Chapter Two

Sam (2003/2004)

The non-descript November day was a day of firsts for Henrietta Lange. It was the first time she traveled to the airstrip to greet Agent Callen when he returned home from an operation which should have been his last, the first time she found herself attached to an agent since Agent Sullivan had been killed almost four years ago, and the first time she heard mention of Sam Hanna. As she made her way out on to the tarmac and over to the waiting plane the tiny Operations Manager was greeted by the sight of her injured agent making his way slowly towards her. He had, of course, refused the help of anyone who offered it, choosing instead to limp along on crutches due to the cast which encased his right leg up to the knee.

"Mr. Callen," she greeted when he reached her, eyeing his battered body critically. "How's the damage?"

Callen shrugged with a slight smile. "I'll live," he replied lightly, "Might beep a bit more when I go through metal detectors though..."

Hetty decided to let him get away with the vague answer, at least for now. She would be getting a full medical report from every doctor who had worked on him within the week anyway so there was no point pushing the matter. Agent Callen was not a fan of 'caring and sharing' as he had once put it.

"Well it's good to see you in once piece in any case," she told him, leading the way back to her car slowly enough that he could keep pace with her.

"Good to be in one piece," Callen laughed then glanced down at his injuries, "Well, mostly."

Again Hetty let the comment slide and they covered the remaining distance to the car in silence.

"So did you send the SEALs?" Callen asked conversationally when they reached it at last, leaning on the side of the vehicle with one arm resting on the roof while he studied Hetty over it.

Pausing with the driver's door open Hetty looked up at him. "The SEALs, Mr. Callen?"

"Yeah," said Callen idly, "The team of Navy SEALs who will probably be wanting credit for saving my ass."

The tiny woman raised her eyebrows sceptically. "And do they deserve credit for, as you put it, saving your ass?"

Callen laughed softly. "No one saves my ass."

"Well," said Hetty, smiling despite herself at Callen's answer, "I did not call the SEALs personally but I did request whatever form of backup could get to your location fastest."

The injured man nodded. "Which turned out to be SEALs..." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'd always thought those guys were more gung-ho, you know, go in guns blazing kill a few people... But this one guy, Hanna I think his name was, he was very smoke and mirrors, very operator-like..."

"And you're telling me this because...?" Hetty asked, taking her turn to look thoughtful.

Callen merely shrugged. "It confused me," he said lightly, before sliding into the car.


While the whole rescue seemed to fade from Callen's mind the moment the cast was off his leg, Hetty found herself thinking often about the navy SEAL mentioned by her operator. Like any good Operations Manager she had looked into to the unit which had responded to her call, read the file of each man involved and found her curiosity peeked by the same person. Sam Hanna was a highly accomplished member of the team, touted for bravery and an unprecedented ability to improvise quickly under pressure. He was, as Mr. Callen had noticed, rather operator-like.

Still it was over a year before she made a move on him, choosing instead to watch from a distance until she was certain he processed the distinct qualities she was looking for. And he did. Contacting him, however, had to be done carefully. Sam was an action man by nature and while the undercover side of their profession was very much action based the investigative side was not. Still she was certain he would be well suited to this line of work and she had never failed to recruit a potential agent once she had them in her sights.

Rising to her feet with that thought in mind Hetty extended her hand towards the young man standing before her, all muscles and pressed uniform and looking as professional as possible. "Mr. Hanna," she greeted politely, "My name is Henrietta Lange, I am the Operations Manager at this branch of NCIS."

The dark skinned man nodded his shaved head respectfully. "Miss Lange," he returned, taking her hand and shaking it firmly, "Pleasure to meet you."

"Hetty, please Mr. Hanna," she replied with a smile, lowering herself back into her seat and studying him from across her desk.

Sam followed her lead, taking his place across from her and smiling slightly. "Hetty," he corrected, "So am I to assume that you know who I am?"

Hetty smirked. "Of course. You wouldn't be here were that not the case. I invite only the best."

Sam raised one eyebrow quizzically. "The best, Ma'am?" he asked.

"The best operators, Mr. Hanna," the tiny woman explained, "Undercover specialists of unprecedented skill who make up a team focusing on national security and counter terrorism operations."

The young man looked surprised for only a moment before regaining him composure in a way that told Hetty she had certainly made the right decision concerning him. "It's not a career path I'd ever considered," he told her calmly, "Is there any more you can tell me about it?"

"Plenty, yes," Hetty smiled, leaning forward and resting her hands on her desk, "Whether such things are worth discussing, however, is questionable. This is not a career one picks based on information; this is a career one picks with their heart."

Sam tilted his head slightly, clearly taken aback by the vagueness of her answer. But he did not know what he was walking into and that was what she had on him. Mystery and intrigue would make him wonder, make him imagine, make him create the ideal job and place those characteristics on what she was offering. Not that they weren't there already. Allowing her smile to grow ever so slightly she tilted her head to match his body language and waiting patiently.

The young man did not disappoint, after a moment's silence he cleared his throat and nodded once. "Seems like it could be a very interesting position," he said carefully.

Hetty beamed. She was about to reply when the sound of footsteps approaching interrupted their interview.

"He a newbie?" Callen asked lightly, poking his head into the office and giving Sam a quick one-over.

"Mr. Callen," Hetty greeted calmly, as though this kind of interruption was nothing new to either of them, "I was under the impression that you and Agent Macy were interrogation a suspect..."

Callen shrugged. "She doesn't know anything but Mace is gonna try and flip her anyway. She seems to relate better to her. Must be a girl thing."

"Most women relate better to their own gender," said Sam unexpectedly, drawing the eyes of both NCIS employees and shrugging slightly, "They tend to feel more at ease..."

Hetty looked between the two men discreetly. They were playing a very subtle game of top dog already what with Mr. Hanna challenging Mr. Callen like that and it was not going to go unnoticed. It was obvious that the newcomer was used to jockeying to position and she only hoped he knew what he was getting himself into.

Callen's face was as unreadable as always, his eyes studying the dark skinned man before him with a playful sort of indifference as he considered the comment. After the briefest of seconds a allowed a smirk to takes its place on his face and folded him arms in a would-be casual gesture. "Think what you like, Newbie, but we'll see if you keep that opinion after you've met Macy," he said with a chuckle, "That woman can kill you with a paperclip, no offence Hetty."

"None taken," Hetty smiled, shaking her head at her agent's antics but playing along all the same, "I do prefer my letter opener in that endeavour."

Sam seemed to choose that moment to remind everyone of his presence. "I haven't told you yet if I'll even be accepting your offer," he pointed out.

Callen met Hetty's gaze and they exchanged a quick smile. "Sure you have," said the blond lightly, "It's written all over your face." Turning his attention back to his boss dropped the act and said more seriously, "I'll let you know if she flips."

"Thank you, Agent Callen," Hetty replied.

Sam shifted slightly in his seat as the younger man made to leave the office. "Says the man whose ass I had to save," he quipped.

Callen paused and turned his head to stare at older man an odd, calculating expression on his face which gave absolutely no indication of what he was thinking. At long last a smile flitted across him features and he nodded. "Not bad, Newbie," he laughed, "Not bad at all. But for the record, my ass did not need saving." And with that he flashed a quick grin and vanished from the doorway before any kind of comeback could be made.

Sam shook his head. "Is he always like that?" he asked.

"For the most part," Hetty nodded, "Mr. Callen enjoys a good challenge and you may have just given him one." She watched him absorb the information and smiled when his face did not change. "Shall we say you start next week?" she asked knowingly.

The young man shook his head but he was smiling. "You guys have an odd way of getting what you want."

"It grows on you," Hetty assured him.

Sam just smiled. "It'd better."