The next day looked like one in the middle of August on the East Coast, but the wind made it seem like it was early Fall. Kate walked off the elevator shedding her jacket; Tony was hot on her heels like a puppy chasing his owner who was carrying his favorite ball. He was taunting her about what appeared to be her latest dating fiasco, something that had become a bit of a routine in the past months.
"So let me get this straight…the guy was so obnoxious you handed him money and left before dinner came?" Tony asked, stunned that Kate had found yet another obnoxious man to take to dinner.
"Tony, you don't even know the half of it! This guy made you look…" Kate said turning to face her coworker, "never mind, that wouldn't even be paying you a compliment, anyone would be better than this guy."
"Oh come on Kate, you know I'm not that bad," Tony said, leaning back in his chair; he grinned widely feeling quite victorious.
"You? Not bad? Oh right, someone who searches my garbage, eats my food…where do I sign up?" Kate said flatly, picking up her PDA checking her schedule for any appointments. Before Tony had a chance to respond, Gibbs approached the two agents from behind. There were circles under his eyes that gave the impression he hadn't gone home that night, much less slept any.
"You two done bickering?" Gibbs growled his lack of rest showing.
"Done," the two young agents said in unison, their respect for the silver haired man showing.
"Good, we got a call a few hours ago, a marine was stabbed and fell thirty two floors to his final death," Gibbs barked, "grab your gear and let's get a move on."
The team followed their boss to the elevator, their gear readily available if the situation should call for it.
"I don't know why you keep bringing that up, I only stole your sandwich once and we're…" Tony had begun to rant in a low whisper but was cut off by a swift slap in the back of the head. He turned to Gibbs to see his normal half smirk lingering at the corners of his mouth.
"Shut up, DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped in a slightly amused tone.
"Thank you Gibbs," Kate said, nodding in approval.
"You too, Kate," Gibbs said his tone stern; the team stood in silence as the elevator began it's descent to the ground floor. The ride to the Sheraton in Ashland was quiet; Gibbs' tension hung in the air like thick fog of a cold December morning, everyone could feel its chilling grasp on the mood in the car. Gibbs pulled up next to the NCIS truck; the team leader was first out of the car, his hope for immediate answers evident.
"What do you have for me Duck?" Gibbs asked with false enthusiasm.
"I'm afraid I can't offer you much more than the obvious until we get our marine back to autopsy," the doctor said, pulling out his thermometer to determine the time of death.
"Well, can you estimate time of death at least?" Gibbs snapped.
"Between 0100 and 0430 hours Jethro, once he's in the lab I'll have a smaller window," Ducky said.
"Ok, you and Palmer take the body as soon as Kate has photographed it and run the tests you need," Gibbs snarled through clenched teeth, "I'm going to ask the hotel personnel a few questions."
The older man turned from his team leaving them in full control of running the outdoor crime scene. He wondered how long it would take them to turn away the local cops to be at peace in their work. Although they understood that the local police had the same job to do, but his team didn't like to share their scene or resources. He entered the lobby to find the police leader questioning the last concierge on duty and immediately knew that this would take a while. Outside Kate was trying to work but Tony was circling trying to get more details of her previous night's misery. She ignored him for as long as possible, searching the surrounding area for things that could help them later.
"So how'd you meet him? What's his name?" Tony asked; seeming like he had stolen Gibbs' coffee he was so hyper.
"None of your business, DiNozzo," Kate said aggravated, leaning down to examine a receipt on the ground.
"Oh come on Kate, what's a little discussion of dating woes between friends?" Tony asked, knowing she hated sharing no matter how hard he pushed.
"Nothing, just I don't enjoy talking about it with the people I work with," she began, turning to face him, "least of all you, 'cause with my luck you may end up knowing the guy."
"I'm your friend, and if the guy is my friend too, then all the better…" he began in his normal tone; she knew he was really enjoying her failure.
"You're not going to get his name, Tony," she said, trying to make herself sound serious, looking directly in his eyes to make her point clear.
"Fine Kate, don't have fun; guess I'll just have to tell Jake he's not going to get a second chance," he said, grinning; for once he was actually victorious.
"I cannot believe you DiNozzo! You knew the whole time?" Kate exclaimed, truly annoyed at her coworkers immaturity.
"Yea, he called me last night before you two went out," Tony said, grinning, "So should I tell him?"
"That won't be necessary; I would like to think I made it quite clear that wouldn't be happening when I left before dinner came," Kate retorted, pausing, "but then again, if he's anything like you, maybe he'd need the extra heads up."
"Ouch, Kate, that was low even for you," Tony said; taking a glance up at the towering building. He looked back at his coworker who reluctantly met his gaze.
"Live with it Tony," she said, giving him a quick punch in the stomach as she breezed past him. He watched her walk away heading towards the hotel entrance. It wasn't until he'd made the effort to take a step to follow that he'd realized he couldn't breathe. She'd knocked the wind completely from his lungs. He stood there a minute longer before reminding himself that his boss wasn't in the best of moods today and he'd better hurry up to the 32nd floor as well if he didn't want to be yelled at. As the elevator's door opened, Tony was faced with Gibbs' scowl, one he was all too familiar with.
"Can you tell me where the hell you've been, DiNozzo?" Gibbs barked.
"Was just surveying the scene downstairs…boss," Tony said uneasily, moving slightly so they could join him on the elevator.
"Find anything interesting?" Kate asked smirking.
"No," Tony said through clenched teeth.
"I thought you two were done arguing today," Gibbs growled, irritation showing in his tone. The three left the building heading to the car. As they approached Kate called 'shotgun'; she turned and flashed him a smile knowing how much it would irritate him that she'd beaten him to the punch.
"Yea, Boss, we are now," Tony began, shooting a glare at Kate in the front seat, "may I ask why I'm the only one getting snapped at now?"
"Yea, DiNozzo, because Kate actually made it to the 32nd floor before it was time to leave," Gibbs snapped, pulling out of the parking lot. When they arrived at the building Gibbs headed to the autopsy room, desperate to find a starting point for investigation.
"Duck, what've you got for me?" Gibbs called upon entering the plain white room.
"Not much more than what we knew at the scene. However, victim's death appears to be caused by the fall to the pavement rather than the stab wound to his abdomen," Ducky explained, turning on the light to show the skull fractures of the deceased marine.
Gibbs sighed audibly, obviously not satisfied with the progression in the last hour, "Alright, let me know when you've got something."
Gibbs exited the elevator on the main floor, hoping that his team had been more productive. He was frustrated by the barrier that seemed to be in place on this particular investigation, which of course did nothing for his peace of mind.
"So, what do we know about our deceased marine?" Gibbs snapped, drawing the attention of his team.
"Deceased marine's name is Aidan McAllister, he's married, father of one, a daughter…" Kate explained, but before she could continue Gibbs interrupted her.
"He's married and has a kid…can anyone tell me why he was out this late to begin with?" Gibbs barked, immediately noticing his team's blank looks, "find out now."