Callen rubbed his hand through his hair.
"I discovered a lot in Romania and I don't have the whole story myself yet. I was hoping I could talk to Hetty first."
"She can fill in the blanks for you?"
"Yeah I think. At least that's what I'm hoping. She went there to try and protect me. She was working on Operation Comescu. She must know something more. And giving what I've found out I'd like to know what she knows. I deserve to know."
"What happened in Romania?"
Callen sighed. He knew he should talk to Zoë but he didn't want to just yet. But perhaps it was good for him to talk about this. And he knew he could trust Zoë. Callen gestured for Zoë to sit down on the chair and he grabbed a stool for himself. He clasped his hands together and brought them up to his face, considering what to do and what to tell and how to start. Zoë sat their patiently wondering what was going on in Callen's head and waited for him to talk to her. Callen took a deep breath before speaking, his mind going in all kind of directions now. But he needed to do this, Zoë was right. Talking about this would probably be good for him. He was still trying to wrap his head around it all and there we still a lot of pieces missing. After a few minutes of silence Callen spoke.
"When we arrived at the house in Romania we stopped near the beach to scoop it out a bit first. It immediately looked familiar to me. I walked onto the beach. When I saw the beach I started having flashbacks, like I'd been there before. At first I thought that wasn't possible. As far as I knew I'd never been out of the US as a kid. But that beach seemed so familiar to me. There were still so many things the same as back then. I remember what it looked like back then. You remember the flashback I told you about, the one of the beach where a guy gave me a toy soldier?"
Zoë nodded. "Yeah, that was on that beach?"
"Yeah it was. I remember it so well now. I always thought that it was on a beach here in California. That the sea was the Pacific. But it wasn't, it was there in Romania. I was born in Romania, I grew up there. It's where I'm from. I remember being there on the beach, making a sand castle, when that man walked up to me and gave me that toy soldier. I also remember a woman…. My mother," Callen said and he started tearing up at the memory. "They shot her."
Zoë's heart broke for Callen. Finally he remembered something but it was his mother getting shot. "Who? The Comescus?"
"Yeah, I don't know why but they shot her."
"I'm so sorry Callen," Zoë said as she placed a comforting hand on Callen's knee. "I'm so sorry. I knew you always hoped she was still alive."
"I can't believe I forgot all this."
"It's not your fault Callen. You went through a lot as a kid. Those things can press the memories down and make you think you've forgotten them."
"I'm glad I'm remembering stuff again but I still don't know the whole story. I mean why did Hetty go there. She must have known something more."
"I don't know. You'd have to ask her. If she does know more she probably went there to try and protect you."
"Yeah but why would these people try to kill me and why would they kill my mom?" Callen spoke a bit angrily.
"I don't know. I tried looking into the Comescus but there's not much to go on other than the file Hetty had. It doesn't have a lot of facts just a lot of speculation, well at least the part about you being involved with their family feud. I wish I could help you get some more answers but that's up to Hetty. But at least you remember some things. You remember your mother and where you're from."
"Yeah….. I just wish I knew more about this whole thing. Before Hunter shot Alexa Comescu, Alexa told me she knew me, she knew everything about me."
"Do you think she was telling the truth?"
"Yeah it seemed that way and it would explain, well at least a bit, why they would try and kill me. She's dead so now I can't ask her what she knew," Callen spoke that last sentence a bit angrily.
"From what I heard about the op is that if Hunter hadn't shot her Alexa would've shot you and you would be dead."
"Probably yeah."
"So there's that and you will find the answers. I'm sure. It might not be today or tomorrow, but you'll get them."
"I hope so."
"I know so."
"Thank you for coming by Zoë," Callen spoke sincerely. "You were right. It's good to talk to someone about this."
"I'm always here for you if you wanna talk."
"I know. It's just that I'm not good at talking about these kinds of stuff."
"Yeah I realized," Zoë replied with a smile. "But that doesn't gonna stop me from trying to get you to talk. Cus it's good to talk about stuff rather than keep them bottled up."
"Yeah I guess. I do feel better after we've talked."
"That's good. It just takes some pulling it out of you. I know one day you will get the answers you're looking for Callen. But please don't let it consume you. You have a wonderful life here with people that care about you. Don't dwell too much in the past."
"I'll try."
"I should get going. I'll see you Monday at work. Have a nice weekend."
"Yeah thanks, you too. And thanks for stopping by."
"No problem. My door is always open for you," Zoë replied with a smile and walked back to her car and went home.
Callen looked after her as Zoë walked off. She kinda ambushed him at home but in a way he was glad that she did. She was right, it was good to open up about this and to talk to her. He didn't know what it was but he felt more comfortable with her then he ever had with Nate.
…
A few months went by and Callen still had no more answers then when they left Romania. Hetty refused to tell him why she went to Romania and she still wasn't back at work. According to Hunter there was nothing on the laptop about anything that would link Callen to the Comescus. To make matters worse Callen realized that Hetty had an envelope with his name on it and a note saying that it should only be opened in the event of her dead. Callen wondered what was in there and if it had something to do with his past. He knew Hetty knew more about this but she wasn't telling him just yet.
Callen was up in OPS with Nell when she showed him a picture. The others had already gone home for the day.
"Send it to my phone," Callen spoke and he walked out of the office and went downstairs. When he walked into the office, expecting to find Hunter there, he found Hetty instead.
"Looking for someone, Mr. Callen?" Hetty spoke. "Lange, Henrietta. In case you've forgotten."
"You're back," Callen spoke surprised.
"I feel like I was never gone."
"Where's Agent Hunter?"
"Not looking for me at all, then."
They talked about the new case Hunter was one.
"Does this have anything to do with the Comescu?" Callen asked, since the case was in Europe as well.
"Nothing at all. In this operation, their paths never cross. She never had a dog in that fight anyway. Unlike you and I. You asked me why I went off on my own to face the Comescus. I did it because of your mother."
Callen was taken aback. Hetty knew his mother!
"You knew my mom?" Callen managed to speak past the lump that had formed in his throat.
"Sit down. I'll tell you everything I know."
Was Hetty really going to tell him everything she knew and why now after all this time? "Why now?"
"Because you're safe from the Comescus now. And because I can't hold on to these secrets any longer. Please, Mr. Callen," Hetty pleaded.
She could see that he was conflicted about this, wondering if she would actually tell him the truth. Wanting to hear what she had to say Callen sat down with a sigh.
"Where do I begin?"
"What was her name?" Callen asked bluntly.
"Clara. Her name was Clara," Hetty spoke with a smile. "I first met her in Langley, Virginia in nineteen sixty six. Liked her right away. She had been recruited to return to Romania, and I was to be her handler."
Callen leaned forward. "My mother worked for the CIA?" Callen asked surprised. He had been with the CIA but he had never found anything about his mother working there.
Hetty nodded. "And her father before her. You see, Mr. Callen, it's in your blood. Her father, your grandfather, was George Callen. He parachuted into Romania in nineteen forty-four to help King Michael overthrow the fascists who had sided with Hitler. After the war, your grandfather hunted down war criminals, including the Comescu family."
"That's where this all started?"
"Yes. He met and married a Roma girl in nineteen forty-seven. That was when the Comescus sought their revenge. He was murdered. She fled to America with their child."
"My mother."
"Clara. She went back to Romania as a student. That was her cover. For more than a year, everything was fine. But then something happened. She vanished." Callen listened intensely as Hetty talked. "Six years later, she reappeared, desperate to get out of Romania with her children. You and your sister. She contacted me through prearranged channels. At the lasts minute, they ordered me to abort the mission. We'd agreed to meet on the beach."
Callen had flashbacks of his mother being killed on the beach. If Hetty had been there she might still be alive today.
"So now you know why I went back."
Callen tried to process everything he had just heard. Hetty knew so much about him and she never told him!
"All these years!"
"Forgive me." Hetty knew it was wrong of her to keep these secrets from him but she was just trying to protect him, after she had failed protecting his mother, she owed it to herself to protect her son.
Callen looked at her with anger in his eyes. How was he ever going to forgive Hetty for this? She knew he was looking for answers and she had some of them all along! Callen stood up from the chair and walked towards the gym. He needed to let off some steam.
Hetty watched at Callen walked off. She hoped he would eventually forgive. She had an idea how hard this must have been for him. But she tried to protect him but not telling him the truth. Because he probably would've gone after the Comescus once she told him. She needed to protect him. She owed that much to his mother.
Callen changed into his workout clothes and started pounding on the punching bag. Everything that Hetty had told him was playing in front of his mind. She had these answers for so long and she never told him!
After punching for a while Callen wiped the sweat from his face and dragged his feet to the showers. He leaned with his hands against the wall as the warm water fell down on him. The workout and the shower helped to clear his mind a bit but there was one more thing he needed to do.