The Little Red Tattoo
Chapter 11
Mattias was sitting at one of Los Angeles' most expensive restaurants and he was enjoying a serving of New Zealand Rack of Lamb, rare with a bottle of 2009 Opus One from the Napa Valley. The beautiful blonde sitting with him was definitely not his wife or his mistress, she was about an eleven on a scale from one to ten and she cost him a serious amount of money. This exquisite woman, on the other hand, was not enjoying the salmon, evident from the way she was just picking at it with her fork. If you asked them about their dinner so far he would say they were having 'a very pleasant evening', she would beg to differ and was bored stupid. Mattias was casually glancing at his dinner companion's cleavage and running through several scenarios in which he and the cleavage became very intimate, when he noticed a small woman approaching his table. She had a big smile on her face and walked over to him like he was a long lost friend.
He was completely caught off guard but recovered quickly trying not to show his surprise.
"Herta, it is so wonderful to see you again. Please, please join us. The lamb is wonderful tonight." Wiping the sides of his mouth with the napkin, he glanced once more quickly at her cleavage. Hetty did not miss this and wondered if he was cleaning the drool from his mouth or removing some excess lamb.
"Mattias, my old friend, how are you? It has been years since we last saw you here in Los Angeles. If I remember correctly you had a very interesting conversation with a few of my people at that time."
Mattias slowly drank his wine, narrowing his eyes and staring at Hetty over the rim of the glass. She always found a way to best him, no matter what the situation. He remembered that meeting very well.
"Give us a minute my dear." The woman looked at Mattias, when he nodded she stood, looked at Hetty and thought she was more his speed anyway and moved to the bar for a stiff drink or three to help her get through the rest of the night. Hetty then took her seat across from Mattias, locking eyes as she focused on him.
Sam and Paris had entered the restaurant before Hetty and were sitting at a table at the far end of the room watching Mattias and the front door. When they scanned the other tables they confirmed that he was indeed alone, without body guards. Hetty had been advised and knew she could deal with Mattias unimpeded.
"Are we not becoming too old for this type of encounter?"
"What ever do you mean Herta? I am enjoying a wonderful meal with a colleague during my short stay here." More wiping of the mouth as he thought of his 'colleague'.
Hetty smiled "Your short stay here? So you are leaving soon?"
"Yes I am, as soon as my business is concluded. It could be another day or so, we will see how it goes."
"Anything we can assist you with?"
"No, no, I believe I have it under control but thank you for the offer."
"Well should you need to locate someone in particular I can always make a call or two, you never know what we can turn up for you."
Mattias smiled and stood as Hetty was ready to leave the table. Bowing her head slightly Hetty began to step away from the table but imparted one last remark.
"Mattias if your business happen to take you out into the desert, be very careful, there are many dangerous creatures out there, including scorpions."
He froze for a split second then smiled "I will be sure to stay out of the desert then."
"You do that Mattias, you do that."
Hetty turned and walked towards the exit. As she passed Mattias' date sitting at the bar finishing her drink, she touched her arm and said in German "Er ist ganz ihnen." (He's all yours).
Mattias was back in this hotel suite lying under the covers of his king size bed looking out over the city. The view from the room was amazing and he was momentarily lost in it. His meeting with Herta was a bit unnerving but she had that effect on people. How did she know he was in the city let alone find him? She may know about the Scorpion but that was old news now.
Hetty would soon be taken care of and he would have the last laugh. He should contact Sabatino to ensure the new plan was in place but for now he had another more pressing matter that needed attending. Taking a little blue pill he rested his head against the pillows, closed his eyes and waited. The images that were floating around in his mind started his blood flowing.
His dinner companion walked out of the washroom wearing only black nylons that stopped at the top of the thigh, three inch black heels and a pearl necklace. Her hair and make-up were perfect. The color of her lipstick was a vibrant red and her body was flawless. She slowly made her way to the window and stood there looking at him. She was stunning against the back drop of the city.
He couldn't help but stare, taking in every inch of her body. "You are breathtaking." was all he could say. She smiled and stepped toward him.
She could see the lust in his eyes as she cupped his face with her left hand and kissed him gently on the lips. Her right hand moved to the back of his neck and pulled him in closer as the kiss intensified becoming harder and almost painful.
Within seconds Mattias knew something was wrong. His eyes grew wide and his pupils became dilated as the toxin raced through his blood stream paralysing him. His body fell back onto the pillows, a faint outline of red stuck to his lips. He was dead before she made it back to the washroom.
As she left the room she looked back at him on the bed and spat out "Verrater, schwein." (Traitor, pig)
A storm was raging inside of Kensi' head and it was a category 5. This storm was an endless loop of fragmented memories popping up and bombarding her in rapid fire succession and then disappearing.
It was almost like a flood gate had just opened up and an onslaught of images came pouring out running down the chasms of her mind. These pictures were in no particular order and ran the full spectrum of emotions taking her on a wild roller coaster ride through her life. The problem was she had no way of connecting them into a coherent time line. What happened when, recent or from deep in the past. It was like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with thousands of pieces but without a picture as a guide.
Christmas morning in bed – crying; Touché, touché you cannot touch my touché; Come here Monty, come on boy; You have to stay here just a while longer; Black socks, red shorts, white t-shirt; I'm good if you're good; I'm totally over Vegas; Are you in love with your partner; kids and me don't mix; Fern baby girl.
The images kept bouncing off each other, over lapping one another and melting into the next one.
You laugh funny and your eye looks weird; Cronut pastry baby; Top model; Coming home to me felt like hitting the ground; You never say what you really mean, it's so frustrating, how's that for communication; don't be an idiot; Sunshine, princess; Deeks stop! Switch off the lights; Kensilina, Kensi; Yea he has that effect on people; Deeks; Wikipedia; Our thing; Deeks; Bulgogi; I am too your type; Deeks; Bad ass Blye; sometimes they find you.
Sam and Paris left the restaurant about five minutes after Hetty did. The meeting went off without a hitch and as they walked towards the car Sam tried to contact Deeks.
"Funny, his phone is turned off."
Pushing his earwig, Sam connected to Eric back at Ops.
"Eric, can you get a hold of Deeks?"
"No. The phone is off and so are his comms."
"That's not good Eric. How about the agent at the door?"
"Same thing, no response."
"Damn! We're heading over there now."
"I guess Callen is going to be on his own for a little while longer." Paris was already running to the car with Sam.
Inside the hospital room Sabatino disarmed the agent, had him remove his earwig, handcuffed him and told him to sit on the floor. Sabatino then smiled as he pointed the gun at Kensi while looking at the expression on Deeks' face.
"Gun on the floor and kick it over to me. NOW!"
Deeks removed his gun and did as he was told.
"Now the phone and the earwig."
"Nell's gonna be pissed to lose another one of these."
Deeks stepped on the earwig and phone, crushing them under his foot.
Sabatino smiled "Well aren't we a cosy little bunch. How is my favourite patient? I'm sensing she may be taking a turn for the worse."
Deeks just stared him down.
Julia was standing next to Deeks and had no idea what was going on or who this man with a gun was. She definitely didn't know why he wanted to hurt her little girl. Deeks very slowly moved his arm out and slide it in front of Julia; he then began to move her behind him so he was between her and Sabatino.
"Well isn't that very noble of you Deeks, trying to protect Kensi' mother. Bravo."
"Who the hell are…." It hit Deeks mid sentence.
"So you do recognize me. Very good. As you noticed both Kensi and I went through a little change. Mine was more a physical one, hers, wells lets just say she came around to my way of thinking."
"Your way of thinking? You did this to her?" Deeks was speaking slowly through clenched teeth.
"No, I saved her life. She took a round to the head and I had her patched up but she was broken, no memory of anything. We managed to give her a new identity and a new life working for me. Too bad it must end this way, she was very good at what she did. I'm going to miss her….but she's no longer of any use to me."
Sabatino looked at Kensi and he could see that she was trying to wake up, or dreaming or something. Actually Deeks and Julia had noticed as well. Deeks reached under the bed sheet and rubbed her arm to try and soothe her.
"What are you doing?" Sabatino saw the movement and immediately pointed the weapon back at Deeks.
Lifting her arm in both of his hands he showed Sabatino that he was only holding her hand. "I'm just trying to keep her calm."
"It's all very touching how you care for her and I guess fitting that the two of you are together at this moment. I couldn't have scripted this better if I tried. Something like a strange Romeo and Juliet. Only difference is that I kill you both." Julia flinched at the sound of those words and grabbed Deeks' arm.
Kensi was starting to move her head every so slightly almost trying to follow the images and voices as they bounced around in her head.
Little mutant ninja assassins; you guys are too cute. Mostly her; Deeks!; kinda look like I had her, thank you; I trust him with everything; I've killed another house plant; Deeks; your fish likes my fish; what's in the box?; Deeks; Max; Deeks; Max; James Bond, Casino Royale; It's a love story; I wish I had more pictures; Deeks she's my mother;
"What are you talking about?" Deeks had him in a cold, hard stare.
"Did you think I dropped in just to say hello and wish her well? She made a mess of this mission and I'm stuck cleaning it up and that means you and her die." Sabatino's voice had taken a hard edge and his eyes narrowed as he returned the stare from Deeks.
Julia gasped as she listened to what Sabatino was saying. "Oh my God, no…no, you…you can't." She stepped out from behind Deeks to get close to the bed when she bumped the side table. She extended her arm, placed it on the table to help her balance and then moved next to the head of the bed and placed her hand on Kensi' shoulder. Deeks moved closer to Julia still trying to protect her.
More movement from Kensi and several small twitches told them she was fighting to wake up.
Promise me you will never do that. What's that? Get yourself killed; We'll figure it out. We always do; I'll be with you every step of the way; Deeks!; Max?; I will try and lighten-up; that's my girl; best day ever; Deeks; we met at a gym; glad our thing is working out; Deeks; sometimes you find them; you can tell me anything; don't worry Fern; Deeks!; you know what I mean; say something you actually mean; Deeks; I'm not angry; Deeks; Fern; Max; more than anything else in the world; Deeks has been shot; God I hate this part; Deeks; he's with me and he's my partner.
Sabatino knew he had been there too long already. He rarely got his hands dirty; there was always someone that was available to perform these tasks. When faced with actually having to pull the trigger and looking at his targets in the eyes as he did, well he wasn't as tough as he made himself out to be so he needed to get this over with and out of the hospital.
"You know you'll never get away. They will find you no matter where in the world you hide. They will make it their life mission to hunt you down."
"Problem is if I don't fix this I'm dead anyway, so I think I'll take my chances with your friends."
Deeks had to stall him. He had to, it was their only chance.
Sam and Paris were running down the corridor of the hospital toward Kensi' room hoping they weren't too late. Sam noticed that the agent was not at the door and knew that meant trouble. Only one thing to do and that was to stay low, bust into the room and hopefully get a shot at Sabatino. Paris was right behind him and she knew exactly what Sam's tactic was, so she readied herself for the breach that was about to happen.
Sabatino needed a way out of the hospital and from where he was standing there was only one person that could help him with that.
"You, lady, move away from the bed and stand there near the door. You are going to be my ticket out of here. Deeks, you better kiss your girl friend good-bye. Time is up."
"No I'm not leaving. You're going to have to kill me here." Julia was crying but standing her ground. Deeks pushed Julia almost completely behind him and looked at Kensi lying in the bed still trying to wake up.
"Take me instead. When you don't need me any longer, then kill me but leave them alone. She's going to be a vegetable anyway so why bother with her."
Kensi' head was moving now.
Kens; Deeks? Deeks!; I will try and take things more seriously; what's the story between you and him; Deeks; Fern?; Max; I have something to say; Deeks!Deeks...Deeks...
Kensi started to roll her head slowly side to side. Her lips were moving, like she was mouthing words but she had no strength in her voice. Her eyelids began to flutter and Deeks could see the whites of her eyes starting to peek through. Her left hand was twitching and she seemed to be gaining momentum.
Sabatino had the weapon pointed at Deeks but was watching Kensi as she began blinking her eyes rapidly. Her hand flew up in the air and her head lurched forward saying one word over and over again in a low and hushed voice.
"Deeks. Deeks. Deeks."
The sudden action by Kensi caused Sabatino to turn and point the gun at her not sure what was happening. The agent hand cuffed on the floor sensed the confusion in Sabatino and kicked the bed by accident as he was trying to stand up, causing Sabatino to look down and lower the gun barrel. Before Sabatino could figure out what was happening he felt a sharp pain in his chest, pushing him back a step and causing him to squeeze off two shots. Both hit the floor, with the second one just missing the agent's leg.
Completely stunned, Sabatino blinked several times and looked down at his chest to see a knife implanted there. His eyes rolled back into his head and he was dead by the time he hit the ground.
Well we are most done. I have one last chapter to complete.
Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. Very much appreciated.
Have a great weekend - Cheering for Canada in Men's Olympic Hockey! Going for Gold.
