A/n: The Fortitude is, to my knowledge, not a real Navy vessel. If it is, or was, I don't own that either.

"Whaddya got, Abs?"

"Gibbs!" she turned to him. "I have a name."

The music was louder than usual, Gibbs noticed, and he wondered what had brought that on. Usually meant that Abby was stuck on something. She had to shout a bit to give him the name.

"Petty Officer Alan Goldburg," she read off. "He failed to report aboard the USS Fortitude eight days ago."

"That's good work, abs."

She looked at him then with annoyance, nit at him but at the rest of her news. "Yeah, okay, but I, like, went over all of his clothes that you found and I couldn't find and evidence of a weapon or an attack. There are no clean knife punctures, no gunpowder on the fabric." She sighed, "I'm trying to work my magic here, but I think you'll have to leave it to Ducky to tell you about the 'how' for this one."

Gibbs kissed her cheek and told her she did good again, and left for autopsy.

III

In the squad room, McGee, Bishop, and Woods were at their desks. McGee was sifting through Goldburg's history, looking for any reason the guy might be dead. Nothing. With his programs running, he figured now was as good a time as any to actually step up into the role or Senior Field Agent.

"Woods," he said suddenly, "what have you got?"

She startled at her name and took a moment to right herself, but did so quickly. "Nothing odd about his bank statements. No former criminal activity, not even a speeding ticket."

Bishop hung up her phone then, and said, "He was due to report back to the Fortitude eight days ago. His family reported him missing a few days before the Navy noted his absence. His superiors have nothing bad to say about him, no known enemies. He enlisted when he turned eighteen; he's been on active duty for less than a year."

McGee nodded and was about to speak, when two Metro Detectives were escorted to his desk.

III

Ducky had about as much to offer as Abby did, much to Gibbs' annoyance and confusion.

"I'm sorry Jethro, but with the limited material we have to work with, a cause of death is virtually impossible to determine."

"How about how his outsides came off of his insides?"

"Well, it's odd," Ducky said, and looked troubled, "Mr. Palmer, if you'd be so kind?"

"Yes, Doctor," Jimmy said, and took a pair of tongs and held up a chunk of flesh, holding it out flat so that Gibbs and Ducky could see it clearly. Ducky adjusted the spyglass.

"See these marks here? Patterns like these indicate that the outer layer of flesh was stretched. Like, it was pulled off of the person's body. I can't find any indication that any tools or weapons were used to remove it. Honestly Jethro, I don't have the slightest idea how this came to happen."

The swish of the automatic doors interrupted anything Gibbs would've said to that. Agent Woods walked in, again not batting so much as an eyelash at the sight of the remains. "Agent Gibbs, sir," she said, "Metro PD Detectives are upstairs. Agent McGee asked me to come find you."

Gibbs suppressed rolling his eyes; Metro cops weren't exactly his favorite people. As he left Ducky called after him that he'd keep looking for answers. Entering the elevator with Woods, he pressed the button and said to her, "Woods."

"Yes sir?"

"Don't call me 'sir'."

"Yes sir."

III

When McGee spotted Gibbs coming out of the elevator, Woods on his heels, he made sure to speak before the detectives could get a word in. "Boss, Metro PD found a body last Tuesday near a park area in Shenandoah National Park."

"What's that got to do with my case?"

McGee lowered his voice and stepped closer. "Boss, the DNA is a match to the remains we found yesterday."

The detectives couldn't be bothered with civility any longer. The taller of the two extended an arm around McGee to Gibbs, a practiced grin on his face. "Agent Gibbs, I'm Detective Moore, this is my partner Detective Lowe. We'll be sure to get the body to you as soon as possible."

"Our M.E.'s assistant will pick it up from Metro and accompany it back here," Gibbs said, not allowing them to fall into that trap. He passed the group and went to his desk. "Bishop."

Ellie immediately began to shoo the detectives out of the squad room, "Thank you so much for your help, we'll be sure to keep you updated, please be sure to send over those case files…"

McGee went up to Gibbs. "Boss, I've seen the pictures of the body. It's a positive match, but it…it can't be right. The full body has most of it's skin, with ears…I mean, I guess Ducky will figure it out but I've got a weird feeling about this, Boss."

Gibbs thought a moment. "You know where Metro found the body?"

"Yeah."

Gibbs got up, grabbed his phone. "Woods."

"Yes, sir?"

"…"

"…Gibbs?"

"You and Bishop talk to the family. Tell her when she gets back up here."

"Yes, Boss."

McGee grabbed his go-bag and followed Gibbs to the elevator. Gibbs tossed him the keys.

III

The small cave was near a public rest area of the park, secluded but close enough to activity that the body had been found pretty soon after death. McGee directed Gibbs to the exact area. The dying daylight offered little help, and with the uneven terrain they used their flashlights to light the way. "Right in here, Boss."

The cave was small enough that the two men had to duck their heads just a little, but wide across. Their flashlights scanned the walls and floor. McGee shined his light on the far corner. "Crime scene photos show the body right here. A tent was found not far off, shredded. Looks like an animal attack."

"How likely is that?"

"They can't determine the type of animal. Frankly I've never known of an animal that left marks like this one."

Gibbs ventured further into the cave, seeming to look for something. The soft sound of his shoes hitting the ground changed subtly to a deeper thud, and he halted. McGee met his eye and when Gibbs moved to inspect the floor, he went to help. The two of them cleared away dirt and rocks, and found wood.

McGee checked the boards. "Okay," he said, "looks pretty old, but, these scrapes over here means it's been moved.

"Yeah, I see than, McGee."

"Do you…want to move it, Boss?"

Gibbs nodded and headed to one side. McGee took the other. Each found the edge of the rotting platform and moved it away. Gibbs let go when he could no longer reach farther over the exposed hole, and McGee dragged it away the last few feet. He rejoined Gibbs by the edge, and they shined their flashlights down. The shaft went gown about twelve feet and there was a questionable wooden ladder down one side.

"Boss?"

Gibbs said nothing. He was about to go down, but suddenly the two agents heard the smallest whimper from below. Immediately their guns were out and their lights were trained down. The voice cried out again and Gibbs handed McGee his light, and began to decent the ladder.

He found his footing in the dim light and gestured to McGee to toss his down. With his own light he could see the rest of the hidden alcove, and the person within. A young woman lay prone in the dirt, alive but obviously in bad shape. He holstered his gun and rushed to her, feeling her faint heartbeat and ragged breaths.

"McGee!" he called, "Call an ambulance."

McGee's affirmative response was immediate, and Gibbs went back to attending to the girl. He put a hand to her face and took a look at her. Blood and mud marred most of her features, and looking closer he tried to find the source of the blood flow. Across her arms, her lower legs and torso, there were deep, angry gashes. Claw marks. Gibbs reached for his gun again.