𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

THREE | black ship

"Does this vest make me look bulky?"

"Eva."

"It's just a question."

"Commander Wilkins will have you out to the Chimera by nightfall." Commander Skinner walks towards us with Gibbs.

"Chimera's not listed in the Navy fleet." Gibbs mentions.

"It's not on the books." He shakes his head. "The Chimera's a highly sophisticated, top-secret research vessel."

"Researching what?"

"That's need-to-know. And you don't."

"That's the, uh, top-secret part, McGee."

"Go in. . .get the body. . .and come back out." His pace slows near me before quickening. "Take witness statements, do whatever you need to do. But don't ask anything beyond your pay-level."

And he leaves us to get ready for the flight to the black ship.

On the aircraft, once we near the vessel, Wilkins attempts to make contact with the captain on board — only there's no response.

So one by one, we leap off the aircraft and onto the ship.

"Where's the welcoming committee?"

"The deck lights are on."

"Nobody's home."

"God, this is creepy. We stumbled onto a freaking ghost ship."

"Agent Gibbs, we have reserve fuel. We need to know if you're staying, sir."

"We're staying."

All cabins and hallways are empty, no one or nothing to be found. Much to my dislike, we split into three groups: Ducky with Gibbs, McGee with Ziva, and me with Tony.

"Welcome aboard the U.S.N.S. Houdini." Tony jokes in a low tone.

"Would you quit it?" I smack his shoulder. "I can't be the only one who's scared shitless by this whole black ship thing."

I pick up a note on the bottom bunk.

          Dear Mary Beth,

                    Good news. Overheard the captain say they had a good dive last night. If they found what they were looking for, we could be heading home any day. I can't tell you much about the mission, but

"But?"

"That's all. It stops there."

The six of us meet again when McGee finds a room from across the bathroom — poor guy's built with awful motion sickness.

"What are they researching, Duck?"

"Something to do with rats, if I were to guess from these empty cages."

"Skinner seemed pretty paranoid. Guessing the mission wasn't purely humanitarian."

"I doubt it's even human." The aging doctor scans the medical equipment. "Thermosalinographs, fluorometer, carbon analyzer. . .whatever it is, it's not visible to the naked eye."

From above, booming footsteps echo through the empty ship, and I instinctively move closer to Tony's side.

"We're going to die."

"It could be the metal of the ship contracting in the cool of the evening." McGee assures calmly, to which Gibbs flashes a look. "Or not."

"Sounded as if it was coming from the cargo hold above us." Tony glances up at the ceiling.