Disclaimer: Still don't own NCIS. Which I think is pretty obvious by now.

A/N: Thanks everyone for the nice reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Pride glanced briefly around the room as he walked towards his desk with a fresh coffee. LaSalle was just sitting down at his desk, but their newest team member's desk was empty. Brody was usually in the office by now, no matter what kind of party they'd had the night before. "Seen Brody come in yet, Chris?"

"Nope, haven't seen her since last night."

LaSalle didn't seem too overly concerned, but something in Pride's gut told him something wasn't quite right. "She's usually in by now."

"Maybe she's sleeping off Mardi Gras. You know how first Mardi Gras can be."

He glanced over at the empty desk and shook his head. "She didn't drink that much. She was easing her way in."

LaSalle chuckled. "Maybe 'easing in' didn't work as well as she'd hoped."

"Maybe," he said in return. He wasn't convinced though. "If she's not in by half past, give her a call."

"Will do."

He sipped his coffee and sat down, trying to shake the uneasy feeling, but before he could get to the reports on his desk his cell phone began to ring. With another sip of his coffee he answered. "Pride here." The police officer on the other end didn't hesitate to identify herself and launch right into her reason for calling. The more that was said the more he felt himself tensing. "We'll be right there." He hung up and stood from his desk, coffee forgotten, and turned to unlock the cabinet where he kept his gun. "Grab your things, Christopher."

From behind him he heard the shuffle as LaSalle collected his gear without a second thought. "What's up, King?"

He put his gun in the holster at his side as he walked around the desk and towards the exit as quickly as he could. He tried not to over think what little the police officer had told him, but with so few details his mind was buzzing with all the different possibilities. "It's Brody. She was attacked last night."

LaSalle didn't ask for any more details, but Pride noticed he seemed to move a little faster.

Pride looked over the scene as he walked slowly and carefully around the crime scene. The initial attack had taken place on the walkway leading to the front door, but then the blood trail lead to a small alley between Brody's house and the neighbor's, a short fence being the only thing separating the houses. The evidence in the alley wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. A pool of blood, the indication that she'd moved at some point most likely in a fight, and then another pool of blood. There was a worrying amount in fact. There was no other immediately visible evidence though. Just the blood.

Meredith Brody's blood.

"Why weren't we called in last night?" he asked the detective standing nearby while LaSalle took pictures of the scene.

"It was Mardi Gras night, Agent Pride," Detective Fritz answered. "It's a busy night and not enough of us. After Mr. Jeremy Hendricks, the neighbor, called it in the emergency responders arrived and immediately took Agent Brody to the hospital as quickly as they could. About forty minutes after that police and forensics arrived on the scene."

"Forty minutes?" LaSalle said incredulously as he stood and moved to take photos from a different angle.

The Detective sighed. "There was a lot of crime, agent, and a lot of traffic."

"I know what Mardi Gras in New Orleans is like, detective, I've lived here long enough to…."

"Christopher," Pride warned. He shook his head to let the other agent know that it wasn't worth it before addressing Detective Fritz again. "Then what, detective?"

"We secured the scene, questioned the neighbor, and canvassed the area," the detective answered. "Mr. Hendricks was able to give us Agent Brody's name, but not much else as far as personal information went. Her ID and credentials weren't on her, so it took a little longer to confirm her identity and then a while after that we contacted NCIS. As I said, it was a busy night and we were short staffed."

Pride looked around the alley as he let the information sink in. He knew for a fact that Merri had had her credentials with her. They'd all left their weapons in the office, but kept their IDs. He'd seen Brody double check that she still had hers before they'd all went their separate ways. She would have kept them on her at all times, right up until she made it through the door of the house, which meant her attacker probably took them. This didn't have the makings of a robbery. The attacker took the time to drag her into the alley and there seemed to have been a fight. It wasn't a quick attack or a grab and go. This almost seemed more personal.

"What did the neighbor say?" he asked.

"He heard noises in the alley, thought it was some kids up to something, and looked out the window in time to see a man in a Mardi Gras mask grab Agent Brody from behind and put a knife to her throat. He said she looked injured already. He opened the window and yelled, the attacker panicked and slit her throat before taking off."

Pride stared at the blood stains on the concrete as an image of the scene was painted in his mind by the description. It wasn't a pleasant visual. He looked away from the scene and back towards the house for a moment to gather his thoughts. He noticed LaSalle pausing from his evidence gathering at the same time. This wasn't easy on either of them. Handling a case involving one of their own never was, but the fact it was their own teammate made it even worse.

He cleared his throat and turned towards Detective Fritz. "Any news from the hospital?" It was a question he'd been putting off in favor of finding out what had happened. The officer who met them at the scene had told them that Brody had been alive when the ambulance had taken her away, but couldn't give them any more details. Up until now he'd taken reassurance from that and forced himself to keep working the case. That would be what Merri would want, he was sure.

For the first time the detective seemed to hesitate and look genuinely sympathetic. "I'm afraid not. I was going to follow up just before you arrived. Hadn't had the chance before."

He nodded in understanding and went back to staring at the crime scene. LaSalle stood and joined him.

"I've gotten photos and forensics are packing up. There's no sign of the knife," LaSalle told him. "There's a shoe impression by the walkway though. It's a little smudged, but should be clear enough to get a match if we can find the shoe."

"I'll send you the description of the assailant that the neighbor provided. It's not much, but it's better than nothing," Detective Fritz said.

"Everything's being sent to Sebastian too," LaSalle added. "I think we've gotten everything here there is to get."

In other words, he was as ready to check in on Brody as Pride himself was. There wasn't much else that could be done here and the need to know if Brody was alright or not was more than a little distracting. He caught sight of the blood again and felt his stomach churn uneasily in a way it hadn't since he was a probie. There was a lot of blood. He'd seen cases with less of a mess where the victim hadn't made it.

"Let's get to the hospital," he said before turning to the detective again and reaching out to shake his hand. "Thanks for filling us in."

"No problem. It's always a tough case when it's one of your own. Good luck, Agent."

He nodded and, making a point not to look at the grim crime scene again, headed for the car.