Hey, thanks for taking a chance on this story. I've been playing with the idea for a few years now. I hope you enjoy it, please take the time to review!
Origins. We all have them, even me. This is how I met Hetty, Sam, Eric... and G of course.
I felt cold, frozen to the spot, for a heart beat all my training had gone out of my mind. My eyes focused on the barrel of the gun aimed at my chest.
This is it.
A blink of my eyes and I had my gun pulled and aimed. The seconds became minutes as I stood there calmly waiting his next move. One more blink of the eye and the sound of guns firing filled the air.
I hope this works.
The searing hot pain of a bullet ripping through flesh physically knocked me sideways. The ground raced dramatically to me. I landed with a thud, dropping almost like a dead weight, I had no idea what had happened to him; I barely knew what was happening to me.
I pulled the trigger...right?
Downing my third beer I looked up and noticed the same guy watching me from across the bar. All three beers he'd been watching me and my team mates. In turn, I'd been watching him, hey fairs fair. He was taller than me, had a shaven head and blue eyes. He was cute that was a definite and even though I was sat drinking with a bunch of guys, he didn't dial down his staring. I noted he was drinking with a friend, a Marine if I wasn't mistaken, but he had long since left his friend, opting to join a pretty little thing on the dance floor.
"Will you just go over and talk to him?" Howard Jones, a.k.a Jonesy, my partner asked smirking as he faced me. Jonesy was tall, with spiky black hair and green eyes. Jonesy and I had been partners only since the beginning of the mission but we clicked and it looked like we were going to have a very long career ahead of us. We worked for the MOD and had been hand picked for the small task force.
"He's the one staring." I said defending myself as Harm, one of two American NCIS special Agents assigned to our task force, laughed - loudly. Harm was a tall guy, he looked like a Neo Nazi, shaven head, tattoos... you get the picture. In fact Harm had a wife and three kids he doted on. He was the biggest softy I had ever met.
"Please Coup, that has to be the worst defence ever!" Harm laughed glancing in the direction of the cute guy. I sighed rolling my eyes as the guy looked down at his drink.
"I thought you were trained in surveillance?" I asked raising an eyebrow, making both guys look back at me.
"I am." Harm replied taking a sip of his beer. "I'm just choosing to ignore my training right about now." Harm teased and Jonesy laughed.
"Look, this is our last night here. You know what happens tomorrow, go enjoy it!" Jonesy said nudging me slightly.
"What? Is this set up Coup night or something?" I asked looking at my team mates. They were both good men, and honestly I was slightly upset that we were leaving in the morning. Harm had become a good fast friend and I planned to keep in contact with him. It was just a shame I couldn't say the same for his partner NCIS Special Agent Joe King. We never really clicked and hence he wasn't out drinking with us.
"Look, you go talk to him or we will." Jonesy said turning to Harm who nodded in agreement.
"You need to have some fun." Harm added with a wide smile. My face fell as I looked at the guys.
"You guys are serious, aren't you?" I asked watching both men closely.
"Oh yeah." Jonesy said with a wicked smile.
"Ok! I'm going!" I said getting to my feet quickly as the pair laughed.
"That's my girl!" Jonesy laughed as I walked away from the pair. I was painfully aware they were still watching me, even though if I turned around I knew they wouldn't be looking directly at me. I reached the bar and smiled to the cute guy as I reached him.
"Hey." I said standing by his side.
"Hey." He replied with a crooked smile.
"So I noticed you were watching me for my last three beers. I figure you either think I'm way too hot and can't come over to talk to me, or, and this is my likely theory, I remind you of an ex you just broke up with." I stated plainly. The cute guy sat back on the stool and smirked at me for a second.
"Is that so?" He asked with clear amusement in his voice.
"Yeah. Plus if I was playing on home turf, it wouldn't have taken us three beers to talk. Instead I had to wait for you to make a move... only you didn't." I admitted with a firm nod.
"Home turf?" He asked confused.
"I'm English. The accent kinda gives it away." I said looking at him sideways. The cute guy laughed at my explanation and nodded.
"So what would have happened if we were back in England?" The cute guy asked sitting forward and seeming genuinely interested in my explanation.
"Well for a start, it wouldn't have taken three beers for us to talk. We would have probably been on the dance floor half an hour ago. And right about now, if you danced well enough... who knows?" I asked with a shrug and a small smile. The cute guy laughed again and smiled back at me.
"I'm Greg." He said holding his hand out to me.
"Nice to meet you Greg." I replied shaking his hand as he stood from the stool. "So which explanation was it?" I asked leaning on the side of the bar.
"Oh, I was just trying to figure out if one of those guys were your date." Greg said rubbing the back of his neck slightly.
"Finally figured out it was neither huh?" I teased.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"So?" I asked plainly.
"Do you want a drink?" Greg asked plainly. I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"I've had three beers waiting on you. I want to dance." I said standing up from the bar.
"I don't dance that well." Greg admitted sounding slightly embarrassed.
"Don't worry, I'll show you the moves." I said with a wink then I noticed his friend returning. "You're friends back." He was just making his way off the dance floor.
"Friend?" Greg asked as the Marine guy from before reached us.
"Hey G." His friend said reaching us. Greg glanced at me with a curious look on his face. "You finally made a friend huh?" His friend laughed.
"Sam, meet...?" Greg asked turning to me.
"I-" I was about to answer when I herd a whistle. I turned and Jonesy was walking towards me.
"Come on Cinderella, times up. We just got the call." He said glancing to Greg and his friend who were watching us.
"Right, I'll meet you out front." I said with a quick nod.
"Two minutes." Jonesy said firmly and headed back to Harm. I turned to the guys and they were both still watching me slightly confused.
"We got a plane back to England." I explained with a quick smile.
"Oh. Right." Sam said glancing at Greg, clearly he didn't believe me.
"Looks like that dance is going to have to wait Greg." I said smiling at him. "Maybe next time you wont wait so long huh?" I asked.
"Maybe." Greg replied watching me with a crooked smile.
"Nice meeting you Sam." I said with a quick nod before turning to walk off. As I walked off I herd Sam talking to Greg.
"Who was she G?" Sam asked.
"I do not know Sam, but I wish I did..." Greg replied.
The call was from Joe letting us know the time and place for a debriefing in the morning. It was early morning and it meant we had a plane out of LA for the afternoon. The next morning, bright and early we set off for the debriefing. Something felt off from the get go. It's hard to describe the feeling, a friend of mine described it as a gut feeling. He'd taught me to always fallow that gut instinct because it was usually right. I wish you were here now Jethro. As we walked to the back entrance of a warehouse just on the outskirts of L. A's town centre, I continued to search the area for any signs of trouble.
"Will you relax Coup? The mission's over." Harm said glancing over his shoulder to me.
"I can't help it, something feels off..." I said glancing around again. Of course nothing was there, but it never hurt to check.
"She's just itching for a gun fight." Jonesy joked as we walked down the alley. I just rolled my eyes as we walked.
"Ladies, when you're done." Joe King the other NCIS agent said as we reached the back door. Joe was taller than me with blonde hair and enough muscles so you noticed. He was always a quiet guy but was extremely good at doing hits. "Time to finish this mission." He added. Joe walked in fallowed by the guys and I closed the door behind. As the door shut the loud buzz of the electric lock rang out.
"Will you relax now? The doors locked." Harm asked glancing at me as the guys stood at one side of a table. I looked around, as Rick Capey, our handler walked in from the other side of the room.
"Glad you all made it." Rick sneered as he placed a suit case on the table and flicked it open. Joe stood to the left while Harm and Jonesy stood in the middle and I stood to the right with my back against the wall. I still didn't feel comfortable and I couldn't shake the gut feeling.
"Thanks." Harm said plainly, folding his arms over his chest as he almost glared at Rick.
"Shall we?" Jonesy asked lighter as he glanced between Harm and Rick.
"The mission was a success, you fallowed the crumb trail just like we knew you would..." Rick said and we all looked at him utterly confused. Suddenly he pulled a silenced pistol and shot Harm in the chest three times. We all pulled our guns, but we weren't all aiming at the same person.
"Put you're gun down!" Jonesy barked as I clocked Joe aiming at him. Rick was aimed at me, and I was aimed at Joe, it was a good old fashion Mexican Stand Off.
"Don't do it Joe!" I added and I saw Jonesy glance at Joe.
"What the hell is going on here?" Jonesy asked aiming at Rick's heart.
"You had to tell them didn't you?" Joe asked with his gun aimed firmly on Jonesy.
"It's more fun to see their faces." Rick explained. "We played you. All three of you, the MOD and NCIS. We were buying that nuclear material, we just made a crumb trail to those hippy do gooders; and you bought it! You arrested them." Rick laughed, almost mocking us for our stupidity.
"Why?" I asked with my gun still aimed at Joe.
"Money! Do you realise how much certain groups in the Middle East will pay for this stuff?" Joe explained. "Coup we're never going to have to work another day in our lives!"
"Now all we need to do is get rid of you..." Rick said cocking his gun. I took a deep breath, realising I was about to be shot. Seconds went by and finally I herd the gun being shot, only it wasn't Ricks. Jonesy shot Rick dead in the heart with one shot. Seconds later Joe shot out at Jonesy. I pushed him to the floor meaning Joe only winged him; so I thought.
"Joe this is two against one!" I cried out as me and Jonesy took cover.
"Shit! He hit my good arm." Jonesy whispered to me. The bullet had ripped through the top right of his chest, and was bleeding pretty badly.
"Damn it, I think he's caught an artery." I said taking a quick look at the wound before bullets went flying over our head. "You need to keep pressure on it."
"I know. Just shoot him already!" Jonesy said ducking slightly. I waited for Joe to finish shooting when I peaked around a corner and shot out a few bullets.
"Joe! Put your gun down! This isn't going to end well for you!" I yelled, taking cover again. Jonesy's hands were cover in his blood as it seemed to be pouring out of him. I pulled my jacket off and passed it to him.
"Thanks." Jonesy replied, his words slightly slurred. I noticed his eyelid droop a little.
"Keep your damn eyes open! You hear me?" I snapped at Jonesy as I reloaded my gun.
"Yes Sir..." Jonesy replied getting paler.
"I can't let you live!" Joe cried out before shooting for another position.
"This isn't how it ends Joe!" I yelled back before breaking cover and shooting out in his direction. I was running out of bullets fast. I was more trying to lay cover down while I thought of a plan. My mind was racing as I tried to figure out some plan, only I couldn't stop thinking about how much blood Jonesy was loosing.
"Take mine... Coup..." Jonesy said and I turned back to him. He was white. He was a sickly deathly white.
"No, no no. Come Jonesy. Don't do this to me." I said tucking my gun down the back of my jeans. I bobbed down by his side and pressed my jacket hard against his wound and I felt how soggy it had become.
"You... you need to move. Take... take my gun. Run." Jonesy slurred putting his hand over mine. My hands were covered in his blood and it was like the more I tried the faster he was bleeding out.
"I... I can't Howard... You need to stay with me." I said as tears came to my eyes.
"You're good. You take him. Tell the truth." Jonesy said as he took a couple of staggered breaths and then just stopped breathing.
"Jonesy? Jones? Howard? No no no no, come on, no!" I cried out checking his pulse and getting nothing. He'd died and Joe had killed him. I herd a floor board near me creek. I stood up pulling my gun at the same time and shot out.
"Damn it!" Joe cried out as I shot his shoulder. I adjusted my aim and pulled the trigger again. Only I was out of bullets. Joe smirked at me and aimed his gun at me. "Drop it!" He barked, his left hand pressing on the light graze I gave him. I should have aimed for his heart first.
"You son of a bitch." I said coldly as I dropped my gun to the floor.
"You die now." He said and cocked his gun. I took the chance and kicked the gun out of his hands sending it in the same direction as my gun. "Bitch!" He cried out and he back handed me, busting my lip.
"Takes one to know one." I joked as I brought my arms up and punched him in the face. We exchanged a few punches to and throw. Most were blocked by both of us. Joe went to knee me in the chest and I grabbed his leg. Before I knew what was happening he dropped us both to the floor so that he was straddling me and pounded down on my upper body. I covered my head the best I could, but he was stronger than me.
"You're not walking away from this bitch!" Joe screamed and I felt him break a couple of my ribs. I let out a scream and let the rage build in me.
"Wrong move arse hole!" I cried out using all the strength I had left to force myself into a sitting position and head butt Joe off me, breaking his nose with a satisfying crunch. He rolled off me and I got to my feet. I didn't waste any time in kicking him in the chest a few times. Joe caught my foot on the third kick and knocked me off balance. He took that advantage to crawl to a gun and swung round to aim at me. I saw the gun and ran for the door. Bullets flew past my head as he shot out at me.
"Just die bitch!" Joe screamed shooting in my direction. I reached the door and it was still locked. I slammed my hand against it and growled. "No where to run." Joe said reloading his gun. I turned to face him and saw a window to the left, it was high, but if I jumped I could make. I took a deep breathe as my eyes dropped onto the lifeless bodies of Jonesy and Harm. I ran for the window jumping and reaching it.
"Come on, come on!" I cried out, pulling myself up and out of the window. I herd the shots ring out and saw the zoom past me, a missing me by the grace of God. I dropped out of the window with a thud, but I didn't waste any time getting to my feet and getting the hell out of there.
I walked to the nearest public rest room and straight into a stall, thankfully it was still early and not that many people were around. I locked the door and sat on the toilet surveying the damage to me. I had at least two broken ribs, they were already a deep purple and felt like an ice pick digging into me, every time I took a breath. I had a cut to my left temple and I was going to have a lot of bruises to my upper body in a few hours. I looked down to my hands and they were covered in Jonesy's blood. The blood had dried and I just sat there looking at the crusty red stains. A wave of grief, loss and anger washed over me as I burst into tears. The salty water leaving a line of stinging pain in its wake as they made their way down my face.
I let them down. I knew something wasn't right. I should have got Jonesy out of there. I knew something wasn't right. I should have listened to my gut.
My thoughts were interrupted by someone entering the bathroom. I took some toilet roll and wiped my eyes. After I herd her leave I opened the stall door and washed the dry blood off my hands. I scrubbed and scrubbed and it still felt like my hands were caked. I couldn't get the feeling of the dry blood off my hands. I'd killed before, I'd watched people take their last breathes, it's part of the job. But I had never lost a partner. I'd never lost a friend in line of duty. The thought made me sick, literally sick. I raced back to the toilet and emptied the contents of my stomach. After a few minutes I had nothing left. No emotion, no sick, nothing but a blindingly clear mission- kill Joe King.
Kill isn't good enough. I need to make he pay. I will make him pay, make he beg for his life before I kill him... I'll let him bleed to death just like Jonesy.
I left the rest room and walked down the broad walk, it was already filling with people as the sun started to shine. I knew I needed to hide my face, the bruises would start to show, and people would notice them. I stole a pair of aviators from a stall and slipped them on as I walked. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I flicked it open and looked down the list of numbers. Looking down that list, I realised I was alone. The team was set up through NCIS, we just tagged along because the MOD had connections within Europe where we thought the nuclear material were going to be sold. The meetings, the funds, the ops were all run through the San Diego office of NCIS. I knew by now Joe was spinning some yarn about me becoming a rogue agent and killing the rest. It was the perfect cover for him. If he was smart he was already making it look like I bought the material. No the San Diego office is out, no way anyone believes me over one of their own.
"Shit." I muttered realising how alone I was. There was someone in Washington who could help me, if I could reach him. I didn't even have a number for him. My next hope was trying to reach my CO back in England- Thomas Keller. I knew if I used the phone I had, Joe would track it. He wasn't stupid, he was a good Agent. I pulled the battery out of the back of my phone and pulled out the sim card snapping it in two before tossing it into the nearest bin. I needed to lay low until I could figure out my next move. I bumped into a few people and picked their pockets, taking the cash I had enough to get myself a set of clean clothes, medical supplies and a pay by the hour motel. The luxuries of being a spy...
I did just that. I booked into a crappy pay by the hour motel with a brown bag full of medical supplies and clothes. I locked the door behind me and sighed, for the first time that day I could relax for a few minutes. I jumped in the shower, washing off the dirt and dry blood I missed in the rest room. The water stung my cuts like a bitch, but after a few minutes the hot water did it's work and relaxed my muscles. I knew I was going to be sore for a very long time. I really need to improve my hand to hand fighting. I do not want to get my arse kicked like that ever again. After the shower I changed into the clean clothes, a pair of dark jeans and a long sleeved black top. It wasn't anything special, but it hid most of the cuts. Once I was dressed I pulled the medical stuff out of the bag. Most of it was to clean up my cuts and hide my bruises. After I cleaned my cuts I grabbed a handful of painkillers and downed them with a bottle of water. I laid on the bed and replied the morning over and over in my head. Trying to figure out if there was anything I could have done differently.
That damn whistle. Eric stood at the top of the gang way and looked down to Ops. We looked up and he just smiled down at us.
"We got a case! Mace wants you in her office!" Eric said before walking off. I glanced at Sam and shook my head.
"You know if we ignored him, he'd stop whistling us." Sam said as we headed to the stairs.
"No he wouldn't, he'd just get louder." Renko added as he and Kensi walked over to us.
"Yeah, or he'd use a fog horn." Kensi said rubbing her head.
"Late night?" Sam asked with a chuckle.
"You could say that." Kensi sighed as we climbed the stairs.
"We went for some drinks, and Kensi wanted to do Vodka shots." Renko laughed before wincing. "Never again."
"We learnt a long time ago never to do Vodka shots with Kens." Sam laughed as we walked into Macy's office and a man sat opposite her desk. He was tall with blonde hair and slightly muscular. He had a broken nose, a few nasty bruises. To the side of him were a couple of suits.
"Morning Mace." I said as we all piled in the room. Eric was stood behind Macy's desk typing away on a keyboard.
"Morning Callen, guys. We've got a case. Meet NCIS Special Agent Joe King, and his back up."Macy said introducing us. King stood and nodded to us. The other men just watched us.
"What's the case?" Sam asked nodding to King. "And why aren't we doing this in Ops?"
"We've got a rogue agent." Macy said and then turned to King to explain. King took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was clearly shaken up.
"I was working as part of an NCIS, MOD joint op tracking the selling of nuclear material to what we believed to be a hippy peace group." King started to explain. "We tracked the material to the group and arrested them. We thought that was it, mission over."
"But it wasn't?" Sam asked.
"No. We went to debrief with our handler Rick Capey this morning..." King paused, looking down at a bandage on his arm.
"One of the MOD agents, Cooper, shot Capey, King's partner Harm Bridges and their own partner Howard Jones. King fought Cooper and was also shot. Cooper escaped during the struggle." Macy explained from her desk.
"This all happen this morning?" Renko asked plainly.
"Yes." King said softly.
"We need to see the crime scene." Sam stated.
"Agreed." Macy said. "Eric's sending you a picture of Cooper along with their record."
"Cooper is a stone cold killer, there's no hesitation, just a pulled trigger." King said in shock.
"Kens, Renko, take King to the boat shed, interview him more. See if we can get anything else from him." I said to the pair. "Then go to the safe house with them. See if there's anything there we can use."
"Agent King, please fallow us." Kensi said softly, pointing to the door. We waited for them to leave before anyone spoke again.
"A rogue MOD agent, shouldn't British intelligence be handling this?" Sam asked confused.
"Normally it would be a joint Op since our men were killed, but I've been asked to do a favour." Mace explained as Eric left us to talk.
"Favour? Who calls you out on a favour?" I asked slightly amused that someone, somewhere had something over Macy that they could call in a favour.
"That would be me, Mr Callen." A voice I hadn't herd in a while said from behind us. I turned to see the four foot wonder known as Miss Hetty Lange stood there, smiling at me.
"Hetty, I should have known." I smirked as she walked into the room and went to stand near Macy.
"Old friends?" Sam asked whispering to me.
"Sam, meet Miss Lange. She works for NCIS." Macy said introducing the pair.
"Mr Hanna, it is a pleasure to meet you." Hetty said with a warm smile. "I've read your file, you're an excellent agent."
"Thank you Miss Lange." Sam replied slightly confused by the whole situation.
"So Hetty, why are you calling in a favour over all of this?" I asked leaning on the wall, folding my arms over my chest.
"Lara, do you mind?" Hetty asked turning to Macy.
"Not at all Hetty. Sam and Callen are the best I've got." Macy replied then glanced up to us as we grinned. "Don't let it go to your heads." She said getting up and walking out of her office.
"What's going on?" Sam asked utterly confused.
"Mr Hanna, I don't believe that Agent Cooper has gone rogue." Hetty started to explain then paused.
"I presume you've got a reason." Sam replied watching the small woman carefully, a small chuckle left my lips as Hetty's face changed. She really didn't look impressed and Sam stood up straight.
"She is an excellent Agent, still new to most of this, but the missions she'd been on. She's proven herself." Hetty explained.
"What about King?" Sam asked. I just stayed quiet, I knew there had to be more.
"I don't know about Mr King's account, you gentlemen will need to check out the crime scene for yourselves. Gentlemen," Hetty sighed softly. "Agent Cooper has worked joint Ops with us before. I've watched Agent Cooper and I can vouch for her."
"Her?" I asked confused, glancing at Sam.
"Yes Mr Callen, Agent Cooper is female." Hetty explained.
"No offence Miss Lange, but we can't take you vouching for her over evidence." Sam said plainly and Hetty gave him a warm smile.
"I know Mr Hanna, I just want you to keep an open mind. Please, by all means fallow the evidence." Hetty explained.
"We will." I answered and turned to Sam. "I just need a word with Hetty, mind getting the car?"
"Sure G. Nice meeting you Miss Lange." Sam said before walking out the room.
"What aren't you saying?" I asked Hetty, I knew her, she kept a lot to herself, but there was something about this case. She'd never stuck her neck out, especially on cases like this, without a damn good reason.
"There is a lot I'm not telling you Mr Callen." Hetty stated in a semi cryptic tone. "However, Alexis reminds me a lot of you in many ways. She's had a troubled past, especially with her father..."
"Alexis Cooper, why does that name sound familiar?" I puzzled out loud.
"When I first met you, I had a file on Alexis too. Mr Callen, she is a good agent, and I know she didn't do this. Please, I need you to bring her to me, before King and his men find her." Hetty said seriously.
"You think it's King?" I asked confused.
"I don't know. I just know Alexis is in danger, and until you bring her to me, I can't protect her." Hetty said seriously.
"Why are you so keen to protect her?" I asked watching Hetty closely.
"I owe it to her father." Hetty said softly, it looked like she was remembering something else. Some long lost story she'd never tell me.
"We'll find her." I said firmly.
"Thank you Mr Callen." Hetty said with a warm smile.
"So you knew Hetty huh?" Sam asked as we climbed out of the car. He was fishing for information, he always wanted to know more about my past for some reason.
"She brought me in." I replied as we walked into the warehouse, it was clear there had been a shoot out. Smashed crates, shell casings and the blood pools gave it away.
"Oh so it's her fault I'm stuck with you." Sam joked as we looked around. I turned to Sam and smirked.
"Hey, I have to put up with a lot from you big guy." I said before our phones buzzed. We both checked them at the same time. It was e-mails from Eric, he sent us photo's of all the agents, and their mission briefing.
"G?" Sam asked as I flicked onto the same picture.
"I see it." I said looking up at Sam.
"Isn't that?" Sam asked.
"Yeah." I sighed.
"We should tell the others." Sam replied.
"Tell them what? Cooper hit on me last night but nothing happened? Or that I spent half the night watching her and the two dead agents drinking?" I asked puzzled.
"You did watch them. How did she seem with them?" Sam asked watching me closely. I thought about it carefully.
"They looked like friends out drinking." I shrugged. Nothing seemed out of place with the way they were acting. It didn't seem fakes or false and I was trained to spot it.
"You think Hetty might be right? She's innocent?" Sam asked me.
"I'm not sure. We need to find some evidence to back it up." I said as we started to take a good look around the crime scene.
I needed a gun. I needed to get to the safe house. In the safe house was everything, and if I was going to get into contact with Thomas Keller, I was going to need to get some things from there. I slipped the aviators back on and went into the crowded streets of L. A. I 'bumped' into a few people, picking their pockets as I went. I scrapped together enough to get a second hand gun from a pawn shop. Thankfully they didn't ask too many questions. I caught a cab a few blocks from the safe house and walked to it. The place looked empty. I picked the lock and went it. I cleared the rooms and started to look for anything I could use. I found a spare phone, some cash and fake I. D's it was our burn alias for emergencies. I knew Joe would probably have these recorded somewhere, but I if I could get a new sim, I could at least use the phone. As I looked for Joe's laptop I herd a car pull up. I glanced out of the window and saw Joe with two men and a woman climb out of the car. They were fed's no doubt.
"Shit!" I cursed under my breath as I raced to the closet under the stairs and closed the door, there was a small hole, big enough for me to see out. I watched as Joe unlocked the door and let the other three people in.
"You really think she'll come back here?" Joe asked as they walked in. My blood started to boil when I saw him and it took everything I had not race out there and shoot him on the spot. No that would be too quick, too painless. You're going to pay.
"If she thinks she can hide her trail yeah." The man with slicked back hair replied. "We're going to check up stairs. You and Kens stay down here." The man added. He and the second man went up the stairs, leaving Kens, the woman with long brown hair and Joe down stairs.
"Did she say why she wanted to sell the nuclear materials?" Kens asked as they walked around the living room. The pair were looking at empty take out boxes.
"Money. Something about selling to the middle east." Joe lied. "I just... I can't believe she killed them. They were like my family, you know?"
"We'll find her." Kens replied softly.
"Kensi! Call G! They need to get over here now!" The man shouted from upstairs.
"What have you found?" Joe asked walking to the bottom of the stairs. I thought about shooting him through the door. I could kill him with one shot and it would all be over.
"It's a couple of laptops. One's got a tone of information on about selling the material. And about setting someone up to take the fall. Looks like she been planning this for a while." The man shouted down as Kensi talked to someone on the phone.
"The bitch... sorry." Joe said turning to Kensi. Joe was excellent at playing the victim, and getting all the compassion. I never knew he could be such a good liar.
"I understand. It's never easy being betrayed by someone close to you." Kensi replied, I couldn't believe she was buying his crap. The rage built inside me, my hands shaking with anger.
"I just... she was a friend." Joe lied through his teeth. Rage was building in me ever single second he opened his mouth. I just wanted to scream!
"It's best not to think about it like that. We just need to track her down." Kensi said plainly.
"I hope we can bring her in, I just pray she doesn't turn this into a fire fight. She killed Harm and Jonesy without a second thought." Joe lied and that was it. I just take it any more. I eased the door open and sneaked out, creeping around the back of the living room so that I could surprise Kensi. I put her in a sleeper hold, as Joe just watched me. She struggled and hit out to my broken ribs. I repressed a scream and applied more pressure making her fall asleep and I drop her to the floor. I pulled my gun and looked at Joe.
"You killed them. You." I said cocking my gun. The rage was spilling over ever word as I hissed. All I could see was red.
"One yell, and they come down and shoot you." Joe smirked. He was actually smiling at me! My hands started to shake with rage.
"Who do you think will be faster?" I asked coldly. I wanted to make him suffer, I needed to make him suffer.
"Coup, they all believe me. You shoot me, they'll kill you. You'll still be blamed." Joe smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone.
"Don't move." I said seriously my arms shaking more with anger.
"Tick, tick, Boom." Joe smirked as he hit dial.
"Crap! Get out! Guys get out! Bomb!" We herd the guy upstairs yelled.
"Bye bye evidence." Joe smirked before we herd the footsteps of the guys coming down the stairs.
"This isn't over Joe! I'm gonna prove you guilty, then, I'm going to shoot you. I promise." I growled before running out of the back door. I herd the guys run down the stairs as I got the hell out of there.
As I ran down the street I felt my ribs burn, the knock Kensi gave them moved the bone and hurt twice as bad. A loud bang round out and I didn't need to turn around to see that the house had blown. All the potential evidence to clear myself had gone. Sure one of them had seen the evidence, but there was no way to prove that it was Joe's laptop and not mine. As I ran round the corner a black car raced past me before stopping.
"Federal Agents! Freeze Cooper!" Two men shouted after me. I just kept running down into a couple of side street, each step was getting harder and harder to breath as I ran away.
"Come on Alex, suck it up." I muttered to myself as I ran down another alley only to find out that it was a dead end. "Shit!" I cried out as I turned to see the federal agents appear with the guns aimed.
"Don't move Cooper!" One shouted.
"Just put the gun down." The second yelled and it was then I realised who they were. It was the guys from the night before. The cute guy who had been watching me all night. I raised my gun and aimed at the pair.
"You're working with King! You were watching us last night!" I yelled aiming between the pair, my side feeling like it was caving in on itself with each breath.
"Cooper, we're NCIS. We need to take you in." Greg, the cute guy from the night before cried out.
"Do I look stupid? I know all the San Diego office, neither of you are NCIS! You're working with Joe! He sent you to finish me off! Well no way!" I cried out still aiming between the pair.
"Alexis, we are NCIS, we work as part of special ops." The marine guy, Sam shouted back. Greg lowered his gun and tossed me his badge.
"See, real!" Greg said. I bobbed down picking up the badge and looking at it. It read G Callen NCIS. It looked real, but then again Joe was a real NCIS agent, and he tried to kill me.
"I'm sorry, I don't-" I let out a scream, the pain in my side was too much. I dropped the badge and clutched my side as I fell onto my knee's. "No! Don't... no..." Spots started to cover my vision as things quickly went black.
"Alexis, Alexis dear, wake up." I thought I was dreaming. Someone was talking in Russian to me. For a moment I was thirteen again, back with my father. "Alexis, you're safe here. I promise." The female voice added. I slowly opened my eyes and blinked a few times. I sat up and my side was still sore. As I looked around I reached for my gun. Sam and G were stood the other side of the room.
"Where's my gun?" I asked in Russian. It wasn't aimed at anyone and it was only when I herd my voice I realised I was speaking Russian.
"We took it." A small woman with glasses replied. She was no taller than five foot, she had short brown hair and round glasses. She looked a little like a real life yoda, only not green, and didn't have pointy ears.
"Who are you? Why are you with them? They work for a killer." I said to the small woman, watching Sam and G. I noticed Sam shift slightly as I watched them.
"What she saying?" Sam asked G. G just watched me closely before taking a step towards me.
"We don't work for Joe King." G replied in Russian.
"Why were you watching me and my team then?" I asked in English.
"We... it was just a coincidence. Honestly." G said softly, still watching me closely. He seemed genuine, but after the last couple of days I had, trust wasn't high on my to do list.
"Alexis." The woman said putting a hand on my leg. "You're father was a dear friend of mine. I'm Hetty Lange. Please, I'm trying to help you." Hetty the small woman said in Russian.
"If you really did know my father, you'd know to stay away from me." I growled the best I could and got to my feet. "I'm leaving." I said firmly in English.
"We know Joe King killed your team." G said looking me dead in the eyes. I paused, weighing up if I believed him or not.
"You have proof?" I asked him, never looking away from his icy blue eyes.
"He took off with his men after the safe house exploded. Our tech guy traced the call back to his cell phone. Not to mention what the ME discovered. Looks like someone shot through the bullet holes with your gun." Sam replied but I was still watching G.
"Why were you watching me in the club last night?" I asked in Russia. I caught Sam roll his eyes out the corner of my vision.
"Honestly?" G replied.
"Yes." I said softly.
"There was something about you that I couldn't tear my eyes off." He replied then gave me a small smile. I stood there and studied every inch of him, trying to see any sign of a lie.
"Alexis-" Hetty, the small woman said breaking me from my study of the man in front of me.
"Alex... or Coup. Please, call me Coup." I said blinking and sitting on the edge of a table, holding my side slightly. "Alexis is a thirteen year old..." Who saw too much too young. I repressed a shiver, but I noticed G caught it.
"Ms Cooper, we're trying to help. We want to catch Joe as much as you do." Hetty explained. "But we need your help." She added. I glanced at the two men and bit my lip.
"You wont let me kill him, will you?" I asked seriously.
"No Agent Cooper, we can't let you kill him." A second woman walked in the well, it looked like a boat shed. She was tall with long blonde hair.
"Who are you?" I asked standing up straight and instantly regretting it.
"Agent Macy, I'm in charge here." She said holding her hand out to me. I shook it and watched her carefully. "You took out one of my team." She added with a frown.
"I didn't kill her." I replied.
"True." She said pursing her lips. "But next time, I'd prefer you not to knock out my team. She nearly was blown up."
"I didn't know King was going to blow the place. If I thought I could get your agent out I would have." I replied firmly. Agent Macy stood there and just stared at me hard. I stood firm and waited it out. I'd been stared down by bigger, badder people. You've got nothing on Gibbs. I smirked to myself and saw it throw Macy off.
"Lara," Hetty said getting her attention. "Can we continue?" She asked.
"Sure." Macy said walking to the coffee and pouring herself a cup. Hetty watched me and then glanced at G.
"We know you're the loose end." G said taking my attention.
"Which means King is going to want to kill you." Sam added.
"Good, I want to kill him." I said plainly.
"But you can't. If you do you'll become no better then him." Hetty said and I shrugged.
"No offence, but none of you know me. Maybe I'm no better than him already." I said and I needed air, I needed to get out of the room where all eyes were on me.
I walked out into the fresh air and took a couple of deep lung full breaths. I lent on a railing and looked out into the ocean, the waves just bobbing along to their own beat. A couple of seconds later I herd the door go and G walk over to me. He lent on the railing and just looked out to the ocean too.
"This the first partner you lost?" He asked looking out to the ocean.
"Yes." I replied softly, the hurt, the loss, the image of his blood caked on my hands burned into my eyes every time I closed them. I just wanted to scream, to punch something and get rid of those feelings.
"You really think your partner would want you to kill him?" G asked softly, still watching the ocean. I scoffed, I was in a feign country, beaten, wanted for murder, and ready to kill a man I met two weeks ago, getting pop psychology from a stranger.
"No offence Greg, G whatever you call yourself," I said pushing myself off the railing. "But I am going to kill Joe King. No one will stop me."
"I can't let you do it." G said pushing off the railing and facing me. His face was serious, his icy blue eyes locked on mine.
"You think you could take me?" I asked with a cocky grin. I learnt early in life if you had enough confidence most battles were won before the first fist was thrown.
"No thinking about it." G replied just as cocky.
"Oh, that's cute." I said tilting my head to one side.
"I've been known to have my moments." G said with a crooked smile. We stood there staring at each other and I got the vibe he was enjoying challenging me. If I was honest, I enjoyed having someone stand up to me too. Suddenly a phone in my pocket rang, it was the burn phone I took from the safe house. I answered it, pulling it to my ear.
"Coup." It was Joe, the anger burned in my stomach.
"Blowing the safe house, clever." I stated. G pulled out his phone and called someone.
"I am. Now, what are we going to do about us?" He asked.
"Us? Well the way I see it, I pulled the trigger and you die." I said firmly.
"You think you can beat me?" Joe asked laughing.
"Let's find out." I said firmly.
"The warehouse, half an hour." The line went dead and I looked up at Callen.
"Half an hour, it's not long to plan." He said watching me.
"There's nothing to plan." I stated, tucking the phone back into my pocket.
"I wont let you kill him, or go alone." Callen said firmly, holding his phone in his hand. I smirked at him and glanced down, clocking where his gun was.
"You really are cute." I said and closed the gap between us. I crashed my lips against his and kissed him. I didn't expect the shiver that went down my spine or the way my heart raced as our lips touched. Neither did I expect him to kiss back so much. It took me a second to realise why I kissed him in the first place. I grabbed the gun and pulled back slightly out of breath. "Wow, what a kiss." I said aiming the gun at G.
"Could say the same thing to you." He smirked. "Put the gun down." He added with a little frown.
"Step aside." I said firmly, the added softly. "Please."
"I cant let you go alone Alex." G said softly.
"Call me Coup. It's what my friends call me." I smirked. I liked G Callen, there was something about him that just clicked.
"Friends? Well, Coup, as friends I wont let you go alone." Callen replied lowering his hands.
"Just step aside. I don't have time, but I will shoot you if I need to." I said cocking the gun and aiming at his leg.
"Shoot." Callen said without blinking. I hesitated, I wasn't used to people asking me to shoot them.
"Fine." I said taking a deep breath, or at least as deep as I could with the cracked ribs. I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. I frowned as Callen walked over and took the gun from my hand.
"You were really going to shoot me?" Callen asked shocked. "I thought I was your friend!"
"You played me." I frowned.
"No, I just knew not to have a loaded weapon near a great pick pocket. Nice twist adding in the kiss, really threw me off for a few seconds." Callen added, loading the gun and tucking it down his back.
"I'm leaving for the meeting." I said plainly. I needed to find Joe and kill him.
"Without back up?" Callen asked raising his eyebrow.
"Yes." I said firmly and took a step forward before he blocked my path.
"Without a vest?" He asked watching me, a small glint in his icy blue eyes.
"Yes." I said just as firmly and went to take another step but this time Callen put his hands on my shoulders.
"Without a weapon?" He asked seriously.
"I- Will you give me one?" I asked realising I was unarmed.
"If you promise not to kill King." Callen said seriously, taking his hands off my shoulders.
"I can't promise that." I replied just as serious.
"What if we could make him pay, make sure he never sees the outside world ever again?" Callen asked me, watching me closely.
"And I can shoot him in a leg or arm?" I asked with a smirk.
"Officially no, but if I don't see it..." Callen shrugged with that crooked smile. I smiled, I couldn't help it, something about his smile was infectious. "Look Al- Coup, the best thing you can do to avenge your teams deaths are to keep fighting. To take down the bastard who did this and then go on to stop anyone else loose their partners. Keeping fighting." Callen explained and by the look in his eyes, he wasn't just talking about me.
"Who are you fighting for?" I asked softly.
"Too many people." He replied giving me such a sad look it almost hurt to meet his eyes. "Let's go." Callen said quickly pulling back up walls of protection.
"What about Sam, Hetty and Macy?" I asked fallowing him to a car.
"We'll call on the way. You drive." He said tossing me some keys. I got in the car as Callen called Sam and explained what was happening.
We pulled over a few blocks from the warehouse and got out the car. Callen went to the boot and passed me a vest.
"Here, put this on." He stated.
"What? King will see it." I replied holding the vest in my hands. I wasn't impressed.
"Fine put under your top." Callen said plainly. I raised an eyebrow.
"You want me to take my top off, I mean I know we kissed, but boy..." I teased as Callen just rolled his eyes. "Here hold this." I said passing him back the vest before I slipped off the long sleeved top. I herd Callen take a sharp breath.
"How bad is the pain?" He asked as I felt his hand touch my broken ribs. I felt a shiver run down my spine and I tried not to let it show. I glanced down at his hand on my skin then looked up to meet his icy blue eyes. He genuinely looked worried for me.
"Burning ice pick to the side every time I take a breath. So you know... the usual." I tried to joke but it was hard with the way he was watching me.
"Are you going to be ok to do this?" Callen asked as I took the vest out of his hands.
"Yes." I said firmly, dropping it over my head.
"Coup, you don't need to do this, we can take him down-" Callen started to say.
"Callen, I'm doing this." I said firmly looking him dead in the eyes. We stared at each other for a few minutes before I took my top back and slipped it on. G was passing me a gun when Sam pulled up with Kensi and the other guy from the safe house.
"What's the plan G?" Sam asked as all three walked over to us. Kensi seemed wry of me and I couldn't blame her.
"I'm sorry." I said softly to her.
"Thank you." Kensi replied slightly confused.
"Renko, take Kensi and cover the South side of the building. Any sign and storm it. We think the building is already full of King and his men." Callen explained as I checked the gun. "Me and Sam are going to take the north side. Coup has an ear piece that is hooked up to Eric, Hetty and Mace. Any trouble and we rush in. Ok?" Callen asked everyone.
"Sure thing G." Sam replied and we took a deep breath. Renko, the man with slicked back hair and Kensi headed up to the opposite side of the building. Sam looked at me.
"Are you going to kill him?" He asked me seriously. I felt Callen watching us. I thought about it, about what Callen had said about taking him down and continuing to fight.
"I want to, I wont lie." I said and met Sam's brown eyes. "But I'd rather keep fighting." I said with a glance to G.
"Ok, I'm good then." Sam said with a quick nod.
I took a deep breath, holding my side as I walked into the building. The door was broken and as I went through it just bounced close, resting finally a little open. It was good to know I could get out if I needed to. I looked around and there was no sign of anyone.
"King! Show yourself!" I cried out looking around. I herd the floor creek behind me and turned to see Joe stood their with his gun aimed at me.
"My god you're stupid!" King scoffed at me. "I mean, coming alone to the scene of the crime... stupid, stupid, stupid."
"I'm stupid?" I said taking a step closer when Joe aimed his gun stopping me in my tracks. "You! You think you can get away with killing everyone?" I asked the anger building in me.
"I am. See, I called NCIS before you came here. Told them, you took me hostage and that well, I fought you off and shot you dead. They should get here in oh, five minutes. Wanna know what they're going to find?" Joe asked smugly.
"You dead." I growled.
"Close, you dead, me tired beaten but alive. Then the case will be closed and I'll take leave and disappear with the money." Joe laughed.
"You sold the nuclear material already?" I asked confused.
"Oh honey, I sold it before Rick was shot. I was going to kill him later, but well... you know what happened. Good old Jonesy." Joe joked and that was it. I couldn't take it any more.
"You son of a-" I growled.
"Ah ah ah." Joe said and I herd his gun cock. I felt cold, frozen to the spot, for a heart beat all my training had gone out of my mind. My eyes focused on the barrel of the gun aimed at my chest.
This is it. I tried guys.
A blink of my eyes and I had my gun pulled and aimed. The seconds became minutes as I stood there calmly waiting his next move. One more blink of the eye and the sound of guns firing filled the air.
I hope this works.
The searing hot pain of a bullet ripping through flesh physically knocked me sideways. The ground raced dramatically to me. I landed on the ground with a thud, dropping almost like a dead weight, I had no idea what had happened to him; I barely knew what was happening to me.
I pulled the trigger...right?
The sound of gun fire came from all directions as Callen's team rushed in and cleared the room. Within seconds Callen was bobbed down my side helping me sit up.
"Are you ok? Did he get you?" G asked looking me over for any injuries.
"My arm." I sighed sitting up. "Did I get him?" I asked looking over and seeing Renko and Kensi drag Joe to his feet.
"Yeah, yeah you got him." G said helping me to my feet.
"You bitch! I'm going to kill you! I swear! One day!" Joe cried out as they took him out of the building.
"You did good girl." Sam said giving me a warm smile before walking out after them.
A week later and I was sat in Agent Macy's office with Hetty Lange and Callen. I had a bandage on my arm where Joe shot me, stitches above my eye, and I'd had an operation on my ribs. Everything ached, and I mean everything. But we'd caught Joe, avenged the team and I was able to continue to fight, to save people from that pain. I actually felt good about it.
"How's the arm?" Macy asked with a small smile.
"It'll heal. What happened to King?" I asked plainly.
"He's been imprisoned, we tracked the money down to a group in the middle east, we managed to stop the nuclear material getting to them." Macy informed me.
"That's good." I replied with a small nod. "I guess I should be heading back to the UK." I said standing from my chair.
"You could..." Callen said glancing at Hetty.
"Ms Cooper, I've talked with your CO Mr Keller and we've come to the conclusion that NCIS Special Op's could do with an MOD liaison. It's likely our cases are going to be of interest of both our countries." Hetty explained. "We can't think of anyone better."
"You want me to stay? After going all rogue on you and trying to kill Joe?" I asked slightly confused.
"Well not all of us fallowed the rules before we joined here." Callen piped up.
"Isn't that the truth!" Macy teased.
"You ok with this?" I asked Macy.
"You're record speaks for itself. Plus my team have told me nothing but good things. I'd want you to pass a psych evaluation with Nate our operational psychologist, but yes. We'd like you on the team." Macy said with a smile.
"Thanks." I replied slightly shocked by the sudden turn around. I went from heading home, to settling into a job in L. A. I glanced at Callen and got the feeling things would never be the same again.
So what did you all think? I know I can't spell for toffee but apart from that? PLease review and let me know... please?