The trick to planning and executing the release of chaotic youths in downtown LA was to not plan at all, at least that had been Deeks' philosophy around the team, which required minimal work from him. Instead he could formulate his own ideas that would hopefully allow him and the teens to escape and evade arrest. Deeks believed he had the easy part, for he would just lurk as homeless Artie and observe. The two dozen or so kids who had been brought down from northern California were to be split into smaller groups, pairs and even individuals and given clear instructions to make their way to specific targets. The attacks had been coordinated to commence at twelve forty-five. Not all of them had watches and the signal would be taken from their own leader, Toni. Their only direction was to cause such a public disturbance that the police would be called, drawing their attention away from the impending attack on the welfare office.

Before meeting up with the youths, Deeks had thought briefly about making contact with Ops but had quickly scrapped the idea. Instead he deliberately made an appearance at a bus depot on the outskirts of Skid Row, hoping and expecting the wonder twins to be running facial recognition software so he would be 'pinged'. Callen's escapade from the early hours was still preying on his mind and he could not understand why Callen had decided to break the only rule imposed since they'd arrived, which was to stay in the night before the attack. He was pretty sure his partner had not snuck out to snoop any other night and he wondered what had changed his mind. He certainly hoped Callen hadn't done it just to prove he could break a rule. Deeks didn't think he was quite that bloody minded, well he hoped he wasn't! Still, Callen had sneaked out, presumably broken into the ranch but on the plus side, saved a damsel in distress and put DuValle out of the picture, temporarily at least. He hoped this meant a bond would form between Callen and Ariel. She was the key to understanding this group of domestic terrorists, he was sure of it. DuValle and his militia were the link to missing naval weapons which would be another tick in the box for NCIS and of course, one of the reasons for their involvement. Deeks moved from his bench and shuffled towards a man in his twenties, decked out in board shorts and a top designer branded t-shirt.

'Spare a few bucks for a former soldier, just enough for a coffee - Starbucks would be good. A nice latte...?

Deeks was given a disgusted look and he smiled in return, flashing his gruesomely rotting fake teeth.

'You be sure to have a yourself a nice day now, 'coz you have your Starbucks and I have nothing.'

Deeks had placed himself a few minutes walk away from the strip mall, allowing plenty of time to wander and supervise his gang and their targets. He caught sight of several of the youths and for a while decided he was a modern day Fagin, although he was only shepherding the kids to cause chaos, not asking them to steal and deliver the proceeds to him. There was about ten minutes to go and Deeks thought about Raider, trying to recall every element of their many conversation. He could find no holes in his story, no inconsistencies. He wondered instead if he was just becoming overly paranoid. Spending time with Callen had the tendency to do that, he thought wryly. Could Raider be CIA? Had Raider befriended him to catch him out on a lie? Deeks suddenly realised why the day felt so off. He had no one else around him. No team, no operational support chattering away in his ear and no partner. He had been used to winging it, working alone while undercover for LAPD but that was a long time ago. NCIS had give him an additional layer that had previously been missing. It had also provided him with a family, and he had found his soul mate. Deeks smiled to himself. If nothing else, the enforced break away from Kensi proved to him the strength of his love. He glanced up at his battered wrist watch. He stood up and started moving. It was nearly show time.

Sam sat in his LAPD car and listened to the updates sent periodically by Nell and Eric. They had no new intelligence, only confirmation Callen was still inside the social services building. Kensi now had Deeks under surveillance and had seen a dozen young teenagers hanging around. One girl of about fifteen had exchanged eye contact with Deeks and Kensi assumed she was the ringleader of the gang. When the group initially targeted the vets hospital, smoke grenades had been used and Sam hoped their weaponry had not developed any further. It had been killing him, knowing his partner was out their alone without backup. Sure when he was in the camp at least Deeks was with him, but still...Sam liked to think that he had Callen under some semblance of control and the thought of Callen running circles around Deeks made him smile one second and shudder the next. He knew they would be a bad influence on each other and he wondered what mischief they would concoct once they returned to the fold. He checked his cell for the umpteenth time, even though he knew Nell and Eric would make contact via his earwig first. He drummed his fingers on the dash. Damn he was missing his partner.

'Sam, LAFD has received an alert of a fire at the social services office.' Eric's voice cackled through his ear.

'Is that an actual fire or just an alarm?' Sam asked.

'Agent Johnston hasn't seen any flames and he witnessed one of the guards locking the front door after the alarm went off. He saw a few people being herded to the back of the building to the rear exit.'

'Who's covering the rear?'

'Agents Williams and Sharpe. They both look like they should be in high school, meaning they can hang around at the back of the car park and attract little attention. They confirm that alarms have sounded and they can see some smoke. Staff are evacuating out the back. No sign of Callen.'

'So am I going in now?' Sam was getting impatient. The constant messages to hold his position were beginning to grate, reflected in his tone.

'Hold fast Mr Hanna.' Hetty's voice came through strongly. 'We don't yet know exactly what has happened or why. You are only two minutes out so there is no need to panic.'

'I am not panicking,' Sam replied through gritted teeth. 'And you know a lot can happen in two minutes Hetty.'

'I know Sam, and I trust you. And your partner trusts you to have his back. We just need to wait and see how this plays out for a touch longer.'

Sam rolled his eyes and reluctantly agreed. He started the engine running, fully expecting to be furiously crashing the party very soon. He continued to listen to the ops centre feed snippets of information as Nell and Eric worked with live data coming in from their assistants in the boat shed. Most of the feeds had led to nothing so far. Kensi broke through with an urgent call back to ops, just as one of the junior analysts began to relay information back to Eric.

'Nell, Eric, we have action down here. Deeks has just fired a signal to the girl and now the kids are spreading out and starting to loiter in front of the bank and the realtors. It's going down now!'

'Hold your position Miss Blye,' Hetty took control of the mission. 'You heard me tell Sam and I'll say the same to you. We need to wait a few more minutes for this to play out.'

'Copy that.' Kensi acknowledged.

A sudden boom filled the air, the sound reverberated and sounded slightly muffled, a sure tell it originated several blocks away. Sam shook his head. He was never comfortable with this op. Anything to do with militia and domestic terrorism reminded him of one of their earlier cases, and there were no fond memories attached to that. He muttered 'no,' and in one swift move he put the car into gear and pulled away.

'Hetty, there's been an explosion, it came from Callen's direction. I'm going in now.'

'Sam,' Nell's voice broke through. 'Agent Johnston has confirmed the explosion was on the second floor...the windows have blown out. LAFD are five minutes out and LAPD will be there in eight. Williams and Sharpe have seen two guards exit and run across the parking lot. Tear gas has been released right next to the evacuation meeting point where the staff are. I've called for EMT. They think Callen is still inside. Do you want them to break cover?'

'No, I'm literally just around the corner. ll be there in two.'

'Be careful Sam.'

'Nell,' Kensi's voice sounded urgent through the earwigs. 'It's started here. Looks like these kids have an endless supply of eggs. The front of the bank and realtors are covered.'

'What's Deeks doing?' Nell asked.

'He's just watching...no...he's moving...taking something out of his pocket. Looks like a poster. He's pinning it to a lamppost...'

'Is that all?'

'He's got some more. Is that really his mission?' Kensi sounded almost indignant that Deeks' skill set had not been put to use.

'Kens, I've had word that LAPD have two patrol vehicles on the way, arriving any minute now. You need to be ready to extract Deeks if he looks like being arrested.'

'Understood Nell.'

The faint sound of sirens came across the airwaves and Kensi wasn't sure if it was coming from her location or if the noise came from Sam's LAPD siren.

'Oh no,' Nell spoke.

'What is it Nell?' Kensi asked. 'Talk to me.'

'They've got tear gas.'

'What? The police?'

'No, the kids and Deeks. They've just let them go, over a dozen of them and they've run off. It's their exit strategy. Kens, we've lost them already, but they were heading south. From Deeks' earlier position, there's a number of boarded up properties on San Julian Street. I'd try there first. I'm calling the EMTs - again.'

'Thanks Nell.'

'Nell.' Sam sounded desperate. 'Nell, I've just arrived here and it's chaos. Looks like about ten people have safely evacuated but were hit with tear gas. They think at least one of the guards was in on it and apparently none of the three men on duty were regulars. Seems there was a convenient bout of food poisoning.'

'Well, it does happen...'

'Nell...' Sam sent a warning back to the analyst.

'Sorry Sam. Where's Callen?'

'I don't know, that's what I'm trying to tell you. Ten staff outside. No sign of any security guards or Callen.'

'Have you cleared the building?'

'No, I'm trying to find a way in without blinding myself. LAFD aren't here yet but I can't see any flames.'

The airwaves fell silent as Sam took a few paces back to view the rear of the building. The staff hit by the tear gas were mostly on their knees, tears streaming down their faces and their eyes already red. Some were coughing but none seriously injured.

'Nell, there's another entrance to the building. I'm going in.'

'Mr Hanna,' Hetty interjected. 'Please take care. If that explosion wasn't planned...you don't know what or who you will find inside.'

'You'd better hope I find Callen inside,' Sam growled in determination. 'And when I do, we'll have words and he's gonna wish he never took this mission.'

The explosions on the second floor had not been part of the plan. At least not part of any plan of which Callen was aware. Time-wise he'd been lucky. He had already hung the ranch's banner and pinned several posters to walls, proclaiming the impotence of the Social Welfare system. He had also been able to set up the projector and had just closed the door to the fire escape when the bomb went off. The blast had knocked him off his feet and sent him tumbling down the stairs to the next floor, banging his head against the wall and knocking himself out momentarily. Callen opened his eyes and immediately felt light-headed and queasy. He slowly up stood, careful not to make the dizziness worse. He was the one who had tossed the grenade but it should have been filled with smoke, not an actual explosives. Had someone switched up the canisters? None of the other bombs had exploded so was this a mistake? Callen wondered if Stone was involved, or even Thomason. Maybe he wasn't quite the innocent he made out to be. Callen wracked his brains to think what motive Stone could possibly have, if it was him, and if so, why? Was he acting on orders from Ariel and Lyneham? Or did DuValle have a second spy in the camp? He could not yet hear sirens or at least he didn't think he could. The ringing in his ears was not making anything clear. He glanced at his watch and blinked several times to bring the analogue face into focus. There was still time to escape to the meeting point. Callen removed his hand from the wall and took a tentative pace before stopping. He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled, releasing a measured breathe and opening his eyes again. If he stayed here, Callen thought, his part of the mission would be over and there was so much more to discover. Before he could take another step he heard the fire escape open and Sam's bellowing voice.

'Hello, anyone there? Hello?'

Callen noted the lack of a 'federal agent' call and wondered if Sam had been sent in undercover. There was no reason to believe there was anyone else left in the building but paranoia had kept him alive so far and he saw no reason to change now. He quietly opened the door to the first floor and slipped inside. Except it was the worst idea he'd probably had in a long while. The floor should have been clear as his job was to smoke each out before he escaped, instead he could barely make out the furniture through the thick haze of smoke. One of the others must have done his job for him. He listened intently instead. There were no sounds from within and Callen waited the few seconds before Sam would open the door to check and clear the floor. He sensed rather than saw the door open and heard his partner sigh, picturing him shaking his head in annoyance.

'I'm over here.' Callen whispered.

'G?' Sam replied. 'I can't see you.'

'Right from the door. Against the wall.'

The fire door closed behind Sam who moved towards Callen, his gun held in front of him, paired with a flashlight to penetrate the smoke.

'You good?'

'Yeah,' Callen lied. 'Was not expecting that explosion or this smoke.'

'What do you mean?' Sam questioned.

'This was not part of the plan. Not my plan anyway. And this floor wasn't supposed to be smoked until I did it.'

'So what the hell happened?' Sam was becoming more and more concerned by the minute.

'Not sure but I need to find out. DuValle's trying to bring down everything the ranch stands for. One of his lackeys Thomason was here with us. I need to stay in to stop him from turning this in to another mass killing or another Waco.'

Callen paused and listened intently, still unsure if his ears were still ringing or if he could now hear the sirens of LAFP and LAPD.

'You sure you're Ok?' Sam asked. 'You get caught out by the explosion?'

'I'm fine, my ears are ringing a bit. How long til backup arrives?

Sam checked his watch. 'I reckon you got two minutes tops but I don't see how you can get out of this one.'

'I have a plan' Callen replied with a sly smile. 'Get your cuffs out. You're going to arrest me and take me to the station. Quickly and before anyone else arrives.'

'Cuff you, you're lucky I don't cuff you round the head,' Sam grumbled, removing his handcuffs from the utility belt. Callen dutifully held his hands in front of him.

'You probably want to take my gun and baton.'

'Really? Anything else, sir?'

'Ow...' Callen exclaimed in pain. 'Don't make them that tight. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but you might want to hit me a few times too.'

Deeks let out a loud wolf-whistle, repeating it intermittently before walking away from the scene. The first of the youths ran past him, heading quickly for the side roads that would allow them to hide, change clothes and become invisible. The others followed shortly after, scattering in a seemingly random pattern. Deeks himself headed deeper into the labyrinth of alleyways towards a shuttered entrance of what had once been a shop. He had scouted the location earlier before picking the lock and stashing his own change of clothes. A motorbike sounded in the background, a guttural growl underpinning the wailing of police and paramedic sirens. A quick glance up and down the alley confirmed he was alone and he quickly slipped inside. Only a little natural light penetrated the gloom, the shafts of light slipping through the shutters allowing Deeks to make his way to the rear of the premises without bumping into counters and shelving units. He'd just finished changing clothes and was pondering the best place to stash Artie - as there was no way he would permanently abandon his long term coat/chum - when he heard the door squeak open. Quietly, Deeks placed his rucksack and Artie on the floor and crouched beneath the counter. He had no weapons and no escape route as the counter was in the corner against a solid wall. Holding his breath, he listened intently as footsteps carefully explored the shop, coming ever closer to his hiding place. Fight or flight? he thought. It could mean the difference between staying in play or being arrested. Or maybe even beaten up. Homeless attacked homeless sometimes, it was a dog eat dog world, no matter which walk of life you found yourself in. Flight or fight? Fight or flight? Time was off the essence. He calculated he had no more than ten seconds to make his decision. Flight!

The footsteps approached the counter and Deeks could see the flashlight pierce the gloom. Flight - and fight if needed. He jumped up with a scream, scrambling over the counter and shoulder barging past the intruder.

'Oompf,' a female voice responded. 'Federal Agent, stop!'

'Kens?' Deeks stopped in his tracks.

'Deeks? What the hell?'

'Oh am I glad to see you. Well, sort of see you. It's a bit dark. Did I hurt you?'

'Of course not.' Kensi swung the light into Deeks' face and took a good look at him. 'You look like you've been living wild for the last six months.'

Deeks ran his fingers through his long hair.

'It seems like six months. What's happening out there? I've got no comms, just a rendezvous place and time. If I'm not there they'll think I've been arrested. Is that what you're here for? To pull me out? What about Callen? Is he OK? What's happened with his attack?'

'Slow down Deeks. We've been staking out the targets from Callen's last transmission. There's been no attack on the Federal building on Wilshire -'

'We canned that one.' Deeks interrupted.

Kensi cocked her head slightly. Deeks' use of the word 'we' brought back memories of Anna Kolcheck's conversations and worries about Callen. Maybe they were both too close to this.

'They, ok, they.' Deeks caught Kensi's look and quickly corrected himself. The last thing he needed was to get into a debate with the woman he loved about such a sensitive mission. Particularly when it was still ongoing.

'So,' Kensi continued. She was very much in tune with her lover and understood now was not the time to argue. 'Nell caught you on a traffic camera at a bus station this morning, so Hetty sent me here as overwatch. Sam has Callen's back. The welfare office has been under surveillance too and Callen turned up this morning as a security guard, along with Stone and Thomason.'

'Kens, their attack kick started mine.' He looked at her with pleading eyes, full of concern for his new partner, his brother in arms.

'A fire was called in and about five minutes later there was an explosion on the second floor.'

'Oh man.'

'Sam was in overwatch as LAPD. He was two minutes out. We don't know what's happened to Callen or the others. Last I heard was Sam was about to breach the building after calling EMTs.'

Deeks twisted away from Kensi and placed his hands against the counter. What the hell had gone wrong?

'That was not supposed to happen. It's all smoke and mirrors, tear gas, smoke grenades, eggs and posters and video clips. No bombs, no real weapons. They're saving that for next time.'

'Deeks. Look at me.' Kensi commanded, causing him to turn back and face her. She took his hands in hers.

'Callen's tough. And he's a survivor. He'll be fine, you'll see.'

'But what if he was caught in the explosion. It was so carefully timed, everything was meticulously planned and Callen planned most of it with Lyneham and Ariel.'

'Look, I need to check in. Tell ops you're fine and I'll get the latest from Sam.'

Instead of using her earwig, Kensi removed her cell phone and speed dialled ops, tapping the loud speaker icon and placing the cell on the counter between her and Deeks.

'Kensi?' Nell answered.

'Nell. I have Deeks with me. He's fine but we need an update from Sam. Has he found Callen?'

'Hey Deeks,' Nell greeted. 'Sam breached the welfare office several minutes ago now. He hasn't called in yet.'

'That is not a good sign.' Deeks scrubbed his hands over his face. If anything happened to Callen, then he was staying under and going straight to Lyneham to demand answers, and it would not be a pretty conversation.

Kensi and Deeks heard Nell call in to Sam, who's voice filled the room.

'I've got Callen. He was in the stairwell when the bomb went off. Banged his head a little but it doesn't seem to have knocked any sense into him. I've arrested him and just placed him in the car. Once I've driven off, we'll fake an escape so he can remain in play.'

'These handcuffs are cutting off my circulation.' Callen's voice came faintly though the speaker. 'I can't feel my fingers.'

Kensi smile to see the relief in Deeks' face. She was still concerned about how heavily invested both men seemed to be in the case.

'Mr Deeks, how are you?' The undeniable voice of Henrietta Lange was loud and clear. 'We've had no updates for weeks and I need to bring this operation to a conclusion. I will be speaking with Mr Callen shortly. This attack has taken the Make America Decent terrorist group to the next level. I need your opinion on capability, desire and timelines. I need to judge when to raid the ranch.'

Deeks looked at Kensi who was still holding his hands. He entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her closer, smiling as she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the lingering smell of Artie. Deeks may not have infiltrated the inner circle with Callen, however he had remained observant and had many seemingly innocent conversations with many of the inhabitants of the ranch. He certainly had his share of information to reveal and his own thoughts on how dangerous the terrorist group may be.

Sam drove without sirens, for which Callen was grateful. His nausea had mostly passed although a sharp punch to the stomach hadn't helped, and now there was only a slight ringing in his ears. His head continued to ache and the haymaker Sam slogged to his jaw had split his lip and he had allowed the blood to flow before trying to stem it. They remained silent for several minutes, Sam concerned for his partner and Callen formulating a plan for a realistic escape.

'So how are you going to explain that you unlocked your handcuffs, overcame a big black LAPD officer, driving an LAPD cruiser and managed to escape, making your way back to the ranch with a BOLO out for you?'

'Since you put it like that...' Callen smirked.

He had already unlocked his cuffs and left them loose on his wrists. Sam had failed to pat him down and only taken the weapons Callen admitted were on his person. He possessed a small smoke canister, designed to cause mischief and rather perfect for a small enclosed space, like a car. He also carried a pocket sized pepper spray. Callen slowly manoeuvred his hands to retrieve the smoke bomb from inside his sock.

Sam drove steadily down a back road. He could feel the tension in the air and realised Callen would pretty much be escaping for real and he would just have to go along with it, which worried him. Callen and his off-the-cuff plans tended to be unconventional at best.

'Care to let me in?'

'And ruin the surprise? Where's the fun in that?'

'You've always had a strange idea of fun, G. What's the plan and when?'

Callen pulled the pin from the smoke bomb and with two apparently still cuffed hands, pointed the small container towards Sam.

'Now -' Callen held his breathe as the front of the car rapidly filled with smoke.

'What the hell?' Sam slammed on the breaks and skidded the car to a rapid stop. He tore open the rear door and was about to drag Callen out when he was met with a burst of pepper spray.

While Sam was clawing at his eyes and nose and turning the air blue with his language, Callen slipped off the cuffs and sidestepped his partner, shouting an apology in his wake. He ran for several blocks, sticking to quiet roads before slowing to a walk. He took a series of deep breaths and calmed himself. Sam would be furious, and Hetty too, but it was necessary action to allow him to remain in the game. The escape was believable however the inability of an LAPD officer to correctly search a suspect and to leave a crime scene with said suspect under arrest might be suspicious. Callen might have to wing it and he sincerely hoped NCIS would put out an embellished news bulletin to the media, supporting his version of events.