NCIS: Los Angeles - Hard Target

The Hunter and the Hunted

Moans, groans and the sounds of a struggle alerted Marty Deeks that something was about to happen. Pulling against his chains in futility, Deeks got to his feet with some difficulty. His joints ached in the persistent dampness of his prison increasing the feelings of exhaustion ten-fold. What little food and water his captors provided was barely enough to sustain him physically, but enough to keep him alive.

"Chain her up before she wakes, you idiot!" The masked goon with a baritone voice ordered angrily. With the sudden burst of light after being confined in the darkness for so long, Marty was temporarily blinded to what they were doing. Hearing the rattle of more chains next to him, the NCIS agent guessed correctly that another prisoner was being added to his cell. Once his cell was darkened again, his vision adjusted quickly to the dim lighting, Marty was able to identify his fellow prisoner.

"Nooo!" Deeks whispered, his heart breaking at the sight. "Kensi!"

Fighting his restraints, Marty growled in rage as he struggled mightily to reach her unconscious form.

"Come on Fern." Deeks begged. "Wake up Princess. Open those beautiful eyes, Kens...please, baby girl."

"D-Deeks?" Kensi's voice cracked sleepily. "Is that you?"

Deeks' heart jumped joyfully that his Fern was alive. Tears streamed down his face as he savored the sound of her beautiful voice.

"It's me, baby girl." Deeks cooed softly as he reached out to her. Kensi reached out and captured Deeks' hand and held on for dear life. Not much frightened the jaded NCIS agent, but here she was terrified. Being snatched from her home so violently left her shaken deep down.

"Where the hell are we, Marty?" Kensi asked a little more awake and alert to her surroundings. "Did we get drop-kicked back to the Dark Ages?"

Marty laughed softly at Kensi's statement remembering his own reaction to finding himself shackled to a rock wall. He would be okay once Kensi was fully awake.

"I think so, Fern." Deeks replied softly. "You didn't happen to get the name and number of the truck that hit us, did you love?"

"If only, Max." Kensi replied using her partner's undercover alias from his days as a detective at LAPD. "What do they want?"

"Good question, Kens." Deeks quipped. "No one has come in to gloat, torture, or torment me since I've been here. I've been running recent cases through my head that might shed some light on who might have a reason for vengeance on us as a team."

"That's just about everyone we apprehend, Deeks." Kensi snarked. She was starting to come to full wakefulness.

"I just wish I knew what they wanted." Deeks sighed in weary frustration. "Or who they wanted. The not-knowing is driving me batsy Fern."

"Short trip, eh?" Kensi half-joked.

"That's my girl." Marty replied with a brilliant smile. "We need to figure a way out of this medieval dungeon."

A sudden crash at the door caused the duo to jump from their place on the cold, musty floor. Six burly men wrestled a new prisoner into the cell thrashing violently. Shouts of rage echoed through the cell shaking the very walls.

"Watch his hands and feet!" The leader barked. "Hold him down while I get his wrists secured!" The thrashing and struggling became much more violent as their prisoner tried to throw his jailers off before he could be chained. With a clunk the shackles were snapped into place and secured. In one lightning-fast move, the group of men jumped clear of their enraged captive and filed out slightly short of breath from their tussle.

Shortly afterwards, two more men dragged an unconscious male to the fourth set of shackles and secure him without much of a fight.

"Deeks? Kensi?" Sam Hanna exclaimed with much relief. "You both good?"