Author's Note: Okay, so I know that this chapter may not seem like much, but believe me the next few chapters, which I hope to get posted ASAP, will more than make up for it. Oh, and I am soooo very sorry for the delay in updates to this story.

I may have mentioned in a note attached to my story 'Unconditional' that I have been down with illness for a while, and have just gotten back into the swing of things in the last two weeks or so—suffice it to say, things have been a little slow-going right off the bat, but I promise to quickly fall back into more regular updates for all of my stories. Thanks again everyone for your continued love and support. May I never disappoint you all, ever!

L.A. Blow Back

Chapter 8 –

Marty Deeks sits just opposite his tiny boss within the confines of the small space that serves at the latters' office at OSP. He watches her intently from his position, as she holds her hands in front of her in a contemplative manner with her lips pursed and brow set, like one who is deep in thought, carefully weighing their every option before deciding on which path to proceed. In his mind, it seems at times somewhat unfair that so many things be set upon such tiny shoulders, and yet no where else in the world could there ever be found a more solid or steady platform.

Admittedly there isn't much in the world that scares Deeks, but Hetty had sounded so secretive in her earlier phone call and now sitting here with her, alone, he can't help feeling just the slightest bit apprehensive.

"Mr. Deeks." The tiny woman finally breaks her own silence, leaning forward in her chair so as to avoid having to raise her voice to be heard by the shaggy-haired man in whose company she presently sits.

"Ma'am?" Deeks replies, clearing his throat and straightening his position a bit as he waits for Hetty to continue.

"Before we begin, it is imperative that you understand just how grave the repercussions to follow will be, should anything I discuss with you here now find its way beyond these walls. This conversation is strictly between you and I, and no one else."

Deeks swallows a nervous lump that has formed in his throat, but nods back that he fully understands the aforementioned implied circumstances to which Hetty is referring. "I understand Hetty."

"Good." She replies with a nod of her own. Deeks watches as the tiny woman proceeds to produce a tiny, plastic baggie from within her waist pocket, which she then slides carefully across the desktop towards the waiting hand of the shaggy-haired man on the other side. "No doubt you know what this is?"

Deeks lifts the tiny baggie up off the desktop between his thumb and forefinger, and holds it close to better examine the object contained within. True, he has never seen it before, but knows precisely what it is. "This is it." He muses, as he rolls the small, dented piece of metal around in the palm of his hand. "This is the bullet that hit Ms. Waters."

"Indeed. There anything else you can ascertain from it?" Hetty asks, arching a brow in his direction.

The newly dubbed Special Agent holds the baggie closer still, and briefly ponders its curious sight silently to him self. A gentle sigh finally escapes over the lips of the shaggy-haired man as he lifts his eyes once again to look at his tiny boss.

"To be honest, Hetty, my partner's the real ballistics expert, but were I to venture a guess I would have to say—based on where Ms. Waters was supposedly standing when she went down—that this is possibly a .308 caliber shell, which means it was probably fired from a sniper rifle of some kind." Deeks postulates for his boss.

Hetty only nods. "And tell me, Mr. Deeks, how do feel this investigation is progressing thus far?"

Deeks shakes his head, and sighs openly. His demeanor then seems to take on an air of frustration as he carefully collects his thoughts and feelings from just the last few hours. "I feel…" he pauses momentarily, feeling slightly unsure of whether or not to proceed with his current line of thought, although Hetty did ask for his honest opinion—at least that's the way it sounded anyway. "I don't know, I guess I feel like we're not really getting anywhere. Its like the pieces don't quite fit together the way they should, but we're still forcing them. The picture I'm seeing, Hetty, makes absolutely no sense at all."

"My feelings exactly." The tiny operations manager replies in agreement. "It would seem, Mr. Deeks, that there is a hidden agenda at work here, to which we are not privy." She adds, very bluntly.

This revelation comes as a bit of a surprise to the former LAPD detective, but not by much. He's suspected something along those lines for sometime now, but had not quite made such a drastic leap as has his boss.

"You think there's traitor among us?" Deeks asks, lowering his voice just a little bit more.

"Perhaps." She replies, with a light shrug.


In Ops, everything for the most part is relatively quiet, and Kensi for one is thankful for the moment of solitude the silence grants her. It gives her a chance to think over everything that has happened so far, and let her mind try and process the intensity of all the new information.

From her usual spot in the back, right corner of the room, near the doorway, she lets her eyes wander to the sight of the two technical analysts punching away furiously on their consoles at the front of the room. She can't quite make out what either of them are saying though, as she can only see the sides of their mouths when they speak, making her skills at lip-reading utterly useless.

The sound of throat clearing draws her attention away from the two techies momentarily. It was Granger, she finds, that made the sound she'd heard, and now she focuses her attention on the shadowy assistant director standing on the far left side of the room with one arm folded across his chest, and the other holding his cell phone, which for some reason he seems thoroughly engrossed in.

Truth be told Kensi has never really liked Assistant Director Granger, even though he did help her find closure in the case of her father's murder. Still, there is something about the guy that just refuses to leaver her alone at night, and it doesn't help the situation that for all her effort she still knows almost nothing about him.

"G, you okay?" Kensi hears Sam ask from his place on the right side of the room. She shifts her focus now to the two senior members of their team, and the sight she finds there is simply unbearable.

"No. No, I'm not." Callen replies quietly, leaning against the table at the center of the room. "This is crazy." Callen blurts out, splaying his hands out against the table.

The expression painted across Callen's features is one of anguish, and the sight is enough to make Kensi's heart ache for the older man. She remembers how not too long ago she found her self in nearly the exact same position, and how she'd felt so torn up inside knowing that the man she loved was being tortured while she remained safe at home. It was excruciating to say the least. She quickly realizes too that the teams' current inaction must be maddeningly frustrating for the usually fearless team leader. That part she also understands all too well.

"We're wasting our time here, Sam." Callen continues. "I mean, we should be out there right now trying to find the son-of-a-bitch that shot Maggie, but instead we're just standing around with our thumbs up our Asses like a bunch of girls at a tea party." The team leader fumes to his partner.

Kensi opens her mouth to speak, intent on trying to help comfort the older man, but before she can get the words out of her mouth—Granger decides to butt in.

"If you're too emotionally compromised to stay objective, Agent Callen, then perhaps you should step aside." Granger says in a very casual tone. Kensi is instantly aware of the quickly changing climate circling about the room.

"Damn." Sam mutters under his breath, with a shake of his head.

Kensi watches as Callen's entire body tenses up within just a split second of hearing Granger's words.

"Excuse me?" Callen lifts his head to stare crossways at the assistant director he so passionately loathes.

"It's obvious the situation with Ms. Waters has your head-" Granger starts in.

"The situation!?" Callen explodes furiously, slamming his right palm down hard against the tabletop. "She's in a hospital fighting for her life!"

"I suggest you calm down, Agent Callen." Granger shoots back, his voice rising to match that of the angry senior agent currently trying his best to stare him down. "Or I will have you suspended!"

"What are you afraid of Granger, hunh!?" Callen fires off angrily, stepping out around the table.

Kensi sees Granger slowly tensing up in his corner from the beginning, until he finally lowers his arms to his sides and takes a couple of steps forward. She suddenly finds herself torn between moving to help Callen, and staying back to protect the unborn child she's secretly carrying—the latter wins out of course.

"I'm warning you, Agent Callen. Don't push me. Trust me, we'll BOTH regret it." Assistant Director Granger warns the younger man in a deep, menacing tone.

Sam suddenly appears at Callen's side, his hand coming to rest gently against his partner's heaving shoulder. The muscular ex-Navy Seal feels for his hurting partner, he really does, and should Granger cross the line first he won't hesitate to defend his partner. However, should Callen be the one to cross it first he'll have no choice but to side with the Assistant Director. Still, he prays in silence that it won't come to either of those, and that the situation will be resolved peacefully.

"G." Sam says, his voice gentle and calm in Callen's ear. "Let it go. It's not worth it."

"Sam." Callen says with a quiet, burning urgency in his voice. The team leader turns his head, and eyes his partner carefully.

"I get it." Sam reassures him with a knowing look. "But he's right." Even as the words cross the ex-Navy Seal's lips he can sense they were the wrong ones, and he feels Callen shifting away from his grasp.

"G."

"Seriously, Sam? Whose side are you on here?"

"G, come on? What kind of a question is that?" Sam asks, a slight glimmer of shock passing over his eyes, and then just as quickly disappearing.

Kensi chews her lower lip nervously, weighing her options very carefully where she stands. She knows exactly what Callen's feeling, and she doesn't blame him for feeling it. She's been there, after all, more than once.

"Hey, listen to him Callen." Kensi says softly. "You know Sam's on your side. We all are."

Callen turns his attention to the female member of his team, and eyes her carefully in much the same way as he had done Sam just moments earlier.

"Your heads' in a bad place right now, and nothing makes sense. I understand that. I've been there, remember?" Kensi's words seem to be having some effect on Callen, as his defenses seem to be gradually lowering. "Trust me on this, okay? Giving in to the way you're feeling right now…it'll destroy you, if you let it."

"I'd listen to her, if I were you." Granger chimes in. No one seems to notice the tiny operations manager as she steps through the entrance into Ops.

"You're not trying to provoke my team again, are you Owen?" comes the tiny woman's familiar voice from the doorway. Everyone's attention is drawn to it almost immediately.

"Not at all." Granger replies very simply. "We were just waiting for you, Hetty." He says, flashing a little half grin at the operations manager.

Hetty eyes the assistant director very cautiously, as she moves on past him towards the front of the room. Along the way, she pauses near Callen and gives him a tiny, reassuring smile. "Everything alright, Mr. Callen?"

Callen nods. "I think so, Hetty. Thanks." Hetty nods back in understanding, and then continues on.

"Mr. Beale? Ms. Jones? May I assume you two are finished with your analysis of the DVD?" Hetty asks, upon reaching the two tech analysts seated at the front of the Ops Centre.

"Um, yes. As a matter of fact we are." Eric replies, looking up over his shoulder at his tiny boss. "Our diagnostic program shows all clear, and ready to proceed."

"Well done."

"Wait, Hetty?" Kensi pipes up from the back of the room. She suddenly notices the unsettling absence of her partner, and it worries her. "Where's Deeks?" Hetty turns her head to look back over her shoulder at the female federal agent.

"All will be explained, my dear." She replies, with a gentle smile. "In due time."

…TBC…