Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Chapter 10
Author's note: You may have noticed that there's hardly any 'Anna' in this storyline. And be aware, this is no love-story, but Anna is around, though only in the background and far away.
Thank you, Bkworm4life4, CH, wotumba1 and trscrny for reviewing the previous chapter. Always very welcome to see your opinions and remarks coming in!
Disclaimer: As an avid NCIS LA follower I fully understand that CBS owns the well known main characters. They do, and I'm grateful for that. Mind you, the story is all mine, and so are the characters that just came by and will pass after this story is really written.
Kni®benrots
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
"I left them in the cemetery."
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
Los Angeles || NCIS office of special projects
"Listen, what is it I did wrong?" Roundtree argued. "I mean, I've done what he asked. But Sam, why the charade? That Sharden woman ought to be safe, right, since we've arranged the right paperwork and all. Moved her out through the morgue. If anyone checks — she's dead."
Sam agreed with the younger agent. Like Roundtree, he wondered what Callen had in mind and where he went. He didn't feel like checking with Eric Beale, yet he already tried a phone call which immediately ended up to voicemail. Sam always detested the fact that Callen acted without sharing.
Then Kensi came with a suggestion. "You think we need to prep for a burial too?"
Sam shook his head and turned to his female coworker. "Not now, Kensi. I mean, not without talking this through with Callen."
Then he jogged up the stairs to the Ops center.
His heavy step was enough to identify his entry and Eric Beale swiveled his chair around, acknowledging the senior agent around by calling him "Tha Hanna in tha house. What can I do for you?"
Sam inhaled deep and while he slowly let air escape he replied with one word only "Callen."
"Awh heck… don't tell me he escaped from the hospital ánd from you? Probably with a woman who isn't his, right?"
"If you're talking about how he managed Elisabeth Sharden away from the ones who are after her, that's right," Sam sighed with the remark Eric made. "It's just that…"
He decided he didn't feel like going through his worries with the tech analyst who wasn't their analyst any longer as he was 'just' around. "Perhaps you can check if anyone followed them after Roundtree left. And if you can you turn on his phone, Beale, that'd be welcomed too by me, y'know."
Eric replied with a smug and a confident smile "Easy as can be, Sam. What time Devin left them?"
"About five fifteen, I guess."
A short hum sounded as Eric Beale let his fingers dance over the keyboard, zooming in on the right entrance and using the plus button several times before he looked up and pointed to the large screen. "See, there she is."
Footage of Elisabeth was shown, sitting on a park bench in a dark coat.
Again, Eric tapped a button some times and noticed she was gone from the screen.
"Right… Now, where did you go?" he murmured. Slower now, he used the cursor to go back as he shook his head. "Ah…" he sighed. Both of them then saw how Callen appeared on screen next to the woman. And with one more touch of Eric's thumb, both of them had disappeared.
"Gonna catch you," Eric enthusiastically stated to the footage instead of to Sam. But no matter what Eric tried, no Callen nor Elisabeth appeared on screen any more.
"Now what?" Sam asked.
"Now, there's no more feed I can use." Eric shrugged. "Gone, without a trace. But hey, isn't that exactly what we expect the man to do? Good thing is, there were no other people around them, right?"
Sam agreed. "Well… then use that magic you're bragging about even more since you decided to go for the big money, Beale. See if you can turn on Callen's phone."
Did he really need his partner of was it just to know Callen was okay? He supposed the latter. Sam shook his head to himself. This was how they'd drift apart in their way of working if he had his way. Then Sam was partnering up with Roundtree whereas Callen would be an office guy and Nell joined him from Ops. Maybe with Fatima as her partner in there. And right now, Sam wasn't all too sure if that still was what he liked.
"Bugger!" Eric exclaimed. "Smart enough to fool his smartphone. Sorry, big guy. Seems like Callen does what he does best; disappear without a trace. He probably took the battery and card from his phone."
Another curse sounded as Sam hated to know how his friend used his ability to hide without telling the others where he went.
"Thanks anyway man," he told Eric. "Guess we all need to go home, feed the body and brain and be back in here fresh and fruity like we need to be for any new cases around."
There was nothing he wanted more than be back in the good old days, with Hetty steering the wheel and go home, bantering with the original team, grab a beer with his friends at Deeks' bar 'the Squid and Dagger'. But he already knew it wasn't happening this night…
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
Los Angeles || Sakura Crossing, Little Tokyo
Callen checked if any other person used the entrance since he last closed the door, but all was intact and untouched, since the small white and blue snippets of paper were in place and in the right order too. He then motioned her to come in.
She stepped in and looked around, liking what she saw. She smiled his way and curiously came up with a question. "So, if this is your place, why the Gregg Clarkson?"
Callen dropped the bag and strode to the small but functional kitchen area where he checked the contents of the refrigerator and it's small freezing department and while doing so, he said "It's not my usual place, but I wanted… no, actually, I needed a place to go into hiding, if necessary. Not under my own name. So this place belongs to me, yes, but it's not where I usually stay."
Why bother her with the weeks, the months they all feared that Katya would find Anna, or perhaps him. He created the alias with a career in the military, in Germany, and every now and then he spent a week in here. So far, without anyone else.
"How did you come up with that story... 'my sister Ellie'?" She then wanted to know.
"Regina's very curious. Perhaps a bit too much. And, ehm, because of that explanation she won't start to question me about girlfriends and so on. And it'll give you some time to recover. Which makes me wonder, you need to rest. But maybe you want something to drink, to eat? A shower perhaps?"
She suddenly looked tired indeed. "I... you have a coke perhaps?" A blush creeped up when she said "there's... Well, the issue with clothes, like the lady mentioned."
Callen now filled a glass with the brown beverage and put it in front of her. "I'll take care of that. There's a small stool in there. First of all, we'll need to protect the cast on your arm."
His tone was light and he trusted his own experience. There were few things he appreciated better than rinsing off the smell of hospital. It always disgusted him.
Since he noticed how she was sharp enough, so he trusted it wouldn't harm her to freshen up too.
"Okay."
She was back on the short replies and he figured she felt embarrassed and uncomfortable, which he understood. After all, he was a stranger to her too, as it was the other way around.
"You think you can handle it all by yourself? There is the issue of wound dressing too. Listen, there's a bathrobe, towels, and I'll leave fresh underwear and a clean shirt and yoga pants as well."
She gazed at the floor and asked "How... where did you..."
"An overnight set of clothes," Callen explained. "In case we might have to run and hide."
"There's a woman in your life; you're married? What... but where is she and how will she react if she —"
He shook his head. "Not married. It's my girlfriend's, and no, she's not around and she won't be around. For your information, she doesn't even know this place. And Elisabeth, you and me, this is pure work-related, right? Just... trust me. I won't make advances or so. I mean, we're both professionals."
He took his bag and took it to the only bedroom. One by one, he took the items he mentioned out of it and took them to the bathroom. He remembered how he'd urged Anna to pack some easy going clothes. What if Anna was here with him, instead of this woman? He'd feel so much more at ease.
But this was no Anna. Nor that he could compare her with Joelle, who was a more cunning and selfish type of woman.
He always considered himself to be a good judge of characters and in his opinion Elisabeth was an honest and reliable officer who was confronted with the downsides of her job.
Callen decided he'd best act as if she was Kensi, who he always considered to be like a younger sister. He chuckled to himself: wasn't that exactly how he introduced Elisabeth as well?
He went back to the kitchen area and checked the cabinets until he found the rolled garbage bags. He tore one out and held it up. "Shall we?"
She nodded and followed him.
Minutes later, after she had closed the door, Callen heard the shower running.
He would have loved some caffeine in order to clear his head. It probably was the result of the long time he spend at the hospital, followed by the rush of adrenaline of getting away via the cemetery and finally reaching this place. Since there were hardly any groceries around, he poured another coke in his glass while using a piece of paper to try and summarize everything Elisabeth had told him.
He leaned the chair back until it balanced on two legs and let his mind go through what he figured would be next day's action when he heard how Elisabeth was back in the bedroom.
"You need a hand with checking the wound and replace the dressing?" he offered her from his living to the adjusting bedroom.
He literally sensed her reluctance, until there was a firm "Yes please" as a reply.
Callen was used to a medical treatment of wounds, especially when it came to DIY. He'd taken care of Sam's and previous partners, but somehow this felt way out of his usual habitat. Added to that, hers was a nasty wound and the bullet that had hit her left more damage, which made it more difficult to choose the right kind of cloth and cover. It definitely had worn her out.
"Listen, I'll get you some instant soup and some crackers to go with it. Then you'd better get some sleep."
He noticed how she was exhausted indeed and when he handed her a small tray with the meant food, she welcomed it with a ghost of a smile.
Callen sighed. He squatted over the duffel-bag and took what he needed for his own personal care from it, and headed to the bathroom too.
Getting rid of the clothes he wore felt good for a start.
Gratefully, he let the warm water run over his body and he finally relaxed with the smell of cedar wood and orange. Once he toweled himself dry, he noticed how at least three of the fresh sutures snapped, probably a result of hurrying out of the hospital. It needed care as well, but not in here. He slipped into a clean boxershorts and sweatpants, grabbed his t-shirt and his extended first aid kit, then tiptoed out of the bathroom to the bedroom, intended to get back to the living area without disturbing her.
"You are hurt too!" It was partly a conclusion, partly full of worry. "Were you… is it from back at the hospital?"
He closed his eyes for a second, surprised how staggered he was by her sudden remark, whereas he expected her to be asleep. "It's nothing, just a scratch and all taken care of when you were asleep earlier this afternoon. It needs a fresh bandage, I'll manage, Elisabeth."
"Ellie," she said. "Somehow I can live with that. I can be your sister, Ellie Callen."
His face darkened quickly and he swallowed away some old memories. "I don't have a sister. So, no, not Callen. Use Clark, like I do when I'm in here."
"Ellie Clark. Well, I think Callen sounds much better."
"Never, ever dare to choose the name Callen. Not while there are any Comescus around."
"Why not?"
His voice now was very low and she had to concentrate on every word he said. "Trust me, don't. Not as long as there is anyone who may have seen us together."
"Come on... there's nobody who does..."
"I said NO!"
"Okay. Goodnight then, Gregg Clark." She turned away from him, shocked by the pure anger. Or was it anger? Perhaps there was worry in his eyes, worry for her, and it scared her more than she had expected.
"Elisabeth… Ellie, I'll explain. Not now — we're both too tired. Tomorrow, okay?" Callen finally said.
She didn't reply. Obviously, her trouble was never his, and his never would be hers.
She...
She's figured out
All her doubts were someone else's point of view
Waking up this time
To smash the silence with the brick of self-control
Are you locked up in a world
That's been planned out for you?
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use?
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you
~ Green Day – She ~