AN: Alright, here we are, the final two chapters are coming your way. Buckle up, buttercups, we're going on one last ride with this one! I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3

After a brief flight, the team landed in Kapa'a and headed to the house Ernie pinged. He and Cara utilized the satellite imaging she coordinated from the State Department and confirmed two heat signatures in the house. Jane was the first to step onto the porch with Kai covering her. Jesse and Lucy headed around the back. Jane frowned when she noticed the door was unlocked. She glanced back at Kai and he gave a nod. She stealthily entered the home with her gun drawn. As soon as they saw Bao unconscious on the couch, Kai rushed over to check the man's pulse, but Jane's eyes were focused on the backyard. Maggie was sitting with her back to them and Jane took in a deep breath as she crept toward the back porch.

"Sit with me, Janie," said Maggie as she reached for something by her feet.

"Drop it," warned Jane and Maggie sighed as she showed her hands.

"I was just grabbing some more gin. This is the last of it," she informed and Jane gave a curt nod when she saw the bottle. Maggie poured the last of its contents into her glass.

"What happened to him," questioned Jane as she kept her gun pointed at her old mentor and friend.

"He's sedated. I knew he wouldn't come willingly. He still can't see it."

"See what?"

"That he's being played." Jane glanced back at Kai who gave a nod to let her know Bao was still breathing. She hesitated for a moment, but noticed Jesse and Lucy were covering her from the backyard. She put her gun back in her holster and sat down on the bench with Maggie.

"By who?"

"I'm not sure. He wouldn't tell me. At first I thought MSS, but they wouldn't risk having him caught on American soil again. Whoever it was promised him a chance at getting me out as long as they got something in return. I had no idea he was going to do that, Janie. I would have never let him go after Julie. I love that girl like my own."

"I know," conceded Jane as she looked down.

"You can't protect him this time, though," she added.

"I know," conceded Maggie.

"And you have no idea who caused all this?"

"If I knew, I would tell you."

"I'll need a list of people you know who now work on the base." Maggie frowned in confusion.

"At Pearl?"

"Yeah, the explosion had to be an inside job."

"What explosion?"

"The explosive device that was placed under Whistler's car, you didn't know about that?" Maggie shook her head.

"Whistler okay?"

"Just a few scrapes and bruises, did he know," asked Jane.

"All he told me is that he had a plan to leverage our freedom and get us out of the country, but he needed something first."

"What?"

"The backup copy I made of those classified documents. I stashed them close to here," she said as she nodded over toward a dirty shovel in the backyard.

"So, he was going to use those documents to get you both out?"

"Whoever funded his delusions of this working out made him think if he could get the copies to them, they could get us out of the country. He knew you would come after us the moment we stepped foot in Hawaii and wanted Julie as a hostage to guarantee our safe departure. I'm so sorry, Janie." Jane gritted her teeth as she looked away, but gave a curt nod.

"Finish your gin and make a list of every person you know who might be connected to one of those documents that also works at Pearl."

"Will do," agreed Maggie before taking a sip from her glass. Jane looked up to see Lucy and Jesse watching her in the distance with sympathetic smiles. They knew how difficult it was for their boss. She had done her best to not think about the deep betrayal of her old friend, but the wound was opened once again.

Kate had to pull Cara back as she tried to leave Ernie's lair. The two of them were sifting through files and data with Ernie to see who could be the insider working with Bao. They managed to figure it out minutes before Jane called Ernie with the list of names Maggie provided. It was the confirmation they needed and Cara was livid.

"You're too injured. I'll handle this."

"I know how you handle things. I'll handle it," said Kate.

"Why, so they can just get away again because you aren't willing to make the hard call?"

"I will remind you that we're on a joint base and you should be treading very lightly. Ernie, watch her."

"Me," asked Ernie and even Cara laughed at that.

"You really think he can stop me," asked Cara.

"No, but you have a soft spot for nerds. Sit," said Kate as she pushed her into a chair. Kate walked out of the office and headed toward the DIA headquarters. Her phone buzzed and she immediately sent it to voicemail when she recognized the number. It was later in the afternoon and many of the staff members and officers were already heading home. The moment she entered the office she was looking for, she grabbed the handcuffs from her pocket and placed them on the desk. She sat down in front of the man as he gulped and closed a file.

"Whistler, what are you…"

"Save it, director, you know, you were always an asshole when I worked here, but I never thought you were a traitor," she informed.

"I've protected this country with honor, done more good than you ever will," he defended.

"Is that what you call smuggling two foreign spies onto American soil, paying mercenaries to kidnap a child, and planning to use her in a negotiation?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Doesn't matter. Either way, you're going to prison for a very long time and I'm going to enjoy every minute of interrogating you. I wouldn't do that, by the way," said Kate as she nodded toward the gun under his desk. He glanced down at the gun she had resting on her lap.

"I've always been fascinated by the ones who like to go out loud and messy versus quiet and neat. I always took you for quiet and neat, but I have no problem with being wrong. After all, you did try to kill me."

"I didn't think it would go this far," he admitted and Kate eyed him curiously.

"What part?" His shoulders slumped in defeat as he heard the footsteps outside the door.

"That intel should have never ended up in Bao's possession."

"This is about the breach. What did you do, Owens?"

"She was my friend. We'd seen hell and made it back. When she asked me for intel, I thought it would be put to good use, not for MSS. All I ever did was serve my country and trust my comrades. What did that get me?"

"Betrayed, but instead of coming forward, you dug your own grave."

"I would've never survived the scandal."

"Tennant did. Then too, she's honorable. You're nothing of the sort." She glanced behind her and gave a nod. Two FBI agents entered and the director grabbed the handcuffs from the desk to place on his own hands.

"I didn't know what Bao would do. I wanted to lure them back to the islands, make sure nothing could be traced back to me on those backup files, and put an end to this once and for all. I was trying to fix this," he defended.

"By trying to kill me? We already know where you got the explosives and have timestamps of when you tampered with the footage. How did killing me fit into your little fix," questioned Kate and he smirked at her.

"Once you started sniffing around, you left me no choice. You knew too much from your time here."

"So that's it, nothing more than a loose end? That's kind of insulting."

"Shaw and that offspring of hers got me into this mess. I was doing what needed to be done to get out of it, nothing personal. But speaking of personal, what kind of connections could you possibly have that got two CIA agents to arrive on the island for you?" She glared at him, but remained silent.

"That's what I thought. The intelligence game sure has changed," he said with a smirk as the agents pulled him away.

Later that evening, Kate, Cara, and Ernie met the rest of the team at the Air Force Base where Maggie, Bao, and the DIA Director were being detained and transferred, along with the mercenaries. Kate smiled when Ernie ran over to greet the team. Jane and Jesse handed Maggie and Bao over to the DIA officers assigned to make sure they arrived securely at their destination. Jane sighed in relief as she approached her friend.

"You okay," asked Jane and Kate nodded.

"As good as expected, you?"

"Same. I'm ready to get home, have dinner with the kids, and worry about the ridiculous piles of paperwork this will take later."

"Go, I'll make sure everything gets wrapped up here," assured Kate. They both watched as Maggie, Bao, the director, and the mercenaries filed into a van. Maggie gave one last small smile in Jane's direction as the doors closed. Kate glanced over at her friend.

"You sure you're okay," asked Kate.

"I will be," assured Jane as they all watched the van head toward the west side of the base where a plane was waiting to transport them off of the island. Suddenly, an explosion rippled through the van, sending it flying into the air as it was engulfed in flames. The reverberation and heat made all of them stumble backward and cover their heads as the van carrying the prisoners crashed back to earth in a pile of rubble, flames, and billows of smoke. Everything seemed to slow down in Kate's mind as the movements around her faded into the background. She could hear Jane and the others running toward the wreckage as she looked around for Cara, who was nowhere to be found. Her words from earlier echoed in her mind, along with the number of missed calls she had from her mother.

And you two can't seem to keep up. The secret was out the moment Bao targeted Kate. You have yet to see the consequences of that choice.

Kate could feel her heart picking up in pace as she tried to figure out her miscalculation and how she could have missed it. She was in shock as the sirens wailed and military personnel rushed onto the scene. She knew what had happened. She had a feeling Jane would know too, but all she could do was stand there, numb and in silence, as the van carrying Maggie Shaw and the rest of the prisoners burned.

The next couple of hours went by in a blur. She knew that part well. She had been trained for being on both sides of it. She was asked several questions, some she answered honestly and some she referenced a lack of clearance for the person interviewing her to not answer at all. She was on autopilot and running the events through her mind. This is why she got out. It's why she left D.C. behind and decided to make a new life for herself in Hawai'i. She wanted to serve her country and save people, not be the cause of deaths. At some point, she ended up back in the NCIS bullpen. She could tell Lucy was worried about her. She hadn't spoken much since the explosion and glanced up to see the brunette speaking with Jane. She wasn't surprised when Jane walked over to her and nodded toward her office. Kate gave a nod back and silently followed her inside. Jane closed the door behind them and Kate sat down as Jane pulled out a bottle of liquor from a cabinet, along with two glasses. She poured one for each and handed one to Kate. Kate flexed her fingers to stop her hand from shaking and took a sip of the brown liquid. It burned as it went down and she welcomed the feeling, as it oddly felt sobering to feel something instead of numbness coursing through her body.

"Lucy's worried about you. They all are. They think you're in shock."

"You should hate me," said Kate as she stared into her glass and Jane frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"This is my fault."

"Kate, none of this is your fault."

"They were here because of me."

"They were here because of Maggie and Bao. I never wanted it to end like this, but she made her choices. She created a lot of enemies, one was bound to get to her."

"Do you think anyone even believes it, that the Director of the DIA had a bomb rigged to blow himself up like that?"

"I think it's the story the brass needs. The man is responsible for the deaths of the agents killed during Maggie's escape, tried to kill another, and funded a kidnapping attempt. Now, he's dead. He makes for a good scapegoat and no one will look too closely to say otherwise."

"And what about you? How can this sit well with you?"

"It doesn't, but whether Maggie died tonight or at some black site, I've been mourning the loss of my friend for a while now. That feeling I had today, when Julie was in danger because of Maggie, because of what I do for a living, I was willing to take down anyone in the way of keeping her safe."

"I know how she'll justify it to herself, that they were bad people, that they killed, but what about the two DIA officers transporting them, what about their lives? And if we don't have laws and values, Jane, what do we have?"

"Chaos, but that's why people like you and me exist. It's what we fight for, what this team fights for." Kate slowly nodded as she pulled an envelope from the inside of her jacket pocket. Jane immediately recognized it as Kate handed it to her.

"I kept it in my locker just in case you would ever want it. I know you said you were done, but no matter what, we all deserve a chance to say our piece, you know?" Jane swallowed hard as tears filled her eyes and she took the letter Maggie had written to her before.

"Thank you for keeping it."

"Of course."

"Just so you know, when it comes to your mother, I don't care what she says to you or what guilt you think you should hold, you listen to me. You and her, you're not the same. It's why you left and why I trust you."

"Trust is the key to our work, right?" Jane nodded.

"To trust," said Jane and Kate nodded as they clinked glasses.

"To trust," she agreed. It still didn't sit well with her, the way Shaw and Bao's demise happened or the role she felt she played in it, but she found comfort in knowing her friend didn't blame her.

Kate was relieved when the NCIS team was called in for a debriefing with their director. It meant she didn't have to face Lucy yet. She didn't know what to say and was afraid of what would be said back. She knew her heart was fragile at the moment and could only take so much more. It's why she almost headed straight home instead of to the beach access turnoff point the secure message on her phone notified her of, the spot she had met Mateo earlier. When she arrived, she saw the man leaning against his black BMW along with Cara. Kate took in a shallow breath to steady her composure, careful not to irritate her bruised ribs in the process. She got out of the car and Cara immediately put her hands up in defense.

"It wasn't my call."

"And you think that absolves you somehow," asked Kate and Cara smirked.

"Wow, you spend some time in Hawai'i and suddenly become quite judgmental. For the record, I didn't detonate that bomb. My job was clear. I kept you safe. Mission accomplished."

"What about you, Mateo," challenged Kate and the man shrugged casually as he crossed his arms.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, but if I did, I would just remind you that our job is to keep people safe, to protect American citizens. Jane's family, Jesse's, even Kai's, are all safe and able to sleep easy tonight. One of these days, you're going to remember how to play in the gray when wearing that white hat gets a bit too heavy for you." Kate walked over to stand toe to toe with the man and he sighed.

"Don't ever come back here," she warned.

"Why Cara, I think I was just threatened by a FBI Special Agent. I might need to write up a formal complaint," taunted Mateo.

"Come back and I'll shoot you myself. Make sure to include that in your complaint," added Kate and Mateo chuckled.

"You're so much like her," he said before walking away.

"You two sure do know how to rile each other up," said Cara.

"He's an asshole. He saved Julie, so I'll let that part slide, but he's still an asshole."

"Fair enough," agreed Cara as she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets.

"It didn't have to go down this way," said Kate.

"You're trying to sway the wrong people. Shooting the messengers gets you nowhere and I think you know that." Kate looked down and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I know. By the way, thank you again for saving my life."

"Like I told you before, I'd do anything for you."

"Cara…"

"I'm not here looking for anything, Kate. I never was. I see the way you look at her and the way she looks at you. I'm not blind. I get it."

"Pretty sure that ship has sailed after tonight. She's not like us. I may not play in the gray anymore, but I still understand it. I understand that if we did the hard thing before with Shaw and Bao, Jane's daughter wouldn't have been in danger. Just because we got there in time doesn't change that it could've ended much differently."

"And you wouldn't have almost been killed."

"Yeah, that too, but I signed up for this. The ones that didn't, those are the ones I worry about."

"Lucy signed up for this life too."

"No, she didn't. She signed up for always being the good guy, the hero, the honorable one. We're a lot of things, but you and I aren't that."

"I make no apologies for who I am, but to be clear, you and I aren't the same. It's why it couldn't work between us. You chose to leave. You've always questioned the methods and the design of it all. I don't know who's right about that, you or the director, but standing out in the light, not always in the shadows, looks good on you."

"Thanks."

"You done stalling," asked Cara.

"Yeah, I guess so." Cara stepped aside and Kate walked over to the ramp leading down to the beach. Her mother was standing at the end of it, staring out at the water as the full moon bounced off of the waves and illuminated the night sky.

"It's beautiful here. I can see why you refuse to leave," said her mother as Kate eyed her cautiously.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't even be here after what happened."

"Noah loved the water. I remember when you two first had surfing lessons on that trip to Tahiti. You were both so competitive and you wanted to do everything your big brother did."

"He was an amazing big brother."

"And an amazing son, I hope you never know the pain of grieving a child."

"Don't you dare use him as justification. What you did…"

"I did what needed to be done. Did you really think it would go unchecked?"

"What about the DIA officers in that van?"

"Rumor has it those two particular officers were quite close with Owens and we now know he had some help diverting funds and attention away from his little attempt to cover his tracks."

"You think that makes it right? There are laws, mom. Laws, you swore to obey and…"

"Don't talk to me about laws. You want to live on this island away from your family, away from those that care about you, and the career you set out to embrace, fine, but what you will never do is lecture me about laws." Kate shook her head in disbelief.

"Then why are you even here? You had to know I wouldn't be okay with this."

"You almost died today. Just because Cara made it in time doesn't change that."

"Well, I didn't and now you've seen me. I'm safe and will be all healed up soon. Go back to D.C. and play God."

"You are so self-righteous sometimes, Katie."

"And you're a murderer." She wasn't surprised when her mother didn't flinch at the accusation. In fact, she seemed amused by it as she turned to face her.

"No, my dear, I'm the one that makes sure murderers can't hurt anyone else and let me make myself perfectly clear. I know how you feel about me. I even understand it, but I made a vow the day your brother died that I would never let anyone take another child from me and I always keep my vows. You may not agree with my methods, but I will never apologize for them."

"I'm not asking you to apologize for them. I'm asking you to stay out of my affairs." Her mother giggled and shook her head. Kate allowed her to fix her jacket collar and her mother neatly tucked it back in place where the breeze had caught it.

"If you don't want me in your affairs, then stop almost getting yourself killed. I don't take kindly to it."

"From someone else, I'd almost be touched by that sentiment."

"I have a flight to catch, but I wanted to see for myself that you were okay. I trust Cara, but you can never be too careful about these things. Always a warm and fuzzy visit with you." With that, she headed back up the ramp. Kate leaned against it and looked up at her.

"Mom," she called and her mother turned back to her.

"I'm sorry I scared you," she conceded. Her mother walked back over to her and Kate closed her eyes as her mother kissed her forehead. It reminded her of simpler times, when she was younger and thought her mother was everything good and right in the world.

"Your father says hello. Call him, please. It isn't fair you take out your rebellion against me on him too."

"It isn't a rebellion." Her mother waved her off.

"Rebellion, fit, tantrum, whatever," she called over her shoulder as she headed back up the ramp. Kate rolled her eyes, but left the comment alone. Instead, she pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and dialed her father's number. It had been a while since she had spoken to him and she knew he would appreciate the call.

When Ernie alerted Jane to the flight manifest she asked him to look up and that a departure was scheduled within the hour, she headed to the airport and waited patiently. She knew she would not get through the gate, but parked her car and sat on the hood anyways. She was a bit surprised when it opened and Cara walked out with two other agents. Jane allowed them to search her as Cara eyed her carefully.

"Here to go out in a blaze of glory to avenge your friend," asked Cara.

"I think we both know that isn't the case."

"Does Kate know you're here?"

"No."

"Follow me," said Cara. Jane followed her through the gate and toward the private jet on the heavily guarded tarmac. Mateo gave her a nod in recognition as she passed him and headed for where the director was waiting for her.

"NCIS Special Agent in Charge Tennant, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Director Conway, I just wanted to formally welcome you to Hawai'i. When a woman of your status comes to the islands, people tend to notice."

"They always do, but I was just passing through."

"Good. I would hate for you to bring attention to others in the process, even unintentionally. There've been a lot of rumors about interagency wars lately and I hope whatever struggles the State Department may find itself in, it's mindful of the blowback it may have on other people."

"Meaning?" Jane stepped closer to her and the director held up her hand when Mateo took a step in their direction.

"Forgive him, he tends to be overprotective. Go on," added the director.

"The DIA may have their hands full at the moment, but are you sure nothing falls back on her?" The director eyed her carefully.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you weren't here in your formal capacity at all."

"Are you sure this won't fall back on her?"

"On who? Ah, you must mean FBI Special Agent Whistler, the one who arrested Owens. I heard she coordinates with your team from time to time. She was formerly a DIA Officer in D.C. who transferred to Hawai'i and eventually joined the FBI, correct? Sounds like quite the decorated career. I hear she has been quite impressive in her work, but have never gotten the chance to meet her."

"Did Owens know who she was? Could he have told anyone else?"

"Such a tragedy what happened to him. This job can take its toll, interagency wars, betrayal, espionage. He kept to himself, but it appears to have still gotten the best of him. I suppose that's why some of us get out, like you, for example."

"I suppose so."

"Well, I must be going. Hawaii is a bit too far from home for me. Take care of yourself, Tennant, and that team of yours."

"One more thing, Maggie mentioned there was a classified file, one that had a list of former agents, one that in the wrong hands could lead to more close-calls with their families like the one today."

"A file? I know of no such file or record."

"So then, everything is good," asked Jane and the director smiled knowingly at her.

"You know, Tennant, while our methods may differ, you and I are not that different from each other. We are both leaders, strong women, but most importantly, we are mothers. I would do anything to protect my child and I know you would do anything to protect yours. If I ever did have a, let's say, daughter who worked in the field, I would hope she would have someone like you watching her back, and if she did, I would make sure that someone was always watching yours. If I come across any files, I'll be sure to let you know." Jane nodded her understanding.

"Thank you."

"The things we do for our children," said the director before climbing the stairs of the private jet. Mateo and Cara gave Jane a nod before climbing the stairs as well and Jane sighed in relief. The letter Maggie wrote her alerted her to sensitive information that could be out there about her and she was relieved to know that it was no longer an issue. It had been a long day and all she wanted to do was go home and spend time with her family. With that final issue out of the way and the director and her team departing from the islands, she planned to do just that.

AN: So, what do you think of CIA Director Conway aka Mama Whistler? She is definitely a Mama Bear that should never be poked. Next up, the final chapter, and one of my favorite parts of any fanfic….Kacy Endgame.