Hetty called Stringfellow Hawke and had him meet the team in Kingman. He was to maintain a distance from Sam but meet up with Kensi and Deeks at the motel. Sheriff Ramos watched Bobby Nolan's home. He was going to check out the house when Bobby left.
When the time came String went back to the airport and lifted off towards Nora's home. Kensi and Deeks were waiting in the parking lot of the rock crushing facility on Linea Street. They were to be the backup in case Bobby got past Sam.
Once we left the yard we were targets. There were outcroppings of rocks but they were few and far between. Sam knew that and didn't intend to enlighten Nora or me. He was in protective mode. He still didn't know if I was up and running yet and to be honest I wasn't sure of it either. Could I endure a battle with Bobby? We'll see. Sam felt like they were being watched. He hoped it was the team but knew that it had to be Nolan.
It took an hour or so but we finally reached a rock formation that looked like a fortress. Sam immediately started looking at the defenses of the formation. He smiled because it would be a great place to hold off Bobby. He also saw the one weak spot; one way in and one way out. It might be hard to get out if Nolan was persistent. I saw in Sam's eyes the same read of the stronghold. It would have to do. Nora seemed comfortable with the location. We moved in and got comfortable. I might be a longer stay than Nora had planned on.
I looked at Sam and wondered what Sam actually thought. "Sam, I'm alright. Nora withheld the drug from me for the last two days. When Bobby came today I woke right up. I'm okay."
Sam nodded and bent over. He pulled a Sig Sauer from his ankle holster and handed it to me.
I must have given him my trademark smirk. "Go big or go home? What happened to your Smith and Wesson .380?"
Sam smiled back at me. "I knew you'd need a weapon. The Smith and Wesson is on my other ankle."
I gave a small laugh. My hand shot out and Sam grabbed it and pulled me into a man hug.
Nora watched all of this from the rock niche she'd chosen and was envious of the love and brotherhood she saw between the two men. She'd hoped for this from her brothers, but it never came. She'd been emotionally and mentally abused by both her brothers and when Anthony died and her mother got sick, Robert's abuse grew worse. She knew that Robert would kill her too and she resigned herself to it. Over the past week or so she'd found herself hoping for something permanent with Callen, but then she felt guilty for keeping him drugged and a prisoner of his own mind; that was cruel. She had to let him go.
I went to her and sat down in her niche. "Thanks for letting me go. If they hadn't come after me and you'd kept drugging me I'd have stayed because I didn't know any better. I'm going to make sure you're not punished for Robert's scheme. My family would want that for you."
Nora looked at him with surprise. "What family? Robert thought you were a lone wolf; that you had no family."
I took her hands in mine. "Sam, Deeks and Kensi, are my family but I'm also married to my soul-mate and have a daughter whom I adore. I'd like you to come back to Los Angeles and be part of that family. If you want to that is."
Nora smiled up at me and nodded yes.
Now we just needed to get past Robert.
Robert Nolan was a hot head. Deeks could hear him swearing and yelling one hundred yards down the road at the rock crushing plant. "Do you guys hear this? Oh my god, this man is certifiable.
Kensi looked over to her partner. "You do realize that there is not much difference between you and him, except he's an angry crazy."
Stringfellow Hawke hovered over the desert, listened to these two and cursed Sam for making him stay with them. Quiet was not part of Deeks vocabulary and incessant sniping from his partner was grating. He was glad that he was in the chopper and waiting for the word from Sam.
At that moment Nolan came crashing through his back door carrying a rifle and wearing a holster. He jumped into the cab of his truck and gravel flew as he pealed out of his driveway towards Nora's.
Deeks tapped his ear. "Bobby is on his way. How's G?"
Sam received the communication. "He's fine."
Deeks moved the Caddy out of the parking lot and at a sedate pace moved towards Nora's house. By the time they got to Nora's, Bobby had already searched the house and found the foot prints leading to the stronghold of Nora's.
Bobby had let her believe all those years, that he had no idea about it, but he did. He'd followed her there many times. But this time was different. She'd betrayed the family. The dumb bitch actually fell for the cop. They both had to pay for what they'd done and he'd be the one to make sure that happened.
As he closed in, he noticed the sky turning a brownish gray and the wind had picked up. He headed back to get out of what was coming. They'd suffer through it and it made him happy.
Deeks looked up at the sky just as the sun hide behind the clouds.
String radioed them. "This isn't good. It's a windstorm carrying a lot of sand. Get out of there. Bobby will come back. Call Sam and let him know what's going on."
Deeks hit the earwig and got no response. "The storm is interfering with the coms. I'll try phoning him." He dialed Sam's phone.
"Hanna."
"Sam there's a sandstorm blowing up. Are you in a safe spot?"
Sam looked out of the doorway of the stronghold. "Yeah we are. Where is Nolan?"
Deeks had put the car in gear and was heading up Linea Street towards town. "He went after you but we think he's coming back. We had to leave. We'll call you back when it's safe to proceed.
