DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own anything pertaining to NCIS LA! It bums me to say it... but there it is...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, how about that. For whatever reason, I can't seem to get anything to post without doing a take two. cheesh! OKAY... so here we go... again. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read, review, favorite, and/or follow this story... I feel so very blessed. I love reading your reviews and I listen. So... in that spirit... it has come to my attention that perhaps some of you are new to my stories. I do not have this marked as being in a series... mainly because ALL of my stories are connected by little facts what not... but the last THREE stories are intricately connected... this is really not a stand alone story. Should you be interested in going back and reading ALL my stories, I would love to hear from you as you read them. If you are interested in reading or rereading the stories from this specific story line... they are in order as follows: "On the Other Side of Fear Lies Freedom", "The G Callen Job", and "A Time to Remember" … Now... for those maybe thinking about reading these stories but don't want to wait... here's the answer to Blackguard... well, not ALLLLLLL the answers... Blackguard is a highly trained Black Ops group intricately connected with the CIA (which we know Callen dabbled in previously). One particularly deadly faction of Blackguard is the Renegades. They are specifically trained in government sanctioned assassinations and interrogations. Scattered throughout my previous stories, it is mentioned that there was a particular agency that was very interested in Callen but he kept refusing their offers... However, as we learn in "On the Other Side of Fear Lies Freedom"... things happen and your world can change in an instant... leaving you doing things you never thought you would find yourself doing... Now, without further adieu... OHHHHH, sorry, no theme song today... this chapter is more introductory in a way... a calm moment, if you will. We have a lot to look forward. Hopefully you will stick with me and enjoy the ride... every wild ride needs music! Go! Read! Review...pllllllleeeeeeaaaaaasssseeee…. positively constructive preferable... HA
Callen finally answered softly, "Exactly."
"Fine… and I'm not saying you don't have good reason. Hell, if anyone had reason for trust issues, it would be you, hands down. But Callen, it's time you stop running and get back to the business of living. You can't do that working for the Guard. The life of a Renegade is not conducive to living…" Gibbs stated before yelling to someone in the background, "yeah, be there in a minute! Duty calls, kid."
"Later," he replied.
"Hey! Think about what I said. You had a good thing going there once. You said so yourself. You were happy, bordering on content. You know you miss it… them… and that includes Hetty. They made a mistake… several, actually. Maybe it's time to forgive and give them a chance to right it." With that, Gibbs disconnected the call.
Callen sat looking at his phone. Try though he might, he didn't have an argument left.
Tucking his phone into his pocket, he abandoned the idea of sleep for a walk on the beach in search of peace.
The next morning Sam called the office looking for Kensi or Deeks. He figured if Callen was going to contact anyone, it would be them.
"Sorry, big guy, no one has seen or heard from him since Christmas. Think he skipped town again?" Deeks asked.
"No, he's here. He's not happy about something and he's stewing… not a good thing, Deeks," Sam replied.
"I was afraid you'd say that. Any ideas where he might be?"
"I don't have a clue. He's back to his old ways. Back when we first met, no one knew where he was until they needed to know. It drove Macy crazy." Sam chuckled.
"Then I guess we wait." Deeks stated.
"Yeah, I guess."
"So, the kids back to school?" Deeks asked, hoping to distract Sam from his frustration.
"Yeah, it's too quiet around here without them." Sam replied solemnly.
"Bet they were upset at Callen not showing up."
"No, actually. I think they just accepted the reality that Callen… No… damn it!" Sam growled at the end.
"Sam, what's wrong?" Deeks asked.
"The kids…"
"What about them?" Deeks asked, confused.
"They weren't upset, Deeks. They weren't anything!" Sam explained.
"Okay… so maybe after all this time they've accepted that he isn't coming back and they are ready to move on." Deeks offered.
"No, Marty. They haven't moved on. They didn't react because they'd already been in contact with him." Sam stated gruffly, "I'll call you back." Sam didn't wait for a reply but hung up and immediately dialed his son's number.
"Hey dad," Aiden answered, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Have a question for you, son." Sam stated.
"Okay," Aiden replied, picking up on the tension in his father's voice.
"Have either you or your sister been in contact with G?"
Silence followed.
"Aiden, I asked you a question."
With a sigh, Aiden finally answered, "Yes."
"When? How?" Sam demanded.
"When he came back to town. He wanted to wish us a Merry Christmas. Back when he left here a few months ago, he had given Kamran and myself each an untraceable phone to keep us all safe."
"And you didn't think to share this information with me?" Sam inquired.
"No, Dad. Uncle G said not to. He said whatever happened between you two needed to stay that way. He made a promise to mom to always be there for Kam and myself and he intended to keep that promise." Aiden explained.
"He had NO right to ask you to keep secrets from me," Sam remarked, not hiding his anger.
"Even if he told us to tell you, I wouldn't have. Kamran needed this dad… so did I… and I knew if we told you, then you would have taken them." Aiden stood firm.
Sam couldn't help but admire his son. He stood his ground in the face of his father's wrath. He also couldn't argue with him. He would have done just that. "Fine. You're right, I probably would have. Look, I don't want to be the reason you lose touch with him again."
"We cool?" Aiden asked.
"Yeah, son, we're cool." Sam replied reassuringly.
"You need to fix this for Kamran's sake, if not your own. He cared about mom too and he misses her almost as much as we do… and Kamran misses him." Aiden daringly pushed.
"I know, Aiden. She's not the only one who misses him. Hard to fix this when I don't know where he's hiding." Sam replied.
"He's coming back just as soon as he figures a few things out." Aiden tried to reassure his father. He didn't know what caused the rift but he knew his dad missed their Uncle Callen and he knew enough to know Callen needed them… all.
"Figure what out? Did he say?" Sam asked feeling the knot in his stomach tighten.
"No, not really. Job maybe? He said he may have to go away again and we wouldn't always be able to contact him. Kamran was NOT happy."
"Damn" was his only reply.
"Dad?" Aiden asked, immediately concerned.
"Sorry, it's all good. You best be getting back to your studies. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Yes, sir."
Sam disconnected the call and immediately rang Deeks back.
"Hey Sam. Everything okay? You hung up rather quickly when you called earlier." Deeks greeted.
"No. Callen gave my kids each an untraceable burner in order to stay in contact… with the understanding they not tell me." Sam explained.
"What? That's crazy," Deeks replied.
"I was upset at first… still am… but I guess I understand his reasoning." Sam explained.
"Which was?"
"Michelle… keeping a promise."
"Oh, wow… you okay with this?" Deeks asked.
"Yeah. We have bigger issues." Sam warned.
"Crap. What now?" Deeks groaned, putting the call on speaker.
"Hey Sam." Kensi called out.
"Hey, Kens… Look, I think Callen is heading back to Blackguard." Sam explained.
"What? No, he can't!" Kensi cried out, followed by Deeks, "Why? Why would he do that?"
"I don't know. Something is going on and my guess is, it has everything to do with Hetty." Sam replied.
"Hetty? Why? What makes you think that? Seems to me he's got issues with the lot of us." Deeks explained.
"That's true, but he was able to see past that to at least work with us… but Hetty?"
"He's right, he never gave Hetty an inch", Kensi agreed, "but Sam, he didn't work with you either. If we're going to look at the reasons, he isn't coming back… you and Hetty are maybe his biggest.
"She has a point, man… whatever was the problem then is still a problem now."
"Callen didn't forgive us. He tolerated us in order to save Kamran." Kensi added.
"I don't know. What I do know is, it's time to bring his stubborn ass home… I've just no clue where to find him." Sam replied.