I just want to send a huge thanks to Shelly (TinkerBella7) who has helped me during the writing of this story. She has supported me completely and encouraged me every day to keep going. Thanks Shelly xxx

Disclaimer I Do not own NCISLA or its characters

Chapter 1

The cold air was seeping through his clothes as he lay on the side of the hill. He moved his shoulders slightly, trying to get some warmth into them but it wasn't working. He wasn't sure how long they had been lying on the cold earth, waiting, watching intently for any sign of movement, human or otherwise. He looked over to his right quickly at his friends lying in the same position as he was, before returning his trained eye to his quarry. Sam was next to him, his eyes trained on the cave opening as the light was fading fast. Soon they would be blinded by the dark and Deeks was worried they would miss any movement. Callen lay on the other side of Sam, watching in the direction of the road coming into the valley. Between the three of them they had all access points covered.

"Man it's cold," Deeks whispered into the semi darkness, more to himself than anyone else.

"Stop your complaining Deeks," Sam whispered back to him.

"What? I'm from California," he countered. "It's never this cold there." It was the first time he had said anything so he didn't know where Sam's comment came from.

"Focus Deeks. We're here for Kensi," Callen hissed.

Deeks shook his head in disbelief biting his bottom lip. Did Callen really think he had forgotten that they were there to rescue Kensi? It was the thing that was uppermost in his mind. Just the thought of her being in trouble, in danger, filled him with fear to bring on a cold sweat. The thought of Callen not thinking he was focused burned him inside. He would do anything for Kensi and they knew it.

The call came late Friday. Equivalent to an officer in distress call, only this time from the other side of the world. Granger had contacted Hetty to tell her Kensi had been taken prisoner by the person they thought was White Ghost and that they needed assistance. She was stony faced when she called the team together to tell them the news. This had rocked her as much as anyone as she stood holding on to the table for support as she spoke. She knew how dangerous the White Ghost was.

Deeks remembered how he felt when Hetty had told the team the news with new instructions for the mission in Afghanistan. Anger surfaced uncontrollably when he looked down at Hetty and he didn't care if she saw it in his eyes. She had been the one to send Kensi on this dangerous mission, yet she was always telling him she was fine. He should have known better to believe that. He knew what fine meant, and if he were truthful he knew she was never safe. Not a day went by that he wasn't worried about Kensi. As irrational as it may be, he blamed Hetty. He had to have someone to blame or he would feel hopeless. If Hetty knew how he felt, she never let on to him, but she had been tenser of late. That didn't instil any confidence in Deeks

The anger was soon replaced by fear. What they were hearing was terrifying him and he couldn't see a way out for Kensi. When he heard what had happened to the previous sniper, he thought his heart had stopped beating and his breath caught in his throat. No, this couldn't happen to Kensi, his Kensi. This man was a maniac and he now had Kensi captive! He felt paralysed until Sam had come to his side and he let go of the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Deeks, you okay," he asked putting his hand on his shoulder protectively.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered him before looking up into his eyes. "You know what? No, I'm not fine. I am scared stiff that something has happened to Kensi and I don't know…" his voice broke. "I don't know what… whay I would do if anything happened to her," he finished off weakly.

"It's going to be okay. We will make sure of it."

"You can't promise that Sam," Deeks said, his eyes not wanting to look at the big man who had become a close friend in Kensi's absence.

"No, I probably can't. But she will have a better chance with us there to help her than being alone and relying on strangers to rescue her." Sam answered him shooting a look in Hetty's direction.

Sam and Deeks had spent many a night sharing a beer wondering about the folly of the mission that Kensi had been sent to. It should have been the team in their opinion, but Granger was involved. None of the team had any confidence in Granger and again it seemed as though he had failed one of his agents. Deeks knew what Sam was referring to and mentally listed that he would one day have words to Granger. Those words would not be flattering. He knew once he started he wouldn't stop. It was only the fact that he valued this job so much that he hadn't already said his peace.

When Hetty had finished talking the team sprang into action, it was what they did, but as much as Deeks tried, during the trip to Afghanistan, his mind wandered. Kensi filled his soul and he knew, deep within, that she was still alive. For how long, he didn't know and he prayed they would get to her in time. But right now he knew she was still alive. Sam had suggested he get some sleep on the flight but it was difficult, coming in short spurts before Jumping awake in a sweat of fear before trying to calm himself down again with happier thoughts of Kensi before trying to get back to sleep again.

And now, 2 days later they were perched on the top of a small cold, wet hill staring down at a makeshift headquarters for the White Ghost and his followers, and Deeks still hadn't had a lot of sleep. He was tired but he knew he had to carry on, for Kensi's sake. He wanted to be with her so bad. They had seen no movement, no sign of life in the hours they had been there and Deeks was beginning to worry. No movement seemed like an ominous sign to him. He looked again at Callen and Sam and saw the worry etched on their faces too. This wasn't going as planned.

As if reading Deeks's thoughts Callen spoke. "We need a new plan."

"What are you thinking G?" Sam asked in hushed tones.

He lifted his hands in surrender. "We are going to have to go in."

"That's crazy," Deeks piped up probably a little louder than he should have. He lowered his voice before continuing. "We don't know how many people are in there, what the layout is, what sort of weapons they have, where Kensi is." He was shaking his head as he spoke and as he said Kensi's name he felt his heart miss a beat.

"We've gone into situations like this before."

"Yeah, but not when Kensi's life was in danger," Deeks pleaded. His heart dropped again as he voiced his opinion. Verbalising the consequences of something going wrong made it feel so much more real.

"Deeks, we have to do something. Nothing has happened here since well before we got here. The marines on the other side of the hill there have seen nothing, and neither have we. They might not even be in there anymore. This guy is cunning and elusive."

"And they have Kensi," Deeks whispered defeatedly. "They saw him take her in there."

"Maybe there is a tunnel."

"And maybe it's a trap?"

"So what do you think we should do Deeks?" Callen was getting angry, not so much at Deeks but at the hopelessness they were facing. "Should we just sit here and wait. The longer we wait the more time that animal has with Kensi. Is that what you want?"

"God no," Deeks cried, the blood draining from his body at the thought. Callen was right, they had to do something. Storming the cave didn't seem like that something though, but Deeks couldn't think of any other plan. He wasn't skilled in war combat. This was not the streets of LA. So he listened as Callen and the team on the other side of the hill made a plan.

That plan involved a stealthy invasion of the cave under the cover of darkness. Deeks was glad the moon was hidden behind the clouds tonight, making sure no scout could detect their assault on the cave. Deeks had been right, the cave was filled with tunnels and he began to fill with trepidation. It was dark and they didn't dare use any lights. It was pitch black inside and they used their instincts to follow the track. Their instincts panned out when they began to hear voices and a soft glow of firelight began to build. The three men looked at each other and nodded. Surprise was the element they had at their advantage. The second team was right behind them.

They rounded the corner and gunfire began immediately. Subconsciously Deeks searched for Kensi. That had been his task in this part of the mission, one he greatly accepted. She was nowhere to be seen as the shots fired around them. Taking cover was difficult in a cave and the three men had each other's backs as the remaining men in the second team entered.

Then Callen and Sam ran towards another tunnel after the shooters leaving Deeks. He panicked when he realised he was alone. A shot rang out clearing his head by mere inches and he turned to return fire only to stop dead in his tracks.

"Kensi!" he screamed.

A man held her as a hostage, gun pointed at her head. Images of the last time he had been in this situation came flooding back to him. That time he refused to take the shot because he was worried he would injure Kensi. Kensi had been so mad at him that day for not taking the shot she had punched him in the jaw. He moved his jaw instinctively at the memory never taking his eyes off the man holding her. This had to be the White Ghost. This time the only thing he could think of was he HAD to take the shot to save Kensi. He would do anything for her.

He lifted his gun and took aim.

"Deeks! Kensi screamed. "Deeks don't. It's Jack!"