I get home as the sun was beginning to rise. As I'm pulling into the parking lot, I do a quick scan of lot. I didn't see anything when I was parking, but I noticed a fancy car that had pulled in twenty seconds after I did. At this distance I recognize the car because Callen drives it. Something in the back of my mind tells me that this is a setup, which means that Kensi is somewhere nearby. I turn to see a red mini cooper in the back of the lot. I'm not exactly sure what game these guys are playing, but I guess it's time to show them how it's done. My best bet is to act like everything is okay, and not let them know that I'm on to them. I park my car near the building for two reasons. One is to give me sight lines on Callen's parking spot, and Nell's as well. Both cars are parked in such a way that they have the parking lot cover. No chance to sneak up on them from the parking lot. The second is because I can park here.
I make my way up to my apartment, keeping an eye out for anybody following me. Besides Callen, Sam, Kensi, and possibly Nell. From the parking lot, the three agents and the tech analyst could see me enter the building. Kensi and Nell were sitting in the back corner of the parking lot in Nell's mini cooper, over their ear piece they heard Callen say. "We're heading in."
"Copy that." Kensi said.
"You do realize how stupid this is? Don't you?" Nell asked.
"Deeks and Hetty are hiding something. Some kind of secret that is…" Kensi said, but Nell cut her off.
"Don't you get it? The reason you were kidnapped, and taken to Prague is because of that secret. Deeks is keeping it a secret because it will get the three of you killed." Nell said.
"It can't be that simple." Kensi said.
"Why not? Not every situation has an explanation. What exactly don't you understand?" Nell asked.
Nell looked at Kensi just as she was about to speak, and she saw the blade of a kukri just beneath Kensi's sight line. Nell looked in the mirror, and saw me crouched against the car. Nell schooled her features, and then looked out her window to make sure that I was alone.
"What is so important that he is trying to hide—" Kensi asked, but felt the tip of the kukri press against her throat.
"You guys never stood a chance. I spot Callen's car as soon as he pulled in, and I spotted Nell's car before I even made my way up to my apartment. I'm not exactly sure what you guys are trying to do, or trying to prove. Just watch." I said, and then pulled blade from her throat.
"Kensi, Deeks isn't here." Sam said.
"What do you expect?" Nell said. I pulled out Kensi ear piece.
"I was hoping to catch him when he came back from his late night rendezvous," Callen said.
"You guys might want to try a little bit harder." I said.
"What was the giveaway?" Callen asked.
"I saw your car when you pulled in, and before I walked up to my apartment I saw Nell's car. I'm not exactly sure what you guys are trying to prove by sneaking up on me." I said, and then handed Kensi her ear piece back.
I sneak away from Nell's car, and then make my way over to Callen's. I place a tracker on his car, and then disappear. I wait near the dumpsters until they decide to leave. I creep the outside of the parking lot just in case they decided to fake me out, and wait for me to leave my hiding spot. I grab my bug sweeper, and give my apartment a once over. I didn't find anything, so I decide to go play games tonight when they go to bed tonight. I don't bother with Sam, he probably hates me more for ruining his fun. Kensi I will get later, but Callen I will get tonight. I get some sleep, and ready to move at sundown. I watch Callen from the street, while being out of sight of his nosy neighbors. The moon had just started a new cycle, so it isn't out tonight.
I sneak into Callen's house through the back door, while he is still awake I might add, and creep through looking for things to mess with him. I remember hearing Sam say that Callen never sleeps, so I decide to just rearrange the place. At least small things, stuff that wouldn't be noticed at first. I do this for the next two nights, and on the final night I can see that I'm starting to get to Callen, and it was glorious.
Come morning, I can feel something is off. And if I had to guess it was Callen, whether he figured out it was me or not, is still up in the air. I enter the bull pen and I see everyone gather around the plasma.
"What do we have?" I asked.
"Dead marines with possible ties a smuggling ring out of the port." Nell said.
"I thought the marines did most of their work out of Camp Pendleton?" I asked.
"Usually they do. But it's different this time around. Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna, I want you to check out the port. Miss Blye and Mr. Deeks, I want you to find the path from Pendleton to the port." Hetty said.
"You got it." Callen said.
"On it." Kensi said.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Camp Pendleton-
Kensi was amazing me more and more each day. I found out that she can track a person, or group, by using foot prints, or tire tracks. I'm going to enjoy this relationship. I thought, as we were nearing an exit.
"Control, this is Agent Blye, do you copy?" Kensi said over the radio.
"We read you Agent Blye." came a female voice over the radio.
"We're about sixty clicks south of motor pool. Do you have any cameras with a line of sight?" Kensi asked.
There was a moment of silence before a male voice came over the radio. "We are in the middle of an overhaul, Agent Blye. There was rumor that there was something going on out behind motor pool. We haven't had time to install cameras out there."
"Well, someone has been busy because a sliding gate has been installed, and we found old tire tracks, too. How old the tracks are is unknown at the moment." Kensi said.
Another moment of silence before the same man spoke again. "We can't spare any of our people at the moment. The best we could do is lend you a couple of motor bikes and a few tanks of gas." he said.
"That's good enough." Kensi said. She looked at me and asked. "You ready to go for a little ride?"
The phrase that Kensi just uttered. Go for a little ride? Takes me back to the moment my wife got pregnant with our first child. Technically, Kenzie always said that because we didn't have a lot of privacy in our village. The biggest grin crosses my face even before I could stop myself, and I know how Kensi is going to take it. Heck, I could stop the grin even if I wanted too.
"On the bikes, Deeks. On the bikes." Kensi said.
I recover gracefully by stifling a laugh. "I didn't say anything."
We head back to the motor pool. Kensi signs out the equipment, and then we make our way back to the gate. Luckily, it was pad-locked. If it was a digital lock, we might have been here for a few hours. We push the bikes through after we opened the gate. I shut and lock the gate as Kensi is starting her bike up. I've spent so much time in the desert, this feels like a normal day to me. We rode for two hours before we had to stop, so Kensi could find the trail again.
"I've had quite a few partners over a long career, but I have to admit you're the best one I've worked with." I said, pulling off my helmet.
"Uhuh. Why is that? Is it because of my fantastic figure?" she asked, pulling off her helmet and looking for the tracks again.
"Well… that's a plus, but I enjoy the fact that you know how to track. That's a useful skill that I never had time to learn." I said.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Kensi said, forgetting about the tire track and engaged me in a little work place sexism. Even though it was consensual. "The fact that I have a petite frame doesn't draw your attention?"
"Yes and no." I said.
"What does that mean?" she asks.
"Your petite frame, as you so eloquently put it, is perfect, but that's not driving reason for my piqued interest." I said.
"Oh yeah?" she asks.
"Yeah." I said.
"And what is that?" she asks.
"That is a very personal matter." I said, schooling my features and hardening my voice.
I saw Kensi flinch as if I hit her physically, but talking about how Kensi is a dead ringer for my long dead wife is not a conversation that I want to have. "I found the tracks." Kensi said, and then we geared up to follow the trail again.
N.C.I.S L.A.
OPS-
"What do we have Miss Jones?" Hetty asked entering ops.
"Kensi and Deeks have left Pendleton. I have a trace on their sat phones." Nell said.
"Bring up the feed." Hetty said.
Eric brought up a live topographical map of California, and input the G.P.S. coordinates of our sat phones. Our current course has us heading in the direct of Los Angeles, but without notice our signals disappeared from the map.
"What happened Mr. Beale?" Hetty asked.
"It's nothing on our end. There must something jamming the signal in that area." Eric said.
"What do we do?" Nell asked.
It took Hetty a few moments, but she doled out orders without hesitation. "Tell Sam and Callen to find a chopper, and send them the coordinates to the area where we lost our agents." Hetty said.
Nell was on the phone to Callen and Sam, while Eric sent authorization to get a flight out of the port. "I'm pretty certain we don't have that kind of authorization." Nell said.
"That's why I faked the signal for someone who can." Eric said.
Nell bit her lower lip as she was shaking her head.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Middle of nowhere, California-
Kensi and I ditched our bikes when we stumbled upon the settlement. "Well it seems we found the spot where they transfer everything into shipping containers." Kensi said.
"So it would seem. I just checked my phone, they have a jammer blocking all signals in the area. I'm not exactly sure how big the radius is either." I said.
"Hey, took a look at that shipping container." she said, handing me the binoculars.
"My, my." I said, when I spot the sixteen spoked-wheel on the side of the shipping container.
"Isn't that terrorist organization that took over the oil rig?" she asked.
"Yeah, but something isn't adding up. This is a subsidiary of the organization, and not the home base itself." I said.
"Where do you think the headquarters is at?" she asked.
"My guess, Western Europe. But that's speculation—" I said, but I was cut off by gun fire.
"We should have stopped by the armory before leaving." Kensi said as we took cover.
"Not necessary. Stay here." I said.
"What am I supposed to do?" Kensi asked.
"Keep them busy." I said.
"Okay." Kensi said sarcastically.
Kensi returned fire with her sidearm, but most of the time she was forced to stay in cover. After ten minutes, I returned with the appropriate weapons, and a few magazines each. "How you managed to get these is beyond me, but I'm not complaining." Kensi said.
We were able to take out a few of the men, but we were about to be over run. "We need to move from this position. Follow my lead." I said.
We slowly crept away from our position, returning fire and covering each other as we moved. At one point in the fire fight we got pinned down, and couldn't move. I could see them getting close, in my mind I'm going doing the math on how long before we get over run.
"How long?" Kensi asked.
"Three minutes. Five minutes tops." I said.
I was preparing to tell Kensi to make a run for it, but I heard a noise. It was very faint, but I know I heard it because the bad guys are hearing it too.
"What's that sound?" Kensi asked.
"That's the sweet sound of the cavalry arriving." I said, as I returned fire.
Just as I was ducking back into cover a helicopter flew overhead us. The pilot turn the bird so the side door was facing the enemy camp, and then the side door open. Kensi and I could see Callen and Sam open fire on the bad guys. If the bad guys weren't killed by Sam, and Callen, they were neutralized by Kensi and myself. The helicopter set down on the ridge in front of the camp, then Callen and Sam made their way into the camp to look for survivors. I went looking for the jammer to disable it, and call in that we had neutralized the smuggling ring.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
OPS-
A phone was ringing in ops when Hetty entered.
"Hello." Hetty answered.
"Hetty, this is Deeks." I said.
"Tell me you have good news Mr. Deeks." Hetty said.
"Smuggling ring has been shut down, and any survivors are being questioned about the operation. The group is also tied to the terrorist group that took over that oil rig a last week." I said.
"Proof." Hetty said.
There was a moment of silence. I took a picture of the symbol, and emailed it to Eric. When Eric opened the email the picture of the Romani wheel appeared on screen.
"What do you know about the group?" Hetty asked.
"I was approached by a representative when you sent me to Japan. Then I ran into the organization when it was in full swing when I was in London, England a few years ago." I said.
"That was quite some time ago, Mr. Deeks. Do you think any of them will still remember you?" Hetty asked.
"Last I knew, the group had infiltrated the C.I.A. That was back in Ninety-eight." I said.
"Any idea what they have been up to since then?" Hetty asked.
"Not a clue, Hetty. For All I know, a rogue group could have branched off from the main organization when it infiltrated the C.I.A." I said.
"I'll look into that." Hetty said, and then disconnected the call.
As I was exiting the building where the jammer was, I saw a convoy coming in from Camp Pendleton. Callen said that we were cleared to leave, Sam and Callen got in the helicopter and head back to the city. Kensi and I rode the bikes back to Pendleton, and retrieved the SRX. Five hours later, Sam and Callen were talking to Eric about a laptop that had been found at the smuggler's base, and Kensi was on the balcony above me talking to Nell.
"Who's Bella?" Hetty asked, entering the bull pen.
It took me a moment to realize that Hetty was talking about. And then I remember the knife that Mirabella gave me before leaving Rome. "She was my lover when I was in Rome. Her name was Mirabella Caito" I said.
"Do you still remember her?" she asked.
"Remember her how? I don't remember much about her character, but I do remember her physical features." I said.
"You must have been very special to her if she gave you that knife." she said.
"Bella had a thing for rubies, so the day I left I gave her a necklace with a sizable ruby in it." I said.
"I bet she loved that." she said.
"She did, and Bella thanked me for it on the spot." I said, with a sly smile.
"Next question, what did she look like?" she asked.
"She looks exactly like the woman standing directly above me." I said.
Hetty looked up to see that that woman standing directly above me… was Kensi. "You must be the luckiest man I've ever met. To keep running into your wife." Hetty said. All I could do was shrug my shoulders as Hetty left the bull pen with a knowing smile on her face.
The three months after we had cleared the smuggling ring were pretty quiet. The cases were standard run of the mill dead marine, no offense to the departed. At the beginning of May, the case involving the canister of Brachytherapy was about to crop up.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Santa Monica Pier-
The sun had been down for about an hour, and Surfside Sully's was alive and kicking. It was the weekend, and the patio was packed. The conversation was lively, except for one table.
"You okay? You seem like something's wrong." Michelle said.
"No, I'm okay. It's just one of those days at work, you know?" Sean said.
"Well, you're off now, so snap out of it. We're supposed to being having fun." she said. The Sean gave Michelle a dry smile. "I'm going to use the restroom. I better see two more drinks on the table when I get back." she said, and then got up to leave.
When Michelle was out of sight, Sean got up from his table, and met his friend on the bar. "You ready?" Sean asked.
"I'm ready. Are ready?" his friend asked.
"Guess so." Sean said.
"Okay, then." his friend said, and then fished out a hand-held video camera. His friend trained the camera on him, and press record saying. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now about to witness the end of Sean Koster's life as we know it."
Sean went back to his table, and prepared to propose to his girlfriend. He was nervous, and the butterflies were flying around in his stomach like a redneck on bath salts. When Sean looked up again, he saw Michelle coming back from the bathroom. Sean schooled his body language, willing his nerves to be silent. As Michelle came approached the table, she gently brushed Sean's shoulder. After Michelle sat down, Sean got up from the table, and walked closer to Michelle.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Sean got down on one knee, and then said. "Michelle April Ardell… will you marry me?" Sean asked, showing the ring that Michelle had wanted. The table next to Sean and Michelle watched the scene unfold.
Michelle was on the verge of accepting Sean's proposal, and Sean's friend had the whole thing on video. The only thing that stopped Michelle from saying yes was a big ball of flame that had stumbled onto the patio. As the guest fled the walking ball of flame, they could see that it was a man who had been set a blaze, his arms flailing, making a futile attempt to stop the blaze that had engulfed him. When the man had hit the beach, his body gave out and died mere meters from the ocean. All the while, Sean's friend kept filming the whole thing.
