5. "You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do." - Kurt Vonnegut, "Timequake"

Tommy was shaken when he sat down on the boat shed couch. "I told him where I was, I told him..."

"Tommy, was he the one who asked you to talk to Deeks?" Sam asked. Deeks looked at Sam and couldn't mask his surprise.

"Yeah. I told him that Ju's family wanted me to give them Navy secrets and I told him I couldn't."

"Why would Tommy asking for me be an issue?" Deeks asked.

"Because you'd wind up talking to us. Callen and Sam had an unpleasant encounter with Lt. Commander Lee's spy connections. We have several Chinese spies and sleeper agents in custody. You want to bet this is about Xue-Li," Kensi said.

"Xue-Li?" Deeks asked.

"She was allegedly Lt. Commander Lee's fiancé but she really was supposed to be his handler," Callen answered.

"Good to know I wasn't the only love stuck dope," Tommy mumbled. "Lenny told me to contact someone where I was working but I told him I knew a Navy lawyer."

Callen, Hanna and Kensi all shared a look that told Deeks there was more to all this and he planned to figure that out. "Now what? Tommy needs to go with the Marshals now."

"Agreed, but we need him to make that phone call to his cousin," Sam said.

"What?" Tommy and Deeks said in unison.

"Tommy, call your cousin. Say you got away from the people looking for you at the hotel but there as a fight and Deeks got his ass kicked," Sam continued with a smile.

"Hey!" Deeks complained.

"Deeks told you to run and you did," Sam continued. "Now you're looking for someplace to hide. You got cash, you just need a ride to a hotel."

"I can't go."

"No you can't," Deeks agreed. Turning to the NCIS Agents, Deeks told them, "I'm not letting him go anywhere. He's a civilian." And a rather clueless one, Deeks thought.

"No, I'll go," Callen said. Callen and Tommy were about the same height and build. "I can put on a hoodie, borrow your rather unique sneakers and I'll wait at some bus stop or corner with my head down and hood up. When your cousin Lenny or whoever he sends goes to get you, they won't know it's not you until it's too late."

"I like it," Deeks said. "Do you have a burner phone?"

Callen pulled out his phone. "Untraceable. Where does your cousin live?" he asked.

"He's normally in San Francisco but he came down to stay at my place while I've been on my hotel tour."

"Which gives him access to all of your personal and financial data," Kensi said.

"He had the financial data. Lenny's a vice president at Commerce China, the investment firm. He's been taking care of my money for years."

"I'll call it in to Eric," Kensi said as she pulled out her cell.

"Tommy lives in a house in Hermosa Beach. It's a small place. If he's there and not at the meet, Lenny won't have too many places to hide there," Deeks told them. "I saw a storage unit place near the hotel. Agent Callen as Tommy could be there. See who Lenny brings with him, if anyone. With rush hour traffic, Tommy calls now and we've probably got 90 minutes or so before Lenny and whatever crew he has gets there."

"Make the call," Callen handed Tommy his phone. "Sound scared."

"That's not going to be hard."

A US Marshals team in Los Angeles from the Lexington office took custody of Tommy. The two were returning from Mexico, chasing down a mob accountant turned dentist. She was beautiful, he wore a cowboy hat. Neither of them believed Deeks was a lawyer let alone a Navy lawyer. Kensi, who was returning with dinner, agreed but said that looks were deceiving.

She brought him a second try at fish tacos - the good salmon ones from Jerry's Deli - while he watched her destroy a Cuban sandwich and a black and white milk shake. He was pretty sure there wasn't much Special Agent Kensi Blye didn't do with the volume turned to eleven.

Major Morales and three other Marines were pulled off prisoner transport duty to provide support to Sam and Callen while Agents Nassir and Thompson took the tact team to Tommy's home to see if Lenny stayed behind or if any unplanned guests were there.

As Deeks cleaned up his dining area and took away both his and Agent Blye's trash, the plasma screen flashed to life. "Kensi, the Lin house in Hermosa Beach is secure. The place was empty but it was completely trashed."

"Tommy is as neat as a pin. That's just wrong," Deeks told Kensi as he sat back at the table. "Can you get someone there to access Tommy's home computer?"

Eric on the screen looked at Kensi who told him "Just do it."

"What am I looking for?" Eric asked.

"Check his internet usage, web searches, browser use."

"He hasn't been there," Kensi stated but realized "but the cousin has been there."

"I've got searches for tides and boat rentals. There are also searches for the Final Exit Network and Compassionate Choices in the last two days."

"They sound like..."

"They're suicide support sites, Agent Blye," Deeks told her. "Can you open up any sort of word processing or e-mail program?"

"No problem."

"Suicide note?" Kensi asked.

"Heartbroken Tommy's engagement fell apart. He ran off from work, treated himself to some fancy hotels before ending it all. Tides and boat rentals - probably going to have someone who looks like Tommy rent a boat..."

Kensi picked up Deeks's theory. "Have it crash into the rocks or a pier. Tommy's missing and assumed dead. The fiancé can explain how she broke it off because he was becoming erratic."

"Lenny gets access to Tommy's cash and is no doubt listed as next of kin after Tommy to his father. Tommy's shipped off - probably literally - to some worker's camp in the middle of Bumblebuck, China where if he wants to live and eat and make sure his father is safe, Tommy starts telling them what he knows about US military computers and writing code for them."

"Sorry to interrupt," Eric broke in. "Sam and Callen just called in. They picked up Leonard Lin and four men at the storage facility. They're bringing in Leonard Lin and Major Morales is coming with them. The team from Pendleton took the four men. They were all carrying QBZ-95's"

"Chinese military's rifle of choice," Kensi said.

"The Marines are taking them back to Point Mugu. I'm running pictures of them through facial rec but so far, nothing."

"MSS?" Kensi wondered.

"Probably Chinese military," Deeks said. "Chinese Intelligence sleepers live as locals like Tommy's dad or your Lt. Commander Lee. That's MSS's mission. I'm guessing those four are Chinese special forces. The Admiral is going to love them." Turning his attention to Eric, Deeks asked, "Can you contact the Marshals Service?"

"Sure. What do you need, Commander? By the way, no note in Tommy Lin's computer."

"Probably waiting for the Chinese to have Tommy in custody. Back to the Marshals, just give them the head's up that the people looking for Tommy may include members of an elite military unit. They may want to beef up security on both Tommy and his father. Especially with the cousin having access to Tommy's financials."

"Of course," Eric said and was suddenly gone.

"He's helpful," Deeks noted.

"He's the best. Everyone on this team is. Do you have someone like him at NEIT?"

"What is the NEIT of which you speak?"

"Do you really intend to keep up that ruse? I think we've proven that we're all on the same side."

Deeks smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Well, we were in bed together..."

"As part of the case!"

"You don't have to be that offended, Agent Blye," Deeks chuckled.

"Kensi."

"Kensi," Deeks said kindly. "Naval Intelligence has more than its share of very highly skilled computer and data analysts. Bates runs a tight ship."

"As an Admiral, I hope he would," Kensi offered with a snort. She was awfully cute.

"So if you don't work out of here, where do you work out of - failed B&B? Converted factory? Old hanger near LAX?"

"Facility not far from here."

"Based on the decor here, it is probably something nicer than a facility. I got my butt rescued from a facility in Afghanistan. Bet your place is a lot nicer than a heat-free halal with slabs of beef hanging from the ceiling."

"A little nicer," Kensi told him. Her tone turned serious. "The incident report didn't say how long you were in the butcher shop. Just that the rescue was at zero three hundred local time."

"Four of the longer hours of my life were spent in a suburban Balkh butcher shop. When Omar Salib came looking for his barely teenage and not voluntary fiancé Ameena things sped up but once he wasn't a threat, time slowed down again."

"Did Salib do that to you?" Kensi asked gently as she pointed to his side.

"Yes and no. Salib was a wanna-be. Saw himself as the next great Taliban leader. What am I saying, the next great leader would be the first. Anyway, the town outside Balkh where Dr. Vadwa lived made a small mint weaving rugs and making other household knickknacks for a couple of British and American companies. Salib thought he could take over the village, control the cash and then start building his own empire."

"How would he do that?"

"He brought in radical clerics, bought some businesses out - he was from Saudi Arabia, Daddy was a prince - installed his own people and some radical business practices. Salib barely got out of Eton and failed out of both Cambridge and Oxford. Tried an American college or two before getting an office job with the family's oil business. Got tired of being a junior executive since he saw himself as so much more. Took some cash from a trust fund and set out on his own. Which is ironic, really, when you're funding your independent future with Daddy's money. Anyway, it's not hard to buy some officials these days so Salib was set up and ready to go."

"You stopped that."

"No. I stopped Salib. Permanently. Dr. Vadwa tried to stop it. His brother was the elected mayor of their village but Dr. Vadwa ran the town. He had the education, had the smart American wife who was also a doctor. They kept the town from having any use for radicals. They just wanted to treat sick people and make sure the village thrived. Dr. Vadwa was in Salib's way."

"Did Salib kill him?"

"On the record, Dr. Vadwa died of a bad flu. Off the record, he was poisoned. When a team went in to clean up after my mess, Dr. Vadwa was secretly exhumed and examined." Deeks shook his head. "Parsa Vadwa had more antifreeze in him than I have in my Jeep."

"Salib?"

"His brother, Nasar, we think. The brothers had lunch together three or four times a week. Nasar probably slipped it in his brother's tea."

"Was he charged?"

"No. Nasar was, well, the stereotypical jealous little brother. There's value in that. Salib saw that. Others did as well."

"I don't...

"You can make any situation work for your side with just the right pressure," Deeks answered cryptically.

"So he was involved with Salib."

"Oh yeah. When it all went to hell and Salib rounded up some angry locals, Nasar confirmed that an American soldier was kidnapping their women and charged that we probably killed Parsa Vadwa. Before and after my dealings with Salib, I had to stop a few attempts to get Ameena and her mother Lina away from me."

"During the four hours?"

"They probably didn't discover us for the first hour but with my blown to hell Corolla Fielder a block away with my dead translator inside, it wasn't hard to figure out where we wound up. Especially since there was a field behind the butcher shop where a helicopter could land in a pinch. There were attempts to break into the store - we were in an two room office on the make-shift second floor. With my night vision goggles, the men trying to get in were easy to stop. Someone started making Molotov cocktails. Took them out too."

"Sounds like some night."

"Oh just your typical fun night out in a war-torn foreign country. I get to Nasar Vadwa's house - he moved his sister-in-law and daughter there to offer them protections but really to control the two of them as he prepared to marry Ameena off. Just as I get the two women in my vehicle, Nasar comes out with a gun, screaming on his cellphone. He fires wildly. I clip him, we get into the SUV and try to get away."

"IAD?"

"Got near the edge of the town when I saw a dead dog on the road. It was too late to make any real evasive move," Deeks looked down, took a deep breath and looked at Kensi again. "Boom goes to the dynomut, Arif the translator is dead and I'm running with two very frightened civilians covered in blood and glass."

"You kept them safe."

"That I did. I also got into a knife fight with Omar Salib."

"You won."

"My intestines and very scarred right hip would profoundly disagree."

"The women are safe and you're alive. That's winning."

"The women are safe and that's what matters. They have a nice life in San Diego. Dr. Vadwa is a pediatrician, trained at UCSF - that's where she met her husband - so the Admiral made some phone calls and the Navy helped get her set up near Coronado. She has a practice that works with the families of the young sailors stationed there."

"That was good of the Admiral."

"Her husband provided a great deal of intel over the years. It was the least the Navy could do."

"What about you?"

"Oh, the Navy provided me with an education, all this is the least I can do."

Kensi rolled her eyes. "No, I mean what happened to you."

"I got stabbed, I survived, I'm recovering."

"Those scars aren't typical."

"Dr. Vadwa, Lina, tried to stop the bleeding and she did but Salib's going away gift to me - and supposedly this was his signature move in a knife fight - was to take a leak on his knife before finding some animal feces to smear on the it. All those extra ingredients made the knife wound a little more annoying."

"Oh God."

"Yeah, Omar Salib was quite the guy. A local told one person from the post-mission clean-up team that Salib liked to gut his enemies and leave them to die in agony as their insides rotted away. Even if they survived being stabbed, they'd be sick until they died from an infection."

"That's what happened to you. I mean not the dying part but…"

"It was over two hours before I got on the QRF helo and another hour before I was being operated on at Bagram. There were post-op infections at Bagram, Landstuhl and finally Bethesda that all required new operations. The one at Bethesda was the worst."

"Did you think you were going to die?"

"Everyone dies."

Kensi looked startled by his answer. "Did you think..."

"I never thought in the butcher shop that I was anything more than just wounded. I've been shot, I've been beat up, I survived other IADs, hell, I was in a helicopter crash and walked away. I've been in my fair share of rough spots too, though never with a female civilian and her child, but I figured once help arrived I'd be fine. All the time in the hospitals, I just never got feet under me, you know. I was rehabbing in Bethesda and just had no strength. Next thing I know, I'm in ICU with a dozen tubes running in and out of me and no memory of the prior five days."

"You look fine now."

"See, you do think I'm a fine looking man," he joked, not wanting to talk about this anymore. "The California sunshine and the beach were the best medicine."

"What happened to Nasar Vadwa?" Kensi asked, hopefully figuring they were done with his medical history.

"Well, the locals ran out the radical clerics once they knew Salib was dead. They were like Dr. Vadwa - religious but more interested in having independent and successful lives. A member of a team sent in to clean up my mess had a long sit down with Nasar Vadwa. There was proof he was on Salib's payroll and a decent case to be made he poisoned his brother. Nasar was a petty, jealous, little man who saw Salib as a way to get some power."

"Was he arrested?"

"No, he's on a different payroll now and responsible for keeping the village free of the Taliban. Bates's wife is on the board of an NGO that works in countries needing medical aid. A few phone calls and an anonymous donor gave half-a-mil to open the Parsa and Lina Vadwa Medical Center. It is staffed with a full-time medical team. The Seabees improved the local school and dedicated it to Ameena. Now everyone in town gives credit to the legacy of Parsa Vadwa. A little shot to Nasar's ego since now his brother and his brother's family are seen as a local heroes and the family who took a stand against the Taliban."

"How long have you been back in California?"

"Once the doctors were really sure I had no infections left, I pushed hard to be home for Christmas. Didn't make Christmas but was back just around New Year's. As I said, the sunshine and surf were good for what ailed me."

"And now you're trying to get back on duty."

"I am. Based on my little David Blaine act here yesterday and bringing in the bellboy spy, I think I may be off sick leave and on my way back."

"And you think the sunshine and surfing..."

"I know the sunshine and the water did it. There are restorative powers in the sun and since we all come from the sea..."

The door opened and in marched Agent Hanna with Leonard Lin in plastic handcuffs. Callen was just behind him in a hoodie and Tommy's ridiculous sneakers. Morales brought up the rear. Agents Hanna and Callen brought Lenny to the interview room Deeks broke out of the day - with Callen tossing Deeks the hoodie before entering the room. Morales sat at the table with Kensi and Deeks. Kensi turned on the plasma screen so they could watch the interrogation.

"Any trouble with Lenny?" Deeks asked.

"The four assholes in the van he drove up in were more the problem. None of them allegedly speak English but the Admiral is getting translators to Mugu to debrief them. Nothing from facial rec. They gotta be Chinese military. This guy," Morales pointed to the screen, "screamed when he saw Agent Callen under the hoodie, nearly wet himself when he saw Agent Hanna. Spent most of the ride here trying not to cry. He's not exactly Jason Bourne."

"You do know Jason Bourne, don't you Kensi?" Deeks teased.

"Did he say thing in the car?" Kensi ignored him.

"Just that he was in so much trouble and he wanted a lawyer."

Their attention turned to Callen and Hanna. "We're going to need a list of all your foreign contacts here in the States and your superiors in Beijing," Callen plopped a legal pad and pen on the table as he sat across from Lenny. Sam stood behind Callen- more towered over him, actually.

"I want to make a phone call. I want a lawyer," a tearful Lenny demanded.

"It doesn't work that way," Sam told Lenny. "It goes like this. You help us bring down the spy ring and we don't send you back to Beijing as a failed spy. I gotta tell you, that million dollar condo you're living in right now as the big successful finance guy, that's just going to be a memory when you're in some little hut back home."

"I am home. I was born in California. Lawyer. I want a lawyer."

"And your gig at Commerce China, wait until the assets of every client are frozen until we can confirm that none of their funds are going to finance either terrorism or espionage against the U.S.," Sam explained. Turning to Callen, he asked, "How long do you think that money will be frozen? Weeks? Months?"

"I'm thinking it is the fourth of July before a single dollar moves. Of course, with the FBI and SEC looking at every transaction, every form filed, Commerce China is out of business, they just don't know it yet."

"You can't do this," Lenny complained. "I have rights. I want a lawyer."

"Sam, he wants a lawyer," Callen said with a touch of humor in his voice.

"I'm an American citizen, I have rights."

"You have the right to shut up," Sam told him with a touch of menace in his voice.

"No, you do need a lawyer. Just wait here a second," Callen said as he stood. "We'll be back."

Callen and Sam joined Deeks, Morales and Kensi. "So?" Kensi asked.

The video feed of Lenny in the interrogation room moved to the corner of the screen as Eric popped up. "Commander, Admiral Bates needs to speak with you. I'm going to patch him in."

Bates filled the screen. "Is NCIS there?"

"Yes sir," Sam answered. "Do you need the room?"

"No, this update is for everyone. Li Ho Pan is in custody. He's talking and a bit more truthfully about what's going on. Agent Hanna, Agent Callen, you arrested a woman named Xue-Li in connection to Lt. Commander Lee's case, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir. She's in federal custody, has been for six weeks."

"Xue-Li is the daughter-in-law of Li Ho Pan. We've confirmed that."

"Which son is she..." Deeks started to ask.

"She's married to the oldest Pan son, isn't she?" Sam asked. "The one still in China."

"She is. Pan is willing to spill all he knows if she's returned to China. She was given a physical after she was in custody."

"She's pregnant," Kensi guessed.

"She is. Since Lt. Commander Lee wouldn't be the father, her husband in China is likely the proud papa. Her pregnancy, however, would give the Lt. Commander a reason to leave the sub during their time at sea to be present for the child's birth. He'd leave with the stolen technology. They had quite the plan in motion for Lt. Commander Lee."

"We're not trading her back, are we?" Morales asked.

"Eventually but not for this. We're looking more for a Pan family reunion. Bring in the missing brother - Sean. Once everyone is in custody, very public accusations about sleeper spies are going to make the diplomatic rounds."

"Isolate the brother still in China."

"We'll have his wife, two brothers and parents in custody. Oh, his pregnant wife. He could be offered a chance to see them and perhaps share what he knows about China's intelligence operations here and abroad for asylum."

"How did that work out last time?" Deeks asked.

"With everyone looking, probably a whole lot better this time. But we need the other brother in custody."

"What if we could get both brothers in custody, sir?" Migs asked. Everyone in the room turned to the Marine. "Hear me out. We got someone involved in all this right now in custody. Deeks's unknowing sleeper spy's cousin is in NCIS's interrogation room right now."

"OK," the Admiral said. "And by the way Morales, make sure Deeks walks out the front door when he leaves this time."

Deeks and Morales chuckled, Callen, Sam and Kensi did not. Morales continued. "We tell the stockbroker spy here that he needs to arrange a meet between someone who knows where both Tommy Lin and Xue-Li are."

"Xue-Li is in special segregation in Victorville," Callen told them. "She's in a secure unit where she's the only prisoner."

"But if she's having a rough time with her pregnancy, she could be moved to a hospital unit closer to LA," Morales said. "And I'm sure the father-to-be would want to guarantee the safety of his wife and unborn child."

"I like this," the Admiral said.

"She can't be allowed..." Kensi started to object.

"She's staying in Victorville. But she can be listed as a patient somewhere else," Deeks told her, beginning to see what Migs was planning.

"Oh, and any medical records created need to reflect that the unborn child is male. Jane Lee made it clear that sons are treasured. But how do we sell this to the Pan brothers?" Callen asked but was obviously on board.

"I know a Naval Commander who won a lot of money in China a few years ago and was investigated for taking a bribes," the Admiral said.

Deeks smiled, it was official - he was back. "I was cleared."

"And that Naval Commander maybe got himself hurt in the field and figured he'd be out of his final post-law school year's commitment to the Navy," Bates continued.

"I re-upped," Deeks told the NCIS Agents. Oh yes, he was back.

"But instead of an honorable discharge, not only does he still owe the Navy a year, he got himself hurt doing something stupid. He's going to be retained an extra year to make up for the lost service time and medical expenses," Migs added.

"I have to do something stupid to get hurt? I couldn't do something heroic and figured my time with the Navy should be done?" Deeks tried to defend himself. It didn't matter. He was back.

"Stupid is going to be an easier sell for you," Bates said. "Arrange this with NCIS. Deeks, don't get yourself hurt or reinjured. Morales..."

"Make sure Deeks doesn't get himself hurt or reinjured, sir," Morales finished the Admiral's thoughts.

"You all have done this before," Kensi commented.

"You have no idea Agent Blye," the Admiral sighed. "Deeks, Morales, I want a sit-rep tomorrow at zero nine hundred my time," Bates said before the screen went dark. The image of Lenny Lin in the interrogation room now filled the screen.

"Can your computer guy set up a medical emergency for Xue-Li?" Deeks asked.

"Of course," Kensi answered.

"Move her into the prison ward of a local hospital."

"They might try to break her out." Kensi thought aloud. "We have to watch out for that."

"Not if she's on complete bed rest for a week or so," Sam said. "They'll wait until she's being returned to Victorville."

"And I can offer to sell them the day, time and the route from the hospital," Deeks told them. "I'm sure a good husband would like to be there to see his wife released."

"We can lojack the free Pan brother living here."

"Lojack?"

"Super-secret spy stuff," Deeks said, figuring NCIS knew nothing about Overwatch. "Naval Intelligence can track brother Sean while setting up Mr. Xue-Li."

"Tommy is out of this. He's so far in over his head he'd never stand a chance with the level of spy-biz going on here," Deeks told the group.

"Agreed," Callen said. Pointing to his feet, "Any man who thinks these sneakers are a good idea should be in protective custody. We can dangle Xue-Li and the Pan brother in custody."

"What about him?" Sam pointed to Lenny on the screen.

"He wanted to see a lawyer, Deeks, you're a lawyer," Callen answered.

"Yes I am," he said as he stood and made his way to the interrogation room. "You won't be locking me in there again?" he joked.

Callen opened a drawer on an end table near the couch. He pulled out an ear wig set and handed it to Deeks. "We can hear you, you can hear us, got it?"

Deeks held up the earwig to Morales and said "Remember these?"

"Make do." Morales joked as Deeks put the earwig in.

"Once you have Lenny working for us, you can come out," Sam advised.

"Don't worry, talking his way in and out of trouble is what Commander Deeks does best," Morales added.

Walking into the interrogation room, Lenny Lin asked Deeks "Who are you?"

"You wanted a lawyer, I'm a lawyer. Tommy may have mentioned me. I'm Commander Marty Deeks."

"You're Tommy's Navy lawyer friend? You look more like one of the guys he works with making video games."

"Yeah, well, we're all not what we seem to be," Deeks said sitting across from Lenny. "You look to the world to be a stockbroker and American success story. First generation American and already living the dream. Too bad you're a sleeper spy."

"I'm not. I don't..."

"You told the people looking for Tommy where he was hiding."

"They can't prove that."

"Why, because you made the call on a burner phone you think you're free and clear? The Navy has known about Tommy for weeks," Deeks lied. "They've had his house under surveillance, every phone call, every cell phone ID, every internet search - all recorded and available to make a great case against you. While the country still technically can execute traitors, mostly they just get really long sentences at supermax federal prisons. You're going to love Colorado. You're only going to see it from outside a cell window but..."

"The Navy didn't have Tommy's house under surveillance. He didn't tell anyone but you about what was going on. Lawyer/client privilege. You could lose your license if you told..."

"Dude, you're assuming I'm a regular lawyer. I'm not. Believe me, I'm not. And the rules for military justice are very different than the rules for the average lawyer. The only one losing anything in this room is you. You've lost your freedom, you're going to lose all your money, your job, your fancy apartment - all gone. Also gone, that company you work for. They're about to get about every alphabet agency in the US looking at them. The FDA may drop by to see how much sugar your coworkers use and if the office kitchen provides enough healthy snacks."

"I got this scare job from the guy who pretended to be Tommy and the big dude."

"Yeah, well the big dude and the guy pretending to be Tommy are federal agents. You can be held for 72 hours without being charged. And then they can lose you in the system. Would hate for you to get confused with one of the Chinese military commandos who were picked up with you. They'll likely be shipped back to China. We could slip you in for one of them and you could enjoy some time back in the homeland."

"America is my homeland."

"Then start acting like it," Deeks turned serious. "You have an opportunity here to cooperate and have your sentence reduced or you have an opportunity to spend lots of time in jail. Your choice."

"I have demands."

Deeks sighed. "Don't we all."

"No prison."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Deeks stood and started to the door.

"I know where Sean is. I know who the main handler in San Francisco is for half a dozen sleeper cells."

"We have Will Pan in custody," Deeks turned around at the door. "I'm thinking he'll spill his brother's location and a whole lot more."

"I'll do what you want if I get to keep my money. I made it legally. Short sentence, minimum security facility."

"You get to keep the money you can prove you made legally. You get a reduced sentence, not necessarily a short one. Medium security, no club fed for you. If you're setting us up, if you're not being completely honest and forthcoming, I will make sure you do a life sentence in a hole so awful the best thing that could happen to you is an early death. You got me?"

"What do I have to do?"

"You give me Sean Pan's phone number and we got a start."

Two hours later, Deeks was officially sick of Lenny Lin. All the things that made his cousin Tommy fun - a goofy sense of wonder mixed with a brilliant mind - were sadly lacking in Lenny. He was mostly what he appeared to be - a finance, numbers guy and a boring one at that. The sideline as a sleeper spy was really only a part-time job. He moved a little money and kept an eye on his cousin. Tommy was the prize, Lenny was a worker bee.

Eric built a medical history for Xue-Li at LA's women's prison hospital. Morales suggested and the team agreed to have Xue-Li listed as Li-Xue since it looked covert but was poorly done - feed the belief that nobody in U.S. intelligence knew what they had in Xue-Li.

According to Lenny, Sean Pan ran a gambling room for his friends and money laundering clients every Friday. Capital Flow was expanding their offices in a downtown high-rise. The Pans rented the space just below the firm's reception floor. Guests would come up to Capital Flow only to be walked down a floor past an basic office set up to hidden black jack, poker, baccarat tables. Dealers, bartenders and wait staff entered the building looking like construction workers. Add in the building security being on the Pan payroll - it was a highly successful business endeavor.

Lenny made a call to Sean Pan - with NCIS listening - explaining that he was in custody but keeping his mouth shut. He told Sean that he was making the phone call on the cell belonging to Tommy's lawyer and then Deeks got on the line.

"I have nothing to say to you," Sean told him.

"That's good, then I'll just tell you want you need to know. Tommy's gone. The Marshals have him and he's never working for you guys," Deeks started the conversation.

"Great, are we done?"

"Nope, I do know where they're keeping your brother and will be advised when he's being moved from facility to facility. I also know about your sister-in-law."

"Who?"

"Xue-Li. Your brother's wife."

"What do you know about her?"

"She's pregnant. She's married to your brother, cousin, not really sure how you guys deal with each other."

"Mike's my brother. We're blood."

"Yeah, well, blood is her problem. She nearly miscarried two days ago at Victorville."

"No she didn't. I would have heard."

Deeks saw Kensi pick up her phone and start talking. The Pans had someone at Victorville. That lead needed to be chased down right away. "Oh, you guys aren't the only ones able to do covert things. My source at the hospital says she was moved night before last just after lights out. They got her to a hospital in time to save the baby. She's in a prison ward at a hospital right now. And I'll know when she's going back to Victorville. So you know, I think we do have things to say to each other."

"Come to my..."

"Off the books casino, I'd love to."

"No, I want a private meeting, tonight."

"And I want a public one. I saw the squads you sent today twice to pick up Tommy. I'm thinking you're far less likely to do anything shall we say rash in front of your clients. Besides, I like to gamble."

"How do I know this isn't a set up?"

"Surely you had me checked out before you let Lenny tell Tommy to contact me."

"And if I did."

"You saw how I got my house. Since the Navy already thinks I'm on the Chinese payroll and just can't prove it, maybe I need to think about my future."

"We require some of our newer guests at the casino to bring a date. Makes everyone a bit more controllable when they're not the only ones who can get hurt. You come alone, you go home."

"Not a problem."

"See you Friday. And if this is a set-up, I'll find you and kill you myself."

"The only thing I'm setting up is the Marty Deeks life on the beach fund. Friday night."

"You got a pretty dress, Agent Blye?" Deeks asked as he disconnected the call. "I think I need a date."

-30-

Since I'm bad at shutting up, it looks like this is going one more full chapter and one short wrap up chapter. This has been fun. Thank you all for your kind feedback and nice notes. They are a joy to read.