Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.
Over 100 Follows! I've never had that many follows for a story before! Thank you so much! I'm honored and shocked and humbled! Thank You!
Thanks Bea for your help.
Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.
888888888888888888888888888
When Callen arrived at the Mission he assembled the team in the bullpen.
"What'cha got, Callen? What was the conversation?" Sam asked him.
"He's being pressured to put on the fight. He's never promoted a legit MMA fight and he's afraid of something or someone. Everything he's done has been old school intimidation techniques. Like he's trying to make this happen the only way he knows how. Eric, can you trace the call that came in to his cell?"
"I tried. It's a very blocked number, but I will get it given some time." Eric responded. "I got the footage from the parking area of the Beverly Connection. The plates on the car that swiped Polson were removed and the lighting wasn't good enough to get a Kaleidoscope search going; even checking the surrounding traffic cams there was nothing usable."
"Ok." Callen was a little disappointed. If they could have found the car, they might have been able to arrest the person and stop this mess before it got any bigger. "Nell, anything new on Jacoby's past?" Callen asked.
"No. I'm still getting blocked by the CIA. Oh, but Polson's past has turned up exactly nothing. He's clean."
"At least we know we can eliminate him from suspicion." Callen shook his head, "Why would the CIA block you from getting information on an asset that was used 40 year ago?" Callen couldn't figure out that part.
Nell shrugged. "I'm keeping at them. Like Eric, I'll get the info with a little more time." Nell said with confidence.
"That's sucks and all but you know what sucks even more? I might have to fight someone in 6 weeks who's a pro and I don't have a trainer. Which means, I'm screwed. Thanks for that Callen." Deeks interjected. "I don't even have a license to fight as a pro."
Callen stared at him for a moment wondering if Deeks really did forget who he worked for, "Eric, can you do something about a license for him?" Eric just smirked before he started to type into his tablet. Callen was still staring at Deeks, "As for a trainer, well I guess you need a new one."
Sam was smiling at what Callen was thinking. "Wyler, you ready to get to work?" Sam asked Deeks.
"What?! NO! Sam?! You gotta be kidding me! He's not a trainer." Deeks stated to Callen. Callen just continued to stare at him. Seeing the look on Callen's face, Deeks resigned himself to his fate. He looked at Sam and immediately saw the error of his words in Sam's annoyed eyes, "Now I really am screwed." Deeks sighed realizing his mouth just made his fate worse.
"Not Sam," Callen corrected, "DeMarco Williams."
Deeks tried not to look as defeated as he felt; unfortunately when he looked around at his co-workers' faces and saw they were all smiling at his misery, he realized he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it. "Damn, I really wanted fries and fish tacos."
The whole team just laughed at him or with him depending on who was laughing. "Suck it up, Wyler, it won't be forever." Sam tried to help him.
"Yea yea. I know. At least we can train here right? Don't have to go to the gym?"
"Yes and No. Our morning training sessions can happen here, but for the evening training sessions you have to be visible; in case they're watching you."
"If they are, we should probably have someone else there to watch both your backs." Hetty supplied from the side where she was standing, just listening to her agents. Everyone jumped just a little as she spoke but she just looked at Kensi. "Perhaps an old flame?" Hetty smiled.
Deeks was grinning from ear to ear because Kensi would be playing his girlfriend again. Kensi smiled at Hetty with a slightly fake smile until "Ah, Sugar Bear, don't be sad, you know you love being my girlfriend." Deeks egged her. She turned her eyes to Deeks, the smile was replaced with a grimace as she glared at him. Before Kensi could come up with a quip back at Deeks, Sam's words finally sunk into Deeks brain, "Wait a minute. TWO training sessions a day?!"
"6 weeks instead of 12. Gotta double up on the work outs to get ready, just in case." Sam told him, smiling like that cat from Alice in Wonderland.
"GOD! I can feel it already; I'm a dead man."
888888888888888888888888888
By the end of the week, Deeks was looking over the new contract with the date change indicated. He did notice that it was no longer going to televised but it was going to be broadcast on the internet and recorded so DVDs could be sold. Always finding ways to make money, huh Jacoby? Deeks thought.
When he got to the last page he was surprised because it already contained the signatures of the other fighter and his manager. Deeks was wondering what Jacoby had to do to get the other fighter to agree to the date change and to sign so quickly. As he was reading the contract it occurred to him that with the date change, the original contract was not valid and if he didn't sign this one, there wouldn't be a fight. Before he signed or didn't sign it, he decided he wanted to talk to the team first.
The next morning he brought the subject up to the team, including Nell, Eric and Hetty. He explained the legal side of the contract issue as well as the fact it won't be televised but still broadcast on the internet and asked them if they wanted to continue with this 'operation' or not.
It was Nell who spoke up first, "I think that if you don't continue with this fight, Polson's life and Wyler's life are in danger. They've already shown that they'll do just about anything to make sure this fight goes on."
Deeks looked to Callen for his input. Callen answered, "It's up to you, but I agree with Nell. I don't think they will stop just because you don't sign it. The other contract wasn't valid and that didn't stop them."
Deeks nodded his head in understanding. "Hetty? What do you think?" Deeks asked her.
"I think this is a decision only you can make don't you? But know this Mr. Deeks, we will support your decision whatever it is."
Deeks was still occasionally flabbergasted at the support of these people, these friends. He looked at Kensi and could read her support written on her face. She didn't need to say anything out loud.
Sam added his thoughts, "By signing that," he pointed to the contract sitting on Deeks' desk, "you're saying you're doing the fight. That means you're going to train and train hard. I'm not going to go easy on you. You have a lot of work to do to get ready for it."
"That, right there, Sam, is the main reason I'm thinking about not doing it. I might be safer taking my chances with Jacoby." Deeks smiled at Sam and then signed the contract.
He handed the contract to Callen. Callen looked confused at him, "It needs my manager's signature. I think my lawyer, Martin A. Deeks, would qualify and since I can't sign both places, you get to." Callen picked up a pen and signed Martin A. Deeks on the line for manager.
888888888888888888888888888888
Before his first training session with DeMarco Williams, Jason Wyler paid a visit to Neil. He explained that he had decided to train for the fight even as their lawyer worked to get him out of it. "It's just until you get well enough to get out of here." Deeks explained to Neil.
"I get it. I really do. My trainer left me that last time I was in the hospital. I got us into this mess, I don't blame you for finding a different trainer." Neil was really feeling dejected about losing Wyler as a fighter.
"Hey, it's only temporary. You get out of here and we get back to work. I'm not staying with this new guy. If we can't get out of this fight, which by the way was moved up from 3 months to 6 weeks, I need a trainer. You know that." Neil's expression didn't change. "Look, I have go but I'll be back in a couple of days. Get better and soon. This new guy is probably going to beat me worse than you did." Deeks joked at him but the joke missed its mark. Deeks sighed and left.
He came back two days later with Sam/DeMarco in tow. It was actually Sam's idea to meet Polson and talk with him about how he had been training Wyler and what insights Polson could give him on Wyler as a fighter and the fighter they would be facing. Sam decided that with only 6 weeks until the fight, he would take advantage of every resource he could get his hands on to train his new fighter.
Polson was surprised to meet Williams, "Isn't this the guy who handed you your last loss?" Polson asked.
Deeks gave a slight chuckle before answering, "Yep. When he heard that you were hurt and that I had a big fight coming up, he said he would step in, temporarily."
Sam's conversation with Polson did wonders for Neil's spirits and Sam's confidence in Deeks' ability to not just survive the fight but to make this fight a win.
The next 2 weeks were as torturous for Deeks as the 6 weeks prior his last fight were when they were combined together. The morning sessions were tough enough but at least they were in the OSP gym. The evening sessions were hard and incredibility exhausting which was bad enough but they also included Kensi, posing as his girlfriend Tracy, recording everything on camera. She was ostensibly there to record each training session but what she was really doing was watching their backs and recording everyone who was at the gym so Eric & Nell could run background checks on each of them.
Sam was relentless in his training. He used some of what Polson was doing and also implemented a lot of his own training techniques. He included several different types of Martial Arts and SEAL methods of fight training. He tailored the training to maximize Deeks' skillset in the limited time frame. He was pleased with Deeks' work, work ethic and progress. Deeks' new mantra fort training with Sam was 'This isn't going to last forever'.
One morning Callen came in late and before sitting down, grabbing coffee or even saying 'good morning' to anyone, he dropped a thick stack of files on Deeks' desk.
Deeks was shocked 'Well, good morning to you too Mr. Happy Guy. What's all this?"
"These were sent to the law office of Martin A. Deeks." Callen nodded a greeting to his partner and Kensi as he spoke.
Deeks was surprised and opened the first one. When he realized they were all files from Legal Aide, he groaned. "Apparently Eric's and Nell's backstopping is too good. These shouldn't have come the dumby firm but stayed where they're usually sent. At least I know why I haven't gotten any in a while."
"What are they Deeks?" Kensi asked.
"Um, just some legal files that I need to read," he hedged. He looked through them, checking the court dates. "Damn, I need to get on these. Sam, I can't work out tonight. I really have to get to some of these; the first three I've looked at have court dates before the end of this week. How am I going to get through all these?" He was talking mostly to himself and hadn't really realized that the team was listening to him.
Sam was going to protest about the missed work out but Callen caught his eye and indicted he should let it go. "Fine, but expect extra hard work outs tomorrow to make up for it."
"That's fine. Whatever you want." Deeks was so engrossed in the file he was reading that he hadn't paid attention to what Sam said.
"Deeks? You want some help with those? I don't know what I could help with but I can read a case file as well as some and better than most." Kensi volunteered.
That did get Deeks attention, "You'd do that? Sit around and read files?"
"Well, you have to feed me." Kensi smiled back.
"My pleasure." Deeks smiled back to her before turning his attention back to the file he had been reading.