AN: You guys are seriously the best! Extra long chapter, sorry for the wait but I got attacked by Donna/Harvey feelings and I had to write for them. If you're not watching Suits on USA you should be, it's amazing.
The sun that streamed into her windows seemed too bright. Kensi stretched languidly and fumbled for her phone, surprised that her alarm hadn't woken her. Her hand closed over a piece of paper and she blinked to clear her eyes.
Hetty gave you the day off.
Kensi frowned and picked up her phone to check the time, gasping when she saw the display. It was almost eleven. She rolled off her bed and stalked into the living room, ready to give Deeks a piece of her mind for turning off her alarm, but there was no sign of him. She stared at her empty apartment for a moment, contemplating taking the day off but decided against it. She would spend all day thinking about McCarthy anyway and it was better to go in to work where she could do something about it. She grabbed a pair of clean jeans from the pile on her chair and headed for the shower.
Deeks groaned as he filled out what seemed like his millionth form. He thrived on the part of his job that had him chasing after suspects and hunting down leads, the paperwork bored him to tears. There was a reason he'd quit law, too much paperwork, not enough action. Deeks rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck attempting to focus on the FD-302 form on his laptop. Since Eddie had been killed in action and he'd gone from unofficial criminal informant status to suspect status they had to transfer all his information to the proper forms, which meant at least three hours of paperwork. Or it would be three hours if he could focus.
Sam and Callen were arguing about the benefits of yoga which Sam was angrily defending. Since his only other option was paperwork Deeks leaned back in his chair and watched them.
"Look if I'm going to spend an hour of my time doing something it's not going to be a few stretches."
"Have you ever done yoga? It requires immense control and focus, not to mention a huge amount of core strength." Sam said
"Right, what was that pose where you're lying on your back?"
"It's called Shavasana, and it is a pose that helps to rejuvenate mind, body, and spirit through meditation. Maybe you could benefit from a little relaxation, G."
"Are you saying I'm uptight?"Callen asked in mock offense.
"No what I'm saying is that your body would work a lot better if you took care of it every once in a while."
Callen scoffed and turned his attention to Deeks.
"Hey Deeks, why don't you tell Sam that the only real benefit to me doing yoga is picking up women?"
A slow smile slid across Deeks' face as he started to agree with Callen but a threatening glare from Sam changed his mind.
"Uh, Yoga is actually harder than it looks, you have to use a lot of control, it's a beautiful fitness regimen." Deeks thought of the group of lovely, lithe women in those tight little outfits doing down dog. "A really beautiful fitness regimen." He repeated wistfully.
"That says everything really" Callen said turning back to Sam.
Sam threw up his hands in defeat and shook his head.
"You know what, don't come crying to me the next time we come back from and op and you guys are sore and bruised."
"No more of those grass flavored smoothies?" Callen asked, his voice filled with fake disappointment.
"Mock me all you want, wheatgrass cleanses and energizes your body, not to mention if you drink a shot every day you won't even feel those bruises and sore muscles."
Deeks leaned back in his chair. "You drink enough shots of vodka you won't even feel your face, much less your sore muscles.
Callen snorted.
"Oh yeah, you want to test that theory out right now smart guy?" Sam asked threateningly.
Deeks lifted his hands in surrender and Sam pointed at his laptop.
"Don't you have paperwork to do?"
"I was trying, but then you guys started bickering like an old married couple and I got distracted."
Sam pretended to lunge at him and Deeks flinched.
Callen laughed and kicked his feet up on the desk. "Which one of us would be the wife?"
"I'm not answering that question because I feel threatened in the workplace."
"I can't leave you alone for two seconds can I?"
Deeks looked up to see Kensi staring at him with an amused look on her face.
"You had the day off." He said pointedly
She shrugged, "So I'll add it to my next vacation."
Deeks sighed and rolled his eyes before pulling the flash drive from his computer and standing up to drop it on her desk.
"Paperwork" he said, crossing his fingers as he walked away.
"Wait," Kensi held up a finger and eyed the flash drive suspiciously.
"If I had the day off then that means this is your paperwork." She gave him an incredulous look. "Are you trying to pawn your paperwork off on me?"
"No, I-"
"Wow," Sam said, shaking his head.
"Okay, no, I was just letting you, see what I was trying to do was I knew you would be bored so I just wanted to-"
"Nice try," Kensi said glaring at him "get that off my desk," she said pointing to the flash drive.
Deeks picked it up and tried a charming smile.
"If you do my paperwork I'll do your weapons inventory for next week."
Kensi pursed her lips, considering. "Nope" she said, flashing him a brilliant smile.
"Fine, I'll do your laundry."
"Laundry's clean, better get started Deeks." Kensi said.
"What? No it's not, there are at least two loads worth on your floor, and that's not even counting the bedroom."
He realized his mistake a moment too late as Kensi's eyes widened and her mouth pressed into a tight line.
"I mean, I'm guessing, cause you know, you always have laundry on your floor," he finished lamely.
"Smooth," Callen said from behind him.
"Yeah, good one." Sam said leaning forward and sharing a look with Callen.
"So, how come you know how much laundry Kensi has in her bedroom?" Callen asked with interest.
"I-"
Eric's sharp piercing whistle cut him off and Deeks sent a silent thank you to the heavens before bolting up the stairs.
Kensi grit her teeth as Deeks dashed away and left her with Sam and Callen who were both smirking and exchanging knowing grins.
"Nothing happened," she said, leveling them each with a threatening glare.
Callen nodded, and met Sam's eyes behind her.
"I've got work to do," Kensi snapped before turning away to follow Deeks into OPS.
Nell looked up in surprise when Kensi walked in and gave her a small smile. Kensi returned the smile and stood purposely across the room from Deeks.
Callen and Sam arrived shortly after and Eric blew surveillance pictures up on the screen.
"McCarthy was never at the drop sight, he just sent out a few of his associates to deal with Eddie."
Nell stood and took the tablet from Eric's hand.
"Preliminary autopsy reports are in," her eyes met Kensi's "Melissa had been dead two hours prior to the planned ambush from a single gunshot wound to the head."
Kensi nodded, swallowing as that final worry faded away. "Thanks," she mouthed to Nell.
Nell nodded and turned back to the screen.
"We've been able to track McCarthy's movements and we have reason to believe he's meeting with another buyer tonight."
Deeks shook his head.
"No, it's another set up. It doesn't make sense, if you've got the cops after you, you lay low. Number one bad guy rule."
"Bad guy rule?" Callen asked.
Deeks shrugged his shoulders, "What? It's called organized crime for a reason."
Callen shook his head and Nell continued.
"That's what we thought at first too, but this morning Eric and I saw that the motion sensors in one of his warehouses had been activated so we checked the surveillance footage from some of the cams Eddie had installed and we found this." She flicked her finger over the surface of the tablet and a grainy video popped up on the big screen.
Nell hit play and they saw McCarthy pacing the floor, his movements erratic as he argued with someone over the phone.
"No I need to move the shipment now! I've got cops and feds crawling up my ass and I need to get out of town for a bit." There was a pause as McCarthy listened to the voice on the other end of the line. "Look, the only person who knows about this is my brother and I can guarantee he hasn't been talking to the cops." There was a another pause and McCarthy fisted his hands in his hair in frustration. "Okay, forty percent off the merchandise if you pay in cash by tonight. Yeah, we got a deal you cheap bastard. Meet me at the place we talked about at eight."
Kensi looked frantically at Nell as the video stopped.
"That's it? What's the place?"
Nell shrugged, "no clue, he left right after he made the call."
"He's planning to ditch town, there's no way we get him if he does that." Kensi said, desperation tingeing her tone.
Eric typed something into the computer and footage from a traffic cam popped up over the video.
"We tracked him from the warehouse to a gas station where he exchanged cars with one of his guys and drove to this bar on 201 east Broadway in Longbeach, he hasn't moved since."
Kensi frowned at the screen.
"No way he could have slipped out the back?" she asked.
"We've got camera angles on all sides of the building and Eric hacked into the bar's security cams. He's been sitting at a booth in the back for almost three hours now."
Kensi nodded, her anger building as she stared at the man who had caused the deaths of Melissa, Eddie, and countless others.
She noticed Deeks jolt out of the corner of her eye as Hetty spoke beside him, seeming to have appeared out of thin air.
"Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna I need you to stake out the bar while Miss Blye and Mr. Deeks plant a tracking device on our suspect's vehicle." A secret smile touched her lips and not for the first time Kensi suspected that Hetty enjoyed sneaking up on Deeks just to see him jump.
"Ah, do you think there's a chance McCarthy knows about me and Kensi?" Deeks asked
"I think he most certainly does and as such you would do well to stay out of sight."
"Got it." Deeks said meeting Kensi's gaze.
Sam and Callen left and Kensi made to follow them.
"If I could have a moment Miss Blye?"
"Sure" Kensi said, her shoulders already tensing. She walked with Hetty a short distance down the hall before Hetty turned and stopped.
"I gave you the day off."
Kensi nodded, her expression tight.
"I didn't need it."
"Perhaps not," Hetty said, looking carefully at her "but I decided to make the option available."
Kensi nodded, unsure of what to do as Hetty continued to study her.
"Miss Blye, there is a fine line between justice and revenge, it is important that we always stay on the right side."
Kensi wondered for a brief moment if Hetty could actually read minds and then dismissed it as she frowned at the floor.
"I'm angry," she confessed tapping her foot impatiently.
"Do you think it will affect your judgment?"
"No, I think it will only make me more determined to get McCarthy once and for all."
"Very well," Hetty gave Kensi's hand a reassuring squeeze "go meet your team in the weapons room."
Kensi nodded and headed down the stairs.
"Oh and Miss Blye,"
Kensi stopped, turned to face Hetty.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry I had to be so rough on you last night, sometimes to protect my agents I have to follow protocol even if I rather wouldn't."
Kensi breathed out, her shoulders relaxing.
"I understand."
Sam and Callen were loading vests into a bag when Kensi stepped into the weapons room. She walked over to where Deeks was loading weapons and grabbed a gun, sliding a round of bullets into the chamber.
"What did Hetty want?" He asked
"Nothing" Kensi said, shoving another round of ammo into the gun.
"Didn't seem like nothing." Deeks said taking the gun from her and putting it in the case alongside the others.
Kensi paused in the act of loading another gun and looked up at him. "She wanted to know if I could handle myself."
He nodded and secured the gun in the case.
"I can handle myself." Kensi said pointedly.
"I know," he said simply.
"Then why'd you turn off my alarm this morning?"
"Thought you could use a few hours sleep."
Kensi paused, considered, and decided to forgive him.
"Thanks, I did. But don't do it again."
"Duly noted." Deeks said
"I hope you slept okay on the couch."
"Your couch is deceptively comfortable, but the next time I sleep over we're sharing the bed."
"Next time?" Kensi asked raising an eyebrow.
"Sure, we'll have a sleepover, a little partner bonding time. Movies, popcorn, pillow fights in our underwear..." Deeks gave her a lecherous smile.
"No that is definitely not happening." Kensi said, grabbing a bag and swinging it over her shoulder.
"Aw come on!" Deeks said, picking up the weapons case and following her as they made their way to the car. "You don't want to bond with your partner?"
"Not the way you had in mind." Kensi shot back.
"My version is PG rated, your version sounds dirty." he increased his pace until he was walking alongside her. "Tell me about your version," he said.
Kensi rolled her eyes and ignored him.
"Come on." Deeks said, poking her playfully in the side.
"Stop it." Kensi snapped even as the laugh she was holding back escaped.
Deeks scanned the area as Kensi parked the car. They were stopped a block away from the bar where Sam and Callen were already in position. He got out and grabbed the tracking device Eric had given them to put on McCarthy's car and waited for Kensi to join him.
"Do you see any movement by McCarthy's car?" Kensi asked Eric as they set off down the street.
"No, parking lot's clear, you've got a few cars in the lot for coverage."
"Great, thanks Eric."
They neared the parking lot for the bar and Kensi and Deeks stood behind the wall of the building adjacent to the lot.
"How's his line of sight to the parking lot?" Deeks asked Callen who was sitting a few tables away from the booth where McCarthy sat.
"Stay low, he would definitely see you if he turned around." Callen said.
"Right" Deeks said, scanning the area once more for any sign of McCarthy's men. Satisfied they wouldn't be seen he motioned for Kensi to follow him. They crouched low as they wove through the scattering of cars towards McCarthy's faded blue sedan.
Kensi held out her hand for the tracking device and scooted underneath the car to attach it to the undercarriage. She grunted as she struggled with the attachment on the device and Deeks poked his head under the car to grin at her.
"Need some help there shnookums?"
"Shut up Deeks."
He chuckled and looked around to make sure they were still in the clear.
"Woah, you got two guys coming up behind you, about four cars back, coming in from the east." Eric said.
Deeks started to move and saw Kensi still struggling with the device.
"Leave it," he ordered, tugging on her leg.
"Almost got it." She said.
"They're almost on you." Eric warned.
"Kensi!" Deeks hissed, but she ignored him and wiggled fully under the car and out of sight.
"Really?" He whispered before darting behind a car and out of sight moments before McCarthy's men walked up to the sedan. Deeks could see a clear outline of the guns stashed under their shirts and his heart began to thud in terror. Kensi was vulnerable underneath the car and if they noticed her they would shoot without hesitation. He waited with bated breath as they discussed something and then got into the car.
"Get out of there Kens," he ordered.
"I can't,"
"Leave the damn device and get out of there!" He whispered furiously.
"I can't, I'm caught on the wheel axle."
"Dammit," he said before standing up and stumbling to the car, praying McCarthy's men didn't recognize him.
"Hey!" He yelled, making sure to add a drunken slur to his voice. "Any of you pretty ladies know where a man can buy a drink?" He asked, sitting on the hood of the car as one of the men got out.
"Bar's over there, scram." He said.
Deeks looked over at the bar and sneered. "Kicked me out! Man can't buy a beer in this town without people judging him."
"Not our problem," the driver said.
Deeks slid off the hood dramatically and wrenched open the door to the driver's side.
"Wanna say that to my face?" He asked, dodging as the man lunged at him. Deeks kicked him hard enough in the balls to make himself cringe and then took off in a dead run as the other man rounded the hood and chased after him. Deeks glanced back to see the driver stumbling after him and the other man and whipped around a corner, hoping to lose them.
"Now would be a really good time to get the hell out of there!" He yelled as he sprinted down a narrow alleyway.
He heard the faint sound of the men yelling and cut around another corner, circling back to the car they'd parked away from the bar. Footsteps thudded close by and he drew his weapon, relaxing when Kensi burst out of an alley just ahead of him.
"Are you crazy?" He demanded, noting the tear in her shirt where she must have been caught.
"Device has been secured and activated," was all she said as she hopped into the car and waited for him to get in before gunning the engine and circling around so that they were close enough to the bar to follow McCarthy when he left, but hidden out of sight behind a ragged looking souvenir shop.
"What happened?" Callen's voice asked over the com.
"I got stuck under the car, Deeks had to create a diversion." Kensi said.
They heard a snicker over the com's and Eric's voice. "Deeks nailed one of McCarthy's guys in the gonads."
"I pulled a Kensi" Deeks supplied, grinning at her.
"Didn't Hetty tell you guys to be subtle?" Sam asked, the sarcasm evident in his voice.
Deeks looked at Kensi and shrugged his shoulders.
"I thought that was subtle."
"A guy in a gorilla suit would be more subtle than you Deeks," Sam replied.
Kensi chuckled at that and Deeks gave her an incredulous look.
"Hey, I just saved your ass back there, the least you could do is be on my team."
Kensi gave him an innocent look, "what? It was funny."
Deeks shook his head and sat back in the seat.
Callens voice sounded over the com."He's moving, Eric keep a visual on him."
Suddenly all business the team sprang into action. Nell sent the constantly updated GPS coordinates to each of their phones and there was a beep as the app popped up on their screens with the red dot indicating McCarthy's location.
Sam followed McCarthy out of the bar discreetly and made his way to the charger, getting in and driving slowly enough past McCarthy and his men to make out a few snippets of conversation. As soon as he was out of the lot he circled around back to pick up Callen who was just stepping out of the rear exit.
"I don't think your little incident is going to cause any problems. McCarthy's men are either too stupid or too scared of him to mention it." Sam said.
Deeks checked his watch, the display read 7:08PM.
"Less than an hour until the exchange."
Kensi tapped her hand impatiently on the wheel, brow creased in concentration.
"He's bound to be paranoid, follow at a safe distance, don't let him spot you." Callen said. "Kensi and Deeks you're good to go, follow him on adjacent streets as long as you can and then at least three cars back when you can't."
"Got it," Kensi said, easing the car into the street.
Kensi felt the adrenaline start pumping through her veins as she prepared herself for the likely gunfight. They followed McCarthy to a row of abandoned warehouses and when the dot stopped moving they pulled into the abandoned lot of one of the warehouses and parked the car behind a dumpster well out of sight from the street. Deeks slid out of the passenger's seat and opened the trunk, handing her a vest when she joined him. They strapped on their gear in silence, mentally preparing for the task ahead. Sam and Callen melted out of the darkness, already geared up, and waited for Kensi and Deeks to finish.
"We're going in blind." Callen said "Eric can't find any surveillance cameras and it's too dark for satellite imagery so we're going to have to go in slow and precise."
Kensi and Deeks nodded and the four of them fanned out, relying on hand signals to move forward. Kensi tread carefully on the ground, scanning the area from left to right as she moved along the wall of an empty warehouse. She peeked in the window slowly, and then signaled to the rest of them it was clear. They walked that way for almost twenty minutes, checking and clearing warehouses when Callen stopped suddenly and flattened himself against the wall. Kensi stepped back behind a wall, cloaking herself in darkness as Callen signaled three men, heading south, armed.
She felt Deeks step beside her and tapped him on the thigh, repeating the hand signals. He nodded and she signaled to Callen. The three men were dispatched quickly and silently as Sam, Callen, and Deeks slipped out of the darkness and knocked them out. They headed in the direction the men had come from and soon enough they heard the scraping of metal over the ground as crates were dragged and hoisted onto a truck. They stepped out of the darkness and pointed their weapons at the men moving the guns.
"Federal Agents, freeze!" Callen yelled, ducking behind a low wall as one of the men sent a spray of bullets in his direction. Chaos erupted and there were shouts and pops of gunfire. Kensi dove behind a stack of crates and took out two men who were running towards her. Bullets splintered wood and she popped out again, taking out another guy aiming for Sam. Two bullets exploded mere inches from her shoulder and embedded into the crates. She dove behind the wall and stumbled over one of the opened crates, causing her to lose her balance and fall right in the line of fire. The man who aimed at her fell, blood already pooling from his chest and she rolled back behind the stack of crates. A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned to see McCarthy running away from the scene.
"Not this time, you sorry bastard" she said and took off running after him. Bullets flew past her and she turned, fired two bullets into the assailants chest, and took off after McCarthy again.
"I've got McCarthy! He's running!" She yelled into her com, her breath coming fast as she picked up speed.
"Wait for backup!" Callen yelled.
"He's getting away!" She yelled back, reloading her weapon as she ran. "McCarthy, freeze!"
He turned to look at her and took a quick left around a corner. Kensi sprinted after him and stopped at the corner, popping her head out quickly to see if he was aiming at her. He kept running so she bolted after him, firing a shot that missed his leg by inches. He feinted to the right and turned so quickly she didn't have enough time to react before she felt the bullets hit her vest in quick successive punches. She tried to fight her body's natural instinct to fall, her legs going rubbery as she was brought to her knees. Time slowed to a crawl as she saw McCarthy's gun glinting in the moonlight, aiming straight at her head. All she could think was that it was a shame she hadn't asked Deeks to sleep in her bed last night when she heard the shot and flinched.
There was no pain, or blood, or heavenly light, only the sensation of being yanked roughly off the ground, an angry voice demanding something. Time sped up again and blood rushed into her ears as adrenaline spiked into her blood.
"What the hell were you thinking? Are you hurt? Are you shot? Dammit you're bleeding!" Deeks said, fear causing his voice to become rough. Kensi blinked and looked at the blood trailing down her arm.
"Piece of wood nicked me." She said swiping at the blood.
Deeks grabbed her arms and shook her lightly "What the hell were you thinking?" He repeated
She opened her mouth to answer him but found herself shoved up against the wall, his mouth fused to hers in a desperate kiss.
