As they pulled up to it, they could still see the crowd and the officers. The bodies mostly like had already been taken to the morgue. Sands got out of the car and Pendergast followed. He watched the CIA agent strolling up towards young officer Thorton and the police tape with easy, confident strides.

"I'm sorry, this is a crime scene sir." Thorton said, stopping Sands.

"Yeah, I...kinda guessed that." Sands replied with obvious humor, getting a frown from Thorton, despite the fact that there was a touch of humor in the boy's eyes.

"It's alright officer Thorton, he's with me." Pendergast said, coming forward and crossing under the tape. Sands followed.

"Are you...are you FBI too?" Thorton asked, with curiosity, that didn't really have to do with his job.

"Nah, I'm CIA." Sands over his shoulder with a cocky grin. He held his badge and id over left shoulder, and gave the boy a wink as he watched the kid's eyes widen. Then he turned to the street, following Pendergast. He paused, half way to the door and looked at the middle of the taped off area. There was no chalk outline of the body and the glass had been swept to the side. He reached out and grabbed a hold of the back of Pendergast's jacket, bringing the man to a stop.

Pendergast turned and gave a look that was inquisitive, but annoyed and watched Sands gesture towards the crime scene. "Just a moment, Special Agent Pendergast. Perhaps you'll be so kind as to tell me where the body was exactly found."

Pendergast frowned and shook his head. The scene had been cleaned and unmarked. Rather foolishly. Pendergast turned from the door and walked into the middle of the spot, before turningh is pale gray eyes upward a moment. He took a slight step to the left and looked back down, then up. "Here." He said, finally.

Sands came out and stood right next to Pendergast and lowered his sunglasses to look up at what Pendergast was looking at. "Here?"

"Yes." Pendergast replied, watching the CIA agent.

Sands looked down at the ground, his sunglasses still low on his nose then looked at Pendergast over their egde. "Right here?"

"Yes, right here." Pendergast repeated with a slight tone to the words.

Sands nodded in agreement, then asked. "Head or feet?"

Pendergast blinked a fraction, then replied. "Head."

Sands crouched, sitting on his heel and reache down, touching the spot, the victim's head would have hit with sprayed fingers. "You're possitive?" He asked, looking out over the spot towards the curb.

Pendergast looked down, and after a heart beat, realized what Sands had noticed first. There was a lack of blood on the ground, a lack of a stain. He'd failed to notice that in the fraction the distraction of the man's name and face.

Sands stood up. "Officer Thorton!" He called the young man over, with out turning, The young man came over from the police line. "Was this exactly were the body was found?"

"Yes." Thorton answered with a nod.

"And the glass? Who swept it up?" Sands asked.

Thorton grimaced. "Deputy Booker..." There was a touch of annoyance and disdain in the young man's voice.

Sands finally looked up at Thorton. "And did deputy Booker clean up the blood?"

Thorton looked at them, and it wasn't with a surprised look. "Sir, that's the problem, here wasn't any blood."

Sands raised his eyebrow. "Positive?"

"Yes sir."

Sands looked back at the spot, then after a moment, nodded and started for the door of the hotel. "Also, next time Officer, chalk off the body's outline" He called, going through to the foyer. With out stopping he headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Pendergast followed, slightly amused.

They reached the six floor and Sands practically led the way to the door. "Very observant." Pendergast remarked as they entered the nearly empty room. Only two officers remained and they paid no attention to Pendergast and Sands.

"Thank you. Observance keeps you alive, I find." Sands replied, pausing as his dark eyes swept over the room. He moved over to the spot where the other body had been. From there he swept his eyes slowly over the floor, furniture and walls. "And you knew the victim here..." He muttered softly to Pendergast.

Pendergast started to ask how he knew that, then nodded in reply. Sands was silent a moment, then nodded and headed for the door. "To the Morgue, Agent Pendergast." Pendergast raised and eyebrow, glanced heavenward, then followed with out comment.

"So, the question for now is, where is the blood." Sands said as they got into the car.

"Where indeed." Pendergast echoed as he pulled away from the curb.

The morgue was in the basement of the hospital. A nurse on the first floor had given the directions, althought Sands felt as if they could have also been directions to the center of the earth. But Pendergast led the way calmly towards their destination. Sands was content to keep his mind elsewhere until they got to the morgue. It was a personal trait to be able to let his mind multitask and still come back to the case as if he'd been thinking about it all along.

"Ah, here we are." Pendergast's voice spoke as he stopped before the large stainless steel double door.

"All morgue doors look the same... you think they could do something creative, like maybe, the Gates of Purgatory..."Sands muttered giving the doors a once over.

Pendergast turned to look at Sands, a slight smile on his lips. The man was witty as well as observant. "Indeed." Pendergast replied.

Sands shrugged nonchalantly and tossed Pendergast a slight grin, "Thats what it seems to me these people are stuck in. Not buried, but neither living."

"Life is grand, Death is peaceful. It is the transition between the two that is hard." Pendergast quoted.

"Ego Acquiesco." Sands replied with a bow of his head. Pendergast's eyebrow shot up once again. The man spoke Latin. Pendergast reevaluated his earlier conclusion of the man, and decided that obviously he was intelligent, intelligent enough to play the role of a hard ass.

"Well, shall we, Special Agent Pendergast?" Sands asked, motioning to the door of the morgue.

Pendergast bowed to Sands, motioning. "Secundum Tu."

"Gratulatio." Sands replied, stepping through the door.

A physician was scrubbing up at the sink when they entered. He looked over his shoulder and scowled at Sands and Pendergast. "May I help you?" He asked with a Texas draw.

"We'd like to see the bodies that were brought in a while ago, from the murder down town." Sands said, hands in his pockets.

"Lets see some ID first!" The physician demanded.

Sands and Pendergast, nearly as one, slid their id from their pockets and let the wallets flap open. The physician frowned. "A G-Man workin' with a Commy. What's the fuckin' world coming to..." The man muttered, turning around.

Sands gave the man's back an irritated look and Pendergast just shook his head slightly. "The bodies, Dr." Sands spoke, reminding the man.

"Don't you need a warrant or something?" The doctor asked.

"If you want to do it the hard way..." Sands replied. "But it would save us a lot of trouble. And you. So if you could just show us the bodies..."

"I don't think that this is allowed..." The man started to say, but Sands shoved past him, his footsteps echoing in the sterile chamber. Pendergast watched mutely, his hands behind his back as Sands strolled along the frozen lockers.

He stopped at one and yanked the door open with a violent jerk, pulling the tray out and unzipping the bag. Looking up from the slightly blue corpse, to Pendergast, he motioned. "Rene Bellfontaine, am I right?" Pendergast nodded once.

Sands left the body where it was, before moving away and looking for the other. Finding the locker he wanted, close to the first, he jerked that door open and yanked the tray out with a resounding thud and proceeded to unzip the body bag as Pendergast came over. The M.E followed, protesting loudly.

Sands flung back the corner of the body bag and tensed. Pendergast noticed the whitening of his knuckles and his jaw clench. He raised an eyebrow, watching the CIA agent. Sands turned on the M.E and grabbed the man by the tie, dragging him with in inches. "Do you see this body?" He asked in a hiss.

The M.E glared. "How could one miss it?" The man asked sarcastically.

Sands tightened his grip on the tie, wrapping once around his hand, yanking the man even closer. "Notice something ODD about this body?" Sands hissed.

"Besides being dead?" The M.E asked, but Pendergast noticed the man was losing his spunk in the presence of Sands' chilling nature.

"I suggest you run a DNA test. I also suggest you examine the body for any odd marks. And may I be the first to tell you, that you'll turn your full report over to either myself, or Special Agent Pendergast, before any other." Sands replied in a soft dangerous tone, before letting the man go. He looked at Pendergast who was still watching him with a raised eyebrow. "Any thing you'd care to add, Agent Pendergast?"

"None at the moment, thank you." Pendergast said, shaking his head and looking down at the body of Arthur Mitchem.

"Hey! You better not light that in here!" The M.E snapped suddenly, pointing a finger at Sands who had removed his cigarette case and lighter. With one glance at the M.E. Sands lit the hand rolled cheroot and started for the door. "I'll be outside." He said simply, leaving the room.

Pendergast looked back at the body, ignoring the M.E's rants. One thing was clear, Sands knew who this man was.

Translation:

Ego Acquiesco- I Agree

Secundum Tu- After You

Gratulatio- Thanks

Author's Note: I really have a lot of fun writing these two together. They're so opposite of each other, I can resiste. :D