I'm sorry it so long to update. Well here it is.
The Little Red Tattoo
Chapter 9
Deeks had managed to position himself with the chair close to Kensi. The knife had fallen next to her so all he had to do was drop down and try to reach it while still tied to the chair. Easier said then done. He rocked the chair side to side until it fell. He landed with a thud on his shoulder causing him to hit his head as well. He was now close enough to reach the tip of the knife with his fingers. Slowly working his digits on the edge of the blade he was able to capture it and cut the ties. Finally free he knelt down beside Kensi and gingerly turned her over on her back. She was bleeding from the nose and ear and that was a bad sign. Her breathing was low and shallow and her pulse was weak.
He just froze for a second and looked at her. Panic was starting to set in. So he closed his eyes, gave his head a shake and started talking to himself.
"Stay calm, she's going to be fine, she has to be. This is still Kensi, she never quits, never gives up.
"No way can I drive her to the hospital in her condition, she won't make it.
Ok where's her phone then, you gotta have one."
He searched her pockets and finally located it in her bag; he dialled 911 out of habit, not thinking to call Eric first.
"Hello, what is the nature of your emergency?"
"This LAPD Detective Marty Deeks and I need EMS at this location and fast. Female, unconscious, with head trauma. Can you lock onto this phone?"
"Yes Detective and they are being dispatched as we speak. I am also sending police and fire rescue. Stay on the line until they arrive."
He placed the phone on the ground beside her and tried to make her comfortable.
"Stay with me Kensi. Help is on the way. We are going to get you to the hospital."
The bleeding from her ear was a bad sign; chances were she had a brain hemorrhage of some type.
"Come on Fern, you need to fight this. You just can't give up, not now that I found you again. You need to stay with me."
She seemed so peaceful, without the pain etched all over her face. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and held her other hand in his. He wasn't going to let go of her not now.
There was nothing he could do except wait for help to arrive.
As Sabatino neared the area of the warehouse he was inundated with sirens and lights all heading his way. His first instinct was to reach for his gun, gripping it in his hand he scrambled to find a place to pull off the road and get ready for the fight. If they wanted him well then he was going to take as many of them with him as possible.
There was an empty lot up ahead so he drove in and spun the car around ready to return fire. To his amazement all the vehicles drove right by and continued down the road. Breathing a sigh of relief, he put the car back in gear and slowly followed along at a safe distance, not to be seen.
They stopped in front of an old building and rushed inside. Sabatino didn't dare move any closer with the car, so he parked completely out of sight and decided to make his way over on foot. This way he could stay in the shadows and not be seen but observe what was happening. It was no coincidence that the warehouse he was looking for was in the exact same area as this emergency. It had to be Sofia, or Helen, whatever she was going by today. He needed to confirm it was her or that she was involved some how. A hundred things could have happened in there and he needed to know what.
He was close enough now to see what they were doing. Waiting patiently he watched as they brought out a stretcher and all their medical gear and ran inside. The fire department soon determined there was nothing they could do so the left the scene. The policed stayed and basically secured the area as they waited for the paramedics to finish their work.
He couldn't hear what they were saying so he made his way to the side of the building and crouched under a row of windows half of which had been broken. He couldn't see what was happening as the windows were too high, but parts of the conversation were audible and by the way they were yelling instructions and medical terms he knew it wasn't good for the person they were working on.
The words he did make out "clear" and "hit her again" told him that the patient was critical.
Finally after about half an hour they all came out of the building with a female body on the stretcher followed by a man. The person being attended to was strapped in, covered by a blanket and had an oxygen mask on her face which made it very difficult to get a good look at her, but he knew exactly who it was. However the man following, he was easy for Sabatino to identify.
How the hell did he find her and take her down? He is going to pay for this. If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to kill him.
Sabatino was angry beyond words and actually considered charging the group with his gun blazing and taking out all of them, but he knew he only had six rounds left in the clip. That would mean one bullet per person and he wasn't that good a shot. He would bide his time and follow the ambulance to the hospital and then figure out how to handle the situation. If he had to finish the job in the hospital room then so be it.
Quickly he made his way back to the car and waited for the ambulance.
It was now up to him to complete the mission. At least that was settled.
The phone in his pocket vibrated; removing it he answered the call.
"Yes."
"Listen. The venue has been cancelled, called off. You will need to find another solution to the problem. Just get it done and soon."
The line went dead before Sabatino could even think of a reply.
Another complication, that's all he needed now. He slammed the palm of this hand into the steering wheel a couple of times and shouted "DAMN IT!"
As the ambulance and the police sped by, Sabatino checked his rage and pulled his car out on to the road and followed.
Sam was pacing around the waiting area just outside of the surgery rooms. Callen had gone in about an hour ago and it was painful for Sam to just sit around doing nothing. Hetty had arrived at the hospital and was making the calls she needed to make. He didn't know who she was talking to but it was certain things were about to happen.
Sam approached Hetty and just about to ask her if she could find out how Callen was doing when the double doors from the surgery ward opened and out walked a doctor in green scrubs, but they were covered in blood and she looked exhausted.
"Would you be here for a Mr. Callen?"
"Yes we are. How's he doing Doctor?"
"Well it was touch and go for a while there. He needed a lot of blood to stabilize him and get the bleeding under control. The bullet nicked the Femoral Artery enough to make this a very serious procedure.
I'm sorry, I'm Doctor Olivia Holland and I performed the surgery on Mr. Callen."
Extending her hand toward Sam first and then Hetty.
"He was very luck you slowed down the bleeding when you did. He would have bled out in minutes if you weren't there to save him."
"Yes Mr. Callen is very lucky to have a partner such as Mr. Hanna. When can we see him Dr. Holland?"
"He's in recovery now so in about an hour or so. We will move him up to his room and you can speak to him then. There were no complications, but he must rest that leg for a couple of weeks. It is paramount he does nothing strenuous until I have approved it."
'We will ensure he rests properly doctor."
"Well if you don't have any other questions, I'm going to check in on him and make sure all is well. Nice to meet both of you."
"Thank you doctor." Sam called out as she turned and went back through the doors
"G isn't going to be happy sitting around doing nothing for that long. Glad I'm not going to be babysitting him. Speaking of which, has anyone called Paris?"
"Yes Mr. Hanna, she has been advised and she will get here when she can. Until then I will make the necessary arrangements to ensure he is comfortable."
"Are you sure you can keep him in bed for that long?"
"Leave that to me, Mr. Hanna, leave that to me."
Deeks was sitting next to Kensi in the Ambulance holding her hand and saying very little. He was genuinely afraid for the first time in a long time. He knew nothing of what was going on with Kensi and even less on how he could help her. As he sat there he thought about the fight they had last night. Had he inflected these injuries? His face became pale as the idea sank in that he could be the cause. He would never forgive himself if he was.
He closed his eyes and realized that he needed to focus on her now. What ever was required, he was going to do it. No matter what it was and no matter how long it took.
When she went into cardiac arrest back at the warehouse he thought he had lost her again, but they brought her back. Now he was looking at her just lying there not moving, hanging on to life.
"Kensi, you must fight this. A long time ago you said that you did not leave me that you would have fought with every once of your being to stay with me. It's now that time Kensi. It's time to dig in and fight with everything you got.
If you trust me, then you must listen to me. Please don't give up now. I'm here with you and I'm not going anywhere."
He was rubbing her arm and the top of her hand as the ambulance pulled into the hospital emergency bay. Before he knew what was happening, the doors flew open and a doctor and two nurses began asking for her vital signs as the stretcher was unloaded and wheeled down the hall to an awaiting room. A neurosurgeon was already in the room and ready for her. Deeks followed the procession down the hall until they all entered the room. Before he could get near the door a nurse put her hand up and against his chest to stop his motion.
"Sorry, you can't come in. Let us do what we need to do for her. We will advise you once we have the diagnosis. The waiting room is just down the hall." She took one look into his eyes and she could see the worry and the fear. She placed her hand on Deeks' arm and squeezed it gently.
In a very calm and soft voice she said "Don't worry. She's in very good hands. They are the best at what they do. Once we find out what's wrong we will know how to proceed. Have faith. We will do everything we can to get her back to you."
"Ok, thank you. I…I…will just go wait. That's…..That's what I'm going to do."
She gave his arm one more squeeze and with a small smile turned and entered the room with Kensi and the rest of the medical team.
He stood there looking at the door for some time before slowly walking down the corridor and dropping into one of the chairs in the waiting area. He didn't know what to think any more, but he did know they both needed the support of their friends.
He pulled out Kensi' phone and dialled the number for Ops. Eric picked up on the second ring.
"Hello, who is this?"
"It's me Eric. I'm at the hospital with Kensi."
"Deeks, what happened? Is Kensi alright?"
"Not sure. She just past out and then started bleeding from her nose and ear. It's not good Eric, not good at all."
Sabatino drove passed the hospital watching the two vehicles turn into the emergency lane and then disappear under the entrance canopy. There was no use going into the hospital now. Things had to settle down first. He would find a hotel for the night and rest. Tomorrow he would pick-up more ammo and then visit the hospital. If the patient he was interested in had not succumbed to her injuries then he would need to help her along as well as her new boy friend.
The final phase of the mission could then be completed. Another problem he needed to deal with, but one thing at a time.
Sam was sitting in a chair next to the window in Callen's hospital room. Looking out at the evening sky he was thinking how crazy the day had been and it still wasn't over. He really did miss the action and the old team. They were very good together, maybe even one of the best at what they did. He looked over at Callen sleeping and realized just how much he missed working with him. Well he was going to spend some time with him now and help him recover. Paris could use the extra hands when dealing with G especially when he is immobile.
Sam's phone buzzed showing an incoming call.
"Yeah Eric, what you got?"
"Sam, Kensi is hurt and in the hospital, Deeks is with her. They still don't know what's wrong with her. How's Callen?"
"He's fine. Resting, for now. They're in this hospital?"
"No they took them to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Is Hetty still there with you?"
"Not in the room but it's hard to tell, she could still be here, somewhere. When will they know?"
"Deeks is staying put so I need to get one of our phones and an earwig to him so he can stay in touch. Nell said she would go."
"Ok keep me posted and I'll stay with Callen for now but we should post a security detail on Callen and Kensi. Sabatino is still running around loose and we still don't know his game plan."
"On it."
Eric was gone and Sam was staring at G and thinking about Sabatino. They needed to find him but the team was down to one – Sam Hanna and he couldn't do this without help.
He punched in Nell's number and waited. She picked up on the first ring.
"Sam, is very thing alright?"
"Yea, G is sleeping. We need more eyes on this case. Where is your team?"
"They are back at Ops going over the evidence we have so far."
"Send two over to the hospital with Deeks and they can start going over everything with him. They need to visit the location where she was holding Deeks and work back until they find where she was staying. She must have left something behind that will help us."
"I can do that. The hospital is just around the corner so I will be there in a minute. Once I talk to Deeks I will call you."
"Keep your eyes open, Sabatino is still out there."
"Will do."
She touched the pouch beside her that container the a gun for Deeks and her weapon as well. Let Sabatino come she thought, let him come.
As Nell pulled into the parking lot of the hospital she knew it was going to be a long night but they had Kensi back and that brought hope. She made her way through the hospital and found Deeks in the waiting area pacing around the room.
"Hey." Nell's voice was low and soft.
"Nell, I'm so glad you're here."
She moved toward him and hugged him. He looked like he could really use one.
"They haven't said anything Nell. I don't even know how long I've been here. I don't know what's going on."
The look in his eyes told her that he blamed himself for everything and didn't know were to turn.
She took his hand and guided him to one of the chairs in the room. She then sat next to him and continued to hold his hand.
"Deeks, listen to me, she will be fine. They will figure out what's wrong and they will help her. You must believe it."
"I do, I really do but I need them to tell me something."
"Let's get some coffee."
As they got up to go to the vending machine they saw a doctor walking to toward them. She was about five foot ten with blond hair with an athletic build. The surgical cap she was wearing had Taz the Tasmanian Devil from Loony Tunes on it and that got a small smile from Deeks. He liked this doctor already, he just hoped she had good news, but somehow he doubted it.
"Hello I'm Doctor Erika Noslo and I need to speak to you about…I'm sorry I don't believe I know her name."
"It's Kensi Blye and she's my partner and she's my friend and she's been missing for years and we just got her back and now she almost died and I can't let that happen so you need to help her."
Deeks was rambling and he knew it. He just couldn't stop it.
The doctor looked at him and took a breath to slow down the pace.
"Well….Ms. Blye is alive but her condition is very serious. She has a subdural hematoma caused by a bullet fragment logged in her brain. It has been there for some time and it seems to have shifted. We need to operate to remove it. There are serious risks with this type of surgery."
"Doctor, if you don't remove it what happens?" Deeks was looking directly into the doctors blue eyes and demanding the truth without a sugar coating and she felt it.
"She won't survive, this is her only chance. Problem will be her motor skills and her memory; we have no idea what it will do to either."
"She was already suffering from memory lost."
"Well this could wipe everything out. She could become a shell without substance."
"You just said we don't have a choice, you just said she wouldn't survive without this operation, so what do we need to discuss?"
"I need you to understand the possible consequences."
"I have already lived with the possible consequences and the fact that she is here now and you can save her is more than I had two days ago."
"Well we can't wait. The swelling in her brain is getting worse. We need to release the pressure and we must do this quickly. We are prepping her for emergency surgery now. If all goes well it will be a few hours before we know anything."
"Ok doctor, we will be here."
Dr. Noslo nodded her head, turned and walked back the same way she came leaving Deeks and Nell alone.
"She is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country Mr. Deeks."
Hetty was standing behind them with two coffees in her hands.
Thanks again for all the reviews. I will update as soon as I can.
Have a great day.
