The Little Red Tattoo

Chapter 3

California – September 28, 2017

The drive along the coast was becoming quite enjoyable. Too bad she couldn't spend more time here, she found California very relaxing and refreshingly different from her usual hit locations. Nice as it was she had a job to do and that meant someone was going to die. That's just the way it was.

It was time to contact her handler and confirm the mission was still a go.

Dialling the number on her satellite phone, she waited for the connection.

On the other end Sabatino picked up on the first ring.

"Everything still on schedule?"
"Yes it is. Can I ask you why this target?"
"Let's just say it was a special request from a friend. This one is very personal and he requested you specifically. This is a statement he needs to make."
"Fine, as long as the money is secure."
"Have I ever let you down before?"

"No you have been good to me so far, let's keep it that way."

"All business, all the time. You never change. One day you and I need to go out for a drink and a little fun."

"I told you, I don't drink. It gives me headaches. Anything else?"

"Don't miss."

She rolled her eyes and ended the call.

Me. Miss. Really? Is he going soft in the head? She thought.

That drink is never going to happen either. From the first time I met him, he's been trying to get into my pants.

Actually, that's not true. He was very good to me when I was recovering. He did help me with my memory loss. Whatever, he's still not getting in there.

She needed to procure the weapons for the hit. So LA was the next stop.


Sabatino was sitting in his office in Istanbul having a beer and thinking about the phone call he just had. Life is good, yes it is, very good. He thought to himself and smiled.

He was going by Nick Boatsina now. With a little a nip here a tuck there along with coloring his hair and his transformation was complete. New papers and documentation allowed him to move around Europe and the Middle East without issue. He purposely stayed out of the USA, no need to tempt fate. His CIA training and contacts had served him well and he had made the most of it. His Pièce de résistance was turning the NCIS agent into one of the best assassins on this side of the world. It was really dumb luck but he would take it and call it his own. Not only has it made him a lot of money, but the power he now has, has gained him access into the inner circles of many of the worlds corrupt governments.

He leaned back, took another sip of beer and thought about the events that turned one of the best NCIS agents into his own personal killing machine.

Yes, he remembers that day over three years ago very well;

The plan was working to perfection. The false intel he had provided had lured both Granger and Blye into the perfect spot for the ambush. The idea was to kill Blye and capture Granger and then torture him for his knowledge. However not everything goes as planned.

He had managed to split up Granger and Blye, lucky they still trusted him at that time, so they went along with it. But the members of his team became impatient and opened fire too soon. Granger was hit and it looked bad. He would not have made the trip to the border of Pakistan. So they decided to leave him behind to bleed out in the desert.

Kensi' injury was different. She had taken one in the leg and one to the head, but it was not lethal. The bullet had fragmented going through her helmet and lodged inside her skull. She was unconscious but the bleeding was controllable and she could be transported. The problem he had was convincing the rest of the team she had value and worth saving. It took a serious bit of talking, but he did it.

Taking another drink from the bottle and smiling, he recalled the next few months after they moved her into Pakistan.

When they arrived at the compound a doctor examined her and repaired the leg but he couldn't do anything about the head wound. The bullet fragment was too deep to dig out without causing permanent brain damage or killing her. They decided it was best to leave it were it was. Scar tissue would form around it and since there was no infection, the fragment stayed. They monitored her closely and waited for her to come out of the coma. Within several days she was a wake and seemingly fine. When questioned, they discovered she was suffering from a form of retrograde amnesia. Sabatino quickly decided that if she didn't have memories to draw from he would provide them to her. He would build her from the ground up, with a little help from several mind altering drugs used by the CIA. He still had access to these drugs and in the right doses at the right times, he could have her remember what ever he wanted, to a point. So the work began with daily doses of drugs followed by intense mind re-programming techniques.

The CIA training was finally paying off and it was for a more personal reason. Too bad it was on someone he actually liked. But business was business.

He had his people work on her, always remaining in the shadows so she couldn't see him. He didn't want to trigger a memory so he waited until the treatment was complete before he introduced himself.

Some days they needed to break her down to nothing but a sobbing bag of bones, keeping her from sleep and feeding her very little. Yelling at her, slapping her to keep her awake and focused.

Other days they treated her like a real human being, actually allowing her to take a shower, sleep and eat properly. Soon she had no idea what was coming next so she learned to do what they wanted, when they wanted it and everything would be fine.

One problem did arise; she became prone to headaches that became almost debilitating. Through a series of trial and errors with various narcotics they found one that helped with the pain and did not react with the other drugs being pumped into her system. This cocktail kept her functioning and controllable all at the same time. It helped that she soon believed everything being drilled into her. So as long as the pills kept her balanced she worked hard to get into shape, develop muscles and hone her abilities to kill. Her skill with guns, knives, explosives and hand to hand combat became second to none. She could easily take on any of the men and soon learned to become vicious and ruthless, never showing any compassion.

When the time came to meet the new and improved Kensi Blye, actually it was now Sofia Bezarra, he walked into her room to find her playing with an Indian Red Scorpion. She was letting it walk along her arm, almost darning it to sting her. Sabatino watched in silence and it was then he realized how much she had changed and how cold she had become.

The tattoo of the red scorpion was his idea and it seemed fitting. He needed to give her a code name and Red Scorpion was going to be it. She soon came to love the meaning of it and how she could relate to the animal. Once the tattoo was done, her transformation was complete.

He became her handler and controlled the money, the missions they took and all the details including the documents and travel arrangements. They never travelled together, too risky and she would not allow it.

When he said that she turned cold what he meant was she was approaching Nuclear Winter cold. Her memory was gone but so was her heart and her eyes had turned cold. She could slit your throat, watch you bleed out on the floor and then go wash her hands and sit down to eat lunch with the same knife. Not really what he was hoping for, but you get what you get when you try and re-build someone's mind with drugs and torture.

Sabatino stood up and walked over to the window looking out onto the street finishing his thought. He put the empty beer bottle into the trash. Reaching for the bottle of Cognac, he poured himself a snifter and continued to look out the window. Fun as it was, everything must come to an end. It was a shame he was going to lose a very good operative and one hell of a money maker, but he was being paid a very large sum of money to take out Lange and then Blye. His motto was "business is business", plain and simple.

No loose ends, Kensi would be dead so no way any of this was coming back to him, all and all it was a nice way to retire. He would take the money she had been hoarding from her completed missions, add it to his nest egg and he would be set for life.

She trusted him implicitly, making this too easy. As a smile grew across his face, he drained the glass of its amber liquid thinking once again, Life is good, yes it is, very good.


Los Angeles, January 7, 2015

It was his birthday and one year ago today he was half way around the world looking for the one person he cares about the most in his life. He didn't find her and he still hasn't. For the last year the entire team monitored every bit of information that came out of Afghanistan and the surrounding countries and still nothing. Kensi had disappeared completely. No chatter on any of the networks, nothing, nothing, nothing. How was that even possible? Was she really dead?

Her official status was MIA and the search for Kensi slowed down over the months. Deeks was finally assigned a new partner and the team moved forward but it just wasn't the same. All the banter was gone. Deeks definitely wasn't the same in any way, how could he be. Callen and Sam basically did their jobs everyday but they too didn't share the same affinity with the work or the rest of the team. They all had lost agents before, they all had seen death and suffered under its grip, but this was different, this was Kensi and she wasn't just family she was so much more to them.

Her apartment was eventually let go and Deeks took care of all the contents. Her status at OPS was terminated, no matter how much Deeks and the rest of the team protested to Hetty, it had to be done.

Granger had made a full recovery and still monitored the case but the trail had grown cold so he too moved on working on other cases and missions.

It was eight in the morning and Deeks was in early cleaning up a few items, he looked over at the desk that once belonged to his partner, a beautiful brunette with mismatched eyes and a smile that could steal your heart. At that moment he decided that he couldn't do this anymore. In order to survive he needed to move on. Being surrounded all day, everyday by things that constantly reminded him of Kensi was now unbearable.

So he pushed his chair back, stood up and walked right over to Hetty.

"Can I come in?"

"Please do Mr. Deeks. What is on your mind?"

"I am resigning my position as LAPD Liaison with NCIS. I just can't be here any longer, Hetty. I'm sorry."

"I see. Have you informed LAPD of your decision?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to tell you and then the rest of the team first before I did anything else."

Deeks was working hard to hold those tears at bay but it was becoming increasing more and more difficult with every word he spoke.

Looking up at her Deeks noticed an expression on her face he had rarely seen. She was emotional and she couldn't or wouldn't hide it.

"She meant,… means too much to me, Hetty. I just can't be here day in and day out and not think about her all the time. I can't function any more at the level you need me to. My new partner is great, but I don't want to be the one responsible for her getting hurt because I was focused on someone… something else. I really couldn't live with myself."

"Yes I know Mr. Deeks. You must do what feels right. If this is your final decision I must say it has been a real pleasure and an honour working with you. I am truly sorry about Kensi. Maybe one day we will be able to find closure. One day soon I hope. Will you be telling the others today?"

"Yes, I'm going to do that now. I have a few active cases I will turn over and then I'm leaving. I still have all of Kensi' stuff from her apartment, at my place and I want to go through it and then put it in storage. "

Standing she walked around her desk and embraced Deeks. He was taken aback for a moment but he returned the sentiment.

"If you ever need anything Marty, please do not hesitate to call me. You have my numbers. Now go and tell the team and don't be a stranger, you can always stop by and say hello."

"Thank you Hetty for everything you have done for me and for Kensi."

Clenching his teeth to help hold back the tears he turned and walked back to the bullpen to tell the others.

Nell and Eric were coming down the stairs when she looked at Deeks she knew immediately what was happening. She had sensed something brewing over the last few months but prayed she was wrong.

"Oh my God you are leaving aren't you?" She continued to walk down the stairs toward him.

"Wait… What?" Eric was still trying to get up to speed on what was happening. When he watched as she gave Deeks a big hug, burying her face in his chest, he knew as well the day had come.

"Yeah, it's time I left. I'm not doing anyone any good here the way I am."

"Promise to take care of your self. Kensi always said that you kept your promises."

"Ok, I will be careful, I promise." Deeks was still holding her as he spoke.

Eric made his way down and waited to say good-bye. As he was patting Deeks on the shoulder the other members of the team came walking in and viewed the scene before them.

Deeks' new partner Janet Jones gave Sam and Callen an incredulous look before settling her green eyes on her soon to be ex-partner.

"Something we should know Deeks?" G spoke first but knew what as happening.

"I'm moving back to LAPD." No jokes or smart replies, this wasn't the time.

"Hetty know?" Sam asked.

"Yeah I just spoke to her."
"Well I hope it wasn't anything I said or did." Janet was serious and a little concerned she didn't meet expectations.

"No not at all, Jones. You are great at what you do. My time here is done, that's all."

She walked over and hugged him, kissing him on the cheek she said "I'm going to miss you, you're a good agent and a good partner."

"I'm not going to kiss you Deeks so don't get excited. But I am going to miss you around here. She's right, you are a good agent. If you ever get sick of LAPD you know where you can come." Callen grabbed his hand and pulled him into a man-hug slapping his back a couple of times.

"What can I say but thanks. You ever need anything you call me, I mean it Deeks, you're a good man, be safe." Sam shook his hand and squeezed his shoulder before backing away and giving Deeks a little space.

"I don't know what to say? I think that's a first. You're my family and this just became way harder than I believed it could be." Deeks was becoming emotional; it felt like what was left of his heart was breaking into a million pieces. First Kensi and now leaving the only real family he had know, was just too much for him.

"I'm…. yeah….well…going to clean my desk out." He was looking around, like he was lost and running his hands through his hair scratching the back of his head. He was frozen where he stood.

Nell took his hand "Come on, I'll help you with your things." She walked him away from the group and to his desk like a mother would lead her five year old child. The others just watched knowing this was the beginning of something they had never experienced before. Both Kensi and Deeks would not be part of the team. A strange new world was upon them. But how good a world would it be?


Thank you so much for the great reviews. I'm so glad your enjoying the story. This could go in couple of directions so I'm struggling with it.

Please stay tuned, it should be fun.