Going Dark: Chapter 2

...

The headlights of the small car flashed on pale stucco walls pocked by time and now streaked with rain and splashes of mud. Sam maneuvered the car expertly through the shadowy streets around the Grand Bazaar. The area was a labyrinth of tiny streets that twisted and turned back on themselves and confused anyone trying to get to a particular point in the city. Istanbul is ancient and as Sam drove through the deserted streets of the oldest part of the city, he felt as if he were going back in time as he tried to find his way to his small apartment. He and Callen had decided that Sam's place probably hadn't been compromised and was the safest bet for them tonight. They would go about finding a safer haven tomorrow, but tonight they needed to get Deeks someplace where he could rest.

"Deeks? How you doing back there?" Sam asked as the car bumped and fishtailed around another tight corner. He heard a low moan and a small gasp as the car hit a pothole and Sam needed to hear his voice.

"Did you get this car from a circus, Sam?" Deeks voice was breathy as he tried to keep himself from being jostled around as they raced through the old neighborhood.

"It was the clown car, Deeks," Sam answered, " And I thought of you when I picked it out."

"That I can believe," Callen laughed and started to relax a little bit. They hadn't seen anyone behind them for the last half hour, so if they had been tailed he was pretty sure Sam had lost them in the maze of small streets.

"There it is," Sam whipped the car around a corner and drove inside a covered parking stall and cut the engine. They all waited silently in the car, making sure they hadn't been followed.

"I think you lost them, Sam," Callen slowly got out of the car and opened the back door to help Deeks.

"I may have punctured a lung on that last turn, Sam," Deeks said with a short laugh as he unfolded his long frame and let Callen pull him out. The effort seemed to exhaust him and he leaned heavily against the wall, waiting for Sam to let them into his small apartment.

Sam lit a lamp in the one bedroom and turned on a space heater to warm the room. Callen checked out the kitchen and came back into the living room with a smile and three beers. He held one out to Sam and turned to offer one to Deeks, who just shook his head no and slowly lowered himself into a chair by the door. Sam gave Callen a worried look, knowing Deeks had to be feeling pretty bad to refuse a beer.

"Deeks, you take the bed," Sam said as he sank into one of the couches and sipped his beer.

"Thanks, Sam." He pushed himself up from the chair and walked gingerly into the bedroom. "Was this a former harem, Sam? I mean the red is striking, but I think of you as more of a taupe kinda guy."

"What the hell color is taupe, Deeks," Callen asked smiling, happy that Deeks mood was light and his humor was back. He could see the exhaustion dragging at him, though, and went to stand by him to see if he needed help. Sam came in and threw back the covers on the bed and gathered extra blankets for the couches he and Callen would be using. Deeks never responded to his question and seemed to zone out as he lowered himself onto the bed.

"I'll bring you a couple of pain pills, Deeks," Sam said as he stood over the young agent. His complexion was gray with fatigue and pain and he groaned as he lay back on the pillow, not even bothering to take off his clothes. Sam and Callen looked at each other and moved to help him. They got him out of this shoes and socks and pulled off his jeans and he didn't protest, closing his eyes and sinking to the edge of sleep. After taking his meds, they covered him and he was instantly out.

The two senior agents stood staring down at him for a couple of minutes. Finally, Sam turned off the light, but left the heater on. It had been a cold, rain-soaked run to Sam's car earlier and Deeks' hair was still wet. Sam didn't want him getting a chill to go along with all his other injuries. As he and Callen settled themselves in the main room, they finished their beers in silence.

"Tomorrow, we need to get a burn phone and call Hetty," Callen said, "She's probably crawling the walls right now. We haven't checked in for over twenty-four hours, and she must have freaked out when we shut off our phones."

"She's not the only one," Sam said and they both looked toward the bedroom, knowing Kensi was probably having a meltdown.

"Do you think this op is blown, G?" Sam asked.

"Maybe, but just because other people are after Sikes, doesn't mean we can't get to him first." Callen began to pace again, checking out the windows every few minutes and making Sam nervous.

"He could have sold that intel by now, G," Sam said and started spreading the blankets out on the two couches, neatly tucking in the corners and arranging throw pillows.

"You've turned into quite a little hausfrau, Sam. I should say big hausfrau?" Callen was smiling widely at him as he finished his beer. He turned serious again as his mind began to assess the operation.

"We thought we had Sikes cornered in LA," Callen said as he reviewed the case. "Then we lose track of him for awhile and then discover he'd shipped out on the USS Sullivans bound for the Sixth Fleets' home base in Italy. We get to Italy and discover the ship is in Turkey. Can this operation get any more drawn out and complicated?"

"Well, with you and Deeks posing as the Van Der Burgh brothers trying to buy the intel, it certainly did." Sam joined Callen at the front windows as they continued to go over the case.

"Gotta love us South African ex-military guys," Callen quipped.

"But who, other than us and our contact in the CIA, knew your cover?" Sam asked.

"And why is Sikes hiding from guys like Kocak?" Callen wondered. "If he came here to sell his sensitive intel to the highest bidder, why not just make a deal with Kocak and disappear?"

"Maybe he has a particular buyer in mind," Sam said. "The Iranians would be very interested in the information he has."

"For all we know, Kocak could be working for the Iranians." Callen finally slumped onto the couch and let out a long sigh. "My mind is fried."

"I'll take the first watch, G," Sam said. Callen nodded, stretched out and almost immediately started to snore. Sam covered him with a blanket and checked his weapon before taking up his position next to the window. He reminded himself to force Callen to take some pain meds when Callen relieved him. Both of them were in poor shape and Sam again was glad that Hetty had insisted he come along as a backup to both of them. He wasn't sure they would have survived if he hadn't been around to get them out of that hotel tonight.

...

Callen and Sam were both up early. Callen had relieved Sam around three in the morning and had been awake ever since. Sam had gone out to bring back breakfast from a small bakery in the neighborhood and had managed to convince Callen to take a couple of pain meds before they went out in search of a couple of burn phones. Sam had let Deeks sleep as long as possible, finally waking him for baklava, yogurt and coffee.

"How'd you sleep, Deeks?" Sam asked as he helped him sit up. His fever was still high and he grimaced in pain as he leaned back against the headboard of the bed.

"I kept waking up in cold sweats," he answered and Sam felt a twinge of concern.

"Well, eat your breakfast and take some pain pills. I'll find you some aspirin. We need to get your fever down." Sam said.

"Okay, Grammy Sammy," Deeks cracked.

"Don't call me that," Sam said shaking a finger at his grinning patient.

"How's he doing?" Callen asked as Sam walked into the kitchen.

"Well, he's being a smart-ass, but I'm worried about him," Sam said. "He needs to see a doctor, G."

"I don't know how that's gonna work, Sam," Callen said. "If we take him to a hospital the police could get involved. Too many questions."

"Well, when you talk to Hetty, see if she has any contacts here who can help us," Sam said as he headed back to the bedroom with some aspirin.

Deeks looked miserable and his complexion was grey and clammy.

"Sam, I think I'm gonna be sick," Deeks tried to get out of bed, but Sam pushed him back and grabbed a waste basket, holding it for him as he vomited up his breakfast.

"Sorry," he said with an embarrassed look on his face as he rolled back onto the pillow.

"Don't be. I do this for my kids all the time when they get sick," Sam said as he handed Deeks a glass of water and the aspirin. "Try and keep these down."

"I'm not one of your kids, Sam," he said softly.

"Sometimes you act like one, though." Sam smiled at him and felt better when Deeks laughed. He sat with him until he fell back to sleep and then went to talk to Callen.

"He needs a doctor, G," Sam was getting agitated and Callen knew he better listen to him.

"Do you think he'll be okay here by himself while we run a few errands?" Callen needed to check in with Hetty and find a doctor they could trust and a secure place for Deeks to recover.

"I think so, but I don't want to leave him alone for too long, G. He's getting worse."

"Let him know what we're doing and make sure he has a weapon close at hand, just in case."

"Maybe I should stay," Sam said.

"Sam, we need to get a different car. They've seen this one," Callen said. "If you take care of that while I get the burn phones and check in with Hetty, we'll be back within the hour."

"Okay." Callen could tell Sam didn't like leaving Deeks alone and he was beginning to get as worried as Sam about him, but he had to keep the operation going.

Deeks was awake when they left and had his gun on the table next to the bed. He kidded Sam about worrying too much and told them not to wake him up when they got back. Callen had to practically drag Sam out the door, but when he did, they got down to business. Sam dropped Callen off in the shopping district while he shopped for a new and bigger car. He was still smiling about the clown car quip Deeks had made when he drove back to pick up Callen.

"Nice," Callen said as he settled into the front seat of a dark blue Peugeot. As Sam drove, Callen called Hetty, and they both smiled when they heard her reply.

"Where the hell have you been?" Hetty sounded livid.

"Our cover was blown with a couple of local operators that deal in just about everything, Hetty," Callen answered. "They want what Sikes has and they tracked us down after we escaped from them, so we dumped our phones. Sorry I didn't give you a heads up before, but we were on the run."

"Are you all right, Mr. Callen?" Hetty's voice was now solicitous and they noticed the urgency in her tone.

"I was shot in the arm, but Deeks was badly beaten and he's in terrible shape, Hetty. Sam says he needs a doctor," Callen told her. "We also need a secure place to hold up."

"Let me make some calls," Hetty said and they both relaxed a little now that they had Hetty and the team in Ops back behind them. Hetty's connections were legendary and their confidence grew as they pulled up to Sam's apartment.

"Sam, the door," Callen had his gun out and Sam followed his lead. The front door was slightly open and they crouched on either side, listening for voices. When they heard nothing, they quickly entered.

"Deeks!" Sam yelled. Nothing but silence greeted them. When they entered the bedroom, it was a mess and Deeks was gone. The signs of a struggle were obvious and Callen pointed to the smear of blood on the sheets. Deeks shoes were in the corner and his gun was on the floor, a note rested on his pillow.

"Ozan has Deeks." Callen said. "He wants Sikes or he'll kill him."

...