Lia smiled when she strolled around the park by herself. She just arrived yesterday coming from her home country to Washington DC for her mini holiday and attending her friends' wedding day. Lia understands that Thea is still a High School student. She needs to attend the lessons in order for her to graduate soon.
"Thea sure is a dedicated student, just like us." Lia muttered as she referred to herself, Steve, Phoebe and Novilene. They worked so hard for them to become a successful professional. Not just only working so hard but also they have high IQ each one of them. "Novilene..." She frowned and started to get worried about the young woman.
Lia is so tempted to go to England and check how Novilene is doing. She tried to call Novilene's mother, Maria, but it ends up voicemail. The Filipino woman decided to call Novilene's half-brother, Alex Hunt, hoping he could accept it.
"Hello?" Lia sighs in relief hearing his voice. She's glad Alex manage to answer her call whereas his family didn't at all.
"Alex, it's me... Lia, how are you?" She asks the teenage boy politely.
"Hey, Cee! I'm alright and you know me... busy as usual for my future." He chuckled and closing down the notes. "When am I going to see you? The last time we met was like 6 or 7 years ago?"
Alex Hunt immediately loved Lia as his own sister despite not being related. Lia has this affection for the love of children especially they think of her as a role model. Alex is not the only one who thinks of Lia as his own sister but it also includes Thea as well. He missed her so much and want to see his sister figure again.
"7 years ago, Alex." She smiled and glad to know Alex remembered her. "Have you spoken to your mother or Novilene lately? They usually replied to my voicemail or an email in case both of them are busy."
"I haven't sis... I'm currently in Scotland today because we have an international football tournament." Alex answered and staring at the ceiling. "I was planning to call them today."
"I see... send me a text if you manage to call them?" Lia asks and not wanting to let this teenage boy panic.
"Sure..." Alex frowned and wondering why his mother and half-sister didn't respond to her. "Have you guys fought?" Asking worriedly and couldn't imagine his family arguing or fighting Lia that much.
"We didn't fight, Alex." Lia assured him and glancing down at her watch. "I'll talk to you later."
"Okay sis, love you."
"I love you too, baby brother." She hangs up and sighs heavily. "I wonder how Thea is doing right now..."
The teenage girl suddenly sneezed in the middle of the library. The librarian glared at her direction where she is sitting, returning a sheepish smile at him.
Ring!
Thea groaned as everyone stared at her as she smiles nervously and leaves the library. She sighs heavily seeing someone called her.
"You better have a damn good reason to call me, Kate." She growled angrily and hated the fact someone interrupted her studies. Thea almost left behind her studies if it wasn't for Lia's helped to offer her suggestions for decorations. Not to mention they called different people because her parents are going overboard this time for her sister's wedding.
"Jeez, did you woke up in a bad mood?" Caitlin 'Kate' Todd cringed for calling her in a wrong time.
"You called me in the middle of my studies, Kate!" She exclaimed angrily and glared at the students who passed her by. "I stayed up late for preparing my sister's wedding and study for the final exams."
"Sorry." Kate laughs nervously and knowing this girl is shortly tempered for the lack of sleep. "What about your parents? They should handle your sister's wedding, not you."
"Phoebe doesn't trust them enough." Thea said bluntly and knowing their parents will go overboard on their wedding day. "Phoebe asked me to do it."
"I see... your parents are always overboard when it comes to a party. I'm quite surprised that you and Phoebe didn't inherit it."
"Tell me something that I don't know." She scoffs and twitching her right eyebrow. "Caitlin Todd! You're fucking changing the subject!" She yelled angrily through the phone.
On the other side of the phone, Kate winced and pulling the phone away from her. Her colleagues stared at her with an amused expression.
"You swear-"
"Kate! What the hell do you want!? I have 30 fucking minutes to revise my notes."
"I need her number, not your sister, please!" Kate pleads to the teenage girl.
"Bye." She hangs up and Kate sighs heavily.
"Isn't she the ray of sunshine?" Anthony 'Tony' DiNozzo asks sarcastically towards his new colleague.
"You have no idea." Kate commented and received a message from Thea. "She hates me so much."
"I wonder why? Maybe because you bored her to death?" She glared at the Italian man and clearly not impressed by his comment.
From: Thea
I send your number to Lia instead. Call me again and I'll block you.
Kate sighs heavily and wasn't surprised how Thea dislikes her so much. The reason why she despises her because Kate broke her Science invention three days ago and Thea got disqualified for it. She didn't know anything to seek Thea's forgiveness and maybe going to seek her advice.
Lia blinks her eyes and stared at the unknown man, whose name is Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Gibbs stared her back and want to know this woman that Kate suggests to let her involve this case.
"NCIS?" She asks curiously and never heard of that name before.
"Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Gibbs answered and Lia nodded her head.
"It doesn't explain why I'm here in the first place." She pointed out and stared at Kate with a skeptical expression. "It has something to do with this last night, right?"
"You heard it?" Kate questioned the Filipino woman and she nodded her head.
"Yeah and I don't think it's a good idea of a civilian person like me, could involve with this case." She pushes her glasses up and giving Kate a pointed look. "I'm here for a vacation, not working."
"Please, Lia." Kate pleads because she has more experience in solving the case more than her. In fact, she's still new about this.
"I don't know..." Lia stared at Gibbs knowing he's analyzing her. "Are you okay with this, sir?" She asks Kate's Unit Chief.
"No formalities and if what Kate is saying true... about you joining the FBI at the very young age. You must be special then." Gibbs commented and wanting to analyze her more.
"I'm not that special." Lia denied it and sighs heavily. "I'll help your case only once... my visa happened to be tourist not working visa."
"Let's-" Gibbs was interrupted by someone else.
"Hello, their angel!" Kate groaned and wanting to smack her colleague for surprising her friend.
"Hi?" Lia looked confused and startled how this unknown Italian man holding her hands.
"I'm Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, I must-"
Smack!
Lia smiled nervously when Gibbs smacks his head hard. Gibbs sighs heavily how this lover boy gets so distracted when it comes to a woman.
"Lia Snow." She introduced herself to these two men since she almost forgets about it. "It would be best to get going before your Chief might strangle you more, Agent DiNozzo."
"How long have you been joining the FBI, Lia?" Gibbs asks curiously of the Filipino woman.
"5 years, Mr Gibbs." Lia answered and Gibbs smirked at her response.
"Anyone ever told you that you're being too formal? Just call me Gibbs or Jethro."
Lia laughs and scratching her neck slightly. "I quite get that all the time, Mr- I mean Jethro?" Kate mentally awed at her cuteness while Tony stared at her with an amused expression.
"5 years, huh?" Gibbs hums in deep thought. "Can you really catch up with us to this case?" He asks her curiously and secretly challenges her.
"I will. Kate brief me shortly about the case." Lia answered and pushing her glasses up. "Kate, how on earth did you make Thea so angry at you?" She asks the brunette woman curiously.
"It was an accident, I swear!" Kate raises her hand up and Lia blinks at her. "I didn't mean to disqualified her for the Science invention contest?" It wasn't intended to break her invention about water gun using blueberry and strawberry jam.
"Oh, Katy..." Lia shakes her head slightly and giving her a pity smile. It is no wonder why the teenage girl is being moody when someone mentions her name. "I would love to help you to seek her forgiveness... but Thea will find out that I help you." Kate sighs heavily knowing she is right.
"You JAG or NCIS?" One of the navy soldiers asks curiously.
"Do I look like a lawyer?" Gibbs asks sarcastically.
"Word's all over the base by now. My men can't even call their family and let them know that they're not the one who died."
"Was Sergeant Fuentes married?"
"He has a wife and son."
"Notification detail should be there to talk to her by now. Word will get out who was killed."
"Sergeant Fuentes was under my command. I'd like like to see her."
"After we finish questioning you and your men." Gibbs glared at the soldier and it reminds Lia of her friend, Novilene.
"How long is that going to take?" He questioned him.
"I don't know."
"These men have another jump at 2100."
"They're jumping again tonight?" Kate asks with a disbelief expression while Lia masking her shocked expression.
"We don't stop for casualties in war, Miss." The navy soldier pointed out. "Neither do we in training."
"Not true Captain." Gibbs spoke up. "They don't jump off a lower bunk until we find out what happened."
"I don't take orders from NCIS cops."
"Special Agents." He corrected him and hiding the fact that Lia is the FBI Agent.
"It would be best to follow his order, Captain." Lia spoke up and the Captain stared at her with a stern expression.
"I don't take orders, Miss..."
"Snow." She smirked with a dark expression. "I could call Commandant May. He is the father of Neña May, or she would like to be called Neña Salvadore."
"As if you know anything about them, Ms Snow." The Captain glared at the Filipino woman hoping she's bluffing.
"She's my Aunt and her father will be delighted to know her niece is here." Lia grabbed her phone to call her Aunt's father.
"May, speaking." Lia heard the male husky voice as she smirked seeing the Captain's pale expression.
"Hi, grandpa Drew. It's me, Lia, I hope you remember me." She spoke up in a soft tone and ignoring the surprised look from Kate and Tony.
"The mischevious fox, how are you dear?" Drew May asks her curiously and was pleased to hear her voice.
"I'm fine and I was wondering if you would give us clearance to asks a few men's questions... regarding Sergeant Fuentes case." She pressed the speaker on. "It appears that the Captain won't allow us to question them because they're more focus on training than our important case."
"Captain, I give them Lia Snow and her team permission to solve their case. Follow their instructions or else." Commandant May asks the Captain in a cold tone.
"Ye-yes, Sir." Captain stuttered and having no idea that this young woman is related to him and his daughter.
"Good." He exhales slowly. "My dear, visit me when you're free okay? I miss your company."
"I will, grandpa." She hangs up the call and ignoring Kate and her colleagues surprised expression but in Gibbs case, a smirk one. "You heard the Commandant." The Captain glared and walked away while muttering a few words about her.
"Wow, I didn't know you have some connection on the navy, angel." Tony sighs happily and Lia stared at him with a surprised expression.
"I'm not an angel and it's Lia." Lia corrected the Italian man but he just smirked. "I was grateful enough that Aunt Neña told me about her dad's work."
"You knew him." Kate commented and she nodded her head.
"I met him before when he visits us in the Philippines, during Aunt Neña's wedding anniversary." She laughs nervously and patting her chest to calm herself down. "I feel like my heart is going to explode when grandpa Drew is not going to answer my call."
"You did a good job, Lia." Gibbs complimented the young woman as she returned with an embarrassed smile.
"Thanks, Jethro." She muttered and Kate patted her back.
"All right, DiNozzo and Lia, shoot and sketch. Especially the static lines. Kate and I will start the interrogations." He ordered them and Lia stopped walking then stared at Gibbs with a fearful expression.
"Ske-ske-sketch?" Lia stuttered and feels like about to pass out as Kate holds her laugh.
"Is there anything problem with that, Lia?" He asks her curiously but his eyes twinkle in amused.
"I'm excelled at taking pictures but drawing?" She shakes her head and sighs sadly. "Is not my forte. I was lucky enough to pass my arts back in Primary school, if it wasn't to memorize famous art painters like Pablo Picasso and the periods like the renaissance." Lia hated drawing so much and her teacher always discriminated her drawing like a child. She always got negative comments from her teacher and blame them, for not letting the students choose the subject they want.
"Don't worry, dear Lia... I'll do the sketch for you if-"
Smack!
Tony pouts that he got slapped again on the head by Gibbs. Gibbs sighs heavily and Lia smiled nervously at their interaction.
"You and Kate should go, Jethro. He and I can take it from here." Lia assured the Unit Chief as Gibbs chuckled and patted her head.
"You have my permission to slap him if he does any flirting, Lia." He spoke up with a soft tone as Lia giggled.
Tony pouts and hated the idea of getting slap by Lia. "Jumping's got to be so cool." He commented on and changing the subject then pulling Lia up to get on the plane.
"Hey, you want to play paratrooper?" Gibbs asks sarcastically. "Pay $180, take a class like all those other weekend warriors."
"Yeah, I have so many weekends free." Tony answered sarcastically as they left them alone. "I almost forgot here." He handed her the bracelet as she gasped in surprised to see it again.
"My bracelet..." She sighs in relief as Tony chuckled and putting it on her left wrist. "I can't believe you have it."
"You bump into me at the airport before I had a chance to give it to you back." He explained and smiled when she touched her bracelet lightly.
"I really thought that I lost it, thank you... Tony." She smiled and he gave her the camera to take the pictures. "My Aunt owns the orphanage and the children donated money to bought this to me as a gift."
"It seems like the children adore you." He pointed out.
"You have no idea." She muttered and started to take pictures.
"How long are you staying in this place, Lia?" Tony asks curiously as he started to observe his surroundings.
"5 weeks." Lia answered and takes another picture. "After my friend's wedding, I have to get back from the Philippines and resume my work."
"Wow, that was a long leave." He shakes his head lightly and clearly impressed how she's fluently good in speaking English with an American accent on it. "I assumed that you were born here because of your American accent."
"I know, but they need me, otherwise it'll cause a bit of chaotic without me." She laughs nervously.
"You must be one of their best Agent behind that beauty of yours." He smirked while Lia just smiled and brushed off his flirting like she normally did.
"I guess..."
"Our victim sustained a broken neck, crushed vertebrae, multiple leg fractures, shattered pelvis..." One of the medical examiner, Donald 'Ducky' Mallard explained to Kate, Gibbs and the newcomer, Lia, to them.
Lia decided to join them instead of coming together with Tony towards the lab since Gibbs ordered her. She knew that Gibbs wanted to know more about how she worked on these types of cases.
"What about his clavicle, Doctor Mallard?" Lia questioned the older man as she observed the MIT scanner.
"Aren't you being too formal, my dear." He chuckled and Lia laughs nervously.
"That's what I told her." Gibbs pointed out and Ducky smiled with an amused expression. "I'm quite surprised you already catch up to this case, Lia. Tell us about the clavicle."
"With all this massive skeletal damage, you're curious about his clavicle, Lia?" Ducky asks her curiously.
"A friend of mine, Novilene, told me to look, not only the inside... but the outside of the box as well." She pushes her glasses up.
"Inside and outside of the box huh?" Gibbs muttered and she smiled sheepishly.
Ducky grabbed the two MIT scanner and blinks in surprise. "Well, how did you know? Whoever is your friend is, she must be very observant."
"She has the eyes of the hawk while I have the eyes of an eagle." Lia commented and remembered how Steve compared their observation skills.
"Interesting..." He looked at the scanner closely. "There is a fine hairline fracture on the left clavicle. Which he..."
"Incurred recently, but not last night." Kate pointed out.
"No, its begun to mend." Ducky stared at them. "You three are beginning to scare me."
"I'm just the helper and nothing else." Lia commented and rubbing her neck.
"Ducky, would that fracture pain him too much?" Gibbs asks him curiously.
"Oh, nothing too severe." Ducky answered and putting the MIT scanner back on the board. "Of course, the shock of a parachute opening would have hurt like blazes. How did you know?"
"The girl in the SUV said she heard him moan." He explained to his friend. "Was he alive after impact?"
"Briefly." They headed towards the dead body. "Uh, not too close Caitlin. I'll put it on the monitor. Yeah, he most certainly would have died of massive trauma, but the technical cause of death was severing... of the femoral artery."
The three of them stared at the monitor as Kate looked disgusted seeing it while Gibbs and Lia are used to it seeing gore.
"Yes, our dying marine bled to death." Lia mentally sighs and silently prayed for his death.
The three of them decided to go to the lab to meet Tony. "Abby, you have my tox screen results?" Gibbs asks the unknown woman known as Abby Sciuto.
"Yep, right over there." Abby answered while Lia looked shocked to see their forensic woman happened to be a gothic type that has a tattoo on her neck. "The victim tested positive for Percoset and Vicodin. Double your pleasure..."
"Double your fun..." Tony finished the sentence.
"What kind of levels?" Gibbs asks Abby.
"Point-one-seven. He was slow-juiced like a koala bear." Abby answered while Lia looked confused at her sense of humor. "My guess is that he popped right before he dropped."
"The marines that you and Kate questioned in his string probably knew." Lia pointed out and Abby looked shocked to see her appearance.
"She's so beautiful..." Abby whispered at Tony and he smirked agreeing with her. "Who is she?"
"Lia Snow, a friend of Kate and FBI from Philippines." Tony whispered back as Abby looked shocked to hear the news.
"Why didn't they tell us?" Kate questioned while Lia pushes her glasses up.
"Semper fi..." Kate faced the gothic woman. "You rat, you fry. Sorry." Abby saw Gibbs giving her a look.
"Was his reserve chute okay?" Gibbs asks Abby curiously.
"Yeah, it was perfect. All he had to do was pop it." Abby answered and still mesmerizing at Lia's beauty.
"Well, he might have if his reflexes weren't slowed by opioids." Kate commented.
"Opioids?" Tony asks and wondering what it means.
"It's a general term for opiates and synthetic analgesics." Lia explained and Abby smiled at her response.
"Abby Sciuto, you're so gorgeous, Lia. Don't forget, smart as well." Abby spoke up and raises her hands at her.
"Thanks, you're also pretty Abby, both inside and out." Lia complimented and Abby beamed in happiness as she shakes hand with her.
"This will be a beautiful friendship for us." Smiling at the Filipino woman and she returned the gesture.
"You sure you were a Baltimore cop?" Gibbs asks sarcastically as Tony returned with a fake smile.
"Okay... he was too juiced to pop his reserve." Kate changed the subject.
"Maybe. Maybe not. You pump adrenaline when you jump. Your main doesn't open it would really kick into high gear."
"Well, Gibbs, if he had the reflexes to use it, why didn't he?" She questioned her Unit Chief.
"I don't know. What did you find from the shroud lines of his main chute?"
Abby jumped down from her table and went to another table. "Fiber disintegration. But not from textile fatigue. It's fluorescing as some sort of cleansing agent, but that didn't cause this kind of damage." She explained and turning the flashlight on.
"Edges look melted." Kate commented when she looked at the evidence closely.
"I haven't tagged it yet, but it was definitely an acid that shredded the lines holding three hundred pounds of jumping marine."
"How long to find the acid, check out the rest of those chutes?" Gibbs asks Abby.
"I'm flying solo, so at least a day." Abby answered.
"Go faster if you had an assistant?"
"Oh, definitely."
"Okay. You get the job." Gibbs referred Kate and wanted to pair up with Lia.
"I get to do forensics?" Kate asks with a surprised expression.
"No. You get to schlep for Abby. She gets to do forensics." He corrected her.
"What about Lia?" She raises her hand at Lia's direction.
"She's with me." Lia blinked at her eyes but didn't say anything.
Gibbs dragged Lia away from them before Kate has a chance to steal her. He has a feeling that Lia could use her skills to assist them.
"Why didn't you tell us you were a rigger, Corporal?" Gibbs asks the marine soldier while Lia is writing down her notes about her theory.
"I thought you knew, sir." Corporal Dafelmair asks bluntly.
"Did you? What's next?"
"Sign the log and stick it in the chute pocket."
Gibbs wrote something and show him the paper. "Same signature."
"That's the log from Thumper's chute, wasn't it, sir?" The Corporal asks.
"Yeah."
"You packed it." Lia followed Gibbs when they are walking away from him.
"Sir, I didn't know he'd get one that I packed." Corporal Dafelmair explained. "Chutes are handed out randomly, even when we jump."
"Riggers usually go on jumps?" Lia asks curiously.
"Training runs. Yes, ma'am."
"How many riggers jumped last night?" Tony asks and placing his hand on Lia's back since she's busy writing down the notes that he couldn't understand the language.
"Uh, Corporals Ramsey, Brinkman, and Thumper of course. He was a senior rigger." The Corporal answered.
"Figure we knew that, too?" Gibbs asks sarcastically.
"Sir, we weren't trying to hide anything." He assured the Gibbs as Lia mentally sighs and wanting Novilene to be with them.
"Oh, like hell you weren't, Corporal." He snapped and Lia cringed at his swear while Tony wasn't surprised by his action.
"You all knew Thumper was using painkillers for his dinged collarbone." Tony pointed out and pressing the button to release the chute. "He died because he was too juiced to pull his reserve."
"Sir and ma'am, there's no way anyone to sabotage a chute and count on it getting to a specific jumper." Corporal Dafelmair explained as Lia mentally sighs heavily.
"All those chutes packed here?" Lia questioned the marine soldier.
"Yes, ma'am. We prepped them at 0900, put them on the trucks for the jump at 1800."
"They were here for nine hours, unattended?" Lia asks and masking her surprised expression.
"Under lock and key, ma'am."
"Who's got the key?"
"Captain Faul and Thumper, as the senior rigger, both have keys, ma'am."
Lia mentally sighs heavily and putting her notebook inside of her black blazer as she opened the files about his information. "Before entering the corps, Corporal." She read the information while Gibbs looked impressed and letting her do the work.
"Made a few mistakes, ma'am." Corporal Dafelmair spoke up and felt nervous behind her serious expression.
"Shoplifting... drug possession?" She stared at the Corporal and mentally cursed herself of being the shortest woman while they're tall.
"That was a long time ago, ma'am."
"Three years. Not so long." Tony pointed out and lean over Lia when she read the Corporal's information.
"Look, sir and ma'am, you have my file. You know the judge gave me a choice, prison or the service." The Corporal revealed his secret to these Agents. "The corps gave me a second chance, sir and ma'am. I would never do anything to hurt it or one of my brother Marines. Never, sir and ma'am."
"How on earth did you manage to make them scared of you, Lia?" Tony asks her curiously and she smiles nervously.
"I actually have no idea." She shrugged and pushing her glasses up. "They're lucky enough that my friend, Novilene, is not with us... otherwise it might end for them. They didn't call her the terror for nothing."
"The terror?" Gibbs asks curiously and wanting to see Novilene in person.
"Yeah, she's the Captain from London Metropolitan Police and youngest cop." Lia explained to them. "One of the reasons why they call her the terror because people judge them of her looks and her age. They clearly underestimate her and she showed them no mercy."
"Yikes, whoever she is... she can be scary huh?" Tony cringed and imagined if Novilene and Gibbs are teaming up together, it would be the end of the world.
"She is, but, Novilene is an amazing girl." Lia smiled stared at the Marine soldiers. "I wonder if Novilene will join the BAU to be with her father."
"BAU?" He stared at her curiously and heard that name somewhere before.
"She's a great profiler and her father works there." She answered and pushes her glasses up. "Knowing Novilene, she couldn't leave her mother behind." Lia saw one of the soldiers jumps off. "You ever jump before?"
"When I get an electric shock." Gibbs answered and knowing Lia changed the subject.
"Explains the lack of power tools." Tony commented sarcastically.
"You going to do it?" He asks his Agent.
"What?" Tony asks him with a surprised expression.
"Spend $180 to defy gravity?"
"Yeah, I think I am."
"Agent Gibbs." One of the soldiers called him as he handed the parcel. "This came for you, Sir. I just missed you at the paraloft."
"Thank you Lance Corporal." Gibbs thanked him.
"Yes, Sir."
"Who's it from?" Tony questioned his Unit Chief.
"Ducky." Gibbs answered and tearing off the paper.
Lia grabbed the yellow paper on the ground and read it out loud. "Jethro, the bean counters couldn't find you, so they gave this to me. I suggest you read the instructions on call-blocking." She stared at Gibbs with a curious expression. "You lost your phone, Jethro?"
"More like he throws it inside of the jar, Lia." Tony answered and Lia didn't bother to asks another question.
"That addressed to you, Tony?" Gibbs asks Tony sarcastically.
Gibb's new phone rings. "It works." Tony commented and ignoring his sarcasm.
"Gibbs." He answered the phone. "Yeah... be there in 20."
Lia's phone beep to see a message coming from Alex.
From: Alex
Cee, I couldn't get in touch with them. Ethan is already in London to see them. I'm starting to get worried now, should I return back home?
Lia frowned at the news and couldn't stop the bad feeling inside of her.
To: Alex
Just wait for your brother's instruction. I don't think it's a good idea for you to go alone without adult supervision to look after you. I'll call you later because one of my friends need my help to solve their case.
She closed her phone and putting it in her pocket. "You know, some of these guys freeze on their first jump." Gibbs commented. "Have to be kicked in the ass to get them out."
"Not me." Tony spoke bluntly and doesn't want to be embarrassed right in front of Lia.
"No. You fall into the category I want to kick in the ass on the ground." Lia holds back her laugh as Gibbs dragged her away from this lover boy.
Gibbs, Lia and Tony got back from the lab to see Abby is holding two blue glowing sticks.
"Very electric cool-aid, Abby." Tony commented and Lia smiled.
"I was thinking more blue man group." Abby spoke up and beaming at the Filipino woman. "Hey, Lia!"
"Hey, Abby." Lia greeted her back.
"Sergeant Fuentes's chute wasn't the only one tampered with." Kate explained it to his Unit Chief.
"How many?" Gibbs asks the curiously while he observes Abby's work.
"Nine out of 16. Logbook signatures show different riggers packed the lot."
"How many did Corporal Dafelmair pack?" Lia asks the two women curiously.
"Four. The rest were packed by Corporal Brinkman and Sergeant Fuentes." Kate answered.
"Corporal Ramsey didn't pack any?" Tony questioned Kate.
"Nope. When his signature didn't show up on a single chute, I called Captain Faul. He's put Corporal Ramsey on two-week rigging suspension for sloppy work. And guess who wrote him up for that sloppy work?"
"Senior Rigger, Sergeant Fuentes." Lia and Gibbs answered in sync while the others looked surprised at hearing it.
"We got motive." Tony spoke up and lean on Lia's ear to whisper. "It's kinda creepy how you guys think alike."
"Me too." Lia whispered back.
"We got more than that." Abby spoke up and placing down the glowing stick. "Kate and I have a theory."
"Why didn't you take to me this fast?" He demanded answers from Abby.
"You're like a piercing, Tony. It takes a while for throbbing to stop the skin to grow back." She spoke bluntly and pass him by.
"That's more than I wanted to know." Smirking at Gibbs and discreetly winking at Lia. He ends up slapping on the head by his Unit Chief.
"What's the theory, Abby?" Lia questioned the gothic woman and ignoring them.
"Okay, every time you lace up your Doc's or cinch your laundry bag, you leave some skin cells behind. It's the same with a parachute rigging." Abby explained and type something on the computer. "I pulled skin samples from the deployment bags of the chute that were futzed with."
"You got DNA signature?" Gibbs asks.
"All nine knots had a number of different sets of skin samples, but there's only one set that's common to all nine."
"The Saboteur."
"Our riggers of record packed the chutes, then someone came in and repacked them, leaving some skin behind."
"Corporal Ramsey." Tony spoke up.
"Depending on how much he knows about forensics, he could be intelligent or not." Lia commented and crossing her arms as Abby agreeing with her opinion.
"There's got to be other chutes that Corporal Ramsey packed in the paraloft inventory for comparison." Gibbs pointed out.
"Negatory. I checked." Abby answered and shaking her head. "They were all packed since he's been suspended."
"There's an armed forces DNA registry... all the military personnel are on record, right?" Kate asks.
"Yeah." Gibbs answered.
"Then we've got our guy." She smiled.
"Not yet, actually." Lia spoke up and everyone stared at her as she blushed lightly being the center of attraction. "All we've got is a pile of dead skin. The only thing you can use the DNA registry is to identify a body."
"She's right." Gibbs agreed with her.
"There has to be a way around that." Kate pointed out.
"See? Now you're thinking like an NCIS Agent." He smirked and stared at Lia. "That goes for you as well, Lia." She shyly smiled.
"Thanks for the compliment, Jethro. I work as a FBI Agent, remember?" Lia spoke up and pushing her glasses up. "I don't think that my colleagues will be happy if you snatch me away from them."
"There's more than meets the eye, Lia." He smiled and decided to take her part of his team.
Tony knew that look that he wants Lia to join his team. He admits that Lia is a bit like Gibbs, amazed how she manages to catch up with their case in that short amount of time. Despite she's staying here for only 5 weeks, Gibbs will pull anything to help her process her documents for the sake of working with them.
"We know that nine parachutes were rigged to fail." Gibbs spoke up. "The killer Doctored them and repacked them. Sergeant Fuentes died as a result of that. That's premeditated murder."
"I'm sold." Lieutenant Roberts answered and stared at the Agent. "Hey, if I'm on the jury, you got my vote."
Lia is observing them behind the mirrors while Gibbs and Kate decided to interrogate them.
"We found DNA evidence on the chute deployment bag knots." Kate explained it to him.
"Belonging to your suspect?" The Lieutenant asks.
"We believe so. To be certain, we have to access the armed forces registry."
"That's impossible." He scoffs while Lia mentally sighs heavily of his arrogance. "The registry was set up to identify remains only. He knows that."
"I do?" Gibbs asks him.
"He tried to use it when he went after Commander Rabb for murder."
"He gets him?"
"No, because he wasn't guilty. You couldn't use the DNA registry then, what makes you think you can use it now?" Lieutenant Roberts asks them.
"You Lieutenant." Gibbs answered. "You're a smart lawyer and you know the law."
"I know why I'm here."
"Well, I hope so. I requested you."
"Yeah, you requested me because you think you can work me, like last time, when I ratted out Commander Rabb."
"You did not rat on anyone. You told the truth." Gibbs tried to persuade him while Lia shakes her head at his crazy stunt.
"I, uh, gave my uniform an extra lint-roll this morning, Agent Gibbs." Lieutenant Roberts spoke up and feel intimidated slightly at him. "And you waltzing around in my blind spot not going to intimidate me this time."
"We're at 24 hours now, and soon it's gonna be 48. You've done investigations, you know what that means."
"I've done jagman investigations, sure. After 48 hours, your evidence begins to degrade, disappear. Witnesses change their stories, suspects improve theirs, I know."
"So help us." Kate pleads at the Lieutenant.
"No!" He denied the idea of helping them. "Hey, you're not going to get me to lawyer you past an iron-clad prohibition that prevents tapping into DNA records that were designed to identify bodies, not chase suspects."
"This guy, he is guilty." Gibbs spoke up. "He killed. Let him drop to his death from 1,300 feet."
"It doesn't matter."
"For every legal firewall, there's a way around it."
"I can't help you and can I please have my pen back?"
"Yeah, sure you can." Gibbs handed his pen back.
"You're gonna need it. Because if I can't have my DNA, I'm gonna need some search authorizations signed."
Lia mentally sighs heavily how this man could be so stubborn and knowing Gibbs has a few tricks on his sleeves.
"You knew Lieutenant Roberts wasn't going to lawyer us access the military DNA database." Kate commented on him.
"Did I?" Gibbs asks her.
"You did." Kate and Lia answered together.
"So why go through the exercise?" Kate asks her Unit Chief curiously.
"Kate, I come from a long line of horse traders. You need to listen to this as well, Lia." Gibbs spoke up and stared at them as Lia smiled as she figures it out already of his stunt he pulled. "First rule... you pick the best horse in the barn, then you work the deal until it bursts."
"That way, when you go for the second-best nag, you get her for a song." Tony joined in their conversation and winking at Lia as she returned with a polite smile.
"The search authorization." Kate pointed out.
"We didn't have probable cause, but the Lieutenant, he's a man who aims to please." Lia explained and Gibbs chuckled as he patted her shoulder. "You never work the system when you can work the people."
"You haven't worked here for a long time, Lia." Kate said bluntly as she just smiled nervously. "Is that how you analyze someone, Lia?"
"Probably." Kate groaned how she can be vague at her answers just like how Novilene does. Tony is amused how Lia could be a bit mysterious one.
"Any of those horse traders you come from get hung?" Kate asks Gibbs curiously.
"Yeah. A few." Gibbs answered as she walked away from them leaving Lia alone. "Did you find out what Ramsey was written up for?" Asking the Italian man when he offered the chair for Lia to sit down.
"Ah, yeah." Tony answered and the Filipino woman thanked him as she sits down. "Frayed lines, bent cones, cuts in the canopy. I hope this guy isn't going to medical school at night. Oh, yeah, scuttlebutt is... "
"Scuttlebutt?" Kate asks curiously and wondering what it means.
"That's marine for water cooler gossip." Gibbs explained to her.
"The scuttlebutt is that Ramsey took a swing at Thumper for getting him suspended."
"This is not how I could imagine my mini holiday looks like." Lia voiced out her thoughts and Tony give her a sympathetic look.
"Identity withheld." Gibbs informed them when he saw the screen of his phone.
"Probably the reason you married her." Tony commented sarcastically and seeing Gibbs is not answering his phone. "I mean she probably hid her real personality, as most women do, and by that time, it was too late 'cause you'd already..." He saw Gibbs look. "I'm going to shut up now."
"Now?"
"Did you really just say as most women do?" Kate looked offended at his words and glancing at Lia who's been frowning at her phone.
"Meet me at the paraloft at 1400. We'll execute our search authorizations to go through the riggers lockers."
"That's 2:00 secret service time, Kate." Tony reminded her.
"We use Zulu time, Tony." Kate pointed out and glared at him slightly. "Could you please stop flirting my friend?"
"Zulu time..." Tony scratches his chin with deep thoughts and ignoring her last statement. "Oh, yeah, that would be..."
"Nineteen hundred." Lia answered it for him and smiled. "There's no point of lying if you don't know the answer."
"I knew the answer, sweetheart, and what makes you so sure that I'm lying?" Tony asks her curiously and how this woman manages to see through him like an open book. It feels like he's seeing another Gibbs, who could analyze people as well. Both of them are different because Lia's a carefree type of person when it is her personal life not work-related.
"You're thinking too hard and I could see your palms are sweating a little." Lia profiled him as she ignored the snicker coming from Kate. "You tap your left leg lightly when you think and-"
"Are you falling on my charms, Lia?" He raises his right eyebrow at her. It freaks him out slightly about how this woman observes him like an open book.
"No." She said bluntly causing to Kate laughs loudly while Gibbs smirked at her response. "Overall, you're trying to impress me. Is that how Italian people like you, trying to impress a woman? You still have a long way to go."
"Did you just give me a challenge, Ms Snow?" He smirked widely and Kate just shakes her head.
Smack!
"Ow!"
"Come with me, Lia. I don't want you to get hit by DiNozzo's flirt."
Lia decided to have a short call from Alex since she didn't have his brother's phone number. Her heart skips a beat loudly and could stop thinking about Novilene and her mother, Maria Cruz-Hunt.
"This is Alex Hunt and I'm unavailable right now. Please leave the message with your name after the beep and I'll call you back."
Lia sighs heavily that it went through voicemail while Gibbs glancing at her curiously while driving the car. "Baby brother, it's Cee. Have you received any news from them? Call me back." Closes her phone down and sighs heavily.
"Everything all right?" Gibbs asks her worriedly seeing her distressed look something to do with her family.
"I'm worried about my friend, Novilene and her mother, Maria..." Lia spoke up and for some reason, she easily trusts Gibbs for an unknown reason. "They usually respond to my voicemail and I'm starting to get worried about them."
"How did your brother ended up with them?"
"You mean Alex?" She chuckled and losing the count people accuse them of being siblings. "He's not exactly my brother by blood. Alex thinks of me as his own sister and I don't even know... if I have a biological sibling." Whispering the last part.
Gibbs heard it and guess what she meant. "You're an orphan?"
"Yeah." Lia smiled sadly and leaning on the window. "They left me outside of my guardian's door with my name and necklace. My surname is not exactly Snow."
Gibbs feels sympathy towards Lia and he reminds her of his late wife. He vowed himself to look after her. "Kate told me that you adored children." Changing the subject and Lia appreciated it.
"Yeah, they're my stress reliever and children look up to me... that I am their role model." She smiled and playing her bracelet.
"Do you mind if you could talk to Sergeant Fuentes, son? Maybe he'll open up with you." He suggested and Lia nodded her head.
"I would love to." They already arrived at Fuentes house. Lia and Gibbs looked up to see a young boy is sulking of losing his father. "Hello, young man." She receives silence and decided to continue. "Can I come up? Do I need your permission? I should climb up a little."
Lia climbs up on the ladder and seeing the boy is plucking the leaves with a sullen expression. It hurts her seeing children's sadness and couldn't imagine what it feels like losing someone.
"You should need a password, young man." Lia spoke with a soft tone.
"Why? It's never gonna be finished. My dad's dead." The young boy sobs and mourning his father.
"Yeah, we know..." She whispered and stared at Gibbs with sadness.
"Who are you?" He glances at her then to the older man.
They heard footsteps and see two women are approaching them.
"I'm uh, Lia Snow and this is Jethro Gibbs." She introduced herself and Gibbs while climbing off the ladder.
"NCIS." Gibbs spoke up as he shows his badges.
"I don't have time to answer questions. We're on our way to the funeral." The woman spoke up.
"We're not here to ask questions, ma'am." Lia spoke up and pushing her glasses up.
"Then why were you here?" She asks them in a cold tone.
"She says I need a password, mom." The young boy answered.
"What?" It clicks Lia's mind that this woman happened to be Sergeant Fuentes wife.
"I told him a tree house should have a password." Lia clarified her statement.
"Oh." Mrs Fuentes sighs softly and smiled sadly. "Yeah, Larry was building that for him."
"Doing a good job." Gibbs commented it and observing the tree house.
Mrs Fuentes approached them. "Larry was a good man. A good husband and a good father."
"A good marine." Lia spoke up in a soft tone.
"There are rumors that his death wasn't an accident."
"Whatever happened, Mrs Fuentes, we'll find who's responsible." Gibbs vowed the woman in front of him.
"And also bring him to justice." Lia commented with a determined look on her face.
"You have a good heart, Agent Snow and don't let anyone tainted it." Mrs Fuentes spoke up and could see her goodness within her. "Billy, we have to go." The young boy, Billy climbed down using the ladder. "Oh, look at you. Dusty... come here. Your hair's mess. Where's your comb? Larry always told him to carry a comb."
"Like JFK." Billy spoke up while combing his hair. "Whoever he is."
"He was a navy guy." Gibbs explained to Billy. "Like your dad was a marine." He kneeled down to level his height. "Navy guys and marines, they always look their best."
"Your dad would want you to look your best today, for him." Lia spoke up in a soft tone.
"I don't want the marines at the funeral to see me cry." Billy whimpered and Lia smiled in sympathy towards him.
"Never be ashamed of tears, young man."
"Marines don't cry."
"Yeah, they do." Gibbs spoke up since he remembered that day he loses his wife and daughter while he was a marine at that time. "At JFK's funeral, his son saluted the coffin. You know how to salute?" Billy demonstrated it as Lia and Gibbs smiled. "Perfect. You salute your dad today."
"Nobody will notice the tears." Lia commented as Mrs Fuentes smiled but curious how this young woman looked similar to Gibbs.
"We have to go." Mrs Fuentes informed the two Agents then stared at them. "I believe you'll get whoever did this."
"You have our word."
"How was that?" Tony asked the instructor curiously and didn't notice that Kate, Lia and Gibbs are approaching him.
"Very ladylike." Kate spoke up bluntly while Lia sighs heavily at their bickering.
"DiNozzo, what are you doing?" Gibbs questioned his Agent.
"Uh, I'm just doing a little research for Abby." Tony explained as he removed his helmet.
"For Abby?" He looked skeptical and the way Tony was enjoying himself to do it.
"Well, maybe I'm serving two masters." He smiled sheepishly.
"Try having 5 Ph.D.'s like my friend, Novilene." Lia pointed out and Tony stared at her shocked. "No, I'm not bluffing." Completely oblivious of his paleness while Gibbs smirked seeing being savage without thinking it first.
"Novilene has 5 Ph.D.'s like Criminology, Biochemistry, Sociology, Psychology and Biomedical Physics." Kate added the information and smirked seeing Tony is about to pass out the revelation of Lia's friend smartness.
"Lastly, she has two Bachelors of Chemistry and Art." Tony puffs out and whoever this Novilene is, she is a very clever and smart woman.
"You're serving one now." Gibbs spoke up and walked up ahead.
"How'd did you get into NCIS?" Lia asked Tony curiously.
"I'll tell you and in return, you tell me, how did you get into FBI?" Tony bargained and Lia pushed her glasses up.
"Deal."
"I smiled." Kate rolled her eyes while Lia shakes her head.
"Outsmarted them." Tony stared at her and wondering what she meant as Lia walked faster to catch up with Gibbs.
"It's true." Kate spoke up and he almost forgets that she's with them. "If someone dares to cross her path, she'd be a completely different person, from what Steve told me."
"Your boyfriend?" He smirked.
"Steve is my friend. He's getting married to Phoebe in 2 weeks time." She glared at him. "Hence the reason why Lia is here in the first place and both of them didn't know she's going to attend their wedding."
"Right... about Lia's friend, Novilene is it? How much is her IQ?" He asks curiously and she smirked.
"Smart enough to finish her University quickly than you."
"I had the rigger's lockers sealed immediately after the incident, sir." The marine soldier informed them as they put on disposable gloves.
"Keys." Gibbs ordered them then handed it over to his team.
The four of them are inspecting their lockers to look for clues. Kate noticed something and called them. "Got something."
Kate placed the box on the table as she took out a few things. Lia grabbed the table and reading the brand. "Brass-stripper solvent." She read it out loud.
"Read the contents, Lia." Kate informed them.
Lia narrowed her eyes as she read it then pass it to Gibbs. Gibbs eyed it carefully then passing it to Tony. "Contains petroleum distillant, ammonia and sulfuric acid." He read it out loud as Lia, Gibbs and Kate stared at him. "Harmful if swallowed... or applied to shroud lines."
"Ramsey's locker." Kate told his Unit Chief.
"That stuff's not mine." Ramsey told the Agents.
"Sergeant Nutt, place the corporal in custody." Gibbs commanded the marine soldier. "Tony, read him."
Tony approached Ramsey. "You have the right to remain silent and make no statement at all. Any statement you do can be used against you in a trial by court-martial..."
"You want me to interrogate, Ramsey?" Lia asks the Unit Chief curiously. "Don't you think this is a bit too far? If anyone finds out that I'm not NCIS, you're going to be in big trouble."
"It will be fine, Lia." Gibbs assured the young woman. "You came this far to help us."
"Jethro... I don't want you or your team to lose your job because of me."
"We'll take the risk." He patted her shoulder to calm her down. "Go. We'll be behind the mirror."
Lia looked hesitant but reluctantly get inside of the interrogation room. Her expression turned into blank and seating down across from Ramsey. "Scuttlebutt has it that you and Thumper mixed it up in the paraloft." She spoke up and eyeing him with a serious expression.
"We exchanged words, ma'am." Ramsey spoke up and slightly fidgeting at her gaze.
"I assume that includes the fist."
"A punch or two was thrown. Nothing serious. But I damn sure wasn't angry enough to kill him, ma'am."
"Or could it be... you wanted to scare him?" She asks him curiously but the eyes remained cold. "Thumper was on painkillers and didn't have time to pull his reserve. "
"I didn't touch his chute, ma'am." Ramsey denied it. "How could I?" Asking her curiously and she remained silent. "I'm on suspension and the paraloft is under lock and key."
"What'd you find?" Kate asks when Tony came inside at the other side of the room while she's watching her friend, interrogating Ramsey.
"Hardware store where our guy did one-stop shopping." Tony explained and looked surprised to see Lia is interrogating Ramsey not his boss. "Clerk's pretty fuzzy. He does remember a marine in a real hurry to copy a key. How come you let Lia interrogate him, Gibbs?"
"She's a FBI Agent for 5 years." Gibbs spoke up and observing them. "Before she became an Agent, Lia solved a cold case 8 years ago without supervision from a cop or Federal Agents back in her home country."
"What!? How did you know that!?"
"I called from her work and demanded to transfer Lia as NCIS Agent. The FBI Agents told me her achievements, to think this Lia is smart that can par her friend's smartness... oh, she got 3 Ph.D's, Criminology, Sociology and Psychology." He smirked seeing Tony's shocked expression. "Let's not forget she has Bachelor of Chemistry."
"We have a mini female Albert Einstein here..." Tony commented and couldn't believe this woman is a genius than him.
Lia grabbed something from her pocket to reveal a key. "All you needed was a key... like this one." Holding it in front of him. "I found this in Thumper's personal effects."
"If that's the paraloft key, you won't find one like that on my keychain." Lia analyzed his keychain while listening to him. "I've messed up some rigging, ma'am, but never intentionally. A guy jumps with one of my chutes, he puts his life in my hands. I'd never breach that trust, ma'am. Never."
"Trust is one way or another..." She whispered lowly that Ramsey couldn't hear it. "It appears that the key I have matches yours.." Lia showed it to him and mentally smirked at seeing him froze. "Tell me, that was a plan, too?"
"It had to be. I'm not guilty, ma'am." Ramsey denied it.
"They're always so sincere when they say that." Tony commented on it and looked surprised how this Lia could be so different from work.
"What if I was to give you an offer to prove that?" Lia questioned Ramsey.
"Anything, ma'am." Lia mentally smirked that he fell for her trapped.
"Are you willing to give us a sample of your DNA?"
"Someone put that box in my locker and that key on my keychain. How do I know that you don't have my DNA on something else they planted, too?"
"You don't."
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs throws the folder across his desk. "Where'd you learn how to write, China?" He asks him sarcastically.
Tony rolls his eyes while Lia chuckled with an amused expression. "I'd say Egypt. Looks more like hieroglyphics." Kate commented.
"Hey." He feels offended by his penmanship writing. "You were in a rush to read it."
"My mistake." Gibbs spoke up in a monotone while sipping his coffee.
"May I read it?" Lia asks politely. "I could be able to read it."
"Thanks, sweetheart." He smiled cheekily and gulped seeing Gibbs glared towards his direction.
"These are the interviews of the marines didn't jump, right?" Ignoring his usual flirt comments when she read his reports.
"You are correct, Lia." He is impressed by how she managed to read his writing. "It's not very interesting unless..."
"Corporal Ramey finally gave it up." Abby barged in their bullpen. "His mouth was drier than mummy dust. I had to swab it four times to get a decent DNA sample." She rambled and smiling happily towards Lia as she returned the gesture.
"How long to test for a match on those skin cells?" Gibbs asks the gothic woman curiously.
"Only if you want no runs, drips or errors in court, you got to give me 24."
"We're going to lose more time for that..." Lia commented and stared at Abby worriedly. "Is there any other way to make this DNA faster?"
"Don't worry, Lia." Abby assured the Filipino woman. "You're going to get the DNA as soon as possible." She left the bullpen to get the DNA test quickly.
"You don't expect a guilty man to give up his DNA." Kate commented and Lia agreed with her.
"Ah, he's rolling the dice. Hoping for that one in a million shot it won't match." Tony spoke up.
"Guilty people do that?" She asked curiously.
"All the time." He smirked while typing while Lia frowned.
"Wait a minute. Kate has a point." Gibbs spoke up and Lia nodded her head.
"What if Ramsey is been set up? What if he's innocent? What if he is telling the truth?" Lia asked them. "I've faced from the previous cases that they blame someone else despite this person is innocent." She may not be a human lie detector like Novilene. Lia wouldn't forgive herself if they jail innocent people while the murderer is on the lose.
"Well, we'll know in 24 hours, but I wouldn't bet on it." Toy denied her opinions but Lia wouldn't give up on it.
"Yeah, well, you know what?" Gibbs asks Tony. "I don't like sitting on my ass, waiting for a DNA match." He stands up to grab his coat while Lia followed him as well.
"There are only two other possible suspects." Kate pointed out and followed their gesture as well. "Corporals Dafelmair or Brinkman."
"Actually it's three Kate." Lia corrected her and pushing her glasses up. "You're forgetting Captain Faul because he also got a key to the paraloft."
"Your sharp, Lia." Gibbs complimented her skills as she blushed lightly. "Where do you think you're going, bubba?" He asks Tony seeing he's going to follow them. "You got a report to finish."
"Should I-" Lia was cut off by their Unit Chief.
"Don't help him, I need you for this, Lia."
Lia gives Tony a sympathy look while he smirked and has an idea. "You can make it up with me Lia, by-"
"DiNozzo!"
Smack!
"Ow!"
"Sergeant Fuentes is one of the finest NCOs in my command. He was tough on his riggers, but fair. I still find it difficult to believe his reporting Corporal Ramsey drove him to murder." The Captain spoke up while Lia is taking down the notes and listening to their conversation.
"Corporal Ramsey hasn't been proven guilty yet, Captain." Kate spoke up.
"You're holding him." He pointed out and Lia remained blank expression. "Scuttlebutt is he's confessed."
"Never knew a marine Captain who believed Scuttlebutt." Gibbs spoke up then smirked lightly.
"How did you prepare the day of the exercise?" Lia asked the Marine Captain curiously.
"I spent the morning in chalk talk with the Navy aviators piloting c-130." The Marine Captain answered.
"I noticed you used a navy bird."
"Most of ours are deployed in Iraq."
"You eat lunch with them?" Kate asks.
"At the officer's mess." The Marine soldier answered. "After lunch, we made a couple of dry runs, had another chalk talk and then loaded up. Why?"
"Do you have your paraloft key, Captain?" Gibbs asks as the Captain as he showed his keys to them. "Corporal Ramsey must have lifted Sergeant Fuentes's key long enough to make a duplicate."
"Corporal Ramsey made a key to the paraloft?" He asks them.
"It's the only way he could have slipped in to sabotage the chutes." The three of them stands up. "Thank you, Captain." Just when they are about to leave.
"Why didn't you just ask to see my key?"
"Agent Todd is new and just teaching her how to interrogate." Gibbs telling him half of the truth since Lia already experiences it on how to interrogate someone.
"The paraloft was secured between 0900 and 1800. That's why you wanted to know what I was doing all day. You suspected me."
"If the Captain were a suspect, we would have read him his rights, wouldn't we?" Kate asks Gibbs and Lia.
"Very good, Agent Todd." Gibbs complimented her.
They came back in the bullpen and Tony saw them. "Captain have an alibi?" He asks them curiously and handed the paper to Gibbs.
"He was nowhere near the paraloft when the chutes were sabotaged." Kate answered.
"Ramsey's the dirt bag."
"Could still be Dafelmair or Brinkman."
"Sergeant Fuentes supervised the riggers handing out the chutes." Lia spoke up and pushing her glasses up.
"Yeah, he watches his riggers from the back of the truck." Tony pointed out.
"Corporal Ramsey participated." Ignoring the fact Gibbs observing her again.
"Well, he's on suspension from rigging, not passing out chutes or jumping."
"He could have given Thumper a dirty chute."
"Can you repeat that again, Kate." Lia asks her as she started to formulate her theory.
"Ramsey could have given Thumper a sabotaged chute." Kate looked confused at her while Gibbs finally understands what Lia thinks.
"No, you said dirty." Gibbs commented and dragging Lia with her.
"What?" Tony and Kate stared at each other confusion as they followed them.
"With Gibbs, you never know. I don't know much about Lia though."
They went inside of the forensics lab. "Abby, I need to see Sergeant Fuentes' reserve chute."
"You might want to take a look at this first." Abby spoke up and stands up. "Now that I'm only running one DNA analysis, finally had time to do a particle pick on the shroud lines. You're looking at infrared of bolivia's best."
"Cocaine?" Tony tried to guess it.
"Our killer's using?" Gibbs asks Abby.
"No, the rock's too pure. The residue on his skin is probably from cutting and weighing."
"Why don't I think Thumper was killed for reporting Corporal Ramsey's rigging?"
"Where's Thumper's reserve chute?" Lia asked the gothic woman.
"It's over here." Abby grabs it while Lia put on her disposable gloves. "Why do you need to check it for? It's clean."
"Too clean in my opinion." Lia muttered and tearing off the yellow tag. "It's a bit suspicious the chute is clean for someone who smashed through a tree and SUV. Where's the other jump gear we confiscated?"
"I stored it in the ballistics lab after I tested it." She turned on the lights. "What are you looking for? You look a bit like Gibbs."
Lia laughs nervously and rubbing her neck. "Am I? I didn't know about that... Ramsey, Dafelmair's and Brikman's gear... bingo." She found the chute and grabs it.
"What are you looking for, Lia?" Tony asks the Filipino woman and it freaks him out how she could be a bit vague like Gibbs.
"A screwed pooch, isn't it, Lia?" Gibbs asks her and she nodded her head.
"Yeah." She pushes her glasses up and pulling up some stuff then smiles in relief. "Found it. It's dirty. This is the reserve that Thumper jumped with."
"Unlucky 13." Abby commented and amused how Lia could think alike like Gibbs.
"Someone pulled a switch before he got crash by a SUV." She tried to pull the trigger but it stuck and accidentally pout which cause the gothic woman awed her cuteness. "The cone's been soldered in place." Lia ripped the small cloth. "Doesn't matter if those painkillers slowed his judgment. He couldn't use this chute."
"Whose rucksack is this?" Tony asks Lia.
They froze seeing a familiar name of Corporal Dafelmair. "Call Captain Faul." Gibbs ordered his team. "Tell him jump OPs can resume. We got our killer."
"Do I tell him who?" Kate asks her Unit Chief.
"No. I don't want DNA evidence. I want this bastard to confess." Lia cringed and not used of the swearing.
"How are we going to do that?" Tony asks Gibbs curiously.
"Wear this when we jump." Gibbs snatched the chut and shove it to Tony's arms.
"Jump?" He asks with a shocked look on his face.
"Yes and to make him confess for murdering Fuentes." Lia answered and knowing what Gibbs is implying for. "Dafelmair thought he's going to get away with it. Thinking that cleaning his evidence could solve the problem. I've noticed when we took the chutes, he's confident enough that we're not going to find any new leads for this case."
"Is that how you profile him, Lia?" Kate asks her and was amazed by how she analyzes the person's behavior.
"Yes, Kate." She sighs softly. "At first... there was something missing in this case as a puzzle. I couldn't find the final piece until it struck me that Dafelmair used to be a drug possession before."
"That's why you're looking for the bag..." Abby muttered.
"To see if my theory is right." Lia answered while Gibbs smirked for taking her as part of his team.
It's already late night and succeeds for capturing Sergeant Fuentes killer, Corporal Dafelmair. Gibbs called her and wanting to speak with her.
"You wanted to meet me, Jethro?" Lia asked and glancing at Tony who just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what his boss wants.
"How fast are you going back to the Philippines and packing your things up?" Gibbs asks her out of the blue.
Lia was startled at his sudden question but answered it. "I could ask my Aunt to borrow one of her private jets while she packs my things to get it for an emergency case, why?" Gibbs smiled and handed her the folder. She gasped the moment she opened it and stared at him with a surprised expression.
"I want you to be part of my team, permanently." Tony was shocked to hear the sudden proposal and hoping Lia could accept it.
"This is so sudden, sir..." Lia stared at his blue eyes. "To think I'm going to have job promotion in here." She couldn't believe to have a sudden job promotion despite she's only here for a holiday.
"What do you say?"
Lia thinks it carefully of this job. She's been in the FBI for five years and it won't kill her to change occupation. It could also help her to find where her biological parents since she has no leads from her home country so far. "Deal and give me 4 days to settle my transfer and packing my things."
"Great and don't worry about your visa." Gibbs assured her. "I'm going to help you process it."
"Thank you, Jethro." She smiled and couldn't believe he would go this far to be part of their team.
"Isn't it great, Lia?" Tony patted her shoulder. "Welcome to the team."
"Thank you, how's the ankle? I'm sure you had a nasty jump." She stared at him worriedly.
"I'll live and come on, I have to take you home. Otherwise, Kate and maybe Gibbs might kill me for leaving you alone." Tony and Lia bid them farewell to Gibbs as he smiled at them when they left.
"You're really something, Lia... you remind me of my wife." Gibbs opened the drawer to see the picture of his late wife and himself are holding their newborn daughter. "Wherever you are, my sweet butterfly girl, I'll find you... I promise." He vowed and never gives up for searching his daughter.