Disclaimer: "NCIS" and the characters from the show are owned by CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation and production of this show. Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and others own the characters of "Sons of Thunder" and "Walker Texas Ranger". Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

Chapter 5

DiNozzo yawned as he poured a cup of coffee. He replaced the nearly full pot on the burner. He added some sugar, grabbed the coffee creamer from the fridge, and added a decent amount of that too. He decided that since it was office coffee, even though he had made the pot himself, he needed the creamer to help with the taste.

As he made his way back to his desk, he thought about the last bit of information that he had found about Mrs. Carter. There had been a credit card receipt at the woman's favorite coffee spot. He had spoken to the barista and he had told him that Mrs. Carter had bought coffee and pastries for the nurses and the patients at a local cancer ward, which the woman habitually did once a month.

After speaking to the head nurse of the cancer ward, the head nurse, a Mr. Storr, hadn't been able to provide DiNozzo any information about where Mrs. Carter was going after she had delivered the coffee and treats. Mr. Storr said that Mrs. Carter had stayed around for about an hour, chatting with everyone, but not really saying anything about her plans for the day or the week or anything along those lines.

DiNozzo shook his head as he returned his attention to his computer but not before he took a long drink from his coffee. When he set the cup of coffee down on his desk, a frown spread across his face, feeling that intense frustration of having run out of leads.

He shot a glance over at McGee, who was intensely and furiously typing and clicking on his own computer. It was McGee's job to find the location of the cabin that the neighbor, Ms. Swanson had mentioned, but it was proving difficult for the computer geek.

DiNozzo decided to check on his other team member and looked over at Ziva who was currently researching the members of Carter's former squad.

As he focused his gaze on Ziva, the look on her face was one, of many, that he couldn't quite decipher. He had been getting better at figuring out Ziva's moods, but there was a colossal intensity within her face and eyes as she looked at the computer screen, he thought that maybe she had found something interesting about the case.

Before DiNozzo could stand up and saunter over to Ziva's desk to see what she had found out, Gibbs stepped out of the elevator, carrying a cup of coffee from his favorite diner in his hand. As he approached them he barked out, "What do you have?"

"I got it!" McGee yelled as he jumped up from his chair, fist in the air.

"What have you got, McGee?" Gibbs asked, as he entered the bull pen, his steely gaze focused on the young agent.

McGee coughed and straightened his tie. "I located the cabin in West Virginia. The reason I couldn't find it before is because it is actually owner by Carter's mother's father's second cousin."

"All right," Gibbs remarked as he went over to his desk and grabbed his bag. "Grab your gear."

"All of us?" McGee asked, with a hint of eagerness in his voice.

Gibbs turned and walked out of the bullpen towards the elevator. "It was the last place that they were headed to and since Carter was possibly already there, that could be the location where he had been killed. Mrs. Carter's kidnapper may also be holding her there so we all need to go there now."

The three agents grabbed their gear and followed Gibbs to the elevator. There was no arguing amongst the three agents about whose turn it was to ride with Gibbs, because they were all hopeful on finding Mrs. Carter alive.

DiNozzo watched out the passenger window, getting a little nauseous that all he could see was a mixture of greens, browns and grays of various trees. The area was indeed remote; having traveled about three miles down a rough so-called road that they had received directions for from the owner of an old country store that had been there for more than seventy years.

Gibbs took a sharp left turn down a road that looked more like a hiking path. Gibbs stopped the car and put it in park. DiNozzo opened the car door, looking cautiously around silently as he got out and when he looked behind him he could see Ziva stop quickly behind Gibb's car with McGee in the front passenger seat looking a little green.

DiNozzo bit his tongue to refrain from saying anything about McGee's uncomfortable ride and the various shades of green on his face as Ziva and McGee exited the car and headed towards him and Gibbs.

"We go on foot from here," Gibbs announced, once Ziva and McGee were close enough to hear.

DiNozzo took his place behind Gibbs, with McGee in third while Ziva covered all their backs.

The path was barely wide enough for a sedan and DiNozzo was surprised that Gibbs didn't want to go a little further with the car, but the man at the country store had told them that from the main road, which DiNozzo considered to be barely more than a dirt path itself, that the road that led to the cabin was about a mile and a half in, with some curves along the way.

As DiNozzo followed Gibbs, the younger agent could see that there were faint tracks due to the crushed grass that had sprung up on the road to the cabin, with underbrush and trees were thick alongside and it looked fairly fresh, maybe a few days old.

DiNozzo felt something land on his neck and he killed it with a noisy slap which caused Gibbs to look over his shoulder and send a sharp glare at him. DiNozzo mouthed an apology not realizing how loud killing the insect was going to be within the woods.

DiNozzo tried to ignore the buzzing sounds around and the scurrying of critters in the underbrush as well as birds twittering around in the trees. It wasn't as though he had never had to hike through the woods, but it didn't mean that he had to like it. The thought of bears crossed his mind, but he relaxed, since he knew that if a bear took one look at Gibbs, it would scamper away from that Marine stare.

Gibbs stopped and raised a hand, signaling for them all to stop.

DiNozzo stopped behind Gibbs and looked over his boss's shoulder to see a cabin that appeared to be not much larger than his apartment since the small porch on the front was about three feet deep and no more than twenty feet wide. The porch had a couple of empty rocking chairs on one side, with a small table in between. The door was in the exact center with a window on either side of it. He could make out the color of the curtains in the windows, which was a green color that matched the leaves of an oak tree next to the cabin.

He shivered at the thought that it was an ideal place to torture someone without having anyone around to hear anything since it was in the middle of the woods without another person for miles.

After DiNozzo finished taking in the cabin, he looked over at his boss who was cautiously scanning the area with his sky blue eyes and his jaw firmly set. DiNozzo knew that Gibbs was checking for any likely hiding places or movement around the cabin. There were the tire tracks in the grass that led to the cabin and as his eyes followed the tracks he could see a car parked beneath the large oak, hidden within the shade of the tree.

"That car is registered to Mr. Carter," McGee announced softly.

Once Gibbs had finished his assessment of the area, he looked at his team that stood before him. "Ziva and McGee, I want you two to go in the back," Gibbs ordered, as he retrieved his weapon from its holster at his hip and continued, "DiNozzo and I will take the front."

DiNozzo withdrew his weapon from its holster and followed Gibbs out of the cluster of brush and quickly up to the cabin as Ziva went around the right side of the cabin while McGee went left.

Gibbs knocked on the door to cabin and called out, "NCIS," but when no one answered, Gibbs signaled to DiNozzo to peek in one of the windows.

DiNozzo nodded his head before he stepped carefully to the side of the porch that didn't have furniture in the way and he peeked through the slight gap in the curtains. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside of the cabin and once his eyes had adjusted, he could see a small couch, a table with a lamp and then he saw something on the floor that didn't look like a rug. He focused his eyes and saw that it was something figure-shaped on the floor. He realized it was plastic but he could see some blonde hair poking out of it

He turned and signaled to Gibbs that there was someone inside, unknown whether alive or dead and that he didn't see anyone else and Gibbs responded by kicking open the door.

DiNozzo followed his boss into the cabin, scanning for any threat. He saw and heard Ziva and McGee entering through the back.

Gibbs signaled for Ziva and DiNozzo to watch the doors, while he and McGee cleared the cabin, which didn't take long since there was one bedroom, one bathroom and a closet. Once it was all clear they returned to the living room and looked down at the body wrapped in plastic.

It was difficult to make a positive identity of the woman's face since the plastic was fairly thick, but DiNozzo had a gut feeling. "We found Mrs. Carter," DiNozzo said with a disheartened sigh as he holstered his gun.

"Don't make assumptions," Gibbs said as he put away his weapon and pulled out his phone. "I'll call Ducky. The rest of you get to work."

DiNozzo followed Ziva and McGee to retrieve their forensic kits so they could begin preserving the horrific scene and hopefully find something that would lead to the killer. He had hoped to find Mrs. Carter alive but now his new task was to find her killer.