Chapter 4
By the time she arrived at the boatshed, Hetty was even more concerned about Agent Hanna than she had been before. For Nate to say that he needed to talk to her about Sam in private raised grave concerns in Hetty about Nate's confidence in Sam's ability to rejoin his team, with or without his wheelchair. So, as G had done hours earlier, before she walked into the boatshed, Hetty paused, closed her eyes a moment, and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst.
"Alright, Mr. Getz, I'm ready. What are your findings regarding Agent Hanna?" Rather than taking a seat at the table where Mr. Getz had pulled up two chairs, Hetty chose to stand, her hands clasped behind her back. It made her feel more battle-ready. Nothing, however, could prevent her from pacing like a caged lion.
Nate made the well-considered decision to sit at the table. It put him nearly at the same eye level with the diminutive woman, and Nate wanted them on as equal a footing as possible. He knew that she would not take his posture as a sign of nonchalance on his part. Nate watched her a moment before beginning his report. "I don't know how something can be simple and complicated at the same time, but Sam has managed it somehow. He's definitely not ready to return to fieldwork." Hetty nodded at that; she already knew it, but wanted to hear it from Nate regardless. But she also knew, because she knew Nate, that that wasn't the whole story, so she held her peace and let the man find his own pace. "Thing is, from everything I know about Sam, which was confirmed by what he said today, the only way for him to get to a point where he can be relied upon to keep anyone safe in the field, including himself, is for him to return to the field. Hetty, he's lost without this work. In his own words, he believes he is weak, a burden, dependent on those around him. So, the question is, is there a way to allow Agent Hanna to rejoin his team without allowing his presence to hamper their effectiveness?"
Hetty could see why Nate had excluded Callen from this conversation. Callen was not only Sam's partner, but also his friend. It would be difficult for Callen to resist a knee-jerk response of "of course there's a way" and Hetty and Nate both knew that such a reaction would be counter-productive in the extreme. It was a serious question: Could Sam be reintegrated into his team without jeopardizing their ability to do what they did? All this was in Hetty's mind as she replied to the psychologist. "I don't know, Mr. Getz, but I intend to find out. I have an idea, and I'm going to need the entire team's participation to make it work." Outlining his plan to Nate, Hetty took out her phone and sent a text to every member of the team except Sam. Meet at the boatshed right now, it said. Don't tell Sam.
By the time everyone arrived at the boatshed, they were abuzz with chatter about what could be going on that would require them to exclude Sam. Obviously they all knew his situation, but they also knew Hetty wasn't one to exclude anyone, whether they could be directly helpful to a mission or not. Fortunately they didn't have to wait long to find out. When they all had arrived, Hetty got right down to business.
"As you can see, Mr. Hanna is not present. I assure you, that omission is quite deliberate. Ladies and gentlemen, a member of our team needs our help, and we're here to see that he gets it." All chatter ceased with those words, and Hetty knew she had their full attention. They all cared about Sam a great deal, and were eager to help him in any way they could.
"Mr. Getz has expressed some doubts regarding Mr. Hanna's readiness to return to the field; doubts which Sam has indicated that he shares, although for different reasons. I need to ascertain whether our team member is ready to rejoin the team, and in fact whether he will ever be ready." She paused as the team erupted in protestations, but only for a moment. She put up her hand for silence, receiving it immediately. "I know you all want to see Mr. Hanna come back to us full strength, as do I. Mr. Getz and I agree; the best way to accomplish that, at this juncture, is to engage in a harmless ruse." With that, she outlined the plan she had hatched with Nate's cooperation.
"As you all know, Mr. Hanna was injured during a mission. So what we're going to do is go on another mission, one in which Mr. Hanna will participate." The team mates looked at each other skeptically, but kept quiet. They weren't sure how this would work, but knowing Hetty, she had it all figured out.
Hetty did not have it all figured out, but she would never let her team see that. The plan she and Nate had devised was not only impractical, it was impossible. In her wildest dreams, she couldn't concoct a story even close to the missions the team went on. She needed to rectify this situation and fast. Taking out her cellphone, she dialed Nate's number. He answered immediately.
"Mr. Getz. I've had a change of heart. It would be wonderful if we could contrive a mission realistic enough to fool Mr. Hanna and accomplish our goal, however in order to do that, we would need the cooperation of the terrorists, and we both know how difficult that is to secure." Hetty found humor wherever she could these days. "We're going to have to take a much more direct approach. As much as I never thought I would say this, I believe a group counseling session is in order. Please join us at the boat shed." Without awaiting a response, Hetty hung up on Nate and called Sam. After arranging for him to meet the rest of the team at the boat shed, she closed her phone, squared her shoulders, and headed there herself.