After meeting with Sam, he walked down to the soup kitchen again and made his way around until someone recognized his vague description of Destiny. One of the women knew where she typically stayed, and Deeks started off. It was kind of a long shot, but at this point, Destiny was the best lead he had.

As he approached Destiny's spot, he heard shouting, particularly a woman arguing loudly with a man. He was large, armed, and in the process of dragging a struggling Destiny towards a black Mercedes.

Pulling out his best homes less act, Deeks stumbled out, incoherently asking where he could get some food. It was enough to distract the armed man and Destiny took advantage, kicking the man in ankle and he let go. She had enough sense to hide behind an abandoned car, but Deeks knew that wouldn't be enough when the man jerked a gun from the holster concealed beneath his jacket.

Ignoring the fact that he was completely unarmed himself, Deeks tackled the man to the ground, focused on incapacitating him long enough for Destiny to get away. His attack caught the other man off-guard, and it gave Deeks the opportunity to disarm him.

Just as his cold fingers closed around the gun, something sharp burned through his side. He rolled onto his back, just in time as the man made a slashing movement, the knife clutched in his hand stabbing into the gravel next to Deeks' head

Deeks punched him in the face, eliciting a groan from the man. Baring his teeth, he slammed his own fist into Deeks' exposed ribs, and he felt something give.

"Andre, don't!" Andre looked up at Destiny's shout and Deeks punched him again, shoving him off. He scooped up the gun as he stumbled to his feet, and ran towards Destiny, who was still wavering the middle of the alley.

Deeks grabbed her arm, tugging her with him. She pulled back, looking terrified.

"I'm a cop," he told her sharply, jerking her sharply when she continued to resist. They made it just around the corner of the apartment building as bullet exploded through the bricks.

"You're really a cop?" Desiree gasped out.

"Detective Marty Deeks. I'm trying to protect you." Thankfully, she didn't ask any more questions. He set a rapid pace, careening around obstacles. When Destiny stumbled, he supported her, sure Andre wasn't far behind. He couldn't afford to check though.

It was only several minutes later that he registered the burning pain in his side.


Deeks pulled in a shallow breath, holding back a shudder that ran through him. His leg was already cramping up from being jammed behind a tower of metal barrels and a concrete wall and his fingers were starting to tingle painfully.

Next to him, Destiny Pellatino was tucked into his side, providing minimal warmth. She was shivering too, fingers curled into the too-long sleeves of her coat. The light was beginning to fade, but he could still see the vivid green of her hair.

"We can't stay here for long," Desiree whispered. "It's too cold. And you're hurt."

Deeks didn't look down at his side; he didn't have to. He'd felt the cut tear while they were running, enough blood leaking out to soak his shirt and jacket before the cold set in. It ached and burned, though that was probably a good sign that he hadn't reached hypothermia yet.

"I know," Deeks whispered back, his words barely audible. A rush of wind blasted through, the barrels providing little protection from frigid air. Destiny shook and he noticed there were tiny crystals forming in her hair where droplets of water had landed.

As another gust of wind came, several tiny snowflakes landed on the ground. They were barely more than ice crystals, but Deeks could tell from the plummeting temperature, that they signified an impending storm. If they stayed here, if Destiny stayed, she could very well freeze to death. Assuming Andre didn't find them first.

"Are there any other men after you besides Andre?"

Destiny gave a quick, shake of her head, arms folded around herself as she slowly rocked back and forth.

"He's my dad's bodyguard," she answered, shooting him a quick, guilty look. "He's not a very good person."

"That doesn't matter right now." Although it did start to fill in some of the blanks. "I just need to know if there's anyone else."

"I don't think so. Andre usually does most of dad's dirty work."

As she spoke, he untied his boot where he kept the cell phone. Destiny trailed off, watching him in confusion as he pulled the phone out and swore. The screen was smashed, obviously not withstanding his fight with Andre.

"What-" He held a finger to his lips, cutting Destiny off at the sound of footsteps. She froze completely, fearing crossing her face. Breathing slowly, Deeks at the soft crunch of gravel far too close to where they were hiding.

Peering through a small gap between two of the barrels, he saw Andre steadily examining every hiding place available. He was maybe 10 yards away and tearing apart some poor soul's shabby tent made of old tarps and clothes.

Deeks would have taken the shot if his hands weren't shaking so much. Right now, his fingers were tingling so much, he doubted he could even keep a proper hold on a gun.

"When I tell you, you run in the opposite direction as fast as you can," Deeks breathed to Destiny. Her eyes were huge, terrified, and she looked uncertain.

"What about you?" she murmured.

"I'll be fine," Deeks assured her hastily. "See if you can find help, once you're near other people, but don't stop. No matter what." He gave her a stern look and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded.

He stood, keeping low enough that Andre wouldn't see him. His back was turned at the moment. Turning back to Destiny, and whispered "go", surprised, when she paused to squeeze his hand before creeping towards the other side of the barrier.

When she reached the last barrel, Destiny took off at a run, heading for the next building. Andre turned, just as she disappeared from view.

"Ok, you can do this, Deeks," he muttered to himself, darting around the other side and raising the gun. Amazingly, he managed to fire a single shot, though it went wide and his fingers were slow to move. He tried for a second, but this time the gun tumbled to the ground with an audible clatter.

"You," Andre growled, stalking towards Deeks. "Where's the girl?"

"No idea," Deeks said, voicing cracking from the cold. His legs shook suddenly and he pressed a hand against the wall to hold himself upright. Although Andre hadn't lowered his gun, he didn't seem in a particular hurry to kill Deeks at the moment.

Deeks waited, knowing he didn't have speed or agility on his side right now. Andre stopped right in front of him, gun pointed at Deeks chest.

"Tell me where she is and this won't be painful." Deeks chuckled, emitting a white cloud of breath that hung in the air.

"Yeah, somehow I don't buy that." He just managed to deflect Andre's punch, retreating further into the wall as the other man descended on him. Deeks stumbled, his left shoulder smacking into the brick and jarring his damaged ribs.

This time he wasn't fast enough to block Andre's blow and his head snapped back, rebounding against the wall. It hurt less than he expected it to, but his eyes still blurred. He sank down a few inches and kicked out with his leg, too of his boot clumsily connecting with Andre's knee.

Based on Andre's grunt, it hurt, and that gave Deeks a mild amount of satisfaction. The next punch landed straight in his stomach with enough force to knock Deeks completely off his feet. He fell to the ground with a huff and stared up at the other man, hovering above him with malice on his eyes.

He grasped at the ground next to his leg, finding frigid medal instead of gravel. Without pausing to think, he raised the gun and shot. Andre's eyes widened in surprise for a moment as blood surrounded the bullet in his chest. Then he slowly collapsed to the ground, landing in a heap by Deeks' feet.

Sighing in relief, Deeks let his hand fall to his knee, arm heavy and cold. His head hurt a little bit now, but more than anything, he felt tired. Resting his head against the hard wall behind him, he closed his eyes.


A/N: Why do I always go for knives? Is there something wrong with me?