War Games: Chapter Eight

A FanFic Relay in 10 chapters by five of your favorite fanfic writers in order of appearance:  SweetLu, Jericho Steele, Kadiedid, imahistorian, and Phillydi.

 

Chapter Eight

by Phillydi

…

“Sir? Are you awake? Can you hear me?”

Deeks was aware someone was talking to him, but he didn’t move… not yet. The voice sounded like it was emanating from the end of a long tunnel. As his thoughts became lucid, his memories of the previous night raced down that tunnel and slammed into him all at once. He trembled in anger recalling how he didn’t even get a chance to catch his breath as he was pummeled and kicked over and over again by the General’s goons. He could sense someone was standing over him again shading him from the sun’s warmth with his silhouette. Friend or foe, Deeks wasn’t exactly sure, but he wasn’t budging a muscle until he was.

A Marine detachment on maneuvers from Camp Pendleton paused on the beach in a semi-circle behind their platoon leader. The men gazed down at Deeks who continued to lie motionless in the wet sand. The ocean surf rushed up to the shoreline softly brushing the soles of his bare feet. The cool foam lapped up against his toes, finally rousing Deeks out of the last vestige of sleep that he had gratefully succumbed to after receiving that final blow to his face. One of the Marine recruits crouched down closer to give Deeks’ shoulder a slight push and was startled as the stranger moaned back in return. Deeks rolled over on his back and pitched an arm across his face to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight. He tried squinting to bring the soldier into focus, but that only made the hammering in his head worse.

“Gunny, he’s been beaten up pretty bad. This man needs a hospital.” The young man gazed up at his team leader who had already pulled out a cell phone to call camp security and an ambulance. With the kind of injuries Deeks had sustained, it wasn’t hard to see he was going to need serious medical attention.

“Man, who do you think he pissed off?” whispered one of the Marines to a man standing next to him in formation.

“I don’t know,” his friend leaned over and laughed. “I just hope she was worth it.”

…

It had been a long night and Kensi hadn’t slept a minute of it. Instead, she paced nervously back and forth across the already worn carpet in Deeks’ room. She finally decided to disregard Deeks’ wishes to stay away, and drove straight over to his hotel. She figured she’d call along the way to let him know she was coming and explain why she had no intention of letting him carry on this mission without her but he had failed to answer.

When Kensi arrived at his hotel door shortly before midnight she knocked twice and waited impatiently for a response. She was about to pick the lock when she realized the door was slightly ajar. Kensi’s heart began to beat faster as she jumped to attention. She knew Deeks would never leave his door unlocked and the anomaly was enough to make Kensi stop and extract her weapon from behind her back. She forced the door open with her foot and surveyed the room using the barrel of her gun as a pointer. The room was empty; no one in the bathroom or closets either and Deeks’ flip-flops were the only thing hiding beneath the bed.

“Damn it, Deeks!” Kensi called out. “Where are you?” What good was having a partner if she wasn’t there to have his back?!

She continued to look around the dingy room praying that Deeks would materialize out of thin air. Kensi sat down dejectedly on the rim of the bed to consider her next move and immediately sprang back up again when she felt something hard and cold nudge her from beneath. Her hand reached blindly under the bunched up covers and pulled out Deeks’ cell phone. No wonder he hadn’t responded to any of her calls! Her phone number was displayed over and over again in a neat row on his home screen. If he didn’t have time to take his phone, he most likely left abruptly or was even abducted. Either scenario made her heart catch in her throat. Was his disappearance connected to Pollard and his right-wing group? She had no recourse but to wait for Deeks to return and if there was no word by morning, then she would head out on her own reconnaissance mission in search of her partner.

Kensi sighed and looked down at her phone.  She would have to let her team leader know that Deeks was missing and she dreaded calling Callen. He would want answers and she had none. But she refused to listen to another one of his tirades on why Deeks was screwing up the mission again. He could save the dramatics for later.  Right now all she wanted was her partner back safe and sound.  She took a deep breath and dialed.

…

“They found him, Kens,” Sam said calmly into the phone. Kensi held her breath. She had just jumped into her vehicle at first light and was about to head out in search of Deeks when Sam called.

“Looks like he was beaten up pretty severely but he’ll survive,” he said. “Get into uniform and pick us up as soon as you can. We need to go directly to the hospital.” For Kensi, it was the longest ride of her life. It would be impossible to relax until she could see for herself that Deeks was all right. And then she would kill him for going off without her!

. . .

The ER doctor was informed of Colonel Jaeger and his team’s arrival and stepped out into the hospital waiting room to speak with the group. Callen impatiently clutched his cover and slapped it erratically against his thigh. As much as Deeks’ presence in the group had been irritating to him these past few weeks, he was deeply concerned that Deeks could have turned up dead instead of badly injured. It was imperative that the plan succeed, but at what cost? Callen was responsible for Deeks’ welfare by keeping him and the rest of the team out of harm’s way. Callen slowly realized he had let his emotions compromise this mission. If he hadn’t been so angry, they might have come up with a better plan without having to put Deeks’ life in jeopardy. Right now, the detective was still one of their own and an integral member of their team. If Deeks had died he would have had no one to blame except himself and he knew it.

“Colonel, I’m Captain Wilson,” the doctor held out his hand. “Your man is in stable condition, despite the beating he took. We may be able to release him later on but he was roughed up pretty badly.” Callen had to sweep aside his feelings of guilt and switch back swiftly into his undercover persona.

He turned sharply to face Sam. “This idiot has been nothing but trouble since we hired him.” He shook his head in disgust. “Find out what happened and get him back on the job,” Callen succinctly snapped out each order. “We don’t have time to find someone new to take his place. I want him to finish what he started and then I never want to see his face again. Do I make myself clear?”

Callen stormed out the waiting room door, leaving Sam and Kensi standing in his wake. As much as he would have liked to personally check on Deeks’ condition, Callen had to maintain cover. At least he took comfort in knowing Deeks would live to see another day.

Sam swept open the curtains surrounding Deeks’ bed while Kensi waited impatiently just outside the room. She stood at attention looking calm and self-assured but inside her emotions were erratic. She was anxiously waiting to hear Deeks’ voice, but Sam spoke first.

“What the hell happened to you, Satterlee?” Sam asked gruffly, easily taking over where Callen had left off. “Looks like you just can’t stay out of trouble, can you?”

Deeks pulled himself up slowly off the mattress to face Sam directly. He grimaced tightly as his stomach muscles contracted in pain. He attempted to steady himself, but gave up and collapsed back down on the bed again.

Sam watched as Deeks struggled to regain his composure and cursed that he couldn’t reach out to comfort his friend. It was obvious they had worked Deeks over pretty good. The detective didn’t need to fake his agony or pain. The sweat was dripping down the side of Deeks’ temples and the bruises on his face left his eyelids swollen and distended. But Sam had to protect his cover as well, and he didn’t have the luxury to let down his guard.

“Nice to see you too, Major,” Deeks replied in a hoarse whisper. “I’m fine, by the way. Thanks for asking.”

Deeks’ condition wasn’t going to stop the smart ass from making an appearance, it just made it easier. He felt wretched and wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. If someone was watching their undercover performance, he would give them a show they wouldn’t soon forget. Deeks turned his head away from Sam.

“Look at me, Satterlee,” Sam continued in his official capacity. “I don’t care what you do in your personal life, but if you want to get yourself hooched up on beer and drugs, you do it on your own time.” Sam sneered at Deeks. “You have a job to finish and we expect you back on the clock as soon as you are released. Do we understand one another?”

“Fuck you, Webber,” Deeks closed his eyes as another wave of nausea violently gripped his upper abdomen. He leaned over and without ceremony threw up over the side of the bed, hitting the front of Webber’s shoes. Sam looked down, pursed his lips and stepped back slowly to remove himself away from the contents of Deeks’ stomach. You got to hand it to him, Sam thought. He couldn’t have timed it any better if he tried.

“Ooops,” Deeks smiled up at Sam, weakly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand while clutching his stomach with the other.

Sam had a feeling Deeks was enjoying himself despite the pain. He cursed loudly and called out for a nurse. He stormed out of the room and almost ran into Kensi.

“Make sure he’s cleaned up and then transport him back to the job when he’s released,” he barked. “The son of a bitch threw up all over my shoes!” He walked away in a huff, leaving Kensi behind, biting her upper lip to hide her amusement.

She tugged the curtain aside as an orderly scrubbed up the mess on the floor and then gingerly stepped around to the other side of the bed. Deeks vision was still blurry, but he couldn’t help but grin sheepishly as he found himself looking up into Kensi’s face.

“You are in soooo much trouble,” she said in a singsong voice. Kensi enjoyed playing Kacey. It gave her an excuse to be sexy and sassy at the same time.  Not that she ever needed an excuse before.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he moaned.

“Don’t worry. I’m legit. Jaeger ordered me to wait and drive you back to the job after your release.” Kensi tried to smile back, but her heart was stilled as she surveyed Deeks’ injuries. She longed to relieve his damaged body with cool, wet kisses and gather him in her arms to comfort him with her body. Instead she had to be content to wipe the sweat off his brow and hold his hand gently in hers.

“What happen to you, Jimmy?” Kensi tried to ask nonchalantly but she was finding it harder and harder to stay in character as she stood next to him.

“I ran into a couple of fists at the bar,” he teased. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. You should have been there.”

“You don’t say,” Kensi chuckled sarcastically. She leaned down to brush a soft kiss over his bruised cheek and then bent down lower to whisper next to his ear. “If you ever go off without me again, you will wish you were dead next time.”

Deeks snorted and then grimaced in pain. Even the simple act of laughter proved to be an act of extreme effort on his part. He reached up to guide Kensi down to his face again. She thought he was going to steal a brief kiss but instead he whispered back in her ear.

“I mean it, get out of here,” Deeks’ voice was serious this time and he looked around the triage room to see if they were being watched. “You don’t want to get involved with me.”

Deeks desperately hoped Kensi would comprehend the meaning behind his words. He had slowly pieced together all of the events from last night on the ambulance ride to the hospital. If Pollard and Colton were dead, the stakes were even more serious than he thought and these men weren’t playing games. He also knew once Jimmy Satterlee’s services were no longer needed he would follow in their footsteps. The General would be more than willing to remove everyone in their way, including his entire team if he didn’t cooperate. The stakes were too high.

“Get out of here,” Deeks said louder and looked intently into her eyes. “I’ll find my own way back.”

“If you think I’m getting on Jaeger’s wrong side, you’re crazier than I thought,” she derided Deeks. “You know my ass will be in a sling, if I don’t bring you back to your job. And that’s not happening, buddy boy.” Kensi stood with her hands on her hips. “Get some rest; I’ll be right outside if you need me.” She leaned down and gave him another quick kiss and left the room.

Deeks lowered his head back on the pillow wondering who would make the next move in this high stakes game. A nurse stopped by on her rounds to check his vitals and was about to turn to leave when she drew an envelope out of her pocket.

“Oh, someone dropped this off for you at the nurse’s station,” she said and handed him the paper.

Who would be sending him a message here? He ripped the back of the envelope off and pulled open the note.

Remember we are watching you, Mr. Satterlee. I want to know where your employer will be tomorrow. I have a few questions for him. Once again, we will get back in touch with you.

Deeks dropped the letter into his lap. The General wasn’t wasting any time, was he? Deeks’ plan had worked all too well. Now the rest of his team was in danger and he had to figure out a way to warn them before it was too late.

To be continued…..

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Diane Volpe is the Contributing Editor at wikiDeeks.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @phillydi
You can read more of Diane’s fan fics on Fanfiction.net.