Deeks sat in the blackness. It didn't take long for him to tire of doing nothing. He decided the first thing he needed to do was familiarize himself with his surroundings. So he set about examining every inch of the bathroom. He would be ready when somebody came for him. Somebody would come sooner or later wouldn't they? While Deeks had found the blackness instantly disturbing it took a while to realise there was also total silence. There was no street noise, no bird noise, not even the sound of wind. Although he had no way of making light, Deeks realised he could make sound. He continued exploring the bathroom/cell giving himself a running commentary of everything he found. "What's this? It feels like a grill. A ventilation grill? I should be able to hear something." He put his ear to the grill. "No nothing at all. At least it means there should be air. I hope that means I'm not going to suffocate before they find me" Deeks stopped for a moment to digest the thought. "Shame it's way to small for me to get through." His fingers touched the bars gently and he pressed his face to the grill. "What is that smell? Smoke, I can smell smoke. There was a fire here" The smell of smoke was faint, the smell that lingers long after a fire has been extinguished. Deeks wondered why he hadn't noticed the smell before, it was on his clothes as well.

Taking a break from his exploration Deeks rested for a while sitting on the floor, leaning against the door "What has John Rogers got to do with this? His phone call was cryptic to say the least. He didn't want to talk about Kessler on the phone but said he was on his way to LA. "Keep me in the dark, why don't you" Deeks chuckled at the absurdity of his situation.

The diminutive figure of John Rogers stood facing Callen and Sam while Kensi paced up and down restlessly. Callen spoke first "How was the flight?"

Sam rolled his eyes "I hope you can shed some light on what's going on here. Is Kessler involved?"

"There is no record of Kessler entering the country. He has moved around a lot, six months ago he entered Eire from Abu Dhabi, at Shannon Airport. As far as the CIA were concerned he was in a bar in Cork drinking a tot of Paddy's. Then he turned up in DC" John Rogers looked at each team member to see if there were any questions. As everybody seemed to understand he carried on. "I phoned Deeks this morning because I wanted to discuss Kessler with the two of you. I thought together we could take Kessler down once and for all. Legally of course""

"So that's why Deeks wanted to talk about Kessler all day long" Kensi was starting to understand.

"And you didn't?" John Rodgers continued "I suppose you want an explanation"

"We need to know everything. If Kessler didn't take Deeks who did? Do you know where Deeks is?" Sam was just getting started.

"Okay, okay" Rogers held his hands up and took a breath before continuing, "I don't know where Deeks is. A week ago two bodies were found when they started to demolish an old hospital just south of Baltimore. They were found in different parts of the building and died months apart. Cause of death was dehydration, they were both left to die. One of the bodies was NCIS Special Agent Andy Pederson. He was a detective with Baltimore PD before joining NCIS."

"Are you telling us Deeks was taken by an East Coast serial killer who targets ex-cop NCIS agents? There's enough of them" Callen had an air of disbelief in his voice. "I mean ex-cop NCIS Agents"

"Do you want to hear this or not?" John Rogers wasn't amused. The FBI spoke to Supervisory Special Agent Rory MacIntyre. He was an ex Marine who had issues with Pederson. Didn't want him on his team. He was suspended after accusations of bullying. He blamed Pederson but apparently they were on an stakeout when MacIntyre. told Pederson he didn't trust him and thought he was a disgrace to the Agency. It was heard on comms and recorded. Pederson's work record was exemplary, and he never made any accusations. There is no evidence MacIntyre. killed Pederson and he obviously isn't admitting anything"

"So what has all this got to do with Kessler? Deeks is still missing, we have no idea what has happened to him" Kensi made no attempt to keep the worry out of her voice.

"MacIntyre. has a brother called Bruno. He spent five years in an institution for imprisoning two cops. He just locked them up and left them, didn't go back. They were locked up for days, in different places but they both managed to escape. According to the FBI, Bruno knew about the men found in the old hospital but doesn't admit to killing anybody, he doesn't see he's done anything wrong."

"You think that is what happened to Deeks? Kensi asked. "He's just been shut away somewhere"

"There are worse options, at least he is probably still alive and unharmed" Sam tried to be helpful

"So where does Kessler figure in all this?" Callen asked, totally confused.

"We found out Kessler and the MacIntyre. brothers have been working together. A few days ago we almost arrested them but the brothers got away. We just caught Kessler, he's in custody and seems content with that. We know he's up to something, we just don't know what"

Still in the blackness Deeks tried to control his fears. He wasn't afraid for himself, he had braced himself for a beating or torture but all this nothingness was difficult to cope with. His fear was for Kensi. He felt he had been dumped there to keep him out of the way.

"Guys I'm relying on you to look after Kensi. Please keep her safe" Deeks voice cracked and he put his head in his hands.