Hit And Run, for settiai

[infiniteviking]

Under the wire, if only just! XD

Author: infiniteviking
Written for: settiai
Archive: Sure, just ask first!
Genre: gen, mystery, adventure
Pairings: none
Rating: PG for medical matters
Disclaimer: I own no part of NCIS; and any resemblance of original characters or situations herein to anything in real life is entirely coincidental (and possibly regrettable).
Word Count: over 1000...
Summary: While driving to the site of a case, Ducky and Palmer run into some trouble. Part I.
Title: Hit And Run


In the beginning, there was a man's broken face, staring blindly up at the broken sky; and the light that glinted in the tattered spaces of his sunken skin did nothing -- would never do anything -- to break the night that had covered his eyes forever.


"No, no, no!" Ducky's voice, testy and irritated, cut off with a near squeak as the autopsy van hit another pothole. "That would have been your other left, Mr. Palmer; you'll have us off in the wilds of Delaware if you don't watch the signs--"

Jimmy Palmer clutched the wheel in a white-knuckled grip and flinched as paper crackled in his peripheral vision. While Dr. Mallard certainly knew how to handle a map, it was undeniably a fairly large map, and some of these off-roads were rudimentary enough to go unseen until one was right on top of them.

"What on earth's the matter?" demanded Ducky, as the vehicle slowed a bit. "This isn't a war zone, you know."

"It might as well be -- these potholes have got to be a foot deep--" Palmer kept his eyes fixed on the sandy lane, cursing the hours he'd spent studying instead of playing Grand Theft Auto like all the other guys. Hah, he'd actually missed that one bump. The knowledge made the next three a bit easier to bear.

He gritted his teeth as the van jounced again. The call had assuredly been a last-minute one, but that was par for the course, and everything would have been all right except that the GPS was broken and Dr. Mallard had the map.

"I was just asking myself what Gibbs would do," he added hastily, catching the doctor's stern-but-patient look out of the corner of his eye. "And I was thinking, he's probably already there by now, so we should be able to follow his tire tracks to the site, only this road just doesn't look like--"

"Speaking from experience," sighed Ducky, "the first thing Gibbs would do is to--"

Somewhere in the cab, a cell phone rang.

Palmer glanced toward the sound.

He was just in time to catch the change in Ducky's face. "LOOK OUT-!"

.o0o.

"'Mine is thine -- your Caroline,'" read Kate, turning the bowie knife over with a gloved finger so DiNozzo could get a picture of the inscription. "Looks like our guy left someone behind."

"Helloooo, suspect," drawled her partner. The camera flashed, but Kate had learned to keep the bill of her NCIS cap between her face and the lens. In the long run, a little effort saved a great deal on peace of mind.

"Aren't you supposed to give people the benefit of the doubt?" she said irritably. "From the inscription, it sounds like Caroline really cared about him. Isn't that a point in her favor?"

"You always hurt the one you love," chirped DiNozzo, with the special bright smile that he reserved for getting on Kate's nerves. "Plus we don't even know if it's his yet. Not to mention that line is really, really tacky."

"And that makes such a difference."

"You'd be surprised."

Adding the knife to her crime scene sketch, Kate glanced ruefully over at the centerpiece of the scene: the pitifully crumpled remains of the late Cpl. Haldir. ("He didn't die in the book," McGee had commented, and rolled his eyes when nobody wanted to know.) Can't we at least cover him up? she had asked, thumbing an unwomanly streak of sweat from under the rim of her hat. There was something inhuman and wrong about leaving the broken body exposed under the harsh sun. But no, Gibbs had ruled that a tarp would interfere with the natural changes in Haldir's body temperature. His exact words had been, "Do you want Ducky to find out you're responsible for broiling his corpse?"

"Over here!" called DiNozzo, from a few feet away. He was stooping over something that protruded just slightly from the sand, its pale cardboard shrouding it with nearly chamelionic invisibility. Leaning over to preserve the appearance of the soil, Kate marked it with an evidence card and watched as her partner took the required pictures. Even an old cigarette butt could be an important clue.

"We're going to have to sift through this... this whole sand-pit, aren't we?" she groaned. "Ducky and Palmer had better get here soon. Why should we have all the fun?"

There was no answer, and after a moment she followed her partner's gaze to where Gibbs was pacing, a cell phone held tightly to his ear.

"Somehow," muttered DiNozzo, "I don't think they're missing out."

.o0o.

"Still alive," said Ducky, his fingers at the neck of the young woman lying prone at the side of the road.

"I didn't mean it, I swear." Palmer hovered at his side, pale as a ghost. "She just ran right out in front of the van. Oh, God, what happens now? Will Gibbs have to arrest me?"

"No, no, certainly not." The medical examiner looked up reassuringly. "You'll have to report it, but I really don't think it can be construed as your fault... the young woman did seem quite distracted. Now, there's no obvious sign of injury, but we should let her wake up before moving her....."

"Did I really hit her?" moaned Palmer. "I didn't feel anything -- maybe I turned in time--?"

"That's not always conclusive. Sometimes a severe impact can seem quite light," said Ducky, and cursed himself when Palmer's expression segued from worried to frantic.

Something beeped from the van.

"I'll get that!" yelped Palmer, and fled. Ducky sat back on his heels, studying the woman's pale face and the dark smudges under her eyes.

"He'll get over it, of course," he told her. "Even faster if you turn out to be unharmed. There's no sign of any impact on your person, at least not that I can see. You could have collapsed from exhaustion or even shock. Dear, dear, whatever could have brought you to this...."

There was no response. Birds sang overhead. The narrow lane was completely deserted.

Looking over toward the autopsy van, Ducky shook his head ruefully. "Never mind, we'll know what happened soon enough. Luckily you're among the one percent of my patients who will eventually get up and walk away."

As he stood up, something dark caught his eye. He stopped abruptly, a chill washing down his spine, and walked carefully around the woman to stoop over her outflung arm. The shape was barely visible under her voluminous sleeve, the protruding edge polished and black. Perhaps it was just a stone.

Carefully, he raised the edge of her sleeve, and then sighed.

The military-issue gun had just made everything far more complex.



Part II coming tomorrow night, hopefully. Something came up this week is now on its way after MASSIVE computer failure is HERE. Sorry for the delay!

Comments

[lark_ascends]

Love it so far!

Oh, could you please add 'gen' into the genre if that's right? Makes it easier for people to know.

[infiniteviking]

^__^ Glad to hear it!

Hahaha, gen is such a default for me I didn't even think of it.... Done.

I am unfortunately having to reconstruct the second part of my story after my computer died this week. It'll be back together and posted as soon as possible, but... augh, sorry for the delay.

[lark_ascends]

Any idea on when you expect to post the next part?

[infiniteviking]

Hopefully tonight -- now that the computer death and sudden influx of homework are over.

[lark_ascends]

Cool! ;-D

[neecerie.livejournal.com]

oh my....I can't wait to see what happens...


and three cheers for McGee AND LOTR geekery......he -should- roll his eyes at them for not knowing it.

I snorted as I read it.....huzzah!

[infiniteviking]

*grins* McGee would know about that, if anyone did.

Thank you!

[settiai]

*grin*

Oh, this is brilliant so far. I can't wait to see what happens next.

[infiniteviking]

Yay, I'm glad you liked it!

Second half is posted now! Sorry for the delay.

[ashley-pitt.livejournal.com]

More please!

And hurry, I am on the edge of my seat!

[infiniteviking]

Lol, sorry to leave you there for so long! Done finally.... You can relax now? ^___^