Hey here is the next chapter. I am sorry for the long gaps inbetween updates. :/ Hopefully this will help. Please tell me how you liked this and what you liked?
The past week has actually been pretty relaxed for Callen. He hasn't had to worry about what his team is doing…more specifically Kensi. He's never really thought about it but Kensi has caused a lot of anxiety and worry in his life. He would never want her out of his life but it is just nice to not think about how his actions are affecting her. Callen sighs and leans back in his chair. He is back in his desk at the office. Things have settled down a lot when just two weeks ago he was being stabbed and shot. Callen rubs his chest and flinches, remembering all the painful memories.
"Are you okay Mr. Callen?" A courteous voice asks from behind. Callen swerves around and faces Hetty.
"I am fine, Hetty. It's just some heart burn." Callen says, pretending to have acid reflux.
"That is hopefully not from the absence of Miss Blye." Hetty jokes around but with little humor in her voice. Callen raises an eyebrow.
"Wow, you are getting good at those low blows. Way to kick a man when he is down." Callen lightly jokes back. He likes that with the low profile cases and the lacking of tension in the base, that he and Hetty are able to establish a more relaxed relationship. He actually got away with playing a prank on Hetty. Sam would have laughed at the sight of Hetty being confused when her seat automatically rose three feet into the air. Callen chuckles at the recollection.
"Don't you get any ideas about another prank Mr. Callen. You are lucky that I haven't stooped to your level of child semantics." Hetty says with warning in her voice. Callen is surprised that Hetty can tell what he is thinking about.
Callen lets out a husky laugh. "You would stoop to my childish ways? I highly doubt that."
"I wouldn't be so confident in yourself if I were you. Many people have messed with me and after I was done with them, they never did it again."
"Bring it, short stuff." Callen taunts. He suppresses a laugh as he sees Hetty growl at him. Right at that moment Eric walks out onto the balcony and lets out a shrieking whistle.
"ERIC! It's only Hetty and me today. No need to summon the FBI dogs." Callen yells up to Eric as he makes his way up the stairs with Hetty in front of him. Someday he is going to figure out how Hetty is so fast.
Once they get up there, all three of them crowd around the electronic table. Eric sends a picture of a guy up to the main screen from the table. He starts in on his explanations.
"This is Hank Springer…no relation to the famous Jerry Springer. He is a marine that works on processing and calculating the probability of success for our missions in Afghanistan. He is a key member of the pentagon team. This video was posted on the internet about a day ago." Eric presses play on the video and it starts to roll.
The man, Hank, is walking towards his car in an empty parking garage. He juggles his keys casually. Suddenly an unmarked van comes screeching up and three masked men jump out. Hank struggles to keep them away and he starts to get away but one man tackles him. The other two men come over to him and drag him into the van. The van roars away.
Eric stops the video and looks at Hetty.
"Well don't look at me. I am not the one responsible for tracking this man down. Mr. Callen, please help Mr. Beal. Get to work gentlemen." Hetty gives them an encouraging nod before walking away.
"So Eric do you think that this was a professional job?" Callen asks Eric, looking at the blank screen.
"Why are you asking me? That is your job." Eric says. Callen turns and glares at him.
"In case you haven't noticed, all my thinking crew is gone in DC for another five days."
"Don't snap me. I control the hot water timer in the building's showers." Eric says and smirks broadly. He actually won an argument with Callen. He pats himself on the back mentally.
"Dually noted." Callen sighs and lets their brief dueling slide. Eric won that one. "So what is the personal background on this guy?"
Eric goes to his computer and puts the information on the large screen. He stands up and points out the important facts.
"He has never been arrested and never been pulled over. He doesn't have a blemish on his record. He has never been married either but he has had a steady girlfriend for three years. They have had a few fights but nothing to break them up."
Callen rolls his eyes and looks at Eric. "Seriously, where do you get these facts? Facebook? Myspace?"
"Hey, you would be amazed at the details that people let slip onto the internet from those sights. Did you know that right now about three hundred people are having-"
Callen immediately interrupts Eric. "How about we move on? Who is his girlfriend?"
Eric turns back to the screen. "Kerry Huntington. She too has a flawless record. She works at a local law firm in Santa Barbra."
"Great… a lawyer." Callen grumbles. "I am going to go talk to her and see if she might know anything we don't." Callen leaves. Eric smiles to himself, still proud of the last victory and sits down on his chair. To his surprise, the chair begins to rise.
"Hey!" He lets out a yelp and clutches onto the seat handles as the chair rises higher and higher. He shrinks down in the chair before it finally stops about two feet away from the ceiling.
Callen smirks as he is walking down the stairs and hears Eric yell,
"Callen!"
In Santa Barbra…
Callen gets out of his car and looks at the sight before him. The house has a white picket fence surrounding the yard with a classic red dog house in the front yard. Judging from the size of the dog house, it's a large dog. He carefully opens the gate and steps on the walk way. When he does, he hears a loud bark. He freezes where he stands and turns around slowly. His blue eyes meet the grey ones of a large Doberman Pincer.
"Shit. Uhh nice doggy." Callen says in a fake baby voice. God if only Sam was here. "Hello? Miss Huntington. Are you there?" He yells out, hoping that the woman is near. Luckily, a woman looking toward the age of thirty steps out onto her patio.
"Who are you?" Kerry shouts at him. His eyes stay focused on the dog in front of him as he answers. "I am NCIS. I have come to talk to you about your boyfriend, Hank Springer." Callen flashes his badge in Kerry's direction.
"George come here." Kerry calls to her dog. The dog's ears perk up and he happily trots over to his master. Callen lets out a loud sigh. He turns around and smiles at Kerry.
"Thank you so much."
"No problem. You know, Hank was the one who wanted me to get George. I wanted a small dog like a yorkie but Hank insisted that I get a big dog to protect me." Kerry smiles faintly and pets the dog lovingly. "I was going to go buy a small dog that I picked out after my birthday but on my birthday Hank shows up to my house with this guy." Kerry snuggles closer to George, who returns the affection. Callen swears that the dog smiles. "With puppy George in his arms, Hank walks up to me and just hands him to me. Who does that? Who just gives someone a dog without asking?" Kerry laughs a little but stops when she starts to cry.
Callen starts to go up to her and console her but is stopped by George growling and bearing his teeth at him. Callen backs away. He doesn't like this dog.
"So why do you think Hank was kidnapped?" He questions Kerry softly. Kerry wipes her tears away.
"I don't know. Everyone at his work loved him. All the guys wanted to hang out with him and all the girls wanted to be me." Kerry looks up at Callen and lets out a brief smile. "That's the kind of guy Hank is. He liked things black and white; people liked him for that quality. He can be very blunt."
"Do you think he ever said anything to his coworkers that caused them to want to kidnap him?"
Kerry shakes her head. "Hank always had a personal line that he drew for himself. He would never intrude on anyone's personal space or ideas."
"Do you think he ever acted on those opportunities to be with women?"
Kerry bursts out in laughter when she hears this. Callen just stands there, looking around and trying to get a clue how that was so funny. After her laughter subsides, Kerry looks honestly at Callen and answers.
"If you knew Hank, than that wouldn't even be a possibility. He always believed that the difference in personal and professional life saved lives. He would always be very blunt to people who started work romances. He always says that if work becomes a personal playground than it's time to stop and smell the roses. Half of the people he said it to don't even understand what he means."
Callen lets those words sink in. He's really never thought about it but maybe that might be the right decision for the Kensi situation. It would interfere with work to be distracted by Kensi with her gorgeous eyes and her… whoa. Stop it. It's better if you don't get involved.
Callen's thoughts are interrupted by his phone ringing. He looks apologetically at Kerry before walking away.
"Eric go."
"Well just about five minutes ago, Hank's cell phone was switched on and I have managed to get a trace. He is at a post office in Bakersfield."
"Thanks Eric. I will head over there now."
"… Shouldn't you have backup? The guys who kidnapped him did look professional."
Callen scoffs. "I can handle them. Tell Hetty not to worry, this will be easy." He hangs up the phone and walks back towards Kerry. "Don't worry, I will have Hank here before dinner."
"Thank you so much!" Kerry stands up and hugs Callen. Callen smiles over her shoulder before gently pushing her away. He waves goodbye to her as he leaves. "Good luck!" She yells out to him as he gets into his car.
Little did that nameless agent know that he was going to need it.
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