Chapter 9-Under
The lyrics belong to their authors respectively
Christine Deeks sat on the sofa in the living room thinking about Hetty's visit few days prior. She replayed every word in hear head more than once, trying to understand what was Hetty's intention. She spoke indefinite sentences and it was almost like she was trying to send her a hidden message.
Once every week Rocky, her second husband played cards with his friends. They used that time of the week to see each other and to do something that pleased them all and that Tuesday, 20th of January 2015 was the day for them playing cards.
Rocky Ellison was a former LAPD Sergeant Detective. She met him on the day her son shot his father. He took their statements and he was the leading detective on that investigation. He concluded that Marty acted in self-defense and that there was no need for charges to be filed. That was the time they actually started seeing each other as more than just officer of the law and victim in the case.
First, Rocky would visit her as a friend, concerned that Gordon John Brandel would come back and finish the job, but he never came. He was busy going to jail every few months.
Few years after the initial event that got them together Rocky told her that Gordon had died in prison. That was back in 1998. Somehow she felt empty after his death, but she quickly let go off that. She loved him once. They never divorced. She knew she should be relieved by his death, yet she wasn't. They lived separately for almost 8 years and there wasn't anything that connected her to that man except Marty, but Marty was long gone, too.
And then the marriage offer came out of the blue. Rocky told her that he knew what she's been through and that he wanted her to be his wife. That he loves her and that she'll be his queen.
Christine was afraid to marry him, considering her experience as married woman, but when she saw how much Rocky loved her and respected her, she accepted.
And she wasn't disappointed. It was one decision in life that she made that she wasn't sorry about. He treated her like his equal. He always did something romantic. He bought her flowers, clothes, he was indeed treating her like queen. Like he promised. A man of word and deed.
Rocky knew that Marty left the house right after he shot Gordon. Christine never talked about her son and he respected that. He never asked about that time of her life. Eventually, she'd give him tidbits of what happened, but nothing more than he already knew. He didn't want to push the matter farther that where it was.
Rocky Ellison watched how Christine transformed throughout the years. When he met her she was bruised and battered, a weak woman. Now, she was beautiful again and healed. He wished he was on Marty's place when he shot the bastard, and instead of the shoulder, the bullet to hit his head.
Christine thought of all these things when she switched the TV on. She watched the news on ZNN TV. She almost screamed as she saw her son's face on the screen.
"… earlier today detective Marty Deeks was kidnapped by a known arms dealer Michael Leland. He was found few hours ago, but it's very important to announce that Michael Leland escaped. Every one that knows where is he should call the LAPD hotline. The number should be displayed on the screen right about now. We will be back with more information…"
"Marty…"
Christine turned off the TV. She took her jacket and she left the house in a hurry. She forgot to leave a note, so she called her husband on the phone instead. She explained the situation to him. The next phone call was to Hetty.
"Ms. Lange?"
"Yes?"
"It's Christine. Where's my son? How is he?"
"Calm down Ms. Deeks. He is been taken to the hospital and he just got out of surgery. He'll be fine."
"I'll be there as soon as possible."
Christine pressed the gas pedal of the white Volvo and she was followed by series of blaring horns. She didn't give a damn. All that she wanted was to see her son.
She knew that she was mean to him and that she said things she still regretted, but she did that to protect him. She knew how mad Gordon could get and she wanted her son to live. She wanted him away from her and she succeeded. She knew that if Marty stayed in that house, he would've been killed by his father that hated him. She knew her son was strong and that he'd survive. The signs of that strength were still imprinted in the kitchen wall. Two bullet holes that Gordon left trying to kill her son. And now, 15 years later, Marty's life was in danger again. Christine promised to herself that she'll do everything to gain her son's love again.
On the radio was playing Daughtry's song "Undefeated". The lyrics reminded Christine of her past. It was like the past conspired against her.
"Hoooooope
Hooooope
Hoooooope
Swing left, swing right
Bruised and black-eyed, half alive
Bleeding, choking
Bent, not broken
Inside
And in this world of compromise
I hit every curb, every red light
Trying to keep both hands on the wheel
But through it all I'm…
Still undefeateeeeed
With my back against the ropes
Still undefeateeeeed
You can knock me down with body blows
But you cannot break my hooooope
Hoooope
Hoooope
Weak knees, can't stand
Raise up your hands
Don't walk away
Been sucker punched but I'm not down
My feet have never left the ground
It's a fight that I can fix
Like a cut that needs a stitch
And somehow through it all I stand
Still undefeateeeeeed
With my back against the ropes
Still undefeateeeeed
You can knock me down with body blows
But you cannot break my hoooooope
Hooope
Hoooope
Cannot break my hooooope
Hoooope
Hoooope
Cannot break my hope
We're the ones who take the beating
Get back up and we're still breathing
We are the ones
We'll take the hit straight to the face
And never look the other way
We are the ones
Still undefeated
With our backs against the ropes
We're still undefeateeeed
We'll break these chains
To let them know
They cannot break our hoooope
Hoooope
Hoooope
They cannot break our hooooope
Hoooope
Hoooope
They cannot break our hope
They can break us down but they can't break our hope."
…
Kensi held onto the dashboard as Hope passed through the traffic like a lightning. She was driving worse than Deeks, but Hope reminded her of herself when she was like walking on nails. The song on the radio was completely unknown to Kensi, but she heard Hope actually sing it.
"Don't burry me
Don't let me down
Don't say it's over
'Cause that would send me under
Underneath the ground
Don't say those words
I want to live, but your words can murder
Only you can send me under, under, under."
Kensi thought about how much stressed Hope must be that she could sing out loud while they were headed for the house where a lunatic possibly held Deeks? On a scale of one to ten, maybe 15. Kensi knew how much Hope loved Deeks. She knew him barely a month, but for Hope, Deeks was like the big brother she never had.
"I sing to myself when I'm nervous, it that's what you wanted to ask me." Said Hope and interrupted Kensi's thoughts.
Kensi opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. How (the hell) did Hope knew what she was thinking?
On the radio came the song "Crawling Back to You" by Daughtry. Kensi jumped in her seat as Hope nearly crossed on the other side of the road in an attempt to take over a red Chevy Camaro. The driver blared the horn and cursed, as Hope was speeding up.
"I don't think that the guy in the red Camaro will buy you a drink anytime soon." Joked Kensi.
"Even if he said something about a drink, I wouldn't have accepted his offer either." Said Hope.
Soon, both of them spotted the house. It was little over 5 p.m. and the night was slowly stepping in. Hope knew that at this time of the year in Macedonia would be full of snow, and the traffic would be like a mush, but this was LA and the weather was warm. It rained a little, but the air was warm.
Hope stopped the car and got out of it. So did Kensi. Hope saw the SWAT team that helped them earlier today in Marina Del Rey. She heard engine behind her and she saw Sam's Challenger SRT pull in the driveway.
"What's the plan?" asked Hope.
"Well," the head of the SWAT team spoke "we were thinking of a way how to approach the house. We have the front and the back door, no basement. Access points from the fire stairs and the roof. One team will go through the fire stairs, another from the roof. You can cover the front and the back door."
"Hope you and Kensi go through the front door. I'll go through the back door. Let's not lose Tanevski this time." Said Sam.
…
(From Chapter 8)
Deeks staggered forward. He managed to grab the stairs railing. Just as he turned to hit Tanevski with his left hand folded into a fist, Tanevski managed to back away and to prevent Deeks' blow. That made Deeks strike in empty space and it gave Tanevski the leverage he needed. He punched Deeks on the face. Deeks felt sharp pain in the left side of his face. He felt blood dripping from it. He lost his grip of the railing as he held his bleeding cheek. His right leg slipped.
…
Deeks lost his balance and fell down the stairs. He felt something crack during the fall. He wasn't sure if it was his body that cracked or it was the wooden stairs. He hit the wall with his head. He saw stars the moment he hit the wall. He tried to move his hands and to get up, but that didn't happen. Instead he stayed like glued on the floor. The first thing that came out of his mouth before he passed out was "Kensi".
Tanevski saw the detective roll over to the floor. He never wanted this to happen, but he wouldn't give up. He insisted on fighting and he needed to be punished. He put his hand on Deeks' neck to check his pulse. It was weak. He leaned his head to hear Deeks' breathing. It was shallow and steady. He thought of picking him up and disappear along with him and the weapons, but that's when he heard sirens approaching. He hit him few more times before he took off through the door that led to the garage.
…
Hope, Kensi and Sam split and each of them covered their part along with the SWAT team. Soon the LAPD received the call and they sent two patrol cars.
Hope covering the east entrance of the house along with Kensi, burst through the door. The door cracked loudly and Kensi opened her mouth in amusement at the force with which Hope kicked the door. Tomboy style. She reminded Kensi of herself once again. She found few common characteristics with the young woman that wanted to stay tough and acted like she was tough, when in fact she was fragile in nature.
Hope took the first door right and then the first left. There wasn't anyone in those rooms. In fact there was so much dust that Hope concluded no one entered in those rooms with years.
And now the million dollars question: How come arms dealer like Tanevski take care of his house on such a low level?
Kensi went on the left checking the bedroom and the bathroom. She found personal belongings on the counter. A tooth brush, a tooth paste, cologne, perfume, razor blade, soap and shiny golden Rolex. In the bedroom she found few expensive Armani suits, dozens of shirts and three pairs of shoes, also expensive. However, she didn't find a gun which they were sure Tanevski owned. The nine-mill he used to kill David Lucas.
Sam checked the perimeter around the house on the west side, and then kicked the back door. He checked every blind angle in the house, but there was no one hiding in the house. As he slowly approached the living room he noticed drag marks on the floor. He thought of a possible fight going on between Deeks and Tanevski. That's when he saw a pair of shoes.
Kensi was checking the desk drawer in Tanevski's bedroom hoping that she'll find the gun when she heard Sam screaming over the com "Officer down!" She got out of the room immediately and she found Sam kneeling beside Deeks' body. He wasn't moving. A tight knot formed in her stomach as she slowly approached Sam and Deeks.
And for the situation to be scarier than it was already, Hope screamed when she saw Deeks lying on the ground on his stomach. She noticed the red stain on his hair and that made the actual impression worse.
Sam took Hope by her shoulders to calm her down. "He's breathing." was all that he said. That seemed to take its effect and Hope finally calmed down. She was prepared to expect the worst, but she always hoped that Deeks will walk unharmed from all of this. Then she turned toward Kensi that let her guard down and was crying rivers praying Deeks to not leave her alone.
The paramedics arrived very soon and Hope, Kensi and Sam had to move aside to leave them to do their job. Hope wrapped her arms around Kensi and both of them cried in despair. Sam wanted to cry too, but he knew he won't do any good to both women with him crying. If they saw him cry, they might lose it. He already showed his feeling this afternoon when he waited for news about Callen, and he was careful not to do the same here.
The medic approached Deeks and checked his pulse. It was weak, 30-40 beats per minute. He carefully placed the neck protector and turned Deeks on his back. The other medic helped him to place Deeks on the stretcher. Sam saw Deeks' face and its mind flew back to Deeks' face after they were saved from that body shop. His lips were split and swollen. His left cheek was torn and had an inch long gap. Judging by the blow on the head he noticed earlier, Deeks probably had a concussion. He hadn't the slightest idea about the other injuries, but Deeks needed the time to recover. Sam sighed heavily as the paramedics took Deeks out of the house and into the ambulance.
Kensi followed them silently without uttering a word. Hope was afraid that Kensi will withdraw to herself now that Deeks was injured, and she screamed for help. But, Hope knew that she won't let anyone near her to help her. Kensi climbed in the ambulance and the ambulance left.
Sam followed the ambulance with the Challenger, while Hope stayed at the house to wait for the forensic team. Even if it wasn't a dead body they found, still the house needed to be processed. It was odd why she wouldn't go in the hospital, but they didn't know her story.
Hope sat on the doorstep and she inhaled deeply. She exhaled and cradled her head in her hands. She played the film she once watched, few years back when she lost someone she loved. As the memories haunted her, Tanevski waited in the garage for everyone to leave, so he can take off.
He checked outside and there wasn't any sign of people. And then it hit him like a rock. She was sitting on the doorstep and she was looking into the horizon. He recognized her immediately. How could he forget her face when he almost killed her? Yet, he killed someone that was with her. Now, it dawned on him that the Inspector from God knows where, was the same woman he once ran off on the streets of Bitola. She was there to bring justice for her and for him. Tanevski quickly returned to the garage and packed the weapons in the Escalade. He drove off.
Hope heard revving engine and she immediately jumped and cleared her thoughts. She drew out her weapon. She searched the perimeter around the house and she saw the garage door wide open, the Escalade gone. She aimed the gun to shoot at the car, but as the car's lights faded off in the night she lost her aim. She called Sam.
"Hey, I just heard a sound, and when I checked the garage door was open. Then I noticed the Escalade. Tanevski just slipped out of my hands."
"There wasn't a way to know he was still there Hope. We searched for him, we even looked there, but he wasn't in the garage."
"Then how…"
"I don't know. We'll find him Hope." Sam reassured her.
Hope ended the call and she once more let her thoughts drift to the place where she was in 2007.
…
Kensi held Deeks' hand in her hands and she prayed for him to open up his eyes. She was scared as hell when she saw his face. She counted a bruise on the side of the head, his cheek had an inch long gap, and his lips were split and swollen. He looked like he just got out of a fight with Rambo. The medic removed the jacket Hetty gave it to him carefully. Under it, Kensi spotted defensive wounds on his arms when his shirt was pulled. His left arm was broken from the fall through the stairs. He must've had other injuries, as well, but she couldn't see them right away. She stifled a scream when the medic pulled Deeks' t-shirt above his torso to check for other injuries. He had a large bruise on his left side and his stomach felt hard on touch.
"Internal bleeding." he said, as he checked Deeks' vitals.
Deeks' BP was low and his heart rate increased.
"He's losing blood and we need to get to the hospital fast!" the medic yelled.
"Speeding up!" came the answer of the driver.
Kensi found herself pleading so Deeks can stay with her. Too many people walked out of her life or died and she couldn't afford to lose her partner and boyfriend, per se. Not now, when they finally moved forward.
They arrived at the hospital. A standby trauma team waited for them in the ER. They took over the stretcher that held Deeks' body. The medics told them his situation and they left to another call of duty. Kensi walked beside the stretcher as the team rushed Deeks through the door that led to the operating room. There, they stopped her. Dr. John Gates spoke with a deep voice.
"Sorry Ma'am, but you are not allowed in that area. Wait here."
Kensi managed to say "Okay", but she was frustrated she was held back. And she was boiling inside.
"His blood type is AB Positive!" She yelled, as the doctor with salt-and-pepper hair vanished into the operation room.
She faced one of the hardest times in her life after her father's death and Jack's abandonment. She looked the death right into the eyes, while Deeks struggled for his life. If he died…
"Don't you even think about it Kens." She heard a familiar voice speaking behind her. She turned around to see Sam.
He took her in his arms and he held her like that for a few moments. Kensi let her emotions to surface. She cried in his shoulder, as Sam was stroking her hair.
…
Deeks was unconscious for more than half an hour when he was brought in the ER. He felt coldness and he tasted iron in his mouth. He thought it was from the blood he swallowed when Tanevski hit his lips, but that was on the outside. Then he felt sharp pain in his stomach and he felt sick. He wanted to throw up, but he couldn't stand up to do that. What he didn't know was that he wasn't conscious.
The doctors fought for his life on the table. He kept getting in shock and out of it. They had trouble to keep his pulse on a steady level. The hemorrhage was bad and they needed to stop the bleeding before they lost him right there.
And then it happened. His heart stopped.
…
Deeks drove the red Malibu through a dark tunnel. He was driving for a few minutes now, and he couldn't see its end. Every now and then he would see pictures hanged on both sides of the tunnel. It started with him as a baby, then the pictures from his first birthday, when actually Gordon John Brandel smiled on one of them. He always wanted the people to call him John Gordon, not Gordon John. The pics went on and on and then Deeks saw a pic from his 6th birthday. It was the day when it all started. Then he saw pictures of him beaten, his eyes swollen, his arm broken… Picture of the moment Gordon missed twice when he fired the shotgun. Deeks thought, who the hell took picture of this event?
The following pictures were related to Deeks living on the streets of LA for a few months before he found a place to live just before he turned 12. He managed to go to school and work at the same time. After two years and 24/7 school-work-home schedule, Deeks earned enough money for college. He finished elementary with straight A's and he went to Reseda High School. He didn't know anyone there, so he could come and go without the risk of being noticed and to be pointed out as the kid that got beaten by his dad, or the kid that shot his dad.
During the years he spent in the house of Gordon Brandel, he lost some weight. On the night it all happened he weighed barely 30 kilograms. He was tall and skinny. You could've counted every bone, because his skin was translucent and the bones peeked through it. He even had headaches and vomited a lot. He thought that was because of Gordon's treatment. After he abandoned his home, scratch that, Gordon's home, he gained weight and he changed looks. He always was a beautiful child with the ocean blue eyes and fluffy hair, but after he got out of that house, he was more beautiful than ever. Every girl in Reseda High had a crush on him, but he couldn't let anyone near him. He was too afraid to let someone in his life, let alone a girl. He built a shell around him and kept it that way for the most part of his life. Well, until he met Kensi. He had few brief relationships through the years, but the brunette took his heart the moment he saw her in that MMA gym.
Next in line were the pictures of his graduation. Then the pics when he got the letter that informed him he'd been admitted to Law School. Then the struggle he had with college. His saved money vanished in the first semester and then he was forced to do all kinds of things for little money. The picture where he was as an exotic dancer made him flinch. That was one period of his life as a student that he wanted to forget. His graduation from Law School, his education at the Police Academy, his job at the Office of the Public Defender, all of it was perfectly framed on the walls.
Then there were all cases he worked on throughout his career. He smiled at the picture in the bar when Hetty offered him the job.
All in all, the tunnel was getting larger and larger as he moved forward with the Malibu. He asked himself why there weren't any other cars in the tunnel, and why it was full of pictures of him and his life.
…
Doctor Gates was trying to do something to get Deeks back, but his heart just stopped, He tried every way of CPR, but that didn't help. He stared at the pale face of the detective that lay on his operating table and at the sight of him, his eyes filled with tears. He was a young man and he deserved to live. He forced himself to look at his watch and to declare the TOD.
"Patient's time of death, 10:30 p.m. 20th of January 2015."
…
He stopped at the picture that presented his first meeting with Kensi. He touched the picture and it felt so vivid, like it happened yesterday. Next to it was hanged a frame that had video on it, instead of a photograph. It was their Christmas kiss.
Deeks continued with his ride. He saw a bright spot in the center of the tunnel. As he sped up the spot enlarged and quickly became a big white circle that blinded Deeks. Some voice inside Deeks' head told him to pull over before he crossed the white circle. He did that and he managed to stop the Chevy Malibu an inch in front of the white circle. He got out of the car and looked in the circle. His eyes hurt from the whiteness of it.
Deeks realized that he was in a way deciding his future on that road. He didn't know what lay in front of him beyond the white circle, but he knew what lay behind him, in the life he had till now. He chose his life and he entered the Malibu. As soon as he started the engine he realized that the white circle was the light on the end of the tunnel.
…
Almost 5 hours passed since the doctors took Deeks in surgery. Kensi paced up and down the hallway clearly upset because no one was telling her how was he doing. Every now and then a nurse would come out of the operation room, but like always they got nothing to tell, except "The doctor will tell you everything you need to know when he's finished." Finally, at 11 p.m. doctor Gates showed up and all of them including, Hetty, Eric, and Nell surrounded the doctor with questions.
"Your colleague is fine. He pulled through the surgery, but his state is still critical. We need to wait 24 hours before I come up with a conclusion. He is in ICU and for now you can see him through the glass. I won't allow anyone near him for now."
Sam could tell that the doctor was holding something back from his face expression.
"Something happened during the surgery Doc?"
John Gates was stunned at how the big guy figured something was wrong from just one look at his face.
"His heart stopped on the table. He was dead for 15 minutes. But, we were able to save his life."
They all took their time to let the news lie down. The fact that Deeks actually died, and came back send shivers down their bodies.
"What about his injuries?"
"As you could all see his cheek was pretty badly injured, it actually took us 20 minutes to sew the wound. His left arm is broken in a few places. He has 3 fractured ribs. He knocked his head pretty bad in the wall during the fall and that led to concussion. We made CAT scan and x-ray, but everything is okay. He'll have headaches for a while, but that's normal for this type of injuries. We stopped the bleeding, but he lost a lot of blood, so he will be weak for some time. He needs a lots of rest and I want you to know that I'll keep him here until he is ready to walk out of that door by himself and he'll be cleared from active duty until I say otherwise."
"Thank you doctor."
Doctor Gates left the team in the hall.
They all sat down in the plastic chairs, except Hetty that was pacing up and down the hallway. She took Kensi's role at doing that. God knows what was in Hetty's mind when she stopped and she took out her cell phone. She dialed Hope's number. On the third ring she picked up.
"Hello Ms. Brandel."
"Hi, Hetty. What's up?"
"Mr. Deeks got out of surgery. I thought you would like to know that."
"Thanks Hetty." She said, sadness in her voice.
"Why didn't you come to the hospital Hope?"
Hope held her cell in her hands while hot tears streamed down her face, the pain of it all coming back again.
"Because the last time I was in a hospital, someone I cared about deeply died." she choked out on her tears before ending the call, letting out a strangled sob.
Hetty stood still for a moment before she came back to the hall.
"Ms. Jones, Mr. Beale, you can go home now. Same goes to you Ms. Blye and you Mr. Hanna."
"Night Hetty." Nell and Eric spoke at the same time.
"I'm not going anywhere Hetty." Kensi said determined.
"Ms. Blye, I think that Ms. Brandel will need you tonight. You can do much more for Mr. Deeks if you talk to her, than to stay here all night. You can come back in the morning. I will be here in case something happens."
"Okay." said Kensi, knowing that Hetty won't stop until she crossed the threshold and was out of the hospital. She hated to leave Deeks in the hospital, but she had to admit that Hetty was right.
"I'll go check on G, before I go home Hetty."
'Good."
…
After all of them were gone, Hetty sat in one of the chairs and she let her mind drift to the moment when she first noticed the blue eyed blonde detective. Many years before he even knew she was there. She was well known between the cops as the little ninja savior, because she saved their asses more than one time.
One day when she left Lt. Bates' office she noticed the shaggy detective. He wore black leather jacket, green tee and well-worn jeans. His hair was unruly like he never put a comb through it. He left his badge and the gun on his desk and he started writing the daily report. The day was rainy and she could see that detective Deeks was like the weather, moody.
She knew from Bates' words that he just got back from an undercover assignment that didn't play well. His predecessor, Mark Soriano had called off the op that was supposed to take down a chain of illegal arms dealing. He quit not long after that, and Bates took over his place. He was Deeks' new supervisor and he liked the kid very much from the beginning.
The day was January 8th 2007.
…
