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Special thanks to GTH for all his help. :-D I couldn't have gotten the last how many chapters out without you!
This chapter came in quickly after the last chapter. A lot faster than normal but we are probably back to normal with posts and updates. It all depends on the muse and plot bunnies. I call both of them George!
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While Sam and Callen were trying to decide how to start the interrogations, Kensi was driving Deeks home while taking small glances at him as he was illuminated by the street lamps as they passed under them. She wanted to make sure he was ok but her main focus was on the late evening traffic. Finally she had to say something, "You did well tonight Deeks. That was an impressive fight."
"Thanks Kensi. It...it was...it was hard." Deeks chuckled a little.
They were silent until they were close to Deeks apartment. The silence was broken when Kensi's phone rang. Using her blue tooth she picked up the call. "Kensi Blye."
"Agent Blye? This is Officer Lasarzek. I'm sorry to call but you said to and I'm not sure if this is what you were talking about or not so I thought it was better to call than not so I am and this guy just didn't seem right and..."
Kensi gave a quick glance to Deeks then cut the young officer off, "Officer! Slow down. What's happening?"
"My backup hasn't arrived yet but this guy showed up and said he was sent to help me. He didn't mention you and he didn't know anything about a password. Also, I didn't recognize him, but I'm new so that doesn't mean anything."
"Is he still there?" Kensi asked.
"No ma'am. I wouldn't let him in said I was going to call you to confirm who he is. He said he was going to get a cup of coffee while I did that. I've asked a security guard to watch with me until I talked to you."
"Good job officer. Check every ID, watch them all very carefully. I'm half way across town but I'll get there as fast as I can; about 40 minutes. Call me back when the real backup gets there." She ended the call and addressed Deeks. "I'm going to drop you off and then head to Cedars Sinai to see what's going on."
"We don't have time for that Kens. We need to get there now." She didn't say anything so he pressed on, "You recruited this guy, Kens. Do you really think he can handle it on his own?"
"Deeks you are dead on your feet. You need to sleep."
He was starting to get an adrenaline rush similar to the fight. He was suddenly awake and ready to go. "Kens, you know we have to get over there. We need to make sure this new guy, whoever he is, doesn't get away with our old guy. And this kid, Pointdexter, is in over his head and you know it." He took a deep breath and pushed her final button, "I'll sleep there if we get stuck on guard duty."
She was silent as she took a moment to consider, "Fine." and she pulled a screeching U-turn to the honked horns and yells of other drivers and headed in towards the hospital.
Deeks slowly pulled his face off the passenger side window, "Some warning next time Princess would be nice."
She gave him a quick glare, her lips in a thin line. She wanted to punch him in the arm but she thought he had been hit enough for one night. Besides she had to keep her hands on the wheel and her attention on the road ahead of her as she was weaving in and out and around all the late night traffic. Of course there was a lot of traffic still out! This was LA after all and the streets wouldn't quiet down for several hours yet.
"Kensi, you said it was a hard fight, right?" She nodded her head, he continued, "And I came out of it with only a split lip and some bruises so I would prefer not to start bleed profusely from a head injury now." He said after he was slammed into the door for the third time in less than 3 minutes.
She refused to comment, just yet. "Call Eric, ask him to get the surveillance tapes from Cedars. Have him run facial rec on whoever that was. And ask him to inform Callen."
Deeks pulled out his phone and started to dial, "Do you ever worry that if we ask Eric for too many things at the same time we might break him?"
"Don't even joke about that. We'd be completely lost without him...or Nell."
"Ah, Thanks Kens. I didn't know you cared so much." After the pregnant pause that extended just a little too long for comfort, Eric cleared his throat and continued, "What can I do you for?" Eric asked.
Deeks hadn't realized that Eric had answered and looked at Kensi with amusement in his eyes even as he spoke, "Eric, Poindexter at Cedars just told Kensi and me that someone tried to get in to see the man in custody. He did well and didn't let him in but can you get into their security tapes see if you can run a facial rec so we have an idea of what we're up against?" The look Kensi had shot at him was painful to see. He was grateful that looks couldn't really kill.
"On it." and Eric cut the call.
Kensi picked up their earlier conversation, "And I'm a great driver."
"Yes, you are Princess. That feeling of nausea I get whenever you drive is just my body's way of agreeing with you. I've actually come to welcome the feeling because when I can get out I feel more alive...and fortunate."
They continued liked this until they were interrupted by her cell phone ringing again. "Blye."
"Agent Blye, it's Lasarzek. My backup arrived and had the correct password."
"Good. Keep him there with you and the security guard as well."
"The guard had to go. There was a problem in the emergency room's waiting area and he was called in to help." There was a brief pause as he heard Kensi exhale an agitated sigh. Worried she was upset with him Lasarzek continued, "It's a Friday night in LA; things happen. Well, not here since that one guy but other things happen...you know with other people and you know...stuff." He trailed off and waited.
Kensi looked at Deeks and watched her partner smile at the officer's babbling but he did nod his head in agreement. "All right. Who is the back-up? What's his badge number?"
"His name is Michael Taylor, LAPD. Badge number 78649."
Deeks pulled out his phone and texted this information to Eric to get confirmation. "Alright. Stay on the line while I get the confirmation." It took less than a minute for Eric to confirm that information. He texted Deeks the ID picture of Taylor. Deeks nodded that he had the information. Kensi continued with the young officer, "Keep your eyes and ears open. Do every you can, short of drawing your weapons, to stop anyone from getting to this guy." Kensi told him. "I'm only about 10 minutes out."
"Copy that," the officer said and Deeks reached up and ended the call.
"Is it just me or does he seem excited about guard duty?" Deeks asked.
Kensi chuckled but didn't answer. They took a few more scary turns before they were arriving at the parking lot of the hospital a lot sooner than the original estimate of 40 minutes. It helped that they didn't detour to drop Deeks off. They got out of the vehicle and raced into the ER looking for Officer Lasarzek.
Whatever scuffle that had happened in the waiting room had been cleared up. They by-passed the entrance desk after Kensi flashed her badge but security stopped them just inside the door. "You can't be in here," the guard said.
Deeks didn't have his badge on him so Kensi introduced them, "I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS and this is Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD. We are here about a patient, Chinese, brought in with a guard."
He checked her ID but kept an eye on both of them, "Password?"
Kensi was a little shocked. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not to let anyone without the password back. If you can't give me the password, you will have to leave." The guard replied while taking a deep breath which just made him look bigger than he already was.
Kensi smirked but answered the question, "cronut". She heard her partner laugh behind her and she glared at him.
The guard nodded sagely at them and led them back to Lasarzek. They could see a doctor talking with Lasarzek. Deeks checked the photo from Eric to confirm that the person with Lasarzek was in fact Taylor. It was so they continued on to the group.
The doctor left before they got close enough to hear what was being said, "Officer?" Kensi inquired.
"Oh, Agent Blye." He was smiling ear to ear before turning his attention to Deeks. "Dude that was an amazing fight! You really rocked it."
"Thanks man." Deeks answered.
"Officer, can we get on with work now?" Kensi asked. She nodded at the other officer, "Officer Taylor, I'm Kensi Blye." They shook hands but she didn't introduce Deeks. She turned her attention back to Lasarzek. His smile was still on his face. "How is he?" She pointed to the man in the bed.
"Oh, he's going to be fine. According to the doc he will pee blood because his kidney is bruised. The damage isn't permanent and there didn't seem to be any permanent," his hands moved down and in a circular motion in front of his lower groin, "damage to his…his..." he trailed off in an embarrassed cough when he realized what he was about say to the woman in front of him. He dropped the hand that was in motion before returning it to hook his thumb back in the front of his belt, a mirror image of his other hand.
Deeks barked a laugh at him, "Pointdexter, relax. Has the other man come back?"
"No. I haven't seen him. I've check all the IDs of anyone who has tried to get in here. And my name is Officer Lasarzek, LAPD." He was sounding very proud at the moment.
Deeks really wanted to tell him that he was a detective for LAPD but didn't want to break cover. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain to the young man who he was and why he was there, but as long as the kid didn't ask, he was volunteering any information.
Kensi stepped away from the group and called Eric. "Eric anything you can give me on the guy from Cedars?"
"No Kens. It's a closed circuit system. I can't get in without a warrant."
Kensi exhaled in frustration, "Ok. Thanks Eric." and she cut the call. She nodded to Deeks to join her away from the group. He joined her and she informed Deeks, "Nothing on the cameras. Closed circuit. No chance for facial rec."
Deeks' shoulders slumped slightly. "So we have no way to identify him. He could be anybody."
"Yea." Kensi agreed. They returned to the group.
"Officer, can you describe the man?" Deeks asked.
"Well, he was about 6' tall, 200 pounds, sandy blonde hair, no beard, normal voice." He replied. "Here let me show you. I took his picture with my phone."
Deeks and Kensi looked at him, "Pointdexter, don't bury the lead next time!" Deeks expressed. The officer was about to tell him to stop calling him Pointdexter when Deeks cut him off by pointing a finger at him, "You deserved it." He took the phone and called Eric. The photo was being transferred to Eric when Deeks looked up from the phone and saw someone. He looked back at the picture on the phone and then back at the man in the orderly's uniform. He checked one more time and confirmed that the man was in fact the man they were trying to identify.
He slowly walked backwards to Kensi and nudged her in the ribs. "Kens, my 1 o'clock." He held the phone out so she could see what he was talking about.
She confirmed that it was the guy. They were about to approach him when Lasarzek announced, "There he is. The orderly, that's the guy from before." That's when the man took off and Deeks was in hot pursuit.
Kensi stopped Lasarzek from joining the chase. "You! Stay here! No one gets near him! You two," she pointed at the other officer and the guard, "you both stay here as well." And she was gone after her partner.
She found them, Deeks had the other man in a classic MMA fight move. Deeks' legs were wrapped around the other man's waist from behind and had him in a choke hold. She got in front of the stranger and placed her gun with in his eye line before slowly pointing the barrel at his groin. "Stop now." It was said quietly but no less dangerously. It stopped both men from fighting but Deeks didn't immediately let go of the stranger. When he was sure Kensi has stepped back out of danger range, he quickly got up and put the man in a wrist lock while Kensi was looking for her cuffs, which she didn't have. "Ah, Deeks?"
At NCIS headquarters
"Ah, Thanks Kens. I didn't know you cared so much." After the pregnant pause that extended just a little too long for comfort, Eric cleared his throat and continued, "what can I do you for?" Eric asked. He received the requests from Deeks and immediately called Callen and informed him of the newest developments in the case.
Eric disconnected the call from Callen and started typing on the tablet in front of him trying to access Cedars security net. Nell approached him from his left, "Nice to know huh, Rockstar?" Referring to the comment Kensi made to Deeks about the tech operator and Intel Analyst.
"You heard that?" Nell nodded her head. "It was nice for both of us. It felt good, didn't it?" He gave her a small smile which she returned. They both quickly turned back to their work. He cleared his throat before saying "You looked good tonight." When she looked at him, he started to stammer, "I don't mean you don't normally look good because you do but tonight you looked really good." He was blushing and kept his eyes on his work.
Nell watched the blush creep all the way to his ears. She didn't respond to the comment but was about to bring work back to the forefront as Hetty walked into the ops center and did it for her, "Update Mr. Beale. What is currently being done?"
Eric exhaled, "A lot." He glanced around, scratched the back of his head, pointed to a bank of screens and started to explain, "Let's see. Over there I'm waiting for Callen & Sam to begin the questioning. Over at that station I'm drilling down on Deeks' opponent Crew and all the people directly involved in the fight. Trying to find any commonalities between them and anybody else we can identify." He pointed to another computer, "I'm trying to get information on the three Chinese men. I have been able to confirm their identities as being from the Chinese Consul General here in LA. I'm also running facial recs on the other three men that were at the meeting. I think they're CIA but I haven't been able to confirm or deny that. I'm also trying to keep an eye on the bets to see if anybody has a huge windfall or something like that, just in case."
"Anything on that end yet?" Nell queried.
"No, the only one who has come into a large amount is Ms. Elizabeth Smyth. She made a tidy sum on Wyler." Eric was grinning ear to ear.
"Yes, Mr. Beale, she did." Hetty said with a smile on her face. Her attention was pulled away by someone who needed her signature on some paperwork. Eric and Nell went over to the bank of screens to speak with Callen & Sam. Eric was explaining what information they had on the people in custody when Hetty stepped up next to him and spoke to Callen.
After Hetty stepped away, Callen and Sam went in to talk to Bolat, Eric went back to his other work and Nell sat and watched the questioning of Bolat Niyazov.
After the questioning of Bolat was over, Nell turned to Eric, "I have an idea. I'm going to do some checking on those 3 we haven't ID-d yet. See if someone will tell me something that can't be found online." Eric nodded at her and she left to make whatever calls or do whatever it was she did to get information.
After she left Eric muttered to himself, "I didn't know there was any information that can't be found online." Just as he finished the last word, Callen contacted him to get information on the remaining people in custody.
Back at the LAPD interrogation facility
As Kensi and Deeks were at the hospital, Sam & Callen were discussing the next interrogation.
"What do you have for the others that were there? The security guards? Where they real or what?"
"I'm still trying to find IDs on them. I've run them through several databases and have gotten nothing. I drilled down on the IDs you sent earlier and they all dead ended."
Callen & Sam looked at each other. "What does that sound like to you?" Callen asked Sam.
Sam's mouth turned down at the corners and his lips thinned out, "CIA, G. Sounds just like CIA." He glanced around the room while he gathered his thoughts, "Anything else, Eric?"
"Not yet. Nell is checking with some of her 'other' connections. We'll let you know if anything comes of it."
"Thanks Eric." Callen said and turned to Sam. "Jacoby then while Eric and Nell finish the checks?"
"You want me to do this or are you going in as Deeks?" Sam countered.
That gave Callen pause. "How are you going to do this?" Callen asked. "He knows you as DeMarco Williams, fighter and trainer. Not as a Federal Agent."
Sam thought for a moment before he had an inspiration, "Remember Max Gentry? and Nicole?"
Callen's face showed his recognition of the past case. He pointed his finger at Sam, "We were all there. It's not inconceivable that Martin A. Deeks, lawyer, gets pulled in with his clients." Callen was smirking at Sam. "Maybe Williams needs a lawyer."
Sam smiled and called an officer over; he turned his back to the officer saying, "cuff me."
The officer looked at Sam and then Callen not understanding what was going on.
"Cuff him and then take into that interview room." Callen explained.
The officer didn't say anything, he just raised his left eyebrow, shrugged his shoulders and cuffed Sam.
Sam, feeling the cuffs tighten around his wrists felt the need to comment, "Just don't forget to take them off when we get there."
The officer's only comment was "Whatever," before he pulled Sam along beside him and into the interview room. The officer deposited Sam in the chair opposite Jacoby and then undid the cuffs. Without saying a word he left the room.
Sam started, "Who are you?"
"Jacoby." There was a pause, "You are Williams, yes? The trainer?"
Sam nodded his head. "Any idea what we are doing here?"
"You don't know?"
"No, man. I was celebrating Wyler's win with him and then all this crazy started and now I'm here." There was a long pause while each man looked at anything and everything except each other. Finally, "So, do you know what's going on?" Sam asked again.
"Obviously, they think we have been involved in something…" he didn't want to say illegal but it took him a moment to find the correct word, "...not so good, yes?"
"Like what?" Sam pressed. Jacoby squinted at the large man in front of him. Sam saw the change in Jacoby: body stiffened, eyes narrowed, feet planted flat on the floor, "I'm just trying to figure out what going on and if I need to call a lawyer or something."
Jacoby didn't say another word. Several minutes later the door to the room opened and Callen walked in eyes shifting from one man to the other. "Mr. Williams?" he asked while looking at Sam.
Sam eyed him up and down before speaking. Somewhere Callen had found a suit jacket, tie, nicer shoes and a briefcase. "Yea, that's me." Sam answered. "Who are you?"
"I'm Martin A. Deeks. Your attorney at the request of Mr. Wyler." He turned and played that he finally really looked at Jacoby. "Mr. Jacoby?" He showed the appropriate amount of surprise at finding them in an interrogation room together. "What…What are you doing here?" He added a little fear in his voice & look considering their last meeting ended with Jacoby's threat.
"That Mr. Deeks, is a very good question." Jacoby responded clasping his hands together on the table eyeing the new addition to the room.