The three agents stared at each other, each one wondering the same thing- Who's our guys?
Deeks was sitting with his back against the wall, his mind focused on Lyons. He had he hated that man from the moment Lyons had walked through the OPS center doors. Lyons is the one that gets things done for Granger and he keeps a tight eye on Pendle, Deeks concluded, He'd be missed if we were to capture him.
The probationary huffed loudly. As much as he wanted to send that smug SOB to a 7X7 box in a federal prison for the rest of his life, Deeks knew that Pendle was the best choice for capture. He remembered seeing the malicious look in Pendle's eye while in Algiers; the same look that seemed to say No one will ever catch me.
Kensi sat at the desk, twirling a few strands of hair with a finger. Even though her gaze was focused on her reflection in the small desk mirror that was in front of her, Kensi's mind was locked on the day that the team had found out that Deeks had ran off to Algiers without them. She remembered the fury she had felt towards Lyons and how, as much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to just hurt that man so much, whether they had found Deeks alive or not. Pendle was a just a thought in the back of her mind If we get Lyons, he can lead us to Pendle. Lyons is the key, Kensi thought as she continued on through her thoughts.
As Callen laid across the bed, he wasn't trying to figure out who to capture- he already knew. Pendle was the agent's choice as he was the one who had actually infiltrated NCIS. In Callen's mind, support was going more likely to come if the actual infiltrator was arrested and not the man facilitating it. His biggest concern was how to capture Pendle- the spy had landed in Los Angeles two days prior and could be anywhere in the large area of 12 million people. There was also the big issue of when it came down to it, should they capture Pendle or do worse matters?
"What are you thinking?" Deeks croaked after they had all sat for fifteen minutes in complete silence. Callen, who was resting his chin in his hands, pulled himself onto his knees. With a large sigh and a quick head scratch, Callen stated, "Pendle. He's our only proof that any of this is going on."
Kensi nodded, but her expression showed that she wasn't in agreement. "I actually think we should go after Lyons. He's been in the country for only a day, way after Pendle. He'll be a hell of a lot easier to catch than Pendle."
"No."
Kensi looked over to where her partner was sitting. He was looking at the ceiling fan above them that was slowly whirring in the background. Deeks repeated much louder, "No."
"Marty?" Kensi called out worriedly. Across from her, Callen was now on his feet next to the bed.
Deeks placed a hand on his knees. "Lyons will take us halfway to ending this, but Pendle...Pendle puts an end to this. My vote is for Pendle, but if we cross plans with Lyons, I can't promise me not beating his ass to the ground."
Callen cocked his head at Deeks' tone. The seriousness in the probationary agent's tone made Callen concern. He walked across the room over to where Deeks sat.
"So we do Pendle. Before we hunt this bastard down, I need to know that you can handle this, Deeks," Callen stated.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Deeks growled with a dark glare towards Callen. He got to his feet and stood inches away from Callen's face. In most situations, Callen was usually rational as a team leader should be. However, Callen was tired, irritable, and worried, which threw rational out the window. And with that, Callen said, "Because you're you, Deeks," which made Kensi cringe.
"Because I'm me?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Deeks yelled. Kensi stepped between the two men, her hands near their chests to stop them from lunging at each other.
"Both of you need to calm down. Marty, all Callen meant to ask is that although you are one of the strongest people that we know, if you are seriously pushed to the edge, you crack. Remember how you almost shot your old partner's murderer?" Kensi said, "Will you be able to hold onto yourself when you see Pendle and Lyons?"
"Yes," Deeks replied quietly. Callen sighed, glancing both ways before apologizing, "Sorry, Deeks. I should have phrased that better."
"Now that we're good," Kensi sent a glare between the two agents, "We need to figure out how we go after Pendle. He'll no doubt be paranoid about the three of us coming after him."
Deeks scratched his beard while glancing over to the laptop on the bed. "Actually, he won't. If he's arrogant enough to fly back to Los Angeles, his guard will be down. Callen, was there an address for Pendle or Lyons?"
"Yes. Lyons had a condo in Northern LA before all of this. Lyons will take care of Pendle so he could be there."
"So we're doing this," Deeks said with a little more pep, "What are we doing? Pre-surveillance or are we going to go in blind?"
Lyons will take care of Pendle. We can drive by at night and do surveillance look."
Callen and Kensi exchanged nervous looks, which made Deeks uneasy. The lead agent said, " This isn't an us thing, Deeks. Whatever we do, you can't come with us."