In the morning, they returned to the warehouse, and found that Crowley's minions had been busy. The torture chair was gone, though the weapons remained. Indeed, anything they'd used up had been replenished. There were also crates on the floor that hadn't been there the day before.
In the middle of the open space, there were now poster boards with maps and documents arranged to illustrate something, as well as whiteboards for note taking. Regular folding chairs and a table had also been provided. Off to one side, another table held a coffee maker. and beside it was a mini-fridge complete with cold drinks and sandwiches.
Curious to know what Crowley had in mind for them, they crowded around the boards. Predominant was a large map showing the layout of a cave, with three spots on it circled in red.
Dean picked up a folder from the table, and leafed through it. 'Son of a bitch,' he muttered.
'What?', Callen asked, turning toward him.
'I was expecting something like what we encountered before, when we went after Dick Roman. You know, that they'd be holed up in an office building somewhere, with their precious object locked in a safe.'
'Not so?'
'Not this time. Crowley wasn't kidding when he said these guys were old school. They've gone underground, used a cave as a sort of natural fortress. It's the one on that map over there, Spring Cave. And the goddess mini-mes have apparently parted ways, and been stashed separately.'
'Let me get this straight. We're expected to go and retrieve these things, from a cave?'
'Looks like it. The cave is closed to the public, because of some disease among the bats, so nobody is going to be casually nosing around up there. They're probably patrolling the area as park rangers or something, and we already know anyone going inside will be detected or locked out by their defences.'
'We don't know anything about navigating caves.'
'Join the club. I wouldn't even begin to know what equipment we'd need.'
'Seems Crowley thought of that,' Dean's brother interjected. He and the other Sam had pried open a couple of the crates. 'Look at all this stuff. Helmets, lights, rope, special shoes... it's all here.'
'Helmets seem like a good idea,' Deeks commented, glancing around. Only Callen and Kensi were under six feet tall, and even so, not by much. Sam Winchester had to be, what, 6'4, 6'5? He was going to hit his head at some point, for sure.
'This one's got diving gear,' said Sam, who would know. 'Is one of the pieces underwater?'
Kensi, who was standing by the map, checked the legend. 'Yeah, there's an underwater passage beyond Jonas Beach, and one of the circles is over something called Sump 1. There's a river flowing through this cave, which can flood it completely in early spring, according to a note here.'
'Awesome,' Dean grumbled. 'How are we supposed to get at that one?'
'Ah, I believe I begin to see the reasoning behind your friend's choice,' Callen said. 'Sam, before he joined NCIS, was a Navy Seal. He could go after it, but he'd need a dive buddy.'
Sam turned to the only other person there who regularly spent time in the water. 'Deeks, you dive?'
'I'm rated for open water, but I've never been anywhere near a cave.'
'Ever do any night diving?'
'No.'
'Well, this will be an adventure then, won't it? Come over here, see if this wetsuit will fit you.'
They all started checking out the crates, lifting out equipment and beginning to familiarize themselves with it. They laid everything out on the floor, dividing the common items like helmets and lights into six separate piles.
One of the documents provided was a small guidebook, describing how to safely navigate a cave. Callen sat down and began to study that one.
Sam studied the map, noting that they'd have a long way to go before they even reached the water. 'If nobody can get in there,' he mused, 'how'd they get the intel on these locations?'
'Davey?', Dean speculated. 'It would have to have come from a Leviathan, and anything that can feel pain can be coerced into giving up information.'
'If they know he's been compromised, won't they have moved the statuettes?', Kensi asked.
'Leviathan are arrogant bastards, and while they're smart, without their leader they're disorganized. As long as Davey hasn't been missing too long, there's a chance they won't have noticed yet. But, that does make time even more of an issue. Wait too long, and we'll miss our window.'
'We don't want to rush in unprepared, either,' Callen said. 'None of us are trained for this, and we can't take a guide with us. Hell, the way these guys can camouflage themselves, we don't dare even ask questions. Ask the wrong person, and we're toast.'
'What about guards?', Sam speculated. 'You think they'll have anyone down there?'
'No way to know, so we'd better go in prepared. Okay, let's plan this out.'
They spent the better part of the day discussing the best way to defend themselves against attack in the cramped confines of a cave, and learning the basics of travelling in one. Gear was picked out, and tried on for size and to assess weight and maneuverability. They had to be careful not to overburden themselves, they'd be down there awhile. Food and water also had to be carried in, and certain areas they had to navigate were narrow or low, and a tight fit.
The cave was north and east of their current location, about seven hours drive away. They decided to take the next day to get up there, and scout out the cave entrance. If it was being watched, they couldn't just stroll on in. If they deemed it safe to proceed, they'd get a good night's rest, then go forward with the mission.
They packed up all the gear, and got it stowed in the three cars. They were done by late afternoon, which left them with an evening to kill. Dean was all for hitting a bar, but Callen wanted to stay low-profile, so they headed back to the motel.
'So, G. We're really gonna do this?', Sam asked as they drove.
'Crawl down a hole in the ground, in search of the holy trinity of paperweights?'
'Basically, yeah.'
'Got any better ideas?', Callen asked with faint hope.
'Come to our senses, and call the whole thing off?'
'And do what, instead?'
'Could still go with Plan B.'
'And if it turns out that nobody's home when we get there?'
'Come up with Plan C, I guess.'
'If we weren't on the dark side of the rainbow, I'd be on board with that. But, if the Winchesters are right, we're on a deadline here.'
Sam looked ahead at the two figures in the '67 Impala they were currently following, and frowned. 'Can we trust them?'
'Hard to say. They tell these fantastically tall tales, but then they provide us with an arsenal and defy us to kill one scrawny kid - and despite our best efforts, we can't. That, is not normal. So I can either believe that I'm lying in a hospital bed somewhere, fever dreaming, or buy into this version of reality and believe that they're being straight with us. What's your take?'
'The unkillable kid is a pretty compelling argument, gotta say. And, if it is the impossible dream, then no harm in going with it, is there?'
Callen nodded, 'Good point.'
'So, damn the torpedoes?'
'And give the devil his due.'
