The penultimate chapter to this story - Will Callen get to Nell before something happens? Read on to find out. Zoe :)
Callen was driving how Sam could only describe as a maniac. He was darting through the traffic, swerving lanes and increasing his speed with every passing second. Sam braced his hand against the door but refrained from saying anything about his partner's style of driving, sensing that this was not the time for criticism of driving technique and a comment about why Sam should always be the one behind the wheel. And it was definitely not the time to bring up Callen's violent outburst in the boatshed. Callen was normally the one pulling Sam back but the moment the agent learned that Nell was in imminent danger, he had…snapped. Sam was curious and a little bit worried about that reaction and whether there were emotions and feelings for Nell that Callen was keeping to himself. But that would be a conversation for later, when Nell was safe.
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Nell shifted her feet and positioned herself behind the couch, trying to keep a distance between her and the knife wielding drug dealer advancing on her.
"Why are you here?" she demanded, finding a surprising strength in her voice. "What is it you think I know?" Valdez just shook his head and moved closer, his knife glinting in the light. As he moved to the side, Nell moved the other way and frantically tried to think what to do. Callen wouldn't know Valdez was alive or that he was at her apartment and that meant she was on her own. She needed to call for help but her cell was all the way at the front door with Valdez blocking her path to it. She looked to where her landline sat in the kitchen but knew even if she could get to it, Valdez would get to her before she could dial a number. She alone in this and she was petrified.
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Callen pulled off the highway and sped down the off-ramp towards Nell's neighbourhood. They were just minutes away but Callen was terrified it would minutes too late. He knew Nell had taken self-defence courses but that was unlikely to help her much when a man a foot taller and a lot heavier than her attacked, particularly when that attack involved a knife. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white and he could feel his partner's eyes on him. He knew Sam wanted to ask about the boatshed and maybe when this was all over he'd talk to his partner, but at that moment all Callen was concerned about was getting to Nell before Valdez hurt her.
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Nell and Valdez were in a stand-off. She was behind the couch, he on the other side of it. She knew it was only a matter of time before he made his move and she didn't have a plan. She always had a plan and it frightened her that she didn't know what to do. Her breath was coming in short sharp gasps and she flinched each time Valdez moved. He was torturing her, drawing out his attack to scare her as much as possible before actually inflicting bodily harm. Nell looked around her for something to use as a weapon but her options were limited. As Valdez took another step closer, Nell made what she knew would be a life or more likely death decision. She grabbed the lamp off the table and threw it forcefully at his head. Valdez ducked and the lamp came crashing to the ground, breaking into thousands of pieces as it hit the wooden floor. Valdez laughed sinisterly before leaping towards Nell. She tried to run but only got a few feet away before he grabbed her from behind and slammed her into the kitchen counter. She cried out as her ribcage connected with the counter and her head bounced off the faux granite surface. Valdez yanked her back upright and held her in a firm grip. She could see the knife out of the corner of her eye and knew it was coming towards her.
It was at that moment that Nell's brain finally kicked into gear and she remembered a technique she had been taught. SING - Solar Plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin. Without hesitation, Nell slammed her elbow backwards hitting Valdez in the stomach, stamped her foot down on his foot, twisted and thrust the heel of her palm into his nose and as he momentarily released her she kneed him in the groin as hard as she could before making a run for it. Her attack had been textbook and though Nell had successfully broken the man's nose and slowed him down a little, her petite size had not inflicted the damage needed to give her a clear escape. She ran for the door making it half way there but Valdez had already recovered and growling with anger he caught up to her, grabbed her arm and yanked her back. As Nell struggled against him she felt a searing pain in her forearm, realising quickly that he had cut her with the knife. Crying out, Nell tried to tear herself away but he grabbed her other arm and threw her down to the floor. Dazed, she shook her head and tried to scuttle backwards as he descended towards her, the knife poised above his head.
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Callen slammed the breaks on outside Nell's apartment and leapt out of the car. Sam was right by his side and with their guns drawn the two agents ran towards Nell's building. Taking the stairs two at a time they approached Nell's apartment and immediately saw the door was wide open. With just a momentary pause and a knowing glance, the pair entered the apartment, guns pointed straight ahead of them.
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Later, Nell would come to see this moment as the absolute definition of perfect timing. Pinned to the floor by the much larger man, her head spinning from being slammed into the kitchen counter, and her arm aching from the knife wound, Nell was powerless to do anything as Valdez raised the knife above his head, reading to plunge it into her heart. As she watched the knife glinting in the light, a barely audible cry escaped her lips just before she heard three distinctive bangs. With a gasp and look of horror on his face, the knife fell from Valdez's hand and he slumped forward on top of Nell. Terrified, Nell rolled him off her and she scurried backwards a few feet, gasping for breath. Her eyes lifted and she saw Callen standing powerfully in the living space, his gun pointed at Valdez until his partner confirmed there was no further danger. Their eyes locked for just a moment before Nell looked back at the body lying on her floor.
"Sam?" Callen called to his partner.
"Dead." Sam confirmed as he knelt by the body.
Callen tucked his gun away and quickly took the few steps that separated him from Nell. She was sitting on the floor in blood stained clothing visibly shaking, her face as white as a ghost. Her glazed over eyes were locked on the body just a few feet away and Callen could she was in shock. He knelt down, placing his body between her and Valdez, and began to look her over. He could see a bruise forming on her forehead, just above her left eye but more worryingly, a three inch cut on her left forearm which was bleeding profusely. He reached out and ran his hand down her cheek, finally drawing her attention to him.
Nell dragged her eyes up to meet Callen's worried gaze. In shock from what had just transpired she found herself unable to form words. Instead, she let out several soft cries then collapsed against Callen, her hands clinging to his shoulders as she tried to regain control over her mind and body. She felt two strong arms encasing her and heard his soothing voice but she couldn't comprehend his words. Her mind was too much of a jumble of thoughts and feelings; Valdez was dead, she was alive, she felt terrified, confused and relieved, her body ached, her arm ached more. Nothing seemed real yet it was more real than anything she had experienced in her life.
Sam was immediately on the phone calling it in, when Kensi and Deeks arrived. Stepping into the aftermath, they quickly holstered their weapons and surveyed the scene. Hector Valdez lay in pool of his own blood while Callen sat on the floor with Nell clinging to him just a few feet way. A large bloody knife lay abandoned on the floor between them. They had not seen what had gone down but it didn't look good.
An eerie silence filled the room as Sam came off the phone and turned, nodding to the new arrivals. No-one quite knew what to say, if they should say anything at all. But Nell broke the ice for them.
"I'm sorry. I've got blood on you." She mumbled into Callen's shirt before pulling away from him and looking down at her bleeding arm.
"It's alright Nell." Callen assured her. "Can you stand?" he asked, knowing he needed to get her out of the apartment and away from Valdez. Nell nodded and as Callen rose to his feet, he gripped her elbows and pulled her up with him.
"Ambulance is on the way G." Sam told Callen as he wrapped an arm around Nell's waist and started to walk her across the room. As they moved past Kensi and Deeks, Nell stopped.
"Wait." She said suddenly. Callen paused, tightening his grip on her, worrying something was wrong. "How did you know?" she turned and looked up at him.
"Eric." Callen told her.
"Remind me to thank him." She said quietly before she started walking again. Callen threw Sam a concerned look. He was worried at how quickly Nell seemed to have recovered. Just a couple of minutes after almost being killed she had pulled herself together and hadn't even shed a tear. How much of it was the shock he didn't know but surely no-one was this strong.
So phew, Agent Callen to the rescue. One more chapter to go and this story will be complete. I'd love it if you left a review :)