As soon as they got to the bar, everyone went to their positions. Deeks was walking Julia through the process again, and Kilbride was watching through ops.
"Julia, if you feel unsafe, tap the table three times. I'm going to be in the back, that way he doesn't recognize me, but I'll be on comms. You have yours, right? And we tested your camera to be safe. Look at me, hey. We're not going to let you get hurt, okay? I promise," he said gently. Julia nodded.
"Don't let him hurt my baby bird either, okay?" Julia asked worriedly.
"We won't," Deeks promised.
"He's heading in," Callen hissed. Everyone scattered of to their spots and prepared. Kensi was trying not to shake as he walked in. She pretended not to notice as he sat down and kissed Julia's hand. They soon ordered drinks and began chatting.
"Mom. Don't drink a lot, okay?" Kensi whispered. She took a deep breath and did what they practiced. She stood up and walked over to the bathroom, tripping to draw attention to herself. She hurried into the bathroom and closed the door, mumbling to Fatima that she was on her way in.
"Excuse me, precious. I'll be right back," Kessler said sweetly to Julia.
"Let him," Callen said into his earwig. Julia nodded a little, even though her motherly instincts told her to jump on him and make sure that he didn't go into the bathroom. Kessler followed Kensi's path, and Deeks yanked Julia into the back.
"Stay here. I mean it," he said in a warning tone. Julia nodded a little as Deeks ran out.
Meanwhile, Kensi had gone to the mirrors. She and Fatima both had guns hidden, ready to take care of Kessler once and for all.
"Kens. We're gonna get him, okay?" Fatima whispered. Then the door opened. "What the hell, man? This is the ladies room!" Fatima snapped. But before anyone could move, Kessler had blocked the door with a trash can. He lunged towards Kensi, who kicked him immediately. They could all hear the rest of the team trying to get in, so Fatima grabbed him from behind and pulled him as far from the door as possible. He fell against the wall, dragging Kensi with him. Kensi screamed as his hand traveled up her shirt. Fatima had unblocked the door and let the rest of the team in. Deeks pulled Kensi off Kessler, then slammed Kessler's head into the wall. Kessler yelped and pulled out a knife. The team pulled their guns out immediately.
"Put it down now!" Sam yelled. Kessler threw the knife at Kensi, and all at once the team fired their guns. Kensi nearly missed the knife, receiving only a small cut. Kessler leaned against the wall as he took his last breath. Kensi was trembling as Deeks kicked Kessler, over and over again. Kensi ran over and pulled him away. Once Deeks had fully processed what had happened, he wrapped his arms around her.
Fatima slowly walked over to her partner and looked up at him. "Um, can I have a hug too?" she asked shyly. Devin grinned and put his arms out.
"Absolutely. You have no idea how scared I was when we couldn't get to you guys," he whispered. Fatima sniffled and hugged him tight.
"I love this. You should hug me more often," Fatima mumbled as Devin ran his hand up and down her back.
"I'm sure as hell not objecting to that," he said. Fatima laughed and rested her head on his chest.
"What, no hug for me?" Callen asked. Sam laughed and slapped his shoulder.
"Hey, baby, we should go find your mom, okay?" Deeks whispered. Kensi nodded, and they all walked out.
"Um, Fatima, Rountree, you two will stay here. No one in except the coroner. We're going back to ops to brief Kilbride. Kens, Deeks, you two are done for today. Take Julia home. Roberta too," Called said. They all nodded and scattered.