Author's Note: I literally wrote this in a couple hours at work today and tweaked it when I got home. To say I've been on a roll lately is an understatement. This is the darkest story I've written for this genre. Just a warning, it deals with suicide of a teen. If this isn't your thing, or you've experienced this you may not want to read. It's not graphic or anything, but it definitely happens. I don't want to give away the whole story.

Chris LaSalle awakened on the couch in his living room. There was a pounding noise he had trouble placing. Either he was suffering from a killer hangover or someone was knocking very hard on his front door. He threw his blanket on the floor, followed by his feet. He stood slowly, trying to gain his balance. The pounding continued. He shuffled slowly toward the front door. He opened the dead bolt, but left the chain attached to the door. He opened it as far as it would go. He squinted when his eyes met the sun. He saw his partner, Sonja Percy standing on his porch. "What're you doing here?"

"You didn't answer your phone when I called twenty times. I was worried."

Chris "I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me." He said and shut the door abruptly.

Sonja knocked again. "C'mon, LaSalle! You're not okay!"

Chris opened the door again. "Sorry, do you want to come in?"

"Do you want me to come in?"

Chris shook his head. "Did Pride send you?"

"No. He's the one who ordered me to stay away from you."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"You smell like beer and popcorn. How long has it been since you've showered?"

"Alright, now we're getting a little too personal. You need to go."

"I'm not leaving."

"What about your orders?"

"To hell with orders. You're more important to me than any order."

"That's the kind of attitude that got me suspended in the first place."

"You're blaming yourself."

"Casey killed himself with my gun, Percy. You were there."

"But it wasn't your fault."

"He took my gun off the table and shot himself. How it that not my fault?"

"It was out of your control."

"I shouldn't have had the damn gun in there in the first place. Pride told me not to take it. I didn't listen. I figured I needed it."

"The inquiry cleared you, LaSalle. You went to see the agency shrink. After all that, you're still blaming yourself?"

Chris nodded. "Yes."

"Have you talked to Pride?"

"He's the one that sent me home in the first place. He blames me, too."

"No he does not. He just wanted to send you a message about disobeying orders. If anything he blames himself for not trying harder to stop you."

"It definitely wasn't his fault."

Sonja's phone rang. "I gotta go. I'll be back."

****Three days earlier*****

Pride came in from the kitchen. "Christopher, I need your expertise."

""What's up, King?"

"Teenager at one of the middle schools has taken his homeroom hostage. NOPD needs a negotiator."

"What happened to the ones they have?"

"Would you believe me if I told you they are both on calls?"

"It's nine a.m. It must be a full moon," Chris replied. He stood and holstered his gun. "Let's go."

"You mind if I go along?" Sebastian asked. "I'd like to see the master at work."

"Yeah, c'mon," Pride said. "I'll send Percy and Gregorio a text to meet us there."

Ten minutes later the car pulled up to the school parking lot. Chris got up and walked up to the group of officers. "You the hostage negotiator?"

"NCIS. Chris LaSalle."

"Captain Jon Morrow," the main said, shaking LaSalle's hand. "I'm glad you're here. None of us are trained for this."

"Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Casey Simpson. He's thirteen. He took his homeroom class hostage. Some of the kids managed to escape. There are seven unaccounted for. He also apparently already shot his teacher. We just don't know how badly."

"Do we know why he did it or where he got the weapon?"

"We've had no communication with him. Another teacher reported the shots fired."

"Is there a phone in the classroom?"

"That's doubtful."

Chris turned to Sebastian. "Can you find an active cell phone in that classroom?"

Sebastian nodded. "I've got to get closer, but yeah. I can do it."

"Captain, can you take us to the classroom?"

"Yes," the Captain replied. He got up from his chair. "All units, stand down."

Once outside the classroom, Sebastian went to work on his laptop. "I found a phone that belongs to Dale Rucker."

"That's the teacher in the classroom," the Captain replied. "Is it on?"

"Yeah," Sebastian said. He scribbled down the number on a piece of paper and handed it to Chris. "It's worth a shot."

"Alright, let's go back outside."

The group walked back outside the school. Pride met Chris as he came out. "What did you find?"

"The teacher's cell is active. I'm going to try to call it."

"Do you think he'll answer?"

"I don't know, but what have we got to lose?"

"Go ahead. You're in charge."

Chris pulled out his phone. "I need everyone to be quiet." The crowd hushed. Chris dialed the number from the paper. "It's ringing."

"H-hello?" A weak voice answered.

"Mr. Rucker?"

"Yeah. Who is this?"

"My name's Chris. I'm a hostage negotiator. Can you give the phone to Casey?"

"Hold on." The teacher held the phone up. "He wants to talk to you."

Casey took the phone. "Unless you want to get shot again, you'd best stay quiet." The teacher nodded. "Who is this?"

"My name is Chris, Casey."

"You're a cop?"

"Actually, I'm a federal agent."

"They called the FBI?"

"No. I work for NCIS."

"A Navy cop. No one I know is in the military. What happened? Did you draw the short straw?"

"I guess you could say that. Can you tell me what this is all about?"

"I'm tired of being bullied. I decided to do something about it."

"What about your teacher?" Why did you shoot him?"

"He tried to play hero and take my gun. He shot himself."

"He sounded pretty weak on the phone. You think maybe you can let him out to get some medical attention?"

"No," Casey said. "No one is leaving."

"Would you be willing to make a trade?"

"You mean him for you?"

"Is that what you want?"

"I'm just saying, if Mr. Rucker dies, you've got more problems."