Proving Ground
Chapter 19
…
Sam looked bleary eyed when he picked him up on their way to the boat shed. Callen suggested they stop for coffee and pigs-in-a-blanket, and when Sam didn't lecture him on the evils of both, he knew what happened to Deeks two nights ago had deeply affected him. He realized he felt guilty, but they all did. This was something more profound. It was if he doubted himself and the core values he held dear. Some of the things he had said at the hospital still worried him, but this was Sam. He didn't wallow in guilt very often, if at all.
Sam had always valued family. Since he lost Michelle, and the kids had moved on with their lives, he was a little lost, which was understandable, although he rarely admitted it. Usually his solution to most of the things that upset him was physical work. After he bought the boat, he worked to restore it during whatever free time he found. He could lose himself in that, the work a bulwark against the pain that he lived with daily. Now his sense of family came from the team, and the discord that Mosley had sown from the very beginning of this case had damaged that connection. Callen had been surprised by his confrontation with Deeks. After what they went through at the hands of Sidorov, the two men had found common ground. They even bantered. Deeks still managed to annoy Sam at times, but he usually let it slide, mostly without comment, although there was an occasional eye roll. Giving Deeks that ultimatum about Emiri had come at the wrong time for both of them. Sam was angry about the death of five agents, and Deeks was exhausted and hurting, leaving him angry with Sam for pushing him to do something he believed to be inherently wrong. That confrontation should never have happened, but it had, and it changed everything between the two men.
"You want to talk about it?" Callen asked.
"About what?" Sam asked.
"Don't play dumb, Sam," he replied. "Deeks told you he didn't want you around that first night. Don't tell me that didn't sting just a little."
"It bugged me that he wouldn't let me apologize," Sam acknowledged.
"He wasn't thinking straight," Callen said. "You heard him. He thought you were part of his dream."
"More like a nightmare," Sam said. "I know what it feels like to be buried alive, G. I know what comes after."
"He seems to have come through it pretty well," Callen said.
"Are you serious? He died in that place, G. He wasn't breathing, remember?"
"Calm down Sam. You saved his life. At some point he's going to remember that."
"He was there because of me," Sam said quietly, infuriating Callen.
"He was there because of Mosley and her so-called elite team," Callen replied angrily. "And he almost died because Mosley wouldn't let us back him up."
"Sounds like you need to talk over a few things yourself," Sam said.
"Yeah. Maybe I do," he replied, his anger simmering dangerously close to the surface. "I know she's not done messing with us."
"I just hope she's done messing with Deeks," Sam said solemnly. "He deserves a break."
"Yeah, he does. Our team does too," he replied.
"Still afraid she's gonna replace us with her own pet team?"
"Teague and company?" Callen said bitterly.
"They're a good team, but this isn't about them. You're still trying to figure out Teague, aren't you?" Sam asked with his first smile of the day.
"Smug bastard," Callen grumped.
"He respects Deeks," Sam offered.
"He's got his own agenda."
"Or he's joined at the hip with Mosley," Sam said. "Nell ever share the history between those two?"
"Not yet, but I bet Hetty has her looking into it," Callen replied.
"Maybe they played footsie at some point in the past," Sam said, smirking at Callen.
"Footsie? What the hell does that mean?"
"Now who's playing dumb?"
"Sorry. I can't…I am not picturing that," Callen said.
"Deeks would."
"Probably already has," Callen smirked.
"Okay. Maybe they exchanged favors in the past," Sam reasoned.
"You think they're blackmailing each other?" Callen asked, openly curious now.
"Wouldn't be surprised. In fact I'd put money on it," Sam said cheerfully.
"Not a bet worth taking, Sam," Callen said. "If they are and Hetty finds out the details, she'll know how to use it to our advantage."
"Hold that thought, G."
Hetty was the one who had called them this morning, inviting them to the boat shed without much information as to why. So they were both surprised when they saw Emiri sitting quietly on the couch drinking tea with her. Teague was there, but dressed as his alias, Lorenzo Benedetto. He was cuffed and yet still managed to look suave, glaring at them with distain. Callen guessed they didn't want Emiri to know he was an agent, unwilling to risk that she might pass the information onto her father at some point. He did not look particularly happy to see them, but Callen didn't know him well enough to be able to tell if his reaction was his own or his alias. Sam went immediately to Emiri, sitting down and asking how she was holding up. She responded easily to his questions, but still looked uncomfortable and wary, and Callen couldn't blame her for that.
"Agent Callen. Once again you show up uninvited," Mosley said as she walked out of the interrogation room.
"My bad, as they say, Assistant Director. I asked them here," Hetty said sweetly, making Callen smile. "I should have informed you. I thought it might help Emiri to have Sam here. She knows him. At least a little bit. He brought her to the safe house after she'd been kidnapped."
"And Agent Callen?" Mosley asked.
"We're partners," Callen said. "He'd be lost without me. Now, what's on the agenda?"
Mosley gave him an icy stare, but remained silent. It was Teague who spoke up in a very polished Italian accent.
"Perhaps you gentlemen can tell me the whereabouts of Max Gentry," Benedetto said smoothly. "This woman has been very circumspect when answering my questions. Is he still alive?"
Callen was caught off guard, wondering why he asked about something he already knew the answer to.
"Tell him Mr. Callen," Hetty said. "Emiri has been asking as well."
"Keep it simple, Agent Callen. Max Gentry's part in this is still being investigated," Mosley's comment alerting him that she wanted to maintain Deeks' alias as well.
It bothered him that there was no real concern in her voice. It was business as usual, and it angered him.
"During Yavuz's arrest, Gentry was taken by Ali Sadik and tortured. His wrists were slashed open and he was left for dead in an old crematorium oven," Callen said bluntly, hoping to shock Mosley. "Sadik punctured his lung with a scalpel, which should have killed him, but apparently Max is a survivor. He's in the ICU."
Callen hadn't realized how harsh his description had been until he heard Emiri cry out.
"Oh my God," the girl said with tears in her eyes. "Will he be okay?"
"G. Go easy," Sam warned.
"He made it out of surgery, but the doctor says he has a ways to go before he's out of danger," Callen told her quietly, once again glancing at Mosley, watching for her reaction.
He saw a slight waver in her demeanor, her expression showing some shock as well as a hint of regret, but she covered it well. He shot a look at Teague and wondered just what he had told her about that night. He'd seen Deeks' condition and now he wondered if he'd held some of the details back. Why he'd do that, he wasn't sure, but it did surprise him.
"I'll interrogate him later, after I'm done with Mr. Yavuz," Mosley said, gathering herself as she settled back into the hard shell she usually presented to the world.
"Can I see him?" Emiri asked. "And Sage? Does she know he's in the hospital? Max said you threatened to send her to prison. That's why he helped you, isn't it?"
"Your father's a terrorist," Mosley said. "He needed to be stopped."
"You're a terrible, terrible person. You made Max do that and I yelled at him," Emiri said softly, wiping at her tears. "He saved my life and I yelled at him. I called him a liar."
Callen saw Sam bite his lip and Hetty take a measured breath. None of them could tell her the truth about who Max really was or that he had fought to keep her out of the operation to take down her father. Even Teague looked slightly chastened by the girl's reaction.
"I brought you here so you would learn what kind of a man your father really is," Mosley said. "You need to know the truth, so you can distance yourself from him. He's going to prison. You'll need to deal with that."
"She's a tough young lady, so I'm sure she will," Hetty said. "As for making her watch you interrogate her father? That's not going to happen."
"And why's that?" Mosley asked, crossing her arms and glaring down at her.
"Because it serves no purpose," Hetty replied, standing and motioning for Emiri to do the same. "Her presence here will do nothing to advance this case. Don't let your personal experience color your judgment, Shay. Emiri shouldn't suffer for the sins of her father. No child should. So, I simply will not allow it."
"Excuse me?"
"I've cleared it with SecNav," Hetty said. "Miss Yavuz will be in my custody while she settles her father's affairs. After that she will be living with her cousins in San Diego. Come, my dear. We can stop by and see Max Gentry in the hospital before having lunch at my house in the hills."
The two of them walked past Mosley and out the door as the three men in the room tried to hide the pleased looks on their faces. Mosley was more than angry, but said nothing further, appearing to be slightly stunned by the confrontation. But she quickly gathered herself and turned to Callen.
"Agent Callen? Call Agent Blye. She and Detective Deeks need to have their aliases in play when Emiri arrives at the hospital. I don't want Max Gentry compromised."
"Finally realizing Deeks' value to the team?" Sam asked.
"Possibly, Agent Hanna," she replied.
"He earned it, Shay," Teague said, as he deftly released himself from the handcuffs.
"What's his prognosis?" She asked, looking steadily at Callen.
"Ever had a punctured lung, Assistant Director?" Callen asked. "Or been tortured?"
"Are we comparing battle scars now, Agent Callen?" She snapped.
"What G is trying to say is it will probably be three to four months before he'll be operational," Sam said. "If that's what you're asking."
"But that depends on rather he stays with NCIS or not," Callen replied. "And right now, I doubt he sees many reasons to do that."
"Well, that's his choice," she replied coldly. "It's too bad. Max Gentry is a decent alias."
"Deeks made this case for you," Callen said, pissed at the woman's refusal to acknowledge that truth. "You wouldn't have those missiles or Yavuz in custody if it wasn't for him. Why can't you admit that?"
"You could ask him to stay on, Shay," Teague suggested. "His undercover skills are valuable. Of course he won't have me to guide him…"
"Now that's funny," Sam said. "You think this is the first time Deeks has gone undercover as Max Gentry? You might do the sophisticated arms dealer well, but Deeks plays a scuzzy hard ass better than anyone and he doesn't need your help to do it."
"You should see his homeless shtick," Callen said. "The smell alone is worth the price of admission."
"That I can picture, which is all I will be able to do, as I am off on another assignment. In Paris, by the way. Give him my best, will you? I won't have time to visit before I fly out." Teague said, picking up his jacket and hat as he headed out the door.
"If everyone's finished, I have an interrogation to conduct," Mosley said. "Deeks' status will have to wait. Would you like to assist, Agent Callen?"
"So now you want my help?" Callen asked, finding it hard to control his anger. "We should have been at that cemetery backing up Deeks, but you decided to keep us sidelined. Why would you do that? It got him tortured and almost killed, so explain that decision to me. Were you just showing us all whose boss?"
"Watch yourself, Agent Callen," she replied. "You're very close to insubordination and you won't like the consequences if you step over that line."
"He's right. We should have been in on this op from the beginning," Sam said quietly. "You asked me to convince Deeks to help you, and then you didn't trust me to do that. Instead you sent a tactical squad to bring him in. You either trust us or you don't. Command has to be consistent. You expect us to follow your orders? Then trust that we will. You kept us off balance this whole operation. Maybe that was on purpose as part of some test you've got going or just bad decision-making. I'm not sure which, but it almost got a good man killed, and that's not a success in anyone's book."
"That's enough, Agent Hanna," she said stiffly.
"Yeah. Maybe it is," Sam said. "Maybe it's time I moved on."
"Sam…you don't mean that," she replied, obviously stunned.
"Deeks will survive this," Sam said, sounding wearier than Callen had heard him since Michelle died. "But I'm not sure our friendship will, and that's hard for me to accept. I owe him, and you know why. The four of us make a great team. A successful team. But for some reason that isn't good enough for you. For reasons I will never understand, you wanted him on his own without backup on this op. I have a feeling you were expecting him to screw up. Maybe you expected all of us to screw up so you'd have a reason to replace us. That's what my partner has believed from the very beginning, and now I think he's right. Fine. You got your wish. If Deeks goes, so do I."
"Not without me, partner," Callen said. "I could use a vacation anyway. Maybe we can take the boat down to Mexico and do some fishing."
"Or surfing. Bring Deeks and Kensi along," Sam said. "He can recover down there just as easily as here. Maybe better."
"Sounds like a plan," Callen said.
"You've had an illustrious career, Sam," Mosley said, sounding genuinely concerned. "Why throw that away now over a misunderstanding?"
"Is that what you call it? Didn't you hear anything I said?" Sam asked. "Deeks did everything you asked, even went against his better judgment to bring Yavuz down. He did his job, but you still won't give him the credit he deserves. You haven't even gone to see what that psycho did to him. You used him and had no qualms about tossing him aside once you got what you wanted. Why would I want to serve under someone that treats one of their own like that?"
"Hetty won't be happy about this," Mosley said. "You're her team…"
"But you've never accepted us as yours," Callen said. "Hetty might not like it, but she'll understand."
"You'll have my resignation later today," Sam said. "Right now, I'm gonna go see how Deeks is doing. Maybe he'll agree to talk to me today."
Sam walked past her without a backward glance and Callen saw a myriad of emotions cross Mosley's face. She was upset and slightly angry, but what she couldn't hide was her disappointment and the realization that she had badly miscalculated. She had lost Sam, the one person she'd made a connection with. And there was no way he was staying without Sam.
"Good luck explaining to SecNav and Director Vance how you lost the services of a valuable team with years of experience," Callen said. "But hey, you've still got your elite team, with what…seven or eight months working together. Good luck, Assistant Director."
"Does this mean you're reneging on your promise, Agent Callen?" She said with venom in her voice.
"No. When you find out where your son is, inform Hetty," Callen said. "She'll know how to find me. Until then…we're done."
He walked quickly out, leaving her standing all alone in the middle of the boat shed. She had played hardball with his team, and it would cost her. Hetty would make sure of it. But it had been Deeks who had taken the brunt of her attack, and even if they all resigned their positions, he still wanted to help the team become whole again. He didn't want Mosley to win on that front. Their friendship needed to survive this, especially Sam and Deeks'.
…
Now that he was alone, he stared down at the bandages that covered both wrists, unwilling to relive the terror they represented. After surviving Sidorov his mind had gone haywire. He couldn't control his thoughts at all. He'd been inundated with voices and memories, both good and bad, ending in turmoil that hadn't let him sleep. But this time was different. This time he awoke with clarity about what he'd suffered, his mind free of fear and bitterness. He found himself unwilling to revisit what had happened to him. The torture had hurt like a sonofabitch, but he had survived it all. He was alive, and he wanted to live his life to the fullest. His mind ran with all the good things he wanted in his resurrected life. Kensi. Marriage. Kids. He had a future to look forward to and no desire to look into the past or the operation that had landed him in the ICU.
Kensi had told him he'd been unresponsive when they'd pulled him out of that oven. The way she'd said it made him laugh. He'd even made a joke about it, angering her and surprising himself. He had died, but Sam revived him, just as he'd done for Sam after pulling him out of that pool Sidorov had tried to drown him in. They were even now, not that he ever expected anything in return for saving Sam's life. They had found common ground afterwards, and become friends. Mosley's actions had fractured that friendship, a bond that meant the world to him. Pushing a good friend away was not something he was comfortable doing, and Sam was one friend he needed to fight to keep. Letting go of the anger that caused their rift would be difficult, but he had to try.
"Max?"
Emiri stood in the doorway looking tentative and so very young. Kensi had warned him she was coming and that she finally believed Max Gentry wasn't a Federal agent. He was maintaining his alias for her benefit only. He sure as hell wasn't doing it for Mosley.
"Hey," He said, unsure what to say when he saw her start to cry.
"You look awful," she said as Hetty urged her toward the bed. "I heard what Uncle Ali did to you…I'm so sorry…"
"Hey, it wasn't your fault," he said quickly. "I'm gonna be fine."
"Will you go to prison like my dad?" She asked, gripping the bed railing tightly.
"Probably, but hey, I've been there before," he said, shrugging it off as if it was a common occurrence.
"But one of the agents said you had a punctured lung," she said, looking back at Hetty. "They won't make him go to jail before it heals, will they?"
"That will be determined after he's arraigned," Hetty said formally. "I have a feeling Mr. Gentry will take what we call a plea deal. That means there will be no trial. However, if the prosecutor decides he needs to begin his sentence immediately, rest assured, the prison he's sent to will have a medical facility."
"Yeah, right lady," he snarled. "Prison hospitals are just like being in Vegas. Lots of showgirls with bedpans."
"Don't be impertinent, Mr. Gentry," she replied. "You're going to need all the help you can get if you want a good deal."
"I don't know who the fuck you are, little lady, but I'm pretty damn sure you're not on my side," Max shot back, rather enjoying the shocked look on her face at his comment.
"She's been nice to me, Max," Emiri said. "That Mosley woman wanted me to watch her question my dad, but Hetty wouldn't let her."
"Seriously? Mosley was actually gonna force her to watch that?" Max asked, anger rippling through him. "Sonofabitch."
"Try and keep your vocabulary out of the gutter, Mr. Gentry," Hetty said. "Emiri simply came to see how you're doing, so why don't you tell her."
"Yeah, sure," he replied, suddenly sorry he had let Max take over so easily.
"Do your wrists hurt?" Emiri asked.
"Not too bad. Good drugs here," he replied softly. "I sleep a lot. Sage says I snore too much."
"Is she here? I wanted to say goodbye," the girl said. "I'll be living in San Diego now."
"She went to get some coffee and probably a couple of donuts," he replied. "She loves donuts."
"I'm afraid we have to get going, Emiri," Hetty said. "I'm sure Mr. Gentry will tell her you were here."
"Tell her I'm sorry for everything, Max," the girl said, teary eyed and sad. "If I had told my dad the truth in Istanbul, none of this would have happened. It's my fault you were both almost killed…"
"Don't you take that on yourself," he interrupted gruffly. "You were a kid. Your uncle shouldn't have forced you to keep quiet, and your father didn't have to do what he did. I know what it's like to want to love your dad even though he's a bastard. Don't make excuses for him, Emiri. He doesn't deserve any. I know mine didn't."
"How do I thank you for saving my life, Max?" she finally asked, wiping at her tears.
"Just live a good life, okay?" Max said. "Stay cool, and be happy."
"Yeah…I'll try."
Hetty ushered her out the door and then turned to look at him. "I will be back later to discuss that plea deal."
"You do that, little lady," he said, flashing a grin.
"Cheeky bastard," she muttered, but she was smiling slightly when she said it.
He was glad to have seen Emiri. She had suffered a lot in her life, and had come through the last few days stronger than she had any right to be. She had a good soul, in spite of her father and the influence of her uncle. He still believed she knew more than Mosley or the others thought, but she deserved a chance to make something good out of her life. Some of her father's business operations were legitimate, so she wouldn't want for money unless the government decided to take it all. He had a feeling Hetty would find a way to protect some of his assets for her. The sale of the house alone would see her through college. The only thing he was sorry about was that she had only met Max Gentry. Why she responded to him was still puzzling. Maybe he was slipping. Not that it mattered now. He was getting out, so Max could retire to wherever aliases go once they pass their expiration date.
"You awake?" Callen asked as he walked in. "Better question. Are you hungry?"
"I don't recommend his selection," Sam said from the doorway. "It's mystery fish tacos from that food truck he likes on Main in Venice."
"Seriously?"
"Sorry, gentlemen. He's not allowed," the doctor said, pushing past Sam who had yet to enter the room. "And it would be incredibly mean to eat that in front of him."
"Come on, doc. My stomach's growling just smelling those seven heavenly spices," Deeks said, watching the man check his vitals and then his stitches.
"You got a problem with oxygen?" The doctor asked, holding up the nasal cannula he'd pulled out after Kensi left.
"Hard to talk with that thing in my nose," Deeks replied.
"Hard to breathe with a damaged lung," he replied, putting the cannula back in place. "Don't make me tape it down. I have some very sticky tape I can use and ripping that off will hurt. Believe me."
"We could cuff him to the bed, doc," Callen offered.
"Really? I told you they were mean," Deeks said, a little pissed he couldn't have at least one fish taco.
"If he pulls it out again, I'll give you a call," the doctor said as he walked out.
"Don't you guys usually get the weekend off?" Deeks asked.
"You're not a case, Deeks," Sam said, remaining in the doorway.
"A charity case maybe," he replied with a grin. "I'm out of a job now, remember?"
"So are we," Callen said. "So don't ask to borrow money."
"What?"
"Sam quit, and since he's my partner…it just seemed right that I should back him up and quit too," Callen said with a smirk. "I think we surprised the hell out of Mosley."
"Are you kidding me right now?" Deeks asked.
"After what happened to you and her lack of trust and respect for all of us, I decided it was time to move on. Callen agreed," Sam said, holding his gaze as he spoke. "I shouldn't have come at you the way I did, Deeks. Especially on Mosley's behalf. I read the after action reports. It was just blind luck Emiri wasn't killed. A bullet clipped that vest you put on her, Deeks, so you were right. She should never have been involved. They could have used an undercover agent…"
"Nobody told me she'd been hit," Deeks said, feeling queasy all of a sudden, and Sam noticed how shaky he'd gotten, moving toward him as one of the monitors sounded.
"Just breathe normal," Sam said gently. "G? Go find Kensi. She's probably in the cafeteria."
Deeks began to panic as the doctor and two nurses rushed into the room. His lungs and chest were on fire and he struggled to take in air, but he kept his eyes on Sam when he stepped aside to allow the staff to work. The doctor checked his blood pressure and oxygen levels while a nurse injected something into his IV line.
"Did you cause this?" The doctor asked Sam, the loud accusation startling Deeks.
"Leave him alone," he snapped, angry all of a sudden. "You can get the hell out anytime. Sam stays."
"You sure about that," The man asked, looking surprised at his intensity.
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Sam," Deeks breathed out slowly as the meds kicked in. "Good to have a Navy SEAL around when you need to be brought back from the dead."
"I'll come back later for the rest of that story," the doctor said.
"Most of it's classified," he said sleepily.
He barely noticed when the doctor and nurses left, but he felt Sam's hand on his leg and opened his eyes.
"Did you really quit?" He asked, watching Sam nod solemnly. "What now? What will you do? Hetty doesn't know does she?"
"Slow down, Deeks," Sam said softly. "It's nothing for you to worry about. Just rest and recover. That's your only job right now."
"Yeah…I guess it is," he replied. "I'm sorry."
"You've got nothing to be sorry about. It was my choice."
"You saved my life and I haven't even thanked you," Deeks said.
"You just did, and you're welcome," Sam said. "But I am sorry you ended up here. That's on me."
"No it's not," he replied sharply. "This was all Ali Sadik. He was a violent, sadistic sonofabitch, and good at his job. He never trusted me or Benny, and he was right. We were just lucky Yavuz bought our story early on."
"Saving his daughter's life probably had something to do with that," Sam said with a soft smile.
"Are we still friends, Sam? I'd really like that," Deeks said. "Life is too damn short to hold a grudge, don't you think?"
Sam reached over and clasped his hand, squeezing his shoulder gently, his emotions softening his face.
"I was hoping you'd say that. I screwed up, Deeks, and I'm sorry," Sam finally said. "So…are we good?"
"Yeah, Sam. We're good."
"Deeks?" Kensi called out as she hurried into the room. "Callen told me what happened. Are you okay?"
"Hey, baby. I'm fine," he said softly. "Sam and Callen quit."
"Officially?" She asked, looking from one to the other. "Did Mosley accept?"
"You don't sound too happy about it," Callen said.
"It sounds like you surrendered the field," she replied. "Why would you do that? Shouldn't we be fighting to keep our team together instead of giving Mosley what she wants?"
"It was more like taking away an important part of her arsenal," Callen said. "Losing the confidence of an entire team, and causing that team to resign on your watch doesn't exactly look good in the official operations report."
"So you're saying, she'll have some 'splainin' to do?" Deeks added, grinning cockily.
"Something like that," Callen replied and Sam rolled his eyes. "I spoke with Hetty on the phone on the way over here. She's made Director Vance aware of the situation and is making a case with SecNav. What happens next is above our pay grade."
"But the shit will definitely hit the fan," Sam said.
"And if things don't come out the way you hope? What then?" She asked.
"As Deeks would say… Road trip," Callen replied.
"More like a sea voyage," Sam corrected him. "Use up our accumulated vacation time. Maybe head down to Baja. Maybe Ensenada. Do some diving. A little surfing. Let you and Kensi work on your tans."
"You think she'll be forced to ask you all back," Kensi said, snorting out one of her cackles.
"At least Sam and I," Callen said. "What about you Deeks? Would you come back if Mosley asks?"
"Yeah, Deeks. We'd hate to lose Artie," Sam said.
"Or Max Gentry," Callen said quietly. "Or you."
"Remember what you just said about holding grudges," Sam said.
"I'd hate to work in the field without you, baby," Kensi said.
"Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourselves?" Deeks asked. "Mosley hasn't exactly been beating my door down asking me to reconsider. She might want you two back, but I doubt I'm on her Christmas list."
"And if you are?" Kensi asked.
"I'll listen to what she has to say, but that's all I can promise right now," he said softly, his eyes blinking slowly.
"Good enough for me," Sam said. "Get some rest, Deeks. We'll talk after I take Kensi out to lunch."
"What about me?" Callen asked.
"You got that greasy bag of fish tacos," Sam said as Kensi kissed him, whispering her love before following the two partners out.
"They're cold," he heard Callen say.
He listened to them banter with each other all the way down the hall. He'd miss that if he left, and so much more. He just wasn't sure what would have to happen to keep him at NCIS. He couldn't picture Mosley begging him to reconsider. That woman plowed ahead and over anyone who got in her way, and as far as he could tell, she never looked back. Deeks was fairly sure he was already in her rear view mirror.
"So be it."
He was drowsy from whatever the doctor had given him, and he slowly succumbed to the comfort of sleep, dreaming of a listless sea with no horizon.
…
…
