Flagstaff, Arizona

Deeks was sure that Kensi was going to kill him.

When the bus had pulled up to the bus depot and he and Kensi had spilt ways, the probationary agent had wandered off towards a local coffee shop to grab a newspaper, some snacks, and a cup of coffee for the road. Deeks had barely made it through the coffee shop doors before he saw the news report on Sam's arrest.

Now he was running late to their meeting spot in front of the Flagstaff public library. The news report had put him into a state of numbness to where he had lost track of time. If I'm late, Deeks thought as he sped walked down Hunt Drive to where the library stood; Kensi will kick my ass all the way to Goldfield.

When Deeks reached the block adjacent to the library front entrance, he stopped in his tracks abruptly and spilled coffee all over his shirt. Deeks saw an FBI agent and a Flagstaff police officer standing at the top of the front steps, not too far away from where Kensi sat. His partner was nervously shaking her leg and switching between pretending to read a book and checking her watch. Deeks held up a hand, praying that his partner would look up and see him.

She didn't.

Come on, Kens. Please don't make me do this. Deeks jogged across the street and mustered up the best southern accent that he could to put on to fool the cop and agent.

"Kayla, there you are!" Deeks called out, "We got a bus to catch, babe!"

Kensi looked up and sighed in relief at the sight of her partner. The agent immediately caught on to her partner's ruse and stood up. "Well, I was waiting for you."

Deeks wrapped an arm around Kensi's hip before they started walking towards the bus stop. Kensi stole a quick glance over her shoulder to see if the cop and agent were watching them. Luckily, both were looking at a tablet, most likely about the drug dealer.

"That was close," Deeks muttered when they were out of earshot range. Kensi nodded and growled, "Where the hell were you?"

"I was only a minute late, Kensi. Maybe two. Let's just get on the bus, out of sight and then we can argue about this."

"Fine,"

Kensi looked over her shoulder again to double check on the agent and the cop. "Let's just hope that things still go according to plan," she said, "not only for our sake, but for Sam's as well."

Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center

Sam Hanna wasn't the man to outwardly panic in tough situations.

He was a Navy SEAL after all, and SEALs were all taught to adapt to all types of scenarios in the most dangerous parts of the world. If a SEAL were ever to be caught, whether mid battle or while in stealth, he had to hold it together, no matter what kind of threats or 'forceful coercions' like waterboarding that he got. The situation that Sam was in wasn't like the one he had been in Bosnia, but the stakes were similar in many ways. National security and his team's well-being were on the line.

It had been hours since he had been arrested at Silver Springs Airport in Silver Springs, Nevada. Sam was set to be the closest out of the group to Goldfield, Nevada and had been the first to arrive in the States. The plan was for him to set up a safe house, stock up any non-essential item that had been left back in Tonga, and get as much news as he could about Hetty, Eric, and Nell. Sam had been able to make it out the terminal before the plan failed. An old SEAL trainee of his had recognized him in the middle of a crowd of passengers.

"Sam? Sam Hanna? Is that you? What the hell, man- you're all over the news!"

The moment the trainee had blatantly called out his name, Sam knew he was done. Within minutes, the airport's security and the entire town's police department had arrived on scene and were soon followed by the FBI and NCIS. The worst part of being arrested was watching the trainee give him a sorrowful frown; it made Sam want to slap him for it.

Now Sam sat handcuffed to a chair in a small 8X12 room in Los Angeles. It was a cold and in the SEAL's opinion, slimy room to be stuck in. Water droplets had continuously fallen from the ceiling in the corner to the ground for hours and it was starting to create a smell. The pitter- patter of the droplets was also beginning to run Sam's nerves raw. He was pretty sure it was worse than the time that Deeks had started drumming against the steering wheel for almost an hour straight during a stakeout.

"Agent Hanna, you've been missed."

Sam looked up to the doorway where Granger had opened the door and stepped into the room. The assistant director looked like a kid in a candy store.

"I've been gone for almost three months, Granger. You missed me that much that you had to put me on the watch list?" Sam replied smugly. Granger snorted and started to walk around the chair Sam was sitting in.

"Don't kid yourself, Sam. You and I need to have a talk about those codes."

"Still claiming innocence?" Sam smirked. His response earned him a punch in the jaw.

"I don't have to put on any kind of show here. It's just you and me," Granger stated. He growled in annoyance when Sam spit out blood onto his dress pants. The agent lifted his head and grinned just in time to be smacked in the face a second time.

"You think this is a game?" Granger roared. He pulled over a chair and snarled, "This is me playing nice, Agent Hanna. You should be thankful that I didn't order a hit on your team! And don't even get me started on your wife…."

The training as a SEAL kicked in and Sam didn't flinch. Granger sat down and leaned in close to Sam.

"Do you know what your girls were doing last night?" Granger asked maliciously. "I believe it was School Achievement Awards day and oops- Daddy wasn't there 'cause- what exactly did you tell them?"

Sam continued to hold himself together. "Leave my girls and Quinn out of it," he replied calmly.

"How exactly are you going to stop me?" Granger chuckled, "You won't be able to even remember what fresh air feels like when I have you put in confinement for the rest of your life. That leaves me ample time to tell your little girls how their father's not on a trip, but rotting in jail for treason. Huh, I wonder how Quinn is going to be able to deal with that, especially after I destroy her life too…"

Sam swallowed hard at the memory of his last night with his family. A family dinner and game night was the last thing they had done before the team had found out that Deeks had gone to Algeria alone. Sam's family had known what he had gone to do and he knew that his wife would be able to handle that.

"Your threats are all nice and cute, Granger," Sam stated, "but my family is strong. I'm not going to tell you where Kensi, Callen, or Deeks are, no matter what you throw at me."

Granger smirked at Sam's words and said, "We'll see."