Without a Trace

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS:LA or NCIS, just having fun…

Chapter 10

As soon as Hetty and Granger were out of earshot Callen looked at Eric and Nell. "Tell us what you know about Deeks' location."

Nell glanced at Eric, her eyes wide. Eric swallowed hard. "Uh…we uh, we don't know his exact location. We've been looking for him and so far he has not popped up anywhere," Eric admitted.

"What about the marina he was at?" Kensi asked, still shaken by her nightmare.

Eric tapped at his tablet a few times and a satellite image came up on the big screen. "This is where Niko and his men were."

The team studied the area. Eric zoomed in as much as he could. Kensi gasped. Everyone looked at her. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide with fright.

"Are you okay, Kensi?" Nell asked.

After a few moments she nodded, looking from Nell to Callen. "There's a boat ramp," she pointed it out.

"Kensi, it was just a dream. You heard Gibbs, Deeks was driving away when he got there. He is okay," Sam tried to comfort her.

Nell looked confused. "What's with the boat ramp?"

Kensi sighed deeply before speaking, "I didn't tell you this earlier, but the real reason I was up and here so early was because I had a really bad dream about Deeks. He and Agent DiNozzo had gone missing. Gibbs found them in the trunk of DiNozzo's car, dead. It…it had been driven into the water at a boat ramp." She shivered at the memory.

"Oh, okay. Sorry, Kens," Nell said sheepishly.

Callen stood there looking at the screen. Sam knew something had his partner's attention. "What are you thinking, G?"

Callen turned to Sam. "I don't know, Sam. If I had to guess, I would say if Pellicci has something planned, it goes through that marina."

"That may be true, but we have nothing we can do from our end with this. It's not our case." Sam pointed out.

"Eric, is there any chance you can access LAPD files prior to Deeks joining us? Anything you can find on this bust, I want to know about it. Who was involved, what they were doing – specifically what was Niko's interest?" Callen ordered.

Eric looked at Sam, and then down at his tablet. Again Sam addressed Callen, "G, what are you at with this? We can't do anything. This is Deeks' operation. He wasn't with us then. He is not with us now. It was LAPD's jurisdiction, and now it is Deeks' and Gibbs' problem. We have our own cases to worry about."

Callen just looked at his partner but didn't say anything. He turned back to Eric and Nell. "Are there cameras in the area of that marina? Any way at all to keep an eye on the place to see who comes and goes?"

"Uh…I don't…I mean, should I…" Eric looked back and forth between Callen and Sam, not sure what to do. "Should I look into it?"

"Do it, Eric, and let me know what you find out," Callen said forcefully. He turned and headed for the door.

"G? G, where you going, man? G!" Sam called after his partner.

Callen never slowed down and didn't look back. He left ops without saying another word, leaving his team to wonder what had come over him.

Max drove back towards DC, Gordon riding shotgun. Niko and Allasyn were sitting in the rear of the van on the floor.

"Max, what the hell are you even doing here in DC?" Niko asked.

Max grinned as he looked over at Gordon, then called out over his shoulder, "I'm here visiting my brother. What the hell are you doing here in DC? Shouldn't you be doing time back in LA? You must have some lawyer."

Niko laughed, "I had someone much better than a good lawyer, Max. So much better that I didn't do any time."

Max glanced at Gordon. "Oh, yeah? Well who is he? Maybe I could use his services myself someday."

"Unfortunately, my brother-in-law is out of commission. His luck ran out and he is in prison himself - has been for a few years now," Niko confessed.

"Your brother-in-law? How did he help you?" Max asked Niko.

"My wife's brother Frank was a cop. LAPD. He knew about that job we were working on, knew there was a raid going to happen. He told me when, so I just conveniently disappeared before it went down," Niko explained. "It wasn't too long after that we heard that he got busted for his involvement in some human traffic ring. I guess he set up one of his fellow officers to take the fall for it. She ended up dead and somehow Frank got made. The feds got him."

Max gripped the wheel tight and didn't say a word. He fought the urge to pull over and pound the hell out of Niko. He thought about his old partner, Jess. He thought about how he narrowly escaped being blown up and how Jess didn't. He remembered sitting in his car that day, his skin still tender from the explosion, his body aching from the beating Lazik and his men had given him before Callen, Sam and Kensi interrupted them. He would never forget the look on Frank Scarli's face when he told Marty that if Lazik hadn't killed Jess, he would have. He remembered how Frank had pulled his gun, ready to shoot him when he told Frank they knew it was him that was dirty. Max blew out a breath, trying to calm himself. It was then that he realized Gordon had been asking him a question.

"What…what did you say?" Max said quietly, looking at Gordon.

"I said are you okay?" Gordon whispered, an impatient look on his face.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine. No worries," Max nodded. He continued to drive. Gordon studied Max for a moment. Max felt his stare and without looking at Gordon, again whispered "I'm good."

"So Niko, you didn't answer my brother's question," Gordon started. "What are you doing in DC?"

"After the last job in LA, once Frank got busted, my business opportunities there were too risky. Being married to the sister of a dirty cop would have brought unwanted attention to me. We left. We ended up here in DC a year or so ago, settled down and just enjoyed life, ya know? I started to get the itch to work again. The marina is a perfect cover. It's old, not so close to downtown," Niko paused. "Then last week we were at a bar. Allasyn and I were having a nice night out. I had gone to the restroom. When I came back to our table a guy was hitting on Allasyn. He was pretty drunk and wouldn't take the hint that she was my wife. Before things could get out of hand we left. We decided to go to another bar. We were just getting out of the van when this same stupid drunk approached us. He had followed us somehow. He moved towards Allasyn and I just snapped. Let's put it this way, that dirtball won't be bothering anybody else's woman ever again," Niko grinned, but not for long. Something else was definitely on his mind.

Max and Gordon glanced at each other. Gordon mouthed 'our dead marine'. Max shifted his eyes slightly, acknowledging Gordon's thought.

"Let me guess, Niko, now you're worried somebody will figure out it was you that offed this guy, right? Whatever your business plans are, you're afraid they'll be in jeopardy now." Max voiced Niko's concerns.

Niko agreed. "I'm afraid you are right, Max. Maybe I'm losing my touch, eh?" He said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Max sat there beaming. "Come on, Niko! Don't you think it's a little odd that your old buddy Max just shows up outta the blue? Its fate, man – let my brother and I help you out. You and I worked out so well back in LA. Let's put the band back together. I got nothing holding me down right now. No one is gonna miss me back home. I can hang out here with my bro, help tend to things for you so you can stay low. What do you say? It's a win-win for all of us!"

Niko looked to his wife. She nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay Max…maybe we can work something out." Niko agreed.

"Excellent!" Max smiled and kept driving.

Gordon had pulled his cell out and was furiously texting info back to Abby. He chuckled slightly and shook his head, glancing over at Max. He didn't know a lot about Detective Marty Deeks, but he was fairly certain the man had balls of steel. To just blow into town and dive right into two investigations, getting two murder confessions and pretty much taking Niko's operation over within the blink of an eye – well, color him impressed. Tony knew Gibbs must feel the same to just hand the reins over to him. Deeks was a born operator. Gibbs' team was already an elite outfit. If they had Deeks on full time it would add a whole other dimension to the team.

Max looked to Gordon when he heard him laugh to himself quietly. Gordon saw the sparkle in Max's eyes. They both shared a smile before turning to the front again.

Sam shook his head before looking to Eric and Nell. "You keep me posted on where he goes, you got it?"

They both nodded yes. Eric spoke first, "Sam, should I try to get info from DC for Callen? What will Assistant Director Granger or Hetty say if they find out I'm snooping for info on Deeks?"

"You send them to me if they find out. I got a feeling G is not gonna let this go. He is fired up about Deeks right now. G knows we need him, he just has a hard time figuring out how to let Deeks know. It wouldn't surprise me if G goes off the reservation on this. If you can find out anything without digging too deep, go ahead. You'll let me know what you find, too?" Sam asked, pointing at them both.

"You got it, Sam," Nell said, and then added, "What about Kensi?"

"What about Kensi?" Sam looked from Nell to Kensi. She raised her eyebrows, wondering what Nell was getting at.

"Ummm…am I supposed to keep Kensi posted too, or…?" Nell questioned.

Sam looked at Kensi. "You aren't going to run off to DC to track your partner down, are you?" He asked, only half joking because he wouldn't put it past her.

Kensi rolled her eyes at Sam. "No, Sam…I won't go after Deeks – at least not without warning you first." She grinned at him.

Eric and Nell glanced at each other and then back to the agents. "Ok, so we'll keep you both in the loop on Callen and anything we can find on Deeks then," Eric acknowledged.

Sam nodded in agreement and then left ops. He was surprised to see Callen talking with Granger and Hetty at her desk. Before he could get down the stairs Callen got up and left, not giving Sam a chance to say anything. Sam looked to Hetty. She raised her hand and motioned him over.

"Everything alright, Hetty?" Sam asked, concerned about how Callen had been acting.

"I'm afraid your partner is going to end up poking his nose in where it doesn't belong, Mr. Hanna," Hetty said, clearly agitated.

Sam glanced at Granger, "With all due respect, Assistant Director Granger, you brought most of this on yourself."

Granger's eyes got big as he looked at Sam, "Excuse me, Agent Hanna?"

"You heard me. You've done nothing but rub it in our faces since yesterday morning about how we've misjudged Deeks. Now we are getting word back from Gibbs that he put Deeks in charge and let him go after Pellicci when he could be compromised – and you act like it's no big deal that we are concerned about him – like this is some kind of game."

"Watch your tone, Agent Hanna. Deeks doesn't need you or anyone else to babysit him and he damn sure doesn't need or want your pity. I'm not going to lie, I was not a fan of Detective Deeks early on. After reviewing his records from LAPD and seeing firsthand what he has accomplished as part of this team I've changed my mind. I find it humorous, I'll admit, that once Gibbs set him loose in DC he has proven his skills are not a fluke. The man knows his stuff. If anything, Deeks should have his own team. At the very least he should be with a team that is not afraid to use his skills. Right now, yours is not that team," Granger pointed around the mission as he spoke.

Just then Kensi walked up to them.

"Ours is not the team for what?" She wanted to know.

"Ms. Blye, the Assistant Director was just explaining to Mr. Hanna that right now Mr. Deeks' services are better suited to a different team. I'm afraid at the moment I agree with that assessment," Hetty admitted to them.

"Hetty, why, uh…why would you say that?" Kensi asked, looking at Sam nervously.

Hetty looked at each of her agents and then to Granger before continuing, "Mr. Deeks is very good at what he does, otherwise I would never have brought him here. I saw in him a fighter, someone who sees good when others see evil, a man that puts others before himself no matter the situation. The LAPD put Mr. Deeks' life in his own hands with very little back up. Here, I was hoping he would be able to continue the work he does so well, but on a team that had each other's backs. As Owen pointed out before you joined the conversation, Ms. Blye, he thrives when he is left to do things as he sees fit. Jethro is not afraid of letting Mr. Deeks do just that, where with our team we seem to be holding him back."

"So what are you saying, Hetty? Is he…are you saying he is leaving the team permanently?" Kensi asked, her voice cracking.

Hetty shook her head, "No, my dear, what I'm saying is that we need to improve how we utilize Mr. Deeks. That goes for all of us. When the circumstances are such that Mr. Deeks' experience comes into play, we need to trust him and follow his lead. I have no doubt Mr. Deeks will return to our team. I have a feeling it will be more than just as our LAPD liaison, however." Hetty clasped her hands in her lap and looked up at Owen, the slightest grin showing at the corners of her mouth.

Sam and Kensi shared a confused glance. "Is that it, Hetty?" Kensi was able to get out.

Hetty looked to them both and dismissed them with a nod and a small wave of her hand. The agents looked at each other again and then returned to the bullpen, each taking a seat. The paperwork Hetty assigned them earlier was not going to fill itself out.

TBC