N.C.I.S.: Hawaii IC [R]

[Ryudo]

The black Dodge Charger made a right on Olani Street and parked a few feet away from the entrance to the Kamokila Community Park. Several minutes passed before John McClain stepped out of the car. The handsome man in his late fifties checked his watch once to confirm the time, the hands pointed to 5:01 A.M. McClain scanned the park once, it was standard procedure for a marine, even an ex, to be cautious of his surroundings. When he was certain that no one was around he headed to the bench in the center of the park. Kamokila was very familiar to McClain, every morning for the past five years he had run through it during his morning jog. This morning however was different, this time McClain wasn’t running with confidence, instead he treaded with uncertainty. Pausing at the correct bench he surveyed what was around him once more. Satisfied once again that there was no one in general vicinity McClain bent over and removed a small post card, on the front was a majestic picture of an aerial view of Oahu with the letters “Greetings from Sunny Oahu!” , on the back two words were written: Goodbye John.

It happened in an instant, the crack rang out and McClain was instantly brought to his knees. Before he could turn to face his attacker or even draw his weapon another shot rang out, piercing the Special Agent’s chest. Red blood cascaded down his suit as McClain fell to the earth, and then after drawing a few shallow breaths, John McClain ceased moving.


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A familiar heat struck Peter Edmund as he stepped off the plane onto the tarmac of Honolulu National Airport. It had been an entirely tiring and thoroughly long flight from Miami to Oahu replete with stops, cramped spaces, and crying children. Peter was ready for a drink, and a stiff one at that, unfortunately though that would have to wait till later.

After receiving the usual Hawaiian greeting of an Aloha and a Lei, Peter proceeded to pick up his two pieces of luggage. The wait wasn’t very long, and once he had received his bags he headed outside where he immediately spotted a young man, dressed in a black suit and a pair of dark shades who he instantly assumed to be his escort,

“All your missing is the ear piece,” he said as he handed the young man one of his bags.

“Not standard issue out here in Hawaii sir, sorry to disappoint Mr. Edmunds.”

“It was just a joke, Mr.?” Peter let the end of his sentence hang as he waited for the young agent to fill in his name,

“Danvers,” He blurted out, “Mark Danvers.”

“Well, Mr. Danvers, as I was saying it was just a joke, and not even a funny one at that.”


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Cassandra Carter sat in her office waiting on the arrival of the new Team Leader Peter Edmund. Edmund was a good man whom she had met in one of her previous ops before having been given the position of NCIS director, Hawaii. Cassandra having been a native Floridian had worked a mission there with Edmunds. The two had become quick friends and even though he was a bit older than her they had even gone out to dinner a few times but it had never affected either of their professionalism.

Peter Edmund was a likeable man even if it could sometimes be hard to get to know him well, but then so had McClain been a likeable man. Even through the hard exterior that he had presented his team loved him, even those that had not known him for a long period of time and everyone was still in shock over his untimely death. Cassandra picked up the photo of her, McClain and his team that was sitting on the edge of her desk shaking her head slowly. It was still hard to believe that he was gone. The man had been a genius when it came to breaking cases, and he’d been a good friend to them all and now it was up to them to find and catch whoever was responsible for his death.

And if it was the last thing that C.J. Carter ever did as NCIS director, she would make sure that it happened. C.J. rarely ever broke rules or chain of command but in this case she would do whatever it took to bring justice to McClains family. Even though he had been a bachelor all of his life she had shared a special bond with him and seeing his mother losing it when they had to inform her of John's death had been almost more than C.J. could bear.

The beeping sound on her phone snapped her out of her thoughts. Pushing a button C.J. answered her secretary Eve Johnson. “Yes Eve, what is it?” From the other end she heard Eve’s voice “Mr. Edmund has arrived.” C.J. replied “Send him in.” C.J. had butterflies in her stomach as she stood from behind her desk as the door opened. It was uncommon for her to ever feel that way but it had been some time since she had seen him and when the door opened and Peter stepped through they passed quickly as C.J. walked around her desk and being the professional that she was she shook his hand first. He was as handsome as she had remembered. Then leaning up she kissed his cheek. “Peter, it’s so good to see you again! Welcome to the team. Please, won’t you be seated?”

Taking her seat again Cassandra slid a folder across the table. It held all of the details, which granted were very limited, that had been gathered thus far about McClain’s death. C.J. leaned back in her chair and with a very calm voice said “You’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill here Peter and you should be prepared to meet with some resistance. Some of this team was really close to John while others didn’t know him quite as well but all of them respected the man. Everyone here at NCIS Hawaii did.” C.J. shook her head slowly “You may find some resistance at first, but they’re a good team, top notch and one of NCIS’s best. Give them time.”

“Though I didn’t have the pleasure of actually meeting McClain I did have a chance to catch up on his personal file on the flight over. After reading that it doesn’t surprise me one bit that he was so well liked.“ Peter let out a small sigh, he truly regretted not having the fortune to have met McClain in the past, he was certain that they would have gotten along quite well, “But, I have replaced team leaders before, granted not under such terrible circumstances. Nevertheless, I understand how difficult this job can be without the rigors of trying to win over a team who aren’t used to your style or leadership. I will not take this position lightly, and hope to bring honor to this position the likes of which McClain himself once brought.”

Cassandra nodded her head agreeably. "I don't doubt that you will one bit Peter but this group was faithful and some of them are taking it hard, hell I'm taking it hard." Then with a smile she added "But I have the utmost faith in your capabilities." Picking up the photo she first became silent and then her voice turned serious and was filled with determination as she said "But Peter our top priority now is finding out who is responsible for this." Setting the photo back down she pushed the button for her secretary and informed her to have the group gather in ten minutes in the conference room. Stepping out behind the desk she looked Peter squarely in the eyes "Are you ready for this?"

Peter looked at her seriously, he knew that Cassandra had put a lot of faith in him and he wasn’t going to waste it,

“Cassandra, I wouldn’t have accepted your offer if I didn’t think I was ready,” he paused for a moment, he wasn’t being cocky he was being honest, Cassandra needed to know that he was confident and ready to accept the challenges ahead of him, “and you know that I am ready too, or else you wouldn’t have offered me the job in the first place.”

{A Ryu and Mysti production}

[Lord Tully]

Jason Kanashiro, the official new blood on the NCIS Hawaii team had been given the task of bringing Agent John McClain's files up to the Director's office, and was now on the elevator up. He'd only known McClain for the maybe a week since he'd been transferred to the Hawaii branch, but Jason could tell that he was a good man, a rare thing these days. If his week long impression of the man's relationship with his team was correct, some of them probably felt like they lost a brother or an uncle. ~No time to think about that now~ he thought as the elevator door opened, Jason stepped out and, distracted by reading what he was allowed to from the files, walked forehead first into someone's left pectoral knocking himself back a few steps and dropping the files, "Hey what's the big, id..." He began to shout but came slowly to a halt and he looked up to see a 6'7" man standing there. Seeing this, with various less then polite versions of "Oh crap" going through his head, Jason tried to apologize, nothing really intelligible came out.

[Damonique]

Jansen Tasi was just finishing up his morning Jog around the island, as he did every day. Two miles in a circuit around Oahu. Swear dripped heavily from the tall Samoan man as he charged forward at a brisk pace, and the few people that were awake that early quickly ran out of his way. The lightweight black Kevlar vest he wore hung open, revealing the tan-framed .45 Caliber handgun seated in his chest holster, but at the notice of the badge affixed to the front of the vest, few people seemed too startled.

Instead of heading directly back to his Condo, Jansen instead headed for the NCIS Hawaii offices. He had been called there by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service offices concerning a Hawaii Police Department liaison with the NCIS. It wasn't odd, they could probably use all the cooperation they could get concerning the McClain case.

Jansen had only worked with McClain twice, but he was a good man, and a good marine. The tall Samoan man was more than willing to assist in avenging the mans death. As he entered the NCIS building, he straightened his jacket and parted his long, wild hair out of his eyes, and quickly took the elevator up to the top floor of the office where the directors office waited.

Just as he turned the corner, Jansen ran straight into a man around his age, but almost a foot shorter than himself. The young man had Japanese features and a sour look on his face as he muttered something, then immediately tried to stammer out an apology when he looked up to realize that Jansen could probably literally snap his body in half.

Jansen just chuckled slightly and flashed as crooked smile. It was always hilarious seeing how people reacted to his size.

"Chill, your one of the NCIS agent, right? Is this the directors office?" The tall Samoan man inquired, trying to set the smaller man at ease. If they were going to work together, he needed the agents to get used to him.

[Lord Tully]

Jason sighed with relief when the large man seemed not inclined to grind him to dust and proceeded to pick up Agent McClain's files, "The director's office is just at the end of that hallway, last door on the left, if I remember correctly." he pointed towards a hallway at the other end of the room, "I'm going there myself, the Director wanted me to bring up Agent McClain's files." Jason motioned with the now intact file folder to punctuate the fact. "I'm guessing you're a new Agent as well since I haven't seen you around the offices before, I'm Tech Analyst Jason Kanashiro."

[Cheshire]

Alex had been ahead of the rest of the team, already, standing silently in the conference room, waiting for everyone else's arrival. She had a pair of shades on, even though she was inside... her eyes were still red from crying, but she couldn't let the rest of the team see that. She had to be strong, she had to be a professional.

McClain had been her mentor, he teacher. He taught her everything she knew about being an agent. She tried to stop from clenching her fist, thinking about the bastard who killed him... if she clenched her fist, there would be signs... the team would know she was hurting...

She had worked with McClain longer than anyone else... whoever did this was going to pay.

[Damonique]

The other man sighed in relief and began to pick up the stack of files he had dropped when he had run into Jansen, who knelt there and began to help gather together the sheaf's of paper. Even kneeling, Jansen was almost eye level with the other man standing.

"The director's office is just at the end of that hallway, last door on the left, if I remember correctly." The shorter man answered, pointing at an ornate pair of double doors at the end of the hallway. Imposing. Who knew what kind of hard-ass their director must be.

"I'm going there myself, the Director wanted me to bring up Agent McClain's files." The other man continued, motioning with the gathered files to punctuate the fact. "I'm guessing you're a new Agent as well since I haven't seen you around the offices before, I'm Tech Analyst Jason Kanashiro."

Japanese, as Jansen had guessed. Taking a second to remember his language courses, Jansen responded.

"Konnichiwa, Kanashiro Jason San. Watashi Wa Onamae-Wa Jansen Tasi Desu. Watashi Wa Keizai O Oahu Police Liaison Desu." Jansen responded. He hoped his Japanese was at least decent, his Arabic was better.

"If you didn't get that, or my Japanese is hopelessly broken, I'm Jansen Tasi. The director called me over here to talk about a job as a Oahu police Liaison with the NCIS team here." Jansen finished, just to be sure, before heading towards the directors office with the shorter man following.

At the door, he was met by a young woman with a particularly forced smile. No doubt a secretary. When Jansen tried to open the door, she stepped into his way, though he could tell she was a bit nervous about getting in the way of a 210-pound 6-foot-seven Samoan native.

"I'm Eve, the Directors secretary, and you must be Mr. Tasi. The director told me to direct you and Mr. Kanashiro to the conference room at the other end of the hall to await her arrival. She's inducting the new team leader." The young secretary mumbled, afraid to look either of them in the eye.

Jansen just grumbled something involving a number of swear words about the director not even being willing to meet him in person, before shooting the secretary a glare and stalking back through the hallway. Once he and Jason were out of hearing range, he started shooting questions.

"Female director? Hope she's not like the crazy old bat that runs the Los Angeles offices. Who else is in your team? I haven't worked with the Hawaii branch of NCIS in a while, and I like to know who I'm working with from an objective point of view, you got any insights?" Jansen inquired to Jason as they headed towards the conference room.

[Lord Tully]

Jason smirked when Jansen made an attempt at Japanese, "No need to bother with that, I prefer English, my Japanese is pretty broken anyway, although my mother berates me at least once a week for not practicing." He walked with the Samoan down the hall and spoke with the secretary, "The Director wanted me to bring up the files of Agent McClain."

Eva replied, "Just leave if here I'll make sure it gets to her, she just can't talk to the team right now." Jason nodded and headed back out to field Jansen's questions. After stroking his chin thinking for a second he answered, "Well I can't really tell you much aside from their names and positions, I've only been working as an Agent here for about a week and this is my first case with this team. Hell aside from you I've barely had the chance to say more then two words to anyone, and I haven't even met the coroner or the forensic analyst yet."

[nonangelic92]

Saffron made her way to the elevator, inwardly shaking her head. She never liked newbies especially new leaders at that. She liked the old one just fine. John was like a father to her. He was fun loving and always gave her a challenge. If she ever met the guy or girl that shot him, she would make sure they never saw the light of day again.

Saffron stepped into the elevator, getting some werid glances from other employees. She pressed the elevator button and gave herself a quick look over in the elevator door. Straight dark brown hair put into a braid. A green tye dye lab coat over a pair of blue jeans, purple shirt and neon pink water shoes. Blue notebook and a penicl in hand, just in case. She smiled at herself proudly, everyone higher up knew about her weird hippy fashion sense and liked it, so far.

The elevator stopped on the floor and Saffron began to walk to the conference room. She saw some fresh new faces and some she knew for a while. She opened the door to the conference room and saw Alex standing silently. She waved a small hi and took a seat ready to meet this new leader.

[Damonique]

"No need to bother with that, I prefer English, my Japanese is pretty broken anyway, although my mother berates me at least once a week for not practicing." Jason chuckled after Jansen's attempt at Japanese. There was a large Japanese population in

"Well,I can't really tell you much aside from their names and positions, I've only been working as an Agent here for about a week and this is my first case with this team. Hell aside from you I've barely had the chance to say more then two words to anyone, and I haven't even met the coroner or the forensic analyst yet." Jason responded to Jansen's question about the rest of the team, shaking his head in exasperation.

Jansen could relate, imagining being transferred to a new office, only to have the entire team dynamic destroyed by a targeted murder. Jansen chuckled slightly, showing a lopsided slash of a grin as he turned to Jason.

"Take it easy. I'm new here too, and I'm police. NCIS guys hate my ass, they'll take it easy on you." Jansen chuckled before throwing open the door to the conference room, and sizing up the rest of the team members who had shown up.

There was a slim, brown eyed eyed, blonde haired woman around Jansens age with a sour smirk on her face, and her face carried a blank, emotionless expression that the tall Samoan had seen so many times in the eyes of marines, though her eyes were shrouded in a pair of darkly-tinted sunglasses.

Given circumstances, she was probably close to the former teem leader, and most senior of the original team. She was probably also at least a little pissed she hadn't gotten promoted, but it was doubtful she could be a suspect, from the reddish tint forming around her cheeks and veiled eyes.

There was also another woman, slightly younger and almost three feet shorter then the hulking Samoan, with Brown hair and eyes and dressed in a trippy, hippy-esque tye-dyed lab coat, faded jeans, and a purple T-shirt and pink shoes. Very interesting choice of dress.

Jansen marely raised a hand in a self-explanatory greeting, and took a seat, zipping his black Kevlar vest closed over his .45 and straightening out his black denim jeans in an attempt to look professional.

[Lord Tully]

Jason was glad that at least one person was friendly enough to speak to him, although he more then understood the loss the team was going through. He was going to apologize for not knowing alot about the team, but he had heard that there was a rule about that he didn't understand so he decided against it. Jason followed Jansen to the conference room and saw the two women, he knew the blond woman as Alex Miyamoto, and was a bit surprised to see her so emotionless given how close she seemed with Agent McClain. "Hello Alex." Jason greeted her with a smile, even though all he knew of her was her name, he did not how ever recognize the girl in the bright colors. ~What in the hell is she wearing and why is she in the conference room?~ He thought to himself although it may have shown a tiny bit in his expression. He sat down across from her and spoke to her, "Hello I'm the new Tech Analyst, Agent Jason Kanashiro, I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new as well?"

[nonangelic92]

Saffron looked up to see someone was talking to her. She blinked coming out of her many daydream. She smiled brightly, "Hello Jason, I'm Saffron the lab technican. I've been around here for a while, I've just been hiding." She laughed noticing the expression he wore well, " I'm sorry I know I shouldn't be laughing but I always see that expression on people when they first meet me and see my lab coat and it makes my day." She set her notebook and pencil on the table and turned to the other man she just now noticed. " Hello and what is your name?"

[Damonique]

The girl in the trippy Tye-Died lab coat explained her position to Jason and laughed slightly at his reaction to her outfit. It was true that she was fairly eccentric, but not half as strange as the tech from the Quantico branch.

"Hello and what is your name?" She inquired to Jansen after she was done talking to Jason, who had now taken a seat. The tall Samoan leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on the table nonchalantly.

"I'm Jansen Tasi, your director called me here about a position as a Liaison with the Oahu Police Department. I also play a bit of guitar and can play Beethoven's fifth using bursts of Machine gun Fire." He chuckled. At least one member of their team hadn't lost any flair from McClain's death. Which was a good thing, since they would all need clear heads if they were going to catch the sick Bitch or Bastard that killed him.

"Unique outfit 'ya got there. Pretty trippy, you think I could get a Flak Jacket in that pattern?" Jansen joked lightly, as they all waited expectantly for the Director and the new team leader to arrive.

[nonangelic92]

Saffron laughed, " Thank you, I like to be comfortable as possible when I work. You should see the lab, it is pretty retro for a cool cat like myself." She smiled at his request, " Of course, just tell me your measurements and I'll get something to ya. Thanks for telling me something personal about yourself." She thought for a moment, " I have a burping stuffed dolphin in the lab that I toally adore. His name is Spudnick, he has a turquiose collar." She sat back, enjoying the easy feeling se get's from this Jansen guy. She wondered if he knwe McCain like she did? " So have any of you heard anything about this new leader?"

[Lord Tully]

Jason smiled broadly at the exchange, "A belching dolphin named Spudnik? I can tell you're going to be a real blast to work with." he said light hearted, slightly sarcastic voice. Jason sat down in one of the chairs across the table from Saffron, "To be honest I don't know much about the new Team Leader, but I've heard that he can be a real hard ass. Even that I'm not sure is true, but he was in the Navy so it's safe to assume he's good at his job." He glanced at Alex a bit, she was being very quiet, "You ok Alex?" he asked with genuine tone of voice, he didn't know her but she seem to be this silent before so he didn't know if this was normal for her.

[Damonique]

Jansen chuckled at Saffron's comments. It was good that at least a few people were laid back on the team. It would make working with the more up-tight members of the team a lot easier to do. Jason joined into the conversation before cuttion off to talk to the over-quiet Blonde-haired agent.

"Of course, just tell me your measurements and I'll get something to ya. Thanks for telling me something personal about yourself." Saffron smiled calmly in response to Jansens request, and he was glad that the request hadn't been taken just as a joke.

"Thanks, then I'll have something to wear when I go surfing that doesn't draw weird looks like this does." The tall Samoan agent responded, pointing to the Dark Grey ballistics vest he wore over his holster.

"As far as being personal goes, I don't have a lot I would bother keeping secret. You can ask me just about anything, Just don't mention Somalia. Ever." Jansen continued, his tone suddenly darkening. It wasn't a time in his life he would want to revisit, too many dead friends, too many actions he wouldn't be able to talk about even if he wanted to.

When she asked about him knowing about the new team leader, Jansen just shrugged. He knew about as much as she did, probably less.

[TheDashingRogue]

A pair of eyes darted around the corridors. "Oh blast..." the figure rushed around several corners, opening doors to empty conference rooms and storage closets. Coming to a stop, the portly figure dressed in a white with grey pinstripe shirt and red tie breathed heavily, leaning on the wall for support. Raising his head the man spies a sign on a door; Director's Office. Hefting his pile of quite considerable paperwork, the man pushed the door open with his free hand. The sweetly smiling secretary quickly placed her caller on hold and pointed the Dr to the office before continuing her call, twirling the phone cable around her finger absent-mindedly. "Now no need to panic Edward" he told himself "no doubt they're much like the previous team, just with more daylight hours". He straightened himself out, aligning his tie, checking his watch and running his hands through his short curly hair. Coughing quietly he pushed the office door open and stepped across the threshold. He was in. Glancing around the room he saw several individuals, a large and intimidating Samoan, a much more regular sized Oriental man and two women. Both of them looked unique, one wearing sunglasses indoors and the other in a brightly coloured tie-died lab coat. He paused for a moment before realising he was staring and quickly busied himself positioning his paperwork on the table, the large wad of documents and files bundled together haphazardly with various rubber bands and string ties. Edward moved with a humble quickness, as was his nature, always busying himself with his work and trying not to interrupt others too much unless they wanted his attention. He moved around the room and introduced himself to the other team members.

"Hello, my name is Dr Edward Bainbridge M.D" he said, proferring his hand "I work down in the basement, I'll be your Coroner... well not your Coroner I do hope, but well... erm you understand I hope? I'm terribly sorry, I'm in such a state today. Had to make a substantial change from the night-shift and I still haven't got my head round it." All of the occupants shook his hand, allbeit briefly, before he returned to his place at the table. He fumbled with a small case in his pocket before removing a small set of reading spectacles complete with neck chain. He removed a yellowed sheet of paper from his bundle and began to take notes.

[nonangelic92]

Saffron began to laugh at the Coroner's little joke, "Its quite alright doctor, we knew what you were saying." She turned towards Jansen, " Of coursem, the past is the past there isn't much importance remembering it. As for your vest, I'm sure I can come up with a radical pair of simming trunks that could hold your gun and make sure no water seaped into the gun barrel." She opened her notebook and egan to doodle, " As for this new guy people say he is a hard-ass. I just hope he doesn't make me talk to him much." She looked down and mumbled, " I liked our old team leader just fine til...." She trailed off and looked up and smiled, " Anyways so where are y'all from? I've known Alex there, " head gesturing to the blonde, " for a while but you three are a mystery."

[Stryker]

As he waited for the elevator doors to open up, Shane gave two gentle swipes to the sleeves of his suit's jacket. The black sleeves being notorious for garnering lint and dust before he closed the buttons over his navy blue shirt. Shane knew that he wouldn't be a popular face amongst the remaining crew and the new members. After all, he had gotten a reputation since entering the FBI.

After leaving the elevator and making his way down the hallway towards what he would assume would be their conference room, he planned on waiting there until the new leader and the director made their presence known. He had no clue that the entire team, new and old were ordered to await the arrival of the team leader in the same room he was headed toward.

Eventually he made it to a door that read "Director's Office" and stepped through and found a secretary on the phone. She held up a finger and told the person on the line to hold before she addressed him.

"Mr. Wallace, I wasn't expecting you." she told him after setting the phone's reciever down.

"Noone was, I'm over here unannounced." he responded while continuing towards the door before being stopped by her hand infront of the door.

"Um, sir. Sorry but there's a meeting waiting to be started, I'm sorry." she explained with a smile on her face.

"Oh, a meeting?"

"Yes sir, I'm sorry but you'll have to wai-"

"I'm sorry also, but I'm not going to sit out here and wait for them to finish." he told her smugly before lifting her hand out of the way. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." he told her before opening the door and walking in as if one of the team.

Once inside he saw numerous faces, some which he recognized from past case files he had read regarding NCIS and others he didn't. One that caught his eye was a 6'7 man seated and looking rather relaxed, as if without a care in the world. He also noticed agent Alex Miyatomo leaning against a wall with shades on, no doubt more than likely trying to hide her eyes. He knew from that her and McClain were close, he had worked with them on a few cases in the past and saw the bond.

"Well, I see the whole gang is here. New and old. If you don't know who I am, My name's Shane Wallace... FBI" he said aloud to them, a few glances coming his way before he turned to a rather disheveled-looking older man. The untidyness caught him off-guard before he unbuttoned his blazer and found a chair about three away from him and decided to take a seat and await the arrival of the director and new leader. The dynamic differences between the team members was almost mind-blowing. An eccentric, a samoan, an oriental of sorts, an untidy older gentleman and a team member that had gotten much too close to take the loss.

"Any idea as to when they'll show up?" he asked noone in particular while he reclined and folded his arms loosely across his chest.

[Damonique]

An older man with an ample beard and an even ampler gut appeared, and began a panicked attempt to organize an enormous sheaf of papers onto the table, before finally introducing himself.

Hello, my name is Dr Edward Bainbridge M.D, I work down in the basement, I'll be your Coroner... well not your Coroner I do hope, but well... erm you understand I hope? I'm terribly sorry, I'm in such a state today. Had to make a substantial change from the night-shift and I still haven't got my head round it." The older man mumbled, still trying in vain to arrange the papers into any sort of organization. Saffron greeted him in a chipper manner and Jansen merely shot him a peace sign. After the introduction had concluded, Saffron returned her attention to Jansen.

"Of course, the past is the past there isn't much importance remembering it. As for your vest, I'm sure I can come up with a radical pair of swimming trunks that could hold your gun and make sure no water seeped into the gun barrel." She offered, and from the complexity of the drawings on the notebook in front of her, she probably could.

Jansen flashed a wry smile, and chuckled lightheartedly.

"Get back to me on that, I'll pay well enough. I have backpay for my injuries in the Marines covering everything I would need for the next ten years. It turns out that the navy really likes to keep reckless endangerment under wraps." Jansen chuckled, before launching off into a tirade.

"How the hell do you "Forget" to install armor to the gunners ports in a Bradly APC? You don't forget, like hell you don't, the military's just too cheap to manufacture the alloys. If I had known there was little more than an inch of aluminum between me and enemy fire I would've....oh, sorry, got into a bit of a rant there." Jansen concluded, suddenly slightly self-conscious.

Luckily, this fact was quickly covered by the dramatic entrance of a man with a sour expression on his face and wearing a Navy blue dress jacket. The man seemed to reek with the scent of someone who spends too much time messing with others business.

"Well, I see the whole gang is here. New and old. If you don't know who I am, My name's Shane Wallace... FBI" That explained it. It didn't matter who you were or what branch you were in, if you worked for the government, the FBI was a pain in the ass.

Jansen shot the man a derisive snort, and a sharp glare, his piercing whitish-blue eyes projecting his devout derision of the man and everything he stood for. The man attempted to feign not having seen the glare and took a seat at the far end of the table from himself, Jason, and Saffron.

"Any idea as to when they'll show up?" The man snapped, and, obviously, didn't get a response. Hating the FBI was a universal sentiment.

[Mysteria]

"Of course you're correct Peter, I wouldn't have. I just thought you might want to know what you are up against here."

After having received the files on McClain from her secretary that had just been dropped off by Agent Kanashiro, Cassandra Carter scanned it's contents briefly then handed them to Peter. He now had everything in his hands that N.C.I.S knew. As he took a moment to scan the files Cassandra looked at the other picture of another deceased agent on the stand behind her as she swiveled in her chair to look out the window into the streets of Oahu. She hadn't been able to put it away yet. Cassandra Carter wasn't ready to take that step. There'd been too many agents lost, and she'd lost far too much.

She knew full well that this job was a dangerous job. She also knew that everyone had accepted that as fact and probability when they signed up to be an N.C.I.S agent.

And she knew damned well that as long as she was director, she'd do her best to make certain it did not happen again. She didn't want to lose another.

C.J. turned back to face Peter. "Let's go do this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

A few minutes later the director of N.C.I.S along with the new team leader entered into the conference room where the others had gathered along with the F.B.I agent who would be assisting them on this case. Their were times when N.C.I.S. and the F.B.I didn't always get along but in this instance, they would be working closely together.

Standing in the front of the room Cassandra Carters commanding presence quickly quieted the room as her voice filtered out among the group. "Welcome everyone." Cassandra's eyes fell upon the various members of the room. A wide range of emotions were present on the faces staring back at her and C.J. sympathized with them, and understood. For her part, she had little to say and got right to the point.

"Let's just cut to the chase here ladies and gentlemen. We all know why we are here. And we all know what we have to do. This group is one of the best group's that N.C.I.S has to offer and the recent loss of McClain has effected us all on one level or another. It's time for us all now to move into action and bring those to justice who are responsible for that. I know it may not be easy for some of you, but I also know that each one of you is more than capable and talented. And I know that John had complete and total faith in each one of you." All of this team were strong members, and all had inner strength but Cassanda wanted them all to know that her door was always open to any of them. "My door is always open for any of you. This team will remain intact, and they will remain a team. We can't let this stop us and what we do here. I think you can all agree with me when I say John would have wanted it that way."

Cassandra looked to Peter then back to the group. "So, without further adieu, I would like to present his replacement, Peter Edmunds. His reputation proceeds him, I am more than well aware of his capabilities and he will be a fine addition to this team. With his help we will bring whomever is responsible for McClain's death down. I expect you all to give him your full support and respect."

Respect. The word seemed odd to Cassandra at that moment. John had always had his teams respect. He had earned it. And while Peter already had her respect he would have to earn it from his team.

"I've nothing further to add, so Peter, the meetings all yours now."

Cassandra took her seat and waited for Peter to speak as she looked at the rest of the team. Their work had just begun.

[Ryudo]

Peter scanned the case report Cassandra had offered him, it was light, though he knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Inside were a few preliminary photos from the police department as well as an eye-witness statement from the man who found McClain’s body. Flipping over the page he came across a picture of a post card, this piqued his interest. The postcard addressed McClain directly which instantly pointed Peter to the fact that this wasn’t some robbery gone wrong, the kill was purposeful and premeditated.

Closing the file caused Peter to look at the cover, bold letters streaked across it, Case Number 11471, John McClain, Peter wondered how ink on a page could carry so much weight to so many people. Peter pulled his eyes from the file and glanced at Cassandra, she hadn’t aged a day since they had last met, the intense fire and the passion till burned in her eyes.

"Let's go do this."

Peter nodded, it was time to meet the team.


---------------------------

As soon as he stepped into the confrence room Peter could feel the raw emotions sweltering in the tiny room. As per agent training Peter quickly assessed the individuals gathered before him, his eyes immediately went to the largest man in the room, an immense Pacific Islander who seemed fit and able to handle himself in nearly any situation, the next person who jumped out to him was a young woman in a tie-dye lab coat, unique and intriguing were the first words that jumped out to Peter, her kind smile an indication of her genuine heart as well. Though Peter was against sunglasses indoors he could tell that the young woman with the beautiful blond hair was perhaps suffering the greatest from McClain’s death and so he respected her wishes to stay anonymous and above all Peter respected her for her dedication. Peter’s gaze proceed to fall upon a older man who was sharply dressed in a suit, his appearance, though portly, seemed to indicate a certain intellect and wit not found in most others. The young man sitting across from the woman in tie-dye was young and appeared to be full of some of the same humor as the portly one as well as the fire of Cassandra. Finally, Peter looked at the well dressed man lounging in one of the chairs, almost instantly Peter identified him to be the Federal Agent tasked to the case. Peter wasn’t against Federal Agents at all, but he did find it a bit odd that one was present already.

As Cassandra finished her speech Peter stepped forward to take speak his mind, now was his chance to make his first impression, a fact that Peter did not take lightly.

“Unfortunately I did not have the distinction of meeting Special Agent John McClain, and as such I have no right to speak to what he might have thought,” As Peter spoke he made eye contact with each person in the room, a gesture that belied sincerity and respect for each of the members gathered, “But, what I can tell you is this, John was a damn fine agent and we all know exactly what we have to in order to let him rest in peace. We have to do our jobs.” Peter paused for a moment and let his words sink in, he wasn’t nervous at all, if there had been any nerves they had dissipated the moment he stepped into the conference room. Even without having known McClain, Peter knew that he was counting on him, and Peter wasn’t about to let him down,

“We all have a trying time ahead of us, loosing your team leader means not only will there be a hole left in his absence but you will also have to move on and adapt to his replacement. Though no one can replace McClain in your hearts it is my job as team leader to continue his work. I will warn you now that I am not John McClain, I have my own style and I am not afraid to admit that, and I assure you that if you give me a chance I will not disappoint you.”

Peter opened the folder he had been given earlier, he wasn’t one for big speeches and so he decided to wrap up his opening remarks,

“I don’t want to waste any more of your time with my introduction, I think you’ll learn the most about myself not through speeches but through my actions. McClain’s killer is still out there, and every second we wait is another second he is able to spend as a free man. I want to change that, so I am going to move right onto assignments, if you have any questions feel free to voice them after. Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind raising your hand when I say your name that’d be great.”

Peter cleared his throat and looked at the note he had jotted down,

“Alex Miyatomo, accompany Mr. Tasi to the crime scene and meet up with P.D. there. Take photos of the scene as well as look for any shell casings or stray bullets. While you are there make sure that the two of you speak with P.D. and obtain any extra information they might have about the scene. Next, Jason, I need you to take the postcard found at the scene to Ms. McBenge so that she can check it for fingerprints. When you’ve finished that, Jason, I’d like you to find any security or traffic cameras in the area and see if they can offer us any insight as to what happened this morning. Mr. Wallace,” Peter knew that this was the federal agent and when the man in the suit raised his hand he couldn’t help but smile a bit inside, “if you wouldn’t mind accompanying myself and Dr. Bainbridge down to Autopsy I think that we can discuss the FBI’s involvement in this case as well as ascertain whatever knowledge Dr. Bainbridge has to offer at this early hour. Finally, any ballistics we recover from McClain will be sent to you Ms. McBenge for identification.”

Peter cleared his throat, “Any questions?”

[Damonique]

The second Cassandra entered the room, Jansen immediately quit glaring at the federal agent and let his seat fall into its proper place. She was tall, surprisingly young-looking for the age on her file, and apparently short and to the point when it came to things that needed to be said, and their attention was shifted to than man beside her.

He was tall, by people shorter than Jansen standards, only about a half a foot shorter than the lanky Samoan, and had a strong face. Short hair, slightest bit of 5 o' clock shadow, and a slightly dark look in his eyes that Jansen could tell were from being in combat.

The man seemed determined, quickly running over what he knew about the case. Along with the mandatory "I didn't know this man but I respect him" speech that Jansen had used to always hear from officers in the Marines whenever an ensign died. He transitioned straight from talking about the case to giving orders. Good leader.

''Alex Miyatomo, accompany Mr. Tasi to the crime scene and meet up with P.D. there. Take photos of the scene as well as look for any shell casings or stray bullets. While you are there make sure that the two of you speak with P.D. and obtain any extra information they might have about the scene.'' was all Jansen needed to hear, and quickly found the shorter blonde agent with sunglasses on.

"I'm driving." was all he said, before she could say otherwise, and led towards the door to the hallway while the others recieved their tasks.

[Lord Tully]

Jason sat patiently through the meeting and noted that he was the only one to be addressed by his first name only, ~Don't get nervous Jason, he probably just can't pronounce your last name right~ He nodded and acknowledged his orders, picking up the evidence bag with the post card,

"No questions, sir" He answered when Peter finished giving orders, Jason then stood up and walked over to Saffron while everyone else was starting to stand as well,

"So, would you like this now, or would you like some company down to your lab?" He asked her with a friendly tone and a grin.

[Stryker]

After sitting there for a few moments, Cassandra walked in being followed by someone who Shane guessed was the replacement. An older man with distinguishing features that seemed to command attention when he walks into a room. They both stopped at the head of the table and glanced at everyone, more than likely trying to get a feel for everyone's mindset before adressing them.

"Let's just cut to the chase here ladies and gentlemen. We all know why we are here. And we all know what we have to do. This group is one of the best group's that N.C.I.S has to offer and the recent loss of McClain has effected us all on one level or another. It's time for us all now to move into action and bring those to justice who are responsible for that. I know it may not be easy for some of you, but I also know that each one of you is more than capable and talented. And I know that John had complete and total faith in each one of you." she started off.

About halfway he began to tune it out and look at his watch to see just how long he had been waiting here for a lecture of this kind.

She then began to introduce their new team leader, he went by the name of Peter Edmunds. The name sounded familiar to him when she said it, he'd have to look it up later on. He then went on to give a speech which garnered a yawn from Shane before he noticed Peter look to him.

"Mr. Wallace, if you wouldn’t mind accompanying myself and Dr. Bainbridge down to Autopsy I think that we can discuss the FBI’s involvement in this case as well as ascertain whatever knowledge Dr. Bainbridge has to offer at this early hour. Finally, any ballistics..." he continued to rattle on until giving out the next order.
"Any questions?" he then asked to nobody in particular before Shane stood up and re-buttoned his jacket once more before speaking up.

"No question, just a request." he began before walking around the other side of the table, opposite of Edmunds and Cassandra. "Don't keep me waiting in autopsy, please." he told him before opening the door and walking out slowly and making his way to the autopsy room down below. As he strode past the secretary again, he gave her a smile and made a beeline for the elevator and waited for it to come to his floor. He ended up meeting a few of the others team members on his way to the elevator and kept walking, not caring that much to make small talk.

[Septimus]

“Get out of the building!”

It wasn’t long before those final words, shouted in haste and fear, were followed by the fiery explosion that claimed the building. The NCIS team barely made it through the door before the concussion of the blast blew out every window and sent shattered glass cascading down onto their shoulders and heads. The fire that rolled from those open windows threw heat all across the street, making the warm day suddenly warmer but for the NCIS team there was only one fact that stood out among them. Jake wasn’t there…


**********

-Somewhere near the Rockies

Jake Storm woke with a start as the day of that violent explosions played over in his dreams yet again. What he wouldn’t give to be able to push that day from his mind altogether, but he supposed it wasn’t easy to forget the day you die. That explosion had very nearly actually done just that, but it was the threat his enemies posed to both him and the people he cared about that made him flee the scene in secret and allow everyone to thin him dead. There had been people in the building, innocent bystanders and after the heat of the blast there was no way to identify anyone by sight. Even the dental records had been inconclusive but after calling in a few favors from his friends over at CTU it was made public that special agent Jake Storm was indeed dead. The people who had been hunting him and placing CJ and all the others in danger would stop now and they would be safe.

With a heavy sigh he sat up in his full size bed, scratching at the heavy growth of a thick dark beard that covered his face. His dog, a friendly golden retriever, lifted his head as he moved, looking to the man as if in concern. He reached down, a callused hand scratching the animal behind the ears as if to say he was fine. The blankets were thrown off, letting him slide free form the bed and stand as he searched for something to wear. His body was fit, strong as even in death he had never ceased his physical conditioning. Up here near the mountains a man could do pretty much whatever he wanted and he had a lot of terrain to jog freely. All he really had to worry about were the natural wildlife like wolves and bear but that was why he carried a handgun with him. Well… that was one of the reasons anyway.

As he gathered up his clothing Jake turned on the tv, letting it play while he stepped into the shower and enjoyed a good soak. Showers were a great way to start a day, leaving a man feeling refreshed and energized. When he stepped out his jeans were on and his hands were still vigorously working at drying his short cropped hair. It wasn’t until he heard the name McClain that his attention was finally caught and he turned his eyes to the tv with a frown. Lifting the remote he turned it up. Up on the screen was a mug shot of Special Agent John McClain, his old team leader. The man looked just as he remembered him, if a little older after the few years following his ‘death’. What the reporter was talking about though made little sense. Someone had shot McClain? The reporter could offer very little in the way of information aside from the fact that the police were still looking for a suspect and motive for the shooting.

It wasn’t until he heard the plastic of the remote creaking beneath his firm grip that Jake realized he had been clenching his fists. Suddenly he became aware of his jaw aching, the result of clenching that as well. Who the hell would shoot John? What reason could they possibly have had? Damn it… he had hoped to protect them all by leaving, be dying, but it seemed they had their own enemies to worry about.

An alert sounded on the computer, announcing the arrival of an email and drawing his attention toward the little laptop that lay upon a small table with a chair pulled up to it. He moved toward it, pressing a button to deactivate the screen saver and log into his email. There was only one there, sent from a friend at CTU.


Just heard. What’s the play?
-Chase

The choice seemed simple. With the death of John the team could use him. Though it could mean revealing his existence to the very men he had been trying to locate these past years he could not let his friend down. He couldn't just turn his back and let the killer walk when he could have made the difference. Quickly he typed back a reply, explaining that he was joining the game and that he should keep an eye out. Chances were his survival of the blast would get out and his enemies would learn of it sooner or later. He'd feel better if he had friends watching his back.

That wasn't the last message he sent though for he had someone else to get in contact. To say he had missed her would be an understatement, but he held no illusions as to how she would feel when he returned. Even still contact had to be made. He typed in CJ's address...

[nonangelic92]

Saffron nodded her head and sat down while she waited for everyone to get up before she did. "So, would you like this now, or would you like some company down to your lab?" Saffron stood up and looked behind her, " I'll take it now if you don't mind." Saffron took the evidence bag from Jason, " Thank you." She began to walk around him but turned, " Sorry. I just don't like people in my lab very much, especially new people. No offense, maybe someother time." Saffron made her way down to the lab.

Saffron passed thru the door to her lab and instantly grab her stereo remote and turned on the stereo, cranking the sounds up and playing a song from her Ipod. She put on a pair of blue gloves and gently took the postcard from the bag and put into the DNA analysis machine. She pick-up her stuffed dolphin and hugged it tightly. She began to think of McCain and she felt like she was gonna cry. She shut her eyes tightly and opened them again, "Stop it right now," she ordered herself, " You gotta be happy or someone will notice there's something wrong. Then you'll be the weird hippy chick with emotional problems." She laughed at herself and listened to her Ipod while the machine ran.

[Ryudo]

Peter watched as everyone began to dismiss themselves, he didn't mind the fact that they were leaving without orders, it showed an initiative that Peter admired. Just as he was about to formally dismiss those who had remained Agent Wallace cut him off,

"No question, just a request. Don't keep me waiting in autopsy, please."

Peter nearly laughed out loud at this remark, Wallace was a Fed through and through,

"I wouldn't dream of it Mr. Wallace." And as he said this the agent stood and left the room at his own pace, he was glad to see that somethings never changed. Once Wallace had departed Peter turned to the rest of the team,

"Well, you all know what you should be doing right now, you are all dismissed. Dr. Bainbridge if you wouldn't mind waiting outside for one minute, I will join you shortly." He watched as the Doctor stepped outside of the conference room, once the room was clear he turned to Cassandra,

"You have a good team Cassandra, it’ll be my honor to lead them." He paused for a moment, the silence in the room a tribute to the man who had fallen a few short days ago. Peter didn’t want to repeat himself, but he knew what he was going to say next was worth saying again,

“I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to fill the whole McClain left, but I assure you that I will do the job to the best of my ability.”

Cassandra watched as Peter took command of the meeting. He was not only as handsome as she had remembered him to be, but he was also just as efficient. He wasted no time in giving out the orders to his new team.

She turned to him as she stood "They are a damn fine team Peter and I know you will." Looking at the clock on the wall she noticed how much of the day had already passed. For each minute they spent here, was a moment more the killer had to make an escape.

" Duty awaits me back in my office now Peter, I wish there were more time for us to catch up, but the first few days are the most critical. I would love it if we had time to grab dinner but right now, the team needs their new leader."

Picking up her files Cassandra nodded to Peter "I'll leave you to your team now but I want a briefing at two p.m. sharp tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for coming Peter." Cassandra took his hand, holding it in hers for just a moment "Let's do this Peter, for John. And for the team."

Cassandra exited the room and made her way back to her office, the events of the day weighing heavily on her mind.

Peter nodded as she exited, he wouldn’t mind spending some time with Cassandra to catch up on what had transpired over the past few years, but that would have to wait until after the case. Right now Peter was focused purely on one thing, it was the least he could do to honor McClain.

Peter stretched a bit before he headed to outside to meet Dr. Bainbridge, the affects of the flight were beginning to sit in but he didn’t want to waste any time relaxing, there would be time enough for that later tonight. After cracking his neck Peter opened the door and walked to the doctor,

“Sorry for the wait Doctor, I am ready when you are.”

[A co-op with the incredible Mysteria]

[Lord Tully]

When Saffron snatched the evidence bag from Jason's hand and told him "Sorry. I just don't like people in my lab very much, especially new people. No offense, maybe some other time." Jason felt more then a little insulted at the dismissal. Maybe it was the presence of an arrogent Fed that was putting him off.

Nevertheless Jason kept a polite expression and moved on to his desk ~Just ignore it Jason, she'll warm up eventually. It'd be hard not to with those colors on.~ He told himself sitting down to face the computer. It took him about 5 minutes to familiarize himself with the Operations of the system and Jason began combing over any camera's or other surveillance devices in the area for any trace of a clue. After about half an hour Jason seemed to have found something "Don't tell me he was that foolish." he whispered to himself. It was footage from a traffic cam showing a lone black jeep driving away from the crime scene just after the TOD, and a possible shot of the driver's face.

"It can't be this easy." Jason said out loud in disbelief, not trusting what he was looking at. He double cheaked all the footage he could find from that area from at least an hour before the murder to until the body was found, and the jeep driver seemed to be the only person in the area at the time of the murder, everyone else who was in the area had moved on quite a while before McClain was killed. ~This person killed a veteran NCIS Agent, don't tell me they were stupid enough to run a red light.~ Not quite trusting the footage he sent a screenshot of the driver to Saffron and ran the plates of the Jeep.

[Mysteria]

After having left the meeting Cassandra Carter headed straight back for her office making only one stop along the way and that was to get coffee. It had already been a long day and there was a good bit of the day to get dealt with yet. At this point C.J. could have taken the entire pot with her because as truth would have it, she was tired and coffee was one of her few weaknesses.

Passing by her secretary C.J. said "Hold all of my calls Susan. And I mean, all of them." Shutting the door behind her C.J. sank into her chair and took a large pull from the extra large coffee she had just brought in with her before setting it on the corner of her desk and looking at the stacks of paperwork that had seemed to have arrived in the short time she had been in the conference room. One thing that she could give Susan, was the fact that she was incredibly efficient. As she reached for a stack of papers that needed her signature her eyes fell back on the picture of McClain and the group. Cassandra Carter shook her head, still in a half state of disbelief. She knew John was dead, she'd seen the body brought in and had been to the morgue to look at it to verify in her own mind that it was real.

At least with John she knew that his death was real, that there was no room for doubt. With Jake Storm it had been different though. There had never been a body. There had never been an identification made. There had only been the explosion that had taken him, leaving her world shattered. Very few people had ever gotten to her the way that Jake Storm had.

Cassandra spun her chair around, looking at the picture of Jake that she had yet to put away. It was after Jakes death that C.J. had thrown herself into her work allowing it to fill up her time as she became absorbed in her position as N.C.I.S. director. And although her circumstances with John had been much different than what hers was with Jake, John had been a good friend and he deserved the best the team had to offer and come hell or high water Cassandra would be sure that he got nothing but the best from his team, and from her.

Setting the papers down in front of her C.J. noticed the flashing envelope at the bottom of her screen indicating that she had new e-mails. Clicking on the envelope it brought several up but one caught her eye immediately. There was no way that junk mail could ever get through N.C.I.S's firewall but yet there was one in the in box that was titled only "No Subject" and even more curious to her was the fact that it didn't state whom it was from.

As C.J. clicked on it to open it up she picked up her coffee but when she read the one sentence the cup immediately fell from her hand onto the floor.

Cassie,
Meet me tonight at our spot.
-j


Cassandra Carter froze, oblivious to the fact that she had just spilled her coffee. Only one person other than her father had ever called her Cassie. Only one person had ever signed his name J, and only one person knew about their spot.

This wasn't possible. First John and now this? It had to be a cruel joke. It just wasn't possible.

It couldn't be.

[Cheshire]

Alex simply nodded at her orders, blinking as the man said that, before turning to follow him. She was silent for a moment, until seeming to come to an internal decision, looking at Jansen and retorting.

"Alright, I get it, you don't feel secure enough in your masculinity to let yourself be seen being driven around by a tiny Asian girl, fair enough."

Alex was clearly saying this in a tone of friendly jest, cracking a bit of a smirk after speaking.

"I'm gonna do the talking, though... you can growl menacingly if you'd like."

[Damonique]

"Alright, I get it, you don't feel secure enough in your masculinity to let yourself be seen being driven around by a tiny Asian girl, fair enough." The diminutive blonde agent smirked as they made their way to the elevator, apparently joking. At least she was getting more relaxed. Jansen could tell that the death of McClain had shaken her badly.

"I'm gonna do the talking, though... you can growl menacingly if you'd like." She added as the elevator came to a stop at the garage floor of the NCIS offices, and opened to reveal rows and rows of unmarked black vans.

"Just to be clear, the Asian part has nothing to do with it, or the girl part. I have trust issues with people driving me, because sometimes they take a wrong turn and our Humvee almost gets torn apart by RPG fire, but to prove a point, you can drive, just try to avoid any insurgents on your way." Jansen finally responded as they walked past row upon row of black vans, after jokingly practicing a number of menacing growls.

"Now which of these emotionless hunks of metal do you drive?"

[TheDashingRogue]

Edward fumbled with his glasses and placed them back into the container in his pocket, fiddling with his bundle for a second before picking it up and holding it against his chest in a paper-based hug. "Well I don't have any questions, I'll just head down now to prepare my lab for the autopsy and erm..." he paused and looked down at his shoes "...Mr McClain." Trailing off he offered the rest of the team a smile and hurriedly walked down the corridor, He exhaled heavily.

[Cheshire]

Alex immediately stepped over to one of them, unlocking it and getting into the driver seat. She slammed the key in and started the car up, smiling a bit.

"This one. She's nothing like my bike, that's my baby, but when ya work with it so much, you got to love the ride, even if it is just a nameless, faceless government issue."

She took a moment to assess everything, make sure everything was in place... she knew it was, but a good agent always double checked... that and... nothing felt right. When she came in to work, every day since McClain's death she felt that way. Something felt off in every room, every hall, even the vehicles... it was kind of a... high feeling, like she was going to wake up soon...

It took her a moment to realize she had been adjusting the mirror for almost 20 full seconds, and she forced a bit of a laugh, making an offhand joke that someone must have gotten into the car and messed with the mirror.

She'd been doing an alright job of keeping all of this inside so far, no point to let something slip now...

"So, how's Hawaii PD been doing lately? Haven't been one of theirs in a while. NCIS has better perks."

[Damonique]

"This one. She's nothing like my bike, that's my baby, but when ya work with it so much, you got to love the ride, even if it is just a nameless, faceless government issue." Alex muttered as she stepped into the drivers side of one of the many metallic black vans that lined the parking lot.

"Really, you ride a chopper? Surprising, we should make a few circuits around Inahauau some time." Jansen said conversationally as he stepped into the van nonchalantly, unholstering the the SIG Sauer P229 that he wore concealed against the small of his back and placing the weapon into the Glove Box to prevent it from hurting his spine as he reclined back in the dark synthetic seat.

It looked like Alex was going to start the Van, but she suddenly seemed to slip slightly, spending almost half a minute adjusting her mirror. She quickly slipped back into reality and started the van, trying to hastily change the topic and asking some question about the PD.

"You can take the shades off now." The tall Samoan agent stated bluntly, disregarding her question. Not only was trying to see through shades and a tinted windshield and still trying to drive insane, there was no reason for her trying to keep everything hidden.

"As long as it won't impede your work on the case, you need to just let it go, let it out, and when we get to the scene you can put the shades back on and get to work, focused. Trying to act like you can handle everything can ruin you mentally, I've seen it happen." He finished, his head cocked to the side and his eyes holding that look that told you he was bringing up some bad memories of his own.

[Cheshire]

Alex paused for a moment before taking off the shades and starting up the vehicle. She looked straight ahead as she maneuvered out of the garage and into the open street. She drove in relative silence for a moment before glancing at Jansen.

"You should stay out of my head. What I keep bottled up, I keep bottled up for a reason. I don't need someone to spill my guts too, a don't need a shoulder to cry on and I damn well don't need a shrink."

She didn't seem especially angry saying this, merely a tad frustrated. Perhaps not at Jansen, but at the situation at a whole. She managed to maintain something of a calm... though her turns did become somewhat sharper... After a small pause she spoke again.

"I only need one thing, one damn thing..." she said, matter-of-factly, before taking a breath, "I need to find the son-of-a-bitch who did this, and I need to make sure that he either dies in prison or when he resists arrest."

After another small pause, she added, "Oh, don't worry... I'll follow procedure, I'll do my job... but if he gives me any goddamn excuse, you better believe I'm pulling that trigger."

[Damonique]

As she turned the ignition, Alex removed the shades and set them on the dashboard lightly, before peeling out of the garage into the street. She drove quietly for several minutes until they reached a relatively empty stretch of road, and allowed one eye to reach over to look at Jansen.

"You should stay out of my head. What I keep bottled up, I keep bottled up for a reason. I don't need someone to spill my guts too, a don't need a shoulder to cry on and I damn well don't need a shrink." She muttered bitterly, her voice holding a simmering rage that almost scared even the war-torn Samoan marine.


"I only need one thing, one damn thing..." she said, matter-of-factly, before taking a breath, "I need to find the son-of-a-bitch who did this, and I need to make sure that he either dies in prison or when he resists arrest." She paused again to let her meaning seek in, and Jansen just nodded. It was understandable.

"Oh, don't worry... I'll follow procedure, I'll do my job... but if he gives me any goddamn excuse, you better believe I'm pulling that trigger." She ended, and Jansen knew that this man was going to die one way or the other, the second they caught him.

Jansen turned his Blue-white pupils to the road in front of them without saying a word, only nodding once more to indicate that he understood the implications of what she was saying. He wouldn't try to stop her, in the end.

The van finally turned the corner and came withing view of the crime scene. The entire park was blocked off with CRIME SCENE tape, at least a half dozen Oahu Police Officers scanning every inch of the ground within firing range of the body.

"So, you ready to find the son of a bitch?" The tall Samoan inquired tentatively as he removed his sidearm from the glove box and checked the magazine and safety just out of habit before slipping it back into the holster at the base of his spine, then doing the same with the .45 Holstered on his torso.

[Stryker]

As Shane continued waiting for Peter and Bainbridge to show, he ended up getting annoyed at the fact that his request was not honored. The request being, of course to not keep him waiting which is exactly what was being done. After a while, he grew frustrated and called his superior's to see if some yes-man could be sent in his place so he could get on with some real work.

"Sir, why was I the one instructed to come over here?" he asked the person on the other end of the line.

"But sir, I should be down at the scene instead of letting to hotheaded NCIS agents get there first!..... No, sir. I'm not..... But this is just a waste of time though, nothing's getting solved with me waiting for their new 'fearless' leader to take over for their last 'fearless' leader..." he commented to which the voice on the other end of the line became harsh at his mockery of McClain's status as a leader.

He ended up standing with the phone pulled about an inch from his head and rolling his eyes while he listened to all the accomplishments and how he should feel priviledged to be working in this situation considering who this is for. He didn't rightfully care about who died, what he meant to the people here or whoever else for that matter. He had a job to do and it wasn't getting done with him standing around and waiting for two people that he probably would outrank if they were within the FBI.

"So, in short. I'm stuck here waiting on two people I don't know or care about just so I can leave with, more-than-likely, no new information or leads?" he asked before recieving an answer he didn't rightfully care for and sighing. "Yes sir..." he answered before slamming his phone shut.

"This is complete bullshit..." he muttered under his breath as he shoved his phone back into it's pocket in the breast of his jacket. "I wasn't put on this damn case just to wait on an incompetent coroner and some heralded, slow as hell, replacement for their heralded dead leader..."

[Cheshire]

Checking her gear, she didn't even bother answering, she simply got out of the vehicle, and walked over to the nearest officer, flashing her badge and speaking in a demanding, though forcibly calm voice, "NCIS, you find anything?"

"Ma'am, we've got people walking through here all the time, most of our effort has been keeping people out... you'd be surprised how many people don't see a problem in just cutting through the tape on the way to work or... just to take a look at the stiff..."
"That 'stiff' was a decorated member of NCIS, so show a little respect."
"Uh... sorry, ma'am... no disrespect meant."
"Right, just point me to where... the victim... was found."

The officer gestured over to a nearby bench, and Alex turned to Jansen, "Canvass the area for witnesses, I'm going to search the grounds."

With that she moved over to the bench that the officer had gestured at, and paused, staring at the bench for a moment... she knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help wonder... imagining what his final moments where like... what had happened... she clenched her fist for a moment, but reminded herself that she needed to remain cool. He wasn't going to avenge himself.

She threw on a pair of gloves and began scouring the area, thoroughly looking around every inch of the grounds, silently. If he so much as dropped a bead of sweat, she was going to find it, if she had to dig up the whole area with a friggan' shovel.

[Septimus]

"I'll be at the hotel soon." Jake announced through the speaker of his cell phone just as he opened the door to the cab and climbed out. He already had the man's fare ready for him and he handed it through the open window. "I had to make a little pit stop first."

The voice on the other end was a lighter tone than his, something nearer to a soft tenor where his was a deeper baritone. It had that snide, cocky attitude within it that told a person the owner had that mindset that he was smarter than pretty much anyone else. Didn't help his over sized ego that the man was usually right. "I thought we talked about this Jake? If you're trying to stay invisible going there isn't all that wise."

"I haven't seen her in three years, Chase. Relax.”

“I’m just trying to help you stay alive. You know, so you don’t have a tearful reunion with your buddy McClain on the other side.”

Jake couldn’t help but smile as he strode down the lane between two long storage structures within which a number of steel garage doors were set to conceal storage sheds. His little key said number seven so he didn’t have far too walk. It was just far enough in to have some privacy and yet close enough to the front security to dissuade potential break ins. This was the first stop he made since coming to lovely Hawaii and in truth it was one he had known he would make before he even boarded the plane.

“That’s why you’re hear. To help keep me alive.”

Chase gave a sigh on the other end of the phone. “Yeah but I figured since it’s, you know, YOUR life you might want to help me a bit.”

“If they’re really still keeping an eye out for me it isn’t going to matter what I’m driving.”

The conversation didn’t last too long after that for he had reached the shed and quickly said his goodbyes. The key slid easily into the lock and the metallic little click told him it was open. After not moving for three years the hinges and rollers certainly didn’t like having to shift and they gave a slight squeal of protest as he yanked the door upward. Evening sunlight streamed inside the door, painting over the front of a vehicle that yet remained concealed beneath a canvas tarp. Jake walked slowly into the room, dropping his pack on the floor. The rest of his bags were going to be delivered to the hotel, something Chase would be handling. He had with him only his handgun and a change of clothes for the… occasion tonight. He paused a moment, looking at the length of the vehicle he had been forced o leave behind in his escape. The tarp hid everything from view but he didn’t need to remove it to know what he’d find. Black gloss paint, leather seats, a classic car that had been modified with modern day appeal.

His hand extended, gripped the tarp near the rear of the car and with one solid motion he yanked it free. The Dodge Challenger (http://www.dodgechallengersite.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/16-1971-Dodge-Challenger-RT-Muscle-Car-By-Modern-Muscle-Side-Angle-1024x768.jpg) was a beautiful car. Made in the year 1971 it was true muscle and in Jake’s opinion would always looked better then the new model that had just recently come out. Though he had to admit that one looked rather hot as well. He slid his hand over the smooth finish of the vehicle, whistling to himself in idle appreciation as he looked inside to the newer odometer and dials plus the satellite radio in the dash that he had gotten installed before leaving. He would have to renew his subscription. When they had come out with the new engine for their trucks and cars, the 5.7L Hemi, he had been sure to acquire one to put in this. On its own it’d had nearly four hundred horsepower but add to it a cold air intake and a rather expensive turbo kit and suddenly its cranked up to over five hundred with enough torque to bring the front end up if the clutch was dropped just right.

He opened the door, sliding into the driver’s seat where he belonged. It felt good getting back into his car. So many memories were had here. He and McClain going out for drinks, chasing down several suspects, rolling it over by the pier, taking Cassie out on their first date… He slid the key into the ignition and much to his delight it started up easily despite the time spent idle these past years. There were few things more pleasing then the sound of a fine tuned engine rumbling to life and the challenger certainly did rumble. He touched the accelerator, just to test, and that rumble became the beginning of a roar as the engine responded and the RPM’s began to climb. Despite their time apart she started up just fine as if she were happy to see him. He wondered idly if he could get Cassie’s engines going still too… That is, if he could avoid being shot, stabbed, punched, or kicked…


**********

(Later that night)

Jake strode quietly toward the meeting place he had told Cassie to come. It was on the beach and the sound of the waves washing up on shore were prominent even as he moved over the sand. That change of clothes was put to use now, dressing him up a bit better with dark blue jeans and a matching button up shirt with a black blazer to go over top. Some would find the outfit a little stifling giving the Hawaiian heat but Jake didn’t mind. The night was cool near the water anyway. He’d brought his gun of course. Concealed within a shoulder holster beneath that black blazer. He had no intention of using it on the person he had come to meet, but you never knew when danger might strike.

The spot wasn’t far from her house and from this vantage point he could actually see it in the distance. The lights were on, but did that mean she was home? He wasn’t sure but at the moment he was more concerned about other things. What had happened in her life since he left? Had she found someone new? He couldn’t blame her if she had. A persons gotta live and if he was dead well… It’s a natural thing and he would just have to swallow jealousy as his just desserts for leaving. Besides, there was a good chance he might actually wind up dead for the deception he had committed. CJ was a hard woman. She wouldn’t take kindly to the situation even if he had logical explanation as to why it had been done. He breathed out a sigh. He just needed to relax… this meeting was going to go fine.

Right… and pigs fly.

[Stryker]

After another 20 minutes slide by with no appearance by Peter, Shane's finally had enough of the waiting game and decides to give a call to Cassandra and inform her of his actions.

After retrieving his phone from his right side pants pocket, he quickly dialed the number that was supposed to be a direct connect with her phone. At the moment, he didn't feel like having to explain to some lowly secretary that she had no business keeping him from talking to the director. What ended up happening pissed him off a bit more than having to go through her receptionist.

"Voicemail... Great, figures for NCIS..." he muttered under his breath before giving off a sarcastic chuckle. "At a time like this, she decides to go missing in action, no wonder I chose FBI over this bunch." he continued before going quiet and waiting for the beep.

"TO LEAVE A VOICEMAIL MESSAGE, PLEASE WAIT FOR THE TONE"

"Oh for god's sake..."

"BEEP"

"First off, I have no clue what could be so important that you have your personal phone set to voicemail. But whatever it is, it had better be worth it. Secondly, I'm not going to sit here and wait half of the day for your new soldier boy to show up on his own time." he calmly ranted into the phone as he began to make his way out of the building and to his car.

"When your new fearless leader decides he wants to show up and actually make progress on the mission instead of making dramatic and pointless speaches about the former leader who was too careless to pay attention to his surroundings when out for a pleasure stroll or whatever the hell he was out there for." he continued before taking a deep breath and calming himself as he slowly climbed into his car and started the ignition. As the engine roared to life, he switched hands with the phone and said...

"When you all get serious about finding the killer, then you call me..." he spoke before hanging up and driving off to the scene of the crime.

[Mysteria]

Cassandra Carter had mounds of paperwork laying in front of her that needed dealt with and being the professional that she was she managed to push through it, albeit even if she did stop frequently, pen tapping against the desk in a self conscientious rhythm to some old song that still haunted her mind allowing her thoughts to drift away to another time and place. C.J. scanned the paper she now had in front of her. Paperwork. It was the one thing about her job that she still didn't like.

She missed the action, the thrill of the chase but even more than those things she liked being able to bring victims and their families to peace. And no one deserved it more than McClain did. Cassie sighed, signing the paper in her hand and laying it to the side to pick up another while ignoring the blinking light on her phone that indicated that yet another voice mail had just come in. At that moment though, any voice mails that were being left for her were secondary to her and even if it was something extremely important regarding McClains case anyone needing to get hold of her would know exactly how to do it. Just because her phone was on voice mail, didn't mean she couldn't be gotten in touch with.

Paper after paper passed in front of her eyes over the next few hours as she signed her name over and over again making sure to cross the t's and dot the i's. Cassie stopped only once to pull up again the email from "J". If it wasn't Jake then someone was playing a damn cruel joke on her and if it was Jake...well she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Cassandra Carter could not allow that possibility to affect her work or cloud her judgment. For the present moment she needed to remain focused. Jake, or whoever it was would be dealt with later. For now she just needed to get the day over with. Left uninterrupted C.J. flew through the remaining stack of paper to find that it was now five o'clock. Stopping what she was doing she began listening to the messages in her voice mail, none of which were that important that she needed to make return calls immediately and some of which after having heard them they would be lucky if she bothered to return the calls at all. One thing C.J. did not need now was to listen to any shit, from any one and that included the police, or some snot nosed F.B.I agent who needed to learn a little bit of patience. Nothing had ever been solved by jumping the gun or rushing things, and she would not see John McClains name muddled with half assed, shoddy, let's hurry up and get this thing done over zealous F.B.I agent by the name of Shane Wallace.

Stepping out of her office she laid the stack of newly signed papers on Susan's desk and hurriedly left the building making the short drive home and parking the in mint condition '67 Camaro that she favored outside of her beach front property.


~~~~~~~~~

Later that night
~~~~~~~~~


After the long day at work C.J. had showered allowing the steaming hot water to stream over her tanned skin and wash away the turmoil of the day. First McClain, and now this thing with "Jake". If she had been any less of a stronger woman C.J. may have fallen to pieces but as it was, she was not a weak woman and she had taken it all well considering the circumstances. When Jake had died she had fallen slightly but had also quickly picked herself back up. She was no stranger to death. She had lost comrades while being a Black Hawk pilot. She had lost comrades as an N.C.I.S. agent. And the truth of it was that Jake and McClain were probably not the only agents that they would lose over the course of time. And the even worse truth was that it would never get easier.

With a heavy sigh C.J. dressed very casually for her walk on the beach to meet the supposed Jake. Slipping on a pair of jeans and a teal tank top with a pair of deck shoes she completed her wardrobe with a Colt Pocket Model Pistol (http://www.a-human-right.com/vestpocket/s_vestpocket-grasp.jpg) tucked into the band of her jeans along the side where it could be easily reached if need be. C.J. had seen no reason to alert Peter or the others of her so called meeting nor did she see any reason of needing to carry the Glock with her that she normally would be sporting. The colt would be enough and if it wasn't, C.J. was. She never underestimated her abilities when it came to self defense. She hadn't earned the nickname Iron Maiden for just any reason. She knew how to take men twice her size down, and she'd done it often.

C.J. stepped onto her deck and scanned the area of the beach that lay out in front of her seeing only a few of the normal people that would hang out there at this time of night. Nothing looked too out of place. She walked slowly down the beach, thinking to herself out loud quietly which was highly uncommon for the seasoned N.C.I.S female. What if Jake really were alive? And if so why would he have done this to her? What purpose could he have gained in disappearing just to come back now?

As C.J. rounded that last slip of bend towards the little cove that had been their spot C.J. could make out in the moonlight the figure of a man standing not too far in the distance. Although he appeared to be about the same size as she remembered Jake to be she couldn't be certain until she got closer.

Making her final approach the outline of a man that could well be Jake made itself clearer to her. Perhaps he had just a slightly different look than the man she remembered but could it really be him? The answer to her question came quickly as she heard the all too familiar soft voice that had always been reserved just for her speak the words she had not heard for over three years. "Hey Cassie."

Cassandra J. Carter froze as she stood there eying the man who had seemingly arisen from the dead. A storm of emotions flashed behind those brilliant emerald orbs. If Jake Storm thought for one single solitary moment that he was going to get away with disappearing, making her believe that he was dead and that he was just going to waltz back in as though nothing had happened he was wrong. Dead wrong. And in that next moment C.J. would prove to him just exactly how wrong he was as within seconds having used one of her patented C.J, Iron Maiden, I'm going to kick your ass movements on him left him to find himself thrown to the sand with C.J. sitting on top of him glaring down at him.

With fists pounding against his chest C.J. screamed at him as he tried to stop the assault upon his person. "Who in the hell do you think you are Jake Storm?" His attempts to stop her where of no use. C.J. was less than okay with this situation. Even as he struggled against her she continued the onslaught "Why Jake? Why would you do this? Why would you do this to me?" C.J.s balled fists beat down on him as she sat on top of him trembling with each emotion that was rushing through her body. Finally she slowed her hands down as she leaned down pressing her tear stained face into his shoulder "How could you do this Jake?" Her tears fell onto his shoulder, soaking it as she whispered "How could you do this to us?"

[nonangelic92]

Saffron sat up and went to check on the finger print analysis. The machine was done and Saffron looked at the result, " Good now we have a person. But I wonder if he killed McCain." Saffron lied the results on her desk and went to go shut the machine down. She heard a familiar pinging in the room and went to check her email. She found a pick of a man driving a jeep. She ran it through the identifier and looked at the clock. She mentally screamed out in joy, "Its time to go home for me anyways." She laugehd and grabbed her bag and locked up the lab, leaving the identifier running.

Saffron left the elevator and made her way to her small apartment a few blocks away from the building. She stopped by the local gift store and bought a little something for the new leader. She hoped he liked it. She entered her aprtment and set to cooking something spicy.

[Damonique]

Without a word, Alex stepped out of the van and set to work at what was probably Jansens job, questioning the police officers, who would get a pretty bad report for failing to preserve the crime scene once this was all over. After conversing with the officer for a second, she told him to case witnesses and began casing the area.

Soon after, one of the officers approached him, whistling a merry tune out of place at such a morbid scene. Jansen shot him a glare and the man immediately returned to attention.

"Witnesses?" The tall Samoan agent inquired, and the man immediately began to sift through his papers until he found the filings from just after the scene had been discovered.

"Yes, sir, thought none in the immediate vicinity most of the people we found around the scene, including the one who had called it in, had heard the shots and shown up to see what was going on. Noone actually saw the crime occur, Sir." The Officer explained, barely hesitating to take a breathe.

Examining the bench where the former team leader had met his end, the towering Samoan agent saw little signs that anyone had died there besides the copper tone of blood pooled under the bench and flecked across the wood. As little of the blood as possible had been disturbed.

"Good work, officer. You already have the blood pooling and splatter pattern photographed, right?" The tall man inquired to the still slightly-terrified young officer. The man nodded and muttered something about "Knowing how to do his job." In most cases, Jansen probably would have verbally beat the man into submission for that, but he didn't have the time when there were more important things to be done.

Flicking a sharpened, leaf-bladed combat knife (http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/b/0/0/77/0/AAAAC0S6JdgAAAAAAHcAhA.jpg) from one of his jackets many pockets, Jansen began digging into the earth under a dimple in the blood splatter where the ground had been parted slightly by an impact, the wide blade easily digging into the part in the earth and carefully scraping minuscule amounts of dirt from the ripple in the ground until he found the bullet, buried in about three inches of dirt.

Carefully picking up the round in a gloved hand, Jansen examined the bullet. Both sides of the lead core had expanded outward slightly at the edges, meaning the round had initially expanded entering McClain's clothing, tumbled inside of the wound channel, then expanded again while exiting the body.

Seeing little more of interest at the scene, Jansen bagged the round in an evidence sleeve and walked over to Alex, a short ways away. Waving to get her attention, Jansen reported.

"No witnesses of the actual crime, a few people heard the shots but none of them knew anything. Exact time of the shooting still in debate, so I suppose we'll have to work with Bainbridge TOD, and hope that McClain's death was...quick. More importantly, I did find this." He took a breathe and tossed the plastic evidence holding the bullet the short distance to the smaller agent.

"Probably the through-and-through gunshot wound Bainbridge had mentioned in the report. It was dug a few inches under the blood splatter where it had exited. With that kind of velocity, its probably at least a .308 round from less than a fifth of a mile, or a hot-loaded .338 Lapua Mag from a half a mile or so, at least, that would be my guess." Jansen finished.

[Ryudo]

Peter walked briskly toward the elevator, he could have sworn he told Dr. Bainbridge to wait for him but it didn’t matter all that much. With the doctors absence Peter had a few extra moments of silence to think, he looked at his watch and saw that it was still set to Miami time. As he pulled the pin and began turning back time he could help but reflect on his old home, Peter nearly laughed out loud at the symbolism of his actions as he thought about his past. The loud ring of the approaching elevator prevented Peter from having any deep reflection, he imagined that the meaningful retrospective thought would have to wait till after work.

When Peter reached autopsy he noted the lack of anything remotely federal, which made him laugh, apparently Shane had become a bit impatient and decided to leave before he could meet with Peter, Peter didn’t have anything against Shane or the FBI, but he was beginning to sense that Shane didn’t feel the same way about NCIS.

Stepping inside Dr. Bainbridge’s office Peter immediately found the aforementioned doctor hard at work on a body that lay in the center of the spacious room. As Peter approached he noticed that it was the body of the former team leader, John McClain. Peter let the silence of the room wash over him for a moment before he spoke,

“So, Dr. Bainbridge, what can you tell me about Mr. McClain’s death?”

[Cheshire]

Alex listened to Jansen fill her in and nodded, catching the evidence bag as it came her way. She looked into it for a moment, trying not to let her sentiments show, but she couldn't help but take a moment to just stare at it. It was a bullet. Nothing they weren't expecting... but still... this was the bullet that killed him. The bullet that killed her mentor.

She let herself dwell for only a moment before nodding, and turning to Jansen, mentally swearing once more that she would make the man who did this pay.

"Alright, could you tell where the shot came from?" she asked flatly.

[Damonique]

Alex studied the evidence for a few seconds. Beyond furrowing her eyebrows slightly, she showed little sign of emotion. Jansen hadn't known Agent McClain well enough to be able to understand how much he meant to his team. He supposed it had to do with the small group of people working together.

In the police, if an Officer died, then you mourned him, attended his funeral if your shifts allowed, but you never really KNEW any of them. If Jansen was to die today, the same would be done for him, some of the younger officers would likely be glad to lose their hard-ass assistant Armorer who always chided them on the condition of their service handguns, or the senior-investigator who always went drill-sergeant over the littlest mistake made at a crime scene.

His position at the Oahu PD always prevented him from actually making any friends in the department. Perhaps here at NCIS, where they were all more or less equals under C.J. and Edmund, that could change. Suddenly, Alex's voice broke the silence.

"Alright, could you tell where the shot came from?" She inquired in a stone-cold voice.

"No, but I can tell that it must have hit him in the front torso, since the only way this bullet could go downwards would be if it caught on clothing as it expanded and emptied the last of its force into the ground after he fell." Jansen replied, and gave a long sigh.

"Since he was shot twice, this would have to be the second round fired. Look over what direction his body was lying, and you have a 30 Degree window of possible firing angles, both from buildings or the ground, with just this information. Hopefully Bainbridge will have something to help us out here from his autopsy." The tall Agent finished, and headed for the van.

"Theres not much more we can figure out here. The shooter apparently took his casings with him when he left the scene, and this grounds too trampled to mind any particularly useful footprints."

[Stryker]

As the sun began to slowly set, a black car pulled up to the crime scene and idled. Inside was Shane who was looking around at all the agents, both FBI and otherwise as well as two NCIS agents he recognized from earlier in the "meeting" earlier. Since no names were spoken, he found it easier just to shrug their identities off as he finally turned the car off and opened the door.

Upon exiting his car he was greeted by a field agent who quickly caught him up on what was discovered at the scene and a bit of pure speculation on their part to which Shane nodded and smirked lightly before making his way over to the scene himself, steering clear of the NCIS agents who were already there. "No need to be bothered with their half-assed investigation..." he thought to himself before walking over to another FBI agent and requesting to see the notepad he was holding which read off a list of findings and theories. Before reading too far, he drew lines through all the theories.

"S-sir?" the confused agent started.

"Theories are how mistakes start..." he replied bluntly before handing the pad back to him and looking around. "Speaking of mistakes, why am I not staring at a bullet yet?"

"Um... we... we couldn't find it."

"Great, just absolutely great." Shane responded before stopping and taking a glance towards the NCIS agents and narrowed his eyes as he noticed that they seemed to be discussing something. "I'll bet my badge that they found the damned bullet..." he thought to himself before beginning to slowly walk towards the woman who still continued to wear her shades over her eyes.

As he stopped next to her and folded his arms, surveying the scene. He turned to her, "I'm guessing you two found the bullet that did your former leader in?" he coldly inquired.

[Damonique]

(Dude, I thought you were going to autopsy?)


As Alex continued to examine the bullet, as if she could see the coldhearted bastard who did this just by staring at it hard enough, a black car sidled up to the scene. From the vehicle stepped the sour-looking FBI Agent from earlier, who walked around the scene for a minute before approaching himself and Alex.

"I'm guessing you two found the bullet that did your former leader in?" The man asked arrogantly, extending a hand as if they were just going to hand it to him.

"Hmph, sorry, but I still haven't been given any actual confirmation that you have the credentials to receive classified information and evidence. I would love to let you see the round, but if you had it and something happened, I would be held liable."

In reality, Agent Tasi's philosophy was "Fuck the red tape and bureaucracy", so the real translation of that sentence was "I don't like you, I don't like the people you work for, and I'm going to make this investigation a pain in the ass for you because of it."

Jansen shot the FBI agent a glare, and continued walking with Alex towards the van, making a navy hand sign that meant "Ignore Him".

[Stryker]

"Hmph, sorry, but I still haven't been given any actual confirmation that you have the credentials to receive classified information and evidence. I would love to let you see the round, but if you had it and something happened, I would be held liable." the large samoan told him before beginning to walk away with the other one which recieved a light smirk from Shane.

"I like how you think you can pull rank just because you think you intimidate me..." he called after him, "But just to let you know, I could single-handedly have you and your 'NCIS' branch tied up in so much red tape that by the time your fearless and lifeless leader gets buried, you'd still be trying to find the motive... Now, the bullet?" he chided before folding his arms once more over his chest.

He'd seen this type before, it failed to keep him from chuckling though. The thought that a lowly officer could intimidate someone who outranked him on so many fields just because he stood taller than him physically. The more he learned about this branch of NCIS the more he wondered how they weren't shut down...

"... If you would?" he asked as he once again reached out with his palm up, awaiting the bag with the bullet

[Cheshire]

Alex glanced up, speaking flatly and completely seriously, "If you use the phrase 'did your former leader in' again, I feel it's only fair to warn you that I may accidentally discharge my weapon into your groin."

Alex held the evidence bag in front of her face a bit, looking at the bullet before glancing over to the other man again. After a moment she laughed, smiling, "Here's your bullet, try not to lose it. If our new boss is anything like his predecessor, the things he'd do to you for losing that would make Kill Bill look like a chick flick."

She then glanced back to Jansen and got the distinct feeling that the both of them would absolutely love to hurt this guy, but Alex just shrugged and laughed. She'd run into FBI agents before. They generally ranged from jerks to complete assholes, as far as she was concerned, he was just an over-achiever.

Taking a step towards him however, and handing him the bullet, she glared him dead in the eyes, with a look that showed that she was willing to shoot him. Before she stepped back, he could almost hear a faint mutter that sounded something like, "I know how to hide a body."

Turning back to Jansen she smiled again, "Hey, what do you think about grabbing a burger on the way back? I didn't eat breakfast, so I'm starving."

[Damonique]

Jansen chuckled as Alex told off that FBI jackass. He had been wondering at what point she would let out her scathing opinion and was glad Wallace had presented a target for that anger besides himself. As they walked towards the van, she almost cracked a smile and appeared slightly cheerier.

"The nerve of that bastard, its as if he doesn't even realize I could snap his spine in half "on accident" and actually be believed. I've justified roughing up plenty of the nastier perps I've run into over the years with that one. He resisted, I employed my full strength in order to subdue him, and "accidentally" fractured his arm in three places." Jansen chuckled as they approached the vehicle, only half joking.

As the two agents came upon the Van Alex turned to him, smiling. She actually had a nice smile when she was in a good mood, though something told Jansen he wouldn't see a whole lot of that expression.

"Hey, what do you think about grabbing a burger on the way back? I didn't eat breakfast, so I'm starving." She inquired as she pressed the unlock on the keys for the Van. The tall Samoan agent smiled back and shrugged.

"Sure. I'm always hungry, literally, my doctor prescribes a 7,000 calorie diet for my level of physical activity. Doesn't help that I have to keep the exercise up for the physical therapy." He chuckled, and slid into the passengers seat, remembering to unholster the P229 from his small of back holster and set it on the dash.

[Stryker]

After his last comment, Shane could tell that he had gotten under the female agent's skin as her glare turned to him and she took a few steps towards him.

"Here it comes..." he annoyingly thought to himself as she approached.

"If you use the phrase 'did your former leader in' again, I feel it's only fair to warn you that I may accidentally discharge my weapon into your groin." she told him as she stared deeply into his eyes. He had been on the bad side of a few bad-tempered officers before, but he could tell from her eyes that she wasn't one of them, just someone who was willing to do whatever it took to avenge her fallen friend and protect his honor.

Before he could respond, however. She held up an evidence bag with the bullet in question in it and handed it to him with more spiteful comments to go along with them as well, "Here's your bullet, try not to lose it. If our new boss is anything like his predecessor, the things he'd do to you for losing that would make Kill Bill look like a chick flick." she told him before turning her back on him. Before she could go too far, he heard her mutter something under her breath that he couldn't quite make out but got the gist of it that it wasn't good.

After seeing them take their triumphant walk, Shane smirked to himself before tossing the bag to another agent standing behind him.

"Well... Now that the amateur, emotional hour is over let's get work done and actually try to find clues as to who killed 'fearless leader'..." he said aloud, not really caring if they heard... Or maybe hoping that they had indeed heard.

[nonangelic92]

Saffron scurried down to the lab. She was late and she hated to be late. She hoped noone noticed, especially the new boss-man. She laid her bag upon her desk and ran over to the DNA anaylsis machine. She looked at the sheet that gave her all the details and smiled. Good now I have something to show, she thought. She glided over to the facial anaylsis machine but to no avail, no results yet. She took the elevator upstairs and walked into the team's desk area. "Great, I have good evidence and noone to tell it to." She spoke aloud. She brought up the information she needed and sat in one of the chairs, reviewing its contents, waiting for someone important to show up.

[Septimus]

Considering the nature of their separation Jake was not at all surprised when he suddenly found himself flat on his back in the sand. Cassie was a tough girl capable of handling herself in a combat situation. She displayed that skill with effortless ease as he quickly took advantage of his temporary defenselessness and began pounding at his strong chest with a mixture of anger, sadness, and maybe even desperation to touch him. For his part he did his very best to avoid getting slapped in the face or perhaps receiving a black eye if one of her hammer blows strayed a bit away from his chest. Somehow she managed to avoid having her hands caught and held within his powerful grip for quite some time as she shouted her many questions, each of them coming right after the other too fast to properly answer in time. Finally she began to slow, not because she was tired so much as her emotions were getting the better of her. Even as she spoke Jake could hear the anger ebbing away, replaced by sorrow and a healthy portion of confusion. It broke his heart to see her so beaten and despaired. Without thought as to whether or not she would allow it his arms surrounded her, drew her down against him.

“I had to disappear.” He offered weakly, his voice cracking slightly as the weight of his own emotions inevitably pressed down. Jake was not an emotional man. He wasn’t the sort to cry during sad movies or at the funerals of lost friends. Suffice it to say he was a lock box when it came to showing such signs of what he had always been told was weakness. Being in the military helped with that, of course. When you took lives and watched others be taken eventually you become a little desensitized and, if you wanted to stay sane, quickly acquired the ability to shut your emotions down. For the first time in his life he couldn’t do so here and those bright green eyes were wet with unshed tears, evidence of the pain and regret that so painfully tore through him.

“You weren’t safe with me around… It was the only way I could protect you.”

It was a lame answer and he knew it, one she would doubtfully reject but it was really all he had. The people that had wanted him death were heavy hitters. They didn’t mess around and being on the team had very nearly claimed many of their lives. The day that building exploded the team had barely managed to get out in time. They had lured him like a moth to the flame and by the time he learned what was really going on it was too late for his own safe escape. He had been forced to create his own exit, which had been a second story window on the opposite side of the building the team had exited on. That was how he had escaped unseen. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the damaged building. It had been days before he could get his ribs looked at and learned three were broken.

“Protect me Jake? Do you really think I needed protection?” The indignant tone in Cassandra’s voice drew him from the memory of that day. She was a proud woman, one who believed she could take care of herself. Talking about protecting her usually annoyed her before it pleased. She must not have hated the answer too much though for she suddenly buried her face within his neck, laying her head upon his shoulder. He felt her breath upon his skin, teasing the senses. “What I really needed was you Jake. You damn it.”

Jake took in a breath, his chest rising slowly beneath her before he finally voiced what had been in his mind these past years. “I never stopped needing you. I’m sorry Cassie… I know that doesn’t excuse me, but I am. I felt it was necessary… but there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t regret leaving NCIS. Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“No Jake.” Cassie replied as she rolled off of him and sat up. She drew her knees up close to her chest, wrapping her slender arms around them as if hugging herself. He could tell she was trying to make sense of it all, her emotions torn between bitter anger and soothing relief. “It doesn’t excuse you but…”

She trailed off and Jake couldn’t help hanging off her every word. He shifted without thought, pushing himself up onto his hands so that he was also in a seated position. There had been a slight tremor in her voice, a sound he doubted anyone at NCIS had had the fortune to hear. “But… Damn it Jake I have missed you.”

She looked his way, her eyes meeting his and maybe he was imagining it but through the haze of all those emotions he thought he saw the spark of… desire? No it wasn’t possible, not after the pain he had brought her… but he knew much about CJ Carter that no one among the team knew. He had seen her stripped of the armor she wore on the job, knew her as a woman. When you have a relationship with someone you pick up on all the details about them. Like the look the certain glint in their eye when desire is beginning to take hold. Cassie was a hard woman to figure out at times but that look… that was a look he could have never forgotten. That look was drawing him… beckoning him and, for all his skills, Jake was powerless against it.

“You’ll get more details later…” the man offered softly as he shifted, rolling onto his hands and knees in the sand. His deep, resonant voice sounded distracted and as well he was, his green gaze locked with hers as if some magnetic charge quite simply held them both. He inched closer, slow and steady though the very thought of what he was about to attempt, and of the possible ramifications, had his heart hammering so powerfully within his chest it was a wonder she could not hear. He moved closer and she did not pull away, did not lash out. Not much longer now… their lips were but inches apart and she could not miss the breathless sound of his accelerated breathing. “This time… I’m not going anywhere.”

He went for it then, before she could respond, pressing forward with an urgent need to feel her lips upon his own. He had dreamed of them every night since he left, dreamed of her and every little thing he had wanted to do with her. If she hated him from this day on… at least he would have this one last kiss.

[Mysteria]

C.J. sat in the sand not only stunned but dazed, angry, and relieved. It seemed like so much to take in all at once. First McClain, now this? C.J. sat there looking at Jake. It was really Jake. It was the man she had known, the man she had loved, had made love to countless times, countless nights but yet it all seemed so surreal to her.

Was she dreaming, was this some sick joke being played on her? She studied his face. It looked like Jake. It sounded like Jake. There was a part of her that refused to believe it and a part of her that wanted it to be true. When his gaze caught hers though, all doubt was removed from her mind. This WAS Jake. Only Jake had ever been able to look into her eyes like that, only Jake had ever been able to get her to take down the walls that she had built so high.

And now, here he was right in front of her so close she could smell his scent. A soft smile graced her fair features. God how she had missed his scent, how she had missed his touch...how she had missed him. She still didn't know if she wanted to keep beating on him, make him understand what he had done to her or if she wanted to give in to the incredible urge she had to feel his arms around her again and his lips pressed to hers.

“You’ll get more details later…” He was so close now and Cassandra could feel her defences weakening. “This time… I’m not going anywhere.”

God, how she wanted to believe him but he had just left her, abandoned her and allowed her to think he was dead. For a second those emerald orbs of hers flashed with anger but within seconds she found herself wanting to be in his arms. "Jake, I want to believe you, I want to..." Her voice trailed off as she felt the lump forming in her throat. Before she had time to compose herself and steady her voice it happened. Jake leaned up and his lips met hers in a kiss that defined exactly how much he had missed her and her him. It was a kiss so sweet that Cassandra could barely stand to break it even as it stole her breath away. Jakes arms slipped around Cassie, pulling her close. C.J. melted into his arms, returning that kiss with a passion of a woman who had been without her man for far too long.

Finally and reluctantly she broke the kiss, leaning back and pulling him down on top of her as her fingers twined through his hair. "God Jake, I have missed you but I swear if you disappear on me again, you won't need to worry about anyone else finding you because I will make it my mission in life to hunt you down..." Cassie blinked back the tears that threatened to trickle from the corner of her eyes then.

He moved over her easily then, his weight pressing down into her smaller form while their bodies came in full contact. Jake was as breathless as C.J was as he looked down at her, his fingers tangling in her hair. "Believe me..." he'd said with a gentle smile. "Nothing could pull me away this time."

C.J. wanted to believe him but her guard was up and she knew it. It seemed like so much to absorb all at once. Being in his arms felt good and she hesitated to move but she heard voices nearing. Smiling at him and gazing softly up into his bright green eyes, a slight change in her voice occurring as she spoke "I think our safe haven here is about to be interrupted. Maybe we should go back to my place?"

His answer would came after a moments pause but not before he considered his good fortune at having found so wonderful a woman but he readily agreed, saying he thought that was a great idea. Hand in hand they walked back up the beach to her house, saying little. It was not a strained silence, but a reflective silence. Upon reaching the door and stepping inside C.J. closed it and locked it, then turning to Jake found herself in his arms within seconds.

She had missed him, greatly and although she was still angry even more she needed to know him again completely. Pinning him to the wall, she kissed him with a longing that even she hadn't realized was lying within her.

Cassie felt Jake gasp, but quickly he began to return that kiss with an urgency, almost desperately as his arms slid around her, pulling her tightly against him.

Despite Cassandra Carters anger at him having disappeared on her, he was here now, in this moment and she needed him. Jake was home and if C.J. had her way, she would be sure that he never wanted to leave home again.

[Cheshire]

Hopping into the vehicle, Alex slammed her keys into the ignition and sped off, just barely giving Jansen enough time to get in. She was clearly looking to get as far away from that asshole as humanly possibly. Plus she was starving... she hadn't realized until just then, but she hadn't eaten since... since she heard about his death... not a bite... she couldn't work on such an empty stomach.

After a short drive, Alex looking straight ahead and being... very quiet... she pulled up to a little diner she frequented. Looking to Jansen she smiled a little.

"I know, fast food, get the food and get out's more appropriate on the job, but this place is nice and quick, and their burgers are like... if you've ever been playing an online FPS... and you mowed down like... a dozen of the other guys in a row... it's like that feeling, just in your mouth."

Hopping out of the car and turning towards the diner she laughed, "If you've never been here before, then you're welcome in advance."

[Stryker]

After seeing Alex and Jansen speed off, Shane smirked at the fact that they had left the scene with no actual physical evidence. He was sure that they had somehow sent data or had something digitally, but physical evidence was always more sought after since new revelations could be found after analyzing it at a necessary facilities.

"Sir, is everything alright?" an agent walked up behind him and asked after witnessing the slight altercation with the NCIS Agent and the Liasion. "They seemed... upset."

"Nevermind them, just two people trying to play the tough guy game before knowing all the rules." Shane responded before turning around and handing him the bag with the bullet inside. "Take this back to our labs and see what's said about it, nobody touches it except for the techs, got it?" he instructed.

"Oh, wow. The bullet, yes sir!" the agent replied before turning around and heading back to inform those involved of what he believed to be Shane's findings and Shane wasn't really in a hurry to make it known that he didn't find it. Why bother?

While he casually strode back to his car, his phone rang. Turns out it was his superior and wanted to know what he found at the scene, the question caused him to smirk as he opened the driver-side door.

"Well, sir. We found the bullet and I have an agent on his way back to headquarters with it. Also ran into a couple NCIS agents who didn't exactly make things easy." he explained while the smile on his face grew.

"Oh, I know sir. I know we're supposed to be working together." he started before being cut off. "Sir, I have proof that one of the female agents, I think her name is Alex, threatened my life for no reason."

After a few seconds of nodding and a few acknowledgements he hung his phone up and got into his car before looking at it again and pushing a few buttons to get to the voice recorder function and hit play.

After a few seconds of static, a voice came up on it ".......-el it's only fair to warn you that I may accidentally discharge my weapon into your groin......" Alex's voice played back in the recording...

"Hm... one agent threatening another for no reason... That should be enough to get her thrown off of this little case if I were to play this to the right people...." he commented before laughing and putting his car into gear and driving off.

[Damonique]

Alex jumped into the van so quickly that Jansen barely had enough time to quit scowling back at the FBI agent and get in the vehicle before it sped away from the scene.

After about fifteen minutes they finally reached what was apparently their destination, a small diner off the side of one of Oahu's many back roads. Alex then turned to face him and cracked a smile as she opened her door.

"I know, fast food, get the food and get out's more appropriate on the job, but this place is nice and quick, and their burgers are like... if you've ever been playing an online FPS... and you mowed down like... a dozen of the other guys in a row... it's like that feeling, just in your mouth." She chuckled, and the hulking Samoan agent laughed along at the odd metaphor.

Hopping out of the car and turning towards the diner she laughed, "If you've never been here before, then you're welcome in advance."

Jansen quickly unbuckled his seat belt and reholstered his P229c, concealed under his jacket in his back waistband, and zipped his ballistics vest up to conceal the Kimber .45 holstered across his chest and followed her into the diner. As he walked, he carried the slightest bit of a limp, favoring his left leg, despite his best efforts to conceal the strain.

"So, you come here a lot, I take it? If its as good as you say it is, I might need to add the place to my usual Motorcycle route." Jansen chuckled as they entered the compact establishment, smiling to hide the slight cringe under each step he took.

[nonangelic92]

Saffron sighed. Her mind kept going to the days before when everything was good and dandy. She went back down to the lab and sat in her "office space." She looked around. Someday I should repaint this room, she thought, maybe a bright orange or a mellow green, something to calm the room down. I'd even see if Alex wanted to help. Speaking of Alex and the othet guys, where were they?

Saffron walked over to the small fridge that she had hidden in her office. She pulled out a small salad and a bottler of herbal tea. She pressed play on her stero and ate in the loud playing of Metallica.