"DId you say, "Well Hun-? Yes, I will write that down. No, I would not want to forget that. Thank YOU Hetty." Nell pushed the button on her ear wig, jotted a note on the paper she was holding, and turned to Callen.
Callen crossed his arms, matched Nell's smirk, and couldn't resist asking: "Did you just call Hetty 'Hun'?
"Don't ask. Let's get back to this list we're making."
"Interesting how flustered that request made you. " Callen made a mental note to ask Hetty. "Why don't you run through what we've discussed so far and see if it triggers anything else?" Callen suggested.
Nell settled back into the couch. Which was too big for her, as usual. Her feet couldn't touch the ground and her legs were at a weird angle. She looked out at the majestic mountains, still snowcapped, and sighed. Such a beautiful place. With these views, it was worth sitting on an uncomfortable, lumpy couch. Next to Callen.
"Good idea. We started with Deeks' childhood. Father is deceased. Shot father when he was eleven in self-defense. Mother's status is unknown. She was also abused by the father. Participated in and excelled in sports. Excelled academically. Passed the bar on the first try. Maintains his membership to the California Bar Association. Childhood friends- only one that we know of, Ray, of dubious character. One dog, Monty, who we haven't seen in a while."
"Did Beale check that Ray is still in witness protection?"
"Yes, he did. If Deeks is the mole, Ray does not seem to be involved."
"Any other living relatives? Marriages? Viking mob ties?"
That raised a smile from Nell. "Unknown. Unknown. And Unknown. Well, let me qualify that- Hetty knows and isn't saying."
"Then why isn't she helping us with this Encyclopedia of Deeks?" Callen demanded. "I'm going to call her right now-"
As he grabbed his phone out of his pocket, Nell took hold of his wrist. "She wants us to do this independently. Ideally we'd have Kensi and Sam here to help us with this but at least we can get it started."
"Speaking of Kensi and Sam, how would they describe Deeks?"
"Well Sam would say he is loyal, a hard worker, a comedian, and a bit of a slob. Oh, and he's secretly studying up so he can beat Deeks at 'Geeks who Drink'."
"And Kensi would say Deeks was delicate, a clean freak, fights for the side of good, annoying, sexy-"
"Are you sure that's not YOU saying this?" Callen teased.
"What?" Nell didn't have to lean far to bump Callen's shoulder. "This is all Kensi's perspective. "
"We're not making much progress on our own. I guess I don't know as much about his life as I should."
"I wish we could call Kensi. "
"Yeah- she's the Wikipedia of Deeks all right."
"The WikiDeeks?" They both got a chuckle out of that. "You know what? I'm going to call this list 'WikiDeeks'", Nell declared, writing it in bold black and lime colored letters at the top of the page. She loved the colored Sharpies.
"And since we're getting nowhere, let's call Eric and see if he can send us Deeks' financial information".
Nell hesitated before she made the call.
"You do realize that Deeks is not the mole and would never leak information associated with the group."
"After what he did in Afghanistan to get Kensi back and to save Sam and I…. there's no doubt in my mind. Actually there was no doubt in my mind before that. And I still don't understand why we're investigating him."
They looked at each other and said, "Hetty" simultaneously. Then the whisper of a thought entered their minds. Neither dared say it aloud. Both were wondering how long they would be blindly following Hetty's lead.
Callen looked over at Nell as they drove into town.
"What are you so Fired Up about?"
Nell looked surprised. "Has it ever occurred to you that you are always out in the field and I am always stuck in the office? I'm usually just part of The Backup Plan. So it's nice to get out of the office. For all I know Hetty will have me back in the office in less than 24."
"Here I thought you were just looking for some Local Boys," Callen joked.
"Get Real. I saw you eyeing The Hot Chick, Mr. Eagle Eye."
"Actually I was looking at the sign for the BeerFest."
"That's a BrewFest. There's the library up ahead- pull in and we'll scope it out. Keep an eye out for surveillance cameras in the parking lot. Then we can at least pretend to be House Hunters and scope the place out. Hey- where are you going?"
"There's a war memorial over here. Sam had an instructor in SEALS who was always looking for a buddy of his who died at Pearl Harbor. He was a gunner I believe. Let's go see if his name is on the memorial."
"Well as long as we're parking and walking around… Do you want to take a stage coach ride?"
"Sure, I'd be up to a Loop around town," Callen said, casually draping his arm around Nell's shoulders.
"How about going to a movie?" Nell wasn't sure how much free time they would have.
"Maybe. Just Not Another Teen Movie."
"What do you mean "another" teen movie? What movies have you and Joelle been watching?"
"Oh, you do not want to know that. Come on, let's take a selfie with the arch of antlers."
"Hey Guys- I have Deeks' financial records for you." Nell and Callen were on their drive back to the farm when the call came in from Beale. Nell video conferenced in on her tablet.
"Anything unusual?" Callen asked.
"No, it's all pretty standard. Rent, truck payment, utilities. Credit card for gym fees, gas, coffee, restaurants-just what you'd expect. He does have one payroll deduction to a charity called Pets of the Homeless. I checked it out and it's legit- the only national animal organization focused completely on feeding and providing emergency veterinary care to pets of the homeless."
"Doesn't Kensi have a payroll deduction for that charity as well? Nell asked.
Callen and Beale were stunned. Callen turned to Nell. She gave him her best poker face.
"Why would Kensi donate to that charity?" Callen asked.
"Confirmed. Kensi also donates to Pets of the Homeless. But it's through a text: 'Text GIVE16863 to 80088 to donate $10.' The charge shows up on her cell phone bill."
"And you're sure it's a legitimate charity?" Callen probed.
"It most certainly is," Hetty chimed in, startling them all by sneaking up behind Beale.
"Does Deeks have a storage locker?" Nell wondered.
"Negative. Or at least not one that he pays for with a credit card. But…"
"But, what, Beale? Does he have a storage locker or not?"
Beale adjusted his shirt collar and craned his neck nervously. "Deeks doesn't, but Kensi does."
"There's, um, nothing significant in Kensi's storage locker," Callen volunteered. "She just likes her stuff."
"And you know this because…" Nell raised her eyebrows in question.
"Mr. Callen," Hetty spat out. "We've had this discussion before. Just because you are trying to entertain yourself while you are up half the night doesn't give you the right to violate your team members' privacy."
Callen looked down, somewhat contrite.
"Hetty, we are not finding any evidence that suggests that Deeks knows this potential mole in our organization." Nell wanted to wrap the investigation up and hoped Hetty would agree with her.
"Agreed," Callen added. "Let's not waste our resources on Deeks- Beale, take a look at the periphery staff. Anyone who makes deliveries to the mission or who has limited contact with our agencies' staff."
"Will do," Beale said with a bouncy step as he made his way across OPS before signing off.
"What's that?"
"What's what?"
"What's with that little bouncy step Beale does all the time now?"
"Oh, THAT!" Nell knew the answer. She hoped Beale wouldn't mind that she was sharing his secret. "Well, Hetty was concerned that Beale spent all his time cooped up in OPS and in his little online game world, so she decided he needed to expand his horizons. He doesn't live in the real world like the rest of us. He rarely interacts with people outside the office, unless it's an online friend who he's never met in person. And even he admits to being frustrated with interacting with 'normal people' at RenFaires and ComCons. He tried a few different things but ended up taking some acting lessons and it turns out he's quite good. At acting. And singing, which was a big surprise even to Beale. Although it also makes perfect sense since he's acting at the RenFaires and ComicCons. I think the bouncy step is kind of an 'exit stage left' type move."
"Well that makes sense. If we ever need him in the field he needs to be able to interact with a wide variety of people. And he has seemed less fidgety lately."
"The best part is that he has met someone he really likes. I suggested that he talk to you about how to negotiate a relationship when so much of our lives can't be shared with the outside world. I take it he hasn't asked you about that?"
"No, he hasn't. And I'm glad for the warning. It's definitely a difficult thing to manage. Joelle think I'm at a convention. I lied and said my boss was supposed to go but had a family emergency at the last minute so I said I would go. When she asks when I'll be back, I avoid the question. Because I really don't know. I thought we'd be right back home after rescuing Kensi but here we are in the middle of nowhere. We haven't been dating very long but already I can see she trusts me less and less. She wants to go to a few different concerts this summer and I said I would go but you know that there's a good chance that I won't be able to. Maybe I should have told her I was a fireman or someone with a less predictable schedule. That would help explain my bruises and injuries too. But wait- I thought you two kind of had a Thing?"
"Me and Joelle?" Nell gagged on her Cowboy Bhakti Chai.
"No, you and Beale."
"Hmmm. How do I say this? We're more like Brothers and Sisters.
Nell sighed.
"I know," Callen chimed in. "It can be frustrating."
"What? No, Beale and I are good. I was thinking about Deeks and our potential mole. All we've found out is that the mole is always at the library during toddler time, which might not be significant at all."
"And Hetty gave in way too easily when we diverted the investigation away from Deeks and the mole." Callen added, completing her thought.
"And that is Beyond Belief," Nell couldn't help but add.