Later in the day, Kensi and I went for a run. And while we're out, we're bickering about telling her mom about the engagement.
Why we're bickering is beyond me. We've been engaged for less than twenty-four hours, and we're arguing about this. I haven't been home for twenty-four hours and we're arguing about this. Oi! I thought.
"Do you have a female figure that you look up to?" Kensi asked.
"Umm… other than Hetty, no." I said.
"Seriously?" she asks.
"Kensi, you know my life and what I was doing." I said.
"Okay, that doesn't mean that you didn't bond with any else." she said.
"Wait a minute. Are you asking because you don't want to be the first one to tell you mother?" I asked, slowing my pace.
"No—" she began.
"Kensi, I haven't talked to my mom in years because she's dead, and more importantly we've only been engaged for less the twenty-four hours. Are you serious right now?" I asked, stopping to look at Kensi.
Kensi was looking for an excuse, but all that came out was noise.
"Kensi, the only reason your mom doesn't know we're engaged is because you didn't tell her. And there is no reason for you to delay any longer. But I know a wonderful place that the three of us can go have dinner, and we can tell your mom that we've gotten engaged." I said, and then kiss Kensi.
At that moment, Kensi's phone beeped. Kensi checked her phone and saw that she needed to report to OPS on the double.
"We need to report to OPS." Kensi said.
"Okay." I said, but thought. Let's go meet our new boss.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
OPS: Ops-
"You think this threat from North Korea is legit?" Kensi asked, as we walked into Ops.
"I doubt it. I'm more concerned about our new operations manager. Director Vance said that our replacement is one that worked with Hetty, or was recommended by Hetty." Callen said.
"I might have an idea about that." I said.
"Oh." Callen said.
"Yeah. I was told—"
"Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a time-sensitive situation." a woman said, walking into Ops.
Shay Mosley I presume. I thought, but kept my mouth shut.
Mosley's associate, Harley Hidoko, gave us the brief. "Defense Intelligence Agent Thomas Park was supposed to be stationed in South Korea, but last night fell to his death outside a Sunset nightclub. The initial police report is on your desks. We're still waiting on the coroner's results."
There was a little hiccup as the Harley tried to get the information up on the big screen
"How do we get it to the big screen?" Harley asked.
"Yeah, it can be tricky." Nell said.
"Yeah." Eric said, and then took the tablet from her to see what the problem was.
My peanut gallery instincts were trying to kick in, but I really didn't want to make the first move, and prove to the team that Mosley and I were going to bump heads. A lot. There was a comment about an operating system not being up to date, which was followed by a system update, and then the necessary information was on the screen.
"What was he doing in Los Angeles?" Callen asked.
"We're not sure. Agent Park was a bit of a wild card. His supervisors didn't even know he was here. He boarded a flight to L.A. yesterday with no checked luggage." Harley said.
"He was part of an intelligence task force assigned to North Korea's aerospace and missile program. Minutes before his death, he sent this text." Mosley said.
Harley tap a few buttons, and then text appeared on screen. The text was written in short hand which read, and paraphrasing, North Korea ICBM at Los Angeles October first, twenty seventeen.
"That could mean anything." Kensi said.
"Even if it did, I mean North Korea doesn't even have the technology to hit us with an ICBM." I said.
"D.I. Agent Park lost his life to get us this information. I think we need to take this as a legitimate threat." Mosley said.
Maybe, but this seems to clean to be legit. I thought. I kept the information myself because I knew at least one confrontation was coming. No need to make it two. I thought.
"We have copies of Agent Park's open cases. Hopefully they can help us determine which one was in play." Harley said.
"This is a priority assignment. So I'd like Agent Callen and Agent Blye working this." Mosley said.
"Oh, you know that's a good idea. What we usually do for the record is I work—"
"I'm sorry, detective. I know you've played an important role with this team, but this falls under national security." Mosley said.
"Excuse me." Kensi said.
"Kensi, hush." I said.
"Detective Ashono MacLeod is being sent back to L.A.P.D. and he will keeping us update on their end of the investigation." Mosley said.
"Actually it's Agent Deeks." I said.
"Excuse me." Mosley said.
"Deeks." Callen warned.
"Too late. Detective Ashono MacLeod is the legend I created in the early days at N.C.I.S. while the Office of Special Project was being created." I corrected.
"I'm well aware of that." Mosley said.
"Then are you aware of the fact that the cover has been blown?" I asked.
"Which you blew when you murdered a police officer to protect a prostitute." Mosley said.
I looked a Callen, who was giving me a sideways look. "We can discuss that later." I said to Callen. To Mosley I said. "It wasn't murder, it was man-slaughter. And the man that was killed was a detective. The person I protected was being used by the police for whatever they wanted. And let's be realistic, me protecting an underage prostitute pales in comparison to your liaison with Spencer Williams."
Mosley didn't even respond. Everybody else missed it, but I saw the tell-tale sign that I touched a nerve. Before anyone can respond, I said. "I'll go see what L.A.P.D. has compiled on this missile launch." I said, and then walked out.
I get to the parking garage when I hear. "Deeks."
I turn to see Callen and Kensi approach. "What?" I asked.
"How long do you think you'll be at L.A.P.D.?" Callen asked.
"Not long. If I had to guess, the people in Washington are keep a tight lid on this. And if I had to guess this launch is bogus from a certain point of view." I said.
"Call us if you learn anything." Callen said, and then he and Kensi walked over and got into the Audi.
"Same to you." I said.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
L.A.P.D. station house: Bates' Office-
As I made my way to Bates' office, I got the usual stares. I was used to that, the better part was no one engaged me in conversation, or make snide remarks. I walked to Bates', and entered.
"Agent Deeks. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Bates asked.
"I was wondering if you heard about a possible missile strike on Los Angeles." I said.
"Oh. You've been hanging out with the secret squirrels too long. No way a missile is getting this far unless it's strapped to a dolphin." Bates said.
"And what if you're wrong?" I asked.
"Maybe I don't have to pay alimony anymore." Bates said.
Bates had a gleeful look on his face when he made that statement. "Wow you just said that out loud. In any case, if anything changes, or if you hear anything from the secret squirrels before I do, you give me a call." I said, as I got up from the chair to leave.
"I shall Agent Deeks, but I highly doubt I'm going to hear anything." Bates said.
I shrugged at Bates, and left his office.
Out on the street, I checked my phone for any messages. I saw that I had one, and it was from an old acquaintance that I haven't spoken to in years. They wanted to meet up, and the place was about a mile from here.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Michael Lee's residence-
I approached the caution tape, and showed my badge.
"Hey. You okay? What happened?" I asked, putting my badge away.
"Yeah. Shootout with the two guys who threw Park off the roof. One of them got away but not before putting several bullets into his buddy." Kensi said.
"So unfriended the hard way." I said.
"Mm. How was your day?" she asked.
"Uh…Not much better. L.A.P.D. was a bust. All though I did get a phone call from an old acquaintance of mine about an hour ago." I said.
"And, how'd that go?" she asked.
"It went well. Actually it went better than well. It was great to see them again." I said.
"We could have used you today Deeks." Callen said, joining the party.
"Take it up with Mosley. She's the one that sent me on that wild goose chase over at LA.P.D." I said.
"I intend to." Callen said. Callen pulled a laptop out of a bag, and showed us that it was riddle with bullet holes.
"Let's hope they got the extended warranty." I said.
"Yeah." Kensi said.
"Let's hope the Wonder Twins can get something off of this." Callen said, handing the laptop to Kensi.
"Great thanks for that." I said, and then walked away.
"Oi." Kensi said, following me.
I get into to the truck, start the engine up as Kensi was getting into the passenger seat. We put our seat belts on, and then I pulled away from the scene. As we were driving away, I could sense Kensi was already in a better mood.
That tends to happen when you're with your better half." I thought.
N.C.I.S.
OPS: Ops-
Callen walked into Ops and saw Mosley watching the news. It was of the shootout that he and Kensi just survived.
"Shootout adjacent to a college campus. Not exactly what I wanted on my first day here, Agent Callen." Mosley said.
"You think I did?" Callen asked.
"Our biggest lead is dead. OSP is supposed to be an elite unit not a bunch of cowboys. And why is Deeks still here?" she asked.
"Because we need him. If we had him today, we might've been able to prevent what happened." he said.
"Are you telling me you can't do your job without Deeks?" she asked.
"I'm telling you to let me run my team the way I see fit. You wanna make this unit stronger, great. But all you've done so far is weaken it." he said. There was a moment's pause before Callen continued. "You want me to respect you decisions? Fine. Then you better start respecting mine as well."
Mosley smiled, and then said. "Fair enough. Deeks stays until I find a more suitable replacement."
"There isn't one. I've spent eight years working with the man, his instincts are better than mine." he said.
"This is not a democracy, Agent Callen." she said.
"What is it, a dictatorship?" he asked.
"Careful Agent Callen. Let's not get off on the wrong foot." Mosley said.
Deeks would disagree. Callen thought.
Down in the bull pen, Kensi and I were working on reports when we had an unexpected visitor. We heard.
"What? No band, no parade, no cake?" Sam asked.
"Yes. Yes, yes. OH!" Kensi said, and then hugged Sam.
"Mm." Sam grunted
"You look great. How are you?" Kensi asked.
"I'm good. Thank you." Sam said to Kensi. Sam and looked at me and asked. "What's up Deeks? When did you get back?"
Sam and I shook hands, but we both brought it in for a half a hug. "Living the dream. I just got in last night." I said.
"Yeah, where's G?" Sam asked, as he placed his bag on the desk.
I point to the stairs as Callen was coming down the stairs.
"Uh, I'm just sorting through applicants on my, uh, ePartner site." Callen said.
"Oh. So I can leave?" Sam asked.
'Oh, I mean if you're here, you might as well stay for the day, right?" Callen asked.
Callen and Sam hugged, as Callen said. "Welcome back partner."
"What's this nonsense I'm hearing about North Korea?" Sam asked.
Nell and Eric entered the bull pen and the greetings continued.
"What's the word?" Callen asked.
"Okay, so the computer you recovered had extensive security protocols that even Eric probably wouldn't have been able to crack in several days, if ever." Nell said.
"I mean, I don't know about ever." Eric said.
"Okay. Nonetheless, the protocols were corrupted by damage, which allowed Eric access in. Unfortunately, everything else was also corrupted." Nell said.
Nell put screen shots of what the found, as Eric continued. "Now we did find some references to North Korea from an address that we traced back to Iran. But, uh, couldn't find much else."
"Now that makes sense." I said.
"Iran has been helping the hermit kingdom with their missile program." Callen said.
"Some sources believe they've been assisting North Korea with their nuclear capabilities." Sam said.
"Now we've also found what appear to fragments of missile schematics. As well as photographs of Long Beach and San Pedro. Both make as possible targets." Nell said.
"What kind of warhead is that?" I sked.
"It's not a missile. It's a conventional bomb. A big one." Sam said.
"Assistant Director Mosley is on the horn with SECNAV and it's not good. In fact, it's very, very bad." Harley said, entering the bull pen.
There was more computer shenanigans, and then the picture was brought up on screen. Harley explained the imagine on the screen. "Satellite photos confirm North Korea's prepping an ICBM for launch."
"Okay. So if they do launch, how long would it take to get here?" Kensi asked.
"If it could, it would take about twenty-five minutes to reach us." Sam said.
"Well, that's not gonna happen. We have no way of knowing their ability to reach U.S. soil or the payload. The White House has put all of our THAAD systems on high alert along with Carrier Strike Group Eleven." Mosley said entering the bull pen. Mosley looked at Sam and introduced herself. "Special Agent Hanna, EAD-PAC Mosley. Does your presence mean that you're coming back to work?"
"Under the circumstances it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice." Sam said.
"What is the official word from North Korea?" Callen asked.
"Nothing." Mosley said.
"Pyongyang threatened a super mighty preemptive strike against the U.S. last April." Nell said.
"That all tracks, but our target is Iran not North Korea." I said.
Callen looked at Sam and asked. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Why build a bomb when you've got a working missile?" Sam asked.
"Timing is everything." Callen said.
"Okay, guys. We are headed towards all-out nuclear war. If you have information, please now is the time." Mosley said.
"What if it's a bait and switch? Look, this, missile launch was planned months ago." Callen said.
"Yeah. They've launched about sixty of them. Most of them ended up in the ocean, just like this one probably will." Sam said.
"But what if North Korea launches a test missile, then twenty-two minutes later a huge explosion rolls through the port of Los Angele?" Callen asks.
"North Korea would be framed. So you think they shot the ICBM." Eric said.
"And then we'd discover the truth through satellite images and forensics." Nell said.
"But not before we retaliated. No one wins if we go to war with North Korea." Sam said,
"Unless you live on the other side of the world." Callen said.
"Iran." Mosley said.
"We'd pull out almost all of our troops in the Middle East if we went to War with North Korea." Callen said.
"Iran, ISIS, al Qaeda. They would all be unchecked." Sam said.
"Okay, so how do we find the bomb?" Mosley asked.
"Well, it's be mobile. In a truck or a van or…" Callen began.
"The EMT uniforms at Lee's house." Kensi said.
"Ambulance would be perfect for delivery. You could go anywhere." Sam said.
"We're on it." Eric said.
"Let's go." Nell said.
Nell, Eric, Harley and Mosley went up to Ops, as the four of left to get the bomb.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
After we closed the case, the six of us went to our usual watering hole to celebrate successfully closing it without any casualties. Kensi ordered the first round of drinks.
"You're going to drink something that Kensi is buying?" Callen asked.
"Shut up!" Kensi said.
"She's buying, not making the drinks. Wait. Unless that drink is called the Woody." I said.
Kensi feigned being offended, but I could see the smile that she was trying to hide, and Sam just bust out laughing. Nell and Eric just stare at is in horror. And then I explained the reference. "One day Kensi made a smoothie called the Woody. I said that she almost tried to kill me because she put grape stems in the drink."
"Seriously? Grape stems?" Nell asked.
"What? The drink called for me to put the whole fruit in." Kensi said.
"And thus the reason for joke of me almost choking to death." I said.
"On the Woody." Callen said.
"Kensi." Eric said.
"Yes, Eric." Kensi said.
"What's that on your hand?" Eric asked.
"Oh this, it's nothing." Kensi said, showing the engagement ring I gave her last night.
The group gave their congratulation, and then ordered a round of shots. We stay at the bar until closing time, and then went our separates ways for the night.