Nice little bonding here with Bates and Deeks. Well played. Fits in well IMO with the show. Bates always seemed to trust Deeks/had a connection with him that Deeks didn't have with others on the LAPD.

Deeks wondering how to get out of that, because even though his cover was precarious, that raid really was blowing his cover.

No wonder Bates takes care of Deeks as much as possible... bit of a

And now we have a clue to where the alias Max Gentry may have from... the need to be carrying in any situation. A really nice little back story for the genisis of that alias.

I caught up but now I have to wait!

Funny parts there with Callen and the morbid questions.

Looking forward to the next chapter.

Nice to see Bates twig to the idea it might be Deeks without too much detail. Question is has he brought enough firepower to the party given how big Deeks' observations on the operation were.

Hmm, I still think she's Hetty but now there's a niggle of doubt.

I can imagine a younger Deeks being a touch overwhelmed with what he's fallen into.
I like the message from the team about back up and them being pissed off about the lack of support for Deeks. Glad it found it within the team itself.
Oh boy. I think Wilkes made a big mistake (in more ways than one).

Ganging up on him - definitely to be expected. Now let's see just how much trouble Deeks is in.

I'll agree with the query on professional workplace! :-)

Love Hetty's comments and timing. Windows? More and more I'm thinking Hetty and little old lady are one and the same.

That's a nasty cliffhanger - lucky I don't have to wait for the next chapter!

I wonder how long it took Bates to stop laughing once Deeks left his office. And gun shot reports? Must have been very loud bangs. I guess they were big balloons (assuming the bigger the balloon the louder the bang.)

I'm still inclined to think the old lady is Hetty. Guess I'd better keep reading and see.

Seems Sam was okay after all, perhaps the idea of balloons as a weapon was distraction enough.

Now goldfish? Tell me you are going to write that sometime.

So the other question that pops up... has Callen actually read Harry Potter?

Oh no, poor Sam it was an actual clown!

Interesting look into Deeks' prep for a cover. He certainly puts a lot of effort into it.

Sorry for being awol - life and writing got in the way. Let's see how far I can catch up today.

Still loving the interruptions and tangents - curious about Sam's four covers op though! ;-)

Question. Was Sam suggesting the party shop with desperate hope that Deeks' story doesn't involve clowns considering Sam really doesn't like them?