Chapter 16

The building where Haswari had taken as his hiding place didn't exactly meet anyone's standard of a good place to live. The brick exterior had pit marks from all the years of air pollution in the city. The metal flashing that had been used to catch whatever rain that fell had begun rusting and leaving marks down the sides of the building. The front door and all the window casings showed signs of dry rot that had been painted over ten years ago. The building now sat as a peeling, messy statement of the neglect given to this neighborhood.

Everyone stood ready for the signal from Gibbs. If they flushed Haswari, they had every access covered between their agency and the LAPD. He wouldn't get away.

Eric had sent blueprints to the agent's phones two days ago. There were two apartments on each floor. There was a front door and another to the porch on the back of the building for each of the apartments.

The hallways were lit by two hanging lamps about twenty feet apart. Each of them seemed to contain a low wattage bulb that barely shone to the floor never mind light the hall.

The stairs to the upper floors rose on the right of the hallway, but by the looks of it, a silent approach would be close to impossible. The treads were worn oak which had seen many feet over their lifespan.

With his Sig Sauer at ready, Callen took the first step on the stairs and a large creak emanated from the wood. Callen motioned to the rest of the team to walk to the sides of the stairs. Hopefully it would dispense with any more of the loud squeaks from the treads.

The climb up those stairs took time. They wanted as much silence approaching the third floor so that they'd have the element of surprise.

When they reached the third floor landing they fanned out on either side of the door. Gibbs nodded to Tony to kick in the door. Before he could accomplish that a loud screeching of tires came from outside the building. Car doors slammed and an army of feet proceeded up the stairs not caring if they creaked or not.

Gibbs motioned for his team to move to the other end of the hallway where they wouldn't be seen as quickly.

The team watched as the men on the stairs neared the floor they were on and Haswari's door. A lone man came up the stairs in a stately manner and Callen recognized him as Arturo Molina. When he arrived he motioned for the door to be broken open. His men did it and had rousted the men inside by the time Molina entered the apartment. He walked right up to Haswari and gut punched him.

While the punch had Haswari doubled over, he still wore a look of defiance and it irritated Molina even more.

Callen spoke quietly to Sam through the com unit. "We're just about to enter. Where are you?"

Sam responded and nodded to Tim. "We're at the back door. Ready when you are."

Gibbs nodded his intent to enter.

Callen said one word. "Go!"

All the members of NCIS surrounded the Cartel men and never even had to fire a shot.

Callen called down to the LAPD squad leader and had him come take away the cartel members including Arturo. Molina was not a happy guy.

When all the extraneous people had been removed from the apartment Haswari and his two fellow terrorists knelt on the floor and placed their weapons on the floor in front of them. Everyone in the raiding party wore a look of confusion. Gibbs and Callen exchanged those looks and Tony and Ellie had gone to the other two terrorists to put cuffs on each of them when Deeks charged into the room grabbing Haswari and throwing him to the floor. He quickly put his knee to Haswari's chest and punched him in the face. "Special Agent Kensi Blye, does that name ring a bell?"

Jamal Mohammed Haswari did the one thing he shouldn't have. He smiled. He never spoke a word but it had the intended affect: it enraged the detective.

Marty Deeks felt nothing but pain but Max Gentry's reaction wasn't pain. He felt the urge to inflict pain. He grabbed Haswari's left hand and broke his middle finger.

There seemed to be a moment when sense came back to the detective but Callen saw his eyes. It wasn't Marty, but Max. He wore a look of abject pain but there still was an aura of knowing exactly what he was doing.

Haswari looked at him and smiled the broad, rabid smile of a psychopath.

The smile enraged Max further. "No? How about now." He broke another finger. The same evil smile came and sent Max even further over the edge.

Haswari kept smiling the evil blood strewn smile even though with broken fingers and bloodied mouth you knew he was in pain. As long as he could torment the detective he'd live with the agony.

Gentry was having none of it. Before any of the team could stop him he pulled his service weapon and pointed it in Haswari's face. For one moment it stopped the despicable grin. "You hurt her, broke fingers and her nose and then you raped her, for what? All so that you could entice Agent Gibbs to Los Angeles?"

A deep voice spoke as Gentry pushed the pistol further into Haswari's face. "Don't do this Deeks. This is not what Kensi would want. It is not what a good cop like you would do. Put your weapon away. Cuff him and take him to the cruiser." Sam tried to take the weapon but Deeks backed up.

It was all that Deeks needed to pull himself back from Gentry. "Can I kill him… please." The pleading let every soul in the room know exactly what the man felt.

Sam reached out and touched his shoulder and felt the shudder of exhaustion and emotion that Deeks had hidden for the last few days. "You know you can't. Come on man give up the weapon."

Callen saw a glimmer of Max still behind Marty's eyes. A small laugh escaped from the detective. "Maybe just a little?"

As much as Callen would have liked to help him, this could get a case against Haswari tossed out of court. He had to agree with Sam and try to talk Deeks down. "Deeks this is not the way to do this. You're a good cop. Stop this."

Max wasn't done yet. He came back in close to Haswari. Gentry holstered his weapon, bent down and got directly in Jamal's face. "Kensi Blye, I want you to take that name to heaven with you and see what Allah has to say about what you did." With that message he punched Haswari in the nose, breaking it."

Gibbs grabbed Deeks before he could inflict anymore damage to their prisoner.

Another voice broke the silence. "How very gallant of you Agent Gibbs."

All eyes spun to the other voice in the room. It seems they had been expected for Anton Pavlenko came from the kitchen carrying a cup of coffee and a pistol. He placed his coffee on the table next to the one good chair in the room. "I see you've met my friend Mr. Haswari."

Gibbs smiled back at Pavlenko. It felt good to know you were right about something and he was glad that the niggling feeling he'd had for the last year or so was finally paying off. "Nice to see you again Secretary Pavlenko."

Callen listened to their conversation and waited for a signal from Gibbs. Sam and Tim stood by to assist Deeks if he, needed their help.

Gibbs went and sat in the chair opposite Pavlenko. It had turned into a situation where they were the only two in the room. Tony and Ellie took Haswari and his buddies to new cruisers that had arrived. Surprisingly, Pavlenko said nothing and let them go. So much for the support for your people. Sam and Tim waited patiently to listen and to help if needed.

Pavlenko turned his gaze from Gibbs to Callen. "It is so nice to meet you Agent Callen." He shook his finger at Callen as if he were a naughty boy. "You caused a lot of trouble the last time you were in Moscow. It would be advisable for you not to return there. You and your team will not be given a warm welcome.

Callen smirked. "Well there goes my vacation. Listen Secretary Pavlenko, while this conversation is wonderful, I wonder if we may do this somewhere else."

Pavlenko smiled his oily smile back. "Nyet. Agent Gibbs and I have old times to catch up on. Like, Vienna, Washington D.C. and what those cities mean to each of us." He dropped the smile and the look became one of hatred, hatred that was years old and well nursed.

Nate's arrival couldn't be better planned. "I got here as fast as I could. Where's Deeks?"

Deeks stood mesmerized by the conversation. At first he didn't hear Nate. He realized that the man sitting in front of them was just as responsible for Kensi's condition as the one he'd punched out just moments ago. "You bastard...you sicced that psycho on us to get to Gibbs? Did you know what he was or didn't you care? Do you know what he did to my fiancée? Oh, wait, you didn't care."

The look on Pavlenko's face told Marty all he needed to know. "Agent Blye was his reward for getting Special Agent Gibbs to Los Angeles. Now I get to finish the job that I needed done all these years: to kill Gibbs."

Marty had heard enough. He began moving around the room to get to Pavlenko. He wanted to punish the man for all the terror he'd given to Kensi. Sam and Tim moved around between him and Pavlenko. No one would let him get to the man.

Nate stood in front of him finally. "Do you think that's what Kensi wants or needs right now? She has enough on her mind at the moment and all of that will get better, I promise you. Your going to jail for his assault or murder, she doesn't need that and neither do you. Let the team take this man down. Deeks?"

Deeks walked around Nate and right up to Pavlenko. "No matter what Dr. Getz says I want to punch you out and break a few ribs but I'm a better person than that. "You my friend are under arrest for the assault and rape of a federal agent. While you personally didn't do it you were instrumental in making it happen. Agent Gibbs want to slap on any other charges while we're at it?"

Gibbs smiled what Pavlenko thought was a smug smile. He pulled his pistol into a firing position and went to pull the trigger. Instead a pane of glass in the window shattered and Secretary Anton Pavlenko slumped forward in his chair. Gibbs felt the blood splatter hit his face from his seat. Pavlenko lay there dead with a shot to the back of his head.

"Tony had just returned when it happened. "Boss? What the hell just happened?"

Gibbs took his phone from his belt and dialed the mission. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. "We're going to need an ambulance here but tell them not to worry. He's already dead. Oh, it's not one of us."

Eric nodded and sighed with relief. "On it."

As they waited for the ambulance a confused group sat on the stairs to the upper floors. Tony was the most confused of all. He knew Jethro was an excellent marksman and he only knew two others. Kensi Blye was in the hospital on the other side of town and the other was on the other side of the world right now. Deeks wondered why this happened now and Callen was yet amazed at how Gibbs gets out of jams like this one.

Gibbs came out of the apartment and Deeks couldn't contain himself. "Why did that happen? We had him. I arrested him and he was going down."

Gibbs, lost his temper and turned on Deeks. "We all know that wouldn't have happened. He had diplomatic immunity. He'd have walked and we all know it. He'd find another flunky to come and take another run at me and NCIS. He needed to be stopped. He's stopped." Gibbs turned to the psychologist. "Nate, take him to the hospital and get him some good food. Make sure his partner lets him in. He deserves it for stepping up today." He turned back to the detective and put his hand out. "Nice job Marty."

Marty Deeks was more than pleasantly surprised at this. He shook Gibbs hand and gave one of his million watt smiles. "Thanks Agent Gibbs."

Nate and Deeks walked out the front door, to Nate's car.

Tony loved the pat on the back for his friend but still had that questioning of his own gut. "Boss, who do you think took that shot?"

Gibbs just gave him the Gibbs stare and walked down the steps to his car. He reached the porch landing just as the ambulance showed up along with the forensic wagon of the LAPD.

Ellie Bishop sat in the passenger seat waiting for him. "What do you think happened up there?" She turned to watch Gibbs face. She wasn't quite sure what to believe.

Gibbs looked straight ahead at the car parked in front of him and at the professional vehicles that had responded. "Obviously someone else had a beef with our friend. It was a great way to end the case and solving the rest of the trouble that he'd caused in the past few years." Gibbs thought of Jenny Shepard, Dianne and all the other people who'd died at the hands of Mischnev, Pavlenko and his family. It was over now.

Ellie realized that she wouldn't get a straight answer from her boss. She almost knew there was more to this than anyone of them would ever know. "Oh, I found this under the wiper."

Gibbs took the note from her and opened it. "I finished it." A small smile escaped from him and he crumpled the note and placed it in his pocket. "Let's go home."