(AN) Hello and welcome to the next chapter of Predator; hope you all enjoy.
In this chapter, Gibbs and the team investigate a second attack and murder by the serial rapist, but things will end up getting personal for the team.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS; all characters and locations are owned by CBS and Belisarius Productions.
Chapter Two
Gibbs, McGee, Bishop and Torres arrived at the house of the latest victim, which was surrounded by police cars and police tape. Palmer also arrived. Gibbs walked over to a male police officer, who had a grim expression on his face.
"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS," announced Gibbs as he flashed his badge, "We'll take it from here."
"The wife and son are in the kitchen," informed the officer gravely, "The husband's body is in the living room."
The silver haired agent nodded in understanding before heading into the house with the others.
Gibbs, McGee and Bishop were soon sat at a kitchen table with the wife Peri Carmichael. Torres, after snapping a few photos of the crime scene, had taken the son Luke into the back yard so that they could talk separately.
Peri was a middle-aged woman. She was tall, thin and had dark skin and dark brown hair.
"Okay, take your time Mrs Carmichael," said Gibbs gently as Peri began trembling slightly, "When you're ready, tell us what happened."
"Okay, I'll try," replied Peri shakily, "Me, Darren and Luke were just sitting at home watching TV. Darren returned home earlier than expected, so we celebrated."
Flashback
Peri, Darren and Luke were all sitting on the sofa and talking. Darren was a slightly obese middle-aged man with a stubbly black beard, black hair and brown skin. Luke was ten years old, had brown skin and short, black hair.
"It's so good to have you back home," cooed Peri before sharing another kiss with Darren, "They should give you the chance to get home early more often."
"That would be nice," replied Darren, "But I don't think my boss would let me."
The couple then cuddled up to each other and exchanged kisses, causing Luke to make gagging noises. "Get a room." he remarked.
The trio suddenly jumped and looked towards the kitchen door as they heard a noise coming from within. Darren got up and was slowly making his way towards the kitchen door when suddenly, it burst open and a man in dark clothes, gloves and a balaclava entered, wielding a machete. This caused Peri to scream in fear and wrap her arms around her precious son in a protective manner.
"Who are you!" barked Darren angrily, "Get out of my house!"
The man seemed to be giving Darren a slightly surprised expression, as if he hadn't been expecting him to be home.
Darren let out a battle cry before charging at the man, who instantly plunged his knife into the man's chest, causing him to grunt in pain.
"DARREN!" shouted a horrified Peri as she leapt off the sofa, grabbed Luke's hand and raced to the other side of the living room before resuming her protective hold on her son.
Darren dropped to his knees before falling on to his back.
The masked intruder then stalked towards Peri, who looked absolutely terrified. "Please, please, don't kill me or my son, I'll do anything!" she pleaded in a terrified whisper as the man approached with the machete.
"I'm not going to kill you or your son if you do exactly as I say!" hissed the man seductively as he caressed Peri's cheek, making her shudder.
"Okay, okay, j-just don't hurt him!" pleaded the brunette before letting go of her son and looking down at him, "Luke, just stay where you are and don't make a sound, no matter what you hear!"
"B-but." stammered a terrified Luke, who had tears in his eyes.
"Don't be scared, Luke." said Peri gently before the intruder suddenly grabbed her by the arm and dragged the brunette away from her son.
Peri was dragged into the study area. The masked man let go before pinning the brunette against the wall and kissing her, causing the woman's eyes to widen in horror as she struggled before pushing the man away. "Please leave!" she begged in a voice quivering with fear, "I swear to God, I won't tell anybody about this!"
"You'll do as I say, or that boy of yours will be sorry!" barked the man as he waved his knife in Peri's face.
Peri attempted to run, but the man quickly put his knife away and grabbed the terrified woman around the chest before dragging the struggling woman backwards and then throwing her to the floor.
"NO! NO! NO!" shouted Peri in horror as the intruder unzipped his pants before dropping them, then his underwear.
The masked man then rolled Peri on to her stomach and crawled on top of the trembling brunette. Peri tried to push the man off, but it was no use.
The room was soon filled with Peri's horrified screaming, pleading and sobbing.
After the man finished, he pulled his underwear and pants back up and pulled a sobbing Peri to her feet, he then pinned her to the wall and waved his machete in the brunette's face.
"P-please, just leave!" begged the woman, tears streaming down her face.
"Not yet!" hissed the man before licking Peri's face, causing her to shudder, "First, you're gonna take a shower to get rid of any evidence, or else I'll kill your son!"
"No, no, no, please don't, I'll do anything!" sobbed the woman in a pleading manner.
"Then get in the bathroom!" snarled the intruder aggressively.
The masked man put his knife away and allowed Peri to step away from the wall, he then went behind her, pinned her arms to her sides and frogmarched a struggling Peri from the study.
Peri was pushed into the bathroom by the man, who shut the door, drew his gun and aimed it at Peri's face. "Now strip!" he hissed.
"Nnnnnnoooo!" cried Peri in horror as she started to unbutton her shirt.
End Flashback
"T-then, I took my c-clothes off and took a shower w-while he watched!" stammered Peri before sobbing silently into her hands.
"You did great, Mrs Carmichael," assured Gibbs gently, "Can you tell us what happened next?"
Peri took a few, deep, calming breaths before wiping her eyes. "As I was finishing, I could hear police sirens. That bastard then quickly fled … obviously the police didn't manage to catch that creep in time." continued Peri quietly.
"Thank you, Mrs Carmichael." thanked Gibbs gently, "We'll do all we can to catch this man."
"Thank you, Agent Gibbs." said Peri as she and the others got to their feet.
Torres came through the back door with Luke. The young boy ran over to his mother, who gave her precious son a hug.
The four agents walked through to the living room. Palmer was currently knelt next to Darren's body.
"It's the same as Pam Brown," said Gibbs to Torres, "The guy breaks in, rapes the wife and forces them to take a shower while he watches, and he threatens to hurt the children if they don't comply."
"And they've so far been the wives of Navy personnel," put in Bishop, "The guy waits for the husbands to be away, only this time he made a mistake and didn't know Mr Carmichael was back so soon."
"You learn anything from the son, Torres?" asked Gibbs.
"Nothing that we didn't know already." informed Torres, "He's very shaken by the incident."
"You got anything, Palmer?" asked Gibbs briskly as he walked over to the medical examiner.
"Mr Carmichael was stabbed through the chest and bled out on the floor," informed Palmer gravely, "I'd say time of death was approximately 11:00AM. I'll know more once I do the autopsy."
Palmer got up, put his tools away and went to get the gurney.
As the team were leaving, they were completely unaware that they were being watched. The mysterious serial rapist had been forced to hide in some bushes to avoid the police, who had shown up as he had been trying to get away. The man could tell that these guys were from NCIS and that they'd be after him. The man was also paranoid that they'd somehow figure out who he was if they continued to investigate, so he decided that he needed to find a way to force them to back off.
Later on in autopsy, Palmer had finished his exam and was now looking down at Darren's body; his lower half covered by a sheet.
"What have you got for me, Palmer?" asked Gibbs impatiently as he entered the room, clutching a plastic coffee cup.
"Sadly not much," answered Palmer, "The blade entered through Mr Carmichael's thorax and pierced his cardiovascular. Apart from that, there's nothing that can help."
Gibbs simply sighed in frustration.
"I know how you feel," said Palmer, "The idea that there's some creep out there targeting women makes me worried for Breena."
"I'm sure we'll catch this guy." assured Gibbs before exiting the room.
"Any updates?" demanded Gibbs impatiently as he walked briskly into the bullpen.
"Well, our murder victim is one Petty Officer first-class Darren Carmichael; 45," began McGee as he brought up info about Darren on to the plasma screen, "Married to Peri Carmichael; 45 with one son; Max Carmichael; 10."
"As we know, Mrs Carmichael is the second victim of this serial rapist," snarled Torres through gritted teeth, "The scumbag is targeting the wives of Navy personnel: he waits for the husband to leave; rapes the wife and then forces them to take a shower to wash away any evidence."
"He also cuts the phone lines so the victim can't call for help," added Bishop, "Mr Carmichael is his first murder victim, and as Mrs Carmichael pointed out, he was clearly surprised by Mr Carmichael being at home."
"All we can do now is hope that this guy slips up somehow." said the silver haired agent in frustration.
Soon after, everybody decided to take a lunch break. McGee and Palmer walked out into the Navy yard and were surprised to see Delilah and Breena approaching them.
"Hey, honey, what are you doing here?" asked a surprised McGee as he and Palmer shared hugs and kisses with their respective wives.
"Well, we're on a lunch break, so we decided to come and see you." said Delilah cheerfully.
"So, anything exciting happening?" asked Breena curiously.
"Ummmm, yeah, we're trying to catch a serial predator." replied McGee in a serious manner.
"Oh my!" exclaimed Delilah, now slightly concerned.
"Don't worry, I'm sure McGee and the others will catch him," assured Palmer, "Just be careful if you're out at night, okay."
"Don't worry, Jimmy, I'll be fine." assured Breena before giving her husband a kiss.
The serial predator had managed to find his way to the Navy yard and hid behind a car; watching as McGee, Palmer, Delilah and Breena continued to talk. The man stared at the two women with a lustful look in his eyes: they were married to people who worked for the Navy and he needed a way to force the team to back down, so he knew who he would target and how he would do it.
Over the next few days, there were no further attacks, which left the team feeling relieved, but Gibbs wasn't convinced that the serial rapist had gone.
"He's still out there." Gibbs was saying to Jack one day in her office.
"Maybe the cops showing up scared him off," suggested Jack, "Though he could just be waiting to make his next move."
"And if that is the case, then there's nothing we can do to prevent it." said a frustrated Gibbs.
Sloane simply gave Gibbs a sympathetic smile.
After this meeting, Sec-Nav ordered Gibbs and Vance to release a joint-statement to assure the public that they were doing all that they could to find and catch this predator.
The mysterious man was still lurking around. Over the past few days, he had been stalking his next two victims; watching them as they and their husbands entered and left their place of residence. One early evening, the man was currently hiding in the bushes of Jimmy and Breena's back yard, watching the young blonde, who was currently at home on her own due to Jimmy having to deal with paperwork. Breena was currently washing the dishes and putting them away.
Inside the kitchen, Breena was just putting the last dish away when a loud thud from outside caused her to jump and stop what she was doing. "What was that?" she asked herself.
After drying her hands, Breena went over to the back door and opened it. "Hello?" she called out.
The blonde slowly stepped out into the back yard and began looking around nervously.
"Is anybody out here?" asked Breena as she continued searching.
As the young woman approached the bushes, a masked man suddenly jumped out and tackled her to the ground, causing Breena to yelp in alarm. Breena began struggling as the man tried to hold her down, the blonde then punched the intruder in the face, scrambled to her feet and tried to run, but the man was too quick and grabbed the terrified blonde around the chest.
"Oh my god, please don't hurt me!" cried a panicky Breena as the man carried her kicking through the back door.
The intruder carried Breena through to the living room and threw her to the floor. Breena looked up at the intruder with wide, terrified eyes.
"Please, please, just take whatever you want!" begged Breena, assuming this man was here for valuables.
"I don't want to steal anything," replied the man seductively as he knelt down in front of Breena and caressed her cheek, making her shudder, "I just came to have some fun with a hot thing like you."
And with that, the intruder began feeling Breena's breasts.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" shouted the terrified blonde before slapping the man across the face, scrambling to her feet and trying to run for the front door.
However, the man was too quick. He quickly grabbed the young woman and tossed her to the floor, he then crawled on top of Breena, who tried to push him off, but it was no use. The masked intruder began kissing Breena; ignoring her terrified begging.
"NO! NO!" shouted a horrified Breena as she felt her pants sliding off, followed by her underwear.
"If you keep fighting, then I'll hurt that precious daughter of yours!" threatened the man.
Breena was soon sobbing and screaming in agony and horror while pleading with the man to stop.
After the man finished, he pulled his underwear and pants back up before pulling a trembling Breena to her feet, he then pushed her up the stairs.
Breena found herself being pushed into the bathroom. The intruder stepped into the room, closed the door and locked it, he then drew his gun and aimed it at Breena. "Now strip and take a shower, or I'll hurt your daughter!" he snarled.
"No, no, no!" sobbed Breena as she slowly took her shirt off, much to the wicked delight of the man.
"Now after I'm done, I want you to do something for me!" said the man, grinning evily, "After I leave, I want you to call your friends at NCIS and convince them to drop the case; understand?"
"YES! YES, I UNDERSTAND!" wailed a horrified Breena as she continued to sob and remove her clothes.
The man laughed wickedly at poor Breena.
(AN) And that's where I'll end this latest chapter of Predator; hope you all enjoyed.
As is the case with most of my NCIS stories, I like to make things personal for the team.
In the next chapter, Gibbs and the team learn about Breena's ordeal, but the serial rapist strikes again when he goes after Delilah.
Until the next time, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.