Promises to Keep

Chapter 21

...

He woke to a cool hand on his forehead and it didn't feel familiar, but it was comforting so he opened his eyes to look into the softly smiling face of Mimi Caron. She patted his forearm lightly and said something in French to someone else in the dimly lit room, before offering him a glass of water as he sat up.

"What time is it?" he asked after taking a sip of the cool water.

"Almost eight," she replied.

"Seriously?" He was stunned that he had slept through both lunch and dinner.

"Your fever has broken, mon ami," she said. "I have sent Luc to bring you something to eat."

"Thanks," he said. "How long have you been here?"

"Luc and I came to sit with you after dinner," she told him. "Kensi needed a break."

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

"Of course I did, Monsieur Deeks. Hetty suggested you come here for a reason. She knew we would watch over you all," she said.

"This was Hetty's idea?"

"Why does that surprise you, mon ami?" She asked softly, her voice sliding toward melancholy as she studied him. "You remind me so much of Luc when I first saw him."

"When was that?" he asked as he smiled and settled back into the pillow.

"August, 1944," she said wistfully. "He was lying in that same bed, bleeding all over the sheets."

"What happened to him?" Deeks blinked hard and stared at her.

"He had been wounded and captured by the Germans," she said as she took his hand in hers. "He and a few other American soldiers managed to escape and ended up hiding in our barn. My mother found them and hid them in the cellar except for Luc. He was terribly wounded, so my mother had the others bring him in here to try and save him. I was his nurse. I was eight years old and I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen."

"Sounds like you had a crush on him," Deeks smiled a crooked grin.

"Still do, mon ami," she said as the door opened.

"How you feeling?" Callen asked as he carried in a tray.

"Hungry."

"Luc thought you might like some soup," Callen settled the tray on Deeks' lap and sat down next to the bed to watch him eat.

"This is amazing. What is it?" Deeks asked.

"Potage Parmentier," Mimi answered. "Potato and leek soup. It is Lily's favorite."

"What did she get out of Burke?" Deeks asked between spoonfuls of soup. "Did she see any sign of Ruthie?"

"Slow down, Deeks," Callen said. "Finish your soup and we'll talk."

"What's wrong?" Deeks slowly lowered his spoon and stared hard at Callen.

"He reads you quite well, Monsieur Callen," Mimi said quietly.

"She's not back yet," Callen told him.

Deeks looked quickly at Mimi, seeing a small hint of worry in her eyes as she softly bit her lip.

"Lily can be very focused when she is working," Mimi said as she picked up a piece of bread and handed it to Deeks. "And very capable."

"We shouldn't have let her go alone, G," Deeks said softly.

"Elan already made that point," Callen answered. "He's pretty pissed at me."

"It was Lily's decision," Mimi said. "She doesn't like to be told how to do her job, especially by men."

"Sounds familiar," Deeks said as he bit into his bread.

The door to the room suddenly opened and Elan's face appeared, relief apparent on his face.

"She's back," he said before disappearing.

Deeks quickly handed Callen the tray and started to throw off the covers, only to be stopped by Mimi's firm hand on his shoulder.

"I think you might need your pants, mon ami," Mimi said. "Although your legs are quite magnificent."

"You didn't undress me did you?" Deeks fumbled with the words as embarrassment colored his cheeks.

"I am almost eighty years old," Mimi said with a light smile. "Even old ladies enjoy a thrill once in a while. Don't worry, mon cher, you still had your underpants on and I didn't peek."

With that she laughed and handed him his pants before leaving the room.

"How do you do that?" Callen was gently laughing as he helped Deeks put on his shirt.

"Do what?"

"Charm the hell out of women of all ages," he said.

Deeks' grin widened briefly as he slipped on his shoes, but he didn't answer, his mind beginning to focus on what Lily would have to share. By the time the two of them reached the living room, he had become anxious with all the questions roaring around in his head and had to remind himself to be patient. Lily was sitting in front of a small simmering fire in the fieldstone fireplace, and her eyes darted towards him as she put down a bowl of soup.

"You look better," she said.

"You look tired," he replied. "Ready for questions, cause I have a lot of them?"

"Just let her tell it, Cuz," Elan said, looking slightly annoyed.

"Did you see Ruthie?" Deeks couldn't wait to ask the question foremost in his mind as he shot a piercing look at Elan.

"No, but I think she has been there," Lily responded. "Preston Burke's niece overheard me questioning him and I don't think he told them the truth about Ruthie. Burke practically ripped the girl's arm off getting her out of the room when she asked me how old Ruthie was."

"Was Burke's sister around?" Callen asked.

"Didn't see her," Lily answered before pouring herself a glass of burgundy.

Deeks was getting agitated as he waited to hear the details of her interrogation. Callen put a hand on his shoulder, and he took the hint, taking a couple of deep breaths as he tried to calm down. When Lily had a couple of sips of her wine, she settled back against the cushions of the couch and gave them a concise report.

"Who were the government officials?" Mimi asked when she finished.

"He didn't say, but I have photographs," she said with a smile. "It's why I'm so late. After we finished our little chat, I asked if he would take me on a tour of the house and grounds, but he said he needed to prepare for his guests and had a man named Koller usher me out. So, when I drove off the property, I found a nice little hiding place in an abandoned old farm building close to the road and set up surveillance."

"You're very thorough," Callen said with admiration.

"If Ruthie wasn't there, then where is she?" Deeks blurted out angrily. "If he's sent her out of the country we may never find her."

"I was packing up my equipment when I heard another car approaching," Lily said as she leaned toward Deeks. "I believe the passenger was Burke's sister and she appeared to be talking to someone beside her. A person shorter than her, quite possibly a child."

"You think it was Ruthie," Deeks said.

"Or maybe I just want to believe it was her," Lily said as she leaned back.

"She's there somewhere," Callen said firmly. "I don't think Burke would trust just anyone to take her. If he was spooked, he would take her someplace himself."

"You're right, G," Deeks said. "Can we get in there Lily?"

"His security is extremely tight," Lily said wearily. "No way we could breach that property without a lot of casualties. On both sides. Plus we have no solid proof she's there and no real reason to enter the property. I think we need to do some research and then see where that takes us."

Callen had his phone out and was already talking to Hetty when Deeks stood up and went out the front door, followed quickly by Kensi. He desperately needed the air and tensed slightly as Kensi wrapped an arm around his waist as he draped his arms over the fence.

"You okay?" she asked, but got no answer.

"We'll find her," she said softly as she ducked underneath his arm and turned to face him. "You have to believe that."

"I'm trying," he said quietly. "It's so frustrating, waiting here while Ruthie is trapped with that asshole. I'm afraid for her, Kens. I know what it feels like to live in fear of your own father, to have every thing you do questioned because he gets off on being in control. Ruthie has a strong personality and she won't give into him easily and that scares me, because it won't be long before he decides she needs to be taught a lesson. He's gonna hurt her, Kens. I know it and it's killing me. How can I be patient when I know that?"

"She's strong, but you also told me that she's smart," Kensi responded. "Don't underestimate her."

"She's also a kid," he said, walking away from her.

"So were you when you shot your father," she replied.

"By that time, I'm not sure I was a kid anymore," he said sadly. "I don't want her to lose herself, Kens. I don't want her to wake up every day listening for him in the house and wondering if the day will be a good one, or worrying that she might say the wrong thing and have to pay the consequences. I don't want her to have to fight for every smile or for the freedom to laugh whenever she feels like it."

He felt his chest tighten as he spoke and old feelings gripped him with dark familiar fingers. He felt Kensi's hand at the back of his neck, breaking the spell he seemed to be in and he turned toward her, seeking her warmth and needing her comfort. She wrapped him in her arms and kissed him gently under the ear. He clung to her, trying to banish the haunting memories of a childhood he wouldn't wish on anyone, especially a little girl like Ruthie.

"Trust us," she whispered. "You're not alone in this."

"I know."

"Deeks?" Callen yelled from the house. "Get in here. We've got new info."

When they entered the house, all of them were hovering over Lily's laptop and there was a look of confidence on Callen's face.

"What did you find?" Deeks asked breathlessly.

"Eric found a connection between Richard Koller, the guy Lily talked to at Burke's place, and one of the men who attacked the Walters two days ago," Callen told him. "The surviving attacker, Russell Haas, worked with Koller in the Sudan as a mercenary and had no idea who the Walters were, so when Sam threatened him with a stint in Gitmo or worse, he started talking. A lot."

"So does that give us reason enough to question Burke?" Deeks asked, hoping they had finally gotten a break.

"Well, we might be able to bring Koller in for questioning," Lily said. "Especially if we suspect he is connected to Malcolm Webb's death."

"Webb was the one who hired Haas and his men to kill the Walters," Callen said. "He was head of Burke's security. He didn't do anything without Burke's approval."

"But Webb is dead and Burke claims he had nothing to do with any of what happened in Los Angeles," Lily said. "France will not move against a man with Preston Burke's connections and stellar reputation over something that happened in America, especially without solid proof."

"You mean like finding a kidnapped little girl in his home?" Deeks yelled, catching everyone's attention. "We're chasing our tails, dammit. Ruthie is somewhere in Normandy and France doesn't even give a damn? She's nine years old."

"Hetty's talking with SecNav, Deeks, and apparently our Ambassador to France owes her a favor," Callen said quietly.

"And I believe the French Ambassador to your country owes me one," Mimi said, surprising them all. "It's a very long and tedious story. The two men don't like each other, but they know each other quite well, so let's get them to talk and see if we can't find a way inside Monsieur Burke's fortified chateau."

"Who are you?" Callen asked.

"Monsieur Deeks already asked me that," she said without smiling.

"And?" Callen asked.

"I am a little old lady who guards many secrets," she said. "None of which are any of your business, G. Callen."

Her smile was hard and fleeting as she picked up her phone and walked out of the room.

"She's the French version of Hetty," Deeks told him when he saw the scowl on his face.

"One's enough," he answered.

"Well, I don't care who she is if she gets us inside Burke's place." Deeks said before yawning.

"Go back to bed, Deeks," Callen ordered. "Diplomacy doesn't move any faster in France than it does in our country. You'll need your strength when we get permission to question Burke."

"You think that'll really happen?" he asked, his doubt obvious to all of them.

"I'll take our two Hetty's over two unsuspecting ambassadors any day," Callen said, his face confident as his mouth curled into a smile.

"They were a powerful team once," Luc said from the corner. "I wouldn't doubt them, young man. They know where all the bodies are buried."

The old man lifted himself slowly from chair and shuffled from the room, the small dog trailing behind, leaving Callen and Deeks staring at each other.

...

...

Elan had gotten tired of the tension in the house as the day wore on and had made his way to the barn; its familiar smells calming him. Last night had given his cousin some hope, but when negotiations stalled this morning, he started taking out his frustration on anyone who tried to talk him into being patient. Elan had come close to doing or saying something he would later regret, so he was now talking quietly to the horses in Arapaho.

"They only understand French," Lily said softly as she came to stand just inside the barn door.

"You give them a lot of credit," he replied. "My uncle believes they feel your spirit when you talk to them, no matter what the language."

"And what do you believe?" she asked as she walked over to him and put her hand over his as he stroke the gelding's neck.

"I believe you are beautiful," he whispered as he took her hand and pulled her firmly to him.

"Say it to me in your own language," she said as her hand moved slowly up his chest and began toying with the buttons on his chambray shirt.

He spoke softly to her then, smiling as his strong hands moved over her arms and down her back. He could feel her body quiver when he began to stroke the back of her neck, caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb, his body pressing against her as he searched her face just before he leaned down and kissed her. Her warm lips silenced his monologue and he forgot the words he was saying and gave in to the passion she ignited in him. She was so different and exciting and he broke their kiss to search her eyes once more, finding the same fire there he had seen the first time she had touched him.

"What did you say?" She asked as she undid the first button.

A soft rumbling laugh was his only response as she slowly undid the rest of the buttons on his shirt, her delicate fingers reaching inside to trace old scars on his chest and ghosting over the newest wound on his side before laying a kiss at the base of his throat. He fought for control as her lips and then her tongue lightly ran along his collarbone, his skin flushing as he responded, lifting her chin so he could crush his lips against hers. Her skin was as soft as the silk shirt she wore, and she began to moan quietly as his hands found their way underneath the pale fabric and slowly explored her body. They began to move against one another, and he pushed her back against the horse's side, its solid body smelling of home. He became wrapped up in the sensuous feel of her skin as the sensations she sparked within him collided with the familiar feel of the horse behind her and he wanted her, right now, in this barn.

"Why won't you tell me what you said?" she whispered as he pushed the horse away and lifted her in his arms.

He didn't want anything familiar now, not the smell of the barn, not the presence of the animals that filled his life, or the language of his childhood, the one he used when he was angry or needed to calm a horse or a man. He just wanted to lose himself in her, a woman so exotic and so different from any woman he had ever made love to, a woman who knew what she wanted and not shy about taking it. He could see it in her eyes and feel it in the touch of her heated fingers as they pulled at his belt, and that made him laugh.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked as he carried her deeper into the long barn.

"Ever made love in the hay?" he asked as he stepped inside one of the stalls and lowered her down into the fresh straw.

"I have a feeling you have," she answered, as she pulled him down on top of her.

"Never with someone like you," he breathed into her neck.

He slowly unbuttoned her blouse, kissing her urgently as she pushed the shirt off his shoulders, rushing as his tongue glided along the top of her breast. He felt her raise herself up and he looked at her as she freed her breasts and offered them to him with longing and a slight hint of danger in her dark eyes. Her hands were suddenly in his hair as he kissed his way down her body, listening to her breath when it caught in her throat as he lingered over each breast, whispering to him in her own language, the words touching him even though he had no idea what she was saying and didn't care. He settled back as he straddled her and then lifted her up until she was facing him, his eyes taking her in as her nails cut into his back, making him smile at her fierceness.

"You don't need to be gentle with me, mon chou," she said breathlessly, her lips almost touching his.

He covered her mouth with his as soon as she finished those words, his hands now inside the back of her jeans, tightly gripping her ass as he pulled her roughly to him. Her tongue filled his mouth and he felt her heat as she groaned with raw pleasure, her fingers entangled in his long hair. He pushed her back down into the straw and tugged her pants down past her hips, stopping only when he heard someone yelling his name and then hers.

"Fuck!" She moaned in frustration.

"Yeah. Would have been nice," he said as he rolled off into the straw next to her.

He lay quietly beside her until their breathing slowed, before reluctantly getting to his feet and pulling her up into an embrace. He kissed her gently, unable to stop himself from caressing her breast as he pressed her silk shirt into her hands. They spent a few minutes dressing and a few more picking straw out of each other's hair, neither one wanting to leave. He couldn't keep the smile from his face and she looked curiously up at him as he pulled his hair back and tied it into a knot at the back of his neck.

"Next time let's skip the foreplay," he said before kissing her longingly.

"And the straw," she laughed, slapping his butt as he turned to leave.

...

When they entered the house, excitement was pouring out of Deeks as he talked with Callen, his smile a welcome sight after everything that had happened. Only Mimi eyed them suspiciously, but there was a slight smile on her face as well.

"We have permission to interview Burke and search the house," Deeks said as he clapped Elan on the shoulder. "And he doesn't know we're coming."

"We'll have company though," Callen said. "The French Ambassador is sending a couple of diplomats and a minister from the Office of Foreign Affairs as well as a couple of high ranking police officials from Paris."

"Sounds like it's going to be crowded," Elan said.

"And very tense," Callen warned. "Burke doesn't like to be challenged, especially on his home ground."

"We will have to tread carefully," Lily said. "These government men will be watching you all very closely. They will not allow you much leeway in your questions or your search. Remember, Burke has security cameras everywhere and when he sees your faces at the front gate he will have plenty of time to hide her."

"Are you telling us not to get our hopes up?" Deeks asked, the smile suddenly gone from his face.

"You know him. You know what he's capable of. I'm just reminding you that this won't be easy," she said vehemently.

"Don't you think I know that?" Deeks' sudden anger putting them all on edge.

"Then don't go in there like an excited schoolboy," she snapped.

"We know who we're dealing with and we won't underestimate him," Callen said soothingly, stepping between them and trying to calm everyone's nerves. "Now let's move. We are meeting the French delegation in the little town of Mittois within the hour."

Some of their enthusiasm had been muted by the exchange between Lily and Deeks, so the walk to the car was made in silence. Mimi stopped Deeks as he left the house, holding him back to say a word to him privately.

"Lily gets caught up in the things and people she cares about," Mimi told him. "She is on your side, mon ami. She will do all in her power to help you, just as all those people waiting for you are willing to do. Trust them. Don't pull away. They are your friends and closer than family in our line of work. They are all we have to get us through the hard times, because they are the only ones who can possibly understand."

"I know," he said.

"Take care of yourself, mon cher," she said.

She took his face in her hands and smiled and said something in French before patting his cheek and turning to walk quickly back into the house. He stood there for a few seconds, slightly confused by the emotion he had seen in her eyes, but Callen called his name and after a glance inside, he turned and hurried to the car.

...

...

Deeks tuned out the conversation as soon as the introductions had been made. The Frenchmen were typical bureaucrats, and he could sense the condescension in their tone of voice as they explained the restrictions they were expected to adhere to when they reached Burke's chateau. He listened sullenly to one pompous diplomat rattle on in French and didn't need to know the language to see that whatever the man had said had pissed Callen off. He walked a little way down the road to where Elan was leaning against the car and blew out his breath, trying to mentally prepare for coming face to face with Preston Burke again. On the drive over he had worked hard to gather himself, tamping down the raw anger that boiled deep in the pit of his stomach, but as Elan looked steadily into his eyes, he wasn't sure he could hold it together when he saw the man again.

"Stay cool, Cuz," Elan warned, his eyes dark and dangerous. "Stay focused."

Deeks nodded, but he couldn't tear his mind away from that deep pit he'd almost died in or the image of Ruthie disappearing into the gaping mouth of that black helicopter. Preston Burke had orchestrated both of those things and Deeks realized that he was dealing with a hardened sociopath who cared nothing for anyone but himself. The man had inherited immense wealth, enabling him to do as he pleased without facing the consequences and making it possible for him to fulfill his need for controlling everything and everyone around him. Deeks cringed at the thought of Ruthie growing up under that warped man's iron hand. If he was going to keep his promise, he would have to control his emotions and his responses to whatever Burke said or did today. He reminded himself that the man carried no guilt for anything that he had done and would use whatever means necessary to keep Ruthie, so he steeled himself for the mental fight to come. He had to trust his instincts and not get distracted. He had only one goal: find Ruthie and bring her home.

"Deeks!"

Callen's voice pulled him sharply out of the depths of his mind and he followed him toward the car, noticing the quizzical look on his face as he passed him. He quickly smiled back at him as he entered the car, calmed by the sudden squeeze to his shoulder he received in return. He was suddenly intensely grateful to Callen for his support. Their relationship continued to be fluid and he still had questions about whether he and Callen could ever be as close as brothers, but there was no doubt that they shared a deep connection and he cherished that. Today he would be facing a man with a black heart, a man devoid of any common goodness, but he felt no fear because he wasn't facing him alone. He was surrounded by a special kind of family and that made all the difference.

...

...

I want to share some news about a new blog that I will be contributing to. The site is called wikiDeeks dot com and is the brainchild of Philly Di. If you like Marty Deeks this new site will premier this Sunday and feature the latest Deeks' news, reviews, features, photos, fanfics and art. Take a look, it's going to be fun.