Moscow, Russia: Inside the Kremlin-

I find myself traipsing up the stairs to one of the domed roofs of the red square. I'm not exactly sure how he found out that we were even here. Callen, Sam, Kensi, I, Hetty, Granger, Arkady, and Arkady's daughter, Anna, were in Russian trying to stop an auction from being completed. There was a crap ton of crude oil that if sold, can changed the landscape for terrorists for the foreseeable future. It still doesn't explain how he knew that we were in Russia. I've taken X's features in dozens of times, and nothing really stood out to me. It's weird that a Greek woman left her homeland for England, and marry into that family. X physical description is that of your standard Greek: bronze skin color, average height, short black hair, a full beard, and dark colored eyes. I'm still wondering how I never realized it sooner.

"Agent Deeks, it's so glad to see you. I was being to worry that you wouldn't show up." X said, as I cleared the last set of stairs. I walked out to see a device, and there was a sword lying on the ground, waiting for me.

"Why's that? Because I didn't burn rubber from the airport to the Kremlin?" I asked.

"Well. Yeah." he said.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Xenon." I said.

"What?" he asked.

"That is your name isn't it? Xenon Ariti." I said.

"How do you know that name?" Xenon asked.

"That's a question for later. Tell me why you mother left Greece to marry into a notorious crime family that has been dogging me for about three thousand years?" I asked.

"How do you about my family lineage?" he asked.

"Oh don't be so stupid. This was never about your adopted family and their mistreatment by the Russians. Though I'm still wondering why you choose Russia." I said.

N.C.I.S.

Los Angeles: Two weeks ago-

"I know what you're going to say, and I know who our target is." Hetty said.

"Talk about burying the lead." I said.

"The man you call X, is of Greek descent. His mother was kidnapped, and whether of her own volition or was raped, Xenon was born. Ariti was his mother's maiden name." she said.

"X must have really hated his father family." I said.

"My guess is that Xenon is coming after you because you were the one who would have married his mother. If I was a betting woman that would be my guess. And yes he did murder his entire family: both immediate and extended." she said.

"I swear this man has an obsession with me. First the Cossack's, now the British. What will he think of next?" I asked.

"I wouldn't underestimate our opponent. Not in the slightest." she said.

"This battle needs to be his last." I said.

"Meaning?" she asked.

"If I were to die in battle, you need to hunt him down and finish it. That is our only option." I said.

"That can be arranged." Hetty said.

"I know." I said.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Present day: Moscow, Russia-

"How do you know about the Payne crime family?" he asked.

"Does it matter? What's the play?" I asked.

"No plan. I just want watch the world burn, and take you with me." he said.

"You won't live to see another see a day. My boss will make sure you don't live to see another day. What's that little doodad?" I asked.

"It's a neutron bomb, and I'm sure you know how this thing works." Xenon said.

I take a picture, and with the caption "neutron bomb. Give the necessary information to the team," and then send it to OPS. I look up to see Xenon had drawn his sword.

"You don't want to know how I knew of your family." I said.

"Entertain me." he said.

"The tip off was the sixteen-spoked wheel." I said, bending down to pick up the sword.

"What about it?" he asked.

"It was originally used for a terrorist cell." I said.

"Yes, I remember." he said, not hiding the disdain from his face or voice.

"You'll be happy to know that I shut them down three years ago." I said, walking into range.

"Thank you. I regret not dealing with them myself." he said, relieved.

"When you told us that you were going to be moving in September, I saw the wheel on the wall behind you. Or, at least, I think it was on the wall behind you." I said.

"I spent a thousand years bidding my time. Waiting to meet you. My father said so much about you. I never knew that you returned to London back in the eighteen nineties. I had just left after you got there." he said.

"How long until that thing blows?" I asked.

"You must know the truth of the matter." he said.

"I do, but you're going to tell me anyways." I said, sarcastically.

"The time is set for twenty minutes, and then—Kaboom. Of course, you already know this, but the timer can't be stopped." he said.

"What's the play Deeks?" Sam asked in my ear piece.

"Evacuate as much of the city of possible." I said, and then took out the ear piece.

"If it's any consolation, I have a gas mask next to the bomb. If you can kill me within twenty minutes, it's yours." he said.

Should have brought a gas mask. I thought.

"Nice jacket, but it might be a little warm for it, don't you think?" He asked.

I wore a long rider jacket to hide my kukris. X doesn't need to know about them. "Don't know, do you?" I asked, with a smile.

"Now, shall we began?" Xenon asked.

"Yes, we shall." I said, as I drew my sword and dropped the scabbard.

I ready my sword, and then Xenon struck first.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Moscow, Russia: out in the Red Square-

"What do we have Eric?" Sam asked.

Hetty, Kensi, and Callen stood around waiting for an update from Eric and Nell while Granger was out securing a transportation out of the country.

"I'm still working on it." Eric said.

"That won't be necessary." a female voice said.

The team turned to see who it was.

"Sheik." Kensi said.

"Who's that?" Callen asked.

"CIA officer—" Kensi began.

"Former CIA Officer." Sheik corrected.

"Sheik this is Callen, Sam and Hetty. What do you know?" Kensi asked.

"I have key areas that need to be secured before I can get the six of you out of here. Callen and Kensi go to this location. Hetty go to this location, and Sam follow me. We have a bomb to disarm." Sheik said, handing a piece of paper to Callen and Hetty.

"Is the bomb made of American components?" Callen asked, taking the paper.

"No, but it was built in America." Sheik said.

"That's just as bad." Kensi said.

"If we can get the bomb disarmed, I have an alibi for the evacuation." Sheik said.

"I'm guessing it buys us enough time to dismantle it, and get out of the city." Sam said.

"Yes it does, now get on it." Sheik said, and then took off running.

"See you on the other side." Sam said.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Inside the Kremlin-

The fight had been going for five minutes. Neither one of us giving up ground.

"Problems?" I asked, still fighting.

"No. Just enjoying the thrill of the fight. I expect nothing less from the man who has been at this for three thousand years. But I have bad news for you." Xenon said.

"Is there any other kind?" I asked.

"I forgot to mention that I started the timer before you entered the city." he said.

"How much time is left?" I asked.

"Give or take, a little over four minutes." Xenon said.

"I'm not surprised that you would do that. Then the only question is why we are in Russia? What's the endgame?" I asked.

"It's like I said: I just want to see the world burn." he said, gleefully with a maniacal smile.

"I take you've been waiting to say that for a while now, haven't you?" I asked.

"Yes I have." he said.

"Good to know that I haven't lost my edge." I said.

"Awesome!" Xenon exclaimed.

We took our sword fight towards one of the many balconies. What I didn't know was that after the bomb was out of our sight, Sam and Sheik had stepped out of their hiding place and made their way over to the bomb.

"You can gawk later. Take care of the bomb. We have less the four minutes." Sheik said.

"Yes, ma'am." Sam said, and then got down to disarming the bomb.

"This should be all that you need." she said, and then laid a mat out with the necessary tools to for Sam to work.

As Sam was looking over his tools, Sheik started typing on the keyboard near the timer.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"This is a two part diffusion. If you start there first, then you will have full access to the main board. You do you, I'll do me." Sheik said, and then stepped back from the bomb to give Sam room to work.

In the building across the street, Kensi was climbing a ladder and saw the sniper that Xenon had put in place as a failsafe in case I tried anything like this. I had no idea what Sheik was planning, or what her plans were because I was dueling with Xenon. Kensi had neutralized the sniper, while Callen was on the ground floor cleaning up.

Sam had just moved up to the main display when three guys had entered the attic, per se, and spotted him. Sheik was on the men, and killed them all. And then one by one, she decapitated them. Don't need anyone coming after us.

"How much time do you need?" Sheik asked.

"I need thirty seconds. A minute tops." Sam said.

"We're clear here. Are there any other locations?" Kensi asked over the ear piece.

"Sheik are there any other locations that we need to be worried about?" Sam asked looking up from the main display.

"Work and talk at the time, please. And no there aren't other locations." Sheik said.

"That's a negative, Kensi." Sam said.

"Where are we supposed to rendezvous?" Callen asked.

"Extraction zone?" Sam asked, still working on the bomb.

"Tell them to head to the house at the end of the block. There's a bench there with a bag on it. Tell them to take the contents out of the bag and wait for us to finish here." Sheik said.

Sheik didn't hear Sam relay the instructions because her attention had been turned to me and Xenon. As we were fighting, I got a glimpse of Sam working on the bomb. Of course, the timer could be diffused. Saying that it couldn't be diffused just makes for better theater. Our skills aren't even comparable. Xenon waited a thousand years just to have his butt handed to him.

I know Xenon has seen Sam and Sheik come in. I know he has seen Sheik kill his back up. I guess it's time to wrap this up. I thought. When I found the next opening I drove my sword into Xenon's knee, leaving it in. As Xenon was screaming out in pain, I took my jacket off and unsheathed one of my kukris and drove that into his sword arm shoulder. Xenon dropped his sword and stared up at me. I pinned Xenon's other arm behind him with my kukri. Xenon howled out in pain

"Was it good enough for you?" I asked, as I was pulling my second kukri.

"No." Xenon said, after his scream died down, and then I decapitated him.

Sam was finishing up with the bomb when the Quickening had commenced. After the Quickening had finished, Sam picked me up over his shoulder, and then he and Sheik exited the building. I didn't wake for at least an hour, maybe two, and when I did we were on a transport out of the city.

"What's the cover story?" I asked.

"Sheik told us not to worry about it." Callen said.

"I bet she did." I said, and then got comfortable.

"How did Xenon know we were in Russia?" Hetty asked.

"I'm going to have to look into that?" I said. I don't want to think that Sheik tipped Xenon of to our whereabouts, but from some reason I find it to be more than a simple betrayal.

"You think that Sheik ousted us to get further in achieving her goals?" Kensi asked.

"Huh?" Sam asked, as he joined the group.

"Hetty asked how Xenon knew of our presence in Russia. Kensi suggested that Sheik tipped Xenon off because she was working to some goal that we can't see." I said.

"You believe that Sheik leaked our location to get at Xenon, or make an open after Xenon was killed?" Callen asked.

"That seems like the more plausible answer." I said.

"I'm guessing you've done something like this to Sheik before?" Hetty asked.

"To Sheik? No. I've never set someone up like what just happened. I'm wondering if somebody set us up to help Sheik achieve their goal, and continuing with whatever their plan is at the moment." I said.

"So it's business as usual when we return?" Callen asked.

"Pretty much." I said.

That conversation was on Friday. Come Monday, it was as I said. We hit the ground running with the usual case load, and on the rare occasion I had to hunt somebody down for Hetty. Two weeks pass with Kensi and I spend more time together, and Kensi was starting to open up more than she did these past few years. Before when we came home—Okay I need to stop right there. I can't say that Kensi was never open with me. She always open with me, but now. I see Kensi all the time running around the house dressed in ways that I haven't seen since Bella. Some of the outfits are—Yew! I was daydreaming about one particular outfit at work. I was sitting at my desk in the bull pen, with my laptop out.

"That number from Friday still got you all hot and bothered?" Kensi asked, in Rai, as she was walking up behind me.

Even though my head was positioned in such a way that I was looking at the laptop in front of me, but my eyes were gazing past my computer. Kensi knows me well enough to know when I'm physically present, but mentally absent.

"I haven't had eye candy like that in well few centuries." I said, also in Rai.

"You don't know what century?" she asked.

"Nope. Just a few centuries." I said.

"Was it Bella?" she asked.

"Why do you ask?" I asked, looking up at Kensi.

"That would be the only reason for her giving you the dagger." she said.

"You should have seen the size of the ruby I gave her in return." I said, with a sly grin.

"How big was it?" she asked.

Oh man! I feel a dirty joke coming on. I thought. "Enough for her to shove me back into a bell tower, and thank me in her own special way." I said.

"If I was into gems, I'd thank you in my own special way if you gave me one that big." she said, without thinking.

And without missing a beat, I said. "That's what she said."

Kensi swatted my arm, but she couldn't stop the most beautiful laugh that I haven't heard in almost five thousand years. I looked up at Kensi and stared longing.

"Did I just laugh like Kenzie?" she asked.

"Don't apologize. Few people rarely find a lover in one lifetime. I'm lucky to find the same exact one, twice." I said.

"I'm guessing Bella never laughed like." she said.

"Actually…" I trailed off for a moment trying to remember if Bella every did laugh like that. "No she didn't. Consider yourself a lucky gal." I said.

"I do." Kensi said, her lip brushing my cheek.

"What are you two love birds doing?" Callen asked, as he and Sam entered the bull pen.

"Nothing." Kensi said, in English, as she stood up straight.

"Uhuh. I'm pretty certain Hetty could translate for us if you don't want to tell us." Sam offered, bluffing.

"Good luck with that big guy." I said, with the biggest grin on my face.

Sam glared at me, knowing I just called his bluff, but the conversation didn't continue because Eric's whistled was heard throughout the building.

A/N- Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I figured that I built X up that I figured that a duel was coming between him and Deeks. I figured that it was also time to shine light on the family that approached Deeks earlier in the story, and put it to bed as well.

A/N- I'm drawing near the end of the flash back session, and I'm running out of crucial episodes and filler chapters. I don't want to do many time jumps, but I'm running out of ideas. I'm going to skip the mole arc in season eight, and I'm skipping Kensi being in a coma as well. But Kensi will still get kidnapped, and the plot behind it will change.