Chapter 11
When Tomorrow Comes
Disclaimer: all the original characters belong to CBS and Shane Brennan. I just used them for this storyline. As for all the other names and characters - they're all made up and are never meant to resemble any persons - dead or alive. If you do recognize names, remember that it is purely coincidental!
Kni®benrots
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Carroll Canal, Venice || Sunday night
The two of them stood on the very small pathway, leaning their backs against the cool part of the house.
"I could get used to this," he said.
"To what?"
"This. You. A home, family."
She hesitated, then flashed him a smile. "This. You?" she repeated.
She pulled up his shirt a little and let her hand go over his bare skin underneath it. Her eyes grew darker to a near black. "As long as you don't grow any more facial hair than this."
He chuckled, low and quietly, as he let his left hand lower to her firm butt. "You prefer a certain rough touch?"
It made her laugh while another emotion rushed through her body too. This was not the time for what she had in mind though. She was quiet for a while.
Her voice sounded a bit huskier as she then said "I'm going to miss it. Actually, I miss all those things already."
He let his gaze go over her face. Now, in a relaxed mode, it wasn't difficult to read her emotions. Callen didn't respond. Instead he waited patiently until she continued, now looking away from him.
"The water. The freedom. And when this is all over... Perhaps I'll even miss this place. And the adrenaline."
He wet his lips, not sure what to say. Her roots were different - yet she appeared to be the real gypsy of the both of them. "I'm sure you'll be the one to make our life adventurous. After all - you're a Rebel," he joked, hinting at her alias.
She smiled, feeling better now. "Maybe you're right. Life is an adventure as it is. And before you know it, all is over. So, we should enjoy and cherish what we have right now."
"There's no way I can pay a house like this, you know. Not with the paycheck we get from the agency."
Becca shook her head. "Not necessarily a house like this, but a place which feels like home. In this city, the beach is always close enough. Oh, and perhaps I should work a bit harder and earn a living as a writer." A short and sad smile came and went as she added "Besides, I'll be too old for field work soon."
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Carroll Canal, Venice || early Monday morning
The alarm clock went off softer than before and Callen quickly turned it off. He figured he shouldn't have to wake Rebecca. He was wrong as the scent of freshly brewed coffee reached his nose.
He looked outside, surprised to see her outside doing some basic training. He should've known. Having to stay in a secluded place like this would soon bore her to death, Callen realized.
He took a quick shower, dressed like he mostly did – a comfortable jeans combined with a plain, button-down marine blue shirt. Downstairs he would pull on his Blundstones. He grabbed a toast and a cup of coffee, watched her while he enjoyed breakfast and went outside.
"Were you cleared for physical exercises?" he simply asked.
She looked up "Good morning to you too."
The dark Labrador looked up at Callen at the same pace. The dog belonged to Maurice but kept her company nearly every time Callen had not been around. Perhaps some deal Maurice and Hetty made. Callen never discussed it with either of them. None of them seemed to care for its presence, on the contrary, the dog was fond of Rebecca ánd George.
Callen greeted them shortly, then stated "It's just that… are you sure you're allowed to do your exercises like this?"
She nodded as a short confirmation. "Any exercise will do."
He chuckled, kissed her and said "Sam will be around to pick me up any moment now. Maurice will drive George to school, but remember, Michelle will pick him up as Kamran invited George for a party."
"He'll stay around, I know. Then Maurice picks him up tomorrow afternoon." The roaring of the Challenger announced Sam's arrival. She kissed him deeply. "Off you go."
He hesitated for a while. "I hope we'll work on your case again, Rebel. Unless Granger—"
"Not my case, Geca, yours," she said.
He turned and hurried to the barrier, wondering why her words sounded so off, although they simply were facts.
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Sam's Challenger || Monday morning
"You think there comes a time we'll be too old to run 'nd catch the baddies?"
Sam glanced sideward, not used to such an early-morning question. "What's that all about?"
Callen shrugged a bit deeper in the passenger seat. "Just something Becca said. That she'd soon be too old for fieldwork. Y'think that goes for us as well?"
A chuckle came from his partner behind the wheel. "Only one way to check – practice, keep chasing baddies. Or perhaps I could convince Hetty to arrange a new physical assessment for you?" Sam laughed out loud. "Be glad that lady of yours sees to it you eat healthier. No more bacon breakfasts. Which means you'll live a healthier life."
"So you never doubt anything when it comes to your age or condition?"
"Not now. But sure, I'm aware we can't go on forever. Michelle and I talk about it every now and then," Sam answered.
"We can't all be Hetties or Grangers," Callen remarked. "So?"
"You can." Sam simply stated. Then the dimples appeared in his cheeks and he laughed "Michelle and Kamran suggested I should start a new career as a rapper. How's that?"
"Don't you dare." Callen now glared at his partner. There was no escape. And rap-songs were not his style – not at all.
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NCIS Office of Special Operations || Los Angeles
Sam still chuckled at Callen's reaction to his singing. The agent in charge dropped his go-bag next to his desk and took his laptop from the postman's bag he still carried, put it on his desk and started his computer. The moment he wanted to insert his CAC, the sound of a tea kettle whistling came from upstairs.
"Brewed some fresh information in here guys," Eric smiled. "The juniors are on their way. Be up here in five."
"What was that all about?" Sam said.
"Dunno. Perhaps something like a fresh case. Let's see what the wonder-twins have for us. The little lady is around already, see?"
Hetty's coat was on the hanger and a pile of paper was already neatly put in the left corner of her desk indeed. Callen knew she'd be up in the Ops center already. He quickly checked his phone, put in the pocket of his jeans and joined the co-workers, followed by his large and strong partner.
The sliding doors closed only seconds when Deeks and Kensi also entered and instead of Callen asking to go ahead, this time it was Eric who first spoke. "A lead. A very small lead, I do agree, but it at least it's a real lead indeed," he said.
"Good grief Mr. Beale. Just tell the others what you want to. No word-games are required. Go on please," Hetty addressed the young man.
Eric adjusted his glasses slighthly and continued. "As I said, there's a lead. The lab results came back from Washington very early this morning."
"Go on," Sam prodded.
"It's the wire," Eric said. He sent a hardly noticeable nod to his co-worker and Nell tapped on her hand-held computer.
Eric pointed at the screen. "this is the cross-section of the wire Maria King was strangled with. And this—" he now enlarged another picture, "this is a small part of what's left from what Rebecca noticed."
He glanced at the senior agent, not too sure if talking about this case that must be very personal to Callen would affect the man's way of discussing it.
"So what you're telling us is that the person who failed to kill Rebecca succeeded when it came to the other woman?" It sounded harsh and Deeks realized it the moment he'd spoken. What if it had been about Kensi and Callen was the one to observe and conclude the way he just did?
Kensi understood how he felt and said "Such a different MO it is, don't you think?"
"It is," Nell explained. "But on the other hand, the material which was used is exactly the same. According to our Washington guys, 'wire' may sound as if it's nothing special. But this stuff is really not the material you have in your houses. If you were to look for it, you'd only find it with specialized retailers. Which would leave only seven in all of Los Angeles."
"What is it used for, any clues for that?" Sam wanted to know.
"I thought a wire is a wire," Deeks mumbled. "And now you tell me there are different wires? Why?"
"Cables and wires may all look alike. However, this one is customized. Think of a special fiber, the bending strength, the way it's bundled, the heat protection or the insulation… Anyway. Stewart, our Washington man, managed to find out it's mostly used for the tv-world. It is to be connected to camera's for field work. Nowadays lots of the cable guys use satellite, but these wires are still used," Eric said. "Perfect transmitters of anything like sound, images and whatever needs to be transmitted secure and safely."
"Like being connected to a motion sensor. I get that," Callen understood.
"As I said. Very customized and only available in seven different shops," Nell repeated.
"Then what's the deal - Let's divide and conquer," Deeks suggested. "Now we've had those two men, the German and the Russian, as possible connections to both cases, maybe showing a picture of them might help. It ain't that much – we could check those addresses in half a day. The only thing which doesn't make sense is that whatever the lead, there's no real connection."
The tiny operations manager made a step forward till she stood next to the young analysts. "Good thinking, Mr. Deeks. Now, Miss Jones here has been looking for clues and connections."
Nell nodded and spoke, as she automatically shove back some of her reddish long hair behind her ear "It may sound strange. This man Degener didn't mind getting hit by a car, probably because he was the one to check if who-ever was responsible for the job, succeeded. If not, he was about to finish it. Then there's Toeplyev. He either was responsible for the disappearance of Finley and the assassination of his own girl-friend, or he disappeared and was killed as well. So, we've issued a BOLO for him as well. Checked all the airports, cruises, coroners and all, but nothing so far. All that connects those both men was the amount of money ánd this material which was used in two, for the eye, different cases. Then there's the connection between the death of Ike Finley and the attempt to stop the life of Rebecca Belgrave."
"We all know how easy it is to live an anonymous life in this city, or even change ones appearance," Sam said, thinking of how easily his partner could change into a personality that fitted with the way of clothing, behavior and so on. Becca knew how to use those same qualities. It made her, like his own co-workers, a great undercover agent. Or rather, it had made her a great undercover agent, since she quit that job.
Still, she'd changed her look which should make her unseen, unrecognizable from the woman he'd seen when she first showed up in his life.
"It all takes so much time. How come?" Callen asked. "We've had so many cases we solved within a week. How come not this one?"
A deep sigh escaped when Hetty responded "Dear Mr. Callen, we all know you need to get this case done, gone and closed, but you do seem to have forgotten the cold cases. The files we stuffed in the archives. Those answers which you, your team and the other teams, never find." Then, as he motioned and she realized he wanted to say something too, she continued "And we all wish you a relaxed life, with your family. But so far—"
"She needs a normal life Hetty. Right now, she's like a caged animal. Bored to death and irritated. Not talking about relaxing. We're talking about doing ones job, shopping for groceries without any bodyguard and not being driven around in a car with dark glass. That kind of life," Callen said. It surprised him to talk about his inner thoughts and personal life with all of his coworkers around and he turned.
"Let's check this cable-stuff guys. Eric, will you send the addresses to our cell-phones?"
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Carroll Canal, Venice || later that morning
The phone call had surprised Rebecca. Things took a different turn all of a sudden and she was thinking how to deal with it.
Maurice. She'd discuss it with him first. Then after that, she'd inform Callen. That's what she'd do.
Thanks for reading this chapter. Hope you'll let me know your thoughts about what's going on!