Chapter 13

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Author's note: as you may or may not have noticed there was a delay in uploading since I found some time for a roadtrip through France. Anyway, here's a new chapter.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Kni®benrots

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Los Angeles || Hermosa Beach, later that day

Calling Poliakoff wasn't difficult. Agreeing to a place to meet was. She refused to come to the boatshed, nor did she want him to come to the district office at North Spring street.
In the end, Callen suggested a small café near Hermosa Beach on the Strand - where he knew his team could observe them and would be able to intervene. From a distance all five of the team observed how the meeting was going.

"Oh my... this is pathetic. The way she looks at him, those manners," Deeks noticed.

Poliakoff let her hand go through her blond hair, shook it a bit loose before she lay her hand on the table as close as she could to Callen's arm.

"Does this sound as if you're jealous?" Roundtree asked, sitting with Fatima in the large red car.

"Hell no. Disgusted. She observes him, like a prayer mantis. You think Callen's in trouble, Sam?"

"He would be if he turned on his ear wigs and heard our convo. And you bet there'd be more trouble, for you in particular, I mean, if he listened."

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Callen didn't want to be distracted by his team's observations through the wireless ear bud and so he turned those off. He wanted to focus on a polite conversation and he was fully aware that the others would hear him, which meant his words were clear enough to catch. Poliakoff's replies might be fainter or even inaudible, so he was about to repeat parts of it.

Sure, Callen had heard about Poliakoff and how she managed to find a way of distancing herself from Kensi and Deeks' questions.
Somehow, this woman worked on his nerves too, with a combination of arrogance and wiliness. But heck, he could play a game too.
Leaning forward on the table, he finally handed her the small, black item.
"You know, this is what I found at Andreas Marcus' place. I took it back to our headquarters and found there're only two pictures on it. Handwritten names. We... well, I cannot figure out what it is. Then this morning my coworkers let me know this case isn't ours at all, but you're in charge. Maybe you or your team cares to share when or what it means?"

He didn't hear Deeks' comments, and Sam's remarks to that either. All Callen heard was a kind of greedy 'thanks' and the sudden squint of her eyes sweeping over his face and expression — and then wider, as if she was looking for other people. Hers. Or not, perhaps she didn't trust him at all.
Suspicion was read all over her face and yet the blue eyes of the man in front of her gave no reason to distrust him at all.

"You'll hear from us as soon as possible, agent Callen."

"That is what I wanted to hear," he said. "Thanks."
And then he got up, shook her hand and left, knowing that from Ops it was easy enough to keep tracks on the very small item.

Minutes later he joined his team, where Fatima already had her hand-held tablet online and pointed out to the others where Poliakoff was going to.

"At what point are we going to arrest her, y'think, Callen?" Kensi asked.

"Depends," Callen replied. "Since we don't know if she's having company I suggest we follow the signal until it stops. At that point we need to know if she's alone or, if not, what company she's in."

-"Kaleidoscope-two is following too Callen. It'll catch infrared signals and see persons as heat. It actually picks up human movement within a building," Eric's familiar voice sounded as if the younger man never left their team.

Callen nodded. "Thanks Beale, that's good to know."

Waiting like the others of the team, Sam leaned against the black Challenger. He glanced at his partner and said "You know, for a while I thought you'd be suggesting to join Poliakoff. Earlier this morning, I mean."

The remark annoyed Callen. "Told you, there's no need to infiltrate." He shook his head and his blue eyes rested on his friend's face. "And actually I thought you'd know me better than that, Sam."

"Well... yesterday you took off and left us guessing where you'd gone and why, G," Sam muttered. "Then this morning you show up, sharing some secrets with Nell and Vance."

"Oh, c'mon bro... now you sound like a jealous lover", Callen started chuckling. "I simply found Elisabeth a safe place to stay."

"Nothing you want to share with us?"

Callen shrugged. "Sure, why not-"

An interruption from Eric sounded in their ears. "It stopped!"

"Great! Are we gonna breach?" Roundtree eagerly asked immediately after.

-"Not yet," Nell said, sucking in her breath as ever when she concentrated on her task. "It's a car repair shop and we're counting seven cars around, already. Eric's system is now checking for heat movement. There'll be a SWAT team to join you and ICE has been informed by Vance too."

"ICE?" Deeks frowned.

"If all that Callen has been told is right, there are Romanian and Mexican mobs involved, so yeah," Sam explained understood.

"Been told... I remember the phonecall you and I had and you mentioned 'Romania and be shot' in the same sentence, Sam," Deeks said, even without seeing the scowl on Callen's face.

"Never mind that. Nell, what can you tell us about SWAT's ETA?" Kensi asked, all professionally. She also was surprised at Sam being cranky like he was.

-"By the time you've all arrived, I guess another five minutes. ICE will be waiting outside though," Nell said.

"Right then, let's go," Callen said. He sank down in the passenger chair of the Challenger, as a habit.
Once Sam got in behind the wheel, Callen turned off the mics and ears. "Want to tell me what's really wrong, Sam?" he wanted to know.

The large, trained man beside him was silent for a second or so. Then he shook his head and said "It's... well, it's not you, G. Guess it's all me. I mean, I miss it."

"You miss what?"

"Miss you. It's, well, it is as if it's not the same anymore. As if we're not in sync no longer."

Callen hugged in the chair a bit deeper and glanced sidewards, then raised his brow. "This was what you suggested, big guy. Work differently. Train some youngsters, leave me back at the office in control, right? And now, once that is how we try to work - mind you, we're still trying - you don't want it?"

"That's right."

"So?"

Sam heaved a deep sigh. "So, maybe I was wrong and maybe we need to change it back. Have Nell stay where she's now, and have Eric train Fatima as his successor perhaps."

Callen rubbed his chin with the back of his hand, feeling the rasp of his five o'clock stubble. "But that leaves Roundtree. He's a great agent, Sam. And yes, you and I know that with his qualifications, Vance would have another position for him in no time. Still, that'd be a loss for this team."

"I know. It's just that..."

"Let's first get this case over, Sam. It needs carefully thinking. Also we'd need to know how the others think about it all."

Sam hummed, his attention to the road as well. "You know, G... I'm sorry I came up with that plan at all. And I feel sorry too that I reacted so lousy earlier on."

"Never mind." Callen motioned to the screen of his phone and then at the building in front of them, a warehouse. "Looks like we've arrived."
He then pointed at a parking nearby and lead the others that way too.

Their three cars halted and now they'd have to wait anyway, they all changed into tactical gear.
"Roundtree, you're with Deeks and Kensi. Fatima's with us. And remember, vests on," Callen said.
He tore the Velcro left side of his vest loose to get in it, a movement noticed by Kensi. It reminded her of how Sam had mentioned that Callen took a bullet, but somehow, no one asked how he was doing. She caught Callen's gaze and there was just the shake of his head, lightly.
A 'don't ask' — Kensi understood. Well, she knew that Callen was old enough to make the right decision anyway, yet she worried for him like a sister did for her big brother.

Fatima watched her small screen and said "Eric, the system says-"

Eric Beale interrupted Fatima's question and confirmed "It says there are 17 persons inside. Of course we don't know if it's friend or foe."

Nell's voice reached them through their earwigs. "One team of eight SWAT's is in position."

Callen simply directed the others to their positions, so that in the end, the group who were already in the building would be completely surrounded. Callen spotted Poliakoff who stood not too far away, talking to two men. He motioned to Sam with a nod in her direction: he'd be arresting her.
Until now, it seemed no-one inside this warehouse was aware of the fact that 14 heavily armed persons had entered. Not until one of the men who had been watching something Poliakoff showed, turned around to get something and spotted one of the joint team intruders. After a first warning yell, shots were fired from both sides.
That was when all of a sudden Fatima screamed out in pain — a bullet hit her.

Sam muttered to his partner. "Damn... G, you cover me."

Callen didn't have to confirm it, he just nodded to his strong friend.
In order for Sam to get Fatima away from the crossfire she somehow came in, Callen needed quick thinking and acting. He looked around. There were no real good angles to distract the shooters from his two coworkers.
The tool chest on wheels was the most obvious thing around. With all of his power he shove it forward, so that it hit the two men nearby. The shots they were about to fire ended up nowhere and he managed to fight them both without having to shoot them, still getting them out of action with a few standard actions.
Sam had a clear path to a saver position for him and Fatima which he let Callen and the others know of. Despite the shouting coming from everywhere, Callen was grateful to have the ear wigs in and managed to catch the messages of his own team, just as well of knowing they'd hear him.

Callen saw how the team of SWAT's managed to eliminate several people around that must've belonged to the ones who had guns and used them, just as well as shoving those who appeared to be innocent away from where the action was.

"G... Where's Poliakoff?" Sam asked in a hushed voice.

"Still got eyes on her," he answered in a whisper that still sounded determined though.
Callen skulked closer, until he was at a distance close enough to say "Alexa Poliakoff, you're being arrested."

He read the annoyance flickering in her eyes — being caught on the act definitely frustrated her, and in her position there seemed to be no way out.

Poliakoff said "So it was you, agent Callen. You were the one who spoke with her, with that Sharden woman. And you're the one who shot the Romanians at the hospital. The one who got away, who got her away."
For a few seconds she seemed to proceed the information herself. "How did you do it, how did you find me?"

For a moment, he ignored all what happened around them and shrugged rather self-assured. "First: assumption. There had to be something everyone was looking for. So we made it up and you bought it. You never would have looked for the tracker, all you cared for was the money to get rid of 'the Sharden woman'. And here we are," Callen stated. "She's safe, and you are not."

Poliakoff slowly nodded, then a bland smile appeared on her face. It seemed she grew taller and determined all of a sudden and her voice was colder when she ordered aloud "Federal Agent, drop your gun, you're under arrest!"

Callen was amazed by her sudden creativity. It was not what he expected and he shook his head.

"You heard the woman!"
A member of the SWAT team was alerted by Poliakoff's shout and pointed his gun at Callen too.

Callen was about to huff the message away but noticed the determination on the other man's face and so he obeyed. Slowly he handed his gun, and then he was moved by the two people towards the other ones who got arrested.

"I'll handle this," Poliakoff told the other man.

Callen shook his head and started "But..."

A growl came from the uniformed man who was supposed to take orders from him, but probably forgot. "Sir, you've got the right to remain silent."

In his ears he heard the shouts of his team, all from further away and at different positions in this warehouse, whereas he was held at gunpoint and unarmed right now.

"What do you know?" Poliakoff hissed in his ear.

"Nothing," Callen replied calmly.
He should have seen it coming, perhaps. But he was completely stupefied when he was stabbed from behind in his side. 'Lucky I'm wearing a vest' was a thought that flashed through his mind, whereas he noticed it was a screwdriver in a hand from one of the arrested men.

Callen gasped and grunted in pain and fought another assault off. He knew he risked being shot at now he was causing a fight. He also knew his limbs and his neck or head were ever so vulnerable.

He heard his partner shout: "G!" and he knew Sam caught his groan as well, and he panted nearly inaudible "Sam..."

Callen kept fighting until he stumbled backwards against another wheeled drawer set, he slipped and fell on the oily and dirty ground. A booted leg was kicked at his head and he avoided it once. The next one hit him with a force in his side again and he couldn't hide his cry of pain. Whatever it was that was hitting his head, Callen never knew. But he couldn't escape it and he passed out immediately.

He never heard Sam yell his name again. Nor the questions from his team.
"Sam? Please, say it ain't so, Sam, just say it ain't so!"

They told us our hero has played his trump card
He doesn't know how to go on.
We're clinging to his charm and determined smile,
But the good old days have gone.

[Murray Head]

TBC

Richtsje