AN: Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or the characters. Just the story line and unknown characters.
"DiNozzo!" Why do you not have any information?!" Gibbs yelled at Tony, with an angry face.
"I'm trying, Boss, but I'm going off nothing here." Tony tried to explain.
"I needed new information 2 hours ago! And I don't believe I gave you permission to eat lunch!" Gibbs yelled as he threw Tony's uneaten lunch in the trash.
"Yes, Boss. Getting back to work, Boss." Tony said, as he turned back to his computer.
"No. Ziva will do your job. You find the Lieutenant's family, maybe you won't mess that up." Gibbs bellowed as he walked toward Tony's desk. He picked up the file on Tony's desk and gave it to Ziva. Tony nodded and turned back to his computer. Gibbs quickly walked over and head slapped Tony. Hard. Tony's head snapped forward and hit his computer. "If you mess this up, you're fired." Gibbs walked back to his desk. "You can go home at 20:00 hours, but you must have something to give me tomorrow, before I get here." Gibbs said with a glare at Tony. He walked toward the elevator, and left. It was currently 1930 hours.
30 minutes passed, and McGee, Ziva, and Abby, who had joined them in the bullpen, left. Not one of them spared a glance or word to Tony. Tony just continued working, not caring about anything but pleasing Gibbs.
Tony continued to search for anything that would give him a lead. He went through phone and bank records, family history, the Lieutenant's daily routine, Ducky's autopsy report, and Abby's evidence report. Tony followed his gut, and did not stop for food or sleep. He hadn't eaten in 24 hours.
Tony suddenly got an urge to look at the crime scene photos again. Tony studied them under the light of his desk lamp. He scrutinized the photos and studied every single inch of the photo before moving on.
Finally, he found something out of place. Tony quickly ran down to Abby's lab. He pulls on some gloves and digs through the evidence bucket. He found the item he was looking for, a pen. Though it seemed unimportant, Tony knew this pen was the key. His gut was screaming at him.
Tony analyzed the pen and ran tests: fingerprint, DNA, and substance. Then he opened the pen. He unscrewed the top of the pen and dumped out the contents. Inside was the ink capsule and a little piece of paper wrapped around the capsule.
"Bingo." Tony said to himself. He picked up the paper and opened it. The Lieutenant had written a note, telling the reader who the killer was and how to find the evidence. Tony quickly ran fingerprint and DNA tests on the note, both came back positive for the Lieutenant. Tony rebagged the pen and note, and placed them back in the evidence box.
Tony went back to his desk to research the culprit. The information that came up was too simple. Something seemed off about the guy, and Tony's gut was telling him there was more to the story. Using his computer skills that he usually kept hidden, computer skills that would put McGee to shame, Tony found the true identity of the man. Dawson Coplane. Coplane was an identity thief and was using a pseudonym while hanging out with the Lieutenant. Coplane was also a prison escapee along with numerous other charges. He was a very dangerous man, but no one could catch him because they could never find him.
Tony printed out the address for Coplane and his current pseudonym. First he went back to the crime scene to pick up the hidden camera that Lieutenant Hopkins had hidden and expressed in the note. He found the camera, hidden in a screw on the lightswitch, removed it, and stopped recording. Taking the camera back to his car, he plugged in the camera to his computer to watch the footage.
After identifying Coplane as the killer, he plugged in the two addresses to his GPS, starting first with John Ocean, Coplane's pseudonym to confirm the theft. Tony pulled away from the crime scene and headed toward John Ocean's house.
Tony pulled up to a quaint little house and parked the car. He got out and walked up to the door. He raised his hand and knocked, SIG at the ready in his hand, just in case. Tony glanced around cautiously while waiting for someone to answer the door.
Suddenly, the door opened.
AN: Cliffhanger! Sorry, you'll have to read the next chapter to find out what happens.