CHAPTER SIX

The next day Kenzi arrives at Bishop Trucking to make her play. She is almost to the office when Monk suddenly blocks her path. He is, if anything, more intimidating than he was in the confines of the truck yesterday.

"You got some nerve comin' back here!" His hot breath wafts over her face, but she refuses to back down from this guy in any way.

"I'm here to see Chip. You got a problem with that?"

"After what you done? Don't count on a job, honey."

"Really? I kinda think I'll have your job after I chat with your boss. Now, move..."

She isn't intimidated by his size or aggressive manner, but when he finally steps aside she breathes a sigh of relief. She didn't need any hassles before she even got in to see Riley today. Ignoring Monk, who glares after her, she confidently walks into the office. The receptionist isn't at her desk so she goes directly to Riley's office door and knocks. There is a moment's hesitation before Riley opens the door looking momentarily stunned when he sees her there.

"Well, Miss Marshall. What brings you back here?"

"Unfinished business." She doesn't wait for an invitation as she walks in, leaving him holding the door.

"I don't particularly like women who change their minds."

"Women are notorious for that, Mr. Riley, but I didn't change my mind... you did."

"Then let me apologize." He closes his door and heads for his liquor cupboard. "Can I get you something?" He shows her the contents which has a variety of hard liquor inside.

"No, thank you. Not when I'm discussing business."

"I've always got time… especially when I'm discussing business with a lovely woman." He pours himself a neat scotch, then turns to raise his glass to her before taking a drink.

She doesn't sit down, but goes to his trophy case along one wall to look at several of the bowling trophies. When she feels his eyes on her so that she has his full attention, she brings up the topic of their deal.

"Did you get your truck back... with the contents?"

"Yes."

"So? Our deal?"

"That deal was contingent upon you passing… certain tests."

"I didn't like the test material. No offense, but that ape of yours belongs in a zoo."

"Monk said you were less than cooperative."

"You could say that. I don't enjoy being mauled… I'm…"

He has moved in to stand directly behind her now, fascinated by her sassy attitude. She still refuses to face him so he reaches out to grab her shoulder; gently turning her around to face him as he asks, "You're what?"

"I'm a little more selective." Kenzi forces herself to stay relaxed and inviting even though his touch makes her skin crawl.

"Would you like to try this again?"

"Does that mean I'm on the payroll? I don't do anything for free."

"Yes, I'll put you on the payroll, but… you still have to pass the test." His free hand is still resting on her shoulder as his fingers stroke gently along her skin where it meets her sleeveless blouse. "I have some time this afternoon."

"Another load going out?" Kenzi needs to put Riley and those hot loads together, but Riley was too careful to allow himself to be caught in a rig full of contraband. When he shakes his head, she slips her hand up his chest to play with his collar as she bats her eyes, "I thought the big boss liked to handle things himself?"

"You do make it very tempting for me to make the run." He is actually considering it as Kenzi leans in as if to kiss him, but just then his phone rings with perfect timing.

Thank God Eric's timing is so good. She wasn't looking forward to kissing this creep. Riley hesitates a moment, but when she steps back he sighs and goes to answer the call.

"Yes, Riley… oh, well… aahh… yes, I'll be here. Of course, I'll see you soon."

He hangs up the phone and turns to look at Kenzi with regret. Kenzi pretends to be insulted as she reads his rejection and asks, "Let me guess… your wife is dropping by."

He gives her a sarcastic smirk, "No, the police. Another one of our drivers got arrested last night… only this time the cops impounded my rig."

"You know, you really should get some smarter drivers, Chip." She gives him a playful smirk and turns to run her finger along one of his bowling trophies.

"Well, I can't spare the time for you this afternoon, but I still need you for that run tonight... and apparently Monk is out of the question?"

"I ain't going anywhere with that ape again. I don't need this job that bad."

"I guess that leaves my second in command. Let me get him in here... so you can approve this time."

He turns to the window and once again opens it up to look out over the yard. He sees another driver and yells at him to find Ben and get him in the office right away. Kenzi wonders who this guy will be and if he'll turn out to be worse than Monk. A few minutes later the door opens and Kenzi is relieved to see Ben Schultz come in.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Riley?"

"Yes, Ben. I wanted to introduce you to your new partner for tonight's run."

"Really? Well, my luck is getting better by the minute. Nice to meet you." Ben holds out his hand and shakes hers gently.

"Hi. Frosty Marshall." She smiles her approval. "Now this guy has some manners… and he's not bad on the eyes either."

"Ben, Frosty is the one who brought our rig back the other day."

"So you're the one who had Monk spitting nails for three hours!" His deep laugh rumbles through the room.

"That would be me. I hope you're not as uncivilized as your coworker."

"No ma'am. My Mamma raised me to treat women with respect… especially a real pretty lady like yourself."

"He'll do just fine. So where are we going tonight?"

"Ben will fill you in later. Just be here by seven ready to hit the road... and make sure this driver comes back happy."

"And you too, boss?" She winks at him and turns to go.

Ben is quick to reach the door before her and open it as she strides out with confidence. Once again Chip Riley can't help but like this gutsy woman. Too bad she'll have to be put through the testing with Schultz. Monk may be an ape, but Schultz was just plain mean as hell. With a knowing glance to Schultz he dismisses his second in command. Schultz knows the routine and Riley trusts him to do what is necessary to protect their investment. He turns back to his desk to get things in order before the cops get there.

Later that evening, Nell and Eric pick up the signals from the transponders they hid in the stolen Navy loot. It is moving in another Bishop rig headed out of the yard. Kenzi is in the cab along with Ben Schultz. Deeks, Callen and Sam are tailing the merchandise. When Deeks recognizes the driver as Schultz, a dirty cop who got fired for being on the take, he gets a bad feeling.

"Hey! I know that guy... the driver."

"Yea, that's our ringer. P.I. named Schultz. He's been working inside for the union for about a year."

"Not surprising you know him... since you're both LAPD." Sam dismisses his worried tone, but Deeks won't let it go.

"No... we are not LAPD. I am LAPD... Schultz was a dirty cop who got fired for being on the take. I'm telling you... he's bad news."

"Well, he's the only insider we got right now, Deeks, so let's concentrate on this load. He knows Kenzi is working for us... she'll be fine."

Deeks sits back into his rear seat with a huff, not satisfied but knowing they are right. The cargo was the mission, not who may be groping Kenzi in the cab. She wasn't wearing a wire tonight because of the distance and radio interference from the CB. As the semi heads south along the highway their car falls in line with traffic some distance behind them.

Sam turns to Callen, who is fiddling with the portable radio in his lap. "You got the CB radio on?"

"Yep, it's just quiet out there. I wonder what their destination is?"

"My guess is San Diego… or Mexico."

"We gonna let them get that far?" Deeks' concern is clear in his tone, causing the two senior agents to give him a glare.

"We move in the first time they stop or leave the truck. After the incident with those guys on the Barstow trip, then that other trucker we took off yesterday, Riley won't think twice about this truck being seized."

"And you're sure Schultz is on the same page? He gonna play along when we take him off?"

"He doesn't have any choice, now does he?" Sam and Callen exchange a look hoping Deeks' suspicions about this guy aren't true.

They continue to follow the semi as it leaves the metropolitan area and heads for the open road. After about an hour on the road they hear a voice over the CB radio that they recognize as Ben Schultz.

"Breaker, Packman… this is Lone Wolf."

"I got you Lone Wolf… what's your location?" The voice that answers him is obviously Chip Riley.

"About two miles north of Oceanside."

"Good. You smooth?"

"Couldn't be smoother, Packman, we polished our pearly whites."

Sam and Callen glance at each other in confusion. They know Schultz and Riley are talking in code, but they don't understand the reference to hygiene. Deeks clears it up for them.

"Means they smiled pretty for the camera and obeyed the speed."

"He must be referring to that photo unit back a ways." Sam saw the photo radar unit, but as always he ignored them. Heddy always made their photo radar tickets go away.

The CB radio continues, "Haven't seen one Smokey for over thirty miles."

"Keep on schedule and you'll get your bonus…"

"Hell, I'm gonna get more than my bonus on this run. Out."

"Guess we don't look like cops, huh?" Sam chuckles because Schultz hasn't picked up their tail.

They continue to follow the big rig for two hours as it continued south, but gradually made its way further inland, away from the San Diego area. They see the rig finally pull off at an exit. Inside the cab, Kenzi sighs silently, glad they are finally at their destination. She carefully scans the vehicles getting off the freeway behind them, but can't see Callen's black Charger. They have pulled into the parking lot of a sleazy little motel not far away and Schultz pulls the truck around to the rear lot before he stops close to the building and shuts it down.

"Ben… why are we stopping here? I mean, don't we have a run to make?"

"Don't you worry. We're just laying up here for a bit... waiting for our connection."

He jumps down and slams his door before she can ask any questions. Kenzi scans the lot once more and now begins to worry that the guys were too far back to see them pull to the rear lot of this sleazy motel. Suddenly her door opens from the outside and Ben is standing there. Kenzi sees the friendly front he's displayed all evening has disappeared and she realizes going into this motel could be a big mistake.

"Think I'll just hang in the truck for a while."

"You don't make the decisions, honey. Now let's go." He leaps up onto the running board and grabs her arm, pulling her from the truck firmly but not painfully.

She has no choice but to hop down and follow him to a room on the end of the low ranch style building. It doesn't escape her that they hadn't checked in at the desk. This must be a routine stop for the Bishop guys because Schultz already had a key to the door for room 27.

In their car, Deeks reads the sign at the motel as they drive past it, trying to catch up to the Bishop rig. "Trucker's Haven… adult movies, water beds in every room, and other amenities... wonder what those other amenities could be?"

"What? You tellin' us you haven't been here before?" Sam can't resist a jab at their junior member since he's been the so called 'trucker expert' so far in this case.

"Maybe... I should have become a trucker."

"Maybe we should just concentrate on finding the truck?" Now it is Callen's turn to have a tinge of worry in his voice.

They have driven a mile past the exit and the truck is nowhere in sight. They are now leaving the shabby row of run down motels, restaurants and the gas station behind for open desert. Sam flips the car around in a quick u-turn and heads back, this time making a slow tour through each parking lot trying to find the truck that seems to have vanished.

Inside the dingy motel room, Kenzi is on high alert as she stands in the middle of the room where Schultz pushed her. She rubs her arm to relieve the pain from his grip and tries to keep up her undercover attitude.

"Thought you were the gentleman, Schultz? You're acting more like Monk."

"Yea, well we're more alike than you think." Schultz locks the door and slides the chain across to make sure their privacy before he tosses the keys onto the scratched old dresser. He then turns his attention back to the woman he knows is nothing but trouble.

"So, is this where Riley has you meet his connections to move the stolen Navy cargo?"

Schultz doesn't answer her, but his eyes narrow with deadly calm as he slowly begins to untuck his t-shirt from his jeans. Kenzi tenses further as she watches him, but tries to sound calm as she continues to question him about the shipments.

"You obviously come here a lot... I mean, you have a key, no check in at the desk..."

"You ask too many questions." He strips his shirt off and Kenzi takes advantage of his momentary blindness to make a dash for the door.

She has just wrapped her fingers around the chain when she is grabbed from behind and wrapped up in a pair of very strong arms. Schultz jerks her back away from the door, lifting her off her feet as he hauls her back into the room. He roughly tosses her onto the bed and stands glaring at her, positioned so she has no chance of reaching the door again.

Kenzi quickly scrambles into a defensive crouch on the bed, knowing she is at a disadvantage, but ready to respond. There is no more pretense that they are on the same side. No more professional courtesy. Schultz is a bad cop and he's working with Riley in this scam one hundred percent. Kenzi is filled with hatred for this man, who's chosen this life over what he had.

"You're working for Riley... stringing the union boss along all this time; diverting attention away from his operation."

"My operation, sweetheart. I came to Riley when I realized he held all those lucrative Navy contracts..."

"You and Riley are partners... makes sense, you two are just alike."

He doesn't deny this and just gives her an evil grin as his hands now move to his belt to begin pulling it loose. Kenzi makes another break for the door, leaping off the bed and trying to dart around him, but he throws his body in her direction. They crash into the wall from the momentum but this time Kenzi is ready for his attempt to wrap her up in a bear hug. She jerks her arm up and back, catching Schultz in the head with her elbow. As his head snaps back she ducks out under his arm and spins around to deliver a hard elbow strike to his kidneys.

Schultz groans in pain as the force of her strike pushes him face first into the wall. Kenzi isn't about to let him get the upper hand again, but as she is drawing back for another strike, Schultz suddenly pushes off the wall and slams into her. She staggers back into the middle of the room, but quickly regains her fighting stance as Schultz comes slowly towards her. A low growl of anger and frustration rumbles up from his throat as he stalks her. Schultz sees her eyes dart towards the door and falls into her trap by taking a step in that direction to block her escape route.

"Time to teach you a lesson, Honey!"

Kenzi has no intention of escaping now; this guy has pissed her off and he's gonna pay. "You gonna school me?! We'll see about that... and don't call me Honey!"

With his sidestep, she gains the room necessary to deliver a hard roundhouse kick to Schultz' ribs, followed up by a hard jab that catches him squarely on the nose. Again he groans, but his fist flies out instinctively and catches her squarely on her jaw. She staggers a step before she regains her focus on him.

Apparently this little wisp of a woman was tougher than she appeared if she thought she could kick his ass. His anger explodes and he suddenly lunges at her, plowing into her and sending them both flying onto the bed. The mattress shoots sideways from the force of their bodies, stopping only when it is halfway off the frame and on the floor. Kenzi struggles to get out from under Schultz's weight as he pins her to the bed. He uses this to his advantage and quickly grabs one wrist to gain control of her arm.

Kenzi manages to keep one hand free as she snaps the heel of her hand repeatedly up into his throat, with as much force as she can manage from this position of disadvantage. Schultz drops his chin down to protect his neck, but she just keeps on striking him in the face. He tightens his grip on her other wrist, twisting it around until she cries out in pain and stops striking him. There is a momentary lull in the battle and they both lie there panting hard and glaring at one another. Thinking she has finally surrendered, Schultz snarls down at her, "I'm gonna enjoy breaking you, bitch!"

Outside all is calm as the black Charger finally comes cruising into the back lot in search of the Bishop rig. Sam guns the engine and brings the car sliding to a halt beside the semi truck as all three doors fly open. They are instantly out of the car, scanning the area in search of their teammate. All is quiet and nothing is moving in this sleepy motel.

Deeks takes a few running steps towards the long building, but then stops because he has no idea which room they could be in. Sam and Callen are close on his heels, sharing his concern, but not having any more insight into where Kenzi and Schultz may be.

"Split up, listen at the doors while I hit the office to see where they registered!" Callen takes off running towards the office while Sam and Deeks head in opposite directions, each taking a section of the long row of motel rooms.

Deeks is frantic when he stops at the first three rooms and hears nothing inside. He peers into the gap in the curtains to find the rooms empty and with each new room his fears for her safety rise. Deeks is only three rooms from the end when he suddenly hears a crash from inside one of the last two rooms. His gun is out and at the ready in a heartbeat as he lets out a loud call, "Sam!"

Sam turns to see him pointing at the two end rooms and sprints over to join Deeks next to the door of the second to last room. They hesitate at the door, listening to the faint scrape and thump of what could be a struggle, but they are not sure where it is coming from.

Schultz's nose is bleeding from her strikes and as it drips down onto Kenzi she jerks her face away to avoid having it hit her mouth. Schultz only laughs and then lowers his head to smear the blood along her cheek. She tries to squirm away but he sinks his teeth into her neck and she cries out as she goes still once again. Thinking she is finally defeated, he becomes distracted in tormenting her and allows his body to relax somewhat... a mistake he quickly regrets.

Kenzi's knee comes up fast and hard, catching him between the legs with enough force to knock the wind from his lungs in a loud groan. Schultz's body instinctively curls into a fetal position and Kenzi uses his actions to thrust up with her own body and dislodge him. She shoves him back hard, causing him to fall back hard onto the nightstand, smashing the cheap ceramic lamp with his head before dropping to the floor beside the bed.

Before his body fully hits the floor, Kenzi is off the bed and standing over him. She wastes no time in delivering the last blows that will put this creep out of commission for good. With deadly accuracy, Kenzi draws back her booted foot and delivers kick after kick to his face and body. Schultz groans repeatedly, both from the new blows and the previous injury to his manhood. He tries feebly to defend himself, but with each kick his vision begins to dim until he is lying there motionless.

Kenzi doesn't notice that the object of her fury is unconscious and continues to vent her frustrations on his limp body. Only when arms suddenly wrap around her upper body and drag her back does Kenzi realize she is no longer alone in the room. Her instincts kick in and with a loud cry of anger, she jerks her elbow back into her new attacker's ribs.

She hears the air rush from his lungs as she spins around and drives her arm up under his throat, shoving him back against the wall. Her fist cocks back to deliver a blow to this new attacker's face when a voice finally breaks through her adrenaline fueled fight for survival.

"Kenzi! Stop!"

She freezes as she recognizes Deeks' strained voice and her eyes finally focus on the man she has pinned to the wall. Deeks is struggling to breathe with her arm pressed against his throat and his eyes are wide and a bit fearful. His hands are raised in surrender beside his head, but as she remains frozen with her fist cocked back, he gently grabs onto her arm across his throat and eases her back so he can breathe again.

"Kenzi... it's me... Deeks..." He watches as the haze of fury leaves her eyes, but with the blood smeared on her face and her torn shirt, she still looks like a wild animal caught in a trap.

Her fist is just starting to come down when a noise behind her causes her to spin around ready to take on yet another attacker. Sam is standing in the middle of the room watching in amazement, but his shock is nothing compared to Callen's as he finally enters the room.

"What the hell happened in here, Kenz?!" Callen looks from the dislodged mattress to the destroyed lamp to the man lying limp on the floor bleeding.

Kenzi finally lowers her fist and takes a step away from Deeks, who was frankly glad her focus is on anyone but him at the moment. He rubs his throat gently and then fills Callen in. "We heard a struggle, but by the time we got in here, Kenzi had put this guy down for the count."

Sam finally moves as he comes to stand beside Kenzi, who is still gasping for breath after her battle with Schultz. "Kenzi... you okay? Let me take a look at you." He slowly raises his hand to her face, checking the blood, but not able to see where it is coming from.

"I... I'm good..." She takes several deep breaths to calm down and then takes a moment to check herself to see if anything is broken or bleeding. Her throat hurts the most from the cruel bite, but she just pulls her hair down to cover the spot and confirms her first answer. "Yea, I' all right, guys."

"Well, he's not." Deeks crouches over the unconscious man on the floor. "At least he's breathing."

"He's one of them... told me this... whole operation to smuggle... the Navy shipments was his idea..." She takes several more deep breaths as she speaks and begins to feel her heart slowing a bit. "He and Riley are partners... in it together."

"So what? He thought he could just make you disappear like the others who caused trouble for them?" Callen can't believe the guy would be that stupid to take out someone he knew was an undercover agent.

"Don't know... but the minute we parked out back he changed. Dragged me in here and... was gonna teach me a lesson." She turns to look at the man on the floor and her eyes once again harden with hatred. "Asshole."

Sam chuckles as he comes out of the restroom with a damp towel. Kenzi stands still as he begins to wipe the blood from her face just to make sure she isn't injured. As he wipes along her jaw he sees the bite mark. Kenzi sees his eyes narrow in anger as they come up to meet hers. She quickly pulls her hair back over the mark while her eyes plead with him to not say anything. After a tense moment he gives her a slight nod and continues on pretending he hadn't seen the angry red welts on her throat.

Callen realizes their plan to follow the load just went to hell so he looks at his watch and decides to get them on the road back to LA. "Come on. Lets toss him in a car and get the hell out of here."

"NO!" They all stop at Kenzi's frantic outburst. She has just remembered what Schultz told her upon their arrival here. "We stopped here to meet his connection. Callen, I can still pull this off!"

They all exchange questioning glances, obviously not wanting to put Kenzi through anything else after her fight with Schultz. She knows the mission is more important than her aches and bruises and tries again.

"Callen... you know I'm right. Sam... I can do this... you know I can." She looks imploringly from one to the other, but they remain silent. She finally turns to Deeks hoping he will take her side. "Deeks... come on! This was nothing... I can still meet the connection... they won't know what happened in here."

The three men look at each other again, then scan the chaos left around them by Kenzi's obvious ability to take care of herself. Callen finally sighs and looks around the room. When his eyes land on her again, he voices his concerns, "Not looking like that, you can't."

Kenzi glances down at her torn shirt for the first time, realizing her bra and most of her side are exposed between the edges of her torn and bloody shirt. She quickly glances around then grabs Schultz's t-shirt to replace her own. She stop when a hand gently grabs her arm and offers her another shirt.

"Here... wear mine." Deeks has removed his t-shirt and holds it out to her. When she quickly strips off her shirt and pulls his on over her head, he gives her a wink and turns back to his task of getting this guy up off the floor.

While Sam and Deeks deal with Schultz, Kenzi and Callen go over the new plan. He still doesn't like this, but they all know Kenzi is their only hope of pulling this one off. They will have a highway patrol unit get Schultz out of here while Kenzi stays to await her connection. He finally gives her arm a gentle squeeze and steps outside to make sure no one is watching.