A/N: After quite a long time, here's the third part of this little story. I'm enjoying writing another version of Deeks.

"Well obviously NCIS should be lead," Kensi said immediately and Deeks chuckled, wiping a finger under his nose. When Kensi remained stone faced, he stopped abruptly, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you were being serious. Yeah, that's not happening," he told her firmly, with that same confidence in himself. "LAPD has been on this for months, building connection, gathering evidence and hell if we're going to let someone else come in and try to take over."

"We're a federal agency," Kensi repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. It didn't seem to hold any weight for Deeks.

"Yeah, and so far, I'm not extremely impressed." Seeing her offended look, he brushed her shoulder, apparently hoping to lessen some of the sting. "I'm sorry. It's just that I've been in this division, working mostly alone, for years. I know how to work with these people. I know how they think."

"So basically you think like a criminal." It wasn't the best rebuttal ever, but she was still insulted and slightly inferior. Even if though she was fairly young, a federal badge usually held a certain amount of significance for the average cop.

"Agent Blye, have you ever had an arms dealer stick a gun under your chin because he thinks your dirty? Or a drug dealer tells you to kill someone to prove your loyalty?" Deeks asked, the sudden intensity and gravity surprising her.

She shook her head slightly, feeling wary, even a little horrified now.

"Well, I have. In those moments, you have to make snap decisions. You have to make them believe that they can trust you. And sometimes you end up doing some not-so-honorable things. I happen to be pretty good at that when I need to be."

Swallowing, Kensi nodded, and squared her jaw. Honestly, he'd unnerved her, but she didn't want him to know that.

"Fine, Detective. We'll do it your way," she relented. "But my team will want to meet with you before we make any decisions."

"Sure. Just make the location covert," Deeks told her, once again easygoing. The change was remarkably and kind of unsettling. "I might hold a lot of power, but it doesn't mean people don't want me dead or ask questions."

"Wow, yeah, this is exactly what I call subtle," Deeks drawled as Agent Blye led him up a pier towards a worn boathouse.

"It is discreet," Kensi insisted, her voice tinged with annoyance. She was beginning to lose her tightly controlled persona. Which was intriguing, and important if she intended to continue filling in as Bella Mendez.

"Yeah, if you're a fisherman." He could practically feel her eye roll.

"Deeks, this isn't going to be anyone's first choice for a secret meeting place."

"Ok, I'll give you that." Deeks acknowledged with a tilt of his head. "I suppose if anyone asks, I can just say I was scoping out a new surfing spot. I can be erratic at times."

She just shook her head and muttered something under her breath. He caught the words "Sam" and "love".

When they walked through the door, they were met by two men who had obviously been waiting for them. The smaller of the two men stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Agent Callen," he introduced himself. "And this is Agent Hanna." The other man gave a perfunctory nod, looking unimpressed with what he saw. Deeks wondered how he would react if he caught Deeks in one of his less glamorous covers.

"Good to meet you. I'm Detective Marty Deeks, but you should probably get used to calling my Max or Gentry," Deeks said.

"It sounds like you're planning on this being a long-term acquaintance," Callen said.

"Well, Agent Blye indicated that you'd want to stay on the case." Deeks shrugged. "Right now it's looking to be at least a couple more weeks, if not months, before we get this settled."

"That's a long time for a couple of drug dealers," Hanna pointed out, folding his arms over his massive chest. "Why delay it."

"I know this gang," Deeks explained patiently, but firmly. He had a feeling he'd be doing a lot of explaining and justifying his actions with this agency. "It takes time to gain their trust. I only got as far as I have by being patient and playing by their rules. If we move too fast, we might grab a few of the lower end people, but we won't get the leaders and they'll just find a different avenue to sell drugs."

"For what's it worth," Kensi spoke up unexpectedly. "He seems to know what he's talking about and his men definitely listen to him." Deeks saw her eyes flick in his direction once, but otherwise she kept her attention focused directly in front of her. "As much as I hate to say it, he's probably our best shot."

"Not the best recommendation I've ever had, but definitely not the worst, so I'll take," Deeks said flippantly. He gave Kensi a more genuine smile and she glanced away quickly, folding her hands behind her back.

"Alright, I trust your judgment, Kensi." Callen turned to Sam. "You feeling like digging out your suit?"

"Actually, I think Kensi should stay under as Bella Mendez." Deeks got three looks of surprise for his suggestion.

"We already know that cover's blown," Sam pointed out. "You recognized Kensi as a fake as soon as she walked in."

"That's because I have LAPD check everyone I meet with," Deeks said. "The higher-ups count on me to let them know if anything shady is going on. And if I'm being honest, neither of you is a good fit for this role."

"I beg your pardon?" Sam said, sounding deeply offended.

"No offense, but they'll immediately be suspicious of you on your size alone. These guys don't like competition and your honestly extremely intimidating," Deeks continued. "It will be very distracting."

"And Agent Callen, you won't have the right vibe for me to play off of. Agent Blye will throw them off enough without being an obvious risk. Though I'm sure you could easily decapitate with a penknife or something if you wanted to."

"You're ridiculous," Kensi muttered, cracking a smile.

"The point is, it works much better if we stick with the original plan and don't bring in surprise players."

"I hate to say this," Callen sighed, "But I agreed with him."

"Lord help us," Sam said under his breath.

Deeks just turned to Kensi and grinned again.

"This is going to be fun."