Brothers in Arms
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS:LA, if I did, there would be more snark-offs between Deeks and Danny from Hawaii 5-O...wait I don't need to own them...pardon me, I must go type.
Day 3
Callen sat in his car waiting for the proper time to begin his drive. He used these moments to review what had happened on the case thus far. The meeting yesterday had gone well. At the end they headed towards their respective cars and made their way to work. Due to the different routes they arrived at different times, covering the fact that they had spent the early morning hours together. Deeks had laughed off the early retreat yesterday as LAPD work and Kensi and Sam had accepted it.
The first thing Callen had done was to bring his notes up to Eric and Nell to have them make the appropriate changes to Deeks' cover. Hetty had called him over at one point and pushed him to explain his actions. Callen had told her the truth; he was both right and wrong at the first briefing as this was a job for partners, only on this one he was going to partner up with Deeks. He was sure that Hetty had taken this as some cosmic sign that he was beginning to trust people and such, but the truth was he saw a lot of himself in Deeks. Not the happy-go-lucky part that thrives off of interaction with people, but the part that wants to push the boundaries set out for him by others. He now believed they had more in common than he was willing to admit at first.
He checked the clock in the car again and settled back into his seat. Eric and Nell had come through and had doctored records that placed Jake Smit in one of the rehab facilities that sprinkled the city that catered to reclusive people with money. Jake was in treatment for recreational drug use and alcoholism. They had agreed that this would allow Deeks an out and he could stay sober for the length of the op. Mikhail needed his brother in top shape for their entrance into the competitive arena of arms dealing.
He checked the clock once again and started up the engine. He had found a parking garage close to the facility and the drive was a short one. As he pulled up to the gate he counted two, possibly three, cars that were loitering. Jake's parole officer had to be informed that the treatment was complete and somehow that file wasn't as encrypted as it could have been. Callen was playing the concerned brother, picking him up and dropping him off at his place. This would give the interested parties confirmation that they could get to Mikhail through Jake. He pulled the car up under the overhang and waited.
Deeks came out of the building with his bag of clothes slung over one shoulder. Callen rolled down the passenger window and Deeks bent down to get a look in.
"Just had an enlightening exit interview with a very caring employee of this fine facility," Deeks grinned, turned and waggled his fingers at a woman who giggled and waved back.
"Get in the car." Deeks just smirked, turned on his heel, bowed at the waist towards the woman, and swung down into the car. Callen powered up the window and tried hard not to glare at Deeks.
Deeks rolled his head towards Callen and getting a faraway look on his face, sighed, and said, "Jake is happy to be clean both for himself and for his friends. He feels that his personal and business life have crossed too much and he needs to find a happy medium between the two. He maintains that those drugs found in his pants couldn't possibly be his because they were someone else's pants." He changed to face of false sincerity, "He's going to try really hard to stay clean and sober."
"Let me guess, you charmed the pants off of her."
"She wasn't wearing pants – it was a skirt." At Callen's glare, Deeks threw up his hands, "I merely played the part of a playboy who got a dose of reality and was going to 'keep with it'...for awhile."
"The irresponsible, younger brother who always needs to be bailed out of trouble that is non-threatening and easy pickings."
"Exactly."
"Perfect, you had time to read over the updates to your file?"
"Yep, they out-did themselves yet again. Is this starting today?"
Callen nodded. "I'm dropping you off at Jake's place. Mingle around the neighbourhood, don't actually watch your back, but keep an eye out. I'll be filling in Kensi and Sam when I get back." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring and a new phone. "Class ring from your alma mater, the techies are quite proud of this one. The ring is a GPS locater but it also has two methods of sending out an agent-in-distress code. One, if the heat sensor in the band goes five degrees below normal human temperature it activates assuming it's been pulled off of your finger. Two, if the phone and ring get separated by more than 20 feet it'll activate. The range of the ring's communication with the phone is the 20 feet. Keep both on you at all times. Hetty's number is in there as 'Mom', the Ops center is 'Uncle Ted', I'm 'Mike', Kensi is 'Fern', and Sam is listed as the 'Sommelier'. The rest of the contacts are either restaurants and bars or numbers that'll route through the Ops centre back to me. If you want to make an agent-in-distress call, dial 'Mr. Carl'. You're not wired, but we're still close."
Deeks nodded slowly and scrolled through the contact numbers. After a moment he lifted his head and said "Let's go."
They drove down the driveway and made mental notes of the cars that seemed to stick with them. Callen would run them by Eric when he returned. They wove through the traffic, Deeks with his head resting against the headrest with his eyes closed. Callen let him catnap as he'd spent the last two nights reading with little sleep. Callen let his mind wander a bit as he waited at a light. He was playing the responsible, focussed older brother and Deeks was the irresponsible, charming brother. Callen wasn't going to kid himself, he had charisma, but the way Deeks could captivate people was a level he'd never achieve. He just hoped he could play the vinegar as well as he did the honey.
Callen nudged Deeks' shoulder. Deeks slowly shook his head back and forth and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Did I sleep?"
"Yeah, but you needed it. We're at your building." Deeks turned and looked at the entrance where the bellhops were moving away from his stand towards the car.
"Am I new here?"
"Yes, the other place didn't appreciate your form of entertainment. Penthouse on the south side." At that he handed him his keys and Deeks nodded. The bellhops pulled open the doors and they exited the car.
Callen turned towards the closest one, "Bag in the trunk, I'm not staying." He walked around the car, prepping to shake Deeks' hand, but Deeks pulled him into a hug instead.
Deeks whispered in his ear as they embraced "disappear after, black Beemer is too interested." With that, Deeks sauntered into the building, leaving the bellhop to scurry after him. Callen mentally shook his head as he got back in the car; they really haven't been giving him enough credit.
"You're using him as bait?" Kensi was incredulous. "Alone?"
Callen bit back his initial retort that Deeks was a grown man and he was fine. "Actually, he's pulling it off better than I could have imagined. I never realized how much class he had."
Sam grimaced, "Come on G, Deeks? Class? Gas, I could believe. I mean, do you remember the homeless guy episode on that case from Granger?"
"He reduced a bellhop to scurrying and let the door slam on his face. It was quite funny."
Kensi scrunched up her nose, "How is that class?"
Sam sighed and answered, "The Deeks we know and tolerate would have carried his own bag and opened the door for the bellhop. I guess he can do upper crust too."
Hetty chose that moment to appear out of nowhere. "Of course he can, that's why I approved it."
Callen turned towards her, "well it was my idea."
Hetty tipped her head to the side and made eye contact with Callen, "was it, Mr. Callen?" And with that, she left the three to their thoughts.
Deeks surveyed his new kingdom. It had a gorgeous view of the city with the beach in the distance. If he squinted he could pick out a couple of his favourite surf spots, not that he'd be doing any of that in the foreseeable future. He turned on his heel and headed out of the living space and towards what he assumed was the bedrooms. It was a newish condo that believed in open concept. The living room flowed into the den which flowed into the dining room which flowed into the kitchen. There were absolutely no interior walls between the 'rooms' just strategically placed furniture. He was, however, leery of the glass bookshelf that divided the den from the living room, he had a feeling if he broke it that the money would come out of his paycheck. No rowdy parties at his place.
His instincts were correct and he found himself poking his head into three bedrooms, two guest rooms and one converted into an office, and one and a half baths before stumbling upon the master suite. The view that presented itself as he pushed open the door quite honestly stole his breath. Sights assaulted him from every angle. He froze for a moment, unsure of which instinct to follow up on first. He just wanted to jump on the bed because it looked so comfy, but was drawn towards the wall of windows that positively glowed from the sun's rays. The door into the ensuite was enticing and he was curious to see what the closets were stocked with. His feet headed towards the bathroom first where he sighed in contentment at the clean lines and fluffy towels, his next stop was the closet where he found pricey clothes that Hetty had obviously had a hand in choosing, and he paused at the window and let the heat from the sun warm his face. He closed his eyes and drank in the moment. Then he turned and leapt onto the bed.
Two hours later his phone was beeping from the alarm he set and he rolled onto his back. He had landed on his front, set his phone, and promptly fell asleep. Rejuvenated and refreshed, he took a second look through the closet to find a comfy and appropriate outfit to go fishing in.
A/N: Thanks for the support! I'm thinking Kensi and Sam are going to get their own chapter soon.