A/N Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. I loved them all... :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to NCIS:LA, As Dory says in finding Nemo...just keep wishing! {OK so she said swimming but a little poetic license won't kill me ...will it?}
Chapter 8
Eric opened the door.
He was not surprised to find the room stripped bare. All traces of him had been thrown out years ago. What did surprise him was the small leather case on the bare bed and a letter with his name on stuck to the top.
'ERIC'
He opened the envelope and a key fell out.
This is for you my son, I know that if you got this then the doctors were right and I would not live past your birth.
I just need you to know that I have loved you ever since I knew I was carrying you and I put this trunk together for you for your 18th birthday.
I hope that today your 18th birthday is a wonderful one and that your father and brothers make it as special for you as Niklas and Dominick's 18th birthdays were. I knew there was a chance that I would not be here to watch you grow up into the responsible young man that I know you will one day become. Nevertheless, I could not deny you the life I hope that you lead. Do not let your father pressure you into joining the company; I know he has wanted all his sons to go into the business. If, my son you wish to live your life, take the opportunity live it to the fullest.
Inside this case are all the things I could find that I wanted to share with you, my love of art and music, my love of surfing…A joy I have discovered since moving to America. Although I could not fit my surfboard in there, I have the plans to my original one, which you may like to have rebuilt. I hope you will one day find someone to love as much as I loved your father.
I hope you enjoy learning about me this way.
My love through eternity,
Your loving mother
Karolyn.
Eric's eyes misted as he looked at his mother's handwriting.
He picked up the suitcase and took it downstairs to the kitchen where Kensi was sat drinking a coffee.
"What's that?" Kensi asked.
"Something from my mother." Eric said taking the coffee Kensi offered and absently stroking the case with his other hand.
"You gonna open it?" Kensi asked.
"I don't know…I mean I don't want my head to get clouded and compromise the investigation." Eric said.
"That's tomorrow Eric. Today you can open it, I hear you have a pool that I'd love to check out," Kensi said discreetly offering him alone time.
"Down the hall third door on the left," he said waving his hand in that general direction.
She nodded and he grabbed the case and took it to the sitting room.
A few hours later, Kensi walked through, "Eric, it's 2am and we have that big meet tomorrow, you should be getting to bed."
"Thanks Kensi…" Eric stopped and reached behind the sofa, He pulled out a sleeping bag.
Kensi looked at him, "Don't you have your own room here still?" she asked.
"There was nothing in it but this case….anyway I can't sleep in there and I'm not sleeping in his room." Eric said not indicating whether he meant his brother or father's room.
Kensi nodded "Ok what about the other spare room?"
"Nope, I have somewhere to sleep Kensi." Eric told her.
"What on the sofa the night before an op?" she said, she hated pushing him, but if they were going to pull this off, she needed him to be focused and rested.
"No, I have somewhere to sleep." He insisted grabbing his sleeping bag and climbing the stairs.
Kensi followed thinking he was going to the bedrooms until he opened a door to another set of stairs.
"Where you going?" she asked out of curiosity
"My real room, the one no one knew about." Eric admitted. "Wanna see?" he asked knowing how corny it was that he'd just asked Kensi to check out his room. Kensi knowing Eric did not mean anything untoward followed him up the stairs.
"Being the youngest meant while the others were being boring I needed a space of my own and I found this place when I was five." He said opening a door at the top of the stairs.
Even though he had not been in here for years he knew that one of the housekeepers Carmella, the only one who knew this room existed had kept it dusted and aired.
He flicked a switch and Kensi looked, awed, "WOW!" she breathed.
The room was like an old-fashioned version of OPS. It was she realized; the original blueprint for the room in which Eric now worked. In the corner was an old style metal bed with a dust sheet over it. Eric removed it and lay his sleeping bag down on top of it.
"You like?" he asked with a grin as the computers all started up with one button.
"You built this?" she asked.
Eric grinned, "Do you remember when I said I first came on Hetty's radar when I broke the internet….I did it here." He admitted. "This was my bolt hole growing up. I learnt all of my tech skills here." He admitted.
Kensi smiled, "Well, Mr. Beale, I'm off to get some sleep. I will meet you in the kitchen at ten. Don't stay up too late." She laughed as she left.
Eric lay back on the bed and with the sound of computers whirring away in the background he soon fell asleep.
At exactly Ten am, the two of them were ready to go.
The car pulled up and Kensi looking every inch the personal assistant walked with Eric to the car.
"Morning Sir," The driver said.
"Jameson." Eric said getting in the back.
They pulled up at twenty-nine palms Marine base and Eric got out and stood by the car. Kensi stood near him flustering over a schedule as another car pulled up and a large Irish man got out.
"Klaus Beale?" he said his thick accent rolling off his tongue.
"You John Murphy, Sheamus speaks highly of you." Eric said.
The men shook hands.
"Do you have it?" Murphy asked.
Eric snapped his fingers, "Ms. Johnson."
Kensi ran round, "Yes Sir," She handed him an IPAD and he tapped a few keys.
"Damn I can't work these things," He complained.
John smiled, "Yes I remember Shamus saying it was your little brother that was a technical whiz."
"We don't speak of him," Eric said allowing his slight German accent to come to the fore,
"Yes he said." John took the form from Kensi. "May I?" He asked.
Kensi looked to Eric who gave a curt nod.
"Yes, here you go, the money has been transferred and the good will be mine in a week?" he asked.
"Nope." Eric said all trace of accent gone.
"No? What is this?" John asked moving back as Kensi produced her gun.
"John Murphy you are under arrest for Arms trafficking and international terrorism."
"Klaus….You're a Fed?" he asked stunned.
"No….Klaus is not a Federal Agent, I am." Eric grinned as Kensi grabbed her Ziploc ties and cuffed him waiting for Sam and Callen to come and pick him up.
Jameson stood there awed. "Mr. Klaus?" he asked not sure of what he was seeing, he had seen Klaus many times and never had this happened.
Eric turned and looked at the man, "I'm sorry Jameson I should have told you, I'm not Klaus, I'm Eric."
Jameson's eyes grew wide and the old man took a second look at the man he had known as a boy. "Master Erik? Really?" he was stunned and threw his arms around him.
Another car pulled up and Callen and Sam got out looking at Kensi who was holding the suspect and Eric who was holding the chauffeur.
"He good to go?" Sam asked.
"Yep, Eric had the IPAD record the entire conversation so we have enough on him plus this transaction." Kensi said.
The old man had released his hold on Eric, "Master Erik, where to sir?" he asked.
Eric looked uncomfortable, "I need to pick something up from the house before we release Christian and he bans me from there again."
Callen turned to him, "We need to process Murphy, and you have three hours that long enough?" He asked.
Eric nodded, "Home James!" he said with a grin as the old man playfully swatted at his head.
"You young pup!" he smiled and climbed in the car.
The other three agents smiled at seeing a glimpse of the Eric they all knew and loved and hope that whatever he had gone back to the house to collect would give him closure.
Callen sent a quick text and the others got in the car to take John Murphy to the boatshed.