Requiem for the boy

Chapter 3

Deeks stared at the picture, it was the original copy of the one he had seen countless times as a child, his mother had had it in her room, he hadn't understood the writing that had been on the photocopies of the picture but there had been numbers underneath it. He had always loved that picture, his mother had told him that she had been on a picnic with her mother and father and had been singing the sound of music, off key and loudly as her mother laughed and her father took that picture. She'd had her arms spread and was twirling doing her impression of Maria from the movie. She told him how that was her picnic with her parents and how she had met his father two days later.

Kensi looked at the conflicting emotions running over his face and gently placed her hand on his. He turned and held her hand tight.

"Do they know…? Do they know she's your mother…that you're their grandson?" She asked.

"No." Deeks said sharply "And they don't need to."

Kensi looked at him, "You have to talk to Hetty, you can't be on this case." She said softly not wanting to hurt him.

"I need to do this…I need to for her, she would have wanted me to." He said with absolute conviction, "They don't need to know who I am, I'll copy the picture and send it back."

"I'd want to know." Kensi said with conviction, "If my child died and I had a grandchild I would want to know."

"Don't." Deeks said cutting her off and reaching over and turning the key in the ignition.

Kensi took it as the cue it was for her to head back to the mission, neither of them saw Carl Johansen looking at them out of the window his eyes smarting.

Callen and Sam headed back to the mission to see if there was any news on the visit to the family and arrived at the same time as Kensi and Deeks.

"Give me a minute." Deeks asked and headed off to the bathroom as the rest of them headed to ops.

"He ok?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Kensi said and walked off in front of him.

Deeks stood in the bathroom and looked at his reflection. He splashed cold water on his face and looked in the mirror, Max looked back for a second and then he was gone. Feeling bolstered by seeing his alter ego for a second Deeks straightened up. He knew he could keep Max at bay and he could handle this himself.

Hetty and Vance had gone out on a limb keeping the knowledge of Max's existence known only to a few people. Deeks was a good investigator and Hetty had insisted that this was just a blip on his radar and not a permanent thing. Vance had agreed as soon as Deeks had passed all his psych evals and as Bates had kept him on as LAPD he felt tied and had allowed Deeks to continue to work as OSP Liaison to LAPD.

Centering himself he walked upstairs to OPS where Eric had already started briefing everyone on what they had so far.

Kensi turned and gave him a smile as he walked in which he returned and leant against the table leaning slightly into her.

"So we have some additional information." Eric said. Callen nodded and turned to the group.

"Sam and I talked to Captain Reynolds aboard the USS Yorktown, IS1 Johansen was well liked amongst the crew, he and his family are well known. His parents helped a shipmates daughter who had leukemia and we couldn't find anyone who thought his work could be the cause of his death….Kensi, Deeks did you get anything from the wife?" Callen asked.

Kensi started to speak but Deeks cut her off, "Sarah Johansen was upset at her husband's death, her in-laws were there though and didn't allow us to talk to her alone." He said flatly.

"We have some information on the in-laws." Nell said and Deeks tensed.

"Carl Johansen is a CEO of JGB industries one of the top ten companies that has defense contracts with the US Navy. Johansen, Grant and Bailey industries make a major component of anti aircraft missiles and they have been in talks with the pentagon about some new equipment, is there a possibility that this was a botched kidnapping? According to files Carl Johansen's daughter was a tear away and got in with a bad crowd and was killed in a drive by shooting, apparently she was a prostitute and a crack addict."

"She wasn't that's a lie!" Deeks said not realizing he had said that aloud until he saw everyone looking at him, "I…I mean it has to be right? I…Aw Hell!" he exclaimed as Nell pulled up the picture of her body on the ground after the shooting up onto the plasma, "TAKE THAT OFF THERE!" he yelled looked horrified at the screen and then ran out.

Kensi went to follow him and Callen caught her arm. "What the hell is going on with your partner?" he asked as Hetty walked in.

"Mr. Callen what…" She stopped as she saw the picture. The young woman in the picture lay dead on the ground her glassy eyes looking up into nothingness as a sobbing child sat nearby his terrified blue eyes looking directly at the person taking the picture, his blond hair hanging over his face blood speckled over his face and hair.

"Why is Mr. Deeks' mother's picture on the plasma?" she asked.

"That's his…Crap!" Callen swore and realized what had happened. "Where is Deeks?"

"He ran down the stairs and out of the building, I suggest you go and find him Ms Blye and Mr. Callen you had better fill me in on this case."

Deeks hadn't gone far he was sitting on the wall outside the mission his knees curled up to his chest staring at the landscape below him.

All he was doing was focusing on his breathing trying to keep his temper under control and not vomit onto the grass, the shock of that picture had him shaking at the knees and his stomach wanting to rebel against him. He couldn't afford to lose his temper, and if his uncle's death had something to do with his grandfather's company he owed it to his mother to help fix this. He had remembered them as soon as he had seen the picture as the couple in the police station when he was a child, he had remembered the look of disgust in their eyes as they had looked at him and he couldn't stop the tears that were freely flowing, he heard some footsteps coming up behind him and quickly wiped his eyes.

"You good?" Kensi asked sitting next to him but not looking at him, Deeks sighed and turned to her, "I will be, we need to find out what Johansen's company is dealing in that someone wants to stop him by killing his son." He said. He got up and turned to her, "I will be ok Kensi, they don't know who I am and I intend to keep it that way, I can do this." He insisted.

Kensi smiled and kissed his cheek, "I know you can Marty, but it's not me you need to convince."

He nodded and followed her into the mission to face the music.

Callen and Hetty met them at the door.

"Deeks." Callen started.

Deeks nodded at him, he wanted to let Callen know he was ok, but didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Mr. Callen, you and Mr. Hanna, collect Mr. and Mrs. Johansen and bring them to the boat shed." Hetty told him and Callen went to get Sam. Deeks walked up to Hetty.

"You can't take me off the case." He said flatly.

"Can you tell me you are not emotionally compromised by this?" Hetty asked.

Deeks took a deep breath and looked at her, "The picture was a shock, but I have no feelings whatsoever to the Johansen's I don't know them." He said honestly.

"Fine," Hetty said not liking it at all, "Head to the boatshed with Ms Blye and assist Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna." She said.

She walked off to her office not liking this case at all, what she hadn't told Deeks or the others was that she knew Carl Johansen and had dealt with him from time to time and he didn't seem the sort to be involved in anything underhand. She sighed as she took a picture out of her draw of her and Carl at the President's last state dinner. Of course she had no idea that he and Deeks were related until recently, she just hoped this wouldn't all blow up in their faces.