Special Operations Group

Summary - The team has been down a member for far too long, and a mission almost-gone-wrong coincidentally put a potential fourth member on their radar.

Disclaimer - I own nothing, NCIS is not mine, I am merely borrowing the characters.

A/N: I am not leaving Minerva Precisions(!), I have the next two chapters written and ready to be uploaded, but seeing as I'm back home and my Dropbox for some reason has not synchronized I have not been able to do so. It will be up (hopefully) soon! This is just a (slightly longer) drabble I wrote to keep myself (and you!) entertained. Not sure if I want to/should continue.

Thanks in advance, Cape! :)


"Hetty, we've lost contact with them." A distraught Eric informed his boss.

The operations room of the Spanish Mission was quickly filled with a feeling of dread at the statement. The technical team of two staring at the screen in front of them where they had contact with their team seconds before their helicopter was struck and all communication was terminated. The palpable silence was broken by the assistant director's hoarse voice.

"Are there any QRFs in the area?"

They originally had a quick reaction force standing by ten minutes out from where the mission had been executed, but now having been in a helicopter flying in the opposite direction of that group for quite some time, it would no longer be feasible to call on them for support.

"There looks to be a group not too far away in a small village, but I can't find any identification on them!" Nell informed hastily.

Hetty and Granger looked at each other, knowing that no identification on a military group in the Middle East would mean Special Forces. Also knowing that the most likely candidates would be either a SEAL team or a Delta unit seeing as these would require additional level of secrecy and therefore not have any documented presence.

"I'll contact Navy Commander McGriffin. Owen, you contact JSOC, let's see if we can get our agents some assistance."

A nod of confirmation had both the operations manager and the assistant director walking out of OPS, Hetty no doubt to her desk as she somehow still preferred using the landline from there, and Granger already having grabbed his phone to somewhere quiet, readying himself for a conversation that would, hopefully, end up in him owing someone a big favor in the future.

The technical operator and analyst were left alone, and with nothing constructive to currently do they could only hope that their boss or their boss' boss were able to be connected to the right people, and fast.

Hetty emerged through the doors to OPS first. Both Eric and Nell looked at her hopeful, a quick shake of the head 'no', letting them know that it was no SEAL team in the area, and as such, the Navy Commander could be of no assistance.

A minute later the assistant director came barging in the doors, "Eric connect me with JSOC on the big screen!"

Quickly connected to the Joint Special Operations Command, they relayed the information and the last known coordinates of their team prior to losing all communications. They were assured by the general that, while he could not disclose what team was in the area, that their current mission were not yet at green light status, and as such they would be rerouted from their current objective to support at the coordinates given, offering any assistance necessary. The call was ended with a promise, that they would be contacted the minute the general had any new information to share with them.

Now they could only wait.

Hetty left the operations room once more, probably on her way down to her office to brew some tea to help her relax. The assistant director was right at her heels, probably more hopeful to bring out one of the many bottles of scotch to calm his nerves, as he seemed to hate any tea with a passion.

...

After a gruelling two hours of waiting for answers, Eric was alerted to an incoming request from Fort Bragg. It took him a few seconds before realizing that JSOC is located there, as he did he tensed up, not knowing what information would be coming in soon.

Nell had instantly recognised the place as JSOC and was already on her way down the stairs to summon her two superiors up to OPS.

Once everyone was in front of the big screen, the call was accepted and the General appeared before them. "Henrietta, Owen." He nodded.

"General Steiner," Hetty greeted back, "I hope you have some good news for us, old friend."

"It took a while to locate the chopper, and my team encountered heavy resistance between them and the target location, presumably the ones who shot down your bird." He started. "I'm sorry to inform you that-" the general coughed slightly, and an audible intake of air could be head from Nell as she readied for the information they were about to receive. Eric quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed in support. "Neither the pilot nor the co-pilot made it out alive."

She should feel bad about being relieved, but she couldn't at this moment. At this moment, she only cared about the status of the three agents whom had been passengers in the crashed helicopter.

Granger seemed to be having the exact same train of thought, as he prodded, "And the agents?"

"The agents and the prisoner are a little worse for wear, but overall their status are operational."

"Thank you, general." A deep breath of relief escaped Hetty before continuing, "Where are the team transporting them to?"

"My team will be waiting with them for pickup, and I have been informed that birds from USS Harry Truman will be picking them up, as was your original plan also, correct?"

"You were informed correctly, general. Thank you again once more."

"A pleasure to be of service, Henrietta."

As the connection ended, the atmosphere in the room had increased tenfold in positivity. Knowing that their team had gotten through the crash, relatively, unscathed had been a huge relief, and with the knowledge that the attackers had been taken down and multiple choppers had been called to accompany them back to the aircraft carrier, they were as safe as safe could be in that region.

...

The next couple of days went by slowly, since the primary team was still aboard an aircraft carrier in the Middle East, there were not any immediate active cases which needed the attention of the partners up in OPS, meaning they were working on finding leads in older or cold cases. Nothing too exciting.

Hetty had been in contact with General Steiner a few more times during the last days, and had made a request, that even though he could not disclose the identity of the group that had come her team to the rescue, he would ask if any of them would be prone to meet with her for her thanks if they were ever to be in Los Angeles.

Granger had gone back to Washington for the time being seeing as there was a lot of paperwork and ruffled feathers from the operation that needed straightening.

...

Two more days had passed when the team was finally able to set foot in Los Angeles. Once again able to breathe in the ocean breeze and smog that characterises the city, depending on where in the county you are of course.

The return to the Mission had almost knocked Kensi over as Nell assaulted her with a ferocious hug upon entering the bullpen. Eric was close behind with the 'welcome backs', and the team agreed to celebrate their return with drinks and dinner that evening.

Their operations manager had finished the debriefing from the mission early, and let them all go home for a shower and change of clothes before their usual ending hours, since she somehow knew that they had plans for tonight.

...

"I'm just glad you're back home safe." Nell stated, still a little shaken from the whole experience of not knowing.

"Cheers to that!" The navy SEAL had chuckled, as they all raised their beers over the table.

The meal was passed in comfortable conversation as the team was once again, almost, whole. They still had not been able to completely recover from the loss of Dom two years prior, all of the temporary replacements washed out fairly quickly, the longest having lasted just shy of three months.

As the evening wound down they all said their goodbyes to one another, happy to once again be back home and together.

...

As the weeks passed by, normality seemed to once again surround the specialised NCIS team. There had been a few stressful encounters, one being an especially nasty case regarding a potential terror threat involving a school bus filled with children. But overall they had passed the time since returning from their overseas mission with flying collars.

Granger had returned back from Washington, done with mending fences for the time being. He sat down opposite Hetty, "We need to get the position for Blye's partner filled soon, the director was pretty set on that."

"And I suppose he thinks that suitable agents for this position is easily acquired?" She countered, not happy with the pressure the director was putting on her. She was adamant that the next partner had to fill out the needs of the team and suit her female agent.

"He did have a candidate he said you might be interested in," Granger answered, sliding over the file he had obviously been given from the director.

Granger sipped his coffee, carefully studying the face of the operational manager. She opened the file carefully and studied it intensely, making sure to read and re-read every paragraph as she always did with any new candidate to her team. She stopped when she got to a particular part of the information.

She looked studiously at the man sitting across from her, "He was part of the group who rescued our team in Syria."

"He was," he nodded confirmation.

"Why is he applying here then?" She asked the obvious.

"I'm not sure he is, Henrietta. But I was told by our friend, General Steiner, that he is headed stateside for the next couple of weeks since their mission is completed."

The nodded slowly, processing what her enemy turned friend was telling her. She had seen his address in the file, and after sixteen years of service surely he could do with a breath of fresh air and a change in sceneries. After all she could be very persuasive. She smiled and grabbed her tea, "Thank you, Owen. I think I have a call or two to make."

She picked up her phone and dialled, as it was answered she went, "General, I have a favour to ask you…"

...

He looked up from the parking lot wondering if he had been given the correct address. The building he was looking at seemed more like a somewhat run down boathouse rather than a facility any agency would use.

Thinking to himself that it could not hurt to at least go inside and take a look, he stepped out of his vehicle and straightened his uniform quickly. Chuckling to himself at the thought that he was ensuring that he was presentable… at least as presentable as his look would allow for.

Knocking on the door he heard no answer, and decided to enter, announcing his presence. "This is Master Sergeant Deeks! Am I in the right facility?" He asked, loud enough to be heard throughout. Knowing that if this was an NCIS facility, entering unannounced could lead to a dangerous situation.

"Ah yes, Mr. Deeks, please do come in." He heard a voice coming from the end of the small corridor.

He stepped into the larger room, and found a tiny old lady standing on the opposite side of a coffee table from him. He chuckled inwardly at the sight of the woman, having been in the business he had, he know how to keep an unreadable exterior.

"You must be Ms. Lange?" He asked.

"It's Miss, but I prefer Hetty." She confirmed and explained.

"Yes ma'am."

She gestured to the couch opposite her, "Please do sit, Mr. Deeks."

"So what can I do for you Miss Lan- err, Hetty?" He asked as he sat in the offered seating. Slightly thrown off by the fact that, even though he had introduced himself by rank the woman still seemed adamant on calling him 'Mr.' instead. Quickly stowing that away, his training not allowing any micro expressions to surface.

"Well first I would like to thank you and the team you were working with for your efforts in helping my team." She stated somewhat quizzically.

He looked at her wondering for a few moments, then asked, "It was your team we helped in Syria?"

"Indeed it was, Mr. Deeks."

He studied her features, trying to get a read on her but unable to. She was good. Somehow he got the feeling that he was not there just for the mystery women to say her thanks to him, and his gut feeling had saved him more than a few dozen times, so he went with it.

"But that isn't why you've asked me here, is it?" Might as well get straight to the point, he thought.

If the tiny woman across from him was thrown off from his direct questioning, she certainly was not showing it. She sat quietly sipping what he thought to be tea. Putting the cup down she looked at him and answered. "No it was not." Not giving anything away in regards to the real reason why.

"Then what was?"

"I have a problem that I hoped you could help me solve." She smiled at him.

"Which is…?" He continued the questioning, drawing out the last word.

"As you have probably been informed, I am the operations manager of the NCIS field office here in Los Angeles." She looked up and found him nodding, obviously not any new information to him. She continued, "And for quite some time I have been unable to fill the last spot on my team."

Immediately catching on to what she is saying, this time he was not able to hide his surprise. The woman just cocked her head ever so slightly at him, awaiting a response.

"I'm not sure that would be the right call, ma'am."

"Mr. Deeks, you haven't yet signed your papers for reinstatement and you find yourself here in LA, surely that is a sign of something. Is it not?"

He sighed heavily, thrown off balance that she had been able to know he had considered ending his military career at this point in time, but also because she somehow already knew he had not signed his papers yet. How could she know that?

"How do you know I have not already signed those papers?"

"I have a knack for knowing things," she paused and slid a folder across the small coffee table to him. "And I do believe that this move would be just right for both you and the team."

His gaze shifted from her to the folder in front of him. Opening it he found a signing contract to the NCIS OSP team within. Flipping over the pages he found they had all been filled in, information that should not be available to anyone besides his direct superiors. Finding himself more alert now, he slid the folder back towards the woman, Miss Lange, and moved his other hand to the small of his back, ready to grab his pistol if need be.

The tiny woman of course noticed the immediate change in demeanor of the man, including where his right hand was moving. She lifted up both of her hands in a calming matter, showing him that she was no threat. Nodding towards his hand on his small on his back, she started, "I assure you Mr. Deeks, that will not be necessary. No one is here to hurt you nor get any information. As you can see I already have all that I need."

Still unsure of the woman and now on high alert, he moved his pistol onto the table for easier access, and grabbed the folder gesturing with it through the air, "This was supposed to be classified, how did you get this?" A harsher voice than he had previously used, she noted.

"I have my ways," she answered wanting him slightly on edge before wanting to calm his nerves, she liked knowing how her agents, future or current, would react in these situations.

"And…?" He prodded for her to continue, obviously having picked up on her not being finished.

"And General Bates says hello." She smiled widely at him, knowing he would relax more now since he would know that she knew his direct superior by name.

"How do you kno-" he started, but was interrupted by yelling from the side.

"Federal agents! Move away from the gun!"

He looked up to see a man cuffed off balance, his captor had obviously pushed him to the side. Besides the stumbling man he found himself on the business end of the guns of three very serious agents.

"We won't tell you again!" The larger African-American agent told him, stepping closer to him. Something about his posture screamed SEAL, and he found himself chuckling over what he would usually call him. This just did not seem the right time nor place for that.

"Gentlemen, Ms. Blye, put the weapons away. I was just having a chat with the newest member of your team."

All four looked at the operations manager, completely surprised by her words. Callen, Sam, and Kensi because they had heard nothing of a new teammate coming in, and Deeks because he had not yet accepted anything, although he would later admit that the offer was intriguing. And if the offer was not intriguing the captivating brunette he saw certainly was.

Still feeling the unease in the room, Deeks decided to completely disarm himself, picking up his weapon using his index finger and thumb and tossed it into a chair next to him. That seemed the right move as the three agents in front of him visibly relaxed and slowly holstered their weapons.

"Mr. Callen would you be so inclined to move whoever you have there," she said gesturing to the captured individual, "Into interrogation, and then return here so we can make introductions."

The team lead did as asked and returned a minute later, looking quizzically at their boss.

The three agents stood next to each other as their boss stood up and gestured for Deeks to do the same, he did and she started the introductions. "This is special agents G. Callen," he shook the hand of the team lead, "Sam Hanna," another handshake, "And Kensi Blye." As he shook her hand and smiled at her, she felt an odd, warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"And this is Master Sgt. Marty Deeks."

"You're military?" The large man obviously thrown off by the military ranking, and who could blame him, the shaggy hair and usual laid-back attitude was meant to do just that.

Just as he was about to answer, the tiny woman spoke up, "Mr. Deeks was Green Baret turned Delta Force before being recruited to the SOG." Their operations manager briefed them matter-of-factly.

Deeks himself was not too pleased with the mention of SOG, seeing as that was supposed to be highly classified. But having a bit of faith in what seemed to be his new boss, he understood that the people in front of him must have a high level of security clearance for her to share such a thing.

"What's SOG?" The woman introduces as Kensi asked.

It was, once again, the larger of the two male agents who spoke up. "SOG also known as The Special Operations Group, is a group of handpicked special forces working covert operations for the CIA." He briefed quickly.

"You're CIA?" The smaller of the two men asked, Callen if Deeks recalled correctly, and he usually did.

He ran his hand through his hair, as he always does when unsure of a situation, "I'd like to see myself more as military than spook."

He smiled to himself as that seemed to have been the correct answer as the man asking the question nodded contently. He seemed to give off a vibe of apprehension towards the thought of the CIA, even formerly, on his team, surely there is a story there somewhere.

The introductions lasted a while longer and somewhere in the middle of it Deeks surprised himself as he found himself thinking that he would actually be quite content in the company of the people surrounding him currently. As the conversation is breaking up seeing as they actually do have a suspect waiting to be interrogated, Hetty coerces Deeks to sign the papers she had previously put in front of him. Somehow he knows that is the correct decision going forward, he does need to put down some roots, and travelling all over the world without ever technically being anywhere is not a way to grow old.

When the three agents step out of the interrogation room they quickly say their farewells and decide to go out for a few drinks that night to get to know each other better.

...

The case the team had been working on was an easy one. A sailor who tried to make some extra money by couriering drugs on the ship he was stationed on, and as such the team was available for the drinks with their newest team member as previously planned.

They all arrived at the small, but cosy, place even having Nell and Eric join them. The gang of five entered the bar and looked around to see if they could spot the shaggy haired addition to their team. Kensi was the first to see him, sitting in a booth at the corner of the establishment. As they approach him, and now knowing he is not a hostile, Kensi allows herself to notice his physique a bit more, lean and toned without being too much, and that cornflower blue button up shirt he is wearing goes perfectly with his ocean blue eyes she thinks before quickly shaking her head for allowing her thoughts to go there.

As the evening went on the team did notice how open their female agent was acting towards the scruffy blonde compared to how she would usually act towards any tempts they had working with them.

As it got later most had said their farewells and in the end it was just Kensi and Deeks sitting in the booth. Even though the opposite side was now available, neither seemed to mind sitting next to one another. They were sitting talking about everything and nothing. Kensi asking him about humorous stories from the military and Deeks asking her about the same from NCIS, they both were satisfied with keeping the subjects light hearted.

Being a work day they both agreed upon calling it a night, even though they seemed to have been able to spend much more time in each other's company. Deeks had told her, as per the contract he signed, that he would start in a little over three weeks, since he did have to travel to North Carolina and Fort Bragg to sign his dismissal papers from JSOC.

They both found themselves thinking that, surprisingly, it would be a long three weeks without the company of the other.


A/N: So let me know, is this a story I should pursue and sideline with Minerva Precisions, or just keep it as a one shot for the time being? As always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!