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Chapter 3

Gibbs caught his breath slightly. Someone was executing Navy petty officers. And he would strike again. "Yeah," he muttered. He looked around for Kate. "Kate!" She glanced up from her pictures. "When you're done, head down to the parking lot and see if you can find anything to bag and tag."

Kate nodded and slung her camera over her shoulder. She motioned for Elle to follow and they soon disappeared from sight.

"Dinozzo!"

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony said as he looked up from his measurements.

"Help Ducky bag 'em."

Tony motioned to Morgan. "Let's go, Probie."

Morgan bristled at that, but he followed Tony anyway.

As they were struggling to get the bodies into the black bags that Ducky provided, Gibbs turned to Hotch and Gideon. "Okay. Profile."

"Organized killer, organized crime scene," Reid said as he came up behind them.

"That's all you have?"

"Profiling isn't something magical we do, Agent Gibbs," Reid said, crossing his arms. "It takes time. It takes knowledge of the victim. It takes physical evidence."

Gibbs pointed his finger at Gideon's chest. "I want this bastard caught before he does this again."

Gideon raised his hands. "I know you do. I want to catch this bastard too, Gibbs. But we have certain criteria we need, stuff that you can help us with." He paused. "We're on the same team here, Gibbs. If we want this guy, it means complete cooperation with both of our teams."

"We can help you, and you can help us," Hotch finished. "But you have to be completely upfront with us."

Gibbs slowly inhaled, then exhaled. He looked Gideon in the eye. "Right." He stuck out his hand. "You have my complete cooperation."

Gideon maintained eye contact. "And you have mine." He grasped the proffered hand and shook it.

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Elle hurried down the trail after Kate. "Agent Todd!" she yelled. Kate stopped and turned around. "Slow down," she said as she caught up to her, panting.

"Oh, sorry," Kate said as Elle caught her breath. She stuck out her hand. "Kate."

Elle took the hand. "Elle."

"Elle? That's an unusual name," Kate said as they continued down the trail.

"Yeah, well, my parents were unusual people."

They walked in silence for a time, until Elle spoke again. "So how long have you been with NCIS?"

"Uh, a little over a year," Kate replied. "Before that I worked with the Secret Service. On the President's detail." Kate waited for the customary "Wow", but Elle just nodded. "How long have you been with the BAU?"

"A year," Elle replied as they went down a small hill. Slowly the dirt parking lot showed through the dense trees. "Before this I was a field agent in Seattle."

Kate nodded. "Sounds like an interesting job."

Elle smiled slightly as they reached the parking lot. "It had its perks. But I like the BAU a lot. They're the best, and I wanted to work with the best."

Kate raised her hand to block the sudden sunlight. She turned to face Elle. "Okay, this area was taped off, so it should be somewhat uncontaminated. Keep on the lookout, but stick with me." Elle nodded and followed Kate. Both agents kept their eyes peeled to the ground.

"Hey, Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"That Dinozzo guy. Is he always like that?"

Kate grinned. "Always like what?"

"You know. Thinks he's a Casanova and flirts with everything that breathes and has breasts."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, he is. He's harmless really. Just a big pain in the ass sometimes." Kate paused and thought about that. "Well, most of the time."

Elle grinned. "Yeah, I know the type."

Kate looked up at the FBI agent, surprised. "Really?"

Elle nodded. "Oh, yeah. I worked with one like that in Seattle, and I work with one like that here. Morgan."

"That really handsome one?"

Elle nodded and grinned. "Yep, that's him. He's a nice guy, really smart, really good at what he does. He just knows he's good-looking and uses it. A lot."

Kate laughed. "Seems to be one like that in every department. Tony will probably chase you for as long as you're working with us."

The other agent rolled her eyes and joined Kate in her laughter.

There was silence as the two agents scoured the scene. Suddenly Elle stopped and moved away. "Hey, Kate." Kate turned to see Elle bending over something embedded in the dirt. "I think I found something."

Kate moved over to squat down behind Elle. The FBI agent glanced up at her. "It rained last night, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it poured."

"What time did it stop?"

Kate thought for a moment. "About two o'clock this morning. Why?"

Elle didn't answer. "What happens to dirt when it gets wet?"

Kate locked eyes with Elle. "It turns to mud."

"And what happens when someone drives over mud?"

Kate pulled out her camera and studied the ground. She could see the faint impression of what looked like… "They leave tire tracks." Click, click, click. "Better call for a plaster cast of this." Click, click, click.

"It's a pretty good bet these weren't made this morning." Elle said as Kate snapped the pictures.

"Yeah, the ground would have dried."

Elle moved a few feet over. "I got something here too."

Careful not to disturb the track, Kate moved over to join her. Elle lightly traced something in the dirt. "What do you make of this?"

Kate squinted a little and nearly fell backward with surprise. "It looks like a shoe print."

Elle caught Kate's eye. "We just found our first clues."