A/N Chapter 4, hot off the email :-p

My poor, poor beta must be regretting agreeing by now. Alder, I will get you the confectionary-coated-physicist of your choice once the entire thing is uploaded!

Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad people are finding the style/pacing ok, this is the first fiction that has been seen by more than a couple friends. Plenty more to come, I promise…

Disclaimer: Not mine, though if a certain Mr B ever feels particularly generous I could be persuaded to take them. Or I could babysit? Please? Aaah well… enjoy.

Chapter 4

"Boss, you gotta come see this. Body dump, at least four, maybe six bodies. South-west corner of my grid," Tony's voice came over the radio, startling the grey haired agent.

"On my way. Secure the scene and get the others in, I'll bring Ducky," Gibbs responded tersely. His gut was still telling him there was something wrong. He looked around as he walked through the trees, though nothing seemed amiss. Even the animals seemed to be acting normally, or at least as normally as he had ever seen.

*****

It took the rest of the team almost two hours to reach Tony's position. They were able to move much faster than he had, as they weren't sweeping for evidence as they went, merely following the path marked out by Tony's group. He had already sent the volunteers out to search the surrounding woods for any evidence, though he had them leave a large area around the scene for the professionals to scour.

Gibbs approached the taped off area to see Tony talking to a small auburn woman. Beyond a quick thought on how Tony always found a pretty girl to talk to at any scene he ignored them as he glanced over the scene. With his attention on the grisly display he missed the way Tony's companion suddenly tensed, her head raising and nostrils flaring as she looked around.

*****

"Hey…hey it's ok," Tony said soothingly, mistaking Rhiannon's reaction for distress at the scene. He put his hand on her arm and stroked it gently, trying to calm her down. He was so focussed on her troubled hazel eyes that he missed the change in the wind, it started to swirl around them in preparation for a storm.

Tim looked up at the sudden deep growl from Gibbs as his head whipped round and he glared in Tony's direction. As Gibbs stormed over there Tim couldn't help but think Tony's incessant flirting had gotten him into trouble once again.

"DiNozzo, what the hell is going on? Why are you chatting instead of processing the scene?" Gibbs all but snarled as he reached his senior agent. Tony looked up in shock at his tone, Gibbs had never responded this way to him questioning a witness before.

"Boss, this is Rhiannon McLeod, a writer/photographer from the UK, she was here photographing the local wildlife and stumbled on the site. I've got her camera here, she loaned me it to take scene pictures after mine packed up…Rhi, this is my boss, Special Agent Gibbs. If you can just go through everything with him again, I'll just go over the scene with the rest of the team and meet Ducky," with that Tony gave Rhi a reassuring smile before hastening away from his inexplicably angry boss.

Watching his senior field agent reach the others and ensuring they were out of earshot, Gibbs took Rhi's elbow in a firm grip and led her to one side. He ignored the way she tried to make herself look smaller and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, his voice low and dangerous and his eyes glittering with fury. "This is my territory and you have no right to be here without my permission."

Rhiannon ducked her head and shied away from his anger, though his grip on her arm prevented her moving far.

"I'm here for the same reason as you!" she hissed, a small measure of bravado returning, "The Council sent me. We suspect your murderer is from Europe, a rogue who came by the Knowledge by chance and is trying to use it with no training. The Council reported no active Pack in this territory so I was assigned to stop this."

Gibbs used his infamous glare, impressed as Rhi managed to meet his eyes, overriding her natural inclination to back down. He hadn't been in touch with the European Council since '91, when he had informed them of Shannon and Kelly's murder. Come to think of it he hadn't contacted the American Council in the same amount of time.

"What business is it of the European Council? Why didn't you just notify our Council in Colorado?" he growled, satisfied to see her eyes widen.

"I'm here by the invite of my contact with the Colorado Pack. She is the highest ranking female in the Council, Jeni said I was needed, that my skills and experience with this…type of killer…would make it easier for me. Funnily enough, she didn't mention an Alpha I needed to approach either." Rhi replied with a growl of her own, fear making it harder for her to control her temper.

"What, you a bounty hunter? Or just known for sniffin' around trouble?" Gibbs was beginning to enjoy himself, pleased that she wasn't just rolling over and whimpering for mercy. Most youngsters he'd come across couldn't stand up to an Alpha like himself.

"No…what I am is none of your business," Rhi snarled, finally managing to pull her arm free, though she made an effort to calm herself when she noticed the three younger agents watching her and Gibbs with undisguised curiosity.

"Red…whilst you are in my territory then it is very much my business," Gibbs gave her a feral grin. "Here's my card, my home address is on the back. When we release you from the scene I want you to go straight to D.C. and wait for me there. Help yourself to the contents of the fridge…but do not leave that house for any reason…understand? That is an order, Red, and I will get the Council to back me up if necessary." Gibbs used his height advantage and powerful presence to loom over the smaller woman and intimidate her. It worked too, he knew from the way her pupils dilated, her breathing quickened and her entire posture collapsed inward making her look small and vulnerable.

"Yes Alpha," Rhi said, bowing her head in defeat. Despite her tendency to rebel in both public society and within her own more private world, she knew that crossing this man would be a bad idea. 'Besides,' she thought with a smile, 'perhaps I'll get to see Tony again!'

Gibbs snorted, he could follow her train of thought as plain as day, even without utilising his abilities.

tbc