Office of Special Projects
Callen and Sam entered the mission ready for an update from Hetty, Granger and Eric.
"The case has been handed over to the CIA." Granger greeted them with the news, placing both agents in surprise and causing them to become frustrated.
"You've what?" Callen's cerulean eyes bore through Granger's brown ones, as anger bubbled below the surface.
"This is from an old CIA case, Agent Callen." Owen Granger stood his ground. "They can handle the Zivkovichs in Serbia far better than our own agency."
"That's crap and you know it. The fact that my father has spent almost forty years hiding from them and my mother was left to die on a beach in Romania, is all because the CIA did diddly-squat and they don't care about the threat this terrorist group have on my family. We mean nothing to them, just casualties of war." Callen's jaw clenched and hands fisted by his side, as he tried to rein in his anger towards their Assistant Director. He turned to the woman who meant the world to him. "Hetty?"
Hetty stood stoic in her place, seeing the plea in Callen's eyes tore at her heart, but she had tried with all that she had to fight Owen on this one and lost. "I am sorry, Mr Summers. There is nothing I can do for you on this one." She bowed her head and returned to her office, wishing she could do something to help her boy.
"There must be something we can do?" Sam stepped forward in his approach to their senior leader.
"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but with two agents down, there is no other choice."
"Sam and I can go to assist." Callen would not let this go, not yet anyway.
Owen Granger shook his head. "Go and spend time with your father and daughter, Agent Callen. Take some time off, you've accrued enough for a few months vacation as it is."
Callen crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "He told you not to let me go, didn't he?"
Owen met Callen with softer eyes than he'd had earlier. "I promised him that I wouldn't let you do anything stupid."
"Since when doing my job is anything stupid?" Callen's voice raised in pitch, annoyed over decisions being made without him.
Owen stepped closer, forcing close contact with the younger man. "This is personal for you, Matthew." He hoped using the agent's real name might help bring him around to capitulate on this subject. "There will be no going off the reservation on this one. You are to head over to the safety house and get to know John and Emily. You have too many years lost, don't waste this chance."
Callen was taken aback by Granger's soft approach with him. He furrowed his brow, trying to work the man out. He studied him, searching for something in his eyes to reveal the man before him.
Owen saw him searching, he too had walls built up around him but he couldn't just let them down. He saw the pleading in Callen's eyes, he knew it was what the younger man needed from him, but he couldn't. If he walked away now, he'd escape revealing something to him, but he knew it would only frustrate him more and they'd collide heads once again. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Sam worried that there'd be a fight between the two men before him and he knew it wouldn't end well for either man. They were as stubborn as the other, which in this case was to no one's benefit. "Let's go, G." He tried to remove his partner from the close contact with their Assistant Director.
"No, Sam. I'm waiting on Granger to explain himself." Callen remained focused on Owen, although his anger had dissipated. He knew he was hiding something. He needed answers and seeing his resolve in ending the Serbians had been taken from him by Granger, he wanted the third in charge of their agency to explain why promising to his father meant so much to him.
"I don't have to explain myself to you, Matthew." Callen knitted his brow together, confused to why Owen Granger continued to use his real name. It set something off inside of him, a feeling and a memory.
Callen looked up at Owen as flashes of the past returned to the forefront of his mind. "You've known all along who I was." Callen shook his head as the past caught up with him. "You visited us in Salagru." Callen stepped back from him, surprised. "Now why would you keep that information from me?" Anger returned with the feelings of betrayal.
"Would you have believed me if I had?" Owen knew from the moment he met the agent and his team that he was in for a challenge. They were a close knit team, a self built family, forged by fire in battle. He understood that, he'd had that same family, once upon a time.
"Yes." Callen shook his head. "No." His breathing escalated. "But you should still have told me who I really was. You knew I was searching for my family."
"I didn't know where your father was. I've been trying to find him myself. I had no idea about Emily either."
"But you could have told me about who I was and who my family were. It would have been a start." He started to walk back out of the mission, ready to flee. His mind was a blur of images, of happy times with his parents and sister. He remembered his parents' friend who visited. They were close friends, like he was with his team.
"I'm sorry, Matthew. I thought it was best until I could find John," Owen admitted with regret. "Please forgive me." He looked towards Callen who had numerous emotions spread across his face.
Suddenly, Eric's head popped over from the balcony. "Guys, I've found two more members of the Zivkovichs."
Callen and Sam ran up the stairs, with Granger and Hetty following. Images of a man and a woman arriving by jet at a private airstrip, had their attention.
"Meet, Dejan and Namena Zivkovich, brother and sister. We killed their older brother, Javor, last night." Eric announced to his smaller than usual audience. His partner entered through the sliding doors and listened intently to the intel he revealed, catching up on what she had missed.
"Javor must have told them about Emily." Fear for his daughter's safety spread over Callen's body. "Do we know their whereabouts?"
Eric brought up a location in Beverly Hills. "They booked themselves into a suite at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. The address is on your phones. They're still there."
Callen and Sam went to exit the room. "Agents Callen and Hanna." They turned, annoyed to be stopped. "Agent Hanna and I will go. If they recognise you, Agent Callen, this whole operation will be compromised."
Callen went to argue, he stopped when Hetty placed her hand on his arm. "Mr Summers. Please listen to Owen. He is right." Anger rippled through this body at another attempt to prevent him from fighting for his family.
Callen watched his partner leave with Granger, his defences erected once again as they left. He stood in his place staring at the screen, unwilling to move or communicate with anyone around him. Nell worked alongside her partner at their computers tapping into the hotel's security system. It was complex, but with their skill sets, they were able to breach security protocols and enter. They found the suite their suspects were in and brought up live feeds from outside the door. Eric brought up satellite heat imagery of two occupants inside. They were alone and unknowingly about to be annihilated.
Hetty left her boy to simmer alone. She had a phone all to make, one she hoped would help him get through this. She descended the stairs and walked over to her desk. She pulled out her brick cell phone and dialled a number.
"Hello, Senator, I would like to speak with your wife."
Manhattan Beach, California
"Henrietta. It's been a long time. Of course, I will pass you over to her." He smiled fondly over to his wife, Hannah.
"Hello Hetty, how are you?" The blonde woman's face brightened over the call from the older woman.
"I am well, my dear. Are you free this morning?"
"I do have some engagements later, I could spare you an hour or two."
"Good. Meet me at our usual meeting place in twenty minutes."
"See you soon, Hetty." The blonde disconnected the call. "Hetty wants to see me, darling. It must be important for her to call. Could you spare me for a few hours?"
Daniel Tate smiled and nodded over to his wife of twenty years. "Yes, of course. Enjoy your time with her. I know how much she means to you."
"Thank you, Dan." She collected her purse and keys, heading out the door. The sun was shining brightly on the late summer's day, she approached her car and hopped in. As she turned the key, the ignition faltered. Her Mercedes had been a reliable vehicle, this was very much out of character. Fear emerged within her as she quickly exited her car and ran away, just as it exploded. Her body was pushed into a nearby bush, protecting her fall.
The building shook, causing fear in Daniel as he ran outside, calling out her name. As he looked at the fireball, his heart stopped beating for a moment, fear for his beautiful wife consumed him. He heard a groaning and turned his head. Relief washed over him as he saw Hannah pull herself out of the bush. Her body was covered in scratches, otherwise she was unhurt. She stood up, wobbly on her feet. Daniel ran over to her and encased her in his arms. "Are you okay, Han?" He scanned over her body for any further injuries when the security staff arrived on scene.
Hannah Tate nodded. "Get me out of here, Dan." He led her back inside the building, neither keen to use his vehicle, incase it too had been wired. Sirens could be heard on their approach to the scene. Her body shook as the adrenaline surged through her body. In her husband's line of work, death threats came with the territory, yet she knew that for someone to want to kill her, it had more to do with who she was than that of her husband. "I need to get to Hetty."
Daniel nodded. "I will take you. Just let security check my vehicle out first, we don't want us blowing up in mine." He dialled his head of security and asked if they could find any wiring for a bomb underneath or inside of his vehicle.
"All clear, sir. We've just completed a sweep of your car and others in the car park," Nigel Mansfield responded. His day had become chaotic now that LAPD and the bomb squad had arrived.
"Thank you, Nigel. We'll be right down." Daniel led Hannah down to his car and climbed in. "Where are we going?"
Hannah typed in the address into the GPS, "Marina Del Ray." Daniel raised his brow in surprised at the location. "We meet on her yacht, the Lady H."
Daniel nodded and smiled as he pulled out of the car park. "Of course, the name suites her." They drove the thirty minute drive from their office at Manhattan Beach, near to their family home.
Office of Special Projects
News of an explosion came through to Eric, while Callen remained focused on the images on the screen. Sam and Granger had arrived at the Four Seasons and they were on their way up to their suspects' suite.
"We've got a car exploding in Manhattan Beach." Eric spoke out loud to Nell. "Where's Hetty?"
"She went out, but I have no idea where."
Callen pulled his cell out of his rear pocket and tried to call their Operations Manager, with no luck. "She's not answering. Eric, can you locate her please?"
"On it, Callen." Eric typed in Hetty's GPS on her cell and 1974 Jaguar E-Type XKE. "She's switched off both GPS'." Eric looked concerned over Callen, not liking it when Hetty went dark.
"Sam and Granger are about to breach the suite at the Four Seasons," Nell piped in. "We need to focus on this."
"Nell, you keep your eyes on Sam and Granger. Eric, can you pull up camera feeds of the explosion in Manhattan Beach?"
"Yeah sure, Callen," Eric replied, looking sheepishly over at Nell. He knew Nell was the one Callen asked for extra things like this, but now it was him that Callen had turned to.
Nell nodded and refocused on her job at hand. Eric moved away using his tablet, not to disturb her. He understood the importance of keeping an eye out for their agents on the ground.
"Here." Eric showed Callen the feed just as the car exploded. Callen saw a figure leave the vehicle and being thrown into the bush.
"Can you go back a minute before the explosion, Eric?" Eric nodded and found the spot.
A woman with long blonde hair, neatly tied behind her in a pony tail exited the building. She was dressed in lightweight navy pants and a pale blue satin shirt, as she climbed into the vehicle. She tried once to start her car before she fled from it, just before it exploded. They continued watching as a man came running out, the expression of fear and grief was evident on his face, until he turned and found the woman alive. He pulled her into a hug and led her back inside the building. By then the security staff were outside looking around and moving along the other cars in search for further explosives. They continued to watch, with Eric fast forwarding until the couple exited and entered a black Audi SQ5 and drove away.
"Do you know who they are? Can you trace where they've gone?" Eric nodded, they kept their voices low, not to disturb Nell.
"It's outside Senator Tate's office. Going by images I've seen of the Senator and his wife, this is them."
Nell watched Sam and Granger do the countdown. "Hold back, something isn't right." Nell's voice came over the comms suddenly. "The heat signatures aren't moving."
Sam and Granger stood and waited.
"It could be a trap." Concern in Nell's voice highlighted the situation to Callen and Eric who walked back over to Nell's station. They studied the satellite imagery, and concluded that Nell's suspicions were right.
"Call the Four Seasons and ask to speak to the occupants in that suite." Eric quickly typed in at his computer and brought up the pseudo names of Dejan and Namena Zivkovich. "Harry and Andrea Taylor."
Nell nodded and spoke officially to reception to be put through to them. The call went through, but no one picked up the phone.
"Pull back, no one is answering." Eric told them instantly when Nell had confirmation. Sam and Granger exited the hotel and sat back out in the challenger.
"Phew!" Nell looked over at Eric and Callen, relieved that she picked up the anomaly.
"We need the bomb squad there now," Callen ordered and rang his partner.
"Stay put and keep watch, wherever they are, they will be near by watching for someone to enter that suite."
"We need the bomb squad to check it out before housekeeping enter," Sam advised his partner.
"Already on it, Sam. Stay safe. There's already been an explosion at Manhattan Beach about fifteen minutes ago. Trying to get to the bottom of it."
"Be careful, G. Don't go alone, take Nell with you for back up."
Callen read Sam into what they had witnessed on the security cameras at the scene of the bombing. "Eric's trying to locate where the couple have gone to. Yeah, sounds like a good plan." He turned to the petite redhead. "Nell, you're coming with me once Eric's found the couple's location."
Nell and Eric looked at each other, they knew with the team being short handed with Deeks and Kensi both recovering from gunshot wounds, she was needed out in the field.
Eric returned to his search on kaleidoscope and fortunately it pinged. "We're in luck." He pulled up the location. "Marina Del Ray." He brought up camera feeds of the car park.
Callen picked up the jag in the corner of the camera viewpoint. "Is there another camera in the area?"
"Yes." Eric pulled up another and there in plain sight, was Hetty's jag.
"Can we see where the couple went from the car park?"
Eric returned to the initial camera and found the couple exiting the car and headed out onto one of the jetties. They stopped at a navy yacht which was well known by the seasoned agent. "They climbed on the Lady H." Both Callen and Nell looked at each other and they knew instantly that they were meeting Hetty.
"Thanks, Eric. If Hetty calls, don't let her know we've located her." Eric looked up with a quizzical expression, wondering how Callen located Hetty. He looked back at the camera feeds, besides seeing Hetty's car, the woman was no where to be found. He was unaware of Hetty's yacht. "And call the agents watching the Mitchells and Summers. Tell them that there are more Zivkovichs in town and heighten security."
"Will do, Callen." Eric placed his call and typed in details into his computer.