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scarlet_gryphonChapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four
Chapter Word Count: 1,102
Notes: Sorry for the long wait; writer's block hit hard. Hopefully, I'll be getting back to a more regular updating schedule soon.
As soon as he and Tim got back to the Navy Yard, Gibbs left the younger agent in the bullpen so that he could go down to Autopsy and see what Ducky had found in his examination of Petty Officer Warner. When the elevator doors opened after reaching the Autopsy floor, Gibbs saw four very familiar slightly translucent forms gathered around a small table at the far end of the hall. The four ghosts who were bound to the NCIS building- Kate, Kyle, Nathan, and Erica -could often be found together here, though Kate tended to stay in the bullpen or Abby's lab.
At the moment, the four were playing a game of what looked to be gin rummy, though it was hard to tell from this distance. As Gibbs drew closer, Nathan, a former Navy Lieutenant and werewolf, looked up from his cards and nodded politely at him.
'Afternoon, Agent Gibbs,' he said with a slight smile. 'Ducky's in the middle of an autopsy right now, but I'm sure you'll be more than welcome to go in.'
'Thanks,' Gibbs said, continuing on into Autopsy. Ducky was indeed in the middle of an autopsy; he was weighing the liver of the body Tony and Ziva had found at Warner's apartment. Ducky looked up when the automatic doors hissed open and then nodded to Gibbs, handing the liver to Jimmy before stripping off his latex gloves and throwing them into a bio-waste container.
'Ah, Jethro, I was wondering when I might be seeing you again,' he said, moving over to his desk and retrieving the file containing the results of Warner's autopsy and blood work. 'I suspect you're here for this.'
'If those are Warner's results, then yeah, Duck, I am,' Gibbs said, leaning against Ducky's desk.
'Well, then, you'll be interested to know that our young Petty Officer did, as I initially surmised, die of acute silver poisoning. There was three times the lethal dose of silver in his system, according to the blood work Abby returned to me. Other than the third-degree burns on his wrists and ankles, there was no other external signs of trauma,' Ducky told Gibbs, handing him the file folder after a brief examination of its contents to refresh his memory. 'He was most likely bound for a long period of time; five days at the very least.'
'That long?' Gibbs was surprised at Ducky's estimate; surely someone would've noticed Warner's absence after a few days, let alone a near week. He turned this thought over in his head, a frown forming unconsciously on his face as he did so.
Ducky watched Gibbs think, noting that the younger Were had slipped into one of his infamous taciturn silences. It was broken when Gibbs suddenly blinked and then nodded, dragging himself out of his thoughts. 'Thanks, Duck,' he said, tapping the folder. He turned his attention to the body currently undergoing autopsy, an eyebrow raising as he saw Jimmy watching them.
'Any ID on this guy?' Gibbs asked, tipping his head slightly in the direction of said body.
'Not yet,' Ducky said with a sigh, taking a fresh pair of latex gloves from a nearby box and then rejoining Jimmy at the autopsy table. 'Abby is running his prints and DNA, though I suspect we'll have better luck with the DNA results. This poor fellow's hands were starting to stick to the sheets.' He laughed softly. 'That reminds me of a young man I once knew,' he continued on. 'He had the worst case of excessive- Jethro?'
Ducky looked around. When he couldn't find Gibbs anywhere, he shook his head and turned back to Jimmy and the John Doe. 'Oh well. I'm sure you will find this interesting. As I was saying...'
---
By the time Gibbs left Ducky's domain, the four resident ghosts of NCIS had abandoned their card game, leaving for parts unknown. Gibbs noted this as he waited for the elevator to arrive. Once said conveyance had opened its doors, Gibbs got in and pushed the button for the level that Abby's lab was on. He didn't have a Caf-Pow with him this time around, but Abby would have to deal with that as she always did: by using the spare one she kept in one of her refrigerators.
Abby wasn't in the main part of her lab when Gibbs arrived, and he couldn't find her in the smaller lab space at the back of the main room. Wondering where his forensic scientist had gotten off to, Gibbs pulled out his cell in preparation to call Tim or Ducky, as Abby was most likely in their company if she wasn't in her lab. As it turned out, Gibbs didn't need to call anyone, because Abby came hurrying into the lab just as he was about to hit the speed dial for Tim.
'You came early, Gibbs!' Abby said with a tone of mild disapproval. 'I haven't finished running the DNA from our John Doe downstairs, so I can't tell you who he is yet.'
'Can you tell me if he was a Were?' Gibbs asked after taking a sip from his coffee.
'Of course I can,' Abby replied, her pigtails bouncing slightly as she came to a halt in front of her computer. After a few seconds of rapid typing, a result came up on the main plasma screen. 'He's a Were, just like you thought,' Abby continued on. 'Of course, it was highly unlikely that he wouldn't be, what with that note and all.'
'Speaking of that note, did you get anything off of it?'
Abby shook her head, sending her pigtails flying once more. 'Nope,' she said. 'It's the same as the first: no fingerprints, latent or otherwise, no hairs, and no residue of any kind. Whoever's writing the notes is clever, Gibbs. The most that I can tell you is that the same printer was used to print each note. Find me that printer, and I can match it to the ink fingerprint left behind.'
'Good work, Abs,' Gibbs said in response. 'Call me when you've got something more, okay?'
'I always do, Gibbs, you know that.'
With a smile, Abby turned back to her work, leaving Gibbs to show himself out. He did so, his thoughts running a mile a minute as they always did when he was in the middle of a case. As he waited for the elevator, Gibbs wondered just where this case would lead him and his team, and what price would have to be payed to solve it. He just hoped it wasn't a steep one.
Chapter Word Count: 1,102
Notes: Sorry for the long wait; writer's block hit hard. Hopefully, I'll be getting back to a more regular updating schedule soon.
As soon as he and Tim got back to the Navy Yard, Gibbs left the younger agent in the bullpen so that he could go down to Autopsy and see what Ducky had found in his examination of Petty Officer Warner. When the elevator doors opened after reaching the Autopsy floor, Gibbs saw four very familiar slightly translucent forms gathered around a small table at the far end of the hall. The four ghosts who were bound to the NCIS building- Kate, Kyle, Nathan, and Erica -could often be found together here, though Kate tended to stay in the bullpen or Abby's lab.
At the moment, the four were playing a game of what looked to be gin rummy, though it was hard to tell from this distance. As Gibbs drew closer, Nathan, a former Navy Lieutenant and werewolf, looked up from his cards and nodded politely at him.
'Afternoon, Agent Gibbs,' he said with a slight smile. 'Ducky's in the middle of an autopsy right now, but I'm sure you'll be more than welcome to go in.'
'Thanks,' Gibbs said, continuing on into Autopsy. Ducky was indeed in the middle of an autopsy; he was weighing the liver of the body Tony and Ziva had found at Warner's apartment. Ducky looked up when the automatic doors hissed open and then nodded to Gibbs, handing the liver to Jimmy before stripping off his latex gloves and throwing them into a bio-waste container.
'Ah, Jethro, I was wondering when I might be seeing you again,' he said, moving over to his desk and retrieving the file containing the results of Warner's autopsy and blood work. 'I suspect you're here for this.'
'If those are Warner's results, then yeah, Duck, I am,' Gibbs said, leaning against Ducky's desk.
'Well, then, you'll be interested to know that our young Petty Officer did, as I initially surmised, die of acute silver poisoning. There was three times the lethal dose of silver in his system, according to the blood work Abby returned to me. Other than the third-degree burns on his wrists and ankles, there was no other external signs of trauma,' Ducky told Gibbs, handing him the file folder after a brief examination of its contents to refresh his memory. 'He was most likely bound for a long period of time; five days at the very least.'
'That long?' Gibbs was surprised at Ducky's estimate; surely someone would've noticed Warner's absence after a few days, let alone a near week. He turned this thought over in his head, a frown forming unconsciously on his face as he did so.
Ducky watched Gibbs think, noting that the younger Were had slipped into one of his infamous taciturn silences. It was broken when Gibbs suddenly blinked and then nodded, dragging himself out of his thoughts. 'Thanks, Duck,' he said, tapping the folder. He turned his attention to the body currently undergoing autopsy, an eyebrow raising as he saw Jimmy watching them.
'Any ID on this guy?' Gibbs asked, tipping his head slightly in the direction of said body.
'Not yet,' Ducky said with a sigh, taking a fresh pair of latex gloves from a nearby box and then rejoining Jimmy at the autopsy table. 'Abby is running his prints and DNA, though I suspect we'll have better luck with the DNA results. This poor fellow's hands were starting to stick to the sheets.' He laughed softly. 'That reminds me of a young man I once knew,' he continued on. 'He had the worst case of excessive- Jethro?'
Ducky looked around. When he couldn't find Gibbs anywhere, he shook his head and turned back to Jimmy and the John Doe. 'Oh well. I'm sure you will find this interesting. As I was saying...'
---
By the time Gibbs left Ducky's domain, the four resident ghosts of NCIS had abandoned their card game, leaving for parts unknown. Gibbs noted this as he waited for the elevator to arrive. Once said conveyance had opened its doors, Gibbs got in and pushed the button for the level that Abby's lab was on. He didn't have a Caf-Pow with him this time around, but Abby would have to deal with that as she always did: by using the spare one she kept in one of her refrigerators.
Abby wasn't in the main part of her lab when Gibbs arrived, and he couldn't find her in the smaller lab space at the back of the main room. Wondering where his forensic scientist had gotten off to, Gibbs pulled out his cell in preparation to call Tim or Ducky, as Abby was most likely in their company if she wasn't in her lab. As it turned out, Gibbs didn't need to call anyone, because Abby came hurrying into the lab just as he was about to hit the speed dial for Tim.
'You came early, Gibbs!' Abby said with a tone of mild disapproval. 'I haven't finished running the DNA from our John Doe downstairs, so I can't tell you who he is yet.'
'Can you tell me if he was a Were?' Gibbs asked after taking a sip from his coffee.
'Of course I can,' Abby replied, her pigtails bouncing slightly as she came to a halt in front of her computer. After a few seconds of rapid typing, a result came up on the main plasma screen. 'He's a Were, just like you thought,' Abby continued on. 'Of course, it was highly unlikely that he wouldn't be, what with that note and all.'
'Speaking of that note, did you get anything off of it?'
Abby shook her head, sending her pigtails flying once more. 'Nope,' she said. 'It's the same as the first: no fingerprints, latent or otherwise, no hairs, and no residue of any kind. Whoever's writing the notes is clever, Gibbs. The most that I can tell you is that the same printer was used to print each note. Find me that printer, and I can match it to the ink fingerprint left behind.'
'Good work, Abs,' Gibbs said in response. 'Call me when you've got something more, okay?'
'I always do, Gibbs, you know that.'
With a smile, Abby turned back to her work, leaving Gibbs to show himself out. He did so, his thoughts running a mile a minute as they always did when he was in the middle of a case. As he waited for the elevator, Gibbs wondered just where this case would lead him and his team, and what price would have to be payed to solve it. He just hoped it wasn't a steep one.
