Kensi's not happy with the plan to trap Lee. Will she go along with it?

I don't own NCIS Los Angeles or any of the characters on the show and I never will...darn it!

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CHAPTER 28 - Planning a Trap

Later that morning the team, including Owen and Hetty along with Bates, met in Deeks' room to see for themselves if he was in any kind of shape to help them come up with a plan to find and detain Ivan Lee.

"Hey kid, how are you doing?" Bates inquired. "You look a lot better than you did when you were found."

"I'm doing good…getting better every day." came the reply. "This looks serious, all three of you here at once. What's going on?"

The three visitors looked at each other. They all wanted Lee caught and the case closed. Hetty took the lead and got the meeting started.

"Mr Deeks, we're here to come up with a plan to catch Lee." Looking around the room, she continued. "We're all agreed that Lee will try to get to you again, correct?" Hetty looked at each member of her team again, waiting for buy-in from all of them. Once she had it, she nodded at Deeks as she continued. "We've been on the defensive for far too long. It's time to take matters into our own hands and set a trap for him. We need to be able to control the environment and reduce the danger to you, Mr. Deeks." Hetty was tired of playing hide and seek with that monster. It was past time to take him down.

"Wait…wait, that can't be right. She wants to use Deeks as bait?! He's still recovering; he's not ready. What happens if Lee gets hold of him again and I'm not there to protect him?" Kensi began protesting. "No Hetty, no. You can't use Marty as bait. He's still recovering from what Lee did to him. He can't take another beating." She was almost yelling by this time. Marty reached over and took her hand in his to get her attention.

"Calm down Wonder Woman. I'm fine…I mean I'm good. I'm getting better all the time and I'm being very well protected with the police guard and you. Besides, I know I can count on all of you to have my back. It's gonna be okay." He was rubbing his thumb across the palm of her hand as he spoke. "We have to catch Lee and this is the best way to do it. You know that. What if he starts murdering again? He specializes in children Kens. Innocent little girls. I couldn't live with myself if we let this go and a child gets hurt when we have a chance to catch this bastard. It's worth it, being bait, it really is. Don't you see that?" His eyes were turbulent as he stared into Kensi's mismatched ones. "I have to do this, Kens. I have to."

"I know. But Deeks, you can barely walk yet. You're in no shape to face him. What if something happens to you? You've already been through so much." She looked at him with glistening eyes. She was so afraid she would lose him if he let himself be used as bait; too much had happened to him already. She knew she would never put herself back together again if Lee killed him.

"I'll be okay Kens. You won't let him get close to me. I know I can count on you to have my back, you're my ladybird, my Bad Ass Blye. If he tries anything stupid, I'm sure you'll kick him in his nom de plumes. That will put him down for the count." Marty's eyes were twinkling as he gave her a little smirk.

"You are such a smart ass Deeks!"

Hetty interrupted "Now, that we've got Mr. Deeks on board, let's set up the plan.

~,~,~

Marty spoke up again. "Whatever plan we come up with will have to wait until I get out of here. He's already tried to get to me here and failed. He's too smart to try the same thing again. He'll wait until I'm home and he thinks we've let down our guard before he comes at me again." He squeezed Kensi's hand to get her attention. "By the time we have this set up, I'll be fully recovered, or at least close to it. So you see, I won't be helpless, Fern."

"You're correct Mr. Deeks. Waiting until you're out of the hospital will give you time to recover more fully. You do realize you're not returning to your old apartment don't you? It's been compromised."

Marty was floored. He hadn't even entertained the idea that he wouldn't be going home to his old apartment. He liked his apartment. It was close to the beach, it took pets and it even had a fireplace; something very few apartments had. He wasn't looking forward to finding a new place to live; having to pack everything up and then unpack it once he found something. "But where will I go when I get out of the hospital? I'll have to find a new apartment right away and it's not easy to find a place that will take pets."

"Don't worry about it Mr. Deeks. It's being taken care of as we speak. Miss Jones has found a very nice house that's even closer to the beach than your apartment that she and I both think will be perfect for you. It has three bedrooms, two baths, a nice sized living room with a fireplace and a two car garage. They take pets and there's a very nice back yard for Monty to romp in. If, after you've lived there for a while, you don't like it, I'm sure we'll be able to find something more suitable to your tastes. If you do like it, the owner has indicated something could be worked out for you to rent to own perhaps."

Marty laid there in bed with his mouth open. He didn't know if he was dreaming or what. The house she described sounded too good to be true, and that bit about being able to buy it sounded like a dream come true. He knew if she said that's what the house was like, it was true. "Are you managing my life again, Hetty?" He had a twinkle in his eyes as he asked her. It reminded him of when she had shanghaied him into accepting the liaison position. That had turned out to be one of the best things that had ever happened to him and he was sure the house Nell 'found' would be perfect for him and Monty, not to mention Kensi.

"Of course not Mr. Deeks. I would never presume to do that." Hetty's lips were pursed into her signature smile as she continued. "But you're hardly in shape to be house hunting on your own right now. It's little enough we can do to help. When you leave the hospital, you'll find that all of your belongings have already been moved and all the paperwork to leave your old place is complete. Once this is over, all you have to do is take Monty to your new home. Until then we have a safe-house set up for you and Miss Blye to use. You can take Monty with you if you like.

"Thanks Hetty…it sounds fantastic…and maybe being able to buy it…I don't know what to say…thanks, a lot." He didn't know how to tell her how much it meant to him to have people in his life that wanted to do things for him without being asked. "So, if I'm not going back to my old place, how are we going to let Lee know where he can find me?"

"We're going to let him or one of his men follow you Mr. Deeks. I'm sure he has someone watching the hospital as we speak. The safe house you'll be using has a start-of-the-art security system in it and we already have agents undercover in two of the houses next to it. I'll let Mr. Beale fill you in on all of the 'bells and whistles' as he put it, of the system. The same system has been set up in your new home so once this is over, and you're in your own place, you will already be familiar with it."

"Miss Blye will be staying with you at the safe house and for a while once you get home. There will be protection around you 24/7 until Lee is in custody. I'm not taking any chances with him getting you again. You've been through enough."

"If he's going to be used as bait, we have to make sure we have eyes on him at all times. Lee has already proven how intelligent he is and that he can get to Deeks almost whenever he wants. We've been lucky so far, but that's no guarantee that something won't go wrong with our plan. Wh…wait; can we use the overwatch spray on him? That way we'll be able to track him no matter what." Kensi was pleased with herself at remembering the spray. "Even if he gets wet or they remove his watch with the GPS in it, he will still be able to be tracked."

"Excellent idea, Miss Blye, excellent. I'll set that up and after you two are in the safe house, not only Mr. Deeks, but you yourself will be sprayed with overwatch. After all, he did threaten to hurt you if Mr. Deeks tried to escape."

Marty looked at Kensi with troubled eyes as he interrupted Hetty. "He did say that Kens. I couldn't live with myself if he took you without us being able to track you and keep you safe."

"We'll have someone following you both at a discrete distance whenever you leave the house. I know you'll have the overwatch spray on you, but I want someone close to you at all times just to be safe. Ivan Lee is too smart for us to become complacent."

"But Hetty, he might spot a tail. Then he'll go underground and we might never find him." Deeks couldn't stomach the thought of Lee beginning another reign of terror by grabbing little girls and murdering them. He would do anything to see that he never had a chance to kill another child. If that meant he was bait, he was glad to be used as such to catch Lee. Besides he knew he would have everyone watching out for him. He wasn't too worried about himself. He was more worried about Kensi. He didn't want her to suffer any more than she already had.

"Don't worry Mr. Deeks. He won't spot the tail. I'll make sure of that. We'll have different cars and different teams following you. And with overwatch, your tail will be able to stay far enough back that they'll be invisible to anyone following you. When you come back to work, Lt. Bates and I have already worked out how you'll get to the Mission without being tailed. You'll be reporting to work at the precinct. We've set up an office for you there in a secured area of the building with your own assistant. That way even if Lee tries to see if you're there, he won't be able to. If he calls, your assistant will tell him you're in a meeting. As far as Lee will know that's where you'll be all day. You'll leave the precinct under cover to be brought to the mission in the morning and then go back to the precinct the same way in the evening before leaving to go 'home'."

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Tompkins had not reported to Bates as Kensi had demanded he do so in the hospital. Instead he went home and spent the time before reporting for his next shift trying to come up with a story that would keep him out of trouble. Bates had left a message on his house phone telling him to get his ass into his office, but Tompkins ignored it. When he finally reported to Bates office at the beginning of his next shift, Bates' secretary told him he wasn't in but he was to wait there until he arrived.

"Don't think so missy. I'm about to go on duty."

Bates secretary pushed a button on her desk as Tompkins turned to leave the office. The button alerted Officer Brooks and Green waiting in the corridor outside the office door. When Tompkins opened it, he was confronted by the two of them. "Get out of my way, I'm going to be late for my shift."

Brooks and Green looked at each other. Brooked nodded his head to Green to take the lead. "Not so fast Tompkins. We have orders to make sure you wait here for Bates, so sit your ass down," she told him.

"And you think you can make me missy? I'd like to see you try."

"It won't be only her you scumbag. It will be both of us, so sit your ass down like the lady told you to. The whole station knows what you did last night."

Before Tompkins could formulate another wise ass comment, Lt. Bates came striding down the corridor. "Tompkins, get your ass in my office, now!" he barked.

Green and Brooks looked at each other as Tompkins turned around and went back into the office with his 'tail' between his legs. "It's about time he got what's coming to him. I'm just glad I'm here to see it." Brooks thought.

~.~.~

Bates slammed the door as Tompkins moved into the room in front of him then strode to his desk and sat down. Tomkins went to sit down in the chair in front of his desk, but Bates growled, "I didn't tell you you could sit down Tompkins so stand there."

"What's this about…"

Bates interrupted him "Shut the fuck up. This is the last time you're going to pull a stunt like you did last night. A fellow cop could have been abducted and civilian personnel were put in danger because you deserted your post."

"I didn't…"

"I said shut the fuck up! I've already spoken to your captain, the chief of police and the police commissioner. You're fired. Give me your badge and gun."

When Tompkins hesitated and opened his mouth to say something, Bates put up his hand and said "Now! Then clear out your locker. I want you out of this precinct within the hour. You can always speak to your union rep if you think it will help your case, but you should know that he's a friend of Deeks. Now get out of my sight. I'm sick of looking at you!"

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A few days after the attempt by Lee to snatch him from the hospital Marty was surprised to receive a visit from Wat and Hank. "What are you…how did you find out I was here? I mean, I'm glad to see you, but how did you know?"

Wat took one look at him and shook his head. "What are we going to do with you Book? Are we going to have to make good on our threat to wrap you in bubble wrap? How do you think we found out? When you missed our dinner, I called that little woman you told me about, Hetty, right? She told us a little about what had happened and that you were in protective custody. She promised she'd let us know when we could visit you. She called me last night and told me one of your attackers had been caught."

"Oh, that's right, we were supposed to meet for dinner. I forgot all about that. She told you? Really? Wow, I…I guess since Lee tried to snatch me from here…yeah, I guess I no longer need the alias I was admitted under…she didn't tell me…so…it's okay for people to know…wow. I don't know what to say, really. I'm glad to see you guys. I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

Hank spoke up at that point. "You're babbling again. You know that's a bad habit you have."

Deeks gave Hank a withering look. "I'm not babbling. I was imparting information to you."

"Sure you were." Hank smirked. "You have got to take better care of yourself Book. You look like death warmed over."

"Now wait just a minute. It's not my fault some whack-job I arrested years ago came looking for revenge Hank. How was I supposed to know he was going to do that? And…besides, I don't look that bad…do I?" Marty was sputtering with indignation before he realized both men were teasing him. "Oh, ha, ha…I get it. You just have to give me a hard time don't you."

Wat had been looking over him closely since arriving and finally interjected himself into the conversation. "How are you really, Book? You look like you've been put through the ringer. What did that asshole do to you?"

Deeks shuddered momentarily and could feel his heart rate rise. "You don't really want to know guys. It was bad…really bad." He took several deep breaths trying to control his emotions. "I…I didn't think I was going to survive there for a while." He shook himself. "But I did survive and I'm getting better every day. I'll be home before you know it and we'll meet for dinner. I really want you two to meet Kensi."

Both Wat and Hank started laughing. Wat took over at that point. "Too late! We met her before we got in to see you. Boy did you out-kick your coverage with her! I hope you appreciate what you have with that woman. I didn't think she was going to let us in here. She was acting like a momma bear with one cub. I would hate to ever be on her bad side, that's for sure!"

Deeks felt the flush suffusing his cheeks as he tried to come up with an answer. "You're lucky she didn't kick your ass. Be nice to her or she just might and I've got to warn you, don't ever really piss her off. She aims for a particularly vulnerable area of the male anatomy when she's really pissed."

"Noooo…she wouldn't do that, would she?" Both Hank and Wat had unconsciously positioned their hands over their groins while Deeks was talking. He smiled and nodded his head yes. He was enjoying their discomfort a little too much. But then it was only payback for all the teasing they'd been giving him.

"You should see her when she's really angry at someone. She goes to the shooting range and practices on the targets. She's a world class shot and once she's shredded the normal areas of the target she always, and I mean always, finishes up by putting a shot or two right on target in…the nads, the nom deplumes, the junk, nuts, manhood; whatever you want to call it. I've actually seen her drop kick one guy's junk into the next county."

"You're putting us on Book. You have to be. She wouldn't really do something like that, would she?" Hank's brow was furrowed thinking about what Deeks had said.

"As God is my witness, I'm not lying guys. It's the truth."

As they looked at each other, the person they were discussing popped her head in the door. "Oh, are you two still here?" Walking over to Deeks she gave him a kiss. "Are you going to formally introduce me to your friends any time soon Deeks?" Taking his hand in hers, she turned to Wat and Hank and waited.

"Uh, yeah…sorry…my bad manners. Kensi Blye, meet Henry Cole, called Hank for short and William Watkins, who we call Wat. Guys, this is Kensi Blye, my girlfriend."

Kensi reached out to shake Hank's and Wat's hands. "It's nice to finally meet you. Deeks has told me a little about you two and how you helped each other out in law school. I'm sure he left out all the good bits through."

"It was our pleasure. Book's our buddy, even if we do think he should be wrapped in bubble wrap for his own protection. Does he get in as much trouble now as he did then?" Wat just had to tease Deeks a little more. He was glad he had finally found the 'one'. He could tell by looking at the two of them that they were much more than boyfriend and girlfriend. There was a spark between them and the way they each unconsciously leaned toward the other spoke volumes.

"Wait, what did you just call Deeks?" Kensi asked.

"Didn't he tell you how he got his nickname?" Hank couldn't wait to tell the story.

"He never…I didn't even know he had a nickname in law school. What did you call him again?"

Wat chimed in "We call him Book. When we were in law school, he always had his nose in a book. We had to literally drag him out of the library on a regular basis to get him to eat and have a little fun. We have so many stories we could tell you…"

Deeks interrupted, shaking his finger at Wat. "Now, don't tell Kensi about our escapades in college, or I might have to tell your wife a few stories about you, my brother."

Kensi laughed at all three of them then looked at Wat. "We'll talk later Wat, okay. I want to hear everything and I mean everything."

Deeks laid back in the bed, glad his girlfriend and his two friends were getting along as well as they were. He wasn't looking forward to her finding out about some of the things he did in college, but he figured it was a lost cause now. He would have to convince her to keep what she found out to herself or he would never be able to live it down at work.

As the three of them shared stories about him, he quietly listened, making a comment every once in a while. Before he knew it, the sound of their voices had lulled him to sleep. Kensi was the first one to notice. She touched Wat's arm before nodding her head toward him to let them know he was asleep. She knew they wanted some details of his ordeal and even though she wasn't looking forward to having to remember the dread and horror she experienced watching Deeks be tortured, his friends would be able to help him if they knew what to expect. "Shall we continue this conversation in the cafeteria?"

The three of them slipped out of his room. Kensi told the policeman on duty to let Deeks know once he woke she would be right back, then led the two men to the cafeteria. They sat down in a corner of the room away from the other people eating or talking. "Okay, I can tell you both have questions. What do you want to know?"

"What did that monster do to him? He really does look like death warmed over. And have you found the bastard yet?"

"No, we haven't found him yet, but we're getting closer every day. It was bad, really bad. That monster had him for 12 days." Kensi's eyes glistened with tears as she related everything Deeks had gone through. "Lee took great pleasure in having us watch him torture Deeks. He got off on it. I don't know how he managed to hold out and resist that monster. He was beaten and drugged every day while we were helpless to stop it. And then after all of that, he managed to escape on his own. He doesn't realize how extraordinary he is. When I get my hands on that man, he's going to be peeing through a tube and singing soprano for the remainder of his life!"

Wat and Hank both shuddered dramatically and said in unison "Ouch!"

"Oh come on guys. What is it with men and their privates. Deeks hates having a catheter and the first time I kicked some jackass in the nads, he about came unglued. He couldn't believe that I would do something like that. He said something along the lines of "that's just wrong!". Come on, it can't be that bad."

"Yes it can…and it is Kensi. You don't do that to a man. Well with the exception of Lee that is. I would love to see you kick his nuts up around his head." Hank was actually looking forward to seeing something like that happen to the man who had hurt his friend. If anyone deserved it, he did for torturing his buddy.

"He's actually looking a lot better than he was when he first got here. When we first found him after he escaped, he was nothing but skin and bones. He was covered in blood and his clothes were filthy; that is what little clothing he was wearing. He was terrified of everyone and hallucinating from all the drugs in his system."

"How are you holding up? You know we can help watch over him so you can get some rest when you need it. He's one of us too and we take care of our friends." Hank could tell she was exhausted but somehow knew she would never admit it to them. Maybe by offering to help watch Book, he and Wat could help her as well.

"Like I said, he's told me a little about the two of you. He told me you two stood by him through some bad times and never asked for anything in return. He's still not used to people wanting to be friends. You know he doesn't trust easily, but I could tell he trusted the two of you. I think it would do him a world of good for you two to be here for him. Lee is still out there and he'll try again to get Deeks."

Wat growled "If he tries it again, he'll have to go through us first! I'd like to pound him into the ground and I'm not a violent man by nature…but what he put Book through shouldn't ever happen to anyone, let alone someone like him.

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Marty's recovery continued to be slow but steady. It took him another week before his feet were healed enough that the doctor let him quit using the wheelchair and begin walking all the time. He couldn't believe how much energy it took him to walk from his bed to the bathroom and back again the first time he was able to do so, but the smile on his face when he did it lit up the entire room. Kensi was there to see it and had happy tears in her eyes for a change.

The other members of the team as well as Marty's friends made sure she took breaks even if it was just to go home and shower. She fought them every step of the way until he finally convinced her that with everyone watching his back and the police guard on his door, it was safe for her to take some time for herself.

He improved rapidly once he was walking. Trips back and forth to the bathroom turned into walks to the nurses' station and back, then walks to the sunroom. Marty Deeks was on the mend.