Chapter 8 – Mommy Issues…
Two weeks before, Kensi Marie Deeks Blye had finished the first trimester of her pregnancy. And it was both good and bad news. It was great because her morning sickness had finally ended and she was feeling a lot more energetic both in and out of work! The worst part was that she was supposed to start working behind her desk and helping Nell and Eric with the ops by that time.
Well, when Kensi's trimester ended, she and Deeks went back to see Dr. Kate Adam who informed them the babies were doing great and that she would be able to tell them if they were girls or boys. The couple was thrilled with the news that in a month they would be able to properly name their youngest children. And by now they would just have to wait two more weeks to find out if the twins were Andrew and Logan or Riley and Caroline.
Deeks not-so-secretly wished for two girls, that way he could have the two little princesses he had always dreamed of, though if they were boys he would love the ride just as much. Kensi would actually be happy either girls or boys. When she was pregnant with Justin, Kensi had really wished for a boy. Whenever she went shopping with Nell for things for the two babies on the way or she went for a walk with Deeks on a Sunday afternoon just to relax, she would always check those stores with baby clothing and she kept seeing outfits for baby boys that she loved. Plus she knew how girls can be when they are teenagers. Even if they're not little brats during their childhood, as adolescence hits them, they can only mean one thing most of the time: trouble! And Kensi knew it all too well… When she learned her first child would be a boy, she was really happy though if the girl had come along she would've probably tried to raise her as her father had done with her: tough, fearless but caring and reasonable at the same time.
Now, two weeks after the end of the third month of her pregnancy, Kensi was still working on the field just because she had managed to convince Deeks and Hetty to let her out there for another two weeks since her belly wouldn't start showing for another month. She argued to stay in the field until the fourth month but they wouldn't let her. So she tried to bargain two weeks and seeing she wouldn't back down they finally agreed. Kensi knew when the three petty officers' case was over, she would have to let Paris have Deeks' back in the field.
It was Saturday morning and the team was already up in ops working on their case.
"Eric, did you check to see if Thomas Dixon's alibi checked out alright?" Callen asked.
"Uh-yeah… According to the surveillance cameras in the Dixon's neighborhood, Thomas Dixon was at home the whole time between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, when the LAPD called." Eric started. "Around 8 pm on that Saturday, a woman was seen arriving at the house."
"She was identified as Emily Parker, we confirmed that she is Thomas Dixon's current girlfriend." Nell continued. "And she only left on Sunday morning. Half an hour later Thomas left the house in a hurry to go to the police station."
"That means there's no need for us to talk to Dixon's brother today, right?" Paris asked and Callen nodded.
"So we're back to square one…" Kensi sighed.
"Not necessarily…" Nate said. "What do we know about this – presumably – man? He has a fetish for women with certain characteristics. Blonde women with green eyes are his target. They all happened to be in the Navy. All of them disappeared from the same place, at the same time – 10 pm. He raped them and strangled them all." Nate paced around the ops centre as he said this, trying to find a way to discover this horrible man. Suddenly his head shot up and he looked at Paris before glancing at Nell and Eric. "Guys, see if you can find someone who checks these patterns. Check in the last 10 years. Murders or assaults to blonde women, green eyes and members of the Navy with similar age as these three petty officers. He might have a record." He explained when everyone stared at him in awe.
Nell and Eric returned quickly to their computers typing frenetically on their keyboards. Callen, Sam, Paris, Deeks, Kensi and Nate turned to the big screens while they saw information, names, dates, breaking news on daily newspapers running up and down, waiting for just on name to pop out, well not waiting, hoping. A few minutes later, as the room was filled with expectant silence, they heard a sound alerting them for the information that was being displayed in front of them. Two photos of two different men appeared in the screen.
"Two names just popped out: Alex Cooper and James Sullivan." Nell stated. "They were both arrested a few years ago due to assault and murder of two women."
"James Sullivan killed a woman with those characteristics but who was a civilian, Lauren Mayer. He was arrested in 2016. Sullivan's trip to jail was supposed to last 25 years but instead it lasted only 5 months. When his cellmates found out what he had done, they killed him." Eric explained. "Which leaves us Alex Cooper." He clicked something in his tablet and a photograph of a fair haired man with green eyes and a thick beard showed up in front of the team.
"Meet Alexander Williams Cooper, 47 years old. Son of Richard Cooper, owner of Cooper Electronics Inc. and Elizabeth Williams Cooper." Eric said. "He was arrested for assault to a woman, Lt. Caroline Robinson, and illegal possession of a fire weapon."
"Lt. Caroline Robinson?" Deeks asked. "So she too was in the Navy…"
"Eric, check Elizabeth Cooper's background." Sam said and another photo appeared on the screen leaving all agents slightly shocked. Cooper's mother was just like Lt. Robinson, Petty officer Dixon, Hunt and Ryan and once again… Agent Paris Summerskill.
"Well… Elizabeth Cooper used to be Elizabeth Williams, daughter of Marie and Frederic Williams. They lived in Chicago until Elizabeth turned 10 and then the family moved to Los Angeles. When she was 17 she met Richard who was 19 and already worked with his father in the family company. By the time Elizabeth was 20, she was married with a newborn that needed her 24/7." Eric explained looking at the information in his computer.
"Elizabeth and Richard were happily married for another 15 years until she decided she wasn't happy being a stay-at-home-mom and wanted to join the Navy." Nell continued. "Richard didn't accept her choice so Elizabeth left her family and asked for her divorce a month after joining the Navy. As she was always an athletic woman, being accepted wasn't hard for her. Now, 32 years later, it's been over a year since her death."
"That's it! It's his mother…" Nate exclaimed. "Cooper has problems with rejection. His mother left him when he was still young, that leaves scars, especially on a teenager… That's why he did all this…" He explained.
"Great! Then we just have to find him and take him to the boatshed to question him. Eric, what's Cooper's address?" Callen asked ready to go after their suspect.
Eric opened his mouth to answer but they heard the ops center doors opening and Hetty coming in. "Hang in there Mr. Callen, I believe Mr. Getz has a different opinion… Don't you Mr. Getz?" There she was, out of the blue just reading their minds… Unbelievable!
Everyone looked at Nate as he scratched the back of his head. "Uh-yeah… Maybe we should-uh…" He took a deep breath to think about a strategy. "Alright, I believe we should try to use a different approach on him."
"And how should we do that?" Sam asked.
"We know Alexander has killed the 3 petty officers on three different weeks, always on Saturday evenings, always kidnapping them from the same club, Exchange LA." Nate said and they all started to think of a way to catch the other man.
"We should try to go in and I'll be the bait…" Paris was the first one to talk after a few minutes of silence.
"But Paris…" Callen breathed standing next to her.
"Callen, have you looked at these women? They all look like me: blonde hair, green eyes. I'll be the bait and there are no discussions about it." Paris' tone left no space for response from the others.
"How are we supposed to go in that club without being on the guest list? 'Cause you know how these clubs work, right?" Deeks asked.
Callen thought for a few minutes as he paced back and forth in the ops centre. "Okay, we'll need you Nell, Paris and Kensi. You'll be a group of girls on a night out and-" He started but he worried look on Deeks' face made him stop and made Kensi look at her husband.
"Deeks, I'll be fine. Can you just…not worry about it? Nell and Paris will have my back…" Kensi almost whispered to him.
"Kens, you're pregnant with twins! This is your last assignment for the next few months, I need to know that you'll be fine, all of you. I need to have your back…" Deeks admitted quietly. "Can I suggest something?" This time he spoke to the whole team.
"Go on Mr. Deeks." Hetty said.
"Let me go in with Kensi." He requested looking at Callen with expectant eyes. When his co-worker nodded Deeks smiled at Kensi as a sign of relief. He rolled her eyes as if saying 'I can take care of myself!'. Well, some things never change…
"Alright then, let's start again. Paris, Nell, Kensi and Deeks will go in as a group of friends. Sam can go as a bouncer, see when Cooper arrives. Nate can be a waiter and I'll be the rich client. We make sure Cooper notices Paris. I try to pick her up, she denies it, leaves the group and tries to make conversation with the guy. After that, we hope everything goes well so that we can catch him and take him to the boatshed." Callen explained and everyone nodded in agreement.
"I'll set everything for you. I expect to see you here by 8pm, until then, go enjoy your Saturday afternoon please!" Hetty said practically shoving them out of ops.
XX
As planned, by 8pm everyone was back in the Mission to get ready to "go clubbing". The girls would all be in simple but still elegant dresses. Deeks loved how Kensi looked but if the occasion was a date night just the two of them, not an undercover op. The black strapless dress fit her every curve and ended on her mid-thigh, right below her butt.
"Me-ow!" Deeks said when he saw Kensi in that dress coming in the bullpen where he stood alone, leaning against his desk. She walked right to him and grinned.
"You're not too shabby either Hubby…" She said. Deeks had some black suit pants on and a white shirt she always loved to see in him. At the same time she put her hands around his neck, he put his on her hips, trying hard not to make this moment too intimate because they were still at work. "Do you really think Justin and Caleb will be fine tonight?"
Deeks shook his head and let out a chuckle, it was the third time Kensi asked that since they had left Julia Feldman's house. "Princess, they'll be great! Did you see them? They almost didn't say goodbye when we dropped them off. It's not like it's the first time the two of them stay with your mom."
"I know. It's just th-" Kensi didn't get to finish the sentence because Deeks placed a quick kiss on her lips which she returned.
When he pulled back, he looked into her eyes and kissed her forehead before saying in a reassuring tone, "Everything is going to be fine."
He smiled at her and she smiled back at him and before they knew it… "You guys ready?" Callen asked from the entrance. He too was all dressed up with a black suit and a white shirt. Next to him stood Paris in a gorgeous navy blue dress and a matching purse. Behind them were Nate, Sam, Eric and Nell. By the look on her face, Nell was probably freaking out about Caleb and JT just like Kensi had.
Deeks let go of Kensi and they walked in direction of their team mates. "Yup! Let's go get this guy!" Deeks said and after Nell said goodbye to Eric with a promise of staying out of trouble they all headed to Exchange LA.
XX
"Guys, he's going in. Do you hear me? Alexander Cooper just got in the club." Came Sam's voice through the comm.
"We hear you buddy…Loud and clear!" Callen answered as he watched Cooper passing by Paris' table and looking at her – who looked back smiling shyly – then keep walking to the bar where he and Nate were.
Alex sat down two stools on Callen's right and turned to Nate. "Hey man! JD on the rocks please." They all heard him through the comms as Nate started to pour the man's drink. He gave Cooper his whiskey and the man took a swig glancing over his shoulder directly to Paris.
"Great! He noticed you Paris. We'll continue the plan in no time. I'll take a walk around so he doesn't get too suspicious then I'll go right to your table." Callen informed the others.
Five minutes later Alex Cooper was still at the bar and glancing from time to time at Paris, when…Callen walked up to their table. "Hey!"
Kensi and Deeks headed to the dance floor and Nell went to the restroom while Callen sat next to Paris putting an arm around her shoulders as she tried to look uncomfortable. By that time, Cooper had his eyes trained on Paris with a mischievous smile across his face. Suddenly Paris got up and went directly to the bar, merely seconds after Cooper sat on the stool next to her.
"Hi!" He greeted with a grin. "How are you?"
Paris looked at him and smiled back. "Hey! I'm good thanks, how are you?"
"Great! I'm Alex by the way. Can I buy you a drink?"
"Addison. No, I don't drink." They shook hands and Cooper noticed Paris' firm hand.
"Wow that's some nice handshake you got there. What do you do for living?" He asked. Really? Cut to the chase? Alright, I'll play along…, Paris thought.
"I'm in the Navy. I came last week from Afghanistan. What about you?" Paris said and immediately saw the flash of hurt and anger in his eyes.
"Uh-I'm a businessman in my father's company." Cooper said vaguely after a few seconds of astonishment. "Well, if you don't drink, can you dance?" He asked grinning again.
"Sure!" Paris said taking his hand and so they went to the dance floor near Kensi and Deeks.
For some time they danced casually until Callen spotted them and decided how to catch Cooper. "Guys, I'll start a fight with Cooper before he can even think of a way to drug Paris. Sam, you come inside and make us leave through the back door. Nate, you help Sam. Nell, come with me, I'll need you to get closer to them." Callen instructed the team and when Nell approached him, they started dancing until the spot where Paris and Cooper were. He kept his eyes on Cooper as he grabbed Paris and then moved closer to talk to the man. "Hey dude, that's my girl!" Callen said aggressively trying to sound drunk.
"She's not labeled man!" Cooper answered in the same tone and resumed to dance with Paris.
Callen passed to plan B. He grabbed Cooper's shoulder, turned him around and pushed him aside. "Get lost man!" Well and that was enough for Cooper to explode. He walked to Callen and punched his jaw. Callen immediately put his hand on his face. "What the hell man?" Then he moved and punched Cooper's nose, leaving him bleeding.
Before they knew it, they were fighting, everyone around them had stopped dancing and Paris, Nell, Deeks and Kensi were looking at them with horrified faces matching everyone else's. Finally Sam arrived and took Cooper outside as Nate came to help and grabbed Callen. The rest of the team followed discretely as the people around continued dancing. Mission accomplished.
XX
Two hours later, it was well past midnight and the team was still in the boatshed trying to make Cooper break. Eric and Hetty were waiting for them there when they arrived and during those two hours everyone else had tried to talk to Cooper, well everyone but Kensi and Nell. Nell didn't talk to him for obvious reasons, she wasn't trained to talk to suspects. Kensi had been forbidden because they didn't know if he would get violent and hurt her.
Nate advised them not to use violence so Sam and Callen used good cop – bad cop, Paris tried to make him talk by seducing him, Deeks went in as a friend and Nate's attempt to use his psychologist tricks ended up just like the others'. They all failed. And Kensi saw them go in and come out with frustrated looks on their faces because all they heard inside was silence.
Finally, after those two hours, they were all around the boatshed trying to find a way to make Cooper, who was alone in the interrogation room, talk to them. Kensi had spent those two hours thinking about a plan just by watching the several conversations with Cooper.
"He's losing even more… We're pressuring him too much… Maybe we-" Nate trailed off.
"I'm going in." Kensi stated as she got up and started walking to the interrogation room.
"No you're not Kens. We don't if-" Deeks said grabbing her hand and spinning her around.
"Deeks, please let go of me. I think I know how to get to him. And no, you won't stop me just because I'm pregnant." With that she broke contact with Deeks and resumed to walk to the other room.
Deeks followed her but Sam's voice stopped him. "Deeks… She knows what she's doing, let her go…" He came back and sat down next to Sam and the others around the table while everyone focused on the screen in front of them.
Inside the interrogation room…
"Alex?" Kensi called to shake Cooper from his thoughts, when he looked from his hands to the wall in front of him, she continued. "Hi. My name is Kensi…" Her plan consisted in going right to the point that everyone else seemed to avoid. And using his first name was a good place to start. So she sat down across from him after taking her phone out. Kensi searched around her phone until she found what she was looking for. But first she wanted to talk to him. "I know you're mother left you and your father when you were 15…" A few seconds and nothing but silence. "My father died when I was 15 too. And when that happened me and my mother separated from each other for 15 years… I know how you feel…"
For the first time Cooper looked up at the person that stood there in the room which surprised Kensi. "How do I know you're not lying?" He asked quietly and she could see he was struggling with the tears in his eyes.
"Because right now I'm not an agent. I'm here as Kensi, just trying to talk to you as your friend…"
"Yeah…The other guy said the same thing, the blonde one…" He said roughly as if he suspected that she was trying to fool him.
"You know who that guy is Alex? He's my husband, we have a little boy together…" Kensi waited for him to answer but he didn't. She sighed. "You know who had a little kid as well?"
Kensi showed Cooper a photo on her phone with Mackenzie Ryan and her daughter, Sophie. He gasped, clearly hadn't seen that one coming…
"Do you recognize this woman?" Kensi asked.
"Yes. She's-" Cooper started but tears started falling from his eyes.
"Yes Alex, this is Mackenzie and the little girl beside her is her 6 year old daughter, Sophie. Because of the crime you committed, that girl is now an orphan who is not even old enough to understand her mom is dead… This girl's father was left with the biggest task of his life: explain her mom is not coming back anymore and make sure she has a proper childhood and a normal growth. See, Sophie was left alone with her dad. Kind of like when your mom left, remember?" Kensi's tone was soothing and calm, almost she couldn't recognize herself.
Through all the sobbing and crying, Cooper managed to calm himself. These were too many memories for his perhaps but Kensi was almost sure he would open up this time…
"It was me. I did all those terrible things to these poor women…" He finally admitted. "And it's all my parents fault…"
"What do you mean?" Kensi tried to push further.
"My mother left me and my father and I always blamed myself. When she left to go to the Navy, I blamed myself for being a burden to her… And my father didn't help me. As I grew up he didn't show any kind of love for me, never asked if I needed to consult a psychologist. The only good thing he gave through all these years was a good home and a job when I needed one. But we distanced ourselves from each other every day a little bit more… Nowadays, even though I still live in our family mansion, we barely speak to each other. Growing up like this was never healthy." Cooper said as more tears slid down his cheeks. "I know now…that I should've asked for help. I should've made my father talk to me. I should've-" He couldn't finish the sentence, as he kept crying harder and harder now with his hands upon his face.
Kensi placed her hand on his arm. "Alex, don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault that your parents marriage didn't work, that your father stopped caring for you, that your mother joined the Navy…"
"What's gonna happen to me now?" He asked suddenly.
"Well, you admitted your crimes, you killed 3 petty officers but you have a psychological problem. You'll go to trial and you're probably looking at 25 to life." She explained.
"I want help. Kensi, will you please help me? I want to get better…better from this obsession. I need to get better…" Cooper looked her in the eyes and she could swear in front of her stood a 15 year old kid whose mother had left him and not the 47 year old man he actually was.
Before she could answer Callen and Sam walked in and she got up. "Kens, we take care of him from here. Deeks is waiting for you, go home and rest." She nodded but sat down again taking one of Alex's hands in hers.
"Alex, these men are friends of mine. They want to talk to you a little longer, okay? You'll be fine." She tried to reassure him by lying which didn't work so badly since he nodded.
Finally she got and as she passed by her coworkers she only said two words. "Thank you." And she got out of the room. She had done everything she could and Alex Cooper was now in somebody else's hands.
When she got out of the room and walked to the main space of the boatshed everyone looked at her with smiles on their faces. Smiles that showed respect and pride, not triumphant smile for catching a murderer.
"Nice work Kensi." "Good job Kens." She heard Nate and Nell saying. Eric showed a sympathetic smile. Hetty gave her a nod of acknowledge of her good work but Deeks… Deeks' smile had more than just respect and pride…It as full of love, and at the end of the day, she couldn't wish for anything but that…
He walked up to her and hugged her tight against his chest. "I'm so proud of you Princess." He whispered in her ear and then pulled back when Hetty cleared her throat.
"Mrs. Blye, Mr. Deeks, Mr. and Mrs. Beale, go home please. Rest. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Enjoy it with your families. Enjoy it with your little ones." Hetty stated with a smile of her own.
With a promise of doing exactly that and with Kensi saying they could take Caleb to the Beale's household in the morning, they all bid their goodbyes and left the boatshed. Each couple for each car.
Tomorrow would be a new and brighter day…
XX
Hello there!
So here's the 8th chapter. I hope you liked it, I actually loved this case I built but the way it ended was super unexpected even for me…
Other news: next week I'm starting school and it's my penultimate year of high school so I really need to focus on my studies. This means I won't be able to update my stories as often a now but I'll try to post them at least monthly. Until then, enjoy this chapter and I'll try to write a new one either for this story or my other one – What Do We Do Now?
Well if you could just leave a review it would help me a lot and make me want to finish the chapters faster!
Stay Awesome,
-Rita
