— Anything new ? Gibbs asked as he reached the bullpen again, dark coffee between fingers.

— Yes, boss, Tony spoke first, the two dead men's IDs now appearing in the center of the screen. Marines Philip Frank and Martin Pitt were both good friends, or at least not big strangers, as they had a few missions in common. Frank was a widower with no kids and Pitt completely single.

— Nothing very sensitive about them, boss, Tim continued, skipping the previous documents' pictures in order to reveal some other ones. I didn't need to look too far as they've only been working together and knowing each other since about two years.

— So what we need to know now is if someone from the crowd knew the both of them.

— Well, boss…Marines are always in group, I guess you know that…

Gibbs only gave a quick look in Tony's direction, but there was no other words needed to explain the intensity of the silent confrontation.

— Of course you know that ! Tony nervously smiled, swallowing hardly. But what I mean is…

— What, Dinozzo ? Did you loose your tongue ?

— Thing is, Ziva spoke and temporarily saved him, that the few non sensitive missions they've been working on together were, of course, taking place with quite a lot of other Marines…

— Well, find them, then, Gibbs logically and neutrally reacted, as usual.

— But, boss…if some of them might be free to talk to us, it is more than likely that others might be on a lot of different missions, Tim politely tried protesting in turn, and…

— Find a way, then ! Ziva…

— I'll make lists of all the participants present on each mission, she completed the sentence and immediately walked to her desk.

— I'll crack the system with Abby to be sure there wasn't any Secret Defense case they might have been working on, Tim continued. Maybe they arrested someone…or else, he swallowed hardly as his mind stopped reacting for a second, Gibbs' stare suddenly oppressing him.

— I'll contact their Captains, maybe they'll have things to say, they might have noticed something...Tony quite ended the organization talk.

— Alright, I want this situation to be cleared as fast as possible ! Jethro almost shouted after a new sip of coffee emotionlessly touched his lips, the bottom of his jacket flying as he headed to the elevator.

Tony took a quick look at the screen, trying to think of the case with a new state of mind, now feeling a bit more relaxed.

— Gibbs should really reduce his coffee doses, he gets angrier and angrier…Ziva started to talk again.

— Father Bear doesn't need coffee to get angrier...Tony mumbled, taking a new look at the screen.

— Was it the same cup he had on the crime scene, or is it already a new one ? Ziva kept asking and bent down a little onto her desk, as if sharing some confidence with the others.

Tony didn't react to her new words but only started to chuckle, the chuckle fastly turning into some kind of laugh he was trying not to let go, his body shaking quicker and quicker.

— What is it now, Dinozzo ? Ziva sighed, Tim waiting, too, for what would be next, with a strange expression on his face.

— It's nothing, Tony tried holding back any new sign of joy, raising a fist to his mouth.

— I can see your little teeth showing up, Dinozzo…Ziva pointed a finger at her teammate and started feeling upset, it's making you look creepier than usual.

— It's just…

— What is it, Tony ? even Tim begun to be impatient.

— You said that there might be a lot of 'participants'…he chuckled even more.

— What…Ziva gritted her teeth. That's all ? This word exists, Dinozzo, I am not making it up !

— I know, he held back another big smile. It's just…well, coming from you, it seems like a group of Marines has taken part in a funny contest, or some kind of gaming activity...

— You're an idiot, Tony, you know that ? she faked a positive facial expression, finally clicking on her computer in order to find names.

Tim felt like he was ready to add something to the situation, but his phone suddenly rang on top of his desk, Abby's voice echoing on the other side.

— Hey, he greeted her.

— Can you tell me what you're still doing up there, McGee ? she complained as if he had become some kind of kid who needed punishment.

— Yeah, sorry, Abby, I was about to go down, I promise. We were talking with Gibbs a minute again in order to…wait, he suddenly stopped the conversation.

— Now what ? Abby complained for the second time.

— How did you know I would need your help on something ? Oh no…he revealed a worried pair of eyes in Tony and Ziva's direction, the handset still pressed against his ear, did he come to see you and realized I wasn't there ?

— Maybe…Abby's voice turned a bit evasive.

— Maybe ? Tim felt his heart heavily bumping under his skin.

— McCrack is in trouble…Tony started to sing, childishly.

— Oh shut up, Tony…Ziva protested.

— Yeah, Tony, why don't you shut up, Tim started to freak out, badly trying to handle both conversations at once.

— I didn't need him to come ! Abby finally admitted, audibly bored by this stupid never ending discussion. Come on, McGee, you guys find two dead bodies in three days and none of you expect from Gibbs to ask for extra help, and at least, minimum one illegal thing ?

— True enough…Tim sighed.

— Now move your butt from that chair of yours and immediately go down to the lab, Timmy, or I'll come myself up there and I promise you will not enjoy this very much.

— Yes, boss, Tim immediately stood up. Sorry…Abby.

Tim hurried in the lab's direction without a word, Gibbs heading to the autopsy room, almost at the same time...

— What's new, Ducky ? he asked, automatic doors inviting him to come inside.

— I am still working on it, Jethro, the man kept his eyes focused on the second dead Marine, but this leg still creates a bit of mystery to me, as our first body hasn't anything else than a wound in his temple. You say these cases might be related, but Marine Philip Frank doesn't have a broken leg, nor a wound in his forehead...

— They already worked with each other, Duck, we know that.

— I guess you mean that they did so in a group situation...as a lot of Marines do. Don't get me wrong, Jethro, I am not saying that it is something extremely usual, but it is not rare neither... It is not as if our two men had been working together, and only together on a case, is it ? Otherwise, it would certainly be more than suspicious, for sure... Anyway, I am fully aware that we might not have all the informations for now, but for the moment, here is my humble opinion about that.

— Well, linked or not, Agent Gibbs, I think we could...maybe reconsider the suicide's possibility about Marine Philip Frank, Jimmy surprisingly opened his mouth after a whole day of unusual discretion, even smiling a bit.

Maybe having Dr Mallard express his doubts first was the opening he'd been waiting from the beginning.

— I already told you that I don't believe in suicide, Palmer. Having a hole in your temple doesn't mean that someone didn't force you doing so.

— Oh come on, Agent Gibbs ! Jimmy suddenly raised his voice. I'm…I'm sorry, but… The gun wasn't found close to him, it moved with the water, so if someone wanted to force him to kill himself, then why didn't he took back the weapon and…I mean...they...he, or she should have replaced the gun nearer than...uh... What I mean, he finally ended his explanation, is that if someone would have wanted to make us believe that it was a suicide, then the natural reaction would have been to put the gun...uh, closer.

Jimmy finally swallowed and normally breathed in after a while, now rubbing his own temples with exasperation.
That wasn't making any sense, and his brain was thinking way too fast for that... Of course, to make someone believe in such a thing, you'd better be letting the gun 'closer', but...with the water, and everything... Yeah, the idea was here but his words weren't exactly making any sense... In fact, they were clearly making no sense at all, and this was more than probably because he was way too nervous to put himself together, confronting Gibbs.

— Water helps covering the clues, Jethro dryly interrupted him. Our man could be certain that we wouldn't find any powder near the wound as the face has stayed completely wet for hours, nor any other indications…that way, accusing the water, it could have looked more normal during the investigation, no matter the details that might have been relevant to catch him in case he would have made any mistake.

— Then if everyone knows you don't believe in Marines' suicide, why do they even try to make it look like it...Jimmy suddenly bitterly pronounced, they'd better be discreetly shooting them anywhere else and not pretend. If you will excuse me for a minute, Dr Mallard…

Gibbs watched him leave with no explanation, raising both exasperated arms in the air, Ducky and himself glancing at each other for a minute before a phone begun to ring.

— Yes, Tony ?