Title: Boundaries
author: Cindy Ryan
notes and summary: see part 1

Dwayne Pride jogged through the entrance of the emergency room. He'd arrived at the scene of the crash only to be told the ambulance had just left. It didn't take Dwayne long to find Chris he heard the younger agent's raised voice half way across the room. Relief flooded through Pride as he walked. If Chris was yelling he was alright.

"Agent LaSalle at the very least you have a concussion."A brown haired man with glasses in his forties was standing in front of Chris who was sitting on a bed. "You need the CT scan and a night's rest."

"From the look of your truck I'd say the doctor is right."Pride interjected as he stepped into the curtained area. "Doctor, I'm Agent Pride head of NCIS here in New Orleans."

"I'm Doctor Dan McMillion."The doctor replied shaking Pride's outstretched right hand."Your agent here was lucky. However as I was telling him I still want to do a CT to rule out anything. Plus I want to keep him overnight for observation. Sometimes with car accidents something doesn't show up until the next day."

"I'll make sure he cooperates."Dwayne stated meeting Chris's protesting gaze. "Can we have a few minutes?"

"Of course. Just let a nurse know and they'll contact me."McMillion commented as he left.

"King, I'm not stayin'."Chris stated angrily. "I'm fine; well nothin' I haven't dealt with before."

"You're stayin', Christopher."Dwayne countered. "You'll be no good to Merri or me if you pass out tomorrow. Want to tell me what happened?"

Chris looked like he wanted to protest more but nodded.

"I was on my way back from meetin' with a source. That tail I picked up rammed me once I got onto the highway."Chris replied. "They hit me twice. I tried to keep their attention until NOPD showed up but that's when they hit me the second time and I went off the road. Tinted windows, no plates."

"NOPD's got a BOLO out from the description they got from witness and doing a canvas of the area."Dwayne stated quietly."Dr. McMillion is right you were lucky, Christopher. What did the source tell you?"

"If they had wanted to take me out I'd be dead, King."Chris commented with a shake of his head wincing at the motion. "This was a scare but it proves one thing. That the source was right. He said the shooter was local and that this wasn't a military angle this is personal."

"We're makin' somebody nervous."Dwayne agreed grimly." You're stayin here tonight. Once they clear you I want you to stay with Brody."

Chris blinked in surprise as he stared at his boss.

"You're going to need my help on this, King."Chris protested. "I'm not sittin' on the sidelines."

"You won't be."Dwayne said quietly. "They're getting bolder. You've both been attacked. Safety in numbers."

"We could use this."Chris argued. "Draw them out...use me as bait."

"Not worth it. They've showen they're willin' to risk innocents to get to their target."Dwayne stated solemnly. "I promise, Christopher, we will get them. But we have to do it another way. I know things are complicated between you and Merri but I need you two to look out for each other."

"Okay."Chris replied reluctantly. "I don't like it but I see your point."

"I'll call Merri and update her. I also want you two in a new safehouse."Dwayne continued. "I'll have guards posted here at the hospital."

"King..."Chris protested. "I can handle myself."

"I know but humor me."Dwayne replied with a grim smile. "It's been too close for comfort. I'll let the nurse know and I'll check in tomorrow."

Chris nodded the reality of the day starting to sink in. First Brody, now they'd come after him. Not to mention they'd pay for what they did to his truck. All boiled down to the simple scary fact that it just wasn't one that was a target now everyone was vulernable. King was right they needed to fix this and end it quick before the next member of the NCIS family got hurt. That couldn't happen, no matter what, they had to find a way to make everyone safe.

"Merri, you still with me?"Dwayne asked quietly.

Merri tightened her grip on her cell phone as she steadied it by her right ear. She'd nearly dropped it when her boss had given her the latest update.

"Yes, and you're sure he's alright?"Brody asked worriedly as she imagined what the crash had been like for her partner.

"They want to run a few tests but I think he's in the clear. Was yelling at the doctor which is always a good sign."Pride stated. "I want you to pack your things. Going to be moving you into a larger safe house and you'll be getting a house guest."

"He's not going to like that."Merri said quietly.

"Already had that fight."Dwayne replied. "He'll follow doctor's orders tonight and stay at the hospital but then he'll be joining you. I'm not circling the wagons but I want you two under the same roof. They're getting bolder. I want to narrow their chances and increase ours of catching them."

"Understood."Merri acknowledged. "Tell Chris..."

"Tell him what?"Dwayne prompted.

"Never mind."Merri replied quickly. "Thanks for keeping me in the loop."

"We'll find a way to get things back to normal, I promise."Dwayne stated. "I'll give you a call when I know where the new safehouse is."

"Okay."Merri said as she leaned back into the sofa. "Bye."

"Bye."Pride said as he ended the call.

Merri let the her right hand drop the phone limply to her lap as she stared ahead not really focusing on anything. She could've lost her partner today. The thought chilled her. It was one thing for her to be injured and in hiding. For this to turn and have other members of her team in danger...that was tough to swallow. Risk was part of the job; something they understood when signing up. It didn't make it any easier when those people you worked with became more than colleagues. Friends being in the line of fire when Merri couldn't do anything more to help was one of the toughest things she'd had to endure.

Stretching gingerly back out onto the sofa Merri slumped back against her pillow and pulled the quilt up around her. She hated being helpless, hated being hurt, most of all she hated being separated from the people she cared about. Merri would rest and heal and once she and Chris were in the new safehouse they'd come up with a plan. A plan to figure out who killed Agent Hackett and who was willing to endanger so many and why.

Patton Plame smiled as his fingers flew across one keyboard and then back to the touchscreen of his tablet that rested on his lap. Finally making some headway. Only thing he'd found so far on Hackett was that he'd requested the Pack detail. Something Brody had already told them. But the interesting thing Patton had found was how hard Hackett had fought for that detail. Almost as hard as Brody had. Hackett had sent several emails and finally been granted the request. As another tidbit came to light Patton hit a speed dial and adjusted his earpiece as the cell phone dialed.

"You got good news for me?"Dwayne Pride greeted.

"Maybe or just another piece to the puzzle."Patton replied with a shake of his head. "Thought you'd like to know that one number kept reoccurring on Hackett's cell a seven two zero area code which is Colorado."

"Hackett ever been stationed in Colorado?"Pride inquired.

"I'll have to pull his file again but from what I remember if he was it wasn't for very long."Plame commented. "Oooh hello what do we have here?"

"What is it?"Pride asked concern in his voice.

"One of the outgoing calls Hackett made the night he died?"Plame prompted as he scooted his wheel chair closer to the computer desk. "Was to Senator Klain's office at ten o'clock p.m."

"Klain?"Pride repeated. "Interestin'. I'll dig into that angle. Anything else on the cell phone?"

"Other call that night was to a boxing gym in the Ninth ward. I'll dig up that info and text it to you."Patton reported.

"Don't burn the midnight oil too long."Dwayne ordered." Get some rest."

"Will try. Double P out."Patton replied as he stared at the screen.

Now what did a boxing gym, a state senator, a Colorado number and a murdered NCIS agent have in common? That was the sixty-four thousand dollar winning game show type question. Plame sighed and went in search of caffeine.