KING'S RETURN
/Chapter 3/
The 'distribution' of assignments did not set well with Kensi or David, and both protested vehemently only to be told in no uncertain terms that they were lucky to not be benched, as they were both to "close" to the case and that neither agency was willing to risk the case, or of finding the detective and agent, because either of the missing men's partners had "lost it" on a suspect.
"Of course I'm close to the case, it's my partner, damn it! Doesn't mean I can't do my job," Kensi ranted as she and David slid into her car. "Not like they're not just as close to it...Deeks is part of the team."
David nodded, sharing in Kensi's frustration at being relegated to the side lines of the investigation into their partners' abductions, "Same here, what's the point of us just standing around while LAPD tows the van and does the forensics..."
Kensi bobbed her head in agreement, "Well, they can't keep us out of the case for long. It will take us a few hours—tops, to find out what we already know; that these guys are too good to have left any evidence behind."
They soon pulled up the crime scene to inspect the abandoned van.
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Sam and Callen pulled up in front of a rather dilapidated looking, single story house with peeling and faded paint that has long since lost its original color and now just sported a sickly gray shade.
The two agents sat for a moment taking in the house and surrounding area...noting that there was no vehicle parked in front of the house.
"Doesn't look like Demarco's home at the moment," Callen commented.
"Give us a chance to search...see if we can find who he's working for, a two bit hood isn't going to graduate to kidnapping without help," Sam commented.
The men left the SUV and cautiously made their way to the house and were soon inside; which was just as ill-kept and dirty as the outside.
"No computer...no phone..." Sam groused as he looked around the living room.
They searched the house quickly, finding a map of the Seventh Street pier area sitting on the kitchen table; obvious escape routes mapped out to account for morning LA traffic patterns; plus several photos of agent Granger, both on the job an off duty from the manner of dress depicted in the pictures.
"This definitely wasn't random...they've been watching him for a while," Sam said as he handed a few pictures to Callen.
"We need to get LAPD to watch the house, pick up Pomeroy when he shows back up at the house," Callen said as he pulled his cell, "I'm gonna have Eric look into Pomeroy's record, find out who he did time with...see if we can track down any of his associates..."
They both headed back towards the SUV, Callen speaking with Eric while Sam called the LAPD.
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In an equally run down area of LA, a few miles away, Don and Megan were pulling up in front of an equally disreputable establishment..."Tootsie's Bar". They got out of the car and gave their surroundings the same cautious scrutiny Sam and Callen gave theirs; noting half the dirty store fronts sporting 'Closed' or 'Out of Business' signs.
They took the stairs to the second floor over the bar where the suspect was last known to have an address in one of the rooms for let. A quick knock got no response so the agents entered the premises, mirroring Sam and Callen as they searched the small room; and coming up with only a few photos of Colby.
"I wonder how long they've been watching him," Megan asked.
Looking at the pictures, Don replied tightly, "This one...it was three weeks ago...at the crime scene over on Wilshire..."
"This is looking more and more like it is professional and not revenge motivated...it's too thorough, to well thought out and coordinated," Megan mused aloud.
"Definitely not something this guy or Pomeroy could pull off alone, they have to working for someone," Don said. "We gotta find one of these guys; and soon."
Deciding to check for their suspect in the bar they made their way inside; showing itself to be as run-down on the inside as it was on the outside...the area was shadowed, the smoke heavy and the music tinny from the old juke box.
Being middy there were few patrons...a few were at the bar and several more were towards the back at the pool tables; and all of them looked at the agents with open suspicion and disdain.
The greasy, over-weight bar tender looked at the approaching agents with disinterest, asking pointedly, "You two lost?"
"Not really," Don said, flipping open his badge.
Without seeing behind them, Don and Megan could feel the atmosphere in the bar change, become more tense.
The bar tender snorted, "Feds? What the hell do the feds want around here?"
"This man," Megan said, pulling up the suspects picture on her cell phone, "we need to speak to him; you happen to know where he might be?"
"Do I look like his keeper...her rents a room upstairs; usually pays on time...hasn't given me any trouble since he's been here," the man groused, "that's all I need to know about him."
"When was the last time you saw him." Don pressed.
"Two days ago, maybe...he and his buddies were in here all holed up at the corner table," the man shrugged indifferently.
"Was he with this man," Megan held up her phone again, this time with Pomeroy's photo.
"Yeah, guess it looks like one of them," the bar tender replied.
"You guess...well, do you know who else was with him," Don prodded, growing impatient with the man's reticence.
"Some other guy, kid really, don't know, never seen him 'round before," the bartender answered casually.
"And none of them have been back since the last time you saw them," Don asked impatiently.
"I already told ya', ain't seem any of 'em in two days..." the bartender shot back.
With a frustrated sigh, Don turned towards Megan as he ran a hand through his short hair..."Hope the others are having better luck."
Megan nodded, pulling a card from her pocket, "Do yourself a favor and give us a call the next time you see any of the three men."
The bartender took the card with a smirk, then shifted his gaze to the opening front door, nodding towards the door he said, "Do ya' one better...there's the kid..."
Quickly following the bartenders gaze, Don and Megan took in the 'kid' that had just come through the door; he stopped short when he noted the stares of the bartender and the two strangers at the bar. No wasting the time to determine friend or foe, the kid took off, followed by the two agents.
The chase was short lived, as the kid took a blind alley and was soon up against a wall, "What, I ain't done nothin'...what do you want..."
"I want to know who you and your two friends are working for..." Don demanded, holding up his cell and flipping through the pictures of the other two suspects. "...and why you kidnapped a federal agent and a police officer?"
The kid's eyebrows nearly climbed off his forehead in surprise and fear, "Fed...that guy was a fed? Hey man I didn't know that..."
"But knew that the other man was a cop...he identified himself...you and your friends had no problem kidnapping him," Megan supplied.
"Man, it was supposed to be an easy job...nab the guy and keep him holed up until the buy..." the kid grumbled.
"Buy...what the hell are you talking about...buy," Don demanded angrily, whirling the cuffed kid around to face him.
"The guy that Pomeroy hooked up with...he said it was ultimate job...that his payoff would set him up for life..." the kid babbled.
"By kidnapping and what...selling, a federal agent," Don exclaimed, sharing a startled look with Megan.
"Colby has a lot of enemies that would pay a fortune to get a hold of him..." Megan commented worriedly.
"What about the other guy...the cop...why did you take him," Don asked.
The kid shrugged, "He wasn't part of the plan...just kinda came up on us...but when King saw him he seemed to recognize him and said to take him; he's the one paying, so we tossed him in the back with the other one."
The agents exchanged worried glances before hustling the kid to the SUV. Megan putt a call in to Eric to have the NCIS team meet them at the FBI.
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Kensi and David stood around the LAPD forensics garage with palpable agitation as they waited for the CS techs to finish processing the car.
"Hey, think I found something," one of the techs said suddenly, holding up a single, silver bangle; a small piece of masking tape was folded over it with two works printed on it..."SOON LORI"
"Lori, whose Lori..." David asked, musing, "Do you think he's going after someone else?"
Kensi felt she should know what the cryptic message meant...something about the bangle and the name Lori was sending was familiar, just beyond her grasp.
"Maybe, but until we can identify who Pomeroy and Donahue are working for we have no idea who this Lori is," Kensi said.
Her cell ringing got their attention, "Hey Eric, what's up?"
She listened for a moment before responding, "We're on our way."
"What's up," David asked.
"Don and Megan caught one of the unidentified suspects coming into the bar at Donahue's place, they're bringing him in," Kensi reported. "We're meeting them at the FBI."
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A/N: sorry not Deeks or Colby in this one...have to get those pesky "case" details in there, too...besides I want a little of the two teams trying to work together...I'm trying to find a way to work in a little scene between David and Sam...I want Sam to be all over David for losing faith in his partner and giving him hell for not realizing everything Colby sacrificed during his "spy" stint. I'm sure of all the character's, Sam would understand Colby's dedication the best.