A/N: Alright! Here it is! I finally have gotten enough rewritten that I feel comfortable with starting to post it! I hope you find this easier to follow (I did) and that you find it much more exciting! I do have a few surprises in store for y'all, so get ready for a couple twists!
For newcomers, this is a rewrite of my story "Profiling Hetty". This is set during NCIS: Los Angeles' episode "Praesidium" and between Season 9 and 10 of Criminal Minds (so there is no Kate in this). I got this idea after watching both shows and saw places where either could have crossed over (there have been a couple of episodes where Criminal Minds had marines in their suspect/victims lists and there were times in NCIS LA were the BAU could have been called in). I also saw some similarities between some of the characters and then this storyline with Hetty happened which birthed a plot. So, I took it and ran with it!
Thanks a bunch to Bamie02 for beta reading this for me!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Washington, DC.
An unconscious Henrietta "Hetty" Lange was rushed out of the Pentagon on a stretcher. Leon Vance, Director of NCIS, watched from a couple yards away as the ambulance sped away. He hoped that he had made the right decision in going through with the plan.
Director Vance had been informed about a mole in the Los Angeles headquarters where Hetty worked as the Operations Manager. There was a lot to Hetty, a lot that could be a threat to national security, and he needed a way to keep her safe. With some quick thinking, a little help from the congress and an unnamed pharmacy technician as wee as some help from a hospital, they had a seemingly foolproof plan.
After the ambulance had been gone for a few minutes, Vance put his car into gear and started off toward the meeting place. The estimated time of Hetty's arrival was supposed to be thirty minutes... he would get a call if it went over that and then plan B would be put into play. Suddenly his phone rang.
"Vance." He stated in answering, not looking at the ID.
"Director, something has happened." the voice on the other end said, it sounded like the person was about to cry.
"Abby, what happened?" He asked, his tone commanding.
"Sir, the ambulance was ambushed." She stated.
"What do you mean?" He asked as he immediately changed directions and went the planned route of the ambulance. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and a plume of smoke rose a couple blocks away. There was no doubt what just blew up and he almost dropped the phone from the shock. A gasp from the phone made him jerk back to reality.
"Abby." Vance said.
"Yes, sir?" She asked, sounding choked.
"Get me SecNav and Gibbs." He ordered.
Quantico, VA
Next Day
It was a little after five when SSA Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner walked through the glass, double doors of the BAU office. Section Chief Mateo Cruz was waiting for him and was on his heels the minute he crossed the threshold.
"Cruz, this better be important." Hotch said as they walked through the eerily quiet building and into his office. Cruz had called him at around four, telling him to get down to the office. He didn't say what for and for that Hotch was annoyed with him and it was showing in his tone.
"I just got an urgent call from the NCIS office. They want to talk to you." Cruz said, getting straight to the point.
"NCIS? We've never dealt with them before. Did we overstep a jurisdiction in a previous case? If that is the case couldn't it have waited until our actual work time? " Hotch inquired, sitting down heavily at his desk.
"No. Nothing like that, they need the team's help. The Sectary of the Navy has personally asked for your involvement in a case. SSA Tobias Fornell recommended us. The case is classified. They will only talk to you and the team. Garcia and I have set up the conference room for a video call. They are waiting for you as we speak." Cruz explained.
"What about the team?" Hotch asked.
"They are being called as we speak. They are going meet you at the cars so make this a quick call." Cruz ordered. He turned to leave, but stopped and turned back to face Hotch.
"Oh, and Garcia will be going with you." He added, before leaving. Right after he exited the office, Garcia entered.
"Sir, NCIS is waiting for you." She said in a hurry. He nodded before standing up and following her into the conference room.
In a Jet headed for D.C
"How the hell did this happen?" asked a pacing Agent G. Callen. Once the seat belt sign had gone off he was up and moving; the anger and anxiousness always getting the better of him and always making him jittery.
"G, no one saw this coming." Agent Sam Hanna said, trying to calm his partner down.
"This is Hetty we are talking about." He stated like it was obvious.
"Yeah, so? That doesn't mean she is invincible or special." Sam said, "Maybe to us, you, she is, but she is just another agent to the government." He continued.
"This is all my fault." A sad voice said. Sam and Callen turn to see Agent Kensi Blye sitting next to her partner, LAPD Detective Marty Deeks. She was looking forlornly out the window.
"Kens…."Deeks said, his voice almost tired as he said it, like this was something he was very used to hearing and still not sure how to stop it.
"If I hadn't of done what I did in Afghanistan….." She trailed off, not listening. Callen sighed, he knew what she was doing and it needed to be stopped. He looked at Deeks, who had thrown his hands up in the 'I give up" gesture, and saw the despair for his partner in his eyes. Callen motioned for him to move, taking the seat as the Detective moved to the other side of the aisle. Callen felt all eyes on him as he watched her continue to stare; he made her turn to look at him by putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Do NOT blame yourself. No one on this team is at fault." He stated, putting emphasis in the word 'not'.
"But…."
"No, Kensi. I have a feeling that something else is at play here. No one on this plane caused it." He said firmly, looking straight into her eyes. She gave a slight nod before looking down at her lap. He knew it was all he was going to get.
"Callen." A young, female voice said. Technical Analysis Nell Jones stood at the door that led to the small conference room. "We need you to look at something." She said, motioning to the room behind her. He got up slowly, before he walked away he laid a hand on Deeks' shoulder and whispered to him.
"Don't talk to her, just be there. Keep an eye on her." With the confirmation that Deeks understood, he left. Right before entering the room he turned back and saw that Kensi had cuddled up to the scruffy cop, their hands entwined. He caught Sam's eye and gave a smirk and a nod to the back before entering.
"What is it?" He asked after closing the door. He was handed a large file that had "Henrietta Lange" plastered across it. He looked at the occupants of the room questioningly.
"Hetty gave that to me before she left. It was in a USB drive hidden in a brooch. She said to use it if there was an emergency. What you are holding is the first file from the drive. It was, ironically, named "read this first". There are thirty-five other files, each are individually encrypted and it is going to take some time to decrypt them." She explained.
"So, what is this about?" He asked, motioning at the file in his hand. He was hoping to get a summary of it, to have an idea of what he was going to be reading, if it was good or bad.
"Read it and see for yourself, Agent Callen." The grim tone of Assistant Direct Granger was heard behind him.
The team leader slowly opened the file and the others watched as different emotions played on his face as he read the first page of the file.
"Is this a joke?" He asked, the look of disbelief prominent in his features.
"I'm afraid not. The President will want a meeting with you as soon as we arrive." Granger replied.
"I suggest that you read the rest of that. It is a summary of what is in the rest of the thirty-five files." He said.
"Oh, and Callen….."He said, catching the agent before he walked out the door, "Don't let the others know what you've learned and do not let them read this. This is highly sensitive information and…there are some things that need to be under wraps, even from Sam. Understood?" Granger explained and ordered.
"Yes sir." Callen said with honesty. After reading the first page he knew that Granger was right and needed to keep it quiet.
He left the small room to find a secluded seat to read the rest of the shocking file. He only had three more hours to get through the thirty page summary.
Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think!
