Sorry this chapter is so short, but I needed to end it where I did for a reason. I haven't decided if the next chapter will be on Meg and Falls Church or on Harm and Mac... so I'll leave that up to you guys. Let me know which you would rather see in the next update.
Standard disclaimers apply.
Mel
Quantico was in lockdown when they arrived but they flashed their credentials and, one confirmation phone call later and they were allowed in, though their car was thoroughly searched and their weapons were scrutinized. The guard directed them to the scene. The FBI half of Quantico, Meg realized, though she decided that made sense. Annapolis and Quantico had several joint training exercises throughout the year but there was always great debate about home court advantage.
Gunny navigated the streets as if he had lived there all his life, and Meg wasn't all that surprised to discover that he had worked and lived on the base for several months before joining JAG the first time around.
Stopping the car just outside the yellow tape they gathered their things and found out who was in charge of the scene. NCIS had already jumped on it, but Meg was determined to keep the case away from them. She had high hopes, though, because they were already lucky that the FBI hadn't already claimed jurisdiction because Mikey was killed on their land. The fewer agencies involved the better.
The parking lot was only half full and it was easy to find Mikey's car. It wasn't a complete junker, but it definitely needed some work. At the rear of the car, the trunk wide open, several people were gathered. Mikey Roberts was laying on the ground with blood pooled around him. The ME was taking his liver temp even though the time of death was known because the fatal shot had been somewhat less than covert. NICS had three agents on site. One was flashing the scene, making sure that everything was on film before anything got moved. Another was taking measurements and sketching the scene. And the third was crouched down beside the car looking at the rear right wheel like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Meg noticed that there was something on that wheel that wasn't on any of the others and she assumed that the NCIS agent was trying to figure out what kind of trace they were dealing with.
Michael Roberts was tall and slim, his muscles still in need of development. His dark hair was cropped in a quarter-inch buzz, revealed only because his cover had been knocked off his head when he hit the pavement. His uniform, cleanly pressed and complying strictly with regulations, was stained dark with blood. His youthful face, one that had obviously seen hardship, had survived an abusive father and a painful and disheartening childhood, was etched with shock and pain.
"Why are the legal beagles on site?" one of the NCIS agents asked while shooting the scene with a Navy issue camera.
"This murder relates to one of our current ongoing investigations," Meg said stonily. She kept one eye on Gunny who was talking to a pair of Midshipmen a few yards away, but it was clear that he knew what he was doing so she didn't watch him too closely, trusting that he would get some information while she dealt with NCIS.
"How so?" the agent inquired.
Meg shook her head. "It's our case, Agent Stiles. NCIS is not getting it's claws into this one." She knelt down next to Mikey. The resemblance between the brothers was unmistakable, though Mikey didn't have Bud's 'baby fat'. "Damn it, Bud, what have you gotten us into?" she muttered before standing back up, unable to look at the once handsome face of the younger Roberts brother, now marred by blood spatter from the fatal wound and wounds that, as far as Meg could tell, were consistent with the impact that occurred when Mikey's body hit the pavement.
"Where do you want the body shipped?" the ME asked Meg.
"Bethesda," Gunny said. "Commander Rabb placed a Lieutenant Commander Coulter on call should anything like this happen. Tiner will be calling her now. She will perform the autopsy."
Meg nodded to let the ME know that what the Gunny said was what was to be done and she turned away as the ME's assistants helped him ease Mikey's body onto a clear plastic tarp, wrapping his body tightly before zipping a black body bag up around the morbid package.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" Gunny asked.
"Yes. I'm just not used to the life and death of things anymore. Working in weapons labs for too long, I suppose," Meg admitted, somewhat sheepishly. Crime scenes had never affected her, really. She was used to blood and gore and witnessing the lowest of the low of the human condition. All in a day's work for an investigative official, really. She had seen crime scenes that turned the stomachs of the most stoic of Jarheads, the gruffest of Squids, and barely batted an eyelash. She had been to mass gravesites and barely been affected by the smell of decomposing flesh. Yet this young man, someone she had never met and had only heard a little about, left Meg feeling ill.
Gunny smiled sympathetically.
Not wanting his sympathy, Meg spoke again. "Do you want to deal with the scene or do you want to start with the witnesses?"
"Why don't you take the witnesses," Gunny suggested, "and I'll come join you once things are dealt with here."
Meg knew what he was doing and, if she hadn't been so bothered by the scene, she would have called him on it. But this whole case was getting to her and seeing the aftermath firsthand was too much, so she pretended she didn't catch on to his blatant show of chivalry. "Alright. But remember you came along to help me deal with reticent Jarheads, not to play Gil Grissom, so let NCIS deal with collecting the evidence and have them hand it over to the JAG lab."
"Yes ma'am," Gunny said, the picture of military composure, though Meg could tell he was smirking at her comments.
After handing over command to Gunny and making sure that Mikey's body was going to go directly to Commander Coulter at Bethesda, Meg went to the base CO and spoke with him for a few minutes before being directed to a spare office near the JAG offices that she could use for interviews. She was supplied with files on everyone that was on base at anytime that morning. She was also 'given' a Petty Officer from the JAG offices who was eager to help out and seemed to know pretty much everyone on the base, which helped Meg go through the files before calling in witnesses.
"What about the files on the Annapolis midshipmen?" Meg asked.
"As soon as Midshipmen Roberts was shot Commander Sing called Annapolis for records," Petty Officer Tamara Fabens said as she moved some boxes around to give them a better environment to work in. "They should be arriving anytime now."
Commander Sing was the CO of the JAG section on base. Meg had worked with him before on a case, years earlier, and she knew that he was not the easiest person to work with so she was glad that she hadn't been forced into working in close contact with the man.
"Okay. When they arrive I'll need you to pick them up from the guard station," Meg said to Tamara.
"Yes ma'am," Tamara replied.
Meg's phone rang and she sighed heavily before checking the caller ID. Her heart sped up when she saw who it was. "It's a client. Could you give me a minute?" Meg requested, lying easily. Tamara nodded and excused herself, and, once she was sure she was alone, Meg answered the call.
"Austin," she said, her tone giving away none of her relief. She had been waiting for this call for far too long. She made a mental note to talk to him about keeping to the schedule they had made up.
"What took you so long?"
"I needed to wait until I was alone," Meg replied, rolling her eyes. He was always so impatient. "Did you get around to doing what we were talking about earlier?"
"Of course."
Meg grinned. That was good news. She was worried that the project would get back-burnered when she got called out of town. "And did it work?" she asked.
"Just like I said it would. You have to learn to relax, Meg. Everything is going to be fine."
"You don't know that. We're messing with people's lives here, Vayl. Every step must be executed exactly as laid out," Meg said, her tone firm. She was getting frustrated. Even though she had been waiting for this call for two days she couldn't help but find herself disappointed at the way the conversation was going. It was much easier to deal with Vayl when they were talking face to face. "Get your ass back on track or I swear the next thing I'll do is make sure you spend the rest of your life cleaning out cages at the zoo with your bare hands. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
He was slightly less confident now, and that made Meg feel better. The last thing they could afford was for any of them to get cocky. "Good. Keep me updated," Meg said before hanging up. She dropped her phone onto the table and rubbed her temples.
TBC...