Chapter 4

A/N Mguiness thank you for all the honors you've bestowed upon me. I hope I can live up to them all. For all of those who've reviewed "Thank You."

I arrived back at the Mission just as things were getting hot. Kensi sped past me up the stairs to OPS. "Where've you been? Gibbs is coming on, let's go."

I dropped my bag by my desk and trotted up those stairs for a second time today. I was the last one in this time.

Callen turned and gave me a glare and turned back to the big screen.

Gibbs came on and began speaking. "Welcome to this operation. We have two domestic terrorists in Washington scoping out sites for an attack. So far the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Memorial are looking likely. There may be others. We've posted agents at all the monuments but only these two are getting any real action. We expect Pride's team this evening. Any idea when your people will get here Henrietta?"

Hetty moved toward the screen. "Due to inclement weather in the mid-section of the nation we can't get out until late tonight at the earliest. We will arrive tomorrow morning. Will that be acceptable Agent Gibbs?

Gibbs gave a negative shake of his head. "Not really but it will have to do. Have your people ready to hit the floor running when they do arrive."

Hetty nodded in the affirmative. "They will Jethro. Can you tell us any more about this organization, the Sundown Alliance?"

Gibbs turned to McGee and nodded. McGee stepped up to the screen and began his description of the situation as they knew it. "The Sundown Alliance is a conglomerate of small militias all over the country. Most of them operate out of the south but a few are from the northwest and Rocky Mountain states like Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Many of them are religious based but not with mainline churches. Usually the church comes after the militia forms. Their message is hate and much of the religious teaching is how white is superior and the others need to be eradicated. It is very ugly dogma. Their numbers have been growing with each passing year.

Two members of the militia have been found here in D.C. One is the head of the Alliance, James Cameroon and the other, Ezekial Saunders, is his right hand man. It is unusual that the leadership of the Alliance would come for whatever this is but they're here. Cameroon was caught on facial recognition at Reagan International and so was Saunders but they came separately. We are aware that there are other hot headed members but as far as we know they're not here. It doesn't mean there not, just that they didn't come by plane. I've spent the last day looking at surveillance of Reagan, Dulles and Baltimore airports. There's no one but these two and it doesn't feel right."

I could see the gears turning in Callen's head. He spoke to McGee. "They drove in to bring whatever the needed for the attack. Did any of the NETTS sensors go off to let you know if explosives have been brought into the city?"

Gibbs looked to McGee and Tim shook his head no. "No they didn't. It may not be a bomb like that. It could be a type like McVey used in Oklahoma City; fertilizer or they're going to buy it here. We really don't have much else to go on except they visited those two monuments."

Hetty nodded again. "My people are on their way later and will be ready to help in any way you need them to. Take care Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs gave her his trademark chuckle. "Henrietta, when are you coming east? I've got that bottle of Pappy Van Winkle you sent me. We need to give it a taste test."

Hetty smiled at the agent on the screen. "I'll let you know Jethro, I'll let you know."

Gibbs gave the sign to cut the com link and the screen went black.

Hetty did an about face and looked at her people. "You heard the man. Be ready for anything. These militias are deadly and will not stop for anything or one. I want you all to come back with all your parts. Now get down to the bullpen and finish your paperwork. Mr. Deeks, a word please."

Callen turned and watched us as the rest of the team filed out and went down to the bullpen. His curiosity was getting the better of him. He needed to know what those two were up to and he needed it soon.

Hetty and I went to Nate's office. She motioned to the couch while she closed the door and then sat in Nate's chair. "How did it go with Lieutenant Bates? Did he accept your resignation?"

Leave it to her to worry about Bates. "Yes Hetty, he accepted it. He needed a reason and I gave him the same one I gave you. But here's something more for you. I left because I needed to regain sanity in my life, if that's possible. I fell in love with Jess Traynor and when she died I needed a change so NCIS filled that bill. Again I need a change, one that is going to help me get past my feelings for her. I'll never forget her but I need to move on past that pain. I feel that place is here as an agent." I hesitated before continuing. I sensed that Hetty needed to understand my reasoning a bit more. "There's more to the story that no one but Bates knows; when Jess died, a bit of me died as well and to find out that a fellow cop had killed her drove me insane. After I arrested Detective Scarli, I went to the morgue to finish my end of the case file. It was my responsibility to file information on the death of my partner, Jess Traynor. Rose, the medical examiner, informed me that Jess had been pregnant. She may not have even known it herself. It broke me up. Had I known that when we took down Scarli, I'd have killed him. Neither Sam nor Callen would have been able to stop me. Those two looked the other way while I punched him for her death. At that moment I felt that I was somewhere special and that my feelings meant something.

Hetty reached out and took my hand. It felt kind of uncomfortable, yet soothing at the same time. "Mr. Deeks we will work hard to help you make that happen. Feel free to talk with me about it anytime you need to. All of us are here for you." She stopped like a bolt had hit her. "A question…does your partner know this?

I went back in time to when Jess died and the scene with Detective Scarli. I saw the look on Kensi's face and I knew. "She's never mentioned it but yeah I'm pretty sure she knows. I think she's the only one though."

Hetty pondered my response for a moment. "If she knows the others do too. They haven't mentioned it to you so for the time being it is still your private memory. Let's leave it at that and get back to work."

I gave her the megawatt smile and a wee chuckle. "Yes Boss!" I left her thinking in Nate's office and went back down to my team.

As I walked down the steps Kensi walked toward me, stopping me from going to my desk. I sensed a ploy. "What's up Buttercup?"

Kensi blushed a bit but held her ground. "Where did you go after the operations briefing this morning?"

I smiled down into her mismatched eyes and laughed inwardly at the subterfuge she used. There was something else going on in the bullpen that she ran interference for. I decided to play along. "If you must know I had to take Monty to Mrs. Brown's so that she can watch him while we're gone. I needed to buy dog food and treats to take there as well. Then I went back to my apartment to pick up my go bag which you saw me drop next to my desk earlier." I watched her looking over my shoulder to try to see what was going on and I wondered how long this needed to transpire. Never mind that I had work to do. "What's going on Fern?" I made my move to go around her and that is when I saw Callen at my desk. Sam stood between him and me but I still saw him. It angered me just a bit. I turned to my partner with a snide remark. "So, partner, this is how we treat each other's privacy, really?" I then turned my ire on the senior members of the team. "Instead of prying into a co-worker's… no… a friend's private business, why don't you just ask me whatever you want to know. I really don't have any secrets from you."

Callen and Sam both had the decency to look ashamed of themselves. Callen spoke for them. "Look, Deeks, we didn't mean anything by it but your behavior this morning shook us. That's not the Deeks we know. This morning after we left the OPS center you and Hetty went off and just now you went off with her again. What's going on Deeks? We need to be open with each other and not hide things from the rest of the team."

I felt eyes in the back of my head and in some respect I knew that Hetty stood on the balcony looking down at us. It only steeled my resolve not to tell them about my decision until I was ready to and not a moment sooner. "There is absolutely nothing to tell you. I'm not keeping any deadly secrets about work or myself. All I did was to decide to change my work ethic and I hope you like it. Now can we get to work on this case because I sure as hell don't want to piss off Gibbs."