A/N: I would like to thank those of you who have left reviews. For my guest readers, I wish I could reply to your reviews, but this will have to do. To answer some of your questions, Deeks and Kensi are married with a child, Zander, and another one on the way. In the prequel (Poisk), they had just discovered Kensi was pregnant. To get the whole picture of this story, I would recommend to you to start from the beginning with Lines Crossed, Hunted and Poisk, as this is the fourth part of the series. It explains a great deal with how Callen and Nell became Stephen and Thea Campbell, and what they have been through as a family so far.
Chapter 4
Detective Shane Moyles rang the doorbell again. The white painted brick home was picture perfect, with an immaculate garden that had been well tended by the wife, he presumed. There was no sign outside of the family that lived inside, but he'd heard the children earlier when he'd spoken with the husband. He was on his way out and was picked up by an African American man, who looked like he worked out in a gym every day. Not someone you'd wished to tackle and take down. Stephen Campbell had told him the man was his lift to work. He'd had someone back at headquarters to do a background check on the Campbell family, and had very little to go by. Three years they'd lived in this house, prior to that, they had lived for five years on Vancouver Island. He'd been a pilot of a sea plane company in Victoria, transporting cargo around the island. In Los Angeles, it stated he was a pilot for a small company who flew wealthy customers across the western parts of their country. The man didn't look much of a pilot, nor did his friend. He'd also had the black vehicle searched in their database, and what had returned to him was that of a US Navy SEAL.
What was a US Navy SEAL from San Diego and a sea plane pilot from Victoria, Canada, doing together? He was a curious man, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Stephen Campbell heard glass shattering around 2am. He'd walked around his home and checked all doors and windows and returned to bed. He'd heard nothing else. How can no one not hear what went on next door? They'd tried to interview Audrey Harper before she'd been taken to hospital for treatment. She had no idea what time the men entered, or how many there were of them. She was in shock and terrified for her life.
Did Stephen Campbell know more than he was letting on? He rang the doorbell for the umpteenth time and sighed. It was dead quiet inside the house, too quiet for children. He spied a lanky colleague of his head his way. Detective Deeks had returned to the precinct without a word of where he'd been. Shane hadn't seen Deeks in many years and had wondered what had happened to him. No one close to him would tell him anything. There were too many secrets going on and he didn't like it. Like now, why was Deeks at his crime scene?
"What are you doing here, Deeks?"
"Hey, Moyles. What you doing?" He indicated to the house he was standing outside of. "Thought the crime scene was next door?"
"Trying to reach the family inside. The husband mentioned hearing glass shattering this morning, but nothing else. How can no one hear what went on next door?"
Deeks ran his eyes over the home like it was new to him. He knew the inside of this home like his own, and knew the master bedroom bordered that side of the house. He also knew the occupants and that Callen had been sleeping on the floor of his daughter's bedroom. Alice's bedroom was along the other side of the house, next door to her brothers'.
"Do they have kids?" Deeks asked him as if it was the most natural question to ask.
"Yes, not sure how many, but maybe two?"
"Do you have kids?" Deeks asked Shane.
"No, I don't. You know what the job entails. I don't have time for family."
"Kids keep their parents awake a lot when they're little. They could have been busy with one of their kids, or dead to the world due to the lack of sleep."
"The husband heard something. Just the glass shattering. When we looked inside the house, the only glass broken was from a broken glass table. The rest of the glassware is untouched, same with the windows."
"How did they enter?" Deeks was in need for more intel than the report he'd read back at the precinct.
"Through the front door. Picked the lock like pros."
Deeks looked over to the Harpers' home and studied the front door that was slightly more forward than the Campbells'.
"Why are you here, Deeks?"
"Bates thought I could be of assistance to you. You know, another set of eyes."
"Bates never mentioned to me about you coming to help." Moyles narrowed his eyes and dialled his cell. He waited for his boss to pick up.
"How's it going out there, Moyles?"
"Deeks is here. Do you know why?" He watched Marty Deeks wander over to the property next door where the crime scene was taped off for access to anyone other than LAPD.
Lieutenant Roger Bates knitted his brows at the mention of Marty Deeks being at this crime scene. He'd seen him searching something earlier on his computer with deep concentration, and thought he'd found some anomaly in a cold case he had him working on.
"You could do with the help." Bate wondered why he was telling his detective the lie that slipped off his lips so easily. But when Marty Deeks did something, it was for a reason, and there was a damn good reason why he was at Moyles' crime scene. He'd let it play out and see where Deeks led them to. After the years of being the NCIS Liaison, the detective had learned a great deal and had a sharp eye to detail. It was the reason why he'd placed him on the cold cases that were piling too high for his liking. He received letters from families of victims, asking for updates constantly. When Deeks suddenly returned to LAPD full time, he knew exactly where to place him.
"He better not get under my toes." Moyles complained to him.
"If he does, it's for a good reason. Trust him."
Moyles heaved out a breath. "Yes, boss." He wandered back over to the crime scene and spotted Deeks eyeing the scene before him.
"We're waiting on a CSI team to arrive to process it all."
"The wife, has she said anything?" Deeks noted the broken glass table and knew instantly that was what Callen had heard. There was no evidence of anything else broken, although the house was a mess.
"Not much. She was badly bashed. Couldn't tell us how many there were. She was in shock and not in a state to tell us much, other than a description of the man who'd killed her husband."
Deeks became curious to this knew information. "Did he have an accent?"
"She says, Eastern European."
"So could be Russian?"
"Not sure. Why the interest?"
"Just going through a process of elimination. There was a situation where a house was trashed like this three years ago. Thankfully the occupants were away on holiday at the time. They were Russian militants."
"Is that the case where the house was fired upon with bullets?"
"Yes." Deeks answered. "I didn't attend the house, I was away out of town at the time."
"And I was on holiday in Louisiana. But I heard about it. A Navy man." He wandered again about the man who drove Stephen Campbell away that morning.
"Something like that."
"I heard NCIS took over the case."
Deeks remained quiet as he looked around the room for what he was looking for. A rug and a prospect of a hidden space underneath. He hoped for Callen and Nell's sake he found a similar metal tin under the floor boards to eliminate them as being the targets. Unfortunately, there was glass everywhere and if he started shifting things before CSI arrived, Moyles would be peeved with him. He decided to take a look in one of the bedrooms, and it didn't take him long to notice something out of place. The wardrobe doors had been pulled off their hinges and the contents thrown over the room. But underneath he could see part of the rug that was clean. He walked over, and snapped a photo before he lifted it up. A smile hinted on his lips. Like he thought. He found the loose floor board and lifted it up. A green tin with a lock sat snug in the false cavity.
"What have you found?" Moyles wasn't letting Deeks out of his sight.
"This." Deeks pulled the tin up and picked the lock open. Like he'd expected. A wad of cash and multiple passports with various aliases. Now he had important information to hand over to NCIS to link the two cases. Callen can breathe now and know that they weren't the targets.
"What is this?" Moyles pulled on disposable gloves and lifted out the passports after Deeks took photos of the contents.
"Proof of what the men were looking for."
"Evidence for what though? All I can see is multiple passports—"
"With different aliases inside. Here are some other names you can look into." Deeks told him.
"How did you know to look for this in here?"
"I didn't know where, just needed to look more closely at the details. Don't you think it's interesting how this area of the rug was untouched by the contents from the wardrobe?"
"That is interesting. It left this area free. But why?"
"That's what we need to find out." Deeks rose from his crouched position and sent the photos through to Eric at OSP, and then through to Bates. "Look what I found at the Harper's home? Same tin found in Lieutenant Sutton's home this morning, an NCIS case." He kept this piece of information from Moyles, knowing that once Bates and Mosley realise the link in the cases it would become an NCIS case.
His cell beeped twice. "Thanks, Deeks. Glad to have you on board this case. Callen will be relieved." Eric sent back to him.
"I knew you were up to something, Deeks. Thought you'd found something to do with a cold case you were working on. I should have known this had NCIS written all over it. I'll be in contact with Mosley and have you on point to work with NCIS on this. I'll let Moyles know." Bates knew Moyles wasn't going to like being pulled from the case, and he had to keep Deeks' past with NCIS secret from anyone who weren't in the know to keep them all safe.
Shane Moyles' cell rang and he exited the house to answer it. "Yes, boss."
"We have a problem with your case. Something has come up that links it to a current NCIS case. Same sit rep on the way the victims were killed during the night. I need you to pass it all over to the investigative agents when they arrive."
"No, boss. You can't take this case away from me. There's something with the neighbours I'm suspect about."
"Like what?" Bates mumbled.
"The husband heard the glass smashing at 2am, but he didn't hear anything before or afterwards. And now there is no one in the house. I've done my research on the family and they've been there three years, moved from Victoria. I only can trace this family for five years in Canada, nothing prior to them arriving there. I think the husband might be in on what happened last night."
"What's the name of the neighbour, Moyles?" All the information he could get from Moyles, he'd pass onto Mosley when he called her.
"Stephen and Thea Campbell." Bates broke the pencil in his hand. He knew that name and knew instantly why Deeks had been investigating. "Nothing to worry about the neighbours. They're a family and they don't look suspect in this case."
"I disagree." Moyles pressed on.
"Where's Deeks?"
Moyles looked behind him and spotted Deeks heading for him. "He's here now." Moyles passed his cell onto Deeks.
"Boss."
"You need to fill in Moyles on who the Campbells are."
"You know I can't do that, boss."
"I'm commanding you to."
"You can demand all you like, I don't know him enough to trust him with this information." Deeks gritted his teeth and moved away from Moyles as he spoke with their boss. "You only know because you had to at the time. I can't risk it."
"Okay. But Moyles isn't happy having this case taken from him."
"Tell him he's better off the case than on it. If NCIS are involved, you understand the dangers is carries with it."
"That I do."
"I'll hang around until NCIS turn up."
"Okay. Pass me back to Moyles."
Deeks handed Moyles his cell. "Boss wants to speak with you." Deeks walked away, knowing Moyles wasn't going to like what Bates was about to tell him.
"Pass on all the information you have on this case to Deeks, and he will pass it onto the NCIS agents when they arrive."
"Why him, boss? I'm the lead investigator on this crime scene."
"He's dealt with them before. It's better this way. You are unknown to them."
"Is that all?" Moyles set his jaw hard, annoyed at being side swept under the carpet far from this case.
"Yes. Now get back here. I have another case for you."
"I will when I'm finished here." He hung up his cell and slipped it onto silence. He didn't want any further disruptions from his work.
Bates sighed. He knew Moyles was going to be difficult on this case. He dialled Assistant Director Shay Mosley and waited for her to pick up her phone.
"Lieutenant Bates. What can I do for you?" She wasn't in the mood for his call, she had families to hide from whomever was after NCIS.
"We have a case that's similar to a current case of yours. Detective Deeks has sent through the information to your people."
Shay looked at her computer with the photos Deeks had sent through to Eric. "I have them on my computer."
"You called him this morning, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. I had an agent who was more worried about your case than his own. I had to do some research to make sure his family were safe."
"So you are aware it's the Campbell's neighbours?"
"Yes, I do." Shay studied the aliases carefully. She'd have to research the names, but none of them were familiar to her.
"You can have the crime scene. Deeks will be waiting for your agents. Don't send Callen or Sam. I have a nosey detective already suspecting Agent Callen."
"Then sending him there won't be a problem. It will dispel his suspicions." She was short on agents with Blye being pregnant, and she and Nell going into hiding along with their children. "I will need Deeks on this case."
"You can have him." Bates smiled, Mosley did need him after all, she was just annoyed with him for something, but it was a sore subject with Deeks and he refused to divulge anything to him.
"Thank you." Mosley disconnect the call and noted Eric at her door. "Come in, Eric."
"I've found something interesting on the aliases Deeks sent through."
"What is it, Eric?"
Eric pulled the image and alias of Nico Alfeno, from one of the Lieutenant's false passports Callen found that morning. "This alias, Nico Alfeno, worked alongside this alias found from Callen's next door neighbour, Jason Harper. Or should I say, Oscar Gunner. They worked together on the Federov case in Georgia last year. And I don't mean Georgia USA either."
Shay scanned her eyes over the case and frowned. "How many other agents worked on this case with them?"
"This wasn't an easy case to get access to, I had to ask Director Vance for permission. He gave me access after I told him two agents were dead, and one was living next door to Callen and Nell."
"And?"
"Another two agents and their handler. But it's not easy as their real identities have been redacted from the files and only their aliases are mentioned. I'm still trying to gain access to the intel. But the person in charge of this case isn't playing ball. Director Vance is working on it for me."
"Why is that?"
"It was a joint task force with the CIA."
"Why aren't I surprised! How many times do we have to pick up the pieces from their mess, yet, when it affects our people, they shut up shop?" Shay complained.
"You'll get the information you need soon." She was certain Leon will get what he wants when he plays hard. If not, she'll have to make a few calls herself.
"Update me when you have the information. We have another three agents lives hanging in the balance until we can find out who they are, and place them into protective custody. I'll also let Agent Callen know he's not at risk here."
"Thanks." Eric spun around and walked swiftly back into Ops.
