Author's Note: Thanks for all your amazing reviews! (And I agree with all of you…'seeing' our boys all dressed up is always good.) This chapter isn't quite what I wanted it to be, but I felt it was getting too long, so I went ahead and split it in two. Now the fun starts! Reviews are always welcome and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA
Sam turned around, pulling his cell phone out instead of the key. He took in a slender man in a three piece suit, a frown dancing across his young features.
"What are you doing?" The man repeated. "This is for Employees Only."
"Sorry, man." Sam gave an easy smile. "I was just trying to find a quite place to make a phone call." He held up his phone as proof.
The man relaxed slightly. "And you are?"
"Sam Barkly. I'm one of the guys in the Banquet Saturday." Sam supplied.
The man relaxed completely. "I'm sorry for snapping at you; we've had some vandalism lately." He said, extending a hand. "Rick Masterson, Alyssa's personal assistant. Let me take you back to the ballroom."
Sam shook hands with the man, noting that despite his small appearance his handshake was very strong.
"Sorry to hear about the vandalism…was it bad?" Sam asked conversationally as he followed Masterson away from the records room, showing no reluctance although he felt it.
"Well, someone crashed Alyssa's computer with all her records, then tried to torch our file room. We managed to stop it before too much was damaged, but we couldn't stop some of the rooms getting slashed to hell and back. And you can still see some of the graffiti we had to paint over." Rick motioned towards the wall and Sam could see the fresh paint barely covered the black marks.
Sam shook his head. "Man, that's rough. Did you catch the guys?"
Rick shook his head. "No; our security systems have been spotty lately. We never even got a good look at them. I think it was just some teenagers pulling a prank, but Alyssa seems to think someone has it in for the Mara Paza." He lowered his voice conspiringly. "She's been acting really paranoid lately."
"Paranoid?" Sam asked, interest piqued.
"Oh yeah. Triple locking doors, only answering her cell phone in her office, leaving at different hours instead of her usual schedule." Rick seemed to realize he was rambling and shut up abruptly.
Sam started to press the man for more information, but broke off as they reentered the ballroom.
Vikki seemed to have corralled the other agents over to a row of tables, where each one was being interviewed by a writer for the show. Sam stifled a groan as Rick led him over to the table. Surely he qualified for a raise for putting up with all of this.
Kensi looked up in amusement as her four fellow agents dragged themselves through the door.
"Rough day?"
Callen glared at her as he collapsed in his chair. "I would rather deal with a ship full of armed terrorists then go through that again."
Kensi laughed as Deeks, Eric and Sam all nodded in agreement. "That bad?"
The looks told her all she needed to know.
"They wanted us to do skits." Eric said the word like it was a deadly virus. "We finally convinced them otherwise."
Kensi hid another smile at her friends' discomfort.
"I am sure my talented agents can handle themselves. Did you find anything useful?" Hetty said, gliding forward silently as always.
"Hotel is broke, assistant likes to talk-a lot-, and the event coordinator has been acting paranoid since about four months ago." Callen recapped briefly. "She also has been looking through files on our missing men."
Sam spoke up. "There was also some vandalism a little ways back; someone tried to torch the file room of the hotel."
"You men did good work today." Hetty nodded slowly. "Very good work. Now, you may change and go home. Rest; you will need it for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Deeks said suspiciously.
"Well, someone has to teach you how to catwalk."
"Catwalk?" Sam said weakly.
"Can this get any worse?" Eric muttered. Deeks clapped a hand over the computer tech's mouth.
"Don't ask that! Whenever anyone asks that, things instantly get worse!"
The next three days leading up to the Banquet were kept in secrecy; neither Kensi nor Nell was allowed to see the men while Hetty trained them, although both stooped to a bit of eavesdropping.
"No, no, no, Mr. Callen. You must always turn toward the front leg, or you will trip as you just did. Watch Mr. Deeks; he has this down perfectly."
"That doesn't surprise me." Callen's growl was unmistakable. Nell and Kensi glanced at each other and looked away quickly, before they both burst out laughing.
"Mr. Beal, try to tilt your shoulder more when you pause; it will look intentional. And you all need to slow down; keep your steps in tempo with your narration card they will be reading. Don't look as if you would rather be anywhere other than the stage."
"But I would!" Eric protested.
"Me too!" Sam said, and Callen piped up. "Me three."
There was a moment, then a reluctant "Oh, right! Me four." From Deeks.
"Gentlemen, you are looking at this all wrong. Ladies are going to be fighting over the chance to have your company. Fighting! And this entire operation might not pan out; our suspect might not even be there. In any case all of you will get to spend your evening in the company of rather lovely young ladies, dressed to the nines and sipping expensive wine."
There was a momentary silence, then Callen spoke positively. "Pivot towards the front leg, you said?"
"Perfect, Mr. Callen! Now, let's try it again."
The girls crept away before they were spotted, unable to hold back their laughter any longer.
"Are you going undercover as a buyer too?" Kensi asked Nell as she held up her dress for Saturday lovingly. Nell shook her head. "No; someone has to run the Op Center."
There was something almost wistful in her tone, hastily covered up a moment later. "You are going to look gorgeous in that, Kensi!"
Kensi smiled. "Thanks." Her mind was working quickly; it wasn't fair Nell was left out of the fun.
"I have an idea." She snapped her fingers, and relayed her plan to Nell. The small woman's eyes went wide and a grin spread over her face. "That would be perfect!"
The next two days were a whirlwind, more secret training of the boys and Hetty approving the plan for Nell without telling the men. Finally, Saturday arrived.
Kensi was the first at the hotel, dressed up and finding her assigned table. There were two chairs; one for her and one for whomever she 'won.' According to her pamphlet, there would be an hour and a half for mingling, then the auction would begin.
She was a bit early; only a few women were there.
"Ms. Drake?" A thin, smallish man in a dapper suit appeared at her elbow. She nodded, recognizing her alias.
"Yes?"
He smiled and shook her hand. "Rick Masterson. I just wanted to welcome you to the Mara Paza Blind Date Auction, and present you with the information on all of our eligible bachelors this evening."
He handed her a beautiful leather-bound folder with the Mara Paza emblem embossed on the front. Kensi smiled and accepted it.
There quite a few more profiles than she expected; closer to fifty then the twenty she expected. She had been informed that there was one bachelor for every woman that signed up; there would be quite a crowd. She recognized some of the names of the men as minor celebrities or rich young heirs. She noticed in surprise that the four OSP agents were the only servicemen this time.
If their mystery lady was there and stuck with her pattern, one of them would most definitely be bought by a ruthless kidnapper.
Shaking the gloomy thoughts from her head, she read her friends' profiles in amusement. She had to admit, they all took a good picture.
Eric was first of the profiles; his face broke in a lazy, impish grin. He looked like he was up to no good, and didn't care. His hair was a bit spikier than normal, and the way he looked over his glasses was almost playful.
Callen didn't look relaxed exactly; he looked as if he was about to spring, a flicker of amusement in his eyes, mixed with something that hinted at danger and adventure. The barest hint of a smile was playing across his face, giving him a 'bad boy' vibe.
Sam on the other hand had a warm smile and a calming, almost soothing look in his eyes. The way he was sitting showcased his athletic build, but didn't overplay it. Everything about him seemed comfortable, warm and friendly.
Deeks was draped over something; a chair Kensi guessed, but she couldn't be sure from the way the photo was cropped. His hair was just messy enough to be intriguing but not unkempt. His eyes were completely flirtatious and he had a bright, wide smile on his face.
As Kensi closed the book, she noticed the ballroom had filled, and almost all the women were looking through their own books. She could tell from their places in the folders most of the women were looking at her friends' pictures. She had a feeling there would be quite a bidding war on those four.
"Ladies, if I could have your attention please? We will begin mingling momentarily." A voice over an intercom said. Kensi smiled when she heard it. Just then, the wide double doors of the ballroom opened and the men started entering.
Kensi spotted the agents easily, and felt her mouth drop in spite of herself.