The Little Red Tattoo
Chapter 8
Nick had just walked outside of the fallback hotel location hoping to find Kensi there, but she wasn't. He didn't know where she was or even how to contact her. He knew Deeks and the gang were looking for her as well and maybe just maybe they had already caught her. That was certainly a possibility.
Even if she didn't call he still expected her to carry out the hit. She had never let me down before, so there must be a good reason for her not using the phone.
He needed to think so he walked down the street to a local bar and went in for a drink.
Sitting at the bar working on his second scotch he ran through the plan.
The scheduled hit was in two days, Tuesday night, at Hetty's house. She was having a few old and very influential friends over for dinner so the statement would be made loud and clear. He had managed to secure a sniper rifle from one of Mattias' old contacts and it was ready for pick-up tomorrow night. If Helen didn't show he would finish the job and then continue to search for her. If she did show, well then she would complete the hit and he would take care of her. That was the best option but not the likeliest.
Bottom line was this is her last mission regardless of the outcome.
As he drained the amber liquid from the glass he over heard two men sitting next to him complaining about working at a warehouse and how boring it was loading trucks all day. The word warehouse triggered a memory. When they were setting-up the mission they had selected an old abandoned building as a possible hold-up should things get hot. They had discarded it because of location and they never considered it again. But it was definitely worth a look now. He knew the area but not the address and that was better than nothing. Paying the tab he left the bar and headed for the car.
The facial recognition program didn't take long to produce results. It was only a seventy percent match but it was close enough to sound the bell and have Eric start to pay attention.
"Nell. You need to look at this."
She made her way over and knew immediately who it was.
Callen and Sam were sitting down in the bullpen listening to Hetty as she relayed the main points of the conversation she just had with her contact at the CIA. It took some doing but she finally got to talk to him.
"We were correct gentlemen, Sabatino is indeed alive and he has been the one behind the Red Scorpion assassinations. The CIA has been keeping tabs on him for some time now but they swear that they did not know Kensi was involved. It would seem they let him operate and may have even used him, but that is unofficial."
"Yeah, like we can believe anything they say. Hetty, do they know were he is now?"
"Yes they do. He is here in Los Angeles, but they have no idea who the target is or if there is a target."
"Did they give you a name so we can find him?"
"Nick Boatsina is his alias. It is a start and lord knows we have found people with less information than what we have now. So let's get upstairs and find him fast."
They didn't need to be told twice. Both men hit the stairs two at a time and almost ran into Eric as he was coming out the door.
All three of them shouted out "Nick Boatsina" at exactly the same time.
"We are already checking the cameras from the airport now. Give us some time, we'll find him."
"Anything on Deeks? We need to locate the car and find them. He's not dealing with Kensi even though he can't see that."
"Sam, he knew her best so let's hope he can get through to her before she does something regretful." Callen was being optimistic.
Hetty soon arrived and they were all up in Ops listening to Nell and Eric lay out what they found over the last hour or so.
"Deeks and Kensi are in the wind. We found the car at a parking garage but we are still tracking all the other vehicles that exited that garage after the Mustang entered. It's taking some time to follow them all.
Now with Sabatino we have been more successful. The car he picked up was easier to track. He drove to the hotel that Kensi was staying and actually was there the same time Sam and Deeks were inside searching the room."
"So he did send her here on a mission. He knows the plan. He knows all their meeting spots. Do you have a location on him now?" Sam was starting to become annoyed, he wanted this guy and he wanted him bad.
"Sabatino went to another hotel and was in and out in less than a minute so he didn't find what he was looking for. He hasn't return to his car as of yet."
"OK we're going to the car now. Keep an eye on it in case he does go back to it. Sam lets go."
As they headed for the door G couldn't help himself "I guess we need to pick-up a car from the motor pool, some tire trouble with yours?"
"Funny G, real funny."
Callen was laughing all the way down the stairs.
When they reached Sabatino's car they circled the block and parked up the street to wait for him to return.
"G, I don't have a good feeling about this whole thing. Kensi might be so messed up that we may never get her back. What if she kills Deeks? Then what? What if we get into a fire fight? I can't shoot Kensi."
"One step at a time. First let's find her and Deeks and then we can take it from there. This Sabatino is a real piece of work, kidnapping Kensi and then turning her into his own personal assassin. What we haven't asked yet is why he is here? Is he overseeing the hit? Is he part of the plan in an over watch position? He definitely didn't come for a vacation."
"G this guy just gets under my skin. I don't know what to think. Maybe he is here to ensure it gets done."
"Sam, she has become one of the best at what she does, he doesn't need to babysit her. Plus it was very risky for both of them to come back to LA, so this must be someone very important. They are way out of their comfort zone."
As the two agents discussed the case, Sabatino was returning from the bar and he noticed two men just sitting in a parked car, conveniently within eyesight of his vehicle. Well they were about to get a very unpleasant surprise. He drew his gun and began to inch his way toward their car. Sliding along the other parked cars, moving slowly in a crouched position, he neared the vehicle. He decided to take the drive out first so he moved to the street side of the parked cars. That was a mistake. Sam happened to be looking at the side mirror when he saw the movement. "DOWN G" was all he could get out before the windows exploded from the bullets being sprayed into the cabin.
Both men ducked down and covered their head with their hands waiting for the opportunity to move and get out of the car.
Callen reacted first and popped the door open and stepped out to return fire as Sam stayed low waiting for the opportunity to join the fight. Sabatino was on the pavement and rolled back toward the sidewalk and fired two rounds low toward Callen. The first one hit the back of the car but the second one found its mark and ripped into his left leg. Callen screamed and dropped to the ground.
"G! Are you hit?" Sam was getting out of the car and looking for the shooter. He ran around to the back of the vehicle to place himself between Callen and gunman. As he did he saw a man running down the street and then disappear behind a row of buildings.
"G talk to me. Where are you hit?"
"Leg. It's bleeding badly. May have hit an artery."
"ERIC. Eric. Send help now. G's been shot and Sabatino is on foot and heading north."
"On it."
"G I'm going to stop the blood flow."
Removing his belt, Sam tightened it at the top of Callen's thigh slowing down the bleeding.
"Eric, where are they? Callen needs to get to the hospital fast or he is going to bleed out."
"They're about a minute out. Hang on."
"Seriously G, you're not here for more than a few hours and you go and get yourself shot."
"Lucky me, huh."
Sam was trying to keep him engaged in the conversation but he could see that G was going into shock. He had lost too much blood already and needed surgery fast. The sirens of the emergency vehicles could be heard getting closer as Sam made sure the tourniquet was tight.
If anything happened to Callen, Sam was going to make it his life's mission to hunt down and eradicate that piece of shit called Sabatino from the world.
Stumbling as he ran Sabatino was glad to get away with his life. He didn't know how they saw him, but they did. Well he shot one of them and that provided him with the opportunity to escape. He needed another car to get to that warehouse. Making his way down the street he found an old Chevy Impala with the doors unlocked. He climbed in and within a minute he was driving away. He heard the sirens off in the distance growing weaker as he drove. At least they are out of the way for now and he can concentrate on the task at hand.
As he was navigating the streets of LA his phone rang.
"Yes."
"Do you have a status report for me?"
It was Mattias looking for reassurances that the deed would get done.
"A small adjustment was required; however everything is still on track."
"Good. I am glad to hear this."
"Not to worry, it will get done."
Hearing this Mattias ended the call.
Sabatino tossed the phone on the seat beside him and focused on the road in front of him.
This gun fight didn't help matters at all. They had found him too fast. Frustrated, he slapped the steering wheel hard and thought she turned this whole mission into a cluster f...What the hell? The car had just bounced in and out of a pot hole, jarring his mind from Kensi.
Refocusing on the issue at hand, he knew that the heat is now going to be turned way up, making this operation even more difficult to carry out. Fact was more police and more agents would be out looking for him as well.
Heat or no heat, this hit was going to happen. If he failed, he was a dead man.
Kensi walked around Deeks tapping the blade of the knife in her palm. She wanted answers from him. He had thrown her for a loop last night and she wasn't happy with that. She likes things in their place, she needed order.
As Kensi walked around him she smiled to herself and thought – he's not too bad. Could use a hair cut, but not bad at all. Wouldn't mind a little...Whoa! What the hell am I thinking? Concentrate woman and keep those hormones in check.
By the time she was facing him again Kensi had become all business and her face showed it.
"Remember the rules and you will be fine. This knife has become a problem for me and I need to resolve this."
"Kensi just listen to me. The knife is just the start; you need to believe that somehow you became this Helen person. It's not who you really are." He struggled a little against the restrains.
Deeks was getting a little agitated being strapped to the chair. Old horrible memories that had been buried deep years ago were starting to bubble to the surface. With every minute that past a new bubble would make its way to the top and burst causing him to regress into that black hole. It was blackness so profound that the only light that could once penetrate it was now the very cause of it. He needed to focus on that light regardless, or he wouldn't survive. He had to believe with his entire soul that she was going to come back to him. That he would get her back. That she would be Kensi Blye again. His Kensi, his Fern.
His mental focus was on the Kensi he had been with the night before she went to Afghanistan. Her beauty, her smile, her eyes, her love for donuts. His Kensi and his anchor.
She looked into his eyes and noticed he was lost, a million miles away. For just a spilt second she saw something familiar in those eyes. Something she felt to her core. It froze her in place and yet began a small fire in the pit of her stomach.
Again he had managed to stun and confuse her, something no man had ever done to her before.
A small pulse of pain in her head brought her back to reality and who she was today.
So she bent over, held his jaw with her left hand and placed her face about two inches away from his.
"Deeks,….Deeks. Focus on me. You zoned out there for a minute."
Being this close to him she got a whiff of his scent again. It was the same fragrance she smelled last night when she was kissing me. It reminded her of something but she still couldn't put her finger on it. What she did know was that it made her feel at ease and calm, maybe even safe. Maybe that was why she had no qualms about going home with him in the first place. Strange she had never experienced this before with any one else.
"Who…"
She trailed off and closed her eyes, wincing as the pain blasted through her head. This time it wasn't good she thought to herself. But she refused to let it stop her from finding out the truth.
Pressing on, Kensi took a drink of water as the level of pain began to drop.
She had brought him out of his trance long enough for him to look at her face.
Deeks watched with concern as she tried to deal with the battle going on in her head.
He forced himself to concentrate on her. She seemed in so much pain at times, but why?
What was the cause?
"Ok, let's try this again. Who do you think I am and how did you get this knife?"
"I don't think, I know. You are Kensi Marie Blye and we were partners when we both worked at NCIS."
She moved back and stared at him. "Me and you, together? Really?"
"Yea. Why is that so hard to believe?"
She raised her eyebrows and rolled her head back and forth pondering the idea of the two of them together. A very small smile formed on her face but it was short lived as more pain pounded inside her head.
Deeks couldn't see this as her back was to him.
"Ok how about Sam or Callen, do you remember them?"
She shook her head.
"Eric then, well you must remember Nell. The two of you were good friends."
Another shake of the head.
"Still no? How about Hetty then?"
That seemed to have hit a nerve as Kensi snapped her head around and looked right at Deeks.
Now her mind began to work in a totally different direction. The target was someone she supposedly had history with. How could that be true?
"Oh sure, her you remember, me not so much."
"Stop the babble. How am I connected to Hetty? She's not my mother is she?"
Deeks couldn't help but laugh a little at the thought. "No… not a chance of that. She was our boss, ran the operation. How do you remember her?"
Kensi' eyes rolled and her head twisted as a new bolt of pain gripped her. She staggered a little as she moved toward him.
Deeks was staring at Kensi and he could tell something was now seriously wrong. She didn't look well at all. Her skin had become pale and she was having a very hard time staying focused. Yet she continued with the questions. God she was stubborn.
"Tell me again about this knife." Her words were starting to slur now.
She held up the knife and displayed it in front of his face. Her movements were choppy and erratic, like she was drunk. Her thought process was bouncing around and disconnected.
"I told you it was your dad's knife. He gave it to you and you gave it me before you were deployed to Afghanistan. But I thought we were talking about Hetty?"
He paused for a second becoming very concerned. She needed him now and he realized this.
"Kensi, you're not well. Sit down and have some more water, you look like you're about to pass out."
"Stop changing the subject. I'm fine, just…" at that point her eyes rolled back into her head and she crumpled onto the concrete floor.
"Kensi! Kensi! Talk to me. Say something." Not getting any response what so ever he started to bounce the chair towards to her motionless body lying on the floor. He needed to get to the knife and free himself, if he didn't she was going to die.
