The next morning Gibbs stepped in the squad room carrying his usual cup of coffee. He saw Jen standing by the balustrade on her floor, sipping her own coffee and he raised his cup in greeting.
Jen answered with a tilt of her head and a smile that made Gibbs' heart swell with emotion, and wonder again what her feelings for him were.
Months before, when they were investigating Brian Matthews and Jen was housing young Carson for the night, she had made an oblique reference to asking Gibbs to spend the night with her. He had turned her down because, back then, Hollis had just left and he hadn't felt like being with another woman so soon, and especially not for a one-night-stand with someone he would have to face the next day in the office.
Time and lot of hours spent thinking had passed since that night, and things were now different. Gibbs wanted Jen again, in his bed and in life…always.
As he watched her sip her coffee, Gibbs vowed that as soon this case was closed, he would go to visit Jen and they would have a long talk.
"Any news?" Gibbs asked to anyone in particular.
"Yes, Boss!" DiNozzo exclaimed, being faster than the other two. "Your gut was right once again, I found three murders that look like repeats of Lt. Winters'."
"And I found two more," Ziva interjected, as Gibbs' stomach twisted. So much for his hope it had been an isolated case like the one he had witnessed as a child in Stillwater.
"Put the data on the plasma," he ordered, coming around his desk to observe the screen with the others.
"Thomas Norton," DiNozzo said, as the face of a man with a slashed throat appeared, "killed in Alexandria 9 days ago. Nicholas Jones, killed in Falls Church 19 days ago. Richard Hobson, killed in Fairfax 28 days ago. They were all homeless, and were all found in parks or public gardens."
"Just like the two cases I found: Larry Mendez, killed in Manassas 42 days ago and Darrell Taylor in Prince William County 34 days ago."
"All of them were killed in the same way?" McGee asked.
"Yes," Ziva and DiNozzo answered in unison, then the senior agent continued, "Slashed throats and no blood found at the crime scene, even if they clearly bled out." Tony made an exaggerated shudder and turned toward Gibbs, "Hey Boss, it looks like we have a vampire on the loose!"
"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs replied, masking his real thought, Yes, Tony, we do indeed have a vampire killer on the loose, beneath sarcasm.
"Vampires don't exist, Tony," McGee exclaimed in a patronizing tone.
"I know, McGenius! What do you think about this: Boss, we've a vampire-wannabe serial killer that hits on homeless men in the Washington Metropolitan area. Does this sound better?"
"Yes…but Lt. Winters wasn't homeless," McGee commented.
"Nope, but he was sleeping off his hangover on a bench in a park, just as many homeless people do," Gibbs replied. "The park was completely dark because of the blackout and our killer didn't realize that Winters wasn't homeless."
"But what does he do with that blood?" Tony asked.
"Come on Tony, what do you think a vampire does with blood?" Ziva teased.
Tony grimaced. "I said vampire-wannabe…do you really think someone would be able to drink three or more liters of blood? I don't know you, but the few times I ingested some of my blood, I got a stomachache."
"It could be because it was your own blood and your stomach rejected it…" McGee mused. "Maybe it would be different with someone else's blood…"
Gibbs rolled his eyes, "Stop this at once, or I'll make you stop," he growled.
Everyone returned to their seats in a few seconds.
"McGee, have you heard from the power supply company?"
"Yes, Boss. They are still puzzled about what caused the blackout. They said there had been a sort of magnetic overload…a sort of EMP. It means Electromagnetic Pulse, Boss-"
"I know what it means, McGee," Gibbs interrupted him, knowing the younger agent was about to throw himself into a long winded scientific explanation he didn't need to hear. He couldn't care less if the scientists had given a fancy name to a power Gibbs had learned to control when he was ten. "Now I want you to check if something similar happened in the places and times of the other murders."
"On it, Boss," McGee replied, and started typing on his keyboard as Gibbs went to his desk and donned his coat.
"Are you leaving, Gibbs?" Ziva asked.
"Yeah."
"Where to?" DiNozzo asked, his curiosity piqued. Gibbs decided in that moment to go home and leave his cell phone there. While it was against his rules not to be reachable, he could put past Tony and Ziva to ask McGee to track him using the GPS in his phone, and he couldn't risk it.
"I'm gonna visit the local vampire community and ask them if there is a serial killer among them," Gibbs answered as he walked away. "And while I'm at it, I'll also ask the werewolves' pack leader if he has some useful tips about training dogs…I'm sure McGee would appreciate them. Jethro has chewed another pair of his shoes!"
As McGee lowered his embarrassed eyes to look at his shoes, DiNozzo let out a laughter. "Ah, Boss, I've always known you had a sense of humor!"
Gibbs nodded and boarded the elevator before Ziva and DiNozzo could see his expression and realize he hadn't been joking, at least as far as vampire stuff had been concerned.
