It had taken a lot of restraint to not call McGarrett the minute they had closed the case. Filling out the paperwork back at the Mission was near impossible.
'Kens,' Callen said, looking pointedly at her knee that was bouncing up and down. Kensi mouthed an apology and pressed the fingers against her temple harder, worrying her lip as the words seemed to swim on the paper.
God concentrate. You're a trained agent. Compartmentalize. Besides Joe is fine. He's healthy and alive and sitting somewhere on the beach with a beer in his hand. He's fine.
'You got somewhere you need to be Kens?' Sam's voice had her neck snapping up abruptly.
'She needs to return a call to Steve McGarrett,' Deeks answered, earning him a heated glare from Kensi. Sam raised an eyebrow at the name.
'As in Navy SEAL Lt Cdr McGarrett?' Sam enquired.
'The one who owes you a steak,' Kensi affirmed, still bristling at the way Deeks had offered up the name so willingly. Didn't he understand the meaning of personal business? With the amount of information he held about his past so close to the vest, Kensi thought he would have at least acknowledged that they all did the same.
Sam let out an amused chuckle. 'Yeah for the past ten years. I didn't know you knew him.'
'He works with a friend of mine,' Kensi said, though calling Joe a friend was an understatement.
'Still a military brat no matter where you go huh Kensi?' Sam asked. Kensi offered him a smile, lifting a shoulder.
'What can I say? The military I understand, everyone else is just crazy.'
'That actually explains a lot about you,' Deeks chipped in, flinching back when Kensi fixed him with a stare.
'If it's important I'll take care of your paperwork,' Callen told her, giving her an understanding gaze after quickly surveying the tense coil of her muscles. The wave of relief that swept through her was surely palpable to Callen.
'Thanks G.'
'Anything for my favourite NCIS agent,' Callen brushed aside her thanks, reaching for the thin stack of paper on her desk. Snatching up her phone she couldn't resist pecking Callen on the cheek, almost laughing when she saw the faint blush creep up the lead agent's neck and the strangled sound that came from Deeks at the gesture.
'See you guys tomorrow!' She called out, rushing to her car and driving off before Deeks could catch up with her again. A half hour later she sat on her couch, feet tucked into woolly socks and playing with the strap of her white racerback. Stealing a quick look at the clock she dialed Steve's number.
'McGarrett,' the clipped tone made her nervous.
Even his voice is sexy.
'Steve its Kensi Blye,' she answered, thankful that her voice was steady.
'Agent Blye?' Steve sounded surprised, though it wasn't hard to discern the fatigue in his tone.
'You wanted to speak with me?' Kensi retorted somewhat impatiently.
'Hold on one second,' Steve said, the murmur of voices in the background receding before there was total silence on the other end. She heard the creak of an office chair, imagined Steve behind a big oak desk with some kind of collectible ship displayed close by. It was a common theme amongst the Navy men in her life, her father and Joe guilty of the same design scheme. Jack's study had been sparse and utilitarian though.
'Look I'm calling to give you a heads up,' Steve told her briskly. 'That footage you were reviewing for Joe? The one about my father?'
'Yeah,' Kensi distinctly remembered the disbelief on Steve's face when he had seen his father shaking hands with Wo Fat.
'An old World War Two vet who helped us out was tortured to death a couple of hours ago in his home,' Steve stated neutrally.
'Wo Fat?'
'Looks that way,' Steve sounded resigned and angry. 'He attacked Joe in his apartment as well-'
'What? You told me Joe was fine!' Kensi subconsciously rose to her feet.
'He is,' Steve quickly assured her, no doubt startled by the strength of her concern. 'A few bumps and bruises but he's good.'
'Why didn't he call me?' Kensi murmured, more to herself.
'He probably didn't want to worry you,' Steve placated.
Kensi pinched the bridge of her nose. 'So you think Wo Fat's after the people who went digging into Shelburne?'
Steve hummed in agreement. 'If he knows that Joe was involved, I wouldn't be surprised if he knew you got roped into helping as well.'
'How far does this guy's tentacles spread?' Kensi asked. There was a brief pause.
'He's been linked to a lot of things, but he's always kept his hands clean. And he's not stupid. He knows exactly how to break someone down.'
'Fantastic. Just what my life needs right now,' Kensi muttered.
'I'm sorry about this. I know you did this for Joe-'
'I'm glad to help,' Kensi cut him off. 'You just want some answers about your Dad. If I can help you find some, then I'm going to. Okay?'
Steve chuckled. 'Joe wasn't kidding when he said you were stubborn.'
'It's one of my redeeming qualities,' Kensi joked, hand on her hip. 'Thanks for letting me know.'
'I'm sending over the file I have on Wo Fat,' Steve offered, surprising Kensi.
'Seriously?'
'Consider it a professional courtesy.'
Kensi laughed, thanking Steve before ending the call.
'Too bad he lives in Hawaii,' she sighed as she got into bed. Switching her phone to vibrate, Kensi was surprised to note that she didn't have any missed calls from Deeks.
Not that I'd tell him anything, was the last thought she had before drifting off to sleep.
A light sleeper, both out of habit and necessity, Kensi held her breath when she heard a faint thud come from her living room. Grabbing the gun she kept under her pillow, she slid silently to her feet and hugged the walls, leaning her head slightly around to see a figure dressed in black with a ski mask over their head rummaging through one of her drawers.
Slow. Quiet. Stealthy.
She chanted the mantra over and over in her head, inching closer and closer towards the figure who had their back turned to her.
Almost there.
The faint dull vibrating of her phone startled them both, the masked figure twisting around to see Kensi and the gun pointed at their face. Ducking down the figure swept Kensi's legs from under her, the sudden movement shocking Kensi and knocking her gun from her hand.
'You think you can come into my house and violate me like this?' Kensi gritted out, scissoring her legs around the figures ankle and twisting aggressively. A muffled groan was let out as the figure's shoulder impacted off the floor, Kensi attempting to straddle the figure and deliver a solid blow to their temple. She saw the heel of the figure's palm snap out, Kensi bending her head back enough for the hit to land on her chin rather than her nose. Her teeth snapped together and Kensi tasted blood.
'Shit,' Kensi spat out, covering her mouth instinctively. The figure sensed the opportunity and bucked their hips, both legs pressed tight together and connecting violently with the back of Kensi's head. The momentum of Kensi's fall was enough for the figure to break free, the person wasting no time before bolting out her front door.
'Shit,' this time Kensi said it in irritation, grabbing her gun off the floor as she cradled the back of her neck. Dumping the gun on her bed she reached for her phone, staring incredulously at the reason her silent takedown had been thwarted.
'Spam? Are you kidding me?' Kensi huffed out, wincing when her mouth and head protested. Automatically she pressed one on her speed dial.
'Is this a booty call?' Deeks asked, his voice heavy with sleep.
'I need you to get Eric and Nell to pull any footage they can around my apartment from the past hour.'
'Kensi, it's three in the morning.'
'Just do it, alright Deeks? Tell them to look for someone dressed in black and wearing a ski mask-'
'Wait what?'
'Past hour Deeks,' she repeated, ignoring his follow up question by saying a quick thank you and ending the call. Sucking in a deep breath Kensi dialed another number.
'McGarrett.'
'Well it looks like Wo Fat knows I was lip reading that video,' she started, staring impassively at the half-open drawer the figure had been going through. 'Because someone just broke into my apartment looking for something.'