A/N: My apologies for leaving you hanging so long - I lost a family member last week (nothing to do with covid) and all this completely slipped my mind. I've started a new evening course on a Wednesday too, so I've had to switch the day I sit down to upload the next chapter.

I'm posting the note at the beginning of the chapter this time, 1, to apologise and 2, as I mentioned earlier the plot bunnies have taken this story in tangents that weren't fully on the manifest when I started writing, so this chapter ends in a pretty big cliffhanger... If you don't like that sort of thing, you might want to wait (and the funeral is next week, as well as my bust end-of-month week, so I can't promise I will post the next chapter on schedule either) I hope you'll all bear with me x

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sam knew the importance of staying well-rested, but as the hours passed and turned into another day, he felt deep in despair. Callen could have been in Janvier's clutches for 48 hours or more by now, and who knew what was happening to him. Like Vance had said, he could already even be dead – but Sam refused to accept that. He didn't, wouldn't, couldn't believe that his partner was gone forever. Not before he'd had a chance to repair what he'd broken. He wanted Callen back. He raised his head from his hands to look across at the desk diagonally opposite. It might be Connor's now, but Sam could still picture Callen there, leaning back in his chair, infuriating smirk in place… Could almost hear him as they bantered over their morning coffee, Callen as ever taking pleasure in winding Sam up… and he almost retorted in response when he was interrupted by the arrival of Kensi and Connor.

"Early start?" Kensi enquired.

"Couldn't sleep," Sam admitted gruffly. Kensi touched her hand to his shoulder as she crossed to her desk, setting her bag down and sharing a sympathetic look with Connor as they took their seats. Forced by Hetty and Vance the previous evening to go home and get some rest, nonetheless both of them, by some unspoken agreement, had arrived hours earlier than they normally would for the day. The sun had only just risen and yet Kensi was unsurprised to see that despite their early arrival, Sam had beaten them in to the office.

"Anything new?" she asked.

"Nothing yet," Sam answered in depression.

"Is Mosley still on board?"

"Yeah. She won't back out now. Not after Hetty played the guilt card."

"Well that's something at least," Kensi sighed.

"Yeah. But it's not like we can do anything yet. We have no idea where Janvier is, whether he has Callen and the hard drive with him, when and where he's planning the sale… We have nothing!" Sam sunk his head into his hands and the three of them sat in depression for another few minutes. The silence was broken by an exhausted-looking Eric hovering in the entrance to the bullpen. He'd been in Ops even before Sam arrived: Sam wondered if he had in fact gone home overnight at all.

"Well don't just stand there," Sam said without looking up.

"Before anyone gets too excited, I just want to say that I have done my best on this, and I can't promise that the results are going to be any good," Eric began cautiously.

"It's okay, Eric," Kensi said reassuringly. "Tell us what you've got."

"Well I've been working on tracing where the live feed of that video originated," Eric explained. "It's been routed through various proxy servers, and it was heavily encrypted as you know. So I could be way off on this… But, I've traced it back, and, well, I think the signal originated from out at sea – off the coast north of San Diego here, see…" He flicked a satellite image up onto the screen showing the coastline to the south.

"A boat!" Sam exclaimed.

"Just like Callen was signing!" Connor smiled.

"And not that far from Camp Pendleton," Kensi said.

"Probably a boat," Eric confirmed. "There's no oil platforms or anything in that area. So yeah, I'd say almost definitely a boat. Well, a ship I'd think – something big. It would need its own satellite dish you see, a decent one, and that would be much easier to hide on a big ship. And yes, not a million miles from Pendleton – do you think that's related?"

"Well Paul Ruddings was an ex-marine," Kensi said slowly. "But honestly, no I have no idea if it's related. I'm not sure we'll ever be fully on top of this case."

"How accurate do you think the trace is?" Sam asked, looking closely at the screen. "That's got to be two miles out… That's a long way off the shore to anchor."

"It'll be within half a mile, maybe closer. I'm still running it to narrow it down further, and Nell's bringing a satellite overhead so we can look."

"Keep us informed," Sam said, standing up. "I'm going to put together an assault. If it is a ship, and if that's where the film originated from, there's a good chance Janvier is on board, so there's a good chance Callen is there too. Maybe the Incognito hard drive is with them. We might be able to end this, now."

Within half an hour, the three agents were on the road, taking with them a half-formulated plan and leaving behind a disgruntled Mosley who hadn't liked the unexpected changes. Vance and Hetty had given their blessing for the rushed rescue mission, wishing them all luck. They could see in Hetty's eyes she knew that they would need it.

"I hope Deeks makes it in time," Kensi muttered to Connor, who she was driving with. Sam was making his own way separately in his Challenger: he needed to stop off at his boat first for some supplies.

"I'm up to this, you know," Connor said earnestly.

"Oh God, Connor, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that you weren't. It's just… well this is pretty big. And dangerous. Safety in numbers and all that."

Connor nodded. "You guys do ops like this all the time though," he said, aiming to reassure. But if anything, Kensi looked even more doubtful. In the past, their team of four had taken on some crazy missions – but that had been with Deeks as her partner, and Callen as Sam's. She kept quiet, but Connor noticed her uncertainty. He wasn't experienced enough yet to know what to say to reassure her, and so he wisely kept quiet too.

The I405 was for once relatively empty, and they pulled up near the coast somewhere north of Oceanside in a little over an hour.

"I hope I didn't get caught speeding," Kensi chuckled, doing her best to lighten the mood as they got out of the car and started prepping.

"I'm pretty sure Callen will take the fine for you, being that you did it to rescue him and all…"

"I just hope he's still there," Kensi sighed.

"Callen's tough," Connor said. "And I get the impression Janvier didn't take him just to kill him straight away."

"No, you're right," Kensi agreed with a tight smile. She wasn't sure what was worse, the fear that Callen had already been killed, or the possibility that he was still alive… Connor's words reminded her of the long history between Callen and Janvier, and the revenge Janvier harboured for him. They worked in silence for a little while, and both turned as the unmistakable roar of the Challenger approached them. Sam pulled up and started unloading kit from his trunk.

"No Deeks yet?" he enquired.

"He messaged a few minutes ago," Kensi said. "He's been asked to run an urgent errand of some sort..."

"Damn!" Sam said explosively. "Can't he get out of it… did you tell him what's going on here?"

"Of course I did! He said he'll get whatever it is done and get down here asap."

"Well, we can't wait, can't risk Janvier getting wind of us being here. We need to get this in motion right now. You up for this?" Sam turned to Connor. He nodded.

"We're all set," Kensi reassured Sam. "But, Sam…" she was hesitant.

"What?"

"Last time, the video, Hunter… The warehouse. It was a trap, remember?"

"I remember," Sam sighed heavily. "And believe me, I haven't discounted that possibility this time. But Janvier couldn't have known Callen would try to sign to us on a live feed…"

"I'd have said that was pretty predictable," Kensi interrupted. Her protest fell on deaf ears.

"Look how long it took Eric to decrypt and narrow down a location. If it was a trap, don't you think he'd have made it a bit easier?"

"I guess so," Kensi agreed slowly. She hoped Sam's urgent desire to find Callen wasn't clouding his judgement. But even if it was a trap, they still needed to check it out, just in case. It was what they did. She just wished she knew exactly what they were walking – or rather sailing – into.

Sam had used his ex-navy contacts to borrow a boat from the nearest marina to their target location. And so the three of them set out to sea in a glossy 45ft cruiser that was the newly-acquired pride and joy of a retired seal, which, Sam hoped, certainly didn't look like the kind of vessel that might pose a threat if you were a one-handed ex-con with psychopathic tendencies keeping an eye out for trouble. He also hoped they would return the shiny new boat to it's owner without so much as a scratch – but that was definitely a promise he couldn't guarantee.

"We'll pass by as close as we can, see what we can see," Sam told the others as they trundled through the harbour. "The React team will hold a perimeter, ready to launch as soon we give them the go, but they're not going to get close in their boats, we don't wanna spook these guys. Kensi, you and I need to stay out of sight – Janvier will recognise us. Can you handle driving this thing, Connor?"

Connor nodded, and Sam was blind to the slight apprehension crossing his young colleague's face.

"You'll be fine," Kensi whispered reassuringly, and Connor flashed her a grateful smile. It wouldn't be the first time he'd driven a motor boat – but it would certainly be the biggest, not to mention the most expensive, boat he'd ever set foot in, and he didn't want to be responsible for compromising the rescue mission either.

"All you have to do is take her on a straight line past the ship," Sam told him. I'll get you as close as I can, and then I will get out of sight. Kens – pop some sunglasses and a hat on, go lie down on the roof, look like you're sunbathing. Take a glass. We're out for a champagne breakfast, okay guys?"

The two younger agents nodded. It was a glorious morning, clear and already warm despite the early hour. Once out of the harbour, it took them less than ten minutes to get close to the ship. After five, Sam handed the wheel over to Connor, and descended to the cabin, where he used his pocket scope to peer through the windows after he had changed and geared up ready.

Sam couldn't imagine the dilapidated old cargo ship was still in any kind of active service, though there were still plenty of large wooden crates littering the front deck. That could prove both a blessing and a curse, for though they'd provide cover for him and the React team boarding the ship, they could also hide anyone already there. Strain as he might through the scope, Sam couldn't see any evidence that there was anyone at all on the ship, let alone Janvier or Callen. The rusty old boat looked completely deserted. Sam sighed. Eric had pinpointed the trace to moreorless exactly the ship's coordinates, and so they HAD to take a closer look.

"How're we doing up there, Connor?" Sam shouted up through the open door.

"All quiet," Connor replied, confirming Sam's observations that there were no signs of life on the ship. "How about you?"

"I'm good," Sam responded. "Ready to go. I think this is the closest we dare get. I'm going to come up and slip over the far side now, okay?" Connor nodded, and then realised Sam couldn't see him so he said yes affirmatively but Sam was already moving. "I'll get back on comms as soon as I can," he promised Kensi as he moved nimbly and far more elegantly than would be expected in a man his size across the boat. Hidden from the ship by the raised cabin, he dropped down into the water on the far side like a pillar.

"Good luck," Kensi called to him as he disappeared beneath the surface. She just caught a glimpse of Sam giving her a thumbs up sign, and she smiled reassuringly down to Connor.

"Not the first time he's done this?" Connor asked.

"Not the first time he's done a stealth dive? Boarded an enemy boat from underwater? Or risked his ass to save Callen's?" Kensi responded teasingly.

"Well… All of the above, I guess," Connor answered with a nervous little laugh. He was trying hard not to stare in the direction of the ship.

"Relax, Connor. Sam knows what he's doing. At least this time there aren't any sharks." Kensi laughed at Connor's shocked face, keeping the worry she felt hidden as she continued to act her part in case anyone on the ship was keeping lookout. Her furtive glances every so often hadn't picked up anyone, no glint of the low morning sun on binocular lenses, but you could never be too careful. She knew just how paranoid criminals could be.

Their light-hearted bantering was broken by a crackling on the radio comms from the React team. Kensi answered. Sam would be pretty close to the ship by now, she figured. He was minimally armed, and carrying an earwig in a waterproof pouch. The plan was for him to board first for an initial reconnoitre, and give them all a sit-rep. Then he could talk in how he wanted the React team to narrow the perimeter, and determine how much additional manpower and weapons he'd need on board the ship to take it and it's crew down.

"One of our guys has seen some movement on the starboard side – he's moving in…" The React agent's disembodied voice crackled over the waves.

"No, wait!" Kensi exclaimed. "Sam expressly said to hold a perimeter until he made contact."

"No can do," the React agent returned. "Our man is already in the water."

"Dammit!" Kensi cursed. "Connor, you hear that?"

"Yeah," Connor confirmed. "What do we do?"

"What can we do?" Kensi retorted crossly – but her anger was at the React team, not Connor. "We can't get hold of Sam until he boards the ship and gets back on comms." She paused, taking the time to re-compose herself. If anyone on the ship was keeping a lookout, it wouldn't do for them to see her getting worked up. She reached for the hamper, slowly re-filling her champagne glass, sitting back down and pretending to take a sip. Just as she was about to say to Connor that she hoped the React team hadn't blown the whole thing and that their man in the water approached discreetly from his side, she was stunned by a loud crack and a whoosh followed by more bangs and a rising mass of flames as the centre of the ship exploded into a massive fireball. Kensi looked in horror at the ship and then back to Connor, who was frozen in dismay as he too stared across the water.

"Sam!" Kensi yelled, hopelessly, leaning over the side of the boat as if by staring into the water she could summon Sam from the deep. "Sam!"