a/n: Thanks for the reviews and alerts! definatley helped me get this uploaded a bit quicker!
Chapter 2
Kensi and Deeks reached the Operations Center of the Mission last and upon entering, Kensi moved to the far side of the room, away from the concerned glances of both her partner and Sam. Handing the former NAVY SEAL his Caramel Macchiato, the two men had a silent conversation about the young female agent, ending when Deeks shrugged his shoulders indicating he had no idea what that was all about. Sam could see that, though the man's actions would seem flippant to an outside observer, the sudden aloofness of his partner weighed heavily on his mind.
Eric cleared his throat to begin talking, quite oblivious to the observation of Agent Blye by her two teammates. Typing quickly on the keyboard in front of him brought up the military ids of three men. "Here we have Corporals Hayes Kilgore and Tucker Buchanan and Staff Sargent Tim McLelland, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines Division. Recently returned from the Gulf with orders to ship back in less than a month. All three were here on a weekend leave pass." Continued typing overlaid those photos with crime scene images of three dead men. "They were found dead about an hour ago in an alley between Hollywood and Selma by a jogger. The ME on site says that they died from exsanguination due to multiple gunshot wounds. Estimated time of death is..." he read from the tablet in front of him, "less than three hours prior to the discovery of the bodies."
"That puts it after three am, just right about the time bars are letting out. Robbery gone wrong?" Callen began the process of group hypothesizing.
Eric shook his head and magnified one of the photos. "Unlikely. Though all the men had their wallets taken, whomever did this left a rather expensive watch on Staff Sargent McLelland."
"Maybe the guy panicked. He may have thought that many gunshots would have alerted passersby. First rule of robbing: Get the money and get away," Deeks added.
Again, Eric signaled a no. "That's the interesting part. This alleyway is less than a block from a bustling area of Hollywood, yet there are no witnesses stepping forward. Not one mention of hearing gunshots in the vicinity last night."
"That's gotta be rare in this area of Hollywood. Possible silencer?" Sam moved closer to the screen and zoomed in on the bullet wounds in the photos. "Close grouping of the wounds, that takes training and a steady hand, not something your average street thug has. These men were not killed by an amateur, but how does one kill three experienced Marines without them showing any signs of defensive wounds. Kensi?"
All turned to the silent woman in the room, who seemed lost in thought. The light of the multiple plasma screens in the room intensified the sickly pallor that lingered from her earlier phone conversation. Callen, unaware of the earlier drama, realized something was up.
"Kens?"
At Callen's insistent tone, she finally tore her gaze away from the bloodied images, and took a shaky breath. "Depending on the exact order in which they died, it looks like Buchanan and Kilgore were farthest from the shooter at the time. The stippling of the wound on Tim is indicative of a much closer range."
They all paused and considered the information they had gathered, studying the plasma in silence.
"Take out the closest man in an ambush and the other two don't know what hit them," Deeks spoke but his gaze never left his partner as she inspected the picture of McLelland. "What do you see?"
She frowned, pulling the wide angle of the crime scene into the forefront on the screen. "I don't know... there's just something not right here."
Hetty finally spoke from her seat to the left of the group. "Hollywood PD is holding the crime scene for you. I'd get a move on; they're not known for their patience."
The agents collectively started moving towards the door, until Nell's voice stopped them. "Hold up, guys."
"Yes, Miss Jones?" Hetty questioned.
Nell swiveled her desk chair away from the surveillance video she had been scanning, but not before sending it to the main screen. "I found this traffic cam video from just after one am. These are our dead Marines leaving Kitchen 24 on Cahuenga, but look... There's four men."
Although grainy, the video indeed showed that there were four men leaving the Hollywood diner. It appeared they were acquainted as they were laughing and jostling each other in a friendly manner.
Nell paused the video and Sam brow furrowed, a slight frown forming as he squinted at the unknown male. "Our possible killer?"
"I was able to run facial recognition on him and he's a former Marine." She pulled up the OMPF, and though the mystery man's hair was longer and the curls a bit unruly, the jacket picture was clearly the man in the video. "Former Lance Corporal Jonathan Jaskolka. Served in the same unit as the other three, but medically discharged due to..."
Kensi gasped, her mouth hanging open, "Due to PTSD."
"That's right. How did you know?"
She stared, her eyed wide with shock, at the frozen video image as if she had seen a ghost. "I used to be engaged to him. That's Jack."