Because I have a short attention span I thought I would try out this new story idea. It is inspired in part by the Season One episode Past Lives. Reviews and constructive criticism would be welcome.

An Eye for an Eye

Chapter One

Hetty recognized the look. She could always read the mood of any member of her team, even those who spent their lives working under cover. Eric, however, was the easiest. Her gifted technical operator was almost incapable of hiding his thoughts and feelings. Whatever he had to tell her had caused him a deep apprehension.

"Yes, Mr. Beale." She leaned back in her chair and smothered a smile. He looked very much like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Um, Hetty, I need to talk to you about an email we just received."

"Of course. Why don't you sit down?"

Eric lowered himself into the chair, holding his tablet against his chest as if it was a safety blanket. "The email came to the account belonging to Jason Tedrow."

Hetty frowned. "I thought that alias had been retired."

"We kept the account open." Eric thrust the tablet toward Hetty. "You need to read this."

The message was brief. Hetty read it several times while her mind ranged over a myriad of scenarios. "Where is Mr. Callen?"

"At the boat shed with Sam."

"Ask him to come back."

"Should I tell him why?"

"No. I will tell him when he gets here. Did you check the origin of the email?"

"It's legitimate. It came from an account registered to Kristen Boyd and it originated from her home address."

"I see. You had better tell Mr. Callen that I have something urgent to discuss with him."

While she waited Hetty pulled up the file on Jason Tedrow, an alias adopted by Callen six years earlier. While posing as a corrupt military policeman he had become romantically involved with Kristen Donnelly, the sister of one of the suspects. Two years ago he had been forced to confront his feelings for her while investigating the death of her brother. She had moved on and wanted nothing to do with him. It had been difficult to stand back and watch him bury his undeniable affection for the woman under a façade of indifference. Not even Sam had been able to get him to talk about it.

When Callen walked into the office she could see that he was curious but not unduly alarmed. "What's so important that I had to leave Sam on his own to interrogate our suspect?" he asked.

"I think you had better sit down."

"Are you okay, Hetty?"

"You received an email this afternoon from Kristen Boyd. It was sent to Jason Tedrow's email account but she used your real name in the message."

"That's not possible. She doesn't know my name. I was going to tell her…" his eyes darkened with emotion. "She didn't want to know. What else does it say?"

"That she needs to see you. There is no reason given."

Callen licked his lips before looking away. Hetty thought that he looked very vulnerable and that worried her.

"You should go and see what she wants. She stresses that you are to go alone. Be very careful. Someone has told her who you are."

"Or someone has used her account to send me that message."

"That is also possible. Keep your comlink open. Eric will monitor your situation."

"She married Tommy Boyd. Why would she want to see me now?"

"There's only one way to find out."

NCISLA

Callen parked his Mercedes outside Kristen's house. The front yard was a neat as when he had last visited more than two years ago. This time, though, there was no sign of her son. He sat in the car while he tried to sort out his feelings. His time with Kristen had been the closest he'd come to having a normal family life. Occasionally he'd allowed himself to believe that it could continue, even though he'd known in his heart that walking away was the only option. When he saw her again she had matured and blossomed. He'd felt the same spark between them but she'd been the one with the courage to tell him that there could be nothing between them. Although he had tried to forget her, she would always have a special place in his affections.

He got out of the car and walked to the front door. It opened before he had a chance to ring the bell. His greeting stuck in his throat when he saw that she had been crying. "What's wrong?"

"Come in." She stood to one side so that he could enter the house.

Callen could see that she was trembling and his first instinct was to take her in his arms and comfort her. Something in her expression stopped him from touching her.

"Where's Tommy?"

"He…he died a year ago."

"I'm sorry." He followed her into the kitchen. "Tell me what's going on. How did you find out my name?"

"I have a message for you." Tears began to stream down her face. "They said if I do as I'm told they won't hurt him."

Callen stared at her. "Hurt who?" He looked round frantically. "Michael? Someone's taken Michael?"

Kristen nodded and began to sob. "He was at school. A woman told his teacher that I had sent her to collect him. She had a letter with my signature giving permission. They let her walk out with him. They let her take my son."

"We'll find him," Callen said fiercely.

"No, you don't understand. If we tell the police or you involve the agency you work for they're going to kill him."

Callen's blood ran cold. He reached up and turned off his comlink. "What do they want? Kristen, you know I'll do anything to get him back."

"They're going to call here in thirty minutes with instructions."

"Alright. I'll send a message to my people telling them to stay away." Callen pulled out his phone, typed a brief message and then removed the SIM card and battery. He poured a glass of water and dumped both into the liquid. "Once I leave here no-one will be able to track me. What can you tell me about the people who took him?"

"A man called me to say they had Michael. He told me to check with the school without alerting them to the fact that he'd been kidnapped. When he called back he said I was to contact you. He told me you work for NCIS and that your name is Callen."

"Did this man have an accent?"

"Yes. Russian maybe. I…I don't know. I was panicking too much. When I said I didn't have any way to reach you he called me a liar. He said that an email to Jason Tedrow would bring you to me." She grabbed Callen's arm. "How did he know? Why is this happening?"

"I don't know."

"What are you? What makes you so important?"

"I'm a Federal Agent and I've made a lot of enemies over the years. What I don't understand is why they would use you and Michael to get to me. They would have no reason to think I would still have feelings for you."

Kristen looked into his eyes, her bottom lip trembling. "I lied to you about Michael. I'm sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing. He's your son and somehow they found out."

Callen's heart lurched. He didn't doubt her for a second. Despite her earlier denial a small part of him had always known that Michael was his. He had a son and he would give his life to bring his boy home.

Tbc

Caroline

January, 2013