Carly was able to pull the license plate of the 2001 Red Honda Civic from the video Tony got from the clinic. A BOLO was issued and the car was spotted stopped at a rest area two hours outside DC. The police arriving on the scene called in to report multiple bodies in the grassy area behind the rest stop. At least one of the bodies was a Marine as he was still in his fatigues.
Gibbs found himself in the lab for the second time that day. When he walked in he noticed two big differences. Abby and Carly had fixed their hair and changed the music back to its normal play list and volume.
"Come on Carly. We're gonna need an extra pair of hands on this crime scene." Gibbs ordered.
"What?" Carly asked looking up from the microscope.
"You're about to lose your crime scene virginity." Gibbs informed her, taking her coat off the rack as a hint for her to move.
"Outside the building?" Carly was puzzled.
"Let's go!" Gibbs said, impatient and already walking towards the door.
"This won't hurt will it?" Carly wanted to know.
As they stepped up to the elevator they heard Abby shout, "Be gentle with her Gibbs!"
Gibbs smiled as the doors slid shut.
Carly turned to him, curious about this development. "Why didn't you take Abby?"
"She's already lost hers." Gibbs replied.
Rolling her eyes, Carly turned back towards the doors. "Let me guess, it'll be clear when I get to the scene, right?"
Gibbs didn't reply, he just walked off the elevator leaving her to follow behind. He wouldn't tell her that he had noticed she stopped leaving the building for lunch since the incident with Delacroix. He wouldn't mention that she was quieter and a little withdrawn since then. And he certainly wasn't going to let on that it eased his mind to find her goofing off in the lab with Abby this morning. Nope, he wasn't the type of man to do those things. So instead, he was taking her to what could possibly be the most gruesome crime scene she could imagine and let her take it from there. There was also the added bonus of showing her how much of a b*****d he could be so that she wouldn't get interested in him. He had held firm to Rule 12 since meeting and leaving Jen Shepard and he wasn't going to break that rule now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After driving an hour and a half to get to the crime scene Tony had assured her was two hours away, Carly stepped from the van to get her bearings. Gibbs and his team were already grabbing their gear.
Carly said to Gibbs as they started walking toward the crime scene tape, "Well, your parents got part of your name right at least."
He looked at her but didn't say anything. Tony was curious though and asked, "What part is that?"
They reached the crime scene tape and ducked under it as Carly replied, "The ‘Jet' in Jethro."
Tony laughed at that while Ziva and Tim hid their smiles under the bills of their caps.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Surprisingly enough, the scene wasn't as gruesome as one would have imagined. The bodies had been shot several times each but they weren't disfigured. Just a little whole-y as DiNozzo put it. The cops first on the scene had called it though. All six bodies were Marines that had served with Officer Granger in Afghanistan. Carly was just there to photo the scene while the agents and Ducky deciphered any visible clues.
Carly was in the process of snapping photos when she noticed light glinting off something in the surrounding woods. "Gibbs." She said quietly as she moved closer to him.
He noticed her stillness and heard the forced calm in her voice. He looked in the direction she was facing and saw the light blink and disappear. He snapped into action.
"Ducky, get these bodies loaded up and take them back to Autopsy. DiNozzo, form a search team with the PD here and cordon off a search grid of 100 yards in the direction of the woods behind the rest stop. Someone was out there. I want to know who."
He sent Carly back to NCIS with Ducky and Palmer, narrowing his eyes when the younger man needlessly assisted her into the front seat. She noticed Gibbs looking and gave a quick wave before Ducky pulled off.