Life, Lies and Video Surveillance
By Cortexikid
Chapter 18: Execrable (Part IV)
A/N: Part IV/IV – the last in the crossover. I take back what I said about chapter 13 – I was wrong, this was the hardest chapter to write in the entire series. Hope it goes okay...
Again, dedicated to the wonderful SuperDensi427! :D
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the favourites and alerts and reviews, wow, I am just speechless at the response! You're all amazing! :D
Disclaimer: Many a dream has been wasted imagining that I was the owner of two of the most successful television shows in the world...but with no result. Sigh.
WOTD: EXECRABLE; ex·e·cra·ble adj. Abominable, detestable, vile, wretched, of the poorest quality (person, place or thing)
"Where is Kono Kalakaua?"
The barrel of a gun dug roughly into her temple, leaving behind deep indentations in the side of her skull. The agent didn't budge however, didn't wince at the sharp pain it was causing, the uncontrollable spinning, the dark fog that threatened to engulf her sight, all of it was blocked out as she focused on her breathing, on survival, on getting back home, on getting back to Dee—
"Alright...NCIS Agent Kensi Blye," Delano interrupted her train of thought as looked down at her badge with mild interest before throwing it to the floor. "Let's see how different your story is after you lose a kneecap."
A shot rang out in the air like a crack of lightening in a storm. This time Kensi did wince. She couldn't help it...
"Deeks? Deeks! Slow down!" the voice of Kono Kalakaua rang through OSP as the blond stormed out of Ops and towards the gym. He ignored her however and just continued his trek, halting abruptly as he reached the doorway. In a blur, he whirled around, forcing Kono to stick her feet to the floor to avoid crashing into him.
"What?" he asked, his voice tethering on the edge of sharp.
"I—" Kono seemed at a loss for words. How could she possibly put into words how she felt? How could she describe the overwhelming guilt churning in the pit of her stomach? The all-consuming sense of dread that clutched at the edges of her soul as a small voice in the back of her head taunted her, scolded her, told her that it should be her in Delano's clutches, not Kensi...
"We'll find Kensi," she settled for replying, her voice sounding a hell of a lot more confident than she felt.
"And how will we do that?" Deeks snapped, his usual mirth-filled eyes now stone cold. "Eric and Nell can't find the van, her GPS isn't transmitting – how the hell can we find her when we've no idea where Delano's new hideout is? Huh? She could be anywhere in Los Angeles! And in case you haven't noticed, this is the mainland; we don't need boats to get other states!"
He knew he was being unfair, unkind even, but a whirl of sporadic images from his partner's laughing face, to the fumes of the van's tail-pipe as it sped away from him (no matter how hard he floored his foot) would not leave his mind, were unrelenting in their torment and he just couldn't control his reaction. It was as if his entire partnership was on a constant montage mode, various moments, both significant (first time they met) and insignificant (last time they had take-out) and everything in between flashing in his mind as his body was flooded with misplaced adrenaline and was forced to stay put. It was damn-near unbearable. But none of that was any excuse to take it out on Kono.
With a bite of his lip, Deeks looked at the dark-eyed woman and recognised the look of sheer, raw culpability marring her face. Somewhere, in the midst of his anguish, despair, anxiety, he knew she was busy beating herself up over this, wishing she has been the one that was abducted. A sharp twist dug of shame into his stomach as he realised that despite the events, he didn't want her thinking such things.
"Deeks," Danny called before the LAPD detective could apologize to Kono.
He slowly turned his attention to where Danny, Steve, Sam and Callen entered the gym, each of their faces lined with grit, a fierce determination. Hope rose in his chest cavity.
"You found her?" he asked, hating the lilt of desperation lacing his tone.
Four adverted eyes were his response.
"Great, that's just great," the detective grumbled angrily under his breath, rubbing the heels of his palms into his eyelids.
"This never should have happened," he continued, his voice rising slightly as every gaze in the room turned to him.
"Deeks I—"
"How the hell did you let it happen anyway McGarrett?" Deeks interrupted the SEAL, "you had a gun didn't—"
"Whoa, Deeks, calm down..." Danny interjected as Deeks began to square up to his partner, who stood his ground, staring straight into his eyes that were flushed with fury.
"Calm down?" Deeks growled, whirling around to glare at the detective, "if it wasn't for your stupid bet, she would have been with me and not McGarrett and wouldn't have gotten kidnapped by some deranged cop-killer! This is on you, Williams!"
Deeks yelled into Danny's face, pointing the shorter man in the shoulder roughly before he was jerked back by two pairs of hands, Sam's and Steve's – the taskforce leader's a little more forceful.
"If anyone is to blame it's me, Deeks, I was the one that was there not Danny, so if you're looking for someone to be pissed at, be pissed at me," Steve said sharply, his azure eyes boring into the liaison, his tone holding a steel edge to it as Sam's grip loosened a little on Deeks' shoulder.
The tension in the room was so thick that a chainsaw hadn't a hope in hell of cutting it. A silence swallowed the gym as the liaison and the SEAL entered an impromptu staring match, jaws set, shoulders hunched, eyes narrowed.
"Look, we can all stand around here and play the blame game," Callen cut in after a moment, "or we can do something about it, so how about we just do that huh?"
That seemed to break through Deeks' haze as his eyes flickered to his colleague for a second before fluttering to the floor. He slowly pushed down the anger and frustration running rampant in his system, a strong sense of pure shame flowing through his veins as he reflected on his behaviour. He was always so careful to keep this...all of it under control, even in the worst of situations but this time...this time it was Kensi and—but that was no excuse. He had to make things right.
"I—"
"My office, Mr. Deeks," a voice interrupted him from the doorway. Deeks' head snapped up, finding the petite, bespectacled woman immediately and opened his mouth to protest.
"But Hetty—"
"Now, Mr. Deeks."
Her tone was impenetrable.
With a small sigh, the detective trudged out, ignoring the many eyes on him, and following Hetty, his head downcast, his feet heavy, his heart sinking into his stomach with every passing minute and drowning in the absence of his partner.
Kensi's eyes snapped shut as the shot rang in her ears, a wince creeping onto her face as she felt the bullet whizzed past her and bury itself in the wall behind her, not two inches to the left of where she sat, bound to a wooden chair. She could feel the devious smirk on Delano's face even before her orbs burst open and bore into his.
"Next time I won't miss," he assured her before swinging the butt of his gun into her jaw, her neck snapping rapidly at the force before turning on his heel and walking towards a large, bald man that she recognised from some of the surveillance photos Eric and Nell found.
"Charlie, keep an eye on her," he advised without a backwards glance, "I've some business to attend to. Oh and uh—do whatever it takes to get her talking."
Kensi watched his retreating back, ignoring the agony in her left cheek and the droplets of blood forming in mouth as his suggestive tone reverberated off the small, windowless room's walls, the threat glaringly palpable, not merely thinly-veiled.
"Will do, boss," the robust man, Charlie, replied, his beady eyes settled on the agent, his face twisted into an ugly leer.
Kensi glared right back at him, a fierce determination flowing in her veins as the very familiar very soothing voice of her partner sounded in the back of her mind.
Bring it on, Poppin' Fresh.
"Sit down, Mr. Deeks," Hetty directed, her voice low but firm.
Deeks did what he was told and sank down heavily into the chair, fidgeting slightly as he felt the hawk-like-eyes trained on him, even with his own gaze glued steadily to the floor. Several seconds ticked by, the two shrouded in a silence, Hetty's elbows resting on her desk, steeple-fingers pressed to her lips while Deeks slouched, his knee giggling frantically up and down.
"Our man with the affinity for toothpicks has awoken," she informed him suddenly, her fingers laced together as she regarded the liaison over her glasses, "quite the blow Lieutenant Commander McGarrett gave him with that plank of wood, he's going to have a nasty headache," she paused, offering him a wry smile.
"When can we question him?" Deeks asked, sitting forward in his chair, a new lease of life and determination on his face.
"Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna have gone to do that right now, the Five-0 taskforce will get their chance too as I'm sure they want to exact retribution on the man that tried to murder Ms. Kalakaua," Hetty finished, tilting her head as she awaited the detective's response.
"I should be doing that interrogation Hetty! I'm her partner!" Deeks retorted, barely controlling his voice to be less than a yell.
"Which is precisely why I'm not allowing it, you're too close Mr. Deeks, too upset—"
"Well of course I am! My partner was kidnapped today Hetty, right under our noses and Delano is a sick sonofabitch cop-killer who could be doing anything to—" his voice broke, the rest of the sentence dying in his throat.
There was a pause, fraught with emotion from both sides of the table, one only marginally more subdued and in control than the other.
"Tell me, Mr. Deeks," Hetty began, laying her clasped hands on the table, her voice the softest he'd heard it yet, "is your incredible concern for your partner just that or...is there something more to it?" she finished, casting her mind back when she posed a similar question to Ms. Blye a year before, when she'd thought that her partner had been fired.
Deeks gaped, his mouth slightly ajar, his eyes minutely widened.
"Because if there is...something more," she continued, heaving just the right amount of warning into her tone, "perhaps now would not be the best time to let your heart rule your head. Ms. Blye's safe return and the capture of her assailants is top priority, and the only way to accomplish that is to give the reins to our brains, so to speak..." she trailed off, both her subtle and not-so-subtle meanings laced between the lines.
The detective's mind whirled, many thoughts, responses, jumbling in his mind as he fought to come up with some response. Although Hetty had always been surprising, always all-knowing and almost mystical in instincts and unique perception, this really took the proverbial cake.
"I—"
"Deeks!" Nell rushed towards them, throwing an apologetic look to Hetty, "we got something!"
"I want some water. And aspirin. And a lawyer."
"And we we want our friend so, quid pro quo Karl, I scratch your back you scratch mine. Where's Delano?" Callen paced back and forth in front of the interrogation table as McGarrett watched on, his azure eyes merely slits as he stood motionless, arms tightly folded across his chest.
Sam, Danny and Kono viewed from outside via video-feed, each tense and on-edge as they were reminded just how much time had passed – four hours, forty-three minutes and seventeen seconds, far too long by anyone's standards.
"He the one that threw you overboard?" Sam asked Kono, his glare glued to the TV.
"That's him, I'd remember that ugly hat anywhere," Kono replied, folding her arms and creaking her neck.
"Yeah well, our fashion-challenged friend here is definitely involved with Kensi's abduction...if Delano trusted him to kill you, odds are he still has some say in Delano's circle," Danny murmured, dragging a tired across his chin.
"Yeah but he didn't kill me," Kono reminded him, "and I don't think Delano would like him so much after that..."
"He liked him enough, he's still alive," Sam chimed in just as they saw McGarrett move swiftly to lean over the interrogation table, right down into the suspect's face.
"You're gonna tell us where Delano and Agent Blye is, right now," he gritted his teeth, "because if you don't, I'm gonna haul your ass back to Hawaii right now and charge you with the attempted murder of a police officer and trust me, the journey will be anything but pleasant."
The suspect, Karl Valens, glared up at the commander, fury written all over his face.
"And we now got you and Delano on drug trafficking thanks to your boy Macintyre, he might not be high on the food chain but he still told us some interesting things when he sang like a bird," Callen interjected the staring match between Valens and McGarrett.
"I'm tellin' you nothin' man, you killed my girl," he spat, ignoring Callen, his tightly-would wrath all for the Five-0 leader.
"Your girl?" McGarrett asked, his interest peaked.
"Hillary," Valens muttered, breaking the eye-contact by lowering his gaze to his lap.
McGarrett's eyebrows shot up at that and he turned to look up at the camera with a 'what do ya think about that Danno?' expression on his face, knowing well his partner would catch on. Outside, a look of realization passed over Danny's face before he clicked his fingers and stormed down the corridor and into the room.
"Yeah well, your girl killed a cop, wounded an M.E, blew up the Honolulu Police Department and murdered innocent people so, she kinda had it comin'," he called as he entered the room, halting beside McGarrett, mirroring his stance perfectly.
"Who are you? Twiddle-dummer?" Valens smirked with a shake of his head.
"Ha! You're hilarious, isn't he hilarious Steven?" Danny asked sarcastically with a clap to Steve's shoulder, "no, Bill Hicks, I'm actually a detective with the Five-0 taskforce in Hawaii and the guy that's gonna talk your ear off for the next nine hours if you don't give us a damn answer. I mean really, you wanna protect the guy that got your girl killed?" he trailed off, letting his words sink in.
There was a moment of silence before Valens took a breath.
"Hill knew what she was gettin' herself into, it was her own fault she got shot," he replied, folding his arms with an air of nonchalance.
"Cold," Danny murmured to Steve.
"Alright, let's try this another way," McGarrett stepped in, "you tell us where Delano took Blye and we'll offer you a deal," he finished, trying not to let the disgust at the mere idea of Valens practically getting away with trying to kill his friend cross his features.
That seemed to get the man's attention.
"What kinda deal?"
Before anyone had the chance to answer, Marty Deeks burst into the room, looking frazzled and gasping for breath.
"I know where Kensi is!"
He storms over to the table and slams the picture down on the table, glaring formidably down at the man, leaning into his and whispering, his tone still managing a sharp hilt.
"You and your boss are in for it now, buddy."
Seventeen.
That was how many seconds it took Kensi's new friend to break. It was sad really, had the bold yet stupid obstinacy of the common criminal just dwindled down to nothing over the years? There really was no honour amongst thieves...or kidnappers for that matter.
It had all happened two minutes ago, Poppin' Fresh's first and last mistake – getting within two feet of a seriously pissed, seriously motivated Kensi Blye.
"What's wrong Princess?" he had asked, puckering up his lips and shuffling ever closer to her.
That word seemed to evoke something even more lethal in her veins as a flash of familiar tousled blond-hair crept into the back of her mind.
"I'm dandy...just...I wish these ties were a little looser," she cooed, fluttering her eyes at him.
He leaned forward, his smug smirk plastered widely across his face, Kensi suppressed a grimace, he looked like a sweaty, over-grown toddler.
"You really think I'm that stupid, Princess?" he hissed, edging even closer, his forehead that was slick with perspiration a mere inch from hers, the smell of salt assaulting her nostrils.
Kensi's grin grew devilish.
"Oh, I'm counting on it," she laughed before edging her neck back and propelling her head forward, head-butting Charlie with as much force as she could muster. The large man stumbled backwards, clutching his nose as blood gushed from it and that's when Kensi took her chance. Heaving herself up, balancing as best as she could with feet that were bound to the chair and hands that were stuck behind her back, she lifted up her body as high as she could before plonking down heavily onto the wooden chair roughly, smirking when it shattered and splintered underneath her, bits of wood flying everywhere as she landed on her back on the floor.
Scrambling, she snatched up a sharp piece of wood from behind her back, using it to cut away her restraints as Charlie composed himself and advanced on her. Pressing her hands to the ground, she used the momentum to haul herself up, her legs springing out to kick him in the chest with enough force to knock him to the ground.
With one last tug, the ropes fell away from her wrists and she reached forward to tug the remains of rope and wood from her legs before jumping up, just as Charlie had managed to lift himself off the floor. Before he even had the chance to turn around, Kensi pounced, sweeping a leg under his, knocking him to his knees, before she wound one around his neck and using the other to pull his arm back painfully. Charlie choked out a sob silently as she more than likely dislocated his shoulder.
"Alright Charlie, you're gonna be a good boy and tell me where I am and how the hell to get outta here, 'cause if not..." she pulled his arm back further to prove her point.
"You understand me?" she hissed as she let go of his arm and pulled his pistol from its holster, kicking him in the back and pointing it at the base of his skull.
"Okay, okay, fine..." the bald-man started, "we're in a storage container..."
"A storage container?" Callen asked Deeks as they left the interrogation room and joined Sam and Kono outside.
"Yep, Nell and Eric found one registered in Valens' name and apparently there was an anonymous tip less than an hour ago from a young woman, saying that there was suspicious activity around the area, dozens of boxes being unloaded that was supposed to have held a shipment of paper but when she did some sneaking around, she saw some guy open one of the boxes and what he took out was definitely not paper," Deeks finished as everyone gathered around.
"And where's the girl now?" Sam asked, as the adrenaline began to fill the room.
"Eric and Nell tracked her phone to a studio apartment downtown leased to a Melissa Taylor, LAPD uniforms were sent to interview her and a protect detail was put on her just in case," the liaison informed them, a hint of impatience in his tone.
"So, we got a plan?" he asked, looking around to the others, his mind running over various scenarios a mile a minute.
Callen smirked as he and Sam exchanged glances.
"We got a plan."
Kensi wiped a bead of sweat from her brow as she hurled the axe at the heavy door.
"I told you," Charlie grumbled from where he was bound on the floor, "you need a key to open it from the inside, there's no way an axe will get through."
Kensi swung the axe one more time, just for good measure. The vibration shook the entire container but barely left a dent in the door. Poppin' Fresh was right. It wasn't going to budge.
Time for Plan B.
"In position, Deeks, what's your twenty?"
Sam's voice murmured through the coms as Deeks and Danny ducked down behind a container and lay in wait.
"About six hundred yards out, Callen at the gate?"
"He and Steve are sweet-talkin' the guard," Sam chuckled, trying and failing to get the image of his partner in baggy blue overalls out of his head.
"McGarrett recognise anyone?" Deeks asked, as Danny tapped him on the shoulder and signalled the arrival of two strangers, who, if the bulges under their jackets were any indication, were packing heat.
"Sam, we got two guys on the south-east corner, they're carrying, must be two of Delano's guys."
"So that's two we know outside, probably one or two more maybe in the container with Kensi, Callen, you got anyone else?" Sam asked as he and Kono edged nearer to the location facing Deeks and Danny.
"Negative, guard seems clean," Callen replied as he and Steve walked through the yard.
"Alright Deeks, make the call," Sam instructed as he and Kono crept up on the gunned men and knocked them out, dragging them out of sight as Deeks dialled up a number on his phone, giving instructions to the person on the other end and hanging up.
It wouldn't be long now.
"You doin' okay?" Danny Williams asked as they laid in wait.
Deeks frowned, looking over his shoulder, puzzled at the detective's question.
"I'm fine, why?"
Danny shrugged, checking his clip before looking back up.
"Just—I know how stressful it is...your partner getting kidnapped. I know the strain it can put on you."
A fresh wave of guilt ensnared Marty Deeks as Danny said this, reminded how he acted earlier and how he spoke to him.
"Listen Danny I'm sorry—"
The Jersey-native cut him off with a dismissive wave and a shrug of his shoulders.
"Like I said Deeks, I know what it's like for your partner to be kidnapped, it's one of the scariest things that can happen to a cop, and especially seeing as it's you and Kensi..." he trailed off, taking a look through the binoculars.
"What does that mean?" Deeks was almost afraid to ask.
Danny stilled, putting down the binoculars and staring questioningly at him.
"Well, you know 'cause you and Kensi are—"
"Partners," Deeks stressed, feeling the need to explain himself all of a sudden. "We're partners...what Kensi and I have is like...like a really good a really good bromance. You know except Kensi is a girl, woman...lacking a Y chromosome, whatever, what I mean is...she's my partner..." he trailed off, cringing at how downtrodden his voice sounded.
"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that," Danny murmured, before nudging the liaison as two black sedans pulled up at the entrance, were waved through by the guards and made a speedy assent towards them.
"Okay everybody," Sam smirked, "it's show time."
Kensi plunged the knife into the box and ripped it open, her eyes as wide as saucers as she saw bags and bags of cocaine, what must have been over a hundred thousand dollars in street value, tucked inside it. Doing a quick head-count, she clocked fourteen boxes lined up against the wall – that was a hell of a lot of money right there.
She exchanged a glance at Charlie (who was now gagged) and shook her head before she began pushing the heavy boxes over to the entrance, stacking them high on top of one another when suddenly a shot rang out.
She paused in her movements and listened intently as a wave of gunfire sounded from outside and she knew, just knew in her heart that it was her team.
Despite this, she knew she had to be ready for anything, so, she put stacked the last box and took the pistol up off the floor and aimed it at the door.
If it were the wrong guys who opened it, she was prepared to shoot her way out.
"Get down!" Deeks yelled, shoving Danny to the ground as one of Delano's men fired a head-shot in their direction.
The two detectives sprawled out on the dusty ground as a hail of bullets rained down on them.
"Danny! Deeks! You alright?" Steve yelled over the coms as he and Callen leapt to take cover behind a forklift.
"We're good!" Danny shouted, rolling to the right behind a container as Deeks rolled to the left.
Sam and Kono edged forward, the Hawaiian clocking one guy in the chest as Sam got the other in the neck.
Two down, five to go.
Meanwhile, Callen and Steve took out two guys that had edged around the vehicle, one in the shoulder, the other in the back.
Four down, three to go.
Quickly, Deeks and Danny edged closer to the center of the activity where Delano stood, two of his cronies at either side of him, guns raised and firing. The two detectives took them down easily, before advancing on Delano.
But the ex-cop took off like a bat outta hell, darting to the left and past the rest of the team. They all (sans Deeks) leapt into action, hot on his heels, with Kono being the closest. She gritted her teeth, her feet pounding the pavement, her heart racing in her chest as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, the dirty, rotten convict squared in her sights as she edged ever close to him.
Delano pointed his gun behind him as he ran, shooting aimlessly but they missed and ricocheted off the storage containers. It was like a maze, lines and lines of identical large, rectangular boxes surrounding them and soon, Delano found himself at a dead end. Kono smirked as she gained the advantage, using Frank's pause as the opportune moment to tackle him to the ground, using her full body weight to subdue him, pulling his arms roughly behind his back and retraining them with a zip tie.
The rest of the team skidded to a halt as they saw the criminal flat out on the ground, his face rubbed into the dirt and breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied smirks lining each of their faces.
And that was why Kono was kickass.
Coming forward, Steve and Danny hauled Delano up off the ground as Kono dusted herself off, glaring daggers at the guy. Sam and Callen watched open-mouthed as suddenly she swung her fist at his face, it connecting with his jaw with a loud crack.
"That's for Chin and Malia you sonofabitch!" she growled before she rapidly delivered a blow to his stomach, "that's for Kensi," she hissed before kneeing him roughly in the groin causing him to cry out and fall to his knees. Slowly, she leaned down and whispered right into his ear, "and that...that was for me."
Yep. She was indeed Kick-Ass-Kono.
Meanwhile, Deeks shot off the padlock on the container and wrenched the door wide open, only to be met by a pistol to his head.
"Whoa, easy killer," he murmured as Kensi lowered her weapon, stepping out behind a row of boxes.
"Let me guess," she breathed, a large grin spreading across her face, "you came to beat up some bad guys, save the damsel in distress and ride off into the sunset?"
Deeks chuckled as she walked out of the container and into the evening setting sun.
"Bad guys beaten, and the damsel looks like she saved herself...wouldn't mind a ride in the sunset though," he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Kensi's fist shot out and punched him in the shoulder, hard.
Sometimes, he was just ridiculous.
After a moment, Steve and Danny walked by them, heaving up one of the fallen men from off the ground. With a cheeky grin, McGarrett turned to his partner and opened his mouth.
"Book 'em—"
"Nope," Danny interrupted with a poke to Steve's shoulder, "no. You are hereby banned from saying that outside the state of Hawaii."
Deeks and Kensi exchanged a glance before Kensi shook her head and walked towards the car.
"You guys have your own catchphrase?" Deeks' mouth dropped open before his eyes landed on his retreating partner and he sprinted to her, calling loudly, "Kensi! The Five-0 boys gave me a great idea to spice up our partnership! A catchphrase!"
"Here," Deeks held out some frozen peas wrapped in a towel.
"Where did you find frozen peas?" she asked, her face puzzled.
Deeks looked around the boat-shed before leaning forward, whispering in faux-conspiracy, "I have my ways..."
She smirked, "sounds dirty."
His mouth dropped out as his own words echoed back at him. He shook his head and laughed a little before Kensi nudged him, putting the towel up to her face and watching the activity on the screen.
Steve and Danny stood there, interrogating Delano, the ex-cop smirking silently as they threw question after question at him. Kono came to stand beside Kensi, offering her and Deeks a small smile as she stood opposite the TV.
"Our flight leaves tomorrow," she told them, her eyes focussed on the screen, "Delano is being extradited back to Hawaii with a whole host of new charges," she finished before nudging Kensi.
"Wanna give him a good send-off?" she asked, throwing a raised eyebrow over her shoulder before heading to the interrogation room.
Kensi and Deeks exchanged a glance before the agent followed the officer, entering the room as Danny exited.
"He's all yours Blye," he smirked, patting her shoulder before making his way over to Deeks.
Kensi stepped into the room and snapped the door shut behind her, Kono standing directly in front of Delano as Steve stood off to the side, observing intently.
The agent took her place beside the officer, folding her arms across her chest, glowering down at the ex-cop.
Delano, for his part, merely stared, his lips lifted in a half-grin.
"Your guys are talkin' Delano," Kensi began, an air of dominance to her tone, "won't be long now till we have the full story."
Frank remained silent.
"That's gotta piss ya off, right Frank?" Kono took over, stepping over to his left and bending down to whisper in his ear, her eyes flickering to Kensi. The agent got the message and mirrored her action, stepping to Delano's right and leaning down to him.
"We know about the drugs...about the shipment to Mexico...with those charges, along with, about three dozen others from Hawaii and oh I don't know, coercing an officer of the law to break him out of prison by threatening his wife and family and then ordering the murder of both...looks like you're going away for a long time Frank..." she trailed off, catching Kensi's eye as she took over.
"And there's really just one important thing you gotta remember about prison Frank," she murmured softly, her voice as sharp as knives, as she leaned even closer to him and whispered in his ear, "never drop the soap..."
Back outside, two blond detectives stood open-mouthed, staring at the TV.
"Whoa," Deeks murmured to Danny, "how awesome are Kick-Ass-Kono and Bad-Ass-Blye?"
After another few minutes, the positively gleeful brunettes exited the room and made their way back out to their teammates, grinning and laughing with each other. Apparently, after bonding over their mutual hatred of Frank Delano, they were to be firm friends.
Back inside the interrogation room, Steve didn't bother hiding his smirk as he trudged back over to the table, laying his palms flat down on it.
"Don't look so smug McGarrett, this was never your fight," Delano growled, glaring at him straight in the eye.
"Oh really? Why not? As far as I'm concerned, you mess with my people, you mess with me," his responded, his face growing dark with anger.
"Nah," Frank waved off his words, "you've too much on your plate to worry about little ol' me. Wo Fat is a pretty bad guy..."
Steve's jaw clenched, his eyes flickering up to the camera for a moment, as if trying to summon strength from his partner who monitored absorbedly, fists balled at his sides.
"Wo Fat is in prison," he growled, finding Delano's azure orbs again.
"Yeah," Delano agreed, sitting forward a little, seeming to be enjoying himself now, "but for how long?"
Five pairs of tired feet trudged into OSP only to be met near the entrance by a petite brunette.
"Good work everyone," Hetty congratulated them, shaking the hands of McGarrett, Williams and Kalakaua.
"It was very good to meet you all, hopefully every time we find ourselves in the same state it won't have to be under such circumstances," she nodded with a small smile before shuffling to the door, calling over her shoulder, "oh and...Mr. Hanna and Mr. Callen expressed their desire for you to meet them at a bar, something about owing you a drink..." she trailed off, continuing on her way without a backwards glance.
"Won't you be joining us, Hetty?" Danny called after her, "you look like the kinda woman that could drink anyone under the table."
Hetty laughed, shaking her head as she heard the detective's cheeky remark, "and don't you forget it, Detective Williams."
The five cops shared a laugh as they watched her retreating back before shaking themselves and looking about them.
"So, we got a bit of time to kill right McGarrett? A beer sounds great to me," Danny rubbed his hands together, looking expectantly at his partner.
Steve rolled his eyes and shrugged, "yeah sure, a beer would be great. You guys know where they are?" he asked Kensi and Deeks.
The other partners shared a grin and nodded.
"Yeah, we know the one, we can take my car, don't think I'll be drinking tonight," Kensi replied, gesturing to her face that was now turning a shade of purple.
Deeks hid a grimace before he clicked his fingers, suddenly remembering something.
"Yeah, sounds good Kens, I just gotta make one stop first."
Deeks walked towards a bushy-haired man, sitting alone at a bar, nursing a beer.
"Hey Louis," he said softly, patting the young man on the back as he sat down.
"Hey," he murmured in reply, not lifting his eyes from the photo still clasped in his hand.
"So uh...I wanted to thank you for making that call to Delano, getting him to come to the storage containers. We got him and his men, they're all behind bars."
Louis nodded lightly, still not looking at him.
"That's good," he responded in a monotone.
Deeks lowered his head, trying to catch the man's eye.
"So, to say a proper thank you, I uh...there's someone here to see you," he mumbled before gesturing to someone behind them.
Interest peaked, Louis turned and when he saw who was now standing there, his face lit up like 4th of July fireworks.
"Melissa!" he exclaimed excitedly as she stepped into his arms and hugged him tightly.
Deeks stood up and away from the bar, a small smile gracing his face as he watched the two.
"That's a nice thing you did," a voice sounded from behind him.
He turned and offered his partner a sheepish grin.
"I'm more than just a pretty face, you know," he informed her with a wink before walking back out and towards the car, his partner hot on his heels.
The gang heaved a roar of laughter as Deeks finished the joke, all of them crammed around a circular table, drinks and food overflowing the surface. Kensi shook her head in amusement as everyone (including Eric and Nell) around her grew merry with alcohol, she sipping her soda attentively, trying to ignore the pain in her jaw.
"So how did you guys meet anyway?" Danny asked suddenly as the laughter died down, gesturing between Sam and Steve.
"That's classified," they answered in unison.
"I hate you..." Danny growled, punching Steve in the arm.
"You love me," he grinned.
"I tolerate you."
"Liar."
"Have you guys thought about couples' therapy?" Callen asked as he and Sam exchanged a glance.
Danny sat forward, a grimace on his face, "it didn't work with when I was with my wife so I don't see how it'd work now—"
"Wait, does that mean I'm the wife in this scenario?" Steve cut in, looking scandalised.
"Whoa, looks like they're heading for divorce..." Deeks interjected, smirking at the two partners.
"Yeah, and I always thought it was against police rules for co-workers to even date, huh..." Kensi continued thoughtfully, scratching her chin.
"Ha, ha, you two are hilarious," Danny deadpanned before continuing, "pity Hetty couldn't join us."
"Looks like someone's got a soft spot for the Lange," Deeks teased as Danny folded his arms.
"Nope, the Lange has a thing for me actually, I'm the 'cheeky detective' after all..." he trailed off, winking at Deeks.
"Oh please Williams, Hetty only likes you 'cause she finally has someone she can look in the eye without standing on some—" Danny thumped Deeks hard in the shoulder, cutting him off abruptly before standing up and calling, "alright, who wants another?"
Eight hands shot up into the air and the detective rolled his eyes.
"I'll help ya man," Deeks laughed, rubbing his shoulder one last time before standing up from the table and walking over to the bar with him.
As they left, Kensi nudged Steve who leaned forward so he could hear her.
"Think we should be worried?"
"About what?"
"Deeks and Danny leaving us and running away together?"
Steve snorted as Kensi grinned, a chuckle shaking her shoulders.
Over at the bar as they waited for the drinks, Deeks and Danny watched their partners. After a moment, the Jersey-native's gaze adverted to his companion, smirking as he caught the sheer fondness on the blond's face as he stared over at Kensi laughing with Steve.
"You still sticking to your bromance story?" he asked, nudging him with his elbow.
Deeks stared down at him for a moment, schooling his face into more a neutral expression before replying boldly, "are you?"
Danny snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Ha, ha, looks like we got a comedian—" he broke off as he saw Steve suddenly stand up and away from the table, cell-phone in hand. He stared at the taskforce leader's face, dread rising in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. He knew it. Something was very wrong.
Deeks frowned at Danny's sudden silence as they gathered up the beer and brought it over to the table, before sitting down. There was a subtle shift in mood however, as Danny and Kono failed to commit to any conversation and visibly tensed as McGarrett made his way back over to the table, looking at them all, stunned.
"Steve, what's wrong?" Danny bit his lips, frowning.
Azure eyes met a sky blue.
"That was the Governor," Steve breathed, his tone deflated, "it's Wo Fat. He's escaped."
A soft knock echoed throughout her apartment as she stretched her aching limbs. With a frown, the agent muted the TV and plonked over the door, shifting aside the drapes and frowning in confusion at who stood on her doorstep.
"Deeks," she grumbled opening her door and stepping aside, not bothering to fight him, "what're you doing here? I thought you were going home to bed?"
"I couldn't sleep...kept thinking about McGarrett," he murmured before sinking down onto her couch.
"Didn't think he was your type," she smirked before locking her door and joining him on the sofa, turning the volume up on the TV and offering her partner a soda from her coffee table.
Deeks stuck out his tongue out at her before grinned, "tall, brunette, kick-ass, he's exactly my type...you know, if he was a she."
The agent gaped, not knowing what to say to that until it suddenly occurred to her.
"Ah, so your type would be more say...Kono..." she trailed off, lifting an eyebrow.
He shook his head, his tousled hair becoming even more messy.
"Nah, Kono was awesome but not my type. She's a weird mix, a lot like me...and you too, kinda like if you and me had a—" he cut himself off abruptly, shaking his head as a flush crept up his neck.
"A what Deeks? Kensi asked, her head cocked to the side, a knowing grin on her face.
Her partner adverted his gaze, focusing on the TV as he mumbled, "so, who's this Wo Fat guy anyway?"
Kensi shook her head and took the bait, trying to find the right words.
"He's Steve's...nemesis."
Deeks frowned, turning to look at her, "I didn't think real people had nemeses...nemesisi?"
"That's rich coming from the guy with a list of enemies longer than my arm," she scoffed, before wincing, pressing a palm to her sore jaw.
Concerned cerulean eyes fell on her as Deeks itched to reach out and stroke her cheek, restraining himself just barely. He had been so...frightened, had felt so...helpless today and was just bathing in a shower of relief at every second spent in Kensi's company. Somehow, his partner seemed to sense this and mumbled softly:
"You came for me."
Her polychrome eyes met his.
"I'll always come for you," he replied, sincerity and honour in his tone.
"Sounds dirty," she winked and his mouth dropped open.
"That's my line!" he half-yelled, seeming scandalised.
She gently shoved him as he tilted his head back and took a swig from his soda.
"So, Kick-ass Kono and Bad-ass Blye was pretty hot to watch," he remarked as he set down his drink on the table and leaned his head back onto the couch, his eyes on the ceiling.
She pursed her lips, choosing to ignore the 'hot' comment and go for a reply she knew would get the desired response, "yep, we're the ultimate Dynamic Duo."
Deeks leapt forward as if electrocuted, "nuh uh, we're the Dynamic Duo – Deeks and Kensi!"
"Kensi and Deeks," she corrected with a laugh.
"Keeks."
"What?" she asked, copying his prior position and tilting her head back to rest on the couch.
"Keeks...you know, like an amalgamation of our names," he explained, taking up the position again, his body mere inches from hers.
"Oh, like Densi," she smirked, her eyes fluttering closed.
"I like Keeks better, sounds like something you'd call a stripper."
"Yeah and nothing sums up our relationship like a good stripper name," she scolded, reaching out and smacking him with her eyes still closed, with satisfying results.
"You said relationship again," he pointed out, rubbing his abdomen gently.
"I said partnership," she replied stubbornly, cracking one eye open to stare at him as he threw her his cheekiest grin.
"Sure ya did Kens, sure ya did."
A/N: Oh. My. God. I'm. So. Tired. All I've the energy left to say is please review! I would greatly appreciate it after the crazy amount of time this has taken me lol. Hope you guys liked it! :D
Oh and SORRY if there's mistakes, I'm half-asleep as I finish this (it's 2am here and I wanted to just get it done lol) and probably missed some things when proof-reading :/
~Ck
RECENTLY EDITED: OOPS! So sorry! In my tiredness last night I totally forgot about the teaser so, here ya go:
NEXT CHAPTER TEASER:
"Mrs Feld—uh Julia! This...this isn't what it looks like!" Deeks held one hand up in surrender whilst the other clutched the towel around his waist.
Julia's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh really, Marty? Because it looks like you're in my daughter's home alone in the middle of the day wet and naked as the day you were born."
Deeks glanced down at himself, a sheepish, embarrassed grin forming on his face as a blush crept up his neck and spread all the way up to his hairline.
"Oh, ha! Would ya look at that...it's exactly what it looks like..."