Trust Your Training

Alone at The Crime Scene

A/N: I own nothing. All rights go to those at CBS and NCIS: Los Angeles.

"Go through the camera footage. Let us know what you find," Sam told Nell as he and Callen made their way out of the restaurant.

After receiving the call from Hetty that Granger was on his way to interrogate Inman, Callen and Sam quickly left the crime scene they were working to settle the issue, leaving Nell alone to access the camera network.

Nell glanced up at the security cameras on the ceiling and, with a sigh, made her way upstairs to where the restaurant monitored their cameras. The room had several monitors set up for viewing, so she sat down at the desk and set to work accessing the closed circuit network.

The restaurant didn't have the most advanced security system in the world, so within fifteen minutes, Nell had full access to the camera footage they needed to help find proof that Parish had been murdered. However, Parish had died in the only camera blindspot in the entire restaurant, which made it difficult to find the evidence they needed.

She played back the footage of the training run for what felt like the hundredth time, and watched the screen very closely. Nell followed Parish's movements starting when Callen, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks entered the restaurant. He got up and started firing at them, ducking behind a pillar in the middle of the dining area.

Next, Parish stepped into the only spot that cameras couldn't see. She stopped the tape, noticing something she hadn't picked up on earlier. It was hard to spot, but at the bottom of the screen Nell caught a quick glance of what appeared to be Inman in his red tactical vest moving into the blindspot where Parish had just entered. A few seconds later, he stepped out and Inman made his way to the stairs where Deeks tackled him and hauled him out of the restaurant.

She now knew that it had indeed been Inman who had been closest to Parish when he died. She wished that there had been actually footage of the murder to show the rest of the team, but she had to settle with what little evidence she had found.

Nell decided that she had discovered everything she could from the camera network, so she pulled out her phone ready to call Eric at OPS to fill him in on the details she found.

She wished that Eric had been there with her, but not just to help hack the security system. Her and Eric made the perfect team. They worked so well together that they often didn't have to say anything to understand each other because they just knew what one another was thinking. Since her first week at NCIS, Nell had instantly admired Eric for his technical prowess, and she had finally met someone who's intelligence could rival her own. Even though they had butted heads early on in their partnership, she knew that they would be inseparable.

She was so focused on the task she was working on that she had failed to hear the front door to the restaurant open. Footsteps made their way throughout the downstairs of the restaurant, and eventually they were on their way up to where Nell sat at the security desk.

Nell went to punch in the number for OPS into her phone, when suddenly someone from behind pulled the phone right out of her hands. She tried to turn around while reaching for her service weapon, but an arm grabbed her around the waist.

Nell struggled to get free and tried to shout, but a strong hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her cries for help. Then, a rough voice whispered into Nell's ear, "Who do we have here?"