"I know you are here Leon," Hetty whispered as she sat on her desk and took a sip of her hot tea.
"For how long have known I've been here?" the director stepped out of the shadows and slowly took a seat opposite to her.
"You disappoint me Leon. By now you should know that I am aware of everyone's whereabouts, including out director's," the short woman calmly responded.
"You see so confident yet, I get the feeling that for once you are in the dark."
Hetty took another sip and placed her china on her desk. "I have to admit it took me a while to figure it out, but now everything seems so clear. So, answer me this director. Is it a coincidence that your presence is marked by the abduction of my precious flash drive?"
The director shook his head. "I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later."
"You ordered your men to break into my house and steal from me. Do you comprehend the consequences of your actions Director? I could report you right now," Hetty threatened.
"I know you will not do that Hetty because you don't want all those files in the flash drive to go public. I should be the one threatening to report you. You are the one keeping secrets from your own agency," Leon firmly responded to Hetty's accusations.
"Those files, those information are in no way a threat to our national security," Hetty looked right into his eyes slowly losing her patience.
"How can you be so blind Hetty? Of course those files pose as a threat to our national security. According to the psych evaluations Mr Callen is impulsive, obsessed with his past and capable of going rogue any given time. Mr Hanna has been married more that once during undercover Ops and sooner or later these secrets are going to catch up with him. They call Callen the lone wolf but Mr Deeks is not far behind. During his time in LAPD nobody wanted to work with his because he had the tendency of diving to deep into his dark characters. And I am leaving the best for last. Agent Blye. Where you ever going to tell me the truth about her?"
"Miss Blye is one of my best agents so the least I could do was to respect her wish."
Hetty was slowly starting to lose her patience. Director or no director no one could threaten her team and get away with it.
"But Hetty, you are holding her back. She may not realize it now but once she becomes fully aware of her abilities and how she can contribute to our country, she will definitely change her mind," Director Vance tried to make Hetty see things his own way but it was clearly in vain.
"Like you said, Miss Blye is an intelligent person and fully aware of her abilities. We have hundreds of analysts, technicians, mechanists….but how many good agents do we really have? If you stuck her behind a desk she will wither. Our abilities don't define who we are. Our personalities do. And Miss Blye is an agent down to her chore."
The Director shook his head. "She is wasting so much potential, you know that."
"At least she is not wasting her life," Hetty calmly responded.
"Wether we like it or not, our society does appreciate people like Kensi. Ordinary people are afraid. So, those individuals with extraordinary abilities have two choices. Either work for us, or against us."
Hetty looked at the Director straight into his eyes. "You make it sound like a treat."
"It's not a threat Hetty, it is reality," he bluntly responded. "People like Kensi should be kept safe under our protection."
"People like Kensi?" Hetty shook her head. "You keep saying that as if it a decease. Let me make this clear Director Vance and listen carefully because I am only going to say this once. The only people who can keep her safe are her team members. They saved her when Vakar tried to abduct her. They saved her when those Russians tried to blow her up with lasers. They saved her when Clairmont tried to kill her. But above all, they flew over to Afghanistan to find her even if they didn't know whether she was alive or not. What did your people do? They accused her of wasting our government's millions. So don't you dare tell me that you care about her safety. You are just like any other ordinary man. You are afraid of her so you'd rather keep her close. "
Vance swallowed hard because he knew that those words were not a complete lie. Nell Jones WAS supposed to be the smartest person within the LA headquarters but Vance never claimed her. He never judged Hetty's decision to use her in the field simply because he didn't care and the tiny woman knew it.
"Like they say, in the land of blind men, the one-eyed man is the king, Hetty continued. "Nell has been the queen in here for all these years and yet you never laid an eye upon her."
"That's because I am not interested in the Queen. I am interested in the Empress," Vance raised his eyebrows.
Upon those words Kensi and Deeks walked into Hetty's office surprising both their superiors.
"Only problem is, I am not an Empress," Kensi said biting her lip nervously.
Vance stood up offering Kensi his seat but of course she declined with a simple shake of her head and preferred to stand next to her partner.
"I know that what I am about to say may endanger my job but I don't care," she let out a deep breath and continued. "We've been standing in the shadows long enough to know that the flash drive is under your possession Director Vance. I don't know what you plan on doing with the information that it contains, but know this. I have no intention of quitting this team, but if you authorize a transfer to any other department you have my word, I will leave. And mark my words, I will take down all those who forced me to make that decision. I will make sure that everyone finds out the true intentions of the government. Lock everyone who is gifted so that we can control them. Make them our friends because we cannot afford to make them our enemies."
Kensi's words were firm and full of confidence drawn mostly by the presence of her partner. Her partner in both work and real life.
"And I shall follow her," Deeks added as he cheekily held Kensi's hand pulling her close to him.
That was the first time he openly seeked physical contact with his partner. Hetty was aware of their relationship status but they were always careful not to let their personal lives intervene with their job.
At that point though, nothing mattered. They had nothing to prove.
Vance forced a smile in an attempt to hide his defeat. Yes, he wanted to use Kensi's abilities to their fullest, but he surely couldn't afford to lose her completely from the agency.
"Very well," he looked at both Deeks and Kensi.
With one hand he reached his pocket and took out the infamous flash drive. The Director walked up to Kensi and held the flash drive right in front of her eyes.
"How do I know that there are no other copies out there?" Kensi asked suspiciously.
"You have my word Agent Blye. This is it. Better keep it safe this time because in the wrong hands, this information could be lethal," he said before handing the tiny piece of technology to Kensi and leaving the building.
Kensi waited for a few seconds to make sure the Director was long gone before falling into Deeks arms in relief. She spotted Hetty with the corner of her eye discreetly leaving the room, allowing some time alone for the two partners.
"We did it," she whispered in his ear trying to hold back the tears of joy.
"You did it. That was all you Kens and I couldn't be prouder," Deeks planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
"What are we going to tell Sam and Callen after they come empty handed from Hetty's house?"
"I am sure Hetty will find a believable excuse," Deeks grinned.
"I don't want them to find out Deeks," Kensi begged him with her eyes. "I just want things to go back to normal."
"I promise, " Deeks held Kensi's hand and softly kissed it. "I promise I won't say anything to anyone."
"What about you?" Kensi asked fearing the answer.
"What about me? Deeks looked at her surprised.
"Are you willing to forget that none of this happened? Are you willing to go back to this morning?"
Deeks cupped her face and gently stroke her cheek with his thumb before pulling her against his body for a passionate kiss.
Once they were out of breath he rested his forehead on hers and whispered smiling.
"This, changes nothing!"