The Ballad Of Mona Lisa

Chapter 20

For the last time ;( I don't own either NCIS: LA or 'The Ballad of Mona Lisa' by Panic! At The Disco

…

'All those Naval officers,' Kensi sighed. 'And those NCIS agents.'

'All those lives,' Deeks sighed. 'He's gonna pay, right?'

'After everything he's done…'

'He hasn't just killed Navy people, you know,' Deeks said, looking at her.

'I know,' she replied. 'I went through those files with you. I saw that scar that he gave you. I want him too.'

'We all want him,' Callen said, his voice tinny and small through the Comms in their ears.

'Me more than you,' Deeks grumbled.

Kensi reached over and put a hand on his arm. 'Don't worry, Deeks. We won't let him get away.'

'I know,' Deeks said, gripping the steering wheel so firmly that the skin over his knuckles went white.

'You okay, Deeks?' Sam asked.

'I'll be better when we get this guy.'

'If we end up having to fight him, you can throw the first punch,' Callen offered.

'If I throw the first punch, I promise you, it will be the last punch,' Deeks said, the unusually dark tone of his voice sending shivers up Kensi's spine.

'Then we won't let you punch him,' Kensi said simply. 'After all, he might punch back.'

'And we can't let him hurt that pretty face of yours,' Sam said teasingly, realising what Kensi was trying to do.

'Kensi might ask for another partner. After all, your face must be the only reason why she keeps you around,' Callen joked.

'Oh, is that it?' Deeks asked. 'What's your excuse, Callen?'

Kensi hid a smile while Sam let out an audibly amused snort.

'I see you smiling, Kensi,' Deeks said, narrowing his eyes and lowering his eyebrows. 'Don't deny it.'

She shook her head and let the smile flower full bloom while Callen sighed.

'Okay, guys, I've got vision of Ramirez, or at least, I've got his car,' Eric said, his voice thin through the tiny speakers of the Comms.

'Is he in the car, Eric?' Sam asked.

The mood of the team had switched immediately from quirky to serious, and Eric was always surprised by their ability to do this, even after all those years.

'Can't tell,' Eric said. 'The tinting's too dark.'

'Hmmm…' Deeks hummed.

'What's up?' Kensi asked her partner.

'I think I might have a plan.'

…

It was a beautiful day to be leaving California. Not a single cloud marred the perfectly blue sky, and the sun was shining high and bright. A perfect day to go to the beach – that was if he actually went to the beach. No, instead he just dappled in murder, mayhem and his especial favourite – drugs. And he was headed to the world's drug capital, where he was sure that he would make even more of that wonderful money. He was gonna get all the way to Mexico, where those damn Navy cops wouldn't be able to get him. True, Tane had told him that they had nothing on him, but he hadn't trusted Tane as far as he could throw him, and that had been a wise decision considering that the innocent agent had turned on him and forced him to murder him.

Damn kid. He never should've pulled him in on that. Thought he was innocent; thought he was malleable; thought he was just gonna twist him around his little finger…

In Mexico, he won't make that mistake. Only the best – cut out the rest. That would be his new motto. It rhymed, it was catchy and best of all, it told the truth. And Theodore 'Teddy the Shredder' Ramirez liked cutting.

He reached over to the car's stereo controls and turned up the radio a little bit more, nodding slightly in time to the music. He glanced out the window – traffic was always a bitch, but today, this worked in his advantage. They'd never catch him in this sludge.

Suddenly, though, a siren sang out into the stifling mid-afternoon air. He groaned, and glanced into his rear-view mirror – yup, there was that tell-tale flash of red and blue on the front of a couple of cops on bikes.

'Damn,' he groaned, lightly whacking the steering-wheel. He knew he should've dumped the damn car. But it had cost so much, and it was such a nice one. He just couldn't convince himself to leave it behind to the cops' less than tender mercies, nor destroy it completely.

He signalled right, and pulled into a conveniently placed rest stop. Maybe this was just a misunderstanding – those Navy cops couldn't have a warrant out for his arrest this soon, could they? Maybe his plates were wrong; maybe a light was broken; just a simple mistake, they could fine him for money that he'd never pay, and they could all just get on with their day.

However… He reached over and took the pistol from the front passenger's seat, tucking it into the waistband of his pants. He could never be too careful, and if this was going south, he wasn't going without a fight. In fact, he had plans that very clearly decreed that he wasn't going at all.

He hit the button on the arm rest which automatically wound down the window. 'Good afternoon, officer. Can I help you?' There was no call to be uncivil, at least at the moment.

'License and registration, please, and turn off the ignition.' The cop lowered his reflector sunglasses and blinked at him with rather piercing blue eyes.

'I wasn't speeding, was I?' Ramirez asked, leaning over and taking the registration out of the glove box, all the while very carefully not revealing his weapon to the cop. It didn't seem as though the cop knew about his association with the recent murders, and he didn't want to risk that by being pulled in for an unregistered firearm.

'No, your speed was within quite legal limits,' Callen said, taking the registration from the man, avoiding brushing his hand as he did so.

'That's good,' Ramirez said, trying to avoid eye contact with Callen. 'So, what's up?'

'You are aware of the laws regarding window tinting, yes?' Callen asked.

Ramirez blinked. 'There are laws?' That was all this was all about?

'I'm afraid that you can't have your windows that dark. They have to be light enough so that policemen such as me can identify who's behind the wheel, just in case the person behind the wheel is underage, or a wanted fugitive, or anything like that,' Callen said lightly, not missing how Ramirez tensed up at the word "fugitive".

'Oh, I had no clue,' Ramirez said innocently. He truly hadn't any idea that it was illegal. 'I bought this car second-hand.'

'You haven't given me your license, sir,' Callen reminded him. 'And I don't suppose you can supply me with the person that sold you the car?'

'I could try and remember,' Ramirez said slowly, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve his license from his wallet.

'Thank you, sir.' Callen took the license and handed it to the other cop who had been standing silently next to him. Sam took them and nodded at him before murmuring something into Callen's ear. Neither man missed Ramirez straining to hear what he said.

'Is everything okay?' Ramirez asked, really starting to get nervous now.

'Well, actually, uh, Mr Ramirez, my partner here noticed that you have a bullet hole in the body of your car, right next to the left rear tail light.'

'Do I?' Ramirez asked. He hadn't noticed that.

Callen gave a chuckle. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you got this car from a drug dealer or a gang banger, Mr Ramirez.'

Ramirez chuckled as well, playing along. 'Oh, no, I just live in a very rough neighbourhood.'

'Very rough,' Sam agreed, returning to his position next to Callen.

'So, officer, is there a fine, or something?' Ramirez asked.

'Well, actually, Mr Ramirez, we've hit something rather strange,' Callen said.

'You have?' Ramirez asked, his heart leaping into his throat. His hand inched closer to his weapon.

'I don't suppose you could step out of the car?' Callen asked.

'Oh, well, I…'

'Please, sir,' Sam said sternly. Even though he'd said the word, all the men present were aware that he wasn't requesting it.

'Okay…' He began to slowly reach for his pistol.

'Open the door from the outside, please,' Sam said, not missing the movement.

'O- okay,' Ramirez stammered, beginning to lose his cool.

'Thank you,' Callen said, tucking the door open the rest of the way.

Ramirez stepped out of the car.

'Are you feeling alright, sir?' Sam asked, noticing that Ramirez looked a little clammy.

'It's very warm,' Ramirez noted.

'Very warm,' Callen agreed. 'Wouldn't you say that it was warm?' he asked, turning to Sam.

'Very warm,' Sam agreed dutifully.

'Officer, can I ask what is going on, here?' Ramirez asked as a silver SUV pulled into the rest area behind them.

The doors of the car opened and two people got out, a man and a woman. The woman slammed the passenger door closed.

'Oh, come on, Fern, seriously, you can't stay mad at me forever,' the man said pleadingly, closing his door considerably more gently.

'I can and will,' the woman snapped back.

'What did I do?' the man asked, widening his eyes and giving her a look that under any other circumstances would have absolutely melted her.

'You were flirting with her,' she answered. 'I was standing right there.'

'What? I'm not tied to you,' he replied.

'Sometimes, it feels like it.' She stalked off to the bathroom.

'Princess…' He followed her.

Ramirez's eyes widened, recognising the man as one Detective Marty Deeks of the Los Angeles Police Department. He should've died. A pity, really. He had actually been pretty good, had had him fooled for a while there.

Stuff going free. This opportunity was way better. Today, Dt. Deeks was going to die.

'I… I think I need to use the bathroom,' Ramirez said, noting as Deeks slipped into the men's room.

'Would that be a problem, Officer Hanna?' Callen asked Sam.

'No problem at all. I'm still waiting to hear back from base,' Sam replied.

'Come on, Mr Ramirez,' Callen said. 'I'll escort you.'

Ramirez nodded, not protesting after feeling the reassuring weight of his pistol at his waist. The cop wasn't armed, and by the looks of it, neither was Deeks.

He moved into the shade of the bathroom, where Deeks was using the urinal. He grunted and moved to the taps where he splashed slightly warm water onto his face.

'Warm, ain't it?' Deeks said conversationally to Callen.

'Very,' Callen replied from Ramirez's side.

'Say, Mister, you feeling alright? You look like you need a drink,' Deeks said to Ramirez.

'Now, that would be good, but you know what would be better?' Ramirez asked, looking at the either dumb or amnesia-affected detective.

'Not a clue,' Deeks replied.

'Your death.' Without warning, Ramirez whipped out his weapon and pistol-whipped Callen across the face, who fell unconscious to the floor, before pouncing on Deeks.

'Not likely, Ramirez,' Deeks grunted, taking a slug to the face as he knocked Ramirez's weapon out of his hand.

'You should've died, Deeks.'

Deeks kicked him in the shin as his opponent's hands closed around his throat.

'But lookie here, I didn't,' Deeks gasped, struggling against him.

They struggled viciously, silently, until the silence was broken by the click of a gun.

'You wanna put my partner down very, very slowly,' Kensi said, pressing the muzzled of the weapon into the back of Ramirez's skull. 'Because at this range, I can't see myself missing.'

'You never miss, Fern,' Deeks coughed out as Ramirez released his hold on Deeks.

'Don't call me Fern,' Kensi warned. 'Or those won't be the only injuries you get today.'

Deeks smiled sunnily at Ramirez. 'She's real kinky.'

'Shut up Deeks,' Kensi said.

There was a chuckle, and Sam joined them in the bathroom. 'I assume by that that everything's okay in here?'

'Oh, yeah, peachy,' Deeks said. 'Other than someone trying to kill me again.'

'I got pistol whipped,' Callen reminded him, taking Sam's hand and allowing himself to be pulled up.

'You guys always did say that you'd be pistol-whipped rather than kicked in the nuts,' Kensi said.

'That is true,' Deeks said. 'You guys got cuffs?'

Callen pulled a pair out of his back pocket. 'You wanna do the honours, Deeks?'

'Yes please,' Deeks said, taking them. 'After all, there's nothing I like more than poetic justice.' He snapped the cold steel around Ramirez's wrists.

'You son of a bitch, Deeks,' Ramirez spat.

'Ew,' Kensi said, wiping spittle off of her arm.

'He just insulted both you and my mother,' Deeks said, looking at Kensi. 'I'm not sure which I want to avenge first.'

'How about neither?' Kensi suggested. 'Just read him his rights.'

'Good idea,' Callen said.

'Very good,' Deeks agreed. 'You are under arrest for the assault of a federal agent, the attempted murder of a policeman, the attempted murder of Agent Amy Carlson, the murder of Agent Daniel Tane and finally, the murder of Agent Sara Murphy.'

'You just love saying that, don't you?' Sam asked.

'You wouldn't believe how long I've waited to say that.'

'We probably can,' Callen said.

Deeks shrugged and nudged Ramirez in the back, picking up his pistol and tucking it into his waistband on the way out of the bathroom. 'Come on, buddy. Nothing but jail for you… You'll be awfully popular there, won't you?'

Ramirez grunted, and the team smiled at each other.

'There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for...'

The End

…

And… we're done. Sigh… I'm sad. Oh, well.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially lastnameleft and supernaturallover101, who encouraged me from the very start. I hope that everyone who read it enjoyed this story.

Now, just that it's ended, doesn't mean that you shouldn't review. Especially because I'm starting work on a sequel, and I'd love to hear whether anyone will actually read it…

It's another Panic! At The Disco song; "I Write Sins Not Tragedies". Look out for it. Can't wait to see you there!

XD PurpleHipposRock