Notes: Thanks for taking the time to look over my story.
This is the latest of my stories based in my "Sacrifice" series.
I would also like to thank everyone who has left comments, reviews, comments or favourite any of my stories/chapters, they have been greatly appreciated, as has that fact that you have chosen to read any of my fics.
I hope you enjoy it.
I do NOT own NCIS:Los Angeles or any of its Characters. I'm just borrowing them
"…since Mrs Hanna is CIA, they have insisted on being part the investigation"
"Fine. But we have the lead. Who do we have safe guarding Nell, Her family and the kids?" Callen enquired
….
24 Hours Ago:
"Just think, this time tomorrow you could be Mrs Nell Callen" Rachael said to her sister
"I know. Greg suggested that maybe I'd want to keep my own surname"
"You should. You don't want to live with a name like Callen" Madeline Jones, interrupted
Despite claiming that she supported Nell and her choices, Madeline had been acting the opposite of supportive ever since Nell had told her parents that her engagement to Callen was back on. Her father had tried, unsuccessfully, to reign in his wife.
Nell had stated to wonder whether she actually wanted her mother to be in attendance for the ceremony. The only reason she had even agreed to allow her mother to be part of her ceremony, was because she was family, and Family was important to both herself, and her soon to be husband.
….
"You can't carry a gun to a wedding!"
"Why not? You and Callen are going to be!" Michelle complained to her husband
"Because you can't hide a gun under your dress. Me and G, we can hide ours under our suit jackets"
….
2 Hours Ago
"This almost reminds me of our wedding. Minus the kids, and friends…" Deeks started
"You look as handsome today as you did on our day" Kensi replied before kissing her husband
"That… that was fantastic. How about we just skip the wedding and go home, and have a fun time?" he suggested
Kensi punched Deeks' arm
"Down boy. Behave for a few more hours, and I'll take you home and let you have fun with what I'm not wearing under this" Kensi said, gesturing to her dress
….
1 Hour Ago
[…]
"Love you too. I'll see you at the alter" Nell replied, before ending the call and slipping her cell into her bag
"You ready to go, Auntie Nell?" Zoe asked as she walked up to her 'Aunt'
"I am. You look very pretty today" she replied, as they started walking out of the suite and down to the car
….
The two cars pulled away from the hotel. Nell, her Sister, Mother, and Zoe in the bridal car. With Nells father, Michelle, Deeks and Kensi travelling in the other car.
"You know, it's not to late to back out of this whole marriage" Madeline urged her daughter
"I'm marrying him. If you're not going to accept that, I'll ask the driver to pull over and you can out!" She instructed her mother, having finally given up on being calm with her mother.
Both cars pulled to a stop at a set of lights, while a van sped past the bridal car and through the lights with its sliding side door open, and a man hanging out.
….
"Mr Callen. This was just dropped of by a bike messenger for you" the elderly Church minister said, handing over the padded envelope
Callen thanked him, opened the envelope, and removed its contents… a picture, and a small note
The picture was of Nell wearing what looked like a tiara, surrounded by other women. Callen assumed it had been taken on her hen night. Unfolding the note, and reading it… his blood turned cold.
După cum ai ucis familia mea , eu acum omor a ta
Gheorge Comescu
(As you killed my family, I now kill yours)
He rushed outside, pulling his phone out and dialling it.
No answer. Why was there no answer. Sam rushed outside at Callens back, wondering what was wrong
Callen simply handed the note to Sam, while he tried redialling.
Finally someone answered
"Nell. Are you okay?"
[…]
"How bad?"
[…]
"We're coming now. Stay where you are"
Sam read the note that Callen had just thrust into his hands, as he dragged his former partner round to where Sam had parked the Challenger.
….
Getting out of the car, what greeted Sam and Callen could only be described as carnage. A mixture of ambulance, police and fire department vehicles were scattered about the scene, one limo had been flipped and the front end was smouldering after having had a fire put out. The other limo had been abandoned further back from the first car, with its occupants being questioned by police.
As soon as he had caught a glimpse of Nell's hair, Callen ran to her, ignoring the LAPD officers that tried to stop him…
"Are you okay? You're sure that you're not hurt!"
"I'm okay G" Nell started, trying to remain calm "But my Dad, Kensi, Deeks and Michelle were in the other car" she continued pointing at the overturned, smouldering limo
"This is because of you isn't it!" Madeline Jones screamed at Callen, as a pair of officers held her back, while her husband was carried into one of the ambulances
….
"…since Mrs Hanna is CIA, they have insisted on being part the investigation" Hetty replied
"Fine. But we have the lead. Who do we have safe guarding Nell, Her family and the kids?" Callen enquired
"Mr Morris and his team are on protection detail at the safe house, and Mr Nolan and his team are on protection detail at the hospital" Hetty explained, hoping this would help Callen relax
"So who do we have left, that's field trained, to work the investigation with me?"
"Not many I'm afraid. Assistant Director Granger has requested a team from San Diego to come assist, other than that, all we have available are Mr Cho and Ms Atkinson. Neither of which have any real world experience"
"Just great" Callen forced out, as he finished getting changed in the bullpen into less formal clothing from his Go Bag.
As soon as he finished changing he ran up to OPS, leaving Hetty standing in the bullpen
"Tell me you have something Eric!"
"I've fed what we know into Kaleidoscope, but nothing yet" The tech responded, sitting at the computer terminal, still wearing his own suit. "What about immigration?, anyone recently entered the country that we suspect may be associated with the Comescu family?"
"No one. Sorry Callen"
"Just… let me know if you find anything, and see if you can run whatever you get against Hunter's files about the Comescu family." Callen said over his shoulder as he walked back out of OPS
….
"you look pretty good for a dead guy" Callen heard a familiar voice say from behind him, as he reached where his car was parked
"...and there was me thinking you would have been shanked in prison, Tracy" he replied to his ex wife, as he unlocked the car door
Neither said anything further as they got in the car, and Callen started the engine before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Who told you?" Callen asked, never taking his eyes off the road
"Nell. She made the trip up to the prison to tell me in person that you were dead. The kid was devastated" Tracy explained "So what's the deal with this Comescu guy?"
"Same as usual… Romanian nut job from a family of nut jobs who want to kill me because of a blood feud from decades ago. Honestly thought that I had seen the last of them"
"Yeah, 'usual'!. Why not attack you then? Why attack your friends?"
"The note said, roughly translated, that he would kill my family as I killed his. We've had enough encounters with them for them to know my friends are my family. He'll want to make sure I live long enough to see anyone I care about, dead, before he comes for me"
….
"Anyone tried to get in that shouldn't?"
"Nah No one. Tell me that you know who's responsible for this?" Agent Nolan asked
"We know who, just not where the bastard's hiding" Callen explained
"When you find out, you make sure and let us know, and we'll have your back!"
Callen thanked the agent and lead Tracy into the hospital, not sure what state Sam would be in
….
"Thought you might want a change of clothes" Callen said, as he handed the Go bag over to Sam "How's Michelle?"
"She'll be okay. Only one with any real injury would be your father-in-law, with a broken wrist, everyone else got lucky and just got bumps and bruises"
"That's good at least. You call me as soon as everyone's able to be released, and I'll get Nolan to escort you all to the safe house"
"Like hell am I gonna let you hunt for this guy, while you lock me in a cage"
"Sam, I'm not locking you anywhere. But we need our family safe, and I need Agents to work the field. I can't have two teams watching the safe house. I need you, Nell, Kensi and Deeks to supplement the team at the safe house, so I have at least some field agents to work with me 'till Granger gets me some from San Diego"
"You're not my boss anymore G…" Sam started arguing
"No. I'm not. But Nell's family can't protect themselves, and the kids won't understand what's going on, so they're gonna need you or Michelle to help keep them calm. I'd feel a lot better having up to 11 agents there, covering inside and out, instead of just 6 covering the exterior."
Callen knew that Sam understood and accepted that what he was being told was best for everyone, even if he wasn't happy about it
….
"Are you ever going to tell me how you survived?" Tracy enquired, as Callen drove them back to OSP
"Only a handful of people in the country know the whole story about how I survived" He replied, briefly glancing over at her "The truth is that I almost didn't survive. I ran out of time, the bomb went off, just as it was meant to. Next thing I knew was agonising pain, I found myself almost completely buried in the brick and stone, steel rods were piercing into one of my arms. Eventually I managed to free my arms from the rubble and then started trying to shift the rubble that was crushing my leg before anything else fell on top of me. Once night fell, I basically had to crawl my way out of that town, as I had one broken leg, and nothing to use as a crutch to let me move quicker. I was in so much pain that I was wishing I could just die. I had no water and must have lay on the ground for god knows how long, before these locals found me and threw me in the back of their car.
When I woke up I was still in agony, but my wounds had been dressed, my leg had been secured to a pair of wood planks. I was fed and given water. I had no idea what anyone was saying, but they weren't trying to question me, or torture me. Even so, every few days I would drag myself out of the village in the middle of the night, wouldn't get too far before being found and taken back. Eventually they resorted to strapping me down when there wasn't anyone to watch me"
"How long for?"
"Every night for almost 3 months. They stopped when I was fit to walk…"
….
"…and you're okay?"
"I promise you sweetie, just a broken wrist. Nothing that wont heal" Daryl Jones replied, trying to put his daughter at ease
"Just a broken wrist. This is all that Callens fault. If it wasn't for him…" Madeline started
"Oh, give it a rest Madeline. We all know what your opinion is" Daryl interrupted his wife, leaving her speechless
….
"Why did Nolan and his guys take off?" Kensi asked
"Because G needs field agents to work the investigation. And he says there are more than enough trained agents in this building to protect everyone and back up Morris and co" Sam explained, as he unzipped the bag he had carried in with him, revealing a number of handguns and plenty of extra magazines
"I hate it when he's right" Nell offered
"Don't worry. That all ends once you're married. Isn't that right dear" Michelle added, before turning her focus back to her husband
….
[…]
"Okay, Eric. Give Nolan one of the addresses, give us the other"
[…]
….
"We gonna have any tactical support?"
"Why do you think I brought you with me!. I've got enough weapons in the trunk to send up a red flag to the ATF, So I think we'll be okay" Callen replied
"Nice to see you're still as crazy as ever"
….
"FUCK!" Callen shouted out as he punched the wall
"for god sake, calm down will you. How were you meant to know that this place would be clean... Figuratively" Tracy urged her former partner
Hearing his phone ring, Callen pulled it out and answered it
"What've you got Eric?"
[…]
"Tell him not to touch anything, I'll be there in 20 minutes"
Callen dropped his phone back in his pocket and started running back out to the car, Tracy followed him without asking anything
….
"How long's it been ringing?" Callen asked, pointing at the phone
"at least as long we got here" one of Nolan's guys said
Callen pulled on a rubber glove, walked over to it, lifted it and answered it
"Da?" (Yes?)
[…]
"Ma voi preda la tine , cu condiția sunteți de acord să nu meargă după prietenii mei" (I'll turn myself over to you, provided you agree not to go after my friends)
Callen could see Tracy talking to someone on her own phone, but was too focused on his call to try listening to whatever she may be saying
[…]
"Spune-mi unde vrei să fie . Nu voi aduce arme" (Tell me where you want me to be. I'll not bring any weapons)
[…]
"Voi fi acolo" (I'll be there)
"Who was it?" Tracy asked, stuffing her phone back in a pocket
"Would you believe it was a wrong number" Callen replied, before dropping the phone on the ground and stamping on it, breaking it into several pieces
"Head back to safe-house, Back-up Morris and his guys. You don't let anyone leave that building unless you hear otherwise from me, right!" Callen instructed Agent Nolan
….
"What was that back there?" Tracy asked as Callen pulled out of the motel parking lot
"No idea what you mean"
"Don't give me that shit. You destroyed evidence. I always thought you were too much of a boy scout to do that"
"Give me a break. Sometimes needs must" Callen explained
"Uh huh.. and the foreign lingo!. What have you got yourself into?"
"I need to make a quick stop before we go back to the office"
….
"You gonna tell what's going on? You can trust me, you know"
"Yeah, I know Trace" Callen said as he walked down the path to the house
"Holy shit. This place looks a lot better than it did before" Tracy exclaimed as she followed Callen into the house, seeing it fully decorated
"Yeah. It's definitely an improvement. Take a seat, I'll be right back" Callen replied as he disappeared into Nell's home office
Reappearing a few minutes later,
"Do me a favour. Give this to Nell when you see her" Callen asked, as he handed an envelope to Tracy
"You'll see her before I do, Callen"
"Yeah… did you see the picture on the mantle?" Callen replied, as he guided Tracy in front of him, before he reached round her and wrapped his arm round her neck, putting her in a sleeper hold. Holding just long enough to knock her out
Callen put his cell phone and service weapon on the table, and walked out of the house, closing the door behind him
….
Nell glanced out of the safe-house window, wondering why the extra agents had arrived
"What the hell's going on?" Sam said from behind her "I thought G called Nolan off, so he had field agents." He continued before heading to the door.
….
"Look, I respect you and all… but I've got orders, Sam" Nolan replied
"Why'd he send you back?" Sam asked, trying to walk past Nolan, before Nolan pushed Sam back inside
"Don't try that that again, Sam. You're not the only ex SEAL here. I've got very specific orders, and I will follow them .letter."
….
30 Minutes later
"What you doing here?" Sam asked as he saw Morris guide Tracy into the safe-house
"We've not got times to play games Sammy. Callen's gone off the reservation" Tracy responded, as he pulled out the envelope Callen had asked her to give to Nell
Nell read the letter, getting more stressed as she read each sentence
"Tracy's right. We need to move, and quick"
….
"I don't have time to argue with you mom." Nell replied, not actually caring about what her mother had to say any longer, as she walked over to Zoe. "Can I borrow your tablet for a little while, I promise I'll give it back to you" she asked
Zoe handed over the tablet that her dad had brought from home to keep her and Zach amused.
"No. Morris, your guys need to stay here and protect them" Sam said, indicating to the non agents still inside the house
"You got it. But if you need us, just say the word and we'll be there"
"Come on, we've got to get a move on!" Sam heard Nell say as she rushed past him, still in her wedding dress, to the van
….
"Where does the tracker on the car say he is?" Nell said, into the phone
[…]
"Is there any street cams in the area that you can check?"
[…]
"Right. Can you give me an access point to the system, so I can check the other tracker"
[…]
"Thanks" Nell dropped the Cell phone and started tapping on the tablet
….
"I'm here!, Sunt aici" Callen called, walking into the yard
He knew that his friends would be seriously pissed at him for what he was about to do, and Nell would most likely be furious. But he could live with that, for however brief a time he had left, so long as they would remain unharmed.
He felt considerable guilt for having unintentionally put them in danger. He had become so used to living a 'normal' life, that he just had forgotten all about the risk of any remaining Comescu family members, or 'employees'
"You can stop butchering my native tongue" a voice called from the other end of the yard, in a thick accent
Four men appeared from the shadows, two of which had their guns trained on Callen, while the other two approached him and started patting him down for any weapons
"E curat" (He's clean) one of the men called, before pulling a taser out and sticking it to Callens neck, knocking him unconscious
….
"Welcome back to the land of the living, albeit temporarily, Mr Callen" Ghorge said as he saw Callen twitch back into consciousness
"Why don't you just kill me. Get it over with. Then you can fuck off back to the Black Sea" Callen said, intentionally trying to enrage his captor
"I will kill you. But very, very slowly. We are going to bleed you dry, So I can savour every moment"
….
"you sure you want to do this Nell?" Kensi asked, as she watched her partner put a earpiece in.
"I'm sure. Just… wait for my signal before you move in"
"You sure you don't wanna take a weapon?, just in case" Sam enquired, pushing a Handgun towards her
"I have a little something Hetty gave me, for just such an occasion" Nell responded, as she climbed out of the van, quietly closing the door behind her
….
Nell walked into the room, being guided by the two men carrying semi-automatics.
"Era afară, încercarea de a obține în" (She was outside, trying to get in) one of the men explained to his boss
"How did you find us Mrs Callen?. That's right, you're not Mrs Callen yet are you"
"I have my ways. If you're set on killing him, I just want the chance to say good bye. Is that too much to ask?" Nell replied, purposefully avoiding the comment about not being Mrs Callen, setting aside her anger for a more appropriate time
Gheorge looked at her, considering her request
….
Nell was again 'guided' through the building into one of the back rooms, where she found Callen chained up
As soon as she had been let go, she rushed over to where Callen stood.
She lifted her hands, cupping his face with them.
"Why do you keep doing this?. Why do you keep running off and putting yourself in harms way for me, or the others?"
"Because they are my family, and you… you're the person in this world, that's most precious to me. I'd face down any threat, if it meant you'd remain unharmed"
Nell stood up on her toes, and placed a brief tender kiss on Callens lips
"How did you even find me? I dumped the car, I left my cell at home…"
"I .. have my ways" Nell explained cryptically, as she subtly reached into the hidden pocket in her dress and gripped the Derringer that Hetty had insisted she carry with her 'just in case'.
"Do you remember the name of the aircraft carrier?" She asked
Callen looked down at her, wondering what she was doing
"Aircraft carrier?"
"Yeah. Where you were assigned" Nell added, looking over her shoulder at the two armed men "The Seahawk!" Nell said, placing the emphasis on Seahawk, giving the signal to her colleagues.
….
"What did you do!" Gheorge screamed as he rushed through the door way, retreating from the arms fire that came from the main room in the building
"Nell took advantage of the situation, pulled the four shot Derringer from her pocket, aimed and fire one shot at each of the armed mens necks, before re aiming at Gheorge who stood with only a knife in one of his hands.
Nell held the gun tightly in her hand, considering her next move. Keeping it aimed at the man that had ruined her wedding day, hurt her friends and her family.
Callens started trying to calm his fiancé. "Don't do anything you will regret, Nell"
"I won't regret it G. If his family have a problem with you, then they have a problem with me. This man ruined our wedding day, and more importantly tried to kill our friends and our family" she explained before quickly firing a round into one of Ghoerge's thighs, sending him staggering in pain to the wall, as the gunshot would started bleeding heavily
Nell walked over towards him, aiming the small handgun towards Gheorge's Head.
The gun fire had ended, and through the door way filed Sam, Kensi, Deeks, Tracy, Michelle and Nolan and his team, with each of them aiming their own weapon at Gheorge
….
"Such a shame about your dress my dear. You really couldn't have changed into a pair of jeans?"
"It's just blood, Hetty. It'll wash out" Nell assured the aging spy
"Drop it in to wardrobe, they'll have it properly cleaned"
Nell Leaned down, pulling Hetty into a Hug
When she pulled back, she handed the Derringer back to its owner
"It was a good thing you took my advice" Hetty responded "Now, how did you explain your being able to find him?" she added, curiously
"I told him I have my ways" Nell explained "I suppose I'll have to tell him about the tracker in his watch, now"
"I already knew" Callen said, walking into Hetty's office
Nell and Hetty both looked at him, both wondering how he could have known
"Do you care about getting married in a church?" He asked, pulling Nell from thoughts about how he knew she had tracked him
"I don't care if I get married in a sewer, so long as you're the one at my side"
"Well in that case. We have a wedding to get to." He said, guiding his fiancé and Hetty out to the parking lot
….
The Following Day
"…By the Power Vested in me, by the State of Nevada. I pronounce you Man and wife. You may now kiss the bride"
Nell and Callen kissed one another, to the cheers of their family.
"What do you want to do now Mrs Callen?"
"Lets have a Family brunch, and go home Mr Callen" Nell replied, as she led her husband and family out of the chapel, and back to the van, requesting that Sam pull in at the first Diner.
….
A few hours into the drive back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas, Hetty moved forward to sit besides the Newly Weds, wishing to give them the good news now, rather than wait
"Assistant Director Granger just called, wishing me to let you both know that you did a good job yesterday. And that the questioning of Gheorge Comescu has led to a taskforce being formed to hunt down any remaining Comescus and dismantle their organisation. You're now able to live your lives without having to constantly be looking over your shoulder, in fear of them seeking to harm you"
They both thanked Hetty for the news, and returned to resting, Callen wrapping a protective arm around Nell.
"I still think she should have kept 'Jones' as her surname" Hetty heard Madeline say at the back of the van.
Hetty shuffled to the back of the van, asking Daryl Jones, to move forward so that she could have a word with his wife.
Hetty leaned over, and whispered something into Madeline's ear. Something that quickly had her shutting up.
"I don't suppose you could tell me how you did that" Daryl asked
"I could. But then I'd have to kill you" Hetty explained, as she moved forward back to her own seat
….
"Sorry about knocking you out, but it was for the greater good" Callen said, apologising to his ex wife
"Yeah, well… just as well that you suck at it. But honestly… I'm happy for you Callen"
"Thanks. Maybe next time, we can work together when there isn't someone trying to kill me or harm my family"
Tracy started to walk off, pulling her phone out, so she could report in
"Hey" Callen started, calling after her "You're family too… Not close family, but still family"
"For a man with no family, you sure have a lot of family" Sam said, walking up from behind Callen
"Best family a man could ask for. You heading home?"
"Yeah. Think we could all use some sleep, kids especially"
"I know it doesn't need to be said, but thanks Sam"
"It's what we do" Sam said, knowing nothing else needed to be said between them
….
"It's been something… unique" Rachael started "I'm really happy for you Nell"
Nell wrapped her arms round her sister, thanking her for being there
When the two sisters separated, Daryl walked over to Nell, wanting to speak to her before they went back to their hotel
"I'm so sorry about your arm, dad" Nell began, before her father interrupted
"It's not your fault, Nell. I'm just glad that you got there in the end. You've got yourself a good one there. I know he'll look out for you, love you, and make you happy. What more could a father ask for" Daryl kissed his daughters forehead, and stepped aside to let his wife say her piece
Madeline stepped loser to her daughter, fully aware of her husband and her daughters boss glaring at her
"It was a very nice ceremony. I'm very happy for you" Madeline forced out, knowing that her daughter wouldn't accept her badmouthing her husband anymore, and that her husband wouldn't tolerate it either.
"I know he isn't who you would have picked for me, Mom. But I love him, and that's not gonna change. I still love you though" Nell replied as she gave her mother a quick hug
….
When they got home, Callen unlocked and opened the front door, before turning to face his new bride
"I believe there is a tradition to uphold, Mrs Callen!" He said, seconds before sweeping Nell up into his arms, so he could carry her across the threshold.
"I'm sorry that things didn't exactly work out as we had hoped…" Callen started, as he placed Nell back down.
"Don't….I didn't need a limo, a white dress, a horse drawn carriage or a church… I just needed you, me and our family. That's what I wanted, that's what I got. And best of all we don't have to worry about there being a target on your back" Nell said, interrupting him and cupping the side of his face in her hand
"What would I do without you?"
"You'll never have find out again" Nell replied, before kissing him and leading him through into their bedroom