Well here goes my second attempt at writing. Just something that crossed my mind so I thought I would run with it. Let me know what you think.

The Little Red Tattoo

Chapter 1

Istanbul, Turkey – September 19, 2017

Sitting on the balcony of the Vali suite at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel over looking the Bosphorus Bridge, one of the deadliest assassins in the Middle East is drinking a Turkish coffee. It was a beautiful autumn day, with the sun shining and the temperature a very respectable twenty-five degrees Celsius.

A picture of an elderly woman with short hair and glasses is placed on the little table holding the coffee and a small computer. Encrypted files were being received with the information required to begin the mission to eradicate another high profile target.

This assignment was going to be a little more difficult than the others as it was to be carried out on American soil. Preparations had already begun to procure the false travel documents and to back stop the new identity required for the operation. But there was still some time before any travel would take place, so for the next few days a well needed rest was in order.

She stood up from her seat and leaned on the handrail to take in the view of the peninsula. It was a truly stunning sight and so welcomed after being in the mountains of Afghanistan for the last month.

Her mind was on the new target. This was not the usual high ranking military male, it was a woman and there was something about this particular person that was different or even familiar in some strange way. It was there in the back of her mind but she just couldn't reach it.

She picked up the photo and studied it again.

What is it about you lady? Have we crossed paths at some time? What's the connection?

Well she was going to find out what she could about this target over the next few days and see if she could figure this out.

It seemed that certain parts of her life were always covered in a fog, especially her early years. This was becoming more and more of an issue, but the pills helped with this and the headaches. Problem was that the pain was increasing and she needed to up the dosage to stay focused.

Picking up the computer she moved back into the room to take a shower. She grabbed the bottle of pills from the side table and popped one in her mouth.

That should help with the memories, now for a shower.

The light robe dropped to the floor exposing her well sculpted body. In the mirror she studied her reflection and smiled. The image was thin, lean, well tanned with excellent muscle tone. Her hair was auburn and cut short, much easier to keep given the number of wigs and disguises she used. A small tattoo of a red scorpion with its tail curled up ready to strike was positioned at the junction between the top of her right leg and torso. When she wore a bikini the tattoo would be completely hidden. Her fingers lightly stroked the scorpion as she moved towards the shower stall. Only a hand full of men had seen this mark and lived. It was a part of the job that she didn't care for, but rules were rules and her survival depended on being a ghost. The less people knew of her and how to identify her, the better.

The shower was quick and cold, just the way she liked it and just the way she carried out all her assignments.

Los Angeles, January 3, 2014

Deeks was just settling into his couch getting ready to watch a little television and trying not to think about a certain brunette that was thousands of miles away. He knew that was going to be impossible so he took a long pull of the beer in his hand and stared at the satellite phone on the table in front of him. Waiting and hoping she would call him even for a quick hello, just to hear her voice. His mind was constantly working, wondering.

What was she doing? How did she spend Christmas and New Years? Was the mission nearly complete? These were just a few of the questions going through his head.

To say that he missed her would be the understatement of the decade. They needed to get through this assignment and then things could start moving the in the right direction for them. Finally after years of dancing around their 'thing' they were both on the same page and ready to do what was needed to make it work.

Another pull of the beer and more staring at the phone. It was going to be another long night of nothing but doing nothing. How many times could he go for a run with Monty?

How many times could he go and check for mail at Kensi' place and then just hangout there reminiscing about their movie nights?

Truth be known, this sitting around waiting was killing him. He needed to move, do something to take his mind off the excruciatingly slow passing of time. The weekend was here and that would only accent everything he was going through.

Finally around midnight Deeks decided it was time for bed. He grabbed the phone off the table and moved it to his bedroom on the table next to his bed. Crawling under the sheets he turned the light off and stared up at the ceiling.

"Kensi, you just need to stay safe and come back soon. 'Night Fern."

As usual the night was restless. With the amount of tossing and turning that Deeks went through, he really didn't need to go for a morning run, but he did so none the less.

He would carry both phones with him everywhere he went, constantly checking to see if the battery was full or if he had a message. He was getting paranoid he would forget the satellite phone and miss her call. Surfing was out of the question as well so the weekend past painfully slow at best.

Monday morning brought a new day with new hope for a call from his favourite NCIS agent. Sitting at his desk he would randomly look over to the lone empty chair across from him. Sam and Callen were both busy cleaning up unfinished reports. The silence was broken by the ringing of the phone. All three heads shot up and looked at each other.

"Well are you going to answer it or not?"

"Yeah G I am. Give me sec."

Unfolding the antenna Deeks hit the button expecting to hear a happy Kensi ready to make small talk and ask how everyone was doing so when the first thing he heard was automatic gun fire Deeks screamed "Kensi what's happening? Are you alright? Talk to me." His words were filled with emotion and fear. Callen and Sam jumped up from their seats and were standing beside him looking frantic.

"Put it on speaker. Sam, get the others." Callen was barking orders, worry consuming him.

"Deeks just listen. We are pinned down and it's getting bad. These are our co-ordinates for this sector. We need help fast. Our comms are down so this is all I have. Here goes: Alpha-1-6-3-Echo-Charlie-7-5."

More gun fire in the background.

Hetty was listening and the look on her face was hiding nothing. She was scared for Kensi and everyone could see it.

Nell and Eric had run down the stairs like they were on fire, tablets in hand and fear in their eyes.

No one spoke they just listened to the horrific scene being played out over the speaker.

"Hetty was right, there is mole leaking Intel. We were ambushed. Sabatino is missing. Granger and I are trapped." A constant barrage of automatic fire filled the background.

Deeks mouthed "Sabatino" and Sam just shook his head.

Nell was biting her lower lip and tears were starting to form.

Hetty stared at the phone with a look that underlined the gravity of the situation.

"Nell, get the Director on the line. We need to contact the team in Afghanistan and get them this information."

"Kensi, Kensi are you still there?"

"God, Granger's been hit. I can't get to him. I'm trapped in this corner. They are all around us. There are just too many."

"Hold on we are getting help. Just hold on. Promise me."

Deeks was in full panic mode. His voice was shaking with emotion. Everyone just looked at him as he stared at the phone trying to hold it together.

When Kensi spoke again her voice was different, lower, softer almost serene. The background noise was somewhat muted but still there.

"Marty listen to me," she paused and swallowed hard, "I need you to remember one thing. I love you. I have always loved you. I was just too stubborn and too afraid to tell you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. You made me laugh, all the time and when I was with you nothing else mattered. We could do anything together and I could feel it when you looked at me."

More gun fire and yelling in the background.

"You saved me in so many different ways and you were always there for me."

Nell had tears running down her face and Eric had his glasses off and was wiping his eyes with both hands.

"No, no, no… don't you dare think you can say that to me over the phone." She could hear the emotion in his voice as he continued. "You are going to tell me to my face when you come home or I'm going to come there and drag you back, top secret mission or not."

Deeks was fighting the tears but to no avail. This couldn't be happening. Not now, not when they were about to start their life as a couple. He knew first hand that life was cruel, but this was too much even for Deeks to handle.

The gun fire was getting closer now.

More return fire and then the 'click…click' of an empty magazine.

"Marty, please talk to my mom. It has to be you. Give Monty a hug for me. I will love you always."

The sound of loud gun fire was followed by that of the phone hitting the ground and bouncing off the rocks.

"Kensi…. Kensi ….Answer me. Please Fern just say something."

Deeks was pleading, hoping to hear her voice again, but the line was dead. With tears in his eyes, he fell back into his chair and dropped his head.

He was completely numb. His entire world had just been obliterated.

How was he going to get through life without her?

"Hetty, we gotta do something. We can't leave her there. It's Kensi!" Callen was furious, he started pacing around the desks trying to control his anger.

Sam slammed his fist on the desk "Damn it Hetty, we need to go get her back. It has to be us and it must be now."

Sam walked over behind Deeks and put his hand on his shoulder and spoke.

" Deeks…. Deeks, we're going to get her back. Let's go get ready. Kensi needs us now and every second counts. Come on." Grabbing the side of his arm, Sam started to help Deeks get up off the chair and focus on their new mission.

Hetty just turned and walked to her desk. She picked up the phone and dialled.

She slowly brushed a tear from the corner of her eye as she stared up into space and waited for the line to connect.

Nell just started running and didn't top until she was in the parking lot beside her car. She slide down the side and sat next to the front door and just cried with her head in her hands. Eric soon found her and sat down with her, holding her, crying with her.

"She can't be gone, Eric. She just can't be."
"They're going to find her, don't worry." What else could he have said?

After a few minutes Callen walked over and knelt down to face them.

"We need you to come back in. Hetty is making the arrangements to get us over there. We're going to find her."

They slowly stood and made there way back inside. It was the beginning of the New Year and it was already off to a very bad start with the possibility of getting much worse.

Please review and thanks for reading this.