Chapter 61

The next morning, Callen walked the hospital corridor quietly, carrying two cups of coffee, one for him and one for Kensi. She'd been here all yesterday afternoon and last night and could probably use a decent cup. Hospital coffee was notoriously bad. Nell was going to come in shortly to relieve her but he was pretty sure she would be resistant, hence the caffeine. He got into the elevator and thought about the op they were going to run on one of their own. It still bothered him to know that an NCIS agent was working with such a sick, sadistic bastard as McGonagle. He ran through the different scenarios in his head. The hospital had been more than cooperative in allowing this to happen, as long as NCIS guaranteed no other patient or hospital employee would be harmed. The rooms surrounding "Deeks's" would be empty with one exception.

The op should be simple. Deeks would be in another room under an assumed name, one of the team guarding him. He would be in Deeks's room with a clueless NCIS agent on guard. Hetty had already sent out a request for assistance in guarding Deeks and the response had been overwhelming. With so many to choose from, it had been decided to break them up into rotating four hour shifts. Hopefully, the mole would be on one of the first shifts and they could end this. He wasn't looking forward to spending days lying on his back, a fake ventilator attached to his face. Eric had already been in and set up the room earmarked by the hospital for "Deeks" to be moved to. They had full camera angles covering every inch of the room as well as the hallway outside it, plus the room was wired for sound. He would be on comms with ops at all times. Anyone attempting to hurt Deeks would be in for a very unpleasant surprise.

Getting off the elevator on the ICU floor he nodded to the nurses who suspiciously watched him walk by. They were all spooked by the earlier events and, if he wasn't mistaken, most of the female nurses had already taken a shine to the detective and were now in full blown protection mode. He shook his head, wondering how Deeks did it, without even being conscious. Knowing this might be a possibility, he'd made sure his badge was prominently displayed on his belt. Slowing, he looked in the observation window to Deeks's room and saw Kensi sitting in a chair with her head on the bed, as close to his as she could get with all the equipment, sound asleep. He frowned. This was not the way to guard someone; anyone could walk in and take her by surprise if she was sleeping.

Forming the words of the lecture he planned to deliver after he woke her up, he quietly pushed open the door and stepped in, only to find himself staring down the barrel of the gun aimed at his head by a fully awake Kensi Blye. She lowered the gun and said "Jeez, Callen! Don't you know any better? You should have knocked and announced yourself before coming in. I could have hurt you!" Spying the coffee cups in his hand her anger faded. "Is one of those for me?" He nodded and held it out to her. She grabbed it and chugged about half. Lowering the cup she grinned at him. "Okay, you're forgiven! Maybe you just need to brush up on your guard duty protocols when this is all over." His jaw dropped open as he realized he had just been chastised by the woman he'd been planning on chastising when he first walked in the door. He closed his mouth and chuckled. After all this time working together, she could still surprise him.

He nodded towards Deeks and said "How's our boy doing?"

"He had a quiet night. Moira stopped in before going off shift and checked him out. We're still on for moving him out of ICU today. Craig also stopped in before he went home. He stayed for a while and we talked. He's very curious about Deeks, asked all kinds of questions, and he might have snuck a few in about Talia. I only gave him vague answers and some funny stories, ones I knew would make Deeks smile as well. The nurses have been in and out all the time. Not sure why they felt it necessary to be in here so often." Kensi sounded miffed and this confirmed Callen's thinking that the nurses had their eyes on him, girlfriend sitting at his side or not.

"Maybe they just felt bad that he was attacked in their ward and they wanted to assure themselves that it didn't happen again." He said, trying to smooth her ruffled feathers. It worked and she quickly lost interest in the nurses.

"Are we all set for this afternoon?"

He nodded and filled her in on what had happened so far. When the time came, another bed would be wheeled into Deeks's ICU room and Callen would be the one wheeled out and placed in the prepped room. Deeks would already have been moved to another room in ICU and would be taken out later to be placed in a room on another floor with Kensi guarding him. He told her how many people had volunteered to stand guard and that they had a cover story ready as to why none of his team was part of it. Kensi would have been ordered to go home to get some food and sleep and the rest of them would be working leads, determined to be the ones to locate their quarry. Their hope was that the mole would try to force his way onto one of the first shifts and make his move quickly.

Callen took a breath and said "Nell should be here in about an hour to relieve you." He waited for the fury of his junior agent and wasn't disappointed.

"There's no way I'm leaving him again! You need to get that through your head right now!"

"We need to sell this, Kens. If you're here, everyone will expect you to be with him and it could mean that the mole will get suspicious if you aren't. We still don't know if she or he'll act against Deeks himself or find some way to let McGonagle into the room to do it himself. Nell will go with me, as Deeks, to the room and will eventually be relieved by the next person on rotation. You'll leave the building but we'll sneak you back in as a patient who'll be assigned to the room next to the real Deeks. We made sure that the rooms were adjoining through the bathroom. You'll be able to exit your room and go into his without having to go into the corridor. You'll be ready and waiting for the real Deeks when he gets there."

"Who watches him in ICU after you're taken away, if I'm not there?"

"Wolinksy is going to be here undercover as an orderly tasked with changing the bandages on the patient Deeks will become. He'll watch over Deeks until we can move him as well."

"Wolinsky? You do remember that rookie hit Deeks over the head a few months back? I know they've become friends but how do we know can we trust him? It's pretty much a given that there's a mole in LAPD too!"

"Deeks has been working with him on his training and Bates has faith in him. We can't let it be another NCIS agent from OSP. If the mole shows up early, any one of us would be recognized. Bates confirmed that they haven't told anyone at LAPD about this. He's waiting to see if anyone approaches him." He had held back the best news for her until now, knowing he would have to mollify her somehow. "The hospital has agreed to put a cot in the real Deeks's room for you. You won't have to leave him again after this. We just have to get through an hour or so as everyone gets into place."

"Where will Sam be?"

"He's going to be a patient in the room across from the one I'll be in. Hetty is planning on bandaging his face so he won't be recognizable. We'll all be on comms, including you."

Kensi wanted to argue but she knew he was right and she wanted this over with. She didn't want to keep waiting for another attack on him, an attack that might succeed next time. She was grateful they'd put the cot in his room for her, understanding her need to be there. She sighed deeply and nodded her assent. Callen pulled her into a hug but didn't tell her it would all work out, they all knew the risks of any op, even one that was as carefully planned out as this one. The human factor was all that was needed to send things sideways.

Pulling away from her, he said "I've got to head into the Mission to meet with everyone and to get prepped. Moira said they'd be moving him around 3, so I'll be back here before then. Keep your chin up Fern; we'll get him through this."

Kensi just stared at him, shocked to hear the nickname come from an unfamiliar mouth. Her lips quirked as Callen stared at her, waiting for her reaction. He smiled and they both started to laugh. It felt good. There hadn't been much to laugh about the last few days. He patted her shoulder and left. She turned back to Deeks, sat next to the bed and quietly filled him in on all that was going on.

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"No!"

"Mr. Callen."

"No, no, no!"

"Mr. Callen!"

"Come on G, take one for the team!" Callen could hear the laughter in his partner's voice and he glared at him, holding the offending item between his fingertips as far away from his body as he could. He would not, under any circumstances, put this, this thing on. He looked around the motel room where they were staging for the op and saw the smiles on everyone's faces.

"You're all against me, every last one of you!"

Eric just had to chime in "Think of it like putting on a superhero's costume."

"Superhero, Eric? Seriously? What, Dork Man?"

Eric just grinned back at him. The rest waited, knowing that Hetty would bully him into it sooner or later.

"Can't you just bandage my head?" he whined.

"No, Mr. Callen. Everyone is already aware of the injuries sustained by Mr. Deeks and bandages would be inconsistent."

"Well, maybe no one would notice the difference." He said desperately.

"Are you willing to take a chance on Mr. Deeks's life to prove that theory?"

His shoulders sagged, knowing he was beaten. "Okay, okay. I'll wear it."

"Very good." Hetty reached out, plucked the item from his fingertips and motioned for him to bend down to her height. She pulled the curly blonde wig onto his head and he stood back up just in time for the flash on Sam's phone to go off, snapping his picture. "Now, was that so hard?"

He looked in the mirror and was appalled. "I look like Shirley Temple!"

"Nonsense. Besides, when you're lying in the bed with the ventilator covering a good portion of your lower face, no one will notice anything except that you have long blonde hair, just like Mr. Deeks."

He turned a disbelieving face to the rest of his team, which allowed everyone to get their first full on look at the new and improved Special Agent G Callen. The laughter that followed was good for them. He glared at Sam "If that picture shows up anywhere, there will be no place for you to hide on this planet."

"Would I do that to you, partner?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, you would!"

"I promise it won't show up on any social media sites, won't be printed out and pasted around the Mission."

Callen looked at him suspiciously. Somehow he knew that he was missing something. "And you won't send it via text, email or any other means, to anyone else, not even those inside this room?"

"Promise." Sam said, hoping his partner was sufficiently distracted to not require his promise about whether or not to show the picture to anyone else. He knew Kensi would get a laugh out of it and when Deeks woke up, he had every intention of showing him what Callen looked like trying to play him.

"Now. Mr. Hanna, please allow Eric to bandage your head. Mr. Callen, you will remove the wig and put it back on once inside Mr. Deeks's ICU room. Dr. Shaughnessy will be waiting to mimic Mr. Deeks's bandages on you and to put you on the fake ventilator. Does everyone understand their roles?" There were nods all around. "Very well, Mr. Hanna, once you are bandaged, you will be escorted out to the waiting ambulance by Owen, who will be undercover as an EMT. He will take you to the hospital where Mr. Trent will be waiting in the ER to admit you under the name Parker West. You will be taken up to your room immediately. Miss. Jones has already "relieved" Miss. Blye who has reentered the hospital as Christine Brill. An earwig was left in her room and she will be on comms with the rest of us. When Mr. Callen is taken out of ICU, Miss. Jones will accompany him. When all focus is on the new room for Mr. Deeks, the real Mr. Deeks will be taken to the room where Miss. Blye is waiting for him, under the name Kyle Shaw. Mr. Beale and Miss. Jones have already backstopped all the aliases."

She paused and said "Again, Mr. Callen will be Mr. Deeks." Callen nodded.

"Mr. Hanna, you will be Parker West." Sam looked at her suspiciously, wondering if his alias's name was a subtle dig about the Parker Pony incident a couple Christmases ago. He nodded.

"Miss. Blye is under the name Christine Brill and Mr. Deeks under the name Kyle Shaw. Please make sure you keep all of them straight."

Callen listened to Hetty in surprise. This was not the first time they had all gone undercover with different names. She'd never felt the need to drill their aliases into their heads before. He was starting to think that she was more worried about McGonagle than she let on.

Eric finished his work with Sam, who left in the ambulance with Granger. Callen left next, headed back to the hospital where Deeks's empty room awaited him, having heard that they'd moved him already. The only thing that worried him was that someone would be watching and notice that he'd gone into Deeks's room but never come out. The hope was that all focus would be on "Deeks".

Everything went smoothly when he arrived at ICU, other than Nell bursting into smothered giggles when he put the wig on. Moira bandaged him up and he lay down on the bed. She adjusted all the machines and the portable ventilator on him, taped an IV line to his arm, attached the face mask but, obviously, not placing it down his throat. When everything was ready, Nell went out first, playing her part of the protector, watching everyone suspiciously as he was wheeled out of the room and into the waiting elevator. They made it to the room without incident where they tried to make him more comfortable. Eventually he was left alone, Nell taking her place outside his door. He lay there and listened to the machines beep and unpleasant memories rose up. He'd lain like this after being shot, attached to machines and not able to move, not able to do anything for himself. When this was over and Deeks was on the mend, he would make a point to share his story with him, let him know he understood any anger and frustration the younger man would experience. He knew Deeks had been shot that one time, but it hadn't been as serious and he hadn't needed to be hooked up like this.

He tensed when he heard Nell greet her relief. The first one up was Jim Franklin. After Nell had said her goodbyes, Franklin stuck his head in the door and Callen tensed a little. He relaxed when he heard Jim say quietly "Hey Deeks. It's Jim. Don't worry, buddy, I got your back. Only way anyone gets by me is through my dead body. We're all rooting for you!" The man ducked back outside and took up his position. It was a long, boring four hours. Sam and the others tried to help by talking to him over the comms even though he couldn't respond. They couldn't turn the television on as they needed to be able to hear everything that went on in the room and outside the door.

The next excitement he got was when Franklin handed off his assignment to the next agent. This time it was Charlie Porter. While Porter didn't stick his head in like Franklin had, it was another uneventful four hours, the only sounds he heard was when Porter chatted up one of the night nurses. It was now late in the evening and everyone was starting to second guess themselves. Maybe this wouldn't work. Maybe there really wasn't a mole at NCIS. The next change of guard happened as Jay Carson relieved Porter. Half an hour later, they hit pay dirt. Carson looked up and down the hallway and pulled something out of his pocket. He entered the room quietly and approached the bed. Reaching out, he raised the needle and injected something into the IV line. He looked around the room and put the syringe back into his pocket, heading out quietly. He closed the door behind him without a sound and turned around to find a very angry Sam Hanna pointing his gun at him.

"Hands up Carson, you're under arrest for treason and attempted murder."

Carson slowly raised his hands and said "I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't try to murder anyone."

Sam reached out and pulled the syringe out of Carson's pocket. "What exactly did you inject Deeks with?"

Carson knew he was caught and just smiled. "Potassium chloride. There's nothing you can do to help him now, he should be dead within minutes. I want a lawyer."

The door opened behind him and Callen stepped out, bandages hanging from him although Sam noticed immediately that the wig was gone. "Good thing the IV line was just taped to my arm and not actually inserted into a vein then, isn't it?" He'd pulled out his own gun and was also covering Carson. Tapping his earwig, he said. "Eric, we got all that, right?"

"Every second."

"Great. Thanks Eric!" He looked at his partner. "We'll want to take the IV line into evidence as well" Sam nodded as footsteps sounded down the hallway and Granger came into view, Hetty following him, moving quickly as she tried to keep up. The Assistant Director was beyond furious and was heading towards Carson with a single minded determination. As angry as the rest of them were with Carson, they knew they needed him in one piece to see what information they could get out of him.

Callen kept his gun trained on Carson while Sam turned to intercept their bosses. "Granger! We've got him dead to rights. We're going to take him to the boatshed and see what we can get out of him. We need him coherent to do that!"

Granger stopped and looked at Sam, taking a moment to register the man's words. He nodded slowly and then looked at Carson. A feral smile crossed his face as he said "I'm sure Mr. Carson will be more than forthcoming on exactly why he just attacked a federal agent, committed treason by turning on his own agency and conspired with a known fugitive." Carson swallowed hard and allowed himself to be lead away by Sam.

Callen turned to Hetty and said "While we've got Carson, we still don't know who else out that might be working for McGonagle. We need to keep Deeks under wraps until we have both him and Robinson."

Over comms they heard Kensi's agreement. "Callen's right. If it's okay with everyone, I'll stay with him. If someone could get some clothes from my place and bring them to Christine's room?"

Nell responded over comms from ops "I'll go Kens. I know what you like."

"Thanks Nell, you're a good friend."

"Any time, Kens. Tell Shaggy, Velma is thinking of him!"

Kensi's chuckle sounded in their ears. "Will do….Velma. Guys, keep me in the loop as to what you find out from Carson?"

"Of course, Miss. Blye. That goes without saying." Hetty said. "You are now on permanent protection detail until we conclude this matter. I'll update Dr. Shaughnessy and the hospital director that our plan worked but that we need to keep both of you under your assumed names for the foreseeable future."

"Thanks, Hetty."

Granger and Hetty exchanged looks and Granger finally said "Let's head to the boatshed, shall we?" Hetty's smile was as feral as his.

Callen followed the Assistant Director and his Operations Manager from the hospital, glad that neither one was gunning for him.

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A/N – Thanks to yellowcallalily for the suggestion that Callen has to wear a blond, shaggy wig to go undercover as Deeks. Per her suggestion, it also won't be the last time this is brought up!