Title:

Servant of the Game

Author:

The Prickly Pear

Genre:

Adventure/Suspense/Friendship

Rating:

T (For mature themes and coarse language)

Summary:

When you live your life as a piece of a never ending game there will come the day when someone decides to change the rules. Team-Centric.

Author's Note:

This is an idea I've had playing around my head for some time and I'm hoping the premise of this story is different from what you usually see floating around. I have a vague idea where I want to go with it but any comments/suggestions/constructive criticism, are greatly appreciated. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer:

Any characters you recognize are property of NCIS Los Angeles's rightful owners. All the Original Characters, however, belong to me. These characters may not be used in any form without my express permission. This fanfiction is written solely for my amusement, no money has been made whatsoever.

Happy Reading!

Chapter One

Hetty

She had picked the spot herself. Over a series of days she came to know every inch of the grounds like the back of her own hand. She padded over every blade of grass, inspected every tree, paused at every bush, and even took the time to calculate the sunlight that would fall upon each place day by day. She had walked every path, studied every fountain, mounted and descended every curve of the earth slowly and with purpose, taking it all in, understanding it all. She considered the residents already there, how many there were in one area, who they were and how often they were visited, if at all.

He'd never liked crowds, searching them out only when he needed a way to get lost. He was the man who learned more through watching and a few well placed comments than most people could in days of conversation and was perfectly contented to do so. He would never have fit in with the others, never have appreciated having strangers passing by all day and night, nor (though he would never have admitted it) would he have liked to be left completely alone. For she had known him, and he'd known her and with that knowledge she'd found the spot. The perfect spot. His spot.

It got sun only in the afternoon, the brightest of the day yet it touched ground with a softness brought on by the leaves acting as a filter overhead. The greenery formed a sort of semicircle around it, sheltered it, offering itself up as cover and keeping him safe while he watched over the rest of the residents from afar. Everything seemed brighter here, more vivid, as though the contrast between the shadows and the golden light created a sort of magic which had the whole spot glowing. But it was a subtle glow, one only noticed if you looked at it right, if you took the time to study what would have been otherwise overlooked. Like him.

She walked towards it in silence, the thick grass muting any sound her footsteps may have made as he came into sight. Nothing had changed since her last visit save for the last few leaves falling sadly from the bouquet of flowers which had been their home and littering the ground around him. Without thinking she made her way forward and stooped to collect them, tucking them away in her coat pocket to be disposed of later.

"Miss Blye's flowers seemed to have reached their end," she said with a sad chuckle, "I'm sure neither one of you will mind if I remove what's left of them."

Silence met her statement just as it met everything said in their quiet little sanctuary. With a heavy sigh Hetty pulled a blanket from the bag slung over her shoulder and laid it down carefully, spreading it as far as the fabric would allow before settling on it. He sat before her, at least what remained of him, ridged and still as the slab of stone he was. It was a plain tomb, exactly what she was certain he would have wanted. Nothing flashy, nothing to draw attention, it simply was, it existed and it served its purpose.

Tracing her withered fingers over the equally plain engraving she frowned slightly. An incomplete name and nothing more. It was all he'd ever had... "Oh Mr. Callen," she sighed, letting her hand fall away again as she gazed at the speckled stone.

She'd given up asking why. Why Callen? Why not her? Why when he'd never even learned who he was? Why before he could truly find his place in the world? Why before he could learn to understand family? Why before he could learn to trust? The list went on and on but it all was useless. The whys did nothing, answered nothing, brought her no comfort and left him dead. Everything left him dead. Nothing would ever change that.

"I wonder if you're still mad at me..." she mused softly, smiling wryly at the stone, "For leaving, I mean, for abandoning the team... I wonder if you'll forgive me..." The smile slipped from her face as she straightened the few gifts surrounding him, making sure everything looked just as it should. It was all she could do now to take care of him. It was all she had left. "I did try, Mr. Callen," she continued sadly, "I tried to stay, to hold everyone together, to be strong. But this was not just another agent I had lost, this was you, and I could not stay knowing I had failed you."

Her voice broke and she turned away, blinking back the prickling sensation in the corner of her eyes. She had shed her tears for him already. In the privacy of this shaded patch of grass when no one was watching she had let herself cry, some desperate part of her waiting for the one person who could always tell when something was troubling her to come and find her and make everything alright again. But Callen was gone so no one came. It was then that she decided she could not carry on, that change was in order and she had resigned the very next day. She had lasted a month but she could manage no more than that. Her world had ended the day Callen died in a way she would never have believed possible, at least not for her. She'd seen so much, lost so much and been the cause of so much loss that one more death should not have affected her so, but then G Callen had never really done what he was supposed to...

She smiled at the thought, a real smile, the kind brought to her face only rarely these days. It had been three months since that dreadful day, two since she'd walked out of NCIS and finally, finally, she was ready to move on. "I'm leaving Los Angeles, Mr. Callen," she told him, her voice having regained its steady and measured tone, "Going to those remote islands we spoke of, to indulged in the finest of food and drink, to read a good novel in the afternoon sun. I'm going to live in a world where I need only one identity, where people can know my name I know theirs. I'm going to live."

She reached into her bag, which was now lying next to her on the blanket, and pulled out a thermos of tea. Not the best way to enjoy it but the only method left to her should she like to share it with her friend. "I leave this afternoon," she continued, her little smile growing slightly as she spoke, "And I know goodbyes will be in order, but not just yet," Reaching out to run her hand over the cold stone once more she allowed her smile to grow sad. "Right now I thought we could talk, reminisce perhaps about our more enjoyable days one last time..."

Sam

"This is the most pointless argument we've ever had," Sam grumbled, refusing to so much as glance in his partner's direction as they made their way out of a busy sandwich joint and rejoined the sparse crowd wandering the sidewalk.

Callen made no effort to hide the smirk on his face as he glanced down at the cause of their latest tiff before taking a bite. "You just wish you could win it, that's all," he quipped.

"You bought a sandwich from a witness!" said Sam, rolling his eyes, "And you honestly think Hetty isn't going to kill you?"

The younger man gave a sort of half-shrug before taking another bite his meal. "Don't tell her," he suggested calmly, before popping the last of it into his mouth.

Sam shook his head and was about to reply when a single, all too familiar sound cut through the air. The sharp crack of a gunshot. Without hesitation his weapon flew out of its holster and into his hand as he searched the immediate area for the shooter or even his victim but nothing stood out. It was just a sea of faces staring back at him, some confused, others alarmed but all very much alive.

"Sam..."

Turning to respond to his partner the ex SEAL was completely unprepared for what met his eyes. Blood, and lots of it leaking from Callen's chest as he crumpled to the sidewalk...

Sam's eyes slid open abruptly and he blinked several times as the many forms of the OSP office came into focus around him, illuminated by the morning light filtering through the windows. Letting out a heavy sigh the dark skinned agent ran a hand over his face and sat up slowly in the desk chair which had served as his bed since heed arrived at work nearly half an hour ago. Glancing around the bullpen he was pleased to find that no one else seemed to have been privy to his most recent nightmare not that it would have been much of a surprise to any of them if they had been. Since Callen's death not one member of the team had been running at one hundred percent and they all knew it, even so their pride stipulated they hide the pain from each other as best they could. It was all they knew how to do. The soft sound of approaching footsteps told him he had awoken just in time and he worked quickly to push the sadness from his face before turning towards the sound in anticipation.

Sure enough, mere moments later Nate poked his head around the divider with a grim expression on his face. He seemed to have come with something specific to say but noticed Sam's bloodshot eyes and sighed. "Another dream?" he asked, almost rhetorically.

"Doesn't matter," Sam replied, making almost no effort to hide the lingering exhaustion in his voice, something he knew would never have happened three months ago, "What's going on?"

"Abduction case," the psychologist replied, letting his co-worker's answer slide with only a slightly disapproving frown, "A three month old baby was just taken from a home on-base. Natasha wants us all upstairs."

Almost thankful for the distraction despite its horrible nature Sam slipped his professional mask into place and stood up. "Get the others," he ordered, "I'll meet you up there."

With a single nod Nate was gone, leaving the doorway empty once more. Sam shook his head as the younger man disappeared, chasing the last traces of Callen's shocked voice from his mind before making his way up the stairs at a jog. So much had changed since his partner's death, Nate had been returned to OSP on a fulltime bases by Hetty to help them deal with the loss and after she left barely a month later he'd had to help with those repercussions as well. Repercussions which came in the form of two empty positions needing to be filled and a team struggling to find their way. But he couldn't think about that now, not while he was on the clock and he was thankful for that.

He reached the Ops Center in a matter of seconds, the automatic door sliding open before him as he strode in, portraying a confidence he did not feel. He didn't feel much of anything since Callen... But he pushed the thoughts away again and settled his mind on his current task instead. Eric was at his computer, hands flying over the keyboard before him as Nell did much the same thing to his left. The pair didn't even look up as he entered, they were so focused on whatever they were doing. One pair of eyes did meet his, however, and he nodded politely to the Operations Manager with the impossible task of replacing the Duchess of Deception herself.

Natasha Sedgwick was, of course, a great agent in her own right and an experienced Operations Manager having worked for NCIS in the same capacity on several other occasions. She was rather tall for a woman with long, naturally greying hair which was always tied back in some form of bun or braid giving her an air of professionalism which was not at all diminished by her personality. For the first few weeks she had attempted the 'friendly new manager' persona but the team's frosty response had ended that experiment rather quickly. Hetty would not be replaced, that had become abundantly clear, and they had come to a sort of unspoken agreement never to attempt it again.

"Sam," she greeted calmly, exposing yet another difference between herself and her predecessor, the use of first names on a regular bases.

"Natasha," the dark skinned agent returned, "Nate's rounding up the others."

"Good, we'll need all hands on deck for this one."

Sam nodded again and folded his arms across his chest, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as the now all too familiar awkward silence fell over them broken only by Eric and Nell's continued typing. Life within OSP's walls had been this way since the phony cheerfulness had come to an end, awkward, tense and overall just unpleasant. It wasn't that either of the new recruits were unpleasant in their own right but rather that they came into the team at a most unfortunate time. Still, it was better than the fake sense of unity Natasha had originally been trying for, at least to him. He had no intention of forgetting what they'd lost.

The doors slid opened once more, interrupting his train of thought, and the rest of the team entered at a hurried pace. Kensi led the way, to no one's surprise; her dominating personality had only increased in the past few months in what Sam strongly suspected was a coping mechanism and she'd seemingly made it her personal mission to keep their new teammate at arm's length. The man in question followed her into the room, giving Sam a quick smile which looked more like a grimace than anything else, almost as though he was begging the older man to save him from Kensi.

Special Agent Cameron Michael Neely was a first time agent, recruited by the CIA but transferred to NCIS directly after he had finished training without ever taking part in an op. He had been Hetty's pick to replace Callen and though no one was happy with the idea of bringing in a newbie to replace someone as talented as G, the respect they held for their former Operations Manager was high enough that they allowed it to happen. He wasn't all that bad either and though Sam would never say it to his face he could see why Hetty had picked him, he would be a good agent one day.

"So, what's going on?" Deeks asked, bringing up the rear as he ducked into the room behind Cameron, "Nate said something about a baby..."

Natasha nodded, looking grim. "Eva Rowland," she explained, gesturing to the main screen where Eric had projected the picture of a dark haired baby in a pink jumpsuit, "Daughter of Lieutenants Sarah and Jackson Rowland, was taken from their home last night." She glanced at Eric who quickly flashed up each parents' service record. "The Rowlands are both information analysts with top secret security clearance so the fear is that Eva has been taken to exchange for classified information."

"Has there been a ransom demanded?" Kensi asked, moving to stand in front of the screen, Deeks right on her heels.

"No," Natasha replied, "There's been no contact of any kind."

Sam sighed and dropped his arms to his side, turning to face the others before speaking. "We need eyes and ears inside that house and with that family at all times," he said briskly, "Kensi, Deeks, Nate, you three take the house. Check the abduction site for and monitor the phone lines. I wanna make sure everything runs smoothly from that end and Nate, we'll need a reading of everyone involved. Neely, you and me are going to go at this from the other end, starting with the parents' co-workers and anyone who might want what they know."

"On it," said Kensi with a single nod as she moved swiftly for the door.

"Wait a moment," Natasha called suddenly, pausing until everyone had looked her way before continuing, "There will be one more complication you should all be aware of."

"What's that?" Deeks asked unnecessarily earning himself a glare from Sam and Kensi.

The new Operations Manager did not follow their lead, taking the interruption in stride instead. "I have just been informed that the FBI has launched an investigation into this branch of NCIS," she said calmly, "So do not be surprised if they make their presence felt. They have assured me they will not interfere with our case but I have learned over the years never to take the assurances of that particular agency to seriously."

"What the hell are they investigating us for?" Sam demanded, anger lacing his every word, "What have we done that concerns them?"

"It is not what we have done as an agency but rather what one of our agents has done," said Natasha, with the air of someone choosing their words carefully.

"Which agent?" Kensi snapped, taking on much the same tone as Sam, "Because if you honestly think that someone here is – "

"Agent Callen, Kensi."

The words caught everyone off guard and when finally the odd silence which fell over them was broken it was the newest agent who spoke. "Callen? But isn't he... Dead?"

If looks could kill Cameron Neely would have been a pile of ash on the floor from the glares sent his way by every other agent in the room. Even Eric and Nell were staring at him from their computers, their looks matching those of their coworkers. You did not touch on the subject of their fallen team member if you wanted to live, Sam and Kensi had made that abundantly clear within mere days of both Agent Neely and Natasha's hirings and Deeks was quick to back them up on it.

Choosing to control his suddenly surging emotions as best he could Sam turned back to their new Operations Manager and pointedly ignored the younger man. "G didn't do anything worth investigating," he said in a voice of forced calm, "He was a damn good agent and an even better man. What right do they have to try and destroy that?"

Natasha sighed heavily. "I don't know, Sam. It was simply out of courtesy that I was even informed of the investigation, I don't have any of the specifics."

"Well you'd better get them then," said Kensi coldly, her furious gaze moving to the older woman as she spoke, "It's your job isn't it? To make sure we have everything we need, including information?" She gave her new boss a challenging look before turning on her heel and heading for the door. "Deeks, Nate, let's go," she barked over her shoulder.

Deeks hurried after her without question, obviously sensing the danger in the air while Nate gave Natasha an apologetic smile before doing the same thing.

Sam took his turn to sigh as he watched his teammates disappear and gave them a moment's head start before heading towards the door himself. "Eric, send me everything you've got on the parents," he ordered, "Neely, you're with me." He was two steps out of the Ops Center when he stopped dead in his tracks, the still surging emotions in his chest causing him to turn around once more and poke his head back into the darkened room. "And Natasha, for the record, I agree with Kensi." And with that he walked off, not really caring if his new partner was following or not.