Lines Crossed
Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine.
Chapter 14
Ops Centre"G! Sam!" Nell's voice rang out. Her breath hitched as she watched from Ops. Where were they? All she saw was a disaster zone. She pushed her chair back and ran out of Ops. She couldn't get down the stairs quick enough, when she bumped into Granger.
"Nell, what's going on?"
"Janvier. He's just blown the crime scene up. I can't see Sam and Callen anywhere. They're not responding."
Granger turned and caught Hetty's gaze. She'd looked up from her desk from hearing Nell bound down the stairs. The worry in the younger woman's voice had him turn around and head out the door with her.
"I'm coming with you. I think I better drive."
Nell merely nodded. Her tablet still in her hand and her focus remained on the crime scene. It was a mess. Wood, glass and metal were strewn all over the property and the adjoining properties. Fire brigade, police and ambulance lights flashed in the background. People appeared in a daze as they stood back up to look at what was once the Jennings' family home.
Granger pulled up half a block away from the crime scene. Deeks and Kensi pulled up behind them.
"Did you get anything out of Jennings' C.O.?" Owen stepped in sync with his field agents, Nell moved ahead of them, frantic over finding Callen and Sam.
"Nothing suspicious. He wasn't working on anything top secret and everyone loved him. His C.O. said he was a great father and husband too." Deeks ran his hand through his hair. Their victim hadn't deserved to die like he had.
"Nell thinks Janvier is behind this. She mentioned she'd seen him wearing a baseball cap. Keep your eyes open and watch your back."
Kensi and Deeks scanned the sea of people, who'd flocked to look at the devastation. It was like a tornado had ripped through the one house on the block. No face stood out, but they kept their guard up as they walked over to LAPD and showed them their badges.
"Two of our agents were in the house looking at the crime scene, just before it blew." Owen spoke with the Chief of Police, who'd come down after the explosion.
"We have witnesses state they saw three men escape just as it was blowing up. One was being carried over the bigger one's shoulders. But with all the carnage, it's difficult to see if they're okay. I'll have my people move in closer."
Owen gave Callen and Sam's names to the Chief of Police. Stephen Brewer organised his people and they started a search party at the front of the property. Deeks and Kensi joined in the search, they all wore thick gloves to protect their hands from the sharp metal that was mangled into unrecognisable pieces. They lifted up debris as they moved along the front lawn. It was difficult to know exactly where the Jennings' property started from the street.
A dog barked and wagged its tail near some debris. It was a large piece from the front wall of the family home. Officers ran towards the dog and immediately worked together to shift the wall up.
Owen tensed his muscles as he recognised the bodies underneath. He grabbed onto Nell's arm as she shifted to run over.
"Let them do their job, Nell."
She shook her head. "No! I need to…"
Her eyes were wide with fear. Rage spilled out, regret she hadn't killed Janvier a month earlier overwhelmed her.
"I should have killed him." The words spat out of her mouth before she could bite her tongue.
"We've all thought the same, Nell. I've lost count of the times we've all had that chance to kill him, but we've not. He's like a cat with nine lives."
"He's not going to live another day, once I get my hands on him."
"I'm sorry, Nell, but I cannot allow you near him. Not now. Not after this latest trick he's pulled to return to hurt Callen. The risk is too great." Owen carried the burden the greatest, although Hetty would argue with him on it.
One of the LAPD officers called out. "We need paramedics."
They watched from the sidelines as two paramedics ran over to the location where all the action was now taking place. Owen tried to work out the situation, but Deeks and Kensi's expressions looked grave, neither revealing a thing.
A body was lifted out of the wreckage. It was limp and obvious that there was no life in it. Owen furrowed his brow, he didn't recognise the clothing. The body was bagged and the Coroner came to take it away. He heard Nell gasp, he recognised the blue plaid shirt anywhere. They watched Callen being lifted onto a stretcher, but he fought them off him.
Nell slipped from Granger's hold and ran towards him. His heart melted at the scene. Callen was in a daze, but instantly he wrapped his arms lovingly around Nell's petite frame.
"G!" Nell's breath was short and fast from running.
"I'm fine, Nell." Callen turned his head, which pounded like someone was hitting him with a mallet, to look at his partner.
Sam's large frame shifted from the ground into standing position. He towered over some of the officers who had gone in to help them. The look of relief on their faces to find both agents alive, told Callen that his partner was fine.
"You okay, Sam?"
The former Navy SEAL nodded. "Yeah. Just a bit sore. You?"
"Yeah, I'm…" He swayed and Nell grabbed onto him.
"You're not fine, G. You need to have your head looked at." She gently prodded near a fresh head wound.
"Ow!"
"There's no arguing, Callen and Sam. You're both going to the hospital to be checked out." Nell turned to see the concern in their Assistant Director's face.
"I'll drive your challenger, Sam." Deeks looked a little bit too enthusiastic at the opportunity. "Kensi and I'll meet you at the hospital. And make sure no unwanted visitors come too."
They all knew who Deeks referred to. Once again, Janvier had created chaos in their lives.
Nell refused to leave Callen's side. She sat with him and Sam in the back of the ambulance and held his hand. Fear of losing him to Janvier had her grip his hand tight.
"I'm fine, Nell. Really I am."
"No you're not. Both of you could have been killed." Her body shuddered at the thought.
"When neither of you answered your comms, I thought…"
Both agents knew what she was thinking. Callen held her closer. He scrunched up his face from the pain on his back. The impact of the front wall had hit them both hard.
"You're hurting," Nell observed.
The paramedic lifted the shirt covering Callen's back and she gasped at the dark purple bruise forming.
"You'll need an MRI to ensure there's no internal bleeding or damage. That was one heck of a wall that fell on you both." The paramedic rang through to the local medical centre on an update on both patients.
USC Medical CentreTime in the waiting room dragged on for Nell. She sat and went through all the data she had on the explosion. She replayed it over and over, to see if she could see where Janvier had fled to.
Nothing. Not one piece of information for their team to follow up. The man had vanished into thin air once more.
Deeks and Kensi entered and sat with her.
"Any news?" Kensi asked, giving her worrying looks. "Are you okay, Nell?"
Nell shook her head. "Nothing. I'm fine."
"No you're not." Deeks added. He shifted to sit on her right side. "You've been looking pale all day."
"It's this case. It's brought back what happened…"
Kensi gently squeezed her hand. "We're here for you, Nell. You know that don't you?"
Nell nodded. She looked up when she heard footsteps.
"Mrs Callen. Your husband will be fine. He needs to rest, he's suffered a concussion and deep bruising. He's one extremely fortunate man. He and his partner are lucky to be alive," Dr Russell told her.
"Thanks, Doctor. Can I see him?" Her body crumbled underneath her without any warning. Deeks rushed in to catch her before she hit the floor.
"Let's move her into a cubicle and have her looked at," the doctor ordered.
Deeks carried Nell, following the doctor. He laid her down, both he and Kensi watched on, helpless.
"She's been pale all day. We just thought it was the case, it brought back flashbacks…"
"You need to tell me what these flashbacks are?"
Deeks and Kensi turned and saw Callen standing in the entrance to the cubicle.
"She's refused to tell me. Something tells me you both know. I'm not stupid, Deeks, I know you know far more than Hetty's allowed to be told to me."
Deeks gave Kensi a worried look. "Hetty and Granger have forbidden us to tell you, Callen."
"I need to know." His jaw clenched tight, he was ready to punch someone if only he felt up to it. The pain continued to throb in his head and his back ached, like he'd fallen from a high rise building. He knew that he and Sam were lucky to be alive. They had Nell's quick warning to thank for it.
"Callen," Kensi stepped towards him. "Nell didn't wan't you to know."
"She's my wife, damn it. Tell me," he lowly growled.
"She didn't remember at first. But then things came back to her. She'd been drugged, as you know. There were hours after her abduction that were blank."
"Tell me." Callen's eyes were cold like ice.
"Fellows raped her."
He lost his footing, the news rocked him to the core.
"We're sorry, Callen. She didn't want you to worry about her." Kensi looked worriedly over to him, he held himself up by the lone chair in the cubicle.
"It's my job to worry about her. She's my wife." Anger laced his lips.
The team all knew, they'd deliberately kept it from him. Enough of secrets. It was time he made Hetty realise that she couldn't continue to hide things from him, to protect him. Nell needed him more than he'd realised. She'd put on a brave front for him. This news was tearing him apart on the inside. He needed to do something to protect his wife—-this time it would be his way.
"You better get back to the office. Leave Sam's keys with me. I'll give them to him."
"They can give them to me, themselves." Sam entered, he gave Deeks and Kensi a slight nod. He understood the awkward position they'd been placed in. In the same position, he would have told Callen as well.
"It's okay. We knew we couldn't keep this from him forever." Sam looked over at Nell. "The toll it's had on her, she could only be strong for so long."
"I'll take care of them. Go back and see if Eric's found anything of where Janvier disappeared to."
Deeks handed Sam his keys. "Keep us in the loop over Nell's condition."
"Will do." Sam waited until they'd left, before he faced his partner.
"I'm sorry, G. It was Nell's wishes. She didn't want you to know."
Callen looked over at Nell who had passed out. "She wanted to protect me. I get it. But she also needs to understand that I need to protect her. She's my wife, for goodness sake."
Sam gently squeezed his shoulder. "I'm here for both of you. Go easy on her."
The tears welled up in Callen's eyes. "Hetty's trained her too well. I don't want Nell to turn out like her. To keep everything a secret. She's got this good heart, I can't bear to lose that in her."
"I know, G. Let's wait and see what the doctor comes back with."
Callen laid down on the bed beside her. He wrapped his arm over her and closed his eyes. He drifted in and out of consciousness, memories of Nell's kidnapping returned to the forefront of his mind. He tossed and turned, mumbled words in Russian, before he woke with a start.
Dr Russell looked down at him with a frown. "Mr Callen?"
Callen blinked a few times to focus his eyes on him.
"We had to operate on your wife."
Callen realised Nell was no longer beside him. "Where is she?" His heart pounded heavily inside his chest.
"Your wife is in recovery. The surgery went well. We're not certain if we've managed to save your baby, but we had to save your wife's life."
"She's pregnant?"
The doctor nodded. "Four months along. A girl."
Callen furrowed his brow, the muscles along his shoulders tensed. Anger surged through him.
"There were complications. She's picked up a virus, it caused an infection in one of her kidneys. We had to remove the infected kidney to save her life. Time will tell if your daughter will survive."
Callen shook his head in disbelief. The news that his wife had been raped four months earlier had him confused over how he felt. He looked up at the doctor.
"Is there a way you can determine if the baby is mine?"
Dr Russell looked at him quizzically. "I don't understand?"
Callen swallowed the bile that threatened to rise higher in his throat. "She was raped four months ago. We didn't know that she was pregnant."
Dr Russell squeezed Callen's shoulder. "We can perform a test. If that's what you want?"
A tear spilled down Callen's cheek. "Yes. I need to know."
"Okay. I'll speak to our obstetrician."
Callen heaved out a sigh and rubbed his hand over his face. He curled his knees up to his chest and let out a sob. Janvier had succeeded in his threat. He had seduced him into wanting to kill him. If it was the last thing he did, Callen made a vow there and then, that he would hunt him down and shoot him in the heart. The heart that pumped blood through the body, the life source for all living creatures. The heart—-his heart that ached for what Janvier had done to his wife.