Eye to Eye
He huffed softly and smirked her way. "I've got all day. So give it all you got."
Eye to Eye, chapter 4
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Callen knew he shot one of the three men, most probably lethal. However, the other two were down too and they'd stay down — forever. He needn't worry about them, that was clear.
His bright blue eyes showed the same surprise as he saw in Grace's eyes. Her hands carried no gun, the only thing she held was the boy, as close as possible and his head facing her, so the boy never noticed what went wrong.
Who-ever did this, he didn't know. Could have been Kensi, for all he knew.
Callen scanned the area, saw no other shooters. None of the other visitors were close enough to have witnessed what happened. He reached for her hand.
"Let's go!"
She nodded, still in shock. Gentler than he'd wished in this situation, she put the boy down on his feet.
Callen needed them away from here, out of sight from whoever those men were, or rather, had been.
She gasped several times then spoke in a hurry "You take Alec."
He grabbed the boy, even managed to send him an encouraging smile. He looked back at the woman. "Hurry Grace," he urged.
Then he noticed why she was not as fast as he wanted her to be. Alec would soon have a brother or sister.
"My car is nearby. You think you can make it?" he asked.
Again, she nodded.
Callen wondered if he should head back to the beach and check on the men they left in there.
Perhaps she sensed what he was thinking about. "We have to leave, Callen. They're closer than I thought. What if —"
He interrupted her. "Who are they?"
"I'll tell you about it. When we're on the way." The expression on her face was calm but urging now, her voice matching. Maybe the agent in her caught up with the mother, he didn't know.
The car was within some feet now and he put the boy down. Callen smiled at him and winked as he said "I bet you can run faster than your mom, can you?"
There was a silent nod and some confidence showed in the boy's brown eyes. Then Callen pointed at the Mitsubishi. "Run, Alec! Show me!"
The boy stood near the rear doors already and Callen waited for Grace, his gun still drawn. She took a seat in the passenger seat.
One last time he eyed the surroundings. At a distance, he now noticed a person dressed in black, saluting his way, then turning away from the place they were.
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The three of them were quiet for the first minutes. Then she broke the silence and asked "Where are we going?"
"Varna," Callen said.
"They were there," Grace softly mentioned.
He didn't respond, kept his eyes on the road and waited until she would continue. Perhaps she wouldn't, not with the boy around.
"They followed us. I mean, I saw them in Varna. We — Alec and I managed to stay out of sight for a full thirty hours. Large shops, restaurants, a hostel, the hospital. But I saw these men, these who were around just now."
"Why are they after you?" he wanted to know.
"That's a long story," Grace responded with sigh.
He huffed softly and smirked her way. "I've got all day. So give it all you got."
She bit her underlip, paused for a minute or so, then she replied. "I think it's about gas."
He knitted his brows. "Gas? Is anyone after you about gas?"
Grace shook her head. "No, I don't think it is just about the gas. But there's this place, Shabla. You'll pass it on the way to Varna. There's this off shore company. They…" She corrected herself. "I was investigating four of the marines who went in here. According to a statement, for a sun holiday. But they came back to Ankara all secretive. And then three of them were… died. Were killed perhaps."
"They let you investigate? In your situation?"
She chuckled. "Pregnant, Callen. It's not a situation. I'm pregnant, not ignorant, not sick, not paralyzed. We thought it would be less obvious if I'd hang around and observe. You know, the touristic thing. Besides, lots of those marines never saw me before and be honest, would you ever suspect a pregnant mother of a four year old boy to be spying around?"
"Now I do. Still, the situation scared the shit out of me."
"I get that," she said in a soft voice. "Hetty—"
"She told you?" Callen didn't want to believe that, yet there was a short nod as her answer.
"Thanks." She interrupted, glancing his way. "Thank you for coming, Callen. Thanks for getting us out of there."
He sent her a short smile. "Thank me later. We're not back in the US yet."
"I — we should not go back to the States Callen. In fact, by now they won't accept me to fly. You know, the thing with intercontinental flights and pregnancies."
"Really Grace, I don't have a clue. Just… why did you call Hetty to send someone to come and get you back home?" he shrugged.
"Turkey is our home now, Callen. I'm married, the father of Alec, of my kids, lives in there."
"Then why?"
She paused for another brief moment. "I need proof. Need someone who knows me, who believes me."
"And what makes you think I'm the right person?"
Grace chuckled again. "I didn't know she'd send you. I haven't told her anything."
He shook his head, not sure what to think of it so far. He'd checked his rear view mirror several times. There was nothing to be worried about, so he did what he thought was best. He took the next turn.
To Shabla.
Before he left the car, he took his burn phone and sent a text message. To Hetty's other number. All he did was let her know was that he and Grace were safe, but he needed more time. She'd understand. It was how she knew things went, mostly different from what anyone might plan.
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NCIS Office of Special Projects || Los Angeles
She didn't know if she should be relieved, worried or offended by the short message Callen sent her. Sure, it meant they were alright, both of them.
Still, Hetty wished there were more details on their whereabouts.
She sighed deeply, then did what she had postponed so far. She called the Washington number.
Director Vance answered within three buzzes. "Henrietta, what can I do for you?"
"No sweet talks, Leon?" she retorted.
"I don't think you called without a reason," the director said.
She didn't have to hide the smile on her face. "Point taken. Well, I was wondering if there's a way you can tell me if one of our agents abroad has reported to you lately?"
"Who are you talking about?" His voice sounded more strained this time.
"Grace Stevens."
It was quiet for some seconds, then he asked "How come I get the feeling I miss something?"
"Never mind, Leon. The feeling is mutual," Hetty said.
"What is it you're not saying but want to make clear?"
"To be honest, I am not too sure whether I made the right decision. But there was this most disturbing call she made. I decided—" she paused, not sure anymore if it had been wise or not to ask Callen to go there. "Well, I asked agent Callen to go and see if he'd be able to get her back from Bulgaria to our country, like she asked."
"I see," his brief reply came.
"Listen, Leon, maybe I should've asked permission beforehand. But there was this certain urge and agent Callen was available. He knows the language, the job, the region," she argued.
"Hell, he knows indeed Henrietta."
"He agreed, Leon. He knows what he's doing."
"Does he know who he's facing?"
Surprised, she asked "Do you?"
Even from the distance between them, she heard how he slowly let his breath escape through his nose. "For all I know it is about several marines and one of our own agents who's gone rough. Logically, agent Stevens should know about it."
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Shabla, Bulgaria || 10.20 AM
The man and the woman sat at a table in the small diner, close to the red-and-white lighthouse, facing the street, the empty beach with lots of blue boats ashore, and the sea behind it. They ordered coffee and drank it. The young boy who came with them, played with a small game computer, unaware of the serious talking of the two adults.
"We've got over two thousand men and women stationed in Turkey, or to put it clearer, in the Mediterranean Sea. All ready to fight IS, if necessary. Only some of them do things we would need to take a look at. And since three men died within a week, it is something we investigate. Like NCIS does everywhere."
"You keep talking about 'we'."
Grace nodded. "We work together and we kinda tossed, Steven and I. One of us should stay at the other could be around to investigate. Steven thought I needed the short break most, so here I am."
"And Steven is who and where?"
"Steven Moore is a co-worker. So, he should be at our Ankara base at this very moment," Grace explained.
"Grace," Callen said, "Are you sure Steven can be trusted?"
Thank you all for reading and reviewing so far!
To you all: have a great 2016 and face and/or enjoy whatever may come your way...
