Chapter Sixteen
The team entered Ops and Eric immediately relayed what the LAPD had sent him.
"An unidentified male was found roughly a mile from where Pike was found." Eric said as a picture of the man came on the screen. The man was Caucasian, mid to late twenties, blonde hair, brown eyes, six foot one. "Early prediction is that he's been dead roughly the same time as Pike. COD a gun shut wound to the head execution style, same as all previous male victims."
"How did LAPD miss a dead body in the radius of another one?" Callen asked Eric, though he stared at Deeks as if he was responsible for the incompetence of the LAPD.
"Well," Deeks drawled, "It might have been just outside of the parameters of the original search?"
Eric shrugged, "Beats me, man," He typed on his tablet then said, "An hour or so ago, a homeless woman found John Doe in a dumpster full of bubble wrap and packing peanuts."
"John Doe so did not have fun popping the bubble wrap." Deeks quipped. The team either shook their head or grimaced. "What? Being dead is the only logical reason to not have fun with bubble wrap, it's like…" He paused to come up with a suitable simile, "It's like a drug to a jonesing junkie; you can't just say no to the bubble wrap, man."
"It might be a coincidence that Doe was found near Pike; it is LA." Eric offered, ignoring Deeks.
"No," Callen stated, "I don't believe in coincidences; especially when the evidence states that Doe was executed the same way as Pike."
"Eric," Nell said as a look of contemplation crossed her face, "How old was Pike?"
A look of confusion crossed his face as he retrieved the information on his tablet, "Forty-six,"
"And, the estimated age of John Doe?" She asked, her index finger tapping against her chin.
"Mid to late twenties," Eric answered not seeing how either age mattered.
Sam stated, in realization of Nell's train of thought, "Eric, run a search for Doe in all the feed you have of Pike, roughly eleven the night before Pike's murder. See if you get any hits for them near each other."
Eric did so, thinking that the search would not find anything, after all, because nothing linked the two other than the area where their bodies were found, each were from different backgrounds; she high ranked military, he an unemployed recent college graduate. He frowned when the search immediately found something from the clips he had logged earlier.
"What?" Deeks asked, seeing his fellow surfer frown.
Eric sent the search results to the large screen. Pike and Doe side-by-side holding hands as their faces were turned in to the other as if whispering. He replied, looking up from the tablet, "In front of the club, in line, seventeen minutes before Pike entered."
"His M.O. changed" Callen stated surprised.
"What?" Kensi exclaimed, none of their information predicted that he would target the combination of an older woman and younger man.
"That is the only good thing that I've heard today!" Deeks exclaimed happily.
"How could that be a good thing?" The woman from the restroom asked.
Deeks answered, "Actually a very good thing. Doyle may target me and Kensi instead of Callen and Nell. I hope that's the case, anyway, Pike and Doe's murders might have been a one off, but," He paused playfully horrified and exclaimed, "Gah! That means a haircut and clean shaven."
Sam closed his eyes, smiled, and shook his head at Deeks.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Callen asked, tilting his head as he took in the stranger's appearance; five-foot-six, long flat ironed straight bottled blonde hair, dark brown eyes, overtly tan, and roughly early to mid-thirties.
As Callen asked the stranger a question, Kensi assured Deeks that he most likely would not have to get a haircut, but teased him about the beard having to go.
"Agent Callen, Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones," Hetty stated walking through the automatic double doors, "Meet Technical Analyst Marisa O'Malley, she will be assisting Mister Beale effective ten minutes ago until the conclusion of the Operation. While," Hetty cleared her throat, "Miss Jones was in wardrobe; the team met Analyst O'Malley in my office, as Mister Hanna and I finished tea."
Sam grimaced at the reminder of the tea he had reluctantly drunk.
Nell pursed her lips and wrapped her arms around her middle; slightly wincing at the irritation the movement caused her wrist.
"Miss Jones, because of the time restraint that we have before you enter the field, effective immediately, your job duties have temporarily passed to Miss O'Malley. Mister Beale will get her up to speed. You, my dear will over the next couple of days receive a crash course in fieldwork. However, I think it best if you were to return to wardrobe at this time. Please pass along a message to Mister Renko, please."
Hetty noticed Nell flinch, but refrained from commenting about it.
"Yes, I shall." Nell answered as she nodded in affirmative, "What is the message?"
"If any of his wardrobe is ruined," Hetty answered, her eyes narrowed, her index finger tapping the air in front of her face with each word she spoke, "I will reassign him permanently somewhere landlocked."
Nell arched an eyebrow, "Landlocked?"
"Yes, Miss Jones, landlocked." Hetty confirmed.
Kensi explained the importance of the threat, "Nell, Mike loves the water. He lives on a boat. Being permanently landlocked would be his worst nightmare."
Deeks exclaimed, "Boat?" He shook his head and looked at Kensi as if she was a new species that he had not known of, he continued in disbelief, "Kensi, it's not a boat, it's a mini-ship!"
"Okay," Kensi shrugged, halfway correcting what she had said, "Fine, a luxurious boat, but a boat nonetheless.
Sam shook his head at Hetty's threat, "Now, Hetty, isn't that just a tad too extreme?"
"Mister Hanna," Hetty answered, "If something happens to your wardrobe, I am not above suspending your privilege of using the Challenger while working a case."
Sam's mouth opened in shock then shut in wisdom. Mike was on his own. No Challenger meant Callen drove his Mercedes. Sam had nothing against the Mercedes, but Callen driving was another story. The only person who Sam hated riding with other than Callen was Kensi. Kensi's driving, although had developed through the years, was much worse than Callen.
"Deeks," Callen ordered, "Tell the LAPD that both Pike and Doe are theirs to investigate, but we want full disclosure and they are not to act against Doyle or his organization until they have received our go ahead."
"But, Captain Pike is Navy." O'Malley questioned, "Why are we handing jurisdiction to them."
Before Nell could retort to the interruption and questioning of Callen's authority, Callen answered, giving the new Tech benefit of the doubt, because her question was legitimate, "Analyst O'Malley, how do you propose us to investigate a murder that more than likely happened in the club that we'll infiltrate as aliases?"
O'Malley wisely pressed her lips together and refrained from asking more questions or causing further interruptions.
Deeks answered Callen's order about the LAPD, "Sure thing, since we all will be in the field, I'll have them keep Hetty and Eric apprised."
Callen nodded.
Deeks walked across the room and paused in front of Nell, he extended his arm in a courteous manner, and said playfully, "Milady, I shall escort thou to thou destination, if thou shall have thee."
Nell giggled and slipped her arm through his as she giggled and said, "Thank you, kind sir."
Callen growled at the sight of her the two leaving arm in arm.
Kensi and Sam shared a knowing, amused look.
Eric rolled his eyes.
Hetty smiled at the charm and sense of humour that Marty had. They all relied on him to diffuse tension and tough situations with his humour, although Hetty feared that eventually that humour would not be enough.
O'Malley stared at Callen amused, contemplative, and relieved. For the first time since she had heard of the surreptitious plan, she truly believed that it could work; that the legendary Agent Callen could be defeated, destroyed.
Superman had Lois.
Spiderman had Mary Jane.
Batman had Robin.
G. Callen had Nell Jones.
Marisa O'Malley's shared Owen Granger's opinion of the team; it would be a shame to allow the NCIS version of the Justice League to continue to defy the laws they were supposed to up hold; it was long past time for the group to pay for what they had done. Not one of the modern day Avengers would focus on the closest threat, focusing solely on executing the Operation instead. After all, they had never considered Owen Granger from destroying the team from within, because they all strongly believed that not one of the team would betray the other.
*.*
As Deeks and Nell walked arm in arm down the staircase, Deeks said, "Nell Bell, I want you to know that I value you and your friendship, I'm not going to let anything hurt you."
Concerned at the caring, serious tone of voice he used, Nell paused on the next to last stair.
Deeks stepped down unto the floor and moved so that he stood in front of her.
Standing on the next to last stair, she was almost eye level with him. She tilted her head to the left and sighed, "Marty, if you're going to give me a well-meaning, but unnecessary speech about how you worry about my safety and that you don't think that I'm prepared for the field. Please," She squeezed her eyes shut, before quickly opening them, and stressed the following, "Please, do me a favor, don't say it."
He grimaced, before he replied, "Nell, I have faith in you. You are going to rock the field as much as you do Ops."
Perplexed, her brow furrowed and she asked, "Then what did you mean by what you said?"
"Exactly what I said," Deeks replied before mixing humour with seriousness only he could, "Sweetheart, you're like my little sister, I've fostered you into my life, and you're not getting rid of me." He paused, exhaled a deep breath before he declared, completely serious, "If Callen so much as bruises your heart, I'll hurt him." Deeks held a pleading hand up as Nell was about to interrupt him, "Let me say this, none of us knows how long this Op is going to be, we could get lucky and the Op will be over in a week, but I highly doubt that. It's looking to be weeks, maybe months. If Callen takes advantage of this assignment, of you, I'll hurt him. I've never been so serious in my life, Nell. He's out of your league, sweetheart."
She inhaled sharply at the comment that she had been guilty of thinking since she had start working for NCIS. However, hearing it vocalized, hurt more than she had ever thought it could.
He continued, "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I don't want you disillusioned by him or what he says or does. He's got twenty years on you," Deeks paused to interrupt her from interrupting him, "Look, age doesn't matter to me, and after the display that you two gave us earlier, it doesn't matter to either of you either, but," Deeks stressed the word, "That doesn't change the fact that he has experience, life and work, where you don't. That lack of experience puts you at a disadvantage. He's jaded, dangerous, and quite frankly a little broken. I respect him quite a lot, he's my friend, I see him as a brother, but I draw a line where it concerns you. If he even half attempted to, he could be the player that your Mama warned you about."
Nell cleared her throat, "Deeks," Deeks have her an I-knew-it look, when he recognized that she had reverted back to calling him Deeks, instead of the earlier Marty. Nell continued, "You've nothing to worry about. He, we'll be too focused on the case for any hearts to be broken."
"Watching Callen slip into an alias is amazing, it's actually sort of beautiful." Deeks smiled awkwardly before frowning, "He can become anyone with the snap of his fingers, so he'll be able to become your prince charming, when actually he's the barbaric beast to your bashful Belle." He paused, looked around, no one was walking by or near the staircase, but he lowered his voice to a whisper as he forced himself to look Nell in the eye. His neck quickly became red showing his discomfort at what he was saying, "Nell, it's been hinted, suggested, and eluded, but you need to know what you're getting into. What you two do behind closed doors is your business, and quite frankly it's going to happen anyway, but the difference between you having sex with him, and you having sex with his alias is huge. Doyle's going to want to watch, at least once. And,"
"Marty," She sighed, reverting back to his first name, understanding that he was trying to protect her in a caring way for her, not because he thought that she needed to be protected. She touched the side of his face with her right hand as she whispered, "I know. I don't like it, but I know. I'm not a little girl. I'm a woman. I don't understand why everyone is so finicky about that part of the assignment. Big deal, I have to have sex with him. That isn't a punishment," She paused as he flinched at the confession, she continued unashamed, "Yeah I know TMI, but at this point I don't care. I can separate what is needed for the Operation and what is reality. Callen can obviously. He's Callen; he's professional to a fault." She paused, exhaled loudly, and exclaimed, "I'm sick of hearing about what could happen, what people think will happen. I want this Op to start so what will happen, will happen!"
"Really?" Deeks asked and before he could prevent himself from continuing, he continued on the verge of anger and frustration, "Really, tell me, how in the hell was what happened in the boatshed professional? Was it practice for the big finale? Was it your audition to see if he could get it up? Nell, he's already using you."
She flinched and stiffened at the confession that he knew what happened at the boat shed and the vulgar way he described what had happened, "What?"
Deeks glanced upward before settling his blue eyes on her hazel, "Nell, I'm sorry for my crudeness, but it's true, he's already using your crush against you. Don't get me wrong," He held his hands up in surrender palms facing her, "I would love it if you two could have a happy ending, really I want you to get what you want, but it's Callen, he bails after six weeks and he doesn't date women in law enforcement. He's an opportunist who is afraid of commitment."
"How do you know what happened in the boatshed?" Nell finally asked, after regaining control of her vocal chords. She mentally filed his comments about Callen away, but for now she was more focused about how he knew about the boatshed.
"Seriously?" Deeks asked, surprised that she had not yet figured it out, "Has he gotten you that turned around and distracted?" He shook his head in disgust and disappointment, "Cameras, Nell, cameras."
She squeaked in horror. He blinked at the loud squeak that came out of her mouth. Mortified, she repeated the word, "Cameras." She paused, eyes wide, "That was on tape." Her mouth went slack in realization, "Oh my God, it'll get logged in the case files."
He smiled bitterly, "Now you get it. Doyle isn't going to be the only voyeur, baby doll. The United States Government is going to own the original copy of your first sex tape." He paused, "It will be your first, right? Cause if not, I'll, OUCH!" He yelped in pain when she punched him on the arm, he gingerly held where she had punched him, "Has Kensi been teaching you how to punch, 'cause that legit hurt like a mother!"
She stepped around him, down the last two steps, and begun to walk toward wardrobe. She paused five feet away from Deeks. She turned and smiled sadly at him, "I appreciate your concern, but I can handle whatever happens. I don't need a protector, defender, or an overprotective proxy of a brother, I need a friend who'll support me, even if that means letting me get my heart broken. Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen between me and Callen during or after the Op, but I won't find out until I try."
Deeks smiled sheepishly, "I am your friend, Nell. I just don't want his darkness to engulf your light."
Nell smiled at the analogy he used, "You're actually a closet hopeless romantic, aren't you?"
"Nah," Deeks denied, before he grinned, "I'm out and proud, baby."
Nell laughed, "Thank you, Marty. I don't agree with a lot of what you said, but I heard you and understand where you're coming from." She sobered, "Though, why is everyone convinced that I'm going to end up with a broken heart?"
"Because life isn't a fairy tale, Nell," Deeks answered, "In reality, sometimes Prince Charming can do more damage to the Princess than the wicked villain ever thinks to."
"Well," Nell paused, again shocked at his analogies, "Let's hope that neither hurts the self-efficient woman everyone thinks is a Princess." She paused again, "Sometimes, the Princess hurts both herself and the Prince, but I had better get to wardrobe."
Deeks agreed, "I'll cross my fingers and toes that nothing happens to you while I yield my gun to prevent you from getting hurt."
Nell laughed, waved, and walked away. She stopped when she heard Deeks yell out to her.
"Hey Nell," Deeks called out. "Give Mike a chance. Offer a truce."
Nell stiffened. Deeks noticed.
"Look," Deeks stated as he walked over to her, he whispered, "Mike doesn't trust easily. He sees you as a threat to the stability that Callen has finally captured."
"A threat?" Nell repeated, both confused and outraged, "What? How?"
Deeks sighed, "Don't ask how I know this, because I was sworn to secrecy, but you need to know."
"Know what?" She interrupted him, impatiently.
"The last time, Callen went deep undercover with a woman as man and wife," He stopped when she interrupted him again.
"Was with Tracy, I remember her." Nell declared, "I didn't like her."
"Yeah, I don't think you were supposed to, you know, you crushing on her ex-husband and all." Deeks retorted, before he continued, "But seriously, Tracy broke his heart, and," He paused when she interrupted him.
"Mike thinks I'm going to do the same." Nell guessed, finishing his sentence. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Mike told you this, I know, because he bluntly told me not to be like her."
Deeks crossed his arms, tiring of the constant interruptions, he asked, "Did Mike, also tell you, that Callen left the CIA right after that fiasco of an Operation and joined the DEA?"
"No." She answered. She tilted her head in realization. Her mouth slightly opened in disbelief, "Mike thinks that after the Op is over, Callen's going to leave NCIS to get away from me, like he did with Langley and Tracy."
Deeks did not answer vocally, but the answer was in his eyes, how he looked away from her, and would not look at her.
She exhaled loudly before she promised, "If it were to get to that point, I'd leave first. Callen is the heartbeat of this office."
Deeks finally looked at her, "No one is leaving. I won't let it happen. If anyone leaves, we'll give Granger what he wants. He wants to destroy the team and the fastest way to destroy it would be if Callen left. If you left, Callen wouldn't be too far behind, and it'll be a line of us after him. We'll stick together, okay, no matter what happens, because at the end of the day we aren't just colleagues, we're a family." He sighed, "We'll treat this Op like any other Op. We'll treat Granger like any other adversary who hides behind bureaucracy. It might take a while to get to him, to be able to take him down, but it'll happen."
Thank you for reading. I am so sorry for the lack of updates the past eleven days. Please forgive me. I appreciate the readership, alerts, favourites, and reviews.