I have had several people tell me that the spelling on Kenzi's (Kensi) name is wrong... I know this, but I feel my verison of this character needs more 'zing!' to her name to match her personality. That's why they call this fiction. I hope it doesn't disturb my readers so much you don't enjoy the story. Maybe my next story will bring her back to her original spelling and personality.
CHAPTER EIGHT
In almost total darkness, she races headlong into the unknown in the hopes she can evade them… while avoiding taking a header off the steep cliff edge that is somewhere to her left. She runs headlong into the forest, bouncing off the rough bark tree trunks that suddenly appear before her in the pitch blackness. With branches tearing at her skin, Kenzi keeps her cries of pain deep inside and doesn't slow her pace... distance and darkness is all she has going for herself right now.
She estimates that she has run about one hundred yards when her throbbing jaw and scraped arms and legs urge her to stop. She trips over an outcropping of rocks and stifles another cry of pain as she topples head first down a small slope. She lands on more jagged, rocky terrain. The rocks tear at her skin and her right foot is twisted cruelly between to rocks, but she keeps silent as intense pain shoots up from her ankle. She tries to get up, but her ankle is badly injured and possibly broken. Running her fingers down over her leg she feels the warm sticky blood oozing from her knee as well. She feels around her like a blind person in the dark, searching for a place to hide.
To her left she feels the rocks drop away abruptly and as she leans farther out she finds only air. She hears pebbles trickling out from under her hand to bounce off rocks as they fall away to the canyon floor far below. She gasps in terror, realizing she is at the edge and quickly recoils back onto the jagged rocks behind her. As quietly as possible she backs up until she finds herself against an overhang in the rocks. She tries to make herself as small as possible, controlling her strained breaths as her body's adrenalin surges with her pain levels. Her lungs are burning, but she holds her breath in to listen for any sound that would indicate Riley or Monk is approaching. She hears them, some distance away, thrashing through the woods searching for her. Their cussing and harsh comments leave her with no illusion of what they will do if they find her.
She finally lets her breath out as slowly and silently as she can, panting softly to avoid making any unnecessary noise. The minutes seem to stretch endlessly as she remains motionless in this dark pit of rocks she has wedged herself into. She would normally be worried about what creatures are lurking in this small cavern, but her only concerned right now was the creature stalking her out there. Her eyes are more accustomed to the dark and she can make out some details in the rocks around her. She can just make out where the rocks stop and the endless black abyss starts. If she hadn't tripped and fallen when she did, she would have taken a nose dive straight into thin air and not stopped until she hit the bottom. Imagining how close she'd come to that horrible death causes her shake uncontrollably.
Pain from her many wounds intensifies with her tension and immobility, but she doesn't dare move a muscle. She closes her eyes tightly, lowering her head to her chest as she desperately whispers, "Please God... let Deeks find me…"
When she opens her eyes again after her small prayer she sees one of her shoes is missing. It must have come off when she wrenched her ankle between the rocks! She once again holds her breath as she listens for sounds of her attackers. She can hear them moving through the underbrush, but now closer than before. She catches flashes of light against the rocks above her head and realizes they have flashlights. She doesn't dare poke her head out to locate her shoe and give her position away. She can only hope that if they do find it they'll assume she went head first over the edge.
Callen and Deeks are racing up the winding mountain road when the Bishop truck comes lumbering out onto the roadway in front of them. Neither driver sees the other in time to avoid the collision, but the car responds quicker and careens into the ditch on the near side, avoiding slamming into the truck head on. The semi driver has no choice, but to drive straight into the ditch on the far side, which has a more severe drop off. The cab strikes the trunk of a pine tree, collapsing around it's hundred year old trunk and killing the driver instantly. The trailer tips precariously on one side, balancing momentarily on one set of wheels.
Callen and Deeks are out of their car, coughing at the dust cloud encompassing the area. With guns drawn they approach the truck with caution, praying Kenzi wasn't in the cab. Just as they are about to reach the crumpled cab gravity takes over and the trailer struggles against the coupling holding it with a torturous screech of metal sheering metal. They duck back to the safety of the other side of the road as the trailer makes its slow motion dive onto its side, landing with a loud crash and a snap as the coupling with the cab breaks free from the strain. Once again they must wait for the dust to settle, but Deeks' impatience overrides caution and he vaults up onto the crumpled fender of the truck to get a look inside.
"KENZI!"
Callen makes his way around to the other side and does the same thing, but there is only the bloodied body of the male driver inside. This should have brought them relief, but now they are left wondering what happened to Kenzi. They scan the roadway once more and Callen quickly picks up the narrow track the truck emerged from.
"Deeks! It came from this way!"
Their car is disabled in the ditch so without further delay, they set out on foot, running down the dark, tree lined lane with as much speed as their training will allow. Guns held at the ready, they jog forward in a staggered pattern, one stopping to provide cover while the other moves ahead a short distance. Then they trade off positions clearing the area ahead while the person behind catches up and jogs ahead. It may not have seemed like a long distance in the trucks earlier, but on foot advancing over the few hundred yards in the dark takes them almost fifteen minutes.
Once they see the trees thinning out ahead to expose the parking area, the white truck with its headlights still on is the focus of their attention. Then Deeks points out a black Dodge pickup truck parked off to the far side almost hidden in the gloom. A quick scan of the area reveals no one. Callen uses silent hand signals to communicate with Deeks as they use stealth and the cover of darkness to approach the Dodge truck first and clear it. When they are convinced no one is lurking inside, they turn their attention towards the semi. With the headlights on the area in front of the truck is illuminated so they approach from the rear. Walking up both sides and checking underneath as they move towards the cab, but again this vehicle is abandoned.
With his heart is in his throat Deeks spins around, frantically scanning the area for Kenzi. Callen also scans the area, when a flash of light catches his attention. "Deeks! Over there!"
Deeks turns to see the light bobbing through the trees and realizes someone has a flashlight. He is about to call out to Kenzi when Callen sees a second light moving through the trees and silences him.
"Ssshhh! Kenzi isn't alone out there. You take left, I'll take right... we'll flank them and take 'em out."
They begin jogging towards the trees as quietly as possible, but stop Deeks grabs his partner's arm and softly warns, "Hey… watch where you're walking… the cliff is really close and there may not be any guard rails once you get into the trees."
Deeks and Callen move into the trees about twenty feet apart, moving slowly so as not to make any noise as they move closer to the source of the swaying lights. After about fifty feet, Callen motions for Deeks to stop. They crouch down and listen; detecting the voices ahead. The voice is harsh and demanding and the speaker isn't worried about being quiet. Callen recognizes the voice giving the orders as Riley, but the responding voice is familiar as well.
"That's Riley..." His whispered voice barely carries over the distance to Deeks. "... and his goon Monk."
Deeks sees a shadowy figure through the trees swinging a flash light back and forth as he searches the area. The man is near the cliff and the trees are thinner there so they can clearly see it is Riley. Deeks motions to Callen and they begin to move silently in that direction. They move silently through the trees with guns drawn, closing in on Riley. Suddenly Riley drops to one knee and turns his light to examine something on the ground. Deeks motions for them to stop and wait as Riley now picks up a woman's tennis shoe.
Deeks' heart stops as he recognizes Kenzi's shoe, found so dangerously close to the edge. Every nightmarish possibility races through his head and he has to force himself to remain still when every fiber of his being is screaming at him to charge over there. He exchanges a glance with Callen, seeing the same fear in his eyes.
Deeks is about move in again when suddenly a noise behind them makes them freeze. Riley drops the shoe and spins torwards the sound. He turns his flashlight into the trees as he peers into the darkness near Deeks. The agent can't even turn around to see what made the noise without giving himself away. They remains motionless as Riley now begins to move slowly towards the sound. Callen and Deeks are poised and ready when Riley walks in between their two positions. Deeks suddenly lunges out and tackles Riley around the shoulders as Callen lands on his lower body to control his thrashing noises. There is a brief, but intense struggle until Riley finally goes limp when Deeks manages to tighten his arm around his throat enough to knock him out. They quickly cuff the unconscious man as their second threat now becomes apparent.
"Boss?! Where you at? Was that you?!" Monk is moving towards the last known spot where Riley had used his flashlight, not aware that he had walked a dozen steps back into the trees when he heard the sound.
Deeks realizes Callen is lying on top of the flashlight, drowning out its light for the moment. "Give me his flashlight… quick!"
He turns the light off and tosses it to Deeks as he spins around, keeping low to the ground to wait for Monk to be lured in by his partner. Deeks stands up tall and turns away from the sound of Monk's voice as he flashes his light on the ground in front of him and calls out, "Get over here!"
They hear the heavy footsteps increasing as Monk hurries to his boss's side. He is just about close enough to see that the clothing of this man doesn't match that of Riley when he stops. He is suddenly aware of a dark form racing at him from behind. Callen's raised hand comes down on Monk's temple just as his head pivots towards his attacker. The gun in his hand makes an effective silent weapon as he slams it into the man's head; causing him to drop limply to the ground with only a soft groan. Once he is down, Callen handcuffs this man also before hurrying to Deeks' side.
"Okay, two down. You think there are more out here?" He scans the darkness for additional attackers as he speaks softly.
"Two vehicles... two drivers... not counting the truck that dead guy drove up here. I'd say we got 'em all, but keep your eyes open anyway."
"Why? Because you were never any good at math?"
"No, because I'm more worried about finding Kenzi than I am a bad guy intent on throwing us off this cliff."
Deeks has walked back to the area where he saw Riley kneel down and now illuminates Kenzi's tennis shoe. Callen looks down at it also, then follows the beam of the flashlight as Deeks moves it over to the unprotected edge that is only a few feet away. Beyond the cliff's edge they can see only darkness and neither wants to think about the possibility that Kenzi ran this way in her attempt to flee Riley and his goon.
Deeks moves a step closer to the edge, looking for loose or disturbed ground. He stops when the light flickers over something shiny on the edge of a sharp rock. The blood is oddly bright and almost glows in the harsh circle of light and Deeks feels his fears coming to the surface once more.
"Kenzi! Kenzi!" He steps even closer to the edge of rocks before the ledge completely drops off to the canyon below. He hastily swings the flashlight around in the darkness and frantically calls out again, "Kenzi!"
Callen lunges for his arm pulling him back before Deeks leans precariously over the edge. Kenzi has slipped into a cloudy, near unconscious state from her head injury barely registers male voices above her. The fear of only a few moments ago still grips her and she holds her breath. In her haze, she doesn't realize the two men standing mere feet away from her looking down into the black abyss below are there to save her.
"Deeks... take it easy! Let me call in an air unit to search down there."
Callen pulls him away from the edge a few steps before grabbing his cell phone to make the call for support. Sam picks up immediately, "G! Where the hell are you?!"
"Some scenic overlook way up in the hills. Not sure of the road, but we need air support, Sam. We can't find Kenzi and there's a chance... well... let's just say we need to search the ravine below." Callen hears Sam talking to his driver, a patrolman who knows the area well.
"G, we're almost to you and we're calling in air support now."
"Turn in at the overturned rig blocking the road... we're down that road."
Callen flips his phone closed and turns to see Deeks walking back and forth in a search pattern, looking for more signs of what happened to Kenzi. Callen jogs back to Monk and grabs his flashlight in order to join in the search; not caring that both men are now moaning in pain. They begin sweeping the area as they continue to call out her name, but to no avail.
The whirl of red and blue lights lets them know the highway patrol and Sam have arrived, but they don't stop searching. Callen waves his flashlight towards the parking area and whistles loudly to let them know their location. Deeks once again moves towards the ledge; drawn there by his lingering fears. This time he kneels down to get a better look over the jagged edge sees there is a narrow shelf of rock about four feet below the top. His light scans the rough surface and his chest compresses painfully as he sees more blood on the rocks below.
"Kenzi!?" His call is more desperate this time as he begins to realize she may be out of his reach forever. It takes him a moment to catch the sound, which is almost drowned out by the voices of Callen filling the newcomers in on what occurred. "QUIET! I hear something!"
The others go silent and come closer to where he is kneeling. He holds his breath to silence the harsh rasp in his ears and listens again. They all strain to hear the faint noise and where it is coming from. Then they hear it again, faint, but stronger this time. "Here… I'm here…"
Kenzi is hanging on to consciousness by a thread of sheer willpower and Deeks' urgent calls have finally penetrated the fog in her brain. Every breath she takes makes the world spin crazily around her, but she can't black out now or they may never find her. She grits her teeth and uses the last of her strength to pound the small rock in her hand against the boulders she is wedged between.
Callen hears it this time and drops to his knees to shine his flashlight into a rocky crevasse. He sees Kenzi crouched in the dark hole; battered and bleeding from a dozen small wounds. She is obviously weak and in a lot of pain as she squints against the light and drops the rock in her hand to give him a feeble wave. Deeks leaps down from the edge and lands on the narrow shelf of rocks before anyone can stop him.
"Deeks!" Sam tries to grab for him, but is only able to grab a handful of t-shirt as Deeks drops to his knees at the entrance to the small crevasse.
His flashlight is dropped on the rocks between his knees as he leans in to take her hand. The eerie glow of the light in this small space illuminates the haze in her eyes as she struggles to keep the darkness at bay.
"Deeks... you found me..." Her head sways to the side and her eyes droop closed as Deeks sees the blood streaming down the side of her swollen face for the first time.
"Okay Kenz... stay with me baby..." He keeps ahold of her hand, but sits back on his heels as he looks up to Sam and Callen who are nervously crouched above him. "Sam... we're gonna have to lift her out. She's hurt... possible head injury... or worse."
The trooper who arrived with Sam has been standing by and he now offers some support. "I can have a rescue crew here in thirty minutes."
"No, we can't wait!" Deeks isn't about to let her sit in this precarious situation for another half hour.
"Do you have any rope in your cruiser? If not, check the semi... they always carry rope and tie down straps." When the trooper lopes off to round up the supplies they need, Callen turns his attention back to Deeks. "Deeks, can you maneuver her enough to get a harness around her so we can lift her out of there?"
"Aahh, yea, I think so. She's got herself wedged in here pretty tightly and from what I can see, she has a head injury... knee is gashed and other smaller cuts."
Kenzi remains silent, floating in and out of consciousness as the four men quickly fashion a plan to harness her with the flat tie-down straps then lift her up to safety. She becomes more alert when Deeks jostles her around in his attempts to get the webbed strap around behind her.
"Hey... watch what you're grabbin' buddy." Her mumbled words are too soft for anyone else to hear, but Deeks can't help but smile at her.
"Ahh, how quickly you forget what we had..."
"No... just don't let Heddy... find out..." She wags her limp finger at him in a poor imitation of Heddy's scolding and he can't help but laugh.
As long as she had her sense of humor he knew Kenzi was going to be all right. He grabs her hand lightly and kisses her finger before he returns to securing the knots of her improvised harness. When they are ready to move her out into the open Deeks has to help her maneuver out of the small wedged space without tumbling over the edge himself. Sam has fashioned a harness for him as well and he quickly stands up to slip it on.
"Okay guys, I'm gonna start sliding her towards the opening... you keep that light shining at my feet." Deeks turns his attention to the trooper who is standing off to one side holding his safety line. "I need to know exactly where that drop off is at all times."
The trooper nods and points his light at Deeks' feet as he crouches down again and grabs ahold of Kenzi's harness. He hauls her towards the opening and she whimpers in pain as her ankle is bumped against the rocks. Deeks stops to examine her more closely.
"Honey… are you okay? Where does it hurt?"
"My ankle… broken… and my head hurts..."
"All right, we're gonna get you out of here... but this is gonna hurt a bit."
"I'm good... just help me up.. I'm okay." She struggles to get up on her own, but her weak attempt gets her nowhere. She groans in pain and once again sags back against the rocks as the darkness inside her head claims her once more.
"Guys, let's do this now... before she wakes up again. Ready! Go!"
Deeks jerks Kenzi out of the crevasse and falls back on his knees, relying on the strong hold on his rope harness to keep him from going too far. Callen is in a similar position, holding tightly to Kenzi's harness as she is pulled out onto the ledge beside Deeks. Once she is out in the open, Deeks pulls her towards himself, draping her upper body up over his shoulder. He is still on his knees and the hardest part will be standing up with Kenzi's dead weight. He takes several deep breaths and then lunges up in one strong move, knowing if he doesn't get his legs under him on the first try he could easily lose his balance and send them tumbling over the edge.
Callen and the trooper are ready for his move and quickly tighten up on the ropes to keep the tension. Deeks wobbles as she bumps against the rough rock ledge, causing him to side step dangerously towards the edge. His foot lands on the very edge of the rocks and he can feel the pebbles crumbling under his weight. A frantic groan escapes his throat as he struggles to regain his balance. Sam gasps as well and suddenly lunges down to grab ahold of Kenzi's harness to help stabilize his perilous position.
"I got her Deeks! Just get your footing..."
"Wow... my life flashed before my eyes on that one and I can tell you... it was way too short!"
"Well, stop screwin' around and get up here! Then we'll see what we can do about makin' your next premier a bit more interesting."
Sam and Deeks joke to release the tension and as their eyes meet over Kenzi's limp body they both understand the seriousness of the moment. With a slight nod, Sam readies himself for the big pull. "You ready?"
Deeks slowly bends his knees and Sam grabs onto Kenzi with both hands. Deeks thrusts upwards with his hands under Kenzi's body lifting her as Sam jerks backwards and hauls Kenzi up to land on top of him. She moans softly as Sam quickly rolls her over and stabilizes her head and assess her condition.
"I got you Kenz... easy, now... we got you."
With Kenzi now on solid ground, Callen and the trooper work together to pull Deeks up as well. When they are all back on safe footing, the three men carefully remove the harness from her limp body before picking her up in a fireman's cross-arm carry. The trooper lights the way as they walk as fast as the terrain will allow until they are back in the parking area. They gently sit Kenzi on the top of a picnic table nearby in order to better assess her injuries. Deeks sits beside her, cradling her upper body against him as she once again struggles up from unconsciousness with a moan.
"Get the first-aid kit from your cruiser!"
The trooper races off to get the first-aid kit as a line of patrol cars with lights flashing come roaring into the parking lot to assist. Callen now recalls his earlier request and jogs after the young trooper. "And cancel that air unit!"
Kenzi has been roused from her stupor once again by the jostling and pain of moving her to the clearing. She groans and reaches out for her leg as Sam gently probes her swollen ankle. "Ooww..."
"Hey tough girl... can you tell me what hurts?"
"Ankle... think it's broken."
"How about your knee? Hurt inside or out?" Sam moves his knife quickly up the torn material of her jeans away to cut it away so he can get a better look at the nasty cut that is still bleeding freely.
"Can't tell... just hurts like hell." She forces her eyes to open further as she looks around to see other troopers leading Riley and Monk out of the woods in handcuffs. "Bastards! ...make that bastard pay!"
She tries to stand up, but two sets of hands quickly restrain her, holding her in place. "Easy there... Warrior Princess. Think you've done enough damage for one night."
"Yea, tough girl… relax. They're not going anywhere but to jail."
When the trooper returns with his first-aid kit, Sam quickly kneels down in front of her to begin bandaging her knee to control the bleeding. While his head is bent to his task, Deeks allows the tight rein he's kept on his emotions out, just long enough to lean in his lips are near her ear. He resists the urge to take her in his arms as all the emotion of the past few days rises up in him. He sighs softly and whispers the warning only she will understand.
"DON'T. EVER. DO. THAT. AGAIN."
Kenzi understands the message and the emotion behind it. She turns to face him and can't resist leaning in to press a soft kiss on his lips. Deeks barely has time to respond before it ends and Kenzi sits back with another yelp of pain. Their private moment is interrupted by Sam, who's down-bent head apparently didn't miss a thing.
"I saw that." His teasing admission is delivered with a subtle shake of his head as he continues to concentrate on securing the bandage on her knee.
She again tenses in pain and grabs Deeks' hand for support when Sam begins to work on splinting her ankle. With that done, Sam stands up to face her and tilts her head back so he can examine the cut and swelling on her temple. Her eyes roll back in her head and Sam frowns in concern.
"Where's the nearest hospital?" His eyes dart to the trooper who has been standing near them.
"Nearest trauma center is in Escondido, but Ramona is about half the distance and they have a pretty decent emergency medicine center."
Kenzi tries to formulate her refusal, but the words come out in a slurred mumble. "Kenzi... you need to be checked out. Deeks go with her and keep her awake if you can. We'll clean up this mess."
The trooper pulls his car over closer to the picnic table and Sam and Deeks carefully load her into the backseat for the twenty minute drive. Deeks rides in back with her to keep her conscious if he can, but in reality he just can't bear to have her out of his reach right now. As they pull away, Sam goes to join the group of troopers being briefed by Callen.