Three hours later Marty Deeks stepped out of the restroom at the beach. Gone was the tanned surfer dude with golden locks and megawatt smile that could light up a room, instead a greasy haired, dirty faced, confused man walked out onto the sidewalk. He wore a knitted cap with an unraveling edge, a dingy denim shirt and baggy ragged jeans, too long in the leg and sloppy moccasins. Over all that he wore an ancient brown overcoat that had seen much better days. He had become the picture perfect homeless man. He'd transformed from Marty to Artie.

Deeks chose the name Artie for several reasons. Reason number one, that people on the street believed he was mumbling and thought he said Artie, it stuck and that became the second reason, it sounded like Marty. It would always get his attention and the third reason was that it held a feeling of a lost soul. When he'd heard the name used in the past, the person it belonged to typically seemed to be distant, almost semi-lost. He never gave a last name so he never had to worry getting mixed up with his own name. In a way, Artie is who Deeks might have become if his father had his way and his life had taken a turn for the worse.

As he exited the restroom, he gave Kensi a sound check. She'd heard him loud and clear, and to this day he still swore he'd heard a sigh of relief on her part. Callen would go in a bit later to pick up his everyday clothes. No one would be able to connect the man who went in with the man who came out.

He moved away from the area dragging an ancient metal two-wheeled cart behind him. In his cart were the belongings of a street person that would be needed to live on the streets in Los Angeles. He headed up Pembroke Street from the beach toward the Pasadena Freeway. He planned to take some time to reach the crossroad of Pasadena Avenue and the street people enclave under the underpass. He crept from dumpster to dumpster, mumbling to himself in imitation of the other men and women on the street and even took a few things to help buy his way into the enclosure. Marty knew the others would be leery about letting him into the area. He felt that he only needed a couple of days to get information on Hubbard and Lange and all the while he would be hunting in earnest for Hubbard.

He began to think about his reaction to Hubbard. Why did he believe in the man's innocence? His belief was that Hubbard and Lille had been together so long that a little spat would not bring about one of the partners death. Lange was the odd man out. There is a connection between Lange and the two homeless, but what is it? It had to be more than just serving together.

Deeks ambled further up the Pembroke Street to Pasadena Avenue moving from trash can to trash can taking the time to poke through them. To the average person he was the real thing. His incoherent mutterings kept all others away and he could focus on the area and the people in it.

He turned into Pasadena Avenue. The street, which is lined with little markets, shops for children's clothing and doctors offices on one side of the street held promise for Deeks. The other side of the road is where auto repair garages were situated and a farmer's market where area farmers brought their produce to sell. At the end of the day the area was littered with boxes that still contained produce that wouldn't have lasted another day and had been left behind. Artie stopped to pick through the left behind fruits and vegetables. They would be a major entry to the enclosure.

Up ahead the enclosure of homeless awaited him. He'd been walking for quite a while and gave Kensi a heads up. She said that she could hear him just fine and that his GPS marker was working just fine. He signed off, gave a sigh and walked into the enclave.

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The Wonder Twins were having no luck finding George Lange. He'd gone off the grid nine months ago. That had been prior to the first murder. They still didn't know if they were looking for the murderer or another victim. They checked both aspects. Eric spent his time between searching for George Lange and keeping track of Deeks GPS locator. Nell spent her time going through area police departments John Does. She kept the hope that she'd find him alive and not in a morgue somewhere.

Kensi had spent the last two nights in OPS waiting for Deeks check in. She'd begun to look haggard and Hetty noticed the difference in her demeanor and looks. "Miss Blye, you are to go home and get a good night's sleep. Your partner will expect you to be rested if he needs you."

Kensi's eyes met Hetty's and they held apprehension. "He might need me, what if…?

Hetty understood the worry and fear that the young woman felt. Hetty knew that partnership was not all that Kensi felt for Mr. Deeks. She'd have to be blind not to see that, but as Operation Manager, it was Hetty's job to make sure they all came in healthy and ready to work. She walked to Kensi and took her hand and patted it. "We'll call you and don't worry we'll make sure he's safe."

Kensi nodded acceptance. Since Hetty wanted her gone for the night she picked her stuff up and left OPS. During the check-ins she'd had little time or none to talk with Deeks but she heard his voice and knew his level of exhaustion and loneliness were growing. That combination held terrible options for Deeks. She knew that he's a people person and needed the interaction with others. Being on the street is a solitary life and as she knew as far as he's concerned, he's not suited to it. She missed him and his goofy jokes, his beach boy good looks and his sense of loyalty to the team. But most of all she missed him…terribly.