Chapter 4

He paced up and down in front of the screen at Ops, not as they thought wanting to see if Nell had any footage of Eric being taken, but biding his time till his next call from Janvier.

"There's nothing." Nell said in frustration.

She was annoyed Eric was her partner and her best friend. "I can't believe he didn't have cameras installed outside his apartment!" she snapped.

"What?" Callen asked pulled out of his own worry for a second.

"Well, Deeks, Kensi, Sam and I have cameras installed near the house just for this eventuality but you and Eric don't…I don't get it why?" Nell asked.

Callen shrugged, "I can't say why Eric doesn't," he lied, "But my house still looks empty, and with that blogger next door, cameras would give her something else to wonder about, she doesn't see me coming or going now so I'm hoping she'll soon think I've moved. Besides my house is empty, what is there to protect?" he asked.

"You." Nell replied.

Callen gave a dry laugh, "I can take care of myself, its Eric who need our help now." He said turning the subject back to the matter at hand. "Janvier must have been seen somewhere?"

"I have checked all airports nothing, I'm not even sure how he got out of prison, and all we do know is, from your phone call, he is out." Nell said sadly as Callen looked angry.

Sam walked in, "Anything Nell?" he asked.

She shook her head as Callen stormed out.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked.

Sam shrugged, "Callen is team leader, he's protective over all of us, I'm sure he'd be the same if it were you or me who was missing." He reasoned.

"No so…" Nell smiled wryly. "If it were you he'd have pulled LA apart by now."

Sam nodded with a smile, she was probably right.

Callen stormed into Hetty's office.

She looked up from her cup of tea and regarded the dark simmering anger that Callen was barely containing under the surface.

"Mr. Callen?" she said.

"Did you know that Janvier was out?" He asked.

Hetty shook her head, "I am waiting a call back from the governor of the prison that Janvier was being held at, they are conducting their own investigation right now."

"We should have been warned the moment they knew he was missing, then maybe…." He couldn't finish the sentence and he turned from Hetty.

"I understand you care a lot for Mr. Beale," Callen tensed as Hetty spoke, "We all do, just because you are the team leader, it doesn't make you at fault." She said.

Callen wanted to scream at her, that if he had given Eric a ride in this morning like he had promised rather than going in alone Eric would be safe, so it technically was his fault. But he said nothing.

"I can't believe we can't find him!" he sighed in frustration.

Hetty smiled, in an attempt to placate him, but all it did was make him angrier. "We will find him, and Mr. Beale is too smart for something to happen to him."

Callen couldn't stand it; to him it felt like no one cared, he stormed out of Hetty's office and headed to the gym.

Truth was everyone in their own way was hurting over the loss of Eric.

Kensi and Deeks headed to the prison and went to interview the governor as Hetty watched Callen head to the gym hoping that her senior agent wouldn't take the blame for what had happened to Eric and go lone wolf.

Sam came jogging down the stairs. "Mr. Hanna?" Hetty voice floated around him and Sam stopped and turned with a smile to Hetty.

"Yes Hetty?" he asked politely

"I am worried about Mr. Callen, Janvier knows how to push his buttons, and he seems to have found a weaker…member of the team to do it. I know he threatened to kill you at one point, I am assuming that he has discovered that both you and your wife are a hard…shall we say, nut to crack. I think he is hoping that Callen will break." She said.

"You think he might?" Sam asked concerned.

Hetty took a sip of tea and thought about her answer.

"How much has Mr. Callen told you about his time in the welfare system as a child?" she asked.

Sam looked confused at the question, "What does that have to do with what's going on now?"

"As a child, Mr. Callen often defended the weaker and younger children in the homes that he lived in, looking out for them against various forms of abuse, sometimes deliberately putting his own welfare at risk to save them; it is in essence a trait that makes him the loyal man that he is today… However, it also makes him venerable, Janvier has known about our Mr. Callen for a long, long time and because of the accident that gave Marcel Janvier his scar, Janvier decided that one day Mr. Callen would pay… In effect becoming his nemesis. He knows that if given a chance Callen will throw himself to the wolves to save Mr. Beale or any of you. I need you to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do that." She ordered.

Sam nodded; the last thing he wanted was to lose a partner.

Callen took a swing at the punch bag his frustration coming out in waves. He needed to be out there, but they still had no leads on Eric's whereabouts.

The bag wasn't helping so he headed back to the locker room and got there just as his cell phone started ringing.

"Agent G. Callen." Marcel's voice came over the line.

"How is he?" Callen asked

"He is safe for now, and he will remain…alive…if you do as I ask." Janvier told him.

"What do you need?" Callen asked sinking to the floor and pulling his knees to his chest.

He could almost hear Janvier smile over the other end, "I need all the information you can find on Hetty Lange. She has been meddling too much in some affairs that do not concern her. I need the address of the houses she lives in and when I call again I want you to kill her."

"I can't do that!" Callen exclaimed.

Janvier never replied, Callen heard movement in the background and an ear splitting scream came from Eric.

"STOP!" Callen shouted, "Stop it!" he couldn't stop the tears that sprang to his eyes, "Please stop…" he begged.

"You lover has just broken his hand…I am thinking of working my way up." Janvier said.

Callen couldn't stop the tears from falling and he was glad he was alone, "Ok…Ok I'll do whatever you want just please, don't hurt him."

"I want every dirty little secret that little boss of yours has, everything…I am not an unreasonable man Agent G. Callen, I will give you a week, keep doing as you are told and I will not have to hurt you lover anymore, it would after all, be a shame if he were….damaged…in any way."

Janvier let the threat hang in the air.

"How do I get this to you?" Callen asked.

"All in good time Agent G. Callen, I wish to get to know your man here better." Janvier said smarmily down the phone. "I will contact you….obviously if you want him to be alive…you will not inform anyone…Also you should know, I can see you, curled up there like a child. Your man gave me access to the cameras in your building, I will know if you betray me…or worse him."

Callen looked towards the camera and Janvier laughed and talked away from the phone.

"Eric Beale, you may want to look and see the man you love, see how strong he is…"

Callen heard this and signed 'I love you.' in ASL knowing that if Eric saw it he would understand but no one else in the building hopefully would.

"I LOVE YOU!" Eric's voice was heard in the background followed by an, oomph as he was hit.

Janvier's voice came back on the phone again, "See, Agent G. Callen, you do have a heart…if you want to keep it, follow my instructions to the letter, if you want him back…remember I'll be watching." He said and hung up.

Callen dropped the phone and took a few deep breaths; he knew that he would have to be extra careful now. Both from his own team and from Janvier who could hurt Eric with one wrong move.

He got up and walked to a sink and washed his face, he changed in a toilet, not wanting to be observed. He walked out the door and straight into Sam.

"Are you ok?" Sam asked.

Callen nodded, still not trusting his voice and walked over to his laptop, wondering how the hell he was going to get all the secrets of a woman who was a riddle wrapped in an enigma.