Zoë had been with the team for about four months and she was getting settled in nicely. She really liked working on this team. The agents trusted her and liked talked to her, except for Callen of course. She needed a little bit more time with him. He was very stubborn and he didn't want to let anything go when he talked with her but Zoë was determined to get him to open up to her.
..
"The boatshed and not my office. I'm intrigued, Mr. Callen," Hetty spoke as she walked into the boatshed where Callen sat on the sofa.
Hetty took a seat on the chair.
"Left on my sister's grave," Callen said as he showed Hetty the toy soldier.
"Huh. A Prussian hussar. Lead, hand-painted. Older than I am, if I'm not mistaken. Significance?"
"When I was a kid, a man at a beach handed me a toy soldier like that. It brought back the memory."
"A message from someone in your past?" Hetty looked at the screen where a camera feed was playing. "Anyone of interest on the camera you hid in the birdhouse?"
"Two visitors." Callen scrolled back the video and Hetty was shown on the screen.
"Hmm. A walk through the cemetery clears my mind, puts everything into perspective. Second visitor?" Callen scrolled through to the next visitor. "You know him?"
"No. But I almost met him. Once."
"The man you couldn't catch."
"I think he wants to meet with me."
"Dangerous."
"Necessary."
"I can't sanction it."
"I'm not asking you to. But I do have time owed."
"Indeed you do, Mr. Callen. Don't get lead poisoning from this thing," Hetty told her agent. She didn't like it when he went off on his own.
..
The team was up in OPS getting briefed on the new case when Hetty stepped in and told Eric to access a camera.
"Is that Nate?" Zoë questioned.
"Where is that?" Kensi asked.
"Oakville Federal Prison," Eric said.
"I'm sure Nate is more than capable of this," Hetty told Sam.
Hetty told them what Nate had been working on so far.
"I need to be there," Sam told Hetty.
"Is this about taking down a terrorist or about protecting Moe because you feel responsible for him?" Sam just looked at Hetty. "Mr. Beale, please start creating Mr. Hanna's cover. We'll need IDs, prison records. Go back at least ten years."
"Where's Callen?" Sam asked, feeling better if he could do this with his partner.
"Temporarily unavailable."
"Keep him safe, Hetty."
Sam walked off, getting ready for the mission and waiting for his backstop to be ready. Zoë walked after him.
"Sam, can I talk to you for a sec?" Zoë called and Sam stopped and turned around.
"I have to do this Zoë."
"I know you do. I just wanna make sure your head is on straight before you go in."
"I'm fine Zoë."
"I know you feel like Moe's your responsibility cus of what happened but what Moe does is not on you."
"I have to get him out of this. Moe is not ready for this, he can't handle this."
"Sam…"
"I appreciated you looking out for me but I'm good, I promise. I can handle this."
"Just don't let your feelings towards Moe cloud your judgement on this mission. These guys are dangerous. One wrong move and you could end up dead."
"I know Zoë, I promise I'm good. I can handle this."
"Okay good."
"Find out what's going on with Callen please."
"I will try Sam. You just focus on the mission at hand."
Sam walked off and Zoë went to her office. She pulled out her phone and dialed Callen's number. After a few rings it went to voicemail.
"Hey Callen, it's Zoë. Just wondering if everything's okay with you. Hetty said you were temporarily unavailable. Just wanted to make sure everything's okay. If you need to talk about something just give me a call," Zoë left a message on Callen's voicemail.
..
The team was discussing the case up in OPS, trying to help out Sam as best as they could, when the sliding doors to OPS opened. Everyone wondered who was coming in.
"Nate, hi!" Zoë spoke as she saw it was Nate and went to give him a hug.
"Hi Zoë."
"Nate! Good to see you again," Eric spoke.
"Something wrong?" Hetty asked.
"Maybe," Nate replied and gestured her to come outside with him.
"Ms. Moore, please join us."
Nate talked to them about what was going on in the prison.
"I talked to Sam before he went in," Zoë said. "He said he was good. He can handle this."
They talked some more before Hetty walked off.
"How are you getting settled in here?" Nate asked.
"It's good. I like working here. The agents don't mind coming to talk to me except for Callen."
"Yeah Callen is a complicated one."
"Yeah I tried talking to him but he doesn't really open up."
"I tried for years but I never really got him to open up, maybe you have better luck."
"I'm definitely gonna keep trying."
"That's good."
They managed to get Sam in and tracked Abdul but he ended up killing Moe before Sam could get there.
"How's he?" Zoë asked as she joined Hetty in front of the window to the gym where Sam was punching the hell out of a punching bag.
"He feels like Moe was his responsibility cus of what happened. He thinks it's on him that Moe is dead."
"Moe was like family to him. Sam will go through everything to protect his family and when he can't…"
"Just leave him be for now, talk to him in the morning."
"I will Hetty. Have you heard anything from Callen?"
"No, not yet."
"What's he doing?"
"Looking for answers."
"Anything new pop up?"
"Not sure, too soon to tell. That's what's Mr. Callen is trying to find out."
"I tried calling him but he didn't pick up. He's okay right?"
"I sure he is. Ms. Moore. Mr. Callen can take care of himself."
"Good. Goodnight Hetty."
"Goodnight Ms. Moore."
Zoë walked off and Hetty grabbed her phone. Wondering about her lead agent. It went straight to voicemail.
"Mr. Callen, it's been forty-eight hours. You're missed, please call me."
..
In the morning Zoë was in the office early, hoping to get to talk to Sam before the case started. Luckily when she arrived Sam was already there. He was in the armory cleaning his gun.
"Morning Sam," Zoë said as she walked into the armory.
"Morning Zoë."
"How are you doing Sam?"
"I'm good," Sam spoke, focusing on his gun. He knew what Zoë wanted to talk to him about.
"You sure Sam? With everything that happened…"
"Everything that happened was my fault. I should've protected Moe."
"You can't protect everyone Sam. It's not on you that Moe died. You are not responsible for his actions."
"He wouldn't be in this if it wasn't for me. It was up to me to protect him."
"It's not your fault Sam. What happened to Moe is awful but it's not your fault."
Nell walked into the armory, interrupting the conversation.
"Sorry, but you're needed up in OPS."
"We'll be right there," Sam said and Nell walked off.
"You good Sam?"
"I'm good. Have you heard something of Callen?"
"No not yet, I left him a message but nothing. Hetty said he was working on something personal. Looking for answers, answers from his past I presume."
"Was there anything new then?"
"Not that I know."
…
Sam went on his case as Callen was still MIA.
"Agent Callen," Zoë spoke when Callen walked into OPS a few hours later. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Callen answered, not really wanting to talk right now, wanting to find out who broke into his home.
"Did he take anything?"
"No, he didn't have the chance," Callen spoke as he walked upstairs to OPS and Zoë followed him. "Where are we?"
"No luck with facial or fingerprint identification. This guy's a ghost."
"Where is our phantom at the moment?" Hetty asked.
"He's secured in the boatshed."
"He say anything?" Sam asked.
Callen shook his head. "Rewind the interrogation tape, will you, Eric?"
They watched the interrogation tape. The man was speaking but not English.
"It sounds like a Romani dialect to me," Hetty said.
"Yeah, Hetty's right. I hear a strong Balkan influence," Kensi added.
"I can send this to Washington, try to get it translated," Nell offered.
"No need. There's only one guy I know that employs gypsies. He's also the only person who might have known to look for me in that house," Callen said.
"Arkady," Hetty put two and two together.
"Who's Arkady?" Deeks wondered.
"Arkady Kolcheck, former KGB. A friend of Callen's," Sam answered.
"Why would he send someone to come after you if he's your friend?" Nell questioned.
"Good question," Callen replied.
Callen walked off. Taking the phantom to see Arkady.
"How does Callen know Arkady?" Zoë questioned.
"They worked together when Callen was in Russia. He knows about Callen's past and that Alina was his little foster sister. That's how he knows Callen was probably living in that house."
"If he knows that Callen lives there and he's Callen's friend why did he send someone to look for him?"
"I don't know. Callen will find that out."
..
Zoë wanted to talk to Callen about what was going on but every time he was in the office he was busy and gone quickly again, trying to run down the tip from Arkady, hoping to find out some information.
"Agent Callen," Zoë called when Callen was in the office again.
"I don't have time now Zoë, I'm working the case."
"Just come talk to me when the case is over."
"I will," Callen said as he walked out of the office.
Zoë sighed as Callen walked off. It was harder to get him to talk then she thought. She would have to pull him in once the case was over, he wouldn't come on his own.
..
Like Zoë had predicted Callen went straight home after the case. Zoë thought about what to do. She could wait till morning to talk to him but perhaps a case would get in the way and he wouldn't come to her either. Should she go to his place? But that was kinda ambushing him. But he needed to know that she was here for him, that he could talk to her. And he needed to talk to somebody. Zoë looked up Callen's address in the system before packing up her things. Zoë drove to Callen's place, got out of her car, walked up to the house and knocked on the door.
Callen sat on his chair in the living room when he heard the knock on the door. Wondering who it was he grabbed his gun and made his way over to the front door. With his gun ready he opened the front door just slightly. He was surprised to see Zoë standing there.
"Hey Callen," Zoë spoke once Callen opened the door.
"Hey Zoë, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you but you had walked off already. So I figured I'd come to you."
"I don't need to talk, I'm good."
"You pulled away from your team today. I'd like to know why. I'm here for you."
"I know but I'm good."
"You're not Callen. Can I please come in so we can talk?"
"Yeah come on in," Callen spoke, but only just to be polite. If he didn't talk to her she would probably tell Hetty and then Hetty would order him to talk to her.
"Nice place you got here," Zoë spoke as she looked around the house. "Love what you've done with the place."
"I've got a roof over my head, a place to sleep. What more do I need?"
"Some furniture, a TV, decorations, a bed."
"I don't need all that. I don't sleep that much and I'm not here that often. Most of the time I'm at work."
"Well at least you have a steady place to live now, not moving around from flophouse to motel room."
"Have a seat on the chair. Can I get you something?"
"No, I'm good thanks."
Callen grabbed a stool and sat down across from her.
"Talk to me Callen, what's going on? Did you find something out? You can trust me Callen."
Callen sighed. Zoë wasn't going anywhere until he talked to her. Maybe it would be good for him to talk to her. Callen did trust her. She had proven herself already on the team. She was a good asset. She was different than Nate. Maybe it was good for him, someone new, something who looked at things differently. He didn't like talking to shrinks, but Zoë was very persistent to get him to open up to her. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. He had been alone for so long and he didn't really trust anyone, except for his team. And Zoë was part of that team. In the short time she'd been with the time Callen had found out that Zoë wouldn't stop fishing, no matter how much he tried. She was determined to get him to open up. Would it really be such a bad thing to open up to her? Maybe it would be good to talk about things, deal with them, instead of keeping them locked in.
"Hetty told you what's going on?"
"She told me vaguely. That you were looking for some answers, answers from your past. What did you find out?"
Callen took a deep sigh before he spoke. "You know about my sister's grave right?" Zoë nodded. "Well I went to see it her grave and went to put some fresh flowers on her grave. When I picked them up I noticed a toy soldier lying there. It brought back a memory."
"What kind of memory?"
"I was playing on a beach somewhere, making sand castles when someone handed me a toy soldier."
"Do you know who?"
"No, no idea. All I remember was someone giving it to me."
"How old where you?"
"I was a kid, around four I think. I don't remember much just someone giving it to me. I planted a camera in the birdhouse looking out on the grave, in case someone would come there."
"Someone like your parents?"
"Yeah perhaps," Callen replied as he looked down. He had hoped he would find his parents on that camera. But no luck so far.
"Any visitors stand out?"
"There was one. I couldn't get a good look at him but I recognize him. I almost met him once."
"When?"
"A few months back, after I just found out about my sister. I went to her grave and then I noticed someone taking a picture of me. I tried to catch him but he got away. But I'm pretty sure it's the same man."
"And, did you find out who he was?"
"No, I chased every lead I could think of but nothing. I couldn't find anything. It's like he vanished into thin air. Hetty called me saying it had been forty-hours hours already. I hadn't noticed it was that long already. I figured I could keep searching for days and I still wouldn't find anything. So I decided to come back to work this morning but then that guy broke into my house."
"The guy whom Arkady sent?"
"Yes he did. He wanted to find me. He told me about that guy Singh. And he also found the picture that that guy took of me on the cemetery."
"How did he get that?"
"He told me he got it from someone who was trying to infiltrate his operations. I had Nell run analysis on the picture. She had found a fingerprint on it from some guy, some Eastern-European guy. I went to his address but when I got there he was dead in the chair, murdered. On the table in front of him were a lot of toy soldiers, just like the one that was left on the grave."
"You think he put it there?"
"Perhaps, but why I don't know. I didn't know him and from what Nell told me I had no reason to suspect he would know me. I noticed a tattoo on the inside of his forearm. It brought back another memory. The man who handed me the toy soldier had a tattoo just like that."
"Hmm that's something. You said he was Eastern-European, how would you get that as a kid. I mean you were here in America."
"I don't know that, that's all that I remembered," Callen spoke a bit angrily. "I don't remember anything else. I was hoping I would find some answers but it was another dead end, literally. I had the techs go through the crime scene but so far they haven't found anything so whoever killed him was a pro."
"Could they come after you next?"
"I don't know but it's a possibility, but I can take care of myself and I have the team."
"I know you want answers and that you're disappointed you didn't find them but I'm sure one day you will. There has to be someone out there who can give you the answers you're looking for."
"I've been searching for so long but I haven't found anything, I'm beginning to wonder if there are answers out there."
"I'm sure there are Callen and I'm sure you'll find them. Thank you for talking to me," Zoë spoke with a smile.
Callen smiled back at her. It was actually good to talk about it, it felt good. It was a step, a big step for Callen to open up to Zoë. It surprised him, but he felt at ease with her. It was so different then with Nate. Callen didn't know why but it felt good. This was just a part of the things he never talked about. But it felt good to talk to someone about the things that had happened. He felt like a bit of weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
"I'll see you again in the morning. Have a good night," Zoë spoke as she got up to leave.
"Yeah I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you for coming by."
"It's my pleasure Callen."
"Goodnight Zoë."
"Goodnight Callen."
Callen watched as Zoë left, there was just something about her, something that made him want to talk to her. He never had this with Nate. Maybe he should take to her more often.