Wow lots of reviews for a simple one shot. I want to thank each and everyone of you that sent me a review. I also would like to thank all of the people that added this to their favorites. Well, I had no intention of writing more but, the muse paid a visit. I hope you all like this one as well.
No new case meant, working on cold cases. Sometimes cold cases were solved when fresh eyes looked at them, not always but it did happen. They found that when things were slow it helped to work as a team on the cold cases as well.
It was Gibbs that broke the quiet of the bullpen entering the bullpen like he always does, with the same stealthy steps he learned all those years ago when he learned to be a sniper.
"McGee, report." Gibbs bellowed as he places his cup of coffee on his desk.
"Not much here boss, the victim was shot in the leg he bled out. There hardly any evidence to be had. This case is twelve years old, the autopsy reports are all here so are the labs. All the witness have either moved away or they are at their new posting."
"Ziver." Gibbs grunts out.
"Abby is going over the evidence. She was not the original tech, as you know. She said that she will let us know. She has not found anything hinky, yet."
"Well DiNozzo, you care to add anything, or are you still going to chat on your cell?"
"Sorry boss, was talking to Dr. Pitt. As for the case there is a mistake, a big one."
"What mistake, I did not see one." Ziva challenges.
"What did I miss Tony? Tim asks his inflection expressing remorse.
"No worries Tim, it took me a second read through to catch it. Bring up the crime scene photo on the plasma will you."
Gibbs walks up to the plasma and waits for Tony to explain. Not a patient man, Gibbs likes to deal with fact and evidence, clear a case and move on to the next. For him his life is his work. Catching the criminal letting the dead rest in peace and giving the families a sense of closer if at all possible.
"The trajectory is wrong, look I'll show you." He says with out any gloating or preamble at all, as Ziva and Tim join them.
Tim stares at him blankly, his eyes full of questions as he sits and works out the math on his own. "How did you figure it out so fast, you hate math, in fact you avoid it."
"I'm the first to admit that I'm not fond of math, this is different, using math to figure out bullet trajectories is purely cop math. That kind of math I'm actually good at doing."
The three agents wait for him to continue, Ziva huffs, Tim shakes his head and Gibbs just growls at him.
"So who taught you this math. Bullets have to many variables wind, rain the list is endless." Ziva reminds him.
"You forgot that I went to a military academy. Senior year, our math teacher was a sniper. He taught us, I've used his formula more than once. I didn't have access to Abby and her computers when I was a detective."
Gibbs accepts the answer without question he has never known his SFA to lie about a skill needed for the job.
"McGee work out the math on the simulator thingy like Abby does."
"Working on it Boss, Tony is right, these numbers are wrong somebody made a mistake."
"Or lied McGee. It's been known to happen."
"Lie on a report? That's perjury."
"I know what it is Tim, but it happens. Lose evidence, no evidence, you know it's the right perp but you have nothing to nail him on. Then there are the times that you are covering up your ass, to protect yourself or someone else. You have to know how to do it, and do it right. Our instructor showed us to do it work the numbers to work in our favor, too."
"You've done this? Change reports?" Ziva asks.
"I will neither confirm nor deny that I have changed any reports here or anywhere else that make the story that was told, fit the evidence that was gathered. Be it outside, or inside a building. All I said was that I know how to do in order to protect someone's ass. If needed." Tony answers then reaches for another cold case.
She walks down the stars into Gibbs basement and watches him for a few minutes.
"Gibbs, do you think he knows?"
"He knows, he has always known. I checked my report my numbers have been changed just enough to make it fit, not perfectly like I had them, I made a mistake, he fix it. Always covering my six, and yours too, this time."