Going Dark: Chapter 9
...
"I'm coming," Deeks said defiantly.
He had been on his feet most of the day and was finally starting to feel normal again and he was not about to be left out of the night's operation. He stared down Callen and Sam as he spoke, his features resolute and his blue eyes intense. The three men had been arguing through most of dinner and Callen was glad they had been given the use of a small, private cabin for their meeting.
"No, you're not," Sam said, equally adamant. "You're not up for it physically and you know it."
Sam's anger was hot and Callen had stayed out of the argument for the last ten minutes. He was starting to come around to Deeks' point of view, but he knew Sam was still worried about Deeks' condition and didn't want to put him at risk again.
"You need me," Deeks said. "And I've earned the right to be there when we find Sikes."
"He's got a point Sam," Callen said, trying to reconcile the two men.
"No he doesn't," Sam said, turning on Callen. "He's only been on his feet for a day. What if Bennett has accomplices and we get in a firefight. Do you think Deeks can protect himself?"
"I can shoot a gun, Sam," Deeks' voice was strained with anger. "And if Bennett does have men with him, you'll need backup."
"He's right Sam," Callen said quietly. "Bowers can drive Deeks over and he can cover the front, while we come in by boat and go in on the water side. You said yourself it was a big house, and it would be better than the two of us splitting up."
The last comment made Sam stop arguing and consider the scenario for a few minutes and Deeks looked quickly at Callen with a small look of hope on his face. Sam began to nod his head and finally grudgingly accepted the idea that they needed Deeks.
"Okay, you can come," Sam said. "But don't do anything stupid."
"Who me?" Deeks laughed. "I only do stupid things when Kensi's around."
"Yeah, well we should have let her fly over here and knock some sense into you," Sam groused, still not happy about putting Deeks in danger again.
"I'll be fine, Sam," Deeks said, smiling for the first time. "You worry too much."
Callen threw a map on the table between the two men and they got down to planning the night's operation. Commander Selby was allowing them to use the Zodiac they had on board instead of the customary water taxi. They would be going in around two in the morning to avoid as much water traffic on the strait as possible and to avoid the eyes of the local authorities. They had new burn phones and would be communicating via text messages once they reached the mansion.
"Do you think Sikes is still alive?" Deeks asked.
"I don't think Bennett would have gone there to check on him if he wasn't," Callen said.
The three men sat quietly with their own thoughts and to mentally prepare themselves for what was to come. Callen could tell that his partner was still not convinced that Deeks should be going with them. Sam kept glancing at Deeks, watching for any sign of weakness and Callen could see that Deeks knew he was being watched and evaluated. He did look better than he had in days, but he certainly wasn't anywhere close to being battle ready and Callen hoped he wasn't making a mistake by letting him come. But, they needed to get the launch codes back from Sikes or at least find out where he had hidden them, and with Deeks the odds were more in their favor if Bennett showed up and brought help. Callen almost wished Hetty had sent Kensi over after Deeks was hurt. They could use her skills and marksmanship.
"I won't let you down, Callen," Deeks said softly as if he knew what he'd been thinking.
"I'm counting on that," he answered.
"Just take care of yourself, Deeks," Sam said roughly.
"So, if you're in trouble, Sam, you don't want me to come and save your ass?" Deeks asked with a crooked grin.
"I'll take care of my own ass," Sam said. "Just don't make me take care of yours."
"What about my ass?" Callen asked with a small grin.
"I always save your skinny ass, G." Sam smiled for the first time that night and some of the tension lessened between them.
...
The dark waters of the Bosphorus licked at the sides of the black Zodiac as it glided slowly away from the destroyer. Callen and Sam, dressed in black, looked back as they disappeared into the cold, inky night. Deeks was barely visible now as he watched them go, and Sam couldn't help but give Callen an apprehensive look as he tried to keep his concerns in check. He had agreed to Deeks' participation in this part of the operation, but to say he was happy about it would be an understatement and he wasn't afraid to let Callen know it. Callen shook his head in response, knowing exactly what his partner's look meant.
"He'll be fine, Sam," Callen said softly.
"And what if we do get in trouble tonight?" Sam asked. "Do you think he's strong enough to get us out of it?"
"Is that what's bothering you?" Callen said with surprise. "You think he won't be able to back us up?"
"I know he'll try," Sam answered. "But if he fails, it could cost one or both of us our life."
"Only if you do something stupid," Callen replied.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Sam said loudly, his anger suddenly out in the open.
"You know what I mean," Callen answered. "Don't anticipate he'll fail, Sam. You have to trust him, otherwise you'll put yourself in danger trying to save him."
Sam didn't answer as he looked out over the city as they glided past. He knew his partner was right and it sobered him. He did worry too much and it was usually about Callen, but on this assignment it was his deepening concern for the newest agent. Somewhere along the way over the last year he had developed a fondness for Deeks and he had a hard time trying to figure out how that had happened. They were nothing alike, and for the first year he had wanted nothing to do with the former detective. He was a smart ass most of the time, and Sam thought he was too easy going for the kind of work they did. Their methods were completely different in undercover work, but Sam had seen how effective some of Deeks' aliases were and he had begun to admire him for that. Deeks brought a different set of skills to the team and in certain situations they were just what was needed. He knew the city of his birth like the back of his hand and he understood the local crime scene from his experience as a cop. He made the team better, and Sam couldn't quite remember just when he'd realized that, but a strong team was important to him, and gradually, Deeks had become important to him as well. He had admitted to Callen that he didn't worry about Kensi as much since Deeks became her partner, and they had both agreed he was good in a firefight. It always amazed Sam that Deeks could be making a joke one minute and become deadly serious the next, taking out bad guys and protecting his partner.
"He's weird, G," Sam said with a laugh.
"But a good weird," Callen said.
"Sometimes," Sam said.
"None of us are normal, Sam," Callen said as they approached the area where Sikes was being held.
"Speak for yourself, G," Sam said with a smile. "I'm the most normal one on this team."
"Yeah, for a guy with no noticeable blood pressure," Callen said.
They both became quiet as they headed into shore, searching for the boat dock of the house next door. The two derelict mansions were dark and slightly isolated from the larger ones on either side, which were brightly lit outside. The ambient light from the surrounding houses allowed them to finally locate the small dock and they cut the engine and glided silently along side. They quickly tied up the Zodiac and moved soundlessly down the dock to land. As they moved along the shoreline, Callen put his fist up for them to stop.
"There's a light inside," Callen whispered.
Sam quickly sent a text Deeks to see if he was in position and if they had company.
"N position, all clear," Deeks texted back from the front of the house.
Callen led the way until they got to the back gate. Sam led them through the overgrown garden, which had originally been laid out formally, but now was a riot of vines that cascaded down from pergolas entangling the two men as they struggled to reach the mansion's back door. Thorny canes from old roses tripped and tore at them, causing Callen to utter some well-worn curses. Finally they escaped the eerie garden and stumbled onto the large stone patio. They each quickly hid behind a couple of huge stone pots covered in slimy algae and stopped to catch their breath. Callen's face was badly scratched from one of the rose canes he'd encountered and one of Sam's pant legs was shredded. Breathing heavily they looked at each other and peered around the huge stone pots toward the French doors that led into a large dark room. Just beyond it they could see a dim light coming from under the door of an adjacent room.
"Going in," Sam texted to Deeks.
"Coming n front door," Deeks replied.
Sam breached the back door easily and Callen followed, stopping to listen briefly before turning on the small flashlight that would guide them further in. As their eyes adjusted to the light, large shadows formed around the old-fashioned furniture covered in disintegrating brocade. Callen passed a warped and dusty grand piano in the corner and was careful not to bump it for fear of the sound it would make. He hoped they were alone, but didn't want to take any chances that Bennett might have sent a man to guard Sikes or was in the house himself. They paused as they heard a scratching noise to their left, and both held their breath as it stopped.
Sam felt the vibrating of his phone and quickly read the message.
"Boo. N the room dont shoot," Deeks texted.
Sam showed the message to Callen and he smiled as he directed the flashlight beam over toward the last sound they'd heard. Deeks' smile was the only thing he saw. The rest of his body was dressed in black, his hair totally obscured by a black watch cap and his face camouflaged in black face paint. He motioned for them to go ahead and Sam pushed on the door to the lighted room. It opened slowly with a creaking sound that echoed loudly through the almost empty room. Callen heard Sam's intake of breath and it matched his own. They had finally found Sikes.
Two small lamps sat on the floor on either side of the naked body of Jonathan Sikes. He hung suspended by the wrists from a long beam in the ceiling. He had been viciously tortured and his body was bloody and showed no signs of life, but Sam checked anyway.
"He's still breathing, G." Sam said with surprise as he reached to cut him down.
"Leave him," a voice called from the doorway.
Callen and Sam turned to stare at four men with automatic weapons standing in the shadows. The man who had called out to them stepped into the light and Callen felt himself go cold.
"Kocak," he said.
"So nice to be remembered," the man replied. "Where's your blond friend? Or is that a touchy subject. Did he finally die?"
"Let me guess," Callen said. "You had an anonymous call that we would be here."
"No. I had an anonymous call that Sikes would be here," Kocak said as his men spread out into the room.
Sam felt his phone vibrate and nudged his partner's back.
"I'll need you both to drop your weapons," Kocak said.
Both agents pulled their guns and saw Kocak smile just before his face exploded from two bullets fired from behind him. Callen and Sam dove to the floor firing at the remaining gunmen, as Deeks fired from his prone position on the floor just outside the room. All three gunmen died without much of a fight and Sam and Callen quickly kicked their weapons away, and then paused to listen for any other intruders.
"Deeks? Status." Callen called, but got no response.
Sam was up in an instant running for the doorway. His flashlight lit up the room, but there was no sign of Deeks. Then he felt his phone vibrate once again, quickly pulling it to read the incoming message.
"Bowers down," Deeks texted.
Sam went back to help his partner cut Sikes down, telling him about Bowers.
"I'll go Sam." Callen said. "See what you can do for Sikes."
Callen found Deeks standing beside the open door of the car. His hand rested on Bowers' lifeless body lying slumped across the steering wheel as tears streaked through the dark make-up on his face.
"The bastards cut his throat," Deeks said.
"You okay?" Callen asked and felt relief flood through him as he saw him slowly nod his head.
"He wanted me to teach him to surf when his ship docked in Long Beach," Deeks said softly as he looked down at the young corpsman.
"Deeks." Callen said. "Sikes is still alive and we need to get him back to the ship. Can you help us do that?"
Deeks nodded and Callen could see that he was exhausted from the firefight and by the emotional loss of the corpsman that had taken care of him for the past three days. He didn't speak, he just slowly turned and walked back into the old mansion, with Callen following.
They loaded Sikes into the Zodiac and Deeks joined Sam for the trip back. Callen watched them go and then walked solemnly back to the car and drove the body of Petty Officer Bowers back to his ship.
...
