CALLEN POV: I look down at the little bundle in my arms, and feel a goofy smile spread across my face. The little bundle wriggles, and squeaks and as weird as it sounds, I think I am falling in love with the little, orphan furball. I found him in the gutter by the OSP building, cold, wet, flea ridden, underweight, and scared. I couldn't just leave him, so I took him home, the house that belonged to one of my better foster parents, and were I met my soră adoptată AN: translates from Romanian to adopted sister, bathed him in turpentine, and fed him. Turns out he is a yellow lab, not the black mutt I had thought him to be when I first saw him. I set him down, and laugh as he immediately runs, slipping and falling every so often on the way, to my homey little rucksack. I sit on the floor watching him romp while I call out names. Buddy- the lab I used to have- no response, Clumsy, still no response, so I dig back to myths, and Russia, to find a name. Цербер, HA that gets a response, some how I knew Cerberus, or Hellhound depending on your dialect and meaning, would work. Looks like he is like me in more ways than one.
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I walk into the bullpen of the OSP building, and stealthily set Цербер on my desk.
"What do you think you are doing Mr. Callen?"
'SHIT'
"Um, just setting Цербер, down on my desk, Hetty?"
"And who would Цербер, be?"
"Um… The puppy I rescued?"
"And, why would you bring a puppy here?"
"Because he is really young and still on formula. He really likes MRE's though. And my rucksack…"
"Keep an eye on him, Mr. Callen."
"I will, Hetty."
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ERIC & NELL POV: We walk into the ops center, and just about scream. There is a Golden Labrador puppy shredding our chairs, and there is hair on EVERY piece of technology. We stop in the doorway with everyone behind us and just stare. Callen barges through muttering Russian under his breath. Yeah, pretty sure we don't want to know what it means. He picks up the puppy, and walks to his usual spot for briefing, and asks, "Whaddya got Eric?"
"Umm… Double homicide at Camp Pendleton. One is Naval Petty Officer Katelyn Vargas, the other Marine Gunnery Sergeant Micheal Franks Jr.-"
"Wait, Jr.? You mean Mike had a son?"
"Looks like it. Director Vance is having Gibbs' team fly down to assist."
"Good no one knows Mike as well as Gibbs does. Now, give me some more info on both victims"
"PO Vargas was shot in the back of the head, execution style, after being repeatedly raped and beaten. TOD was shortly before Franks' so we believe he was forced to watch as that was done to his fiancee. The crime scene was a secondary location based on the lividity of the bodies, so you have another crime scene to find. We believe this is connected to a string of murders involving interracial couples in the Armed Forces."
"Wonderful, we have a serial killer on our hands. Kenzie, Deeks, head to the parents' places… Well, place seeing as Mike is dead as well as Jr.'s mother. Sam and I will head to the couples' house on base. We may have to go undercover on this one, so be ready for a call, Kenz."
"The addresses are on your phones."
"And leave the dog here. We have some things to discuss," Hetty says as G, Sam, Kenzie, and Deeks get ready to walk out.
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HETTY POV: "Цербер, hmm. I see you and Mr. Callen have a lot in common. I understand that you are a puppy, but you see, I can't have you getting on Eric and Nell's technology, and consequently giving them heart attacks. So, you will not be warned again, and if it happens again, I will have to take disciplinary action."
Цербер whines at the last part. For a puppy, he seems to understand tones, and body language, pretty well. I look around to see if anyone is watching before I give him one of my tea cookies. We can't have people thinking that I am getting soft in my old age.
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Callen POV: I walk through the house on base with Sam, regretting my choice of clothing, because I know Sam is going to crack a joke, at some point.
*flashback to earlier in the day* I pulled on tight but still comfy jeans and a muscle hugging, black, v-neck tee with my St. Jude medallion peeking out slightly, while waiting for my partner to get there. I always got questions about my medallion that Hetty gave me. I'm not very religious but I feel connected somehow to Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. Probably because I am a lost cause. Just as I finished pondering about Jude, Sam pulled up in his black, 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T. The car was smokin' hot and it was practically Sam's baby. I grabbed my duffle bag full of my desk stuff -and Цербер- and set it into the back while getting comfortable in the front. "Hey, Sam, any new cases that I can work on?" I asked replied,
"No. Why did you come back early? You aren't due back for another month. And why are you so happy? It is unusual for you."
"I was getting stir crazy, cabin fever. And to the other question it is none of your concern."
"You are seeing someone aren't you? G the lone wolf in a relationship. Unbelievable."
"God! I don't need another person acting like my mother! Hetty is already that way, I don't need you on my case too."
"I just want you to be happy and find a good girl!" Sam said in a falsetto tone, turning it into a joke as we pulled up to the building. 'This is it?' I thought questioningly.
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*Still in flashback* As Sam walked into the inconspicuous building he asked, "What's with the Wranglers? Are you a cowboy now or something?"
'Shit!' I thought, 'Must have put them in the wrong drawer.' out loud I said, "It's just part of a new hobby." Surprisingly he still hadn't noticed the small little nose poking out of my rucksack.
"Oh, really? And what hobby is this?"
"Bull riding. I do it when I'm not working on a case."
"Is this to impress your new girlfriend?"
"No, she barrel races so that is how I got introduced to it, but I am doing it because I love the thrill. You should see what a girl looks like in chaps though. All I can say is damn!"
We walked into the bullpen as I said the love the thrill part. Kensi and Deeks looked up from their paperwork, and simultaneously asked, "What do you love the thrill of?" and Deeks immediately started image searching girls in chaps, causing Kenz, Sam, and I to bust out laughing. I then answered, "Bull riding. It is fun, and an adrenalin rush, but it can be seriously dangerous, hence the limp."
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Surprisingly, Sam doesn't make a comment as we begin searching the house, and I get pretty engrossed in searching the house, and missing Цербер, like I haven't seen him in a month. Roughly 10 minutes later Sam shouts from the upstairs office that he has something. I jog up the stairs, and walk in to see him squatting on the floor with his head twisted so he could look up under the desk. "Whaddya got?" I ask.
"As cheesy, and as cliche as it sounds, I found a secret compartment under the desk. There is a manila envelope, and a 9mm Taurus taped to the top. Let's get this back to Eric, he could probably tell us more about the contents, and if the gun tests positive for gunshot residue. But, I keep hearing a whistling sound coming from the bottom floor."
"That's weird, let's go check it out before we go."
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I look through the door to the basement and a feeling of dread fills the pit of my stomach as I stare. I pull out my phone and call Eric. "Send LAPD to the couple's house, we found the second crime scene. Check the other case files, were the second crime scenes all in the victims' homes?"
"Umm, yes, they were all in the basement of the house."
"That means that the killer knew the layout of each house, so they have a military background or got to know the victims and have been in each house before the murder. They knew their way around the place and could get where they wanted quickly and easily. I want this house under watch, while we are at it. We are going to leave, and come back when Gibbs' team gets here."