TROUBLE AT MIDNIGHT

An NCIS: Los Angeles Fanfiction

Rated M

I don't own anything - just love writing Fanfiction :)

…

CHAPTER 1

Drinks had seemed like a great idea earlier that evening and after the day he'd had anyone would have agreed that he deserved a few beers to unwind and take his mind off of everything that had happened.

Special Agent G. Callen thought that if he was able to sit and process all of the new information he had been given about his father than maybe, maybe, this empty feeling in the pit of his stomach would finally go away and he could move on with his life!

It had been a good plan and for a while it had seemed to work.

Callen had been somewhat distracted all day, and it was completely understandable why his mind wasn't all there after what they'd found, but the quiet of the evening was definitely helping him now.

Without all the usual daily noises in the busy OSP building, which included printers printing, phones ringing, people constantly walking by his desk, Eric whistling at the top of the stairs and his teams' playful banter, he was able to think back over their latest case. The case that had led him to a folder full of new information about his past and ultimately about his father.

It had been a pretty straightforward case at first. A marine, his wife and teenage daughter were found dead in their home in downtown LA.

All three had been shot in the back of the head, their hands tied behind their backs. Blood was splattered everywhere: the walls, the floor, the furniture… It wasn't a pretty scene.

During the briefing Nell pulled up all traffic and security cameras in the area and started going through the footage. Everyone in the room began looking for anything suspicious in the videos shown on the big screen.

Within minutes they had spotted their first suspect, a guy who was shown leaving the scene the day before the family had been found deceased. Going back a few hours they saw the same man canvasing the victim's house, looking for an easy way in.

Both times he appeared to be avoiding the camera, although not very well. After he finished poking around the garden and scouting the area, he got into an unmarked black sedan and drove away.

Nell pulled up surveillance footage from a corner shop down the street and they were able to follow his vehicle onto the highway where he forgot to duck his head in the merging lane and the team got a good view of his face from the speed camera.

Eric ran the man through facial recognition and it wasn't long before they had a hit. The suspect was a former marine who had been in the victim's unit but now had multiple charges against his name. Charges including armed robbery, theft, attempted murder and assault.

It was decided that the NCIS team split up, as usual.

Callen and Sam would find the man in the video and proceed to take him to the boatshed for questioning while Kensi and Deeks would go to the crime scene and look for evidence. Nell and Eric were going to keep digging for electronic clues left by the killer and the victim to help the case.

…

Surprisingly Callen and Sam had located the suspect reasonably quickly with the help of their tech-expert friends in OSP and as planned, they'd brought him in. Once he was secure in the interrogation room they took turns questioning him. It took only a few hours to get him talking.

Meanwhile, Kensi and Deeks were turning the victim's house inside out looking for anything that was relevant to the case. They found the gun that was used to shoot the family and some bloody fingerprints near the door. Everything was photographed and placed into evidence bags to take back with them.

The scene was a mess. Blood and shredded debris everywhere! The family had been executed at close range, blindfolded and terrified. It was not a good way to go.

The agent and detective were going through a pile of paperwork on the kitchen counter when they found it… A plain cardboard folder with G. Callen written in black bold letters on the front.

Callen had been handed the folder as soon as Kensi and Deeks arrived back at the office. The senior agent had immediately started flipping through the papers inside and found the documents were all about him and his past.

Nothing in the folder suggested that Callen was in any danger but it didn't stop him from wondering why and how this man had gathered so much information about him, information that was not even known to him, and kept it for so long. Some of the documents dated back to when Callen first started working at NCIS as an agent.

He had Nell and Eric run a more thorough background check on the marine to see if there was a connection between them, maybe they crossed paths at some point. They found the connection…

The marine and Callen had shared the same foster family for a few months back in their childhood.

The picture that Eric brought up on the screen showed the two young boys, Callen and the marine, playing football in the yard one afternoon outside of their old house. It was a lovely photo with the sun setting in the distance and a large tree by the garden behind the boys, both of which had big smiles on their faces.

It seemed like a lifetime ago but Callen remembered him now. They had been good friends back then and even stayed in touch for a while after Callen was moved to yet another foster home but eventually they'd stopped writing to each other.

The marine had obviously been looking out for his friend, maybe hoping to one day hand the information over to Callen himself. But he was killed before he got the chance.

With the case solved, the killer in custody and his questions answered for now, Callen had wasted no time leaving work to come straight home. He knew he had a lot of papers to read through and information to take in.

His teammates had asked if he wanted company, knowing he would be feeling confused and hurt after what had been discovered about his past, not just about his old friend passing but also what was hidden in the folder about his family and why the marine had it in the first place.

Callen knew his team had only wanted to help him but he'd turned them down saying he didn't need anyone and he wanted to be alone.

However, sitting in silence on his spacious wooden floor staring at his name, G. Callen, written in black ink on the folder and not being able to actually open it for some unknown reason, had only served to make him feel more confused and desperate.

Thus, he had quickly came to the conclusion that maybe being alone tonight wasn't such a great idea. Maybe he should get off his ass and go out for a drink at his favourite bar where he knew there would be people around and he didn't have to actually talk to them, just feel comforted that they were there.

…

A few hours and a lot of beer later and Callen was feeling somewhat better about his father, mostly because every brain cell in his head had been drowned in alcohol!

"Ok buddy," said the bartender gently, "I think you've had enough!"

Callen shot him a look of disapproval and started to argue, although it was hard to understand him as his words were muffled and slurred from his current intoxicated condition.

"I want… more beer!" Callen yelled over the counter. He shoved his empty mug forward across the bench. "Now!"

"No, I don't think so," the young man on the staff side of the bar shook his head. "Time for you to go home sir."

"N…no! Not going home," Callen spat angrily. "Staying here for… for more beer!"

The bartender silently waved over his manager and a security guard, "you're going home sir."

Callen tried to stand up and pointed a finger at the bartender who was watching him warily, hoping he didn't fall over.

"You're not making me leave without my beer! I am not going anywher…" Callen started loudly just as he was grabbed by the security officer and the manager. Before he could finish his sentence, he was hauled out of the bar and onto the dark street.

"Go home buddy," the manager warned sternly. "You will thank us tomorrow."

"Names not buddy," Callen spat and tried to walk back inside but was stopped immediately by the guard who spun him around again and gave him a gentle shove towards the curb.

Callen stumbled briefly before regaining his balance and turning to face the two men who were, in his opinion, being really mean.

"Sir, do you want us to call a cab for you?" The bartender appeared through the door and gave him a small smile. "Where do you live?"

Callen shook his head and glared at him, "none of your business!"

"Well actually it is my business because you're in no state to get home by yourself," the young man argued. He had seen his fair share of drunken people get lost or hurt trying to get to their homes over the years he had been a bartender. "So, I really need to make sure you are going to be ok."

"You don't know me sir," Callen said with a frown and a wave of his hand. "You get more beer!"

"I don't think so," the manager replied. "I think you need to leave now before we call the cops."

"I am the cops!" Callen remarked with a smug smile. "I even have a gun."

The security guard threw him an amused look obviously not buying that Callen is law enforcement but playing along anyway, "I'm sure you do and I'm sure it is a very nice gun."

"Thank you!" Callen crossed his arms over his chest and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "It is a very nice gun."

The manager sighed heavily and ran a hand through his short dark hair. It was evident that he was getting impatient as he had other customers inside that weren't getting served due to his staff having to deal with this one guy.

He didn't want to involve the police, mainly because he was a nice guy and he knew this man was obviously troubled. This man was a regular customer after all but usually he only stayed for a couple of beers and always said thank you before leaving so something must be wrong to have made him drink this much in one night!

Then the manager had an idea…

"Where's your phone?" He asked a moment later.

Callen grabbed out his mobile from his jeans pocket and handed it over with a confused gaze.

"Why you want me phone?"

The manager ignored him and began scrolling through Callen's contacts. Luckily all of his NCIS information was sealed in a locked folder so the only access the manager had was Callen's friends list.

"I'm going to read out some names and you're going to tell me who you want me to call to pick you up. Understand?"

Callen nodded.

"Good," the manager pressed on the first name and glanced at Callen. "Sam?"

Callen stuck his tongue out, "no. He's too cranky. He'll just tell me that beer isn't good for me and then he'll go on to tell me that I shouldn't have come here and I drink too much…."

"Deeks?"

"No. He's very annoying." Callen confessed irritably. "He talks too much and he smells like Monty! He even looks like Monty! God I can't stand being in the car with Monty… He has a lot of gas!"

The manager chuckled and heard the bartender and the guard try but fail to hold in a laugh. They weren't game to ask who Monty was but whoever he was, he sounded awesome.

The manager quickly moved onto the next person, "Hetty?"

Callen visibly paled and his mouth fell open in shock, "do you want me to die?"

The manager studied Callen for a moment, the poor guy looked completely horrified! "I'm taking that as a no then?"

Callen only grunted in his direction and tried to calm his racing heart at the thought of Hetty having to pick him up in the middle of the night, drunk and completely out of his mind!

"Hetty must be a real bad ass," the bartender whispered to the guard and both started laughing again. "He was totally shitting himself!"

The manager completely ignored his employees and continued down the list, "Kensi?"

"Kensi," Callen considered this for a moment and nodded. "She's good."

Behind them the guard and the bartender whooped in joy and shouted "finally" at the top of their lungs.

"You boys can go back to work now," the manager ordered swiftly and both men immediately left to do their job. He watched them walk away before sighing loudly in relief.

He clicked on Kensi's number and turned his attention back to Callen, "what's your name sir?"

"Callen" Callen stated. "My name is Callen."

The manager nodded and put the phone to his ear, waiting for Kensi to answer. He briefly wondered how on earth he was going to explain this situation to Kensi, whoever Kensi is.

…