Hard Case: NCIS fan fiction

Chapter 26

Zara's POV

My heart beat fast in my chest as I opened the door to enter the cell, and I willed myself to be calm.

"Zara," Deeks tapped me on the shoulder, and I spun around.

"Are you sure your ok? I know we only just met but your acting a little strange, and I'm kind of getting worried." I looked at his concerned eyes.

"I'm fine. Stop stressing," I managed to assure him, forcing a smile.

"Ok. I'll be out here if you need anything," He still refused to lift the concerned look from his face.

"Trust me, I won't," I said with a laugh. "Interrogation is what I'm best at. Well, that and climbing walls."

Deeks cracked a smile, and I walked into the cell, my heart refusing to take a hint, with it beating faster than I could count.

"I've said over and over again, I don't care what you think, I'm not appealing my case. Your my lawyer, your meant to do what I say." He was sitting in the corner of his cell, and hadn't looked up when I walked in.

"I'm not your lawyer Joe." He jumped, startled, when I spoke, and he scrambled out of his bed, standing to face me, as his mouth moved but now words came out.

I tilted my head slightly up to the security camera monitoring our conversation, and gave a casual flick of my fingers, something that would mean nothing to most people. But not all people. Joe saw it, and the corners of his eyes flashed quickly to the camera before focusing back at me.

"Now we can talk."

"Zara- I- What are you doing here? What happened?" He asked, and I saw the realisation dawning on his face.

"Their back."

"What?" He spluttered.

"They found me, and they know it worked this time."

"But- how?"

"Doesn't matter. But we- I need to stop them. I need to know everything you do."

"But I- I don't know much more than you." He shook his head and looked dubiously down at his feet. He sighed. "If they know about you, then they'll come after the twins soon."

My eyes hardened. I didn't want him to be right, but I knew he was. They were almost the right age. A few more months, and they would be next.

"Anything can help me stop them. They're in LA now. There was another incident. The same."

"Any survivors?"

"None to be found." As I said this, Joe's expression grew even grimmer. We both knew what this meant.

Deeks POV

"Something's up with Zara, Nell, I don't know what it is but..." I noticed that the analyst wasn't paying attention to what I was saying. I sighed in exasperation as I watched her engrossed with her tablet.

"NELL!" I watched her jump, and look at me through the screen, and I my worry increased when I saw her anxious face.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's just- well, I was researching Joe Patricks, the prisoner, and  he's Zara's brother."

"What?" I looked over at the security camera footage, where Zara was in the middle of interrogation, and I noticed her facial features had grown even more anxious, and she was nervously flicking her fingers every few seconds.

"It gets worse," Nell's voice shook as she began explaining.

Zara's POV

I nodded as Joe finished his sentence, hoping the small amount of information I had gathered would help. The door abruptly opened behind me, and I spun on my heels, to see Deeks standing in the doorway, and I could tell he knew.

"Time to go Zara, they need us back at Operations."

I quickly walked out the door before Deeks could say anything else, and began speed walking out of the complex, hoping to avoid any conversation. But I couldn't, and Deeks caught up with me, stopping me with a tap on the shoulder.

"We need to talk," He said.

"Hmm, no, no, I don't think we do actually."

"Why didn't you tell me? About your-"

"About my brother? What, did you expect me to just tell you my life story while I'm at it? Here's the thing Deeks, I have secrets for a reason. My personnel file is locked for a reason, which hopefully you can pass on to Agent Callen. And let me make this clear, you tell any of the team about this, and I will end you. Same for Nell or Eric too, who I assumed found out for you. Anyway, I have no information relating to the case so you should have no reason to even mention this."

He seemed flabbergasted by my outburst, and I felt unwanted tears creeping to the surface. Shaking them away, I turned my back and continued to walk away. I had work to do.

A/N: So I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter, and I really like where the story is heading in the next few chapters. So stay tuned, and hopefully there'll be some answers to any questions raised during this chapter (of which there are probably a lot)