Hello to any readers who may still be interested in this story after such a long break. Lots has been going on in my life. Right now, I'm still in a rehab facility recovering from a knee replacement and hopefully going home on Monday. In any case, I'm currently working on "The Campout" with Bluenet13 and trying to work on some of these stories which I've left hanging. Thanks so much for anyone still reading and all the best in 2020.

xxxxx

Callen didn't sleep particularly well that night. He was very restless and every time he managed to drift off, he would awaken abruptly with his heart pounding. He was pretty sure he was having nightmares, but couldn't seem to remember any details. In any case, he didn't think he had woken Hetty because she didn't make an appearance in his room.

Finally, it was morning. Callen quickly showered and dressed, then made his way downstairs where he found Hetty busy in the kitchen with the mouth-watering aroma of blueberry pancakes wafting through the air. "Good morning, Hetty," he said with a smile. "Didn't I say something to you about not spoiling me?"

"Good morning, Mr. Callen, and if I recall correctly, I didn't exactly agree to that." Hetty gazed at him fondly, but couldn't help noticing how tired he looked. "Did you get any sleep at all?"

"Some…can I do anything to help you?"

"No, no. It's all taken care of. Now sit down and eat some breakfast. You're much too thin." She was determined to help him recover for as long as he would stay with her. Once today was over with, she was sure that would be easier.

Callen obediently sat at the table, poured some syrup onto the stack of pancakes on his plate and dug in. "Mmm… you definitely have a way with these pancakes," he said after he'd finished the first few bites. "I've always loved them."

Hetty smiled. "And I always enjoyed cooking for you because you appreciated it so much."

Callen nodded. What she said was true. He'd been small for his age and some foster homes had fed him better than others, but once he'd been taken in by Hetty, he'd never had to worry about being hungry again. It was one of the many things he was grateful to her for.

xxxxxx

Bart smiled to himself as he finished his breakfast. He had to say, the food at the hospital was lacking compared to the food at the prison. With his money, he was able to bribe people to smuggle in the best of the best for him. He never lacked for treats and there were always people willing to do him a favor for a price. It was one of the perks of being a wealthy long-timer. He had accomplished what he had set out to do in the so-called outside world, giving Henrietta Lange her comeuppance by wrecking havoc with her team, and now he would settle back into his life behind bars without a care in the world.

xxxxx

Sam walked into Bart's room, his eyes filled with tears, the perfect appearance of a grief-stricken man. Bart smiled in delight when he saw him. It was evident that his plan had finally reached its ultimate conclusion. Causing Henrietta severe anxiety was one thing, but finishing off her prized protegee, that was perfection indeed. He only wished he could witness her grief. That would have made things perfect, but he realized you didn't always get everything you wanted in life. Just seeing the heartbreak of Callen's partner filled his heart with glee. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Agent Hanna," Bart said, oozing false sympathy. "Agent Callen was a good man. It's truly a shame he wasn't able to successfully overcome the challenges of the game."

"Shut up," Sam snarled. "You set him up to fail...you set all of us up to fail. You never gave him a chance. You're a damn coward."

"But you, Agent Blye and Detective Deeks did not fail. Only your team leader failed." Bart laughed joyfully. "Ironic isn't it? Your team leader was the only one to fail. Perhaps you should have been leading the team right along, Agent Hanna. Well, now you're going to get your chance. You can be the leader Agent Callen failed to be."

Sam shook his head. "After I escort you to prison, my one final assignment, I'm done with NCIS for good."

"Pity," Bart said. "Though I'm sure Agent Blye will prove to be an admirable leader, as well. With her faithful shaggy-haired companion following at her heels, wagging his tail adoringly, together they can conquer the world. Do I dare hope there may be little Shaggy's coming along sometime in the future? If so, I hope I get the chance to meet them."

Sam shook his head in disgust. "You're a real crazy bastard, you know that?"

Bart smiled. "Yes...yes I do know that, Agent Hanna and I'm proud to be one. I consider myself the best bastard I can be."

Sam didn't say anything else. He proceeded to release Bart from the bed rail he was cuffed to, hen cuffed his hands behind his back. "Come on, move it," he said as Bart got off the bed and Sam shoved him none too gently into a wheelchair. He then wheeled him towards the door.

"Be gentle, Agent Hanna," Bart said. "I'm still recuperating. Fragile. Handle with care."

"Spare me,," Sam growled as he banged the wheelchair into the bathroom door. "Ooops, so sorry."

"No worries," Bart said happily. "I can understand your propensity to be a tiny bit irked at me. In any case, I'm so looking forward to our last journey together." Sam opened the door to the hallway to reveal Deeks and Kensi waiting patiently. They both wore their NCIS gear and were heavily armed. "Detective Deeks! Agent Blye! I didn't know you were joining us. It's just like a family reunion! I'm so happy to see you both again."

"Wish I could say the same," Deeks muttered, a scowl on his face.

"Oh, don't be like that, detective," Bart said. "Why should a little bit of unpleasantness get in the way of our friendship?"

"Our what?" Deeks stared at Bart incredulously. "You really are delusional."

"I'd be pleased if you'd consider me for the prized position of godfather, if and when, you and Agent Blye have your first shaggy-haired tot."

Deeks stared at Bart, realizing he was even more of a psychopath than he had thought. "You'll never get anywhere near any of us again. You'll be in prison until you rot, you friggen nut job."

"Never say never, Detective," Darks said, his expression menacing.

"You KILLED Callen," Kensi broke in, tears in her eyes. "For no reason at all except for what you thought to be fun. You're a sick, sick man and I really hope you get what's coming to you in prison."

"We live, we die, my dear," Bart said. "You're taking things much too seriously. Agent Callen was a mere pawn in my game. You and your friends here won. He lost. It's as simple as that."

Enraged, Kensi walked up to Bart and slapped him in the face, hard. Deeks quickly pulled her away. "Come on, baby, it's not worth it."

"That's okay, Detective," Bart said, smiling widely. "It's obvious that your fiance has some strong feelings where Agent Callen was concerned. Are you sure there wasn't something hinky going on between the two of them?"

"Why don't you be quiet" Sam ordered. He then turned his attention to Kensi and Deeks. "Come on, let's get him out of here." He, for one, could hardly wait for Bart to get what was coming to him.

xxxxx

Sam sat with Bart in the back of the SUV as Deeks drove towards their destination. After about 20 minutes, he pulled the vehicle into a deserted parking lot of the Baker Candy Company, a confectionary warehouse which had closed a few years before and was now just a deserted eyesore.

For the first time that morning, Bart appeared somewhat nervous. "Why are we here?" he demanded. "This isn't where we're supposed to be."

"We thought you'd appreciate a little side trip before moving on to prison," Sam said, a tight smile on his lips. "After all, this is the last time you'll be in the outside world for quite some time. Maybe you can find an old piece of candy on the floor."

"Not that you deserve it," Kensi said.

"But we're just that nice," Deeks added before opening the driver's side door. He moved to the back where Bart was sitting and roughly dragged him out of the vehicle.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Bart asked. "I demand you take me to prison at once."

"You're not exactly in a position to demand anything," Sam said. "Scream it to the rooftops. No one is going to hear you." He shoved Bart as they began walking towards the building.

"You won't get away with this," Bart sputtered. "You're poor winners. All of you! It's not my fault Callen lost. He was a poor player and you're all poor sports!"

"That's a lot of uses of the word poor," Deeks stated. "You might want to think about a thesaurus. In any case, I'm tired of listening to you. Shut up." He opened the door to the building and Sam pushed Bart inside. The room was completely dark except for a chair underneath a lamp about 60 feet ahead of them.

Sam turned on a flashlight and shone it in front of them as they proceeded to walk towards the chair, pushing Bart along with them.

"What is this?" Bart asked, anxiety and stress clearly evident on his face. "I'll have your badges! All of you! Take me back at once!"

"You heard Detective Deeks," Sam said. "Shut up."

Finally, they reached the chair which had straps attached to the arms and legs. Kensi pushed Bart into the chair and Deeks fastened the straps around Bart's ankles and wrists, pulling them as securely as possible.

"What is this! What are you doing?!" Bart howled. "It's too tight! It's too tight!"

"Are you kidding me?" Sam asked.

"With all your game play, I thought you'd be a lot braver than this," Deeks commented.

"You're nothing but a coward." Kensi said.

Just then, a figure emerged from the darkness and Hetty appeared, wearing a long black cloak with a hood. She walked up to Bart's side and stared at him with a look of pure hatred on her face.

"YOU!" Bart yelped. "I should have known you were responsible. You're an evil little troll, Henrietta. A little witch who should have been burned at the stake decades ago."

"I'm the evil one?" Hetty asked, "You have the gall to say that to me after what you've done? How dare you."

"It's your fault he lost the game, your fault! You coddled that boy, spoiled him when you should have toughened him up. Don't blame me for his failure. Blame yourself for that!"

"And what about the rest of my team?" Hetty asked. "How in heaven's name can you condone what you've done to them? You had no right...no right at all."

Bart opened his mouth to speak but seemed to be at a momentary loss for words and his eyes widened with shock and horror when out of the darkness, Callen suddenly appeared.