Lost Too Much
Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine.
Chapter 12
Vasile Comescu hid in a nearby bush, as he waited for Kristin to return home. He was rewarded for his patience as she pulled into her driveway with her latest boyfriend. He had long shaggy blond hair, and he wondered how she had lowered her standards from him to the more recent choices of men. He had managed to obtain her address from Tommy Boyd before killing him the previous night. However, the two goons he had hired locally to find her and bring her and his son to him had failed. He waited until the front door was unlocked before he moved. He could hear their voices, as they hadn't been quiet on their arrival.
"Good thing Mike is at a sleepover, sweetheart. We've got the whole house to make as much noise..." Thump! Vasile used the back end of his weapon to shut the chatterbox up.
Kristin gasped as she saw Vasile appear and shove her inside of her house. Detective, Marty Deeks laid unconscious on her front step, as Vasile held her throat tight and pinned her against the wall.
"Where is he?" His voice was gravelly, as anger pushed him to the edge of no return. "Where is my son?"
Fear consumed Kristin's eyes as she tried to breathe. "You're choking me, please!"
Vasile slapped her hard across the face, forcing her to fall to the floor. "I want my son. Where is he?"
"He's not here." Kristin bravely stood and spat at him.
"Tell me something I don't know, Bitch! Every time I see you, you're with a different man. You're no better than the prostitutes we have in our clubs. This is no life for my son. He needs family. To be brought up with values that mean something."
"He's not your son." Vasile slapped her hard again, forcing Kristin down. Tears streaked down her face as her whole body shook from fear. She realised why Jason had been so against her returning home. He was right. But because of her own stubbornness, she had fought him on the subject.
"I do not believe you. Now tell me where is he?" Vasile push his whole body against her hard up against the wall.
The front door opened and the man he had knocked out entered. His eyes widened as he recognised him. "You!" He shouted at the shaggy blond. "You were with Callen, when my family were killed, two years ago." He held his gun at the Detective, leaving Kristin pinned between him and the wall. "Oh this is better than I had envisioned. You are both coming with me. I can use you to draw Callen into my trap." He snarled.
"Federal Agent. Put your gun down." Kensi held her position inside of the house, with her weapon aimed at Vasile. Their plan had just gone south once Vasile recognised Deeks.
Vasile turned around and laughed at her. "You too, sweetheart. Aren't you a beauty!"
Kensi remained in her position. She was frustrated she couldn't get a clear shot of Vasile, with Kristin next to him. If she fired, there was a good chance the bullet would go though Vasile and into Kristin. Although she wore a vest, she couldn't risk the move.
"Put your gun down," Kensi repeated. "Or I will shoot."
Vasile grinned at Kensi. "You can't get a clear shot from there. You won't risk it. Now put your gun down sweetheart or I will shoot your partner here."
In the Ops Centre, Eric and Nell watched on in frustration. Nell immediately dialled Callen's phone, unaware he had been left out of the loop. He listened as she gave him the details of what was going on. She could tell from his reaction that he was peeved that Kristin had gone back home. They all knew he was too close to this case, however, three lives were held in the balance. They needed him to get to Kristin's house immediately.
Cedar-Sinai Medical Centre
"What do you mean he already has, G?" Sam asked his partner. Something had spooked him and he was struggling to get an answer out of him.
Instead Callen's steely glare remained in place. "Take the boy out of here now." Callen kept his voice low, but it remained in the urgent mode, in which he was in. He needed to get out of there immediately and save Kristin, Kensi and Deeks from Vasile. "Vasile has Kristin, Deeks and Kensi, Sam. I need to get there. Take care of the boy."
Callen went to exit the floor, when Sam held his arm. "I need to come with you ,G, to back you up. There is no way you are going in there alone."
Callen shook his head. "I need someone I trust to keep him safe."
"Bronte can look after him, G. She's a mother and a well experienced agent after all. I am coming with you." Callen looked over to Bronte and his son. It killed him seeing him look so rejected. He knew only too well how that felt. He desperately wanted to make him feel better, but three lives were at risk. He needed to keep this professional, while he could.
Callen nodded. He quickly walked over to Michael and bent lower to his height. "Stay with Bronte, she will keep you safe. Sam and I need to go."
Callen watched Michael nod his head. Callen looked up to Bronte. "Take him back to the safe house, Bron. Ring me when you are safely back there. We've got to go. Here's my keys." He turned and bolted out of the hospital with Sam on his heels.
Bronte remained standing in the same spot as she watched Callen and Sam disappear. She could tell something was going on and worried. She quickly hid her emotions and smiled at Michael.
"Let's go back." She ruffled his long blond hair. "I just have to say a quick goodbye to someone. Come with me." She turned and entered her mother's room.
"Who do we have here?" Hetty asked, as she studied the boy. She raised her eyes to her daughter, expecting an explanation.
"This is Michael. He's keeping me company for a few hours. I have to go, Mom. I'll call by later when I have more time." Bronte leaned down and gave her mother a hug. She had no idea her mom had any idea who the boy was.
"Michael Donnelly?" Hetty asked, surprised as to why the boy was in the hospital with Bronte. The boy nodded.
"Where's Mr Callen?"
"He and Sam had to go, they left Michael with me." Bronte replied.
"You know Michael?" She asked surprised.
"We've never met before today." Hetty admitted. "But I know his dad very well."
Bronte stood speechless, as she realised her mother knew Michael was Callen's son all along. "You knew?"
"I've not come down in the last shower, dear. Just look at him. So much like his father was at that age."
"So he is definitely my dad then? Not the bad man?" Michael asked hopeful.
Hetty tilted her head as she frowned, assessing Michael's words. "What bad man are you talking about, dear boy?" Hetty looked over at her daughter and saw worry in her eyes.
"Mom, you're not suppose to be worrying about work. We have to go." Bronte moved Michael to exit the room to avoid answering her mother's question.
"See you later, Mom. Be good." The last thing she needed was for her mother's recovery to be hampered by stress from work.
Hetty picked up her phone and dialled OPS. "Miss Jones, would you so kindly tell me what the hell is going on?"
Nell held the phone out from her ear as she listened to her boss' voice on the other end of the phone. "Hetty! You are on sick leave. I am not allowed to tell you anything. Granger is on his way back to LA as we speak. Bronte is handling your role as Operations Manager quite well."
"That is bull, Miss Jones and you know it. She is babysitting Michael Donnelly and has just left the hospital. Now do I have to come in to the mission in person?"
"I have to go, Hetty." Nell hung up the phone from Hetty. Eric gave her a 'can't believe you just hung up on Hetty look,' as they refocused on updating Callen and Sam on what was going on at the Donnelly house.
"We're ten minutes out, Nell. What's the situation? Have you called LAPD for back up? Are there any other of our teams in place to come for backup?"
"From the cameras and mics on Deeks Kesni and Kristin, it doesn't look good Callen. Vasile knows who Deeks and Kensi are. He's going to use them as bait to draw you in, to kill you. Kristin is doing her best to dispel Vasile's belief that Michael is his son, by saying that he's Jason Tedrow's son." Nell and Eric tried frantically to organise back up for the team. "LAPD are unable to assist us in the next half hour Callen. All other teams are out on assignment. You're on your own."
Callen looked over at Sam at he drove as fast as he could in the black challenger. "Shit! Well she would be correct. Jason Tedrow is the boy's Father." He was glad that Kristin was smart and was thinking on her feet.
"Vasile doesn't believe her, Callen."
Callen thought for a moment. "Hey Nell. Can you make a pretend DNA results up and place it on the hospital's database, with Jason Tedrow being the match as father for Michael Donnelly?" He had an idea. They could go with his alias as the real father of Michael, it would be safer that way. Why didn't he think of that earlier? He knew he wasn't thinking as clearly as he should. Bronte was right. He was too close to this case.
"Sure, Callen. I will work on that immediately." She quickly typed away on her keyboard, breaking into the Cedar-Sinai Medical Centre's database, thanks to Eric's assistance.
"We're still trying to arrange back up for you, Callen. There's been a pile up on the 405, which has taken so much of LAPD's resources. We're trying to arrange for another team to come in to back you up." Eric stated. You could hear the strain he was under in his voice.
"Thanks, Eric, thanks, Nell." Callen hung up from his call and sighed. His body was tense as he focused on the road ahead. They were two minutes out from Kristin's house.
The screech from the challenger's tyres could be heard a few streets away as they approached, which meant that their presence was known by Vasile before they had even arrived at the property.
Kristin Donnelly's home
Kensi and Deeks sat tied up together in the living room, frustrated their plan had gone wrong. They knew Callen would be furious with them for letting Vasile get the better of them. They hoped Eric and Nell had called Callen and Sam for backup as they couldn't help keep Kristin safe anymore. They had rubbed their wrists as they tried to escape the zippy ties that held their wrist tightly together. Pain shot up their arms as the plastic ties cut deep into their skin, causing blood to pour down their hands. They could hear Kristin curse Vasile as he roughly manhandled her in the bedroom. It was hard to bare, as they heard her scream, trying hard not to think of what he was doing to her.
The door burst open, as Callen and Sam moved in with their weapons drawn. Kensi and Deeks tried to nod their heads in the direction of the bedroom, to where Vasile held Kristin. Sam moved to cut them loose, but was stopped by Vasile, who had entered the main living room with Kristin, he had stripped off her bullet proof vest and most of her clothes. He held his gun, pressed hard to her temple.
Callen's heart broke as he saw Kristin vulnerable and in danger. He was hidden behind the wall between the bedroom and the living room. He hoped Vasile would be distracted by Sam long enough to move in from behind.
"Drop your weapon or I will kill her." Vasile snarled at the former Navy SEAL.
"Please, don't hurt her," Sam pleaded. He could see Vasile hadn't seen Callen yet and used that piece of information to their advantage.
"You're his partner," Vasile stated. "Where is he?" He looked around but Callen remained hidden.
"Where is who?" Sam tried to play ignorant.
"Callen. The three of you came to our family's beach house with him and killed my family. Now it's my turn to kill each of you. He raised his arm and fired his weapon at Deeks hitting him in the leg.
Deeks cried out in pain as the bullet seared through his flesh. Callen moved from behind the wall and jumped on Vasile, to give Kristin time to escape. Sam tried to get a shot in but he couldn't risk hitting his partner.
Sam quickly released Kensi and Deeks out of the ties and let Kensi help Deeks to a safer position. Sam held his weapon on Vasile. "Freeze ,Vasile Comescu. You are under arrest."
Vasile rolled and place Callen between himself and Sam. Callen tried to move to give Sam a clear shot, but struggled. Kristin tried to escape Vasile, but he had trapped her by trying her hands behind her back with rope, which he had tied around his waist. She was stuck and tried to get free.
Sam finally realised why Kristin couldn't escape. He moved to help release her, when a bullet grazed his arm. He looked and saw Vasile with his legs around his partner's neck and his weapon drawn on him and Kristin. The searing pain in his arm pulsated, as his body tried to gain his attention to it, but he ignore it, as his adrenaline took over. Callen went blue as oxygen couldn't get through. Panic ran thorough Sam as he fired his weapon into Vasile's left leg.
Callen took advantage of the hit to escape Vasile's grip as he rolled in pain from the hit. He tried to grip his hands around Vasile's neck as he raised his weapon the second time. The shot fired just before Callen managed to suffocate him, from squeezing his windpipe.
Sam called out as Kristin went down, blood pouring from her chest. "Eric. We need paramedics to our location stat. Kristin and Deeks have been shot." He ignored mentioning his own wound as he held pressure on Kristin's, as he tried to keep her alive.
Callen looked over and panic flashed over his face as he moved in next to Kristin. "Kristin. Stay with me. Please!" He pleaded. "Michael needs you."
Kristin slightly opened her eyes as she looked up at him. She choked on blood as it flooded her lungs. "Promise me you'll take good care of Michael, Jason. Promise me!"
"You've got to fight this, Kristin. For Michael." Callen held her hand as she struggled to breath.
"Promise me." Kristin tried hard to stay conscious. She needed to know that Callen would be there for their son. But she felt cold and tired.
"I promise," Callen agreed. Michael was his own flesh and blood after all. Callen cried out as he watched the life leave Kristin's eyes. They could hear the sirens approach, but he knew it was too late. He screamed out as the pain in his heart from failing to keep Kristin safe, took over.
Sam watched the grief take over his partner. He knew he had once loved this woman and had tried hard to put it aside the last time Callen became Jason Tedrow. But the fact was, he had gotten too involved with Kristin and had loved her. Michael was living proof of that love.
As the paramedics entered the house, Sam pulled Callen away from Kristin's body. Kensi moved to allow more paramedics to attend to Deeks' leg, which she had managed to tie her shirt around the top of the wound, to stabilise him. Paramedics tried to bring life back into Kristin's lifeless body, with no success. Sam watched his partner sit outside on the lawn alone, as a paramedic attended to his own bullet wound.
Callen felt frustration ripple through his body as he mourned over another person he had loved, who had been taken by a Comescu. His body remained tense as LAPD arrived at the scene. Sam and Kensi gave them details of what happened and the names of the two dead persons, leaving him to his own thoughts. He needed to get away but he needed a ride. Eventually Sam walked over and sat by him.
"Kensi's gone with Deeks to Cedar-Sinai. Kristin's body is going there also. I've asked for Rose to be the attending Coroner for her. She'll take great care of her, G." Sam wanted to provide comfort to his partner, but his hands were still covered in Kristin's blood.
"Where's Kensi's keys. I need to get out of here." Callen looked lost. His body was going into shock.
"I don't think you should be driving, G." Sam looked over to his partner with concern.
"I'm fine!" Callen stood and caught the keys Sam threw to him. Sam knew when not to push his partner any further. "Thanks."
Sam watched him walk up the road to where Kensi had left her car. He shook his head at how the operation had gone south. Another person who Callen had loved was dead, all thanks to a Comescu. He was close to driving to the airport to fly to Romania himself at that moment. To end the Comescu bloodline, there and then, for his partner. Instead he walked back inside of the house to collect clothes and other items for Michael. Sam looked in the kitchen cupboards and fridge, to see what foods Kristin stocked. It would help him decide what the boy liked. He knew Callen was not in a fit state to look after his son that night. He was grief stricken and in shock.
