A/N: Ok, back to drabbling. Came up with this idea a few weeks ago and was going to save it until a later time but I'm struggling with the end to the next chapter to Blackout so I leave you with this for your enjoyment.

Shot in the Dark: One Agent Fires, While Another Falls

Meredith Brody didn't recognize the man before her as he stepped into the diner and slid into the booth beside her. Working undercover for nearly six months as the right hand to an Ex-Naval Lt. Commander turned arms dealer, Chris LaSalle was sporting a trim bread that ran the length of his jawbone. Brody wasn't much for men with beards, but it looked good. The torqued and ripped muscles lying underneath his black t-shirt, didn't look bad either. It was nice to know that after several months of deep undercover work that some things had not changed.

"Hey Baby, what are ya doin' here?" His hand snaked behind her neck drawing her in for a brief kiss that would benefit the two men who had walked in behind him. They were flunkies of the man that Chris had been assigned to help bring down.

Playing along, Brody touched the side of his face, kissing him back.

"It's time for you to come home. We miss you." For several seconds, Brody stared at him starry eyed watching as he pondered the meaning of her words. He knew he'd missed the scheduled check-in time with Pride for the second week in row. But he'd been busy tracking a shipment of stolen military issued p9's that were now being sold to a group of local terrorists targeting the Gulf Coast. Not to mention, he done things for the benefit of the case that he knew King wouldn't be too proud to hear.

His hand ran up her short black skirt, clutching her thigh. "You know I can't do that right now, Baby." He was too close to bringing it all to an end. All he needed was just a little more time.

Brody's eyes widened slightly, her eyebrows rising up on her forehead. Pride had received word that a punk that Chris had arrested several years back was now working with the organization he was trying to infiltrate. The odds of LaSalle being made had just increased by one hundred and fifty percent. Leaning in, she gently nuzzled his neck. "Pride's pulling you out." She whispered. "It's over."

Rearing back, Chris grabbed her wrist, his eyes flashing fire. "It ain't over. Till I say it's over!" he hissed shoving her for good measure.

Brody clenched her jaw, forcing herself to keep her anger in check as he pushed out of the booth and signaled to the flunkies. They were all about to leave when she suddenly slid from the booth.

"I'm sorry, Baby. This is the way it has to be."

Chris looked back over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing.

He had to admit, he was impressed with the short skirt and thigh high boots. Brody had played her part well, but he didn't take kindly to the fact that Pride wanted to pull him out just when he'd finally started to make some head way. If Pride was determined to pull him out now, he'd have to do it with LaSalle kicking and screaming.

Brody groaned as she pushed opened the door to the bullpen and flung her purse into a nearby chair.

"What's the matter?" Pride asked seeing the frustration in her face.

"I think we've created a monster," Brody sighed as she sank into a chair. She knew that when it came to her partner, that he was both stubborn and determined, combine that with the fact that he hated to leave things unfinished and you had the equivalent to Frankenstein with a deep southern accent.

"He wouldn't listen to me."

"Then you had eyes on him?" Pride almost sounded relieved. For two weeks now, he'd been wrestling with the fact that LaSalle's cover might have already been blown. "You talked to him?"

"He was being watched." Actually, they had done more kissing than talking, not that Brody would ever tell Pride that. The original plan had been to go in as his sister, until Chris decided to put the girlfriend spin on it. Not that it mattered to Brody, it had worked, she'd still gotten her point across. Plus, she had the added bonus of seeing one of her fantasy's come true. Needless to say, LaSalle did not disappoint. The man knew how to kiss.

"Did you warn him about Dover Littlefield?" Littlefield had been a two-bit drug dealing punk back during Chris' days with NOLA Vice, but now that he was a little older he'd become a force to be reckoned with. If he should happen to make LaSalle, Chris would be dead before he even had time to blink.

"I didn't have a chance." Brody returned as she started to pull off her boots.

"Then we are pullin' him out tonight," Pride said with conviction as he reached for the phone.

Eight hours later Pride and Brody stood outside the gates to a more than modest mini-mansion. It was the home to known arms dealer and up and coming mob affiliate, Eddie Duquesne with the right connections, the man had the potential to destroy Pride's city and all of the good people in it.

"Wow, no wonder LaSalle doesn't want to be pulled out," Brody commented looking at the lavish house, as she pulled her Kevlar over her skin tight black cat suit as LaSalle had coined it. It was actually a pair of black leggings with a fitted Lycra-Spandex top but it worked for her.

"Like it or not, he doesn't have a choice." Pride grumbled as the SWAT commander approached him.

"We're ready when you are Pride."

"On my count then," Pride crouched down with Brody following suit. "One, two, three!"

Inside, Chris stood at the front window, his weapon ready. All afternoon, he'd been waiting and watching for Pride to make his move. He'd hoped that Pride would reconsider, but given the fact that he didn't have a chance to really communicate with Brody it was doubtful.

"What's going on?"

Keeping his weapon trained on the window, Chris glanced back at the man who had been his target. For almost a year now, he'd worked the man earning his trust and earning his way into the inner circle. "We've got trouble. SWAT just pulled up."

"SWAT? Are you f-ing kidding me? How did that happen?"

"I don't know," Chris shrugged. "Maybe Rafe or Jimmy talked." Chris was referring to the two underlings that had been popped during their last attempt to run a shipment of arms through NOLA. Thanks to Chris the entire shipment had been confiscated at the dock. Unfortunately, the buyer had been killed along with a couple of Eddie's lesser known associates.

Eddie shook his head in disgust. "That aside, how do we get out this?"

"Just follow my lead," Chris flashed his famous grin as he pulled away from the window and made for the kitchen, with Eddie following. LaSalle knew that more than likely he'd be leaving this gig in handcuffs, so for the benefit of Duquesne he had to put on a good show. If he was lucky, maybe Pride would let him play this out with the façade that he was going to prison. That way, his persona of Ryan Clayne would earn a reputation on the streets and could possibly resurface at a later time. Chris had to admit, that living another life in the months following Savannah's death had saved him from total self-destruction. If he wasn't Chris LaSalle, then he didn't have to deal with the void that had been left behind. Most of all he didn't have to deal with Pride and the looks of guilt that the senior agent gave him every time he walked into the room.

The sound of the door being kicked down, signaled the beginning of what would end in a fire fight. As expected, Duquesne had a fair share of men who were at his beckon call 24/7 ready to take on anything that got in their way and tonight was no exception. Five men, all armed with assault weapons were position both in and outside the house, waiting to take on SWAT all for the man who paid their salaries and generously took care of their families.

"Do you see any sign of LaSalle?" Pride said into his com as a bullet zinged past his head, forcing him to dive behind the couch for cover. He knew that if Chris were playing by the rules, he wouldn't fire directly at them, nor would he be protected by the use of Kevlar. His hope was to end this little charade as quickly as possible and get his agent out safe.

Brody scanned the living room before her eyes floated upward towards the main hall... "Heading towards the kitchen."

"I've got eyes on Duquesne. The man with him is a federal agent. Do not fire at Duquesne unless you have a clear shot. Repeat. My agent is to remain alive and well," Pride relayed earning a visual from the SWAT commander.

"They're gunna hit us with tear gas," Chris told Eddie as they entered the kitchen. The entry had been a little faster than normal, but the presence of gas masks were a tale-tell sign that tear gas was eminent.

"Not, if we hit them first," Eddie returned, pressing an app on his phone. The house suddenly went pitch black.

"What happened to the lights?" Meredith Brody pulled out her flashlight and hauled off towards the kitchen as the tear gas was disbursed in the main room, gunfire ensuring.. Pride remained behind, giving Brody the cover she needed.

The kitchen created the perfect escape route through the garage she thought as she felt something whiz past her shoulder. Stopping short, she grabbed her weapon and pointed it straight forward.

Her breath was coming out in short pants in time with her rapidly beating heart as she felt another human presence to her right. Whirling, her arms lunged out, committed to firing. The sound of the shot rang out in time with the return of the electricity.

Still locked in her pose, Brody watched in horror as Chris stepped in front of Duquesne, taking the shot in the right side of the chest. He was attempting to shove the unarmed man out of the way when Brody fired. In his mind, Duquesne was worth more alive than dead. He wasn't sure if he'd done out of obligation to his target or the fact that Brody was shooting blindly in dark at an unarmed man.

"Chris!" Brody screamed out her partner's name as he fell against, Duquesne. By all rights, the man should have been knocked over the force of Chris' weight, but ironically, Eddie did not waver. Instead, he pressed Chris tightly against him and reached for his gun, pointing it directly at Brody.

"You're going to pay for that Bitch!," he said, using Chris as human shield as he backed out of the kitchen and into the mud room.

The door leading to the garage burst open revealing a gunman as Pride appeared at Brody's flank. Pride tackled Brody to the floor as the mystery gunman emptied his clip into the space where they had been standing, allowing Duquesne enough time to escape with LaSalle into the back of an awaiting car.

For several moments after the shooting had stopped, Pride continued to shield Brody's body with his own. When he was certain, they were free from harm's way, he slowly rolled off of her.

"What happened?" he panted as Brody sat up, a distraught look on her face.

"I shot LaSalle ." she said breathlessly.