Chapter 3
After taking a few moments to pull himself together, Deeks got back into his car and turned on his phone. He saw that he had quite a few messages, mostly from Kensi. He decided he would check in with Hetty first though and dialed her cell number.
"Mr. Deeks?" Hetty's voice betrayed her worry.
"Sorry Hetty, this is the first chance I got to check in." Deeks apologized.
"Are you headed into Ops?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm headed there now. I need to be back to the warehouse by tonight though." Deeks's voice cracked slightly.
There was a pause on Hetty's end. "Mr. Deeks… I can pull you out anytime. Just say the word." She sounded pained.
"No, I…" Deeks ran a hand over his face. "I'm in control. It's going exactly as I expected. I already have names for you guys."
"As you wish." Hetty changed the subject. "Kensi is going to have questions about your alias when you see her. She knows you're in there using your real name. I told her I didn't know the reasoning behind the choice. I'm hoping you have some idea as to what to tell her?"
"Crap. That might make things difficult. I'll think of something. See you soon." Deeks hung up, a crease forming between his eyebrows. Kensi.
(Back at NCIS)
Callen and Sam were whispering with worried looks on their faces in one corner of the bullpen, occasionally glancing over at Kensi who was furiously thumbing through LAPD case files at her desk and muttering to herself. She shot up from her seat, slamming her hands down on her desk. "There's no mention of Deeks or Martin Brandell in any of the paperwork for this case!" Kensi cried.
"Hetty did tell you it was redacted." Callen commented.
"But there isn't anything redacted from the paperwork the LAPD sent over. I can read every single word on every single one of these documents." Kensi stared unseeingly down at the papers scattered across her desk. "What the hell is going on here?"
Sam raised his eyebrows at Callen and then turned back to look at Kensi. "Kensi, you're making yourself crazy. Just ask Deeks about it when he checks in."
Kensi shot a scathing glare in Sam's direction. "And when exactly do you think that might happen? It's been 48 hours and we haven't heard a peep. What the hell is he doing in there?" She laid her head down on the desk.
Sam and Callen looked up to see Deeks walk into the building. "Why don't you ask him yourself, Kensi?" Callen leaned back in his chair with relief at seeing the detective alive and unharmed.
Kensi's head snapped up and around to look at Deeks. Her eyes watered slightly when she looked into his eyes. She was up from her desk and standing in front of him before another second passed. "I was worried." She said quietly, searching Deeks's face.
"I'm sorry, Kens, I just couldn't get away until now." Deeks said softly. Kensi nodded turning away and wiping her eyes.
"Mr. Deeks," Hetty appeared behind Deeks, "let us convene in Ops to receive your report."
Deeks stared at Kensi, whose back was still to him, for one more moment before turning to follow after Hetty. "Right. I'm coming."
(In Ops)
Deeks started listing out names from Volkov's inner circle and giving details on their jobs and current assignments. The team listened quietly, growing more and more incredulous that Deeks had managed to collect so much Intel in the short time he had been undercover.
When Deeks finished with his report, the room was silent for a moment before Sam spoke up. "You got all that in 48 hours…? What the hell got Volkov to trust Martin Brandell so much?" Sam tried to keep his tone light, but he was growing suspicious that Deeks was leaving something important out.
"I've just got one of those faces, I guess." Deeks joked, avoiding giving a real answer.
Kensi's eyes narrowed as she noticed his evasion. "Deeks, why did you use the name Martin Brandell for undercover work?" She waited, watching as he turned hesitantly to face her.
Deeks had been warned this question was coming so he was ready with an answer. While driving over, he had decided that the truth, with certain details left out, would be the best way to go. Kensi would know if he told her an outright lie now. She was watching his face carefully as he opened his mouth and launched into his explanation. "I wasn't undercover when I first met one of Volkov's guys. I was in my old neighborhood where everyone knew me as Martin Brandell and I ran into him by chance." Deeks shrugged. "Later, when the LAPD needed someone on the inside of the ring, I was already in a position to help, but I had to go in as Martin Brandell since that was who I had been first introduced as. It was a weird situation." Deeks kept his face smooth and his voice carefree as he explained. It made him feel just a little bit better that he wasn't technically lying; he had only left out a few major details.
Kensi seemed satisfied with his answer, the crease between her eyebrows lessening as she listened. Sam, however, remained suspicious as he watched the detective launch easily into his explanation. "What does Volkov have you doing, now that you've joined back up with him?" He asked, not letting his suspicion affect his speech.
Deeks kept his expression controlled as he looked at Sam. He could tell the big man wasn't buying something about his story. He sighed internally. "He's asked me to line up some high profile buyers for the private auction happening the day after tomorrow. That's actually what I needed to talk to you guys about." Deeks turned to look at Callen now. "I think you and Sam should pretend to be buyers. That way you guys can get a look inside the warehouse and help me protect the kids if anything goes down. There are going to be a few guys there that I didn't invite, Volkov's special guests, and I'll need you guys to follow them after the auction."
Callen nodded in response. "Eric, Nell, we're going to need back stopping. Get on it. Deeks, tell us what we need to know."
"You're going to need to pass as big spenders and you're also going to need to really put on a show of looking interested in the kids they present you with." Callen and Sam grimaced at this; Deeks continued expressionlessly. "If I talk you up to Volkov, he'll be more likely to seat you near him during the auction. But, if you do end up sitting near him, you have to be really careful; he doesn't like not being able to get a read on new people so you need to be as straightforward as possible whenever you speak to him. That being said, don't speak to him unless he says something to you first." Callen and Sam raised their eyebrows.
"He sounds like a lot of fun, this Volkov guy." Callen joked. "Really easy to get along with." Deeks smiled humorlessly at him.
"Callen. I was also thinking that I could convince Volkov that you control major cocaine sales in LA and get him interested in you as a supplier. He'll like that you speak Russian and he hasn't been able to get in touch with any large-scale cocaine dealers since he's been back. What do you think?" Deeks looked at Callen.
"If you have enough sway to convince him to buy from someone new, go for it." Callen glanced at Hetty, to see if she had any objections.
"Well then, Mr. Deeks, Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna, it looks like we have quite a lot of work to do." Hetty stated.
(Back in the bullpen)
Kensi was watching Deeks as he talked Callen and Sam through what would happen during the auction. There was something off about him, a tightness around his mouth, a hollowness behind his eyes. She didn't like it. Deeks looked over at her then and frowned in response to whatever he saw in her expression. He walked over.
"Kensi?" He searched her face. "What's wrong?"
Her lips quirked up as she tried to smile and brush off his question. "Oh I just went off into my own little world for a minute." Deeks raised on eyebrow.
"Kensi, what's wrong?" Crap. He could read her like a book.
"I'm just worried about you." She said looking down at the floor. "I'm worried about what being around those people will do to you. You seem," she raised her eyes to meet his gaze, "off somehow." She saw a flicker of something in Deeks's eyes.
"Kensi…" Kensi's mouth went dry at the look of desperation on Deeks's face.
"Deeks, how much cocaine are we talking?" Callen called across the bullpen, not aware that he was interrupting.
Deeks reigned all his chaotic emotions in and then called back to Callen. "Somewhere around 25 kilos." Kensi watched the curtains close behind his eyes, masking his thoughts once more as he turned away from her. She had a bad feeling.
End of Chapter 3
