AN: And now we move into the Hawaii Five-0 episode, which mean just four acts remain. Thanks to those who have read and reviewed - work's been hellish lately, and your reviews have made things seem a little less insane. :)

The next morning, they were in the air at dawn. Well, most of them. Hetty, Eric and Abby had stayed behind to work as many angles as they could from there. Nell pulled her feet up so she was sitting cross-legged on the sling seat and wondered why she got to go.

"You're trained for the field and we need all the help we can get," Callen said, sitting next to her.

"You've been taking classes from Hetty," Nell said once her heart stopped trying to jump out of her chest.

"You're hardly one to talk," Callen said. "Five-0's not like us. They are high-profile, which means everybody on the island knows them. We need agents who can blend in."

"Then I should have dyed my hair," Nell said. She looked around the plane to where everybody had clustered in pairs and small groups. Kensi and Kono were down one end, and based on their movements, they were discussing sniper rifles. McGee was sitting with Grace Williams, reading to her from his tablet. Grace's dad, Tony DiNozzo, Deeks, and Chin-Ho were sitting together, and Nell could hear bits of laughter coming from the group.

"Cop talk," Callen whispered in her ear. "They have different training than us."

"So Gibbs and Sam are talking about their time in the military?" she asked.

"More likely, Sam's trying to get Gibbs to give up embarrassing stories and Gibbs wants to know more about McGarrett," Callen said. "Lucky for me, Deeks says more in ten minutes than Gibbs says in a year."

"Callen…" Nell stopped when she couldn't find the words, but the agent didn't say anything. She realized he was waiting her out. "Steve looked surprised by all the information we found on his mother, but Danny and Chin didn't. Did they know?"

Callen shook his head. "They didn't know the information, but I don't think either one has a high opinion of Doris McGarrett," he said. "There's a reason Michelle isn't active, why Hetty never had children," he said. "What we do is a risky business, and children are the innocents."

Nell remembered Romania. "Children who might be there when they come for you, who then are left behind or used against you," she said.

"My parents apparently did a lot of good work," Callen said.

"But they weren't there for you and your sister, and you needed them." Nell squeezed her eyes shut as she realized she'd said that out loud to the most private person on the team.

"It's okay, Nell," Callen said. "You're not saying anything Sam and Hetty haven't been thinking since you two and the DC Wonder Twins briefed us."

Before Nell could say anything, she heard "Who's got the sat phone?"

~NCIS~H50~LA~NCIS~H50~LA~

Steve sat up near the front of the C-130 in one of the few actual seats to keep his ribs from grinding quite so much. While they were still an hour out, he caught enough of the radio transmission to lean forward.

"What was that?"

"Something at Pearl, but they say it won't affect our landing," the pilot said. "I don't have any more details."

Steve headed back to the main cargo hold, keeping one hand on the vibrating metal side of the plane for balance.

"Who's got the sat phone?" he asked.

Callen held it up. "Why?"

"Something went down at Pearl," he said.

Callen didn't need to hear anything else, just started dialing. "Hetty?" he said. After that, all he did was nod, then hang up.

"Well?" Danny asked.

"Hetty sent an earlier plane as a decoy, after Tony suggested it," Callen said. "As soon as it landed at Pearl, there was an ambush inside the base gates. The Marines on board fought off their attackers, but weren't able to capture them and they escaped."

"They know we're coming," Tony said. "We were afraid of that."

"And they got inside the gates," McGee said. "How secure is Pearl?"

"Because of the Arizona and the Missouri, there are sections of the base open to the public," Steve said. "But the restrictions on what people can bring over to Ford Island are pretty tight — no bags, just what you can hold in your hand."

"Coming from a man whose hands are lethal weapons, that's not a big restriction," Danny said.

"The man has a point," Sam said. "Also, if this is the agency, they could easily have arranged a cache of weapons for anybody who did sneak on."

"If they escaped, they'll be back," McGee said. "We need to be ready for them."

"McGee's right," Chin said. "Especially since we don't know who at Pearl we can trust."

Callen nodded. "Nell, if McGee will let you borrow his tablet, why don't you and Grace go up near the pilots and finish reading."

The little redhead raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "Come on, Grace," she said.

Callen motioned for everybody else to head toward the back of the plane where Kono and Kensi were sitting, then turned to look at Steve. "How bad are those ribs?"

"I'm fine."

"McGarrett, if we're walking into an ambush, I need to know our plan is solid. How bad?"

"If Sam tried to take me down, I'd probably have to upgrade a couple from cracked to broken," Steve admitted. "Nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"Now I know why I drive Hetty and Sam nuts," Callen said. "Come on."

Steve followed the LA agent, and suppressed a sigh of relief when he was able to sit.

"The landing field at Pearl is big enough for several planes to land," Steve said. "Usually, VIPs come in near the main building."

"But that would give these guys, whoever they are, cover to come take us out," Danny said.

"What if the plane taxied to a spot away from all the buildings?" Kono said. "We would see anybody coming, and the buildings around the airfield are too low for a sniper to get a good shot from that distance unless he was standing, and we'd see that."

"Too much ground to cover," Sam said. "Once we're on the tarmac, we're sitting ducks until we get to someplace secure. The more territory we have to cover, the greater time we're exposed."

"Sam's right," Callen said. "We land near the main building, the way they expect. Kensi, Kono, Gibbs, you'll act as spotters with the rifles. The rest of us will stay back, near the cockpit, until it's clear to leave."

"Who's going to clear the area?" Tony asked.

Steve started to speak.

"Not you." Callen, Tony and Sam all spoke at once.

"Steve, you and Grace don't come off until we're sure it's safe," Sam said. "Too risky." He looked around. "DiNozzo, you and McGee will clear the left side and G and I will take the right."

"What about me and Chin?" Danny said. "Oh, wait, we're the bait, right? Because anybody who knows Five-0 will see us and figure Steve's right behind us, ready to take on the free world with just a knife and his freaky ninja skills."

Steve sighed. "It's a good plan, Danno."

"Yes, yes, it is, and I'm glad to see that just because the Navy made you think you're invincible, the crazy didn't infect these nice NCIS agents," Danny said. "Now all we need is for you to follow the plan instead of going rogue on us, Aquaman. You think you can handle that?"

"Yes, Danno," Steve said, rolling his eyes.

Callen nodded. "Nell will stay back with you and Grace to provide an extra layer of protection. And yes, she knows what she's doing."

Steve just nodded again.

Callen looked around. "We still have a case to solve, so we keep this simple: We get out alive and find a safe place to hole up. If we can capture somebody for intel, that's a bonus, but don't take unnecessary risks." He looked at his watch. "We land in thirty minutes, so get ready."

Steve made his way back to the space where Grace and Nell were reading and forced himself to sit and pretend he was interested, even as they buckled in for the descent and as the wheels bounced down once before rolling along the runway. He could see everybody else lined up, ready for whatever was waiting, and wished he was up there himself.

As the C-130 stopped and the cargo ramp at the back started to lower, Steve moved so whatever happened next, Grace wouldn't see it. Rachel was going to kill Danny as it was for getting Grace involved in this mess.

Sam, Callen, McGee and DiNozzo moved down the ramp, guns at the ready, and Steve waited for the first gunshots to ring out.