Sam was ready for a workout.
As he moved through the doorway that led into the back of the gym, he studied his surroundings. In the name of good tradecraft, Sam worked out at three different gyms, changing them up weekly. But one of his gyms had closed, so today was his first day at this new place. New for him. Under a different name, of course.
But as Sam entered the room, set up with all the equipment needed for a boxing workout, he paused. In the ring was a familiar figure. Tall and lean, with shaggy blond hair, dressed in black shorts and a red tank top was Deeks.
The Detective was barefoot and facing an opponent who was maybe two inches shorter, but looked to have a good twenty pounds on him. All of it thick muscle. Despite that fact, Deeks was smiling as he danced back and forth, daring the other man to make the first move.
Muscle man complied, driving forward, fists flying. Only for Deeks to dance out of reach and retaliate, every hit and kick hitting it's mark. In less than thirty seconds, Muscle man was down.
Sam was a bit surprised, only to remind himself that he had met Deeks while the Detective had been undercover as an MMA fighter. He'd even fought the younger man. Deeks had held his own then, more or less, because Sam was used to winning. But the way Deeks was fighting now was different. More complex and fluid and skilled than Sam remembered.
"Sam?" It was Deeks' voice, sounding surprised.
"Hey, Deeks," Sam responded. "Fancy meeting you here."
Slipping between the ropes, Deeks jumped down, landing next to Sam. "You're not stalking me, are you?' he teased.
Sam snorted. "You wish." He pointed to the ring. "Nice moves. You should use them more often."
"Thanks," Deeks drawled, sounding surprised. "I haven't needed to use them so..." he trailed off as he jogged over to a bench against a nearby wall, snagging a white towel off the top of a duffle bag. He wiped his face then wrapped the towel around his neck. "So what are you doing here?"
"One of my gyms closed." Sam nodded in approval as Deeks grabbed a water bottle and downed half the contents. Keeping a working body hydrated was a good thing. "A friend recommended this place, so I signed up last week," Sam explained.
Deeks smiled. "You'll like it here. Good place, good people. I'll catch you at work." He grabbed his duffle bag and moved to head for the showers.
Sam grabbed him by the elbow, drawing him back around. "Feeling up to going a few rounds with me?" he queried, letting Deeks know by his tone of voice that he was really issuing a challenge.
"Rain check," Deeks replied. "I've got just enough time to shower and hit the beach for an hour. We'll set it up for some time next week. Deal?"
"Deal," Sam replied, and he was looking forward to it. He watched Deeks go before dropping his own duffle bag on the bench and pulling out some bag gloves. He strapped them on then started pounding on the heavy bag. Even though he was focused on every move his body made, Sam's mind was thinking up ways to tease Deeks later. But he'd soften the sarcasm by bringing the detective a muffin.
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When Sam got the mission, he deposited a bran muffin on Deeks' desk, before setting a second one on his own. He then dropped his bag and settled into his chair. "Where's Deeks?" Sam asked his partner, glancing around but not seeing the blond detective anywhere.
"Where's my muffin?" Callen countered, pointedly.
"I'm guessing still at the bakery," Sam shot back, before taking a big bite of his muffin.
Callen made a face before applying himself to the tray of bacon he'd been munching on before Sam arrived. After a moment he answered his partner's query. "Deeks is in the gym with Kensi. Climbing wall competition."
Sam chuckled. "Who's your money on?"
"Deeks," Callen replied, without hesitation. "Despite Kensi's competitive nature, Deeks climbs like a damn monkey."
"That he does," Sam allowed, even as Kensi and Deeks suddenly appeared, as if on cue.
Kensi noticed the muffin on Deeks' desk and the lack of her own first thing. "Where's my muffin?" she demanded, glaring at Sam.
He shrugged. "Bran muffins are good for you, Chocolate Chip muffins are not. And since you don't like bran muffins, I refuse to feed your sugar and fat habit."
"Are you calling me fat?" Kensi was shooting daggers at Sam now.
"You are a brave man," Deeks whispered to Sam, sotto voce, as he slid into his chair and pulled a chunk out of his muffin to pop into his mouth.
Sam was not intimidated by Kensi in the least. "You know I'm not," he replied. "So stop giving me the evil eye. And don't even try to deny that you've got donuts stashed in your bag."
Kensi sighed before plopping down and grabbing the bakery bag in question out of her work bag. She grinned at Sam before taking a bite of a cream filled donut.
"So who won the climb?" Callen asked, looking to Deeks for a reply since Kensi's mouth was full.
"Never got that far," Deeks stated. "We couldn't agree on what to bet."
Before Callen could respond to that Eric whistled, calling them into OPS for a case.
Six hours later found them chasing after a suspect. A man they needed to capture alive because he had the password to a bomb that was set to go off in one hour at an international bank. The repercussions would go beyond the loss of life. If the bomb went off, US relations with various countries would be on the brink and pushing boundaries. As Hetty so succinctly put it, they would be in 'quite the pickle'.
The foursome cornered the suspect, Gary Worth, in an abandoned building. Sam and Callen took the front, Deeks and Kensi entered from the back. Worth took a third option and exited through the roof, jumped to the roof of the adjacent building, scrambled down the fire escape and took off like a fox being chased by the hounds of hell.
Deeks spotted him first and took off, Kensi shouting to Sam and Callen as she exited the building.
"Follow him in the car, Kensi," Callen ordered, as he and Sam burst out of the building and took off running as well.
"There!" Sam pointed, catching a glimpse of Deeks to their left. Shifting direction, he sped up with Callen hot on his heels.
Worth didn't even slow down, weaving around buildings, leaping over fences, dodging people.
Deeks didn't slow down either, he focused on keeping Worth in sight so he did his own leaps and dodges, narrowly missing getting hit by a car as followed Worth across a four lane street.
Kensi did her best to keep up with them, but traffic slowed her down.
Callen started losing ground as well, and he was out of the game when he stumbled, twisting his ankle and hitting the ground hard. "I'm down!" he shouted.
"I'll pick you up," Kensi replied. "What's your location?"
"You okay, G?" Sam asked, his breathing becoming labored now. He was in great shape and had good stamina, but Worth wasn't slowing down at all.
"I'm fine," Callen replied, although he winced as he got to his feet. A moment later, Kensi appeared, tires squealing to a stop. Callen jumped into the passenger seat and waved her on.
Sam was relieved, evening out his breathing before pushing himself just that bit harder and faster. His thigh muscles were burning and he could feel a stitch starting in his side, but he kept going. Until he rounded a building into an alley found himself blocked off by a garbage truck.
Skidding to a stop, Sam searched for a way around. He lost precious seconds. By the time he made it to the other end, he'd lost sight of Worth. "Lost him!" Sam snarled.
"Dammit!" Callen cursed. "Deeks! Tell me you've still got Worth!"
"On it!" Deeks replied, sounding only slightly winded.
Sam felt a rush of relief. "Come pick me up, Kensi." He gave her his location and paced as he waited for her to arrive. "Eric, do you have a location on Deeks?" They would be able to track him via the GPS in his phone.
There was a long and heavy moment of silence before Eric replied, "I've got him! Sending the tracking signal to your phone, Callen."
"Got it," Callen replied, before giving Kensi directions.
"There!" Sam pointed out the window. To their left Deeks was still racing after Worth, and gaining with every step.
Kensi turned the SRX to follow and finally they had the man corned in what Eric announced was a dead end alleyway. Even as she hit the brakes and threw the vehicle into park, Sam and Callen were jumping out. But Deeks was already there, tackling Worth to the ground in one smooth move that made Sam proud.
By the time Sam and Callen reached Deeks, with Kensi hot on their heels, Deeks had Worth zip-tied and on his feet. Both of them staggering a bit.
"I've got him, Deeks," Sam said, grabbing worth from the Detective and slamming the man's back into a nearby wall. First and foremost that needed the code to stop the bomb.
Deeks' response was to give Sam the *thumbs up* before hunching over, hands on his knees, desperately trying to draw air into his lungs.
Kensi hovered beside him, wishing there was something she could do to help. Then it occurred to her. She ran to her car and was back in a flash. "Water?" she asked, offering Deeks a bottle.
He took it, looking grateful, before gulping half of it down.
"That was...impressive," Kensi stated, her eyes still on Deeks even as she listened to Sam and Callen questioning Worth.
"You...you've seen me drink...before," Deeks joked, his breathing almost under control now.
Right on cue, Kensi smacked him in the shoulder. "You know what I mean. I didn't know you could run like that."
Deeks shrugged. "Long distance runner in highshool." He took another swig of water, stretched some kinks out of his back, then he strode over to Worth.
The man was being stubbornly mute. At least he was breathing hard in between smirking. A slap to the face wiped the smirk off.
"Here's the thing," Deeks drawled, crowding into Worth's personal space, his expression stone cold in contrast to his voice. "You made me run...fast...for a couple of miles. I...hate...running." A slap to Worth's cheek accompanied each word. "So you're going to tell me the damn code, or I'm going to knee you in the nuts until you cry like a baby. Do we understand each other?"
Apparently the sincerity of Deeks' intent registered with Worth, maybe helped along by the feel of Deeks' knee pressing into his groin, but he coughed up the code.
Callen sent it to Eric and, after a few tense minutes, they got confirmation that the bomb was disarmed.
"Good call," Deeks said to Worth, before backing off and almost stumble walking over to Kensi's car.
"We're going to wait here for a pick up," Sam stated, gesturing to Worth. "You two head back, we'll catch up later." The team sent to collect Worth would give them a ride back to Sam's car. He clapped Deeks on the shoulder. "Good work."
Deeks grinned. "Just doing my job with a side of awesome," he drawled, earning a chuckle out of Sam.
Kensi nudged him in the shoulder before sliding by to slip into the driver's seat. "Let's go, partner."
"Lets." Deeks dropped into the passenger seat before tapping his ear wig. "Um...Hetty, permission to make a pit stop at my place. I really need a shower." He knew he could shower back at the mission, but he wanted to down a handful of Advil before the pain he knew was coming kicked in.
"Permission granted, Mr. Deeks," Hetty replied, without hesitation. "Take your time."
Kensi gave him a look but said nothing as she drove back onto the highway.
Two hours later, having made another pit stop at Kensi's favorite burger place, they arrived at the Mission.
Eric appeared at the top of the stairs as they reached their desks. "Up here," he called out. "We're waiting for you."
"For what?" Deeks whispered to Kensi.
"Beats me." She stepped past him and headed up the stairs.
Deeks followed more slowly. He was feeling the pull and ache in his thigh muscles already. He hadn't run that far for that long, that fast, since high school. Actually, since...never. He was going to be a hurting bastard come tomorrow.
When they entered OPS it was to see a video up on one of the main screens. The stars of the vid were Deeks and Worth.
"Seriously impressive," Callen commented, he watched Deeks leaping over walls, dodging cars and just building up speed as he chased the bad guy.
"What can I say? I'm just that good." As always, Deeks fell back into a smart remark. It was a bit weird watching himself. Mostly it just reminded him of all the suffering that would soon be visited upon him.
Nell offered a high five. "That's what I call going the distance, Shaggy."
Deeks smiled. "And I did it without a Scooby snack, Velma."
"You ever run a marathon?" Eric asked, looking equally impressed.
"Maybe," Deeks countered, sensing the sudden pique in interest on behalf of the others, but that was all he offered.
Sam moved to stand beside him, arms crossed over his chest. He gave Deeks the once over then said, "No more backing out of running with me, Deeks. We can start next week."
Deeks' response was a dramatic groan. "Sam...and here I thought we'd moved past the stage where you liked tormenting me?"
"You've been holding out on me Deeks," Sam shot back. "I can't let you get away with that."
"It's called keeping everyone guessing," Deeks replied. "People see what they want to see."
Hetty glided into the room, interjecting, "I see that you are full of surprises, Mr. Deeks." She glanced at the video screen then back to the detective. "I've arranged for you to have a spa treatment at Highlands. "Massage and hot tub therapy. It should help. You can leave now."
Deeks offered her a bow. "You are a Goddess, Hetty. Thank you." He didn't need to be told twice. With a wave to the others, Deeks was out the door.
By the time he reached his car he had a text. Pulling out his phone, he smiled at the message from Kensi.
*See you later?*
*8pm your place. I'll bring the food.*
Kensi's reply was swift. *Your place. I'll bring the food. You supply dessert.*
Deeks grinned and typed back. *See you then* He stuffed his phone back in his pocket feeling content. He caught the bad guy. Impressed his colleagues. In twenty minutes he would be in massage Heaven and, tonight, he would get the girl.
"Perfect day," Deeks whispered, as he pulled out of the parking lot.
Perfect day.