A/N: Thanks to Dubigail for your encouragement. It's greatly appreciated.

Chapter 4

A Bar in Pacific Beach, the Overwatch truck, and Ops

Thursday, 12:23 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Callen explodes out the back door of the bar nearly tripping on Nell's purse strap that's wrapped around his foot. Sam comes running down the street to the intersection with the alley and nearly gets run over by the fleeing black SUV. In the alley, Callen frees himself from the purse strap and assesses the situation.

Callen: "Kensi!"

Callen kneels by Kensi trying to take stock of her injury as she moans and Sam comes running over.

Eric: "What's going on?!"

Deeks: "Kens, talk to me!"

Kensi grabs her torso just above her stomach and sits up with a groan.

Kensi: "I'm okay."

Eric: "Somebody . talk . to . me!"

Kensi: "Eric, track the black SUV that just pulled out of the alley going northbound onto Mission. Nell's inside."

Eric: "What?!"

Kensi pushes off the ground and slowly stands up with a grunt as Sam arrives.

Kensi: "I know. I know. I really tried to get to her."

Callen: "What're you doing, Kensi? You've been shot!"

Deeks and Eric: "SHOT!?"

Kensi puts her hand back on her torso just above her stomach and cringes.

Kensi: "No, I'm fine. I have body armor on. Hetty made sure we both did."

Deeks starts the overwatch truck and pulls out.

Deeks: "Where am I going Eric?"

Eric: "I don't know yet! I JUST got a description. You gotta gimme a minute."

Sam: "Why can't we hear Nell or the guys who took her on the coms?"

Callen takes a couple of steps back toward the bar to pick up Nell's purse before hearing a crunch. He picks up his foot to look down at the earwig he stepped on.

Callen: "I think she ditched it."

Deeks pulls up and stops on the street where it meets the alley.

Deeks: "Let's go, people."

Callen picks up Nell's purse and he, Sam, and Kensi hustle down the alley toward the food truck.

Eric: "Ye… Ugh! No. Wait."

Deeks: "Er-ic. Come on maann... Where is sheee? Where am I go-ing?"

The team gets into the overwatch truck.

Eric: "Ugh! Okay, okay, okay. Umm. Go north and take the left fork."

After a minute of a car chase, the food truck catches up to the SUV. Deeks pulls in front of the SUV, cuts it off, and forces it to stop. Callen, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks jump out with their guns drawn and move toward the SUV.

Callen: "Federal Agents. Show me your hands."

Callen cautiously goes to the driver's side and Sam goes to the passenger's side while Deeks goes to the side door behind Callen. Inside the SUV, the man in the driver's side and the woman in the passenger's side raise their hands.

Woman: "Oh no, oh no, oh no…Please don't hurt us."

Kensi catches up, looks at the couple in the SUV, and exhales exasperatedly lowering her gun.

Kensi: "Callen, it's not them. We're looking for three men and Nell."

The rest of the team lowers their guns dejectedly.

Deeks: "Yeah, there's nobody in the back."

Callen: "Sorry about that, folks. You're free to go with our apologies."

The team returns to the food truck.

Eric: "Frack, frack, frack, frack, FRACK!"

Deeks: "Eric, buddy, take a breath and regroup. We need a destination."

Eric: "Do you have any idea how many identical looking black SUVs there were in the area? Three. There were three."

Sam: "Okay, okay. Tell me about them."

Eric: "One of them is parked at an Alberto's Tacos a few blocks from the bar. It had three women in it. The other one took the right fork and went into a residential area where there are no traffic cameras… I lost her..."

Hetty enters Ops.

Eric: "... I lost Nell."

Hetty: "Not lost, Mr. Beale. Temporarily undercover. Ms. Jones has a transmitter in the ring I gave her and Ms. Blye has one in one of her earrings. Please, search for a ping on frequency 290.68."

Eric goes to his workstation, mumbling to himself.

Eric: "You've got to be kidding me."

Eric finds the ping.

Eric: "I found her! They were taking surface streets to avoid traffic cams, but got on the 5 Freeway. Deeks, they're heading for San Ysidro."

Deeks: "Okay. We're going to Mexico."

Hetty: "No, Mr. Deeks. You're authorized to go up to the border only, not beyond."

Callen: "But Hetty…"

Hetty: "Mr. Callen, if you are unable to safely interdict the SUV, then Mr. Beale will track Ms. Jones to where they might be keeping all of the abducted women. Is that understood?"

After a few seconds of silence.

Callen: "Understood."

Hetty: "Mr. Deeks?"

Deeks: "Not liked, but understood."

Kensi: "Don't let them cross the border, Deeks."

Deeks: "I'll do my best, babe, but this roach coach has more hamster power than horsepower."

Kensi: "Can't we close the border or something?"

Hetty: "At this time of night and rate of travel, they'll have gotten through long before I could wake the people who could even consider making the call to give the order and have it filter down to the ground."

Eric fidgets and acts uncomfortable while tracking Nell. Eventually, he turns to Hetty.

Eric: "How could you not tell me that she had a transmitter? I could have told them exactly where to go. They could have gotten her. Was this your plan all along?"

Hetty: "Mr. Beale, it was purely a last ditch measure in case of an emergency. We had no way of knowing that Ms. Jones would be targeted tonight. I merely ensured that we could track her or Ms. Blye in the unlikely event that something went awry."

Eric takes a deep breath as he considers whether and how to respond.

Eric: "I'm sorry. It's just that you withheld information that would have avoided ALL of this and I don't..."

Hetty: "Mr. Beale, you're understandably emotional right now and treading perilously close to a line that it would behoove you not to cross. I suggest you focus on the task at hand and do your job right now."

Eric turns and looks back at his screen. Before long, he hangs his head and sighs deeply.

Eric: "It's over. They're in Mexico."

Deeks: "Sorry Eric."

Hetty: "Mr. Callen, there's nothing more you can do tonight. Get the team back to base and get some sleep while you can. I'll let you know the moment I have clearance to continue the pursuit."

Deeks looks hopefully at Callen. Callen shakes his head. Deeks lets off the gas and moves toward the last freeway off-ramp before the border crossing.

Callen: "Copy. Eric, keep me posted about where they end up."

Eric: "I will."

Callen: "And Eric…"

Eric: "Yeah."

Callen: "I'm sorry I let this happen."

Eric: "Thanks, but we all let this happen."