AN:/ I'm not even going to bother saying sorry, I am horrible at updating, I know. Also playing Solitaire but that's a whole other matter that I don't need to get into until next Tuesday.

So, I'm not requiring a certain number of reviews before I post, since I took so long on this one. But please people, write a two sentence thing. It'll take you a minute, tops. I have 23 alerts on this story-you guys are awesome!- and I've gotten 16 reviews total on this story. That is sad. Very sad. Plus, chances are if you review my story I'll go see if I want to read one of your stories and review it!

Thanks to all who have faved, reviewed, alerted, glanced at, put a pineapple on, or read this!

Searching

Chapter 4

" Sam." The ex-Seal answered his phone. Callen vaguely listened as what he thought was Eric babbling into the phone. Suddenly the car lurched forward and G grabbed the handle overhead.

" What happened?" he demanded.

" Reports of gunfire at 43 Beach Plane Avenue." Sam explained, executing a 180 degree turn. 43 Beach Plane Avenue… Jay Park.

" She went back?" G exclaimed, thinking of his childhood. In that situation going back… was actually pretty smart. No one would think of double checking a place they'd just been. But who'd be shooting at her? The gang? Maybe, or maybe Erlof was the same monster he was thirty years ago.

The agents sprung from the car silently after parking abruptly, and began sprinting silently across the wood chips. Shouting came from the other side, near the sand box.

He went left and Sam went right, guns drawn, eyes searching. The steady flow of memories distracted his usually focused mind, watching himself eat half a sandwich, across from Jason who was eating the other, smaller, half. Chasing Jason around on one of those days where you can't help but run until you flopped in the grass, exhausted. Hiding in the tunnel while Erlof and Jason argued, he could barely keep his eyes from traveling out the field, searching for the marker…

" G!" Sam hissed from across the park, seeing his glazed eyes. Callen shook his head, and looked at his partner . Sam gave him an 'Are you crazy?" stare and he shrugged back in apology.

Sam jerked his head towards the sand box, a circle of tattooed, dark clothed, cigarette smelling men surrounded the beat up pile of dirt. In the middle G caught a glimpse of light green, and a flash of white blond hair. Cassie.

" Ya wanna be shot bitch? Or ya just too stupid to stay 'way?" one growled.

" Ya gonna shut up moron and shoot me? Or do ya not have the guts?" she taunted. One of them loaded their weapon threateningly.

" Wait." Another commanded abruptly, G narrowed his eyes. What now? He and Sam were slowly beginning to creep along, not wanting to make a scene because while they probably had the better aim, the gang had a lot more firepower, which sometimes proved to be more helpful.

There a harsh smack, and a thud as Cassie was thrown down onto her knees. G winced, knowing that by now she was probably used to it.

" Now shoot her." the man ordered, and G could see the sick grin spreading across his face as he looked down on the kneeling girl.

" Oh, so you don't have the stomach? Just your buddy eh? Make him shoot me, so you don't get any blood on your precious crack covered fingers, right?" She was buying time, G realized. For what though? A chance to escape? Or did she know they were here?

" You got some issues bitch." The man growled, ripping the gun from the other man's hands. " And you gonna pay for them. With your life. See how smart you are with a hole in your head." He laughed.

Bang!

G stepped out from the slide he had taken cover behind, his gun aimed at the spot where the man's hand had been a second before. He shot two more in succession, letting instincts take over.

Sam took down two more. Before either agent could take another shot, the other three bolted.

Still kneeling in the sandbox, was Cassie, looking scared, with blood running down the side of her face. One look at the guns, and she was up on her feet and sprinting the other way.

" Why do they always run?" Sam grumbled, giving chase.

" Maybe they don't want to get caught." Callen muttered back, but his friend was already gone.

She was fast, Sam thought. And possessed a surprising amount of endurance for someone who looked like they hadn't eaten properly in weeks.

He chased her across the park, and was currently sprinting across a run down baseball diamond toward the street. G was somewhere behind him, probably dying of exertion already.

Sam had to catch her before they got to the street, because once they reached out into the open she could switch directions any second on him and disappear down a street corner. Then again he had the advantage of strength. Once he caught up, there was no way she could escape.

Unfortunately, that would mean she didn't have a head start and a better knowledge of the area, so she didn't had to concentrate on not tripping over a sudden bump in the ground, or one of the thousands of rocks that littered the ground. Sam had nearly fallen when his foot collided into a hidden piece of smoothed out stone, that had been oddly placed, in the middle of a field where no trees stood, ad surrounded by other rocks.

Sam swore as he spotted the girl approaching the sidewalk. No way he could catch up, he put on an extra burst of speed in a desperate thought that by turning she would lose time, or fall.

Instead there was a squeal of tires as a black Challenger skidded to a stop in front of her.

His black Challenger.

Sam turned around. No G.

Callen rammed the car to a stop, forcing Cassie to nearly hit it in her sudden stop. He got out of the car quickly, and blocked her path.

Her grey eyes were wide with fear as she nearly ran into him in her frantic need to escape, blood still running down her face. She spun away from him, planning to go the other way, but Sam caught up, panting.

" You cheated." He gasped. G shrugged.

" No I stole the car keys from you." He corrected. Sam muttered something, probably a curse under his breath.

" Who the hell are you?" Cassie demanded, still looking for an escape route.

" Told you this morning, we're NCIS." G replied calmly.

" And I told you, nothing happened." She snapped back.

" Yes but then you told your social worker that three of you went to a party, and only one of you came back. So, we'd like to know what happened. Did you do nothing or go to a party?" Sam explained, his earlier exhaustion gone.

" I don't have to talk to you!" she headed back towards the park but G stepped in her way.

" Either you talk or we call your social worker." He warned her coldly. She stopped, and turned back to them.

" Fine. What did you want to know?" she caved.

" Not here. We know a place." G gestured to the car. She shook her head instantaneously,

" Uh-uh. I'm not going anywhere." She argued, the stubbornness clear in her vocie. G understood her fear, but they had to bring to her to boathouse. Not only because it'd be easier to get the answers they needed, but knowing Erlof, if she went home or Erlof found her like he did Jason and him before, she'd be in danger.

" We're federal agents Cassie, what's the worst that can happen? If what you say is true, we find out what we want, we'll apologize, and you get yelled at, and maybe moved. That sounds better than sitting in a tunnel all day." G showed her his badge as prrof. She squinted at it for a second before looking up at him in shock,

" Callen? As in tunnel-man, G Callen? Is he Jason?" she asked, pointing at Sam. Callen's partner immediately looked confused and G inwardly cursed.

" Yeah, that's me." He agreed. " But he's not Jason. He's my partner, Agent Hanna." He added, leaving out where Jason was. She shrugged.

" You people are weird." She commented before getting into the backseat of the Challenger without further arguement.

" You have no idea." Sam muttered, still looking at G for an explanation.

" Used to go to that park." He explained vaguely, moving for the passenger seat. Sam stopped him, asking seriously,

" And Jason?" G considered telling him the truth, telling him what had happened while he was at Erlof's, what had been bugging him all week.

" Don't know any Jason." He lied, getting in.