A/N: The two stories are minimally connected by similar characters, but are each going to stand as their own separate entity. Not necessary to have read "Prelude" which is soon going to have a title change...
Meredith Brody felt her heart pound as she entered the bullpen and stepped up to Pride's desk. In her hands, she held a single piece of paper that contained one sentence.
Effective immediately, I, Meredith Brody, resign my position as a senior field agent within the ranks of NCIS.
"Resign?" Pride looked at the paper, Brody had placed in his hands. "Why?"
Brody opened her mouth but couldn't form the words. The fact that she shot her partner and best friend was choking the life from her. "I can't work here anymore."
Pride let her resignation fall onto his desk , "I need a better answer."
Brody lowered her head. "I shot LaSalle. I don't see how we can ever work together again." How could any of them ever trust her to have their back?
"So, you shot LaSalle," Pride shrugged. "I told you we'll deal with it."
The older agent reached into his desk and handed her a file. "Is this what you're worried about?"
Tentatively, Brody took the file from his hand. "This is your report of the shooting."
"Read it," he directed as she started to skim over his detailed account. "Out loud."
Brody sucked in a deep breath. "While trying to subdue, the unsub, Senior Agent, Christopher LaSalle, was shot point blank in the chest and subsequently abducted by an unknown member of the suspect's organization.
Raising her eyes, she swallowed. "This is a lie."
"Not in the way I remember it." He wasn't about to let Brody go through another task force hearing again. He knew it would be the end of her career. He would handle this in house in on his terms.
"But Pride-"
Pride leaned over his desk. "We're family. We handle things in our own way."
Brody shook her head. "I can't stay here…"
"So, you're just going to run again?" Pride countered. "And then what?"
Brody looked at him almost dumbfounded.
"Did coming here make you forget about the people on the Moultrie?" Pride challenged.
Brody couldn't argue. Over the past year or so it had certainly helped to soften the blow but she would never forget the lives that were lost due to her hesitation.
"No matter where you go, it will never change what happened to Chris. Just like he can never change what happened to Savannah or you, your sister."
A huge lump started to form in Brody's throat. "Pride, I-
"And I can't let you go right now, we're shorthanded." he finished stuffing the file back into his desk.
Sonja Percy carefully eyed the blonde toting Gucci standing outside LaSalle's room. She definitely appeared to be looking for someone the guest agent thought watching as the woman peered through the window and went inside.
The blonde stared at the agent sleeping in the bed and wondered if she could awaken him. Moving closer, she gently touched his cheek, prompting his face to twitch. A moderate dose of morphine, limited his ability to create conscious thought. Opening his eyes, he saw a warped figure standing over him but was unable to process the person's identify.
"Hey Handsome. Eddie sends his warmest regards." Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a P229, the silenced edition. "You know it's too bad you're cop. I really liked you."
"It's Federal Agent! Get it right!" Percy's voice boomed as she hit the door, weapon ready to fire. The blonde shot first, forcing the petite agent to jump to the side as she fired back, hitting the wall.
Alarms started to go off at the sound of the disturbance, as the blonde fled, prompting Percy to spring back to her feet, giving chase. She was almost to the elevator when the blonde turned and fired again, into a gathering of innocent people.
Realizing the instability of her location and the potential of innocent lives being lost, Percy stopped allowing the blonde to escape into the elevator. She debated taking the stairs, but something inside of her told her not to leave LaSalle alone.
What if blondie had a partner?
"I need you here at least until Chris is back up on his feet." Under a contractual clause, Pride could keep legally Brody until all current cases that she was working on were closed. That would give him time to figure out a way to handle this.
His phone rang, interrupting the rest of his thoughts. "This is Pride."
It was Percy.
"We need to go back to hospital. Chris is in trouble." Pride told Brody, as he pulled his weapon from the desk drawer and slid it onto his belt.
Brody stubbornly shook her head. "I can't go back there." She had already said her goodbye and wasn't about to be put through another round of hell.
"You do not have choice. This is business. Someone just tried to put another bullet into LaSalle. They would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Sonja."
Brody's face paled. She had not considered the fact that people in Eddie's organization would want to retaliate, but it made sense. Chris had spent six months working for the man as his right hand. The idea of betrayal had to be swirling in the minds of Eddie's people.
"How's LaSalle?" Brody didn't want to ask but how could she not?
Percy rolled her eyes. "Truthfully? The man is on so many drugs right now, I doubt he noticed."
"What did she look like?"
"Blonde, about 5'7, dressed to the nines and carrying a Gucci Handbag."
Brody whipped out her phone and pulled out a picture which Percy instantly confirmed. "Pride, it's Ella Rowe, Duquesne's head of security."
And his only sibling.
LaSalle needed round the clock security. Even though, Duquesne was dead his empire wasn't. There were still key players out there, who knew that Chris would be more than likely be the prosecution's star witness. It would be his evidence and his testimony that ultimately bring the entire organization down.
"No, one gets in without an ID check. We'll do this in shifts," Pride told them. "Percy, you've been here all night. Go home get some rest and meet me back at the office at 5 O'clock. Brody your up."
To stay with LaSalle? "But Pride-"
"Look, I know what your issue is but right now I can't do anything about it. I need you here to protect LaSalle in case Ella or one of her people decides to come back."
Ella wouldn't come back Brody reasoned, although, she wouldn't mind the opportunity to kick the blonde's ass.
For the first couple of hours, Brody was content to position herself outside of LaSalle's room. Dutifully, she checked ID badges and watched hospital staff as they went in and out of the room. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't doing enough. She needed to be out there with Pride hunting Ella.
But instead she was here, babysitting the man she had shot.
Was this the Universe's idea of trying to get her to face her fears instead of running away from them? Maybe she could leave as soon as LaSalle was out of danger, which would probably be never. Thank God, Percy had been here to have his back, when she hadn't. What if Ella would have killed him, while she was off pouting someplace? Her heart would have been crushed to dust. She would never be able to live with herself.
She let herself wallow in her thoughts for a moment more before finally deciding to go inside. Holding her breath she prayed that LaSalle was still sleeping. Thankfully, he was. Whew. She breathed a sigh of relief, baby steps were fine with her. As long as LaSalle was sleeping, she could tolerate being in the room. They would work themselves up to talking later. Better yet, she would talk and he could sleep.
Hanging back, she watched through the drawn curtain as one of the nurses, finished up his sponge bath. She had to wonder how the man could sleep through something like that until she remembered the amount of medication they were giving him to allow his body to heal. After the nurses, had gone, Brody curiously started to go through the bucket of toiletries they'd left behind: soap, dry shampoo, deodorant, mouth swabs, shaving cream and a razor.
A razor. Brody glanced at her partner briefly, staring at beard that was masking part of his handsome face. God, how she hated that thing! Pondering, she wondered what it would be like if she...
Smiling deviously, she took the razor and the shaving cream from the basket. Though she knew she was invading his personal space, she wanted to see his face again and run her hands over his smooth cheeks. What did she had to lose? Chances were he already hated her for doing the unforgivable and putting a bullet in his chest. What could a little shave hurt?
When she had finished she ran the back of her hand over his smooth, bare cheek. "There, now you look like you again." she said softly not expecting for his face to start to twitch, followed by the crinkling of his forehead.
Oh... this was bad, really bad...
He was waking up.
Brody started to back up slowly as her heart started to slam against her chest. Blinking, his eyes were blinking. She stopped short when he seemed to pin her with his dark blue irises coming into view. He was staring right at her.
"Brody?"