Discord: Chapter 13

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He was roused from his dreamless sleep by the sound of gunfire. He lay quietly listening and trying to place himself. When he opened his eyes there was nothing but darkness, so he saw only the small pieces of trash that were lying next to his face and moved slightly whenever he breathed. He smelled oil and something rank and he could taste blood in his mouth, but nothing brought anything to mind as to why he was lying facedown on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. Then he tried to move. His effort was rewarded with such unendurable pain that he longed for unconsciousness so he could find some relief, but it did not come.

The sound of automatic weapons distracted him as he panted in the gloom and he could hear men shouting. He must have been undercover, he thought, as his mind searched for answers. But what assignment had it been? Was it for LAPD or NCIS? He wasn't sure and that scared him. He needed to be sharp, but he was so lightheaded his mind just wandered and wouldn't settle on any one memory. He decided to try and raise his head, but when he did the vertigo he experienced was so violent he began to retch and that brought back the mind-bending pain and he cried out in the darkness. He brought his knees up toward his chest and that caused such a sharp, slicing pain in his gut that it cut through the fog in his mind and in a split second he remembered everything.

He remembered and knew what the gunfire meant. The team was attacking and Camacho was being apprehended, maybe even killed and he smiled, even though it brought fresh blood to his lips. But what if Camacho was killed; what if all his men were killed and the team couldn't find him? Then he would die here, alone and in agony. For the first time since he had been left here he felt afraid. He had always thought he was prepared to die. He'd been prepared to die since he was eleven years old, but he had always fought the urge to give in and to accept his fate. He could have let his father shoot him, but he didn't, and he didn't want to give in now either. Now he felt himself close to death, but still he resisted, still he held out hope that he wouldn't die alone, that somehow, the team would find him and save him.

He felt fresh tears running down his face and he whispered each team member's name, starting with Kensi. He knew she would search for him for as long as it took to find him. That was just her way, and because he knew beyond a doubt that she loved him. She would never give up on him and he felt hopeful because of her. She wouldn't let him go no matter what he had told her. She never listened to him anyway and that made him smile.

Then he thought of Sam and when he spoke his name out loud in the darkness, he gathered strength from it, because he was the strongest man he knew, not just physically, but in his beliefs and in his character. Sam would never leave a man behind because he was all about the team. Sam would come for him, he knew he would.

And then he breathed out Callen's name, the man who had told him he was no better than his father, and he shuddered at what had happened between them. Why had they been so angry at each other? There had never been that kind of animosity between them before. He knew Callen hated Max Gentry, but he had never seen him so out of control. He hit me. My own team leader hit me, and it had shaken his confidence. Callen had apologized and had been suffering from a skull fracture when he did it, but it still made him feel unsure about what Callen's feelings about him were. He wondered if Callen still thought he was more Max Gentry than Deeks, and if he did, would he fight to save him? He wasn't sure and it filled him with anxiety and fear.

He paused in his thoughts when he heard footsteps outside. The door slid open and he was blinded by the brightness that flooded the dingy space. He closed his eyes against the harsh light and felt his whole body go cold as a voice shattered any hope he still had that he would survive.

"Max, I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch," Camacho roared. "You ratted me out and I'm gonna make you pay. You think last night was bad? You ain't seen nothin' yet."

With that he strode over and stood looking down at Deeks, breathing hard, and Deeks could almost feel the rage boiling inside of him. He straddled Deeks' body, grabbed him by the arms and lifted him to his feet and slammed him against the side of the rail car. Bright points of flashing pain brought him to the edge of blackness and he sagged in Camacho's grip.

"Don't you pass out on me, you fuckin' snitch," Camacho shouted in Deeks face as he shoved him higher up on the wall of the boxcar.

"Why'd you rat me out, Max? Money?" Camacho's voice was now a lethal growl. When he got no reply, he slugged his fist into Deeks' stomach where he had stabbed him with the bottle and Deeks screamed in pain and slid toward the floor.

Camacho pulled him back up and slapped him until he opened his eyes.

"How much did they pay you, Max?" Camacho was whispering now, his body pressed against Deeks chest, holding him upright. His hand grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his face close.

"Nothing," Deeks answered and Camacho slammed his head back against the wall.

"Liar."

"Just my salary," he whispered as he gasped for air.

Camacho stopped at that and stared hard into Deeks' blood streaked face.

"You a fuckin' cop, Max?" Camacho sounded completely stunned.

"Marty Deeks, LAPD." Somehow, he managed a smile when he said it, finding it felt good to say his real name.

Camacho let out an angry roar and threw Deeks into the middle of the floor of the boxcar. The impact knocked him out and blood seeped from his nose and mouth.

...

Callen stopped when he heard the scream. They all stopped and looked at one another, then turned and raced toward the direction the sound had come from. Their guns were drawn and their faces set in rigid determination. As they rounded the end of a green boxcar covered in graffiti, they saw a set of metal stairs leading to the door.

"Boss! Cops!" Sanchez shouted a warning before Sam pistol-whipped him to the ground.

Callen took the stairs in two strides, followed closely by Kensi and Sam. What they saw as they breached the door horrified them and Kensi shouted an angry cry of despair. Deeks was on his knees in front of Camacho, who was holding him back against his body by his hair, with a gun to his head. He was barely conscious and his face and body was so battered and bloody that he was almost unrecognizable.

"Come any closer and I kill him," Camacho's voice was low and mean and the look on his face was feral. "And I'll enjoy doing it." He smiled and jerked Deeks' head back hard and the team heard him moan as he slumped against Camacho's knees.

"You've got no place to go, Camacho," Callen growled as the team moved slowly inside and spread out.

"Maybe not, but I got him," he replied coldly. "He's a friend of yours, I'm guessing."

"Yeah, he's one of ours and we're here to take him home," Callen answered.

Callen stared intensely at the arms dealer, trying to keep his emotions in check but he was having difficulty doing it. He glanced briefly at Deeks and his stomach turned. His rage was building and he was close to losing it as he looked for his shot.

"Let him go and we can talk," Callen said and Camacho could see the intensity in the agent's flashing blue eyes.

"Or, I could just shoot the son of a bitch," Camacho laughed. "He played me and I don't like being played. I should have known he wasn't who he said he was when he let the girl go. So I really, really want to shoot him. Besides, I don't like prison."

Sam took another step to the right of Callen and prayed they would find some way to get Deeks away from this maniac. He was barely holding himself in check and if he allowed himself to look at Deeks he knew his self-control would fail. How Deeks was still alive, he didn't know, but he wasn't going to let this sorry piece of shit hurt him anymore.

Kensi was shaking with so much rage she wasn't sure she could hit the man if she saw an opening to fire. Seeing Deeks in so much pain made her heart ache for him. She wanted to hold him and she wanted to seriously maim and then kill the man who did this to him.

"Just shoot him," Deeks said hoarsely and winced at the effort it took to speak. "He doesn't deserve to live."

"Shut up, cop." Camacho growled and kneed him hard in the back. Deeks gasped, but the team saw his eyes flash with anger and they took another step forward.

"You're a degenerate asshole, Camacho," Deeks said breathlessly. "You can only get it up with little girls, you pile of shit."

"I said shut up!" Camacho shouted.

Camacho raised his gun up to strike him and all three agents fired and Camacho's head exploded, blood and brains spattering the back wall. As he fell backward onto the floor, Deeks collapsed into Callen's arms.

"I've got you, Marty," Callen said softly as he cradled the wounded man to his chest.

"You came," Deeks whispered as tears streaked through the blood on his face. He fought to stay conscious as he looked at each of them in turn, trying to let them know just how much it meant to him that they had come to save him.

Sam cut his hands free and he cried out, convulsing in pain at the movement. Sam took one of his hands and held it, too emotional to speak. All he could think about was the photo he had seen of Deeks as a four-year-old after being beaten by his father. Now he looked into the same blue eyes and he wondered if he could survive a beating this bad.

"You fight, Deeks," Sam said fervently, finally finding his voice. "You fight like the four-year-old Marty Deeks, you hear me?" And he saw recognition in Deeks' eyes.

Kensi had immediately alerted Eric to send an ambulance and to let him know Deeks was alive, but critical and then she started to shake. She knelt down next to him, but was afraid to touch him and cause him any more pain. Finally she stroked his head slowly, entwining her fingers in his hair as tears streamed from her eyes.

"I missed you guys," Deeks said softly as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness and slumped in Callen's arms.

"We missed you too, Deeks," Callen said quietly as he looked at Sam through red-rimmed eyes. "We missed you too."

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