Falling Through the Cracks
Chapter 6
Sam glanced up the incline, feeling his stomach tighten. A little while ago, they had stood on the dirt road above from where G had been either thrown down or pushed out of a moving vehicle. Seeing it from the bottom of the hill after a long and difficult trek down, carefully picking their way, really drove the point home just how lucky G was to have survived the fall.
The incline was steep and Callen had tumbled all the way down to the base of the hillside.
The forest was dense and there were comparatively few disturbances marking his passage, a few broken branches here and there and some spots of blood on a tree stump halfway down. Somehow Callen had missed being stopped by a tree trunk along the way and Sam suspected that had saved his life. There was a large rock not far from the base of the incline where they suspected he'd impacted heavily - probably leading to the injuries on the left side of his body - but he'd rolled further down where he could be found.
It seemed his luck had been holding, as he'd been found by two hunters familiar with the territory and relatively well versed in first aid. According to the Portland PD the two men had basically stumbled over G on their way to check the traps they'd laid out the previous day. They had called it in and within minutes, a chopper from the Rescue Squadron had been deployed.
If those two hunters hadn't come this way, or if they had done so on another day, G would be dead. From up above on the dirt road, no one would have seen anything suspicious. There had been basically no marks there.
Sam shared a glance with Kensi when she approached.
"Anything?" he asked.
Kensi shook her head. "No, the techs have collected blood and checked the area, but there's nothing else they found, no personal items or anything that might have been thrown down here along with him." Her mouth clicked shut after the words had tumbled out, knowing they were somewhat insensitive and stinging when she was talking about Callen - superior, mentor and friend.
Sam gave her a small smile to let her know it was alright. They were all still dealing with the shock of things.
"He's incredibly lucky to be alive," he said softly as he stood up from where he was crouched around the place where G had laid, had been taken care of by the paramedics, a few pieces of medical packaging left on the ground when they rushed back to get to the pickup point from where he could be airlifted.
This place was basically in the middle of nowhere, the dense forest of the rolling hills around Mount Hood. There was no official street, only dirt tracks crossing the area.
"What were they doing out here?" Kensi wondered, turning to glance back up to the dirt road above.
Sam followed her glance and shrugged. "Getting rid of him."
Kensi nodded slowly, but a frown marred her features. "It's a good place to hide a body, but there are also areas closer to civilization that have a high probability of his remains never to be found," she said and once again, Sam felt the brief stab of worry for his partner deep in his gut. Kensi turned back to him and met his gaze, "I've studied the maps before we came here while you were talking with Detective Tolya. This is far out of the way and it seems like a bad idea to travel here just to get rid of him when there are closer options."
"You think there's another reason for them to have come here?" Sam asked, tilting his head to the side.
"We should have Eric and Nell check the area for any place that could fit their needs for a compound."
Sam was skeptical. This area didn't fit the one thing the group was fond of… being able to spot an enemy - read: federal agencies - creeping up on them. With all the dense forest as cover, it would be easy to get the drop on them. All other checkboxes were ticked or at least probable though: lots of space, isolation, possibly a well defendable position, no easy access. So, Kensi had a point.
"Alright, call it in," Sam agreed before straightening and beckoning Kensi to follow him to where the two Detectives and several crime scene techs were working, or loitering around and waiting for them to join.
Xxxxxxx
Deeks was rambling. He knew he was rambling but he just couldn't seem to get himself to stop. Most of his life, he had used words… in defense, to create confusion, to distract, to entertain, to joke and to hide behind. Right now, it was fear talking.
He had left Callen alone. He had not done what he should have done, what had been his job: back his partner up.
He should have argued with him further when Callen suggested withdrawing from each other, should have told him it was a bad idea. Fact was though, Deeks remembered agreeing with Callen and he also remembered agreeing with the assessment that their chances of cracking these men improved by putting space between each other.
Hindsight.
Still, he should have known better.
Then again, they both should have known better. Callen was by no means a rookie. Compared to Deeks' experience, Callen had years more knowledge in deep cover investigations on him and Deeks could probably be considered the rookie in that partnership.
And they had both agreed on what needed to be done. There'd also been no telltale warning of his instincts.
It was usually easier in the movies… you heard when the protagonists made stupid decisions because there was dramatic music starting to play in the background. In reality, there was no music - dramatic or otherwise.
Still, Deeks couldn't let go of the guilt and the fear that gripped him.
His eyes alternately lingered on Callen's frame or shied away from even glancing in his direction.
He glanced up when another nurse entered the room, checking on Callen's stats and jotting things down in his file. She gave him a smile before once more leaving the room. He couldn't tell how often that exact same scenario had played out in recent hours.
Deeks sighed and shifted in his seat, biting back the hiss of pain from his own wound. He had tried walking around earlier so as not to grow stiff in the semi comfortable chair, but he was still woozy and exhausted and therefore he sat back down so he wouldn't embarrass himself by slumping to the floor to be rescued by one of the nurses. Also, he didn't need any more guilt for leaving his post if that happened and he had to be admitted.
Deeks jumped when a hand fell onto his shoulder, a startled moan slipping out. He glanced at the nurse in front of him, who had appeared out of nowhere and was holding out two pills and a glass of water.
"Your boss alerted us that you have been injured recently and have been prescribed some medication. From the way you're hunched over, I'm betting you didn't take them, now did you?" she asked softly.
Deeks glanced at her hand and then back to her face. "That's very kind, but I need to stay alert."
"The two gentlemen out there are quite capable of keeping watch and these won't knock you out," she told him calmly but firmly, "take them. Worrying about the patient in the bed is enough. No need to add you to the mix as well."
There was a slight twinkle in her eyes and for some reason, her words startled a laugh out of him. Deeks reached for the pills offered and drowned them with the water she handed him only moments later.
The nurse nodded before straightening, once more checking over her assigned patient. "He's holding his own, Detective," she reassured him when he gave her a questioning glance.
Xxxxxxx
When they returned to the hospital to check on Callen and Deeks, Sam and Kensi stopped by the observation window, not entering the room.
A nurse went to pass them before stopping and also glancing inside. "He's been like that for half an hour. Our head nurse got some painkillers into him and a little while later he relaxed enough to nod off. There's no change on Agent Callen. He's holding his own."
Both Sam and Kensi gave her a grateful smile, before simultaneously turning away and heading back to where they had come from, both deciding not to disturb Deeks who was curled sideway in the chair so as to take pressure off his own wound. Someone had placed a blanket over him while he slept.
They went back to the cafeteria to get some food for themselves and to later bring something up for Deeks.
"I hate that he's feeling so guilty about something that isn't his fault," Kensi murmured as they stepped into the elevator.
Sam turned to her and sighed softly, "I get where he's coming from, even if it's unwarranted. It's tough for him to see G like this while he walked away comparatively alright. It will take some time before he can let go of that." Sam crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back into the elevator wall. "It will get better once G improves."
"That is bound to take some time," Kensi murmured.
Sam shrugged, "yeah, but he'll get there." As of yet, there were no guarantees on that other than knowing G's tenancy and inherent strength. "And Deeks doesn't need a completely fit Callen for him to let go. What he needs is for G to be conscious so he can hash things out with him… or rather have G tear into him for being an idiot."
"It's not his fault," Kensi said firmly.
"Of course it's not," Sam gave back immediately, leaving no room for discussion or error. In the beginning, when Deeks had just started working with the team and Sam had been unimpressed by the man, he might have answered differently, but Deeks had more than proven himself to the team over the years. They all knew he was capable in his job so there wasn't even a smidgen of doubt that he had done nothing wrong in Sam's head. The trouble was to make him see that, and as he had told Kensi, he didn't think that anyone but G could achieve it.
Xxxxxxx
When Kensi and Sam entered the ICU cubicle after their impromptu break to get something to eat, Deeks stirred in his seat.
Kensi moved over to her partner and brushed a hand through his hair.
Sam watched with a smile as Kensi Blye, one of the toughest women he knew, visibly relaxed just by being in her partner's presence. Her features softened and some of the stress fell off of her shoulders. Deeks blinked up at her with a sleepy smile. It was sickeningly sweet and a good thing to watch.
Sam turned away from them, giving them a brief moment of privacy while he observed his partner, his eyes taking in the readings of the heart monitor before settling on G's battered frame.
When he turned back to his team mates, Deeks had straightened in the chair and Sam openly observed him. The shadow of guilt and worry was still prominent in his eyes, but he looked a little better than he had during the last few days. Deeks returned his observation with a small nod.
"We brought you something to eat," Sam said, nodding towards where Kensi had put the container.
Stretching slightly, Deeks took hold of the container and brought it back to him. There was only a small flicker of a grimace that stole over his features. Obviously the painkillers the nurses had gotten into him were helping.
"You guys found anything?" Deeks asked while he unwrapped the sandwich.
"The wonder twins are currently searching for any properties that could fit the requirements for a secondary location close to where Callen was found," Kensi answered.
"The location he was found at is completely out of the way and only reachable through dirt roads. Kensi suggested there would have been easier places - closer by - to get rid of him," Sam added.
Kensi glanced back at their unconscious team leader, "he's incredibly lucky to be alive. That was one hell of a tumble he took there and with the isolation… if the hunters hadn't happened to come that way - or even if they had walked by mere fifty yards from his location..." Kensi said softly, trailing off.
Silence rang out as each of them contemplated that while all their gazes were drawn to the man in the hospital bed.
"Have you talked to the hunters?" Deeks asked after several quiet moments.
"The police provided us with their statements and there was nothing missing. Eric and Nell ran a brief check on them, but they are clean and we didn't see the need to follow up on anything with them," Sam shook his head, "Detective Tolya is currently chasing up the rescue workers, but neither of us is holding our breath for any relevant new information. Those guys did their job and I doubt there would be anything they could provide to help the case."
"So we're stuck… again?" Deeks groused.
Kensi shrugged and settled back into the chair next to Deeks'. "For the moment. We know how it is. Eric and Nell will find something and then we can start moving again."