Chapter III – Incident at Potomac Park
1024 Local_ 1524 Zulu
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, Maryland
Ducky arrived at Loren's room to find the Marine Sergeant already sitting by her side. Initially disappointed, the NCIS Medical Examiner found that he liked the idea of James Garrel taking an interest in the young woman. The only problem was, if his feelings were more than a gesture of a fellow soldier's concern (and Ducky suspected they were) that could spell trouble for both of them. If he kept this up, he might run into Gibbs and Leroy Jethro Gibbs did not like anyone interfering with his cases. He'd have to have a talk with Garrel and soon.
"Sergeant Garrel, how long have you been here?" Ducky asked.
The Doctor could tell James Garrel felt as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. "Since breakfast Dr. Mallard," he immediately reported, "she fell asleep about an hour ago."
Ducky came over to her beside and gave him a reassuring smile. "Um hmm. And how was she when you arrived?"
"She was awake and alert, sir." Garrel reported. "And hungry. She had a hearty appetite."
"Eating for two, eh, my lad?" Donald Mallard said with a twinkle in his eyes.
James chuckled softly at the reference. "Yes sir, I guess you could say she was."
Both men turned when they heard the Lieutenant sigh. They watched as her eyelids fluttered and she fought her way back to consciousness again.
"Well, if it isn't my two favorite men," she said giving them a sleep-filled smile.
"Good morning Lieutenant," Ducky said to Loren.
Loren struggled to sit up on her side. "I wish you wouldn't call me that, sir." she said in an embarrassed voice.
"But that's who you are, ma'am." James said firmly in response. "A Lieutenant in the United States Navy."
"Not to mention an attorney in the Judge Advocate General Corps." Ducky added.
Loren gave them both a doubtful look.
Before she could say anything to dispute what they said, the door opened. "Excuse me, who are you?" All three turned to see the nurse that had entered the room.
Ducky stood up and gave her a pleasant smile. "I'm Doctor Donald Mallard, Medical Examiner, NCIS."
The nurse momentarily stiffened. "Sorry Doctor, but what is a medical examiner's interest in the Lieutenant-"
"Dr. Mallard examined her first, ma'am," James Garrel said quickly, "he was just checking up on her – seeing how she was doing."
She looked from the doctor to the Marine Sergeant. Yeah right, she thought tiredly. Why were Doctors always pulling this stuff?
"I see; Doctor, is he family? " She asked pointedly about the Marine Sergeant.
Ducky shook his head. He wasn't about to apologize for this. "Unfortunately, no-" he began.
This really gets old after a while. She thought angrily. Why was it that doctors always thought it was okay for them to flout the rules? "Then Sergeant," she said firmly, "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave-"
Ducky was about to deflect her irritation, when Loren took the initiative. "No," she said determinedly. "He stays."
The nurse was not about to make any exceptions. "Ma'am, unless he's a relative-"
Loren's eyes darted to Ducky. "Doctor, please, do something, please." The Medical Examiner noted the anguish in her voice.
Ducky put on his nicest smile. "Nurse, I really think we should consider the patient's well-being. If the lad makes her feel comfortable, then maybe he should be allowed to stay."
But the nurse would have none of it. "I'm sorry Doctor, the Sergeant must leave."
James gave Loren a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Loren, I understand."
But Loren didn't. "No!" she barked suddenly as her various monitors began beeping erratically, making everyone focus on her. "No! He rescued me, he can't leave!" Her breathing became rapid as she began to slide into panic. She grabbed at James's arm like it was a life preserver. "Don't leave! Please!"
Donald Mallard and James Garrel exchanged anguished expressions.
The nurse was adamant. "Sergeant, please don't make this any harder than it is," she said quietly but firmly.
"Don't leave me!" Loren was almost hyperventilating. The Marine Sergeant exchanged another quick look with the Doctor and then acted.
James ignored the stern glare of the nurse and took Loren's hands in his. "Okay, I won't leave; I'll stay right here, all right?"
The nurse tried to intervene one last time. "Ma'am, you need to calm yourself, you'll hurt your child. The Sergeant understands the rules-"
But all Loren saw was that one of the few people that she had a bond with at this point in time was going away, and considering all she had lost recently, she couldn't bare that or the dark thought that he might disappear for good.
"Don't leave…." Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Her breathing was still rapid. The nurse in the meantime checked her monitors to make sure they indicated her distress was easing.
"I'm not leaving you," he repeated calmly, still holding onto her hands. "I promise."
"You promise? You won't leave?" Her voice still held a tinge of uncertainty, but her breathing was calming down.
"Yeah, I do, and I won't." He said looking at her. At that moment he knew he was in trouble. The way she responded to him, it was obvious what was happening. She was becoming emotionally attached.
Loren looked up gratefully at him. "Thank you," she said quietly.
He nodded. And dammit, so was he.
But was it anything more than caring about someone who didn't seem to have anyone else, or was it something deeper? He decided at that moment he wasn't ready to explore that yet. James just couldn't believe that he could fall that fast for anyone, let alone a young pregnant woman.
Ducky pulled the nurse off to one side as the Marine Sergeant continued to sooth the agitated Lieutenant.
"Nurse, it's obvious this Marine has a great calming effect on the Lieutenant. He rescued her when she fell in the water at Great Falls."
The Nurse, still smarting from this setback, was perturbed by what was being asked of her. "Doctor, this is highly irregular-" she began.
Ducky nodded understandingly. "I'll take full responsibility Nurse, uh Nurse…ah,"
"Nurse Garrett," she said as she checked the monitors one final time. They indicated that Loren was no longer agitated.
"I'll take full responsibility, Nurse Garrett, for both of them."
"All right Doctor," she sighed.
Ducky could tell she felt defeated by this chain of events. He knew she was just doing her job and maybe he could take the sting out of this setback. "Look I'll make it up to you. My friends call me Ducky. How about dinner tonight after you get off your shift?"
xxiiixx
Tony drove his black Ford Taurus into the NCIS evidence garage and parked. He saw Ken Dobbs conferring with one of the other NCIS technicians.
The former Baltimore PD detective called out to the fellow agent as he unbuttoned his heavy coat. "Dobbs! Did you find the purse?"
Ken Dobbs who had finished his talk with the technician, shook his head and sighed. "Nope." He held up a sealed clear bag full of debris. "Just enough junk for a garage sale. I doubt any of it ties into your case, but I'm not taking any chances. Marines I sent find you?"
Tony nodded. "Oh, yeah. Guarding the areas I taped off. Didn't even ask when they get relieved."
Dobbs snorted sarcastically. "Hey, after Quantico, this is a vacation."
Tony suddenly gave him a smug grin and held up his index finger. "Aha-ha, I've got it! Before you go out tomorrow, buy a purse at the Navy Exchange, soak it in mud, and turn it in!"
Ken Dobbs shook his head and grinned good-naturedly at Tony's suggestion. "No way, man, I don't want to cross Gibbs."
Tony had to agree with that assessment. It wasn't a good idea to cross Gibbs.
Ken turned serious for a moment. "Hey, Blackadder doesn't know, does she?"
"Know what?" Tony replied feigning innocence.
"Heather told me that her team is on the trail of Hassan Mohammed and Amad Bin-Atwa. Question is, is he going let Agent Blackadder in on what's happening?"
Tony turned to look at him. "Well, I sure hope not. 'Cause that would make him a good guy in her eyes, and frankly, I think she's just starting to like me."
He gave Dobbs a lecherous grin as he walked over to Lieutenant Singer's car. Ken Dobbs just chuckled and shook his head.
xxiiixx
"I remember…a man…" Loren had her eyes closed. Her breathing was slow and steady as she concentrated. Sergeant Garrel was sitting beside her, watching the Lieutenant intently.
"Yes?" James prompted. Dr. Mallard had told him anytime that Loren Singer awoke from a period of sleep to try and get her to think about her past.
"He...He's speaking a foreign language to me…" Loren's brow furrowed as she tried harder to get the image to focus.
"Don't fight too much with it, Loren, just relax." James Garrel warned her. Then tried what the NCIS Medical Examiner had tried earlier. "Take a deep breath…now, can you describe the man?"
Loren took a deep cleansing breath and let it out very slowly. She began nodding. "Tall but not too tall; broad-shouldered, wearing some kind of uniform…dark colored I think. His hat, sorry, his cover, is very large…it looks very different from the Navy covers I've seen…."
James racked his brain…a large cover…where have I seen that before? "You said he spoke a foreign language…."
"Uh huh," Loren said keeping her eyes closed. She could see the soldier standing in front of her, smiling, waving, but nothing came to her conscious mind about his name, where he was from….
"Could you make out any of it?" he asked gently. This half-drowsy, half-awake state was providing more of her memories than had been produced before or maybe her brain had had a chance to mitigate some of the damage that had been done to it….
She furrowed her brow again. James had to admit to himself she looked cute when she did it. "He said something like 'Ra' or 'Ma' a lot," she said with sigh.
Donald Mallard quietly reentered the room and held his index finger to his lips. He didn't want to break Loren's concentration.
Thinking about what she had just said, Ducky cleared his throat and spoke a Russian phrase ending with 'Da'
Loren began smiling and nodding her head. "Yes, yes! That's it!" she said excitedly.
"He's Russian." Dr. Mallard explained to Garrel, shrugging and looking slightly embarrassed. "It's one of the few phrases I know."
The NCIS Medical Examiner leaned close to Loren. "Now, Lieutenant; think hard…concentrate…can you see yourself calling him by name?"
Keeping her eyes closed she began nodding her head again. "It started with an 'S'…."
"An S? Are you sure?"
Loren continued to nod. "Yes, yes; I'm sure,"
"What else do you remember about him?" he probed further.
Loren colored. "He…he was…uh, kind…friendly…he touched me…um, gently."
Ducky chuckled at her comment. "A boyfriend?"
Loren focused on the NCIS Medical Examiner. "Yes…no…I don't know…maybe? Oooo! This is so frustrating!" she snapped.
Donald Mallard put his hand gently on her shoulder. "Easy Lieutenant. Getting yourself agitated won't do you any good. It will all come back eventually. For now let's be satisfied with small victories…."
Loren nodded. "All right…okay…." Suddenly her eyes lit with recognition for the first time in days. "Sergei…his name is Sergei!"
Ducky and Garrel exchanged hopeful looks. "That's great Loren!" James replied. "Do you remember anything else about him?"
She spit back the next piece of information without hesitation. "He lives at 1544 Kolomenolyska Prospect, Moscow." Then looked amazed at her own ability to know that fact.
Ducky ignored his own astonishment, produced a notepad and wrote down the address. If Jethro had not taught him anything else, it was to always have means of recording vital information that could be useful in a case.
"That's fantastic, Loren!" James felt genuine relief for Loren, finally she remember something from her past that could be useful in solving what happened to her.
"Couldn't have done it without my two favorite helpers," she said grinning.
xxiiixx
NCIS Forensic Specialist Abby Sciuto had just opened the door to the dusty blue Miata sports coupe and began dusting for fingerprints; she looked over at Tony who was now warming himself by the portable heater Abby had set up in the garage.
"How'd you find her wheels?" Abby asked. She was always fascinated by how Tony DiNozzo was seemed to be able to do the impossible.
"DMV check and a lucky guess," Tony confessed. When he saw that Abby was disappointed, he decided to embellish a little bit. Besides, he liked impressing her. "Thought she might have parked there by the falls. The DMV confirmed the car was hers."
That seemed to restore Abby's faith in the NCIS Agent. She smiled and sat down in the driver's seat with her dusting kit. "Let your fingers do the talking…." She said to herself as she lightly dusted the steering wheel, dashboard and passenger side area. After a moment, she used some tape to lift a print off the dashboard. "Where did you say it was?"
She looked around and saw Tony was loitering around the back of the car.
Tony closed the notepad he was scribbling on. "It was abandoned in the lot at Great Falls. Any of those prints large enough to be a man's?"
Abby nodded. "Yep. Whoever was riding shotgun."
"How fast can you run'em?" Tony asked.
Abby did some quick mental math. "Usually takes about twelve hours…but for dinner…" she let the request hang in the air.
Tony loved it when she did this. Besides maybe she'll finally tell him about all her tattoos. "Get me an ID in half that and I'll make it Café Atlantico," he promised.
A shy grin spread across the Goth Forensic Specialist's face. "Sweet." She loved Café Atlantico's eclectic menu.
1310 Local_ 1810 Zulu
NCIS Headquarters
Washington, DC
Gibbs and Vivienne were walking down the stairs headed toward Autopsy when they met Tony coming up. He stopped and began walking back down the stairs with them.
"What have we got?" Gibbs asked his lead Agent.
The former Baltimore Police detective began reporting what he had found. "Abby is checking the blood found at the crime scene with that of our Jane Doe Lieutenant and Abby found fingerprints in her car matching a male."
"Who?" Gibbs wanted to know.
Tony blanched. "Uh, Abby is checking on that too."
At least Abby would give him a straight answer. "We need to get a DNA sample from the fetus and see if we can match the father's DNA to any of our current suspects." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vivienne Blackadder's shocked look. He stopped on the stairwell and turned to look at her.
"What?" Gibbs retorted, "You think that is cold?"
"Very." The red headed former FBI Agent replied bluntly.
Gibbs nodded and turned away from her and Tony, resuming his heading downstairs. "Good. It means I'm focused," he replied acerbically.
"I hope I'm never that focused," Vivienne said under her breath. Tony raised his eyebrows at her comment, but didn't say anything to her.
xxiiixx
When they arrived in Autopsy, Ducky was already back in his scrubs, peering at a series of x-rays.
"Talk to me Ducky," Gibbs said without preamble.
Donald Mallard turned toward the group of agents and motioned them to come closer. "I managed to finagle a copy the Lieutenant's x-rays," he said proudly.
"How did you manage that, Ducky? Tony asked that information might come in handy at a later date.
"How did I manage that indeed, m'boy," the NCIS ME said with a knowing smile.
If Tony didn't know, the Head of the DC MCRT sure did. "Doctor, you're a man of many talents," Gibbs said grinning.
Ducky acknowledged his compliment. "Indeed; I thought it was fair trade for lunch with the X-Ray Technician after that Nurse Garrett turned me down…Nurse Ratched is more like it."
Tony snorted and Vivienne covered her mouth to hide a surprised smile.
"Ducky, the x-rays?" Gibbs said reminding him.
"Oh yes, thank you Jethro. Now tell me, everyone, what do you see?"
"An x-ray of a skull," Vivienne said tentatively while peering at the image. She knew that wasn't the answer Ducky was fishing for, but quite honestly, she didn't see anything else.
Tony though had seen far more these kinds of injuries and saw the tale-tell sign. "A fracture at the base of the skull," he said simply.
Dr. Mallard nodded his approval but there was still one more person who had yet to offer an opinion. "Jethro?"
"Ducky," he warned. Gibbs wasn't in the mood for games.
"Very well," Ducky replied sighing theatrically. "What you see is the impression of the bridge railing on posterior of the skull." He held up to them a specimen jar with what looked like a tiny metal blade. "And embedded in the fracture was this metallic sliver which they removed and they graciously allowed me to bring back here," he finished with a flourish.
The three agents looked at the sliver, with Gibbs taking the jar in his hand and looking at it more closely.
"That matches the damage to the pedestrian bridge railing at Great Falls," Tony announced.
Gibbs glanced at Ducky. "How's her memory?"
The NCIS ME shook his head. "I'm afraid she's only remembering bits and pieces, she remembered a name - Sergei, a Russian lad and his address, but it's going to take her some time."
Gibbs cut his old friend off. "Time is something we don't have, Duck. This person may try again. We need to get a sample of the baby's DNA…"
The NCIS ME shot Gibbs an incredulous look. "You think Daddy did this?" His curiosity was piqued.
"That's why we need the baby's DNA," Gibbs replied
"She is single," Tony said thinking aloud.
"Hey, hey, wait a minute guys. It's still illegal to use DNA for anything other than body identification – you can't use it to identify a potential murder suspect!" Vivienne reminded them.
Tony exchanged an exasperated look with Gibbs. "That law is going to change soon, Viv,"
"Well, it hasn't changed yet," Vivienne shot back. She couldn't believe they had the gall to try what they were thinking of trying.
Gibbs for his part couldn't believe someone who was willing to circumvent the rules like she had done in the investigation into her brother's death could be so reticent about using DNA to catch a killer – military or not.
He gave her a flinty look "Politicians have their timetable, I have mine," he replied, almost daring her to respond.
Ducky though, had had enough of their bickering. "Let's not fight, children; we're all on the same team. This is what was found on the Lieutenant's person when they got her to the hospital." Ducky held up a bagged napkin and plane ticket for all of them to see and then gave it to Gibbs, who began to scrutinize it.
"One cocktail napkin, very water soaked. It appears to have something scribbled on it. Our Lieutenant, though she doesn't remember it or traveling recently on American Airlines." Ducky noted.
Gibbs held the soaked napkin and airline ticket up to the light. "To or from?" he asked as he examined the ticket.
Ducky shrugged his shoulders. "It's hard to tell – that's in worse shape than the napkin."
Gibbs squinted again at the ticket. "I can partially make out a destination…S something N?"
"Chegwidden said on the phone that Lieutenant Singer now lived in San Diego, SAN is their airport designation," Tony replied.
Gibbs turned to Tony. "San Diego. Have them check her residence, interview neighbors, full investigation." Tony nodded and made a note in his PDA. Gibbs turned back to the NCIS ME. "Anything else, Duck?"
"Not at the moment, Jethro, though I will continue to keep tabs on our Lieutenant in case she remembers anything else," the NCIS ME offered.
"Tony; help Abby go back through all the debris that Dobbs found at Great Falls." The Head of the DC MCRT ordered.
"Can Viv help?" Tony said hopefully.
Gibb squashed that hope. "You're on your own. She's going with me to JAG, but first we have to go meet with the Admiral's JAGMan team."
As Gibbs headed out of earshot, Tony leaned over to the fiery redhead and whispered. "Did you ever notice how all Marines think they're DIs?"
He grinned and nudged her with his shoulder and hurried to catch up with Gibbs. Vivienne sighed and followed them out.
1422 Local_ 1922 Zulu
NCIS Headquarters
Washington, DC
Gunfire filled the air at the NCIS open air firing range. It was full of agents and soldiers practicing. Rapid gunfire from automatics and pistols filled the air.
"Sharpening your courtroom skills, Major?" Gibbs said to Marine Major preparing to fire.
The Major put his gun on safety and turned to face the voice.
"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS," he said flipping out his ID to show the Marine.
Jack nodded his acceptance of the credentials. "Major McBurney, JAG Liaison to NCIS."
"I know, I've heard about you," Gibbs replied.
"From who?" Jack was curious who Gibbs had been.
"Other members of my team," he answered vaguely. Gibbs decided that greasing the wheels wouldn't hurt. "You do good work."
Jack McBurney took his stance again as he grinned sardonically at Special Agent Gibbs. "And I've heard about you. You're the Head of the DC Major Case Response Team."
The JAGC Major motioned to the targets. "Want me to set one up for you?"
Gibbs shook his head. "I'm here to discuss the Singer investigation."
Jack relaxed his stance and turned toward the NCIS Agents. "Shoot, not literally, though," he quipped.
Gibbs smiled at his joke. "My Director assigned my team to this case."
Jack nodded. "I know. Mind if I continue shooting?"
Gibbs indicated it was all right for him to do so. As the Major started to take his stance again, Gibbs said, "I want to know what you are doing with regards to this case."
Jack realized Gibbs was deliberately doing this, so he put his gun on safety and turned back to the NCIS Agent. "Concurrent JAGMan investigation as ordered by the SECNAV and COM NAVDIST," he said simply.
"Who else will be working with you?" Gibbs asked.
The Major turned around and took his stance again. "A Navy Lieutenant Commander assigned TAD to this case. Why the interest?"
"Just like to know who I'm working with Major," replied Gibbs with a slight smile on his face.
Jack discharged his weapon into the target downrange. Three closely grouped holes appeared in the target's head.
"Or against, right, Special Agent?" Jack quipped as he lowered his weapon.
Gibbs's smile grew wider. He liked this Major.
"Cease fire, cease fire! Clear and lock all weapons!" Ordered the range supervisor.
The SJA Major cleared and locked his automatic. Once all weapons were secured, Gibbs and McBurney walked over to the targets.
"A lot depends on what we find, Special Agent, on how we work with each other," Jack explained further.
"Who do you report to?" Gibbs asked.
Jack shot him a 'you're kidding, right?' look. "Directly in the chain of command? The Judge Advocate General, Admiral Chegwidden. On this case in particular, the Secretary of the Navy, Edward Sheffield."
Gibbs nodded his understanding. This case had the potential to explode in all of their faces.
"I take it your people are prepped and will cooperate with us," Jack said as they reached the target.
"As long you and the Commander cooperate with us," Gibbs replied.
John Michael McBurney chuckled and gave the NCIS Agent a weary smile. "Deal."
Gibbs threw an empty shell casing at the target sheet which hit the sheet and then bounced off onto the concrete.
"You always aim for the head?" Gibbs quipped.
McBurney gave him a wry smile. "Cuts down on appeals."
Gibbs snorted and shook his head.
As Jack took down the target he gave Gibbs an apprising look. "So where was Lieutenant Singer found?"
The Head of the DC MCRT sighed. This part about the case he could recite from memory. "On the banks of the Potomac River, just before Great Falls."
Jack nodded. "Did you locate her vehicle?"
"Yes it was towed from the parking lot next to the Falls," Gibbs replied.
"Was the car dusted for prints?"
Gibbs nodded. "Only two sets of prints were removed from the car. We believe one set is Lieutenant Singer's."
"And the other?" the SJA Marine attorney pressed.
Other investigators would have felt pressure from these questions, but not Gibbs. "Our Forensic Specialist should have that information later this afternoon, no later than early evening,"
Jack nodded, thinking aloud. "Okay, we'll let your team go in to JAG Headquarters first and then we'll follow up."
Gibbs was pleased that this conversation had gone the way he planned. "Agent Blackadder and I are headed to JAGC Headquarters to start out preliminary review of persons of interest."
"Let me know if you turn up anything," Jack added.
"I will," Gibbs said as he left the firing range.
1529 Local_2029 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Rumors were flying through the JAG Corps bullpen. Word was that Lieutenant Singer had gone missing and that NCIS was investigating.
When Gibbs and Vivienne Blackadder arrived they were met with furtive looks from the staff. Bud Roberts, still smiling from hearing the results of his medical board review, had just walked out into bullpen and saw the Admiral conferring with the two NCIS Agents. As soon as they left him, Bud walked over to the JAG.
"Oh sir, is that them?" Bud said while trying not to look like he was looking at them.
AJ glanced back at the two NCIS Agents who were walking around the bullpen area like they were doing some sort of inspection and then back at the junior JAG Corps officer. "It is." He said curtly.
Bud nodded. "I've been thinking about Lieutenant Singer's case and I have a few ideas-"
AJ sharply cut him off. "Lieutenant. Do nothing," he ordered.
Bud Roberts looked stunned as if someone had slapped him, but nodded his understanding as the Admiral walked away from him.
-TBC