#9
3 Weeks Later
"Where's G?" Sam asked, visibly stressed
"I don't know. He has to be here" Kens replied as she glanced over her shoulder at the entrance to the court room
"All Rise" Called the bailiff, as the judged walked into the court from a side room
"shit" Sam said just under his breath
…
"Would you care to challenge the accusations levelled at you, Special Agent Renko?"
"I used appropriate force in the apprehension of the rapist of an NCIS Special Agent" Mike replied, almost as if he wasn't bothered about the ramifications of his actions
"Special Agent Renko. I hardly consider shooting and beating an unarmed sailor to be an appropriate use of force… Not even if the person on the receiving end of your 'appropriate force' has raped a federal agent. Do you have anything to say?"
"yeah…"
…
"Where are they moving him to?"
Hetty sat still looking down at the empty glass she was holding
"Gran!? Where are they taking Mike?. I know what he did was wrong…"
…
"Been a long time… You've grown"
"Can we just get this over with"
"Do you know who I am?"
"I'm fully briefed on all OSP agents….and shrinks"
"Take a seat and we can get started"
"Let's not get started… let's just finish. You think I don't see your strings. Mike always said that gran was in someway pulling the strings of almost everyone working for the agency in Los Angeles. I used to think it was just Mike being paranoid"
"Please… Sit down"
"I've been in a fucking hospital bed for the last 4 weeks. Last thing I want to do is sit… or lay… or lounge…"
"Please Grace, sit down… You know why you're here. I don't think you want to make this last any longer than it has to…"
"You want me to sit down because you want to be in control… But you and I both know you don't hold any power over me. Gran doesn't have any actual power over me. And she knows that"
"So why are you here?"
…
Several Minutes Later
"So you can tell Gran that I complied. Now where is Mike?!" Grace all but growlled
…
Grace was in the armoury, filling bags with gear. Most of the gear was just anything that was within reach… if she was being impartial, being sensible… she wouldn't be grabbing just anything.
She sensed someone entering the armoury. She knew who she was expecting.
"What do you want Gran? You're not gonna stop me" Grace said, not even turning away from her 'shopping spree'
"I know, my dear. You remind me so much of your father. The number of times I stood in exactly the same space, watching him gather supplies. He always thought he was doing the best for the rest of us…"
Grace paused, instead she pressed her palms against the bench, needing to focus on not saying something she'd regret
"…When your mother brought you back… Mr Callen left us. I long ago chose to forgo keeping count of how many times he would run off on one of his crusades in an superfluous attempt to protect us all. I regret a great many things with regard to Mr Callen… But more than anything, I regret…"
…
"You sure about this, G?" Andrea asked as she watched Grace pull on her tactical vest, wondering whether Grace knew what she was doing
Grace ignored the question, instead asking a question of her own "Where's the rest of the team?"
"G!? the boss wants us to stand down"
Grace attached her holster to her leg, not even bothering to look over at Andrea "Andrea… Who is your SAC? Who trained you?"
"You did" Andrea replied almost as if she were asking a question
"I know this isn't the part of the job that you like…But Whatever you think of Agent Renko, he's one of the good guys. I wouldn't be standing here if he hadn't done his job way back when. This is your job now… I'm not gonna be here forever, this is why I've been grooming you to take over when I'm gone. Our team and my family need you"