A Simple Walk In The Park

Summery: When a walk in the park ends with McGee being involved in a case involving the murders of federal judges and their families, the gang must solve the case before Tim and his dog are the next victims.

Warning: contains mild violence and a few curse words.

Tim McGee stepped out of the shower and saw his Dog, Jethro, standing in the hallway with his leash in his mouth.

"I'm guessing you're ready for a walk." McGee said with a smile. "Let me get dressed."

The dog dropped the leash on the floor and stood there patiently as McGee dressed in a pair of sweats and a long sleeved tee shirt.

"Come on boy." McGee said, as he knelt in front of Jethro and hooked the leash onto the dog's collar. "How about we go to the park and have a long walk and a game of fetch?"

Tim grabbed his jacket and Jethro's favorite ball. And him and the dog left the apartment. It was a cold day in late November, and a stiff wind was blowing. Jethro lead the way to the park, which was a couple blocks away. It was a Saturday and he was not on call that day, although that did not mean that he would not be called in.

Half an hour later, they were engrossed in a game of fetch. And both were enjoying themselves.

Tim threw the ball and Jethro started to run after it, but then stopped and cocked his head to one side as if he was listening to something.

"Tired already?" Tim asked, laughing.

The dog looked at Tim and barked, then turned and took off running.

"Jethro." Tim called out. "Stop."

The dog stopped, and turned towards the man. Then he barked again, and turned back around, but did not move. He barked again.

"What's wrong boy?' Tim asked, curious about the strange behavior.

The dog once again barked.

"Go." Tim said, knowing that something was wrong.

Jethro took off running, with Tim following.

"You'd better not have me chasing after a cat." Tim called out, as they ran.

They ran for about a block, then Tim watched as the dog jumped between a garbage truck and the driver. The man backed up and stared at the barking dog.

"Jethro, down." Tim said, as he caught up with them. The dog sat down beside Tim.

"Your dog's nuts." The driver said, angrily. "I ought to call the cops."

"I am the cops." McGee said, pulling out his ID. "NCIS."

Jethro looked up at Tim expectantly, but Tim had no idea what was up.

"What boy?" He asked.

Jethro looked towards the back of the garbage truck and barked, then looked at Tim again.

"Get that mutt outta here so I get back to work." The driver said.

"Hang on a minute." Tim said, as Jethro once again looked at the back of the truck and barked. "Was your truck left unattended at any time?" he asked.

"Just while I walked across the street and got breakfast."

"Got a flashlight?"

"Why?" The driver was now real mad.

"Because I think something is back there." Tim answered.

"Nothing's back there but trash."

"Then it won't hurt for me to take a look."

The man grumbled under his breath, but retrieved a flashlight from the cab of the truck.

"Stay here." Tim said. Then he started to climb the ladder to the back of the truck. McGee made it to the top and the stench of the garbage assaulted his nose.

"There better be something in here." He said, as he climbed on into the truck. "Or that dog is sleeping outside for a month." It was an empty threat, but he said it anyway.

Tim shone the light in the dark space, as he stepped forward. He stepped into something mushy and closed his eyes. "I'm not even going to look." He muttered.

He heard a small noise to the right and looked in that direction. He expected to see a cat or maybe even a raccoon, but he was not expecting to see a small girl huddled up against the side of the truck.

"Hello." Tim said, softly. "I'm Tim."

The little girl tried to scoot further back and whimpered.

"It's okay, honey." Tim said, as he slowly walked towards her. He walked over the garbage and debris, not caring anymore about getting the gunk on his shoes. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm with NCIS, I'm a cop."

He squatted in front of her, and noticed that she was about five-year-old and wearing light pink pajamas.

"Are you hurt?"

The little girl shook her head, but did not answer.

"What's your name?"

"Mandy."

"Come on, Mandy." Tim held out a hand.

"Is he still out there?" She asked, as she once again tried to scoot further back.

"Is who out there?"

"The bad man."

"No one is going to hurt you, Mandy. I promise you that no bad man will hurt you."

He once again held out a hand and smiled as she reached out and took it. Tim gently picked her up and carefully carried her to the ladder. He climbed up and over, then started down the outside.

"Dear God." The driver gasped. "I was just about to start the compacter when your dog stopped me, he saved her life."

Tim sat Mandy down on her feet, then quickly pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around the young girl.

"The heat's on in the cab." The driver said.

Fifteen minutes later, Tim was standing outside an ambulance giving his statement to a police officer. Mandy was in the back of the ambulance being examined.

A black car pulled up and FBI Agent Tobias Fornell stepped out of it, along with two other agents.

"Why am I not surprised to find a NCIS Agent in the middle of my case?" Fornell asked.

"Your case?" Tim asked, confused.

"My case. Get in the car."

McGee opened his mouth to refuse, but Fornell cut him off.

"That little girl's life is in danger."

Tim nodded and opened the back door of the car, allowing Jethro to jump onto the seat.

"I didn't say the dog." Fornell said.

"He's part of the case."

Fornell sighed, then got back into the car. The two agents with him climbed into the back of the ambulance with Mandy. Tim climbed into the front passenger seat beside Fornell.

"What's up?" Tim asked.

"Classified."

Tim sighed, this was going to be a long day.

"What happened?" Fornell asked, as he drove.

"Classified." Tim replied.

"You've been working with Jethro too long."

At the mention of his name, the dog raised his head and looked at Fornell.

"What happened?" Fornell asked again.

"Jethro and me were walking……"

"Gibbs with you?" Fornell asked confused.

"No, Jethro is my dog."

"You named your dog Jethro?" Fornell laughed.

"No, Abby did before he was my dog."

"I'm betting you enjoy saying things like sit Jethro and bad Jethro, no treat." Fornell said, still laughing.

"Anyway." Tim said, refusing to answer that question. "We were walking and Jethro acted like he heard something and took off running. I followed him to the garbage truck and he acted as if there was something inside."

"So you went in." Fornell said, glancing over at Tim. "You stink."

"I know." Tim said, rubbing his back against the car seat.

"Yep." Fornell said. "You've been working with Gibbs too long."

"I found Mandy and called it in."

"Did she say anything?"

"Just that her name was Mandy and that a bad man put her in the truck and told her if she made a sound, he would hurt her. Who would want to hurt a little kid? And what does the FBI have to do with it?"

"Her Father is Matthew Greene, he's a Federal Judge." Fornell said, he knew he might as well tell him. He knew that now that one of his agents were involved, Gibbs would not stay out of the investigation. And he had to admit that he could use all the help he could get.

"So was David Marshal and now he's dead along with his wife, son, and daughter in law." Tim said, remembering hearing about it on the news the previous morning. "Are they connected?"

"Yeah. Ten Federal Judges received death threats from the same group. The ten judges are known for handing out the death penalty. The letters said that they would all die, along with their families to see how they liked it.

Marshal didn't believe that anyone would go after a Federal Judge and refused protection, so did Greene. Then when Marshal and his family were butchered, Greene changed his mind. But Mandy was kidnapped from her home before the FBI showed up. No one is sure how it happened."

"Why was she kidnapped?" Tim asked. "And not just killed."

"The Greene's received another letter. This one said that Mandy would be slowly tortured and that they would make sure she suffered for a very long time."

"They want Greene to suffer." Tim said. "What about the other judges? Are they safe?"

"Yes, and so are their families."

"Any idea who the group is?"

"Not a clue."

"So there's a group of people who are protesting the death penalty by killing people?" Tim asked, shaking his head.