Turn of Events

TURN OF EVENTS Chapter 6

"I did wonder if she was looking out for you, son. She was a good friend of your Mother's. When Elise told me you'd been to Romania to rescue your boss from the Comescus, I had my suspicion it was her. How is Hetty, these days?"

"On suspension for an op that went wrong, thanks to the CIA once again. It's another witch hunt and someone decided to put it all on her. Even after all the times we've tried to fix their screw ups. They allowed an analyst to pass intel onto the Iranians about a possible spy in their midst." Callen's demeanour darkened as he thought over Janvier. "He found me, you know. That Frenchman, Janvier. I read in your book what you wrote about him. How he threatened me that next time he played chess with me, the pieces would be people I cared about."

John's eyes widened with fear for his son. "What?"

"He knew who I was because I lived with the Callen name. You were right, it was him who burned Mom's real identity to the Comescus. He tried to kill my team, especially my partner, but thankfully he didn't succeed. He did however kill two colleagues, one whom was a good friend." He missed Mike Renko, he always brought fun into the mission when he returned from an operation.

"I'm sorry, son. I thought having you with me that day was a good cover, I never expected him to search you out and carry out his threat. What happened to him? Did you kill him?" A hint of hope was evident in his father's voice.

Callen shook his head. "Not for not trying. On the first encounter, I shot him in the jaw. He somehow survived. He played chess with me with peoples lives, many of whom I didn't know. Then I had to pretend to kill him, to convince the Iranians that the CIA analyst's intel was false, which resulted in Janvier having his hand cut off by the Iranians. Then I had to rescue him out of Iran to do a trade of nuclear weapons some Russian tried to sell to Iran. He escaped and I shot him, but he still survived. He's now locked up in South Carolina, serving out three life sentences." Callen shivered, as he thought about the man's last words of revenge to him.

John placed his hand on his son's shoulder for comfort. "You're a good man, Matthew. Too good for the evil in this world. I went into working for my government to dissolve the evil in Europe. Instead it destroyed my family and our lives. Now I think my time with Emily has placed her at risk also."

"What do I need to know about your time with the Serbians, to take them down. Do you have photos and identities of the men involved?"

John nodded. "They're all in the box I gave Elise. She's a good woman, that Elise. She may have married Warren, but she's always been faithful in looking out for your best interest. Don't be hard on her, seeing you again will be difficult on her too. Look past the grandeur of her life, Matthew. Where does her heart lie? Where has it laid for the past sixteen years? Warren may be a good man, but he's not the love of her life. You are. I'm not saying she'll leave him for you, because I made her promise me that she wouldn't when she found you. She's invested a lot of years in her marriage with Warren, she respects him too much to walk away from it all. Plus they've had two girls together. Emily has lived a happy life up to this point, son. But she's wanted to get to know you. There's a Father-Daughter picnic on at her school in October, go with her on the picnic. Warren will be there with Sally. It would mean the world to both of you if you do. I went last year with her, it was fun. You get to play golf together, eat on the grass in a park, and participate in other activities, such as: races, horseshoe throwing, soccer, volleyball, water wars, tug of war," John laughed as he remembered the year before, "oh and a Dad's serenade." His laughter became louder as he saw the look of horror on his son's face. "You'd think it was something bad like facing a terrorist. But with you, no, it's a Father's serenade with this daughter." He patted his son on the back. "Don't worry. Just go and enjoy the time with Emily. She'd be thrilled to have you with her and show you off to her friends."

"I don't know anything about being a father, let alone to a fifteen year old. And you want me to go out in public to some Father-Daughter picnic?" Callen shook his head. "No way."

"Spend the time you have now with Emily. Come October, you'll think differently." John smiled, reflecting his son's handsome features. "You may get some unwanted attention from the single teachers at the school with your handsome looks."

"What, me? No." Callen shook his head in disbelief. "I've had my share of unwanted attention, thanks."

"You still don't see how worthy you are to be loved, do you? Are you in a relationship with anyone at the moment?"

"My partner, Sam, his wife set me up with their daughter's old kindergarten teacher, Joelle. I know they mean well, but I can' t be the real me with her. I'm just Callen, who works in securities. How can a relationship develop with trust on lies?"

"Well you can tell her your real name now, son. Matthew George Summers and that you have a teenage daughter. That will get the women interested in you more." He chuckled over his son's flushed cheeks. He knew he wasn't used to this kind of attention. I would like to meet this Joelle."

"No you don't. It's not gone anywhere. To be honest, it's hard to relax around someone who doesn't know the real you. With Elise, it was different. I don't think I'll ever find that again with anyone."

"Think about it, at least." John hoped his son would find someone that would love him the way Elise had. Someone he could open up to and know the real him. "Is there someone at work that you might be interested in?"

Callen shrugged. "I think they're already in a relationship with their own partner. No one wants me."

"That's not true, son. I do, and so does Emily. That's got to count for something?"

"I suppose." He looked over at the sky and realised it was heading towards evening. "It's getting late. I should get back. Did you want to come with me?" He looked at his father in hope that he would, they could use his knowledge of the Serbians for this case. But he didn't want to force his father, nor get disappointed if he said no.

"I thought you'd never ask." They walked together and climbed into the SUV. Callen turned to him. "Where's your car?"

"I don't have one with me." He admitted. "I walked here."

"So it took you an hour to walk here from where you're staying?"

"Almost. I needed to make sure I arrived first." He smiled over at his son. "I couldn't have you turn up and me not be here. You've been let down too many times already, son. It was time to ensure you that I'm here for you now."

Callen nodded and focused on driving to the boat shed. It wasn't a long drive, but he made lots of turns, driving around the block here and there to ensure they weren't followed.