INTERAGENCY COOPERATION
/Chapter 7/
Previously on NCIS LA-
"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, Mr. Stryker."
...
Everyone stood staring at one and other in momentary shock, only Colby had moved to put his hands up in front of him in a defensive posture.
"Hey man, I don't know what you're talking about..." Colby cajoled, "I got you onto that base, helped you steal the system; if I was an agent would I have done all that?"
"Good question..." Cooper stated.
"Whoa, man, just hold up here," Sam said, holding his hands out and stepping between Cooper and Colby, "You think Grafton is a Fed?"
"Hear me out, Mr. Stryker; I wish to pose the same question to you as I did to Deeks," Cooper said casually, "...in your opinion, with your black ops training, where would be the best place to take down my operation...what would be the most important thing to the authorities?"
Sam looked over at Deeks, then to Colby before answering carefully, somehow knowing the Cooper already knew the answer to the question, "The buy, take out all the parties involved and retrieve all the merchandise...they'd want a shot at the buyers."
Cooper nodded, "Three for three then; and in order to do that the authorities would have to have eyes on me...correct?"
Sam nodded slowly, saying, "Doesn't explain why you have a gun on my man; think he's a Fed?"
"Because, I too have my sources," Cooper said, taking out his phone and tapping the screen before tossing it to Sam.
"What's this," Sam asked.
"Despite Deeks assurances, I had you both checked out...you Mr. Stryker have a very impressive resume, both in and out of the navy; and from what I've read, I must applaud Mr. Deeks skills as an attorney, at getting you out of those charges last year," Cooper said, "however, there were a few discrepancies in your man Grafton's file...or should I say Agent Granger...So, I'll ask you again, just how much do you really know about the men you hire?"
"He came recommended by one of my other men...said they served together; they both got into some trouble in Afghanistan..." Sam said quickly, trying to ally Cooper's suspicions, "...I don't understand this, Grafton...or Granger; whoever he is, had been on a few ops with me...we've never been busted."
"Sounds like you have a mole in your little operation, and now you've brought that problem to my doorstep," Cooper said. "So now, the question is...what then, are you going to do about it."
"First you're gonna tell me why the hell you let the op go forward if you thought the guy was a Fed," Sam accused, trying to buy time to figure out how to save Colby and salvage his and Deeks covers before they all ended up with a bullet to the head; at least Cooper was willing to entertain the idea that neither he nor Deeks had any knowledge of the Fed, "you trying to bring us all down?"
"Unfortunately, my source only just now was able to supply me with the Intel, and the mission was time sensitive...and as I suspected, and you and Deeks confirmed; Granger's mission was obviously to make sure we had the delivery system...lead the Feds to the buy."
"You took a hell of a chance that we wouldn't get busted at the base," Sam growled out.
"How did you know," Deeks asked cautiously, they needed to know where and how the op went south.
"Do none of you watch the news...I knew I recognized him; the agent accused of being a triple agent...lead every law enforcement agency on the west coast on a merry manhunt," Cooper explained with some exasperation, "only it turns out, he was really a triple agent and a Fed...apparently, you can't account for every piss ass little town newspaper...really, read for yourself."
Sam flipped through the damning information Cooper's source had managed to pull together...he knew he couldn't deny its legitimacy...now to keep his cover in-tact without getting Colby killed was going to be the next order of business. "Damn it!"
...
With Kensi and David momentarily out of the picture, the agents in the van and Ops didn't have eyes on the situation, only the audio feed from the coms, and it wasn't sounding promising.
Over the earwigs, they all heard Callen ask tightly, "Sam, can you salvage this or do we need to move in?"
...
Colby (and Deeks) knew from Sam's reactions that the evidence on the phone was irrefutable and watched expectantly, ready to follow Sam's lead.
Sam looked up at Cooper, then over at Colby, his face a sudden mask of rage as she charged the agent; slamming him against the wall, "You son of a bitch, I trusted you...Peterson trusted you...so, how much do they know, huh...how much..."
"They know enough, Stryker..." Colby spat out, as he made to fight against Sam's hold. "Even if you kill me, they still have enough on you and your little operation; the fact that you hooked up with Cooper was just a bonus..."
"Should be get out of here...what if he's wired," Frank asked worriedly, looking around the room.
Still holding Colby to the wall, Sam looked over at Frank, then to Cooper, "If he was wired, they'd be busting down our door by now to get their man back; no, he has had plenty of opportunities to contact his handler between our ops...no one is coming for him."
"If that's the case, how do we know what we stole was even a delivery system; that it isn't rigged up somehow," Cooper interjected. "We don't know what he's already told his people."
Sam shook his head in disbelief, he needed to strengthen his and Deeks position on this op before they all ended up dead, "it's a delivery system alright, and Frank is right...since you didn't hire us to go to the meet...there is a chance the crates have a tracking device."
"So, go check it out," Cooper ordered, "Frank, go with him."
Sam grabbed Colby away from the wall and whirled him around, twisting his arm up behind his back and shoving him on the couch. "Watch him...and remember, he's my problem..."
Cooper just nodded at Sam before the two men left the house; he then sat down in chair opposite the couch and casually rested his gun on his lap
Never taking his eyes off Colby, Cooper addressed Deeks, "I should put a bullet in you for bringing this to my doorstep."
Holding up his hands in defense, Deeks replied angrily, "Hey, I trusted Stryker to know his own people, man; this is so not on me."
"I promise you...this deal goes south and I will put a bullet in you," Cooper threatened.
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
Frank was growing more agitated by the second, his eyes continually scanning the area as he followed Sam to the van.
Stopping at the van door, Sam held up a hand, "Don't worry man, we've got this covered...no one is going interfere with our op."
...
At the van, Callen gave a breathy exhale, looking over at Don, "For now we stay put."
Though not liking it, Don nodded, although it was his agent that had been made, Sam and Deeks (and by extension, David and Kensi) were in a tenuous situation also; and if the lead agent and the operations manager still had trust that this op could be salvaged he would have to give the NCIS team that faith that they had a plan.
They all knew, arresting Cooper would not guarantee a safe return of the pathogens...and a major arm of a terrorist cell would go back underground to wreak havoc elsewhere if they didn't attempt to play this op out.
...
Frank nodded, while Sam looked around, "Hey find me a crow bar."
While Frank's was occupied, Sam opened the van doors, using the cover to quickly reach up for his earwig, palming it carefully in his hand.
He took the crowbar that Frank offered, "Okay, let's get these opened up."
They pulled the three small crates from the van and laid them out on the ground, Sam prying each one open; he then handed the crowbar back to Frank, and while the man's back was turned he dropped his earwig in one of the crates.
"Okay, look for anything small and round...it could be black or pink in color," Sam directed the other man.
After about ten minutes of searching, Frank held up the earwig, showing it to Sam, "...this what we're looking for?"
Taking it from the other man, Sam nodded, "It's a tracking device..."
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
Back inside the house, Sam showed the device to Deeks and Cooper.
"It's a long range tracking device..." Sam said as way of explanation.
"So why ya' still got it, man...do something with it..." Frank demanded anxiously.
"If we ditch it, they'll know something's up with their boy over there," Sam said with a shake of his head, "we gotta let them still think they've got the upper hand..."
"What do you propose, Mr. Stryker," Cooper said with curiosity.
"We let the Feds chase their own tails on this one..." Sam said smugly. "We wait til morning and dump it...by the time the Feds realize it was a bait and switch, we'll be long gone..."
Cooper nodded slowly, a contemplative look on his face, "I'm impressed, Mr. Stryker...I guess I won't have to kill you after all."
Face hardening into a scowl, Sam snapped, "You could try Cooper...you could try. I'm doing this just as much to save my ass as yours..."
"So it seems we both have loose ends to be dealt with..." Cooper said, as he chambered a round in his 9 mm. "No time like the present."
At seeing his boss draw his weapon, Frank did the same, but Deeks pushed it away, "Hey, wait a minute...what about my party..."
Cooper rolled his eyes in exasperation, "go buy a whore..."
"But I want that one," Deeks shot back, thumbing back towards the bedroom where the 'hostages' were being kept.
...
"Whore, really...I don't know who to shoot first, Cooper or you, Deeks." Kensi hissed.
Despite the seriousness of the operation, the other agents chuckled.
...
"Don't be too hasty to eliminate a potential bargaining chip," Sam interjected thoughtfully.
"What are you talking about," Cooper demanded impatiently.
"I'm just saying, don't take out your pawns before you have too," Sam supplied, "they are a great form of incentive...and it this does manage to go south, we'll need a bargaining chip."
"Isn't that a little risky, keepin' him around," Frank asked.
"No riskier than killing him," Sam said with a shrug, adding, "I'm not saying not to kill him...I'm saying make sure his usefulness is ended first. If the meet goes down without a hitch, then we cap him; but if the Feds do manage to catch our tail, we'll need a little protection. The commander and the girl are also high value hostages."
Cooper stood contemplatively for a moment, before uncocking his gun, "It's almost scary how good you are at your job, Mr. Stryker."
Sam just smirked, "Your tax dollars at work, Cooper. Uncle Sam trained me to get a job done by any means necessary; unfortunately there isn't a big job market for those types of skills in the civilian theatre."
Cooper just nodded. "Very well, we'll take your advice then."
...
All the agent's gave sighs of relief at Cooper's acquiescence to Sam's advice; for now, all the agents were safe.
...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...NUMB3RS...NCIS LA...
A/N; so, I think one more chapter will finally end the op...there is still some pain and whumping to dole out...stay tuned.