Chapter 7


A/N: Okay so I know the story has been going rather slow and I am sorry. This is only my second story I've tried writing in a while so I hope I'm still meeting standards. This chapter will be worth it. This chapter will be delving deeper into the case and hopefully they can catch this murderer sometime soon, or at least figure out who it is haha. So thankful to the reviews and followers as usual! :) Please enjoy!

Tony and Ziva had been cleared of their poison. For now...

However, no one had uncovered any answers as to how the two agents came by to having this poison on their hands. They had used latex gloves like everyone else? So how did they sustain the poison?

Ducky and Abby were working hard at figuring out more to this deadly toxin. Abby was dominating her theory on whether or not Tony and Ziva's poison had been the same poison that was found on the dead marine. She was determined to prove her beliefs that they were now dealing with two different poisons...

Ducky on the other hand was searching for more answers from their special guest himself: Jerry Phax. This marine had somehow gotten himself in a very sticky situation- and Team Gibbs was set on finding out how and why. So many questions were being left unanswered.

How did this marine get into the grocery store at night? What were his intentions? Where was the murderer through all of this? Was there a fight of some sort?

Nobody really knew...

Meanwhile, all through the night Timothy McGee worked hard on trying to find Gibbs and the rest of the team a new lead on this horribly strange case. With no luck though, he began losing some real confidence on whether or not this case was ever going to come to a close anytime soon. All they had to go on was the marine's wife; Rebecca Phax. And she seemed to be totally oblivious as to how and when her own husband even died. Nobody suspected that she killed him- but you could never be too sure.

The next day Gibbs immediately tells Tony, McGee, and Ziva to all go back to their crime scene and investigate any and every possibility to figuring out the puzzles to this case so that they'd hopefully come to find the murderer.

He wanted every scrap, every food particle, every single crumb bagged and tagged at that crime scene to make sure that the murderer left no trace of himself behind...

This was surely going to be fun.

...

"A third time?! You kidding me?!" Tony groans loudly as he pulls up in front of the same dark eerie grocery store as always. He quickly shifts the Charger into park as McGee's eyes glue onto the building before them.

He feels himself swallow hard.

"Oh come on Tony. At least we're not itching anymore, yes?" Ziva smirks rather happily as she goes around to collect her things from the trunk. Yet again the team was back at the crime scene.. and oh what a joy it was for some.

"Yeah? Good thing Abby found that Jewel-stuff or whatever. I'd probably be dead by now." Tony grumbles through his teeth, his eyes slightly averting towards his hands. They didn't look completely normal yet- however the blisters and red rash had definitely subsided.

He almost looked like himself again.

"It's called Jewelweed, and did you two even thank her for it? I mean poor Abby worked all day trying to find a remedy for you both." McGee pitches his voice into their conversation as he comes to grab his backpack.

Ziva however just rolls her eyes at the man. "Well of course we thanked her! At least some of us have a little decency in us, right Tony?" She sideglances towards her partner and Tony only scoffs in his agreement.

"I didn't mean that Ziva, honest. All I'm saying is-" McGee tries to backtrack on his words but Tony simply slams the trunk down, which causes a loud thud to interrupt McGee's voice.

"We're going in. Stay close." Tony demands rather dramatically before he takes the lead towards the grocery store- Ziva and McGee falling into step behind him.

He creeks the door open before gazing around into the large building- just as he and Ziva did last time.

"Can't believe I have to do this again." He mutters to himself as the icy cold air comes into contact with him now.

Ziva braces herself before she too is struck by the cold atmosphere of the grocery store- McGee only doing the same.

"Wow. Darker and colder than what I remembered." The Probie speaks lowly as he peers around into the shadows.

Tony however gives him a look with a small furrow of his brow. "It hasn't changed McGoo. Still freezing in here." he snaps, before going to tighten his jacket around himself. Ziva then pushes her way to the front and flips on her flashlight next; this draws the attentions of both the male agents.

"S-So the Boss wants us to look around and gather every evidence we find... great." McGee goes over their assignment rather sourly.

Ziva just nods in response before beginning to lead the way into the store- the darkness quickly surrounding her and swallowing her up.

Tony blinks before going to follow his partner. Once he can see her and her flashlight better, he watches as she glances around every so often as if something were to jump from the shadows or something. He almost feels a smirk escape his lips. But he stifles this amusement and tries to focus his mind on the case.

"A-Any ideas as to how it got so cold in here?" McGee's voice suddenly comes from behind Tony and it brings him back to reality.

He pauses in his walking and gives a thoughtful look.

He's got a point. How come we've never checked it out before?

"Uhh... yeah, I don't know about that just yet. We can investigate later." The senior agent remarks rather abruptly before adding, "For now we should start bagging and tagging everything we see..."

He then turns back to continue following Ziva when he instantly notices her absence. The girl was no longer in front of him.

What?!

Where did she go?

"Ziva!" Tony whisper-yells into the darkness, before hurriedly whipping out his flashlight and switching it on. He shines it down aisle one, and then onto aisle two; his heart rate beginning to pick up a little.

He knew Ziva was capable on her own but he didn't like the idea of her just disappearing on him.

"Ziva! Where are you?" He whispers loudly again, and McGee comes to stand by his side- his own flashlight now in hand from Ziva's sudden loss.

Tony whirls his head around in every direction for the sight of Ziva's flashlight beam and he suddenly notices a glow coming from farther down the lanes.

Finally the Israeli's voice comes from a ways down from where the two men were standing. She obviously had gone on to aisle six, which was the place of the murder.

"I'm over here!" She calls back, her light illuminating the area she was in, and Tony immediately darts for her glow. He comes to aisle six before turning to peer down the lane- his eyes instantly connecting onto the slim figure of Ziva David.

He frowns before starting for her. "Why would you just run off like that?" he questions, his grip tightening around his flashlight's handle. Ziva however only looks up at him with irritably eyes. "I can take care of myself Tony. I wanted to see the crime scene." She replies back sharply and DiNozzo exhales hard.

McGee finally comes to join the two arguing agents, his eyes wide and cautious. "A-Anything wrong?" he quickly asks with a finicky look towards Ziva.

The olive-toned woman rolls her eyes at the repetitive question before going to squat on her knees to get a look at the leftover evidence they were to recover.

Food boxes, cans, meats, veggies, dairy products, and so many more various items littered the lane- all of which once had been piled upon Lance Corporal Phax.

The man seriously endured a very weird demise.

Death by groceries? I mean, what could be more strange? Tony thinks to himself as McGee goes to join Ziva on the floor.

All three agents were conspicuously wearing gloves now- if not two layers. McGee had decided to wear two layers of gloves seeming he still had no idea how Tony and Ziva both received poison on their hands.

He was only being cautious- however, Tony and Ziva both had given him a hard time over it.

"Make sure you don't touch anything now Probie..." Tony chuckles at the agent as he shuffles some veggies around near his feet.

McGee turns to give Tony a look before glancing at his double-layered hands. "Hey... It's alright to be a little more cautious than normal okay? I really just want to make sure that I don't get any poison on me like... well.. uh..." He trails off as Ziva glances over towards him now- her eyes like daggers.

"W-Well you know... like.. you guys..." He gently tries to get his words out- not wanting to offend anyone here. Tony though only scoffs, while Ziva does the same before returning to the food on the floor.

McGee bites his lip before frowning. "Hey, we all know that you both wore gloves, okay? I'm not saying that you didn't." He tries to correct his harsh wordings but Ziva doesn't even bother with the argument anymore.

"I get it." She snaps, her eyes never leaving the contents of the crime scene.

She then just turns to take out some evidence bags within her backpack- a marker in hand so that she could write on the bags.

"I guess we... pick this stuff up now, yes?" The girl tries to move the conversation along; not wanting to dwell on the fact that both she and Tony had sustained poison only yesterday.

"Yes. Right." McGee nods understandingly before going for his own backpack.

Tony simply watches on from his standing position above them. He held his flashlight beam over the crime so that the two other agents could see what they were doing. He liked doing this much better than joining them on the floor... with the poisonous items.

"Be careful now. Easy does it." McGee speaks aloud as he shoves a blackening banana into his first evidence bag; his nose wrinkling a bit within the process.

Ziva is also careful as she places some canned corn into a bag. The collection of the evidence was getting along rather slow; but this was only because all agents felt extra cautious now. Nobody wanted to end up with the nasty poison on their hands.

Not after yesterday.

Tony exhales; a relatively bored feeling coming to gradually ascend upon him as he watches his co-workers on their knees.

He almost felt rather selfish for not getting down there with them- but hey, he needed to provide the lighting for them to see, right?

It is only when Ziva goes to reach for another food item when Tony's attention is suddenly brought back to life. She shifts to a better stance upon her legs and she turns so that her whole backside is facing Tony.

He slowly grins massively.

Apart from the fact that her outfit captured her figure perfectly, he couldn't help but let his gaze wander over her protruding rear. She was squatting tightly- only as a nimble woman could- and her outfit only made it worst for the frat-boy. Her cargo pants hugged her sides with outstanding leisure as she reaches for another item and he feels his tongue running over his lips within seconds.

"Wow..." The man let's a breath escape his lips before he lifts his eyebrows at his partner below him; the grin still plastered to his face.

Suddenly though, Ziva jerks her attention onto the gaping agent- her eyes meeting his. Just from the expression he was portraying, she instantly catches onto what was happening and she lets a sly smirk creep over her face.

"Tony DiNozzo? Just what are you doing?" She questions before turning her body to fully face him; ending his small moment of being captivated by her looks.

"W-Well, Miss Ziva. I-I was making sure that.. you weren't missing anything?" He begins looking for the perfect excuse to save his life from the situation that he was now put in, but he was a horrible liar when it came to the Mossad Ninja skills of Ziva.

"Hmm? Were you literally checking me out Tony?" Ziva simply comes straight to the point, and with this, McGee has to turn and send Tony an unamused look.

DiNozzo is gaping. He is at a loss for his words at the moment. He didn't like this accusation one bit and he especially didn't like the way McGee was looking at him now. He scoffs gruffly. "Me? Pssh! Don't flatter yourself David! I was so not checking you out for nothing!" He chuckles rather embarrassingly before nodding back to the evidence they still needed to collect.

"Get back to work." He simply concludes before going to clear his throat.

The Mossad assassin only continues holding her smirk on her lips as she returns back to bagging and tagging things. She knew.

McGee however still holds his gaze on Tony; a look of 'Really?' in his expression.

"I said back to work Probie!" Tony speaks through his teeth with an annoyed look towards the agent before finally McGee just rolls his eyes.

"Would be better if you helped out DiNozzo- instead of looking at Ziva the whole time." The Probie suddenly mutters, and with this, Tony lowers himself to their level; his flashlight going straight to McGee's face. "What was that McKnowItAll?"

McGee squints at the light before shoving the flashlight away. "You heard me. Ziva knows it too. You're not doing a thing to help here!" He defends himself before slipping another item into another bag.

Tony sets his jaw hard before going to only shrug. "Well someone needs to provide light." He points out rather doubtfully. He completely hated himself for getting so distracted by Ziva... How could he have let that happen?

She probably thinks she's just everything... well she isn't! He tells himself forcefully within his mind; her smirk still on her face.

It is then though that he gains an idea as to how he'd get himself out of this rather awkward situation.

I can be helpful.. If that's what they want.

"Well, how about I go investigate the temperature mystery then? Maybe I can try and see if I can warm it up in here for everyone." Tony suggests rather thoughtfully; a prideful feeling towards his idea coming to swell within his chest.

McGee and Ziva both look towards him at this.

"The temperature? Really?" Ziva asks incredulously. She also sort of disliked the idea of Tony going off by himself. She didn't want anything to happen to him...

"Yeah, that's not what we came here to do?" McGee frowns at the Senior agent before gesturing towards the evidence bags that now surrounded him. "We need to bag and tag all of this stuff first. Make sure there's no poison left on anything?"

Tony only raises an eyebrow. "Oh come on. I know what we came here to do, but maybe I can solve the mystery to our missing heat problem? Might be useful later on if we're here overnight." He tries to raise a valid point but McGee continues holding his own opinions on the situation.

"Well we won't be here overnight if you'd help us with the evidence." The Probie flashes back.

And with this, Tony has had it. He throws his arms out exasperatedly and groans.

"Enough! I'm Senior Field Agent!" he snaps. "Now I'm going to go see if I can figure out where this cold air is coming from. But I will be right back to help with the evidence. I promise!" He heaves a final exhale before pulling his pack atop his shoulders some more.

McGee and Ziva only exchange glances with one another.

He was seriously intent on doing this.

"Well... hurry back Tony." Ziva finally sags her shoulders and casts her partner a look. She wanted to make sure he'd be alright. She didn't want him wandering the creepy store alone.

"I'll be fine Zi." Tony simply assures her before heading off down the aisle again- his flashlight lighting the way.

He glances around the eerie building which was freezing and still held no lights. Nobody exactly knew what truly happened to the lights beforehand, but at least he'd be able to solve one mystery, right?

Hmm... Now let's see.. He thinks to himself as he peers around the store.

He suddenly spots a flight of stairs that ascended upwards and cocks his head.

Perhaps this will lead somewhere. He heads for the stairs.

Meanwhile, Ziva slows at her work as she watches Tony's darkening silhouette disappear completely. She feels unsettled about this.

Sense when does he have the say to just wander off and leave us here doing the work? She questions scornfully within her mind. She didn't want to just be left with the dirtywork.

She felt like being at his side. She wanted to explore with him.

"McGee..." She finally speaks, and the Probie's eyes slowly lift to hers.

"Something wrong?" He asks within a whisper tone. It somehow didn't feel right to talk loudly all of a sudden.

"Well..." The Israeli pauses in her bagging and sets her stuff down; her eyes still gazing into the direction where Tony had faded in.

"I don't like Tony being alone in here." She admits at last, and McGee blinks before finally nodding.

Even though the agent was a pain sometimes, he wouldn't ever want something to happen to him.

"Hopefully he'll be fine." Is all McGee manages to say next. Ziva however doesn't buy it.

"No. I think we should just go after him. We can come back to this." She suggests before getting to her feet; her flashlight back in her hand now.

McGee hurriedly gets to his feet as well before turning in all directions. It was rather spooky in here for him. He didn't like it.

"B-But the evidence?" He questions rather softly- still not wanting to speak too loudly.

Ziva only ignores his want to stay and complete the bagging and tagging. They'd have time to do that later.

"Come on. Before he gets himself into trouble." Ziva heads off in the direction Tony had disappeared in with McGee at her heels. Neither spoke too much as they exited the aisle and began looking around. Already Ziva was beginning to feel rather worried for her partner.

Where was the glow from his flashlight? At least she should be able to tell where he was?

"This way." She beckons McGee to follow her as she heads for the 'check out' area of the store. So far? No sign of Tony or of his flashlight.

Would he ever turn the flashlight off? She questions to herself.

She then only frowns to herself- her eyes looking around frantically for any sign of the Senior agent.

No. He'd never just turn it off within a dark building.

So where did he go?

A/N: Hey everyone! I know, only showing the field agents' point of view for this chapter. Thanks for the reviews! :) Think they'll find something? Maybe they will! Maybe they'll soon even find some'one'!