The hospital was busy. People streamed down the hallways, going from one department to another. Monitors beeped out patients' heart rates and respiration. Kensi and Deeks walked down a long hallway to a small single room. Callen and Sam, still in their cover clothes, stood outside the door.
Deeks peeked through the window panel by the door. A bruised and battered man lay quietly in the bed. His right leg was covered in a knee brace and elevated. Butterfly bandages sealed cuts on his face, and white bandages encircled his chest.
He whistled low. "What were they doing to him?"
Callen looked serious. "Nothing good. They were selling him as an intelligence resource. I'm not sure if he's the real deal or someone they just picked up, hoping to make a quick buck."
Shaking his head, Callen said, "He passed out as we got him in the car, and he hasn't woken up since. It's probably better that way for now. The doctor said that in addition to the bruising on his face and hands, he's got a badly sprained knee, a couple of cracked ribs and a concussion. They think his body just collapsed from the pain and some pretty significant dehydration."
Sam looked at Kensi and Deeks. "Since he hasn't woken up, we don't know who he is or why our Russian gang grabbed him. They told G that he's a federal agent, but we haven't confirmed it."
"So what's our next move?" Kensi asked.
"He has someone on him 24/7, one of us," said Sam. "We don't know who he is or who else might be looking for him. We didn't want to draw the wrong attention, so he's registered here as Nell's brother, Jack Jones, instead of being a John Doe. Eric drew up some pretty convincing paperwork to back us up."
Looking at Kensi, Callen said, "You've got the first watch. No one comes in here but medical staff and us. Deeks, you're with us. It's time to learn a little more from our Russian friends and find out what happened to that weapons shipment."
The three men walked down the hallway, and Kensi stepped inside the room and pulled up a chair.
A/N: Please tell me how you're liking the story. I'd love to hear what you think.