Chapter 10 Interesting Sidebar

"May I have a moment? I am Henrietta Lange."

She is an older lady (older than they are), quite diminutive in stature with round horned-rimmed glasses. Despite her size she carries quite an authoritative air about her. She commands your attention.

"Surely," remarks Marty.

"I just wanted to introduce myself personally. I believe we have some mutual acquaintances."

"Oh, who would that be?" asks Kensi.

"Well Kensi, your father is Donald Blye, correct?"

"Yes."

"Your dad is a good friend of a colleague of mine, Owen Granger. It was intriguing to hear of your long-term fascination with the navy, your desire to serve your country as well as your well thought out rationale for going a different direction with your career.

"Also, Marty, Roger (the Chairman) is a long-time personal friend of mine. I am here in the Bay area spending a couple of days with him and Cheryl refreshing our friendship."

"Really?"

"Yes. I can readily see why Roger and James (the DA) are so impressed with the two of you, and why they so eagerly pursued you for their teams. I, too, am recruiting for a new project. NCIS (the Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is opening a new office in LA dealing with special projects. I am the Operations Manager for that office. Attractive, talented, and smart young people are in high demand where I come from." Henrietta remarks.

She continues, "Kensi, if your interest in the navy should resurface, we may meet again. And Marty, a young, persuasive attorney is always sought after. May I give you my card, in case you ever need to contact me?"

"Absolutely," Kensi quips, extending her hand as does Marty.

"And please call me Hetty. I wish you two the best in your budding careers."

"Thank you," they both say. They shake hands and turn to leave.

"Interesting," Kensi whispers into Marty's ear.

Hetty has exceptional hearing, and she smiles as she walks away.


The kids meet Roger, Cheryl and the SJC DA James and his wife Karen for coffee on Sunday before they head back to LA. Marty asks, "Roger, we noticed that you seemed to steer us away from one potential conversation. Were we imagining things?"

"No, you weren't. Do either of you know a William Simon? I believe Kensi does."

Kensi replies, "He has a son named Jack, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does."

"I thought so. Jack is my ex-boyfriend."

"I believe you are being described as Jack's ex-fiancé."

Kensi reddens with anger. "What the hell?! We weren't anywhere close to that before we broke up at my 18th birthday party."

Roger adds, "And Marty is being classified as the cause of that break-up."

"Of course," Marty mutters.

"Here's the story," Kensi says. She goes on to tell the two other couples the story of last summer; being Jack's girlfriend, Jack being a very possessive and jealous boyfriend, her meeting Marty among other new 'friends', the circumstances leading up to the break-up including she and Jack surprising each other with career track changes, the 18th birthday party and the aftermath, and finally starting a friendship with Marty. She did leave out some of the more vulgar comments that Jack threw at her. Those could be added in later, if needed.

"Interesting," Roger comments. "That sounds like more than enough to set Jack and his father William off. It has gotten back to James and me that those two men are on the warpath looking for vengeance against the two of you for slighting Jack. Precautionary measures would seem to be wise."

"Do they have a history of this?" Marty questions.

"William has a long history of being jealous and over-protective when it comes to his family. I would suggest not interacting with either or both of them by yourself; always be together. Comments, Roger?"

"I agree, Jim."

Marty speaks up, "Ok, good advice. BTW Roger, a long-time friend of yours, Henrietta Lange, introduced herself to us Friday evening. It seemed like a thinly veiled pitch for our services. Should we be wary?"

"Ha! Yes, you should! Hetty is crafty, sneaky and good at what she does. If she gave you her personal contact info hang onto it. Her exploits are legendary, and her contact list is unmatched. A better friend and ally you cannot have. But remember, James and I found you first!"

Marty and Kensi chuckle and blush a little. "And we're grateful you did," Kensi states. "We are eager to get the year started."

"Amen to that," Marty agrees.

"Ditto!" James adds.

Handshakes and smiles all around, and they are off – back to Los Angeles.


Kensi is driving; about twenty minutes into the trip and she remarks, "Marty? Have you noticed the black sedan behind us? It feels like a tail."

"Have you tried any soft, evasive maneuvers?"

"Just the usual lane changes and stuff."

"And?"

"Stays right on our tail." Kensi says.

"Remember what Roger said about Hetty?"

"She's good, exploits legendary, in charge of a new NCIS center; maybe she can help us?"

"Ok, let's do a selfie, with them front and center and send pictures to her."

"Um . . . ok. Say cheese."

They act like they're clowning around and take three pictures with Marty's phone. He sends them to Hetty, and they wait.

Fifteen minutes later, his phone rings. "Marty Deeks here."

"This is Hetty, Marty. I assume you are with Kensi? Please put her on speaker and tell me the story."

They do the speaker thing and Kensi tells her about last summer. Jack and Marty, the break-up, the conversation with Roger and James today and now the tail. "We can see the license plate numbers, Hetty. Rather a rookie mistake, right?"

"Quite so, Kensi. I am going to send these pictures to my tech support. Eric will run the plate and try facial rec on the driver & passenger. I will call you back as soon as I have some info. You are on I-5?"

"Correct."

"You are driving, Kensi?"

"Correct again, you're good!" Marty chuckles.

"Don't be a cheeky bastard, Marty!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Stay at speed limit or 5 MPH above, no crazy moves to alert them. I'll be back ASAP."

"Thanks."


Hetty calls Roger, "We have a problem, Roger. How reliable are Marty and Kensi?"

"As far as I can tell at this point, very. And good with confidential info also. But remember, they are young and relatively untested. Why? What's up?"

"Two men who have worked for William Simon (under nefarious circumstances) are tailing them down I-5 towards LA."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's start with a 3-way call and discuss."

"Ok, here's the number for the SJC DA, let's do a 4-way call."

"Ok, we'll call shortly."


Hetty has Eric get all 4 parties on the line. "Hello everyone, please ID yourselves for the purposes of this call which is being recorded. I am Hetty Lange, NCIS-OSP in Los Angeles."

"I am Roger Nelson, Stanford University law school chairman."

"I am James Edwards, San Jose County DA."

"We are Kensi Blye and Martin Deeks, students at Stanford University; do you need our areas of study?"

Hetty responds, "No, that is satisfactory."

Hetty starts, "Kensi, will you summarize the info you have shared with me for Roger and James – up to the present moment, please?"

Kensi does, with Marty adding some comments.

Hetty adds: "Ok, now here is what my tech, Eric, found." She details the info on the car and who the two men are. "Both of these men are known to be armed and dangerous, whether they are right now I don't know. Nevertheless, I do not want either Kensi or Marty to have any interaction with them. They also have worked for William Simon in the past, and one is a person of extreme interest in the death of two active-duty Marines. My team will:

Act as 2 CHP officers, pull the men over for tailgating – or another plausible charge – and while stopped, place a tracking device on their car, and then let them go.

Have Marty and Kensi be directed to our boat-shed – an off-site facility for debriefing and safety. After their safety is assured, they will be released to continue with their personal business.

While at the boat-shed, the vehicles and apartments of Marty and Kensi (both in LA and Stanford) will be swept for any listening, video and recording devices. If any are found, a thorough forensic work-up will be performed.

After this call is over, I will stay on the line and give directions to Marty and Kensi about how to reach the boat-shed.

I will keep everyone in the loop as things progress.

Are there any questions or comments?

"Marty here, how long will Kensi and I be tied up, and can someone notify Kensi's parents that she is temporarily unavailable?"

"Kensi may do that; she is not media silent. Be careful what you say, and your folks should pass nothing on to others. Is that clear," Hetty asks.

"Crystal clear," Kensi replies.

Both Roger and James have no questions and offered their continued support. "Stay safe," they both express.


Everyone accomplished their tasks without incident:

Agents Callen and Hanna looked spiffy in their CHP uniforms (Sam hated this alias), pulled the men over, and successfully placed the tracking device.

The car was tracked back to Mr. Simon's law office but was not implicated in any crimes.

Turns out the objective was to scare or irritate Kensi and Marty – they were irritated.

No devices were found in any vehicle or apartment.

The one man who was a person of interest as mentioned above was further interrogated by NCIS without progress on that case.

Marty and Kensi's stock rose with all concerned.

They were now solidly on Hetty's radar, and she was on theirs.

They were free to proceed with their next school year and the duties proscribed under their deals with Stanford and San Jose County.

And, where was Nell Jones? Does Kensi need a new roommate?