Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS:LA.
Chapter One
It was Monday morning, and so early that darkness was still wrapped around Los Angeles. There is, however, no rest for the weary, and at five-thirty a certain Marty Deeks was roused from sleep by a telephone jangling in his apartment.
In his haste to answer it, Deeks staggered across his bedroom floor and into the living room, tripping over a semi-damp wetsuit and some plastic flip-flops, then caught his knee on the dresser and fell, wincing, onto his couch. Maybe leasing a barely-three-room apartment hadn't been such a great idea, he thought, rubbing his knee.
Next time I get a pay raise...he vowed. "Deeks here."
"Get out of bed, Deeks." The voice belonged to Kensi Blye. Immediately Deeks sat up a little straighter.
"We have a case?"
"No, Deeks. I'm calling you at five-thirty in the morning to say hello."
"Okay. Case it is." He groaned out loud, peering into the cold darkness beyond the window. "Location?"
"Wilshire. Just off of the freeway. You should see the lights—Callen and Sam are already down there."
Deeks knew the lights that she spoke of. Flashing from the hoods of ambulances, fire trucks and squad cars, they alerted most cops and detectives to the exact location of a crime scene.
"Be there in ten."
"See you." Kensi sounded unusually grim this morning. "And hurry up, okay?"
"I am, I am." Deeks pulled on some jeans and a shirt, then reached for a jacket. "See? I'm already dressed."
"Great." Kensi sighed. "See you in ten."
She hung up, and Deeks grabbed his keys on the way out the door. In his haste, he forgot to lock his apartment door, and as the young agent rushed downstairs, the door creaked open a few inches. It would remain open all day, but Marty Deeks did not know or care.
He had a crime to solve.