Note: I'll keep this short to get to the story! Thanks for sticking with this story, for reading and reviewing. It sounds like a broken record to keep saying thank you, but I mean it. The encouragement has been helpful over the last several challenging work and real life weeks. There's a lot in this chapter, but I'm working towards the climax of what this is all building towards, so I hope you enjoy it. And thanks for reviewing if you do.
Deeks knew as he watched Jack fall back on the floor, the other man's body hitting the floor with a resonate thud and his head following in a sharp clap, that he should have felt some flicker of unease. Or at least some shred of remorse. Unease at the violent impulse that had welled up, an urge that he would normally tamp down, shove aside, and ignore. Deeks wasn't an angry, violent man. Which was why he should have felt some regret at hitting Jack in the jaw with enough force to knock him to his back.
Instead Deeks felt the ache in his hand where he couldn't seem to release his fingers from the fist they'd formed. He felt the sudden bead of sweat at his hairline, the roaring of his blood as it pumped wildly, the rush bringing a steady flow of adrenalin and fear, aged by days of worry and nights of missed sleep. Deeks ground his teeth together, using the tightening muscles as a distraction as he slowly relaxed his clenched hand. The fingers stretched and Deeks flexed them hesitantly, feeling some relief that he didn't seem to have broken any bones in his hand. The immediate pain in his hand forgotten, Deeks took a step towards Jack, standing over the man as Jack stared at the ceiling, his eyes widened with shock.
Deeks almost wished he could claim he had reacted completely on instinct. That some uncontrollable force had caused him to act out in a way that wasn't like him. But he couldn't even muster up the defense because he knew it was false. He'd heard Jack talking to Kensi, telling her that Kovalev was willing to bargain with information on his buyers and sellers, that the information on where Hailey was being held wasn't important enough. And Deeks had realized with cool, precise rationality that Jack didn't care about Hailey, didn't care if she lived or died. With that realization had come the absolute need to inflict pain on the man now standing in his way of finding his sister. So it had been a logical thought process that brought him to punching Jack. Jack was in the way to Kovalev. And Kovalev had answers about Hailey. Eliminating Jack was the absolute truth, the only logical conclusion.
It was Kensi's hand that stopped him from leaning over and hauling Jack to his feet. He shoved against her palm, the strength in her barely keeping him back. Deeks swung his head around and narrowed his eyes at Kensi, expecting her pleas for him to stop, expecting for her to tell him he wasn't the kind of man who resorted to violence in frustration. Deeks expected recrimination but what he saw surprised him.
In Kensi's long face, her skin drawn tight around tightly pressed lips, with stress shadowing her dark eyes and making them seem fathomless, there was no disapproval. Instead, Kensi's eyes glittered like obsidian, the fire of her anger staring back at him mixed with unmistakeable sorrow and fury. Even without saying a word, Deeks knew the sorrow had nothing to do with Jack. Kensi's face told him everything he needed to know. He and Kensi were unified in their need to find Hailey, and nothing would stand in their way. Not Jack, and certainly not his focus on Peter Kovalev's criminal network.
Kensi shook her head once, pushing on his chest slightly, the only resistance he felt keeping him from resuming his advance towards Jack. But her words, low and desperate, brought him back to her. "No. We need him awake. We need him to tell us what's happened and what he knows."
The insinuation was there. If Deeks beat Jack until he was unconscious, Kensi wouldn't actually blame him. The way she glanced back at Jack, her face turning forcibly placid, told him she might even want to do it herself. But she had her focus on the bigger picture, bringing Deeks back to their current reality. Glancing over at Callen, Deeks saw the surprised lift of the other man's eyebrows, his appraising eyes on Deeks. And Deeks shrugged, whether to shake off the aggression still pulsing through him or to reject Callen's studying eyes, he didn't dwell on the thought.
"Fine. He tells us what happened, we get what we need from Kovalev and then we leave. He's not a part of this," Deeks warned, swinging his finger to aim at Jack, who was finally leaning up into a sitting position, testing his jaw with tentative fingers. The shock was gone from Jack's face, replaced with resentment simmering behind his brown eyes.
Jack stood, his height the same as Deeks, but his weight and bulk rivaling Deeks'. Deeks held his ground, not feeling intimidated even as he knew without a doubt that Jack was using every tool in his physical arsenal to try and make Deeks back down. But having an abusive father had taught Deeks to recognize bullies. And being smaller growing up and a pariah on the LAPD had made him confident in his abilities to outmaneuver and outsmart opponents. Jack might have been a trained assassin for the CIA, but Deeks knew the man had demons and weaknesses. Just as he knew he had Kensi and Callen at his back and on his side.
"I'm a part of this, whether you like it or not," Jack said, seething the words out. "Peter Kovalev is the my prisoner. I've been tracking him for almost a week. The information he's going to provide is because of five years of my life undercover. It could save hundreds, even thousands of lives. You can't tell me one life is worth risking that."
"Actually, I can," Deeks shot back. "You don't know what he has or what he might be willing to trade. My sister's life is the only thing that's important right now. It's the only reason we're here. And I don't know how, but I think she's in danger because of you. And I want to know what he did with Hailey."
Kensi stepped forward, buffering Deeks' rising voice with her own calm questions. "Kovalev turned himself into you? You informed the CIA? What did they say?"
"Kensi, who cares what the CIA says—"
Kensi interrupted Deeks' impatience with a slide of her eyes, cutting him off. "Because if the CIA knows then they'll be sending agents. I don't want the CIA crashing in and making a mess. Their participation might clue in the Russian government and we don't need that kind of attention. We aren't supposed to be here, remember? It may decrease the time we have to find Hailey." Kensi turned back to Jack. "Did you tell your superiors about Kovalev?"
Jack was silent for a long minute, staring at Kensi and taking in the brunt of the chill in her voice. Finally, he shook his head. "No, I didn't tell them. I wanted him in my custody and I knew he could tell me the information on his organization that I've been working on for five years. He's tied up in that room." Jack gestured towards the closed door at the rear of the apartment. He paused, licking his lips nervously, his eyes darting to Kensi pleadingly. "And I wanted to try and see what he knew about your family. He told me his men no longer had Kyle, but he said he knew where your sister is. I wanted to try and help you."
Barely containing his disbelieving laughter, Deeks only shook his head. Just minutes before he'd been trying to sell his story about one life not being important when compared to the hundreds that could be saved. Deeks studied Jack carefully, gradually adjusting his opinion of the man, seeing the manipulative layers beneath the imploring surface. It made Deeks wonder what his true motivations were, and it made him wonder if Kensi could now see clearly beneath the veneer of sincerity Jack projected.
Deeks turned his head to Kensi, feeling a burst of pride at how Kensi lifted her chin, crossing her arms over her chest. Her gaze was clear and steady, no hint of being swayed by Jack's pleading. This was the woman, the partner, that had knocked the air out of him when they'd first met. This was the agent who had moved up the ranks of NCIS to become a senior agent. She'd broken free of the ties of her past and was finally and fully in the present and unified with Deeks. And internally Deeks chastised himself for ever wondering otherwise, even for those few weak moments. Kensi didn't give her loyalty and love easily, and he'd had hers for over a decade.
Unmoved by Jack's attempts to win her over, Kensi shook her head. As if sensing another eruption, Callen intervened, his tone casual. "Great, we're all on the same page. So where has he stashed Hailey?"
As if noticing Callen for the first time, Jack stared at him, obviously making a quick assessment of Callen and cocking his head to the side. "Who are you?"
"G. Callen. Former CIA, former NCIS. I taught Kensi almost everything she knows about being an agent. Deeks too, though he'd probably say otherwise. Kensi and Sam might have had a hand in that, too," Callen said pleasantly, pausing to lower his voice to a degree slightly above ice. "I know how the CIA works, which is where the 'former' part comes in. Hailey is the closest thing I have to a niece and you're standing in the way of us getting her back. Either you start helping or step aside. I guarantee we don't need you to get Kovalev to talk."
Callen's nonchalance and dismissive authority had the desired effect, making Jack wither slightly, his shoulders slumping as he recognized someone not to be toyed with. "It's still my case. I want Kovalev brought to justice."
"We want the same thing. But we get Hailey first," Callen said, finality in his voice ending any argument.
In the back of Deeks' mind an annoying voice piped up, reminding him that Jack had a point about bringing Kovalev to justice. And then Deeks thought back to what Hetty had told him several weeks earlier, that someday he might understand the difficult decisions she made about her agent's lives. Deeks wanted to feel some kind of clear morality and certainty about bringing Peter Kovalev to justice to pay for his crimes, but he couldn't see past getting Hailey back. And he wondered if the absence of those feelings would haunt him later.
The ringing of Kensi's satellite phone distracted Deeks from the darkness edging around his mind. Pulling the backpack around, Deeks opened the outer flap and rifled through the contents, easily finding the phone. He held it out to Kensi, who nodded to him that he should take the call. Turning to Jack, Kensi began to quickly fill him in on the events of the last several days from Los Angeles to New York, to Prague and finally to Moscow. Deeks stepped to a corner of the room and saw the caller ID didn't register where the call was coming from but he answered anyway, the familiar voice on the other end speaking before he had the chance.
"Agent Deeks, please do not identify me if you are in mixed company."
Smiling at how the title actually identified both him and Kensi, Deeks nodded to himself, his curiosity rising at Hetty's mysterious and urgent request. He kept his voice low. "You got it."
If Hetty was surprised about who she spoke to, she hid it well. "I understand you are in Moscow, tracking Peter Kovalev and Ivan Markovic. Have you located them?"
"You could say that. We're in proximity to Kovalev now. And we have a lead on Ivan Markovic."
"You must listen to me very carefully. I contacted an old friend in the Federal Security Service who is well placed for providing information. Rumor has it that Major Markovic has something up his sleeve to secure a hefty payday to buy his next promotion. Within the FSB ranks it is purely speculation, but Ms. Deeks appears to be the worst kept secret in the Russian government. No official channel will admit she is in Russia as a reluctant guest of Major Markovic, but the government is also not likely to want to sit on an international incident like Ms. Deeks may present for very long. Markovic has some pull, but I do not know how long the government will sit back and wait, so your time may be short."
"So our government doesn't have actionable intelligence and the Russians are just adopting a 'wait and see' attitude. Great," Deeks said wearily. "Any other good news to tell us? Did your FSB contact have any idea about where Hailey is being kept?"
The long pause over the phone connection made the hair on the back of Deeks' neck stand up. Hetty didn't usually let bad news linger. She took the ripping-off-the-bandaid approach.
"My contact did not have first hand knowledge, but his sources have passed along the rumor that Major Ivan Markovic has locked her away in a detainment center. Inside the Kremlin."
Deeks felt his mind go blank, unable to string even letters together to form words. He barely resisted the urge for hysterical laughter. After a few long seconds, and Hetty quietly saying his name, he finally spoke, trying to keep his voice low. "Are you kidding me? What the hell are we supposed to do with that information?"
Hetty's voice was regretful in a way that Deeks could picture the frown on her face, the loss and worry deepening the creases in her forehead. "I wish I had better news, Agent Deeks. The State Department is at a loss in determining how to proceed. My contact at the FSB cannot risk his position and cannot assist. I am truly sorry. You are on your own."
"What about the CIA?" Deeks asked, desperate and willing to accept the help from even questionable sources. "After everything NCIS did to help them, can't they do something?"
"The CIA has other concerns at the moment. That is the other purpose for my call. The CIA has disavowed all association with Agent Salvay. He was sent to Europe to track Peter Kovalev and has not been heard from in days. He has ignored all contact protocol and the CIA is assuming he has gone rogue. It is now their top priority to capture him. He is not to be trusted."
The effort it took to not to react, not to mutter obscenities, and not to lunge for Jack again was monumental. Deeks breathed deeply, his hand tightly gripping the phone until his fingertips went numb.
"Understood."
Disconnecting the call, Deeks schooled his face into a calm expression and circled around casually, facing Kensi, Callen, and Jack again. Kensi raised her eyebrows, clearly curious after hearing some of his ambiguous side of the discussion. Mirroring Kensi, Deeks crossed his arms, facing Jack with the utter certainty that the man had been lying to them. Just as he knew there were still questions that needed to be answered in order to get them closer to rescuing Hailey. Knowing where she was only solved one corner of the puzzle. How she'd gotten there and Jack's involvement was the other part Deeks was most interested in.
"So Peter Kovalev got in touch with you last night?" Deeks asked.
"I've been trying to track him for a couple days. He finally called a number for my alias, Nicholas Donovan," Jack confirmed.
Deeks nodded, questioning further. "And what exactly is he willing to trade?"
"His buyers and sellers, the people who fund and carry out international weapons trading and feed down to terrorist cells."
"In exchange for what?" Deeks asked.
"Immunity and safety. And money. He wants five million. He knew he wouldn't be able to deliver on the weapons he was supposed to steal from the U.S. military, and he doesn't have the money to make good on his promises."
"And he's willing to toss in the information on where Hailey is out of the goodness of his heart?" Deeks replied.
Jack paused, glancing at Kensi before answering. "I told him I wanted that information, too. I asked for it for Kensi."
Deeks swallowed his anger and continued. "So what is the information? Where is Hailey?"
"Kovalev wouldn't say. He just said she's safe somewhere. And that only he has the ability to get her out. It makes me think he has help, someone keeping her hidden away."
Deeks laughed, the sound a harsh bark. "You can say that again."
Kensi looked and Deeks strangely. "What's going on?"
Turning to Kensi, Deeks shook his head tiredly. "Intel from NCIS suggests that Hailey is being kept inside the Kremlin under orders from one Major Ivan Markovic, Peter Kovalev's half-brother."
Deeks let that sink in, watched as Kensi's eyes widened and clouded with worry as she calculated the odds stacked against them, and he watched as even Callen took a step back, the sheer difficulty of their mission hitting him fully as he briefly covered his eyes with a hand. Deeks turned back to Jack, wondering if the surprise on the man's face was genuine or an act.
"So if you think Kovalev is trustworthy enough to offer you the information you want, by all means trust him. But he's clearly hedging his bets. He hid Hailey away where it's almost impossible to get to her. I think he's been playing you all along," Deeks paused, understanding dawning. "And I think you've been playing him all along, too."
Annoyed, Jack held his hands out, his gestures impatient. "Of course I have. That's what my undercover has been about for five years. I've been playing him the whole time."
"Nope, not just that. I think he's known you were playing him the whole time, or most of the time. I think he knew and he was using you as much as you were using him." Deeks shook his head, realizing the theory that Jack's cover had been blown didn't entirely fit. "But what I don't understand is if he knew who you were and was using you, why he would come to you now? Why not got straight to the CIA?" Deeks mused, turning away from Jack to walk the length of the room. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Callen had moved towards Jack's flank, taking up a strategic location as he caught onto the train of Deeks' thoughts, the suspicion in his voice.
Still thinking, Deeks spoke out loud, letting his words bring him to a natural, surprising conclusion. "If your cover was blown he would have known you were CIA and that contacting you would take him straight to them. Kovalev had to be suspicious after the robbery attempt of the chemical weapons went south. He was on the run and desperate enough to steal Kyle and Hailey as collateral. You would be the first one he'd suspect. But we got Kyle back and he had to know someone was coming after him. He put Hailey somewhere safe, tucked away as his only backup plan. And he used his half-brother to help him. But he still got in touch with the person most likely to give him up. Unless he knew you wouldn't give him up. Unless he already knew you were CIA. Unless he already knew because you'd told him. You're the mole."
Deeks was surprised at how calmly the words came from his mouth, at how he could look at Jack with rationality even as his blood boiled to a red haze nearly cloaking his vision. The certainty of his conclusions should have made him resume his attack on Jack from earlier, but Deeks found himself stopping to consider his own words. No matter how methodical his words were, no matter how he'd checked his emotions, Deeks should have realized that Kensi, forever the yin to his yang, and the storm to his calm, would react in an entirely opposite way.
She moved quickly, stepping around Callen to reach into his backpack and extract a handgun before Callen could move to ask what she was doing. In the back of his mind Deeks registered that it was a Glock 17, and he watched as Kensi barely glanced at the gun, but hefted it in her hands with the certainty of knowing Callen would have only brought a well checked arsenal of weapons. Kensi's hands slid knowingly over the weapon, aiming it straight at Jack. He'd been moving towards the table where his handgun was but at the click of metal that signaled Kensi's intent, Jack froze.
Jack had been staring at his gun but he slowly lifted his eyes to Kensi, testing and assessing the intent on her face. "You're not going to shoot me, Kensi. You couldn't do that. You're not that kind of person."
The twitch in Kensi's jaw was the only indication his words bothered her. When she spoke, her voice was icy and harsh. "Do you really want to test me on that right now? You don't know me as well as you think you do if you think I could overlook any involvement you might have had in hurting my family."
Jack sighed, something that looked like regret pulling his eyes away and making him frown. "I didn't. At least not intentionally. I swear I didn't."
Although there was part of Deeks that wanted Kensi follow through with the threat of her gun on Jack, there was another part that wanted to get at the truth. And Deeks didn't want to see Kensi become a murderer out of revenge and anger. He reached out, laying a hand on Kensi's shoulder, squeezing the tense muscle gently. She looked at him, her eyes softening slightly so he could see the pain there, the need to make someone pay even as the cost might be too heavy for her to bear.
"Let's hear what he has to say," Deeks said, nearly choking on the words. Kensi drew a deep and shaky breath, her elbows locking and then relaxing as she lowered her weapon. Callen picked up Jack's gun from the table, putting it in the waistband of his jeans before turning around to watch Kensi and Deeks for a long second, finally reaching out to take the gun from Kensi, holding it down at his side. But Deeks saw his finger hovering over the trigger and knew Callen could be counted on to follow through where Deeks had stopped Kensi. Jack's eyes were wary as he sunk down in the chair, running a hand over his short hair.
"It's hard to know who to trust when you've been betrayed by the people you thought you could trust, when you've found out the life you led was a lie. That's how I felt after I found out my handler at the CIA had used me," Jack said. Deeks barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Nobody cares about your sob story, Salvay," Deeks said sharply. Jack's eyes slid to Deeks, flashing angrily.
"I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm explaining what happened so you'll understand why I did what I did," Jack replied shortly. At the grudging silence that followed, Jack continued. "When the CIA came back to me and offered me a job, I didn't trust them. But I took it and I followed the company line because I knew how to do that. As a soldier you learn to follow orders and not question. And I thought I might be able to do some good, to atone for the people I'd killed.
"But then I got assigned to infiltrate Peter Kovalev's criminal organization. I didn't trust the CIA to put in the needed time on the mission since I wasn't getting results right away. Nicholas Donovan was a good criminal alias, but he wasn't enough to hook Kovalev. He liked me, but he didn't trust me. So I gave him the one thing that would win his trust. I gave him the truth," Jack said.
"You told him you were CIA?" Callen asked incredulously.
Jack nodded. "Three years ago. I fed him enough information about the CIA to get in his inner circle. And I collected enough information to keep the CIA happy so they would understand the value in investing a long term mission into Kovalev's business dealings, but ultimately it wasn't enough to take Kovalev down. I thought Kovalev's interest in the military shipment would be the opportunity to finish it. And I never would have gotten that intel on his plans if not for telling Kovalev I was CIA. I thought that would end it, the CIA would arrest him, end of story."
"You didn't worry that when they arrested Kovalev that they might have had an issue with your rogue, unapproved mission?" Callen asked. Jack shrugged.
"In my experience the CIA will forgive a lot. I didn't think it would matter as long as I brought in results. But when Kensi walked in as Ensign Lisa Hale things got complicated. I didn't tell Kovalev about Kensi then, I swear I didn't. And I kept the weapons sting a secret from Kovalev, thinking the CIA would arrest him and that would stop it all. But I guess Kovalev was suspicious or nervous or something. He got away when the robbery attempt failed."
"He was suspicious," Deeks replied shortly. "He had Pavlimir Lagunov follow you in Los Angeles after noticing how Nicholas Donovan reacted to Lisa Hale. In Prague Lagunov told us Kovalev had a mole in the CIA. Kovalev meant you, even if he did trust you at that point. He played you, letting you think what you wanted. You thought he trusted you and you let your guard down."
Shaking his head wildly, Jack replied with disbelief raising his voice. "No, that can't be. He got away, but I followed him. He called me last night, he got in touch with me for help. He reached out to me."
"Because he knew he could manipulate you. He must have started to get desperate after we got Kyle back in Prague. He'd lost half his bargaining power. He probably thought he could use you for more information. So he handed Hailey over to his brother and turned himself in to you. It's genius, really," Deeks replied, the unemotional calculation lining up and making sense. "His brother can be left holding all the cards, and potentially holding the bag in a sticky political situation, and either way he can negotiate himself into safety. Maybe even reveal to the CIA what you've been up to. Though I wonder how this could possibly work out for him or you now that the CIA has made you persona non grata. But then, Kovalev doesn't know that."
Callen's eyes narrowed. "They disavowed all knowledge?"
Deeks nodded. "Yep. That tends to happen when you go AWOL for a couple days. And it tends to happen when you don't work well with others and make decisions by yourself in a vacuum. Decisions that affect civilians like my son and sister."
Jack paled, his face white beneath the dark stubble on his jaw. He dropped his head to his hands and shook it back and forth. The restless movement was jerky and uncontrolled and his voice was uneven when he spoke. "I was working both sides. I was trying to do the right thing, to bring Kovalev down. It got out of hand when Kensi and NCIS got involved."
"Don't even try and put this on Kensi," Deeks replied, hissing the words through his teeth. "It got out of hand the second you told Peter Kovalev you were CIA. You compromised your mission and your alias. You created a situation where your target had the wrong kind of information and he used what he knew against you. Your tradecraft sucks, man. You're not half the agent Kensi is."
Deeks was taking a step towards Jack, itching to get his hands on the man, when Kensi's quiet voice halted him. "Stop."
As always, her voice was one of the only things he listened to. Kensi was looking at Jack, shaking her head and then turning to Deeks. "It's done. Whatever mistakes were made, they're long made. I don't care who is to blame, not right now. I care about getting Hailey back. We need to focus on that."
Deeks stared at Kensi, stupefied. "A minute ago you had a gun pointed at his head. Now you're willing to let bygones be bygones?"
"I'm not letting it go for good. But I am letting it go for now." Kensi allowed a glance at Jack, her eyes flickering with unease. "It was shortsighted of me to react that way. We need all the help we can get in going after Hailey."
Deeks nodded tiredly, knowing she was right. "Okay, how are we going to do that? Markovic has her hidden away in the Kremlin. Kovalev thinks he has information to trade. I don't think we have long before the CIA is going to catch the scent of what's going on here, and they're already on his tail." Deeks hooked a thumb, pointing at Jack.
"We can't trust the CIA," Kensi observed. "But Kovalev may still have information of interest to NCIS. And he might be able to tell his brother to release Hailey. We need to talk to him."
Deeks agreed with a quick incline of his head, following Kensi as she moved towards the closed door. She allowed a glance towards Callen, who gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll keep an eye on Salvay. He's not going anywhere."
Deeks took the gun Callen offered him, tucking it into the waistband of his pants, and followed Kensi towards the bedroom. He pulled her to a stop just outside the bedroom door, leaning to whisper in her ear. "We need to convince Kovalev the CIA isn't going to protect him. Follow my lead."
Kensi nodded, reaching for the door handle. The floorboards creaked under their weight and Kensi took the lead entering the room, pulling the chain to turn on the lone lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. The light in the room swung around, making the room appear to toss and turn like a ship in a turbulent tide. The glimpses Deeks caught of the corners in the shadows, dirt caked in layers, broken windows, and peeling wallpaper made him wish the halo of the light left a little more to the imagination.
Kensi kneeled down in front of Peter Kovalev, balancing on the balls of her feet and staying outside of his reach from where he sat on the floor, cuffs around his ankles and wrists. Deeks noted with surprise that Kovalev wasn't gagged. The fact that the Russian wasn't trying to alert any neighbors to his present, as well as the knowing smirk on his face, further confirmed to Deeks that Kovalev was right where he wanted to be. His appraising eyes creeping up and down Kensi, Kovalev spoke in Russian, the words unknown to Deeks but the meaning clear.
"In English," Kensi said shortly, abruptly standing to tower over Kovalev. He inclined his head, a mocking tilt and hooded eyes giving him a casual, unbothered air.
"As you prefer. I was remarking that you look very well for a dead woman, Ensign Hale." Unblinking, Kovalev shifted his eyes to Deeks, squinting as he studied him, and finally nodded with awareness. "She looks like you."
Confused, Deeks looked at Kensi, her suddenly pale face and wide eyes a mystery to him. But it didn't take time for the pieces to fall into place and the answer to a question he hadn't asked formed in his mind. Hailey. Kovalev was commenting about his resemblance to Hailey. Kovalev's smirk creeped up. "She is your sister, yes?"
Deeks swore under his breath, turning abruptly away so Kovalev wouldn't see how his simple observation had shaken him. Belatedly he realized by turning away he'd probably tipped his hand. But with the knowledge that Kovalev had seen Hailey recently, had been responsible for her kidnapping and movement across the world, Deeks was finding it very hard not to put a bullet in him.
"You took my family. Why?" Kensi asked. Deeks swallowed thickly, knowing she was buying him time to regroup.
"Did Nicholas not explain? So full of secrets. Very well," Kovalev replied, amusement in his conversational tone. "Nicholas told me of his connection to the CIA years ago. I was never certain he was completely loyal to me, but after many years he got me closer and closer to what I wanted."
"Involvement in international weapons trading," Kensi stated.
Kovalev nodded. "I had already decided that Nicholas' time with me was running out. But he secured Ensign Lisa Hale and her security clearance and delivered her to me. It was not until I saw him with you, as her, that I suspected Nicholas' deception. But I could not call off the plan for the theft of the chemical weapons. My buyers were depending on me."
"And when the robbery failed you had your men, including Pavlimir Lagunov, secure your collateral," Kensi said grimly. At the first hint of surprise on Kovalev's face, Kensi allowed a smile through her pressed lips. "That's right, you probably don't have the details. We tracked your men to Prague and we captured Lagunov. Some of them got away with Hailey, but Lagunov didn't take much convincing to turn on you. He gave us information that brought us here, closer to you."
Sighing, Kovalev shook his head. "Loyalty is such a difficult trait to find in people today." He narrowed his eyes, curiosity lifting an eyebrow. "But how did you know to go to Prague? When my men arrived in Moscow with only one of my bargaining chips I wondered, though they could not tell me how they had been found so quickly."
Deeks had almost gagged at Hailey being referred to as a "bargaining chip," but he pushed past his disgust. "You're right, loyalty is a difficult trait to find in people. Including in business associates and Irish mobsters."
Kovalev's amused and curious smile iced over to a displeased frown. "John Keene."
"Got it in one. He's probably going to poach your business in New York," Deeks replied, shrugging a shoulder. "Not that that's going to do you any good now that you've turned yourself over to the CIA." Mimicking surprise, Deeks held a palm out. "Oh, wait, you didn't really do that."
Kovalev gave almost no outward hint that Deeks' words bothered him, except for the fact that he'd gone completely still. Deeks pointed back towards the main room of the apartment. "You didn't think after Nicholas Donovan in there went missing from the CIA that they were going to keep backing him up, did you? The CIA has declared him rogue. Your only chance is with us. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, at your service."
Sneering at Deeks' tone, Kovalev's confidence returned. "Why do I worry about the Navy? I have done nothing to them."
Tired of his flippant and dismissive tone, something in Deeks snapped. Any small inkling of patience he'd had vanished like fog in the sun. And before Kovalev could react, Deeks grabbed the chain between Kovalev's handcuffs, yanking with enough force to topple the Russian facedown to the floor and stretching his arms painfully above his head. Kensi followed his lead, stepping on the chain and forcing Kovalev to lie prone on the floor as Deeks shove his knee in Kovalev's back, curses in Russian filling the air. As his voice got louder and louder, Deeks pressed the barrel of his gun to the back of Kovalev's head, bringing immediate silence.
"We work for the Department of Defense and we have friends in powerful positions who can reach far. You did something to us, asshole," Deeks hissed. "You took our family. And you still have information we want, information on my sister. That's the only thing that makes you valuable to us right now."
"What you want to know? I tell you where she is," Kovalev said, desperation making him stumble over the words.
Kensi gave a sharp tug on the handcuffs, painfully pulling Kovalev's already stretch arms further from his shoulders. She ignored his groan. "We already know your brother has her in the Kremlin. We want to know what your plan was to retrieve her if this deal didn't work out."
"There was no plan—"
Deeks pressed the gun sharply into the base of Kovalev's skull.
"—Нет, нет! No, no! I tell you!" Deeks eased up the pressure of the gun, but kept Kovalev pinned to the floor with his knee. The Russian breathed deeply for several seconds until Deeks grew impatient.
"Your usefulness goes down the longer you take to talk," Deeks replied shortly. Out of the corner of his eye saw Kensi glance at him worriedly but Deeks couldn't allow himself to think about the concern in her eyes. Or that they were straddling a very fine line between questioning and torturing Kovalev. All he could think about was Hailey.
"I was to trade information on my buyers and sellers to the CIA for money. I would trade them Nicholas Donovan, too. Money and immunity. My brother promised to keep your sister hidden away for two days in exchange for money. If he does not receive the payment of five million dollars in twenty-four hours, he will make her disappear. If he hears anything from me in twenty-four hours, he will make her disappear. No direct contact, that was our plan. That is all," Kovalev finished, their silence urging him to continue. "I swear that is all!"
"And you're willing to give your own brother up now? Just like that?" Kensi asked incredulously, clearly thinking of Cody and how nothing could get her to betray her brother who she didn't even share blood with.
"Half-brother," Kovalev gasped out, as if that explained everything.
Angrily, Deeks stood, releasing Kovalev so he could sit up, his face mottled red and purple as he breathed deeply and collapsed against the wall. Pacing the room, Deeks shook his head. "That's not good enough. You're not telling us anything we don't already know. She's in the Kremlin and time is running out. Thanks for nothing. You must have some way to get in to see your brother."
Kovalev shook his head wildly. "No, I do not. That is why I went to Ivan. He is ruthless, with political connections, and he needs money for his next promotion. He did not provide me details on purpose. I knew he would hide her well and that he had the connections in the Kremlin. It is the most secure building in Russia."
"You're not helping you case," Kensi warned. "We have no reason to want to keep you alive if you have no value to us. And right now, I'm not seeing any."
His earlier bravado chased away by being roughly pinned to the floor, Kovalev's eyes shifted back and forth, searching and thinking, calculating and considering. He held up his hands, the cuffs clanking as his hands shook. "John Keene. I am not the only business man in America with interests in expansion into international weapons trading. I can give you John Keene."
Deeks paused in his pacing, meeting Kensi's suddenly hopeful eyes. As had happened earlier, through the haze of heightened fear and worry, it took Deeks a few seconds to catch up. He'd been about to yell at Kovalev that Keene was useless to them when Kensi's earnest gaze pinned him down. And it all locked into place. The hope she was suddenly holding onto was for Liam. If Kovalev could lead them to information to take down John Keene, then Liam would be free and his family would be safe.
With slumped shoulder, Deeks shook his head, muttering to himself. "That kid is going to make me lose my hair."
Kensi's soft snort of laughter told him she'd heard him. He raised his head, meeting her eyes and asking her silent questions.
Really? We deal with this dirtbag to save Murphy's ass?
Kensi nodded quickly once. Yes.
Deeks sighed, imploring Kensi. Kovalev doesn't deserve it. He doesn't deserve to live.
The pointed look Kensi gave him was a reminder. They'd been through a lot and their loved ones had been threatened, but neither of them was a cold blooded killer. And then her eyes softened with a glow and that look that she reserved for a select few, and only on rare occasions. For family. And for when people she loved needed her.
For Hailey.
Deeks nodded, the reluctance gone. He knew she was right. Liam was family. And Hailey needed him.
"Any hope you have for staying alive and protected hinges on you giving us information to take John Keene down. It's not just the CIA that'll come after you. You have some very unhappy buyers you stiffed by not coming through with those chemical weapons. And if you even attempt to get in touch with your brother or interfere in the next twenty-four hours and I can promise you that she—" Deeks pointed at Kensi. "—Will hunt you to the ends of the earth. And I'll be right behind her, loading her gun."
Properly manipulated and forced into submission, Kovalev was a completely different man than the one he'd been when they entered. He nodded mutely, circling his knees with his arms and pulling them close to his body. Deeks jerked his head towards the door and Kensi wordlessly followed him back to the main room of the apartment, securely shutting the bedroom door behind them.
Jack was still collapsed in his chair, but he looked up as they approached Callen. Deeks appraised Jack, realizing that he seemed almost bent over by the knowledge of what his failures had done. Jack stared at Kensi, clearly hoping for a sympathetic glance, hungry for some sign that she might forgive him. And Deeks knew that even if Kensi might forgive, he wouldn't. And neither of them would forget.
Kensi summarized their interrogation of Kovalev quickly, the frown on Callen's face deepening as Kensi's explanation just further complicated their situation. Callen rubbed a hand over his face, blinking tiredly and with the first sign that he was feeling the toll of the last few days.
"So let me get this straight. Hailey is hidden away somewhere in the Kremlin. We don't know where, but we have only one day until she disappears," Callen paused. "Any chance we can get our hands on five million dollars? It would save us the trouble of breaking into the Kremlin."
Deeks huffed out laughter at Callen's nonchalant expression of their very dire situation. "We can try, see if Hetty has any connections. But I don't think we can count on that. Not in a day. We have to come up with a plan."
"To break into the Kremlin," Kensi said slowly, letting the words sink in. Deeks wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it, but the impossible had become their reality. From the side, Jack stood, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin.
"I want to help," Jack said, locking his eyes on Kensi. "Please, let me help. Let me try and make up for what I did."
Kensi studied Jack long and hard, her face as smooth as marble and has hard as granite. When she spoke, it was to practically bark the words out. "I don't trust you."
Jack nodded, accepting the sharpened barbs of her words. "That's fair. But you're probably going to need all the help you can get. I promise I will help you get Hailey out."
Her eyes still shifted uneasily to Deeks and he felt the same tendrils of uncertainty swimming deeply in her eyes. Deeks knew what Kensi was thinking. They needed numbers. And even with Jack's past mistakes they might need to trust him. For now. He nodded in agreement, their decision made together.
The tentative detente was interrupted by the loud ringing of Callen's phone, which he quickly pulled from his pocket to answer. Listening for several seconds, Callen's jaw tightened and he closed his eyes, hiding what looked to Deeks like exasperation. When he spoke, he spat the words out. "We'll meet you back at the hotel in thirty minutes. Make sure nobody follows you."
"What's going on?" Kensi asked. Callen pocketed his phone, shaking his head.
"The boys got into a little skirmish with some Russian Army officers," Callen said.
Kensi's head jerked in disbelief, her ponytail bobbing around her neck. "I can't believe it. A fight over what? Liam knows better—"
"Oh, no, this time it wasn't Liam," Callen said, amusement creeping into his voice. "David seems to have been the cause of all the trouble."
Kensi's mouth dropped open, and Deeks found himself similarly stunned. Shouldering his bag, Callen gestured towards the door. "Come on, let's go find out what kind of mess they made and if they've been compromised."
Telling Jack they would contact him when they'd had a chance to regroup and come up with a plan, they left him to keep an eye on Kovalev. Deeks realized there was a great deal of trust and risk in even doing that, but they had to build some trust and make some risks with the limited resources and time they had. And contacting the CIA would gain Jack nothing.
Before leaving the apartment building to step outside, Kensi caught Deeks' eye, disbelief still causing her to furrow her brow. Knowing there had to be an explanation, Deeks tried to make light of the situation. "Twenty-four hours to break into the Kremlin? Of course we needed another challenge."
Kensi sighed, her frown deepening despite his attempt at levity. Unable to resist the instinct to try and cheer Kensi up, Deeks grinned, pulling her close with an arm over her shoulders.
"Twenty bucks says it was over a girl."
To be continued