Mexican Rose – 'Hell is empty and all the devils are here'
Disclaimer: As you all know, none of all the characters that appear in this story belong to me, except for one. The NCIS Los Angeles characters are all a result of the creative mind of Shane Brennan and his writing team.
Chapter 1
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Los Angeles || Office of Special Projects || September 13
The four of them were at the gun range, each in their separate station, practicing. Despite their covered ears, they all looked up, shocked when the sudden sound of heavy machine guns overwhelmed their gunshots.
Behind the glass of the protective doors, Eric Beale held a small gadget, smiled at them and gestured as in Charades 'wanted in ops'!
As he put off his goggles and cleared his gun, Sam shook his head. "He must have a special drawer for each and every sound that comes in handy."
"Killing us softly with his sounds, killing us softly…" Deeks started to sing softly, using Roberta Flack's song.
"It's the only way he knows he can beat us. Well, except when it comes to all those technical stuff and computer programs of course," Callen added.
"It's the proof that he is a creative soul. He might be the person who sneakily works at theatres on stage when he's not around," Kensi said, "although in that case, there would be no time left for surfing."
A grin appeared on Deeks' face. "On stage? Eric? As in Shakespeare you mean? 'Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them'," Deeks recited. As the other three looked at him in unbelief, he tried one more on their way to the operation center. "No? Doesn't ring any bells in here? How about 'Hell is empty and all the devils are here'. No? Anyone?"
"A great one to remember," Sam laughed.
How she did it, nobody knew, but as ever Hetty had overheard their discussion. "Perhaps, mister Deeks, you also remember another famous quote of that same great English writer, that says 'Better three hours too soon than a minute too late'. Director Vance will be on screen in only a minute from now, so I suggest you all put on a serious face," the tiny operation manager remarked.
With a single press on a button by Nell, they were indeed just in time to stand in line around the table, watching the large screen.
"Good to see you all in there, good afternoon. As you probably all know, last year's operation 'North Pole' resulted in the arrest of over 30 people that were related to Mexican drug cartels in New Jersey. With that, a large narcotics network that was also responsible for several murders, was taken down. They moved millions of dollars in heroin and cocaine to and from our country."
Director Vance addressed them from the Washington NCIS headquarters on the large screen at the operation center. "We thought we had them all. However, we recently found out there are new ties to our country. To be more precise, it is the Zita cartel, which is, as you all may know, the most violent one there is. This worries our government and we are now starting operation Zorro 3. This will be a joint operation of NCIS, DEA, CIA and homeland security, in which each of the agencies has a different task. Hetty, I trust you will brief you team further from now?"
"Oh, I will do so, Leon," the tiny yet unbreakable operation manager stated, less certain than they were used to hear from her.
"Thank you, Henrietta. And to you all - good luck." On that, director Vance simply cut off the connection.
The team waited to hear what Hetty would come up with. For just a split second, she seemed to hesitate, but then she started to instruct. "As you all heard, operation Zorro 3 will be a joint operation, in which each of the agencies will have a different task. We have reason to believe the cartel now has connections to the Navy Seals in Coronado and Pendleton."
With a soft mumble Deeks interjected "Hence the connection with NCIS".
Scowls from all of his team members and a well-placed yet powerless kick from his partner that came his way.
"If for once, mister Deeks, you had hoped that your cover would be in a navy uniform, I will certainly have to disappoint you again." Stoically, Hetty continued. "Your team is the only one of all the NCIS teams that will be involved. And in Zorro 3, your involvement will not be in Pendleton, nor in any other bases on our own territory." She sighed softly as she watched this team, the A team when it came to NCIS. She knew they would be good at what they were supposed to be doing. Still… Well, she probably felt the right nerves in this case. "Miss Jones, will you continue please?"
From behind her tablet, Nell quickly read and started to explain. "You all will have accreditation documents that say you are a camera crew for NBC Texas. Fake credentials, of course, but with perfect backstopping already in place. You'll be trained later this afternoon by a team of NBC Los Angeles."
Callen stood in his usual position, his bare forearms crossed in front of his chest – the way he easily thought things over. "Camera crew should be okay. Where and when? What will our goal be and why?" He wanted to know.
"You are in there for the festivals that take place in the second half of September, so from the day after tomorrow on, the celebration of Independence Day in Mexico and soon after, when Monterrey celebrates the founding of the city. You are supposed to interview people on the street and in the smaller villages. Eric and I will guide you straight into the belly of the beast – the region of Tamaulipas, from where Los Zitas are known to operate," the young information analyst concluded nearly optimistically.
Their operation manager added "We need your ears and eyes right in the middle of the region, and as miss Jones just explained, we will lead you from here, with help of the information we will get from the other agencies. So… I suggest you start to study some files and carefully look into your cover as well."
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Monterrey, Mexico || two days later
No matter how careful their covers had been created, how good and deep the backstopping was, things went wrong the moment they set foot in the city of Monterrey.
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Much to Deeks' despair, the team got split up. Last thing he heard when the other pick-up truck drove off, was Kensi who kept repeating 'Sam? Sam? What were they talking about? Where are they taking us, Sam?'
Knowing that with his hands cuffed and four guns aimed at him, there was nothing he could do. So Deeks was quietly looking at their head agent who lie next to him in the back of the pickup, unconscious, blood seeping out a gash on his head.
Thank you for reading!