Things settled down slightly as Kensi accepted her carless fate and invested her energy in ways to help Deeks and his mom. So far, she hadn't heard anything about the paid off bill, so either they hadn't noticed yet, or they assumed someone else had paid it. Either worked for Kensi; she didn't them either Deeks would be too happy if they found out.
She couldn't imagine her dad being pleased either. He'd probably say about not being responsible for every problem in the world and remind her which one of them was the adult. Well as far as she was concerned, the adults hadn't done such a great job so far.
This morning, she got up early enough that her dad was still home, and finishing breakfast while he read the paper.
"Morning Kens. There's some eggs and toast in the oven for you."
"Thanks."
He smiled without looking up and wordlessly pushed a jar of strawberry preserves in her direction. As angry as she'd been at him about the driving ban, it felt good for things to return relative normalcy. She really did hate being at odds with her dad.
They ate in companionable silence until he folded the paper and tossed it to the side.
"So, what are the plans with Marty today?" he asked. "The weather's supposed to be beautiful."
"Deeks is busy all day. Even if he wasn't, I'm hanging out with one of the girls I mentored last year. You remember Nell Jones?" Don nodded. "She's really nervous about her personal essay for her college applications, so I said I'd take a look. Not that she has anything to worry about," Kensi told him.
"Oh, you remembered you have other friends for a change."
Kensi shot him a dark look and he chuckled, grabbing her empty plate along with his own to put in the sink.
"I thought Nell was younger than you. Why's she worrying about college applications already?" he wondered, leaning against the counter next to the sink while he finished the rest of his coffee.
"She is, but she has most of the credits she needs to graduate. She's practically a genius."
"I'm proud of you, Kensi."
Kensi shrugged, embarrassed by her praise, and focused on crumbling the last bit of crust from her toast.
"Um, I'll probably be gone pretty late. I picked up a shift for Mrs. Gabriel at the coffee shop," she added. It was a minimum wage job, but she figured that it couldn't hurt to save as much money as she could.
"Ok. Call me when you're done and I'll come pick you up," Don said. "I don't want you out by yourself that late."
"I will. Have a good day and don't get on any trouble." She kissed the top of his head, grinning when he rolled his eyes at her, and playfully swatted at her with the folded paper.
"Get outta here."
She danced out of the room with a laugh.
"Marty, you have a call," Mr. Chowdry called through the back exit. Pausing to set a crate of chips down, Deeks jogged over to meet him.
"Is it my mom?" She would only bother him if it was a true emergency.
"No, your friend, Raymond." A vaguely disapproving expression crossed Mr. Chowdry's face.
"Mr. Chowdry, I'm sorry about that. He knows he's not supposed to call me here," Deeks apologized. He was actually kind of surprised since Ray had barely been talking to him.
"It's ok," Mr. Chrowdry assured him. "He said it is something important. You go see what he needs."
"Thanks." Deeks quickly dragged the crate along with a few other boxes into the storage room before hurrying over to the phone behind the counter. Mr. Chowdry was kind enough to occupy himself with straightening the bottles of pop a few aisles away, giving the illusion of privacy.
"Ray?"
"Oh, thank god, Deeks. I've been calling all over for you. You gotta help me," Ray rattled off, so quickly that Deeks could barely understand him.
"Woah, slow down, man. What the hell is going on?" Deeks demanded. "I am work right now."
"I know, but I'm in real trouble. I'm locked in a building—"
"Just shut up for two second, ok?" Ray inhaled deeply and when he spoke again, Deeks heard his voice tremble. It instantly put Deeks on alert, because Ray rarely got nervous or scared. Or at least he didn't show it. "A…friend asked me to get into this office building and get something back for him. I got in ok, but when I tried to leave, none of the doors will open. I'm stuck."
"Wait, you broke into a building?" Deeks hissed. "What were you thinking?"
"Now is not the time for a lecture," Ray growled. "You gonna come help me of what?"
"Dude, I'm in the middle of work, and you want me to leave to come break you out? Are you trying to get us both arrested?"
"Look, I made a really dumb decision, I know. Right now I just need my best friend to help me out. Please, Marty."
Ray's final plea, slightly desperate and not so angry got to him.
"Fine, I'll come," Deeks relented. "But if you ever do anything like this again, I will leave your sorry ass for some security guard to find."
"Thanks, man. I owe you."
"Yeah, you do. What's the address?"
Ray told him, then cleared his throat, and added. "You uh, might want to bring a ladder. Cause I think we'll have to use a window."
Mr. Chowdry had let Deeks leave without question, even offering him the next day off if needed. Deeks appreciated it, but could only think of the missed hours, and money. That and how angry he was with Ray. It was like he couldn't help himself.
Getting to the building itself wasn't that difficult; it was one of the nicer businesses in the area, which explained the level of security. Deeks had no idea how Ray had gotten in the first place. The harder part involved getting a ladder and transporting it to said building.
After searching for a while, he found an unattended work truck nearby, and borrowed the metal ladder sticking out of the back. Fortunately, the office building was only two stories, so they wouldn't have to pull off any dare devil moves. He set the ladder up against the back wall in front of the third window on the second floor where Ray would be waiting.
He climbed up carefully, uneasy as the ladder creaked under his weight. When he got to the top, he saw Ray through the window, pacing inside a small office. When he noticed Deeks, he ran over with a frantic look of relief.
Between them, they managed to get the window open, and Ray stuck his head through.
"Thanks, man. You don't know–"
"Just get out of there," Deeks interrupted. He climbed back down gingerly, his stomach swooping when the ladder shifted a couple times. When he reached the bottom, he held the ladder stead for Ray, checking over his shoulder every few seconds in case someone noticed them.
"Nice teamwork," Ray said with a smile.
"Oh no, don't you dare," Deeks warned him, his jaw set in anger at his friend's flippant attitude. "This is not some stupid prank we pulled at school. This is serious."
"Hey, I never said it wasn't. But now that it's over, can't we laugh about it?"
Shaking his head again, Deeks pursed his lips to keep from shouting something he couldn't take back.
"Let's just go home. Did you close the window?"
"No."
"You're an idiot," Deeks muttered. "Hold the ladder." It took a bit more effort to close the window without Ray helping and from the outside, but eventually, he got it fully shut. He was about halfway down, when Ray swore loudly.
"It's the police!"
Deeks jumped down the last few rungs, landing in a heavy crouch as Ray took off, already several yards away. In the time it took him to get to his feet, Deeks saw a tall, black cop running towards them.
Taking off after Ray, Deeks saw him turn down an alley between two building. He turned in the opposite direction, his heart pounding in his chest as he raced forward. Too late, he realized that the alley was blocked off by a chain fence. He barreled into it, hooking his fingers through the link in an attempt to climb over even as the cop behind him approached.
"LAPD! Put your hands on your head and get to your knees!"
"Damn," Deeks whispered, inexplicably feeling tears prick against the back of his eyes as he slowly raised his shaking hands and sank down onto the gravel.
The cop quickly patted him down, checking the pockets of his jeans and jacket.
"I don't have any weapons," Deeks said before he could stop himself.
"Good," the cop responded. "You can stand up and put your hands down."
Slowly, Deeks stood and turned around, moving carefully in case the cop thought he was trying to escape or hurt him. Like Deeks would even consider it. The guy was at least six feet tall and build like a wrestler.
"I'm Officer Sam Hanna. What's your name?" he asked. When Deeks hesitated, he added. "I can always check your ID or take you down to the station.
"Marty Deeks."
"Ok, Marty. We got a report of a breaking and entering. You want to explain what you were doing?"
"I didn't break into anywhere," Deeks told him firmly. "I was, uh, helping a friend."
Officer Hanna nodded. There was something oddly calming about him, and Deeks found his heartrate decrease slightly.
"How old are you, son?" he asked, which seemed like an unusual question. Deeks considered lying, but the cop in front of seemed like he would see right through it.
"16, sir."
"Uh-huh. You say you were helping a friend."
"He doesn't always make the best decisions," Deeks hedged.
"That's for certain. Well, your friend is lucky you're so loyal. Now, I think we better get you home."
"You're not going to arrest me?"
"I'll let you off with a warning. And some advice," he said, looking Deeks directly in the eye. "You seem like a good kid. I got a sense for that. Don't let your friend mess that up for you. Good friends don't put you in this kind of situation. Or leave you to take the heat."
"Yes, sir," Deeks murmured.
"Good. Cause if I ever see you in a jail cell, I'm gonna be real upset."
"Believe me, I haven't exactly enjoyed this experience," Deeks said, drawing a surprised chuckle from Officer Hanna. "I don't want a round two."
"That's what I like to hear." He put a heavy hand on Deeks' shoulder, guiding him down the alley. "Now, where'd you say your home is?"
A/N: I'll admit, Sam coming into the picture was a surprise for me too. We're just going to pretend that he wouldn't have to investigate the broken into building.
