" McGee! come on, Gibbs called us down to autopsy," said an out of breath Tony. McGee turned his gaze from his computer screen to his co-worker standing in front of him. McGee hesitated. Autopsy. He never liked entering that room. That room was filled with autopsies that included some his fellow co-workers, it was only on occasion that he would accompany Gibbs to receive some news from Ducky.
"Hello? Earth to McGee! Autopsy now," exclaimed Tony as he started to bang his hand on McGee's desk. McGee jumped in his chair to his co-workers actions and immediately grabbed Tony's hand to stop him.
"Can you please not bang on the desk, you'll break it," said McGee as he continued to not move from his chair. Tony chuckled.
"Going to break, my ass! Come on! Even Ziva's down there and the Boss says he wants all of us to hear what Ducky the Autopsy master has to say."
"The autopsy master? Really? you could have thought of a better nickname?" McGee commented.
"Hey, I thought that was pretty creative, but since your so fussy I could call him 'the autopsy wizard' or the actual room could be called 'gollum's cave' and Ducky is Gollum and the body is his 'precious' huh? Huh?" Tony said while using the Gollum's voice to say 'precious' looking rather amused with himself but McGee just sat there unamused.
"Oh come on! You know Gollum from Lord of the Rings directed by the one and only Peter Jackson! You're a nerd you should know this movie!" Tony protested.
McGee ignored his protest and began to walk towards the elevator. Tony stumbled behind him almost barely making it to the elevator before it closed.
"Listen," Tony began to say with a more serious tone. "I know that you didn't feel comfortable seeing the bodies at the scene and this well… won't be as appealing either but you got to face your fears my man!" McGee listened but did not answer; he was never one to confront his fears.
-x-
"Alright, I believe I can begin," Ducky said as the team gathered around the two corpses. "This killer, to which I have started a psychological profile on, is what one would say 'mad', but he is far too creative and talented in his work to be the so-called 'mad'. A psychopath perhaps? It seems very likely to be so. Here he began to…" Ducky's words began to fade within McGee's ears as he watched the bodies lay there motionless. His vision began to fade from what he saw initially as the autopsy room to what became a room rather familiar. A middle aged man was sitting in the corner in front of a table covered in pieces of skin. McGee looked to his right and saw two skinned bodies lying upon the floor. The man began to hum a tune to which turned into singing.
Well someone's got to clean 'em up, my friends
Bodies on the highway
Law and order upside down
Someone's got to collect their odds and ends
As a service to the town!
He walked towards the man who seemed to see McGee as only a ghost, one invisible to the eye. The man was sewing, but not just ordinary sewing. McGee noticed that the man was carefully making sure that each stitch was perfect. This seemed impossible to McGee, no one could make stitches that perfect by hand especially stitches unnoticeable once sown. Once the man was done, he lifted up his project and smiled. Each piece of skin that was mixed together was sown to form what seemed to be a body suit. The man laughed and walked towards one of the victims and 'dressed him up' , then sewing the rest together.
Well, someone's got to clean them up, my friends
Before the little harvest
Disappears into the mud
Someone's got to collect their odds and ends
When the gutters run with blood.
The man finished his first work. McGee couldn't do anything but watch in silence. Not an inch of him moved he just watched and watched as the killer performed his piece of art. Once the two were finished, the man one by one lifted them up and carried them up the stairs. McGee followed. The man placed each body in the positions that McGee remembered finding them in. The man took out a see through bottle filled up with what looked like to be blood. "And now for the finishing touch" the man muttered as he sprinkled the blood upon the victims and the floor. The man then continued downstairs to which McGee followed. The man cleaned up his work place and McGee noticed the man holding a bottle to what seemed to be some type of oil. The man chuckled and placed it in his bag. He began to clean the area for prints and what not.
It's a world where the dog eats the dog
Where they kill for bones in the street
And God in His Heaven
He don't interfere
'Cause he's dead as the stiffs at my feet
I raise my eyes to see the heavens
And only the moon looks down
The harvest moon shines down!
The man stopped right in front of McGee which made his heart pump to a rapid pace. The man looked up at him as if the invisible ghost protecting him had vanished. The man smiled. McGee did not move.
"One day, you will perform your own piece of art," the man said.
"McGee?" Gibbs' voice was heard from the distance making the scene of the house vanish to become the autopsy room once more. McGee hesitated before realizing where he was. His breathing became deeper to which caught the eye of his boss during Ducky's explanation.
"You okay?" Gibbs' voice turned to concern as he placed his hand upon McGee's shoulder. McGee gulped and looked up at him. To McGee's own surprise he responded saying that he was fine. "I uh…I just remembered that I left my uh…my laptop on at home and the battery was dying and I don't think I saved my report…" McGee lied trying to find an excuse for his scared look and heavy breathing.
"You sure?" Gibbs asked while looking into McGee's eyes. McGee nodded.
"It's McGee boss, computers are his babies! It's a normal thing for him to freak out about them," Tony commented to which McGee knew that it was a form of teasing.