Thanks to Shane Brennan and CBS who let writers create stories that include the NCISLA team characters who are creations of Brennan. Other original characters are my creation. This is one version of what happens after the end of "A Fait Accompli," so if you haven't seen that episode, you might want to skip this story until you watch it. Since we probably won't know the "truth" about what's going on until at least Feb. 21 (and likely much later), I couldn't wait-and my idea of what happened is probably much different from what Gemmill and company have for us. As always, appreciate your comments and thanks for reading!

Aftermath

By the time Callen arrived at his apartment, it was early morning the following day. He stopped in only long enough to put the ring back in his memory box, grab his bag, and head into work. He didn't bother to change his clothes or get anything to eat. He wasn't tired; his head was spinning. Where was Anna and why had she lied to him about what she was doing? The strange thing was that he found he wasn't angry, at least not the let loose a string of obscene curses and threaten people with violent death angry. Callen knew, as much as anyone could know, that Anna loved him, so whatever was going on, he was sure that it wasn't her idea which meant she had been coerced, but what had been used to coerce her, he didn't know. And that worried him more. His first gut feeling—after he'd gotten past the initial shock of Anna not being in Santa Cruz—was that Anna had been threatened with the revocation of her release, that the eradication of her criminal record would be reversed and she would be sent back to prison. Or maybe she'd been told that harm would come to either him or Arkady. Whatever was going on with Anna had the look and feel of a covert mission, and there were only two people Callen knew who would involve Anna in such a mission: Joelle and Hetty. He knew Joelle would be perfectly fine using Anna to further any mission she had, but if Hetty had coerced Anna into something, after all the other lies she'd told and obstructions she'd thrown in his path through the years, Callen vowed it would be the end of their relationship.

He was going to work not because he would be able to concentrate but because if he didn't, he didn't know how else he'd spend these hours. He might even drive back to Santa Cruz making himself crazier than he already was. And he needed to use some of the resources available at OSP because he was certain that whatever was going on was not anything Anna had planned. Callen thought back to the email Anna had received several weeks ago about the relief effort. Neither one of them had questioned it even though Anna had no idea why she had received it. Still, with all the donations she'd made and all the organizations involved in the recovery work, Anna figured she'd gotten the email because of a donation she'd made or a website she'd visited. So she while she'd been surprised, she was also happy to have the opportunity to do something constructive to help others. Callen remembered the way she had bought short lengths of 4x4s and a hand saw to practice hammering and sawing when she had received the notice a week later that she'd be helping rebuild homes. When he'd told her she'd probably be using power tools on the work site, that hadn't stopped her. Callen smiled remembering the day he'd entered the apartment with his gun drawn because of the noise coming from inside only to find the floor covered in sawdust and Anna, with her safety goggles on, using a nail gun on a 12 ft. length of solid wood. She was so intent on her speed and accuracy that she didn't even notice he was in the apartment until she had completed her practice. When she reached the end of the wood, she took off her goggles and gave herself a fist pump.

"I see you've been practicing," Callen said with his signature smirk as he looked around at the wood cut into various lengths and shapes strewn about and the light layer of sawdust covering most everything in the apartment.

Anna posed triumphantly with the nail gun. "I have been. I want any house I'm rebuilding to be 100 percent sturdy."

Callen looked around, "I think you have that nailed." Anna rolled her eyes and shook her head, but a little smile appeared. Callen laughed lightly, "I'll be here all night."

"Does your routine get better?"

"It does, I guarantee it," he said as he closed the door with a kick and dropped his bag on the floor before he crossed to her and pulled her to him. He kissed her and when he finally let her go, she stepped back, slightly breathless.

"If that's a preview, I can't wait."

"I'm afraid you'll have to because I'm starving."

"Me, too," Anna replied as she set the nail gun on the table. "This is hard work."

Callen took another look at the counters in the kitchen area covered with tools, sawdust, and scraps of wood. "How about we go out and get something to eat?"

"Good idea. I'll take a quick shower," Anna said as she stepped around the sawed wood and loose nails on the floor and headed into the bathroom.

Callen watched her for a minute and then started after her, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it on the bed as he passed it and entered the bathroom.

Anna's voice floated out, "I said I'd take a quick shower."

"I can do quick," Callen replied.

"What if I don't want quick now?" Anna asked as the water drowned out her voice.

Now thinking back on their conversations about Anna's volunteer work before she left, Callen was sure that Anna believed that she was going to be working for a legitimate organization. She'd shown him the website of the organization that included details about the work they'd done in earlier disasters, biographies of the people who ran the organization, testimonials—all the things you would expect to see. And now, in the pit of his stomach, Callen was sure that none of it was real.

On the drive in to work, Callen called a number he hadn't called in years. He wasn't surprised that it was no longer in service, but that just made him more convinced that she was somehow involved. He made another call and was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Wherever you are, you're at least three hours ahead of me."

"Way more than three," Sabatino replied. "What are you doing up at 3:30 in the morning?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"And I'm the person you call?" Sabatino's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I thought you had a girlfriend."

Callen's voice took on an edge and Sabatino knew something was wrong, "I need to get in touch with someone. It's urgent."

"Who?"

"Joelle."

"You know, Callen, just because Joelle and I both work for the same employer, it doesn't mean we keep track of each other."

"So, Joelle's still working for the Company."

"As far as I know," Sabatino answered and his voice reflected concern.

"I need to talk to her."

"Why? Your new girlfriend's not working out?"

There was a momentary pause before Callen answered. "Anna's missing."

"I'll see what I can do," Sabatino said abruptly and then the line went dead.

XXXXXXX

When Callen drove up to OSP, he knew the exterior infrared cameras were on and filming him as he unlocked the front door and disappeared inside. He immediately turned off the alarm and then went straight to his desk and pulled out his laptop. Callen turned it on, but before sitting down, he went and got the coffee started. It was already going to be a long day, and he was starting to feel the fatigue of driving 1,000 miles in 12 hours with no food. Coffee would help. He went back to his desk and sat down and typed the volunteer organization website address into the address bar. Everything was still there: the details about the organization, the board members, the different volunteer projects, the testimonials. There were even photographs from the Santa Cruz project. Callen began scanning through them and stopped when he saw the photo of Anna and a group of other "volunteers" standing near the frame of a new house. She—and everyone else in the photo—looked completely at ease. There was nothing about the photo that looked photoshopped, but Callen wasn't an expert on manipulating images, so he saved the image to his desktop in case it disappeared from the site before Beale and Nell arrived, and then he kept scanning through the site. Callen also copied and saved the web address in case the webpage disappeared and grabbed the ISP. At this point, Callen wasn't sure if he trusted anything he found on the web anymore.

Callen closed his eyes and tried to remember the zoom call he and Anna had held at Christmas. Had Anna given any clue that something was wrong? Had there been anything about her surroundings that seemed unusual or suggested that she wasn't where she said she was? He didn't remember anything out of the ordinary, but maybe he'd missed something. His entire focus had been on Anna, so if she had given him a clue through a word or some sort of signal, Callen was sure he'd have noticed, but he realized now that he'd barely paid attention to her surroundings. All he could remember was that her notebook seemed to be on a table or a desk and Anna was sitting in a cheap desk chair and that the window behind her had mustard yellow drapes that were partially open and he could see some trees outside. There were no signs for the motel or any billboards visible outside the window that he could remember.

The buzz of his phone startled him. He looked at the phone number; it was Sabatino.

"Callen."

Sabatino gave him a number and then added, "If you can't reach her, let me know. Meantime, I'll make a few more calls and see what other information I can find out about what project she's working on, and if I hear anything about Anna."

"Thanks, Sabatino. I owe you."

"You do, and I will definitely collect, but that's not important now." And then Sabatino was gone.

Callen dialed the number Sabatino had given him and hoped it would help him find some answers.

XXXXXXX

Joelle felt the vibration and when she looked at the number, she let out an inaudible curse. How did he get this number?

"How did you get this number, Callen?"

"Where is she, Joelle?"

There was the briefest pause before Joelle asked, "Why would I know where Hetty is?"

"Not Hetty," Callen continued and his voice was steely. "Anna."

Now there was an extended pause on the other end. "Anna's missing?" Joelle sounded genuinely surprised.

"She's not with you?"

"Why would she be with me?" Joelle asked and by her tone, Callen thought she sounded offended. "I haven't seen your Anna since Europe when we were trailing the killer who turned out to be your, I guess you could call him your foster brother, Darius."

Callen didn't respond to Joelle's comment. He didn't have time and he didn't care that she was still pissed that Anna had been the one to bring Darius in.

"So, Anna's not with you."

"No, she's not with me."

"And you don't know where she is?"

"Have you been hit on the head?" Joelle was trying a little annoyed, but Callen didn't care. Joelle switched to reflect the seriousness of Callen's mood. "Callen, I swear I have no idea where Anna is. I haven't communicated with her in any way since she left Europe."

Callen let out a deep breath. He believed Joelle. "Okay, Joelle," he said and after hesitating a moment, "Sorry for interrupting your work."

"Don't apologize. Callen, I understand why you might think I'd know where Anna is, but I don't." After a short delay and before she hung up, Joelle continued, "If I hear anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Jo," Callen replied as he heard the line go dead, and his thoughts immediately moved from his former lover to his missing operations manager. "If Hetty has gotten Anna involved in some new mission, we're going to have a talk—a very long talk," he said to no one in particular. He dialed Hetty's number. Even though he was sure she wouldn't answer, he had a message to deliver. His call went immediately to voicemail, and he left his message: "Hetty, if you've involved Anna on some covert mission for you, now would be the time to tell me. You know how to reach me. I need to hear from you today. I'm not going to stop until I find her, and I don't care if I ruin whatever you have planned, or even if it means that I have to find you first. That's a promise."

Callen put his phone down and his laptop to sleep and decided he'd better do the same. He was wound tight, but he was also about to drop from exhaustion. He made his way to the sofa in the sitting area, pulled his feet up and stretched out, haphazardly straightened Hetty's tapestry over his body, and promptly fell asleep.

XXXXXXX

"It could be a problem," the man's voice was quiet as he stood outside in the darkness.

"Yes, it could be," the voice on the other end replied.

"I'm not sure we can handle it the same way if it happens again."

"I agree, so we'll have to see that it doesn't."

There was a pause before the man replied, "That's your department."

"I know," came the answer. "How much longer do you think it will be?"

The man looked out across the darkness at the lights in the distance, "It depends on whether or not she's going to cooperate. I'm hoping it's this week." He was silent again, listening, and in a moment the conversation ended when he said, "I'll let you know as soon as it's done." He exchanged his phone for a pack of cigarettes and stood under the eaves in the surrounding blackness and lit up the night with the strike of a match. The grey smoke hung in front of his face for a few seconds and then vanished into the evening air. In no time, only the filter remained. He flicked it onto the cement and entered the building, the door closing softly behind him.

XXXXXXX

Anna woke suddenly. A sliver of moonlight pierced the blackness of the room. Something had wakened her, some inner sense that something wasn't right. Maybe it was only nerves that woke her. Anna grabbed her phone and opened her favorites list. Callen's name was first. One touch and she would hear his voice again. Her finger hovered over his name for what seemed a full minute before she set her phone back on the nightstand next to her bed and rolled onto her side to try and sleep.