The Hispanic

Chapter 2

"We need you up in Ops… now!" Nell's voice contained urgency and all three of them jumped up from where they had been discussing possible leads to chase down.

They were exhausted. Callen had been missing for close to two days now and there was preciously little they knew. Still, they had all been out on the streets, connecting with CIs, with other agencies or the local PD. No one had gone home to rest. They had taken short alternating breaks throughout the nights, catnapping on the couch that was quietly referred to as Callen's in all of their minds.

Stampeding up the stairs, all of them strode into Ops. Eric and Nell were turned to their computers, analyzing and doing whatever it was they were trying to do… probably trying to trace wherever the picture had come from that was displayed on the big monitor.

Callen was obviously unconscious, sprawled on his side. There was blood on his face, a cut visible at his hairline and his left eye was puffy and beginning to swell. His clothes were rumpled and torn in places, but there was no indication of grievous wounds that had bled enough to be visible on the fabric. His left wrist was enclosed by a thick metal cuff that was connected to the wall with a sturdy and thick chain. The ground he lay on was part rock and part sand with some damp patches. The walls around him were rough rock. Aside of the chain bolted to the wall, the location gave no hints of anything man made. Instead it seemed to be some kind of natural cave.

"Where did the photo come from? Any chance to trace it?" Kensi asked, the first to find her voice and start up with the questions that would hopefully help them locate Callen.

Eric glanced up, "we received an Email with the photo as an attachment. The mail itself was routed through multiple servers. I'm still tracing it, but it will take a while."

"Time stamps and geo-location on the photo?" Sam asked, turning to Nell.

"We already checked," she said, shaking her head and putting the data up on the second screen, "no luck on either. The data was deliberately compromised. I'm trying to undo what they've done, but it's not looking good."

Deeks remained quiet, his eyes on the photo of Callen, studying it intently and looking for something only he could see.

"Any sign of manipulation?" Kensi asked.

"Haven't gotten around to check that yet," Eric gave back, a slight grimace on his face, his fingers still flying over the keyboards.

Deeks suddenly straightened sharply, stepping closer to the screen and cursing.

"Deeks?" Kensi asked carefully.

The Detective pointed to several areas of the photo. "Can you zoom in and enlarge these portions of the picture?"

Nell nodded, instantly doing as Deeks asked and singling out the three areas he had marked before putting them on the screen over the original photo, displaying them side by side.

Deeks studied the pieces of the picture intensely. "Shit," he cursed again after several moments. "Calculate the height of this mark," he pointed to the first enlarged area, showing a faint line on the wall, "and then we need an estimate of the length of the chain binding Callen, and Callen's height," he said, his voice shaking with strain. Deeks went over to an unused computer terminal and started looking for something himself.

Sam frowned at the enlarged close-ups and reached for the touch screen, picking out the original photo and swiping it over to the secondary screen, trying to find what Deeks had seen and why he had singled out the three areas for close-ups.

The first was the close up of a stretch of wall with the faint line Deeks had pointed out. The wall below that line looked moist, the rock above not so much. The second close up was of a puddle on the ground by Callen's feet, some smaller pebbles sticking out. And the last was a piece of vegetation lying by the wall.

It was then that he understood. A bolt of fear went through him and he, too, swore. He traded a glance with Deeks who turned towards him, both of them acutely aware of the danger their team leader was in.

"G's height doesn't matter so much. The chain is definitely long enough for his feet to leave the ground. Length of his arm and neck would be more important," Sam told Nell who had Callen's file open, dismissing that part of Deeks' directive.

"Anyone want to cue in the rest of us?" Kensi asked tensely, having noticed the heightened urgency but not seeing what her team mates had seen.

Deeks turned to her, his eyes betraying his emotions. "That's a sea cave. The walls are wet because the tide comes in and floods the space. The mark up there is an indication of how far the water rose when the last tide was fully in."

Nell and Eric paused for a heartbeat or two, Nell sucking in a sharp breath, before they both simultaneously returned to their tasks with even more urgency.

"The tide should be coming in," Eric spoke up without looking up from what he was doing. Of course he would know that, Deeks would too. Both of them spent a lot of time on the water, catching the waves. They would both know the timetable of the tide.

"Yeah, it is," Deeks nodded and moments later he brought up his own search results. "High tide is in 5 hours. With the full moon and the current weather, we have harsh swells. The tide's gonna be higher than average. Predictions go for a maximum of 7.2 feet," he told the room at large, his voice worried.

"We need those measurements and we need that geo-location, guys," Sam urged, a hollow feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

"We have to be able to reduce the number of possible caves somehow," Kensi suggested, "not all caves are high enough to stand in like that one definitely is."

"It has to be isolated enough and deep enough so a man chained inside won't attract attention. The space looks rather large," Sam added with a nod.

Deeks took out his phone, "I know a few people who regularly explore sea caves. I've gone with them a few times but the location in the picture isn't familiar to me. Maybe they can narrow it down further. Send the photo to my phone."

"Done," Nell replied in a curt tone, seemingly not stopping from what she was doing, ever multi-tasking.

"The Coast Guard or National Park Service should be able to provide us with a list of known sea caves in the area," Kensi suggested, moving over to the computer terminal that Deeks had used, looking up the information needed to make contact with other authorities.

No one wanted to address the possibility that this was a sea cave further away and they were wasting their time with checking the ones closest to home. Callen had been gone for nearly two days, so he could have been shipped quite a distance during that time.

Eric looked up and brought up the original picture now with measurements added into the photo. "The measurements are crude, best I can do without a good reference point. The chain is bolted to the wall at a height approximately 1.6 ft. With the maximum tide expected of 7.2 feet that leaves 5.6 feet needed so that Callen wouldn't drown."

"Straining and with his arm stretched, it should give him another 3 feet or so," Sam muttered.

Eric swallowed, "the chain is not lying straight in the picture so I can't be certain about the length of it. By my best guess it's 2.6 to 3 feet long," he said slowly.

"That's a very narrow margin of error, Eric," Sam said slowly. Everything hinged on 'maybe's' and with the uncertainty of the measurements, it didn't give him a feeling of confidence. The possibility of G drowning in that cave if they were too late was very real. He forced his mind away from the flashback of losing his wife in a similar race against time.

"I know," Eric muttered, shooting Sam a helpless gaze.

Deeks strode back into Ops, putting his phone away. "There are five caves Jonas knows of in a 150 mile radius that might fit the one in the photo. All of them on the Channel Islands," he announced, "he'll send the coordinates to Eric in a moment." He looked at the photo of Callen with the measurements displayed and blanched after he had done the math in his head.

Behind them, the door opened and Hetty stepped into the room. "The Coast Guard has been informed. They are sending a chopper to pick you up and deliver you to the Cutter closest to the Channel Islands."

As always, no one knew how Hetty was aware of everything that was going on, but as always, they were thankful for it as she had the knack for getting things done.

"Mr. Beale, Miss Jones. Forward the coordinates you get from Mr. Deeks' contact to the Coast Guard to minimize any delay. We're on a tight timetable," she ordered before turning to the rest of the team, adding another directive, "bring him home."

Xxxxxxx

Sam, Deeks and Kensi had been gone for nearly 4 hours, had checked the first two caves on the list but had come up empty. Eric and Nell were offering whatever help they could from Ops, but it wasn't all that much. They were still trying to figure out where the photo had come from and if they could restore the compromised data.

Eric glanced over when Nell sat up with a shocked gasp and a muttered, "oh no."

"What's wrong?" he asked, instantly concerned, abandoning his own searches.

Nell trembled briefly before turning to Eric, "check the data, please." Her face was ashen, her eyes wide and scared.

Moments later, Eric understood Nell's reaction perfectly.

Xxxxxxx

"Kensi, skip the third location," Nell's voice came over the comm.-system.

"You got something?" Kensi asked, hopeful and already turning to the Captain of the Coast Guard Cutter, relying Nell's order without waiting for an explanation. The wonder twins wouldn't change their plan without being sure. Callen's life hung in the balance after all.

"We managed to restore the geo-data and it corresponds with the fourth location on the list," Nell said slowly, her voice subdued despite the breakthrough.

"That's good news, Nell," Kensi reassured, glancing at her watch. There was still time to spare. High tide wouldn't be for another hour.

There was a pause before the analyst went on, "we've also restored the time stamp," Nell hesitated again, before sighing, and going on in a quiet voice, "the photo was taken yesterday, Kens."

Kensi straightened sharply, feeling ice cold fear wash over her, "wha-" she broke off, swallowing against the sudden nausea that followed the plummeting fall of her stomach that had nothing to do with the bumpy ride, "Nell, what are you saying?"

"The time stamp shows the picture was taken yesterday morning at shortly before 8 o'clock," Eric's voice came on, taking over from Nell.

"But that would mean…"

"That Callen has been in there for close to 32 hours and this is the third tide coming in," Eric finished.

The repercussions of this weren't verbalized, but all three of them were following the same thought. They could have already lost Callen. This could end up being a retrieval of his body instead of a rescue mission.

Kensi shut down the connection and leaned over the closest console, trying to get herself back under control. Deeks and Sam hadn't been on their comm.-system during her talk with Ops. Both men were poised to go into the water to check the next location. While Sam was the only Navy SEAL on their team, Deeks had a lot of experience on the water and he had additional experience in diving. He preferred to be on the water instead of below the surface, but he hadn't hesitated in offering Sam backup.

She left the bridge to join her team mates and relay the information.

Xxxxxxx

"We are operating under the assumption that he is still fighting. Until I see his body, he is alive," Sam snarled, "survival is what he does best, always has."

Kensi knew she was just an available target, being the bearer of possibly devastating news… and fact was, she could understand Sam's urge to lash out. She herself held it in. She breathed deeply, "I'm not saying anything differently," she replied in a forced calm voice, "you got food and water with you? He's going to need both."

Sam let out a slow breath when her words obviously appeased him.

Deeks put a hand on Sam's shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze, "yeah, we've got something," he replied to Kensi, turning his head slightly when the sound of the engine changed and the Cutter slowed down, approaching their destination.

They would know one way or another soon.

Xxxxxxx

They had studied the maps and available photos of the caves, had read through the handwritten information Jonas' had sent along with the coordinates.

All of the caves were dangerous, with narrow passages that often could only be passed while diving when the tide was high. Additionally, the currents were tricky and strong.

Sam had trained and worked in these environments, but Deeks hadn't and the former SEAL had worried about taking Deeks along at first, not wanting to endanger one team mate to save another. Deeks had stood his ground though, arguing that Sam needed backup in these caves. There were several trained men on the Coast Guard Cutter who would also fit the role to take over the mission, but Callen would lash out to protect himself from anyone and anything he didn't know. After 32 hours of fighting, his survival instincts would trump over rational thought, especially if hypothermia was thrown into the mix. Sending those men in could end in their deaths, if they didn't manage to convince him of their identity. So Sam and Deeks going in together was the only solution everyone could see.

After the first two caves, Sam was relieved to say that Deeks was capable. He was a strong swimmer, experienced with diving and snorkeling. They were going into the caves without oxygen tanks due to the narrow passages and Deeks was keeping up well with Sam, sometimes taking point.

They were making their way into the cave, following the descriptions they had and doing their best to minimize the risk to themselves and each other.

Sam knew that they would find G soon, but he didn't know how to prepare himself for what they might find. G was good at beating the odds, but 32 hours inside of the cave, struggling against these conditions and the strong currents, without food or water and chained to the wall with a chain of indeterminable length… Sam prayed that his partner's luck would hold.

Xxxxxxx