Interagency Cooperation
Chapter 6
A/N: really hope it's not seeming too convoluted...just remember the team is going through all this to ultimately retrieve deadly pathogens and catch some terrorists...
Summary: the teams are now back together (more or less) and the plan goes forward...but there are consequences to an Op that is so quickly put into play, variables that just cannot be controlled...now one agent my pay with their life to save the team(s) and the Op...
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
"Now, see, that wasn't so hard; was it commander," Cooper said.
"You bastard..." David ground out angrily, his arm held 'comfortingly' around his secretary.
Cooper just shrugged his shoulders, looking at his watch then at Deeks, "It's still couple of hours, but go ahead and give your buddies a call; I want them here now...see what they got and what kind of help the commander is gonna be...anything to make this easier."
"Uh, yeah, sure...I'll give 'em a call now..." Deeks said, moving off towards the kitchen to make the call, "Hey, Stryker...Deeks, you and your man ready...Cooper wants to meet up now...yeah sure, no problem; see you in thirty,"
Deeks came back out into the living room, "Gonna pick em up and get them back here within the hour..." looking over at the 'hostages' he gave a leer and a wink, "don't have too much fun while I'm gone..."
Franks and Cooper just chuckled as Deeks went out the door, when he had slid into the seat of his car he said, "I don't like leaving them alone in there..."
"Don't worry, they won't hurt the commander, they need him alive," Hetty interjected.
"Yeah, but they don't need Kensi..." he stated.
A sudden sniffle came over the earwigs and a quiet but determined Kensi said, "Its okay commander, I'm alright...just focus on what you need to do..."
No one commented, knowing that it was a moment between partners...
Deeks face was pulled into a grimace as he pulled his hands down a tired face, and after another moment, gave a tired sigh, "I'll be back as soon as possible...try not to hurt anybody while I'm gone..."
Deeks pulled into the same gas station that Callen and Don had pulled into hours earlier, he noted the van but made no move to leave the car or acknowledge the other agents.
Through the windshield, Callen took in his NCIS liaison officer; noting the tight, exhausted look on the detectives face and reminded himself that while NCIS and the FBI had only been on this case for a few days, Deeks had been undercover for almost two months...and he looked it.
"How ya' holding up Deeks?" Callen asked.
"I'm fine..." Deeks said automatically.
"Sure you are..." Callen shot back as he glanced at the monitor, seeing that, for now, both the agents were being left alone at the house; before turning to look through the windshield to the car that held the detective, "we have eyes on Kensi and David...they're both okay...Cooper's leaving them both alone."
With a long drawn out sigh, Deeks rubbed his hands down his face, "Thanks Callen."
"It'll be over soon..." Callen reminded the agent.
"I know..."
Less than twenty minutes later, Sam and Colby pulled up next to Deeks.
"Hey Sam...got a plan..." Deeks asked without preamble.
"Right here," the man from the passenger seat said, waving rolled up papers.
"Deeks this is Agent Colby Granger, Sinclair's partner; Granger...Marty Deeks..." Sam said as way of introductions.
The two men nodded at one and other.
"Hope you got something good for Cooper, he's getting edgier with it being less than forty-eight hours to his buy with Amal Hamat and he doesn't have all the merchandise secured," Deeks supplied.
"I think this will make him happy...got it all mapped out..." Sam replied.
"Let's go..." Deeks said, pulling out of the parking lot, followed by Sam and Colby.
In the van the two lead agents watched, grim faced, as their agents drove off into the 'lion's den'.
"Have I said lately how much I hate this," Callen grumbled.
In Ops, Hetty gave a brief smile, knowing how much her lead agent hated being on the perimeter of an op, "Not for at least thirty or forty minutes...you and Agent Epps need to get to the base and make sure everything is ready for tonight..."
..NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
Cooper stood watching from the front porch as Deeks pulled in and exited his car, followed by Sam and Colby. As the men got out of their cars, Cooper unobtrusively snapped their photo's then pressed 'send'; pocketing the phone as the men approached the porch.
"Deeks," Cooper acknowledged with a nod, though his eyes never left the two newcomers, "this Stryker...?"
"That'd be me...you Cooper," Sam said, stopping at the bottom of the steps.
"That would be me," Cooper responded, his eyes moving to rest on Colby, an odd looked passing over his face, "...this, your man...?"
Nodding towards Colby, he answered, "George Grafton, special -forces...can get you into anything from an enemy bunker to a locked storage facility...and I have a man on base that can get us in and out, no questions asked as long as you got the money."
Suspicious, Cooper held up a hand, "Hold it...you said you only had one man available..."
"Yeah, one man to for the op...this other guy is just a gate keeper...making sure no one questions a van pulling in with you on base..." Sam explained impatiently, "You wanted in...I got you a way in; you didn't exactly give us any margin for error on this..."
Cooper eyed the two men guardedly for a moment before replying coolly, "I didn't agree to that...I'm only going on Deeks word that you can be trusted..."
Sam stopped and raised his hand for Colby to stop also, Deeks turned from his place on the stairs, "Hold up man...what's with the attitude...Deeks did us a good turn...we're helping you out here; you think you can pull this off without us...fine..."
Turning to Colby, he motioned for him to get back in the car...the best way to sell a cover was to act as though you were ready to walk away from it...
After a brief, but intense moment, Cooper yelled to Sam, "Stop! Fine, if you're half as good as Deeks says we'll get along just fine..."
"Hell, I'm twice as good," Sam boasted, as he walked up the steps past Deeks and into the house.
Once they were all back in the living room Cooper was immediately all business, "Commander Davis, if you would be so kind as to follow these two gentlemen into the dining room...they might have some questions for you..."
Exchanging a quick look with Kensi, David squeezed her shoulder and got up to do as he was instructed.
"Frank, you keep the little lady company, while Deeks and I work out some details..." Cooper directed, motioning for Deeks to follow him back out to the porch.
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
"Have a seat commander," Sam directed, while Colby spread the base schematics out on the table.
David sat down quietly, while Sam peered out the swinging door to the living room to see Deeks and Cooper move off. When Sam gave Colby a brief nod, Colby turned to his partner; nodding to his injuries, "You alright partner?"
"Just a few love taps..." David replied, standing to look at the schematics and refocusing his partners attentions, "so how's this going down?"
For the next several minutes Colby and Sam laid out the path through the base and the plans for getting the 'delivery system' off the base.
"Remember, this part of the operation is small fry...the target is the terrorists Cooper plans to sell all this too," Sam reminded the agents. "We're gonna get in and get out..."
The other two men nodded in agreement.
Going to stand near the closed door Sam looked to the two agents with a wink and said, "Thank you commander, you've been most helpful..."
"Go to hell you traitor...I'm only doing this to help Miss Smith..." David replied angrily.
As Colby rolled up the schematics, Sam grabbed David by the arm and pushed him back out the door and towards the couch, "At the end of the day the why doesn't matter...only the end result..."
David just glowered at the two men...
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
Deeks followed Cooper out to the front porch, and stood with his hands in his pocket, eying the other man warily. Cooper just leaned casually against the porch railing, looking out over the front lawn.
"Yeah, Terry...so what's up," Deeks finally asked.
"You know, I don't like this...don't like bringing in labor that I haven't personally checked out...if this goes south on me..." Cooper turned and eyed Deeks, letting the threat hang.
"Hey, Coop, come on man...would I do that to you; hell, would I do that to me...if you don't get a payday then I don't get a payday," Deeks cajoled.
"That's why I'm letting it slide...for the moment; this deal is to important not to move on," Cooper said pointedly.
"Look, I can pull up their rap sheets, get you their discharge papers; conduct unbecoming, drugs, possession, even attempted murder...they're just hired guns lookin' for a payday..." Deeks said.
Cooper looked pointedly at Deeks, and then asked with a casual curiosity, "You being the fine upstanding lawyer that you are...in your legal opinion, where is the biggest chance of this all going south if is the cops were to get wind of this?"
Deeks looked at Cooper in surprise, a little unsettled by the question, "That's a strange question..."
"Really, I see it as covering all my bases; you see, this rush job has got me thinking that maybe since I have a lawyer on the payroll I should be looking to find a cop too," Cooper explained nonchalantly. "You have a problem with that?"
Deeks shook his head emphatically, "Not at all...sounds doable..."
"So, until I can get a cop, how 'bout you answering my question, since you are my lawyer," Cooper asked.
"Ah, well...let's see-if the cops were somehow on to you, they'd definitely want the pathogens back...would know you were looking for a buyer," Deeks mused, giving a non-committal shrug, "they'd probably try to pick up your trail and nab you at the buy."
"But they'd have to have eyes on me somehow..." Cooper pressed.
"Yeah, I guess; but clues don't pop out of thin air," Deeks said, trying to set his 'bosses' mind at ease, "they'd have to have a place to start lookin' first."
Cooper eyed Deeks for a few more minutes, before nodding his head slowly and heading back into the house.
Once back inside, Cooper looked towards his captives then to the two mercenaries, "You get what you needed?"
"Yes sir, we did...the commander was most forthcoming..." Sam said with a smug smile.
"Okay, Frank, lock the commander and the young lady in the back rooms...we got a heist to plan..." Cooper said with a flourish.
Plans finalized, gear checked and secured found the five men sitting around the living room...
"This must be some big score if you're willing to jack a military installation," Sam said casually.
Eying the mercenary guardedly for a moment, Cooper finally responded, "there's a lot riding on the successful outcome of this little mission, yes."
"Pay always this good," Colby interjected.
"As good as the talent deserves..." Cooper replied, eyeing Colby coldly.
Sam and Colby exchanged looks before Sam said, "If this op is successful, keep us on speed dial...I gotta a lot of men to keep in guns and ammo."
"I'll keep that in mind," Cooper answered. "Let's get going."
The 'commander' was put in the car with the two "soldiers"-Sam and Colby; while Deeks, Frank and Cooper; with Kensi in tow to ensure the commander's continued cooperation, followed in the van.
"G, you ready for us...ETA forty minutes," Sam addressed his partner through the com-link.
"The op is a go...forty minutes..." Callen responded.
The front vehicle pulled to a stop at the guard station, one of the soldiers stepped out and peered into the car, Sam saying, "Yeah, just me and Grafton, transporting the commander here for a meeting..."
"Yeah, Stryker, we were expecting you..." Callen replied with a smirk.
Sam said casually, "Yeah, the commander here has an urgent debrief, couldn't wait...and the van behind us contains sensitive materials..."
"Aye, Stryker, I'll see to it you're not disturbed and your departure point is clear" Callen acknowledged.
Stepping back into the guard shed, Callen nodded to his fellow guardsman to open the gate.
The two vehicles slowed to a stop about forty yards from the building, eyes scanning the area.
"G, we're here..." Sam said.
"Everything is in position...two guards will make a perimeter sweep; after that, it's your go..." Callen said.
"Copy that..."
Sam flipped open his phone and called Deeks, "according to our Intel, there are four guards posted at the outer perimeter that make sweeps. After the next sweep, we'll move in; we'll have about seventeen minutes..."
Deeks relayed the message to Cooper and Frank, "we'll follow your lead..."
They watched the guards perform the perimeter check and disappear around the building before making their move.
"Frank, stay with the lady...if the commander decides to try to deviate from the plan—kill her," Cooper said.
"Ah, let's not do that...you interrupted my party earlier..." Deeks cajoled.
"Keep it in your pants and focus, Deeks...after this you can buy a whole damn whore house for all I care," Cooper snapped back.
"Fine, but I'm at least gettin' a good bye kiss..." Deeks grumbled, heading for the van.
The men watched Deeks open the back of the van and climb in; Cooper turned towards Sam, "Boy always like that?"
"Even among thieves, lawyers are sleaze bags..." Sam commented with a dry chuckle.
Overloud Deeks said, "hey babe, how 'bout a good luck kiss."
Responding in kind, Kensi yelled back, "Leave me alone you pig..."
Reaching over to grab Kensi, he pulled her close, slipping a .38 into her jacket pocket, whispering, "in case things go south."
A moment later, Deeks reemerged from the van.
"You done," Sam groused.
Deeks smiled, "lock and load..."
"Okay, we got less than twelve minutes to get back out that gate. There are cameras at each corner and at the door...my partner here is gonna escort the commander to the door and get us past the scanner...once inside he's gonna set the camera's on a loop; once that's done we can get in, load the system and drive out," Sam directed, "by the time they discover anything missing, we'll be long gone and they get nothing but a quiet night off the cameras."
The men made their way quietly to the front of the storage warehouse, hiding behind a near-by building.
Cooper pulled out his cell and tapped David on the chest, "All it takes is one phone call...you try anything stupid and she's dead—you got me..."
David just nodded, before being given a push from behind by Colby, "After you commander..."
From the shadows the crew watched Colby and David move to the entrance, watched as the 'commander' submitted to the retinal scan and enter his passcode. A moment later they were through the door...
"How long," Cooper demanded.
"If it goes to plan, about three minutes to loop the camera feeds..." Sam explained.
The team moved on Colby's signal and were all soon in the warehouse.
"So, where is this delivery system," Cooper asked.
Sam and Colby made their way to a corner with three stacked crates; setting his gun aside, Colby popped one of the tops to reveal hardware that resembled RPG's.
"So that's it huh...seems kind of small, for what my client wanted," Cooper commented.
"You asked for a delivery system...I found you a delivery system," Sam snapped back, helping Colby close the lid, "It can be modified to carry whatever your client wants."
Cooper gave a nod, "Okay, you're the expert, load it up."
The crates were loaded and everyone was back in the cars and headed towards the front gate in less than ten minutes. Callen again stopped the vehicle, "Everything okay sir..."
"Fine soldier, materials secured," Sam said, handing a large envelope out the window to Callen.
Fingering briefly through the cash, Callen gave a salute, "pleasure doing business with you..."
Callen waved the two vehicles through, "Hetty it's done...suspects leaving area with their merchandise."
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
Once back at the safe house, Cooper lagged behind the others, as he pulled his phone furtively to check a text message...a scowl crossing his features as he watched the others enter the house.
Deeks again 'escorted' the hostages to a back bedroom, while the others made their way to the living room.
"What. A. Rush." Frank exclaimed, as he headed towards the kitchen, "I cannot believe we just waltzed right onto an army base like that...damn, but you guys are good."
"That's what you hired us for," Colby commented, as Frank handed out beers.
"I must say, I am impressed...it went without a hitch, not one misstep...almost like it was meant to be," Cooper commented, eying the two mercenaries pointedly as he took a long pull off his bottle, "So, Stryker, I just have to ask; how exactly do you recruit your...talent. I'm really curious by what criteria you give these fellow 'mercenaries' your trust...I mean, really, how trust-worthy can men be that offer their services to the highest bidder-what holds their allegiance?"
"When you serve with someone, when you trust them with your life...a bond forms," Sam said, adding, "our beef is with Uncle Sam, not with each other."
Sam looked at Colby, who just nodded.
"Interesting, you should say that," Cooper asked, pulling his gun and cocking it, "You really trust your men's motives and loyalties...so it wouldn't surprise you to know that this man you trust so much is really an undercover FBI agent?"
To the surprise of all, Cooper raised his gun and pointed it at Colby's head, "Think carefully how you answer that question."
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMBERS...NCIS LA...
A/N; so did you see that one coming, I really struggled with this chapter, trying to balance out subtle clues and not having the declaration at the end seem to come from left field...so now, Sam and Deeks are going to have to show their loyalty in order for a successful completion of this op...