Chapter 1

"Grab your gear." Gibbs rounded the corner of the bullpen, his words silencing whatever the team had been bickering about this morning. "Dead MP, Quantico."

"Shot?" DiNozzo was right behind him, as always, McGee and David following behind.

"Burned. Outbuilding went up in smoke, firefighters found the body in the rubble."

As they drove to the scene, Ziva poked her head through the window in the back of the truck. "Gibbs, how do you know it was an MP if the body was burned?"

"ID was at the scene, still readable."

"Boss, that doesn't make sense." McGee was doing something with his phone-thingy. "Those military IDs melt in that much heat. It should have just been a puddle of plastic if the entire building went up."

"McGeek's right, Boss. Trapped in a building on fire, that thing had to be an inferno. We'll have to wait for Ducky to ID her from DNA or dental records. I don't think even he can pull that magic finger trick like he did on Agent Macy."

"DiNozzo, don't assume. Wait until we investigate."

"Right, Boss."

Gibbs reached for his coffee and sucked down a third of the cup. He did not need comparisons to Mace. He remembered his screwups enough as it was without old cases bringing them up again.

But when they got to the scene and started assessing and bagging evidence, he couldn't help but think something about the scene seemed familiar.

When they returned to the Navy Yard, McGee got busy tracking down Marine MP Christine Ianuskewicz. By the time Gibbs had stalked back from Autopsy, he had everything he could find on the gunnery sergeant up on the screen.

"McGee."

"Nobody's seen Gunnery Sgt. Ianuskewicz since 1800 yesterday, Boss." McGee pulled up the Quantico gate footage. "She returned to base at 1802 after weekend liberty and was scheduled to report to duty at 2300 for watch at the east gate. The base fire station got the call about the fire at 2113. When Ianuskewicz didn't report to duty, her CO marked her as UA since she had never formally checked in after liberty." McGee looked over at Tony, who was standing in front of the plasma.

"Boss, the gunny was well-regarded by her CO, had no record of being late to duty, much less UA. She hit the eight-year mark last week and her CO said the promotions board was going to make her a first sergeant when they convened next month." Tony motioned to the screen and McGee pulled up Ianuskewicz's service records. "She hit every promotion at the earliest possible moment and her CO said the only reason she hadn't made first sergeant yet was she didn't have enough time in service. He said he wouldn't be surprised if she became the first female sergeant-major of the Marine Corps." He grinned. "And, as you can see, she's a very attractive red-head."

"Focus, DiNozzo."

"Focusing, Boss."

McGee pulled up a second set of records on the screen. "Boss, I tracked down the call about the fire to the base fire station, and it came from a lance corporal who was passing the area on the way back from the firing range to quarters." He sent the base map up to the plasma. "The story checks out as far as that goes — he would have gone right by the fire's location."

Gibbs turned to face Ziva, who was still seated behind her desk. "David, report."

"Gibbs, I have talked to several of the Marines in her unit and all of them had nothing but good things to say about her." Ziva shrugged. "She did not seem to have enemies. Could this have been an accident? Or could it be somebody else?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Duck says she's got a skull fracture behind the right ear. Blunt object. Mght have been a shovel. Too small for a baseball bat. He confirmed it was a woman, same height as the gunny. Abby's running DNA, and Palmer's tracking down her dental records."

McGee started searching base records. "Boss, the building had the grounds equipment for the base maintenance crew. Nothing classified or high-value in there."

McGee got up and walked around to lean a hip on his desk. "It was almost dark when the gunny got back to base, so the shed would have been empty more than likely." He pointed the remote at the plasma. "There's no security cam footage specifically on that area and none of the watch patterns pass all that closely to it."

"Contraband?" Tony reached for the remote and McGee tossed it to him. "If you were trying to smuggle something on or off base, you'd need a place to keep it. But come on, this is Quantico. Between the Marines and the FBI, it's not exactly a cakewalk. Stick the drugs or whatever among the lawnmowers and it's probably as safe as it's going to get."

Ziva walked over to join them. "So was the gunnery sergeant killed because she fell upon them destroying evidence, or was she killed and the shed burned to disguise her murder?"

"Stumbled upon them, Ziva." Tony rolled his eyes, and McGee managed not to do the same. "But it's a good question. Was she the target, or was she collateral damage?"

"Go find out." Gibbs looked at McGee. "Go help-"

"Abby in the lab with the evidence. On it, Boss." McGee snagged the remote back from Tony and put it on his desk, safe from superglue or other pranks. He hoped.

"DiNozzo, you-"

"Take Ziva and head back to Quantico to interview the fire crew and anybody who might have seen the gunny between 1800 and the time of the fire. On it."

Hours later, McGee slumped in his chair in Abby's lab, the security camera footage blurring in front of his eyes. Hours of tape from all over the base and he still couldn't find a trace of Ianuskewicz after 2022.

Even Abby was starting to fade, her steps between Major Mass Spec and her computers the pace of a normal person. She'd finished her last Caf-Pow an hour ago and their 17-hour day was beginning to take its toll. McGee hit the button to pause the footage and straightened up.

"Abs, I'm going to check with the others, then make a coffee run," he said, stifling a yawn. "I think we all need some caffeine at this point."

"No need, McSleepy." Tony walked in, his tie gone and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "Our little ninja is off getting us coffee while Gibbs snarls at Ducky and Palmer to get a positive ID on our corpse. He sent me to check on the-"

"Tony, if I'd gotten the DNA match, you'd know." Abby crossed her arms and glared at him. "Gibbs would know. His gut hasn't sent him down here yet tonight."

"Yeah, well my gut's got a hinky feeling about this one," Tony said. "No enemies, no motive, no ID on the body, and a conveniently not-melted ID nearby. Ziva and I couldn't find any evidence of contraband in the shed. Somebody would have smelled pot, and we'd find evidence of guns or other military gear."

"What about hard drugs?" McGee fought back a yawn.

"If there was any kind of major drug ring, the MPs and NCIS agents would have noticed something, or the corpsmen in the base infirmary. Nothing. Gibbs even called Fornell to see if FBI had any information, and he struck out. Fornell said the agency's been using Quantico to train their agents for a new drug-smuggling task force and the Corps OK'd the entire base for use. He said if there was any kind of drug ring operating, they would have picked up on it." Tony made a face. "We'd better find something soon, because you know how Gibbs gets when we don't crack a case."

McGee groaned. "Abby, I call dibs on Bert for a pillow tonight."

Agent David does not like it when a case is not going well. She mutters under her breath, words I can't understand. She doesn't pace, though. Her energy coils inside, like a snake, waiting to strike. When they still have not solved this case, the next time the great Gibbs allows them home she will retreat to her home gym, spend an hour, maybe more, practicing martial arts. When she is frustrated, she chooses kickboxing, pummeling the bag she keeps in her apartment. She is a fine one, but not yet a match for my brains. On nights when she is not worrying over a case, she practices Krav Maga. The first few times I watched her, I didn't know what it was. I learned, though. I always learn. She hadn't been on my radar before she joined the team, though I knew who her brother was. I even crossed paths with him once, as we both studied the team. I almost targeted him to keep him from ruining my plan, but the time wasn't right. He was a distraction, one I couldn't afford. Not after all my preparation.

Still, her addition delayed my plan. I had everything I needed for Agent Todd. It was another delay. I had known from the beginning that Agent Blackadder wouldn't last. Agent Todd, though, she had been a keeper. I knew that from the beginning, knew she would still be on the team when it came time for me to act. I finally had everything I needed when the mighty Leroy Jethro Gibbs went and added Agent McGee to the team.

He was a different kind of challenge. I was forced to learn some new skills to prepare for him, go places I hadn't gone before. Agent McGee added more time, and time was running short. I finally was ready, and the timing was exceptional. And then Ari Haswari struck. I couldn't make my move then. Before I could, Officer David was a member of the team. I had missed my moment, the one I had spent 10 years preparing for. That was not in the plan. I recalibrated. This updated plan, in some ways it is better. The infallible Leroy Jethro Gibbs will have to suffer more because I am denied my rightful victory. And with this new plan in place, I waited and I watched. I prepared, meticulous about every detail. And then I struck my first blow.