I'm surprised to say that I had quite a bit of time to write over the past few days, so this chapter is finished much earlier than expected! Only a couple more chapters to go after this one. Thank you all so much for reading, and please do leave a review!


-VII-

Brakes screeched and tires squealed, kicking up huge clouds of dust, as squadrons of FBI and NCIS vehicles pulled up to the abandoned building at the same time. There was a flurry of agents adjusting bulletproof vests, loading guns, and hurrying into strategic positions surrounding the building.

"How'd you get here so fast?" David hissed.

"Took a shortcut," Sam said.

"Jansen's already got Kensi inside...so we go in hard and fast."

"No, we don't," Callen argued.

David shot him a nasty look. "What do you mean 'no, we don't'?"

"G's right," Sam said. "We can't just storm the place. He'll kill her."

"So what does NCIS suggest we do?" David asked, obviously irritated.

"Eric, how are we getting in?" Callen said.

"There's a door on the far side," came the voice in his earpiece. "It leads downstairs into the main hallway. Can't tell where to go from there, though."

Callen looked at Sam. He didn't even have to say anything. The two partners knew without words that Callen was going in alone.

"On my signal," Callen said.

Sam nodded in silent understanding.

As Callen headed for the building, David turned to Sam in shock.

"What is he doing?" David demanded.

"Going after his girl."


Inside the building, Kensi found herself gasping for breath as she struggled against several big, burly men. She had managed to do some decent damage to her attackers, but eventually, their strength and numbers had won out. Now they had her pinned down, their rough grip bruising her arms, as they forced her to her knees on the cold, concrete floor. They wrenched her arms behind her back and bound her hands and feet, rendering her helpless as Stephen Jansen knelt down in front of her.

"I apologize for the ropes," he said. "Believe me when I say I didn't want to tie you up. But you're a feisty one." He winked at her. "Had to restrain you somehow."

He brushed a sweaty, tangled strand of hair away from her face. "It doesn't matter," he whispered in her ear. "In a few minutes, you won't struggle any longer. And I will possess both your body and your heart."

Kensi's jaw tightened and fury flashed through her eyes. "Give me your gun, and I'll blow your heart out of your body," she growled.

Jansen laughed wickedly. "I don't think you're in any position to put a bullet through my heart, my love."

"Yeah? I didn't have any problem putting one through Cameron."

Jansen froze. His eyes widened in sudden realization. "You were Cameron's girl," he said slowly. He stood up and backed away, studying her face carefully. "He was supposed to have slit your throat."

Kensi scoffed. "Guess he failed."

For some reason, her words struck a nerve inside Jansen. Suddenly seething with anger, he slapped her hard, and Kensi flinched at the sting in her jaw.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Kensi remained silent, and she was rewarded with another nasty blow to her face.

"Don't make me ask again," Jansen threatened.

"Go to hell," she spat.

"I'd do what the lady says."

Jansen spun around as he heard a voice from the stairs above and found himself staring down the barrel of Callen's gun. He didn't even have a chance to blink before he saw the red blast of fire, and he leapt out of the way, knocking Kensi to the ground.

Callen's bullet ricocheted off the wall, and Jansen quickly hauled Kensi to her feet and turned to his crew members. "Give her to me…you take care of him!"

The men scattered as Callen's next round of bullets came in rapid succession, firing in almost a blind rage. Jansen narrowly escaped a shot aimed directly at his skull, just managing to slip out the door and drag Kensi with him.

Callen hit the ground as several members of Jansen's crew fired back. The barrage of bullets screamed over his head, and pieces of the wall and the ceiling came crashing down, pelting him hard. He could hear men shouting and heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs.

"Over here!" he heard one of them yell.

Sliding across the floor, Callen lunged for his weapon, rolling over and firing multiple shots from the ground. Two of the men fell backwards, tumbling down the stairs, as others jumped to the side to avoid them. Callen could hear more shouting from the next room, and he scrambled to his feet and raced down the corridor.

"Sam!"

Sam heard Callen's voice in his ear, and he stood up and shouted to the agents under his command.

"Let's go! Come on! Move in!"

"NCIS!"

"FBI!"

Agents from both teams stormed the building, taking Jansen's crew by surprise. Heavy gunfire rang out through the hallways, as NCIS and the FBI covered each other's backs. David and his team sealed off the exits and secured the scene, slapping handcuffs on survivors, as Sam barreled through the chaos in pursuit of his teammates.

Tonight the FBI sought to bring down their elusive serial killer...but it was NCIS that sought to finally bring their girl home.


As Jansen dragged her down the corridor, Kensi struggled against him every step of the way. She dug her feet into the ground, trying to resist by throwing all of her weight backwards, but when he kicked her in the back of the knees, she stumbled forwards again. Angrily, she hurled herself in all directions and somehow slipped under his arm, twisting at an odd enough angle to loosen his grip. As Jansen yelped in pain, Kensi managed to escape his grasp, but with her hands and feet still tied, she could not run, and she landed hard on her side. She rolled over backwards in an awkward somersault, and from the ground, she aimed a nasty kick at Jansen's stomach. But she couldn't strike hard enough to hurt him, and he easily grabbed her again and pushed her into a tiny, dark, windowless room, roughly throwing her on the floor.

"Sorry this isn't more romantic," he apologized.

Kensi closed her eyes as she hit the concrete, trying to catch her breath, her bruised and battered body finally giving out.

With an evil laugh deep in his throat, Jansen raised his gun and cocked the trigger. "Good-bye, sweetheart—"

He suddenly choked on his words as a strong arm wrapped around his throat and violently yanked him backwards. He coughed against the heavy pressure on his windpipe and let out a strangled cry as his attacker tried to knock his weapon from his hand. Almost as a reflex, Jansen's finger closed on the trigger, and the bullet fired upwards instead, striking a pipe in the ceiling. There was a loud cracking noise as the pipe split along its entire length, a fine spray of toxic gas leaking out into the room.

Jansen roared and backed up into the wall, smashing Callen against it. The grip on his throat loosened slightly, and Jansen lunged forwards, escaping the chokehold.

A split second later, Callen tackled him to the ground. Jansen rolled over, crushing Callen beneath him and scrambling for his weapon. But Callen quickly swept his leg under Jansen's feet, and he fell heavily on his side. He winced as Callen's fist pounded heavily into his jaw, and with an angry burst of strength, Jansen flipped Callen over his head, slamming him on his back.

Now that their positions were reversed, Jansen hauled Callen to his feet, his arms wrapped around the other man's throat, both of them crashing backwards into the door. The door closed with a loud bang, neither one of them hearing the sound of the lock snapping into place.

Callen dug his elbow sharply into Jansen's chest, spinning around and landing a swift punch to his stomach, sending Jansen sprawling backwards with a sickening thud as his head hit the floor.

As Jansen lay still, completely stunned from the blow, Callen rushed to Kensi's side.

The gas was furiously hissing and spitting from the pipes, with hot black smoke pouring into the room. Callen could barely see to undo the ropes that bound her. His fingers fumbled with the knots, his eyes tearing and stinging, as he quickly wiped the sweat from his face. Kensi was coughing and gasping for air, and she was already covered in a heavy mist of poisonous gas. Her lungs were on fire, and she could barely move. She vaguely registered Callen's arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her to her feet.

Supporting Kensi against his shoulder, Callen blindly felt his way to the door and twisted the doorknob. But the door would not budge. He frantically clicked the lock back and forth, but the bolt was completely jammed. Callen smashed his foot into the door, trying to break it down, but he was coughing now, too, and he could feel his strength rapidly failing him. In frustration, he threw his entire weight against the door, and it still stubbornly refused to open.

As he felt the sweat trickling down his face, Callen knew time was running out. The gas was greedily consuming everything in its path, rising in temperature and becoming extremely unstable. It only took a single spark, bouncing off the wall, to ignite the ceiling beams into flames and trigger an entire cascade of explosions.

As another pipe shattered above them, both Callen and Kensi were thrown to the ground by a powerful blast of steam. The walls were quaking, the floor was rumbling beneath them, and the concrete foundation was starting to crack under the pressure. Stifling a cry of pain as a burning ember scorched his skin, Callen rolled over, shielding Kensi's body from the dust and debris crashing down from the ceiling.

"Sam!" Callen could barely hear his own voice over the hissing of the broken pipes.

"On my way, G."

But Callen didn't hear his partner's response. He felt Kensi go limp against his chest, slipping from his arms and sinking onto the floor.

"Can't…breathe," she whispered hoarsely.

"Kensi?"

There was no response. Her eyes were closed, and her face was pale.

Quickly, Callen parted her lips and placed his mouth on hers. He pushed a strong breath of air into her lungs, a cold panic gripping his heart when she didn't respond.

"Come on, Kenz."

He breathed into her mouth again, ignoring the painful tightness in his chest as he also started gasping for air. His lungs were burning as he inhaled the toxic gas instead of clean oxygen. The heat in the room was almost unbearable, and his eyelids were growing heavy. Suddenly overwhelmed by a violent dizziness in his head, Callen sank down on the floor next to Kensi, bordering on the edge of unconsciousness.

"Kenz," he whispered weakly. He was just barely able to pull her towards him and touch his lips to hers. With a soft kiss, he gave Kensi the last breath he had, and then he closed his eyes...

Kensi coughed and sputtered and suddenly awoke with a start. "Callen?"

She could feel him by her side. But she couldn't see through the black, smoky air, and when she gently touched his shoulder, he didn't move. He lay completely motionless on the ground next to her.

"Callen?"

Kensi heard the footsteps approaching from behind. Her eyes were tearing from the gas, blurring her vision, and she wiped her eyes and blinked, desperately trying to see clearly. She pulled Callen's gun from its holster on his side and held it close against her chest. She could feel her heart pounding against the metal and an icy chill creeping up her spine as Jansen advanced closer, stumbling slightly...and then raising his gun to put a bullet through both of them.

At the last moment, with all of the strength she had left, Kensi flipped herself over and embedded a fatal round of bullets into Stephen Jansen's chest.

She was fast, and she was accurate. As the serial killer crumpled to the floor, meeting his own death with a cry of agony, his body was enveloped in a thick cloud of smoke, and his screams were drowned out by the collapsing building.

Kensi couldn't breathe. She closed her eyes, faint from fatigue, injury, and lack of oxygen. The gun fell from her fingers, and her head dropped against Callen's chest, both of them sound asleep, entangled in each other's arms.

Three seconds later, Sam smashed in the door.