AN: Oops. Once again, Wednesday got away from me. Combination of breaking news and working out of one of our satellite offices, which adds an hour+ to my commute. Just one chapter to go after this. :) Thanks to everybody who's stuck with me on this, especially through that long hiatus in the middle.

Hawaii Five-0: Act 3

Callen reached into the bag Hetty had sent with him and wasn't surprised to find swim trunks and a loose tank top. "She always knows," he said. "Steve, where can we change?"

"Locker rooms, around the corner. Kono, show Kensi and Nell where to go. Callen, you and Tony can follow Chin."

"I hate to say it, but I didn't bring a suit," Tony said. "I didn't figure on going to Hawaii when I left Washington, much less to the beach."

"I've got a suit for you," Callen said. "Hetty probably figured we were headed here before you guys even landed."

"She gets spookier every day," Deeks said. He bent down and rifled his bag, then pulled out two pairs of trunks. "McGee, these must be yours."

Callen watched as Kensi pulled out a yellow bikini that he'd seen her wear at the beach before, then looked over to see Nell pull out a dark green two-piece and a large tube of sunscreen. "Oh, good," she said. "Otherwise I'd look like a Christmas decoration by the time we finished this."

"How come only Callen has a T-shirt?" McGee asked.

"Bullet scars," Callen said. "They'll attract too much attention. You and Deeks will have your towels nearby to hide your guns, and Tony, you'll have to carry a towel to hide yours."

"This is why it's a good thing we can carry beach bags," Kensi said to Nell. "Come on, let's get ready."

As soon as the women had left, Gibbs turned to Callen. "She ready for this?"

"Nell's been in the field before, and she does all the same qualifications that the other agents do," Callen said. "She'll be fine."

"I hope so," Tony said. "We need to get these guys, soon. Before they infect anything else with this heart-exploding bio-weapon."

~NCIS~H50~LA~NCIS~H50~LA~

Chin took his board out on the waves and paddled.

"Good thing we have waterproof earwigs now," Kono said from her perch up on the ridge. "Everybody in position, brah?"

Chin scanned the beach. He could see Deeks and McGee over near Mamo's surf stand listening for anybody who tried to approach Mamo. Kensi and DiNozzo were walking down the beach one way, while Nell and Callen came the other way. He spotted a few of the Kapu scattered around the beach. "All good," he said.

Chin sat on his board and watched, and wondered if Danny, Gibbs and Sam Hanna had managed to keep Steve in HQ. The SEAL had bitterly protested about staying put until they managed to convince him that he needed to prep the teams for the tactical assault once they had a lock on the targets. Chin hoped Sam and Gibbs were ready for an attack plan that included grenade launchers and whatever else Steve got it in his brain to try.

He saw the men pass Kensi and Tony's position several feet above where they were walking. "Callen, Nell, they're about 100 feet from the sidewalk, headed your way," he said.

"Good thing Kawika made sure to have some umbrella drinks handy," Callen said, his tone light. "Ready, Nell?"

Chin watched as the agents made their play.

~NCIS~H50~LA~NCIS~H50~LA~

Deeks watched as McGee lay on the surfboard and pretended to paddle through the sand, then popped up.

"You've done this before," he said quietly, moving in to pretend he was adjusting the agent's stance.

"When my dad was stationed at Coronado, my little sister begged to learn how," McGee said. "I had to learn so I could teach her. It's been years since I've been on a surfboard."

"It's like sex and riding a bike — you never forget how," Deeks said.

The snort of laughter through the coms sounded like Kensi at first, then Deeks realized it was DiNozzo.

"Don't start, Tony," McGee muttered.

"I was just trying to picture Abby on a surfboard," Tony said, his voice the sound of perfect innocence.

"They don't make them with umbrellas," McGee said. "And if she knew you'd said that…"

"She'd be making comments right back, McPrude," Tony said. "She always does."

"Guys, I don't think we want to know where this conversation is going," Callen interrupted.

"And Tony, I can hear you," Abby said. "We'll talk later, mister."

So Deeks settled for shooting McGee a questioning look. The smirk on his face combined with the short skirt Abby had been wearing when they showed up the day before had Deeks re-evaluating the skinny agent in front of him. But he put that thought aside.

"Fern, you getting any nibbles?" he asked.

"I see a couple of suspicious-looking guys, but we're too far away from them," she said. "Callen, Nell, this one's on you."

"We'll be ready when they head to Mamo's," Deeks said.

~NCIS~H50~LA~NCIS~H50~LA~

Nell clutched the small tube in one hand and a tall glass in the other as she waded through the sand.

"Don't forget, you're supposed to be tipsy," Callen said, putting his hand around her shoulders as though she needed the support.

"If that drink had actually been real, I'd have alcohol poisoning," Nell said as she stumbled and lurched against him. "That's a drink for somebody Sam's size."

"See, you'll be even more convincing," Callen said.

"I'd better be," Nell said. "If we don't get them tagged with Overwatch, we're in trouble."

Callen steered her toward the men they were targeted, but made it look like they were headed for the parking lot. "Resist," he whispered, then raised his voice. "Darcy, honey, why don't we go back to the hotel."

"Nuh-uh," Nell said, lurching away, then crossing her foot over to lurch back. She raised her voice. "Wanna stay on the beach."

"Sweetheart, we really should go back," Callen said, reaching out for her and "missing" her shoulder as she stumbled a few feet away, toward the two men. "This sun is a lot stronger than in Iowa. You'll burn."

"We came here to go to the beach," Nell said, her words slurring. "I wanna stay on the beach." She stepped one way, then stumbled a few more feet until she ran into the two men they were targeting. "Huh," she said, flailing and dumping the remains of the drink in her cup all over them.

Callen rushed over. "I'm so sorry," he said. "The drinks are so strong here, we didn't realize…" He let his voice trail off as he tried to help Nell up in such a way that she could crash into the other man.

"We have two Overwatch signatures." Eric's voice was quiet in his ear. "Better get out of there before they get suspicious."

"Darcy, let me help you," Callen said, picking Nell up in his arms. "I'm really, really, sorry," he said, letting a touch of embarrassment seep into his voice. "We're-"

"Don't worry about it," one man said. "Better take her home to sleep it off."

Callen nodded and carried Nell off to the parking lot until they were out of sight of the men. "You're up, Deeks," he said as the men crossed the stand. "Is Mamo ready?"

"Is Kensi a slob?"

"Hey!"

Nell snickered at the comments in their earwigs, then looked up at him. "Callen, I think you can put me down now."

"Not until we're completely out of their sight," he said. "Besides, you lost a flip-flop in your drunken ramblings and you'll burn your feet."

"Plenty of slippahs in the car," Chin said.

"Slippers?" Nell said.

"That's what they call flip-flops here," came Danny's voice over the coms. "If these guys don't head someplace soon, we're going to have to tie Steve down — he's ready to go all Rambo on them."

~NCIS~H50~LA~NCIS~H50~LA~

McGee watched as the men approached the surf stand. Chin had briefed Mamo before they started, but McGee was still waiting for this to go pear-shaped with everything else.

"Pretend you're frustrated," Deeks whispered. "Walk away."

McGee didn't even acknowledge the cop's words, just let his arms flail out as he tried to pop up. "I'm never going to get the hang of this," he said. "Learn in an hour. Sure. That's a great pitch for tourists like me who don't know you're just trying to make a fast buck." He walked away, ignoring Deeks' efforts to make him stay, and headed for the surf stand. He could hear the men talking.

"I saw her compete once," the first man was saying. His voice had no accent that McGee could detect, not even one that placed him in a U.S. region. "Such a shame when she got hurt. But somebody at our hotel said she still surfs here often."

"That one's been on a surfboard since she was a keikei," Mamo said. "She comes out here two, three times a week. You can tell as soon as you see her on a stick that it's the great Kono." He pretended to look out over the water. "I don't see her here today, though."

"Thanks. Guess we don't get to add that to our list of great Hawaiian sights we were able to see on this vacation," the second man said.

They walked away, headed for the parking lot. McGee turned to look at Deeks. "Did it seem like they gave up easily to you."

"Too easily," Deeks said.

"Guys, we have two signatures headed out — in different directions," Eric said.

"Two locations, two teams," Steve said. "Chin, Kono, get everybody back here so we can gear up and head out."

"Be careful, ladies and gentlemen," Hetty said. "We do not know what we're dealing with, and these men are likely quite ruthless. I do not want to explain to Director Vance or Governor Denning why any of you didn't come home from this op."