Repayment: An NCISLA FanFic

A/N: This is a speculative story for the Season 12 finale “A Tale of Two Igors.” It was written before much information was provided about the episode.
***
Repayment

Deeks looked out over the horizon, then back at Kensi, who was sitting crossed-legged on their beach blanket a couple feet away. He watched her for a moment as she put away the remnants of their lunch, taking the opportunity to observe while she was unaware of his gaze. He enjoyed seeing her so content. Her hair was down, obscuring half her face, but he could still see the slight curve of her lips, her one slightly darker eye.

He marked each feature slowly, like he didn’t already have them memorized. God, he loved her so much.

Scooting back until he could reach her, he flopped down, pulling Kensi with him. She gasped in surprise, the sound turning into a giggle as she let him roll her completely on top of him. Still laughing, Kensi rose up slightly above him and tucked her hair behind her ear, humor and warmth in her eyes.

In the last few weeks he’d noticed a definite shift in her mood. She seemed more carefree and happy. Which naturally made him happy. Deeks hated seeing her in pain of any kind. And the last year had been filled with more than enough pain and disappointment.

“You know what we should do?” he asked, stealing a kiss in between words. His hand roamed down her waist and slipped under the loose t-shirt she wore. Her skin was warm and soft and she shivered despite the sun beating down on them.

It never failed to amaze Deeks that even after all this time he could still cause such a strong response in her just with a simple touch.

“Mm, go through those last ten boxes we’ve been avoiding?” Kensi guessed playfully.

“That sounds like tons of fun, and you know I love a good unboxing session, but, uh, I was thinking maybe we could test out the robustness of our new bed frame.”

“That is one of the cheesiest things you have ever said.” Despite her words, Kensi leaned down and kissed him deeply, and he arched up into her body. If they kept going, they wouldn’t need the bed at all.

They kissed for several more minutes, seriously pushing the boundaries of what was appropriate for a public beach on a Saturday afternoon. Kensi pushed at his chest until he sat up, breathing just as heavy as he was, and leaned towards him with a mischievous smile.

“I’ll race you to the truck,” she whispered, using Deeks’ shoulders for leverage, and taking off before he could respond. He took one glance at their beach blanket and decided that it was worth the loss, kicking up sand as he chased after Kensi.

As he drove them home, Kensi slid her hand up his thigh. With a completely innocent expression, she teased the inner seam of his jeans, fingers slowly climbing higher in tiny increments. Deeks’ breath hitched in his throat as she reached the top of his thigh. She rubbed a tiny circle with her thumb and then abruptly snatched her hand away.

“Don’t get distracted,” she warned impishly, nodding towards the road.

When they reached the front door, Deeks swung Kensi up into his arms and carried her over the threshold, and straight into their bedroom. She’d teased him the whole way home and he intended to return the favor. He tossed her on the mattress, dropping to his knees at the foot of the bed. Kensi pushed herself up, balancing on her hands as she watched him eagerly.

He grasped her legs, quickly yanking her towards him, and Kensi yelped in surprise. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her jeans, slowly peeled them off, and flung them across the room.

“This OK?” he asked, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh as he glanced up at her. Her eyes darkened and she nodded.

“Perfect,” she whispered. “Take your shirt off.” He grinned and yanked it off, hovering over Kensi once more. She curled her fingers in his hair, sighing his name as he ran his nose up to the apex of her thigh.

***

“What do you want to do today?” Deeks asked, lazily running his fingers up and down Kensi’s side. It was significantly later, but he was unsure of the exact time since his watch had disappeared along with the rest of his clothes.

“I think we’ve already done it,” Kensi said playfully, kissing directly between his pecs. “I have to say, very, very impressive performance, Investigator Deeks.”

He was happy that she seemed to enjoy the last couple hours as much as he had. There was a certain spontaneity and freedom to their lovemaking that the last few months had lacked. Deeks wasn’t sure what had changed, other than loosening up on their fertility schedule, but he wasn’t about to complain.

“Besides that. We’ve got a whole weekend to ourselves.”

“And I would be very happy to spend all of it with you in this bed.” Kensi kissed him again, lightly, and added, “Although I could kind of use a snack.”

Deeks grinned at her hopeful expression, squeezing her hip as he swung his legs off the bed. He found his pants and started to slip them on, but Kensi yanked them away before he could.

“Oh no, you’re not allowed to put pants on for the rest of today,” she told him, managing to look completely serious.

“What if the neighbors see me?”

“Then they’ll know that I’m a very lucky woman. Besides, it’s never stopped you before.” She smacked him on the butt, letting her hand linger for a second. “Now go get some food before I get distracted again.”

Deeks hurried downstairs, pausing to grab his underwear on the way. Kensi stuck her tongue out at him as he pulled them on.

While he was downstairs, he let Monty out since he wasn’t sure when they would actually make it down again. Kensi was right where he left her when he returned a few minutes later with some fruit, yogurt, and water. She had the sheets loosely pulled up to her chest, her hair a complete disaster after the last few hours. She looked absolutely gorgeous.

“I know you said you want to spend all day in bed,” Deeks said as Kensi popped a blueberry in her mouth. “But realistically speaking, we can’t spend the whole weekend having sex. Although I’m willing give it my best try.” He paused and wiggled his eyebrows at Kensi who rolled her eyes affectionately.

“OK, I might have overestimated our physical endurance a little bit,” she admitted. “But I really just want to spend the next couple days with you. I don’t want to be around a bunch of other people or worry that we’re missing something. We can do all the things that normal couples do.”

“That does sound pretty perfect.” He ran his thumb down Kensi’s cheek as she smiled at him and he wondered how he’d gotten so lucky. Kensi closed the distance between them, kissing him slowly, without any of the urgency of before.

Deeks pulled her into his lap and Kensi looped her arm around his neck, urging him closer, the warm curves of her breasts pressing against his chest. She groaned into his mouth, reigniting his desire in an instant.

His phone started ringing just as Kensi arched against him and he swore under his breath, not moving his mouth from hers. After a minute, Kensi’s started ringing too and she eased away reluctantly as he reached for his phone.

“Dammit,” he hissed unevenly when he saw Nell’s name on the caller ID and pressed the button to accept the call. “Hey Nell, what’s up?”

“Hi Deeks, sorry to interrupt your weekend.” Oh, if only she knew.

“Yeah, could have been a little bit better timing.” Nell made a noise of agreement.

“I was in the middle of an extremely pleasant dinner when I got the call. Anyway, someone shot one of our militarized dolphins earlier today,” she told him.

“You mean a military marine mammal?” Deeks corrected, not missing the opportunity to use a term that he found fairly ridiculous and hilarious.

“Yes, Deeks.” It sounded like she was trying not to laugh. “This particular mammal was a part of some extremely important missions and his microchip might have contained confidential information. I want you and Kensi to go to the Cabrillo Military Aquarium where Milo, the dolphin, was housed. Sam and Callen are going to talk to the team who handled Milo.”

“Alright, we’ll be there as soon as we can,” Deeks assured her, hanging up and glancing over at Kensi. Thankfully she’d slipped on one of his t-shirts so it wasn’t quite as tempting as if she was completely naked. At least he tried to convince himself of that.

He relayed Nell’s message to Kensi while he reluctantly gathered his clothes from around the room. She looked disappointed, but unsurprised.

“Well, hopefully we’ll figure out who shot Milo quickly and be home in time to enjoy the rest of the weekend,” she said, giving him a kiss before she slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom, putting an extra sway to her hips. “Because I have a special surprise for you.”

***

Deeks had been to the Cabrillo Aquarium twice in his life, the first time for a school field trip and the second when his mom’s original plans for his 12th birthday had fallen through. It had changed quite a bit in the last 30 years.

Cabrillo’s owner, a nervous man named Javier Santos, was currently leading them to the dolphin enclosure. Milo apparently had a separate pod from the other dolphins, which wasn’t available to the general public.

“We normally keep Milo in the aquarium when he’s not in training or on a job,” Javier was explaining, moving at a quick pace as he gestured to an area that was closed off with caution tape. “In all his time here, nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“Did you see who the shooter was?” Deeks asked.

“No, it occurred before our hours of operation. One of the security guards saw a vehicle exit the parking lot, but not the actual incident. I don’t know how anyone even gained access to this area. We keep it very secure.”

“Do you typically have someone watching Milo?”

“Not constantly,” Javier said a little defensively. “It’s a large building, but security routinely checks the enclosure and we have several cameras installed.”

“Well, we’ll need access to your security system and the surveillance feed,” Kensi told him. “And to speak to whoever was working at the time of the shooting.”

“Of course. I’ll let our security team know you’re coming.”

He walked off, leaving them to investigate the enclosure. Kensi pulled out her flashlight and began examining the structure and surveillance, but there wasn’t much to work with.

“Doesn’t it seem strange that someone would shoot an inactive military dolphin?” Deeks asked as he crouched in front of the aquarium. The water was a slightly murky rust color and he couldn’t help thinking about the injured animal.

“It does. Any information on Milo’s chip would have been accessed long before he made it back here,” Kensi agreed. “You want to check in with Callen and Sam about his last mission?”

“Yeah.” He pulled his cell out of his pocket and added, “Actually, looks like the reception is awful in here. I’ll meet you in the security office in a few minutes.”

He exited through a side door and walked around for a couple minutes, trying to find a signal. As he reached the back of the building, he heard a crunch and turned, but not fast enough as something hard whipped across his face. Deeks managed to lean back far enough to avoid getting hit directly in the nose and clamped his eyes shut at the onslaught of pain in his temple, and he tumbled to his knees.

“Do not move,” a harsh voice ordered from behind him as he automatically reached for his gun. Deeks froze and opened his eyes, squinting against the pain, and saw a tall muscular man in a dark suit standing over him.

A second man with dark brown hair stood just behind the other man, a weapon cradled in his palm. “I suggest you put your gun on the ground, Agent Deeks,” he said calmly.

The man sounded Russian- god, why did it always have to be Russians?- and wore a gray suit and looked like he might be in his 50’s. His eyes were a disturbingly light blue, reflecting a hard glint as he stared at Deeks.

“I think you have the wrong, guy, buddy,” Deeks said in an equally casual tone, like blood wasn’t trickling down his throbbing temple.

“Oh no, you are exactly who I want, Agent Marty Deeks. Anatoli Kirkin’s description of you was very accurate.”

Something in Deeks’ stomach lurched at the name.

“Kirkin is dead.”

“Yes, I am aware.” The man replied with a dark smile. “My name is Ian Koslov. I was one of Kirkin’s business associates.”

“He wasn’t a criminal anymore,” Deeks said, not sure why he felt the need to defend Kirkin. “When he died, he was designing clothes.”

“I heard all about his desire to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and build a new life for himself.” His tone was derisive as though the thought completely disgusted him. “Unfortunately, Anatoli did not hold up his end of a bargain he made with me. I never received the services he owed me.”

“And how do I play into your grand scheme of things?” Deeks spread his arms wide. “I’m not exactly on good terms with that many criminals. They tend to take offense when you shoot at them and kill their friends. So if you’re planning on using me as an in, it’s probably not going to go too well.”

“Adrian,” the man said, nodding behind Deeks. Suddenly his head was jerked back, leaving him completely vulnerable. Deeks twisted and fought against his hold, gasping when Adrian hooked his arm around his neck, applying steady pressure.

“Kirkin did mention that you have a unique sense of humor,” the man informed him casually as Deeks struggled. “He kept a very thorough dossier on you. How many times you assisted him in times of need. Important moments in your life. He even kept pictures of you from over the years. It was really quite a touching tribute.”

His voice dipped down at the end, slightly unnerving, and Deeks silently cursed Kirkin. Who knew what else he’d felt the need keep a record of. For the first time he felt real fear. Adrian’s tight grip was a little too reminiscent of another time with a different set of Russians. Deeks forced himself to ignore the panic beginning to rise in his throat.

“Well, on a scale of one to ten, I’d give you a solid five for the intimidation factor,” he offered. Then he gasped, choking a couple times, and let his head drop forward. Adrian’s grip loosened ever so slightly and Deeks took his chance. He slammed his elbow into the other man’s ribs as hard as he could, satisfied when he heard a groan and Adrian released him completely.

Deeks spun, using Adrian’s distraction to knock him to the ground and then turned to Koslov, gun already in his hand.

“That was very brave and reckless, Agent Deeks,” Koslov murmured, gun leveled directly between Deeks’ eyes. He held it steady, slowly walking towards Deeks until he was almost touching him.

Wordlessly, he tugged Deeks’ weapon from his fingers. He tossed it to Adrian who was wiping blood from his nose, a malevolent look in his eyes.

“You will do exactly as I say, Agent Deeks, or Adrian will wait outside this building until your wife comes out and kill her. As slowly and painfully as he can.”

Deeks glanced between the two men, considering his chances of disarming both men. Adrian wasn’t going to believe any more stunts and Deeks was pretty certain Koslov would shoot him if he didn’t cooperate.

“What do you want me to do?” Deeks spit out between his teeth, roughly swiping at the blood dripping down his cheek. He only prayed that Kensi didn’t come looking for him.

“As I said, I intend to collect what Anatoli owed to me. And you are the key to achieving that.”

***

2 Hours Later

“Eric, did you find him yet?” Kensi demanded, pressing her hands over her mouth as she stared at the little blinking dots on his computer screen.

After waiting for Deeks for nearly twenty minutes, she’d gone looking for him. With increasing panic, she searched the entire grounds for him. When call after call went unanswered, she’d contacted Nell.

“I’m sorry, Kens,” Eric said quietly. “I’ve tried everything, but his tracker isn’t coming up.”

“Why the hell not?” Kensi gestured to the screen while the roiling in her stomach threatened to overwhelm her. “He was wearing at least two trackers. So don’t tell me that you can’t find him.”

“Kens, calm down,” Sam told her and she spun around, finding a convenient place to release her rage.

“Sam, my husband and partner is missing. Don’t you dare tell me to calm down.”

“Bickering isn’t going to help find him,” Callen interrupted before she could speak again. “Kens, we’ll go back to the aquarium and see if we can find anything else.” He grabbed Kensi’s shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, we’ll get him back.”

Kensi watched them go, feeling utterly helpless and futile. She should have gone with Deeks. She should have told him to wait until after they spoke to the security guard. She should have done something.

“OK, I watched the security footage,” Nell announced abruptly as she marched into Ops with a tablet in one hand. “It’s not great quality and some of the angles are sketchy, but it looks like the men who took Deeks destroyed his phone, watch, and anything else he had on him.”

“I want to see it.” Kensi reached for Nell’s tablet, but she jerked it away, shaking her head.

“Kens, I don’t think–”

“Nell, watching that can’t be any worse than my imagination.” Kensi told her, her voice breaking a little. “Please. I need to see what happened to him.”

Reluctantly, Nell handed her the tablet and Kensi started the video, the nausea that had been swelling in her stomach for the last two hours reaching a peak. She flinched when the two men appeared behind him and pistol whipped him.

As he kneeled before them, far longer than she would have expected, Kensi tried to read his lips. She caught a few words, including the word wife, and suddenly knew why the video ended with him allowing the larger man to bind his arms behind his back and lead him away.

Numbly, she set the tablet down, surprised it hadn’t shattered under her grip.

“Kens?”

“Eric did you identify the men in the video?” Kensi asked, avoiding Nell’s gaze. She felt like she might lose her tiny bit of remaining control if she made eye contact.

“I’ve identified one of them as a Russian hit man name Adrian Balandin,” Eric replied immediately, hesitating a moment before he added, “He’s known for his highly successful interrogation methods.”

“You mean torture,” Kensi whispered faintly. She flashed back to Deeks being held in a dark garage, bloodied, broken, and she abruptly spun, running from the room.

She barely made it to the women’s bathroom before she sank to the floor, gasping unevenly. That morning they’d been so happy, it seemed impossible that this was happening again.

“Kensi?”

She hadn’t even heard the door open, or Nell crouch down beside her. Hastily, Kensi swiped at her cheeks, trying to wipe away the evidence of her fear.

“Kensi, are you OK?”

“Um, not really,” Kensi murmured. “I’m pregnant.” It was the first time she’d said the words out loud and Nell gaped at her for a moment.

“Oh my god,” she managed eventually. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“ I only realized a couple days ago.” She managed a weak smile. “I was going to tell Deeks tonight. I wanted to surprise him.”

“Kens…” Nell reached for her and Kensi allowed her to embrace her. She felt brittle, like if Nell squeezed too hard, she might crumble into tiny pieces. “I’m so sorry.”

“This was supposed to be one of the best days of our lives,” Kensi said softly. “We were so happy this morning. I even bought little shoes to give Deeks.”

Pulling back, Nell gave her a sharp look.

“We’ll get him back,” she promised. “None of us can get along without our favorite investigator.”

“I can’t let this happen to him again.” The shock was beginning to wane a little, anger and determination taking its place. “I will not let him be tortured again.”

“It won’t,” Nell assured her, maybe a little rashly. “Finding him takes priority over everything else.”

“And I want to be involved,” Kensi said, telling not asking. “So don’t even think about trying to hide things or sideline me.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Nell hugged her again and then offered Kensi a hand as she stood up. “I’ll be up in Ops when you’re ready.”

Kensi took several deep breaths, bracing herself for the hours ahead. She turned on the water in one of the sinks, letting it run until it was painfully cold, and then wiped every trace of tears from her cheeks. When she was done, she gently pressed her hands over stomach.

“We’ll bring him home,” she repeated.