrapped up like this before, Doctor?" Palmer asked.

"Never quite like this," Ducky said, carefully snipping at the plastic wrap. "Although in Burma I did have a body wrapped in banana leaves. It seemed the killer wanted to preserve the corpse because he planned to snack on it later."

"Wait," Palmer said, looking incredulous. "The killer was a cannibal? Was this some primitive tribal murder?"

"Heavens, no," Ducky said. "The killer was a British army sergeant who suffered from porphyria and was convinced that he could cure himself by eating human flesh."

"Did it work, Duck?" Gibbs asked, striding through the doorway to autopsy.

"Alas, we shall never know, because the daft bugger was shot between the eyes by a Burmese Army patrol," Ducky said. "If you're here to see what I have so far, your usually impeccable timing is off, Jethro. Mr. Palmer and I have just started our examination of the petty officer here."

"What's the holdup, Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Believe it or not, Jethro," Ducky said, "I do work on other cases besides yours. I had to testify at a federal grand jury hearing this morning on the Simkins case."

"Well, the Director and SecNav are all hot and bothered to get this one solved, Duck."

"Thus, the reason that I am examining Petty Officer Butler before any of my other guests," Ducky said, with a negligent wave toward the rows of cold-storage drawers lining the wall. "I can tell you that the words, here, were carved into his chest post-mortem. There's no bruising around the cuts. And as you have no doubt guessed, the murder was committed elsewhere and the body moved to our loading dock. Lack of blood around the cuts suggests that the petty officer bled out somewhere else. So you'll have to look elsewhere for your murder scene, I am afraid."

"Already got an idea on where that might be, Duck. Someone erased the security camera footage from over by the petty officer's duty station over at the Knox."

"And you have security canvassing the area?" Ducky asked.

Gibbs cocked his head to the side.

"Of course," Ducky said, holding up his hands. "You do not tell me how to do my job…"

Gibbs almost smiled.

"Mister Palmer," Ducky said. "Could you go get a larger evidence bag for the plastic wrap? I am afraid there is too much for our standard variety."

"Of course, Doctor," Palmer said.

Gibbs and Ducky watched him hurry out of the room and then Ducky turned back to Gibbs. "So, Jethro, is someone trying to send you a message?"

"Don't know that for sure yet, Duck."

"But you do not believe in coincidences. And to have this message carved in a body and left on your doorstep, so to speak…" He paused. "It would have to be someone who knew you fairly well to know about Rule 40."

"They're not exactly a secret, Duck," Gibbs said.

"But you believe that this is a message to you," Ducky said.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," Gibbs said, turned, and walked out of the room. "Call me when you've got cause of death," he called over his shoulder.

Abby Sciuto, NCIS' resident forensic specialist, was bobbing her head violently up and down to the loud music blaring from the stereo in her basement lab as she stood in front of her array of displays. Suddenly, she froze, grabbed the remote, and turned off the music. Slowly, she turned to find Gibbs standing behind her, a familiar white cup with red lid in his hand.

"No, Gibbs. No. No. No. You're early. I haven't earned this yet." She took the Caf-Pow and slammed it onto the counter behind her, then turned back to him. "You're only supposed to magically appear once I have something."

"Nice to see you, too, Abbs," Gibbs said.

"You're upsetting the structure of the universe here, Gibbs," she whined, dancing from one foot to the other. "Whenever you appear before I've got something, bad mojo is in the air."

Gibbs grabbed her arms and held her still for a moment. "Abby. I just came to check on you. There's a killer loose on the base, and I want you to be careful."

Abby stopped moving and looked up at Gibbs. "I'm always careful," she said. "Are you saying I need to be extra careful?"

"Yeah, Abbs," he said with a slow nod of the head. "That's what I'm saying."

"This is one of those 'gut' things, isn't it?" she asked.

"Just watch yourself, and keep the lab door locked," Gibbs said, as he turned and strode from the lab.

As soon as he was through the door, Abby picked up her remote and hit the button that instituted her lockdown protocols, keeping anyone else out of the lab without her letting them in. She looked over at Bert, her stuffed hippo. "Okay, now I'm freaking out a little," she said to him.