Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

Sam was none the wiser as he drove back to meet his partner, he had hoped that Hetty would have been able to shed some light on his partner's current mood, yet the conversation had in fact been less than helpful. He had stopped by a bakery on his way back and bought them both some lunch- hoping that the food would help draw some information out of his friend- although even he doubted it. He indicated and parked up, jumping out of the car and making the short walk to his friend, opening the door he slid into the passenger seat of the Jag and handed the paper bag to his friend.

"You bought me lunch?" Callen queried in surprise.

"Well yeah- I would bet my last dollar that you didn't eat earlier" Sam responded.

"Thanks" Callen replied as he opened up the bag and took out the sandwich that his friend had thoughtfully provided. He cursed in his own mind at his friend's thoughtfulness, his relationship with Sam was the closest thing he had ever had to family and it made everything so much harder. He wouldn't ever regret his friendship with the big former navy seal but he did regret the hurt and worry that he knew he caused him.

"You not going to eat it?" Sam asked his friend as the team leader sat staring at the as yet untouched sandwich.

"What?" Callen queried, pulled from his reverie.

"You are supposed to eat it- not just look at it" Sam clarified. "What's going on G?"

"Nothing- sorry just got distracted" the younger man replied taking a bite from the sandwich to prove his point. Sam shook his head in irritation.

"Has anyone been whilst you were watching?" Sam asked, changing the subject to avoid pushing his friend away.

"Just two currently unknown males- I have sent their pictures to Eric, just awaiting facial recognition" Callen replied.

"They still in there?"

"Yep- been there for forty minutes, I got a picture of the occupant too, so we'll wait and see what it flashes up"

"You heard from Hetty?" Sam asked, not missing the brief flash that crossed his partner's face at the question and the subtle tension in his shoulders.

"No- should I have?"

"No I just wondered if there was any more information" Sam stated confused at his friend's reaction.

"You know Hetty Sam- she will tell you what you need to know only when she is ready to tell you" Callen stated the merest hint of bitterness to his voice.

"I guess so" Sam responded carefully, "has Hetty done something to offend you G?" he asked.

"What could she have possibly done Sam? Listen seriously just stay out of it Sam, nothing for you to worry about" Callen stated, his voice slightly raised. The partners were interrupted by a cell phone ringing. "Go on Eric" he answered.

"Callen those facial recognitions have come back- the two visitors are heavily linked to the Al Qaida organisation" the tech informed the agents.

"And the occupant?"

"That's where it gets strange Callen, I can't access the file- it's been locked by the CIA" he explained.

"Can we get it unlocked in the circumstances?" Sam asked softly.

"I have forwarded it to Hetty- she doesn't seem very quick to speak with them" Nell whispered over the line.

"Really?" Callen queried, not fully surprised by the statement.

"Yes, I figured that you would probably discuss it with her" Nell added, still speaking as quietly as possible.

"I will Nell- thank you" Callen confirmed, before disconnecting the call.

"What the hell is that abut?" Sam asked in confusion.

"Hetty being Hetty" Callen responded. "You okay to stay here while I go and clear a few things up at Ops?" he asked.

"Yeah- stay calm though G" Sam warned gently, worrying what his friend would say in his current frame of mind.

"Calm is my middle name" Callen replied as Sam got out of the Jag to move his own car closer- all of the movement doing little to maintain their discretion- yet knowing that there was nothing that they could do about it.

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Callen took a deep breath before he walked into ops, hoping to maintain the calm façade that he had been using for the last few weeks despite him boiling with anger inside.

"Hetty? What's going on with the CIA blockage?" he asked cutting straight to the chase.

"Ah Mr Callen- cup of tea?" she offered, pouring herself one as she gestured for her team leader to sit down in front of her.

"No thanks- I'm in the middle of a case" Callen refused as he sat down. "What's going on?" he asked again.

"I could ask the same of you Mr Callen- what is going on with you?" Hetty asked being as frank as her agent.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Hetty" Callen responded. "Now what is going on with the CIA?" he asked again.

"What is going on, Mr Callen, is that the person that you photographed flashed up as a person of interest to the CIA- for whatever reason the file is locked. I have sent the information to the director who has requested disclosure- now is there something else that you want me to do?" the ops manager queried.

"Thank you" Callen simply replied getting to his feet and making to leave.

"Whatever is eating at you Mr Callen- you need to let it out" she stated, her words causing the agent to hesitate in his steps, before he continued without looking back.

"Everything ok?" Kensi queried as she saw her team leader emerge.

"All good" he responded. "You guys dug anything up?" he asked.

"Not much" Kensi responded. "Jones has been in the FBI for four years, nothing to suggest any wrongdoing. Financials come back normal and a normal relationship with his family" she added.

"Anything from his annual evals?"

"Nope- nothing that suggests poor performance or anything. All in all there is nothing that would lead us to think he is betraying his country" Deeks answered.

"Okay guys, well keep at it. Me and Sam will give it another couple of hours before reconvening here" he replied, speaking as he walked to the door.

"Well that was short and sweet" Deeks commented.

"He does seem to making himself scarce these last few weeks" Kensi agreed. "I thought that with Hunter gone he would have reverted to normal"

"Maybe it isn't just Hunter that is getting to him?" the detective commented.

"Maybe not. We'll speak with Sam when they come back" Kensi stated, turning her attention back to the files in front of her.

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"I'm in the middle of a case at the moment" Callen spoke softly into his cell. "Look just give me a couple of days and I'll call you back" he added- listening intently to the response. "Yes sir, by Friday at 5pm sharp" he agreed before disconnecting the call. He walked quickly to his car to rejoin his partner, the sooner they got this case completed the better.

End Chapter Two

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