A/N – So, I went from posting like crazy to not posting at all. I finally adjusted to west coast time, just in time to head back to the east coast on the red eye, followed rapidly by daylight savings time. I finally feel like I'm getting back to normal, well, as normal as one can expect from me. Hopefully there will not be as long a delay until the next chapter! At least, that's my plan at the moment.

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Chapter 53

Sam exploded at Granger. "How the hell did he escape? He was handcuffed and under armed guard when we left! Pastor assured us he was fine and told us to go with Deeks!" Sam pushed his way into Granger's personal space, his anger aimed at him and obviously misplaced but having no one else to focus it on, much as he had done with Bates earlier.

"I don't know any more than what I've already told you, Sam! Pastor is dead and McGonagle is gone. They're searching for him now." Granger refused to be forced into moving backwards by the large ex-SEAL.

Callen put his hand on Sam's arm, trying to calm his partner down. He understood what Sam was feeling; he felt the same but knew being angry at Granger would get them nowhere. There was nothing about this that could be laid at the man's feet, in fact, he'd done nothing but his best in trying to find and then rescue their missing friend. When he felt Sam was somewhat under control he turned to Granger. "Sam's right about one thing. How did McGonagle get the drop on Pastor if he was handcuffed?"

"Franklin said the handcuffs were on the floor next to Pastor when he discovered his body. He also said there didn't appear to be any sign of a struggle."

"So this guy was able to get out of his handcuffs and kill an experienced LAPD SWAT member without him ever raising a hand to defend himself? How the hell is that possible?"

Granger and Callen stared at each other. Granger was the first to blink. "I'm starting to think he had outside help." Callen nodded his agreement; his eyebrows rising to indicate he felt there was even more going on. Following the agent's probable train of thought, Granger was beyond angry to think that one of their own might have had a hand in letting that sadistic bastard escape. He'd seen, up close and personal, exactly what had been done to the detective and no one who could do something like that to another living being should be allowed to walk free. If he had his way, the man would never see daylight again. He found himself hoping it would be because he was in a box in the ground. He was surprised at his own blood thirstiness. He'd expected it from them but not from himself. He wasn't sure when the members of Hetty's favorite team had become so important to him. The detective should have been, and had been at one time, an annoying, scruffy thorn in his side. He really couldn't pinpoint when that had changed. Callen's voice brought him out of his reverie, voicing what both of them were thinking.

"So someone managed to get into that building, avoided running into any of the cops, federal agents and forensic crew swarming all over it, killed Pastor, released McGonagle and got both of them back out without anyone seeing them? I don't think so." Callen knew full well what he was suggesting and everyone else listening knew it too, especially Bates who had had a similar conversation with the two agents moments ago. Someone at the scene, someone from inside LAPD, NCIS or both, had to have assisted McGonagle in escaping. Cheryl and Talia exchanged a look, both grateful that they had not been at the scene when this had gone down. Having this team rip apart your life, looking for something to tie you to Deeks's abduction, would not be pleasant and they would be relentless.

"Beale, Jones! I want full background checks on all LAPD SWAT team members on scene today!" Granger looked at Bates whose eyebrows had risen. "Along with all NCIS agents and forensic team members." he added. Bates nodded at him. Not getting the instant response from the techies that he was used to, Granger turned to look at Eric and Nell, finding them sitting side by side, staring at the laptop that Agent Leary had brought in from the crime scene earlier. Eric was white and looked a little green around the edges. Nell was silently crying as both stared at the screen.

"Beale!" Eric jumped and slammed the laptop shut. "Would you care to tell me what the hell is so interesting on that laptop?" Eric's eyes widened and flicked to Kensi, then back to Granger. Nell's mouth opened and closed a couple times, but no sound came out.

"Um, just a sad video." he finally squeaked out.

"About a dog." Said Nell, catching onto what Eric was trying to do.

"A video? About a dog?" Granger was stunned. He looked closer at Eric and narrowed his eyes. The analyst was up to something, he couldn't lie worth a damn. He wanted to know what they had found and he wanted to know now. Based on the reactions of the two geeks in front of him, he was sure it had to do with Deeks.

"We're combing through the laptop, trying to find anything that we can to help. We're going through each file, one by one. We don't know what's on a specific file until we open and watch it." Eric rambled on, his eyes now on Kensi.

Kensi opened her mouth to question them when Tara stuck her head in the door. Tara hesitated when she saw the knot of angry federal agents and cops, the tension in the room palpable. She almost backed out but really wanted to talk to Kensi before she had to head back out to the field with Randy. "Kensi?" she asked tentatively. Kensi turned to her and forced a smile. She knew there was something on that laptop that Eric and Nell didn't want her to know about. She knew them so well she could read the signs and didn't want to let them off the hook. However, she wanted to talk with Tara, to thank her again for saving Deeks's life. She looked at Nell, finding her innocent look suspicious and glared at her, letting her know that she wasn't going to let this go. When she was done with Tara, she would be back and Nell had better be prepared to tell her everything she wanted to know.

"Tara." She walked over and held out her hand. "I can't thank you enough for everything you did for Deeks." Her voice trembled. "I don't think he would've survived long enough to get here if it weren't for you."

Tara pulled her into a hug. "We both did it. He's strong, you know. He's going to pull through. I can't, and won't, believe anything else! He has an excellent surgical team working on him. They won't let him go without a fight." Kensi returned her hug. "Kensi, I have to go. I'm still on duty and Randy has restocked the rig so we're ready to roll. Craig is going to keep me updated on Marty's status. I'll come back once I've finished my shift, if that's okay with you?" Kensi nodded gratefully, wondering if her connection with this woman was simply because Tara had helped to save the life of the person most important in the world to her or if the woman was as nice as she seemed. She was still surprised that she could like one of Deeks's exes.

While Kensi was distracted by Tara, Granger focused on the two analysts. "You care to tell me exactly what that was all about? And don't lie to me!"

Keeping her eyes on Kensi, Nell hissed. "They videotaped it! Those bastards videotaped everything they did to him!" her voice shaking with rage. Granger's eyebrows rose at the language coming from the little intelligence analyst sitting in front of him, something he wasn't used to hearing from her.

Eric added "It was brutal and we only got about a third of the way through!" He swallowed hard and whispered. "How did he survive all that? How is he even still alive?"

He paused and then continued. "There's something else you need to know. There was full audio on that file. Deeks never made a sound when he was being beaten and it looked like it frustrated the hell out of McGonagle. They did talk but we couldn't make out what they were saying on this laptop without flooding the room with the sound. We need to get it back to Ops to get access to better equipment and software."

His voice strengthened with conviction. "There's no way Kensi should see this! At least, not right now."

Hetty spoke up. "I agree wholeheartedly, Mr. Beale. Encrypt that file and put it on our secure server, eyes only. Then delete it from this laptop. Now." Eric immediately reopened the laptop and began doing as she requested. When he was done, he looked up and nodded. He was just in time as Kensi was coming back to the group, Tara having said her goodbyes and headed out.

"Nell? Eric? Do you want to tell me now what you were actually watching?" She stood in front of them, arms folded over her chest, staring them down, daring them to lie to her or avoid the question.

"Exactly what I said we were, Kens. Look at the laptop if you want." Eric went to hand her the laptop, feeling more confident now that the file was deleted from it and out of her reach. Kensi looked at him suspiciously but waved it off. She knew if he was offering, then whatever had been on there that they had been watching, was long gone.

Granger cleared his throat. "Can we get to those background checks now?"

Both Eric and Nell looked at him in confusion; they really hadn't heard the Assistant Director's earlier request. Granger sighed. "We need you to do complete background checks, including financials, on each of the LAPD SWAT team members, our NCIS agents on scene and the forensics crew. McGonagle didn't get out of there without help!"

Eric and Nell looked stunned at Granger's pronouncement, having missed the earlier conversations about a possible leak as they'd been too engrossed in the video, but then both snapped out of it and nodded, pulling out their encrypted tablets to begin their searches. Nell looked up. "Should we include Officer Pastor?" Granger hesitated and then nodded. The two analysts got to work, determined to uncover anything that would lead to McGonagle being recaptured and unmasking any traitors within LAPD or their own agency.

"What are you thinking, Owen? That Officer Pastor helped McGonagle and was then killed for his trouble?" asked Hetty. Everyone's eyes were on him as they waited to hear his reply.

Granger shrugged. "I don't plan on leaving any stone unturned, Henrietta. Anyone who was involved in what happened to Deeks, no matter how small their involvement, is going to pay." The anger and determination in his voice easy to hear.

Hetty had rarely seen Owen Granger like this before. He was hard to get close to, his gruff exterior and standoffish personality holding most people at bay. Deeks hadn't allowed that to deter him. In fact, she was pretty sure that he had taken it on as a challenge. She smiled at the memory of the detective hugging the Assistant Director in the bullpen, after Granger had gotten the Guzman's permission to stay in the states instead of being deported back to Mexico, where they would surely have been killed within hours. He had warned Granger about what he was planning to do but he really hadn't believed Deeks would follow through. When the detective's arms had gone around him, he hadn't known how to respond and had stood frozen in place. When he had finally and awkwardly returned the younger man's hug, Hetty almost hadn't been able believe her eyes. The smile left her face as she remembered that the man she was thinking of so fondly was in a fight for his life, his fate still unknown.

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A/N – next chapter will tell us how Deeks is doing! I hope….