Presumption of Innocence

Chapter One

Despite all her years of training and experience as an NCIS agent, Kensi couldn't control the feeling of blind panic at hearing her partner had been shot. The journey to the hospital through early morning traffic was frustratingly slow. She sounded her car horn to encourage a slower moving car to get out of her way. The next delay came at a red light. She gripped the steering wheel and concentrated on slowing the rhythm of her breathing. The traffic began to move and she executed a left turn across the path of two lanes of vehicles not caring that she had forced drivers to brake abruptly. She sped away from the sound of blaring horns, shattering the speed limit in her rush to reach the hospital.

Callen and Sam would be following her. She hadn't waited for them, leaving Ops as soon as they received the news. All she knew was that Deeks had just come out of surgery and was in life-threatening condition. There was no information about the shooting and nothing to explain why it had taken so long to call Hetty despite her being listed as next-of-kin. Kensi swerved round a bus which had indicated an intention to stop. She found herself facing oncoming traffic and wrenched the wheel to return her car to its own side of the road. The shock of that near miss washed over her and she moderated her speed.

Five minutes later she turned onto the hospital grounds, slammed on the brakes and parked at the front of the building. Sub-consciously she was aware that it was a tow-away zone, but that didn't matter to her. She got out of the car and ran inside. There was only one person working at the information desk and she was on the telephone.

"Martin Deeks," Kensi said, cutting across the woman's conversation. "He was brought in last night with gunshot wounds. Where can I find him?"

"I will be with you in a minute." The woman continued with her call while Kensi impatiently drummed her fingers on the counter top. It felt like an eternity before the call ended. "What was the name?" she asked Kensi.

"Deeks."

"Let me see." She typed the name into her computer. "He's in ICU. Room 320."

"Thank you." Kensi headed for the stairs, dodging around anyone in her path. This brought back so many bad memories; Callen's shooting, Deeks being shot to draw her out, Renko dying and Dom... She increased her speed.

The third floor hallway led to the ICU. She pushed open the door leading to the Unit and approached the nurses' station. "I'm looking for Marty Deeks," she said.

The young nurse looked at her sympathetically. "Are you a family member?"

"I'm with NCIS. We work together."

"I can only give information to his family."

"He doesn't have any family. Our boss is listed as his next-of-kin. Her name is Henrietta Lange. She received a call telling her that he'd been admitted. I'm here on her behalf. Please, I need to know how he is."

The nurse consulted a file. "Miss Lange is named as his emergency contact." She gave Kensi a friendly smile. "Alright, but I can't tell you much. You'll have to wait to speak to the doctor. Mr. Deeks was shot twice in the chest. Emergency surgery has stabilized him although it's too soon to give a prognosis."

Kensi stifled a gasp. "Can I see him?"

"He isn't allowed visitors. If it was up to me I'd let you in for a few minutes, but the police gave instructions that only medical staff can enter the room."

"Is he still in some kind of danger?" Kensi asked.

"They left someone on duty outside his room. I don't know why. He's just down the hallway on the right." She looked around to make sure no-one was listening. "As you're in law enforcement I can't see any harm in you going to talk to the officer."

"Thanks." Kensi forced herself to walk at a normal pace. A uniformed police officer was sitting on a chair outside Deeks' room. He watched her warily, standing up as she approached.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked.

Kensi pulled out her badge and showed him her ID. "NCIS. Deeks is my partner. What's going on?"

"He's in custody."

She stared at the officer, her brain refusing to process that ridiculous statement. Before she could think of anything to say she heard Callen calling her name. She turned to see Callen and Sam approaching.

"How is he?" Callen asked.

"I don't know. He's...he's under arrest."

Callen's eyebrows shot up. "Okay. Let me handle this. Sam, take Kensi over there." He pointed to a small waiting area.

"No," Kensi protested.

Sam took hold of her arm gently. "Come on. Callen'll sort it out."

Callen waited until she was out of earshot before flashing his badge. "Special Agent Callen, NCIS."

"Jamieson."

"Officer Jamieson, Marty Deeks is a member of my team." He gestured toward Kensi. "She's his partner. All we know is that he's been shot and is in critical condition. She's not going to leave until she sees him so why don't you tell me what's going on. I'd hate to have to get my Operations Manager to call your Captain."

Jamieson glared at Callen while he weighed his options. "Alright. He's a suspect in a homicide."

"Who is he supposed to have killed?"

"If you want to know any more you'll have to speak to Lt. Mayer in Homicide."

"I'll do that. In the meantime why don't you let her in to see him? I doubt if he's a flight risk," he said with more than a hint of sarcasm. "How would you feel if it was your partner?"

Jamieson looked down the hall to where Kensi was pacing back and forth. "She leaves her gun with me."

"Agreed. Kensi," Callen called. "Officer Jamieson has agreed to let you in to see Deeks." He held out his hand. "Gun."

Kensi drew her gun and handed it to Callen. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure yet. Go and check on Deeks. I'll call Hetty."

She opened the door slowly, terrified of what she would see. The room was dimly lit with the window blinds closed. She took a couple of steps inside and closed the door. The only sound came from the monitor and her first impression was of a tangle of wires and tubes. A few more steps brought her to his bedside. His face was ashen and his eyes which usually sparkled with mischief were tightly closed. Thick bandages encased his upper body, making it hard to see the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Only the monotonous beeping of the machine proved that he was alive. She reached down to touch his hand, almost recoiling at the cold clammy feel of his skin.

"What happened?" she whispered. She closed her eyes to hold back the moisture that was threatening to overflow. "Don't you dare die. You hear me? I can't lose another partner."

NCISLA

"Thanks, Hetty. Tell Eric to send the address to our phones." Callen disconnected the call.

"Well?" Sam asked impatiently.

"The police were called to an apartment in Hollywood just after three this morning. It was an anonymous 911 call to report the sounds of an argument and woman screaming. They didn't get an answer so they broke down the door. According to the preliminary report they found Deeks kneeling beside a woman who'd had her throat slashed. They called on him to surrender, he threatened them with the knife and they shot him in self-defence."

"That makes no sense."

"I know."

"What was Deeks working on?"

"Since LAPD called him back two weeks ago he's been undercover on a vice operation. So far they won't share any information. Hetty's applying pressure. We have the address but no grounds to claim jurisdiction."

"Deeks is one of ours," Sam stated. "Jurisdiction or not, we need to check this out."

"I agree. Hopefully by the time we get there Hetty will have made sure that the police cooperate."

"Why did it take them so long to call us?"

"Good question." Callen walked back to Officer Jamieson. "Tell Agent Blye that we had to leave. We'll call her later. Come on, Sam."

"Are we leaving without finding out how he is?"

"No. We'll track down a doctor before we go." Callen stared off into the distance. "This smells all wrong, Sam."

"You think someone betrayed him?"

"Maybe, but why set him up? It would have been easier to kill him if he was getting too close to something."

"Agent Callen?" A young doctor walked up to them and offered his hand. "I'm Dr. Trevor Morrison. Mr. Deeks is under my care. I understand from Miss Lange that I can give you details about his condition."

"We'd appreciate anything you can tell us. Our colleague, Agent Blye is with him. I think he'd like to see a friendly face when he wakes up."

"I have no objection to her staying with him although the police might take a different view. I tried to tell them that a twenty-four hour a day guard was unnecessary but they were insistent. They are anxious to interview him."

"Interrogate him more like," Sam growled.

"That won't happen while he's my patient; I can assure you of that."

"How bad is it?" Callen asked.

"He was shot twice at close range. Both bullets lodged in his chest. One nicked his right lung causing it to collapse. He was very fortunate that no other major organs were hit. He lost a significant amount of blood before the EMTs arrived on the scene. His blood pressure was dangerously low and we weren't sure he would survive the surgery to remove the bullets."

"He's tougher than he looks," Sam said.

"That's true. He coded twice on the table. The second time it was touch and go but we brought him back. He's heavily sedated and I don't expect him to wake up for another few hours. We'll need to run some tests to make sure that his brain wasn't affected by the lack of oxygen. If he gets through the next forty-eight hours I am cautiously optimistic that he will make a full recovery."

"Thank you, Doctor." Callen's eyes narrowed in thought. "When he was brought in did you do any blood work?"

"It's routine to take samples. Why?"

"Just wondering. Can you ask the lab to run a full spectrum of tests?"

"It would help if you told me what you're looking for."

"I don't know yet. Maybe nothing."

"I will see what I can do. Please excuse me, gentlemen. I have other patients to look after."

Sam waited until the doctor walked away. "You think he was drugged?"

"Someone killed the woman and I can't see Deeks letting that happen without a fight. Hetty told me that he had no injuries except the gunshot wounds which suggest that he was unconscious." Callen sighed in frustration. "It's useless to speculate. I think it's time to visit the crime scene and see what we can get from LAPD."

Tbc

Caroline

December, 2012