Chapter 1
"They will use everything they have against you." Hetty said to Deeks. "Do you have anything you want to tell me, anything I need to know?"
Deeks sat in the chair in front of Hetty's desk and ran a shaky hand over his face.
"No." He lied.
Deeks didn't talk to Kensi as he walked back to his desk and for his bag.
How could I.A. have gotten hold of that information.?
Bates had promised, as had every other LAPD chief of police since he had started, it had been his only prerequisite for the job.
When Hetty had offered him the job of LAPD Liaison it hadn't been on there, so he assumed that she didn't know. After all it wasn't...he hadn't ever let it interfere with his job and he wasn't about to let it start now.
Not even thinking he grabbed his bag and walked out of the building pulling out his cell phone to make a call.
He stopped as a car pulled to a stop beside him.
"Bates?" Deeks said surprised. "I didn't think you'd wanna be seen with me right now."
"He's out." Bates said flatly.
Deeks gulped and paled, "How? I thought we had him locked up for life? Someone tipped internal affairs off about you and your connection to him."
"I don't have any connection to him." Deeks snapped. "Hell, I helped put him away."
Bates turned off the ignition and climbed out of the car, "Deeks...You know what I mean….I think Fisk and Quinn met up on the inside, if they talked."
"If, what do you mean if!" Deeks stepped back from him incredulously. "You promised, if I helped you find the mole in the LAPD and take down Fisk, they would never meet!"
"They never would have, but Quinn was transferred due to an administrative error."
Deeks grabbed Bates and slammed him up against the car, "Administrative error!" he snarled, "You promised me, I'd be safe, they'd be safe...Having IA follow me puts NCIS in danger, it puts Kensi in danger." Deeks snapped.
"It puts you in danger too," Bates said putting a calming hand on Deeks' shoulder. "She's here."
Deeks stepped back for the first time fear showed on his face.
He shook his head, "No….No...you're wrong….she can't be here."
"You need to talk to Hetty, you need to tell her." Bates urged.
Deeks slammed him back up against his car and pulled his gun and held it in Bates' face.
"You do NOT tell them…!" He snapped. "She's dangerous...I…" A thought occurred to him and he lowered his gun. "How long has she been in Los Angeles?" He asked.
"A month...I'm sorry kid, I knew but I thought it was her usual flying visit to your father's grave."
"Her what?" Deeks asked confused.
"Every year since your father died in 1999, she's been to visit his grave, she watches you for a week and then leaves."
Deeks put his gun away, "And you never thought to tell me this?"
Bates shook his head, "No...Look, you made it clear where she stood with you when you came to work for me. I trusted you and you haven't let me down yet."
Deeks sighed, "I need to go...Kensi...she'll worry if I'm not back soon, keep an eye out for her , if she comes near the team I'll deal with her, she's my problem not theirs."
"Deeks...Kid, I'm in your corner you know that, but I can't stop the IA investigation, it's been put in motion too high up." Bates said as Deeks picked his bag back up. "Let me talk to Hetty, I'm sure she can help you."
Deeks shook his head, "It's my problem...Just...tell Hetty what you need to about the I.A. investigation without mentioning 'that' ok?"
Bates shrugged and walked to the car door, "Your loss kid." He said, climbed in and drove away.
Deeks laughed wryly as his boss drove off, "Yeah it will be." he remarked.
On a hill, not far away a woman put down her field glasses and smiled, "Soon….not yet boy but soon."
She looked at the photo's she had in a manila folder, three women and three men all her targets, then the last photo.
Deeks….she would not kill him, it was understood she would never harm him...not for physically, but emotionally, well….he owed her, he had ruined her life...she had done her duty to him, she had given him what he needed.
But he had not followed through. He would pay his debts even if he didn't like it.
Hetty sat at her desk, she had been trying to call Lieutenant Bates for over an hour, ever since Deeks and Kensi had left her office, her gut had been telling her that Deeks was holding something back and she didn't like it.
She was certain if she could just talk to Deeks' superior and find out what was behind all this maybe she could stop it at the source before any of her team were adversely affected.
She hadn't been convinced by the look in the detectives eye when she asked him if he were hiding something.
This I.A. detective Rivera was like a dog with a bone. She either had something or thought she had something that was so good she was willing to take on the might of a federal agency to bring him down.
She pulled up Deeks' service records and again she found nothing.
"Maybe I should look further back…" she mused aloud.
Callen looked up as he walked past her desk. "You ok Hetty?" he asked worried at the look of concern on her face.
"I fear that something may have been omitted from my files." she admitted.
"Can I help?" Callen asked, normally he wouldn't have asked but the worry on her face concerned him.
"No….no...you head on home Mr. Callen, maybe you could visit Mr. Deeks on your way home, today may have been rather….unsettling...for him."
Callen turned and sank into his favorite seat in her office and looked at the woman inquisitively.
"Because of the FBI guy being blown up? Like Jess Traynor?" he asked.
Hetty shook her head, "No Mr. Callen, because someone in LAPD has seen fit to make our Mr. Deeks the subject of an internal Affairs investigation and to make matters worse I do believe he is hiding something from me."
Callen nodded slowly, "You do know about Deeks and Kensi?" he asked. Although he didn't want his friends to be mad if he outed them he also didn't want Hetty to worry if that was all the blond detective was hiding.
Hetty smiled, "Of course Mr. Callen, I knew before they did."
Callen smiled back at her, "Of course…"
