Still out there? Haven't heard from anyone-is it that bad?

LT. BATES OFFICE

"And that is every bit of the intel as well as any/all speculation at this time. Lt. Bates. I have been very careful to differentiate fact and supposition. Now I am warning you Mr. Deeks is a very valuable member of my NCIS family despite your little friendly fire asinine comment. If anything happens to him I will be in here the next day and you will regret ever knowing me. You sent him out without proper backup and then yell if they don't get the job done. Your injury rate is too high for even undercover work and Det. Deeks has taken one for the team on several occasions. That stops now. We will conduct the raid. Your people have been notified of their part in said operation. They best be there and they best do their job well and professionally and if you ever make any snippy friendly fire comments to me again you will well know the meaning of said friendly fire. Do you read me?" Hetty followed this with her Gorgon stare. "We are done here" and she turned to go.

"Wait Hetty. Your right. I put on a front to keep me in good graces around here and I will deny ever saying this but, you're right. Deeks is too good for this place. He will always be one of mine AND I will always worry and care about him. He has gone under too many times without the kind of support you can provide. He's not gonna make it one day. I expected him to be an NCIS agent by now. The only reason he isn't must be that partner of his. Either he has fallen for her and she wants none of it or she's no good and I know that's not the case." Then he scribbled a quick note, put it in an envelope and said "give this to her and please keep him safe and make him an agent. I will miss his honesty but frankly even IA has it in for him cause he is to clean for his own good."

"You are right and wrong Roger-he has fallen but she wants all of it that is the crux of the problem. Myself and the rest of the team are doing this for her and Marty. They have earned it.

As Hetty drove back to the mission, she knew she had to find a way to make this right.

ONE DAY BEFORE THE MEETING (AM)

"Agent Blye, a word please" offered Hetty walking by the bullpen. Sam and G perked up hoping to catch, at least the gist of the discussion.

Kensi sat down at Hetty's desk and said "the last time I sat here cost me my partner, the time before that I ended up in Afghanistan. All this because Deeks and I are in a relationship Hetty. Pretty sure between you and me we ruined any chance for a happy ever after so pardon me for not being overjoyed at setting here again."

Hetty stared at her agent and then after looking at Sam and G both, continued to think for several minutes. "You have no idea how much I regret some of my actions, but believe me I want you and Marty to have that happy ever after. Ask him to tell you about sunshine and gunpowder after this is over. I will regain your trust somehow, I swear. In the meantime Bates has been informed, very forcefully, of our intel and concerns for Det. Deeks. He is well aware of what I will do to him if Mr. Deeks is hurt and I suspect that is nothing compared to your plans for me or Bates, possibly even Owen. Am I right?" That brought a smile to Kensi and then Hetty went on "He asked me to give this to you" and Hetty handed over the envelope.

All agents on deck" yelled Eric "we got something. After the agents entered OPS Eric pointed at the screen and said "wait for it."

"Hello all" came the voice of SAC Hammond. "Our CI got a little farther in and gave us some added information. We now know the time and place of the meeting. It is supposed to include the leaders of the Kings, Demons and the Afghani drug connection. 6 in all but the Kings are providing perimeter security with 10 men plus 2 from the Demons and 2 from the connection. The meeting is set for Friday. We think it's at 2 pm and on the Kings turf since they are bringing the Afghani with them. Would seem to be guns for drugs for cash kind a meeting with the guns going to Afghanistan-presumably the Taliban or possibly even Al Qaida. That's the best we got right now. Will let you know if more comes in. The key now as they say is location-location-location. First one to find it for sure give a holler.

After much discussion it was decided that the LA office would lead the raid since it was their turf. LAPD with SWAT back up and involvement were discussed. At the very least they needed to know a body count and location to determine the level of back up needed. San Diego agents would be involved to support LA. Kensi and San Diego's best sniper were set for overwatch. No location was foolproof as far as overwatch, but they could limit the places people could hide or come and go, making it tough for the bad guys unless they were very careful or had military training-which one of them appeared to have. In closing G said "see you in less than 24 hours if we get enough firm intel to actually stage the raid. We can't finish the planning until we have a location. If you get more don't be afraid to call."

After the screen went dark Kensi asked "Eric, not to make more work but one idea we haven't pursued is that of tying our victims into current or former marines and then see which of them are sniper qualified. Can't be a long list can it?"

"Good idea but length of list depends on the parameters set. If you include any contact your list is huge. If you filter by say-6 or more contacts in a year it gets smaller and so on. The tighter the parameters the more likely we might eliminate our subject is the trade-off" offered Eric.

"Great idea Kensi" interjected G "and I agree with Eric. Something this big would require multiple contacts in a smaller time frame so let's go with 6 contacts in a 6 month period and see what we get."

"Works for me G" retorted Eric. It will still take some time due to the number of variables but I will have something workable well before final decisions need to be made

Finally getting a few minutes to herself, Kensi went to the locker room of the gym and opened the letter from Bates.

Agent Blye,

You asked me one time what happened between Deeks and his previous female partner (before Jess). Short story-she played him. He was serious and thought she might be the one until he caught her in bed with the desk sergeant (among others). It is his story but I am getting the feeling his current issues might be based on his relationship with you.

Marty is like a son to me. He isn't liked here because he is too honest. He has pissed off many cops by turning them in or catching them in a sting. Even IA is suspicious of him, saying he is to clean.

He is honest, loyal and faithful. He is also insecure and convinced he will turn into his dad. Make him understand how good he is but mostly, just care for him. The results will be well worth it. He is loyal and faithful to a fault if you haven't already figured that out.

Do not share any of this with him-he thinks I'm a tough ol' bird. Let's leave it there. I look forward to the many good things you and he do for this city, state and country as agents. Make him sign the damn papers, PLEASE!

Take care of that shaggy surfer, S/LT. Roger M. Bates