The detective feels like he's about to pass out.
Get a hold of yourself, Deeks tells himself. He leans forward and places his hands on the desk to steady himself. At this point, the man's legs feel like jelly that's seconds away from giving out. To get his mind off of how he physically feels, Deeks focuses his attention on Kensi, who had just said, "That's weird."
"What's weird?" Deeks tries to say, but it comes out so quiet that no one on the team hears him. Frustrated, Deeks tries again, this time asking much louder, "What's weird?"
Five pairs of eyes quickly shoot the detective annoyed glares.
"Where you paying attention at - you know what? I already know the answer to that," Kensi grumbles, " The other attacks happened at different points within the last six years, but the last attack was about two months ago. I was saying how weird it was that we have a time frame, but no victim name. "
Sam jumps into the conversation. "Guys, how do we know that this is even real? What does the FBI have that makes them think there was an actual attack here in Los Angeles?"
"Excellent question, Mr. Hanna," Hetty replies, "Ms. Jones?"
Nell runs a blue stylus across her tablet towards the wall display where an audio file appears. "LAPD's Mission Community Police Station received an anonymous 911 call reporting an unconscious male being tossed out of a moving vehicle onto to the side of the road. The caller was never found, but ambulances for Olive View- UCLA Medical Center were dispatched to the scene. That's all that we have."
"Don't forget the pictures that the FBI sent- five of them to be exact," Callen states with his annoyance clearly heard in his tone. "Five photos- one with a shattered cellphone, three pictures of shattered glass and tire treads, and an empty wallet in a patch of grass."
"So that's it?" Kensi exclaims, "Five photos and an anonymous 911 call? What about any evidence taken from the victim?"
"The FBI spoke to medical personal at Olive View and they said that the victim's clothes, blood work, and pictures documenting the injuries were taken," Eric states, "Problem is that due to new medical rules and regulations, the victim requested that the evidence be logged in as anonymous until they say otherwise and there's nothing we can do about it."
"So we're looking for a victim who doesn't want to be found," Callen says softly while crossing his arms. There's a silence that passes through the room as the two analyst and three agents take in the information regarding the case. In the meanwhile, the detective is bent over, pretending to tie his shoes. His eyes are closed as he's battling another memory- the emergency room at Olive View after being left to die on the side of the road.
"It's ok, it's ok," a brunette nurse whispers in Deeks' ear as the detective squirms on the bed. She squeezes his hand and shoos him. "Shhhh, I know you're in pain. Don't cry."
Deeks only lets out a whimper in response. The two doctors are working on the burns on his arms while another doctor is working on both of the small wounds on his chest. He tries to think of a good memory in his life, but the only thing that pops in his brain his Kensi, who had turned him down romantically the day before.
"It's ok, sir. You'll be ok- although it'd be good if we had a name for you other than John Doe," the nurse jokes lightly. Her tactic doesn't work- Deeks cries out when one of the doctors begins addressing another one of his wound. By now, he doesn't want to stay conscious anymore- all he wants to do is close his eyes and sleep.
"Why are we doing this instead of LAPD?" Sam grunts, which pulls Deeks out of the memory. In the midst of his attempt to steady his erratic breathing, Deeks can hear that the aggravation in Sam's voice is directed directly towards him.
"Because, Mr. Hanna," Hetty replies, "Lieutenant Bates of the LAPD requested that this case be passed onto us. He called the Director, who approved the case transfer and the joint operation that we will be doing with the FBI."
Deeks' eyes widens when Hetty mentions Lieutenant Bates. On the day of the assault, Bates had requested that Deeks step in for a sick cop for a simple surveillance operation in Northern Los Angeles. When Deeks didn't check in a few hours after starting the operations, Bates had chosen against alerting NCIS and instead decided to cover up for the detective's disappearance.
"I don't want that little ninja coming after me because I got her little detective hurt," Bates snaps while walking around the edge of Deeks' hospital bed. "I have commendations coming in from the mayor and I don't plan on losing that over some cop thinks he's a fed. I lied and told your team that this 'op' is still going on and that you'll be gone for a month and a half- that'll give you plenty of time to recover. You say a word about this and I'll make your life a living hell. Capisce?"
In his bed, Deeks blinked twice before groggily mumbling, "Capisce."
That was the last time Deeks had made contact with Bates. He had been released from the hospital within four weeks and took another week to make sure that everything regarding the assault had been put to rest for the time being. By the time he returned to work, Deeks' injuries- four broken ribs, wounds on his arms, legs, and chest that required forty stitches, the two 1st degree burns on his thigh from a chemical and the four burns on his skin from electrical shock- had barely healed, but were easily concealed with long sleeves and jackets.
"So what next?" Kensi asks which once more pulls the detective out of his flashback. Callen sighs and bites his lip as he quickly tries to think of a game plan. The lead agent's eyes flicker between the case file on the table next to him and the screen.
"Ok, here's what we'll do," Callen finally says, "Eric and Nell will review every camera within ten miles of Sylmar on that day, Sam and I will see if we can get anything from the medical staff at Olive View, and Kensi will go speak with the agents at the FBI LA field office to see what they know." The team immediately splits into groups, leaving Deeks at the table.
"Hey, Callen, what do I do?" Deeks calls out before the team leader walks out the door. Callen stops and lets out a huff of air. "Look at the other victim's case files, see if you can find anything- don't screw this up."
