Chapter 2
'Oh, Tony, you really don't look good.'
'Thanks, Abbs', he said when he entered her lab.
'What have you got?
'Nothing. All these evidences are rubbish. The skid marks are too slight to match them or even scan them in. No fingerprints, no DNA. And I can also not tell you what knife was used. Just that it was very sharp', Abby said and clicked a few times and the picture of the dead woman appeared on the computer screen.
'Great. Gibbs will like that', Tony said ironically.
'Come on, Tony. Sit down', Abby said and brought him to her office chair.
He sat down. 'I don't feel well', he said and watched her going and coming back.
'What's this?', he asked scared as he saw the syringe in her hand.
'I'll take a blood probe. As I don't have anything else to do…', she said and before he could argue she put it in.
'Aargh', Tony screamed.
'Great, I'll analyze this', Abby said and went back to her lab.
Tony just let his head fall on the desk. That headache was killing him.
'Nothing, boss', McGee said.
'I come here and you tell me that after one hour you still haven't found out anything?', Gibbs emptied his coffee and threw the paper cup into the waste paper basket.
'No evidences and no suspect', Tony said.
'What are you doing?', Gibbs asked.
Tony lay down on the floor behind his desk. 'I can't sit up', he explained.
'No wonder', Abby suddenly stood behind Gibbs. All looked around. 'You've been poisoned', she said.
'What?', Tony asked and jumped up, grabbing for hold on his desk.
'Is it serious?', Ziva asked.
Abby shook her head.
'I analyzed the blood. It's not concentrated enough. You'll feel bad for the next few hours but after that you'll be okay. A higher concentrated dosage might have killed you.'
Tony still looked puzzled.
'But who…and when…?', he asked.
'What about the barkeeper from yesterday?', Ziva asked. Tony shook his head.
'Ziva, McGee, you'll visit the bar from yesterday. Just to be sure', Gibbs ordered despite.
'I'm gonna drive him home', Abby explained and walked toward Tony.
'There was someone yesterday', Tony said remembering. Ziva and McGee stopped on half the way to the elevator. 'Someone had followed me', Tony declared.
'And why haven't you told?', Gibbs asked angry.
'I didn't remember. I didn't think it was important. You know, I was drunk. I don't know.'
'We still should take this serious', Ziva said and they all walked to the elevator.
Gibbs sighed and sat down at his office again. He looked up. He saw Vance looking at him. He hated that ass of a director.
Gibbs entered the office. 'You wanted to talk to me?'
'That's right', Vance said.
He gave Gibbs an unopened envelope. 'What's that?', Gibbs asked and turned it in his hands.
It was a usual brown envelope. It was addressed to him.
'As you can see, there's your name on there.'
'So unusual I get post that you have to give it to me personally?', Gibbs asked more or less surprised.
'No post stamp and no date. It was smuggled into NCIS post by someone. Someone wanted to be sure you get it', Vance explained. 'Open it.'
Gibbs sighed. He hated when he couldn't even open his mailings without being observed, especially by director of NCIS. He opened the brown envelope. 'Any idea who got you this?', Vance asked.
'I haven't even opened it. So how should I know?', Gibbs asked and looked inside.
It was a B4-envelope but it seemed as if nothing was in it.
'X-raying didn't show anything suspicious', Vance said.
Gibbs grabbed into the envelope and pulled out a small piece of paper. It was a calling card, usual small and unsuspicious. There was nothing written on it. Gibbs turned it around and held it against the light. He put it back into the envelope.
'What?', Vance asked.
'I have no idea', Gibbs declared.
'Then show me.'
'It was addressed to me.'
'What do you think it is?'
'A hint to my actual case.' Vance reached out his hand.
Gibbs gave him the envelope and Vance opened it. He pulled out the business card.
It was white, but there was a light golden scorpion crawling from the upper right corner.
A scorpion is the logo of this fictional organization Scorpia from the ALex Rider book series (the first book 'Stormbreaker' also is a film).