Special Agent Caly Gibbs (NCIS Fanfiction)

The Curse

"Grab your gear," Gibbs said as he entered the bullpen.

"My three favorite words," I said

"Where to?" Kate asked

"Saint Mary's River State Park. Right here," Gibbs informed

"Maryland," Tony said

"Good guess. Think you can guess how to drive there?"

"I'd say the fastest way would be to take the Beltway to Highway Two Thirty-Five south. Take that to Route Fifty and then...punch it into the Nav System when we get lost,"

"What's in the park?" Kate asked

"A deer hunter stumbled onto an aircraft drop tank-Navy markings," Gibbs said

"We're driving to Maryland to look at a drop tank?" Tony asked

"It's got a body inside,"

"Now that's different,"

"Yeah, I thought so. " Gibbs looked over at Kate "You pick up Ducky. Tony, you gas the truck,"

"You know, Gibbs, most agencies have people who do that sort of thing,"

"Mm-hmm. So do we," I told him as I patted his arm as I followed Gibbs to the elevator.

***

"Bowhunter was tracking a deer." Trooper Lynch explained at the crime scene "Stumbled across the drop tank,"

"He the one who opened the hatch?" Gibbs asked

"That's right,"

"Mmm..." Ducky hummed as he looked over the corpse.

"How did he get so..." Kate mused.

"I believe mummified is the adjective you were searching for,"

"The tank must have been airtight creating a hermetic environment," I said as I took pictures.

"No air, no bugs, no critters," Tony said

"And more important, no bacteria," Ducky said

"You got an estimated time of death, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he walked over

"Very amusing, Jethro,"

"I thought it was a missile or a bomb of some kind until I tapped it. It sounded hollow so I cleared some leaves away and found the hatch," The hunter explained.

"Curiosity got the best of you?" I asked

"Wouldn't yours?"

"Yeah. You know what, it probably would have," Gibbs said.

"Did you remove the flight bag?" I asked

"Yeah,"

"Touch anything else?"

"Not after I saw King Tut,"

"Well, we'll need your prints...to separate them from any others we find on the tank,"

"Lieutenant Commander Farnsworth." Kate said as she looked at the ID "Think he's our mummy?"

"I don't know. Bag it," Gibbs ordered

"I can't do anything with this gentleman until we cut him out of here," Ducky explained

"I know what this is, Boss," Tony said

"Uh...external fuel tank?" I asked

"A three hundred and seventy-gallon external fuel tank off an F-Fourteen Tomcat. A few were converted into camera or cargo pods. This one's a cargo pod,"