Turn of Events
By BH72
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from NCISLA. They all belong to Shane Brennan and CBS. I am thankful that I am allowed to borrow them and return them, ready for the next episode.
A/N: After writing this, I watched The Frozen Lake from Season 5 and realised that I started this story very much in canon to this, with regards to Kensi and Deeks. Funny how the mind works sometimes, we are influenced in many ways when we write about our favourite Federal Agents.
Chapter 1
Office of Special Projects…
The morning at the Office of Special Projects had been slow, with Owen Granger enforcing the agents to catch up on their stack of paperwork, they'd neglected from a rough couple of weeks. Callen sighed as he trudged through his pile, which was the highest of them all. The office wasn't the same without their fairy godmother, Hetty Lange, who still hadn't returned after her visit to Washington D.C. Whatever had urged her presence on the east coast, had been hidden from the team. He looked over at Sam, who was getting through his paperwork quicker than the rest of them, as if he was a man with a mission. Must be from his SEAL days. Out of the four of them, Sam Hanna was the most organised. Callen twisted his chair to the right and caught Kensi's yawn from boredom. She thumped her head onto her desk, in hope it would wake her up.
"Late night, Kens?" Callen looked over to the detective, who had been rather quiet all morning, before bringing his attention back to the woman beside him.
Guilt flashed over Kensi's face, as she looked over to her partner. A smirk appeared on G. Callen's face, intrigued on what happened the night before between the younger partners. "U-huh!" He smile broadened. "You and Deeks, hey?"
Sam looked up and chuckled, when Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks tried to deny they they had even been together. "That's really cute," Sam joined his partner in teasing the pair. "when you talk at the same time." Memories of when they first met the detective as Jason Wyler returned to the forefront of their minds. Deeks had said the same thing about Callen and Kensi, in the boat shed. How far things had come, now it was the detective and Agent Blye who were caught out trying to hide things. Not that Callen and Kensi had ever been a couple, but together they tried to deny the existence of their secret office to Deeks.
"You stole my words." Deeks tried to redirect the topic of conversation, but there was no denying the two had been caught out.
"Stole, took, used, it doesn't matter, Deeks." Sam responded. "The fact is, you two have been caught out."
Deeks looked worriedly over to the alcove where Owen Granger sat, busy on the phone.
A shrill of a whistle broke the banter between the field agents, much to the relief of Deeks and Kensi.
"We're not finished here." Callen told them as they ascended the stairs.
The four agents walked through the sliding doors and saw an image of a dead body on the screen. "Such a welcoming image." Deeks muttered.
Eric and Nell rolled their eyes. "We don't have much time. This has just happened." Eric responded.
Callen focused on the details as they came up on the screen. "What has the death of a civilian got to do with us?"
"Peter Fellowes was an employee for Mitchell pharmaceuticals. The company provides our SEAL teams, marines and naval officers with vaccines of life threatening diseases and chemical warfare, that they may be exposed to while on duty." Nell replied.
"Has anything been stolen from them?" Kensi asked, with her brow furrowed. They knew what companies such as this one had stored on site, for the vaccines to be created - the live viruses and chemicals used in battle, were there too.
"Not that we know of. His body was found by his girlfriend an hour ago, LAPD handed the case over to us, due to the sensitivity of the company, once his employment was made known." Eric brought up some new images of the crime scene up on the screen.
Callen turned to Deeks and Kensi. "We'll go to the crime scene, see what LAPD missed and talk with the the girlfriend. You two go and see his employer, Warren Mitchell. See if he knows why anyone would want Fellowes dead, or if any threats have been made against anyone else in his company." The four of them left like a well oiled machine.
Crestview…
Sam drove, while Callen rode shotgun, thinking over what may have caused the execution of their victim. "There is no doubt, Sam, that this is a professional hit. Either Fellowes was dealing in something on the side from his employer, or something bigger than him caused him to be killed this way."
"You mean like a message to the owner of Mitchell Pharmaceuticals?" Sam briefly glanced over to his partner and noticed the look of concentration on his face.
"Possibly. Let's see what we all find from the crime scene, the girlfriend and Warren Mitchell." Callen was swift to exit the black challenger once Sam had pulled up outside the Crestview home on Sawyer Street. Police had taped the boundary of the white washed brick home, with an LAPD officer still guarding the crime scene. They showed their identifications and entered the house. The victim's body had been removed, but the girlfriend sat out the back of the house in the kitchen with a detective, in shock. Callen and Sam analysed the living room, where she had found her boyfriend's body, before going to speak with her. The room looked fairly clean, except for the blood splatter on the far wall and the pool of blood on the green carpet.
"Fellowes must have been caught off guard." Callen concluded. "The doorbell rings, he answers the door, no security screen to protect him from an intruder." Callen swings around from the front door, going over the event in his mind. "He starts to run away from said intruder and makes it into this room, where the gunman aims and fires. The gunman leaves swiftly, unseen by victim's girlfriend, who is asleep upstairs." Callen looked up at Sam. "He was the only target. If Fellowes was involved in something, surely the girlfriend would have been killed also?" He kept his voice low, as he talked his findings over with his partner.
"I agree with you, G. If Fellowes was involved in some below the belt scheme, and he'd turned on them, whoever wanted him dead, would have searched the house for whatever it was they wanted and also gone for the girlfriend. The house is left as it was, so they definitely weren't searching for anything. They came in and left before his girlfriend was aware of an intruder." Sam knelt down beside the pool of blood. "Carpets were recently cleaned, G. There's a footprint here, dirt on their shoes, perhaps they came across the garden towards the house, so not to be seen." Sam exited the house, following the dirty footprints out to the side of the building, with Callen behind him. "Here's a better shoe impression." Sam captured the shoe impression and emailed it through to Eric.
"Eric, I've found a shoe impression in the garden, which I also found by the victim's body." Sam announced. "This will eliminate the girlfriend, unless she has unusually large feet." Not that the girlfriend was a suspect, with the nature of the professional hit taken out on their victim.
"Got it, thanks, Sam." Eric placed the image into a search database to find the make and size of the shoe to help find their suspect.
Sam and Callen re-entered the house, to talk with the girlfriend. Samantha Billings was still in a state of shock over her boyfriend's murder. She sat at the dining table, holding a cup of tea that Detective Myers had made for her.
"Agent Sam Hanna," he greeted the woman, "and this is my partner, Agent Callen."
Samantha Billings looked up at Sam's voice, but her eyes appeared distant. "Is it okay with you if we sit down, Ms Billings?" She nodded, but remained quiet. "We understand this is hard for you, but we need to ask you some questions." She nodded, gripping the cup firmly in her hand.
"Has Peter mentioned to you about any concerns he had at work?" Callen asked her, studying her facial expressions as she thought over his questions.
Samantha shook her head. "No. You think this is related to his job?"
"We need to cover all angles. This was a professional hit, Ms Billings, unless there is some other reason why someone would want Peter dead in his personal life, we believe this may have something to do with Mitchell Pharmaceuticals."
Tears fell down Samantha's face as she looked at Callen. "He loved his job. Warren Mitchell was a good boss, fair, but a hard worker. Peter and Warren had become friends and often played at Warren's local golf club on the weekends. No one at his work would want Peter dead."
Callen stretched out his hand to soothe the woman. "We're not suspecting Warren Mitchell to have arranged the hit, Ms Billings. We are concerned due to the nature of the company's work, that a terror cell in Los Angeles may be sending the owner a threat."
"A terror cell?" Fear washed over her face, as she held her hand over her mouth, shaking. She looked around the house, "I can't stay here," she looked at Callen and Sam, "can I? What if they come back?"
"It's probably best if we take you to a safe house, just in case. But we don't think you were in any danger. If you were, they would have searched the house and found you earlier." Sam reassured her.
Samantha Billings nodded. "Can I pack some things?"
Callen and Sam nodded. "Of course." Sam and Callen stood to talk over the information they had. Both agents knew from experience that this was way bigger than just the run of the mill shooting, as they first thought.
Mitchell Pharmaceuticals…
"You know, Kensilina," Deeks began as they walked towards the entrance to the secured building, "usually we're all dressed up ready to go undercover, when we enter such a fine establishment, but today, I feel we're under dressed for the occasion."
Kensi stopped in her tracks. "You know, Deeks, you're right. Every since Hetty's been gone, we've hardly seen the contents of wardrobe. You don't think Hetty took it all with her, do you?"
"More like Granger's being tight. Doesn't want us looking better than he does in a suit. What is it with him wearing that suit every day? Doesn't he get bored with it?" Deeks faced his partner as they digressed over their superior's dress sense.
"You know, we could start keeping suits in our lockers for such occasions," Kensi began, before shaking her head, "no, it'll crush. Plus you don't own anything near to a suit, Deeks. At least you're wearing pants, unlike Eric, who is fighting a battle with Granger on his dress code. Did you see the closed in shoes Eric's been made to wear? It's only a matter of time he'll have to wear pants again. But Nell told me that the last time Hetty made Eric wear pants, she caught him trying to incinerate them. I worry how it will effect Eric in his work."
"At least Hetty accepted us all for who we are and not tried to change us, but with Granger, I feel he's plotting behind our backs to change us. We work so well together, why change what works?"
"Actually, Deeks," Kensi looked into his blue eyes, "Hetty was always moulding us, to make us better. So really, Granger is no different to Hetty. He's just less subtle."
Marty Deeks pondered for a moment. "I think you're right there, Fern. Let's go and talk with Mitchell. I wonder what he's like?"
Kensi and Deeks were surprised with the friendly reception they received as they were led up to the tenth floor, and into the waiting area outside Warren Mitchell's office. His secretary sat at her desk, typing away on her computer, but stopped when they arrived with security and greeted them with a smile. "Hello, Mr Mitchell will be with you in a few minutes, he's on a call. Is there anything I can bring you, tea, coffee, water?"
Kensi and Deeks returned the brunette's smile. "No, thank you." She directed them to some chairs with a fantastic view over the parkland beside the property.
"This is some view, perhaps we should ask Granger to move us to somewhere with a view?" Deeks muttered, keeping his voice low.
"We're supposed to be hiding, Deeks, that's why we don't have a view, but remind me later to show you the view from the rooftop. At sunset, it's beautiful." She smiled broadly at her partner, pleased how they had finally sorted out their stutter in their relationship and made the next step to be boyfriend and girlfriend.
Warren Mitchell opened the door from his office and greeted Kensi and Deeks, much to their surprise. They were expecting his secretary to lead them through. He appeared rather relaxed and friendly. "Agent Blye and Detective Deeks?" Kensi and Deeks nodded, shaking his hand.
"I'm Warren Mitchell, please come through." He held the door opened for them and waited for them to sit down on the couches, off to the left in his large office. "I have to say, this is a surprise to receive an unannounced visit from NCIS. Is everything okay?"
"So you've had visits from Federal Agents before?" Deeks studied the blond before him. He was tall and athletic, with green eyes that shone brightly. This man takes good care of himself.
"It's part of the nature of my company, it's expected to have Federal Agencies send their people in, to ensure that we're not being threatened, or at risk of our highly sensitive materials being stolen." Warren explained.
"Have you had any threats made out to your company before, Mr Mitchell?" Deeks inquired, satisfied the man appeared above board.
"Never, but your visit here today, concerns me that we have. Am I correct?" Warren was good at deciphering people, but the two before him were closed books. Well trained agent and detective, he mused.
"What can you tell us about Peter Fellowes?" Kensi asked him, studying him as he answered.
A smile spread across Warren's face at the mention of his employee. "Peter has been my saving grace, since we moved to Los Angeles five years ago. He's a hard worker, smart and a good man. Why do you ask?"
"Do you know he hasn't showed up for work today?" Kensi watched Warren furrow his brow and shake his head.
"No. I've been busy all morning with meetings. We don't usually connect until after lunch on Thursdays. Is he alright?"
"We're sorry, Mr Mitchell, but Peter Fellowes was killed this morning." Kensi revealed.
"What? No. What happened?" Confusion and grief spread across his features.
"It was a professional hit. We've got agents at his residence checking over the crime scene and talking with Ms Billings." Deeks explained to him.
"Poor Samantha." Warren rubbed his hand through his hair, with worry.
Kensi's cell rang and she noticed it was Callen. "Excuse me, I need to take this call." She walked over to the other side of Mitchell's expansive office, looking out at the parkland view. "Hey, Callen, what have you found out? We've just told Warren Mitchell about Fellowes."
"We believe this is a threat against the company, Kens. Ask the owner if he's had any threats, against the company or himself? Something is going on, we need to get to the bottom of who killed Fellowes and is sending Mitchell a warning." Callen advised her.
"We've already asked him about threats, he says he's not received any before." Kensi turned and looked over at her partner and Mitchell chatting. "He was in shock over his employee's death. I don't think he's behind it,"
"Neither do we, Kens." Callen added. "This is a threat towards the company, it was a clean in and out shooting. Nothing was disturbed in the house, nor bothered to search out any other people in the house. We've taken the girlfriend to a safe house, just incase they return. Better warn Mitchell."
"Thanks, Callen. Will do." Kensi disconnected the call and returned to the couch.
"That was our team leader. He's said that they believe this is a terror cell sending you a warning. We suggest you tighten security to this building." Kensi told him.
Immediately Warren Mitchell pressed the button on the phone in front of them, on the coffee table. "Maya, please activate 'Code Amber'."
"On it, sir." Maya pressed in a sequence of numbers on her phone and retyped them a second time for confirmation.
The head of security phoned her desk immediately. "Is this a drill, Maya?"
"No, Phil, this is the real deal. I don't know what's occurred, the agent and detective are still in with Warren." A tightening in her stomach confirmed her worries over the situation. She tried to remain calm, but now that the situation that they had prepared for, for years had arrived, she was on edge.
"Thank you, Maya, we'll take over from here."
"What's Code Amber, Mr Mitchell?" Deeks was impressed by the processes this company had in place for such a situation, but was also curious over what the owner of the company had initiated.
"As part of the agreement with the Government, we set up protocols for all sorts of situations. This code, 'Amber', means that no member of staff will be allowed off the property until the threat has been resolved." Realisation hit the man before them. "I've got to call my wife, she was expecting me to meet her and our daughters for lunch. If you'll excuse me." Warren stood and walked over to his desk, to make the call.
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