Deeks and Raider had decided to ride down to Surfers Point at Ventura. Much though Deeks would have loved it to be nothing more than pleasure, he had persuaded Raider to stop en route for a comfort break where he made a covert call to Kensi. Contact with the rest of the team had been limited to short conversations about the case and this was the prime opportunity for him to brief Kensi in full and also just a chance for him to be himself. Kensi had been in Ops when he called and with some assistance from Nell, had located a small eatery named 'Tony's Pizzaria' and they agreed to meet there around five in the afternoon. That would allow ample time for Kensi to arrive while Deeks and Raider found a place that hired wet suits and surf boards. Neither man had any intention of visiting the beach without taking part in their favourite pastime - surf permitting.

Lady luck was on their side as with a little exploring they found a cheap local rental store and hired boards and wet suits. The next problem they encountered was how to get to the beach when they only had motor bikes to transport their hired equipment to Surfers Point, which was a twenty minute walk. Luckily Deeks turned on the charm, aided by Raider who was turning out to be the perfect wing man. The pair had the young female shop assistant in fits of laughter and fawning all over them. By offering her manager an extra twenty bucks, they borrowed Summer and her four by four to transport them to the beach. Another twenty secured them Summer for the return leg, provided they called by six.

The surf was steady and Deeks and Raider enjoyed easy rides, paddling out and patiently waiting for the next swell. There were not too many people around and the pair enjoyed the solitude, relaxing to the sound of the waves gently crashing on the sand. The afternoon sun still shone brightly and the heat was intensifying when they agreed to call it a day and grab a bite to eat. Deeks had earlier scoped out the pizzeria and they strolled along the promenade, clad in wetsuits, surfboards under their arms and newly purchased towels over their shoulders. The cheap flip flops were rubbing between Raider's toes and rather than persevere he threw them in the nearest bin and continued bare footed.

Kensi was already seated outside when Deeks and Raider arrived, looking more like a beach hippy chick than a female surfer. Short denim shorts and a loose, flowery crop top were complimented with a floppy sun hat, underneath which Kensi's dark hair flowed. She looked up at the men through her oversized sunglasses.

'What's up boys?'

'Now that'd be telling,' Raider responded with a wink.

Deeks gave him a friendly shove. 'Don't mind him, clearly he was born with no manners. I'm Billy.'

'Lara,' Kensi said with a coy smile.

'As in Lara Croft? The fearless female adventurer from Tomb Raider?'

'Maybe,'

'Mind if we join you?' Deeks asked.

'Sure. There's another chair inside.'

'Great. Raider, I'll have a full on Hawaiian with extra pineapple and a beer. Lara?'

'Just a water, thanks.'

Raider gave Deeks a look of disbelief and pushed the door open. A minute later he returned with another chair and disappeared back inside to place the food orders. It did not give the partners long to catch up.

'You look really good.' Kensi said in a low voice.

'Thanks. We're both doing well. The guys like us - well some like Callen and the others prefer me, so we're covering all angles.'

'Hetty wants a sit rep. She's starting to think you boys are treating this as a holiday and I can see why now.'

'That's not fair. It takes time to gain the trust of these guys. They're real friendly and all this is to help get us in to their inner circle. Sounds like tonight or tomorrow we're gonna learn about the next phase of the plans, the next attack.'

'Callen's made contact. He's meeting with Anna in some dive bar just south of Venice.'

'He'll be arrested if he's caught in Venice.'

'Who'll be arrested?' Raider asked. He sat down on the spare chair opposite Kensi and handed Deeks his beer and Kensi her water.

'I was just telling Lara how much my brother loves Venice. It's totally fitting for him. Crazy just loves crazy, but if he's seen by the cops they'll arrest him. Got himself in to a fight last time he was there, spent the night in jail.'

'Yeah? You're brother is pretty intense. Y'reckon he'll head out today?'

'Who knows. He likes to think he's this free spirit but he's way too serious for all that. And he's just been trapped all his life by one institution or another.'

'Wow.' Kensi said. 'That's deep. But how come he's trapped and you're not?'

'Clearly I'm the smart one in the family.'

Kensi shared a look with Raider and then raised her bottle of water to chink against his beer.

'See, the tide is turning and Lara is starting to see that crazy just plain runs in your family.' Raider turned to Kensi and flashed a smile. 'Now I am not related to Billy or his brother, which means I am perfectly sane.'

'Your name is Raider. How can you even begin to think that you're sane?' Kensi said.

'And that coming from Lara Croft, Miss Tomb Raider herself.'

Deeks could barely contain himself with amusement. He had missed Kensi so much over the past few weeks although he had made sure not to voice it to Callen. He was conscious not to show any signs of weakness in front of his team leader, especially after their 'encounter' and the fact this was their first long term undercover operation together. Deeks felt relaxed and happy. If he could freeze moments in time, this would be one he'd pick. Fresh from surfing, relaxing with his ladybird and in the company of a man that felt like a kindred spirit. Provided he deliberately ignored that Raider was both a criminal and a home grown terrorist, Deeks felt lucky to have met him.

'Raider here used to be some black ops guy.' Deeks said, suddenly remembering Callen's warning to check out any possible connection to the CIA.

Raider almost spat out his beer trying not to laugh as Kensi looked suitably bemused.

'You have the weirdest ways of chatting up women,' he said, shaking his head and smiling.

'Black ops? What does that mean you assassinated people?' Kensi had to follow Deeks' lead. Clearly there was some information he needed to obtain, to which she and the team should be alerted. She just had no idea of the angle.

'It meant I worked highly classified missions; counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance, tradecraft, marksmanship.'

'Oh wow,' Kensi leaned forward, encouraging Raider to divulge further. 'But isn't black ops like military stuff?'

'It sure is ma'am, and then some.' Raider tilted his head towards Kensi and smile slyly. 'And if I told you, I'd have to kill you.'

'Really?' Deeks interjected. 'Isn't that a bit too super-spy, James Bond-like?'

'Yes!' Kensi turned to face Deeks, a smile spreading across her face. 'James Bond is the ultimate British spy, so cool.'

'Shame we don't have the same here. Could you imagine there being an awesome character from the CIA like the English have Bond?'

'That would be great. The CIA is full of spies. But don't they do loads of the stuff you just mentioned?' Kensi focused on Raider again who nodded his agreement. Before he could speak, Kensi continued. 'Why would we have groups that do the same thing? Does that mean you are really the CIA? That it's all just interchangeable?'

Raider stared at Kensi, bewildered as to her train of thought.

'When I was working black ops, I worked with several different agencies. Look I'm serious. You sign an oath and then they own you man, like forever.'

'OK,' Kensi held her hands up in defence. 'I really don't want you to kill me, so it's good. All good.'

'Man you sure know how to kill a vibe,' Deeks looked at Raider, a pained expression on his face. 'That could have been the sweetest pick up line ever.'

'Clearly not,' Kensi shook her head. 'And who's saying I'm available to be picked up?'

'The lady has a point. Are you?'

'I can neither confirm or deny. And if I told you then I would have to kill you both.'

'Guess we walked in to that one.' Raider glanced at his watch and stood up. 'Our ride is due in ten. We'd better head off.'

'Well it's been, um, kinda fun.' Kensi said, remaining seated. 'See you guys around.'

Raider and Deeks grabbed their surf boards and started to walk along the boardwalk towards their meeting point. The late afternoon sun was causing the waves to twinkle and glisten and Deeks was momentarily lost in calmness of the ocean.

'Hold this.' He shoved his board at Raider who barely had time to hold on before Deeks let go and rushed back to where Kensi was still sitting.

'The CIA angle with Raider. Check it out.' Deeks lowered his voice further although no one else was in earshot. 'Love you Kens.'

'I love you too. Stay safe and keep Callen out of trouble - Anna text to say she's worried about him.'

'OK. Now laugh babe. Speak soon.'

Kensi threw her head back and laughed as Deeks reciprocated and walked backwards away from her. He waved goodbye and spun on his heels, jogging to reach Raider who had stood watching the pair.

'You get her number?'

'Nah, no pen, paper or cell. Said I'll meet her back here at 4pm in two weeks time.'

'You think you'll show?'

'Oh yeah. Man, I'm in love.'

Deeks grinned and slapped Raider on the shoulder. The day had turned out pretty well, he thought. He had good company, caught some waves and seen Kensi. He still had some nagging doubts about Raider but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. At least if the team were diving into Raider's background then hopefully Hetty could un-redact any sensitive documents they discovered. Privately he also shared Anna's concerns about Callen. He knew his team leader was focused and would see the operation through to the end, but he was also well aware Callen would find the human element in the case and he feared that his bond with Josh Lyneham could be misplaced - as could his with Raider.

Nine hours later, Callen, Anna and Josh were at least six hundred bucks better off, having fleeced the patrons of numerous bars around the area. They had worked well together and naturally fallen into the requisite roles. Anna distracted the men with her flirting, Callen played the slightly intoxicated challenger who always had a drink in his hand and Lyneham the straight man. When Lyneham realised Anna really could shoot pool they switched up the roles, easily throwing their marks off balance. Their luck held until they arrived at their final destination, a pub in downtown LA. The pub was located in a dilapidated building that looked ready for demolition and had seen them all beat a hasty retreat when one heavily set Mexican took offence at being swindled out of twenty dollars. They were chased down the road by four guys who were more than a little pissed when Callen suggested they go double or quits on a game of Three Card Monte. Thankfully the guys were rather inebriated and Anna, Callen and Lyneham easily outran them. A circuitous route led them safely back to the Challenger and with Anna squeezed in to the rear seats, they returned to Venice and dropped her at the beach front. Her parting words whispered into his right ear was an order that Callen remembered his mission.

The return trip to the ranch was the opposite of their outbound journey. The day's escapades were recounted and interspersed with stories of similar activities they could both draw on from their childhood and adulthood alike. Callen would have been lying to himself if he didn't admit that he'd rarely had such fun undercover. He thought back to another of his favourite aliases, Jason Tedrow, who had been similar a similar character to Rob. He too had allowed Callen the chance to relax in an alias that he enjoyed playing - a lot - and again, was almost an alternative version of himself. He decided it would be wise not to dwell too much on those thoughts and instead, thought he should take advantage of his and Lyneham's natural high and broach the subject of Ariel and his earlier encounter.

'Y'know Ariel confronted me this morning?'

'Really? You have this way with women?'

'Funny.' Callen shook his head and stared straight ahead at the road, conscious of the glance he knew Lyneham was throwing his way. 'I mean she quizzed me about my past and laid down a challenge.'

'And what did you do that caused her to do that?'

'Nothing much...' Callen smirked at his deliberate pause and the raised eyebrows on Lyneham's face as he concentrated on navigating dark country roads and Callen's words. 'One of the barns doors was wide open so I went in. I shouted out.'

'Well that makes all the difference.'

'Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?'

'Ok, ok - I'm listening.'

'She pulled a gun on me, asked me when I last made a bomb, why and how, and about when I was shot. Then she grabbed a rifle from one of the boxes and asked me what it was.'

'Well you're still breathing so I guess you passed.'

Callen turned in his seat to face Lyneham. 'The point is she already knew the answers. And some of those answers are classified so someone is hacking in to whatever military databases are out there and digging through my history. My private history.'

Lyneham remained silent for a minute and Callen allowed him that. His reaction might reveal if he had any doubts about his and Deeks' alias and whether their mission was compromised.

'Tomorrow is a big day Rob. You're a stranger to them. You understand.'

'But I'm not a stranger to you?'

'I've known you for a long time. Even though we've just met. I've known people like you all my life.'

'I know.' Callen nodded his head. He suddenly realised that if anyone was going to compromise the mission it was him. It was true. He and Josh were connected with shared experiences and a similar outlook on life; criminal activities excluded. The renovation of the ranch, the clean outdoor living and the opportunity to provide other veterans and outcasts with a fresh start had been the second chance Josh had needed to rid himself of PTSD. Despite the positives, Callen could see it had left Lyneham vulnerable to the manipulation of others, namely DuValle. The sooner he and Deeks could start to influence this crew and separate Lyneham from the likes of DuValle, the cleaner the arrests would be afterwards.

'So who's your master hacker?'

'Thomason Hawker. He was there when you and Billy first arrived. Thomason comes and goes as we've got poor connections for any computers here, let alone the powerful servers he needs. He does background checks on all newcomers, has been analysing scenarios for the next attack and was able to change the inventory and routes for that obsolete stock of M249 rifles and other weapons.'

'Interesting.' Callen rested his arm on the inside of the passenger window frame.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean it's been a while since I've been really involved in anything that is interesting and challenging. Takes me back to my time with EUCOM.'

'Which time?'

'Wow, you have been doing your homework. Second time. I was part of a small unit sent to Russia. It's where I met Anna.'

'You speak Russian?'

'Russian, Romanian, German, French, Italian, Spanish. Stayed with a Russian family for a while as a kid and found languages easy. Helped me travel the world with the military instead of following the usual tours of duties.'

'Impressive. All I saw was Iraq. Desert and hostiles. Not fun. Or educational.'

'Yeah but necessary.'

'So they say.'

The men fell silent. Lyneham was lost in memories of his past and Callen had no desire to force him to speak about the atrocities he had seen or helped inflict. He was too busy lost in his own recent past. He was thinking about the clandestine operation with NCIS that had seen his elite team rescue Anna and sabotage the sale of an oil super tanker by an ISIS stooge. It had been an eye opener for him in more ways than one. Callen looked at the clock on the Challenger's dash. They had about forty minutes worth of driving until they reached the ranch with enough time for a nightcap. He wondered if Deeks had just an entertaining day as he had and then smiled to himself. Who was he kidding. Deeks made his own entertainment and if he and Josh Lyneham seemed connected, then Deeks and Raider were lost long twins.