The FBI had two reputations. One of being untouchable, unstoppable detectives who could solve a crime with nothing more to go on than a pinch of dust and a shadow.
The other, the one that had Special Agent Kensi Blye of NCIS worried, was that they were glory hogs who were more interested in grabbing credit than in nabbing perps. It wasn't that Kensi was worried about who got credit for this bust. She was worried that the case could be botched.
It had been a toss up as to whose case it was to begin with. Hate crimes were a gray area, jurisdiction wise. A gang who went around beating up mixed race couples could have easily been handed over to the LAPD.
However, car jackings fell solidly under the FBI purview. The fact that an NCIS agent had fallen victim of the attack had caused the Bureau to extend the courtesy of including them. The fact that the agent was a friend of Kensi's had made this personal.
After a meeting between Special Agent in Charge Don Eppes and Supervisory Agent Hettie Lange had put their heads together and decided to recreate the events surrounding the attacks.
"Sounds like the best plan for dealing with these ruffians," Hettie announced.
Eppes had raised an eyebrow at that.
"Do you have a better plan, Agent Eppes?" Hettie had demanded.
Eppes had shaken his hand. "Sorry," he said. "The last time I heard somebody use the word 'ruffian', she was referring to me."
Hettie gave him a warning look that just bounced off his hide. Either Eppes was very brave or very ignorant.
NCIS Agent Sam Hanna was working with Special Agent Megan Reeves at the scene of the first three attacks. Kensi had insisted on visiting the one where Dom had been attacked.
Kensi hadn't met her contact, Agent David Sinclair, at the briefing. However, she spotted him right away. He was the one sitting at the bar with a bouquet of yellow flowers, just as they had arranged through the club's online dating service. He also looked enough like Dominic Vaile to be his older brother.
Kensi pushed that thought out of her head. Thinking about poor, sweet Dom in the hospital with a concussion and cracked ribs was not going to help. She needed to stay focused.
She paused next to Agent Sinclair. "Herb?" she asked. "Are you Herb Blye?"
Agent Sinclair flashed her a smile. "Even if I wasn't, I'd change my name just to please you, Miss Kaye Sinclair," he replied. He handed her the boquet. Kensi suppressed a sigh. She hated flowers. Especially when the last man who had given her any had turned out to be a murderer.
Once she touched the bouquet, however, she cheered up. The flowers had a funnel hidden amongst them. From the feel of the boquet, there was a bag hidden inside, too. This was obviously a well thought out device for dumping her drinks without calling attention to herself. It would be a lot easier than dumping the drinks into the plastic bag that she had in her purse. Plus it was less likely to ruin her wallet and makeup kit.
"Flattery will get you a drink," Kensi said. "What will you have?" To the bartender, she added. "I'll have a martini."
"Oo, I like a woman who buys the first round," Sinclair said. "I'll pick up the dinner tab." To the bartender, he said. "I'll have a Tom Collins, please."
Kensi gave him an ironic look. "Let's go Dutch," she suggested. "At least until we get to know each other better."
Sinclair shrugged. "Whatever the lady wants," he said.
Kensi smirked at him. She knew that he had felt safe in offering to buy because they both knew they weren't going to be eating. The attacks had taken place shortly after the couples had given up trying to get a table and had decided to go somewhere else.
Most of them had wound up in the hospital.
Two of them, the victims of the carjacking, had wound up in the morgue.
Kensi yanked her thoughts away from that. Thinking about what COULD have happened to poor Dom would only put her off her game.
"You'll have to let me get the next round," Sinclair said.
She gave him a sunny smile and took a sip of her drink before disposing of the rest. She couldn't see what Sinclair was doing with his drinks, but she suspected they were going into the camera bag that was sitting next to his elbow. Unless he had a rubber tube going down his arm.
"How's your brother?" Sinclair asked.
Kensi assumed he meant Dom. She was touched that he cared enough to ask. "He'll be all right soon," she said. "The doctors are going to let him out of the hospital tomorrow." She shuddered. "It was a close thing." Thinking quickly, she added. "I can't believe how violent people can get over a basketball game."
Sinclair shook his head ruefully. "Any competition can bring out the worst in people," he said. "One time, I almost got shot over a chess game, of all things."
"I'll drink to that," Kensi said, signalling the bartender for another round.
As their wait dragged out, Kensi began to feel her adrenline start pumping. She noticed that couples who had come in after they had were being escorted to tables. This place was definitely singling them out. They probably felt that she and Sinclair were too drunk to notice. Kensi made a note to make sure she tweeted about the discriminatory practices of the place. Make sure they got a bad rep.
But that would be after they dealt with the attackers.
After about an hour, Sinclair said. "I'm sick of this. If they can't serve their food any faster, it's probably not even edible. Let's blow this joint and find someplace where we can actually get something to eat. I'm starving." He got to his feet carefully. Not wobbling like a bad actor pretending to be drunk. If Kensi had seen him getting into the driver's seat, she would have called the cops.
They hadn't gone very far when they realized that they were being followed.
"Two men, armed with baseball bats," David muttered into his cufflink.
Kensi paused to powder her nose and eye their followers.
Sinclair snorted.
"What?" Kensi demanded.
"I didn't realize NCIS was so old school," Sinclair muttered.
"We're more interested in efficiency that fancy gadgets," Kensi shot back. "The one on the left looks like the guy Dom described. Right down to the mouse under his right eye."
Sinclair's teeth flashed in something that an innocent bystander would have mistaken for a smile. "Oh, really?" he said.
"He's mine," Kensi said.
"Whatever the lady wants," Sinclair said. Suddenly their was in front was blocked by a moving van, forcing Sinclair and Kensi to duck into an alley.
"Here they come!" Sinclair announced to their handlers.
Kensi took one step into the alley, and then flattened herself against the wall. The two followers arrived about twenty seconds after they did.
Kensi let the first one pass, it was the second one that she wanted.
As soon as the man who had attacked Dom rounded the corner, Kensi moved in. She had time to note that the man was carrying a baseball bat, but the only caused her to recalculate her angle in order to avoid it. She put everything she had into a sidekick into the attacker's groin.
The kick folded the second attacker like a paper doll. He dropped his bat and rolled into the alley, screaming and whining.
This distracted the first attacker long enough for Sinclair to get the drop on them. The two men traded punches until Kensi got bored and moved in with a savate kick to the attacker's kneecap.
Sinclair gave her an indignant look. "I had it under control," he said.
Kensi shrugged. "I'm hungry," she replied.
Sinclair grinned at her. "Tell you what, as soon as our backup gets here, Colby..." he spoke into his cufflink again. "What? The driver of the van tried to run? So what? We had an actual fight here!"
He grinned at her. "As I was saying, after we're done here, we can grab some Chinese."
"Why Chinese?" Kensi asked.
"Because I can use a chopstick with one hand and type my report with the other," Sinclair boasted.
Kensi laughed. "That I have got to see," she said.
"So, it's a date?" Sinclair asked hopefully.
Kensi eyed him warily. "It's a date on one condition," she said.
"What's that?"
"Do not give me flowers," she said. "I hate flowers."
"Oh," Sinclair thought that over. "How about a camera bag full of Tom Collins?"
Kensi just laughed as their back up arrived.