Author's Note:
Hey guys! So-maybe I lied a little. Here we go, chapter twelve! Thank you for all of your kind reviews!
-C
"Calm down there, Shaggy. You don't have to protect her from us," Sam assured, eyeing how Deeks threw himself in front of her instantly.
"Who's going to protect Kensi from him?" Callen jumped in. Leave it to the two of them to have fun with their junior team members even in the most precarious of situations.
The smile was lost, as Sam took a better look at the both of them, Deeks moving to the side so Kensi could easily see her surrogate brothers. He commented, "You guys look like crap."
"Well, we tried looking for a salon to freshen up, but the Taliban on our heels distracted us a little," Deeks quipped, rising to his feet. He couldn't have been more relieved at seeing the two of them here.
With all joking aside, Sam grabbed Deeks into a tight hug. Through all of the laughter and good-natured banter, every single person here knew that they were extremely worried about them.
"You okay?" Callen asked as the Navy SEAL and detective separated.
"Could be better," Kensi added from the compartment.
"What happened to you?"
"Just a scratch," she smiled sadly.
"Yeah. Okay," Sam disbelievingly said. "Deeks?"
"She was shot above the hip. We patched her up, but Keelson thinks that she's showing sign of infection," he relayed, eyeing Kensi with worry.
"And I repeat, who's Keelson?"
"That would be me," a new voice joined them from the back of the cart. Sam and Callen spun, facing the tall marine. "Captain Quinn Keelson."
"Sam Hanna, and this is G Callen, NCIS," Sam reached out a hand.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, but we really have to get going."
Keelson hoisted himself up and threw the pack into the compartment next to Kensi.
"Hold up. Where's the rest of you?" Callen questioned, raising his eyebrows.
"It's only us," Deeks solemnly said. "All the others were killed."
"Except for First Lieutenant Daniel Sigara. He thought he had a better chance on his own, so he left us," Keelson added. "But we also have a problem. Three people can barely fit in here. There's five of us."
"We'll figure something out. Meanwhile, tell the farmer to start moving," Callen suggested. With a nod, Keelson ducked back out of the wagon.
"He's right. This isn't going to be easy," Sam mumbled, examining the small compartment.
"But not impossible. What if Kensi lay on top of me? We're the two smallest people here, we could fit like that. Then Callen might have to be on his side, and you and Keelson on your backs because you're bigger than he his," Deeks said.
"It'll have to do. It's not like we have much of a choice in the matter," Callen agreed.
Suddenly, the cart lurched forward, and Keelson jumped through the back again.
"I hope you guys have something worked out," the marine commented, holding onto the roof for balance.
"Deeks, you and Kensi get settled in first," Sam said.
And with that, he climbed in on the other side of the compartment, tucking against the side as much as he could. When he was sure that if he pulled himself any closer to the wood that it would break, Deeks beckoned Kensi to get into position. It took a while due to her weak state, but she managed to lay directly on top of him.
Jeez, she was burning with a fever. Deeks could feel the heat radiating off of her skin. He wrapped his arms around ribcage, above the wound, so she was secure. Sam followed in next to them, then Keelson, and then Callen. It was certainly tight, with body parts jamming into some pretty uncomfortable places, but when they pulled the hatch over, they were hidden completely.
Deeks breathed a sigh of relief. They stayed ghostly silent the entire ride, even though the air was soon turning foul with five breaths mingling together. They were actually going home. The cart was moving slowly, the occasional bump jostling them.
Finally, they must have reached the city gate, because the cart was stationary for several minutes.
We're almost there. Just a few hundred feet more, and everything will be fine, Deeks thought. Any Christmas ideas ran through his head freely, making him grin wildly despite the fact he was surrounded on four sides. Thank goodness he wasn't claustrophobic. Otherwise this would really suck.
Despite Kensi's extreme body heat rolling off of her in waves, she was shivering. Not a good sign. Deeks wasn't a doctor or a medic like Keelson, but he knew when that happened, a person was really sick. He couldn't help but hold on a little tighter and wait for the men to search the cart.
Wait.
Nobody was searching the wagon.
Had they gotten past the checkpoint without a search, or-
Any of Deeks's thoughts were interrupted rudely by the hatch being ripped off of it's hinges. The detective couldn't see what was going on, didn't know if it was friend or foe, but certainly identified his racing heartbeat that came with fear. Fear for his family.
The weight of Sam pushing up against him disappeared abruptly, so Deeks slid Kensi off of him to see what was going on.
He had hoped he would see a friendly face.
What he got was the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle.
Deeks immediately went for a move of knocking the barrel to the right, the first stage in disarming a hostile. He was about to twist the wrist of the terrorist before a sickening click was heard. The detective froze, and turned to see where the sound had come from.
A man with dark skin, a clean shaven face, and a cunning smile was holding a gun directly to Kensi's temple while he had her trapped in a headlock. Immediately, Deeks released his hands from the enemy's weapon, and raised his hands above his head.
Her captor said something that Deeks couldn't catch because of language barriers. The terrorist, realizing this, spoke again in distorted English, "Up."
Deeks silently rose to his feet and stepped out of the now-empty compartment, dread weighing his heart down. Terrifying adrenaline coarsed through his veins, seemingly tearing each open with knives. The man Deeks attacked shoved him forward, and outside of the cart.
He blinked to the blinding midday light, spots dancing in front of his eyes. Sam, Callen, and Keelson were being held at gun point about fifteen yards way from the mules that dragged the wagon behind it. Deeks twisted his head over his shoulder, trying to see if Kensi was coming up. Sure enough, a moment later, two men dragged her out by the arms.
The threw her into the dust, but she was too weak to push herself up. Deeks tried to make a run for his partner. The terrorist shoved him back forward.
"Are these the men?" He heard a nearby voice asking as he was marched towards Sam, Callen, and Keelson.
He detected the source of it.
A tall man with a medium complexion donning a black buzz cut was in the face of none other than First Lieutenant Daniel Sigara. He had bruised face and battered body, but Deeks felt no sympathy for him. His hands were unbound, leading the detective to think that Sigara was working for them.
Deeks felt this rush of unexplainable anger towards the marine.
How dare he. Turn against his brothers, the people whom he served to protect. It made Deeks feel this kind of disdain that he's never quite grown to know before. Perhaps spending time with Keelson and watching Oliver die right before his eyes made him feel more protective than anything. It was this same protectiveness that Deeks wanted to wring the guy's throat for putting Kensi in danger.
"That's them," Sigara confirmed, not looking any of them in the eye.
"You traitor!" Keelson shouted in anguish, fighting against the men that were trying to constrain him. "Our friends died for you, and this is how you honor them!?"
Sigara didn't answer, only looked to the man who had questioned him earlier.
All of their fates lay in the hands of a madman. One that had no qualms about killing another to get what he wanted or justifications for the actions that promoted his cause.
Deeks clenched his hands.
If this terrorist was planning on killing them, he wouldn't go down without a fight.
Filler chapter, but my party ended and I had some extra time. It went great! But my friend (who's sleeping over) and I are super, UBER pissed because we were craving chicken wings at about two in the morning. So we texted one of my older brother's friends to go to McDonalds, and he said he was going to, but then completely was messing with us. Ugh! Teenage boys make me sick! :) Well, certain ones that promise chicken and then don't actual do it. Dammit.
