For Annajadekin! I am super sorry this is late and hope you like it! Prompt: 'The idea is that kensi is a secret genius but only hetty knows because she hasnt told anyone because of something bad that happened in her past. One day a case comes up from her past and she has to reveal her smarts to keep the team safe. Some ideas for how smart she is are she can hack as well as nell and eric. she could knows tons of languages and maybe she worked in a hospital for a little while so she has medical skills.'
"Where's Deeks? He normally comes in with you" Callen asked Kensi teasingly. "It's unusual for the two of you to be separated"
Kensi just gave Callen a look. "You know we have separate lives, right? He's started a new fitness regime and is now totally obsessed"
"I'm afraid that's not true, Miss Blye" Hetty approached her looking regretful. "We have just received a video of Mr Deeks being tortured"
Kensi's heart fell. Her face hardened as she thought of her partner. No one got to touch him. "By who, Hetty? And, what do they want?" She took a step towards Hetty.
"Yeah tell us, Hetty" Callen was worried for Deeks. He was the leader of this team and it was his job to keep everyone safe. "I'll call Sam in"
Hetty looked at them with a measured expression. "Get Mr Hanna in and come up to Ops" She strode up to Ops with Kensi following her quickly.
"He's on his way" Callen pocketed his phone and followed Kensi and Hetty up to Ops where Eric and Nell looked tense. Then, he saw their screen. It was Deeks.
Kensi let out a sharp intake of breath. He was unconscious with blood dripping down his face. That's when she saw the symbol scrawled on the wall behind him. "I know that symbol"
"I'm here. What's happened G, Kens?" Sam entered and saw Kensi looking pale with an expression of iron. He saw the picture of Deeks and instinctively gently patted Kensi's shoulder. She was like his little sister and no one got to hurt his little sister. "We'll get him back, Kens" He reassured her.
Hetty opened her mouth to speak. "Mr Deeks has been taken by Cybertron Ltd. They sent us these photos and this video" She motioned to Nell to play the video. Everyone watched in tense silence as Deeks' cries were amplified by the Ops sound system. Kensi gripped the back of Nell's chair with a pained expression as Deeks collapsed onto the fall.
"Who are Cybertron?" Sam asked in confusion. "We've not dealt with them before so why take Deeks?" He mused aloud as he took in the information that Eric brought up on the screen. They were a tech firm specialising in hack prevention and anti malware software.
Callen looked thoughtfully. "They seem legit. All of their transactions are easily traceable and they have no reason to take Deeks" He looked at the information again. "Unless this is to do with Deeks' time in the LAPD?" He suggested.
"No it's not" Kensi confessed urgently. "This is down to me"
Hetty looked disapprovingly at Kensi. "No it is not, Miss Blye."
"No, Hetty. You don't understand" Kensi protested as she looked at the photos again. "This is my fault"
Hetty fixed her with a stare. "Do you think I don't know, Miss Blye? I who recruited and trained you. This is not your fault"
"Hold up a moment" Sam interrupted as he was completely lost. "You know why they took Deeks?" He looked at Kensi who nodded slightly.
Hetty paused for a moment. She looked at Kensi who was nodding her agreement. This had been a secret between them for many years and one that she had sworn to Kensi to keep. "Miss Blye was a hacker who used to work for them before she joined NCIS"
"You were a hacker?" Nell asked with a look of surprise.
Eric looked excited. "You're one of us. A hacker. Why did you never tell us?"
"I only became one to find out the information I need about my dad's death. That's why I joined Cybertron. They promised they would help me hack the government so I could find out the truth" Kensi confessed as she recalled those days. It was when she ran away after her dad's death. When, she lived on the street.
Callen processed the information. "But, what do they want now, Kens? And, when did you leave?" It must have been at least 8-10 years since she was with them.
"I left almost a year after I joined because I realised they were using me" Kensi explained bitterly. She had been a teenager who was duped by false promises. They never had any intention of helping her. They just wanted to train her and use her. Make the angry teenager into a weapon they could use. "But, I have no idea what they want now. They tracked me until I joined NCIS in order to get me back on their team but Hetty helped negotiate my out without being prosecuted"
Hetty patted her shoulder reassuringly. "And, I would do it again without a moment's hesitation" She saw Kensi straighten up and saw the steel harden in her eyes. "And, as for what they want" She made Eric bring up their demand note. "They want you, Miss Blye, to hack the CIA database in order to find the location of James Farrell, their leader. Or, they threaten to kill Mr Deeks and expose your involvement with them"
"But, why me?" Kensi was still confused slightly. "They must have trained hundreds of hackers. Why me specifically?"
Hetty looked reluctant to answer. "Because, Miss Blye, they want to see you under their control again. You are the only person with information that could aid them in hacking the CIA because you can do so from inside NCIS. That's why they want you"
"Well, let's do a trade" Sam suggested as a plan formed in his mind. "They hand Deeks back, we give you to them, you hack the database and Eric can trace your hack" Sam said as he remembered Eric had created a tool to find where people were hacking from and could trace them exactly. "Can't you, Beale?"
"Yes, that might actually work" Eric quickly cottoned on. "And, I can block Kensi's hack without them even knowing. I'll set up a fake database within the CIA one so Kensi can hack into that without actually accessing the real database and if she even gets close to hacking the fake one then I can have it rebuild itself so she can keep hacking" Eric explained as he hastily processed what Sam was asking. This plan could work. But, he had no idea how good a hacker Kensi was and they didn't have time to trial it.
Callen looked at Kensi seriously. "Are you in, Kens? You know we can find another way?" He wanted Kensi to have an out if she wanted. He knew she would risk her life for Deeks but he needed to be sure.
"I'm in, Callen. This is for Deeks" Kensi looked determined as she met Callen's inquiring gaze.
Callen nodded in agreement. "Then, let's get started. Eric, you set up a fake database. Sam, you make contact with the kidnappers, tell them Kensi agrees. Kens, you go with Eric and quickly practise the hack before getting your stuff together. Nell, when Sam makes contact I want you to track the call and see if you can narrow the coordinates down. I'll start putting together everything we need" And, he whispered to himself, make a contingency plan just in case. He had faith in his team but these hackers might not play fair.
An hour later...
"Ready, Kens?" Sam asked her as they approached the meeting point. He saw three men and a van waiting.
Kensi took a deep breath and straightened herself out. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's just get Deeks"
"Okay" Sam and Kensi moved closer in. Callen was watching from above to make sure the transaction went without hitch and Eric and Nell were frantically trying to identify the people on the ground. They approached the hackers.
Kensi walked forward. "I'm here so you can let Deeks go" She submitted to their patting down. One of them pulled her gun out and dropped it on the floor. The dark haired one went to the back of the van.
"Here's your partner" The dark haired one said with a slight curl to his lips as he pushed Deeks towards them.
Kensi inhaled sharply. His face was covered in blood and his eyes were unfocused. "Take care of him, Sam" She said as she followed the men to their van. They blindfolded her and drove around in circles for a couple of hours before they finally pulled up somewhere. Then, they manoeuvred her out of the van inside their base. They ripped her blindfold off.
"Welcome back, Kensi Blye" She hadn't seen him in years. Liam O'Connor was a burly sort of man with a menacing smile fixed to his face. She had worked for him and been one of his best hackers. The glint in his eye suggested he hadn't forgiven her absence.
Kensi walked forward slightly. "Liam O'Connor. I thought you were arrested" She said coolly as she looked him in the eye.
"Got out early for good behaviour" He guffawed as he examined her body. "But, enough chit chat, girlie. Get hacking" He motioned with a sausage of a finger to the equipment set up in the corner. "And, no attempts to contact your team. You will be released when you're done"
Kensi gave him a look before settling down in the seat. She looked at the computer for a few seconds before her brain kicked in and all her skills came to life. Her fingers rattled through the security of the CIA in seconds and now she was in the fake database Eric had set up. This would be easy. But, she needed to slow down so Eric could run the trace. She looked around her surroundings and clocked six guards on two of the entrances and another six on the other two. There were a couple of people in the adjacent room watching her hack. She stopped for a moment and felt a sharp thwack to the head. She turned around in anger. "What the hell?"
"Keep hacking, missy. Don't stop" Liam threatened her. "The sooner you finish the sooner you can leave"
Kensi glared at him for a few more minutes before complying. This was a piece of cake but she was getting through the database too fast, she needed to slow down. She made a moan of pain. She carried on hacking. "Shit" She stopped and stretched her hands out. Faking a hand cramp, she carried on stretching. Liam allowed it for a minute or so before hitting her again.
"Stop stalling, love, and get on with it" Liam picked up a baseball bat. "Or next time, it won't be so pleasant" He held the bat threateningly.
Kensi was running out of time. She had easily bypassed Eric's fake database and was hacking through it quicker than it was rebuilding itself. She needed to stall a while longer. She had been hacking for enough time for Eric to locate her but she was getting too close to the real database too fast. She slowed her hands down a bit. "So, how's Cybertron been since I left?" She asked conversationally, trying to divert Liam's attention from her slower hacking.
"Just shut up and hack" Liam stared down at her.
Kensi was wondering how she could keep this up much longer before she hit the real database. Then, she saw one of the guys from the adjacent room run into this room and whisper to Liam. She felt a hard thwack. And, another. And, another. She felt drips of blood beginning to fall on her shoulders. "What's wrong with you?"
"You've been bullshitting the entire time" Liam was pissed as hell. "You've not even been hacking anything, you stupid bitch" He swung the bat towards her and she decided enough was enough.
She caught it in her hands. "I have no idea what you're talking about" She put her hands up, hoping to calm him down.
"So, you haven't just been stalling, waiting for your team to come?" He asked sarcastically.
Kensi knew then that she had been discovered. She assessed her options and decided the best way to survive would be trying to make it out of the room adjacent as the guards had all moved into this room. She had a split second. She felt another thwack. She ran as fast as she could to the other room. But, Liam grabbed her before she even got there and swung his bat. She caught it and wrestled it out of his hands. She swung it right back at him with as much force as she could muster and knocked him out stone cold. However, there were twelve guards approaching her in a circle. She was trapped. She quickly knelt down to see if Liam had any other weapons. He didn't. The bat would be her only saviour. One of the guards pulled out a gun and tried to shoot her. She felt the bullet whizz past, just missing her as she moved closer and attacked him with the bat. She fought ferociously with the bat. It was almost an extension of her arm. She managed to knock out several of the guards whilst only taking minor injuries but then she felt it. A single shot to her abdomen. She frantically pressed her hand against it, trying to staunch the blood as she had learnt. She tried to run but couldn't. Her knees gave out as another shot grazed her upper arm. She saw a gun nearby, grabbed it and fired off several shots in the direction of the guard. However, she was firing one handed so the recoil was a killer because she needed to keep pressure on the wound. That's when she heard them.
"Kens! Kensi!" Callen and Sam quickly shot the rest of the guards and sped towards her. They checked her over and noticed her wounds. That's when she saw someone behind them. He made to shoot Callen but she got there quicker. With the last of her strength, she raised the gun and shot him square between the eyes. Then, she felt her strength slowly ebb away. "I've got her" Sam hoisted her onto his shoulder as they rushed to the hospital. She was quickly admitted into surgery.
Several hours later...
"Evening, Fern" Deeks gave her a worried smile from his bed. "How ya feeling?"
Kensi looked around. She remembered all that had transpired. She made to sit up. "I'm fine. You're more important. How are you?" She scanned him over. He was looking better.
"Just fine. I just had a slight haemorrhage, you know?" Deeks joked.
Alarm bells rang for Kensi. "Haemorrhage? Oh God, Deeks, I am so sorry" She tried to move out of her bed. "It was all my fault" Her voice quivered slightly. She made it onto the floor with unsteady legs before Deeks clumsily pulled her onto his bed.
"No it isn't, Kensi" Deeks looked at her seriously. "It's nothing to do with you" He wrapped an arm around her. "And, anyway you got shot twice. I think that pretty much clears you"
Kensi half heartedly punched him. "You haemorrhaged. That's way worse" She looked at him with worried eyes.
"You got shot twice, nearly whacked to death with a baseball bat and flatlined in surgery" Deeks attempted to pass his worry off as a joke. "Don't ever do that again" He hugged her to his chest.
Sam coughed. "Glad to see you're both fine"
"Yeah, you're obviously doing fine" Callen smirked at the sight of them wrapped together. "So I guess, we'll leave you two lovebirds"
A/N: Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Selena x
