"Where are they taking him?" Kensi asked the police officer who had held onto her.
"Olympia Medical Center, they have the best Emergency Center of all the hospitals in the city. Your friend is in good hands." he replied. "Would you like us to call someone to take you?"
"No. No, I can call someone, thank you." Kensi pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
"Sam I need you to meet me at the bistro on the corner of Robertson and Wilshire immediately. I'll explain when you get here. And tell Callen to wear something nice." A smile tugged at her lips as she heard the smaller agent protest. "Thanks Sam, I'll see you in fifteen."
XxXxXx
The lunch crowd was starting to thin as Sam and Callen arrived. The duo attracted a lot of attention as they crossed the lawn to Kensi.
Sam was dressed in a pair of snug black chinos and a long sleeved tight white shirt that showed off his impressive muscles, for a moment Kensi wondered where the heck his gun was hidden.
Callen's appearance quickly derailed that train of thought. G was dressed in a light blue Hugo Boss with the top four buttons undone and a cream colored pair of cotton twill slacks. He looked like he had just left a GQ shoot.
"You're staring." Callen chided her.
"So is everyone else." she pointed out.
Callen grinned, "You said I should dress nice."
"And you did, I'm impressed."
"You look pretty hot yourself." Callen's eyes never rose higher than her chest.
Kensi put a hand over the bare skin above her blouse.
"What happened?" Sam asked, "I thought you were supposed to be meeting Deeks here." His voice dropped to a threatening tone, "Did he stand you up?"
"No," Kensi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I met him but there is something wrong. He was acting strange…"
"Strange is nothing new for Deeks." Callen laughed.
"He looked like he's been in a fight – there were scratches on his face and neck and he was acting like he didn't know who I was, then he collapsed."
"What?" Sam said, "Is he alright?"
"I don't know," Kensi's voice cracked and Callen reached out a comforting hand.
"The ambulance took him away just a few minutes ago and…" she wiped at her eyes, "and they said…they said they were losing him."
Sam stepped closer, lending his support with his nearness. "Where did they take him?"
"Olympia."
"That's good," Sam nodded, "Olympia is a small hospital but it's staffed by the best."
"Did he say why he wanted to meet you?" Callen asked. "Did he sound worried about anything?"
"No. He just asked me to meet him here ASAP."
"Was he with anyone? Did you see who he might have been fighting with?" Sam asked.
"No. I saw him standing over there by the hedges near the trees." Kensi pointed, "He was really still and quiet. When I got to him I saw the scratches and saw that he was missing a shoe."
"So where's the shoe?" asked Sam, "He probably lost that wherever he got into the fight."
"I haven't looked." Kensi bit her lip, looking worried.
"You go on to the hospital, Kensi," G told her, "Sam and I will snoop around here and see what we can find."
"Okay, thanks G, Sam. I'll call you when I know anything about Deeks." she walked away quickly and soon disappeared.
They started toward the hedges when a willowy blond in a skin tight midnight blue mini dress stepped between Sam and Callen.
"My God, you are gorgeous!" She squeezed Sam's bicep with her long, slender fingers and slipped a card into his hand. She leaned in close to him, "Whatever he's paying you, I'll double it." she whispered, staring up into his eyes.
"Excuse me?" Sam asked, puzzled by what she could have meant.
"I had no idea bodyguards could be big AND beautiful." she winked, "Call me," she called back over her shoulder as she walked back to her table.
Callen didn't say anything but the smirk on his face spoke volumes.
"Just shut up." Sam grumbled good-naturedly, tucking the card in his pocket. "This is all your fault anyway, you dressing like Warren Beatty. All you need is some gold chains."
Just beyond the hedges was a small copse of trees. There was a narrow open space between the hedges and a light path that led away. It didn't take long for them to find the spot where Deeks had lost his shoe.
The brown loafer lay on the ground just inches away from a body.
A man who looked to be about twenty-five years old and weighed at least 220 pounds was sprawled on the grass. His blond hair was cropped close and his blue eyes stared up the sky. The pockets of his jeans were turned inside out; his blue tee shirt was stained with dirt and blood.
Callen picked up a wallet that had been tossed on the ground between the feet of the body while Sam checked the body.
"Dead." Sam reported, "Still warm. He's been beaten pretty badly, the fingers of his right hand are broken and so is his neck."
"Money and credit cards are still here so it wasn't a mugging." G held the wallet out so Sam could see the ID, "Navy identification. Looks like he was one of yours."
"A Seal?" Sam scowled, "So it's our case." He studied the body, "How the hell did Deeks manage to break the neck of a Navy Seal?"
"And come out of it with just a few scratches."
Sum huffed, "He got more than that, if they're taking him to Olympia."
"Why would Deeks kill this guy and then go through all his pockets? What was he looking for?"
"This makes no sense at all." Sam paced, "Why would Deeks call Kensi to meet him here if he was going to kill a Navy Seal?"
"He wanted a friendly investigator?"
Sam glared at Callen who just shrugged.
"Maybe it wasn't Deeks."
"Did you notice any other Cinderellas out there? I think a guy missing a shoe would stand out in a crowd like that." Sam looked aggravated, "We're going to have to work with Beverly Hills PD on this on since it's smack in the middle of their turf and we need their help to question all these people. We're going to be here for hours; you call Kensi and give her the heads up. Let Hetty know, she'll probably want to go be with Kensi."
"Why do I get to make all the fun phone calls?" Callen complained.
"Because I get to explain to BHPD how this whole mess became a joint venture." He cocked an eyebrow at his partner, "Unless you want to trade?"
"Nope." Callen pulled out his phone and started dialing
XxXxXx
Parking was no problem, the hospital had plenty of spaces and Kensi wondered why. There didn't seem to be the large crowd of sick and injured that one usually saw at a city hospital. She strode through the Emergency Room doors and looked around. The few people sitting in the waiting room glanced up at her for a moment and then went back to their magazines and the TV that hung in the corner.
The room was small, dimly lit but surprising clean and smelled lightly of fresh flowers.
"Sign in here, miss." An older woman dressed in blue scrubs called from behind the desk.
"I'm not here to see a doctor; my friend was just brought in by ambulance."
"The respiratory arrest?"
Kensi's eyes watered, "We were about to have lunch at Café Bel Flur."
"Yes, he's in room 3." she put out an arm to stop Kensi, "I'm afraid you'll have to wait here for a little bit, the doctors are still stabilizing him."
Kensi stiffened and the nurse patted her on the shoulder, "Dr. Crandle from Cedars Sinai is on call, he's the best ER doc in LA County."
Kensi looked around helplessly and the nurse tugged her to a seat behind the desk. "You sit right here, honey and I'll get you a cup of tea."
Before Kensi could decline the drink the woman had disappeared into another room. She returned less than a minute later with a small china cup. The steam that lifted from it was aromatic and soothing.
Kensi took the cup, closed her eyes and just breathed in the scent.
"That's my girl." the nurse said with a smile. "Nice slow, deep breaths. Better now?"
Kensi raised her head, looked at the nurse and smiled weakly, "Yes, thank you."
"My own special blend of chamomile, honey and orchid. I'm afraid the flavor still needs some work but you can't beat the smell."
"It's wonderful." Kensi agreed. She didn't taste it.
The paramedics came out of the treatment room and stopped at the desk. The older one recognized Kensi.
"Don't you worry miss," he smiled reassuringly, "he's in good hands."
"Thank you," said Kensi, "Thank you for getting to him so fast and for getting him here."
He gave her a half salute, "Just doing my job."
His partner grinned and gave him a punch on the arm, "Come on lover boy, let's go."
Another man came out of the treatment room, he was dressed in blue scrubs and a white coat, a stethoscope was hung around his neck and he carried a sheaf of papers.
He was taller than Kensi, with brown hair and brown eyes. About thirty-five years old, he walked with a confidence that marked him as a doctor, not a nurse.
"Are you a friend of Mr. Deeks?" he asked.
Kensi nodded, her mouth was suddenly too dry to speak. She set the teacup on the counter.
"Mr. Deeks has suffered respiratory arrest and that had caused him to slip into a coma. He is not breathing on his own at this point. We have intubated him and placed him on a respirator." he leaned across the desk, "It is vital that we find out what caused this so that we can give him the proper treatment as soon as possible so that he does not suffer any more ill affects."
Kensi nodded and the doctor continued.
"You told the paramedics that he is not diabetic?"
"He's not."
"I've examined him and do not find any signs of traumatic head injury or stroke, although we will be performing more tests to make certain of that." His voice dropped to a lower tone, no less insistent.
"I know that you also told the paramedics that your friend does not take any medication nor use any illegal drugs. If he has taken some kind of drug and has overdosed on it and that is what caused this sudden loss of consciousness it is of the utmost importance that I know what it is immediately."
Angry now, Kensi got to her feet, fists clenched at her sides. "He's a cop, he wouldn't do drugs!"
"Police officers are human and are just as likely to abuse drugs as anyone else."
"Not Deeks!" she insisted.
"Okay. " The doctor folded his hands and leaned on his elbows. "We are going to do some tests on Mr. Deeks to see if we can determine what caused the respiratory arrest. I've set him up for a lumbar puncture; do you know what that is?"
"A spinal tap?"
"Yes. We will take a small sample of the fluid from his spinal canal to see if he has some kind of infection. There is a small risk of spinal damage from this procedure but we feel that is a necessary step to take at this point."
"Anything, please. I just want you to help him."
He nodded and made some notes on the chart on the desk. "I've also scheduled him for a CT scan and EEG"
"I know what a CAT scan is, but what's an EEG?"
"Electroencephalography. An EEG measures the electrical activity inside the brain. Small electrodes are attached to the scalp, the electrodes pick up the brain's electrical impulses, which are recorded on the EEG machine. With this we can see if he's suffered any brain damage such as that which may have been caused by a stroke."
"Can I see him." her eyes filled with tears, "Please, just for a minute?"
The doctor nodded, "We've got to get the CT suite prepped, so you can stay with him until the technician comes down for him."
"Thank you."
The nurse handed Kensi a box of Kleenex and the agent pulled a few from it.
"Thanks." Kensi headed down the hall.
Treatment room 3 was one of the larger cubicles but it seemed small because of all the equipment around the bed. Lights flashed, machines hummed, beeped and hissed.
Kensi stepped up and leaned across the bed rail to brush the back of her hand across Marty's cheek. His flesh felt cold and stiff under her fingers.
"Hey partner," she sniffled, trying to sound like nothing was wrong. "You've certainly got the whole place in an uproar with this stunt. You know Hetty is not going to be happy when she finds out that you are loafing around in a Beverly Hills Hospital."
The room felt icy cold to her. She tugged the sheet higher, folding it over his bare chest and hoping that it wouldn't disturb the monitors that were stuck all over him but she didn't want him to be chilled. She smoothed the sheet then took his hand in hers. The plastic hood of the oxygen monitor clipped on his finger made his skin glow red.
"There's going to be a lot of stuff happening to you in a little bit, so you better behave yourself, okay?" she tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace. "They are going to do some tests on you to find out what happened." She tucked his hand under the comfort of the sheet.
"The doctor seems to think that you might have overdosed on some kind of drug but I told him no way. You better not make a liar out of me Deeks, you hear me?" She heard a sound behind her, looked back at the door and saw the tech standing there with an apologetic smile.
"It looks like your escort is here so I have to let you go. I'll see you as soon as you're done."
The tech moved in as she stepped back.
"After he's done with the CT and the EEG we'll be moving him upstairs to a room. If you want to, you can wait in the waiting room on the fourth floor. I'll make sure that someone lets you know when we finish and where he'll be." she said.
Kensi twisted the Kleenex in her hands, "Thank you."
ZZZzzzzz…
The muse is trying to kill me on this one… she has changed the entire plot of this story FIVE TIMES !
I like this last one (I hope it's the last one) it's fresh and interesting.
Sad news is that my computer has picked up a virus from an infected jpeg – not sure where I got it from 'cause I've been picking up maps of Los Angeles, LA clubs and pictures of the NCISLA cast and I've lost about half the stuff from my external hard drive to it.
It's slow going trying to recover the files and I'm doing a lot of work on the computer that does not involve writing fanfic.
But I shall persevere!
With lots of encouragement from:
Izzie McCool, GingerAmI, ShadowWolfDagger, BlueEyes444, Katrina DiNozzo, Silver Mirror, AutumnxLovex, Sprite, Picchic, and Tp96 ! Thank You! Thank you for encouraging me to write more.
lynneanne: Sam features a lot in the upcoming chapters, I hope you'll like that. It's not Marty's fault (this time) he's caught in the middle…
LostForeverInHisEyes: As one of my other OCs once said "It's not my fault…" Deeks just seems to have a natural aptitude for finding trouble all by his little lonesome ;)