A/N: The chapter is rated M for a graphic torture scene.
The next morning Sam and Callen were driving up to San Diego to pick up Nate and me. It was a simple: show up and grab us, and escort us back to Los Angeles, but on the other side of the world it was a completely different story. Sasha and his group had been attacking the base for the past two hours.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Germany: Two hours earlier-
"Sasha, I'm in position." Quintus whispered.
"Go." Sasha said over the wire.
Quintus gives the signal to begin the assault, and the men moved out. They quietly open the storm drain, and then made their way into the command center.
"Hands up; and don't make any sudden movements. Don't try to run, don't go for your weapons. Just stay absolutely still." Quintus said.
Of course none of the guards listened, and a fire fight broke out. Quintus and the tech engineer of the N.C.I.S. team stationed in Germany hit the doors; attempting to stop reinforcements from entering the room, and began locking it down. They were a bit slow getting all the doors shut, and one of the men on the infiltration team took a round in the arm. But they were able to take out most of the men in the area, and lock down the command center completely. The few people that complied stayed at their stations. Quintus found the main terminal, and uploaded the program that Tanner made to shut down the necessary systems. Next thing everybody heard was an alarm. The tech engineer got the camera system up on the main console so they can watch the operation progress.
"Sasha the command center is locked down. They have a nominal force holding the front gate, while the rest are coming to retake the command center. So if you're going to storm the base now is the time." Quintus said.
"Roger that. Snipers you're on point. Cover the incursion team as they breach." Sasha said.
"Copy that; prepped for intercept any tangos." Said the sniper commander.
"So what's the plan?" The tech engineer asked.
"We hold down the fort until the incursion team gets here." Quintus said.
"What about us?" Asked one of the engineers that was working in the command center before the assault.
"You comply with our request and I can personally guarantee your safety." Quintus said.
The rest of the people that were in the center kept quiet; they had no intentions of dying.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Los Angeles: Ops-
Nate and I were walking into Ops at ten o'clock in the morning. Sam and Calen took Nate and me to a safe house to get cleaned up. Being that this was my first time in the new Ops building, I was in awe at the size of the place. I felt like I did that first time I walked in to ops almost a decade ago.
"What were the modifications that were made?" I ask.
"Well it took them two years to rebuild the place, but they put fiber optic cable into help protect against another cyberattack, and they rebuilt the whole place from the ground up." Sam said.
"So they had to gut the whole building to make sure it was up to N.C.I.S. standards?" I ask.
"More, or less." Callen said.
"Where is the rest of the gang?" I ask.
"Eric and Nell are up in ops; whereas, Noa and Kensi are running a lead down." Hetty said.
"Hello Hetty. Where's the director?" I ask.
"Right here." Granger says.
"Sir." I say to Granger.
"Agent Deeks if you will follow me, please." Granger said.
"Why? I thought I was already cleared by the shrinks back in D.C.?" I ask.
"I want to ask you a few extra questions." Granger said.
"Lead the way sir." I say.
Granger and I walk away from the group, heading for the back hallway. I see that there are stairs leading to some sort of basement, which is new. I knew the last place had a sewer access, per se, but this place had an underground bunker. I whistle.
"You like what we did with the place?" Granger asked.
"Nice place to put a medical lab. I guess it is necessary seeing as how this place is out in the middle of nowhere." I say.
"Kensi found it after you disappeared. Eric and Conor worked together on the cyber defenses. And Sam had a contractor put retractable barricades up in case of a siege." Granger said.
"So that's what those metal plates I saw were for." I say.
"Yep." Granger said.
Granger and I walked into the breakroom that was in the med lab, and I sat at the table.
"Want something to drink?" Granger asked.
"Water." I say.
"You hungry?" Granger asked.
"What's on the menu?" I ask.
"I have a small pack of crackers. That's all I can do." Granger said.
"It will have to suffice now." I say.
Granger walked over to the table with a bottle of water, and the package of crackers. I open the crackers and eat one, and then take a sip of my water.
"How are you feeling?" Granger asked.
"I've been in the country for what three weeks?" I ask.
"Two." Granger corrected me.
"Wow; two weeks. I found out that I have a four or five year old daughter, who I haven't met yet, survived being attack a hit squad with Nate, and now I'm being interrogated." I say.
"I just want to know what my agent has been up to for the past five years." Granger said. "You might have insight into the group we are going after."
"The only thing I can say is shoot to kill; don't leave a single one of these people alive." I say.
"Why?" Granger asked.
"I remember this one particular moment that involve a guy who had a nasty skin disease." I say.
"Involved how?" Granger asked.
"They tortured the guy." I say.
"How bad?" Granger asked.
"Brutal." I say.
"How long ago was it?" Granger asked.
"About two years ago now." I say.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Paris, France: Two years ago-
I was making my rounds checking on the girls; making sure they were okay, and not being harmed by the men who were there to use them. There were a few men who pretended that they were there to use the girls, but they usually wound up abusing the girls. This particular night there was a guy who was banned from using any station in Paris because he mutilate a couple of the girls, and I happened to catch him in the act.
"AH!"
I hear a girl scream from my end of the complex, so I run at break neck speed to stop her from suffering anymore harm. I get to the stall that I heard the scream come from, or I thought it came from.
"Down two more." The half-naked man told me.
Thank goodness these stalls are just covered with curtains. I think.
Just as I'm approaching the stall I throw the curtain back to see that the maniac had mounted the woman and had stabbed her once in the shoulder. I reach out and grab the man's hand as he is retracting his arm to stab her again. I throw the naked man out into the hall by his wrist, and drew my gun and trained it on the man in case he tried something. The man saw the gun and thought better about trying something.
"Are you okay ma'am?" I ask the woman.
"I need first aid for this wound." The woman said; in a thick French accent.
"As soon as somebody comes to collect this man I'll will get you some help." I say.
"Mr. Benoit what a pleasure it is to see you again." I heard Seamus say.
"It's not really." I say to the man.
"This man has the condition." I heard Seamus bodyguard say.
"That skin condition?" Seamus asked.
"Yep." The man said.
"Max take this man to the pit." Seamus said.
"Which one? And are you sure about that?" I ask.
"The one on the north side of the complex, and I'm sure." Seamus said.
I walk over to the man, and cold cock him. I pick his naked body up throwing it over my shoulder.
"We are going to wait for the sun to come up." Seamus said.
I give Seamus a sideways glance, but I carry the man to the pit. Seamus wants to interrogate this man after the sun comes up, but that is, I look at my watch, three hours from now.
What skin disease could this man have? I think.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Present day: Germany-
Sasha, Tanner and the incursion team were making their way slowly through the hallways to the command center, but their progress was slowed by the occasional shoot out. The group was comprised of eight people, so they decided to split up, and cover more ground. In the command center Quintus was watching their progress on the cameras.
"Sasha continue following this hallway you're in, and it will lead you to the command center. The second team that split off you are heading towards the power grid. Taking that down will slow down the team outside the command center, and the reinforcements that are inbound." Quintus says.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Paris, France: Two years ago-
The three hour had passed, and the sun was started rise over the horizon. I'm standing in the pit with Seamus and the other bodyguard when the guy starts to come around. I nod to the bodyguard to speak with him in private.
"What did you mean by he has the skin condition?" I ask.
"The vampire disease?" The man said.
"Porphyria?" I ask.
"That's the one." The man said.
"Acute, or cutaneous?" I ask.
"The one that makes his skin burn." The man said.
"Cutaneous." I say.
I then realize what Seamus was about to do, and all I can do is watch in horror as Seamus is about to make man this man wish he was dead. I feel a cold chill go down my spine, as I watch Mr. Benoit regain consciousness.
I've seen many people get assaulted in my time, but this has got to be by far the worst case. I think.
I notice a post in the center of the room, it look like a whipping post. Seamus signaled for us to shackle the man to the post with his head facing him. I don't like what we're about to do, but I don't hesitate. To do so would earn myself a swift death. We shackle Benoit to the post and back away.
"Max put his legs out in front of him." Seamus said.
I don't have to be told twice; I walk over and pull the man's legs out in front of him, and then step away.
"Max, I want you to work the crank." Seamus said.
"You got it boss." I say.
I walk over and man the crank; awaiting the order to open the ceiling. I really despise Benoit for attacking the woman, but I truly despise Seamus for what he is about to do to this man.
"What?" Benoit asked. "What have?"
"What have we done?" Seamus asked. "Ever heard of the phrase Eye for an eye; tooth for a tooth?"
Seamus nodded at me, and I opened the ceiling. I open it until I hear Benoit screaming, but Seamus signals for me to hold it there. The sun hit smack dab in the middle of his forehead. Benoit screamed for about two minutes before Seamus told me to close it; the skin where the sun had shined on had begun to blister, and char. After I closed it Seamus let Benoit catch his breath before speaking again.
"You want to know why we have done this." Seamus said. "Well it's pretty simple; you have been caught abusing the merchandise before. You have been banned from coming to these places because you have a violent tendency to harm, or mutilate the merchandise. My man, Max, caught you trying to mutilate the woman tonight, so I decide to give you a taste of you own medicine."
"This is illegal." Benoit tried to protest.
"Yet no cops have been called to come and save you." Seamus said, and then signaled for me to open the ceiling again. This time Seamus had me open the ceiling wider; the sun shone on the man's whole face now. I can see the man's face begin to melt and char. Where the skin didn't char, blood begin to flow out of ruptured blood vessels. Now Benoit screamed for about ten minutes before I was told to shut it.
I'm glad I have a strong stomach because I probably would have thrown up by now otherwise. I think
"Do you want to know how this ends?" Seamus asked.
Seamus waited for Benoit to answer, but he didn't want to. So Seamus signaled for me to open the ceiling opening it further than I have so far, and the screaming begins again. I watch as Benoit's abdomen and the upper portion of his legs, and possibly his groin begin to burn, bleed, and char. Seamus want the ceiling to be held open for quite some time; so long I think I hear Benoit's voice beginning to crack. Seamus signals for me to close the ceiling again; I look at our prisoner and what was once a man is now a scabbed, charred, and bloody mess. I think I hear the other bodyguard off in the corner puking his guts out. Even Seamus looks a little bit pale, but he kept his wits about him. I hear moaning coming from Benoit, but his vocal cords are starting to weaken from all the screaming. I think that if Benoit does anymore screaming his vocal cords are going to break.
"Tell me Mr. Benoit, have you learned your lesson yet?" Seamus asked.
Benoit just groaned. Seamus waited for a reply, but didn't get one.
"I think he might have busted his vocal cords." I say.
Seamus signals again, and I open the ceiling all the way, and take a seat. Before long Benoit's voice dies out, and all you can see is his mouth hanging open but no sound is coming out.
That's not creepy. I think.
I see his whole body become a giant charred and bloody scab, and then only thing that I can see of the former man is his brown eyes, and semi white teeth. I'm thinking Seamus will end it soon, but he doesn't. At this time the smell is starting to become a noticeable, and I put my hand over my face to cover my nose and mouth. Seamus gets up from his chair, and then walks over to Benoit.
"Good bye." Seamus said.
I see Seamus pull a gun out, and shoot Benoit between the eyes. Seamus signals for us to leave, and we exit the pit. I noticed the entire time we were torturing Benoit, there was another team that was clearing the place out. There is nothing left of the place; nothing that would suggest that a makeshift whore house was here.
"Let's blow this popsicle stand." Seamus said.
Both the bodyguard and I laughed at Seamus line, and then we head over to the suv; from there we head to the airport. Our next destination is the states.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Present day: Ops-
"Wow. And you didn't throw up at all while Seamus was torturing the man?" Granger asked.
"Surprisingly, no." I say.
"What do you remember of your extraction?" Granger asked me.
"Why are you asking me that?" I ask. "That's a question for the people who did extracting."
"I want to know what happened that day, from you prospective." Granger said.
"Okay." I say.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
London, England: two weeks ago-
I'm walking with Seamus and his other bodyguard to the club where the next auction is to take place. It's a fancy place: three stories tall, five different clubs, and a swimming pool on the roof.
And lord only knows if there are any secret passages in this place. I think.
This is the kind of place you see in the horror movies, were a lot people get killed. It's not my kind of place, but it is my kind place. I see something off in the distance that catches my attention, but Seamus moves us inside. As we enter the club we make our way slowly over to the elevators, mingling with crowd as we go. I turn me attention to the door incase whatever caught my attention outside might enter after we do. By the time we get to the elevator I see somebody enter the club; we make eye contact, and the person walks away. For some strange reason I feel like I know him; I don't know why, but I know him.
We step onto the elevator and wait for the elevator doors to close. Just as the doors are closing I see another man enter the building that I know. We ride the elevator up to the roof, and meet with the rest of the clients before we head down to the basement to begin the auction. These meet and greets are routine, but there are a waste of time to me. I think we should all head down to the basement where the auction takes place and skip the meet and greet, but the company says that we need to do the meet and greet before getting down to business. As we're on the roof mingling I see another group of people in the crowd moving towards us, and I don't think they're here to congratulate us on the caviar and champagne. Just as I'm about to tell Seamus that we have company I feel my body being restrained, and a hypodermic needle enter my neck. I feel a substance enter my system, and just as I'm blacking out I hear gunfire ring out, and I feel my body being dragged backwards. Next time I wake up I will be in Washington D.C. in a federal detention center.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Washington D.C.: five days later-
I wake up in a hospital bed hooked up to all sorts of machines, and I register that I'm not alone. I turn my head and I see an armed guard standing outside my room, and then a nurse comes in to check my vitals. I go to open my mouth, but no sound comes out. The nurse acknowledges that I'm awake, and then proceeds to remove my intubation tube.
"Where am I?" I ask, with a raspy voice.
"Washington D.C." The woman said, giving me some ice chips to suck on.
"Thanks. But what am I doing here?" I ask.
"It seems that you have been missing in action for the past five years Agent Deeks." The nurse said.
"My name is Max Gentry." I say.
"It seems confusing now, but it will all come back to you." The nurse said.
"If I had a dollar…" I said.
"Your director said that you had a sense of humor." The nurse said.
After the nurse was finished she left to continue her rounds. What I didn't expect was who my next visitor would be.
"Agent Deeks." A man said, as he entered my room a few hours later.
"That's who I've been told that I am." I say.
"Five years is a long time to be undercover. Allow me to reintroduce myself; my name is Director Leon Vance. You will be staying here for a couple of days until our doctors are satisfied of your mental state." Leon said.
"Yes, sir." I say.
"I'll be seeing you around." Leon said, and then left my room.
I spend the next five days being treated by both psychologist, and medical doctors. I feel Agent Deeks feelings start to well up in me; he's annoyed with all the doctors fussing over us. But it seems that we don't have a choice if we're going to get out of here. And before long I'm being released, and escorted to a plane. From there the plane takes me back to Los Angeles. After the plane lands, I'm escorted to a pair of waiting suv. Then I wind up at a building that I've seen before, and slowly Max Gentry loses his grip on me as Agent Deeks returns to claim what was lost.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Present day: Ops-
"So that's it?" Granger asked.
"I'm not sure what you were expecting sir." I say. "If you wanted the full details of the event you should have asked Sasha."
"Do you remember the rest of the group?" Granger asked.
"Tanner and Quintus." I say.
"Right now my assets are in Germany taking down the main base of the slave trade." Granger said.
"I remember Seamus saying that they had a base in the states." I say.
I had to remember a number at first, and then I remember that it was an account number.
"Do you have a pen and paper?" I ask.
"Why don't you go up and give that to Beale's personally." Granger said.
"That I shall." I say.
Granger and I head back up topside, and then he heads to his office as I head up to ops. As I enter ops it looks like the old ops, just a few more screens and computer stations. The next thing I know I'm being jumped by a tiny red head. After I regain my composure, I hug Nell and shake hands with Eric.
"I got a lead for you two to run down." I say.
"What do you have?" Eric asked.
"It's an account number: 6430188348." I say.
"We'll check into it." Nell says.
"We'll be waiting." I say, and then I leave ops.
As I'm walking down the stairs I enter the bull pen to my waiting team. I hug Sam, shake hands with Callen, and I get a hug from Noa.
"I missed you." Noa whispered.
"I missed you, too." I say.
I walk over to my Kensi; my partner, my lover, and my wife and give her a kiss. After we break the kiss I wipe tears from her eyes, and she whispered in my ear.
"There's a party at our place tonight after work." Kensi said.
"I can't wait." I say.
"Now that welcome backs have been said, it's time to get down to business." Hetty said.
"Kensi want to give me a tour?" I ask.
"Please save your antics for when you get home." Hetty said as she exited the bull pen.
Everybody looked at us, and then they contently went back to their paperwork. A few hours later we still didn't have any leads on the current case, so Hetty cut us loose for the day.
A/N: I'm down to the wire with this story. They is one more chapter and an epilogue before the story is over. Like I said I'm sorry for shortening the story, but The Fire Rises universe is starting to wear on me and I'm starting to get burned out. That being said I'm only going to take a step back from the Fire Rises universe; I still have The Abyss and Lord Nikon to finish. On top of that I have three other stories I want to write; one after Lord Nikon, a new one in the realm of science fiction, and another new one in a medieval and modern setting.