Arriving at the crime scene McGee used his new "toy" (his fingerprint scanner) to identify the dead marine as Lieutenant James Canny. The crime scene wasn`t the most gruesome they`ve ever had but it was half way there. It was also close to being the saddest. The crime was in an abandoned barn. It hadn`t been abandoned that long as they found out when the poor girl who found the dead man told them. She said she used to care for the cattle that lived there during winter but it had been unused when a section of it collapsed in a storm a few weeks ago. She was only there to see how much of it needed repairing. She claimed that she walked straight in, saw the dead man, screamed, then ran back outside again without touching anything so her fingerprints wouldn`t be on anything. She then called the police, who directed the call to NCIS, who had come over pretty much straight away. The lieutenant had been apparently been chained up, blindfolded and gagged then stabbed to death.
"What a way to go," said Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo who had just starting taking photos of the scene.
"Is that from a movie, DiNozzo?" asked Special Agent Gibbs who was currently trying to get hold of Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard because he and his junior assistant Jimmy Palmer still hadn`t turned up.
"Actually, boss, it`s from several but it`s originally from…" began Tony but soon stopped when he saw Gibbs give the "the look" and knew a head slap would be coming his way if he didn`t shut up.
"Where`s Ziva?" Gibbs asked when he knew DiNozzo had switched his brain to work mode.
"Still at the van, boss, said she was getting the bag and tag stuff ready" said Tony.
"McGee got it ready before we set off," Gibbs said but then realised immediately after he said this why Ziva was hanging around at the van. She wanted to prepare herself for what was in here before she came in.
"I told her that but…" Tony shrugged when he couldn`t figure out why Ziva was hanging around at the van.
"I can`t believe how many times you`ve got us lost in a month, Jimmy, it must be a skill you need to practice over time," announced Ducky when he arrived in through the barns double doors with Jimmy following him looking rather annoyed with himself. A few paces behind him came Ziva, looking satisfied that she could handle anything that was in here.
"I`m sorry, Doctor, the road signs confuse me especially when you can`t see them when they`re behind bushes…" Jimmy started to apologise but got cut short when Ducky shoved some equipment into his arms.
"Yes, well we better get started or this poor marine will get so bored he`ll get up and wander out the door," said Ducky in his joking voice.
"Tony, go talk to the witness and see if she knows the lieutenant. McGee, search the east side of the barn to see if the murder weapon is still in here somewhere. Ziver, you okay to search the west?" Gibbs called out his instructions to each of his agents, calling Ziva his favourite nickname he`d used for years.
"Of course" replied Ziva sounding as if it was the simplest request in the world and off she went in the opposite direction to McGee to search for the murder weapon.
The east side just happened to be the side where the section that had collapsed was. It certainly looked stable enough but that was just what Ziva saw. Whilst scanning the floor and walls for the weapon, her eyes caught something shiny on a beam that was holding the barn up. It was soon forgotten when her foot caught something while she was walking. She looked down but she couldn`t anything until a faint line came into her vision. It was a trip wire. Suddenly there was a loud rumble coming from above her and she just had time to look up and a small "oh" of realization escaped her mouth when the roof of the barn above her head came down, burying her in its rumble.