Deeks sat on the carpet, legs stretched out in front of him, back against the couch that held a sleeping Alex. The room was dark except for the fire in the fireplace. It was incredibly impractical to light a fire in this weather; but it made Alex feel better. And after taking her away from school, from home, and putting her life in danger - the least he could do is light the damn fireplace.
Deeks had tried everything. Everything he could think of to keep her safe. Alex caught the bus to and from school everyday, he used a fake name for her school registration, her doctors' appointments, when they went out to eat, to the grocery store, everything. As much as it killed him, he did everything in his power to ensure that no one could ever link Alex back to him. And she understood. She was clever. She was smart. Smarter than he was at her age. She wasn't hurt that he couldn't show up to events at her school, or upset that she couldn't invite friends over. She didn't feel sad when he didn't allow her to meet his team, or refused to tell her about his day. She understood. She understood that his job was dangerous. And she understood that he loved her. And she loved him back. He knew because sometimes he'd wake up to breakfast on the stove after she had already left for school. Or dinner in the oven when he came home from a rough case. Sometimes she'd give him hugs just because, or ask for help with homework that he knew she understood...just so they could be together.
They loved each other. They knew that they loved each other. But they also knew this was the way it had to be. And they both understood. It didn't stop Deeks from feeling guilty though. Every so often he couldn't help but wonder if this really was the best life for Alex…
Callen must have sensed the detective's self-loathing, because he chose that point to settle onto the floor next to Deeks. He didn't say anything, just sat there, staring into the fire.
Eventually the silence became too much, and Deeks decided to break it. "There are sleeping bags in the closet." Deeks gestured to a door behind the sofa.
It was a one-room cabin. The kitchen and living room only separated by a single stair that lifted the kitchen above the rest of the room. After the three had eaten their meal of canned goods, Callen and Deeks washed the dishes while Alex heckled them from the couch. The teasing soon stopped and the two realized it was because Alex was fast asleep. Propping her head up on a pillow and throwing a blanket over her, Deeks had taken his place on the floor while Callen took a walk outside. He claimed he wanted to familiarize himself with the area, but Deeks suspected he just needed to clear his head.
He was back now though. And despite Deeks telling him where to find the sleeping bags, he was still sitting quietly on the floor.
Deeks rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, you know?"
"I never said otherwise," Callen responded, eyes still trained on the orange embers.
"Good," Deeks nodded. He should be happy that Callen was dropping the subject, but it didn't really feel that way.
The longer they sat there next to one another, the more the silence thickened. The only sounds in the room were the slight crackling of the fire and Alex's soft breathing on the couch behind them. Deeks was just starting to doze off himself when he felt a slight vibrating from the chair behind him. He glanced back at Alex, her cell phone tucked into her side as it shook.
Normally, Deeks wouldn't snoop. He wasn't much of a snooper when it came to Alex. He tried to give her her space, let her know that he trusted her to make the right decisions and the right friends. Sometimes she didn't make the right decisions; but she was young, it wasn't such a big deal. More often than not, he wanted to confiscate the device. Scroll through her social media and text messages, question the name of every single person in her contact list. But he had to trust her...cause he needed her to trust him.
But these were different circumstances...special circumstances. And the name that was lighting up her screen simply said 'Private Number'. This wasn't one of her friends. It could just be a telemarketer. But do telemarketers call from private numbers? He didn't think so.
Deeks glanced over at Callen who seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Do you think he'd risk calling you?"
Deeks shook his head and shrugged stiffly. Lucas Roberts was a dangerous man, but he wasn't a stupid one. Calling Alex's phone was stupid. He wouldn't call Alex's phone, would he? But he had killed two teenagers with Deeks right outside the restaurant. That was stupid too. Maybe Roberts was just willing to do stupid things if he knew it would put Deeks on edge. But how stupid could it be if he got away with it? Maybe that was the difference between an idiot and a risk taker. One of them gets away with it.
Roberts wasn't gonna get away with it.
With shaking hands, Deeks grabbed the phone and gestured for Callen to follow him outside. If this was Roberts, he didn't want Alex to hear the conversation. She seemed to be asleep, but it wouldn't be the first time she faked it. The two men walked out onto the porch, the humidity of the night engulfing them. With a stiff nod from Callen, Deeks swiped the little green circle on the phone and hit the speaker button.
He didn't bother answering. If this was Roberts, he'd know who was on the other end.
"What you're doing is dangerous, Mr. Deeks."
Both Callen and Deeks breathed a sigh of relief as they heard the voice on the other end of the phone. Neither were particularly happy to have to face her wrath, but the alternative was much worse. Taking a deep breath, Deeks attempted to remove all the nervousness from his voice before speaking.
"It wouldn't be the first time, Hetty," Deeks answered. He wasn't entirely sure how she had Alex's number, but he also wasn't at all surprised that she did. She was Hetty after all.
"That is certainly true." Hetty hummed her agreement. "But as I recall, you always had a team."
"Not always." Deeks shook his head. "The only person that's always been there is Alex. And I sure as hell didn't have anyone before she was born."
Deeks didn't bother looking at Callen. He could practically feel the man's gaze. He didn't want his sympathy. He didn't want anyone's sympathy.
"Well you have a team now, Mr. Deeks. Please don't do this alone."
If Deeks didn't know better, he'd say he heard a slight quiver in Hetty's voice. Is she afraid? No, Hetty was never afraid.
"I've been on my own for longer than you think, Hetty," Deeks responded. "Besides, you already know that I'm not alone."
This time Deeks looked at Callen. He wasn't sure why. For reassurance maybe? Callen met his gaze and nodded succinctly, signalling that he approved of Deeks' statement. It felt good in a way...to know that he wasn't alone. He'd never tell Hetty that though.
"I assume Agent Callen is hearing our conversation." She stated.
It wasn't a question. She already knew the answer. In fact, Deeks could almost hear a sense of exasperation in her voice. Callen didn't respond, keeping his mouth shut. Deeks didn't say anything either. If she had already figured it out, there was no need to confirm it.
Hetty continued when neither man spoke up. "Mr. Callen, you know more than anyone the value of a team. I can't keep my agents safe if I don't know where they are."
This time Callen smiled gently. "I do know the value of a team, Hetty. We keep each other safe."
Both Deeks and Hetty picked up on the implication of his comment. Teams kept each other safe. Right now, Deeks and Callen were a team...Deeks, Callen and Alex. They would keep each other safe. Because that's what teams do.
"Teams also don't abandon each other." They could hear Hetty beginning to get irritated. Her patience was wearing thin. "Your partners are worried about you."
"I'm worried too, Hetty," Deeks growled through clenched teeth. "That's why we're doing this. Alone. Sam and Kensi wouldn't understand. They just wouldn't."
Hetty had no right to insinuate that he didn't care...that he was abandoning them. He was doing this for them. To keep them safe. Lucas Roberts wouldn't stop with Alex. He'd go after Sam, Eric, and Nell too. And Kensi. He'd go after Kensi. Roberts would take joy in hurting Kensi. He couldn't let that happen.
Sam had a family, and Eric and Nell were destined for such great things. And Kensi? Kensi was special. She was important. She was loved. She was the sunshine. He couldn't let Roberts take away the sunshine. He'd rather die than live without the sunshine.
Callen was different. Deeks cared about Callen. He wanted to protect Callen. But he also knew that Callen could protect himself. So could Sam and Kensi, but those two had something to lose. Callen didn't. It was harsh, but it was true. Callen had nothing to lose. And Callen was also a man of his word. If he said he'd help Deeks protect Alex, he would. And Alex had chosen him. She could've texted anyone from his phone, but she texted Callen. Maybe it was because she already knew him. But no matter the reason, she had picked Callen. And Alex was smart, smarter than Deeks was. If she saw something in the man, there was something there, even if Deeks couldn't see it.
"They won't stop looking for you," Hetty warned. "And neither will I."
"We never expected them to," Callen chimed in.
"And we don't expect you to either." Deeks smiled softly.
He wanted to keep them safe, which meant keeping them as far away from this as possible. But he knew his team. They wouldn't stop looking. They wouldn't stop trying to help. And Hetty was probably exaggerating how much she didn't know. She probably had the exact coordinates of the cabin tucked away somewhere in that desk of hers.
"Good." Hetty sighed deeply. "Keep each other safe. Keep the girl safe. And come back home."
The line went dead before they could respond. Both men stood there silently for quite some time, dwelling on the conversation they just had as the impact of their mission really hit them. There was no going back. There was very little chance they'd make this out alive. And they had a teenage girl to watch out for.
This wasn't gonna be easy, but it would be worth it.
It had been a sleepless night for Kensi. She, Sam, Eric, and Nell would have worked till the break of dawn to find their missing coworkers if Hetty had not insisted they all go home and rest. At the break of dawn, she was back at OSP, a cup of coffee in hand. Without a single glance into the bullpen, she made her way to meet Eric and Nell upstairs.
"Any news?" Kensi asked as she walked through the sliding doors.
"Nothing yet," Nell responded as she typed away. "We tried to follow Deeks' car through traffic cams, but we lost him."
"We put out a BOLO for his car and license plate, but knowing Deeks and Callen, I doubt we'll get anything soon," Eric added.
Kensi sighed and leaned back against the table.
"Who could hate Deeks enough to threaten his sister's life?" She whispered to herself. Everyone loved Deeks. He was kind, funny, integrous. Who would want to hurt Deeks?
A lot of people.
He was a good cop.
"Nell," Kensi blurted. "Check Deeks' arrest record back at the LAPD."
Nell nodded as she began typing hurredly across her keyboard. Within minutes she had pulled up a file.
"This is a long list, Kens." Nell hummed as she scrolled through the file.
Kensi sighed exasperatedly. How could they number this down? What were the questions they needed to ask…? There were so many questions. They had been floating around her head since Deeks had uttered the girl's name in the boatshed yesterday afternoon. But there was a question. One question. One question that would unlock the answers. Which question was it…?
"Why now?" Kensi muttered to herself.
"What do you mean?" Eric asked as he and Nell glanced at her questioningly.
"Why now? Why would this guy strike now? Why not last month, or last year? What was special about yesterday?" Kensi asked rhetorically.
"Maybe it's a significant date or something?" Nell asked. "It could be another way of trying to get Deeks off his game...a psychological trick."
"But still...now?" Kensi shook her head. "Why not last year, or years ago?"
"Maybe this is the first chance he got," Eric suggested.
"Yes!" Kensi stood up straight as the screen cleared in her mind. "Number the list down to anyone that was released within the past year."
The doors to their left slid open as Sam walked in. "Anything new?" He asked as he came to stand next to Kensi.
"We're checking Deeks' record for anyone released within the past year," Kensi explained.
"Good idea." Sam nodded, understanding their line of reasoning.
"Speaking of which," Nell began. "The list is still gonna be pretty long."
"Try looking at just males above the age of thirty," Sam added.
With a questioning glance from Kensi, Sam began to explain.
"Jackson Hemridge was a big kid, student athlete, fit. A woman couldn't have overpowered him and Laurel without serious training or help." Sam explained.
"But what if she did have help?" Kensi asked.
"The attack was brutal. Jackson died from blunt force to the head. Whoever killed him surprised him. Laurel died after from the stab wound. If there were multiple people on seen, the scene wouldn't be so sloppy. The killer had to neutralize Jackson first so he could get to Laurel. It was one person. One person who was strong enough to kill Jackson with a single blow."
"You're right. You couldn't have worked otherwise," Kensi shook her head in agreement.
"It'll still take a while to number this down," Nell said.
"Send us the list when you've finished," said Kensi.
"We should check out Deeks' apartment." Sam turned to Kensi.
She nodded disappointedly. She didn't want to do this. It didn't seem right. Going into Deeks' apartment and searching through it like he was a suspect. It just didn't seem right. It wasn't right. But it had to be done. They'd find Deeks and Callen eventually, and then it would be justified.
With a nod to Eric and Nell, the two agents walked from the room.
Nell glanced at Eric. "This is a long list," she sighed.
"I'll take the first half?" Eric suggested.
"Sounds good." She smiled as they tapped their knuckles together and got to work.
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