Title: Shaitan

Author: CSIphile/Redwing

AN1: Seriously you guys, the review love is…fantastic! You guys are the best! I never thought I would get this many reviews for my little NCIS crossover fic. Please, keep it up! This one will now be posted on Sundays to allow for my all NCIS K/G fic 'Sometimes They Return'.

AN2: As for the above mentioned new fic…it's not getting as much love and feels lonely. Feel free to give it a try, everyone's favorite terrorist returns. And leave a review!

Chapter 6: Home, Sweet Home

SVU Squadroom

6:50 am

Elliot walked into the shop the next day surprised to hear Gibbs' crew up in the crib. He looked at his watch - it wasn't quite 7 AM. Elliot made a beeline for the coffee maker; he and Olivia had been up much later than he'd anticipated. Pouring the liquid into a mug, he was startled when his partner sidled up to him, holding out her own cup. He gave her a look, but filled hers too.

"When did you get here?" he asked softly. When he'd left this morning she had been in the shower. Despite the distraction of her naked in the bathroom, Elliot had managed to leave and make good time getting in.

"Not even ten minutes before you. I've been helping our friends get acquainted with the city so they can do some interviews today. They want to speak with the family alone since they are right here in Brooklyn." She put some sugar in her coffee and walked back to their desks.

"Ahhh, gotcha. You're awfully chipper this morning," he said as they sat down.

"Huh, wonder why?" she gave him a sly smile.

"I noticed the kid talking to you last night, he had that look on his face."

"What look?" she asked innocently and took a sip of her coffee.

He waved one hand around, "You know, that look guys give you when they're interested."

"I had no idea."

Now he pursed his lips at her and shook his head, "Of course, you did. Sorry."

"It's okay, El. Just don't go getting all macho on me."

"Who, me?" he said in his most innocent voice.

She tilted her head at him and sighed. Her phone ringing interrupted a comeback. "SVU, Benson."

Elliot watched as she listened to the caller, and then paled. "You're kidding. No, no we'll be right there. Thanks, Briscoe." She hung up the phone and looked at Elliot. "There's been another one."

"Damn…"

She didn't even acknowledge him, by the time he could, she was halfway up the stairs and he quickly followed her. Gibbs was just getting ready to head out and talk to Lt Williams' parents when Olivia came bounding up the stairs.

"There's been another murder," Olivia stated.

Kate looked at her emotionless, "What?"

"Guy at the marina found the body of what looks like a female Marine on one of the docks this morning."

Kate looked to Gibbs, "It's over, we missed him."

He gave her a tight expression, "Not yet. Okay, we still have to talk to Williams' parents. Kate, Tony you head out to Brooklyn." He looked up at Olivia and Elliot, "If you don't mind, I'll come with you guys."

HUDSON MARINA

8 AM

Gibbs crouched over the body and snapped on a pair of latex gloves. The uniform was definitely Marine Corps issue; it appeared to be another lieutenant colonel. Lifting her coat slightly, he saw what he expected: another carving, just like all the rest. He stood up and looked for Elliot and Olivia who were interviewing witnesses. He spotted Elliot first, standing by himself, looking out over the water.

"Elliot," he called out, walking over to him. "Our guy, same carving. Damn it."

Gibbs looked around at the crowd. He doubted their man was here, he wasn't that brave. His daring move was to leave the victims in a heavily trafficked area so they would be found. Gibbs noticed Olivia walking toward them and he and Elliot move to meet her halfway.

She pulled out her notes and started reading, "Mr. Bridge came in early to get a start on sailing for the day and he found her lying on the dock next to his slip. He said he thought it was a dog at first, but when he realized it was a woman he called 911. Doesn't remember seeing anyone or anything suspicious."

A frustrated Gibbs rubbed one hand along his forehead and walked over to the CSU guys. "Anything?"

"Nothing yet, sir. But you might want to check if the ME has anything," the technician replied.

Gibbs nodded and walked back to the body, finding the detectives talking to a tall black woman, the ME he supposed.

"Looks to be strangled like the last one. I'd put time of death between midnight and 2 AM, but I won't know more until the autopsy."

"Thanks, Warner," Elliot said as they removed the body.

The three stood for a moment before Elliot spoke, "We might still be able to catch him."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Gibbs said and once more observed the skyline.

HOME OF MR. AND MRS. JACOB WILLIAMS

QUEENS

8 AM

"Mrs. Williams, did you have any contact with your daughter the day of her death?" Kate asked.

The older woman leaned more into her husband before answering, "Please, call me Grace. Yes, actually, she called as they left the bar. She wanted to let me know she would be staying with her friend, Lisa, that night in the city rather than come home. She was so excited about getting a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel that she and some friends from the base in New London went out."

"Who is Lisa? Is she also stationed with your daughter?" Again Kate questioned in a soft tone while Tony made notes.

"Oh, no. Lisa is a childhood friend, lives in midtown." This time Mr. Williams answered.

Kate nodded, "And that was the last time either of you had contact with her?"

They both nodded.

"Did Allison mention if she thought someone was following her? Or seemed to take an interest?" Tony asked gently.

Grace gave him an odd look before nodding, "Not following her but she mentioned at the bar she thought one guy was going to ask her out. Said he sat at the next table the whole time and seemed really interested in her. She was a little disappointed he didn't talk to her."

Tony and Kate shared a glance and she spoke, "Did she happen to describe this man?"

"Not really, just said he was good looking. Dirty blonde like her brother with green eyes, that was about it. Her friends might remember."

"Can we have their names?" Kate asked.

"Sure," the older woman replied, taking Tony's notepad and writing down three names.

"Thank you for your time. We're very sorry for your loss. If you think of anything else, no matter how small, please call me," Kate handed the woman her card and stood, the parents following her actions.

"You know, I do recall her saying he had a Marine tattoo, you know – that bird, on his right forearm. She remembered thinking it must have been painful, but Marines are tough."

Kate nodded again, "That'll help. Thank you."

As she and Tony headed out to the car, Kate pulled out her phone and made a call to the Naval base the women were stationed at, ensuring that they would be there for the next couple hours. The second call was to Gibbs as they pulled away from the Williams' home.

"Gibbs," his voice came through filled with static.

"It's Kate. We might have a lead. Allison thought a guy in a bar was interested in her the night she disappeared. Apparently he had a Marine tattoo on his right forearm. Tony and I are hunting down the women she was with at the Naval Base in New London to get a description."

"Good. Very good."

"We are heading out now; it's a two hour drive. Let you know how we do."

"Good."

She frowned at his short answers, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, but this body is one of his. Same carving."

"Damn…," she hissed under her breath.

"Call me when you're back in the city."

"Will do." She closed the phone and looked at Tony who was concentrating on the highway situation so they didn't end up in Maine. She called Abby and the lab tech sent directions to her Palm Pilot, so hopefully there would be no unneeded detours.

"What'd boss man have to say?" he asked.

"The woman at the marina is definitely from our guy. Same carving, same cause of death."

"TOD" he asked, easily maneuvering into traffic.

She shrugged, "Won't know until the autopsy."

He nodded and turned onto the Triborough Bridge. "I meant to say earlier, you look rested, Kate."

"Thanks. I finally got some sleep last night," she said and turned to look out the window.

Tony dared to turn and look at her. It wasn't what she'd said; it was how she said it. Like he was missing something important.

"Glad you did. I was starting to worry about you," his voice was sincere.

"Thanks, Tony."

"If you need to talk, Kate…," he let the implication hang.

"I know," she gave him a small smile and they lapsed into silence the rest of the ride.

ME'S OFFICE

ONE POLICE PLAZA

2 PM

Gibbs stared down at the body of Lt. Col Carmen Strand. She was in much the same condition as the others. Badly beaten, raped and a circle with an X in it carved into her chest. Her physical description was also the same as the others, medium height with dark hair and eyes.

Warner walked into the room and greeted the NCIS agent and two detectives. "Well, it's the same as before. Badly beaten, raped and then manually strangled to death. I've got your needle puncture mark on the right side of the neck." She moved to the hands. "But this time we have something new. Skin cells under the nails. I sent it off for DNA."

"If it's like the pubic hair we found, it won't match anything," Gibbs said and sighed.

Warner just shrugged, "Other than that, nothing probative."

"Of course not," Gibbs muttered. His phone chose that moment to ring. "Gibbs," he said gruffly into it.

Elliot watched the expression on the other man's face soften significantly as he spoke to the person on the other end of the phone. Elliot concentrated a little bit to hear his end, curious.

"…Nice job….Yeah, okay... good. What's the name again?…Uh huh. Good Kate, I'll grab it and head over." Then a long pause and Elliot swore a smile almost cracked on the agent's face, "I said you could shoot him, Kate. Just don't do it in NYPD's car, no need to leave them the mess….Uh huh. Yeah, see you soon."

He closed the phone and turned to the detectives, "They have a sketch of the guy who was watching Lt. Col Williams at the bar the night before she died. She faxed it to the precinct and to NCIS before they left New London, and now they are stuck in traffic on the 278."

"What bar?" Elliot asked as they headed upstairs.

"Air Bar?" he said with some confusion.

Elliot looked at Olivia. "Yeah, we know the place. Let's grab the sketch and head over."

AIR BAR

2:30 PM

Gibbs hung back from the two detectives. They had indicated they knew the place and he figured it would be better for them to ask the questions. He stood close enough to hear the conversation and it didn't start off well at all.

The manager looked at Elliot and Olivia with distaste, "Oh, you two again?"

Elliot looked confused by her hostility, "Obviously you remember."

"How could I forget? How can I help you detectives?"

Elliot pulled the fax from his coat pocket and showed the woman, "Do you remember this man being in here two nights ago? He would have had this tattoo?" Elliot pulled out another sketch.

She looked at the picture and frowned slightly, "Yeah, actually. He sat alone at the same table all night, seemed rather interested in a group of military gals."

Olivia looked surprise, "How did you know they were military?"

"They used their Marine IDs as identification," she paused and held up a hand. "We made sure they were 21. The owner is a big military person and bought them a round of drinks, practically announced to the whole bar who they were. The girls didn't pay for a lot of their drinks that night."

Elliot grabbed another picture out of his pocket, this time a military photo, "Was this one of the girls?"

"Yup, sure was. Pretty girl, was excited about a promotion or something."

Olivia looked up from taking notes, "Wait, did he seem interested in the girls before or after everyone knew they were military?"

She paused in thought, "I'm pretty sure after, he didn't seem to take much interest before. He even bought them a round after it was announced."

Elliot nodded, "How did he pay?"

"Cash all night, didn't even run a tab, he paid by the soda."

"He didn't drink?"

"Not a drop. The only alcohol he bought was for them."

"When did he leave?" Olivia asked.

"He left right after the girls actually. I remember that when they left, half the bar said goodbye. It was after that I realized he was gone."

Now it was Olivia's turn to nod. "Thanks, if you think of anything else," she said, handing over her card.

The manager nodded and the detectives turned to Gibbs and they walked out of the bar in silence, each of them contemplating the new information.

When they entered the stationhouse Gibbs walked to the board and taped up the sketch Kate had done. Then he stood back and stared, Elliot joined him.

"It doesn't seem like your guy was at the base. Sounds to me that he found Allison at the Air Bar."

"Yeah…," Gibbs responded.

"That's not his MO," Elliot said and stared at the map, taking a step toward it. "And Warner is sure it's the same guy, not a copycat." It was a statement.

Gibbs watched with interest as the detective put one finger on New London and followed the coastline to New York, stopping and tapping lightly.

"We are ignoring something here; there isn't a naval base in New York. We haven't had a one since Staten Island closed in '94. Though we get plenty of military visitors with New London being so close. He wasn't here to kill, Gibbs, he stumbled onto those girls, onto Alison and Carmen."

Suddenly a light turned on in Gibbs eyes. "You're right. All the other cities had military bases in them, not hours away. The close call outside Newport might have scared him enough to stop him for a bit, he wasn't ready to be caught. He wasn't here to kill…"

Elliot finished the thought, "He lives here."

"Or has family here, he's familiar with the area and I doubt a serial killer would take a vacation. After we nearly had him, he went to the safest place he knew, were the temptation would be lowest without a base nearby, though obviously he forgot about New London. Elliot…he ran home."

tbc……………………………