A/N: Thanks to all who read and review this story. Your continued support and kind words mean a lot to me. PS The time scale of Callen's career and Andrei Petrescu's movements may not be accurate but they work with this particular story so please forgive any glaring errors.

Chapter 28

Downstairs, Hetty sat down heavily in a chair. She was still worried about Callen and desperately needed to mend the broken bridges between them. However she needed to eliminate this latest threat first but for once she was at a loss to know how. Perhaps with the help of Sam and Gibbs with any insight Tom may have we can formulate a plan she thought.

Sam, who was also concerned about Callen, was reluctant to leave his side and did not go unnoticed by Gibbs.

"He's fine, Sam. Tom says he's on the mend. If he stirs, we'll hear him" said Gibbs as he placed his hand on Sam's back exerting a slight pressure to persuade Sam to move. Sam nodded, taking one last look at his friend before going downstairs and taking a seat opposite Hetty where Tom joined him. Gibbs sat down next to Hetty.

"Gentlemen, how are we going to play this?" asked Hetty.

"We need to lure Hendricks out, make him play his hand" said Gibbs.

"How are you gonna do that?" asked Sam. "We don't even know if he's the ring leader."

"No we don't" answered Gibbs "but he seems to be the common denominator."

The discussion was halted by the sound of Hetty's phone ringing. It was Nell.

"What have you discovered, Miss Jones?" asked Hetty.

"Not a lot but immigration records show that Andrei Petrescu came to the US in 1994 aged 33 and disappeared" said Nell.

"And that's when Melvin Hendricks first appeared?" asked Hetty.

Eric continued. "Yes, it seems he lived in DC before moving around the country quite a bit doing various jobs until he settled in LA around 2008, getting a job at the hospital."

"He appears to be a model citizen. There's nothing that we've found so far which suggests that he's anything other but who he seems to be" announced Nell.

"Please keep digging. With the help of Dr Rhodes, we're going to formulate a plan to flush him out into the open and to neutralise this threat to Mr Callen once and for all" said Hetty and she disconnected.

As Hetty had the phone on speaker, the others in the room heard all that was said.

Gibbs said "94 was the year after our mission to Serbia when his brother Ion was killed."

"Indeed" said Hetty. "Mr Callen had joined NCIS OSP by '08. Tom, you said you'd known him for 10 years or so. Can you remember when you first met?" Hetty asked.

"I started work at the hospital in 2000. Hendricks was already working there" answered Tom.

"It all fits" stated Sam.

"You're suggesting he came to the States for revenge. He was searching for Callen?" said Tom incredulously.

"It appears to be the case" said Hetty.

"It makes sense. Once he'd tracked him down to a location, he just needed to bide his time and formulate a foolproof plan" said Gibbs.

"It appears that Mr Petrescu doesn't rush into situations head first" said Hetty.

"Revenge is best served cold" stated Sam and the others looked at him.

"To avoid attention, the planning must be meticulous" said Gibbs. "What better place to look for an agent but in a hospital?" said Gibbs. "In our line of work, we need medical assistance all the time."

"Why that hospital?" asked Tom "Why not get him at home?"

"The hospital's one we use quite a lot as it's got a very good reputation." said Hetty. "Bugger! We've gotten sloppy. We need to mess it up a bit and use different facilities when needs arise." She continued so quietly that the others barely heard her. "But when the lives of those you care for are in the balance, you've got to use best of whatever's available to you." Hetty let out a sigh and looked up at Tom and continued in a stronger voice. "To answer your other question, until recently Mr Callen didn't have a fixed abode. He lived out of rented motel rooms moving every few months."

Sam continued. "The LA team specialise in undercover work. As part of our trade craft, even when we're not on a mission, we vary our daily routine. We leave home at different times and take different routes every day. It keeps us alive."

"You see unless he had the resources, Hendricks wouldn't be able to keep 24/7 surveillance looking for Mr Callen" added Hetty.

"Even if he did, Callen would've spotted it" said Gibbs. "He's extremely good at what he does."

"And he's borderline paranoid" quipped Sam.

Hetty and Gibbs chuckled.

"But there were numerous people who've came after Callen, at the hospital and here on the beach" said Tom, a trifle confused.

"Indeed there were" agreed Hetty. "It's likely that Hendricks started to build an organisation before he discovered Mr Callen's whereabouts. Men like Hendricks rarely do the leg work. However he was a recent immigrant and may not have had the money readily available or the contacts initially."

"He could've brought some of his thugs over from Romania or Serbia" mentioned Sam.

"Yes he could but again he may not have had the contacts in the US to get them past immigration, certainly not through legal channels anyway. However this is all speculation. We've some of his men in custody so we can start with them. I'll ask Miss Jones and Mr Beale to look into it" said Hetty picking up her phone and speed dialling the OPS centre.

"Miss Jones, have you found anything out about the men we've got in custody? Do we have their names or know where they come from?" she asked.

"Yes, we do. Arkady persuaded one of them to talk" said Nell.

"And after that we used leverage and the others started spilling the beans" interrupted Eric. "They gave us false names of course but we finally discovered their real name …"

"Which are Dragan Bosnic, Goran Kovak, Mirko Kosanovic and Pavle Vasic and they're all Serbian" Nell said.

"And they all come from the same part of the country as Petrescu although we believe at least one of them spent a lot of time in Romania where the Comescu family was based" added Eric.

"We've found out that the dead guys are definitely Romanian and believe they're part of the Comescu organisation but we're waiting for confirmation" added Nell.

Again the phone was on speaker and the others heard the news. They all glanced at one another with a lot of hope on their faces that they were finally getting a break with intelligence.

"Good work, Nell, Eric. Please keep digging. Concentrate on when these men came to the US and where they've been since they arrived. Contact Interpol to see if they have information that is relevant. Speak to the State Police and LEOs in any of the States where they lived and if need be, get in touch with any of the other alphabet agencies to get more information about them and to confirm their link to Petrescu or the Comescus."

"Contact my office in DC if you need them to run any leads down their end" said Gibbs. "There shouldn't be any opposition especially if you mention my name and say it's for Callen but if there is, let us know and we'll speak to Director Vance. You should also speak to FBI Agent Tobias Fornell. He owes me a favour or three."

Hetty disconnected and said to Gibbs "Thank you Jethro. That means a lot to me."

Gibbs shrugged and said "Callen's family.