A/ T: This Tuesday the White Ghost story will come to an end on tv ( at least that's what we all assume), so I am doing my best to have this first part of the story finished by then as well.
But trust me it's not over yet. It will never be easy for our beloved couple. At least not any time soon.
As always I can't wait to read your reviews. They make soooo happy.
Eric and Nell pulled all their strings back in LA and soon enough they traced the signal of the GPS.
"Guys, the signal comes from a remote village just 10 miles east from the base. I am sending you the co-ordinates now."
"Ok, Eric thank you," Callen hung up the phone and checked the massage Eric just sent him "We should be there in 10 minutes."
Deeks ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "All this time she as just a few minutes away from us."
"Don't beat yourself man. We couldn't have known. Just think that this damn operation will be over soon. Focus on relief and joy you'll get to experience later, and not the fear that consumes you right now," Sam tried to be optimistic. He knew that deep down inside, they all feared the worst.
Deeks remained silent.
He usually hides his anguish behind a carefree mask covered in jokes. But not this time. Right now, he can't even form a smile.
What if she is really dead?
What if they are too late?
What if he failed her. This has been his greatest fear since the moment he laid eyes on her. He feared the day he wouldn't be there to protect her.
Yes, Kensi is one tough agent who can absolutely take care of herself and rarely needs to be saved, but she is not invisible. No one is. Behind their bullet proof attitudes they all remain human at the end of the day.
They can all feel pain.
They can all bleed and they can all die.
No!
He can't accept that possibility. She is not dead.
Kensi always told him to always hope for the best, but expect the worst.
He closes his eyes for a brief moment in an attempt to concentrate, but soon her vision distracts him. Her sparkling eyes, her beautiful smile….. everything. That's how he remembers her and that is how he prays to find her.
Alive and unharmed.
He lets out a deep breath and opens his eyes again. The ten minute ride seems endless but finally they reach the deserted village and enter with extreme caution.
Both teams are out of the car in no time, weapons in hands.
"Eric I need an exact location? There are at least 50 residences here. Kensi could be held in any one of them and we don't have time to search the area," Callen asks Eric
"Yes, I am picking up a strong signal as we speak," Eric pauses for a moment "It's the house to your left," he exclaims surprised by their luck
Deeks eagerly makes a step forward to run into the house but finds himself pulled back by Sam.
"We need to be careful. We could be walking into a trap."
"I am sorry, you are right," Deeks nods. "We need plan."
As expected, Callen takes charge.
"Reilly, I need you to scout the area. Search for any sign of intruders. We three are going in."
"Copy that!" Jack agrees and walks towards Deeks before leaving patting his back. "Please find her, ok?"
"I will," Deeks winks.
Once the three men are alone, they double check their ammo and slowly walk into the two storey house.
Even though it broad day light outside, they walk into a complete darkness. All the windows are covered with wooden boards and no electricity is available.
They are forced to use their flash lights in order to strut through the empty rooms of the building. There is no furniture around. Just traces of blood everywhere covered in dust while several bullet holes decorate the walls.
With his weapon drawn, Deeks walks towards the stairs. "You guys stay here, I'll take the second floor."
Callen looks at him worried. "Are you sure we should split?"
"Yes," Deeks doesn't even think about it. "If someone's upstairs I will smoke him down, and you can shoot him before he manages to escape."
"Don't get yourself killed ok?" Sam warns him. "Kensi will never forgive you if you drop dead a few feet away from her."
"I won't, I promise," he turns his back on his senior agents and for the first time in 3 days Deeks gives a genuine smile. Oh, if he really ends up dead, she is capable of bringing him back from the dead just to give him hell.
He takes one step at a time while walking up the stairs doing his best to remain silent, but the rotted wooden steps make his presence noticeable.
He bites his lips every time the boards creak as if that is going to keep the noise down. Finally he reaches the top. He quickly aims at both sides of the hall way and to his relief no one is aiming back at him.
He tries to focus on the sounds surrounding him, but all he hears is the wind blowing and the pounding of his own heart. There are only three doors on the second floor and he checks each room carefully.
First door….empty room.
Second door…..another empty room.
He sighs in disappointment.
Could they have been wrong?
Is the White Ghost gone?
But where is Kensi?
Has he taken her with him?
God, nothing makes sense to him.
They haven't heard from Reilly yet so he guesses the Ghost and his group of terrorists have fled the area.
There's only one door left. This is it. His last chance. He closes he eyes shut and prays to find her alive before knocking the door open.
Then, he sees her.
Her stiff body hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the empty room.
His heart takes over and without even scouting the room for possible threats he runs to her.
Her head is hanging forward, her hair covering her face.
Is she breathing? He can't hear anything but the maddening silence covering the room.
"Kens?" he whispers as he moves a lock of her hair to see her face.
Nothing!
He swallows hard and places his finger on her throat to check for a pulse.
He heart is still beating. Barely, but she is still alive.
He picks the lock of the handcuffs and carefully frees her with one hand while gently holding her with the other.
Once she is free from her bounds he lays her on the floor. That's when he notices the bruises all over her face and her bleeding wrists. With one move he extracts a couple of bandages from his backpack. He came prepared just in case…
Her skin is ice cold, she looks as white as death and he lips have gone purple. He is afraid to touch her out of fear she might break. His hands are trembling part from rage, part from fear, but he gathers all of his strength and covers her wrists with the bandages in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Whoever did this to her is going to pay. He is going to kill him with his own bare hands.
Suddenly, she flinches slightly at his touch and her eyes open in fear.
"Hey….hey…it's ok it's me. I am here. You are safe now," Deeks whispers to her softly caressing her cheek with his thumb.
She doesn't say anything. She just stares at him trying to figure whether her mind is playing tricks on her again.
Is this person standing above her really Deeks?
Has salvation finally arrived?
Is this nightmare over?
Then, she sees it. The gentle smile than won her over years ago.
"Deeks?" her voice no more than a whisper.
"Yes, it's me! I am going to get you out of here ok? Guys I found her, she is alive," he informs the rest of the team through coms.
"Get her out of here Deeks. Take her back to the car. The house is clear. We are checking the basement right now. We should be out in a few minutes."
"Ok, we'll wait for you outside. Just hurry please. It's bad," he tries to keep his voice low so that Kensi won't hear him, but it doesn't seem to matter anyway. She keeps drifting in and out of consciousness.
He takes out a bottle and places it on her lips, begging her to take a small sip. Who knows when was the last time she ate or drunk anything.
Then, he removes his jacket and covers her with it before placing his hands behind her knees and carefully lifting her off the floor and into his embrace. "Hold on to me ok?"
For the first time in a long time she feels safe in his arms. She breaths him in trying to remember the last time she felt like that. His body so close to hers. His intoxicating scent. His strong arms around her. She can't remember. Instead, memories of these past few days creep into her mind. Then, she remembers her captor and gasps in fear.
"Deeks. It's Max. He is here," he exclaims in panic.
"Shhhh!" Deeks tries to calm her down believing she is hallucinating, but all he manages to do is piss her off more.
"No you don't understand. He is here. Deeks listen to me!" she tries to yell but her voice won't come out. Once she notices that Deeks is not even paying attention to her delirium she fights to escape his embrace.
"Kens, calm down. I told you, you are safe now. I got you!" he tries to keep her still but it is vain.
"Deeks will you listen to me? Max, your brother, he is here. He is after you. He is the Ghost."
Once again Deeks doesn't pay attention to her words. Once they reach the front door of the house he frantically notices that their Humvee is missing. They had parked it right outside for a quick escape, but now it's gone.
"What the hell?" he shouts in frustration.
He places Kensi on the floor right next to the front door but she grabs his t–shirt pulling him close to her.
"Deeks, please listen to me. I am not crazy. I am not hallucinating. Your brother is here."
Her eyes are watery, her voice is steady still.
Deeks looks deep into her eyes and sees her fear. Finally her words hit their target.
Kensi Blye never shows fear, yet somehow the terror is written all over her face. But she is not scared for herself. She is scared for Deeks.
"Max is here?" he finally manages to say trying to process the severity of those words.
Kensi sadly nods.
This is the last thing he expected. The White Ghost was supposed to be a contractor or something. Not his own brother. He runs his hand through his hair and gets up clearly shocked. He can't think straight. What is he supposed to do? The world is spinning around him and his mind runs miles. If this is how crazy people feel like when they are losing their minds, then he is surely going to wake up in a straightjacket the next morning.
He doesn't know what to do or say. He just keeps pacing up and down making Kensi dizzy.
"Ok, this is what we are going to do," he stops in front of Kensi and lowers to her eye level. "The house is clear. You can sit here and wait for Callen and Sam while I go look for the car…..and Max."
"No, Deeks no!" she grabs his t-shirt again refusing to let him go. "Please, stay here with me while we wait for the others. I don't want you alone out there," she desperately begs him.
Deeks softly removes her hands from his t-shirt and kisses them gently. "He is not going to kill me. I am his brother."
"You don't know that," she tries to fight off the tears but it is vain. "He is not the man you think he is."
"Trust me, I know," he wipes her tear with his thumb. "It will never get easy for us, will it?" he smiles at her sadly and abruptly gets up and leaves her all alone.
For the first time in their partnership, he hears her sob and that sound nearly breaks his heart. He practically forces himself to keep on walking and not run back to comfort her. a
He exits the house and raises his gun scouting his surroundings for any kind of movement.
No sign of terrorists.
No sign of the car.
No sign of the Ghost. Then a familiar voice takes him off guard.
"Hello little brother. I've been expecting you."