A/N: This chapter was a long time coming, sorry for keeping it for so long. I haven't forgot all my followers and reviewers, I have hit quite the block and I have been trying to push past it, trying to give my readers what they want. Thank you everyone for the support and for keeping this one alive. Again Cat4444 you have given me alot to ponder, but the red marks have just made me want to work harder.

Chapter 8

No one really discussed the last week much, not that they wanted to. Deeks was gone; they had all failed him in some way. The worst part was that they knew better; they knew Deeks better. Hetty was quick to remind the group that the past was the past and all that mattered now was finding him. Nell and Eric couldn't find anything electronically to track down the missing liaison officer. Verbeek's house and office were dead ends. The only thing they had to go on was the envelope Kevin had left on his desk. Inside were twenty photos, twenty pictures of men and women. Each marked in black with a date, nothing more. Deeks' picture was among them, the date a blatant reminder of how badly they had failed him.

Kaleidoscope matched all of the faces to missing persons' files from all over North America and a few from Europe. All of the missing people had the same things in common: single, no family, all reports made several weeks to months after the dates on the photos. Eric said what everyone had been thinking, "They had no one to worry about them. No one batted an eye when they went missing. No one cared enough to look for them."

Callen was quick to reply, "They have someone now. They . . . he . . . has us."

Tension was thick in the Mission as the days passed. No one closer to any break, Director Vance was dangerously close to having them move on to more current cases. Hetty fought for them. She called in another favor, and Vance agreed to one more week. With news of the impending deadline things quickly turned darker.

"Sam!" Callen yelled following after the ex-Navy Seal. "Slow down!"

All eyes turned to the two men as they stood in the bullpen. Sam clutched his jacket in his hands, twisting the fabric. "No, G. I'm not slowing down. He's out there. How can you be alright with this?!"

"I'm not, but we need to keep our heads clear." Callen stepped nearer, closing the distance between them. "You can't just fly off the handle like this. Nell and Eric have been digging into Kevin's life. We will find something."

"I will not sit idly by; I will not have another situation like Dom's." He jerked away from Callen's hand, which had been resting on his forearm. "Look how that turned out G. Where's Dom now? That's right, he's . . ."

"Enough!" Kensi yelled from her desk, her cheeks bright red. Her own emotions struggling to break past the wall she had put up.

A whistle made them all glance up at Eric; he stood at the railing staring down at them. "We found something."

For a second no one moved, their collective breaths held tight. Kensi moved first, clearing the stairs two steps at a time. Sam threw his jacket on his chair. Ignoring Callen, he followed after her.

Eric stood, tapping his fingers against his notepad, looking as though he had just found the motherlode. Everyone took their respective spots so that they all could see Eric.

"Alright, we found a holding company. Actually, Nell found it: J Dawn Holding from Georgia. It owns several properties, mostly industrial, a few residential."

"Point?" Sam stepped forward, causing Eric to step back.

"Sam!" Callen put his hand out, "Eric what does this have to do with the case?"

"Everything," Nell chirped from behind her computer screen. She glanced at Eric, giving him a momentary escape. "It took some digging, but this holding company has its mark in most of Kevin's financial life. We also found that it owns at least one property in each city the other nineteen people went missing from. It also has a warehouse in Los Angeles."

Callen pushed off the balls of his feet. "Already done," Eric spoke quickly. "Address downloaded to your smart phones. Hetty has a tactical team ready and waiting for you."

Kensi felt her heart in her throat; she wanted to kiss the Tech standing in front of them. Instead she moved to the door. Her phone vibrated as she climbed into her vehicle. Tori slipped into the passenger side. Sam's Charger purred to life and roared down the street. Kensi backed her vehicle out. She was going to get Deeks back. She could feel it.

At least three punches and a kick to his midsection left Deeks gasping for breath and confused. He needed to fight back; he had to fight back. Tatiana's threat rang in his ears: 'You're going to die tonight.' A boot caught his temple, spinning him around. His vision blurred and his stomach began to churn as his head bounced off the concrete. A heavy body landed on him, a knee, possibly an elbow, drove into his already aching ribs. He could feel the thick, heavy breath of his attacker against his face, spittle dripping onto his cheek. A hand covered the left side of the face holding him still, while another hit his right side. Deek's attacker switched his attack, hitting the left side. Repeating the blows keeping him off balance

His head exploded with the pain, the vision in his right eye blurred further before fading completely. Tears filled his eyes when his nose broke. His jaw cracked, straining under the vicious blows. Blood ran down from his nose filling his mouth. His thoughts already clouded by the drug, his body began to relax. Something broke in the back of his mind. Kensi's voice screamed as she shook his body, 'You get up Marty Deeks, you get up, and you fight for your life!'

He spluttered, pushing out a much-needed exhalation. Blood splattered against the face of his attacker, causing him to stop and lean backward. Deeks found the strength to lay his hands on his attacker's chest and push him off. He kicked at the blur; his foot striking something solid. He could hear curses, and, though garbled, it sounded like Deeks had broken his opponent's nose.

Deeks rolled onto his stomach, pulling himself away from his foe. Hands grabbed his ankles, not giving him the chance to get too far. He was flipped onto his back, but he didn't stop, instead he struggled to break free. He almost had his left foot free, at least until something crashed down on his right foot. Deeks cried out at the sudden pain, his body dropped back to the floor and lay motionless.

"What the Hell, Deeks?!" Sam came out of nowhere, grabbing Deeks' shirt collar and gave him a shake. "I know you are better than this! I know I trained you better than this!"

"Sam, leave me alone," Deeks hissed through clenched lips. Not only was he going to die, but now he had Sam riding him.

"No, I won't leave your sorry ass. If anyone is going to kick your ass, it's going to be me." He shook him again, this time giving his cheek a slap. "Ain't no one but me gets to manhandle you. Now come on. This guy's a punk. He's all strung out. You can take him. I could take him. Kensi could do it with her eyes closed. Get up and fight!"

Deeks growled. His eye opened, and he found himself staring at the bald head of the man from the room where he had been hung and beaten. His name didn't matter; Deeks was going to win this.

Deeks put everything behind the head butt. If the man's nose wasn't broken before, it was now. Deeks slumped when the hands let go of him. His breath came quick and short. His right ankle dragged behind him when he moved. He couldn't feel it anyway as the numbness took over, coupled with an overwhelming desire to live.

He limped toward the man before him and, grabbing his throat, drove his fist against his face. As he felt the bone crack and the flesh give way under his knuckles, a smile broke across his face.

He pulled his fist back again for another shot. The man tried to block him, but Deeks used his body to push against him and force him to the concrete floor. His fist never stopped moving. If it was flesh, he drove his fist into it.

Deeks pulled himself up the man's body so that he could hover over his face like the man had done to him earlier. His blood dripped down from his own cuts on his face, it blended with the man's own blooded face. Deeks simply laughed hysterically.

He found the situation to be extremely funny. He was destined to die tonight, and now he had the upper hand. He had his way out. His hands slipped around the bald head, he then raised it and slammed it down onto the floor as his laughter continued to bubble out.

He raised the man's head again, slamming it down harder. The man beneath him went lax, his hands no longer striking Deeks' sides in an effort to break free. He ceased fighting back, but Deeks was far from done.

If the Madame wanted entertainment, he would give it to her. He struck the head against the floor once more as someone grabbed his shoulder in an attempt to pull him back. A bright light shone in his face. He laughed, pushing the hands away. His own hands were soaked in blood, which made it hard to lift the head, but he really didn't care. He won. He was going to go home.

The distinct sound of a gun cocking and the feel of the barrel pressing against his temple made Deeks turn his head. Now the barrel of the gun pressed against his forehead. His lips curled up into a grin, as he let the bloody head slip from his hands. He was pulled off the body, still laughing. He couldn't stop himself. Only when the butt of a rifle came down on his head did the laughter stop.

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