Chapter 22

(In the NCIS gym)

Sam was not a vain man, or, at least, he didn't think he was. So when a slight swagger worked its way into his approach, it was, in his mind, only because of the utmost confidence he placed on his SEAL training and nothing more. Easy as pie, he thought as he assumed a casual fighting stance in front of Deeks. He smiled slightly tilting his head and flicking his gaze sideways. "You asked for it." Deeks met his eyes evenly, a sureness in them that caused Sam's cocky smile to falter slightly.

"Ready, set-" Callen started to cue them, but was interrupted by a breathless Kensi.

"Wait! Wait! I don't wanna miss it!" Kensi shouted as she hurried over to stand next to Callen. She grinned at him conspiratorially. "I'm dying to see Sam get knocked on his ass." She whispered the last part laughingly before turning to wink at Deeks. He winked back playfully.

Sam shook off the foreboding he suddenly felt. This is Deeks. How good could he possibly be? His cocky smile returned in full force and he gestured with two fingers for Deeks to bring it.

Deeks's head tilted sideways, his eyes narrowing as he read in Sam's expression the lack of seriousness Sam still ascribed to his fighting prowess. A Cheshire cat grin spread over his face. He had warned the man. Now he would have to show him. It had been so long since he had last fought with no punches pulled. Deeks's eyes flickered downwards as he took in Sam's fighting stance. This was going to be fun.

Callen began again. "Okay, it's on guys! Ready, set…" Callen paused for dramatic effect, his eyes flickering between Deeks and Sam. "Fight!"

Sam was moving as soon as the words were out of Callen's mouth. He lunged towards Deeks and jabbed expertly, first aiming for Deeks's ribs and following up with a powerful swing at the detective's head. Deeks stepped easily out of reach of the first jab, the corners of his mouth flicking upwards as he foresaw the follow-up punch's trajectory. Sam's eyes widened in shock as Deeks darted forward, catching his wrist mid-swing and artfully spinning under Sam's arm and twisting his arm back until his shoulder locked. Before he could comprehend, Sam found himself flat on his back, his shoulder screaming in protest at the awkward angle Deeks was holding it at. He tapped the matt in surrender.

Deeks released Sam's arm, stepping back to his original position. The NCIS gym was filled with silence. Sam sat up rubbing his arm, a frown on his face. Kensi and Callen were wearing identical expressions of shock. Sam got to his feet, and brushed himself off, laughing condescendingly. "Okay, not bad." His eyes narrowed as he looked up to see Deeks smiling calmly at him. "But I was going easy. Let's see if you can do it again."

Deeks shrugged. "Sure, sure."

Sam took his stance in front of Deeks once more. They waited.

Deeks looked around after a few moments of silence. "Callen?"

Callen jumped at the sound of his name, still gaping at Deeks. "Right, right." He shook his head and took a step forward. "Ready, set… fight!"

Sam was more cautious this time, moving laterally and analyzing Deeks's fighting stance for openings. Deeks didn't shift his position, only following Sam with his eyes as he circled. And then the big man pounced, thinking he had found a weakness in Deeks's positioning. He was wrong. Deeks spun around, easily grabbing hold of Sam's arm. With first a push towards Sam and then a sudden change of direction away from him, Deeks propelled the big man into a series of unplanned somersaults across the gym floor. Sam got ahold of himself and rolled onto his feet, shaking his head as if to dislodge the novel feeling of uncertainty in a fight's outcome. He began circling Deeks again, even more cautious than before. And then Deeks struck out lighting quick with a low kick to the back of Sam's knee. Sam reacted in the knick of time, twisting his body around to absorb the impact and keep himself standing. Deeks followed with a hard uppercut that made solid contact with Sam's jaw. Sam's head snapped back in response and the big man hastily tried to get some shots to Deeks's body off. To Sam's shock, his jabs once again missed their mark as Deeks took hold of Sam's shoulder and yanked it forward, jumping into the air and swinging one leg over Sam's head so that his legs were locked around Sam's torso. Deeks's weight sent Sam tumbling to the ground once more, Deeks rolling lightly from his back into a kneeling position and catching Sam in a choke hold. Sam tapped out once more. Deeks released him and stood.

Sam sat up, looking confusedly at Deeks. "What the hell was that?"

Deeks smiled at him. "A mix of Aikido and Krav Maga. Wanna go again?" The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned down at Sam.

"You know mixed martial arts and have somehow kept that hidden all this time?" Sam asked, incredulous.

"It's not like we get in too many hand-to-hand fights during work hours." Deeks shrugged.

"What other skills have you been keeping back?" Sam squinted his eyes at Deeks, suspicious. Deeks shrugged again. "No really, is there more?" Deeks met his eyes, wondering how much he should share.

"Mr. Deeks, you can play show and tell later." Hetty's voice said from the doorway, making Kensi, Sam, and Callen jump. "We have a case." She smiled as Deeks shot her a grateful look.

Kensi and Callen were still staring at Deeks in shock. They had been told by Hetty and by Deeks himself that he was a much better fighter than he had previously presented himself to be, but seeing him take down Sam the big strong Navy SEAL with so little effort had sent their brains whirring like overheated computers.

What the hell? Kensi's eyes had felt like they were going to pop out as she watched this new graceful deadly Deeks fight. Was he really the same man she had fallen in love with?

"Hey, Kens, you good?" Deeks voice asked from beside her. She looked over, melting as her eyes met his baby-blues. She shook herself angrily. Of course he was. She smiled at him and reached out to give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm great." She answered sincerely, holding his questioning gaze. He smiled back, relieved.

Callen walked next to his shell-shocked partner in astonished silence. Never in the many years he had been Sam's partner, had he seen Sam lose to someone in hand-to-hand combat so completely. He patted Sam on the back comfortingly. Sam shot him an annoyed glance in response. "G." He said in warning. Callen held his hands up, his eyebrows shooting towards his hairline as Sam increased his pace and left Callen walking alone. Callen rolled his eyes. What a big baby.

They reached Ops and headed in. Nell and Eric were concealing identical grins, having watched what had just transpired in the gym via live feed.

"What's the new assignment?" Sam asked grumpily, his arms crossed in a defensive posture.

Hetty looked over her spectacles at him, hiding a smile of her own. "Now that you've all been brought into the loop, we can officially launch a team operation to help Mr. Deeks complete his undercover mission at LAPD." Kensi, Callen, and Sam's eyes widened in surprise. Hetty's eyes lighted on Deeks. "Agent." She said, inviting Deeks to brief the team.

Deeks walked over to Hetty, glancing at the screen, now showing the face of six LAPD detectives, before turning to face his teammates. "A series of child abductions have taken place in the LA area over the past decade. The ages of the children abducted are highly varied, but they are all female, white, and blonde. They are suspected to be abducted from their homes sometime in the early hours of the morning. No ransom demands are ever issued. No bodies are ever found. But a new girl is abducted roughly every two to three months. A conspicuous lack of investigation into the disappearances on the part of LAPD sent up some red flags and that is why I was assigned to go undercover and see if anyone in the department is involved with or responsible for the disappearances." Deeks turned to face the screen. "These six guys are who I have evidence against so far, but the network seems to extend even further up the chain of command in LAPD."

"Wait, wait! You're saying you have evidence that all of these guys worked together to abduct these girls!?" Kensi asked, shocked. "Why? What-?"

Deeks looked at her sadly. "It's a pedophile club." Callen, Sam, and Kensi's eyes burned angrily, their mouths settling into grim lines. Deeks nodded sadly and turned back to look at the screen. "I know these six are involved in the physical abductions and I think this one," Deeks pointed at a brunette man with a thin pointy nose and weak jaw, "might be responsible for body disposal. His name's Powell. I've been working them individually, dropping hints, trying to get them to invite me into their sick little club. I think I'm pretty close to cracking one of them. Once that happens, I should be able to gain access to the rest of the network." He looked back at his teammates. "Now that you guys have come aboard, I want eyes on Powell so we can figure out where and how he's been disposing of the bodies. If we can link him officially to the deaths, I can link everyone else to him." Kensi, Callen, and Sam nodded, stuffing down their feelings and reverting to work mode.

"Alright then. Deeks let's get you wired so you can go back under at LAPD. Sam and I will tail Powell. Kensi you back up Deeks. Nell and Eric, check traffic and security cameras and see if you can figure out where these assholes are meeting and where they might be taking these girls." Everyone nodded in acknowledgement and jumped into action.

Kensi followed Deeks out of Ops, concerned by his stony expression. She didn't speak until they were both seated in her car and on the way to the LAPD. "Are you…" She trailed off, not wanting to upset him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Am I what?"

She swallowed. "Just… are you doing alright? It's, you know… a tough case." She peeked up at him.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "It's hard. I'm not going to lie, but I've been working this one for a while. I can keep my personal feelings out of it." He met her eyes. "You don't have to worry." She scoured his expression for signs that he might be disengaging emotionally and, finding none, nodded, satisfied. She turned her eyes back to the road.

Deeks turned to look out the passenger side window, his expression going blank and his eyes losing focus.

END of Chapter 22