ROCK CREEK PARK

The NCIS major incident van, and Gibbs’ car, pulled up behind Ducky’s van. The occupants disembarked and began gathering their equipment. A man in the uniform of a park ranger headed towards them.

“Special Agent Gibbs?”

Gibbs nodded. “Ranger Matthew Highland. Found your body about an hour ago. Note’s still attached. Didn’t want to disturb anything.”

Gibbs raised his eyebrows. The ranger looked abashed. “I’ve met your Dr Mallard before. He ripped me a new one many years ago after I moved a body.”

“Happens. Where’s the body?”

“I’ll show you. A couple jogging the track spotted it and called it in to the ranger’s post.” He led them to a small clearing that had a narrow track above and to the left of it. Ranger Highland stepped back, allowing Gibbs to approach where Ducky and Palmer were working. The rest of the team came up behind him.

Amaia was directly behind Sam. Sam heard her sharply indrawn breath and spun around as Amaia shrieked and lunged towards the body. Sam grabbed at Amaia, swinging her off balance before she could reach the corpse. “Tony! McGee! Help me!”

The two men grabbed Amaia, dragging her back.

“Take her back to the car,” Gibbs snapped. “Ziva. Stay with her. Do not let her move away.”

“On it.”

Ducky looked up at the pandemonium behind him, his eyebrows raised. Gibbs was looking at the body. He frowned, and looked at Sam. She took a deep breath and nodded. “Kepa Urkullu.”

Ducky looked down at the corpse before him. “Oh My!”

Palmer handed Gibbs an evidence bag with the note addressed to him in it. As with the earlier note that had led them to Ros, the letters were all cut from newspaper.

“Same killer, do you think, Jethro?” Ducky’s eyes held curiosity.

“Little early to make that call, Duck.”

“You may be right.” Ducky frowned at the corpse. “The manner of death is very different in this case.”

Sam inched up to Gibbs’ shoulder and looked down on the corpse. Kepa Urkullu lay sprawled on his back. His arms were spread out and his trousers and shorts were bunched around his shins. From what Sam could see the only injury appeared to be a stab mark in his upper inner right thigh. Blood had flowed down his thigh and pooled on the ground between his legs.

“No broken bones as far as I can see from a cursory examination. I will know in more detail when I get him on the slab.”

NCIS SQUADROOM

Vance was waiting at the foot of the stairs when they returned.

He looked Amaia in the eyes. “Officer Bengoa, you are suspended from duty on this case.”

“WHAT??????????”

“You are too closely connected to the victim to be allowed to investigate his murder. So that the investigation can be carried out without challenge from any attorney should an arrest be made, I require you to hand over your badge, identification and gun for the duration.”

Amaia stared at him. Her mouth hung open in shock. Vance held out his hands. Wordlessly, Amaia handed her NCIS badge, card and gun to him. Her face was numb. “Agent David, would you please escort Officer Bengoa from the premises?”

He looked at Amaia. “This team has an excellent clear up rate. I am sure it won’t be long before we have the killer, and you are with us again.”

Amaia gave Vance a look that was unreadable, and grabbing her purse, she walked ahead of Ziva to the elevator.

Vance turned his attention to Sam. “Officer Wallace…”

Gibbs walked across his line of vision. “A word, Leon.”

He headed up the stairs to the mezzanine. Curious, Vance followed. At the top of the stairs, Gibbs turned and faced Vance. “There is no need to stand Sam down. She is not the killer.”

A hint of a smile played across Vance’s lips. “You can’t provide an alibi for her for every single moment. Not when she’s…” Vance stopped and looked hard at Gibbs. The hint of a smile spread into a genuine one. “She’s not sleeping in the guest room any more, is she?”

“Hasn’t since Ros was murdered.” Gibbs glanced down into the squad room. Sam, Tony and McGee were watching them curiously.

“Nightmares?”

Gibbs nodded. He turned back to face Vance. “She wouldn’t admit it, but she thought he would come after her.”

“A reasonable assumption, given his previous behavior.” Vance’s expression turned to amusement. “I wasn’t going to stand Samantha down. What I was about to ask her was if she felt capable of working the case. I wondered if working the murder of a man who assaulted her would be too much for her.” Vance’s amused smile turned into a sly smirk. “You really are protective of her, aren’t you?”

“Consideration for Sam, but not Amaia? I’m not the only one around here with a protective streak, Leon.”

Vance chuckled. “Blame it on being a husband and a father.”

Gibbs’ face closed up momentarily. Then a wry smile twitched his lips. “It leaves its mark,” he observed quietly. He headed back down the stairs. Vance followed slowly behind.

Gibbs walked up to his team. “DiNozzo. McGee. Witness statements. Get ‘em.”

“On it, Boss.”

Both men grabbed their backpacks and headed for the elevator. Ziva was coming out as they went in.

“Amaia has left the yard, Director. Security has been instructed not to allow her back on until further notice.”

“Good. Thank you, Agent David.”

Gibbs began to walk away. Sam called after him. “Gibbs. Where are you going?”

He didn’t answer, just kept walking. Sam and Ziva looked at each other, then hurried after him.

“I swear Gibbs is the most infuriating man alive.”

“You would not say that if you had met my father.”

“I did meet your father. When he was here for the conference. And my original comment still stands.”

NCIS AUTOPSY

Ducky looked up as the doors opened to admit Gibbs, trailed by Sam, Ziva and, surprisingly, Vance.

“Dear me, quite an audience.”

“What have you got, Duck?”

“His death was caused by bleeding out from a deep puncture to his femoral artery. Death would have been relatively quick. He does, have the beginnings of a bruise across his throat. The injury occurred not long before death, as deep tissue infiltration had begun.”

“Time of death?”

“Approximately 2am this morning.”

Sam and Ziva had moved close to the autopsy table. They began to circle it like a couple of vultures deciding on lunch.

“The question,” Ziva murmured, “is ‘what was he doing in Rock Creek Park at 2am?’”

Sam disagreed. “No. The real question is ‘what was he doing in Rock Creek Park at 2am with his pants down?””

Ziva inclined her head. “A valid point.”

They continued to circle. After exchanging puzzled looks, the men got out of the way and let them be. Gibbs had a small smile on his face as he watched. They have worked something out. Independently, but they are thinking along the same lines. This should be interesting.

Sam looked at Ziva. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“It depends. Are you thinking about how to get a man to drop his pants in the woods?”

“More or less.”

“Then I am thinking what you are thinking.”

There was silence as the women continued to circle the autopsy table. Slowly, Palmer drew near them. Ducky opened his mouth to call him back. Gibbs and Vance shook their heads, and grinned.

Ziva spoke. “There is the obvious reason. He was doing what bears do in the woods.”

Sam shook her head. “No physical evidence of that. Nor any sign of a struggle as if he had been taken by surprise.”

“True. However the fact there is a track above makes me wonder if the other possibility is valid.”

“It was 2am. No lights.”

“Dark. I agree. It is the most likely scenario.”

“Would you ladies care to share your thoughts?” Ducky asked, frankly curious.

Sam grinned at him. “We’ll do better than that, Ducky. We’ll demonstrate.”

Ziva turned on Palmer. “Drop your pants.”

Jimmy blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Your pants, Palmer. Drop them.” Sam said with a grin. “Just pretend you’re with Breena. No. On second thoughts, don’t do that. We could end up with something I just don’t want to see!”

Palmer hesitated. He looked at Ducky for support. “Go ahead, Mr Palmer. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve dropped your pants down here,” he added with a touch of acid.

Reluctantly, Jimmy undid his pants and let them fall. Ziva stepped close. Hands on his shoulders, her eyes burning into his, she lowered him to the ground and straddled him.

Sam turned to the others. “Imagine Palmer is in the throws of passion,” she said with a grin.

Vance winced. Gibbs choked. Ducky raised his eyebrows.

“His assailant, female, has him in a close embrace and he is not expecting what comes next…”

Ziva reached her hand back and withdrew something from the rear pocket of her jeans. She moved rapidly, her hand flashing downwards. Palmer gave a yell of surprise, which was quickly choked off by Ziva’s forearm across his throat.

Sam beckoned the men over. “Method and cause of death. Of course, the killer was armed with something considerably sharper than a pen.”

Gibbs, Vance and Ducky stood looking down at Palmer and Ziva. Ziva held a pen against Palmer’s inner thigh. Right over the femoral artery. She marked a cross on the spot and got to her feet. Palmer lay on the floor, stunned.

"The bruise was caused by his murderer silencing his cries."

Vance looked at Sam and at Ziva. “You know who you are saying the killer is.”

Ziva nodded. “Yes, Director. She is the only logical person.”

Sam agreed. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that immediately after the discovery is made that Kepa Urkullu is connected to Ros’ murder, he himself is murdered.”

“Murdered within hours of that discovery.” Ziva looked at Vance and then at Gibbs. “Just after Urkullu assaulted Sam, I overheard a conversation Amaia had on the telephone with Urkullu. It was in Basque. She doesn’t know I speak Basque.”

“Neither did we,” muttered Vance.

“Amaia spoke of Urkullu having jeopardized the operation. Of it having to be postponed. That he needed to lie low at the orders of the High Command.”

“It didn’t occur to you to report this, Agent David?” Vance’s voice was tight.

“All I had was one side of an overheard conversation on a foreign language. It would be my word against Amaia’s as to what was said. I felt it would be best to observe Amaia. If I had had any real evidence, I would have gone straight to Gibbs.”

Vance turned on his heel and strode out of autopsy. Gibbs, Sam and Ziva followed. Vance swung back towards the door. “Mr Palmer. You can pull your pants up now.”

LATER THAT NIGHT

Amaia paced the living room, a frown on her face. Things are going badly. We need to take action. We simply cannot wait any longer.

She pulled a cell phone from her pocket and dialed a number. The call was answered on the second ring. “It is me. Operation Freedom begins. Execute command priorities and emergency protocols.” She hung up.

Amaia looked at the phone and put it back in her pocket. She walked across to the house phone and picked up the receiver and dialed.

Her voice became choked with emotion when the call was answered. “Tony? It’s Amaia. Help me. I need help, Tony. I need you.” A sob escaped. “You’ll come now? Thank you, Tony. Thank you.”

Amaia hung up the receiver, and smiled. A cold, impersonal smile edged with darkness. Gibbs and Samantha, and yes, that arrogant bastard Vance, will learn not to mess with me.