Leaving their bags on top of their racks, Jethro and McGee made their way back into the tent they were in early that was set up as a work area. The pair then sat down at the laptops and began back-checking all of the civilian personnel who were currently working locally for Beta Co. and several Marines who had been working directly with Sergeant LeMere during the man's last assignment.

Shortly after 1200 rolled around, he and McGee both walked down to the chow hall for a quick bite to eat. They ate lunch quickly and then headed back to the work area and dived right back into the few remaining background checks they had.

Just before 1500, Jethro swapped out his NCIS cap for his combat helmet. Now in his Flak and Kevlar, he and McGee then made their way into the city neighbourhood where several civilian Beta Co. contractors were renovating some buildings.

While McGee went to fetch the two men that they needed to speak with, Jethro - with Dex by his side - took a good look around the area, something about the After Action Report instantly feeling off.

"Something's not right here," he stated aloud. "The sniper would target the dog before he would the handler. Dog finds bombs, saves lives. You take out the dog, nobody gets saved." He glanced down at Dex. "Why am I telling you this?"

Jethro heard someone walking up behind him. "Boss?" He turned around to see McGee standing there. "This is, Jim Virgil, the witness Ziva and I spoke to in MTAC."

The man laughed softly and leaned down to pet Dex. "Hey! Dex, Buddy! You're a sight for sore eyes. Back working already?" Virgil stood up and eyed Jethro. "You NCIS boys, travel fast. Assuming you heard about last night."

"Which one of your security detail took out the sniper?" he inquired.

"Work fast too," Virgil stated.

"I took a shot at that Taliban S.O.B," a second man who had yet to be introduced said. "I don't know if it was the shot, though."

Virgil indicated the man with his right hand. "Chet Tyber, he's our head of security."

"We were all firing," Tyber replied matter-of-factly. I can certainly believe it. Firefights get chaotic. Fast. "Could have been any of us, me, Virg, Martens' crew, anyone."

"Martens tell you it was us?" Virgil asked.

"Would it matter?" he pressed.

"Covering their asses," Tyber commented. "As usual."

"See," Virgil explained, "we get a little more wiggle room to operate than our friends in the military so, naturally, there's some low-grade resentment."

He tilted his head slightly. "You mean Captain Martens?"

"If he can avoid explaining anything that even smells like it wasn't by the book," Virgil said, "we're the fall guys."

McGee jumped back into their conversation. "And killing an unarmed Taliban suspect is something he'd rather not own up to?"

Tyber raised an eyebrow. "Would you?"

He inhaled. His gut was still telling him that something was off about just how exactly everything went down. Hopefully, he could use Virgil's ear witness statement to figure out the true location where the shot that killed Sergeant LeMere had come from. "The sniper, where'd you find him?"

"We didn't," Virgil said pointedly. "It was Martens' team that rounded up the suspects from behind this mountain, where the shot came from."

"You saw it? he asked.

"I heard it," Virgil countered. "It was like a thunderclap."

"Which way was LeMere facing?" he pressed.

Virgil humoured him and started moving and pointing out where everyone was. "I was over here, and Teddy was with Dex... right here when the bullet hit."

Jethro stood where Teddy had been and then turned, assessing the area yet again. He knew the angle of the kill shot due to Ducky's autopsy, so it helped him narrow things down slightly. Given the angle of the shot and the way he was facing, there was only one building that worked. It also would've been Jethro's first pick to set up a sniper's nest given the view of the area and the cover it gave the sniper. The mountain was too high up as well in his opinion. It didn't match the angle of the shot. "Shot didn't come from the mountain. What you heard was the echo."

"Well, how do you know that?" Virgil asked.

"Shooter was in that building there," he said, turning to point to the location. "It's the best hide. Bullet hole in the helmet, angle of the shot."

McGee eyed the two civilians. "Trust me, he knows."

He gave both civilians a slight smile. "Scout Sniper."

Virgil gave him a curt nod. "You're a former Marine."

He instantly raised an eyebrow. He might have transitioned to 1st Civ Div. two decades ago as the saying went but you never stopped being a Marine. That was forever. "Once a Marine, always a Marine."

Virgil nodded and then turned to address Tyber. "Is this possible?"

Tyber gave a slight shrug of the shoulders. "You were here, not me."

Unfortunately, as McGee then pointed out, the implications of that piece of information were decidedly less than pleasant. "Well, that means the suspected Taliban that were rounded up from behind the mountain were the wrong suspects."

"You're telling me we got the wrong guy?" Virgil asked incredulously.

He eyed the man gravely. "The real one's still out there."

Figuring that they weren't going to get much more out of either of the men, he headed back to base with McGee. They really needed to make some calls back to Washington.

Given the time, Jethro made a quick pitstop to grab a sandwich before heading back to the tent and getting back to work.

He gave Dex a small piece of his sandwich while McGee was talking on the SAT phone. "Well, just keep looking, Fred, and call me if you see anything, okay? Thanks." McGee hung up and then turned to Jethro. "That was my buddy in surveillance. He's checking satellite images of the building the day LeMere was shot."

Jethro gave a curt nod, taking another bite of his sandwich. Hopefully, that would turn up something they could use.

Before their conversation could go any further, Captain Martens walked in with several photos in hand. "Here you go," the captain said while passing them to Jethro. "Photos our Corpsman took of our Taliban suspect." Jethro flipped through the photos while the captain continued talking. "As you can see, both shots went through and through." The captain shook his head. "Still can't believe that's not our guy."

He eyed Captain Martens. "Something else bothering you?"

"Yeah," the captain stated. "It just burns my butt you're even asking me about bullets, Agent Gibbs. I tell you Virgil's man took the shot, they turn around and say it was us. It just never ends with these guys."

Before Jethro got the chance to reply, their SAT phone started ringing. McGee instantly moved to pick it up, shooting him a look of confusion. "Uh, Boss?"

He took the phone, suspecting it was his agents back in Washington. "Yeah?"

Jethro immediately heard Ziva's voice come over the line. "Gibbs, I thought you should know Abby found Doberman hair on the sleeve of Ruby's attacker."

"Doberman?" he repeated. "Pitt had Dobies."

"Pittorino," DiNozzo repeated. "Yeah, Boss, that's the first name we thought of too. We were only just slightly off target."

He then heard the tell-tale click of one of his agents turning on the microphone for the main interrogation room. "Sure I wanted to make some real money but can you blame me? Anything beats working for my uncle the rest of my life."

Apparently, they had Norman Pittorino's nephew in custody. Considering, Pittorino had called the young man useless, they didn't have the best relationship.

"The pendant was just the tip of the iceberg," Ziva proceeded to explain. "Marty Hagen was helping to smuggle stolen items just like it from Afghanistan, using his uncle's business as cover."

His Senior Field Agent broke in. "Crooks over there stashed the goods in Pitt's baggage for his nephew to unload here and store until they got stateside."

"What crooks?" he questioned. "Who's 'they'?"

Ziva spoke up again, her tone revealing that she knew Jethro wasn't going to like what she was about to say to him. "Hagen is reluctant to give us a name, unless, of course, we cut him a deal."

He's not getting a deal. "Ziva, get me a name!"

Ending the call, they were interrupted again as a young man walked in. A second later, the Marine stopped in front of Captain Martens and stood at attention. "Corporal Ryan reporting for canine reassignment, Captain."

Jethro stood up, wanting to speak with the corporal.

Captain Martens eyed the younger Marine. "At ease, Ryan. Paperwork?"

"Fully trained and authorized, Sir." The corporal handed all of his paperwork to Captain Martens to quickly look over. "And, uh, if it's all the same to you, Dex and I will get to know each other in the field."

He thought that was a slightly odd request and evidently Captain Martens thought the same thing. "That's not procedure, Corporal. What's your rush?"

"Well, no rush, Sir, just..." Jethro's gut was now screaming that something was off. "Uh, Beta Co. needs a replacement, and I need experience."

He eyed the young Marine. "Where are you taking him, Corporal?"

"Uh," Corporal Ryan replied less than confidently, "a few buildings in the city Mr. Virgil wants sniffed out before, uh, they start renovating." The corporal then addressed the captain. "We good to go, Sir?"

"No," he stated. Both Captain Martens and McGee eyed him. "Not yet."

Jethro had a few boxes that he wanted to check off before he handed Dex over to the new handler. He wanted the mess resolved and to make sure the handler wasn't in on the little smuggling operation that his team had uncovered.