Time to move things along. Besides, I have to save my two favorite characters.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS:LA.
Callen and Deeks heard their teammates yells from outside, not to mention through the comms. They were both headed for the front door when more weapons fire came from the rear of the house. Both men turned raising their rifles as they did.
"Eric, what's going on?" Callen asked.
"The group approaching on foot from the rear has opened fire on the team out back. It looks like several people are down. There is also fire coming from the rear of the house. The team is caught in a crossfire. The gunman in the house have just exited. It looks like six individuals. They are all moving back up the block toward the parked car."
Callen didn't like the idea of leaving Sam and Kensi but they couldn't let the group get away.
"Sam? You alright?" Callen called out over the network.
A cough answered Callen's question. "The containment group is here. They are taking care of things."
"Kensi?" Everyone could hear the worry and concern in Deeks voice as asked the question.
"Yeah. We're good. Go get'em partner." Kensi statement was followed by another cough.
Without another word Callen and Deeks checked their weapons and headed for the back door. As they reached the threshold the sight that greeted them was grim. Three more men were down, one of them fatality. Wright and two other members were giving chase to the fleeing gunman.
"We'll never catch them on foot." Deeks said, watching the men disappear in the distance.
"We'll take the Challenger." Callen took off toward the car parked around the corner.
"The Challenger? Sam's gonna kill us." Deeks ran after Callen.
It only took moments for the car to roar to life. Deeks barely had the door closed before Callen accelerated away from the curb.
"Eric! Which way?" Callen yelled.
"Turn around. They car will be crossing the street you are on in a minute."
Callen slammed the brakes while turning the wheel. Deeks placed his hands on the dash to steady himself. "You drive worse than Kensi."
Callen straightened the wheel as the car completed it's 180 in the middle of the street. "That's just mean."
The Challenger roared down the street. Callen was moving so fast he almost T-Boned the fleeing sedan full of terrorist. He slammed the brakes and cranked the wheel right to pull in behind them. The sedan attempted to accelerate away but Callen wasn't about to let that happen.
"Shoot them." Callen screamed.
Deeks just looked at Callen. "We are in the middle of a neighborhood, G. You want me to open fire with a rifle from a moving car?"
"Chemical weapons." Answered Callen, never taking his eyes off the road.
"Right." Deeks pulled his weapon from the slung position between his knees and maneuvered the weapon out the window. He didn't even get the rifle pointed at the fleeing gunmen before the back window of the sedan shattered. Both agents ducked instinctively, knowing that someone had just shot out of the back window of the car from inside. Several bullets pounded into the front grill of the Challenger and two hit the windshield.
"Son of a bi…" Deeks's last word was drowned out by his return fire as he put his rifle out the passenger door. He saw his bullets impact on the trunk of the car and toward the back window. He cringed as return fire came back towards the Challenger.
The sedan took a hard right, skidding around a corner, out of the neighborhood and onto a main road. Shots continued to come from the back of the car, but Deeks was less inclined to return fire given the traffic on the street.
"I think I saw this scene in 'Bad Boys 2'." Deeks said as be braced himself while they skidded around another corner at high speed.
"I was always partial to the driving in 'Ronin' myself."
Both agent's ducked as another blast of fire came at the car, followed by a loud bang, and white smoke pouring out from under the front of the car. As the Challenger slowed to a stop they watched the sedan full of terrorist speed away.
"Damn it." Callen pounded the wheel. He put his finger to his ear. "Eric, tell me the drone is still following them."
"We have one following them now. The other is still at the house."
"We are going to need someone to pick us up and to get the Challenger. It took a bullet and died." Callen stated matter-of-factly, like he wasn't worried about Sam's reaction when he found out.
"How are Kensi and Sam?" Deeks tried to hide the worry in his voice, but he wasn't doing a very good job.
Ashley fielded the question. "They are in decontamination now. They took the shot immediately and the chemical experts say it wasn't aerosolized yet, so they are in the clear. They had to take their comms as well, so we aren't in contact with them right now."
Callen took one look at Deeks's face and made a decision. "Forget pickup. We will foot it back to the house. Just get the car."
It took Deeks and Callen twenty minutes to get back to the house. They found Dr. Saks and Captain Wright standing out front. They decided to start with them.
Dr. Saks saw them approach. "They are fine. The Sarin was in liquid form and they didn't not come in direct contact with it. They don't have any symptoms. Trust me when I tell you that if they had been affected, it would show by now. They are sitting in the back of the ambulance over there." Dr. Saks pointed a little ways down the street.
Deeks didn't say another word, simply head toward the ambulance.
"What happened?" Wright asked as he turned to Callen.
"We gave chase. They opened fire out the back window of the car. Trashed out the engine of the Challenger. Eric said that the drone was still following."
"It was, until they entered the flight path of LAX. Drones had to pull off to avoid collisions with landing aircraft. FAA said it was an emergency landing. Smoke in the cabin." Wright explained.
"How are your men?" Callen asked.
"The ones in the garage are at the hospital. One is critical and in surgery. You guys saved them. I owe you for that. Two fatalities from the group that hit us from behind. We've got seven dead hostiles though. Means that there was already a group here before the ones we were following arrived. The sole bit of good news appears to be that all the Sarin is accounted for. The amount in the car is the amount Dr. Monroe's figures show being made."
"Still got dedicated fanatics in the open though." Callen was still mad about them getting away.
"Yeah. Yeah we do." Wright turned to look at the scene around him. "Go check on your people Agent Callen. I need to do the same thing. I'll catch up with you in a little bit."
"Yeah." Callen walked off toward the ambulance.
As he came around the back of the ambulance he saw Deeks sitting on the bench inside next to Kensi. Sam was sitting on the bumper.
"Nice outfit." Callen pointed at the bright yellow plastic suit Sam was wearing.
"It's the latest in anti-terror fashion." Sam dead panned.
"So you really shoved that giant needle into your chest?" Callen shivered a little at the thought.
"Without a second thought. Fear is an excellent motivator."
Deeks and Kensi stepped down out of the ambulance. "Now what?" Deeks asked.
Kensi responded first. "I would like to get some real clothes."
"Head back to the Misson." Callen answered. "Wright is already looking for the guys who escaped out the back. Eric and Ashley have been watching the drone feed, but they headed for the airport so the drones lost them."
"How many?" Sam asked.
"Four or six. This was obviously what they were using for their headquarters. The house is filled with weapons. The good news is that all the chemical weapons material is now accounted for. The bad news is that we still have heavily armed terrorist running around the city. Let's head back."
Sam turned to Deeks. "Give us a ride to the Challenger?"
Deeks and Callen exchanged a look. G fielded the question. He clapped Sam on the back. "Buddy, the Challenger is dead. We used it to pursue the fleeing group. They shot it up with an AK and blew the engine. It's being picked up and taken off for repairs."
Sam just looked at G. "You know, normally that would be bad, but given that I just survived a chemical weapon attack, I'm willing to let it ride."
The group headed to the Charger that was still in the middle of the street. As they approached, Deeks noticed the bullet holes for the first time. "Damn. Another car. Hetty is going to kill me."
"It could always be worse Deeks." Kensi said, absent mindedly rubbing the injection site on her chest.
Deeks quickly sobered. "Right."
Everyone climbed into the car to head back to the Mission.
As she walked into OPS, Kensi's hair was still damp.
"Another shower?" Sam asked. "Your skin doesn't still burn from the decontamination chemicals?"
"That's why I took it. I smelled like the cleaner aisle at the grocery store and the lotion made my skin feel better." Kensi walked over to stand beside Deeks.
Deeks decided to break a cardinal rule of Kensi's, but he couldn't take it. "Are you sure you're OK, Kens?" Deeks braced himself for her response, but at least he would know how she was doing.
Deeks and Kensi were both leaned back against the table, so she slid her hand down the edge of the table until she grasped his fingers. "I'm good Deeks." She smiled softly at him to let him know that, unlike she would have reacted even a year ago, she was not upset about his public concern for her. "I promise."
Deeks squeezed her hand and nodded.
"I still can't believe you injected yourself with those needles." Callen shook his head.
"It was Sarin gas, Callen. You would have done the same thing." Kensi replied.
"I think I would have risked the gas." Callen shivered. "Using a needle that long on myself, no way."
"We are all very glad that you did use it, Agent Blye. Agent Hanna." Hetty nodded at each one. "Your quick action has ended the immediate threat of a chemical attack to the city. However, we still have a group of very well armed terrorist lose."
"Were the drones able to identify the men that escaped?" Sam was hoping that they would get lucky.
"Sorry Sam, we didn't have control of the drones and they were kept on station when it was announced the container was breached."
"So what do we have?" Sam continued.
"We have the process of elimination." Eric added. "After identifying the bodies at the warehouse and the safe house we have eliminated all but three of the individuals pictured on Dr. Monroe's hard drive. Those three individuals have been identified as members of a rebel faction in the Syrian civil war. They were thought to be a pro-western group, but that was just a front to befriend American forces. The first man here is a former Colonel in the Syrian army. His name is Mustafa Mero. He approached allied forces about the location and amounts of chemical weapons. The other two men, Yusaf al-Azmah and Bashir Azmeh, served under him. It now appears that they aligned themselves with a radical terrorist group when the civil war began. They used the American military to secure and transport the weapons to American soil, as well as secure transport for their people here. The records of the other individuals involved in the operation are being pulled now. We should be have the other members of the cell identified in the next few hours."
"Do we have any idea where they may be heading?" Deeks carefully studied each photograph.
"Captain Wright is questioning the surviving members of the cell now, but it's doubtful that they know anything. The members in charge either died fighting or are part of the group that escaped." Granger responded.
"We are looking." Hetty made sure to look each agent in the face. "The primary plan has been successfully stopped. Now they are either working a backup plan or they are playing it by ear. Either way it leaves us at a distinct disadvantage."
"Do we know what the original target or targets were?" Callen asked. "They would most likely go after the same target, they just have to hit it differently. They pick the targets for symbolism. What presents the biggest symbolic target?"
Granger turned to Eric and Ashley. "What are the big events going around the area? Start with military/patriotic events and move out from there."
"That won't be necessary." Hetty called out. "Senator Danforth is having a rally tomorrow at the convention center. He, Representative Hollens, Representative Andrews, the Governor, and several state legislators will be giving speeches and stumping for election. Between their presence and the size of the crowd, it would be the perfect target."
"What makes you say that?" Callen asked.
"The crime scene photos from the house." Hetty walks over to the screen and swipes through some of the photos. "See, here is the invite and information about the gathering." She moves her hands to enlarge the picture. "It appears they have tickets to the event. I don't believe they are part of the election campaign or registered voters."