Chapter Eight

The day of the mission had finally arrived, after nearly a week of steady work by everyone on the team. Jess and Callen were receiving last-minute instructions before heading out for what everyone hoped would be a quick and easy capture of their target.

The meeting had been set for the south entrance to Angeles National Forest. The upside was that the team was familiar with the area. The downside was that cell and other comm signal strength was spotty there, so constant contact between OSP and Callen was not guaranteed. There had, however, been time for Sam and Eric to install a documentation camera that had coverage of both the meeting area and the approach. They'd be able to watch Callen and Jess arrive, as well as watch the initial meeting go down. The camera was a remarkable piece of "Eric Engineering", as Jess called it, having an astonishing clarity for something that was designed to grab its power from the sun, link to a series of satellites for transmission, and look like part of a Douglas fir. Eric was very proud of it.

The car Callen and Jess would be driving was outfitted with everything from bulletproof glass to break-away seat belts to two hidden firearms. Neither Callen nor Jess would be armed upon meeting Sutton; Lissa and Matty had never been known to carry guns, and that would have been an instant give-away.

Callen and Jess had been given satellite cell phones, able to transmit on almost any signal, and the phones had been pre-programmed with a myriad of reporting and emergency numbers so that virtually anyone on the team – or any nearby emergency location – could be accessed with no more than two keystrokes. Jess had added Tony's number to her phone, just in case.

And finally, both Callen's and Jess' wardrobe had been constructed with some special features. Button cameras were not practical with the spotty reception, but the seams of Callen's khaki pants and Jess' jeans had been adapted to include basic GPS trackers.

"I feel like a cross between MacGyver and the most prepared Boy Scout on earth," Jess said, as she joined Callen at the car, dressed in her newly tricked-out wardrobe.

"And stylish, too," Callen said with a grin.

Jess had an almost overwhelming urge to call Tony and let him know what was happening. She'd never undertaken anything – any job, vacation or assignment – without telling him first. It was a deal they had. And it felt unsettling, somehow, to be heading out with him not knowing.

"You okay?" Callen asked, as they drove up to the meeting location.

"Yeah," Jess said, a little unconvincingly. "Just butterflies, I guess. I don't do this kind of thing as often as you guys."

"I get butterflies too," Callen assured her. "I worry when I don't."

"I just feel like …" Jess took a deep breath and blew it out, calming her nerves. "I wish we were done."

"Soon enough, grasshopper," Callen said, with an encouraging smile. Then he turned off the access road and began the final approach.


Meanwhile, the rest of the team took their positions. "I don't like being this far away," Sam complained, as he and Kensi took up their spot nearly 10 miles outside the north forest entrance.

"I don't like it either, Mr. Hanna," Hetty confirmed from the ops center, "but it can't be helped. There is only one main road in and out; any closer and you risk being seen."

"Which is why Sutton chose it," Sam grumbled.

Kensi tolerated his bad humor, knowing full well that it was Sam's way of coping with the adrenaline pumping through his system and his anxiety of having his partner out there with someone other than him. It's not that he didn't trust that Callen could take care of himself or that Jess could carry her weight. He just preferred to be in the middle of the op as opposed to sitting in an SUV 10 miles away.

Per Sutton's very detailed instructions, the plan was for "Matty" and "Lissa" to be met at the rendezvous point by two of Sutton's deputies. The men would search the car, verify the twins' identities against the information provided to Sutton by their brother, and then drive with them to meet Sutton. Sutton had insisted on meeting them alone. He would have his deputies ride in "Matty's" car to a secure location, where he would be waiting. Sutton would receive the goods from "Matty" and pay him, by which point Sam and Kensi, backed up by a small Special Ops team, would be standing by to come in and arrest the entire group. Callen and Jess would be arrested as well, to maintain their covers. Once Sutton was on his way to questioning, Callen and Jess would be released, and the operation would be concluded. Callen would rejoin the team for Sutton's questioning while Jess worked with the recovery team to dismantle his operation.

The intel Jess had gathered from Alex Harper told them that Sutton's headquarters were housed north of the forest, near the town of Pearblossom, in a warehouse area where he was also believed to be storing much of his stolen merchandise. Alex Harper had told them that Sutton would almost certainly take them there, leading them through the forest as a camouflage exercise. Sutton used this route often, particularly during dry season. Most of the forest would be blocked off to hikers and campers due to fire warning levels, so there would be no civilians. Sutton had "associates" in the Park Service who granted him access to the otherwise blocked routes.

Sam and Kensi would wait near the north entrance and monitor the SUV Callen was driving. They would approach the meeting point as soon as they received confirmation that "Matty" had handed over the intel to Sutton. Callen and Jess would take their payment and leave, which would trigger the outlying teams to move forward and take Sutton, along with anyone else nearby. Sutton's insistence that he meet the Harper twins alone, and Alex Harper's confirmation that this was "classic Sutton – working alone so that no one else ever sees him do anything", made the plan feasible.

"Forest-cam coming on line," Eric said, from his position in the ops center with Nate and Hetty.

Just driving into frame was a black SUV. The team watched intently as the vehicle came to a stop at the rendezvous point and the driver emerged. To everyone's surprise, the driver was Sutton, accompanied by one other man, who was armed.

"Callen," Eric said, quickly, passing on the change in status before the meet. "Sutton is at the meet. He just got out of the car."

Callen turned to Jess. She looked confused. "Why change his M.O. at this point?" she asked. "According to Alex, he's never been at any first meeting – he's too suspicious about who might be watching."

Eric's next message confused them even further. "And it looks like the man with him is Andrew Korianski."

"From the Pentagon?" Jess said, a feeling of dread growing as she rapidly tried to figure out what was happening. "He was demoted and re-assigned when Sutton was discharged," she said. "Eric …"

Callen's mind was racing as he slowly approached the rendezvous spot, buying as much time as they could.

Eric was typing quickly, with records popping up on the screen like bullets. "According to his records, Korianski was reassigned to a supply depot in South America," Eric confirmed. "That's where he was sent after his JAG trial. There's nothing here to contradict that. He's not on vacation, medical leave, away from base, AWOL … records show that he was present at roll call today."

There were only a few seconds for everyone on the team to digest this information before the camera picked up Callen's car approaching the meeting site. The team watched as Callen and Jess got out of the car and walked towards Sutton.

Watching Callen approach the clearing brought Vance's warning back to the forefront for Sam. "This will seem easier than it is."

Sam was getting a very bad feeling about it all.