Now she knew she had been in time to warn the friendly, big detective with his kind, brown eyes, she was even more exhausted. The pain from the bullet wound got worse and she hoped the Tylenol would at least help for the next few hours.
"You called Sám?"
"If you mean Sam Hanna, yes, I did".
Callen felt relieved. His own team was nearby, although, from her words, he knew they had to deal with Young at first.
"George, now just go!"
"Kat, can I take the phone so I can call Sam. I need his help".
Too worn out to ask anything else, she handed him the phone.
Kat had noticed the change in his behavior, as if he was more confident now.
Despite the fact he still looked scruffy, one of his eyes blackening and probably bruised everywhere, she thought he was the most handsome man she had seen since a long time.
She also felt his reluctance to leave.
Trying to sound as calm as possible and not showing how she really felt, she said: "Don't worry. I won't go anywhere. And I can take care of myself. Get him, MacAllen."
One last look in his ocean blue eyes, and then she was the first one to look away. He left.
She shivered. She had been shot before, but these fevers were new to her. She really wanted to find a warm place. Light headed and disoriented by blood loss and fever, she closed her eyes. The darkness after that was welcome.
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
The sheriff had waited for them at the ferry terminal. At the police station, he had briefed them about the fact that Katherine Franks had gone missing and they had told him about how they had found Nathan Huntington.
Kensi showed the pictures of Kat Franks, tied up in the room. "This popped up at our office. Do you recognize anything?"
Carefully observing the pictures, Young answered "No, not really. It looks like one of the buildings on the pier, but it can't be, they are all occupied. Perhaps we'll find proof at her house?"
It was only a short walk from the Avalon police station to Wrigley Road. When they nearly were there, Kensi's phone rang.
"Yeah, Eric?—Hetty? Uhhuh—now, immediately?—Yes, do send it. We'll find it, of course—No, we were about to—" …
Another phone rang.
Although Sam did not recognize the number in his display, he answered it. The only thing he did was listening.
And then he commanded: "Deeks, Kensi, don't go closer! Deeks, gun", and, as he pulled his own gun: "Young, step back, on your knees. You are—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a bullet hit the head of the sheriff and another one pierced his neck.
The three of them ducked away, but there were no more shots. Somebody had definitely wanted to get rid of this man and had succeeded.
Around them, people were in shock of the shooting and in no time, two deputies of the Catalina police arrived. After a very short briefing, they left the deputies in charge, without mentioning the attempt to arrest the sheriff, they walked away.
"How did you know, who were you talking to Sam?" Deeks wanted to know.
"Would you believe it if I said it was Kat Franks." He actually liked it. The girl was sharp, a loner, and she had guts. How she knew, he did not know, but in one way or another, she knew that he was around.
He smiled to his team mates. "She should be around somewhere and we'll find her."
"Oh. It reminds me of my phone call. It was Hetty and she—"
Again, what she wanted to say, was interrupted by the buzzing of Sam's phone. Looking at the display, he saw it was the same caller. "Katherine, that was close!—Callen?!"
"Sam, lot of things to explain. Listen, Comescu is behind all this. He is about to leave Catalina, but we don't know from which terminal. Can you call Eric and Nell for help? Also, the house on Wrigley Road is wired. You'll need a bomb squad. And—"
There were days Sam had to drag the words out of his partner. At this moment, he never expected his partner to phone in, let alone hearing so many unforeseen developments from Callen.
"Whohooh… Wait a second Callen" he said.
"Kensi, call Eric and Nell, have them watch the terminals for Dracul Comescu!"
He read the same unbelief he experienced in the eyes of his team mates. Kensi quickly recovered from the news and did what she had to do, keep calm, call in.
"Deeks: we'll need a bomb squad for Wrigley Road. Can you call LAPD to arrange it and get extra hands for the deputies in here?"
"Callen, continue."
"NCIS Washington must have received a 'distress' message. Will need medics at that location."
"Callen?"
"Not for me buddy. It's Kat. She has been shot. She says she's okay, but I'm not sure, she's stubborn as hell."
Despite all, Sam smiled.
"She reminds me of you G. Love to hear how the two of you met. But for now, where are you?"
"On my way to Avalon".
Right... Just a short chapter, I know. Hope you don't mind?
Love your reviews, so keep them coming ;-)
Richtsje
