NCIS: The Inside Story Ch. 02

McGee retrieved his leather bag from the trunk and joined the other team members gathered on the sidewalk in front of a navy blue townhouse.

Gibbs was looking around as if searching for something or someone.

"What's missing here? Does anyone else find this strange?" he asked.

"Boss," said DiNozzo, "...besides the fact McGee is standing close to Ziva and he doesn't have a boner?"

"We're the only ones here," Ziva interrupted. "Where are the local cops? Usually they have the crime scene cordoned-off by the time we arrive."

Gibbs eyes narrowed as he pulled his revolver from his holster.

"This could be an ambush," he said in a hushed tone of voice.

The others immediately followed his lead and pulled their weapons. Gibbs motioned to Tony and Ziva to go around back.

Gibbs and McGee waited a short time at the front door, giving the other team members time to get in place then Gibbs gave McGee 'the look' and a nod.

McGee raised his leg to kick-in the door; suddenly Gibbs motioned him to stop, and reached for the doorknob. The door swung wide open.

"I wanted you to try the handle first, McGee," said an annoyed Gibbs.

"B-Boss---sometimes your facial expressions confuse me," he replied.

The agents burst into the house with weapons held high.

"NCIS," Gibbs called out.

From the rear of the house they heard Ziva and Tony enter the house.

"NCIS," Ziva called out.

They methodically searched room-by-room with weapons aimed high.

"CLEAR," each one shouted when a room was found to be safe.

Having searched the entire ground floor of the elegantly furnished townhouse, Gibbs led the way up the stairs. They slowly searched the second level bedrooms and bathrooms.

Gibbs had just shouted "CLEAR" in one room when he heard Ziva's strong voice coming from the next room: "GIBBS---IN HERE!"

Gibbs immediately saw the lifeless body on the large king-sized bed covered only by a silk sheet. A clear plastic bag was wrapped tightly around its head. The indentations in the sheer plastic covering over the face indicated to Gibbs that the person had fought for oxygen but failed and had died from suffocation.

McGee said, "The face is so contorted, Boss, I can't tell if it's a man or a woman."

Gibbs slapped McGee on the back of the head and pointed to the body's mid-section where the silk sheet rose majestically, tent-like from the body's crotch.

"It's a man, Boss," observed the Special Agent.

"Ya think, McGee?" said Gibbs sarcastically.

"A very impressive man, indeed," remarked Ziva.

She lifted the sheet for all to see a long and thick erection.

"Oh my!" she gasped.

Squealing brakes could be heard thru the closed window.

Gibbs spoke: "Ducky and Palmer are here---everyone spread out---looks like we could be dealing with a sex crime---bag anything that might help us."

Ziva remained standing beside the bed staring at the erection as the others began searching. Tony appeared by her side.

"Everyone knows size doesn't matter," he whispered in Ziva's ear.

She dropped the sheet, smiled at Tony then asked: "Do you really believe that, Tony?"

She began her search of the room, leaving Tony with a confused and slightly fearful expression on his face.

Doctor's Mallard and Palmer could be heard bickering as they ascended the stairs.

"Doctor, we could have been here ten-minutes earlier if you'd let me use the siren," said the protégé to his mentor.

"Our 'clients' are not going to rush-off and disappear, Mr. Palmer," said Dr. Mallard.

"Hello all," he said entering the bedroom.

When he saw the body on the bed he exclaimed: "Goodness---what have we here?"

"Looks like we have two stiffs to examine, Doctor," Palmer blurted out then began laughing at his own joke.

When he saw no one smiling Palmer's laughter abruptly ended.

Dr. Mallard removed the sheet from the body and exclaimed: "Oh my word---I would wager he was popular with the ladies."

"Not all of them, Ducky---he's dead!" Gibbs countered.

"Pity...." Ducky softly murmured.

"Boss, I found a secret stash of porno movies," DeNozzo called out. He had managed to find a switch near a bookcase and when he pressed it the bookcase swung open exposing a large shelf hidden from view. The shelf held hundreds of pornographic videos.

"Nice job, Tony," said Gibbs as he looked over the tapes.

Tony began stashing the tapes in his leather bag.

"Not all of them, DiNozzo, just the ones with handwritten titles," instructed Gibbs. "...the ones that appear homemade."

Gibbs went to the doctor and asked, "What do we have here, Ducky?"

"At first glance it appears as though the poor lad died while attempting an extreme form of masturbation called 'auto-asphyxiation'...."

"What else, Duck?" asked Gibbs.

"Well, the liver probe indicates he passed away sometime between midnight and one a.m." replied the doctor. "Timothy, you may use your fingerprint scanner now."

McGee pulled the scanner from his bag and stood beside the corpse.

"You know, Jethro," Ducky said to Gibbs, "...this reminds me of the time in Thailand when I first encountered Asian ladyboys. Beautiful young things, they---"

"DUCKY---what does that have to do with this case?" asked an impatient Gibbs.

"Well, nothing really---it's just a fond memory I have...." said the doctor wistfully.

"Boss," said McGee. "This is Petty Officer Lance Pettibone. He's stationed in Norfolk...no wants or warrants...he's been in the Navy for three years and last week he re-upped for another four years...several commendations...he's single and lives in a small apartment off-base."

It never ceased to amaze Gibbs that McGee could glean so much information off his little do-hickey-gadget. In the old days, it would take Gibbs two full days to learn what McGee had found out in a matter of seconds.

McGee continued: "He works for...uh, I mean 'worked for' Admiral Ballsey...the Admiral is currently the highest-ranking woman officer in the Navy, Boss...uh, second highest outside of SecNav, of course."

"I know who Admiral Ballsey is, McGee---who owns this townhouse?" asked Gibbs.

McGee frowned and said, "I'm not having much luck finding that out, Boss...it seems as though this place belongs to a corporation, but all I can find is a series of dummy companies passing the mortgage around."

"I want the name of the person who owns this place, McGee!" said Gibbs sharply.

"Yes, Boss!" he answered earnestly. "I'm on it!"

Gibbs turned to Dr. Mallard, pointed at the dead man's erection and quietly asked him: "Ducky, how in the world can a man be dead and still sport wood?"

"Priapism, Jethro...although it generally is not associated with sexual stimulation---it is more of an involuntary erection...there have been numerous studies describing prison inmates on Death Row who, once they were executed, their members engorged with blood and the men died with hard-ons...it's very rare, but it does occur...I'll know more once I get the unfortunate boy on the autopsy table."

Ducky saw the wheels in Gibbs mind turning.

"Jethro, why was NCIS called in to investigate this matter?" he asked softly. "On the surface, it appears to be a simple case of self-administered auto-asphyxiation...an accidental suicide, if you will...I couldn't help but notice the lack of local law enforcement when we arrived on the scene...one can only deduce that someone higher-up wants only NCIS involved in this incident...but why?"

Gibbs looked him square in the eyes and replied, "I aim to figure that out, Ducky."

As Gibbs turned to leave, Ducky grabbed his arm.

"Tread lightly, Jethro---in a manner of speaking, I do not want you to end up with cum on your face."

A small grin played on his lips as Gibbs replied, "You darn well know I don't want that either, Ducky."