Charlie Goes to Jail

Disclaimer: Standard, don't own the show.
A/N: Thanks to OhBuddy66, Sprig, blue dogs rock, wotumba1, TMVH50, knirbenrots, Hoosier65, Guest, and Ziva Sofia for the reviews! Much appreciated.


"I gotta take a piss." Deeks pushed himself up off the bench. He'd been watching all morning and confirmed his suspicion when he ran into Bart returning his lunch tray. The three guards that Bart had identified were on duty together in the wing. There was only one more guard and Deeks had a bad feeling that he was the last of the quartet.

He knew he was heading into a precarious situation. The safest course of action would be to get on the phone and call the team, but he didn't get to be part of Hetty's team by choosing the safe option. It wasn't like he planning to take on the four suspects single-handedly, he just wanted a little bit more information before calling in the cavalry. He really didn't want to cry wolf on five different suspects. He was just planning on doing a tiny bit more intel gathering.

At least that's what he was telling himself as he pushed open the door of the bathroom he saw the fourth guard go through moments ago. As he rounded the corner into the main section several thoughts collided in his head in quick succession.

He processed the scene in front of him: a man in prison garb handing a sheaf of paper to that fourth guard.

He watched as they turned to see him.

He saw their faces run through the scene as well; surprise at his presence, anger at his intrusion, and the realization that he saw what they were doing.

He recognized that he had done a lot more than a bit more intel gathering.

He was screwed.


The whistle signalled the team's presence and they took the stairs quickly. They lined up in front of the table and Callen nodded at Eric to begin.

"So I built an algorithm and we waded through all the suspects, taking into account their banking, purchases, travel…"

Callen waved at Eric, "This time, skip to the good bit."

Eric nodded, realizing he was kind of babbling anyway. "His name is Herb Lawrence." He tapped the screen of his tablet, sending a picture up to the screen. "He seems to be the epicentre of this group. We had to dig, but we found four offshore accounts in their names." He tapped again and three more faces appeared.

Nell pointed to each of them "Meet Luke, Liam, Chris, and Herb. All four are guards and all four have very healthy retirement plans." The balances of the accounts appeared below their names.

"The money comes from an account whose holder we haven't quite identified yet and goes into Herb's account. He then transfers everyone else's cut to their account." Eric added.

"What else do we know about them?" Sam asked, arms crossed.

Eric and Nell shared a rapid look. Eric answered, "All four are on duty today, and they're the only four guards in the wing where Deeks is."

"How long do you need to confirm that these are the suspects?" Callen narrowed his eyes as he peered at the screen.

"I'm not sure. We also don't know who they're working with yet." Eric's shoulders sagged a bit. He hated not having all the answers, but Nell had asserted that they had enough for an update.

Callen turned to face Kensi and Sam. "We have enough to question them on having these accounts."

Kensi frowned, "It might tip our hand."

"It'll also give Eric the time to get the final pieces of evidence." Eric's shoulders straightened at Callen's words.

"Either way, it's enough to move closer to the prison, set up a forward operating base." Sam made the decision.

As the three agents headed out of the room, Callen asked Eric to update Granger.


Granger had sorted through the whole stack of files on the persons of interest and was left with a much smaller stack than when he started – there were only six of them now. He was beginning his third time through them, trying to narrow it down to the final four when his phone buzzed. He answered it, mindful of the people sitting at the other table.

"Yes?" He kept his voice low.

Eric came over the line and quickly explained what they had learned. Granger looked at the names on the labels of the files and realized he'd been very close to discovering the same thing. He kept his responses to short sentences as Eric laid out how all four guards were on patrol in Deeks' wing presently. He told Eric he'd call back soon and yanked the four files out.

This time, when he went through them he knew exactly what he was looking for. He further confirmed what Eric and Nell had found and added his own evidence. The files were quickly jammed into his rolling file box and he clipped the locks shut after he quietly dumped his laptop on top. He made an excuse to the auditor and his audience about stretching his legs and left the room. Some long strides brought him right to the door of the warden. He ignored the surprised squeak of his secretary and went right into his office. With the door locked behind him, he fixed the warden with a stare.

"You have a serious problem."

The warden looked up from his desk in surprise. "Excuse me? Who are you?"

Granger paced in front of his desk. "I was brought in by our mutual friend, the man pouring over your books."

"You're not another accountant, are you?" At the shake of Granger's head, the warden sighed. "You're someone much higher up." Granger nodded. "How much trouble am I in, should I be drafting a resignation letter?"

Granger tipped his head to the side. "Depends on how the next few hours play out. I need full access to the prison and a team of your most trusted guards."

The warden scrawled some names on a paper. He called his secretary into his office. "Gloria, I need these four in my office right now. Tell them I want to brief them on a new inmate." She gave Granger a look, but left the room without a word. The warden scrubbed a hand down his face. "What's the problem?"

"Smuggling."

His brows crinkled, "Every prison has a problem with smuggling, it tends to go in waves. I thought we had it down to a manageable level."

Granger shook his head. "Not smuggling in, smuggling out. Four of the guards are aiding a terrorist organization."

A look of despair came over the warden; his shoulders sagged, he frowned, and his eyelids dropped. "Even being incarcerated doesn't stop these men." He looked up at Granger. "Can we end it?"

"We're going to do whatever it takes. Do you have a problem with that?"

The warden rolled up his sleeve to show off a faded tattoo on his forearm. "I served, I've seen what they do up close. Do what you have to, I'll tell the doc to get some beds ready, he fought them too."

Granger shoved his hands in his pockets. "One other thing, and you're not going to like it. There's an undercover agent working this from the other side."

"He's here as an inmate, isn't he." It was a question, but the warden already knew the answer – Granger's confirming nod was unnecessary. He grunted. Rolling his shoulders, he straightened his back. "What do you need me to do?"

"The rest of the team is on their way, they'll follow up."

Four men walked into the room and the secretary closed the door behind them. The warden stood and nodded at each one. "Gentlemen, you're here because I trust you completely. We have rats within our ranks. This man" he pointed to Granger "is the exterminator. You're to assist him in every way possible. Understood?" He was greeted with a chorus of 'yes sirs'. "Good. Happy hunting." With that, he sat down and the five men left his office.


The thundering coming from the staircase signalled to Hetty that the team was on the move. She moved over to their desks as they rifled through their drawers.

"Grab what you need and meet outside in 10. It's a long drive and we need to get on the road." Callen's voice was muffled but it carried to Kensi and Sam who grunted in agreement. The three looped around their desks but were brought up short by Hetty's presence.

"And where are you going?" Hetty asked mildly, hands clasped behind her back.

Callen halted and Kensi and Sam flanked him. "We're going to back up Deeks" Callen stated.

"That's a long ways to go." Hetty peered up at her team leader.

A spark flared in Callen's eyes and he set his jaw. Hetty recognized that look. It was the look he got when he had decided to what to do and nothing anyone said would change his mind. It usually preceded him wandering off and going all lone wolf. She peered at the other two standing behind him. The clench of their jaw matched his own.

"Do you think we shouldn't go?" There was a challenge in Callen's voice.

Hetty raised her brows at the question. She unclasped her hands and waved one. "No, no, no." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "I think that driving there is an unnecessary waste of time, especially when there is a helicopter waiting at this address to fly you there." She handed over the paper and watched their jaws unclench. "It will still take some time, but much, much less."

Callen took the paper. "Thanks Hetty, we'll bring him back."

She raised a finger. "Preferably in one piece."

"On it." Sam grinned as he strode past.

Kensi smiled and followed the partners. Hetty turned and watched them prepare to go into battle and silently wished them luck.