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

Pride had just left Mokus's gym when his cell phone rang. He activated the speaker option leaving it on the passenger seat. It'd been a half hour of Mokus denying involvement in the shooting and then revealing that he'd given Hackett a gun. An illegal untraceable lightweight gun. Pride hoped the phone call was better news because the pieces weren't adding up.

"Pride."Dwayne greeted.

"Got a hit from Hackett's credit cards."Patton replied. "I was double checking them against the times of the 720 phone calls. After getting one call he made a stop at BJ's."

"What's BJ's?"Pride asked.

"Bar. Management's sending me security footage from that night."Patton explained.

"Hackett was busy the short time he was in town."Pride stated. "He got a gun from Mokus."

"What does a NCIS agent need with a gun?"Patton wondered. "I'm guessing Mokus didn't do things the legal proper way and register that gun."

"Nope."Pride replied. "We need to figure out what happened to that gun."

"On it."Patton commented. "I'll let you know when the security footage gets here."

"Send a copy to Brody and LaSalle too."Pride ordered. "I'm almost back to the office. If you need anything I'll be there for awhile."

Pride ended the call. Pride could feel they were close to something. Just needed things to click. They usually did but investigation required patience. That was one thing Pride was in short supply of.

After breakfast Chris quickly showered and dressed. Once he returned to the living room he found Merri had set their laptops up on the dining room table. She smiled as he stepped off the bottom stair.

"Patton got a lead on Hackett he's sent the security footage from a bar he went too."Merri reported. "The bar charge lines up with one of the 720 calls."

"So he was meetin' somebody."LaSalle surmised as he got a fresh cup of coffee from the kitchen and padded barefoot over to the table.

"And Pride called while you were in the shower."Merri added. "He interviewed one of the high school friends, David Mokus. The one who runs the gym in the 9th. He gave Hackett a gun."

LaSalle paused as he pulled the chair out from the table and raised his eyebrows.

"An NCIS agent buys an illegal gun?"Chris repeated.

"Pride has it top priority for us to find out what happened to that gun. It wasn't on him after the shooting."Merri replied.

"Good of a plan as any."Chris commented as he sat down and pulled up the NCIS database and a normal web browser. "Anything on Regan Norris?"

"Did a brief search she went to the same high school as Hackett and from the photos they were sweethearts."Brody explained.

"First love will mess with your head even years later."LaSalle replied as he typed. "Think they hooked up again?"

"She's married."Brody countered.

"Could still have an affair."LaSalle theorized.

"He didn't strike me as the type."Brody stated as she checked her email.

"First love makes you do things you normally wouldn't."Chris insisted.

"First love or love in general?"Merri asked with a grin.

"Saved by DoubleP."Chris replied dodging the question as he gestured towards Merri's screen. "Security footage."

Merri pulled up the video and turned her laptop so Chris could see. She recognized Reagan from her dmv photo. The two paused by the front door of the bar. Then another man entered the camera range and began arguing with Hackett.

"Who is that?"Chris asked as he stood and leaned against the table.

"I think I know and it goes with your affair theory."Merri commented as she pulled up a NCIS database that had access to the DMV. She typed in a name. "Yep that's Regan's husband, Alec Norris."

"He have a record?"Chris asked.

"No but there was a recent domestic call. No charges came of it."Merri responded as she pulled Norris up in another screen."Pride said the gun was light weight. Bet he got it for Reagan to protect herself."

"So Norris uses the cover of the rally to take out Hackett? Eliminate the competition?"Chris theorized with an amazed shake of his head. "Seems there would be easier ways to do that."

"Not if you think about it."Merri said sadly. "Perfect cover and a confused, frightened crowd makes for easy escape."

Unbidden memories of Merri's bloody and still form on the courthouse steps flashed through Chris's thoughts causing him to clench the edge of the fear and the not knowing of that moment came flooding back.

"You okay?"Merri asked quietly.

Chris glanced down and saw his knuckles were white and he pried them off the table.

"Yeah. Let's get an address on Norris and send it to Pride."Chris instructed as he sat back down.

Having done what they could on their end Merri and Chris settled in to wait.

Patton's computer beeped and he frowned at the tone and pulled up that screen. It was one he'd set an alert to. A search he hadn't had time to work on and hoped that his line of thinking wasn't right. That beep just told him otherwise. The computer tech had set up an alert for anybody who had searched for information on Chris and Merri.

Somebody had just done a search and it was as bad as Patton thought. As bad as it got. Knowing this would only be told in person Patton set aside his computer and wheeled his way to the main area of the NCIS office.

Dwayne Pride looked at the computer tech not quite believing what he was hearing. He knew it could happen. Had happened before and most likely would again. Still the news left a cold knot of fear to form in the lead agent's stomach and he leaned against his desk.

"You're sayin' there's a threat to Brody and LaSalle from within the Navy?"Pride asked grimly.

Patton nodded and activated the main view screen. A picture of a young brown haired woman in a petty officer's uniform appeared along with her Navy file.

"Got a hit from an alert I'd set up. Petty Officer Megan Wright did a search internally for information on Chris and Brody."Patton explained.

"Why does she look familiar?"Pride asked squinting at the picture.

"You may see the family resemblance."Patton said as he pulled up another picture putting it along side Wright's. "She's first cousin to Klain."

"Do we know what she was looking for?"Pride asked.

"One of the searches was for their email addresses. If she got those any kind of two bit hacker can trace it to their phones and..."Patton trailed off.

"Potentially find their current location."Pride finished yanking out his cell phone and punching a number. "Need to move them, ASAP."

"Why would a state senator care..."Patton wondered then slapped the arm of his chair. "I bet you twenty that Hackett wasn't the only one Regan had an affair with. If she threatened Klain..."

"Klain's pressuring his cousin to get information on the current navy investigation that could railroad his career."Pride continued angrily.

"He's panicking trying to get things back under control that he thought he had with Hackett's death."Patton stated turning to face Pride.

"Not on my watch."Pride said as his call finally connected."Yes we need two more teams to the safe house on Elm. I need Brody and LaSalle moved as soon as possible. Let me know as soon as they're in the new location."

"They'll be okay."Patton said as he glanced at the two empty desks.

Pride followed his friend's gaze and nodded.

"Yes they will."Pride affirmed. "In the mean time we need to find Reagan. She's becoming a major piece of this puzzle."

As they worked Pride called in reinforcements. NCIS agents from nearby cities of Baton Rouge and Biloxi. He also called in a favor with a friend on the NOPD. They needed more boots on the ground and they needed them fast.