Chapter 6

The temperature in Los Angeles had risen and Callen ran on the beach. He had sweat on his face and running down his back. He had started the road work to perfect a cover and hadn't stopped when the op was over. He knew that his running made Sam feel good because his partner was taking care of himself.

Sam drove up behind Callen as he ran. He smiled to himself because he had never told Callen he thought there had been a woman involved when he started running. It turns out it was self-preservation kicking in.

Callen suddenly heard the car behind him and realized it was the Challenger. He turned as he was going to cross the road and smiled at Sam. "What's up? Wait, are you stalking me?" He then got that smile that he only saved for Sam.

Sam responded in kind with a smile. "Nice to see you running, but no, I'm not stalking you. Hetty want's us in OPS."

Callen jogged around to get into the car. What he found was a towel already placed on his seat. G's brow rose as if to ask why.

Sam laughed at him. "Nice leather, don't want your sweat all over it. Let's go."

For the towel, Sam received a smirk from Callen. "What's going on?"

Sam shrugged while driving up the road by the beach. "Don't know, G. We'll find out when we get to OPS."

An hour later Sam and Callen walked into OPS. The briefing was well underway. Hetty turned to face them. Callen saw anger on her face.

"It's so nice of you to join us gentlemen." There was a touch of irony and a lot of acid in those words.

Callen however, smirked and walked right up to her. "Hetty….I was running and well, - you wouldn't have wanted to be too close to me for too long."

Hetty smiled, only it wasn't a warm smile, it was more feral. "We all thank you for not inflicting that upon us, again. Now, shall we get to work?" Hetty then turned her attention on Eric. "Mr. Beale, if you wouldn't mind starting over again." She turned to look at Sam and G.

Eric mouthed "Thank You" and turned to face the big screen. The screen displayed a body that had been exposed to a lot of damage. There were cuts applied to the chest in the form of card suits. "Meet Staff Sargent Daryl Walker, age 35. He left behind a wife and two children. He was found just outside of Camp Pendleton attached to pipes in a deserted factory. He had received a few, shall we say, cosmetic mutilations prior to being shot in the head, gangland style. Accompanying SSGT Walker was a deck of cards displayed around his body like hands of poker. The cards are the type found in a casino."

Callen looked confused. "Why was this given to us Hetty? Can't the MPs at Pendleton handle this?"

Hetty understood the question. This was not a question of national security so why her team? "SecNav wants us. There has been an aggressive push of Navy and Marine personnel into illegal gambling, here and in Las Vegas. Check out the crime scene and see where it takes us."

Callen looked to her and nodded acceptance of the case. "Kensi, Deeks go see SSGT Walker's widow. See what you can find out and then join us at the crime scene. Sam you and I got the crime scene."

Chapter 7

Sam and Callen pulled up alongside the deserted factory complex. The buildings were beginning to deteriorate and the area seemed desolate and dreary. They found the door nearest to where the body had been found by following the yellow crime scene tape that the Military Police had left for them.

Callen wondered how long it had been until they had found Staff Sargent Walker. He took his phone out and placed a call to Eric. "Eric? How soon did they find the Staff Sargent?"

Eric responded quickly. "I'm on it, be right back." It took approximately thirty seconds for him to come back on line. "The coroner says that Staff Sargent Walker had been dead three days before he had been found. The markings on his body had been made ante mortem."

Callen grimaced. "Thanks Eric." He then turned and told Sam about the body. "The mutilations were meant as a warning to others who participated off base. Why not make it more public? Why so far into the complex?"

Sam was bewildered by the distance from the entrance to the crime scene and the idea of him being "found" was a bit far-fetched. Sam called Eric back, "Eric. How, exactly, did they find the Staff Sargent?"

Eric pulled the report up on his computer again. "The Military Police at Pendleton received an anonymous call telling them where the body was. When they arrived they couldn't find him right away and they thought it was a hoax. When the MPs found him they used the tape as a way to find their way back out. They left it in place for us."

Callen had begun to sweat. He was seeing portions of his childhood flash before him. He had lived in places like this before being put back in the system. "It's amazing they found him. I'm lost in here."

Sam watched Callen's comfort level drop. He knew this had to bring up memories of his childhood. He reached out and put his hand on his partner's shoulder.

It was about ten minutes before they reached the crime scene. Both men took their flashlights and examined the scene. The body had long since been removed but the ropes and blood were still there. He had been tied to pipes that had him standing. Someone had to be holding him as well. There were no ropes to hold his feet and that was odd, because as a marine, he'd have fought back. How else could they have cut him like that? Callen got a questioning look on his face and called Eric again. "Eric, were there any signs of drugs in his system?"

Eric looked at the small screen that displayed the reports. "Negative, the toxicology reports don't show any but I will check with the coroner again."

Callen looked surprised. "Thanks Eric."

Just then they heard footsteps coming toward them. Both drew their Sigs and were met with a shout. "Whoa, we are the good guys!" Kensi and Deeks walked into the crime scene.

Sam was exasperated. "This is the second time this year you have walked into a crime scene unannounced. Are you trying to get yourselves killed?" His cell phone binged for a text mail.

Deek's smiled and shook his head. "Sam you need a new phone. That is the second time we were faster than your phone. I like that we are faster than sound, how about you, Kensalina?"

Callen smirked and looked to Sam. He then walked over to the other half of the team. "What did Mrs. Walker have to say?"

Kensi started talking about the Staff Sargent's habits. "Staff Sargent Walker paid the bills in that house. He'd been shorting the payments for the last six months. He paid all the minimum payments and then didn't pay their mortgage for the last three months. The bank was getting antsy and getting ready to start foreclosure on them. Mrs. Walker had no idea until a week ago and it was too late then. The Staff Sargent was already dead."

Sam looked at the crime scene one more time. He just couldn't imagine what would get a good sailor or marine involved in illegal gambling. To the world it would seem like there was enough excitement in their lives. The Staff Sargent had a squeaky clean record, not even a parking ticket.

Deeks was nosing around and he found a playing card that had been stuck back under a board. "Look here. This must be one of the deck that they placed with Walker."

"What's the big deal? It's a playing card." Kensi was looking at the card skeptically.

"It is a big deal. It is not from a local casino." Deeks was smiling. "Wait don't you get this?" He waited a few seconds. The rest of the team looked at him like they were waiting for him to sprout horns and a tail. "Come on people, the card is from Vegas. Road trip!"

Sam and Callen just walked away from him laughing.

Sam couldn't help himself. "Does he really think Hetty is going to send him to Vegas?"

Kensi started following them out. "Let's go Shaggy and no, we are not going to Vegas."

Deeks smiled and looked around. "Really Kens?"