A/N: Thank-you for angel897 and Hoosier 65 for your wonderful reviews! Also to skiheidi16 and nanny1981 for the favs and Ratoncita71, WhisperOfWings, hellangelXrena, potatoninha347, Short but Deadly, nanny1981, CalaisForever & Spartans091 for following. To all of you, and the wonderful readers, I thank-you for your support and hope that you enjoy the lastest installement.
...
The walls of the small room felt like they were closing in on her. There was a small light at the far end that created a sense of false hope in her heart as she felt her legs accelerate towards it, fully aware that the gap was closing in and soon she would be stuck in the darkness, forever.
She was sprinting now, dodging the obstacles that seemingly jumped into her path out of no-where and suddenly she remembered how she had sprained her ankle that evening – why was she able to run with such ease? As if her thoughts were extended into reality, a sharp pain surged through her right leg and she toppled down onto the floor with all but elegant grace. And there she lay, alone in the dark, body rattled with fear with such intensity that she was hardly aware of the footsteps that came towards her. With a sudden wave of realization, she knew she were no longer alone. She willed her eyes to not look up, but could not resist the curiosity. The footsteps stopped and before her knelt a man who extended his hand towards her. With shy eyes she followed the hand up to the face and recognised the amber eyes that looked back towards her.
Nate
The fear subsided as she reached out to take his open hand and felt her body being lifted almost effortlessly from the cold stone floor. Her eyes never left his, but as she watched his amber eyes turn into those teal eyes she knew so well, the relief was replaced once more with fear and she could do nothing to stifle the scream.
With a jolt, Cassandra left her laying position and sat dead straight on the sofa she had fallen asleep on. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure that it was going to escape her chest as she shivered under the cold sweat that had occupied her skin so devilishly. It had only been a dream, a nightmare, but to her, it was more than just a subconscious fantasy that was being expressed – it was her biggest fear.
It had been months since she had seen those eyes haunt her and their return would mark only the tip of the iceberg that would inevitably cause her to sink. It was just the beginning.
Her breathing began to steady and she finally allowed herself to blink, just in time to return to them the focus and the image of the boathouse around her. She was fully aware that there was another set of eyes in the room with her, their focus settled directly upon her seated self. Cassandra was not sure whether she wanted to engage in conversation quite yet with the woman sat across the coffee table, her small figure almost enveloped by the cushioned armchair. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have much choice in the matter.
"Cassandra" Hetty's voice was steady as she addressed the agent, but her hands were held in a tight ball in her lap. This didn't go unnoticed. Cassandra knew that Hetty was as apprehensive as she was about the imminence of the conversation at hand. "I'm sor-" In a fashion dominated only by the young woman, now standing, blanket still wrapped around her body, Cassandra raised her hand to stop the apology before making her way to the kitchenette to prepare herself a cup of the closest thing they called coffee.
"Rule number six Hetty" Cassandra finally replied, pushing the small button on the side of the electric kettle.
"Rule number six?" Hetty turned to look at her, eyebrow raised in confusion. It wasn't surprising that she was unaware of the reference to the rules that Cassandra had grown up with. They were like her ten commandments, at least sevenfold in number, but they did her justice all the same. Her life was saved more than once by the guidance of these rules and the man that instilled them in her.
"Yes. Rule number six. Never apologize it's a sign of –"
"Weakness" Cassandra looked over to the entrance at the far end of the room to see two men enter. Nate, who's eyes mirrored her own curiosity at the second man finishing her sentence. It wasn't an accurate supposition to think that Cassandra was one of the only few that understood the complexity of Gibbs' rule set. He had worked with many an agent over the years – that said, she was still surprised he had even bothered to demonstrate his knowledge despite them being strangers. Territorial? She mused, turning back to the kitchenette.
"Oh, Mister Callen. Meet Miss Cassandra Wyatt." Hetty introduced, her smile shining in her voice, but Cassandra did not respond, still waiting for the kettle to boil.
"You NCIS? FBI?" Callen asked, fishing for the information he had not been privy too.
"I don't think the FBI are fond of British nationals, Mr. Callen." She replied, nonchalant.
"NCA? MI6?" He continued impatiently
"Callen!" Nate berated, surprised at his leader's inconsideration. It was uncharacteristic of Callen to be so forward with his questioning. Nate made a mental note to do some questioning of his own when he got Callen on his own.
"Curious cat aren't you?" Cassandra disliked a morning interrogation at the best of times, but without a coffee, she wasn't even human. Lucky for her, she would not be subjected to the granulated disappointment that she had just spooned into the mug as Nate handed her over a thermal coated cup from one of the coffee stands on the marina. Despite the kind gesture, Cassandra did not smile, nor did she even look up at him as she took the coffee and made her way back to the sofa, Callen's eyes analysing her every step.
Cassandra had already decided that she didn't much like this Callen guy. She took a sip and decided to analyse him, much like she knew he was doing to her. His demeanour was the closest she had ever seen to an impetulant child in a grown adult. He was most certainly their leader; after Hetty, of course.
"Another one of yours, I assume" she directed to Hetty, taking another sip of her coffee, relishing in the warmth that began to stream down her throat. Now, she felt as if she could engage in some form of conversation. She returned her eyes to Callen, her expression as stoic as his own. Nope. She didn't like him at all.
"Agent Callen is our Senior Agent" Hetty's deflection
"Interesting." Cassandras tone was dismissive. She cared very little for any information about those around her. She was not in the right frame of mind to be dealing with anyone other than the man who, according to the clock on the opposite wall, was due to arrive within the hour. "I'm going to take a shower" she said, throwing the blanket off her, grabbing the bag that Hetty had brought with her before placing the coffee cup on the main table and releasing a small smile to Nate, finally thanking him for the kind thought. Coffee. Nothing better.
With no further words, she made her way up the stairs where she knew a small shower room to be, at the end of the corridor, passing the secondary interrogation room on her right, with the aim to remove both the shrapnel, blood and annoyance that was covering her body, inside out.
...
Callen heard the door upstairs slam shut and sat at the table in the centre of the room, ignoring the disapproving glances Nate and Hetty were sharing. It may be the lack of sleep or Grangers comment or yet another secret situation that had put him on edge, but he didn't have the energy to pussy foot around. He was in a terrible mood, coffee outstanding and being once again the only one in a room that didn't understand what was going on. Lucky for him, his team would arrive soon, making the ratio of savvy to not an equal playing field – when the director came anyway.
"Your manners Mister Callen, are quite lacking" Hetty spoke, finally, breaking the awkward silence.
Callen contemplated a sarcastic answer, but decided against it, rubbing his face with both hands before placing them behind his head, reclining back slightly in the chair. "I know" he replied simply, looking from Hetty to Nate, daring them to berate him further. They didn't.
They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity before familiar voices could be heard just outside the boathouse.
"It's not true, Deeks. Seriously, how can you even believe that?" Kensi's voice could be heard saying, a light laugh following her words.
"If it's on TV – it must be true Kens. Besides, how else can you explain the decline in IQ level in the U.S.? It's alien abduction. I'm telling you!" Deeks pushed the door open, allowing his partner to enter first.
Kensi rolled her eyes and stopped dead as they fell upon the trio "Hey Nate" Kensi said with a smile, which faltered when seeing the deadpan look Callen exhibited and a similar expression on Hettys face. "What's… going on?" She glanced over at Deeks as if to confirm the lack of understanding. He shrugged and took his place at her side, awaiting some form of response.
"You will be debriefed when the Director arrives" Hetty replied returning to the seat she had once occupied, her hands steepled under her chin, looking pensive.
Both Deeks and Kensi exchanged confused looks before taking a seat at the table, feeling just as awkward as the silence.
"So, Doc." Deek's began "You, um, good?" As expected, Deek's wasn't able to deal with the arduous situation without trying to make some light hearted conversation. Nate did not refuse his attempts, and followed suit by taking a seat opposite them, Callen's hard look not going unnoticed by the psychologist.
"Yeah" He replied, nodding his head a little too much. "All is good." He suddenly realized that he didn't really have much to say on the subject. His mind was lost with the different scenarios that may come to pass when the director finally made his entrance. "You?" he asked, his head still nodding with nerves.
Although Deeks felt the tension, it did not stop him continuing. "Well I'm great, apart from the fact that Kensi doesn't seem to believe the fact that our educational system is on the brink of falling to pieces"
"That's not true. All I said was that I didn't believe that little green men were the cause!" Kensi replied, punching her partner lightly on the shoulder.
"I think they you didn't call them that" He replied in jest, a wicked grin on his face. Kensi opened her mouth to reply, but her voice caught in her throat as she was surprised to see a female figure descend the staircase, her damp hair dripping down the back of her black shirt, leaving a trail of water droplets in her wake.
Callen, on the other hand had been watching the staircase with the upmost intensity, his stare still following her as if she were to disappear at any moment and he had to be the one to see it.
"And who do we have here?" Deeks asked in a sing-song voice standing as the woman reached the bottom of the stairs. Callen watched as she walked over to Deeks, half-expecting her to slap him in the face – but to his surprise she walked up to the table, placed the bag that Callen assumed had her clothes in and extended her hand towards Deeks.
"Cassandra Wyatt" She wore a small smile on her face which caused Callen to burrow his eyebrows. It seemed like the water had washed away her foul demeanour. He contemplated following her example – but decided that water wasn't going to rid him from his demons this morning. No – they would be laid to rest later with a six pack and a bottle of tequila.
"Marty Deeks and this is my partner Kensi Blye" Callen watched as they exchanged pleasantries, rolling his eyes. It was then he noticed Nate staring at him. He was sure that he was being analysed – as always when Nate was around. Despite everything they had been through, despite the ups and downs and the in depth conversations, Callen was always slightly uneasy around the man, especially when he looked at him with those deep, concerned and questioning eyes. Had it not been for the fact that he heard footsteps down the path and immediately felt the tension rise within the boat house, he'd have called Nate out on his incessant staring – but with the arrival of the Director, Callen would soon forget and forgive Nate for all of what, he considered, to be his misgivings.
...
"What is he doing here?" Cassandra snapped, gaze avoiding the aged man that leant against the door inside the interrogation room.
Leon's arrival was followed by the typical formalities one would expect from the OPS team. Cassandra introduced herself to Sam Hanna, who had accompanied to director, to whom she simply nodded then took her leave to the interrogation room, knowing full well that she would have been accompanied there had she waited a moment more. What she hadn't expected, was if she had stayed that moment longer, she would have seen a third man enter the boatshed. Her unfavourable opinion was glaringly obvious when she saw him follow the director into the room and shut the door behind him.
"You know the drill Wyatt" The man replied in exasperated monotone.
"I wasn't talking to you, assistant director" Cassandra made sure to stress the level at which this man's career had stagnated. Owen Granger had some very obvious and easily accessible buttons to press, and she was sure to press each and every one of them under any circumstance that she was subjected to his presence. It had worked, of course. His face twisted as he resisted the urge to respond. "Leon, I swear –"
"He's here, because I asked" Leon replied, calmly taking a seat opposite her. He placed a file on the desk and pushed it towards her "And we have bigger issues"
Cassandra's eyes twitched with anger as she shot a disapproving look at Granger before deciding not to pursue the matter further – yet.
"We always have bigger issues" she muttered, flipping the file open. "You have got to be kidding me!" She immediately closed the file and shoved it back to the director. "You knew. That's why you called, isn't it?" It was a rhetorical question that was answered by the surveillance photos that depicted those teal eyes that haunted her nightmares. "This…" She pointed violently to the file "…is the reason NCIS is the most hated institution in the world Leon." She pushed the chair back and jumped to her feet, and began pacing, forcefully rubbing her eyes to stem the tears of anger that were welling up. "I… I can't believe you" She finally stood, defeated before him, her arms slumped at her side. "You used me"
It was rare that Cassandra bore her emotions for people to see, but the audacity of this man broke her in more pieces that it should. All the signs were there from the start. This sudden assignment – just to observe "just in case" as he had put it, had really just been a ploy to get her to hang herself on the hook, to dangle herself in front of the 'big fish', whose profile filled more than just the file on the table.
"How long have you known?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper
"Sit" Leon ordered, opening the file.
Cassandra begrudgingly obliged, her eyes fixed on an invisible point atop the table.
"These images were taken last week" Leon began to take out the photos and place them, facing towards her. "Kaleidoscope picked him up just outside LAX, Korea town and, finally…" he placed the last photo atop the others "Just outside your apartment" Cassandra looked at the final photo of a man, sat smiling in the back of an unmarked vehicle, driving down her road. She knew instantly that he had probably wanted to see it for himself; scope out the residence of the agent that tried to kill him.
"How long, Leon?" She repeated, her voice more forceful.
"This is part of an ongoing, extensive operation, agent Wyatt, so –"
"When will you learn to be quiet Owen?" She spat "Shall I shoot you in the other leg?" Her threat caused him to step towards her, slamming his hands flat on the table so hard that almost made her jump.
"Don't push me Wyatt." His words were little more than a hiss, but she did not back down, meeting his glare with full force.
"That's enough!" Leon exercised his authority. Finally. Granger took a step back, still staring the young agent down. She scoffed at him and turned to await Leon's answer to her question. He sighed and took a moment to ponder his wording. "We had reports that he had fled to Europe. It was only a matter of time before he was to return to the U.S." He began, glancing over to Granger "It was decision from SecNav to seek intel that would suggest he were back and that is when I asked you to go on this assignment"
"No" Cassandra shook her head violently "You didn't ask me to be on this assignment!" She reminded him with force "You gave me orders to watch -…"
"We needed you to be here" Granger interrupted bluntly. "Where we could make sure to find him when he appeared"
The honesty in his words actually made her smile, sarcastically of course, but a smile at least. It finally began to make sense. Perfect… fucked up… sense.
"So let me get this straight…" she began, her voice as calm as she could possibly make it "So you all got together in a meeting room and decided that you wanted to use me as bait – again!"
"Cassandra –"
"And…" she wouldn't let him cut her off, losing the calm tone in her voice "… you make me believe that he was dead, that you, the great NCIS has brought down one of the biggest pains in the arse on the planet the 'Ubiytsa' as you call him– because, you are so great and all" Sarcasm dripped off her words "You, then, show me images of all of his known associates and tell me that you have intel that there is an imminent attack on Los Angeles as a power struggle is thought to occur, which was a complete and utter lie, just so that would be the sitting duck that brought the bastard out of hiding?!" She glared from one to the other "Stop me if I'm wrong?"
Silence
"Just as I thought!" Cassandra slammed her own hands against the table and stood before Leon, anger bubbling to the surface "I gave up EVERYTHING for your team. EVERYTHING!" her hands made contact with the table again
"Wyatt! Calm –"
"Don't you dare!" She hissed at Granger "Don't… you…" Her hands returned to her face, rubbing her eyes to stop the tears. "I'm done" She held up her hands in defeat "I'm done with NCIS. Done with America. Done with it all" Cassandra grabbed the back of the chair and pushed it under the table, resting her weight on her arms as she clenched the chair frame. "I would resign, but seeing as I don't officially belong here, I guess I don't have to give you any notice" Faux chipper fell off her tongue – too angry to process the information and realize the severity of the situation.
"Cassandra. I am –"
"Rule number six" She found herself saying for the second time today. "I don't care anyway Leon. There are no more siblings to sacrifice" her comment seemed flippant, but the three of them knew to what extent her comment was wholly true. Once again, she relished in the uneasy silence that she had instilled upon them all. She had nothing left to give NCIS as they took it all away from her by force and left her to deal with it all alone.
Unclenching her fists from the chair frame she made her way to the door, but was stopped by Grangers body moving swiftly to block her exit.
"Isn't there a rule about asking for forgiveness instead of permission?" He asked, a hint of desperation in his voice
"Rule number 18. But you aren't allowed to quote the rules" She spat, grasping the door handle. He shut the door straight after she tried to open it.
"We need your help" he stated, ignoring the look of complete awe on Cassandras face – she couldn't believe the audacity of it all.
"Really? What now – a kidney?" Her sarcasm was her defence, but it did not alleviate the tension.
"Korablyov"
"Rule 28, right?" Leon added, standing up. "Granger, please can you leave us alone"
Much like Cassandra had done before, Granger hesitated to comply, but did so, shooting her a vacant look before taking his leave. And with his departure, yet another wave of silence came over the interrogation room, broken by the positioning of the second chair below the table.
"We need you to get any information you can from Korablyov about the Ubiytsa's return. He's your contact." He closed the file and extended it before her "I wouldn't have asked any of this of you if I'd have had a choice" His words were sincere, but it didn't make any of it hurt any less.
"I broke Rule number 3. I didn't double check what you said to me. I thought you were telling the truth" She replied, just as sincere "And although you have broken so many…" She grabbed the file "The one that hurt the most was rule 15"
"And what one is that?"
"Always work as a team, Leon. Something you constantly insist on negating" She sighed and took the file from him, sending it straight into the bin that was beside the door.
Cassandra opened the door and walked into the crowded room, seven sets of eyes before her. She stood, deadpanned, having forgotten the flat screen they had probably just been staring at, watching the entire conversation. Although she cared very little what people thought, she had never been comfortable about showing any sort of emotion to anyone – let alone a room full of strangers. As she made her way towards the door, Granger called out to her – his final attempt.
"You leave now; hundreds of people will die"
Once more she came to a dead stop just a meter away from the door, defeated by the truth of his words.
She turned and glared at him.
"You have an agency full of agents Granger. Use them" She spoke matter-of-factly, her hand gesturing towards the guys that shared the room with them. She looked from Granger to Leon, who joined the rabble, then from Nate to Hetty, all of their eyes imploring her help. She sighed, resigned, but still angry.
I'm going to regret this.
"Кто-нибудь здесь говорят России?" She asked the group if any of them spoke Russian. She needed back up – but it was a necessity.
To her surprise, Callen replied "Я могу говорить по-русски" (I can speak Russian)
"Родной уровень?" (Native level?)
"Вероятно, лучше, чем вы"(Probably better than you)
She smirked and turned, beckoning him to come. Although her first impression of this man was terrible, there were three men than definitely beat him on the hate scale. Leon Vance, Owen Granger and The Ubiytsa – also known as Joshua Wyatt.