Without a Trace

Disclaimer: I own nothing NCIS or NCIS:LA – just playing with my favorite characters.

Chapter 13

Max and Gordon stepped inside the marina and ran for the back, towards the river. Niko's men were already waiting at the hidden exit. Niko had gone ahead of his wife and was just motioning for the men to open the door when Allasyn pulled a gun from her pocket. She calmly aimed at the three men and pulled the trigger, shooting before Max or Gordon could stop her.

They looked at each other, both shocked at what had just happened. Knowing the place was going to blow at any second, they pushed her forward through the door, saving their questions for later. They had no time for discussion. Max glanced back to see that one of the men struggled to follow, the fear and pain clear in his eyes. Blood ran from a hole in his chest. As Max turned to run after Gordon and Allasyn he heard the man collapse.

As they weaved along the brush at the back of the marina, the front of the building was disintegrating in a massive blast. They jumped onto the covered pier and ran the last few feet to the cabin cruiser Max had checked out when he first approached Niko's marina a week ago. The marina was fully engulfed in flames now; the heat was almost unbearable even from their vantage point. Gordon untied the rope from the mooring post as Max keyed the twin inboard engines. They sputtered to life. Both were keeping an eye on Allasyn and were relieved to see that she had put her gun away.

The fire continued to grow as the billowing black cloud started to drift in the gentle breeze. Max let the cruiser idle away from the roaring remnants of the marina, letting the current take them downstream. Once they had drifted a good distance from the fire Max accelerated, leaving the inferno behind. Feeling they were far enough away to avoid drawing attention, Max finally felt comfortable enough to address Allasyn.

"What the hell was that all about? You shot Niko!" He yelled at her.

She shrugged. "I did Niko a favor." Max and Gordon both looked at her, confused. She sighed before continuing, "Niko was keeping a secret from you. He had cancer. It was terminal. He would have been dead in a few months anyway. The other two - it just wasn't their day," Allasyn explained, not the least bit remorseful. "Besides, if you wanted to make people think we were killed in the fire, doesn't it make sense to leave at least a few bodies for them to find?"

Gordon chuckled. "Wow, Allasyn, look at you being all cunning and stuff," he grinned, looking at her. "She does have a point," Gordon admitted, turning to Max.

Max, even though he was pissed at the turn of events, had to hand it to her. He slowly smiled and nodded. Allasyn was feeling pretty proud of herself. She was growing very fond of Max and Gordon. Now that she was free from her overprotective husband, she looked forward to getting closer to both the Gentry brothers.

Sam dialed Callen's cell again. This was the third time and still there was no answer. "Eric, can you locate G's phone?" He asked.

Eric punched the keys on his tablet. "Uh...Sam? You're not going to like this."

"Not going to like what, Eric?" Sam asked, frustration in his voice.

"Callen's phone is here in the building." Eric admitted, looking away from Sam.

"Get me Talia's number." Sam ordered. It didn't surprise him that his partner would have left his phone behind.

"Not so fast, Mr. Hanna," Hetty declared as she reappeared in ops. Sam spun to look at her. "I just spoke with Leon. He is not too happy about the attention this case is drawing from the other agencies, as well as from your partner. He was unaware of the explosion at the marina. He is sending Jethro and his team to investigate. I told him our suspicion of it being a distraction by Mr. Deeks. He agreed that we should let it play out - unless, of course, it turns out it wasn't a distraction," Hetty said softly.

Sam gave her a questioning glance. "You mean let Callen and the others assume everyone was killed in the blast? Hetty, that's pretty harsh, don't you think?"

"Mr. Hanna, unfortunately we don't know for sure that's not actually the case. We also both know Mr. Deeks will not give up on the operation. If he is still alive, don't you think it would be wise if we trust him to do the job Jethro gave him?"

Sam sighed, realizing what Hetty was getting at. "If we step in and get involved, we'll be pushing him further away from us...again."

The small operations manager smiled slightly at her senior agent.

"We let Kensi know our theory, though, right?" Sam asked worriedly. He knew if Deeks was alive and they let Kensi believe he had been killed that she may not forgive them, ever.

Hetty reached out and patted Sam on the arm, "Of course, Mr. Hanna. She's been through enough already. Just pray we are right and not giving her a false sense of hope."

Sam nodded, "I'll talk to her. Thanks, Hetty."

"Once you talk to Ms. Blye, then you could try Agent Del Campo and see what they are saying. I imagine Leon has Jethro and his team on site by now," Hetty directed, then turned to Eric. "Mr. Beale, any luck with the marina yet?"

"I sent the blueprints on file to your email, I'm combing through all the footage we have from the security cams, and I'll call in a favor with a friend to check any recent satellite coverage of the area," he said, happy that he was able to procure the building plans so quickly.

"Good work." She turned and left Ops.

"Gibbs, can I see you for a moment?" Director Vance called down to his agent.

"Sure, Leon." Jethro stood and started for the stairs.

McGee watched his boss disappear upstairs before looking over at Bishop, both raising their eyebrows in wonder.

DEA Agent Del Campo and Callen stood at Gibbs' desk. They had all been talking about the case when Director Vance called Gibbs up to his office.

Gibbs stepped into Vance's office, not saying anything. He studied Leon's eyes.

Vance looked to the empty chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat, Gibbs."

Jethro smirked, reached out and pulled the chair out and sat down. "What's going on, Leon?"

"I just received a call from Ms. Lange. Apparently the marina Detective Deeks and Agent DiNozzo are working out of went up in flames a little while ago. Eric Beale was watching a live feed on a security camera. Deeks, DiNozzo, Pellicci and a few others had just disappeared inside when the place exploded. I checked, fire crews are still trying to get it under control. It might be a while before you can go through what is left, but I want you to see what you can find," Vance directed.

Gibbs nodded and stood up.

"Gibbs," the director continued.

"Yeah, Leon?" Gibbs asked impatiently, staring at the director.

"Henrietta has a theory. She thinks Deeks is trying to throw off Fornell, Borin, Callen and this DEA agent. This explosion is a diversion to buy him some time to close this case." Vance looked Gibbs in the eye, making sure he was getting his point across. Jethro smiled and nodded. "Unless you find evidence that says otherwise, let everyone come to their own conclusions, Gibbs."

Gibbs walked to the door and turned, "What did I tell you would happen if we let him run this his way?"

Leon didn't say anything right away, but eventually a smile broke out on his face, albeit a small one. "You said he'd get results, Gibbs, which we don't have just yet. But point taken." With that, Leon looked back to his monitor.

Gibbs smiled, then turned and pulled Vance's door closed behind him as he walked back to his team.

Nell walked back into ops with a visibly shaken Kensi right beside her. Eric looked at them, feeling bad for both that they had missed the revelation Hetty had about the situation. He hoped for everyone's sake that they were correct - that Deeks was creating a diversion to throw off the FBI, CGIS and Callen along with Talia.

Sam looked at Kensi. He understood how she felt. Even though she and Deeks were not officially a couple, they were partners in every sense of the word, they just hadn't accepted it yet themselves. He could tell that right now she felt completely lost.

"Kensi," he said softly.

She didn't respond, just kept staring at the floor in front of her. He glanced at Eric and then Nell, Eric nodded and pulled Nell to the side so they could talk.

Sam reached out and put a hand on Kensi's shoulder. "Kensi, you okay?"

She looked up at Sam with her mismatched eyes. Her look said it all. She shook her head and tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

Sam wanted to reassure her right away to bring her out of this funk she was caught in. "Hey, while you were out Hetty and I were talking. She pointed out that this explosion may be Deeks' way of throwing everyone off his trail. Think about it. We all know how...determined your partner can be. If he sees a way to bring down all the players, don't you think this is a stunt he would pull to do just that?" He asked her.

As Sam explained what he and Hetty had discussed, Kensi stood a little straighter as she started to realize they could be right. "You really think he's still alive - that this is a big distraction?" Kensi asked hopefully.

"It's the only thing I want to believe. The other alternative is not acceptable," Sam stated with conviction. "I'll never underestimate Deeks again. If anybody could pull this off, it would be him."

Kensi stared at the senior agent in awe, a smile spreading across her face. "Yeah, he is pretty amazing, isn't he?"

Sam nodded at her and smiled.

"This is how we play it, though. We can't tell Callen our theory. If Deeks is still alive, we are going to give him every advantage we can from our end to do his job." Sam said seriously.

Kensi cocked her head in thought. "Okay...but what if they think the same thing we are?"

"We can't do anything about that if they do. Then we hope Deeks gave himself and Agent DiNozzo enough time to do what they gotta do," Sam offered. Kensi pursed her lips, nodding in agreement.

"Deeks." Kensi said the detective's name softly. She looked at Sam intently. As much as she wanted to believe that Deeks was still alive, she was scared to death that he was...dead. "What if he-" she started to say, but Sam cut her off.

"No, Kensi, don't go there. Think positive. Deeks would do the same for you," Sam reasoned with her. "In fact, he DID do that for you, Kensi. We all did," he pointed out.

Kensi looked away from Sam when he said that, knowing full well the time he was talking about. She tried to block the memory out, but a few tears started to fall anyway. Sam pulled her into a big hug. "It's okay, Kensi. Everything is gonna be okay," he assured her.

"Grab your gear, let's go!" Gibbs said as he walked back to his desk. He grabbed his keys and gun out of his drawer. "Callen, you two coming with us?" He looked at G and Talia.

"Uh...where are we going, boss?" McGee asked. Bishop threw her bag over her shoulder and waited on Gibbs' answer.

Callen and Talia stared at Gibbs, too. Gibbs looked around at each one of them and then started for the elevator. "The marina Detective Deeks and Agent DiNozzo have been working at exploded this morning. Several people, including Marty and Tony, were seen entering the building right before it blew up," Gibbs called out over his shoulder.

They all looked at each other, each one of them as shocked as the next at Gibbs' explanation. Without a word, they all hurried after him.

It started out as a quiet drive. Gibbs and McGee rode up front, while Talia, G and Bishop sat in back. Talia finally had had enough silence.

"Do you think they're dead, Agent Callen?" She asked.

"I don't know," G looked at her, the tension showing in his expression.

Silence again. "McGee, what did Abby have to say? Did she hear anything from Marty or Tony today?" Bishop asked.

Tim turned in his seat to speak. "Abby said she hasn't heard anything since yesterday when she told them about-" Before he could finish his thought he saw Gibbs glance his way quickly. "Uh...told them about..." McGee was suddenly at a loss for words. He knew by the look Gibbs gave him that he was saying too much in mixed company.

"Told them about what?" Callen asked, feeling like something was being held back from Talia and him.

Gibbs jumped in to save Tim. "Abby told them about the leads panning out that we received from Niko's men." Jethro gave McGee a quick glare as he focused back on the road.

Callen wasn't sure, but he thought Gibbs wasn't being truthful with him, although he couldn't understand why. He looked at Talia. She shook her head and by the look she gave him he knew she sensed it, too. Before either of them could question it, Bishop pointed out the front of the car.

"Wow, look at that," she said.

They were still a couple miles away from the marina, yet the sky in that direction was still filled with clouds of drifting smoke. Any further conversation was cut off as they approached the scene, all wondering what had become of Detective Deeks and Agent DiNozzo.

Gibbs rolled his window down and flashed his badge to one of the local policemen who had his cruiser blocking the road. The officer waved them around. Jethro drove as far as he could and finally had to stop. The road was clogged with fire hoses snaking from pumpers, firemen, rescue trucks, and numerous police cars and ambulances. The five of them made their way through the maze until they were standing in front of what was left of the marina. Most of the fire was extinguished and the smoke was thinning. Several firemen were retrieving hoses, some were still dousing hot spots, while others were poking at debris with hooked poles. Niko's van and a car hadn't escaped the flames, both parked close enough to the building that they, too, had been reduced to distorted metal hulks.

The air was acrid, most all the firemen were wearing masks. It was getting hard to breathe, the agents' eyes and throats starting to sting. They walked back towards the road and waited for things to clear. It wasn't long before they heard someone yell they had located a body. Soon after that, another was found. They all looked at each other, fearing the worst. Gibbs pulled his cell out and called Director Vance. Bishop had her phone in her hand. Callen noticed she had pulled a picture up on screen. It was Deeks. Bishop stared at the photo and then dialed a number she had hoped she wouldn't have to call, but she had made a promise. Callen looked to Talia. Just then her phone started to ring. She showed the number to Callen. It was a number he knew by heart.

"Sam." He said to her.

She nodded and swiped the screen to answer. "Agent Del Campo."

"Talia! This is Agent Sam Hanna. Are you with Callen?" Sam all but yelled into his phone.

Kensi was anxious to hear what Sam and Callen talked about, but she felt her phone going off in her pocket and quickly pulled it out. She froze when she saw the number; it was Ellie Bishop's. Panic set in as her phone continued to vibrate in her hand. Sam's conversation had faded to background noise. She slowly pulled her phone up to her ear as she answered the call.

"This is Kensi."

Sam was questioning Callen, who was telling him that they were on scene at the marina, that two bodies had just been discovered and crews were looking for more. Sam looked over to Kensi, who was staring at a spot on the wall across Ops. She nodded slowly to something that was said on the other end of her line. Her eyes were glistening again. She avoided eye contact with Sam when she noticed him watching her.

Eric and Nell glanced at each other, wondering what each of the agents were being told. Sam had a discouraged look on his face while Kensi looked as if she was going to cry at any second. A screen in front of Eric started flashing, drawing his and Nell's attention away from their team. He tapped a few keys and then stared in disbelief at the sight in front of him. His eyes grew wide and he started to smile. He bumped Nell's shoulder and pointed to the screen. She saw what he was looking at and grinned. They watched in silence, forgetting about the conversations going on behind them for the time being.

"Kensi, this is Ellie Bishop. Um...Marty wanted me to tell you..." Ellie paused, not sure how to proceed. "We are at the marina and they are finding bodies." The words flew out of her mouth before she could really think about it. She sighed as she heard Kensi gasp on the other end. Before she said another word, she heard a rescue worker holler they had a third body. "Oh, God. Kensi, they uh...they just found another body. I'm so sorry!" Ellie's voice was breaking, it was all she could do to keep from completely losing it. She took a deep breath and continued, "Uh, Marty wanted me to give you a message if something happened to him. He said to tell you he was sorry he couldn't keep his promise." Ellie heard Kensi sniffle, but she didn't reply. "He said you would know what he meant. He also said to tell you that he loved you, Kensi."

Back in Ops, Sam had hung up with Callen when Eric got his attention and made him look at the big screen. Sam shook his head as a huge smile appeared on his face. He turned to Kensi and noticed that she was trying hard not to cry but failing. He tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the screen as Eric rewound the video. She looked at Sam, tears falling freely now, wondering what it was that he wanted that could possibly be more important than this phone call she was on.

The video started playing again. It was a grainy feed, but clear enough to see the three people run down the pier from the bushes at the back of an exploding building and jump on a boat. Agent DiNozzo untied it as a brunette woman stood watching. Detective Marty Deeks was at the helm. The boat slowly drifted away from the pier and disappeared out of reach of the camera's view.

Kensi wiped at her eyes as she looked from the screen to Sam and back again. "Ellie, I have to go." She cut Bishop's call off. She smiled as she watched the screen again. Marty Deeks had kept his promise - and he loved her.

TBC