The bullpen was relatively quiet for it being a Tuesday morning. Neither the team leader, nor their profiler had arrived yet; something for which the Senior Field Agent was happy for. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was enjoying some alone time with his girlfriend in the office, chatting with one another about what their day was likely to entail.

The soft ding of the elevator arriving filled the air, and Tony could see a short brunette exit and make her way to her desk. Kate placed her purse on the floor next to her computer and sat down, fixing her gaze on the young woman across from her. Just as she was about to interrupt her partner, a flash of silver and the sound of papers hitting a desk stopped her.

"DiNozzo, dead Marine. Grab your gear." Gibbs said, tossing another file and narrowly missing the tall blond perched on the corner of Tony's' desk.

"Sorry, looks like I gotta go. Dinner later?" She flashed a smile at his words, a smile that could be rivaled only by one; Tony.

"Gotcha. 8o'Clock at my place?"

"That'd be great," He replied. "You cooking?" a hint of mischief flashed in those emerald orbs of his.

"No problem, Hun." She said softly before kissing him gently on the lips. He watched her walk to the elevator and get in, waving one last time as the metal doors closed and it took her away.

"NOW DiNozzo!" came the gruff shout of Special Agent Gibbs, his patience already wearing thin.

Walking out to the car, Kate saw this as the chance to do the prying for once instead of the other way around, and she struck up a conversation.

"So is she you're newest play toy, DiNozzo? Dating in the workplace is ill advised you know. Think it's a rule too. " Her eyebrows raised, her tone, snide.

Tony slowed his pace a little, pausing to think for moment whether he should answer at all, and then if he should joke about it or not. "Play toy? Lizzy? No way. We have a connection, it goes deeper than that."

"Deeper? How so? I wasn't even aware that you could connect with a woman on an emotional level." Kate actually was a bit shocked. Even as a profiler, and a pretty damn good one at that, she found it hard to gauge whether her partner was telling the truth or not. He seemed sincere enough, but if there was one thing Caitlin Todd had learned from this job, it was that Tony could be an excellent actor when he wanted to be.

"Oh is that the best insult you could come up with? I can totally connect when I want to. But Lizzy... She's something different. Real special, ya know?" A warm smile graced his features. Kate was so focused on trying to read the true meaning behind that smile, she found herself walking right into an equipment carrying McGee.

"Probie! There you are! We were going to leave without you, you know." All seriousness forgotten, Tony strode past the mess of forensic gear and paperwork covering the asphalt and leapt into the shotgun position of the company car.

"I'm sorry Tim, really. I wasn't watching where I was going." Kate hurried to gather all the scattered items while McGee apologized profusely for also not watching where he was headed. A car horn sounded behind them; Gibbs was waiting. Kate had seen the mood their leader was in and had no doubt that if she and McGee had collided elsewhere, Gibbs would have driven off and left them behind.

"We better hurry. I don't think us being in front of the car is going to slow him down any once he gets going..."

Some number of minutes later and Kate and McGee were in the backseat, holding on for dear life while Tony had hold of the dashboard as Gibbs raced toward their destination. A typical 30-minute drive that lasted only about fifteen ended in an abrupt halt near some warehouses. Gibbs was out of the car and ten feet away before the rest of the team even had their seat belts off.

Private Lance Dougray was laying prostrate, his limbs flung out at odd angles, his dog tags resting neatly in the hollow of his neck. Gibbs stared wearily at the young man as his team took up their usual positions. The boy couldn't have been older than nineteen, fresh out of training by the looks of it. Tilting his head up to observe his team in action, Gibbs' ice blue eyes rolled over the photographing Kate, then McGee in the process of bagging and tagging, and they landed on Tony, who was sketching the scene. His gaze remained on the Senior Field Agent for a moment; a sinking feeling all too familiar formed in his gut. For once, Gibbs didn't quite know what it was telling him. I'll just keep an eye on him, see if anything happens…

Feeling somebody watching him, Tony spun around. His eyes locked with Gibbs' for a moment and Tony's expression turned questioning.

"Watch what you're doing, DiNozzo. You're about to step on some evidence." The man moved to hover over McGee, covering up his seemingly misplaced concern with his usual overbearing aggression.

Kate continued to snap pictures, taking in the massacre that was once a young man. He was stripped naked and arranged in a modest position. There were small incisions in certain areas of his body, some of which had become infected. The boy was covered in nasty bruises and a few bones were visible through the thin layer of skin that canvassed him. The most disturbing thing to Kate, though, was possibly the large gaping hole in the Privates' chest, where his heart used to reside.

Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard arrived on scene with his assistant, Jimmy Palmer, half an hour later. The two men made their way swiftly to the sanctioned off area to attend to the victim, greeting the team as they went.

"TOD, Duck?" Gibbs appeared behind the M.E.'s shoulder. He would have scared the elder man if the good Dr. had not been so used to it by now.

"Now, Jethro, couldn't you at least wait until I have my equipment out? I mean, really—oh dear." Ducky's eyes fell upon the open chest cavity before him, "You poor lad. This must have been a painful beating you took."

"Ducky?" Gibbs prodded the man gently to remind him of the job at hand. His short fuse was even shorter today, and it seemed to Gibbs that everyone was irritating him on purpose. Granted, he almost allowed himself a smile at seeing Lizzy this morning, but almost was the key word here. Ever since he woke up this morning, passed out under his boat with a stiff back, He'd just had a bad feeling about today. The pang of unease he'd had earlier only intensified his nasty mood. Gibbs was on full alert for anything that seemed off, subconsciously trying to rush everyone through the day and just get it over with.

"Give me a moment, Jethro. We can't all be as fast as you command simply because you're you. There really isn't much I can tell you before I've had a chance to get him back to my lab and examine him. I will say, the body was obviously moved. Theres hardly any blood here at all. The boy died elsewhere." Ducky stood from his crouching position near the body and motioned for Jimmy to prepare the cadaver for transport.

"Boss, we done here? Probie's bagged everything in sight, Kate's got all the photos we need, and my sketch has been done for awhile now. Think we could head back to the office now?" Tony was hesitant and slow in his request, fully expecting to be shot down. His surprise was evident on his face when Gibbs turned to look him straight in the eye and said:

"Sure DiNozzo. We've got everything we can from here. Background checks and security footage it is."

Tony grinned at his semi-win (Because how can any outcome involving paperwork, Internet searches, and mind numbing security tapes ever be considered a full win?) and made his way to the car, hoping to get shotgun again.

A glimmer of light caught his attention, and he paused in his course, mid step, to look over at the street. A black car was taking the curve as slow as it could, the driver apparently trying to get a good look at what the police cars were surrounding. Based on his knowledge of cars, Tony could safely say that it was a 1960's car. Looks like…..a…. Chevy I think.

The driver must have spotted Tony staring, for he stuck a hand out the window and waved before speeding out of sight. Tony continued to gaze after it for a moment, but his attention was diverted as a streak of brown flew by him and into the passenger seat of the car.

"Aw Kate, come on!" he grinned and shook his head as he climbed in back with McGee; another long day at the office in store for him and his teammates.

"Mr. Palmer, would you be so kind as to take those samples up to Abigail please?" Ducky turned to his assistant and waited for the foreseeable answer.

"Of course, Dr. Mallard. Right away." He hurried through the doors of Autopsy towards the elevator, just as Gibbs stepped in. The senior agent meandered his way to Ducky's side, calmly taking in the gruesome sight still atop the table. The missing center of the marines' chest had an interesting visual effect on the Y incision that had already been sewn shut.

"Ah, Jethro, right on time as usual." Ducky placed his tools on the medical tray on his right side and turned to face his old friend and colleague, giving him a once over. "Long day already?"

A light chuckle, "Yeah, Duck." He ran a hand through his hair and scratching at the back of his head, "What've you got for me?"

Ducky took in a deep breath and sighed, "It's not pretty. Private Dougray was tortured for a period of several days, as deduced by the bruising in various places. These puncture wounds here and here," He points to the right shoulder and left leg, "were the first of the major injuries; whatever was used to slice through his limbs remained there until after his death, when they were removed with a knife. I've sent the molds up to Abigail to have them examined. Next came this cut through the left palm, it's a clean cut. Through and through."

It didn't take long for Gibbs to stop paying attention. He'd heard it all before. Sick bastards like Lance's killer don't vary too much between them. He barely heard Ducky continue to ramble through the list of injuries, keeping his gaze locked on the absent portion of the Marines chest. Ducky's speech lowered in volume slightly and his tone took a slight prickly curve to it.

Gibbs snapped to attention, "What did you just say, Duck?"

Ducky's eyebrows furrowed in irritation and his eyes narrowed a little, "Jethro, I said the boy was raped. Quite violently. Again, the samples are with Abby. The torment this young man must have endured... Only nineteen!"

Gibbs placed a hand on his old friends' shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "We'll catch this bastard, Ducky."

"I certainly hope so, Jethro."

So here's chapter 3 at 1960 words :) I hope I did all right!

Till next time,

xoxo

Samm