Author's Note: Again, sorry for the mix-up last time. I posted chapter 8 instead of 5, talk about an unexpected plot twist. Anyway, I have them all posted in the right order now. You may want to read 5, 6 and then this one to get back on track. Thank you for being very kind in your reviews by graciously saying 'hmmm, I'm a little confused' rather than 'what the heck are you doing'.
Shifting the weight from his injured leg to his good one, he scanned his surroundings for something to smash the rear window. The Subaru had come to rest against a grouping of boulders, as had his Mercedes. Those rock piles were the only reason that neither car was resting, in the ocean, at the bottom of the slope. The rocks had kept the cars from tumbling further downward.
Callen made his way around the lump of mud that was the car, to see if there were any smaller rocks that he could lift to smash the window in the lift gate. The impact of the car on the boulders had sheared off some pieces of the rock formation. Balancing carefully, he reached down and hefted a good size piece of stone that he felt could accomplish the mission.
Sloshing his way back to the rear of the Subaru, he spread his legs, braced them as much as possible given the treacherous conditions and heaved the stone at the back window. It smashed thru the glass, causing a hole surrounded by a spider-web of fractures. Even though it was safety glass, Callen, in a short-sleeve shirt, was very careful as he removed the rest of the window so he could enter the car. As cautious as he was, he still obtained some nicks and cuts from the procedure.
As he crawled through the window, he noted it was very dark inside the vehicle and Callen could only vaguely make out the shape of a person in the driver's seat. Ignoring his protesting leg, he moved as rapidly as possible through the rear of the car and into the back seat trying not to hit his head on the low ceiling; it was an awkward scramble. When he was located behind the driver's seat, with trepidation, he reached out his index and middle finger to check for a pulse on the motionless figure sitting behind the wheel.
"I'm not deceased yet," the strident voice of the Ops Manager informed him and startled, he quickly withdrew his hand as if he'd touched a hot stove.
His voice held an undertone of relief, even though his comment was sarcastic. "Guess Granger will have to wait to have you stuffed and mounted."
"Cheeky, Mr. Callen," and though he couldn't see her face, Callen was sure she was smiling.
Unable to climb into the front seat because of the way the car was mangled, Callen thrust the upper portion of his torso between the seats to get a better view. "What's the deal?"
"I'm stuck, like cork, in a good bottle of wine," she drily informed him.
"Mm-hmm," he responded with his trademark tonal grunt. "Aren't you more of a scotch gal?"
"True, but I also enjoy a good bottle of wine," she answered in a serious tone.
Trying to keep things light, he joked, "Well, if you were a wine, I'm sure you'd be a good vintage." He was having difficulties making out what was holding her 'stuck' because of the dim interior of the car.
Hetty sensed his frustration and had a partial solution. "My purse should be on the passenger side of the car somewhere. It was on the seat, so I'd check the floor. There is a flashlight inside that might be of assistance."
In the near darkness, Callen groped around the indicated area. "You carry a flashlight in your purse?"
"A small one. More of a pen light," she confessed. "However, it is very useful when trying to open a XO9 lock. Those screens are awfully dim."
His fingers brushed the object in question and after a little firm tugging, he secured her handbag. He hauled it back over the seat, into his lap. Though she couldn't fully see her agent's face in the semi-darkness, she felt his hesitation about digging around in her purse. "Nothing in there bites, Mr. Callen."
Smirking slightly for having been caught, he delicately inserted his hand into the opening, pushing a few items aside. "Are you sure?"
Pausing to reflect, she finally replied, "Yes. I'm almost positive I took out the knives and poison darts the other day. Damn purse was getting too heavy to carry on my shoulder."
Again, she felt her agent twitch, before he overcame his dread of the cavernous hole and dug deeper. A few seconds later he triumphantly closed his fingers around the flashlight and drew it out. A flick of the switch and bright blue-white light illuminated the compartment. Quickly focusing the beam on the Hetty, he could now see how the dashboard and steering wheel had shifted in the crash, effectively pinning her to the seat. She couldn't move side to side because of the door and the center console between the two front seats.
Hetty saw the look of concentration her senior's agent face and she remained silent as he worked the situation thru his mind; she had nothing useful to offer at this point. Callen's eyes roamed the dimly illuminated cabin of the car seeking inspiration. His eyes spotted the generous sunroof in the ceiling and he wondered if that was the solution to his problem of how to extract Hetty. Reaching up, he slid back the fabric panel, exposing the flat piece of glass which comprised the sunroof; it was intact.
Hetty followed his actions and ascertained his intent. "You're going to haul me out thru there?"
His serious blue eyes sought hers. "Will it work?"
Wiggling a bit, Hetty confirmed that side to side movement was fairly restricted. However, when she braced her small feet against the car's floor and pushed upwards, she felt give, indicating that Callen's plan might be successful. "I think your idea has merit."
Callen gave a curt nod. He was pretty sure he was not going to get lucky, but he asked anyway. "Any chance there is enough juice left to open the sunroof?"
Hetty felt around the steering column with her right hand, and then sighed. "I don't think the ignition still exists."
It was Callen's turn to sigh as he started slowly moving backwards, using the flashlight to examine the contents of the car. He was searching for a blanket, or coat, or something to cover his Boss with when he broke thru the sunroof. Finding nothing useful, he turned the flashlight back on Hetty, noting her outfit. "Can you raise your arms?"
Though she didn't quite understand why he was asking, Hetty tried, and was able to successfully raise her arms towards the ceiling.
"Good. We need to take your jacket off to cover your head. I have to break the sunroof glass." Callen reached for the cuffs of her jacket then hesitated. "You do have a shirt under the jacket right?"
"Of course," she primly replied. "I'm not one of those modernist who think that a tailored suit jacket can be used as a shirt."
Callen had no idea what she was talking about, nor quite frankly did he care; he had all the information he needed. "Good," he said as he started tugging on her sleeves again. It took a little maneuvering but working together, they final got the mustard-colored jacket off. He gave it a small shake before repositioning it to protect her head, neck and shoulders. "I'm gonna go back out, get on the roof and break thru the sunroof glass. Then I'll haul you out, like a sack of potatoes."
"Oh goody," Hetty said with a hint of sarcasm. "I'll be anxiously waiting right here to be hauled around like a sack of produce."
Callen turned around and crawled into the back of the small wagon. "Don't go anywhere," he jauntily flung back over his shoulder which earned him another 'humph' from his boss.
After shoving his aching body back thru the rear window and emerging outside, Callen flinched as the cold rain, driven by the fearsome wind, pelted against his body. 'Wonderful,' he thought as he stood miserably in the rain, surveying the buried car. The storm was intensifying and the ground was becoming increasingly unstable. The car shifted slightly, in the ever fluid mud causing Callen to kick into high gear. No telling when the vehicle might start sliding down the slope again, if the mud shifted.
He was going to need something to smash through the sunroof glass so he could extract Hetty. The over-sized rock from his previous act of vandalism was in the back of the car, but he had serious doubts he could lug it to the roof, and then crawl along the top of the car with the heavy, awkward object. Even if he was successful in accomplishing that part of the task, next he'd have to brace himself on the mud-covered surface of the roof, lift his awkward hammer, and smash thru the sunroof without sliding off the roof to the muddy ground. He didn't think his chances for success were going to be very high, so he racked his aching brain, which was throbbing in time to his heartbeat, for a 'Plan B'.
Most cars still had some fashion of spare which required a jack and tire iron, to be able to swap it out for the damaged wheel. The tire iron would make an excellent bashing device if he could find where it was stored in the Subaru. Sticking his upper body back thru the window, he rummaged around the back of the wagon, ripping up the plastic matt and carpet until he found the compartment in the floor. It took a bit of persistence to get the warped cover off, but eventually he got access to the area.
"Not that I'm rushing you," Hetty called from the front seat. "But it is getting a bit stuffy under this coat." She had also detected the slight shifting of the car and wasn't anxious to tumble down the slope any further trapped in her Subaru cocoon.
"Hurrying Hetty," he returned triumphantly holding the tire iron aloft. Scrambling up the back of the car with his cargo, he got on the roof, dropped to his hands and knees and gingerly crawled towards the area where he thought the sunroof resided. The wind gusts were making it near-impossible to stand on the exposed rooftop and though his leg protested his commando actions, he had no choice but to crawl on his hands and knees. Sticking his hand through the muck, he felt around until his fingers located the edge of the sunroof opening; he would have to remove a few inches of slime, from on top of the roof, to break the glass. A quick glance at his watch told him he had to hurry, as he would soon lose the last of the light.
The rain continued to pound down on him and the wind threatened to fling him off the car's roof. He needed both hands to scoop the mud off the sunroof but he was afraid to lay the tire iron down for fear it would slither off into the gathering darkness. Knowing it was probably a stupid move, but doing it anyway, he wedged the iron down the back off his pants near his gun holster; certainly not the most comfortable placement, but it did stay snug.
Scooping off the dirt while on his hands and knees was too slow, so he had no choice. Rising to his feet, he stood with his legs spread wide, mired in the mud to the ankles, and braced his feet against what he thought were the rails of the roof rack. This position offered a degree of stability.
Bending slightly, he used his bare hands to fling the mud off the area of interest. It was cold and miserable work and it didn't take long for his fingers to start to ache. As he got closer to the glass, the heavy rains helped wash some of the dirt away, making the process go faster, until he finally had the whole sunroof exposed. He reached back, pulled the tire iron out of the back of his jeans, made sure he had a firm grip on it with his numb fingers, and then swung it down hard and fast on the sunroof's glass.
Some days life sucked and this was definitely one of them; it didn't help when Mother Nature joined in to conspire against you. Callen brought the tire iron down with blistering force which put him slightly off balance, especially since he was favoring his injured left leg. To add to his already off-kilter state, a wind gust blasted him at the same time that he struck the sunroof with the tire iron. The glass shattered and Callen quickly checked his swing so as not to accidentally bash Hetty on the top of her head. In doing so, with all the other contributing factors, he lost his balance, plunged over the side the car and landed, back first, in the chilly, sloppy dirt. The tire iron skittered off into the mounting darkness but at least it hadn't landed on him; a small concession he guessed. His breath was momentarily knocked out of him, but when he recovered, he started cursing vigorously in Russian.
"Mr. Callen?" Hetty's concerned voice carried over the beating of the rain and the roaring of the wind. "Are you alright?"
Gritting his teeth, he used he his bare arms to leverage into a sitting position. Mud slid down the back of his jeans making an uncomfortable situation even worse. He started cursing violently again as he dragged himself to his feet and climbed back up on the roof of the car. When he got to the opening that once was the sunroof, he saw the pale blue eyes, of his diminutive ninja Boss, staring up at him through her rain-spotted glasses. "You do know your enunciation on a few of those curses is slightly off."
"You're kidding right?" Callen said in an annoyed tone. "Diction doesn't count when you're cursing." As he reached into the car to pull the jacket completely off her, the car shuddered and a fleet look of panic flit across the agents' faces. Moving with increased speed, he dropped to his knees next to the opening. "Your seatbelt is undone?"
"Yes. I unbuckled it already," she promptly confirmed.
Callen decided the best way to extract her was to place his hands under her armpits and pull her straight up through the opening. Hopefully, she could also use her feet to push, aiding in the procedure; given the current conditions he was working in, he was going to need all the assistance she could provide. After he explained to her how they were going to proceed, he reached down, into the car, getting ready to grasp her body.
Hetty watched as his hands came through the sunroof. "Are your hands clean?"
Callen rolled his eyes. "You're joking right."
Hetty gave the sigh of a martyr. "Well given the circumstances, I guess it can't be helped. Haul away."
Callen's got his hands into position and his first pull upwards was tad bit more energetic then was strictly necessary, though he would never admit to it. Hetty gave a disgruntled 'humph' as she started to ascend out the sunroof. As she got higher, it became harder to maintain the proper leverage, so Callen struggled from his knees, to his feet, to achieve a better angle.
Callen gave one last firm upward jerk. Hetty's body swung free, clearing the opening before accidentally hitting his wounded thigh causing him to let loose with a few more curses. "That was much improved," Hetty informed him drily as she dangled.
Callen debated how much trouble he would get in, if he dropped her face first in the mud. Wasn't mud supposed to be good for one's complexion? Didn't celebrities pay a lot of money for mud facials? However, his good sense won out over his bad boy attitude and he carefully set her down on the car's roof, keeping a hand on her bicep to insure she didn't slip or get blown over by the howling winds.
"Thank you, Mr. Callen," she said sincerely as she surveyed their surroundings with a critical eye. It didn't take her long to determine climbing back up the slope was not a viable option, which meant they had to go down the hillside towards the riled sea. "I'm good. You can let go now," she informed her slightly overprotective agent.
Callen slowly removed his hand, hoping the slight woman didn't get blown off the roof trying to get to the ground. Hetty, always the trooper dropped, in her elegant pantsuit, onto her petite derrière, into the mud on the Subaru's roof, then slid, feet first, down the car to the ground below, landing rather daintily on her feet. Callen couldn't stop a small grin from flashing across his face; she was truly an amazing person. A gust of wind buffeted him reminding him this wasn't the time and place to be contemplating his boss's athleticism; they had to find a safe place to weather out this storm.
Callen's decent from the car roof was less elegant than that of his boss, due to his injured leg, which buckled upon his landing, throwing him off balance; a stumble that was not unnoticed by Hetty, though she didn't say anything. Instead, she filed the fact away and started to pick her way down the slippery slope towards the ocean. Callen trailed along behind her. It was a tedious, slow journey, as both agents fought the wind, rain and ever shifting ground beneath their feet.
They were halfway to the bottom when a rumbling noise, exactly like the one that Callen had been unable to identify last time, occurred and this time he knew what it signified. "Hetty!" he yelled over the rain and the sound of the crashing waves but he needn't bother, as the Ops Manager heard the sound too and was already scanning for a place to escape.
"There," she bellowed pointing to an outcropping of rocks. They could seek shelter against the base of the boulders and pray the mudslide would be diverted around their fragile bodies by the rocks. When they got to the outcropping, Hetty lowered her body to the ground, kneeling and tucking her arms and legs underneath her, to make a compact mound. Callen used his larger frame to cover her body as best as he could, to add an extra layer of protection. When small clods of dirt found their way into their sanctuary, he shielded his head with his forearms and hands. He grunted once or twice when hard chunks of dirt and stone bounced off his back, but mostly the mud and debris slid harmlessly around their bolt hole.
When it seemed like the event was over, Callen carefully leveraged his torso off Hetty and gingerly stood, stretching out his battered frame; he'd have some spectacular bruises to show from this escapade tomorrow. Hetty also uncurled her limbs and heedfully rose to her feet, she too feeling the events of the day.
They started to step out from behind the rocks when, from the corner of his eye, Callen detected movement on the slope above them. With all the abuse his brain had been put to so far, it took a second to process what was happening. When he figured it out, he grabbed Hetty, thrusting her back behind the rocks.
As he wa diving to safety, the edge of the Subaru's bumper clipped his body tossing him sideways onto the ground, as the car, broken loose by the second mudslide, swept by to crash into the ocean below. When the danger had passed, Hetty carefully maneuvered to her feet, rising in time to see the green car sink under the waves. Callen was much slower to rise and after taking a few cautious breathes, he decided he cracked a rib or two to round out his pounding headache and his slashed thigh.
It was nearly dark and the wind and rain continued to intensify. In a concerned voice, Hetty asked "Are you alright Mr. Callen? Do you need assistance?"
Callen shook his head no as he pushed his abused body off the ground.
As she watched him, Hetty added, "We have to get off this slope. I fear that may not be the last of the mudslides."
Callen mutely nodded his head in concurrence and the two started picking their way down towards the ocean once again. They made it to the bottom relatively unscathed, though each of them took a few missteps along the way which lead to minor stumbles. Normally, the stretch of sand along the edge of the ocean in this area was 20 feet wide at low tide. Today, with the combined effects of the high tide and the storm generated waves, the strip was about 7 feet at its max and it was slowly shrinking.
Hetty circumspectly picked her way along the edge, where the rocky hillside met the narrow sand strip. The way she was moving made Callen think she was searching for something, like a dog following a scent. Figuring once again, his well-informed boss knew something he didn't, Callen quietly tagged along behind. Finally, Hetty came to a halt, staring upwards as she studied the rocky area in front of where she stopped. "Ah yes. I thought I recognized this place, though it does look different from out there," she vaguely gestured towards the sea with her left hand.
"From your sailboat?"
Hetty shook her head no. "My ocean kayak, of course."
"Of course," Callen echoed chuckling at the mental image of Hetty in a kayak. "Exactly what are we looking at?" His eyes swept the rocky terrain but in the dim light and torrential rain, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to see; then a shift in shadow and light made it obvious. "Is that a cave?"
"That might be a bit too grand a description; more like an alcove. However, it should keep us dry." At that precise moment, lightening streaked across the sky, immediately followed by the resonant sound of thunder. "Hmmm, that is rather close. I think we'd best hurry."
Callen couldn't agree more, since in the past, he'd been tortured using electricity; it had been a most unpleasant experience. He wasn't keen to experience nature's version of the act.