Less than 20 minutes after Rountree gave them the address, Sam and Deeks were on the road. Sam was already going well over the speed limit, but Deeks had to resist the urge to demand he speed up. Three hours had already passed since Kensi's abduction, and with every minute, it felt like he was that much closer to losing her.
They'd been driving for about an hour, when Sam pulled off the interstate and onto a side road, which clearly hadn't been repaired in a couple years.
"Deeks, I need you to promise me that you won't act impulsively when we get there. No matter what we find," Sam said, breaking the silence that had reigned the majority of the drive.
"You know I can't agree to that," Deeks told him, gaze never shifting windshield in front of him. "I'm not going to do anything purposefully stupid or dangerous, but you know that I will do whatever I need to do get Kensi back." Anger replaced his earlier paralyzing fear, more intense than he'd possibly ever felt.
"Don't get so caught up in a need for revenge that you put her or your children in danger."
"You know me better than that," Deeks replied softly.
The grew increasingly rough, winding into dangerous curves that even Sam needed to slow for. With the decrease in road conditions, the surroundings grew more wooded and deserted.
"How did Rountree even find this place?" Deeks wondered out loud as the GPS showed another mile to their destination.
"Eric and Nell must have sent some of their elfin magic in their last care package," Sam responded.
He didn't respond to Sam's comment, suddenly on high alert at the reveal of a long, gravel drive. Sam turned onto the road, decreasing the speed slightly as they approached a small ranch style home with a crooked front porch. Deeks noted a van parked at an angle on the grass to the left side.
"That van matches the one from the security feed," Deeks said, opening his door the second Sam had but the SUV in park.
Sam hurried around to meet him, holding up a stilling hand.
"Hey, slow down. We don't want to start anything if we don't have to."
A man emerged armed with a semi-automatic emerged from the front door. They both dropped to the ground, Deeks rolling closer to the SUV as a spray of bullets filled the air.
"I'd say he already started it." He flinched as another bullet bit into the earth, far too close to his leg for comfort. There was a momentary break in the gunfire, and they both scrambled back, using the SUV for shelter.
"Cover me?" Deeks asked, getting to his knees as he checked his gun.
"Deeks—" Sam protested.
"Can you cover me?" Deeks repeated. "You know I'm going in there either way, man."
"Fine. On three. One, two, three."
Deeks ran as fast as he could, crouched to the ground while Sam engaged their assailant in gunfire. He reached the side of porch, ducking down again. The man had disappeared inside the safety of the house. Deeks held his breath, waiting. It was only a few seconds he heard the sound of a heavy boot on the wooden slats, and Deeks sprang up, aiming and firing. The man shouted, clutching his right shoulder as he fell against the closest wall.
Scrambling over the porch railing, Deeks was on the man before he could even think of reacting. He yanked his rifle off his shoulder, roughly grabbing both arms, and cuffing him, and flipping him onto his back.
Leaving him there, he stepped through the front door, going to the left while Sam went right. It was a fairly small house, and a quick scan of the cramped kitchen revealed nothing. He met Sam back in the main room, and nodded to the door off of a short hallway.
Sam kicked the door open, Deeks entering first. It was empty except for the man sprawled on the floor next to a knocked over chair. Bending next to him, Deeks turned his head, feeling for a pulse. He was alive, but the lower half of his face was swollen and bloody and his neck bore signs of being choked.
Deeks picked up a severed zip tie; he pictured Kensi getting the unconscious man to lower his defenses. To let her loose, and then she must have taken her chance.
"That's my girl," he murmured with a mixture of pride and dizzying relief. At least she was still alive. Or at least he hoped so.
"Looks like she put up a hell of a fight," Sam commented. He nodded to the discarded ties and the chair, which had a broken leg.
"Yeah. The question is, where is she now?" Deeks asked grimly.
"I'm guessing she ran."
"Or someone took her to a third location. There's still a third kidnapper we can't account for." Stalking back through the house, Deeks walked out to the porch, and grabbed the first man, who was breathing heavily and unevenly. Deeks ignored the small pool of blood beneath his upper body, dragging him inside the house. He leaned him up against the wall just inside the door.
"Where is Agent Kensi Blye?" he demanded. He heard Sam approaching him from behind, but didn't move shift focus.
The man groaned, laughing softly. "I'm not going to tell you anything."
Nostrils flaring, Deeks clasped the man's shoulder, digging his thumb into his wound. He shouted, then pushing back away from Deeks, but he had nowhere to go.
"Deeks, easy now," Sam cautioned him, but he didn't try to stop Deeks.
"Where the hell is she?" Deeks asked again, increasing pressure.
"I don't know," the man growled, making a guttural sound when Deeks didn't let up. Sweat beaded up on his forehead, and he whispered softly.
"You do not want to make me any madder than I already am, man. Just ask my partner over there. So I'm going to ask one more time before this gets a lot more painful. Where is Kensi Blye."
"I'm telling you the truth! We left her tied up with Bailey and when we got back, he was knocked out and she was gone."
"Who is we?" Sam asked.
"Ricky Dorton." He leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "He was supposed to meet up after finishing some business."
Deeks released his hold, stepping back with a grimace. He walked to the other side of the room with Sam.
"You think he's telling the truth?"
"Unfortunately, yeah," Deeks replied. "Which means Kensi is somewhere out there, with no way of contacting us." He eyed Sam, then the bleeding man. "I'm going after her."
"I'll call for backup," Sam said. "Be careful out there."
A/N: And here we have very angry and protective Deeks.
