Castoffs

Chapter 4

...

Drinking two shots of tequila probably wasn't a smart move, but along with a belly full of Sofia's goat stew that he'd initially been leery of, he was beginning to feel somewhat better. His head still hurt, and his ribs still ached, but he felt stronger. It was the gunshot wound in his arm that was proving to be difficult to deal with. It burned whenever he reached for his glass of water or tried to shovel more stew into his mouth. Sofia noticed.

"My husband's shirt looks much better than the dirty one you were wearing."

"And I appreciate it. He was a big man," he replied. "Did he work for Mata too?"

"You sound like a cop." She sent him a piercing look that silenced him, and he apologized.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said. "I'm still trying to figure this all out."

She had yet to tell him what she did for Mata or what Julio's mother had been running from that had gotten her killed. He guessed she was waiting until after she put Julio to bed before getting into the details, although the kid's response to seeing Gilberto convinced him the boy had been a witness to his mother's death. That certainly mitigated any regrets he might have about killing the man. He was surprised the boy hadn't been shot the same time as his mother. He suspected Sofia had something to do with that.

She didn't say much during dinner but occasionally would speak softly to Julio whenever he started staring off into space. Somehow, he understood what the boy was going through. He didn't remember what the circumstances had been that gave him that insight, but if that memory did surface, he knew it would be a painful one.

"Vamos, Julio. Hora de dormir," Sofia finally whispered and stood up, her hand ruffling through his hair.

The boy yawned and then looked at him with those deep brown eyes of his. They held no questions, just curiosity. He was so young to have gone through so much, but he had survived, and had a woman in his life willing to fight for him. He felt a deep urge to protect him from whatever danger was still out there, if he could. The boy gave him a fleeting smile, and then waved before heading for the bedroom.

"Sweet dreams, buddy," he said softly. "Dulces sueños."

It hadn't turned completely dark outside, and they needed to bury Gilberto before it did. If there were coyotes on the island, the smell of blood would draw them, and then things would get messy. He worried that they would anyway if Gilberto was missed back at this so-called factory Sofia had mentioned. He wasn't up for another standoff and wasn't confident any of them would survive if there was one. When Sofia returned, she was carrying a small jar.

"Is that a present for me?" He asked with a wide smile, hoping to beak the awkwardness he was feeling.

She looked puzzled. "No lo entiendo."

He pointed at the jar in her hand. "Regalo. Gift. For me?"

"This? This is…how you say…remedio. For your pain."

"A remedy," he replied. "But you said you didn't have any pain medication."

"I make this from chili peppers. I use it on small cuts, but it might work on the gunshot wound."

"Now you're just trying to scare me," he laughed.

"You are funny. You pretend to be scared of many things, but you are not. You are a strong man. Valiente. Brave."

He smiled and nodded shyly, embarrassed by the compliment. "Yeah…I'm a real macho man."

"Why do you make fun of yourself? You saved Julio…and me," she replied softly. "Gracias, Martin. Gracias."

"De nada, Sofia."

"Show me the wound in your arm," she said firmly. "My chili cream might help with the pain."

He slipped the chambray shirt off his arm, and she slowly unwrapped the bandage. The wound was neatly stitched, and he tensed as she gently applied the eye-watering cream over and around it. Initially it stung, causing him to blow out his breath, but eventually it did seem to dull the pain a little. He was grateful.

"Were you a nurse in another life?" He asked.

"I used to help the doctor in the small town I grew up in," she replied as she rewrapped the wound. "But the chili cream came from my grandmother. She was a comadrona…a midwife…and believed in the old ways. She grew herbs and taught me which ones to use to help people who were suffering. She was very wise."

"How did you end up here?" He asked.

"First we bury Gilberto," she said. "Then I will tell you the story of my life here."

…

Ferris's task force was working out of a building at the Chula Vista Border Patrol Station in the town of San Ysidro. The small town was wedged between three freeways, two of them flowing together before they ended at the Mexican border. Callen was grumbling about the location of the set up and constantly questioning Ferris, reminding him that they'd been recent reports that some members of the border patrol were alleged to have ties to the Mexican cartels. Their argument ebbed and flowed during their entire trip south until Sam told them both to shut up. Kensi agreed with Callen. She thought it was definitely possible a dirty agent had compromised the undercover op, but Ferris denied it, claiming he ran a tight ship.

"Yeah? Well, somebody is dirty, or Deeks wouldn't be missing," Sam said.

After passing through the chain-link gate at the far edge of the Chula Vista Border Patrol compound, they parked in front of an isolated outbuilding that looked totally unoccupied. No cars. No people around, not even guards, just a few security lights. The entry door was secure though. Ferris had to use a security card and scan one eye to gain access. It was impressive, but it hadn't stopped someone on the inside from compromising the task force's efforts. Once inside, they entered a large, dimly lit space with scattered tables sporting computer equipment and empty pizza boxes. Cars and trucks were parked on the far side, separated from the workspace by a long row of file cabinets. Kensi wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't this. It looked slap dash and unorganized, as if they'd just moved in, which maybe they had. She hoped looks were deceiving. They followed Ferris toward the center of the space where a group of men and women were gathered around a large central computer screen. Everyone there was completely silent.

"What's going on?" Ferris called out as they made their approach.

"A disaster. That's what," a harried looking man said.

"Mind being specific?" Callen asked.

"Who the hell are you? What's going on Ferris? We don't need any more complications right now."

"We're NCIS Special Operations out of LA," Sam said loudly as he showed his credentials. "We just joined your task force."

"Deeks is one of ours," Callen stated.

"Then you better prepare yourself, cause what we just got…"

"What? Tell me? Is Deeks okay?" Kensi demanded. "I'm his wife. I need to know."

"Shit!" Someone said, irritating the man in front of her who stared the man down.

"Sorry, ma'am. We weren't expecting you."

Behind him Kensi could see what looked like video from a drone circling the burning wreckage of a downed helicopter. She suddenly felt very cold.

"No…no, no," she whispered as Sam wrapped an arm around her.

"Tell us what we're looking at," Callen said as the man stood aside to let them get a better view.

"We've been monitoring David Stokes cell phone…he was Deeks and Lozano's handler…and we intercepted this video about an hour ago," he said. "The time stamp says the video was taken yesterday, around seventeen hundred hours…that's five o'clock in the afternoon, ma'am."

"This is NCIS Agent Kensi Blye," Sam said. "She's also Deeks' working partner, and she knows military time just like you."

"My apologies, ma'am."

"Who sent the video?" Ferris asked.

"Unknown at this time, sir, but we're working on it," the man replied. "What we do know is that we identified one of the dead men on the beach as Frank Lozano…Deeks undercover partner. From what we can tell, it looks like he didn't die in the crash. He was shot."

"What the hell?" Ferris snapped before he caught himself. "This operation has gone to hell, and I want to know why."

"Yes, sir," the man replied stiffly.

"Sorry for your loss," Sam said. "Was any other body identifiable?"

"No…the others were so badly burned…"

He stopped speaking when he saw the strained look on Kensi's face.

"But you have no proof Deeks was on that helicopter," Callen said. "Do you?"

"I'm afraid we have to assume he was," Ferris interjected.

"No, we don't," Kensi insisted. "We have to assume the opposite…that he's alive and needing rescue."

"Ma'am…"

"What's your name?" Kensi demanded.

"Malloy, ma'am. Homeland Security. I'm Special Agent in Charge on the ground for this op. I prepped with Deeks before he went under," he said. "Just like you, I'm hoping he wasn't on that helo, ma'am."

"Stop calling me ma'am," she snapped.

"Yes, ma'am…sorry…old habits," he said, stumbling over the apology. "Old school family of Marine veterans."

"Copy that. My dad was a Marine. Just call me Kensi."

"Will do. Deeks talked about you," Malloy said softly. "Never mentioned you were an agent though."

His comment seemed odd to Kensi. Deeks was always bragging about her accomplishments and her abilities to anyone who would listen. That he kept that information from the people he was working with sent up a very disturbing red flag.

"Thank you for that. But what I'd like to know is why you're all so sure he was on that helicopter?"

"David Stokes."

"Details, Malloy," Sam barked.

"And why were you monitoring Stokes cell phone?" Callen asked. "Do you think he's the one who compromised the op?"

"We were monitoring all their cell phones," Malloy replied. "But…we discovered Stokes had an additional cell phone when listening in on a conversation he had with Deeks that Lozano recorded."

"They didn't trust him," Callen said.

"Let's just say they were uncomfortable with his orders," Malloy replied.

"We need to hear that conversation," Sam said. "Now."

The conversation was short, but it wasn't hard to tell that Deeks was not happy about Stokes plan. He pushed back, questioning the man's reasoning and the intel he claimed to have. He was being quintessentially Deeks and it made Kensi smile despite her anger.

"Deeks was worried they'd been made," she said.

"I'm not sure that's true," Malloy said, shaking his head.

"He doesn't say that," Ferris added.

"He doesn't have to," she said. "I know, okay? He's my partner. I know. He was suspicious. I can hear it in his voice. He didn't trust that guy."

"Do you know this location? The one Stokes sent them to?" Callen asked.

"A restaurant out in the desert by San Felipe in Baja. Mata bought it two years ago," Malloy said. "It's isolated as hell."

"Deeks should have walked away," Sam said. "He suspected it was a trap. He should have walked."

"Don't you put this on him, Sam," Kensi said. "He doesn't deserve that, especially from you."

"Sorry, Kens. You're right. Just wish he had, but that's not him," Sam replied. "He would have played it out…tried to talk his way through it."

"He didn't know who to trust," Callen said. "He knew he was on his own."

"There's something else you should know," Malloy said. "After we got the recorded conversation, Lozano made a call to Stokes. He didn't want to go down to San Felipe. They argued. At first it sounded like Frank was agreeing with Deeks…that the location was sketchy, but now…"

"You're not sure," Callen said.

"The conversation sounded like a familiar one…as if they'd discussed it all before," he replied.

"You think he was in on it…that they sold Deeks out and were setting him up?" Sam asked.

"I hate to say that, but I think Frank suspected they were both being set up and he was angry, trying to figure out if he was in trouble," Malloy said.

"Done any deep dives on his bank accounts?" Callen asked.

"You honestly believe that Stokes and Lozano are both dirty?" Ferris asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time a big-time drug dealer turned somebody," Sam reasoned. "Money is a powerful temptation for some people, especially after they see what drug wealth can buy. Yachts. Palatial estates. Expensive cars. Anything your heart desires."

"Why didn't Mata try to buy off Deeks?" Ferris asked.

"We don't know that he didn't," Sam said. "Or maybe outing Deeks as an agent was how the other two got a place at Mata's table."

"But Lozano ended up dead." Callen said. "The question is why?"

"Maybe he changed his mind about selling out Deeks," Kensi said.

"If he did, it cost him his life," Sam said.

"Could you put up a map showing the meet location in San Felipe and where that helo crashed?" Callen asked.

The team moved closer as a map of Baja filled one of the computer screens. Callen put his finger on the tiny speck of an island that was the crash site.

"Enlarge it," he ordered.

"There's nothing there," Malloy said. "It's uninhabited. They were probably headed further south when something happened that caused them to crash."

"Maybe…maybe not." Callen said. "Do you have access to satellite imagery?"

"Yes, sir," Malloy replied, checking his watch. "But it won't be online for at least another hour."

"We'll wait," Sam said. "If Deeks is still alive, he's on that island and we intend to find him."

"I admire your faith, sir," Malloy said. "But you do know it's a long shot that he survived."

"We'll take those odds," Sam said.

"I'm going to find him, Agent Malloy," Kensi said. "I need to bring him home."

"Yes, ma'am. No man left behind," Malloy said.

They were taken to a small office along the side wall to wait. There was coffee and tea, water and sodas if they wanted them. Callen took the coffee, but Sam and Kensi declined. One of the men offered to get them pizza, but that was declined as well. Kensi sank into the small couch and tried to stay positive, without much success. Ferris came in and asked Callen and Sam to join him outside, which Kensi was grateful for, even though she knew the conversation would be about her. It was obvious that Ferris didn't want her here. But she wasn't going anywhere except to that island to find Deeks.

Now that she was alone, she found it hard to control her emotions. The images from the drone video replayed over and over in her mind. She didn't want to lose hope, but she couldn't help but wonder if one of those gruesome looking bodies was the man she loved. She didn't want to think that, but she couldn't deny it was possible. A nightmare they had both dreaded for a long time. The thought made her sick and she got up and found a bottle of water and downed half of it before her tears made her stop.

"Be alive, baby. Please…please be alive," she choked out. "I will find you, baby. I will find you and bring you home."

…

…