A/N: I didn't intend for this to become a multi-chapter fic, but it sort of ended up like that ehe. I'll try to update regularly, and I'm sorry for any and all mistakes there might be in there. Most of the chapters will be written in the middle of the night haha. There will be torture and maybe even some possible implied-rape, so I encourage sensitive readers to be wary. I'm a sucker for Kensi/Callen angsty whumping, but the story isn't going to have any romantic undertones between them. Please offer your suggestions and criticism, I take them all to heart and they substantially improve my writing! Love you all, please enjoy!

Deception

Kensi Blye didn't know why everything was so cold. She felt like her entire head was enclosed in an ice box and she wondered if she could open her eyes or if they were frozen shut. Muffled voices reached her ears and she was confused as to why she couldn't hear them clearly. It was then that she realized that she really needed to breathe and she drew in a short experimental breathe and found, to her horror, that the cold rushed in through her nose and down into her lungs. Her eyes snapped open, blinking furiously as cold water hit them. She spluttered, trying to extract the water from her airways as her mind very quickly came to the realization that she was indeed submerged in ice cold water.

Her head was suddenly yanked up harshly, and she found brief relief from the freezing liquid when her head broke the surface and she was able to cough furiously. The water came back up and she spit it out desperately, trying to get real air into her lungs. Kensi tried to take calming breaths but they came out raspy instead and before she knew it, she had been slapped across the face. Her instincts kicked in and she immediately tried to get into a defensive position. She found that her arms were tied securely behind her to a chair, but her legs were still free. She kicked out sharply, landing a blow somewhere and hearing a gasp of pain.

Kensi tried to focus and made a quick assessment of her surroundings. She found a very large man in front of her (probably the man who had slapped her) bent over from her kick, and two other men on either side of her. One of them cursed loudly and grabbed her jaw roughly, squeezing painfully and forcing her to look at him. They were all wearing jeans and black t-shirts with suite jackets. The man who had slapped her was wearing black leather gloves and then one grabbing her jaw had a tattoo of an eagle on his neck. He was much thinner than the bent over man in front of her, but he was still well-built. And angry.

"About time you're awake," he growled, releasing her face. His hair was short-cut and black, matching a set of brown eyes and a slight stubble on a very scarred jawline. She coughed up more water, feeling her throat complain loudly. He patted the man in front of her on the back, whispering a few words which dismissed him. Kensi arched her neck, trying to see where he was going, but a sharp jab to her stomach caused her to start coughing again as the air left her lungs in one breathe. She felt exposed with her hands tied behind her back, and she made a conscious effort to pull sharply at her bindings which did nothing but hurt her wrists.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions," the man continued, leaning his head in close to hers. She could smell alcohol and cigarettes on his breathe as she tried to splutter for breathe. She attempted to head-butt him, but he drew away too quickly. "I need you to answer very truthfully or things won't end well for you." He stepped out of her line of vision, and for the first time she was able to see the contents of the room.

She was sitting in front of a tub of ice water, and she shivered involuntarily as water dripped down her back from her hair. The room itself looked to be an ordinary bedroom in a house with wooden paneling on the walls and one window to the left. Her eyes focused on what was beyond the barrel and she immediately stiffened as her eyes met with two blue ones. She made sure to control her facial expression as she surveyed Callen who was also tied up in a chair. He had a nasty bruise on one side of his face and a bleeding cut on his chest. His lip was split but his eyes were alight with anger and a hint of worry directed toward her. She could feel their captor watching her closely and she tore her eyes away from her team leader to look at him.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice cracked and sore. She wasn't expecting her throat and face to hurt, but the inside of her mouth felt raw. The man laughed. It was a short, humorless laugh and it made her dislike him even more than she already did.

"You question me? No, that's not how this works." He got down close next to her again and she leaned away, tensing. "Do you know this man?" She looked at Callen again but didn't keep eye contact.

"I've never seen him before, who is he?" she asked, putting enough panic in her voice to make it seem like she really didn't know who he was. Callen bowed his head down, feigning disinterest in her and sighing heavily.

"Funny, that's what he said about you too." The man sounded a bit tired as he rose from beside her, pacing back and forth a few times before he whirled and punched her straight across the face. The entire chair tipped over as Kensi let out a small cry of pain, bracing herself for the impact as her head connected with the concrete. She groaned, feeling the entire right side of her face go numb from the punch and the rest of her skull vibrate painfully from the fall. For a second she was scared that she was going to black out, but she managed to keep herself conscious

"Hey, leave her alone," she heard Callen bark, and she shut her eyes as a full-blown headache began pounding in her head. Just as she was beginning to orient herself with being on the floor, rough hands hoisted her chair back up into position. Her head felt like it was going to burst, but her eyes snapped open at the sound of Callen grunting in pain. The man had made his way over to her teammate and was now pushing his knuckles against the cut on Callen's chest. He increased pressure until she saw fresh blood begin to seep through his shirt and Callen involuntarily forced out a hiss of pain from his clenched teeth. The man suddenly twisted his knuckles and Callen cried out, trying to get away from the pressure.

"Stop," Kensi spat.

"Mark!" The male voice came from another room and sounded rushed. The man, who had now been identified as Mark, paused in his movement and looked up sharply, hesitating for a few seconds before he briskly made his way out of the room. Callen let out a shaky breathe, wincing as he straightened his back and jarred the cut.

"You okay?" Kensi whispered hurriedly and he gave her a nod, obviously not fine.

"You?" He returned the question, meeting her worried eyes.

"I'm good," she echoed, pretending that her head wasn't killing her. She could feel her cheekbone beginning to swell up from the punch.

"Sam and Deeks are on their way," Callen continued and he saw Kensi visibly relax. Mark stormed back into the room with a murderous glint in his eye, stopping behind Kensi and putting a knife against her throat. Kensi immediately stiffened, feeling the blade dig into her neck painfully. Callen also tensed, narrowing his eyes. She could feel his breathe hot on her neck and one of his fingers trailing down her face and tracing her jawline.

"Do you know her now, agent Callen?" Mark hissed into Kensi's ear and she kept her eyes trained on Callen's, waiting for his reaction. He remained silent. Both of them were surprised that he had figured out Callen's name. For a brief second she was worried that everything had been compromised, but Mark didn't hint at the fact that he knew any other information besides Callen's name. "If you don't know her, then you won't mind me killing her." His finger disappeared from her jawline and he pressed harder on the knife. She felt the warm blood dripping down her neck and winced at the pain when he pressed harder with a dark chuckle.

"Wait," Callen interjected, much to Kensi's relief. Mark paused, taking the opportunity to press his nose into her hair and take a deep breathe. She seriously thought about turning and biting his nose off, but the knife was still loosely pressed to her throat and she didn't want to take any chances. Kensi could clearly see her own disgust mirrored in Callen's face, mixed with frustration at the situation they were stuck in.

"They just got past the gates," the other man called again, and Mark tensed. He removed the knife and stormed back into the other room, yelling obscenities at the man. Kensi let out a breath of air she didn't know she'd been holding. She assumed they were talking about their two other teammates and exchanged a look with Callen.

"Alright time to leave," Mark growled from somewhere behind her, and Kensi saw alarm flash in Callen's eyes. She tried to turn her head to see what was going on, but found herself with a rag covering her mouth and nose.

"Hey, stop it!" She let out a surprised muffled yelp and struggled briefly, vaguely making out Callen's voice. She couldn't help but take a small breathe as her lungs started disagreeing with her, and the scent of chloroform crowded into her nostrils and rendered her unconscious within seconds. Callen could do nothing but glare at Mark as he released Kensi and made his way over to him, repeating the process until both of the agents were completely passed out.

By the time NCIS got there seven minutes later, the room was empty, minus the blood stained rag on the floor.