"Okay," Kensi agreed. After a moment she began to chuckle. "Sounds like a code to our relationship or something."
Deeks smirked. "Well if it is, let's make it rule number one." He pressed a firm and long kiss to her hair. "Get some sleep, Fern. It's going to be a long trip."
Kensi awoke to the absence of rain and the stillness of the train. Deeks's relaxed breathing was still steady beneath her, his breath tickled her ear. She turned on her side, getting a glimpse of the pitch black night outside. The events of the day came rushing back in a burst of adrenaline that sent her heart beating wildly out of control.
Blown operation. Shoot out. Train ride. New life waiting for them in New York City.
New life…kind of. It was what Hetty expected them to do when they got there. What else were they to use all the information given to them for? How long was the real question, and Kensi had a sinking feeling in her gut when the answer came to her.
"Hey, you awake?" Came a question from right behind her.
"Yeah, barely. What time is it?"
Deeks checked his watch and reported that it was shortly after three in the morning. She wasn't sure if they were out of California yet, or if they were truly safe. The train jerked back to life, knocking Kensi back into reality.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep," Kensi admitted, sitting up in the seat. "Not until we're in the clear. Not until we know how Nell and the others are."
"Well, in the meantime, how does some hot chocolate sound? Come on, let's hit the dining car," Deeks said with a nudge and a half-sincere smile.
"What the hell do you think is going on?" Callen broke the silence after witnessing the two younger agents on the team disappear among the clutter in the train yard.
"I don't know, but Nell has a lot more explaining to do when we get back."
Callen and Sam turned to leave, heading back towards the Challenger parked in the alley across the road. It wasn't until Callen stepped on an empty shell casing when he posed the next question: "Do you think we should check out their places? Maybe put some security measures in and try to catch whomever may be after them?"
Sam shrugged. "It can't hurt. Let's check out Deeks's place first, he lives closer to here."
The two partners made their way across town, their cell phones ringing the whole way from various people at the ops center wondering what the hell was going on. For now, they ignored it. Dealing with paperwork and procedures would have to do after they took care of every last detail for Kensi and Deeks.
They surveyed the area around Deeks's apartment for any sign of trouble before actually approaching the residence. Even then, Sam was very adamant about parking the car a block away. The partners had already been told that the original operation had not intended for their liaison officer to participate, but one could never be too careful in this business. Sam and Callen let themselves into it, not sure what they were about to find.
Almost immediately, they were greeted by vehement barking accompanied by the sound of anxious feet pattering on the carpeted ground. Callen bent down to give Monty a friendly greeting, while Sam realized that somebody had been here, just not any assailant. A pair of women's sneakers were in the mix in the basket by the door. It didn't take a genius to figure out the owner.
"You do realize that somebody's gonna have to take him, right?" Sam asked, also giving Monty a nice scratch between the ears.
"Oh yeah? It's not going to be me. Haven't we already talked about this?"
"My daughter's allergic. What's your excuse?"
As somewhat expected, the federal agents failed to find any evidence that somebody other than Deeks had been here recently at first glance. Sam and Callen began checking in lampshades, under tables, and everywhere else they could think of for bugs and or video cameras. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until the partners checked the bedroom.
Half of Deeks's open closet was filled with clothes that obviously belonged to a female, only accompanied by extra pairs of shoes lying about and a few pieces of jewelry lying about on one of the bedside tables.
Sam and Callen shared a meaningful look.
"No. No way," G insisted.
"C'mon, we've been saying it for years…are you surprised?"
"Deeks with Kensi yes, but…Kensi with Deeks?"
The Navy SEAL chuckled. "Relationships do tend to go both ways. If you'd have more of them you would know."
"Jo and I are fine, that's not the issue here."
"So you think there's an issue here?" Sam pressed, falling into defense of the two partners. He went back to what they were supposed to be doing, and Callen followed suit. "We don't even know if they're really together."
"Think about it, Sam. They had no problem flirting in front of us before. Then suddenly they stop completely? It's because they were checking themselves for it." Before he could rebut, Callen continued, "And, check this out."
Sam's attention was pulled from sweeping under the bed to see Callen shoving a framed photo in his face. The two of them were standing on a snow-dusted balcony, a mountain spilling out behind them. Kensi had her hand resting on his chest. While she was smiling at the camera, Deeks was smiling purely at her, his eyes glimmering. It was a beautiful photo no doubt.
"And again I ask, do you see an issue?"
"They haven't worked purely objectively before."
"Nobody can work in this business without emotion getting in the way."
Callen put his hands on his hips, eyeing his partner. "You don't see an issue?"
"This is Kensi and Deeks we're talking about. They've been coworkers for almost five years. Both are highly trained federal agents. If they felt their relationship was going to threaten either of their lives, Deeks would walk back to LAPD. Trust me."
"He might. But do you think he would really leave her with a new partner? All I'm saying is that it could get messy real quick."
Sam flexed his knuckles, watching Callen resume his work. "Michelle and I didn't."
Callen turned around and examined Sam's expression. He took a breath, realizing the way his words had sounded. "I'm not saying that I'm against Kensi and Deeks and their…thing. But everything I just said is exactly what Hetty and Granger are going to think."
"I think right now, we have to do whatever we can to protect them," Sam said, the tension releasing from his shoulders. "Which means doing a hell of a lot more than just sweeping their apartment for bugs."
Callen nodded in agreement. "Somebody gave Kensi up, and we gotta find out who."
The two partners had returned from checking out Kensi and Deeks's apartments about two hours after they had vanished from sight in the train yard. Of course this time, they were accompanied by Monty, not a completely foreign part of the mission scene. However, there was a significantly different air to the Office of Special Projects when Callen and Sam did walk back in.
People were in utter silence around the office. Hetty was in her office with Eric and Nell, watching as both of them worked away at her personal computer. Another team of four agents briefly nodded at Sam and Callen as they briskly walked by, obviously about to go out and work a case.
"What's going on?" Callen asked, approaching Hetty's office.
"Precautions," she replied grimly.
"As far as anyone else knows right now, Kensi and Deeks are missing. We put out a report among this agency, so they're being looked for," Nell said. "Of course you two are lead investigators on their disappearance. Hopefully this'll give us time to actually help them."
"And where do we start?" Sam inquired.
Nell handed him a large file, one that was handed to her from Granger several weeks ago. "Get reading. They took out the entirety of the last task force that tried to disband VOAM. They're going to find Kensi and Deeks sooner or later, which means we're picking up the case before they do."
