And, chapter 4 :) Only 2 chapters left! Don't forget to review guuys :) and thank you very much for all the previous reviews!
''Eric, did you get anything ?'' Asked Callen.
''Nope, I didn't. They talked long enough but it was all encrypted and I couldn't break the protections. This guy is certainly not a pro but he probably works with someone able to hide their position and protect their communications. Nell and I are going to work on it."
Everyone in the room was terribly disappointed. Hetty said she had a phone call to make and that she would come back to give her orders.
''You should all take a little break, go eat something. I know you care about Miss Blye, we all do, but I need you to be able to work in the best conditions and for that, you need to eat and relax, as much as possible.''
She left the room, followed by the rest of the team. They ordered some pizzas and sat on the couch, next to their desks.
"Where is Deeks? Said Nell."
"I thought he left the OPS Center with us" said Eric, turning his back to see where he was.
"I'll go search for him" said Nell, leaving the rest of the group.
She walked outdoor and saw him backed to the wall. He was reading text messages from Kensi's phone. He looked tired. They were used to see him laughing, joking, messing with Kensi. They always considered him as an ungrown child. But now, he was carrying all the weight of his partner's disappearance on his shoulders.
"Hey… You okay? Well, I mean… How do you feel?"
Deeks turned to Nell and smiled.
"I'm… I'm tired. But I think we all are, aren't we?"
"You know, we'll do everything we can to find Kensi and her mother."
"I know. It helps, to be surrounded by a good team. But I feel guilty."
"You shouldn't. It's not your fault, Deeks."
"I should have stay with her, you know. Protect her."
"You couldn't know it would happen. The only thing you can do now is to stay strong for her because, if there's a moment when she needs you to believe in you, it's now. You know she would never let discouragement get in her way. Remember all the good things she gave you for 3 years now and use them as strength."
She put her hand on his arm, as an encouragement, and went back in the precinct. He stood outside for a moment, thinking about Kensi and her mother and wondering why Ramirez had decide to show up so many years after his very first case.
He was still outdoor when the pizzas were delivered. He brought them to his partners. It was the first time since the beginning of the case where they had a moment for them, to just sit and relax a little.
"Deeks, you know the Ramirez family pretty well, right?" Asked Sam.
"It depends on what you mean with pretty well. But if you mean that I know the rules of their games, yes I do. Why?"
"What do you think their next move will be? They took Kensi and her mother. Well, we should say they took Kensi's mother then Kensi. They gave us their previous position by activating Kensi's phone GPS. And then, they call us. They always have a head start on us."
"Hum… I, I don't really know what their next move will be. Be there is one thing I know about them. Maybe you'll find it strange but for them, the family is very important. I think… I think we should change the rules of the game.
As you said, they always have a head start on us. We have to make an unexpected move and force them to change their plans. And for that, let's start with the family."
"You know it's a very dangerous move?" Hetty was behind him.
"Yes Hetty, I know it. That's why I'm gonna go alone. I know them, I don't fear them and I don't think they'll expect me to come right to their doorsteps."
"It's not about the fact to fear them or anything else, Mr Deeks. We just can't let you go alone. One team of NCIS agents will follow you, as backup. I can't run the risk to lose another NCIS Agent."
As Hetty was speaking, Nell received an e-mail on her computer.
"Guys, excuse me to interrupt you Hetty, but I think we've got something."
"All right, everybody up then, let's see what we have, shall we!"
The all walked up to the OPS Center. Nell started to explain what she had just receive.
"I got an e-mail from one of the garage that mounted the same model of tires that were on the Green Spaces Ent. Van.
The van is actually at the garage, they have to change a tire."
"Do we know why? Asked Callen."
"No, we don't. But we can call."
Eric dialled the number. The phone rang 4 or 5 times before someone answered. Callen started to speak.
"It is NCIS Special Agent Callen. I call you because we got an e-mail from you about a Green Spaces Ent. Van."
"I'm sorry but the boss can't answer your questions, agent Callen. But I was expecting your call."
The voice had a strong mexican accent. They all recognized that it was Ramirez.
"Ramirez, it's Deeks."
"Marty, happy to hear you again. Just for the record, don't even try to reach the garage or everyone here is gonna die. I didn't think that this man could be stupid enough to send you an e-mail while we were there."
"Ramirez, leave him alone, he has nothing to do with all of this. What the hell do you want? Revenge?"
"Revenge? No. Come on Marty, I thought you would have more imagination than that. You put my father in prison, you broke my family, you broke my mother… I'd like you to know exactly the same. But, poor Marty, you don't even have any family, you don't even know what it means to have a father. So, I decided to broke the little family that you're trying to build. Keep your ears wide open, I'll call you later."
Hetty looked at Sam and G.
"Mr Callen, Mr Hanna. I want you to go to the garage and check if everyone's ok. Just wait for some minutes, to be sure they'll be gone. We don't want anyone to die. Mr Beale, I wan't you to check every security cameras around the garage and do your best to follow the van. I want to know where they'll go."
Sam and G left the room right after that. There was pressure in the air. Eric and Nell were already working on the security cameras.
"Mr Deeks, a word in my office please." The left the OPS Center and went to Hetty's office.
"Please, take a seat."
Deeks sat in front of Hetty and waited for her to speak.
"Mr Deeks, you said that you wanted to go right to Ramirez's door steps. I'm not a huge fan of this idea but I decided to trust you on this."
"Thank you Hetty."
"But I want you to explain to me what you're waiting for from this meeting. I won't let you go alone, there will be back up, but I want you to explain the true meaning of this."
"Ok. As I said, family is very important for them. So, I'll go find Ramirez's mother and ask her some questions about his son. I doubt that she would like it, but not letting them decide of the rules will be a strong move, show them we don't wait for them but act in our own way will be a strong sign of our determination to bring back Kensi and her mother."
"I hope you're right, Mr Deeks. I hope you're right."
Deeks arrived at Ramirez's location. It was a big house, bought with the money earned thank to their illegals activities.
He parked the car in front of it. He verified he had his gun. NCIS squad was on rooftops and around the house. He started walking down the alley.
Two big, tough guys appeared, yelling him to stop.
"I'm LAPD Detective Marty Deeks. I want to talk to Alvaro Ramirez's mother."
One of the man took his phone while the other was taking Deeks' gun away. The first man made a sign to his colleague, to make him understand he could bring Deeks to Alvaro Ramirez's mother.
The men pushed him in the kitchen. One of them stood with them, looking like some kind of strange mexican bodyguard.
"Marty Deeks. Said the woman, facing him. I don't know why but I always had the feeling that we would meet again. I remembered you very well. In fact, how could I forget the face of the one who sent me husband to prison."
"I send to prison a man that sold drugs to young people on the street. You think I destroyed your life, but your family destroyed so much more than I did."
"What do you want? Who do you think you are to show up here? I could ask my men to hurt or even kill you, to put you in the cellar, to torture you, anything I want…. And you have the guts to come here, in my kitchen. Are you stupid? Or maybe you're still that arrogant baby boy who felt like a hero after arresting my husband?"
"I just came so that you can give your son a message. He kidnapped my partner and her mother. He thinks he can tell me what to do and when to do it. He's wrong. Your whole family is wrong."
He walked a little closer to her. The man behind him started to move but she made him a sign to tell him to stand at his place.
"This is the message : you don't decide the rules. We do. As we did years and years ago."
Ramirez's figure went all pale and she could have kill him just with her eyes. He started to walk to the door, when he turned back.
"It smells very good, Mrs Ramirez." He said with a smile.
"I always liked cooking. And you know, we don't win a war with ghosts."
"Don't forget, tell your soldiers I say hi."
In the same time, Callen and Sam reached the garage. They parked the car in a street near the garage, so that no one could see them.
"Eric, can you tell us if they are still here?"
"Ok Callen, the security cameras show that they left some minutes ago. Nell is trying to follow the van thanks to security cameras along the streets."
"Ok, thank you Eric. Any news from Deeks? " Asked Sam
"Not for the moment. We keep in touch if you need anything."
When they arrived, they heard someone knocking several times against a metal door. They took a clamp to broke the locker and opened the door.
"We are NCIS Agents, you can come, it's safe." Said Sam, helping them getting up.
"They left some minutes ago" said the boss.
"Yes, we know. How many were they?" Asked Callen.
"They were three. Two of them put my employees in the room, behind us, and the last forced me to change the tire. When I saw the name on the van I sent you a little e-mail but he found out I did and knock me on the head."
"Yes, we can see some blood on your cheeks. Eric? Please send an ambulance, one of the men is hurt."
"It it the tire you changed?" Asked Callen, pointing to a tire that was lying next to them.
"Yes. There were bursts of copper in it, that's why I had to change it."
"Ok, said Sam, thank you for the informations. We're gonna take the tire, it's an evidence for our case. Some LAPD cops will come and ask you some questions, they're on their way."
And, the end :) For chapter 4, I mean :) Some spoilers for the next chapter?
"They must be just here, Deeks!"
"They are not! I can't see anything! What the hell is going on Eric! That's not the position!"
"That is the position Deeks. We are sure it is."
He suddenly heard an enormous explosion. The ground shook for a few seconds and he felt on his knees.