After an hour of walking, the team was still far from reaching Birkhadem.
They were traveling through back roads in a small community outside of the city. It was nearing sunset, but it was still incredibly hot. Callen and Kensi were leading the group while they hauled four heavy backpacks. Deeks was now walking alone in front of Sam, giving the SEAL a break from aiding him.
"I know….this….may sound childish, but are we there yet?" Deeks panted.
Up front, Callen replied without looking over his shoulder, "Just hold on, Deeks."
"Callen, we need to stop," Kensi panted. She put her hands on her knees to catch her breath, "We've been walking for a while now and we're still not there yet-"
"G, I gotta agree with them," Sam said, "We have to get the hell out of the heat." He ran down to the end of the road that and stuck his head around the corner. On the next street, there were only two cars, both in one driveway. The street was also very quiet, meaning that either the homeowners on this block weren't home or that it was just a usually quiet area.
"You're not proposing breaking into someone's home, are you?" Deeks anxiously asked at the contemplating look on Sam's face. Sam rolled his eyes and snapped, "You have a better idea?"
"Well- wait, is this to get out of the heat or to res-"
"Shh!" Kensi shooed Deeks at the sight of a white truck turning onto the street. The four agents ducked behind a garage as the truck passed by. The truck turned the corner and was soon out of sight, prompting the four agents to quickly dart across the road and towards the smallest house on the block.
Callen reached the other side of the street first and holstered his weapon. He led the group to the side of the house where a small gate separated the front yard from the backyard. He quickly picked the lock before allowing Sam, Kensi and Deeks to enter.
Callen pointed back to the street. "Kens, double check the area to see if we are clear. Sam and I will try and open the backdoor."
"Ok." Kensi jogged to the front door, leaving Sam and Callen to their work. Deeks had no choice but to sit in the grass and wait. He was thankful for the elder agent's decisions to pick this house- there were trees shading the backyard and had no visible cars in the driveway.
"Got it," Deeks heard from Sam. The probationary agent sat up slowly to see Sam push the backdoor open. Sam disappeared into the house, soon followed by Callen. Deeks pulled himself onto his feet before limping towards the back door and inside the house.
"Is anyone home?" Deeks asked.
"Not that I can see of," Callen answered. He walked towards the bathroom to clear the room.
"There's food….looks like non-perishables," Deeks called out from his position in front of the fridge. Kensi was in the living room as she snorted, "Only you would find the food, Deeks."
"I'm surprised you didn't find it first, cupca-"Deeks stopped when a wave of dizziness passed over him. He coughed loudly twice, which caught both Kensi and Sam's attention. Deeks unconsciously took a step back and his legs gave out. Sam reached out and grabbed the younger agent's arm before he could hit the ground.
"No, no. Deeks, you can't pass out on us like that. We can't stay here," Sam told Deeks. The blonde agent was lowered to the ground where he could put his head between his knees. Kensi was by his side within seconds.
"'m sorry," Deeks gasped, "I'm….in shock, like Kens said. I need-need-"
"Shh…" Kensi whispered. Sam looked between Kensi and Callen and stopped at his partner's thoughtful expression.
"What are you thinking, G?" Sam asked.
"We got lucky again. I think we can stay here for at least the night. Look-no one's been home for a while now." Callen ran a finger over the dining table and showed it to Sam and Kensi. "There's dust collecting on the table, the fridge has nonperishables- I think the homeowners on vacation."
Kensi started to run Deeks' shoulder. "You seriously want to stay the night What about your friend in Birkhadem?"
"We can't keep going. Deeks needs to rest, hell- we all need to rest. We can take some of the food, water, the first aid kit and then leave in the morning. Also, I think- I think we need to make a phone call home."
"What?!" Sam and Kensi exclaimed.
Callen pulled out a small, black burn phone. "We need to let Nell or Eric know that we're ok. If Hetty's in jail, they're the ones we talk to. I'll make a call that'll be less than 30 seconds and then toss the phone. It's much less the amount of time it takes to trace a call."
Sam sighed, "I don't know G."
Callen turned to Kensi. She glanced down to Deeks, who was slipping in and out of consciousness. Kensi took in her partner's frail appearance before stating strongly, "Callen's right. Make the call."
Los Angeles, California- 10:00am local time
That's the news at ten. Up next, local authorities in Algiers have little to go on about the recent shooting in Hairi Square where four civilians were injured. The identity of the two shooters are unknown, but a sighting by an anonymous tip place the four NCIS agents wanted for treason at the scene…"
Nell Jones lay on her couch with a hand gripping the remote and her legs dangling off the edge of the couch. She was watching ABC, trying to get as much information about the shooting as she could. The analyst couldn't use her computer skills to get any information since Granger had determined her to be a person of interest.
The previous two weeks had been hard on her, making her feel completely useless. The day after the team had left; Granger had put Eric, Hetty, and herself on his radar as "persons of interest who contain information to hunt down those traitors". Besides having no information on the actual status of the team, the remaining three members had to tread carefully. Eric was playing by Granger's rules to the tee, to avoid any forma of unwanted attention. Hetty's caution had come in the form of avoiding contact with Granger, which soon led to her arrest. Nell had been the complete opposite of Eric and gave Granger so much defiance that it resulted in a month long suspension.
Buzz. Nell sat up at the sound of a vibrating phone from under the couch. It wasn't her regular cell phone, but was the burn phone that she had hid under the couch. Before answering the phone, Nell turned the volume up on the TV just in case Granger had sent someone to bug her house. The chances were low, but Nell wanted to be safe.
Nell quickly pulled the phone from its position of being tabled by a leg. She answered, "Hello?"
A coarse voice replied, "Can you talk?"
"Yes," Nell answered as quietly as she could.
"Good. I can only say this once and fast. Listen good- Birkhadem. 24 R & R. Full team, the SEAL's bane in need of assistance. Exfil ASAP- new contact, new burn. Last four-9284. 24 hours."
Then she heard silence. The caller had hung up.
Nell pulled out the SIM card and battery and crushed both with her heel. She then tossed the remains and the cell phone into the toilet and flushed. Nell quickly grabbed a notepad from the hallway table and wrote down every word that the caller had told her and translated the short hand Callen and Sam had taught her the previous summer.
Caller- Callen. Voice sounds diff; exhausted? Injured?
Birkhadem- present location. Most likely near Algiers.
24 R & R -they're stopping to rest for 24 hours
Full team, the SEAL's bane in need of assistance- everyone's ok, but Deeks needs medical help
Exfil ASAP- new contact, new burn. Last four- 9284. 24 hours- They need me to get them out. Callen will call on a new burn within 24 hours. The last four digits of his caller ID will be 9284.
Nell turned on her heels to walk towards the front door when she heard something that made her freeze. The TV was still on ABC where a reporter stated clearly, "We have just heard the statement from NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger. In case you missed it, he promised the capture of the NCIS agents with the deployment of a team of CIA and NCIS agents into Algiers. Assistant Director Granger hopes that with this team of highly skilled agents and Algerian police, these agents will be captured within 24 hours."