REVENGE

Here's my new story. This takes place sometime after my story "Fever" and before "The End of Max Gentry". Get ready for plenty of angst, hurt and comfort. I promise to put Marty back in the same shape I found him in since he doesn't belong to me. My minions are rubbing their little hands in glee in anticipation of the new story. Just remember, they are the bloodthirsty little wretches, not me! I'm really a nice person…honest!

I want to thank the wonderful nherbie for being my beta on this story. She' a class act and has improved my writing immensely!

Thoughts are in quotes and italics.

I don't own NCIS Los Angeles or any of the characters on the show. I only own my original characters which in this story include Ben Davis, Mike Donaldson, Leanne Sykes, Harry Denton, James Madison and Samuel Deeks.

Please press that little button and leave a review on your way out to let me know what you think.

Enjoy.

~,~,~

Prologue - Present Day (Day 12):

The blond-haired man was having trouble remembering how he had escaped from the room he had been held captive in for the last twelve days. He didn't even know how long he had been in that room. He couldn't remember his name or what city he was in. He kept hearing and seeing things that scared the hell out of him but he was unable to make any sense of them. The only constant in what he was seeing and hearing was the face and voice of his father; his sneer and angry eyes staring him in the face and his voice whispering to him in his head…that face and voice scared the hell out of him. They always had because fists, beatings and pain always followed behind the face and voice. There was a bad smell he would get a whiff of now and then but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. He didn't think it was him but then he wasn't sure of much of anything at the moment.

He stumbled along a sidewalk in a city he didn't recognize. His balance and mobility seriously impaired by the number of drugs in his system, but he didn't know that. All he knew was that his entire body hurt, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet and he couldn't understand why. If he had been more aware of himself or his surroundings he would have realized he was covered in blood from the beatings he'd endured, resulting in the many cuts and contusions he had. The blood had dripped down the sides of his face, through his beard and the back of his head beneath his hair. He would've realized his back, chest, arms and the soles of his feet were swollen, bruised, cut up and hurt like hell from all the abuse they had taken. There was both dried and fresh blood all over the shirt and sleep pants he had on. The whites of his normally crystal-clear, ocean-blue eyes were completely bloodshot; with the pupils blown so large only a tiny ring of blue could be seen. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days, maybe longer, while he and his clothes were in tatters and absolutely filthy.

The only coherent thoughts in his brain were to run; run as fast and as far as he could. All he knew at the moment was that he had to get away. Away from who or what he wasn't sure. The urge to run he felt was overwhelming and couldn't be ignored. If he could only get to the ferns he kept visualizing, he knew he would be safe. He didn't know why he felt that way, but the ferns gave him a sense of safety and peace he hadn't known for as long as he could remember. He was sure their shade would hide him from what was pursuing him. He kept staggering along the sidewalk, looking around to see if he knew where he was, but nothing looked familiar to him. He was stumbling into people as he tried to run; having trouble staying on his feet. He was waving his arms around trying to keep from falling all the while mumbling to himself. To anyone actually paying attention to him, he appeared to be one of those unfortunate souls who had lost their tenuous grip on reality and existed in a world of their own making.

As he continued staggering along, people stared at him and moved out of his way or physically shoved him away from them. There was no human kindness emanating from the people he encountered. There was no good will or love on display in the city of Los Angeles that morning. Some of the people he encountered looked away in disgust and assumed he was drunk or mentally ill. A few thought he was a bum or a pan handler, but no one, not one single person, made any effort to help him until an LAPD officer recognized him through the blood and filth he was covered in.

~,~,~

Ben Davis was on his lunch break having picked up a sandwich from a nearby deli he frequented. He was on his way to a little park he knew close by to eat when he saw the dazed, bloody, filthy man staggering along the sidewalk in front of him. He took a good long look at him and did a double-take when he recognized him as Marty Deeks, a fellow police officer. Ben knew, as did every other LAPD officer, that Marty Deeks had been abducted and missing for almost two weeks now. He couldn't believe his eyes when he recognized the filthy man in front of him as Marty. He looked nothing like the Marty Ben knew. The man is front of him was a shell of his normal self. He was extremely emaciated; his frame nothing but bones covered by skin. He was bloody and filthy from head to foot. Ben shook his head in disbelief and thought "My God Marty! What happened to you? You look like you've been to hell and back. Who would do something like this to you? Whoever it was is an inhuman bastard."

Ben pulled out his radio and called into the station "I found Det. Deeks wandering down Robertson Blvd. He's disoriented and looks like he's about ready to collapse. Let Lt. Bates know and contact his NCIS team as well. They'll want to know he's been found. Send an ambulance to this location ASAP!" He then proceeded to give the dispatcher his exact location "I'm on the 1300 block of South Robertson Blvd, just north of West Pico Blvd. I'm on the left side of the street. Tell the ambulance that Deeks looks drugged to the gills, he's nothing but skin and bones and he's been severely beaten. There's blood everywhere. It looks like he has several head injuries and his feet are a mess!"

Ben took a step closer to Marty and put a gentle hand on his arm "Marty, it's good to see you man, even though you look like hell. There are a lot of people who are going to be very happy to see you. Can you tell me what happened to you, where you've been and who took you?"

The blond-haired man wrenched his arm away from the cop in terror and began backing away while yelling at him "Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Don…don touch me…I dinna do anything!…I…I…I…"

"Whoa Marty" Ben tried to calm him down. "Come on, you know me. I'm trying to help you here. It's Ben, Ben Davis. We've worked together many times before. Don't you remember? We're friends! We've been friends for years. You've been to my home for dinner and met my family." Deeks was looking at him, but Ben finally realized Marty didn't recognize him. His eyes were wide in terror with no sign of recognition in them. He was looking around in confusion as if he had no idea where he was. Ben was horrified at the shape Marty was in. He took another good look at him and, even though he knew it had been almost two weeks since Deeks disappeared, the man in front of him looked like it had been much longer than that. Deeks must have lost over 20 pounds from his already lean frame since he went missing. That was twenty pounds he could ill afford to lose. No wonder he was nothing but skin and bones. He looked like a strong wind could blow him away. His hair was limp and greasy, plastered against his forehead and longer than Ben had ever seen it. His beard was bushy making him look more like a mountain man than the California surfer he really was. His clothes were in tatters, his eyes wild with fear and he stank to high heaven.

Ben could see track marks up and down Deeks' arms where he had been injected repeatedly with drugs of some kind. And he knew Deeks would never take drugs willingly. "What the hell! Who did this to you and why? You look like you've been starved, tortured and drugged to the gills on more than one occasion Marty. And I've never seen you as scared as you are right now. You look terrified!" Ben shook his head in anger. "As God is my witness, we're going to catch the bastard or bastards who did this to you. I promise you Marty. No one deserves to be treated like this, especially you. We'll find them and if there is any justice in this world, they'll get what's coming to them. I would love to have a few minutes alone with whoever was involved in this when we catch them. I really do! I will take great pleasure in giving them some of their own medicine." If the people who had done this to Deeks had been in front of Ben at that moment, he thought he would have gladly killed them, cop or no cop.

Deeks continued backing away from Ben shaking his head and mumbling "I…I don know you. I…I don know…" He looked around in confusion again and Ben could tell he had no idea where he was. "Wh…where am I…what is this place? Do…do you know who I am, really? Am I this…this Deeks person?" He kept looking around hoping to recognize anything or anyone. Nothing looked familiar to him; everything looked like something out of a nightmare.

He looked back at Ben. "Are…are you real or…or…am I imagining you?…I can't…I…I…dunno. I k…k…keep hearing things…see…seeing my…my old man…but it's funny, you know…" he chuckled bitterly. "He's dead…supposed to be dead…sh…she told me…she did…she said th…that he…he…he died…car a…acc…accident."

Deeks' chuckle morphed into hysterical laughter which ended in sobs because he somehow knew deep within his mind he had been hallucinating earlier and thought he might still be. "He isn't though…h…he's n…not…not dead I mean…you know…" Deeks whispered to Ben from where he was standing. "I know b…be…because I can see him over there…right over there…he keeps…he's whispering to me…bad things…scary things." Deeks looked at Ben again while waving his hand to his left as though showing Ben where his father was standing. His body continued shaking uncontrollably. "He's gonna get me. He'll beat me again an…and shoot me then h…hu…hurt my mom. Don't let him see me, please….hide…I have to hide." Deeks begged backing away from Ben hoping to find somewhere to hide from his father.

Deeks was in a living nightmare. Everything around him was feeding his terror because none of it looked real. He couldn't see a straight line anywhere; everything was wavy and out of proportion. The only thought that seemed to help him at all was thinking about the ferns. He didn't know why, but thinking about the ferns…well, they felt like a refuge to him…someplace where he would be safe…they helped calm him a little but why they did so remained a mystery to him.

He wasn't sure of anything at the moment because he was hearing colors and seeing sounds again; they were weaving around him like ribbons; wrapping him up so he couldn't move. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest because he saw and heard his father everywhere he looked, as crazy as that sounded. Things around him were either wreathed in rainbows or else he saw them as grotesque shapes growing out of the ground and walls all around him then slowly transforming into a terrifying parody of his father holding the shotgun he had pointed at Marty…pointing it at him to shoot him again. Marty feared for his life every time he saw that gun and his father. He tried to hide, but he couldn't move and it terrified him. He kept cycling between laughing maniacally and letting out heartrending sobs while trembling like a leaf, as he tried to process everything around him.

Ben didn't know what to do to help Deeks. He began talking quietly to him again while praying the ambulance and his team would arrive soon. "You've been missing for almost two weeks. Everyone has been searching for you. Can you at least tell me what happened to you?" Ben reached out again to take Deeks' arm, but Deeks began screaming as he finally backed himself into a corner as far as possible between two buildings, slowly collapsing against the wall while drawing his knees up to his chest and putting his arms over his head repeating the phrase "No…no…leave me alone. You're not real…not real…why are you doing this to me? This is all a nightmare or I'm crazy. This isn't real…this can't be real. He's dead…he's dead…so why does he keep talking to me?"

He repeatedly hit himself in the head with his hands. "What's happening to me? I don't know you…but you say you know me. Why can't I remember you?" he whispered to himself. "Someone help me…please help me. Sam where are you? Come back Sam, come back. I can't find the ferns." all the while covering his head with his arms and continuing to laugh and cry at the same time.

Ben could see the tracks the tears made in the grime covering his face as they continuously slipped down his cheeks from his overflowing eyes. He got the impression Deeks might shake apart at any moment he was trembling so much. He didn't know what else he could do to comfort him so tried to be content keeping watch over him and making sure everyone gave both of them a wide berth. Anyone who looked like they might try to come closer to Deeks and Ben received a deadly glare from the cop protecting his friend.

"Where the hell is his team and the ambulance? They should be here by now. I don't know how he is still alive let alone walking around. He needs to be in a hospital…sooner rather than later." He was worried, very worried. He was watching Deeks and could tell he was getting worse. He was positive there were hidden injuries he couldn't see on his friend besides the very visible ones caused by the fact he had been badly beaten and clearly starved. What he could see of Deeks' body looked horrible and Ben knew he needed to be in a hospital as soon as possible. He could see what looked like restraint marks on his wrists and ankles, a large contusion on his forehead, black eyes, split lips and quite a bit of matted blood in his hair with bruises, contusions and cuts over every part of his body that wasn't covered by his tattered blood-stained t-shirt and sleep pants. "What the hell happened to you? I know you were abducted and there was talk around the precinct about you being tortured, but that was only rumors. This…this is so much worse than I could have imagined. How the hell did you survive? I've never seen anyone looking as bad as you do still walking around."

~,~,~