Thanks again to everyone reading and reviewing, I think I have responded to you all :-)
Edited to fix a missing couple of lines - thanks UsedToBeMe for noticing!
CHAPTER EIGHT
"Do you think these horses really do know where they're going?" Deeks asked. Sam sighed.
"They've probably got as good an idea as we do," he admitted wearily. They had travelled on through the night and were both tired of the whole charade now, wanting nothing more than to make contact with Ops, put in place a rescue mission for the missing half of their team, and get home. Incredibly, the horse's saddlebags had survived their various escapades intact, and so as the sun rose they'd both been able to eat a meagre breakfast of protein bars and drink the remaining half bottle of water, rationed from the evening before, to keep them going. They'd kept the bottles in case they came across another stream, trusting that the horses would seek out water at some point as the day grew hotter again, but that was the last of the food gone now.
"It all just looks the same," Deeks sighed. "You don't think we're going round in circles do you?"
"We've been following alongside that track," Sam gestured beyond the scrubby plants hiding them from the gravel track that passed for a road in this part of the world. "And travelling pretty much due west all the time now. So I think it's pretty unlikely. Haven't you any sense of direction?"
"Well clearly I'm not a trained Navy Seal," Deeks muttered.
"Or a horse," Sam raised a feeble joke, but it was enough to make them both smile.
"Or a horse," Deeks agreed. "Okay, Senior Agent and Trekking Guide. How much further to Los Mochis? I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty tired of the endless desert on this sight-seeing trek."
"You and me both," Sam sighed. "But without a map, I don't have that answer, I'm afraid."
NCIS:LA
Kensi couldn't help but gasp in horror at the sight in front of her as she picked herself up and stumbled across the floor to Callen, and he watched her with frustrated helplessness.
"Find something to cut these ropes, for God's sake," he panted shortly, feeling embarrassed at his trussed-up, partially naked state. Kensi dug into her boot and pulled out her small folding knife, desperately trying to saw through the thick rope that secured Callen to the ceiling. Eventually she managed to fray it sufficiently for Callen's weight to be enough to break through the final strands, and he sank to his knees with relief. The rough treatment had done his broken wrist no good at all. He lifted his head to give Kensi a quick look over. She was hot, trembling from yet to be dissipated adrenaline. "What the hell are you doing here?" Callen hissed angrily. "Are you okay?" He worried when Kensi didn't immediately answer him, instead turning away, but after a moment she turned back to him and sat down on the floor. He slumped next to her, his beaten body momentarily giving up on him.
"It looks like I should be asking you that," she eventually answered, raising a faint smile. "Let me free your hands."
"I'm fine," Callen said shortly, sitting up and holding his hands forward so that she could use the knife to cut through the ropes binding his wrists. Inspecting him in short, furtive glances, Kensi could see he wasn't. Even aside from the guarded way he moved and held himself, she could see the bruising and dried blood evidencing his repeated beatings. And the burn… But he was all business as usual, and she refrained from disagreeing with him, unsurprised when his next thoughts were for the rest of his team. "Sam? Deeks?" he enquired urgently.
"They got away," she replied, and Callen sighed with partial relief.
"Why are you here?" he repeated.
"I didn't want to leave you…" Even before she had finished, Callen was cursing below his breath.
"I gave you an order," he said, barely controlling his rising anger fuelled by fear for her.
"Sam, Deeks… they'll get help," Kensi said, with a confidence Callen didn't wholly share. "Look. I was worried they'd take you somewhere we didn't know about. I thought I'd have a quick scout around the area. I was careful… I don't know how they found me."
"They've got so many motion sensors," Callen said, still cross, though touched by her loyalty to him. He felt like there was more to it than she had shared, but he knew he was unlikely to get it out of her in that moment. "I assume we are still in the compound?" She nodded, still intently trying to slice her small knife through the rope without nicking Callen in the process. Eventually she managed, and Callen breathed a sigh of relief as the pressure on his damaged arm was finally eased. He turned away from her to ease his t-shirt back over his head and gingerly down over his chest, hissing as the fabric touched the raw skin of his burn. He shed the thick khaki shirt, turning back towards Kensi and offering it to her. She accepted gratefully, wrapping it temporarily round her shoulders to avert her shivering even though she didn't feel cold. Shock, maybe. Her attack and capture by the General's men had happened so quickly. Her heart thudded inside her chest as she remembered the moment she had been overpowered, thinking they were going to kill her there and then.
"Will they find Sam and Deeks?" she heard Callen ask. His voice grounded her again, providing a welcome interruption to her thoughts.
"I don't think so," she answered. Callen sighed. He supposed that would have to do. "They were both still moving when I left them," Kensi added, doing her best to reassure him. He grunted, and she could see responsibility written heavily across his face. She looked him over, noting how he held his left arm, which was swollen, close in to his body. "What can I do?" she asked softly.
"Besides ignoring a direct order?" Callen raised his head to her tiredly, and she felt herself blush.
"Well, you're a fine one to talk," she retorted mildly, and was relieved to see a flash of his trademark smirk, though his eyes remained dark and she could tell he still wasn't overly happy with her. There wasn't much she wanted to say about that, so they sat together in silence for a while, each contemplating unpleasant thoughts.
"We ought to get our stories straight, I suppose," Kensi eventually said.
"There is no story," Callen told her firmly. "Maintain your cover, act like you don't know me, you're scared of me, whatever. They'll try to play us against each other to get us to talk, but stick to your cover… You know nothing. I hired you to take the boy for a ride, that's it. Understood?" Reluctantly, Kensi nodded.
"I cut you free," she said cautiously. "They'll notice." Callen sighed. It was done now and couldn't be helped.
"Hide the knife," he told her. "They'll search you. Don't let them find it." He looked on in satisfaction as Kensi found a safe hiding place for their only weapon.
NCIS:LA
Disorientated with pain and rising exhaustion in part caused by blood loss, Sam was starting to wonder if Deeks was right about them going round in circles. But the horses seemed happy enough to keep moving. They had tried earlier to trot, hoping to get to Los Mochis - or wherever they might be headed - sooner, but the bouncy gait had caused Deeks to turn alarmingly grey and almost slide off, between his broken ribs and his concussion, and Sam had abruptly hauled both animals to a halt, reaching over to grab the half-conscious detective and prevent him from falling to the ground.
"Thanks," Deeks gasped, when he was able, and by silent mutual agreement they had nudged the horses on again in walk. Sam was starting to feel desperate at the slow pace, but in truth trotting had jarred his throbbing leg and revived the aching in his own head. The midday sun was hot which wasn't helping either of them, but they had at least been able to refill the bottles when the horses, driven by an enviable survival instinct, found water to drink.
"Well I'll be damned," Sam suddenly exclaimed, raising his hand to shield his eyes as he squinted into the distance.
"Everything okay?" Deeks asked warily.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's Turk's pick-up heading our way!" Sam pointed to the beat up, desert coloured truck barely identifiable in the cloud of dust blowing up in it's wake.
"You sure?" Deeks asked, cautious of another ambush.
"Can't see the driver yet," Sam admitted. "But it's definitely his car." They reined the horses in and stood still, knowing they were fairly well camouflaged as long as they stayed off the track and didn't cause attention by moving. As the pick up sped past them, Sam made out the outline of Arlo Turk alone in the driver's seat, and he urged his horse out of the bushes and onto the track behind the car. The car slowed, came to a halt and reversed level with him, eventually disgorging a disbelieving Turk who looked Sam up and down with a mixture of relief amidst the sullenness they'd come to expect from the man.
"Boy are we glad to see you!" Deeks exclaimed, joining Sam.
"How the hell did you know to look for us?" Sam asked, as Turk came to take the heads of the horses while the two men unsteadily dismounted.
"I've had Hetty on the phone since yesterday," Turk responded grumpily. "Something about a satellite and four people moving away from the site of the crash. She's insisted I drive up and down out here trying to locate you all. So, here I am. Where are the other two?"
NCIS:LA
After their talk, Callen laid down on the floor, trying to distance himself from the throbbing pain in his arm and the burning of the skin over his stomach. Kensi passed him his shirt back to use as a pillow, and sat staring at him for a while, not liking what he was trying to do for her, but she knew he was right and things would get a lot worse if the Mexicans knew they had any regard for each other. She hoped she could trust herself not to react if Callen was interrogated again in front of her. She didn't think she could watch in silence if they tried to burn him again, even though she knew she must. Eventually she moved to the other side of the room, putting a physical distance between them that she only hoped she could uphold.
Neither of them were prepared for Spencer Williams to try to get her to break first. His aura of power overwhelmed the room as he strode back in, his men already tasked to seize Kensi, pulling her up into a vice-like grip before either of them could react. Callen snapped his head up, but knew he would endanger her if he reacted too strongly and so he stayed quiet while Williams strode around her, yelling questions in angry English to which she responded tearfully that she didn't understand, she only spoke Spanish. Eventually he lost his temper and back-handed her hard across the cheek, knocking her sideways despite the two thickset Mexicans holding her firmly while she was questioned. Callen chose his moment to intervene.
"When are you going to believe me when I tell you she doesn't know anything?" he said lazily, hiding the horror and concern he felt to see Kensi hit so harshly. "I told you, she's just a stable girl I paid. She got the boy off the compound and then my friend and I took her horses and her truck and left her in the desert. She can't help you, she doesn't know anything. You're wasting your time." He held Williams' gaze firmly all the while, not allowing himself even a sideways glance at Kensi that Williams might interpret as concern for her, and use against them.
"Very well," Williams responded darkly. "Maybe I'll have some fun with her later… alone. She's a pretty little thing after all, even if she is of no help to me." Out of the corner of his eye, Callen saw Kensi shudder at the veiled threat. "Perhaps for now we should continue where we left off." Williams gave a nod to his men and Kensi was flung to the floor. The guards instead hauled Callen to his feet, two of them holding him roughly with his arms pinned behind him. "You will tell me," Williams continued, "Where my son is. If it's the last thing you do, you will tell me."