"Abby, are you sure this is going to work this time?" Gage asked.

"Sure it is, mon Capitan, trust me." Abby said, with a grin.

"I was worried you'd say that." Gage grumbled.

Abby concentrated as she hung the balloon of gasoline on the wooden tripod they had constructed in the evidence garage. She and Gage had been working all day on reconstructing the crude timing device which had been used in the arson attack at Marine Sergeant Davis' home the previous day. Although they knew that the timing device was simply made of a frame and a balloon suspended over a candle, they were on their ninth version and running out of ideas.

"All set?" she enquired.

Gage stepped up to the video camera that was set up on a tripod about 10 feet away.

"Looking good from here," he said, squinting down the viewfinder, "and the firebomb looks fine too."

"You flirt!" Abby admonished.

"Rolling." Gage said, pushing the record button.

"Okay, here goes." Abby said, striking a match.

Suddenly she yelled in pain.

"Abby!" Gage cried, rushing to her aid.

"It's okay, just a burn." Abby sniffled.

"Come on, let's run it under cold water." Gage said, taking a closer look.

"But the experiment." Abby protested

"Will be waiting for us when we get back." Gage assured her as he gently inspected her hand.

"Must have split gasoline on it." Abby sniffed.

"It's okay, first degree" Gage said, as he held her hand under the cold water tap in the washing facility.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, a burst of flame and the fire alarms started to sound.

"Jesus what was that?"

"I think our balloon just went up." Abby said, solemnly.

"In more ways than one"

~~~~~~

"Okay, would either of you care to explain what the deuce happened today?" Director Vance said, glaring at Abby and Gage across his office desk.

"Ummmm" Abby nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot. She was cradling her burnt hand, which was swathed in an oversized bandage.

"We were trying to recreate the arsonists fuel based timer Director Vance." Gage said.

"It would appear that you succeeded." Vance mused "Was the evacuation of the entire building in your plan?"

"No sir." Gage replied "Ab.. er Miss Scuito burnt her hand, I was administering first aid…"

"Why didn't you call a First Aider?" Vance interrupted.

"With respect sir, I am a fully trained paramedic, I am quite capable of dealing with a First degree burn." Gage replied.

Vance acquiesced with a smile "Go on."

"Neither of us noticed that the candle had been lit and it kinda went off. " Abby said, cringing at the directors stare.

"Luckily for both of you we were due a fire drill later this month. This -ah - accident just made it more realistic." Vance looked at them sternly "I do not expect it to happen again"

"No Sir." Abby and Gage chorused.

"Back to your lab or wherever." Vance dismissed them.

"Oh and Miss Sciuto." he added as they reached the door.

"Yes Director?"

"You may find that heals better uncovered."

A cellphone ringtone cut through the squad room, Gage flipped his cell open.

"Gage." he said, briskly "Hi Bobby, what's up? Yeah, really, that's great, let me get a pen."

Gage scrabbled on Ziva's desk for a pen and notepad

"Okay, shoot. Yeah I got that, don't let anyone touch anything you hear. NCIS will be there, it’s a crime scene, you got that."

Gibbs looked over at the fire investigator who was wearing a triumphant look.

"That was Bobby Fuller, Captain of Station 114"

"Another fire?" Tony asked.

"Better than that, the owner has a halon system installed."

"Halon?"

"Fire suppression gas. It stops the spread of fire by chemically distrupting combustion. It doesn't produce a residue so it doesn't damage sensitive equipment like computers. It's widely used in the aviation industry." McGee supplied.

"System cut in and preserved the scene before the timer went off, now we can see exactly how the bastard does it."

"McGee call Abby, get her to meet us in the Garage" Gibbs said.

~~~~~~

"Wow this is so awesome!" Abby said snapping away with her camera.

"Sure is," Gage replied, he was taking notes of exactly what they had found. "You see how the frame is constructed of interlocking pieces a real work of art. Folds up small, then opens up and it's sturdy enough to take the weight of the gasoline bag."

"The bag is made from a condom, small and easy to carry."

"When you two have finished making this into some art gallery installation, have you found anything that will help us find the arsonist?" Gibbs asked.

"From the way the match is lying I would bet he's a southpaw."

"That's it?"

"I'm afraid so, this guy is a real professional, no prints nothing to lead us back to him."

"Okay well bag it and tag it and let's get back to the ranch."

~~~~~~

"Thank you for taking the time to see us Mr Sanders" Gibbs said, as he entered the conference room

"I'm not sure how I can help" Mr Sanders said, "I mean nothing happened."

"Your fire prevention system was pretty effective." Gibbs commented.

"Well my computer equipment is important to me, it's my business and it's kinda like a baby to me." Mr Sanders looked uncomfortable at this admission.

"Oh, don't worry I know what you mean." Gibbs said, with a smile.

There was a knock at the door. Gage poked his head around the door frame.

"Mind if I sit in?" he enquired.

"No problem." Gibbs said, "Mr Sanders this is Captain John Gage from the Fire Investigation Unit."

"No it's not." Mr Sanders said, emphatically.

"Sorry Sir?" Gage said, surprised.

"Captain Gage is a good 6 inches shorter than you and about 20 years younger, no disrespect intended."

"How do you know this?" Gibbs asked.

"Because he came to my apartment."

"When was this?"

"Yesterday, he knocked at the door said he was doing a fire prevention survey and needed to check my fire alarm. He gave me his card."

Mr Sanders fished into his billfold and produced a card.

Gibbs picked it up by the edges.

"Your card Gage." he commented. "Mind if we keep this for evidence?"

"You mean it was an impostor?"

"It would appear so."

"So what happened during this so called fire prevention survey?" Gage asked.

"He just looked around making notes, didn't even ask me about my halon system, which come to think of it was strange. You would have thought he would need to know about that."

"Did you leave him alone at any point?"

"No." Mr Sanders said, "Oh, I did get a phone call on my landline, I guess he was alone then."

"Not long enough to set the device." Gage commented.

"Have you found anything missing?"

Mr Sanders shook his head.

"Keys?" Gibbs prompted.

"Now you come to mention it my spare keys to the apartment seem to be AWOL at the moment."

Gibbs nodded, they had figured out how the arsonist had got into the apartment to plant his device. He opened the file in front of him and spread out the photos of the seven previous victims. A mixture of service and civilian personnel.

"Mr Sanders, do you know any of these men?" he asked.

Mr Sanders studied them for a minute.

"Jack Flegg he's kinda familiar, and Ross Tyler we were good friends a while back why?"

"In what way were you connected with Ross Tyler?"

"We drank together, gambled, played the lottery that kind of thing. Drifted apart about 6 years ago after we came into some money on the lottery. Andrew now he was a friend of Jack's, Navy as I recall and there were a couple of other Navy guys and an older man Stephen, never Steve and there was someone else, but he kinda hovered around the edge, you know like one of those kids at school who nobody likes but you can't be bothered to tell to go away."


~~~~~~~~~~~

He should have been woken by the smell of smoke, but somehow it had managed to become part of his dream. Although dream was too nice a word for it, it wasn't quite a nightmare, but the recurring vision of being trapped under roof debris wasn't the kind of dream you wanted to linger in. He'd had these flashbacks before, years ago not long after the accident that had cruelly cut short his career. They were what had started his drinking. He drank to send the demons away, to dull the physical pain and to divorce himself from the frustration of not being able to do the job he loved. It divorced him from his wife and daughter too â€" something he regretted to this day. Those days were behind him now, he would never allow himself to get in that state again, but the experience of being under falling debris at the bungalow the other day had been enough to bring the demons crawling back.

The smoke alarm should have roused him from his sleep, but this fire wasn't an accident, it had been carefully planned earlier in the day. All electricity had been cut, telephone lines severed, batteries removed, water supplies turned off. There had been plenty of time to get this right; there would be no mistakes this time.

An insistent tugging on the counterpane pulled Gage out of his sleep.

"Stop it Chester, let me sleep" he muttered.

A tongue like sandpaper licked his nose, followed by a claw raking down his check, accompanied by a yowl.

"Chester B!" Johnny roared sitting bolt upright and swatting the cat away. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

As his senses started to awaken, he became acutely aware as to the reason for his pet's insistence that he wake up and fast. He reached for the bedside light, nothing, the phone â€" dead. He dove out of bed, climbing into his clothes.
One look out of the bedroom door told him that there would be no escape that way. The whole lower floor of the sawmill was well ablaze, it would only be a matter of minutes before the floor he was standing on gave way.

"Come on fella, we gotta get out of here stat." Johnny said,

As he opened the bedroom window the fire reached the gas supply and the house exploded.

TBC