I am something of a research junkie, so the details might get a little too technical from time to time. I encourage readers to let me know if I go too far with the details.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"It's only a matter of time before good ole Fornell shows up with his little stickers and confiscates all of our hard earned work to steal the glory once again. You mark my words, McGee… Probably warming up the hand trucks as we speak." Tony had his feet propped up on his desk, as usual, and was preaching to his choir of colleagues about the evils of the FBI's finest. He was nodding his head and was about to continue when those around him suddenly took up defensive positions within their own cubicles as Gibbs came up behind Tony DiNozzo. "Good ole Fornell has screwed us out of enough cases already, so I'm not about to help him look good again. I'm just gonna sit back and-" THWACK! "OWWW! Boss, that hurt!" Tony said as he reached up to rub the spot Agent Gibbs had just smacked with this hand.
"It wasn't meant to tickle." Gibbs kept moving forward to his desk and sat down, looking out to the other agents, "Status Report?"
McGee was the first to speak up, "Ballistics was unable to find anything conclusive, beyond our initial analysis… Trace evidence is still processing, but Abby swears it will be ready within the hour, and she also wanted me to inform you that she has hidden copies of everything in a secret location should the, and I quote, 'little weasel show up again.'" McGee paused a moment when he noticed someone descending from the stairs of the executive tier: a fully starched female Marine Corps officer and she was carrying a piece of paper that looked oddly like the orders he had seen in many a case. The fair skinned blonde stopped to ask the first person she crossed a question, and that person pointed her over to the bullpen, and that was when McGee was rocked back into the conversation.
'MCGEE! Finish your report or get out of here. I don't have time for you to gawk at-"
"Sorry, Boss… I've also finished running checks for similarities to the scenes of the other murders and I found a few…" McGee stopped talking as the striking Marine Corps woman made her way to Gibbs.
She stood at attention and snapped a full on salute for Gibbs. "Sir, Major Cassidy reporting for duty, Sir!" She ceremoniously handed Gibbs the slip of paper she had carried in and Gibbs, not understanding the reason for this display, eyed the woman with a peculiar mixture of both curiosity and annoyance.
"What's with the salute, Major? You're the only officer here." Gibbs turned to reach behind him for his glasses, so he could read this paper.
"Sir, you are GySgt L. J. Gibbs, are you not, Sir?" The woman remained in full salute attention, and Gibbs was more than a little intrigued by the display.
"I was, once." Bringing his glasses up to his face, he turned back around and looked curiously at the officer from over the top of his glasses. "Why do you ask, Major?"
"Sir, proper protocol dictates that all highly decorated officers, commissioned or not, are to be treated with the same respect as an officer of a higher rank, Sir." The Major still remained at attention, waiting for the proper dismissal before returning to parade rest.
Jethro had to give the woman her due, she was carrying this thing to the hilt, and so he quickly returned her salute, "At ease, Maj. Cassidy… Besides, that's only protocol at the Academy and in the Pentagon, and we're in neither." He finally finished reading the slip of paper and understood that it was the officer's orders.
"Sir, I have spent my entire Marine Corps career in both of those places, Sir. So, I bring the protocols wherever I might be, Sir." She now stood at parade rest, but she was still the model of a perfect soldier.
Gibbs looked at her once more from over the top of his glasses, "Says here you have been ordered by the SecDef to 'avail the NCIS investigators of your MOS'… What is your MOS, Major Cassidy?"
She took a deep breath and then began, "Sir, I regret to inform you that I am not at liberty to divulge the actual definition of my Method of Service. My only comment, Sir, is that I am a member of the Behavioral Sciences Division of the Defense Department and I have been sent here to assist in your investigation by reviewing the evidence at hand and providing you with an accurate analysis of said data, Sir."
At this point, Gibbs' patience had reached its end and he quickly ripped his glasses off and threw them down on his desk, "Look Major, even when I was in the Corp, I was never a 'sir', and I don't care if you are a woman, if you don't knock it off, I'm gonna take a swing at you, got it?"
"S-… Agent Gibbs… You have my deepest apologies if I have offended you. I was deeply honored to have been assigned to the detail of such a highly decorated and well respected member of my Corps, S-Agent Gibbs and I meant no disrespect in my use of the salutation." The Major showed a concerted effort not to use the one term Gibbs finds offensive and it hit Gibbs that this woman obviously knew something about the old school respect the Corps once held and he was instantly sorry for having made such an issue of it.
He let all the air out of his lungs in a resigned rushed, "Nah, it's me who should be apologizing, Maj. Cassidy. You just have to remember that sergeants are kind of prickly about the whole 'sir' thing, since we earned everything we got… Which isn't to say you haven't, because I get the distinct impression you probably have… So, when did you graduate from the Academy?"
Relaxing her jawline a bit, and finally making eye contact with Gibbs, the Major looked much more at ease, and responded kindly, "Class of '92. Johns Hopkins, '93. George Washington, '95."
This little nugget intrigued McGee and he felt compelled to ask, "Ah, you also went to Johns Hopkins and GW? What did you study there?"
As the Major turned to see who was speaking to her, her regulation length strawberry blonde hair turned as well, and she waited for Gibbs to introduce her, "Uh, Maj. Cassidy, please meet Agent Timothy McGee, of MIT and Johns Hopkins."
She nodded her head at McGee and he uncomfortably returned the hand he had intended to offer her, "Sir, I received my Master's degrees in Behavioral Psychology and Advanced Forensic Criminology from Johns Hopkins and my PH.D in Analytical Human Behavioral Psychology from GW… I also have another advanced degree, but I am not at liberty to divulge that information at this time."
That last bit was more than Agent David was able to resist, and she stood to ask her own question, "Seems a great deal of what you do is 'classified', Maj. Cassidy. Why is that?"
The Major again looked to Gibbs before answering the question, "Maj. Cassidy, this is Special Agent Ziva David, on loan to us from the Israeli government, and part of this investigation."
She nodded just the same to Ziva before answering, while Ziva returned the gesture, "That would be correct, Agent David. And that is all I am at liberty to discuss at this time." And with that, the subject was closed.
Tony had been quietly observing the entire conversation, trying to stay low on Gibbs' radar, but also not wishing to waste any of his charm on the Marine Corps officer; not because of her being a Marine, but because of the first thing that caught Tony's attention the moment she snapped that salute: her wedding ring on the other hand.
Gibbs realized that he should also introduce the Major to DiNozzo and pointed towards his general direction, "And this is Agent Tony DiNozzo, Major. He is second lead on this team."
The Major once again nodded in the direction of the person she had been introduced to, "Well, Maj. Cassidy, while it is nice to have a little help on this case, I'm afraid it might be a case of too little, too late… See, the FBI is about to swoop in and take over. So, we won't be needing your 'services', whatever they might be."
The Major looked back to Gibbs with an entirely confused expression, "S-Agent Gibbs, I was under the impression that the SecDef had taken care of that and this was why I was being sent over… Has something changed, S-Agent Gibbs?"
Gibbs shook his head back and forth as he placed the Major's orders on his desk and took his glasses from Ziva, who had retrieved them from the floor. "No, it hasn't, Major… I had just gotten back from that little scene when you came through the doors. Obviously, the SecNav thought things were already taken care of before he arrived here, but the FBI still had a little fight left in them…" Gibbs changed his focus and was now speaking to the whole team, "That being said, we now have two weeks in which the close this case, before Fornell and his cronies come back for their swooping act. Maj. Cassidy will need to see all the evidence we've gathered so that she might do her job, and hopefully give us something so that we can do ours and put this bastard behind bars, where he belongs. Got it?"
With Gibbs' words, everyone had been given a new boost of energy and they each began to go back to their previously assigned tasks. "McGee?" The red headed agent looked up from his terminal, "Would you please escort the Major to the lab where she can get started on all those files that Abby copied?"
Maj. Cassidy turned back to Gibbs, "Sir, if you don't mind? It was my understanding that you still have possession of the Gunny's body?"
Gibbs could let that one slide, "Yeah, we do, Ducky was just getting ready to release it to the family this afternoon."
"Well, if I might have a chance to review the body, as well as your medical examiner's notes, it would surely assist me in my analysis, sir." With that last "sir" the Major realized that she had fallen back to her habits and was instantly sorry, but Gibbs was now willing to deal with it a little better from this extremely respectful younger officer.
"Yeah sure… McGee, you heard the lady… To the lab, by way of the morgue. I can trust you to make the introductions?"
"You got it, Boss." McGee was quick with the cheerful reply. He was just happy that his discovery had not cost them the case. It was McGee who had discovered the possible connection between GySgt. Furmansky's unsual death and that of an ongoing, serial murder investigation. And unfortunately, it was also him that tipped off the FBI that he had made that connection. Plus, in all honesty, the Fibbies had twelve bodies to their one, but their one happened to be an old service buddy of Gibbs', and it REALLY mattered that Gibbs was able to bring in the killer.
McGee mused as he led the Major down into "the tombs," as Abby had been known to refer to the bottom level of NCIS headquarters, and found it ironic that he and Abby were just discussing this morning that they really needed the resources over at Quantico to get this guy. Also, that it was probably better for the Fibbies to get hold of the case, since they might be able to crack it faster with a really good profile of the suspect, and now this whole new wrinkle. McGee had no idea what the SecNav had up his sleep, but he just hoped it worked out in their favor.
They were about to reach the morgue when McGee realized he should probably prepare the Major for what she was about to get into, "Ah, Maj. Cassidy?"
"Yes, Agent McGee?"
"First off, the morgue here is usually pretty clean, so you shouldn't have much to worry about in there, but Ducky, well, he can be a little eccentric… At least that's the word Abby uses. I think the guy has spent too much time around dead bodies for his own good, but he is the best out there." McGee thought he had summed it up pretty well, but he figured he should ask too, "Any questions, concerns?"
"I'm fairly comfortable around an exam table, Agent McGee. And I am quite certain there is little that will come as a surprise to me about Dr. Mallard."
McGee was shocked to hear her call Ducky by name, "You know Ducky?"
"In the familiar, no… But I have attended several of his symposiums and I am quite familiar with his work." This woman might deserve a little more investigation, thought McGee. And as soon as he had that thought, he also had an image of Abby popping into his brain… Abby was not going to be happy about someone reviewing HER work. McGee better get over there ahead of the Major to ease Abby into the notion.
McGee pushed open the door for the Major, and waited for her to pass him before calling out to Ducky, "Hey Ducky! I got a visitor for you."
Out from behind a door to the rear of the exam room, Jimmy Palmer stepped out, "Hey McGee… Dr. Mallard stepped out for a minute, but he'll be right back. Can I help you with anything?"
McGee looked around a moment and then figured he might as well get Jimmy started collecting what the Major would need. "Yeah, Jimmy, you wanna get Gunny Furmansky out of the drawer and ready for a visual inspection. Also, I think we'll need a gown and stuff for the Major to perform the inspection."
"Just the body, Agent McGee… If I may?" She gestured towards the empty table near the examination table with the metal case she carried at her side this whole time, and that McGee had never noticed. Placing it atop the table, Maj. Cassidy opened the lid and removed a lab coat, taking out a box of latex gloves to put down on the table. Next, she turned the case around on the table and opened the lid on the laptop embedded into the foam of the hard-side, metal case. She brought up a program on the computer and plugged in a wireless microphone module. When she reached for the lapels of the lab coat, she noticed McGee just standing there watching her, "Is there a problem Agent McGee?"
The sound of her voice broke McGee from his trance and he just looked up. "Ah, that's quite a rig you got there. Can you launch missiles from space with that thing?" McGee asked jokingly.
The Major didn't respond right away, she just put her lab coat on, making sure the microphone transmitter was placed correctly before she answered, "I'm afraid that's classified information, Agent McGee." The startled look on Agent McGee's face caused Maj. Cassidy to break her veneer with a chuckle, "Sorry about that, Agent McGee… It's kind of a running joke over in Behavioral Sciences…" McGee was visibly relieved to hear that her answer was, in fact, a joke. "There's just so much we aren't allowed to disclose that we sometimes have to resort to little jokes to deal with the strain." Sensing the opportunity to play another joke, the Major returned to setting up her gear, "Besides, they don't let us out very often anyway. Being buried ten levels under to the Pentagon can get on your nerves after a few weeks."
Once again, McGee's eyes grew big as saucers and the Major laughed out loud this time, "Oh yeah, I get it… Another joke?"
"Yeah, sorry… I guess you really are as gullible as you look." Maj. Cassidy continued with her work.
"Hey, I don't look that gullible… Do I?"
"As a two year old, Timothy… Though I tend to find it refreshing in this cynical world to find one so trusting as yourself." An older man had entered the room wearing a lab coat and glasses hanging from the bridge of his nose, "And for whom do I have the honor of entertaining in my examination room this fine day?"
McGee straightened his back and cleared his throat quickly, "Ah Ducky, this is Maj. Cassidy, sent over by the SecDef to lend us a hand with the GySgt Furmansky case… Maj. Cassidy, this is Dr. Donald Mallard, though most of us call him Ducky… He is our chief medical examiner."
Ducky extended his hand for the woman, who was quick to take the proffered hand. "Dr. Mallard, it is a true honor to finally meet you personally. I've read all of your publications on the subject of medical examination, and found them terribly useful in my work. I have also attended many of the symposiums you've given around the Capitol Region. It really is an honor for me to meet you, sir."
Obviously taken aback by the display, Ducky removed his glasses with this free hand and lowered his gaze in a show of humility, "Well, my dear Major, it certainly is a treat for me to meet someone so well versed in my work. How have we been so blessed as to garner your talents in our humble facility?"
"Ducky, it seems the SecDef and the SecNav buffaloed the guys over at the Hoover Building and got us our own profiler to combat their notion that they were better able to deal with the Gunny's death." McGee is quick to explain the situation to Ducky, "And they brought her over straight from the Pentagon."
"Ahh yes, the Behavioral Sciences Division… I have heard a great many things regarding that office as of late… Seems you people have been making some earnest progress in pin pointing some of the more dangerous terror operatives for the folks over in Intelligence." Ducky began cleaning his glasses with a cloth as he questioned the officer.
"Yes, Sir. It would seem that it takes the death of one of our own, in our own backyard before Intelligence thinks it might be a good idea to let the experts in on the game, Sir." She turned back to them both, "And you have my deepest sympathies for your recent loss. I only wish that it didn't take something so drastic and public to affect change in those circles, gentlemen, but sadly it is a very politic environment we operate in at the moment." Her regret was strongly evident in her words, and Ducky took her at them, without reservation.
"Thank you, my dear… Your words are too kind, Maj.-… My dear, I am afraid that I am still a terribly old-fashioned and quite antiquated man, and I am finding it difficult to refer to people by their titles any longer. If you would not mind indulging a dottering old doctor, may I please call you by your given name?"
The Major was caught a little off-guard by the request, but she could see no harm in allowing this well-respected man of science to call her by her given name. "Not all, Dr. Mallard. My first name is Gwen."
Ducky replaced the glasses on his face, just in time to look at the woman from over top of the lenses, "Am I to believe that your parents gave such a delightful creature that too short name?"
She shrugged it off, "No, sir. My full name is Gwendolyn. I just don't really hear it unless I'm in trouble."
"There, now that is a name befitting someone such as yourself." Once again, Ducky's charm was evident, in that the officer actually blushed at his compliment. "Now, where is Palmer with the Gunnery Sergeant's remains?"
Just then, Palmer pushed a gurney through the doors and enters the room in a rush, "Sorry about that Dr. Mallard, but they didn't want to let me take the remains… Something about the family coming to claim the body this afternoon, or something… You want it over there?"
Affecting his exasperated father stance, Ducky answered the younger man, "No, I thought perhaps we'd only view the body from there… Of course, Mr. Palmer, bring Sgt. Furmansky over here, please." Once the body had been transferred to the examination table, Ducky looked again at the officer, "So, Gwendolyn, where should we like to begin in checking over my work?"
Shocked out of her normal approach, Maj. Cassidy realized that Dr. Mallard was feeling threatened by her request to re-examine the remains, "Dr. Mallard, I would hope that you know I am not questioning your work in any way… Simply that I am following one of the key principles of forensic science that you, yourself, have stated time and again in your own works: never trust anything without investigating it for yourself."
Ducky was somewhat surprised to find his own words being thrown back at him, "Well, my dear… Then I suppose I should leave you to it then… I shall be in my office, if you should need me." Ducky bowed slightly to the woman and then exited the room.
Turning to the still shocked McGee, Maj. Cassidy asked, "That didn't go very well, did it?"
"Nope, not at all… Which reminds me… Someone needs to go warn Abby about you. Will you be fine for a little while?" McGee checked his watch to make sure that he'd catch Abby before her next caffeine fix trip.
"Yeah… I should be here for a little while, at least, Agent McGee." As McGee was about to leave the room the Major called to him, "So, who's Abby?"
From the other side of the room, Ducky answered, "The young woman with whom I hope you shall find a much friendlier welcome." Ducky had re-emerged from his office, and then turned to McGee, "Run along now, Timothy… And please do not worry for the Major, I shall see to it that she arrives safely in the lab after her examination concludes."
Walking slowly towards the Major, Ducky was carefully formulating his apology to the woman. Upon entering his office, he suddenly realized how silly he had been and how foolish he had made himself look in the eyes of someone who obviously admired him, or at least his work. "My dear, I hope that I have not made such an ass of myself as not to be forgiven." When the Major smiled, he knew that he was right to come out and explain himself, "You see, even the seasoned professional is sometimes frightened when another steps in to comment on his work. I spoke from fear, and perhaps a little anger at having any of my findings questioned."
"Please know, Dr. Mallard, that I am simply following protocol. I was sent here to gain an understanding of the monster that we are all trying to stop, and the only way I can do that is to examine everything, with my own eyes and my own mind. It's really the only way to get it done." She offered the older man her hand and he took it, granting her the concilliatory hand shake of equals. "And since you are here, maybe you could answer some questions as they come up, so that we can get GySgt. Furmansky's body back to the shipping room, and they can get him back to his family without any delay?"
Fourty five straight minutes of examination and questions, all of which was being recorded into the microphone clipped to Maj. Cassidy's lapel. For every tiny thing noticed by the Major, Ducky provided the conclusions from his own report, thereby making the process as quick as possible. With barely fifteen minutes to spare, Maj. Cassidy pulled off her latex gloves and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Ducky finally closed the file containing his report, and turned to call Mr. Palmer to come and retrieve the body. But as he turned his head, something caught his eye, "Now, what have we here?" The Major quickly positioned herself on the other side of the remains to get a view of what had just captured Ducky's attention. "Do you see it?"
"Right… It's just not one of those things you can catch dead on." Maj. Cassidy moved in closer and pointed to the area just over the victim's right ear. "It's not a tattoo… At least not one I've ever seen, and not one using an ink I've ever even heard of." She cautiously peered at it a moment longer, "And I can't see the stippling of a tattooer's tool either. Do you have an evidence swab handy?"
"The body has already been thoroughly washed, so you cannot possibly believe that you will be able to recover any surface material?" Ducky asked the Major with an incredulous air.
"Ah, but you would be surprised what a little bit of isopropyl can do for you in circumstances like these." And true to her word, with just one dab of her alcohol wipe, she was able to use the swab on the victim's head and remove a small amount of the material which was making his head glow in such an unnatural manner. "Hmmm… Doesn't seem to leave a visible trace on the swab, but I'm sure your lab will be able to get something from it." She carefully closed the lid on the sample swab and placed it in the plastic bag. Still staring at the head of the body, the Major appeared to be working something out in her head.
"What are you thinking, Gwendolyn?" Ducky asked.
"You wouldn't happen to have a black light handy, would you, Dr. Mallard?"
Ducky turned to a drawer in the counter and retrieved a small, dark, fluorescent, handheld light, "Just this one, but it should do the trick." He handed it to her and turned back to the wall, "I'll just get the overhead lights for you, and then we can test your theory."
The Major turned on the small black light just as Ducky hit the switch and they instantly got an answer to their question. Upon casting the black light on the side of the victim's skull, a series of seven letters and numbers, in random order were now visible under the light. "Dr. Mallard, you might want to get someone in here to photograph this before we release the body."
"Indeed," was all that escaped his lips.