The Little Devil's Chapter 1, a ncis: los angeles fanfic

Summary: Deeks has been with the NCIS as a liaison for a year now. However, that all changes when he gets a call from his Lieutenant giving him no choice but to go deep undercover for one of the most dangerous drug cartels they have ever come across. Now He is forced to cut ties with NCIS and go completely alone on what only could be considered a suicide mission.

Chapter 1

It had been a fairly easy day for the NCIS team. They didn't have any open cases so they were just doing some paperwork to catch up on backlog. Sam and Callen had spent some time training in the gym trying to avoid their own paperwork. The day went by pretty fast considering all of the tedious paperwork each agent had to go through. Deeks was moaning half way through the day about how he has twice the paperwork for he had to still do paperwork for his position in LAPD and for NCIS. Which only brought on the conversation from Kensi about why he doesn't just join NCIS so he didn't have to bounce back and forth between the two. Deeks replied the same thing as he always did, because he was a cop. He had to admit, it did flatter him when Hetty had handed him the papers for him to join NCIS as an agent. He would be crazy not to take the opportunity; the problem was he didn't know if he was ready. It was one thing to be an undercover detective it was a whole other thing to be an agent. An agent worked differently and it had taken him a year to fully understand how the agent world worked. In the agent world Deeks was weaker in that area, but in the undercover world he was one of the best LAPD had. The idea of switching made him excited sure, but it also made him nervous and scared to give up that part of his life. He had been in the undercover unit for six years almost now it was who he was. To just walk away from that seemed wrong. However, at the same time there have been many times when he came back from a bad operation when he just wanted to walk away a quit.

Over the six years he had been forced to witness horrible things being done to women, men and children. He's worked undercover with some of the most dangerous criminals LA had. He's had to act in ways he never would have otherwise and done things that went against everything he stood for. There were many times when he finished an operation and he went home and got completely drunk just to try and forget. Kensi had found that out once about six months back. She had come over to his place after finding out that Deeks was back from his operation. She went over to his house to find him completely wasted out of his mind trying to drown the memories that seemed to be burned into his mind. He had been in a human trafficking ring for the past three months. The operation was taking young girls from Mexico and bringing them up and selling them to the highest bidder. Deeks' job was to infiltrate the organization and he had, but by doing so he had witnessed innocent little girls being raped and beaten. The worst part was being stuck watching it happen and not being able to step in and protect them. Deeks always had a soft spot for children, how could he not after his own childhood? Kensi had spent the night with him being there for her partner after a horrible operation took its toll on him. The next morning Kensi acted like everything was fine and nothing happened trying to help her partner get back into the normal life they live each day. She didn't know firsthand what it was like to be in deep undercover for months at a time, but she could assume that the best thing for him was to get back to a normal life so he could move on from it. So that's what she did she acted like he hadn't been away for three months that it was just a normal everyday thing. Sam and Callen had an idea of how it felt to be in deep undercover for a longer period of time than just a few days so they asked him if he was okay once; after that they went back to how they would act every day. Deeks had been with them for a year and even though he rubbed Sam the wrong way from time to time due to the extreme difference in personalities, he still felt that brotherly bond with him. Sam and Callen were both older than Deeks and they knew he could handle himself out in the field and protect Kensi. That didn't mean that he wouldn't be affected by undercover work. Especially after all the years he had been doing it and for Sam and Callen they could admit to themselves that where undercover work was concerned Deeks did have them beat. He had been doing it longer and quite honestly he was better at it. They had seen him first hand being able to come up with an alias at a drop of a hat and keep up that alias for extended periods of time. Which was impressive to both Sam and Callen.

It was finally the end of the day and time to go home. Sam and Callen had already made their way out the door talking about who was buying dinner tonight. Kensi had been saying her goodbye to Deeks who was sticking around to finish reports that was due to LAPD tomorrow morning. Kensi just told him to have fun and not to fry his brain as she left the building. An hour later Hetty, Eric and Nell had also left leaving him alone in the building. Which he didn't mind it wasn't exactly the first time it had happened; after all he always had extra paperwork and deadlines to meet then the rest of them. It was seven o'clock when he had finally finished and as he stood up to leave his phone rang. The noise echoed in the silence of the building. Deeks saw that it was his lieutenant that was calling and he found himself hoping it wasn't another operation and this was just about the paperwork that was past due.

"Hello Lue"

"Hello Detective."

"Look if this is about the paperwork that's past due I just finished it and was going to drop it off tomorrow morning."

"That's not why I'm calling. I have a new assignment for you."

"What is it this time?" Deeks asked and he did his best to hide his annoyance. It wasn't that he didn't love going undercover, but in the past year it had been difficult to go undercover plus work with NCIS. Deeks knew that he would need to pick one over the other soon and Deeks didn't know which he was going to choose.

"As I'm sure you have heard LAPD has been working this drug cartel known as The Little Devils for two years now. We've sent in a total of thirty-five detectives undercover and each time they get dropped off out front of the precinct dead. All have been brutally tortured and unrecognizable it's also the only indication that we had that they were dead. Our last detective that we sent in showed up yesterday morning now they have taken thirty-six of our men from us. We can't let this go. This cartel is responsible for one hundred million dollars in drug and arms trafficking in LA a year. They are the biggest drug lords we have and they need to be shut down. I'm sending you in to get this job done."

Deeks couldn't believe it his own lieutenant wanted to send him in on an operation that was responsible for thirty-six dead cops. All of which he was certain had their covers blown considering they ended up in front of the police station. He had heard of The Little Devils before, they were run by a crazy Latino named Jose Martinez he was beyond insane. He had heard some of the other cops talking about them while they were investigating them before sending anyone in. They work with drugs mostly heroin and they sell heavy firearms to anyone with the money that can afford them. The leader Jose hosts parties where his idea of fun is getting drunk and high then torturing some innocent girl or boy whichever he felt like. The man was the devil in every sense of the word. He had seen some of the detectives that came back dead they were beaten beyond recognition; one almost didn't have enough teeth left for a dental comparison. All of them that Deeks knew about had high levels of heroin in their system that was forced into them. The longest any detective had lasted was three months some didn't make it past the first week. It had nothing to do with talent they were good undercover detectives it had everything to do with what connections this cartel had; and obviously they had someone high up on the inside to get that many covers blown. There was no way in hell that he would go in there.

"No way, I mean no disrespect Lue but you're insane to put anyone else in there. Thirty-six dead cops that's beyond past the point where you stop. You're telling me you don't have anything you can use to hold them?"

"It's all circumstantial nothing will hold up in court."

"But that's enough to get a warrant then you search every building they have find the drugs or guns. All you need is enough to hold them for seventy-two hours even their lawyers can't get them out with their records. Get a warrant and use those three days to get what you need."

"We don't have that information we don't have all the building locations or who they have connections with. Busting them for drugs isn't enough to shut down their operation someone else will just take over."

"Someone will always be there to take over for these cartels just like all the others you know that. Thirty-six dead cops, you can't honestly think I'm just going to go in there especially blind with no one there as backup in case I get into trouble."

"Look Detective you know that I can't order you into doing this. I can however, tell you that if you don't do this then I will have no choice but to fire you. Except I won't just fire you I'll make it so that you can't work with any other agency there is or law firm. You know with your past and criminal record no one will go near you. It would be a shame if those sealed records became unsealed. So you can say no, but that will mean you spend the rest of your life working minimum wage dead end jobs, assuming they don't do a criminal record check. Now you have the choice if you choose to go undercover you will do so completely alone and you will cut all ties with NCIS. I can't risk someone in LAPD knowing that you're going undercover so the alias and backstopping you'll have to do yourself. You will get rid of this phone and use the phone that I have placed in the package in your mailbox. You will use it and only it to contact me with information or if your life is in danger."

"You want me to go in this operation completely alone. No one but you will know I'm even in there and you just think NCIS is going to let that slide? That they won't come looking for me for an explanation why I'm all of a sudden gone?"

"No you will give them an explanation. You will be handing in your resignation giving them the reason that you can't do the work anymore. That all of this pressure has been too much for you so you're going to leave for a while and get out of town. I'm sure Hetty over there will be calling me and I will tell them the same thing that you took time off here as well."

"You think they will just up and believe that? Not only that I'm supposed to backstop this alias? Jose will look into my background it needs to be flawless. Eric is the best tech there is, he's my only shot and having a perfect background that will hold up to their digging. You want this cartel I get that, but NCIS can help you get them I can talk to them tomorrow and explain what's going on. It's not their area, but I know they won't say no to something this huge and dangerous. Don't let this be personal Lue let them help."

"This is personal thirty-six dead cops on my precinct's doorstep is very much personal detective. This stays with LAPD no one else knows about this but LAPD. I am the only one that knows the location of these cartels. All of their information that we have managed to get on them is in that package in your mailbox. Once you read it you will burn it and leave no trace what so ever. Either you are a detective or you are nothing so decide what it will be."

"This is a suicide operation you know that."

"You've dealt with cartels before and you've survived you are one of the best undercover detectives that I have. That doesn't mean there are not a hundred more men that stand behind you ready to take your place. You are not irreplaceable detective so don't make that mistake in thinking you are. You and I both know you'll do this, because you're a cop first. If I don't hear from Hetty tomorrow then I'll know you refused to go. If that's the case then I will make sure you have nothing left. Do not cross me detective."

Before Deeks could say anything his lieutenant hung up the phone. Deeks placed his cell phone down on his desk. He noticed how his hands were shaking from the rage that was going through his entire body. Somewhere along the way in the conversation Deeks had stood up and started to pace now he was leaned over his desk with both hands flat on his desk. He was trying his best to calm himself down he couldn't believe this was happening. His own lieutenant had just given him the ultimatum of going on a suicide mission or to lose everything he has if he refused to go. He didn't know what to do his mind was completely blinded by rage that was flowing through his body. He couldn't help it he grabbed a mug that was sitting on his desk and threw it across the room. Glass shattering could be heard throughout the quiet building. He let out a cry of rage trying to get his mind back under control, but he was so furious he didn't even know what to do. He knew he had no choice, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be enraged about having to make this decision. To be honest he didn't even know where to start he had to come up with an alias, make a backstop and get a fake ID to go with it. There was always someone in LAPD that did that and when he was here it was Eric. He knew whatever he did wouldn't really stand up that well if anyone wanted to tear it apart. He couldn't let NCIS know though, however if Eric happened to come across something on his computer it would be natural for him to look into it.

Deeks went upstairs to where Eric's computer was. He signed in under his ID he knew whatever was typed into this computer was recorded. Eric would find out in the morning that someone had been on the system. Deeks knew it was a long shot, but he was hoping between the resignation letter and if Eric stumbled upon his new alias then they would understand. If they understood hopefully Eric will go over the backstop and correct it if something is wrong. Deeks came up with a new alias a man named James Denver, he was a thirty-three year old man who spent most of his life going in and out of prison for assault and drug related charges. His plan was to go in as a body guard so he made the alias have connections to other dead drug dealers that he worked for as their body guard. After four hours and a strong appreciation to what Eric does for them on a daily basis he was finished. He had prison records and juvi records for different charges; he had his new fake ID and a new identity. Now all he needed was the package that was in his mailbox and a new car and some cash. He was hoping that his Lieutenant would have at least thought of that so he wouldn't have to worry about that part of this operation. If not he would have to figure that out tonight and go from there.

Deeks then signed off and made his way downstairs back to his own computer where he would type up his letter. He sat there staring at the screen for easily twenty minutes trying to think of something he would say. It wasn't easy having to write a letter and lie about wanting to leave. Deeks didn't know if he wanted to be an agent or a cop, but that didn't mean he didn't want to be here. If he did leave he didn't want it to be like this, on these terms. There was a very good chance that he wasn't ever going to see them again. That he would die and they would never find out about it. Everything in him was screaming for him to call Hetty and tell her what was going on. He was certain that Hetty knew all about his past and she had wanted him as an agent anyways. He just couldn't take the chance though that his Lieutenant was watching his phone calls. One slip up and he would be in serious trouble, he would lose everything. Even if Hetty wanted him as an agent that didn't mean that Granger or Director Vance would look the other way at his record. He also couldn't risk anyone in NCIS losing their jobs over this, but Deeks was confident that Hetty would protect her agents like they were her children. Deeks really didn't want to leave he really didn't especially when he believed that he would be dying on this operation. That's what bothered him the most, not that he would most likely die. It was that he would die and they would never hear the truth from him. They might never even find out that he was dead and they would wonder about him and worry over his disappearance just like they did with Dom before him. He couldn't even let himself think about how Kensi would react to all of this. She had lost Dom and now she was basically losing him as well. He knew this would drive her mad with worry especially not having any answers.

Finally he finished writing his resignation letter to Hetty. Hhe printed it off then placed it in an envelope and placed it on her desk for her to find when she came in. After grabbing his jacket he stood there for a moment to look around. He couldn't help the water that came to his eyes as he looked around a place he was certain he would never see again. He had only been here a year, but he felt like this was a place where he belonged. Where he had finally found a family, a home. After letting out a breath he made his way out to his car so he could get home and finish getting his alias all set so he could leave tonight. After driving home he parked his car and made his way up to his mailbox. Inside was a large brown envelope and from the jingling he knew there was at least car keys inside of it. He made his way up to his home where he could open the envelope and get the info he needed. Once inside he sat down on the couch and opened the envelope. Inside he found information on Jose Martinez and what LAPD had been able to get on the cartel organization. There was also a burn phone with only his Lieutenant's number, and a set of car keys along with directions to his new car. There was also a prepaid credit card with a post it note that said the maximum limit which was 50,000. That would allow him to get some clothes for his new alias, and a new car if the one his Lieutenant had given him wouldn't work. He wanted to go to sleep and try and get his mind ready, but he knew that wouldn't be a good idea. If he was going to do this he had to get going he couldn't just sit here and wait around he had to get going. He got up and made his way into the bedroom and grabbed a duffle bag so he could put his new clothes into it. James Denver was a tough man one you didn't want to fuck with or he would take you out. He preferred to beat his opponent to a pulp instead of using a gun, but he still had one in case the situation called for it. He wore tight shirts so his muscles showed and loose fitting jeans. He wore a red bandana around his head and he always wore a black leather jacket. He was a whisky drinker and he knew how to have a good time. Deeks grabbed some of his shirts that were tight fitting they also didn't look new so that made Deeks feel a little bit more comfortable. He would stop at a thrift store that he knew was still open to get a few other things like worn jeans. He already had a black leather jacket so that was taken care of. He would also get a bottle of whisky to put in his bag as well as cigarettes and a lighter. Deeks wasn't too thrilled about having to smoke, but with being in and out of prison is whole life that went hand in hand with smoking.

After getting his bag already he made his way back out into the living room so he could go over the directions to the car and burn the information. He sat down and went over the information five more times making sure it was committed to his memory he then turned his eyes to the directions to the car. It was in a vacant parking lot just a few blocks over so he could walk there easily enough. He was hoping the car wasn't a piece of shit and would work with his alias. He also needed a car that had some speed if he got into trouble and had to get out of there in a hurry. He grabbed all the papers and made his way into the kitchen. He put them in the sink then grabbed a BBQ lighter and lit the paper on fire he watched it to make sure it was completely burnt to ashes. Once the fire was gone he went back into the living room and put the credit card into his wallet with his new ID. He took his old ID out and placed it on the table next to his old cell phone. He pocketed his new burn phone and car keys then grabbed his bag and left.

He locked his door then placed his keys in the hide a key that he kept for reasons just as this. He knew he had to think of everything each time he went undercover you couldn't be caught with something that belonged to yourself. He made his way down the street to where the parking lot was. He took his keys out and hit the unlock button on them to see which car responded. He was happy when it was a black mustang that responded and unlocked, at least the car was fast and it matched his alias. Not having to trade the car in for something else was one last thing he had to worry about. Now all he had to do was go to the thrift store get some older jeans and get some whiskey and smokes then he could go. Deeks put his bag in the trunk then got into the driver seat. He opened the glove box first thing to see what the registration was and he was glad to see there wasn't any in the car so hopefully he wouldn't get pulled over. Though he didn't have to worry about someone going through his car and finding the car registered under someone else's name. He turned the car on and made his way down to the thrift store that was open twenty-four hours for the homeless people to come in when they had the chance. He would go there first then head to the corner store for the rest of his supplies.

An hour later he was finished and had everything that his new alias needed. So he then began to make his way down to where Jose Martinez operated out of. There was a bar that he and his men frequented at so tomorrow night he would go there and meet up with them and hopefully give them some incentive to invite him to join them. After all if there was one thing Deeks had learned over the years of undercover work it was that a drug cartel leader always needed more body guards. Now all Deeks had to do was pray that he makes it out of this alive.

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It was nine in the morning and everyone was settling in for another day of work at the mission. Kensi wasn't surprised that Deeks hadn't shown yet she knew he had to drop off some paperwork down at LAPD. Kensi sat down at her desk sipping her coffee listening to Sam and Callen banter back and forth like they did every morning. With the exception of Deeks not being there everything was going just like every other day at the mission. That was until Hetty came over with a look that spoke of nothing good was to come. In her hand she was holding a piece of paper that was folded to letter size. Eric and Nell came down the stairs.

"Hetty I need to talk to you." Eric said.

"One moment . Sometime last night after we all left Mr. Deeks handed in his letter of resignation to NCIS."

"What?" Kensi said.

She couldn't believe this why would Deeks just randomly out of nowhere hand in his letter of resignation that just made no sense. He would have spoken to her about it before he did something like this. Sam and Callen were both looking at each other trying to figure all of this out. They didn't think that Deeks was having second thoughts about being within NCIS. They couldn't remember him ever showing any doubts or voicing any concerns.

"Why would he just leave out of the blue?" Sam asked.

"In his letter he states that he needs some time. He is also taking a break from LAPD which I have confirmed with his Lieutenant this morning when I came in."

"You don't actually believe that though do you Hetty?" Callen asked.

"No Mr. Callen I don't. He wasn't showing any signs of needed some space or time off. He hadn't been on any operations that would have taken their toll on him recently. Something is obviously going on."

"I think I might have an idea." Eric said slowly. His mind was putting the information that he just heard and the information that he had gotten this morning when he signed on to his computer together.

"What do you mean Eric?" Kensi asked.

"Come upstairs and I'll show you what I'm talking about."

They all followed Eric and Nell back upstairs to Ops. Eric sat down at his desk and Nell did the same to hers. Eric put up records on the big screen so everyone could see.

"I came in this morning to find out that someone was on my computer late last night. So I went in to my system and I found these files that were made last night along with a driver license that was printed off. Now these are prison records and juvi records for a man named James Denver. Now at first glance they seem to be legit and authentic, but if you go further into them there are holes that clearly show they were made up. Who ever made these had basic knowledge of how to backstop, but they aren't a pro at doing it, suggesting that the person's only ever really done it a few times. Here is a picture of James Denver."

Eric clicked on the link and it opened a driver license that held a picture of Deeks picture. Everyone in the room was now putting the pieces together.

"He's going undercover." Sam said.

"But if he's going undercover for LAPD, why would they backstop an alias with holes?" Kensi asked.

"That's the thing I don't think LAPD did the backstopping I think Deeks did it which is why it's on my computer. Why he didn't just ask me that is what I can't figure out, I would have done it for him. What he did is basic and it gives me a good idea of what he was going towards, but it won't hold up if someone is looking into the documents more closely."

" , when was this done on your computer?" Hetty asked.

"Deeks logged on around eight last night and logged off around eleven."

"Pull up Mr. Deeks' cell phone log from last night before eight as well as the camera footage from the bullpen."

Eric went to work on pulling up Deeks' cell phone log as Nell worked on the footage from the bullpen last night. Once they had what they were asked for they put it up on the screen.

"Can you play the last call that he received last night as well as the video footage of the call. We need to see how he reacts." Hetty said.

"Ok last call came in from an LAPD number give me a second to pull it up from the file. Okay got it. Ready?" Eric asked as he looked to Nell.

"Ready."

They all watched as the saw Deeks in the bullpen answering his cell phone.

"Hello Lue"

"Hello Detective."

"Look if this is about the paperwork that's past due I just finished it and was going to drop it off tomorrow morning."

"That's not why I'm calling. I have a new assignment for you."

"What is it this time?"

"As I'm sure you have heard LAPD has been working this drug cartel known as The Little Devils for two years now. We've sent in a total of thirty-five detectives undercover and each time they get dropped off out front of the precinct dead. All have been brutally tortured and unrecognizable it's also the only indication that we had that they were dead. Our last detective that we sent in showed up yesterday morning now they have taken thirty-six of our men from us. We can't let this go this cartel is responsible for one hundred million dollars in drug and arms trafficking in LA a year. They are the biggest drug lords we have and they need to be shut down. I'm sending you in to get this job done."

"No way, I mean no disrespect Lue but you're insane to put anyone else in there. Thirty-six dead cops that's beyond past the point where you stop. You telling me you don't have anything you can use to hold them?"

"It's all circumstantial nothing will hold up in court."

"Someone will always be there to take over for these cartels just like all the others you know that. Thirty-six dead you can't honestly think I'm just going to go in there especially blind with no one there as backup in case I get into trouble."

"This is a suicide operation you know that."

They all stood there silently watching and listening to the conversation that went on between Deeks and his Lieutenant. The whole conversation you could see the turmoil all over Deeks face it was clear he didn't want to go on this operation. His rage was made clear when he threw the mug across the room. They then saw him going upstairs after a few moments and they knew what happened then. He went up to use Eric's computer to start backstopping a new alias. Sam was the first one to break the silence between them.

"It's a suicide mission."

"Why would Deeks do this?" Kensi asked she just couldn't believe this was happening.

"He didn't have a choice his Lieutenant is furious at the situation and is making it personal. What record is his Lieutenant talking about?" Callen asked Hetty.

"Mr. Deeks had a troubling childhood and as a result he was on the wrong path for a little while. He has a few charges after the age of eighteen, but his record was sealed when he went into law school and straightened his life out." Hetty answered.

"Any kind of record would make it so that he couldn't be hired by any security, law firm or agency. If that sealed record became public knowledge again then Deeks wouldn't be able to be anything more than some burger flipper." Sam said in an understanding voice.

"And he's worked too hard to get his life on track that he doesn't want it to be for nothing now. He doesn't have a choice, but to risk his life for this." Kensi said.

"His Lieutenant is definitely taking this personal and that is the quickest way to getting someone killed. This explains everything though that's why I received this letter and why Mr. Deeks made his alias up here and not on his own computer." Hetty said.

"What do you mean?" Kensi asked.

"My computer is the only one that logs and records everything that gets done on it. By Deeks using my computer he knew that when I came in I would see that someone was on it. Deeks' knew I would find these records." Eric explained.

"He was counting on it. He said it himself that you're the best he knew that in order to at least survive longer his records had to be flawless. Something that Deeks doesn't have the experience in doing. He was counting on you finding those records along with that letter." Callen said.

" , can you go into those records and finish them so they will live up to scrutiny?" Hetty asked.

"Ya I can do that. I won't add any information I'll just use what he has, but I can make it more official."

"Do that right away that is your priority right now. We need to give Mr. Deeks as much of a chance as we can. The cartel clearly has someone on the inside in LAPD so we can't call them for any information. As for his Lieutenant I will deal with him later. For now we know nothing about this. Ms. Jones, look into Mr. Deeks' file and tell me how many times he has been undercover for a cartel please." Hetty said.

"What are you thinking Hetty?" Sam asked.

"Well Mr. Deeks has been undercover before with for a cartel once that I know of. Now one cartel there isn't any reason for concern, but more than one and then we may have a very serious situation." Hetty explained.

"Cartels' little fishes bounce around from one to the other especially when one of the head guys is taken down. So if he's only been undercover with one cartel then the chances of someone recognizing him are slim. More than one that possibility goes up." Callen said understanding what Hetty was getting at.

"Exactly Mr. Callen."

"Um then we have a serious problem. Each undercover detective has a list of places they can't do undercover work. Deeks only has one position he can't work undercover for and that's cartels. It was put in place after the seventh cartel he brought down two years ago." Nell said.

"It just got worse." Sam said clearly getting more and more angry that this was going on. Deeks was annoying at a lot of times, but he was a good guy through and through. He didn't deserve anything less than loyalty and that's exactly what he gave him.

"Why would his own Lieutenant put him in this position? Deeks is clearly the worst detective to put on this operation. The chances that someone will recognize him just went from slim to eighty percent. Seven cartels, that's insane he shouldn't have been involved in half of them. I knew that Deeks wasn't very well liked at LAPD from the dirty cops he's put away, but to jeopardize his life intentionally. By putting him in now eight different cartels it's the same thing as just shooting him in the head." Callen said.

"Hetty we have to get him out of there. We can't just leave him on his own. His lieutenant isn't going to get him out if he's in trouble you know that." Kensi said.

"I completely agree Ms. Blye. Mr. Deeks is one of our own and I do not take it lightly when one of mine gets threatened in any way. I want you three to go over to Mr. Deeks' place and see if you can find anything that he might have left behind. Mr. Beale and Ms. Jones I want all the information you can get on this cartel, The Little Devils. I want the autopsy reports of all the dead police officers. I want to know everything, how long they lived for and what happened to them. Also see if you can find anything out about this cell phone his Lieutenant provided for him we need a number to contact Mr. Deeks. This is a priority we need to get him out of there. Find him."

"What about his lieutenant?" Kensi asked.

"I will deal with him after we have Mr. Deeks back. No one threatens one of mine and gets away with it. After this operation I do believe it is time to sit down with Mr. Deeks and convince him to sign those papers to become an agent. His loyalty to LAPD is impressive and honorable, but to have such a strong loyalty to people that see him as expendable is wrong. Mr. Deeks is anything but expendable. The work he has done and accomplished in his life is proof of that. So we find him. The three of you go look around his apartment and when you are done come back here and we will go over what we have."

With that Hetty left to go and make some phone calls herself. She had never heard of this cartel before, but judging by how the bodies were found she could only imagine that they were one of the worst. She would work her own connections to see what information she could get on them. Sam, Callen and Kensi left Ops to head over to Deeks' apartment. They didn't really expect to find much, but they had to try. They were all hoping that Eric and Nell pulled through for them and found what they needed to get Deeks back today; before he got too far that they couldn't track him. Deeks was good at what he does none of them would ever deny that. If he didn't want to be found he wouldn't be found just like the rest of them. He didn't have training for what an agent usually has, but years with being an undercover detective did give him all the skills that they all had.

They took Sam's charger and they drove over to Deeks' apartment. Each one was lost in their own thoughts that they didn't speak to each other. Kensi was caught between being furious and worried. She knew Deeks wouldn't have done this unless he had no choice. Given the phone conversation he had with his Lieutenant it was clear to all of them that he really didn't have a choice. She was furious at Deeks, but that was only because she didn't want to feel the worry and fear that was spreading through her body. It was always easier for her to be mad then to be scared even if it was for someone else. She had already experienced the pain of losing a partner she didn't want to have to go through that all over again. Dom was a good guy and it took a while but she did get over the pain of him being gone. Deeks was different though he was completely opposite of Dom and Kensi knew that it would take her a long time to get over his death, if she ever did get over it. There really was only one Deeks out there in the world and she knew her world would become a lot darker with him gone from it.

Callen was doing his best to focus on the task at hand rather than the fact that Deeks might not come back to them. Deeks was different from them in the group. Callen had to admit he wasn't too thrilled when he was told that Deeks would be a part of the team as a Liaison. He understood the point Hetty was making and it did make it easier to work with LAPD on cases or when a case came up. Why she would have chosen Deeks he couldn't understand. He was different from the other personalities in the group and he definitely didn't think Deeks and Kensi being partners was ever going to last. They were complete opposites yet here they were a year later and Deeks had become one of their own. They would die to protect Deeks just like he would for any of them. They had all became a family. Now they had to fight to find one of their members before it was too late.

Sam was furious and he wasn't even trying to hide it. What just happened to Deeks went against his very soul and SEAL code that runs through him. Deeks was loyal and had a rare moral compass. He was a good man and for Sam that was speaking a lot. Deeks was annoying sure, but he had proved himself multiple times that he belonged on the team and in the family. He had protected Kensi on more than one occasion and he even protected Callen and himself at one point. Deeks was younger than Callen and himself and whether it was the SEAL in his blood or something else he saw Deeks as a younger brother. Now his younger brother was out there and in danger and he isn't there to protect him. Sam was sure he would rip Deeks' Lieutenant's head off when he saw him. If SEALS were anything they were loyal and clearly Deeks' Lieutenant wasn't loyal to his own men.

They pulled up to Deeks' apartment and the first thing they noticed was that Deeks' car was still here. They foolishly hoped that he hadn't left yet, but they all knew it was false hope he would have left last night. Callen pulled out his phone to call Eric to see if he could track Deeks and see what car he got into.

"Hey Callen."

"Hey Eric, Deeks' car is still here can you try and pull up some camera footage and see where he went to."

"I'm on it."

"Thanks"

Callen hung up and followed Sam and Kensi into the apartment. The first thing they noticed was Monty coming up to them when they walked in. Kensi bent down to pet the dog that Deeks loved very much.

"Hey Monty I guess you're going to be coming with me for a little bit."

Kensi stood up and she made her way around the living room with Monty following her the whole way. Callen then turned to the dog.

"Monty, where's Deeks?"

Callen asked the dog but he knew he wasn't going to answer; it was a dog after all. So he was surprised when Monty left the room and came back a few moments later with something in his mouth. He walked up to Callen and sat in front of him. Callen bent down and held his hand out for Monty to drop whatever was in his mouth which the dog did. Callen stood back up and opened the black wallet.

"It's his badge."

"Monty must have gotten it off the dining room table." Kensi said as she walked towards the dining room.

Kensi walked back into the living room where Callen and Sam were looking around, in her hand was Deeks' cell phone and watch.

"Well it's safe to say he's gone undercover." Sam said.

"Ok there's got to be something in here that we can go off of. Deeks gave us his alias maybe he left something else here to give us an idea of the location." Callen said.

They spread out searching different rooms of the house Kensi took the bedroom, Sam the kitchen and Callen was in the living room. They looked through everything they could to try and find something that might give them a clue as to where Deeks went. After a good hour they had nothing.

"There's a few of his clothes missing and a bag, but that's it in the bedroom." Kensi said.

"There's some ashes in the sink my guess is it's from the papers he was ordered to burn up. There's nothing left, but ashes we can't get anything from them." Sam explained.

"I got nothing either I have a feeling all we're going to get is just his alias and that's only because he wanted us to have it." Callen said.

"Alright let's go back to Ops maybe they got more lucky then us." Sam said.

"Come on Monty let's go for a car ride." Kensi said.

Monty stood up and Kensi put a leash on him and they went back to Sam's car. The drive to OPS was once again done in silence. Each trying to go over what could happen to Deeks with him being completely alone in this operation. Kensi looked over at Monty who had his head out the window. Deeks leaving Monty there just spoke volumes in his trust with Kensi and the team. He knew they wouldn't believe that he just resigned out of nowhere. He knew that Kensi would go over to his place and find Monty. Kensi knew how much Deeks loves Monty so it really was a no brainer to take him back to her place until they got Deeks back and the dog really was a sweet dog. They got back to Ops and they got out and went up to find Eric, Nell and Hetty back in the Ops' center. Hetty turned to her agents as they entered. She immediately noticed the old looking hair ball following behind Kensi.

"I sent you all to find Mr. Deeks and you come back with Monty."

"We found him at Deeks' apartment and obviously we can't just leave him there." Kensi explained.

"Very true Ms. Blye. Did you find anything?"

"No just his wallet, badge and watch. There were some ashes in his kitchen sink, but nothing we could use." Callen said.

"Did you guys find anything?" Sam asked.

"I was able to find a camera by Deeks' apartment and I was able to get the footage. Deeks was in his apartment for roughly an hour before he left and went around the block. He went into a parking lot that's just around the corner from his place and got into a black mustang. Now I couldn't get the license plate the car has some kind of reflection plate over them so you can't read the plate. I can tell you he drove off in the direction of the highway before I lost him." Eric said.

"So we know what he's driving, but we can't track him down. We also don't have the license plate which means we can't see who the car is registered to." Kensi said.

"Which could be an issue if someone in the cartel run the plates and it doesn't come back as his alias." Callen said.

"This whole operation is getting worse and worse by the hour." Sam said.

"I'm afraid it's going to get worse for Mr. Deeks. Mr. Beale if you would please pull up the information you managed to get." Hetty said.

Eric turned to his keyboard and began to pull up the medical files of each officer's autopsy reports and their police files for the operation. He put them up on the big screen so they can see.

"What are we looking at Eric?" Callen asked.

"These are the autopsy reports of each officer. Now he's the short version; each one was tortured as well as sexually assaulted. The first officer only lasted a week from the time the operation started till he turned up dead on the precinct's doorstep. Now with each officer the time they were gone for slowly got longer. The last officer that just died a couple days ago lasted three months. Now, every single one also had heroin in their system as well as ligature marks on their wrist and ankles."

"So they were all restrained, drugged and tortured in every sense of the word." Sam said feeling his stomach tighten at what could happen to Deeks.

"Here's the main issue, all of the torture and heroin use started the second day of the operation and it lasted until they were dead." Nell said.

"So they're evolving in their torture. They are learning what to do so it prolongs the officer's pain to the point where they can last till three months." Callen said.

"We gotta find him. Deeks doesn't know this does he?" Kensi asked.

"No I would suspect that he doesn't. His lieutenant never mentioned it on the phone call and I can't imagine it was in those papers either. Otherwise Mr. Deeks would never have gone regardless of the threats that his lieutenant gave. We have not been able to locate him yet he left last night around one in the morning. I was able to get some information on the cartel from one of my contacts. The Little Devil's operate out of San Diego so they are in California which is good. However, no one knows all of the locations of their hide outs or where exactly in San Diego. They have managed to stay hidden from all police taskforces as well as other organizations. There isn't a lot of information on them, but what there is isn't anything good. They are the number one cartel in the United States. They are as you can see incredibly violent. No one has ever gotten out alive and the men that work for the cartel don't go against the leader who is one Jose Martinez. He has no previous record from what my contact told me. His father was in charge of the cartel and taught him everything he knows. When his father died Jose took over when he was twenty, he is now forty." Hetty explained.

"So he's dangerous and we have no information on him other than his age. This is great what the hell do we do? We can't stake out all of San Diego." Kensi said clearly getting more and more frustrated with this situation.

"San Diego is about one hundred miles from here Mr. Deeks would have been there within an hour my guess is he got a motel for the night and has a plan on how to get into the cartel. If he is able to get into the cartel we have somewhere between twenty-four and forty- eight hours before the torture begins. This is all assuming that Mr. Deeks can even get into the cartel." Hetty said.

"No Deeks will get in he's done it already seven previous times he knows how to get in. What he doesn't know is what will happen to him once he is in." Callen said.

"We need to find him and quick Deeks might be able to handle torture and I'm sure he's done drugs before undercover. The sexual assault I don't think that's something he would be able to handle. He's use to pain, but that's something completely different. I don't think his mind could handle that." Kensi said.

"We will find him Kensi, Deeks will hang on. You just have to have faith in him Deeks is the best in undercover, you know that." Sam said trying his best to reassure her. Even though he was now seriously worried about Deeks' safety and mental health. Deeks was in serious trouble and Kensi was right his mind wouldn't be able to handle being raped no man can.

"What about the phone?" Callen asked.

"Haven't been able to find it my best guess is that it's a burn phone that his lieutenant bought but where I don't know." Eric said.

"So now what? We have nothing, no way of finding him." Kensi said.

They all stood there just looking at each other no one knowing what to say. The reality was they had no idea where he was, where he was going and even worse how to find him. They had nothing, but an alias and until that alias came up somewhere they had nothing. Not the car and not the phone. Other organizations had nothing on this cartel. They all knew the answer to the question, but no one wanted to say it out loud, because that would mean admitting defeat, admitting failure. This was one time they really couldn't afford to fail. Deeks couldn't afford them to fail. But they had nothing Deeks was good and that was exactly the problem he was too good. He could hide just as well as they could maybe even better. They all knew what the answer would be. but that didn't make hearing it any easier when Hetty finally spoke.

"We wait."