-12-
The first thing she noticed was that it was cold. Or rather, she was cold.
Chris could not remember that she was on the backseat of a car, yet she was. It took some time before she could recall where she had been before, but a part of her memory was missing, that was for sure.
How good it would be to block all awful memories – the sight of two of her team being shot, the rudeness of the Russians, the hostage taking, the betrayal by Joost…
So far, Chris had been able to suppress her fear and sorrow pretty well, but now it hit her like a ton of bricks. There was no way she could control her tears and the sound of her sobs alerted both the driver as the other passenger.
"That's better, she's awake. Never wanted to face Dmitri with this present that was comatose like she was," Evgeny grinned.
Callen got worried. It seemed there was little time to keep her out of reach of Vayavich and even less to find out why she was afraid.
"The 'Angely' is two blocks from here. I'll be glad when this part of the deal will be done," Evgeny said. "Hopefully Vayavich will send me back to Chicago. Where will you be going after this Borya?"
"Really don't know. Maybe the Brigada has some new tasks in town. I'll just wait and see," he answered.
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Nell quickly ran down from ops. "Hetty, I think you'll need to see this," she said, her face paler than ever. With the whole team gone, the young analyst was worried with what she had seen and heard and although the older office manager seemed to be very busy, Nell felt she needed to share her findings as soon as possible.
Hetty looked up. "Yes, Miss Jones?"
"Uhm, I just got this message from the Marine Police on screen. There was a fire and an explosion on a yacht, some miles away, at sea. It was the 'Dolphin Hunter', the yacht that was probably taken by Callen and his companion. So far, no remains of survivors or victims."
Hetty was quiet for a while. Then she sighed. "Get Mr. Hanna on the phone, will you?"
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
The four of them had just put on their bulletproof vests and geared up for whatever action there was to be, when Sam's phone rang.
"It's Hetty" he said, knowing it would never be an ordinary call of their manager, who was the one that sent them to this joined raid.
"Sam here." He was quiet, listening to what Hetty had to say. "We'll go there and let you know once we know more." After he disconnected, he looked at his team.
"What? What's wrong Sam?" Kensi asked, worried by the look on Sam's face.
"It's Callen. The yacht he was on, exploded about an hour and a half ago. Hetty—she wants us to go there".
The sharp inhale he heard from Kensi meant she shared his worries. Could it be that good luck had left Callen at last?
"Guys. Why worry. G. Callen is attractive for trouble as I am attracted to a great night out with a beautiful woman, but he always manages to escape. Doesn't he?" Deeks said.
There were no optimistic looks or comments of his team this time.
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
"Dzjeez… What's going on in here?" Evgeny stopped the car, like the police officer who stood on the road gestured.
It would be the best way to get noticed by the traffic cam Callen saw nearby. "I will ask. Wait". He opened the door on his side of the car and got out, his face turned to the camera. "Anything going on there, officer?"
"The road is blocked, sir. Please turn around and find a different route to your destination".
"We will do so, thank you." He got back inside and once Evgeny had turned the car, he said: "It must have been something at the 'Angely', Evgeny. There was a complete army out there on the streets, did you notice?"
"We should contact the Vor right now Borya. I don't want to drive around the city with this woman."
"You tell. Pull over and make the call. There's plenty of space in there," Callen pointed. Again, he had seen a camera, so the car would be noticed IF somebody had an eye for it. He hoped it would be picked up by Eric.
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
Hetty had summoned Nell and Eric to check all other activities on the water near the spot the yacht had exploded.
It was incredible that - from where they worked, behind the screens at the headquarters - they were able to find out more and sooner than the team who arrived at the office of the water police.
It was Nell who discovered the two speedboats near the Yacht Club at Redondo Beach. It was Eric who let his computer track all cars that had been parked in there for the hours before the yacht exploded. It was Eric who shouted "Gotcha!" although it was over an hour after Callen was caught on camera.
And it was Hetty who dialed Sam's number again, this time with the good news.
Meanwhile, Eric focused on hunting the car from where it was spotted last. Too bad the track ended only some blocks further from there.
Sam, Jesper, Kensi and Deeks had arrived at the parking garage where the car Callen and Evgeny had used, was left. Although the parking had several cameras, none of them had footage of any of the passengers leaving the car.
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
Immediately after the call with Vayavich it had been clear that the Vor was not at the 'Angely'. Evgeny started driving again, putting his car at the exact spot in the parking garage that he had been told.
"Now we leave the car, walk a bit further and we'll be picked up in the mall across the street", he said.
"Walk?" Callen was surprised about that action. "How about walking around with this crying woman, who's barefoot? What if people start asking questions, what if she starts screaming or talking? It's a stupid idea, you should never have agreed upon that."
"Did I say we were to take her with us?" Evgeny looked at him with a satisfied smile. "Because we are not." From the glove compartment, he took a small syringe and handed it to Callen. "It will keep her quiet Borya, so, would you please?"
He would have to leave her in there. Leave her behind, not knowing what would happen next to her. It was the first time ever that Callen wished he could quit in the middle of an operation without solving it. Simply quit and take Chris with him.
"Please, don't" she pleaded, trying to crawl away from him, from the threat of getting drugged again. She looked scared and angry at the same time. He then realized she had never heard him earlier on, when he told her he was one of the good guys. She'd never trust him right now; Callen could read it in her navy blue eyes. To her, he was the enemy. He hated this situation. There was nothing encouraging he could pass on to her.
"Lie still" he calmly said. Then, he quickly injected the fluid in the back of her shoulder. Whatever it was, he could see it worked quickly. It hurt him to hear her murmur "I hate you..."
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