Sabatino gripped the top of the chair with anger. 'If the CIA is leading this taskforce we want some kind of say on the NCIS agents who'll be joining it.'

'Agent Sabatino, NCIS will choose which of its agents will go on the taskforce.' Granger thundered. The CIA had requested assistance from NCIS for a raid. The team had gathered in the boatshed to listen to a briefing from Sabatino.

Sabatino continued on as if Granger had not spoken. 'And if we get to choose, we do not choose Agent Blye.' The team was surprised. What was he talking about?

Kensi narrowed her eyes at him from across the table. He flicked a glance towards her. His contempt was unmistakable. 'That's right, Blye. We don't want you. The safety of my agents come first. I can't put you in the field with them.' He explained in a hard voice.

'Sabatino, Agent Blye is one of NCIS's best agents.' Sam defended Kensi.

'I thought so too. Until I served with her in Afghanistan.' Sabatino responded before turning his vitriol on to Kensi. 'I don't know whether you're incompetent or reckless, Blye. Frankly, I'm surprised you've still got your badge. Did you ever think about the consequences when you left the base? Afghanistan isn't Los Angeles. The stunts you pull on the streets in Los Angeles can get you killed in over there. You're lucky to be alive. Americans don't live long outside the base by themselves.'

Sabatino's voice rose as he continued berate to Kensi. 'Did you know that at least two Afghani soldiers were killed during your rescue? Other soldiers and agents, including myself, were wounded.' He tapped his shoulder to indicate where he was wounded. 'Do you grieve for them? Do you think about how you were rescued? The sacrifices that were made to save you from your stupidity? Huh?'

He lowered the volume of his voice. 'I know that some people thought you'd left the base because you'd been in country too long. That you had become sympathetic to the locals. We even wondered if it was worth our time to look for you.' Sabatino paused before delivering the final blow. 'The White Ghost was a traitor. We'd thought you had turned traitor too.'

Sabatino let his accusation hang in the air for a couple of seconds while the shock hit the room. He turned his ire from Kensi on to Deeks. 'What's it like, Deeks? Hmm? Sleeping with the enemy? Is it exotic? Like a James Bond movie?' He taunted. Deeks' face hardened, his body tensed, and he hands curled into fists. Sam raised his arm across Deeks' chest to stop him from leaping across the table to hit Sabatino.

'That's enough Sabatino!' Granger intervened. 'I said NCIS will choose the agents that go on the taskforce! NCIS will meet you at the rendezvous point.' He dismissed Sabatino from the briefing.

Sabatino picked up his case file and coat jacket off the table. He gave them a warning before storming out of the boatshed. 'If Blye attends the rendezvous, the raid is off. I won't have my agents put in to a dangerous position.'

The team waited until Sabatino had left before they started talking. Granger took charge. 'Callen, Sam, I want you to meet Sabatino and his team at Rendezvous Point A. Deeks, you're with me. We'll meet at Rendezvous Point B'.

'What? Granger?' Kensi couldn't believe it. He was pulling her off the raid.

'The raid is too important to risk any stuff-ups, Blye.'

Deeks protested Granger's decision. 'Granger? C'mon. He's made a crazy allegation about Kensi. Sabatino clearly has an agenda. He's trying to throw his weight around in this taskforce. You're not going to let him win, are you?' Granger stared down Deeks into silence.

'Back to Ops, Blye. You can watch the raid there. Maybe you can give Beale and Jones some assistance too?' Granger snarked at Kensi.

'Deeks.' Granger instructed Deeks to leave the boatshed with him. Callen shook his head in doubt at Granger as he and Sam left the boatshed to prepare for the raid. After the team had left the boatshed, Kensi sat down at the table and put her head in her hands.

'Suspects are secured. Eric? Callen, Deeks, Granger and I will stay here to assist the CIA to locate and catalogue the evidence.' Sam informed Eric over the comms.

'Copy that Sam. I'm going to turn off the comms now. Give a shout if you need any help.' Eric responded.

'Roger.' Sam closed the communication.

Kensi straightened up against the centre console table in Ops. The raid had come off smoothly. The NCIS team had come through without any deaths or injuries. One of the CIA agents had rolled their ankle when they'd leapt over a high wall into the suspect's compound. But other than the injury, it was a good job. Kensi saw Nell and Eric working diligently to compile the evidence they had collected into a report for Hetty and Granger. They didn't need her help.

'Guys? I'm just off to the gym downstairs now. Let me know if you need anything.'

'No worries Kens.' Nell answered. Nell and Eric exchanged a look when Kensi left the room.

'Sabatino …' Eric trailed off.

'Yep. Sabatino.' Her response gave Eric no doubt about Nell's opinion about the lack of respect shown to Kensi and NCIS by Sabatino and the CIA today.

Hetty stood at the side of the gym watching Kensi run on the treadmill. She had been there for five minutes but she was aware that Kensi had been running for at least 40 minutes. Hetty heard the tinny sound blaring from Kensi's earphones. Kensi was focused on the imaginary road in front of her. She didn't see the NCIS agents sparring or hear the dumbbells as they were dropped back in to the rack. Hetty walked around the gym floor to Kensi's treadmill and stood in front of it to gain her attention. It didn't take long for Hetty's gaze to penetrate her concentration. Kensi pushed the buttons on the treadmill to slow the treadmill down to a walk.

'Hetty?'

'A minute please, Ms Blye?' Hetty asked. Kensi paused the treadmill, wiped it down, and stepped off. She and Hetty walked to two seats located in a far corner of the gym. Kensi wiped herself down and threw the towel down on the seat of her chair before she sat down.

'Is this about Sabatino?' Kensi tackled the elephant in the room.

Hetty paused before answering. 'Ms Blye, I hope you understand why you had to be removed from the raid today? The capture of a key figure in a local terrorist cell with international connections is significant for both the CIA and NCIS. We couldn't let petty disagreements stop us from achieving this objective.'

'I understand.' Kensi was surprised to hear Sabatino's tirade labelled as "petty" but she understood the point Hetty was making. The exercise hadn't run off her anger and hurt at what had occurred in the boatshed. Kensi had to get it off her chest. 'It was awful when Sabatino accused me of being "in country for too long". I mean, how could you not be sympathetic to people when their communities have been taken over by warlords and terrorists? But turning traitor? I couldn't do it. The United States is my home. And I would never disgrace my father's memory that way.'

'Make no mistake, Ms Blye.' Hetty reassured her. 'NCIS has already lodged a complaint about Sabatino's conduct this morning. Fortunately this won't damage our relationship with the CIA but we will not be working with Sabatino again once this operation is completed. It will be a cold day in Hell before we ever let him come back again.'

'Thank you. Is that all?' Kensi asked.

Hetty paused before raising the second issue she wanted to discuss with Kensi this afternoon. 'Have you heard from Jack Simon since you've returned to the States?'

Kensi shook her head. 'I haven't contacted him either. When I left him in the compound, he seemed satisfied with his life in Afghanistan. He was going to return to his daughter.'

Hetty nodded. She passed on the bad news in a quiet and even tone of voice. 'About a month after you returned to the States, a bomb was dropped from a drone in the vicinity of Jack Simon's community. It is believed by many, including myself, that Jack Simon was killed in that drone strike.'

Kensi took a shallow breath. She didn't cry. Her lips didn't quiver. Her face didn't betray her pain and grief.

'Sam contacted Eric 10 minutes ago. He and Detective Deeks are returning to Ops. Their assistance to collate the evidence from the raid was not required. Perhaps you should stretch to cool down, clean up, and let Detective Deeks drive you home this evening?' Hetty suggested.

Kensi nodded to indicate that she'd heard Hetty's recommendation. She dragged her suddenly heavy feet towards the ladies locker room to shower and change. Hetty watched as Kensi left the gym. There were many things wrong with nature of the co-operation between law enforcement agencies. And today, in Hetty's opinion, Agent Sabatino was at the top of that list.

'So … did you wanna to talk about it?' Deeks asked.

He and Kensi had been sitting at the pub for nearly 15 minutes in near silence. They'd ordered their food and drinks at the bar and found a table to sit down to watch the late game out of San Francisco. Except for murmurs about the horrible pitching by the opposition team's star pitcher they'd been silent. Kensi had played with her beer bottle by peeling the label off and tearing it into little bits. She'd fidgeted in her chair after she'd torn the label to bits. He could see her fingers edging towards the beer coasters to play with them too. At Kensi's pace their table would resemble kitty litter by the end of the evening. So he spoke up.

'Hmmm? Oh no, I'm fine.' Avoiding his question.

'Kensi.'

'No, really. It's ok.' Kensi looked up at him from under her eyes.

'Kensi –'

'Ok. Ok.' She said softly. She did not want to raise her voice or break down in to tears here in the pub. 'Sabatino –'

'- Is an ass. He is an ass.' He interrupted to declare. 'Kensi, what happened today was appalling. The CIA's treatment of you and us is just another indication that they don't really play well with others. You should've seen Granger when the raid was over. He took Sabatino off into a side office at the site and schooled him. Callen and I were lucky enough to see it but everyone there heard it.' Deeks shook his head in wonder as he remembered.

Kensi smiled at Deeks' support and his story. She wished she could've seen it. 'Sabatino is an ass. And he's wrong. He's wrong about me. I'm not what he says I am.' Kensi pleaded with Deeks to agree with her. That she was not stupid. That she was not a traitor.

'Of course you're not, Kensi.' Deeks held Kensi's hand to comfort her. 'Nobody thinks that you're a traitor.'

'I had to leave the base. I had to do it by myself. I didn't know who I could trust. I didn't trust Granger or Sabatino. And I didn't make any friends at the base.' Kensi swallowed the tears that were creeping up into her throat. 'I, uh, was down in the gym this afternoon when Hetty came to see me.' She paused for courage. 'Hetty told me that Jack Simon was killed in a drone strike about a month after I returned to the States. She seemed confident that he'd been killed.'

'Kensi.' Deeks said softly.

'I didn't ask about his daughter, but I assume she was killed too.' Kensi took a long pull of her beer to ease the burning in her throat. 'Sabatino got his man. I guess he wanted to gloat. I wonder if he knew that I wasn't aware that Jack had been killed?'

…And the Giants have a run against the Rangers. That'll be the ballgame folks. Tonight it's the Rangers 2 over the Giants 1. And this evening's win gives the Rangers the series win of 2 games to 1.

The baseball game announcer declared the game over. Deeks glanced at the TV, looked at Kensi, then at his watch, and flicked his eyes towards the pub kitchen. Their meals … were on their way out of the kitchen. When the waitress approached their table Deeks asked. 'Uh, excuse me. Could we get a doggy bag? I think we might have takeaway this evening.'

Deeks and Kensi eased themselves through his front door. He was carrying their takeaway food and the front door keys, while she was carrying their bags. She walked into the bedroom to throw her overnight bag on the floor and put Deeks' bag on the chair in his bedroom. He turned the kitchen lights on and got cutlery out for their food. In Kensi's current state she probably shouldn't have any more alcohol so he poured two glasses of water from a jug he kept in the fridge.

Kensi leant against the kitchen doorframe. 'I might go straight to bed. I'm pretty tired tonight.'

'Ok. I'll stay up to watch the 10 o'clock news before I go to bed.'

'Thank you. For everything.' She smiled, hugged him, and kissed his cheek before leaving the room.

He sat down on the couch to eat his reheated dinner. The daily grind of traffic snarls and local political scandals couldn't hold his attention compared the memory of Kensi's assignment in Afghanistan. She was right. She had been alone. Granger and Hetty had fed her mistruths and lied by omission. Sabatino had undermined her confidence in herself and in Granger. At one stage in her assignment Kensi thought Sabatino was the traitor. Perhaps that was why Sabatino had shamed Kensi in front of her team this morning? He was the fool. Sabatino's behaviour had told NCIS more about himself than he thought he knew. Sabatino had proven to the world, or to NCIS at least, that he was not above public humiliation and threats to get his way on a joint taskforce.

Deeks had spoken with Sam this afternoon about the incident in the boatshed. Sam had told him that in his view Kensi had made the right decision. Sam was confident that he would've made the same decision had he been in her shoes. Deeks could recall circumstances where Sam had been in similar circumstances to Kensi. Sam's wife Michelle had worked with NCIS to retrieve stolen nuclear weapons. And like Kensi, Hetty and Granger had withheld information about Michelle's welfare and operational status from Sam. The conflict between the "need to know" and the "need to share" was a daily battle in a protective security environment like NCIS. A security clearance did not entitle a person to access to all of the information and data classified at or below their security level. And sometimes that cost someone their job. And sometimes it cost someone their life.

Deeks cleaned up the kitchen before going to bed. He looked in on Kensi while he was getting ready for bed. She was fast asleep and appeared to be relaxed. He was glad that she was sleeping peacefully after an intense day. He settled in to bed and put his arm around her waist to cuddle her. Hopefully she would get some relief tomorrow from Sabatino's accusation.

The next day Kensi was sitting at her desk reviewing her case notes. She and Deeks had a meeting scheduled with Callen that afternoon to go over their unresolved cases.

Granger approached her desk. 'Blye? Do you have a minute for a chat?' Deeks and Callen looked up at Granger's question.

'I've got a meeting scheduled with Callen and Deeks in 15 minutes.' She said.

Granger nodded. Kensi followed him back to his office. He shut the door and gestured towards an office chair for her to sit. 'Blye, the scene yesterday in the boatshed was regrettable. Sabatino embarrassed both of us by discussing details of the mission in Afghanistan. At the end of the raid yesterday I took him aside and told him that NCIS would not work with him anymore. Sabatino has turned into a power hungry bureaucrat. He's is a living example of the allegations he made against you – reckless and incompetent. NCIS will continue to work alongside the CIA. However, the Los Angeles office will not work with Sabatino again.'

'Thank you, sir.'

'You did a good job in Afghanistan, Blye. You were working under trying circumstances. Due to the nature of the mission you had to leave Los Angeles in a hurry. At the same time, I know that sufficient information about your mission was not made available to you. And I apologise for that. However, it does not diminish the quality of your work in Afghanistan.'

Kensi was pleased and surprised by Granger's recognition of her work. 'Thank you, sir. Afghanistan was an interesting experience but not one I want to through again under the same circumstances. I feel more confident when I have all of my team around me. Not just one person.' Kensi recognised that Granger was one of her team. But she felt safer when she had her other three team members in the field with her. 'My meeting with Deeks and Callen is about to start. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?' Granger shook his head in response to her question.

Kensi left his office to her desk to collect her files for her meeting. Deeks and Callen were waiting for her.

'Everything ok?' Deeks asked.

'All good. Everything is all good.' Kensi smiled at Deeks and Callen.

THE END