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And There He Was…Gone.
Chapter 10
Sam and Callen walked into the room where Tiffany had been sitting by herself for about half an hour. The FBI executed a flawless raid and had grabbed her and the rest of the crew at their apartment. Each member was separated and the interrogations had started immediately. Tiffany was refusing to talk and just kept asking for her lawyer. This tactic was not sitting well with Callen.
He approached her and slammed his fist on the table to get her attention. When he spoke he did so in a very calm and controlled manner.
"Tiffany is it, or should I call you Tanya? Do you care?"
She just rolled her eyes, shook her and replied "What ever."
"Tanya it is. Listen we don't have a great deal of time to play good cop, bad cop or I want my lawyer or any other of those silly little games we all tend to enjoy so much. So I'm going to make this very simple for you. Two options to pick from; first, the one I like the most, is that you help us to find our friends, we help you with the jail time and off we go. Win – win, right?"
She just shook her head.
"The second option really helps neither one of us. You will force us to find our friends some other way, now did I mention that they are both like family to us? Maybe I didn't. Anyways, I digress, yes back to you. Since you would have refused to help us, we will release you. Yes you heard correctly, we will let you walk out that door."
G stopped for effect and looked over at Sam.
"Sam I think she likes that. She is smiling. Tiff…I mean Tanya wasn't smiling before, so I think we have a winner with option two."
"Really, you're just going to let me walk?" She tilted her head and just stared at G.
"Yup. We will even give you a ride home so all your friends can see that we returned you safe and sound. We will thank you for your cooperation and then leave."
"No, no you're not. I'm dead if you do that. Book me, throw me in jail, I don't care. But don't take me home."
"Tanya, see I remembered this time, you weren't listening. You only have two options and that's not one of them."
"Now, we are in a bit of a hurry so you have thirty seconds to start talking or we take you home. I'm done waiting. The girl in the washroom and Jake are both federal agents and our friends and that make them our only priority."
By now Sam was angry and just couldn't stand by and let her waste time while Kensi and Deeks were still missing. "Talk!" he yelled.
"Federal agents, what are you talking about. Jake can't be a fed and she's some bimbo Jake was banging. I watched them together, they had history and chemistry, and you can't fake that. I ought to know, so you guys are lying."
"Listen Tiff, start providing details or we all go for a ride back to your place." Callen needed the info now and was out of patience. He grabbed her arm and started pulling out of the room.
"Ok, stop, but I want protection. Rico is crazy and will kill me when he finds out."
"Done. Now details." Sam demanded.
Tiffany recounted how she was instructed to go and wait in the washroom for Amanda. Rico was going to find a way to get her to come in there. Tiffany was to taser her first, and then inject her with a tranquilliser. Two of Rico's men would then take her out to a waiting car. The plan was to take both Deeks and Kensi to LA to a special place Rico liked to refer to as "Casa de Sangre" for his personal pleasure.
"Location." Barked Sam.
"Don't know. If you're a woman and you end up there you don't come out. I swear I don't know. East LA somewhere."
Tiffany was looking frazzled now. She was scared and knew there was no turning back.
"Eric did you get all that? Find this place."
"We're on it. Cross checking all the properties owned by any of the know Cartel members."
"Good. We are on the way back."
The two agents exited the room and headed for SSA Blair's office.
He had been glad to turn the search over to NCIS. They were not going to take a back seat when it came to finding their own people. Better to have them lead and coordinate everyone involved then have them going off on their own and then getting into a pissing contest over jurisdiction. This was about getting the two agents back alive and they all needed to remember that. Lucky for Kensi and Deeks, Blair had no hidden agenda and was totally committed to finding them. He was going to do the right thing for the right reasons. Strange as it seemed.
Callen and Sam walked into Blair's office to brief him on what they learned from Tiffany.
"We need to buy time. Throw this guy off his game. We must raid all of his know warehouses and drug houses here in San Diego and Las Vegas as quickly as possible. This will force him to re-group and deal with the problem." Callen was laying down the plan for the FBI before they headed back to LA.
Blair agreed.
"I have men in position at all these locations. With back up from the local police we should be able to take them down fast."
"Do it." And with that, the two NCIS agents headed for the helipad to catch their ride back to LA and hopefully some good news for the techno twins.
Rico was preparing to have himself one very enjoyable day. He was not going to rush this. Time must be taken to ensure every detail is just right and time was just what Rico had today.
"Jake, I think you need a better view of the show that is about to start. So we are going to move you over to the poles. They are in a very good spot and provide an exceptional vantage point.
Put a gun to her head, if he tries anything, shoot her." Was the instruction to the man now standing next to Kensi.
"Got that Jake?"
Deeks nodded, still focusing on Kensi trying to determine where her injuries are.
"Jake, you have a very worried look on your face." Rico was studying Deeks trying to determine how much he cared for this woman.
"Ah yes, the blood. Don't worry its only pig's blood, for effect. I wanted to give you a look into the future, just to set the mood. You know, wet the appetite. My appetite, that is." Rico grinned, apparently very pleased with himself.
Deeks was being chained to the poles as Rico was talking. His shirt had been remove and discarded. Through all this, Deeks had not taken his eyes off Kensi. His only glimmer of hope was the pig's blood. The bastard was playing with him.
"For now she is sedated, much easier to control. Very energetic this one." Pionting at Kensi
"Did you know that Amanda and I have met before?"
This surprised Deeks and Rico noticed.
"So she never told you, I see. Well let's just say we have some unfinished business to settle." Rico rubbed his nose as he remembered the events of that night.
Deeks could only imagine what Kensi did to this guy and since Rico was not happy about it, it must have been bad. That's my girl he thought.
Rico had made his way to the table filled with all of his sadistic toys and was running his fingers over the different pieces. He was almost in a trance, mumbling something to himself.
"What will I start with?"
"Who will I start with?"
Maybe he should alternate his attention between the two. Now there is a thought.
Smiling at his new plan, he picked up a small surgical knife and played with it in his hand.
Deeks had to do something. Things were about to escalate and help did not seem to be arriving any time soon.
"Let the girl go Rico. She's got nothing to do with this. You want me not her."
"Ah yes, always the gentlemen Mr. Thomas. But no, where would the fun be in that? She needs to stay."
"Rico, you're a sick bastard. You're pretty tough when it comes to a helpless women. Let's see how strong you are one on one with a man. Or are you just a little pussy?"
Deeks was talking through his teeth trying to get this guy to focus on him.
"Come on Rico, what's the problem? Afraid I'm going to kick your ass?"
Rico took two steps and was on Deeks fast with rapid punches to the torso.
"That all you got tough guy? Hell that scrawny girl over there hits harder."
Actually, Deeks wasn't kidding with that barb.
Rico was incensed at this point. He drove his fist into Deeks' stomach and then into the kidneys.
Breathing through his nose like an enraged bull Rico walked back to the table and grabbed the whip off the table.
"You want to play Jake, let's play. First we need to wake up your friend. I don't want her to miss any of the fun.
Get some cold water and wake that bitch up. The party is about to start."
Rico was barking orders at his men and they knew better than to hesitate when he was in this frame of mind.
Kensi was hit with a pail of cold water and she bolted straight up. Disorientated and still a little groggy she tried to focus on the scene around her.
Why couldn't she move her hands?
Why was she covered in blood and naked?
Deeks! Why is he chained to those posts?
Then it all hit her at once and she knew what was going on.
Her heart pounded with the adrenaline now pumping through her body overriding the drug still in her system. There was Rico standing near Deeks with a whip in his hands and the most evil grin Kensi has every seen.
"Welcome Amanda, remember me?"
She just stared at Rico with ice cold eyes.
"I will take that as a yes. As you can see you and your lover Jake are the guests of honour at this every special event."
Both Kensi and Deeks looked at each other when they heard the word "lover" seeming to reinforce Rico's statement.
Both wishing it were true.
Both wishing that they were actually lovers. Something that now seemed impossible to happen.
Rico cracked his whip and brought them back to reality.
"Shall we begin the festivities? What do say Jake, ready to show your woman how tough you are?"
The sentence was just out of Rico's mouth when the whip cut through Deeks' skin sending blood across the room.
The pain was so intense Deeks slumped, buckling at the knees.
Kensi just gasped in shock and horror.
"So you do care for this worthless piece of shit. Why? He is nothing but a LOSER." Yelling the last word at Kensi.
Rico was ramping up his anger and pacing back and forth behind Deeks getting ready to strike again, and strike again he did.
The scream that came from Deeks destroyed Kensi.
Helping him after he was tortured was agonising enough, watching him being tortured was totally unbearable and something she could not do. At this point in time she would do anything this lunatic asked.
Kensi could not withstand a single second more of this.
With tears running down her face, she whispered "Please stop."
"What was that Amanda? I didn't hear you."
"I said, please stop. I'll do whatever you want." This time it was a little louder and Deeks heard it as well. He would not let her sacrifice herself for him.
"Don't listen to her. She's weak, just a weak woman afraid of her own shadow. You want a fight? Come on, you little pussy. Bring it."
Deeks was baiting Rico to take the focus of Kensi.
But Rico was locked on her.
"What makes you think I want anything from you? Maybe I just want you to watch as I have a little fun with your man."
Kensi still had her head down with tears dripping into her lap.
The sight was a thousand times worse than the pain Deeks was feeling.
But he was helpless to do anything about it.
"Well, well, well, this is better than my wildest dreams. Boys are you enjoying this as much as I am? I hope so because we are just getting started."
Rico's men just chuckled and nodded their heads in agreement.
As Rico walked back to the table to select the next instrument of pain for Deeks, in walked Pablo with a cell phone in his hand.
"Rico you need to take this."
"What did I tell you about interrupting me? It better be good?"
"It's your uncle, he wants to talk to you now."
Grabbing the phone from Pablo's hand, Rico answered "yes."
He listened intently for about a minute without saying a word. His face dropped and the anger in his eyes grew with every second that past.
Both Deeks and Kensi watched closely trying to determine what was going on.
Finally Rico replied "Understood. I am on my way."
He dropped the knife he had selected just moments ago and turned toward the door.
"Pablo, we need to go now. Where is Domingo? Find him. He needs to babysit these two until I return."
Stopping and turning to face them he grunted "Make yourself comfortable, I'll be back very soon."
They all left the room following Rico.
Within second Domingo walked back in with a scowl on his face.
Kensi just looked at Deeks, raising her eyebrows, sensing this was the opportunity they were looking for.
They must play this right. They only had one shot at it.
"Hey Domingo, are you back for round two?" Deeks taunted him, drawing his attention.
Kensi was busy working one of her arms loose. It wasn't tightened properly, a small mistake on their part.
Domingo walked over to Deeks and hit him hard in the ribs and then again in the face opening a gash on his cheek under his left eye.
The last punch stunned Deeks, sending him into a world of pain again.
Problem was Domingo wasn't finished yet.
He let another fist fly into the stomach followed by a left hook to the face.
Domingo was enjoying this.
"Payback is a bitch, huh Jake."
Deeks didn't hear a thing. His ears were ringing and his head was spinning, the pain was just too intense with no release in sight.
"Hey Dom, I'm getting really tired of you beating on my partner. I need you to stop now."
Domingo turned around a little confused and puzzled at what he just heard. As he was turning he still had the sense to reach for his gun but before he could level the weapon in the direction of the voice he felt a sharp pain in his chest and down he went.
Domingo hit the floor with a knife stuck in his chest. He was dead before impact.
Kensi ran over to Deeks to unhook him.
She didn't know how much time they had so she had to hurry.
"Deeks stay with me. I'm going to get you out of here. Please, please just stay with me."
She franticly worked to release him and lowered him slowly to the ground. The open cuts on his back were still bleeding, he probably had fractured ribs and a concussion but he was still coherent. That was a good sign, but they needed to move and now.
Seeing his shirt on the floor, she grabbed it and put it on. She wasn't going to run around the city half naked.
"Kens, you gotta get out of here. Go get help. I'll be fine, just go."
"Do you really think I'm going to leave you? Never again. Not going to happen. Let's go, try and walk. Come on, do it for me."
Holding his side, Deeks put his arm around Kensi' shoulders and they started to move, out the door and then down a long dimly lit hall. They didn't have a clue where they were going, just working on instinct and moving as quick as they could. They could see a metal gate up ahead and daylight just beyond it. Reaching the gate they pushed on it just to find it locked.
"Damn." Kensi swore slamming her hands against the bars of the gate.
Looking around Kensi spotted an alcove just a few feet way.
"Deeks, I need you to trust me here. Come on let's get you over to this alcove. I want you to stay here for a minute. I'm going back and search Domingo for the keys. He has to have them. It's the only way out."
"Go, go, I'll be here when you get back."
She just looked into his eyes, cupped his face in her hands and placed a quick kiss on his lips. She didn't know why she did this, only that it felt right doing it.
"Don't move, you got it? I'll be right back."
He nodded and she was gone, running down that long hallway.
Deeks was propped against the wall concentrating not on his wounds but on the kiss that she had just placed on his lips.
Something had changed between them and it was good. It was also something to build on. They just needed to get out of this hell hole.
Seeing a shadow down the hallway, Deeks looked up to see a figure approaching him, but why was she moving so tentatively toward him? Her arms were raised pointing something at him. Why?
He then realizes that it wasn't Kensi coming towards him, it was one of Rico's men that must have stayed behind with Domingo and he had a gun aimed at Deeks.
Deeks tried to hide, making him self as small as possible, but it was too late, the man saw him and a shot rang out.
...