AN: Almost at the end! This is the last real chapter. There will be an epilogue type chapter to end the story. Hopefully this chapter answers the remaining plot questions. Also, in one of the reviews, someone asked what 'boxing day' was. Boxing Day is December 26 - the day after Christmas.
In this chapter, Agents McGee/DiNozzo/Gibbs are mentioned very briefly - if you don't know, these are characters on the original NCIS show. Also, Agent Vail is mentioned in a flashback - he was Kensi's partner in season 1 - at the time of the flashback he was kidnapped/missing in the plot of the show.
"So, what happened while you waited?" Nell asks.
"We planned for today," Deeks says. He glances at Kensi and they exchange a smile. "And we lived our lives..."
"We met regularly to discuss the case and the progress being made by the taskforce," Hetty adds.
"I still can't believe we had no idea." Sam shakes his head.
"Your co-workers are highly trained operators, Mr. Hanna," Hetty tells him. "You weren't supposed to suspect."
"I know that, Hetty," he says, "It's just..." He trails off as he stares at Kensi and Deeks for a long moment. Then he glances at his partner.
Callen smirks. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
Sam chuckles.
Kensi and Deeks roll their eyes.
"It wasn't so long ago that it was us with the secret operations you were surprised to find out about," Sam points out.
"We trained them well, Sam," Callen says.
"Oh, please," Kensi scoffs. "We came ready for this."
"We were born ready for this," Deeks adds.
Callen and Sam exchange a look before they both nod.
"Born operators," Callen says.
"Both of them," Sam confirms.
Deeks feels a small swell of pride at his teams' words. Beside him, he feels Kensi brush against him. Even after nearly six years of working together, he'd feared their senior partners would be angry at the subterfuge. But instead, Callen and Sam are proud of them.
"My thoughts exactly," Hetty speaks up, interrupting his thoughts. "And there's not a person in this room who would disagree."
"That was quite a show you two put on," Director Vance adds. He shakes his head. "If I hadn't known better, there would have been no doubt in my mind as to Detective Deeks's guilt."
"I didn't know better," Granger says dryly. "And you had me fooled."
Vance turns to his assistant director. "Owen, you understand why we kept you out?"
Granger nods. "I know my place, Sir. For the betterment of the mission. I make decision regularly about involvement in operations. At the end of the day the only important factor is a successful result."
Vance smiles. "Well, we were definitely successful."
"So?" Sam prompts.
"What happened after we left the boatshed with Kensi?" Called asks.
"Eric was very quickly read into the mission. We needed someone trusted to be our eyes and ears..."
000
For the better part of the an hour, the sound of typing served to be the background noise to the horror show of Deeks's interrogation which was playing out on the video screen in OPS. Eric and Nell were frantically running down every piece of information available to them as it came up, exchanging half-sentences and sighs of frustration.
They didn't blink when he was accused of being a spy, of purposefully infiltrating NCIS. They scoffed when he was accused of murder. They barely slowed down when forensics got a fingerprint match on the documents found buried by Deeks's front door and he was officially arrested. They didn't pause when he was left alone to stew. But Nell glanced at the screen when Kensi barricaded herself in the room with him.
"Good," she murmured, "Maybe we'll finally get some information we can work with."
Eric looked up at the screen and nodded his agreement. "Finally."
Only minutes later, though, both Nell and Eric were silent and still, hands frozen above their respective keyboards, staring in shock at the screen as Deeks admitted his sins to his partner and fiancée.
When Kensi let herself out of the interrogation room, Deeks watched her leave. When the door shut, his body shuddered. He glanced up at the camera, tears on his cheeks, his eyes broken and dejected. And then his gaze shifted downward to the table as his shoulders slumped.
"Oh my God," Nell whispered, pulling Eric from his trance.
He looked over at his partner. She had tears streaming down both cheeks. He blinked and was surprised to discover his own eyes were damp. "I..." He tried to say something; anything. But he had no words.
"Oh my God. That didn't just happen, right? I mean...Deeks?" Nell choked out a sob. "Poor Kensi..."
Eric nodded. That was one thing he could make sense of. "Poor Kensi."
The doors opened and Hetty stepped into the room.
"Hetty," Nell greeted unevenly, tears still choking her words. "Did you...see?"
"I did," Hetty said grimly.
"I don't understand how he could do this..."
"Right now, we need to be there for Ms. Blye," Hetty said, expertly directing Nell's attention towards Kensi and away from Deeks.
Nell nodded. "Of course."
"Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna are bringing Ms. Blye here. She will need our support. Ms. Jones, why don't you go down and meet them? I will meet you in a moment."
Nell nodded and hurried out of the room.
Hetty turned to Eric. She paused for a moment and then smiled.
Eric was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that he was about to have his worldview changed. Or something along those lines. Not an altogether unusual feeling when you worked for Henrietta Lange. But after the day's events, he had no idea what to expect.
"Hetty?"
"Shadow mode, Mr. Beale."
He silently turned back to his computer to type the necessary codes to initiate shadow mode in OPS. Around them, the blinds closed themselves as the room secured.
"Okay, shadow mode is- ahh!" He began to turn back towards her on his chair, only to be surprised by Hetty, who had sat down on Nell's chair.
"Settle your nerves, Mr. Beale. I need you at the top of your game." She paused. "Mr. Deeks needs you at the top of your game. And I'm sure Ms. Blye would appreciate her partner back in one piece."
"But...I..." He trailed off and stared at Hetty before nodding. "That was for show?"
"Yes."
He took a deep breath. "Deeks is not a mole." It wasn't a question.
"Of course not."
"It's not that I thought he was. But when he talked to Kensi-"
"Precisely, Mr. Beale. The situation was designed so your emotional reaction to Kensi would aid in your belief that Mr. Deeks was guilty. It needed to be believable to everyone, our team included."
"Our team? So, Callen and Sam don't know?"
"No, they don't. The only people who know the truth are the director, myself, Ms. Blye and Mr. Deeks. And now yourself."
Eric nodded. "What's the truth? Who is this all for?"
"We're about to find out. We've spent several years positioning Mr. Deeks for today. He's had to catch the eye of the taskforce as a potential mole to ensure he is identified by an actual mole. You, like the rest of the team, believe there is a single mole, while in actual fact there is an intelligence hacking organization positioned within NCIS and other agencies. We don't know how many moles there are, but there is at least one operating in our area. And he or she has been monitoring this taskforce's progress and investigation of Mr. Deeks. He or she is in the boatshed right now." She motioned at the video screen where a taskforce member was speaking with a very dejected looking Deeks. "Right now, Mr. Deeks is telling the taskforce he won't say anything more without a deal. He will agree to tell all he knows for a deal. They will move him to the LA Field Office for official processing. And this will force the mole to make their move."
"Okay." He nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
"I need you monitoring from here. The director will be getting Mr. Deeks a button cam so we can monitor audio and video. We're hoping it will happen quickly; today."
"What about back up? Are you telling the team?"
Hetty shook her head. "I'm keeping them in the dark for as long as possible. If it doesn't happen today it's possible there will be interactions between the real mole and the team, and I need the team's reactions to be as real as possible."
"What about Deeks? What if he's in trouble?"
"Kensi slipped him a handcuff key and his knife when she was in interrogation with him," Hetty said. "And Leon brought a trusted team out with him, who will be back up. It's my understanding you met some of them once, Agent Gibbs and McGee? Here's the information to keep in touch." She passed him a piece of paper. "Keep me informed via text if you can."
"Of course."
000
"Thankfully, it happened pretty much right away," Deeks says.
"We just had to get a little creative first," Vance adds.
Deeks grins. "I was impressed, Director."
"It's been a while since I've gotten my hands dirty..."
000
Deeks allowed Agent Larson to drag him to his feet and practically shove him towards the door. His hands were handcuffed tightly behind his back and he kept them as still as possible, covering the spot he had slipped his knife under the waistband of his jeans. The taskforce patted him down when they officially arrested him, before Kensi slipped him the knife, so he should be good, but he wasn't taking any unnecessary chances.
Ahead of them, Agent Winters limped along slowly. Deeks didn't remember the man limping on his way in and out of the interrogation room earlier. He also noted now that the man, who had been the main interrogator all day, had been surprisingly quiet since Deeks had admitted to treason. He would have thought the older man would be gloating. Deeks shook his head, forcing his mind back onto the task at hand. He could find out later why Winters was suddenly limping. He'd bet Kensi had something to do with it.
When he was led into the main area of the boatshed, the air was thick with tension. All conversations fell away as all eyes fell on him. He was surprised to actually feel a bit of the shame he was supposed to be pretending to feel in that moment. Across the room, his director and assistant director were standing together, looking ever the fearsome team. Granger was angry, but apprehensive and uncertain about his own feelings. He was clearly considering the fallout and formulating a plan to keep the rest of the team intact. Vance just appeared angry, playing his part well.
To his left, the LA Field Team, along with their usually-office-bound team leader Agent Fischer, were also silent and also staring at him. Their expressions shone with hatred and broken trust. Deeks took a deep breath and slowly released it. He reminded himself he was doing this to catch a mole; that one of the people staring at him with disdain was a mole. It calmed him a bit, but he still couldn't shake the knowledge that the rest of the people staring at him were good people. He had worked with the LA Field team more times than he could count. He had their backs and knew they had his in dozens of dangerous situations and breaches.
"I want a word with him," Vance demanded, striding towards him and pulling him from his thoughts.
"Sir, I don't think that's a good idea," Agent Langford said softly. As the senior NCIS Agent on the taskforce, it fell to her to face the angry NCIS Director.
"I don't care what you think," Vance countered. "He's disgraced my agency and I want to have a word with him before he makes his deal and I can't touch him again."
Deeks stared at the floor as Vance approached him, playing his part as the captured mole and broken man.
"Can't even look up and face what you've done?" Vance called him out.
Deeks made a show of taking a breath before very slowly lifting his head. He didn't quite allow his eyes to meet Vance's. Granger had stepped forward with Vance, but stayed a few feet behind him. He still looked at a loss for what to say to Deeks. The LA Field Team was still off to the left, keeping their distance, but ready to step in if their director needed them.
"I'm sorry," Deeks whispered.
"You're sorry?" Vance practically yelled. "Sorry doesn't fix what you've done. How much information have you sold? How many lives have you risked? How many good people have you sold out?"
Deeks looked down to the floor again.
"Don't you look away when I'm talking to you," Vance said, stepping forward and shoving him in the chest.
"I don't want to talk anymore," Deeks said.
"Well, I don't care what you want," Vance said, shoving him again. "You're a disgrace to my agency."
This time Deeks stepped forward and bumped him with his shoulder, the best he could do with his hands cuffed behind his back. "All you care about is your agency! Answer me this; what has your agency ever done for me? Huh? I may not be perfect, but I've done a hell of a lot for your agency and that should count for something!"
Vance grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him back several steps until he was pressed up against the wall. "You ungrateful little-"
"Ungrateful? I should be grateful for all the crap your agency has put me through? This doesn't take away all the good I've done, and everything I've been through."
Vance pressed his hand to Deeks's chest - to the outside world it looked like he was keeping him still, while in actual fact he was attaching a button-camera - and leaned in to appear aggressive. "We invited you in, gave you the opportunity to be more, and you disgraced yourself and us."
Deeks met his eyes for an extended moment. Then he slumped his shoulders. "I tried to be better."
"You should have tried harder."
"I'll try harder now."
"Prove it."
"How?"
"You tell us everything you know. Help us bring in your handler."
Deeks swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay," he said meekly.
Vance released him. "Get him out of my sight."
000
"After that I sent Granger here," Vance explains.
Granger nods. "You said you needed to go for a drive and calm down before meeting me here."
"In actual fact I was meeting Gibbs and his team, who were monitoring the days' events from nearby. We were patched into Eric in OPS and were ready when Deeks was taken from the boatshed."
000
Deeks stayed where he was against the wall as Vance turned on his heel and strode out of the room. Granger sent him an apprehensive look before following the director. Once they were both gone, Agent Larson stepped forward and grabbed Deeks's arm to pull him away from the wall. There was a ripping sound as his shirt sleeve caught on a loose sliver of wood and tore.
Larson laughed at the sound. "Trust me kid, that's the last thing you have to worry about today."
"Whatever," Deeks whispered.
Larson led him to the other taskforce members - except for Winters, who was sitting down - near the centre of the room. "What are we doing with him now?"
"Excuse me, Agents," Agent Carter, the senior agent from the LA Field office, interrupted.
They turned their attention to him.
"You've done an excellent job in hunting down the mole," he praised. "And you've got him to confess and agree to provide additional information," he added, giving credit to their taskforce even though technically Kensi got him to 'confess' and Deeks himself offered more information in exchange for a deal.
Though Deeks had his eyes on the ground again, he kept his chest positioned towards Carter, knowing this may be the beginnings of the play they were waiting for. Carter was clearly very charismatic and could be manipulative if needed.
"Protocol at this point would be for us to take him into custody and transport him to the LA Field Office. We'd be doing this on your behalf, of course. That's why you brought us here."
Deeks felt his heart rate increase ever so slightly. This could definitely be it. Carter was making a play at getting him away from the taskforce. He was a senior agent, well positioned to be a mole with access to information and people.
He listened as the taskforce discussed their options.
"I'm sure after all your hard work today you wouldn't mind taking an hour to grab a bite to eat," Carter added. "We'll get him processed and have him waiting for you. We won't take any statements without you." He smiled encouragingly.
The taskforce agreed and quickly herded out of the boatshed. Winters was still limping as he left.
Carter led Deeks out into the parking lot and into the back seat, passenger side, of an unmarked sedan. On the way around the car, Deeks made sure to turn his body to give the camera on his chest a good view of the car and license so Eric could track it. Carter attached his seatbelt, but left his door open, which Deeks was grateful for, as he could hear the conversations going on in the parking lot.
"Carter and I will transport the suspect," Agent Fischer, the team leader, was saying to the rest of his team when Deeks was settled in the car and Carter left him alone. He didn't dare move, knowing they were keeping close eyes on him. "The rest of you go home. We'll see you tomorrow. And please refrain from mentioning anything of what happened here today. This will remain highly classified for the foreseeable future."
"What about the extra vehicle?" One of the agents asked. "If you and Carter are transporting him together, that will leave an extra car here. Do you want me and Greene to take care of it? I can trail him back to the office and then run him back here before we go home?"
"Don't worry about it, Hollister," Fischer said, "This is NCIS property, it can stay the night and we can pick it up tomorrow. Go home, enjoy your early night before I change my mind."
That clearly convinced the team because the next thing Deeks heard was the sound of several cars starting and driving away.
Two sets of footsteps walked towards the sedan he was in and then paused a few paces away.
"You know what?" Fischer's voice said. "Hollister had a point. Let's not leave the SUV overnight."
"Want me to call her back?" Carter asked.
"Nah, there's two of us here. I'll drive the suspect. You drive the SUV."
Deeks exhaled slowly, surprised at the sudden turn of events. Where he had been expected Carter to make a move now he had Fischer doing so.
Carter clearly hesitated before questioning his boss. With Fischer's propensity to never leave the office, Carter was clearly used to taking charge out in the field, but still officially respected the chain of command. "Sir, protocol is two agents to accompany a transfer."
Fischer waived him off. "If the situation calls for it, Carter. This situation doesn't. We all know Deeks. He's no threat to us. He's unarmed. It's a short drive. It won't be a problem."
Carter exhaled loudly, but agreed. "Fine. I'll follow you in the SUV."
"Actually, could you make a dinner run? I'm starving."
Deeks felt his hackles rising as he listened to Fischer pass Carter money and give him directions to a burger place far enough away from the boatshed and LA Field office that there was no way the senior agent would get there and back during rush hour, plus place and wait for an order, in anything resembling a reasonable amount of time. Fischer was definitely making a play at purposefully putting himself alone in the sedan with Deeks with no one else around.
By the time Fischer shut Deeks's door and then headed around to get into the driver's seat, there was no doubt in Deeks's mind that the team leader was the man they were after. In that moment, he wished they could have risked an earwig because he was certain Eric was up in OPS running every background check imaginable and would be passing Deeks information if he could. And even after almost four and a half years of preparation, Deeks wished he could have some more information in that moment.
They pulled out into traffic. Fischer said nothing to Deeks, but kept glancing back into the rear view mirror, surreptitiously stealing glances, as if he wasn't sure what to say or how to start. He steered them onto a path that started a long route towards the LA Field office. Deeks settled in for a long and bumpy ride.
After ten minutes of glances, Deeks settled his gaze on the rear view so he caught Fischer's gaze every time the team leader looked towards him.
Finally, Fischer cleared his throat. "Is there a problem?"
"I don't know. You tell me?" Deeks said evenly.
"Kid, you're guilty of treason. I'd say you have plenty of problems."
Deeks forced a mask to his face and shrugged. Time to get started. "All based on their definition of treason."
Fischer's jaw clenched, clearly taken aback that Deeks chose the word 'their' instead of 'your' to define treason.
"What about my definition of treason?"
Deeks stared into his gaze as darkly as he could muster. "Same as mine," he said with as much self-assuredness as possible.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Are you really going to play this game? We both know what you're here to do."
"Excuse me?"
"We both know why you made sure to get me alone in this car. I got sloppy and now my time is up."
"Your time is up?"
"Mmm-hmm. So, how are you going to do it?" He pushed, knowing he needed set Fischer off balance as much as possible.
"Do what?"
"You have to kill me."
The car swerved as Fischer reacted to Deeks words. Yup, definitely off balance. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Deeks stared at him through the rear view and then scoffed before pressing forward. "Are you fucking kidding me? After everything I've done for them, they send me you?" He shook his head. "I deserve better than this."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Fischer demanded again.
"Stop asking me that!" Deeks snapped.
"Then start saying something that makes sense," Fischer snapped back quickly. Deeks almost had to bite back a smirk, knowing he was reeling Fischer in.
"I believe in the cause," Deeks said. "Do you?"
"Uh..."
"Oh, come on. You can't be part of this and not believe!" Deeks yelled. "You don't deserve to be part of this and not believe!"
"Hold on." Fischer pulled the car into a parking lot for a new shopping centre. It was almost completely void of cars and people. He steered over to an empty section near the construction site and stopped. He put the car into park and took off his seatbelt so he could turn and meet Deeks's eyes straight on.
"I thought..." He trailed off.
He was off balance enough that he was openly looking to Deeks for information, so Deeks took a chance. "Don't tell me you thought it was just about the money?"
Fischer's jaw tightened and Deeks knew he had struck a nerve.
Deeks's scoffed. "Why would they send me you?" He muttered to himself, pretending to ignore Fischer.
"Hey! Stop saying that!" Fischer snapped, trying to pull Deeks's attention back to him.
Deeks knew he had him where he needed him. "You don't believe. You don't know anything about the cause. You thought this was just about the money. You don't know anything. I'm going to have to walk you through killing me. I'm allowed to be angry and pissed off that I got stuck with you!" He said, throwing off Fischer even more.
"Shut up!"
Deeks narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you know anything?" He said suspiciously. "Are you incompetent? I need you to be competent today." He needed to goad Fischer into incriminating himself.
"I'm perfectly competent. And I'm not going to kill you, so you can stop-"
"You must have done something wrong," Deeks said, cutting him off. "You screwed up at some point."
"I've never screwed up."
"Then you're known for getting sub-par information." Deeks kept pushing. He needed to keep Fischer on the defensive so he wasn't thinking before responding.
"That's not true. I'm perfectly competent."
"If that were true, you wouldn't have no idea what I'm talking about right now. I don't even know why they keep you around. They probably just haven't gotten rid of you yet."
"Hey!" Fischer banged on the centre console in anger. "That is not true. For twenty years I've given nothing but solid information. Operational details, undercover identities, account information, addresses. You name it. And I've never been suspected. And I've never had to stage any sort of cover up or security breach to get away with anything. I've been damn good at getting away with everything!"
Deeks stayed silent on the outside as he was cheering on the inside. After almost four and a half years, he had officially gotten a mole to confess. Now any further information was icing on the cake. This would be fun; to see what additional information he could squeeze from Fischer.
After several moments of silence, Fischer couldn't stand it anymore. He was too worked up to stay silent and wanted to keep defending himself. "What else do you want to know, huh?"
"It's not me you have to prove anything to," Deeks said evenly. "It's them. They clearly don't think you're up to being a real part in this."
"Do you have any idea how much money I've made them?"
"How much?"
"Millions. Probably tens of millions. Do you know what position I sit in? I liaise assignments with the FBI and the DEA. Do you know how many drug cartels pay to be given a heads up on raids? Or to be told what parts of the border are safer to cross with drugs or illegals? That alone is huge."
"Cartels, huh?"
"Yeah."
"So, that FBI-LAPD case where the cop got burned?"
"Yeah, that was me," Fischer bragged.
Deeks felt red hot rage burn inside him. He was so overwhelmed by it he couldn't respond.
"That cop? Was he actually a friend of yours?"
Deeks forced himself to shrug. "He was prepared to die for his cause. Just like I am for mine." He forced himself to say the words, knowing his friend would understand.
Fischer sobered at Deeks's statement. "I don't understand why you have to die?"
"Because I'm caught. And I know too much."
"And you expect me to...kill you?"
"Yes. It doesn't have to be today. But it has to be soon. Before I'm expected to give a full statement. Make it look like an accident or some scumbag I've taken down out for revenge. I'll play the part of the blundering and sorry Detective Deeks until then, but you have to step up. Maybe it's your test."
"You'll play the part? You mean...that wasn't real?"
Deeks rolled his eyes and internally pulled up as much darkness as possible as he suppressed every warm thought he had towards his partner. "She just wasn't part of the plan," he mocked himself. "It's bullshit. But they think I made mistakes and got in over my head. They think I'm one guy with one handler. I'll give them one made up name; send them on a wild goose chase. And then I'll die and they'll never find the handler. But they'll never suspect how deep this actually goes," he said ominously.
"Will you...will you tell me...more?" Fischer asked, taking to bait.
"How much do you know now?" Deeks demanded.
Fischer swallowed. "Uh, apparently not very much," he admitted, ashamed. "But I want to know everything you know. I want to know about the cause."
"We're going to change the world," Deeks hinted. He stared at Fischer for a long moment, as if considering him. "You do seem to be in a good position for the cause," he finally said. "And if what you say is true; if you've provided the kind of information you say you have; that kind of funding would help the cause."
Fischer nodded enthusiastically, hanging onto Deeks's every word. Deeks bit back a smirk. He had the guy on the hook. Now he just needed to keep him talking and not thinking.
"It could be that your handler is keeping you out of it for his own glory."
Fischer inhaled sharply, upset at the thought.
Deeks bit back a smirk. "Who's your handler? I'll tell you if he's a glory-hound."
"Uh..."
Deeks sighed. "You've never even met him?"
Fischer shook his head.
Deeks made a show of sighing. "Okay, how do you contact him. A lot of the handlers on the west coast have unique ways of staying in contact. It may tell me who your handler is."
"How many handlers are there?"
Deeks smiled darkly. "You really thought it was just you? Fischer, we're everywhere. Probably a dozen handlers on the west coast alone," he said, weaving a story as he went. He and Hetty, and later Kensi, had talked at length about this moment and this conversation. They'd come up with a number of possible scenarios to present for their mole depending on the information he first presented to Deeks. But at the end of the day, Deeks couldn't know what story he would use until he was in the moment. "We're set up in braches. At the lowest levels, you don't know there's more than you so if you're caught..."
Fischer sighed. "I can't give up more information." He clearly didn't like the idea that he was considered the lowest level.
"Exactly. So?"
"I've only spoken with him a few times. On the phone. He told me to call him John, but I got the impression that wasn't his actual name."
"Does he ask you to get specific information or do you contact him when you have information?"
"Both. When I have information I think he wants, I leave a coded message on an online message board."
"A commonly used medium. Which one?" Deeks asked carefully.
"It's about vacation spots," Fischer explained, before providing the website name.
"And when John is looking for specific information?"
"He calls. He asks for Mrs. Norman. I tell him he has the wrong number. Then I check the website and there's a message with the requested information. I get it if I can."
"I might know who he is," Deeks said thoughtfully, doing his best to keep Fischer's attention as he carefully slipped the handcuff key out of his back pocket and got to work releasing his hands. "Did he ever mention who his handler is? Or anything about the cause?"
"No," Fischer said. "I thought it was just me being paid for information. Who can I contact? I want to be a bigger part of this cause! I deserve to be a bigger part."
"They'll come to you," Deeks said.
"What is the cause?"
"We're going to change the world," Deeks repeated his earlier statement, keeping it as vague as possible. He wanted to wait as long as possible before calling in his backup.
"What does that even mean?" Fischer demanded and Deeks knew he was losing him.
"We're collecting and storing information which will one day be used to overthrow the current leaders of this country. We also sell information to fund our cause."
Fischer shook his head. "That doesn't...that would never work. There has to be more to it than that."
Deeks hesitated before making one last attempt. "There is."
"Tell me," Fischer demanded.
"I'm in the mood for sharing. You tell me something and I'll tell you something." He said. And then before Fischer could say a word, he said, "Tell me more about your handler."
Fischer scoffed. "He has an accent, Spanish-like. Sometimes uses Spanish words. Definitely male. Older than me. Military background; because he uses terms and ranks like they're second nature." He paused. "Oh, and he had some personal vendetta against your boss."
This caught Deeks's attention. "My boss?"
Fischer nodded. "Hetty Lange. He had me working on getting her personal information for over a year. Asked me four or five times for updates."
"So, it was you who sold Hetty's addresses?"
"Of course. Who else could have found that information?" Fischer bragged. And then he stopped abruptly and stared at Deeks.
Deeks knew that look. He knew he'd gotten all the useful information he was going to get and he needed to end this now before he got himself into trouble. "Why don't we get back on the road now?" He suggested. "Before they get suspicious? Plus I'm starving. It would be nice to actually get something to eat tonight? Maybe some noodles?" He said, using his favourite safe word, knowing backup would be on their way.
"We're not going anywhere," Fischer said.
"Fine," Deeks said, cold mask back in place. "What else do you want to know?"
"It seems to me like you've promised me a lot of information but haven't actually told me much of anything."
Deeks stared at him for a long moment before nodding. "You're right. Maybe I don't know as much as I pretend to know. But I still know more than you," he said, distracting Fischer as he reached to release his seatbelt. Once released he held it so it still appeared to be secured. He would only have one chance to make his move and secure Fischer's weapon.
Fischer turned forward and slammed his hands on the steering wheel.
Deeks made his move. He jumped forward and reached his upper body across the front of the car. He grasped onto Fischer's left arm with his right and pulled it across his body as he reached with his left hand for the gun on Fischer's hip.
"What the hell are you doing?" Fischer yelled.
Deeks eased back so he was perched on the backseat, but still leaning forward into the front seat. "Agent Fischer, you are under arrest for treason."
"I'm...what?"
"You're going to open the door and then slowly get out of the car with your hands raised," Deeks said firmly. "And then these nice agents that are surrounding the car are going to take you into custody."
Fischer stared in shock at the agents who were, in fact, surrounding the car.
"You tricked me."
Deeks shrugged. "You're a traitor. Now come on, out of the car."
Fischer took a breath and then his hand moved for the gear shift. Deeks was thrown back against the seat as the car lurched into drive and sped across the empty parking lot towards the construction site.
"You don't want to do this!" He yelled at Fischer, to no reply. "Shit," Deeks muttered to himself as he dropped the gun and struggled to put on a seatbelt. He managed to pull the belt across his body and just pressed the clip in when the car crashed through the thin fencing and began to bounce its way down the muddy embankment. The sedan bottomed out several times before the steering apparently failed and it swerved towards a pile of skids and crashed quite pathetically along its right side.
The door beside Deeks pressed inwards and the window shattered. He took a beat to breath. His cheek stung and when he wiped at it his fingers came away red with blood. He looked down to find a similar streak of red across his chest and arm as well.
"Well, that was an unsuccessful escape attempt, Fischer." He said, ignoring the stinging across most of his body. "I need you to raise your hands now. You're under arrest."
"Fuck you," Fischer said instead. Despite his lack of seatbelt, he managed to stay relatively unharmed, thanks to his now rapidly deflating airbag. He got his door open and after two attempts was out of the car.
"Shit," Deeks muttered, knowing the other agents would be chasing on foot as fast as they could, but that it was going to be up to him to catch Fischer right now. His seatbelt was jammed, so he pulled his knife and used it to cut the fabric. Then he re-secured the knife along the waistband of his pants. He scooted across the backseat of the car to exit. He wasn't able to find the gun in his hurry, but caught sight of the handcuffs, which he grabbed on his way out.
Fischer was limping, which allowed Deeks to catch up relatively quickly, though Deeks was pretty sure he was limping as well. He made a fairly spectacular tackle to take down the mole. Fischer was swearing and hissing at him, and managed one good hit that caught Deeks in the eye, before Deeks managed to fully subdue him.
When his backup arrived, having chased the speeding car on foot, Deeks had Fischer on his stomach, hands secured behind his back in the same handcuffs Deeks had been in not fifteen minutes earlier.
"What took you so long?" Deeks quipped towards the approaching agents as he dragged Fischer to his feet.
A pair came forward to take custody of Fischer from Deeks.
"You got the gun from him, but didn't think to take the keys?" Agent DiNozzo asked.
Deeks huffed a laugh. "Small oversight."
"Remember for next time," Agent Gibbs said, before nodding at Deeks. "You okay?"
"I think so."
Together, they made their way up the hill to the parking lot, meeting the rest of the backup team. Fischer was taken to a waiting vehicle. Coincidentally, he would be taken to the LA Field Office for processing.
"Detective Deeks," Vance greeted, holding out his hand for Deeks to shake.
"Director Vance," Deeks said, shaking his hand.
"That was some great work."
"Thank you."
"Do you need medical attention?"
Deeks shook his head. "Nah, just got some scrapes and bruises. Nothing significant." He smirked. "Next time I'll get the keys."
Vance smiled back at him. "I'm sure you will."
They turned together to watch the vehicle Fischer had been loaded into drive away. Deeks let out a slow breath. "It really worked..."
"That it did. With no small thanks to you."
Deeks swallowed hard at the praise.
Vance nodded at him, understanding his silence. "Hetty was able to ID the handler based on the description you obtained from Fischer. We already have a team in Washington on their way to pick him up."
Deeks took another breath and then smiled. "They're going down."
"They are. Every last one of them, if I have anything to say about it." Vance paused. "Not bad for your last case as a detective?"
Deeks smirked. "Does that mean you're going to let me into your club, Director?"
Vance laughed. "Deeks, you've been in the club since Hetty called me about you almost six years ago."
This surprised Deeks and his laughter fell away. "Really?"
Vance nodded. "I didn't understand why the OSP team needed a liaison, or why she was so insistent. But I learned a long time ago not to argue with Henrietta Lange. She told me she had found a partner for Agent Blye and that I would regret it if I said no." Vance laughed and waived a hand around the scene before them. "Clearly she was correct."
Deeks swallowed hard.
Recognizing Deeks's reaction to his words, Vance clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on Deeks, let's get you back to your team. I'm sure they're going to want some answers."
00
"Agent Fischer has been taken into custody by Gibbs's team," Vance finishes explaining to the team. "They will stay in LA for a few days to help with this case."
"And I was following live as much as possible," Hetty says. "I was able to identify Agent Fischer's handler as Colonel William Amparo. He's already been picked up in Washington."
"Fast," Callen comments.
"We have to be fast, Mr. Callen," Hetty says. "We need to get to as many of these people as we can before their organization shuts them down."
"On that note, I need to head back to Washington right away," Vance says. "There will be fallout from this, I am sure, as the magnitude becomes apparent in the next days and weeks."
"Before you leave, I have some paperwork I need to send with you," Hetty says with a smile. "So it can be processed as quickly as possible."
Vance sends a smile towards Deeks. "I wasn't going to leave without it."
000
April 2010
When Vance's secure, personal cell phone rang he knew it could only be a handful of people calling. He lifted the phone from his desk to glance at the caller ID and smiled to himself. When she called, he never knew what he was in for.
"Henrietta," he greeted the woman who, though he was now technically her boss, would always be considered his greatest teacher.
"Leon," she responded warmly.
"How's your team?"
"Oh, they're doing just fine. Coming together nicely. Agent Callen and Hanna's partnership is developing quite well. And I've finally found a partner for Agent Blye."
"Alright. Agent...?"
"Not an agent, Leon. I've sent you the personnel file for Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD. I want him as our new LAPD liaison. I've already gotten LAPD to agree. I just need your approval."
Vance sighed and reached for his computer to pull up the new personnel file. "A liaison? Are you sure?"
"I want him, Leon."
"Background?"
"One of the best undercover operators LAPD has ever seen. Born operator. Thinks fast on his feet. Lots of commendations, not that they mean anything to him. Loyal. Full of integrity."
"You think he'll make a good liaison?"
Hetty laughed over the phone. "Oh, heavens, no. His undercover skills have left him, how can I put this...undesirable at LAPD. I have no unfounded beliefs as to his liaising abilities."
"Then why do you want him?"
"To complete my team. If I ask him to leave LAPD and apply to become an agent he'll turn me down. But a liaison position is a good bridge position to show him he can have a home with us." She paused. "I want him, Leon," she repeated.
Vance had pulled up the personnel file and was scrolling through the information. "Impressive file. They don't give him much of a break between assignments, do they?"
"It is my belief that Mr. Deeks volunteers for his assignments as much as possible."
Vance sighed. "Hetty-"
She cut him off before he could say anything. "My team is out of balance, Leon. They are learning to behave like a team, but they cannot be a true team when they are out of balance. Even if Agent Vail is found alive and able to return to work, the team will not be in balance." She paused. "Kensi is a gifted agent, but she needs someone beside her who will both challenge her and have her back. She needs to learn to trust, and to do so, she needs someone who will never give up on her. Mr. Deeks will be that partner. If we show him stability, he will teach her to trust. She will teach him to be serious and he will teach her to be less so. They will balance each other."
"You sound quite certain of yourself."
"Well, I know enough to know this won't happen overnight. I foresee quite the 'breaking in' period." She laughs. "I'll have my work cut out for me, I'm sure. But in the end I will have matched partners."
"You sound like you're playing match maker," he teases.
Hetty laughs again. "Sometimes that's exactly what my job feels like, Leon," she says. "Compatibility is so important to the longevity of partners. Look at Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna. They've been partners for three years now, and there was a time when we thought Mr. Callen would never be able to trust anyone enough to call them partner."
Vance has to nod to himself, acknowledging Hetty's point. "So, this detective will complete your team?"
"He will. And he'll do great things, Leon. Give him the chance to show you. You'll regret it if you don't."
Vance smiles. "I know better than to say now to your instincts, Henrietta."
"I'll take that as approval then, yes?"
He smiled to himself and shook his head. "Would you have accepted a no?"
He could practically hear her smile through the phone. "Have I ever?"
"Not that I can remember."
"You won't regret this, Leon," she assured.
"I trust your instincts. If you say you need him to complete your team, I'll sign off."
"Thank you," Hetty said. "And I mean it Leon; one day he'll do great things. You just wait and see."
000
AN: I hope this chapter lived up to expectation. It was more challenging that I expected to write, but a fun challenge. I've really enjoyed writing my first really 'plot' based story. I've already started on the epilogue chapter, which I'm hoping to have up a lot faster than the last few chapters.
Thanks for reading!