A/N: The next two chapters feature the Expiration Date episode. This story will focus heavily on the conversations between Kensi, Deeks, and Thapa and not the combat scenes. I know it would be cool for Deeks to come in at the end and wipe the floor with a few of those Gurkhas with his own Kukri, but this time around the story will focus on the conversations more than the fighting.
Kensi and I went and talked with the Hanna family. Michelle wanted us to come by for dinner. While Kensi and Michelle were discussing the details, I saw Callen skate over to the far side of the rink and talk to some female. I noticed that the female was Joelle. I decide, when I have a free moment, to get in touch with Sheik and have her look into Joelle's current assignment. But I put that on the back burner for now, and work on ironing out the details of my relationship with Kensi: both romantically and professionally.
We hung out at the skating rink Friday after work. Kensi and I spent the entire weekend together; we even slept in the same bed, which was something we haven't done in two and a half years. Come Monday, Kensi and I were conversing in another foreign language that I learned a long time ago: Rai which is a part of the language family Sino-Tibetan, and is generally spoken in Nepal.
As we're walking into the bull pen, I stopped in my tracks and said. "I know what you're trying to say, but you need to save that for later. I don't want another embarrassing moment like last time." I said.
"Okay." Kensi said, and then walked away.
"Kensi." I said. Kensi stopped and turned and looked at me. "I love you." I said, in Rai.
Kensi struggled more with Rai than she did with Pinghua, so she answered in Pinghua. "I love you, too."
"More language lessons?" Callen asked.
"Yes." Kensi answered, as she sat down at her desk.
"That sounded familiar. Was that Gurung?" Sam asked.
"No, but you're in the right language family. It's actually Rai, and it's spoken .60% of the population in Nepal. Good guess though." I said.
"Thank you." Sam said.
"What's the word?" Callen asked as Eric and Nell entered the bull pen.
"We got word from our wayward globetrotting Cossack." Nell said, and then brought up the feed.
This feed didn't have a massacre, but it was of supplies moving through a depot. I was at a loss for words. Was Deep throat begging me to catch him, or is he taunting me. Showing me what his next move is, and then challenging me to stop him before he can carry out whatever he is planning. This man is really starting to bother me.
"Penny for your thoughts Deeks?" Sam asked.
"I can't figure out what his endgame is. I'm guessing it has something to do with Russia, but these games that X is playing, I really have no idea what he's getting at." I said.
"X? Who's X?" Kensi asked.
"According to X, Brock Madison wasn't his really name. When we were chasing Sidorov, he called himself Deep throat. Then when I went abroad to kill Anton Sidorov, he told me himself that Madison wasn't his real name. I'm still don't understanding what X plan's on doing." I said.
"Until we find what X's objective are, we have to take everything he throws at as a credible threat.
Callen said.
"Do we have a clue on where the feed was taken?" I asked.
"Tibet." Eric said.
"Was it in a depot controlled by the Russians?" Kensi asked.
"Good call." I said.
"No. It was just some random depot in the northern part of the country." Nell said, and then brought the depot up on the big screen.
"Deeks." Sam said.
"Yeah?" I asked, and then looked at Sam.
"You think X could have a bone to pick?" Sam asked.
"For what?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"You let his uncle and father get sent back to the USSR after all the time that you spent fighting alongside them." Hetty said, entering the bullpen.
"Okay, I guess I can see that angle. Expect for the fact that I already told him that I was long gone by the time his family was sent back to the USSR." I said.
"Maybe Madison doesn't care that you weren't involved in their imprisonment, but it's easier for him to hold you responsible since everybody else is dead and gone." Hetty said.
"Okay, whatever. Another body to add to the pile." I said, and then exited. As Kensi followed me out, everybody could hear us conversing Rai as we headed to the stairs.
"Deeks is quite the library of languages." Sam said to Callen.
"He is, Mr. Hanna. He is." Hetty said, in Rai as she was exiting the bull pen.
Two months passes before the next big case drops in our laps, but in all honestly, there were only three big events that happen in the next five months that really stand out. The entire time we were waiting for the cases to drop, Kensi and I grew stronger: both as partners and as lovers.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Kensi's apartment-
I'm starting to wake up from the wild night that just passed. I met Kensi's small group of girlfriends, and as I previously stated, it was wild. I feel this persistent light touches, starting at my right elbow. I hear the noise of lips smacking, and realize that Kensi is kissing me. I react to the touch, and then say. "That tickles."
I hear Kensi laugh, and then place a kiss at the base of my neck. She rubs my back once, and then greets. "Morning, Special Agent Deeks."
"Good morning, Special Agent Kensi Blye." I said. I pause for a moment. Kensi kisses me once more and then I say. "Or should I say, Kay-Kay? Heh. You gotta do this lemon drop shot with me, Kay." I chuckle after I finish my sentence.
"That's not funny." she said.
"It was pretty funny."
Kensi stopped for a moment and reflected on her actions. "I knew that introducing to my friend was a mistake." she said.
"What are you talking about? They're great." I said.
"No, don't—Don't do that. Don't humor" she said.
From the shaking that I felt, Kensi propped herself up on her elbows. I can't see it, but Kensi's face has a contemplative look, and she's biting her lip wondering if it really was a mistake to introduce me to her friends.
"All right, well, in all fairness, they probably hit their great peakness at the age of fifteen, but they're still great." I said.
"Yep. Definitely should waited." she said.
"What are you talking about? The time is now. Besides, if you like them, I like them." I said, reaching my head up from the pillow and opening eyes to see the disappointed look on my girlfriends face.
"You don't even remember their names." she said.
"Kat, Mindy, Mandy, Tiffany and Tiffany. How can you forget such a pantheon of crazy girl names." I said. I laid my head back down on the pillow, and shut my eyes. But I opened my eyes at the end of my sentence.
"I think we're moving too fast." she said, and prepared to get off the bed.
"And it's awesome." I said.
"We're around each other every day." she said.
"Uhuh. Totally awesome." I said, propping myself on my left elbow.
"We see each other every night." She said, and then tucked a lock of her hair behind her left ear.
"Totally, and completely awesome." I said.
"Deeks, this isn't normal." she said, finally getting off the bed.
"We're not normal. Our fondest memories include Taliban bullet holes and Hetty Lange. You're no Bridget Jones, and I'm no…Whatever the male equivalent of Bridget Jones is." I said.
"You hated my best friends." she said, as she started rummaging through closet for clothes to wear that day.
"I didn't hate you best friends. I just spent four hours talking about brunch spots, Love Actually and—And fantasy engagements, while they wore these matching t-shirts that said "keep calm and eat cupcakes." I said. I was trying not to laugh, because I really don't hate Kensi friends, but I spent four hours last night doing just that, and I couldn't find any common ground with these ladies.
"Well for your information, I'm also obsessed with Love Actually, brunch and fantasy engagements." she said.
I can see where this is going, and I try to head it off before one of us gets hurt. "Can we not do this? Can we not turn this into Deeks versus Kensi, Kat, Mindy, Mandy, Tiffany and Tiffany?"
I understand that these five women are an integral part of Kensi life, but right now this argument is about where they fit in grand scheme of our lives. The look on Kensi face was one of sadness, and disappointment. "They make me happy." she said, as she was struggling to put on her watch.
"Wait, do I not make you happy?" I asked, without thinking. Open mouth and insert foot. I thought.
"Yes, you make me happy, but it's a different kind of happy." she snapped. Kensi took a breath and let it out.
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting to hear. I'm guessing, to an extent, that I wanted to be the main source of joy and happiness in Kensi's life, but selfish and inconsiderate to think that way. I know that Kensi needs to have a support group. A group of people, or girls in this case, who she can trust and rely on when things get bad. None the less, her statement was a punch to the gut. I couldn't stop the rejected look that appeared on my face, or my next sentence. "Wow. Ouch." I said.
"That came out wrong." she said, and knelt on the bed beside me.
To my credit, I don't attack her, but instead I realize the milestone we were having. After two months of being an official couple, we're having our first fight. Which is strange because in all my past relationships the first fight came a lot sooner. I thought.
I sat up right, and then asked. "Is this really happening? Are we just having our first fight here?"
Kensi is also having the same realization because I see a shocked look cross her face and then she tries to explain it away. "Well—" she said.
"Kens." I said.
I don't care that we fought. I just want her to work with me, and be in the present. But that's not going to happen. I thought.
"I just nee—" Kensi began, but her phone started to ring. We looked at her phone, and then my phone started to ring. I grabbed my phone, and checked the id as my heart fell into my gut. But what I heard when I answered my phone, the news made my blood go cold.
"Deeks." I said, answering.
"Kensi." Kensi said, when she answered.
We both heard that Sam had been shot, and was in emergency surgery. Kensi and I both rushed to get dressed, and get to OPS.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
OPS: Main hall-
Callen briefed us on the op that they were running as we walked from the back entrance to the main hall, but I was not expecting to see that we had company.
"What happened?" Kensi asked.
"He happened." Callen said, and then nodded to the balcony.
Kensi and I looked up at the balcony to see Thapa looking down at us. I did not hide the surprised look on my face.
"Who gave him clearance?" Kensi asked.
"Hetty." Callen said.
"India wasn't about to let her go." I said.
"So they sent their best Gurkha." Kensi said.
"Thapa's mission was to bring Ella back home. No cover, no support. Totally deniable black op until Sam stepped in front of a bullet. Suddenly India had to play ball, and fast. This is a joint task force now." Callen said.
"Are we sure he's on our side?" Kensi asked.
"I trust him." I said.
"Well, his mission conflicts with ours." Kensi said.
"I trust him. He was as shock as I was when Sam went down. Without Thapa's help, we may not have made it to the hospital." Callen said.
At that moment we heard a whistled from the stairs. We turn to see Eric, and a semi-perturbed Thapa looking at Eric for whistling in his ear.
"Are you okay?" Kensi asked.
Callen didn't answer her. He looked at me and asked. "What does you spook intuition tell you?"
"We this can one of two ways. And I'm not liking the second outcome." I said.
"Scenario one?" Kensi asked.
"It plays out as we know it. Ella is trying to defect, and Thapa was sent to bring her back." I said.
Before I tell Kensi and Callen what the second scenario is, I take a moment and become introspective, and then I look up at Thapa. Thapa looks down at me, and then two of us silently nod at each other.
"You've take an active role in an op like this?" Callen asked.
"Yep." I said, looking back at Callen and Kensi.
"What's the second?" Kensi asked.
"There's a rogue group trying to breach the CIA, and gain access to the holy grail of foreign intelligence. To do that, they need a willing spy and a patsy." I said.
"I understand that Thapa's the patsy." Kensi said.
"Thapa's going to die Kensi." I said.
My words barely registered in Kensi's brain when Callen walked up the stairs.
"Callen?" Kensi said.
Kensi and I shared a look, and then Kensi followed Callen up the stairs.
"Thapa." Kensi greeted Thapa when she passed him on the way to Ops.
"Good to see. Wish it was under better circumstances." I said, shaking Thapa's hand.
Thapa fell in step with me as we walked to Ops, and said. "I feel the same way, sahib"
"How's that blade of yours?" I asked.
"Sharp. How's your partner?" Thapa asked.
"Pfft. Sharper." I said, as we entered Ops.
"Well, officially, India is an ally. Unofficially, we keep eyes on them like any other country with nukes." Eric said, starting the briefing.
"Ella Desai is an insider, a scientist who has more details about that regions nuclear program than spying could ever tell us. Six months ago, she approached the CIA's office in New Delhi. She claims that her boss was accepting bribes from a lobbyists." Nell said.
"Why'd she come to us?" I asked.
"Ella says the guilty parties are powerful to prosecute locally." Eric answered.
"She's right." Thapa said.
"She believes the men running India's nuclear arsenal don't take too kind to whistleblowers." Callen said.
He's right about that too." Thapa said, shaking his head.
"Then why are you dragging her back to India against her will?" Kensi asked.
"Orders are orders." Thapa said.
"The agency offered her citizenship and a cushy analyst position in exchange for everything she knows." Eric said.
"Sam and I were supposed to meet her. Thapa got there before us. We chased them into a warehouse." Callen said.
"Moments later, Agent Hanna was bleeding out on the floor." Thapa said.
Eric brought a copy of the ballistics report on screen, as Callen explain what happened earlier. "Sam spotted the sniper, he took the bullet, but he was not the target."
"It was either me or Ella." Thapa said.
"Every terrorist group wants what's inside Ella's head. Killing Thapa puts them one step closer." I theorized.
"Whereas killing her doesn't help anyone except India. And all the secrets she knows die with her." Kensi theorized from the other angle.
"India ordered me to bring her back alive. My mission was very clear." Thapa said.
"Missions change. Sniper could have been a backup plan." Callen said.
"My handlers would have told me about a backup plan." Thapa said.
"Brother, I think you're giving your handlers too much credit." I said, and then looked at Thapa.
Thapa contemplated that he might have walked into a trap, as Callen doled out orders. "Sniper took a shot from the fifth floor. Check it out. Start tracking this guy down." Callen said.
"What about Ella?" Kensi asked
"Defectors always look too good to be true. Some are real, the rest are just double agents assigned to keep us chasing our tails year after year." Callen said.
"Sounds like you've met one before." Nell said.
"I've been one before. Hetty wants me to debrief Ella." Callen said.
"I will join, Agent Callen." Thapa said.
"No. Your mission is not Ella anymore." Callen said.
"If that's the case, why shouldn't I just board the next plane back to India?" Thapa asked.
Callen paused a moment, and then said. "Because my partner took a bullet today, and we need your help."
"Then you have it, sahib." Thapa said.
We were all staring at Thapa a moment, and then I turned to Callen and said. "Let's do it."
Kensi, Thapa and I exit OPS heading to the warehouse where Sam was shot; while Callen head to the boatshed.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Warehouse district-
Kensi pulled the SRX to stop next to the curb, and then three of us got out. Thapa and I shut the doors, and walked to the front, as Kensi shut her door and took a few steps back to see where the sniper to their shot from.
"I think I can see where the sniper set up his shot. I'll check it out before we go in, all right." Kensi said.
"All right." I said, as Kensi was walking away. Thapa and I took a seat on the hood as I said. "Listen, you got any Gurkha wisdom for me? Because Kay-Kay's been fighting me ever since we woke up this morning."
Thapa was shocked by what he just heard. "Fighting since you woke up? Hold on. Last time I was here, you were still trying to figure out your feelings. How long since—?" Thapa asked.
"Christmas." I said.
"And you've already moved in together?" he asked.
"No. Well…I mean, we spend pretty much every night together, and, obviously, every day together." I said.
"Are you crazy?" Thapa asked.
"Yes." I said.
"Who moves that fast?" he asked. I do. I thought, but Thapa continued "Last time I was here, I advised you, be patient." he said.
"You think we're moving too fast?" I asked.
"Most new couples do. Spending every moment together, staging photos to display their happiness, introducing them to friends and family. It feels real before it becomes real." Thapa said.
I have never taken photos to display my happiness. I thought, smiling halfway through Thapa's speech because I've seen people do that numerous times when I was people watching these last few years.
"Wow. You know a lot about women." I said.
"I'm a Gurkha, not a monk." Thapa said, a smile stretching from ear to ear.
"Yeah, it's definitely on the fifth floor. Let's go." Kensi said, joining the group.
"Ready to investigate, Kay-Kay." Thapa said, as he clapped his hands together.
"Oh, no. Mm." I said. CRAP! I thought.
When Thapa was out ear shot, Kensi turned to me and asked. "What did he just call me?"
"I don't know. I didn't hear it. Because there's so much traffic—"
"There was no traffic." she said.
"A truck came by and honked—"
"You think this is a joke? You think this is a funny?" she asked.
"He thinks it's funny, but he's form Nepal. You know, he's got a Nepalese humor. It's very…distinct." I said, after taking a breath. I get up off of the car, and go after Thapa. Kensi walking to stand in front of the SRX as she said. "Yeah. Ha, ha. See, I'm laughing, but I'm not finding this funny."
We entered the warehouse, and went up to the fifth floor. We walked over to the side of the building where the sniper took the shot. It had a clear shot of warehouse where Callen, Sam, and Thapa were earlier in the day.
"There." Kensi said, pointing to the hole in the window.
"Yeah, there it is." I said.
"It's a loop hole. Could have used a diamond cutter. Shooter's definitely a pro." Kensi said.
I stepped up to the window, putting myself in the shoes of the sniper. "Yeah, posting up here gives him every angel on the warehouse." I said.
"Prevents him from having to move from window to window." Kensi said.
My next thought was on defense. I see a column next to me. "And this column, lots of protecting from returning fire." I said.
"Yeah." Kensi agreed.
The next thing to jump out at me was a string of mathematical equations written on the window. "Look at that. Well, that narrows suspects down to Einstein, Descartes and the guy from Good Will Hunting. I mean, wow. And me telling Mrs. Powell that I'm never gonna use algebra in real life." I quipped.
Kensi nodded her head, and then Thapa spoke up. "Ballistic algorithms."
"It's the most advanced I've seen. Do you recognize it?" Kensi asked.
"I created it. The only people in the world trained to use them are Gurkhas." Thapa said.
Kensi and I heads were reeling at the implications of what we just heard. I look at Kensi, but she wasn't looking at me. There was a Gurkha trained sniper on the loose, and he's currently in the wind.
