A/N: Thanks to all of you who are still supporting this story. Your support and your comments mean the world to me.

Chapter 10

As the coffee woman hurriedly left to fetch the car, Nate turned his attention to Callen. He knew he did not have a lot of time to act. She would be waiting to hear a gunshot and would become suspicious of him if she did not hear it. He grabbed a towel from the side where the kettle and the coffee machine were kept and knelt down next to Callen.

"Shit!" Nate muttered as he gently lifted Callen's shirt to get a better look at the wound. He shook his head and said "I can't do much Callen" as he stuffed the towel under the shirt in an attempt to stem the bleeding.

"Cameras" said Callen in a weak voice racked with pain. Nate frowned as he looked up and noticed for the first time the red lights on the cameras indicating that they were active. Nate nodded his understanding.

"That should hold until help gets here. I hope they've been watching" said Nat pressing down on the wound then he turned Callen's body so that he was lying on his side effectively putting pressure on the wound. "I know the woman's a member of the Black Widow's team but I don't know her name. I've just seen her around." He paused. "Callen, I've taken on board all we've talked about but I've got to finish this. I'll be in touch this time I promise. Now I've gotta pretend I've killed you." As an afterthought, seeing Callen's gun lying next to him, Nate added "I'm gonna take your gun too."

Callen nodded his understanding and turned his head away as Nate fired a shot into the floor. He looked up to the camera and said "I'm going dark" not sure whether the sound was on. He would have to take up the cameras being on with Callen when this was all over, if either of them survived. Nate then took one last look at Callen and, slipping Callen's gun into his waistband in the small of his back, hurriedly left the boatshed to find the woman.

Back in OPS, Hetty and the Wonder Twins watched in horror as Callen fell to the floor. Hetty recovered the quickest and trying to keep her voice calm, which belied what she felt, she ordered "Get an ambulance out there and then tell the others what's happened." Nell sprung into action and phoned the emergency services before speaking to Sam. Hetty had also picked up on Nate's covert message about the car. "Mr Beale, search for a vehicle within a couple of blocks radius of the boatshed and see if you can pinpoint her arrival, then try and track her previous movements. Also check from the time she left too. We mustn't lose them." She paused before adding "Do we have a means of tracking Mr Getz?"

"We can track his phone" replied Nell.

"If he's picked up a tracker we can follow him that way too" added Eric as he hands flew over his keyboard bringing up various camera views. He would check the phone and the tracker later but for now he was just concentrating on finding the car.

Everything from the time the cameras were switched back on was recorded so Hetty asked them to replay it. "Isolate her face and see if you can ID her" said Hetty as the image of the woman froze at the point when she smiled just before pulling the trigger. "Mr Getz said she was a member of the Black Widow's team, start there. Let me know when you've found something" she added as she left the room.

Outside OPS, away from the eyes of her staff, Hetty put her hand against the wall to steady herself as she felt her legs turn to jelly and her steeliness recede. She could not get the image of that woman's face with the smug smile out of her mind's eye. Once again she had seen her boy getting shot. How many more times could she witness it and still keep going? More's the point, how much more could Callen's body take before it finally said enough is enough? Or Callen no longer had the strength to survive? She hoped she would never find out the answers to those dark questions. Taking a deep breath, Hetty pushed herself away from the wall, stood up to her full height, and with her head held high marched back to her office where all she could was wait for news of Callen and hoped that what Nate had done was enough to keep him alive until the paramedics arrived.

Back at the marina, Sam halted his Challenger with a squeal of rubber on tarmac and raced into the boatshed. "G!" he screamed as he knelt down beside his friend and partner, reaching tentatively for the carotid artery, afraid that he was too late. When he felt a weak pulse, Sam let out the breath that he did not realise he had been holding.

Sam heard a car pull up outside and the distant sound of sirens, which were growing louder. Kensi and Deeks rushed to be by Sam's side. They had been told that Callen had been shot but had been given no details by Nell. The reality of the situation hit Kensi hard. The boatshed was supposed to be safe, a sanctuary as well as a secure place to interrogate suspects. Now her team leader, her mentor and a man she likened to a brother was lying in his own blood. She put her hands to her mouth and with tears in her eyes muttered "Oh my god Callen! Sam, is he …?" her words trailing off as Deeks came up behind her and put one arm around her, running his other hand through his shaggy, styled by pillow hair.

"He's alive" answered Sam, as he gently rolled Callen onto his back and put pressure on the wound which caused Callen to groan. He stared at the pool of blood in which Callen had been lying which was already turning darker as it dried and added "but he's lost a lot of blood." Turning his attention to Callen, Sam said "It's okay G, I've got you. Hang on buddy; help's on its way."

The sound of the sirens got much louder then stopped as the ambulance pull up outside. Deeks rushed out to usher the paramedics to where Callen was lying. Sam stood up to allow them to have better access to his partner and Deeks resumed his position next to Kensi.

"What happened?" asked one of the paramedics.

"He was shot point blank range" replied Sam. "He's a federal agent, we all are" explained Sam "but we weren't here."

"Who used the towel as a pressure bandage?" asked the other paramedic.

"Another agent but he had to leave" said Sam.

The paramedic shook his head, not understanding why someone would leave another person, a colleague to boot, in a dire position. "Why? Did he shoot him?" asked the first paramedic.

"No!" said Sam with a touch of anger in his voice. He sighed. "It's complicated and I can't tell you why because it's classified. But no, he didn't shoot him but he knew help was on the way because of the cameras" explained Sam pointing to them.

The paramedics both glanced up to where Sam was indicating. "Well it saved his life" said the paramedic. "He'd have bled out otherwise. I think the bullet's nicked the spleen. He's still not out of the woods but he's got a good chance now. Is he on any medication or allergic to anything?"

"No to both questions but he's got intolerances to certain sedatives" answered Sam. "I can get his medical records to the hospital if you let me know which one."

"That would be useful" said the paramedic telling Sam which hospital they would take Callen as they prepared to lift Callen onto the gurney.

"Can I ride with you?" asked Sam and at a nod of confirmation from the paramedic, Sam turned to Kensi and asked "You good? Are you okay to drive?" Kensi wiped her hands across her eyes, sniffed and a steely look came over her features. She nodded. "Good. Phone Hetty and tell her which hospital we're going to just in case they didn't hear the audio and then get to the hospital. Sam then turned to Deeks and said "Take my car and meet us at the hospital. The keys are still in the ignition." As Deeks turned to leave, Sam added "Deeks? Damage her in anyway and I'll…" leaving his threat unfinished.

Deeks swallowed hard at the thought of the threat, cleared his voice and said "I'll treat her like she was my own" as he turned to leave.

Sam shook his head. "That's what I'm worried about" he muttered to himself as he climbed into the back of the ambulance and they sped away using flashing lights and sirens.

Outside the boatshed, Deeks stayed with Kensi whilst she phoned Hetty.

"Miss Blye, what news do you have of Mr Callen?" asked Hetty, afraid to hear the answer. Once she had left OPS, Hetty had not displayed the cameras from the boatshed on her laptop as she could not bring herself to watch the live feed of her boy fighting for his life. It was selfish but she could not bear to watch it. There would be time enough, she hoped, to be with him at the hospital. Her time before then would be better spent trying to figure out what this woman wanted with Mr Getz.

"He's alive, Hetty" said Kensi and she heard the older woman breathe a sigh of relief. "Apparently Nate applied a towel to the wound which slowed the bleeding, saved his life. The paramedics say he's not out of the woods but he's got a good chance. Sam's gone with them in the ambulance and Deeks and I are about to go and meet him there. "

Kensi told Hetty which hospital and Hetty said "Thank you Miss Blye. I'll update Miss Jones and Mr Beale and then I'll join you at the hospital."

The call was disconnected and Hetty sat back in her chair and looked towards the ceiling, tears threatening to fall and silently thanked whoever stood guard over Callen's safety had yet again refused to let him die. She prayed that whoever his guardian angel was, they would continue to fight for his survival. Hetty wiped her eyes and composed herself before going back up to OPS.

On entering both Nell and Eric turned towards her, fear etched on their faces. "I've just heard from Miss Blye. Mr Callen's alive and has been taken to hospital. I'm going there now. Before I leave, do we have anything concrete to go on?"

Nell and Eric were delighted to hear the news about Callen but knew it was early days and anything could happen. Nell was the first to speak. "We found her car but couldn't get a good look at the licence plate. We're running kaleidoscope to pick up any recent footage of it as well as running checks on archive to see where she's been."

"Nothing's come up yet on facial rec" added Eric "but we're still searching."

"Good work but keep on it. It's vital we find out who she is so that we can help Mr Getz if he's still one of us and not playing us" said Hetty. "Use every means at your disposal to track the car or Mr Getz. Keep me informed if you find anything or if Mr Getz gets in touch." Hetty turned on her heels and left OPS to go to the hospital.