Returning to the couch, he laid down and closed his eyes. Allowing his mind to drift, he shut out the worst thoughts, trying to convince himself that he was still resting even if he didn't actually sleep, while he waited out the slow hours for the others to arrive back for work.


CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"There's no way you can be on the ground at the takedown, G," Sam said firmly.

Sighing, Callen frowned down at his plastered hand resting on his lap. He'd taken off the sling after Sam left the previous evening, finding it not only irritating but intolerably uncomfortable around his neck and shoulders that were still aching from Janvier's attentions. He had good-naturedly countered Sam's admonitions about it all morning. "No, I guess you're right," he admitted reluctantly.

He was the only one still tired. His arm had throbbed mercilessly all night. The snatches of sleep he managed to get were filled with troubled dreams where Anna and Joelle morphed into one, and the person that was both of them grinned wickedly beside Janvier as he carried out his obsessive attack on Callen's hand. Each time a nightmarish weapon made contact with his hand he woke all but screaming, to find the weapon was no longer real but the pain still was. By morning he was shattered.

The others all returned to the office early, a welcome distraction for him. Refreshed from the kind of sleep that Callen could only dream of, they were all keen and ready to work out the details for intercepting Janvier and the hard drive at the auction scheduled for the following day. Eric had left his program running overnight, and had therefore picked up two more NSA transcripts of telephone calls between Feliks Bebnev and what appeared to be his girlfriend, identified so far only as Larisa. One call was just idle chat, but the other gave forth more details that made it clear Bebnev was in town to attend the auction for the Incognito software. Even better, the information had given them what they had to believe was a potential location. Though they all knew nothing could be taken for granted with Janvier, it was a start, and they had begun planning in earnest as soon as everyone was in.

"Why don't you join me on overwatch?" Kensi suggested. She could see how, even with his injuries, Callen was reluctant to not be present when they secured the hard drive and apprehended Janvier. "We don't know the scale of this auction… a second gun might come in handy."

"Can you shoot…" Deeks began, and then changed his mind. "That's a good idea," he finished weakly.

Sam however wasn't so hesitant about voicing his concerns. "It's been a while since you shot left-handed, G," he said cautiously. "And with a sniper rifle too…"

"I can help set up," Kensi reassured them both. "I mean…" She turned to Callen, realising he had just been sitting quietly while the others talked around him. "What do you think, Callen?"

Callen flexed his fingers on his left hand almost experimentally. He wanted nothing more than to be part of the op to finish Janvier once and for all, and hated the thought that because of what the evil man had done to him he might end up stuck in Ops while his team put themselves on the line without him. Last time that had happened, when he had not been on the ground and close to Janvier, he'd lost control of him: and it had been Sam and Deeks who had paid the price for his mistake.

But there again, if he wasn't fit to be in the field, that was putting his team at risk too.

He looked around for Hetty, but she was notable in her absence. Evidently, this was a decision he would have to make for himself.

Sam seemed to pick up on his indecision, and he knew Callen well enough to know that one way or another his partner would need to be involved. Because he considered it the lesser of two evils to have Callen safely in overwatch rather than on the ground where he'd be more vulnerable, and possibly – not that he'd ever suggest as much in Callen's hearing – even a liability, he presented a positive solution.

"G, why don't you and Kensi head out for some target practice?" he suggested. "See how it goes? I'd hazard a guess that even left-handed you're a better shot than most people… But if it's too much, we can still use your eyes and ears running point in Ops with Eric. Deeks can help Connor and I check out Bebnev and the auction location, see what we're dealing with."

Callen nodded gratefully at Sam, who read the unspoken thanks and returned a look that said, 'no problem' and 'be careful' and 'we've got this'.

"Let's go shoot something then," Callen said abruptly to Kensi and she smiled broadly, glad to be able to offer Callen a chance to play his part. She understood all too well how he hated to be side-lined. Though never overly effusive, he had quietly supported her through both her return to work after her abduction in Afghanistan, and the long months of rehab she had endured following the helicopter crash, understanding how important it was for her to re-find herself in her job each time. She was happy now to do the same for him.

"Be safe, partner," Sam couldn't help himself from uttering a parting shot to Callen as he stood up. "Remember Janvier is still out there…"

"As if we could forget," Callen muttered.


Deeks watched silently while Kensi packed the gear she and Callen would need. The ex-partners were alone together in the armoury, and Deeks had a sudden and vivid memory of the time Kensi had been similarly preparing weapons before she and Callen headed to Iran to abduct Janvier in order to bring him back to America to help them get close to Sidarov. He worried that he was as helpless now to protect her as he had been back then, and not much more able to articulate how he felt.

"Take care of yourself out there…" Deeks paused. "We've no idea where Janvier is."

"I'll be fine Deeks." Kensi slammed some extra magazines into one of the cases with more force than was strictly necessary. "Besides, I won't be on my own. Callen will be with me."

"That doesn't fill me with much confidence at the moment."

"Deeks!" Kensi exclaimed, and then she paused reflectively. As he watched her opening her mouth to speak, Deeks got the strong impression that the words that came out weren't what she had originally been going to say. "Don't let Callen hear you say that."

Deeks shuddered. "No… good point." He paused. It seemed their conversations were full of awkward silences these days. "Just, well, just be careful, yeah?"

Kensi raised her eyes to meet his. "Deeks. I'll. Be. Fine." She enunciated each word firmly.

"I know you will." Deeks sighed, and once again there was a lengthening pause. How could he say he still worried about her? But it was true. Being apart didn't feel right. He wanted to be there, by her side, to protect her. "I will just feel a whole lot more comfortable once Janvier is back behind bars," he admitted in the end.

Kensi gave him a small smile. "I think we all will," she said. "And we will get him. Tomorrow. None of us are going to let him slip through our fingers. Whether he ends up in prison again or…" She snapped the case of the rifle shut emphatically. "We'll get him," she said with finality, and as he watched her shoulder the two large cases and head out of the armoury, Deeks could only hope that she was right.


Safe in the knowledge that the auction wasn't happening until the following day, Kensi drove herself and Callen down to the sniper range at Pendleton with only a normal sense of paranoia. There was little to be gained from putting Callen through his paces in the firing range at home: he needed to see how he could handle a sniper rifle out in the open, not a handgun in the enclosed shooting range. The travel made for a lengthy excursion, but it was the safest place they could think of at short notice.

"This is all a bit odd, isn't it?" Kensi asked after a while. Callen turned to her.

"How so?"

"Hetty's back…" she paused. "Deeks too." There was a lengthening silence. Callen waited patiently. He didn't want to pry, but they'd all been saddened by the break-up of Kensi and Deeks' relationship, and if this was now Kensi's attempt at finally airing some of her thoughts on the matter, he was wary of saying or doing anything that might stop her talking. He kept a sideways look at her whilst pretending to be distracted by the passing scenery out of the window, but she kept her eyes studiously on the road.

"Just like old times," he said eventually.

A spontaneous smile flickered across Kensi's face: a rare sight these days. "Not all that much. You haven't complained once about my driving yet," she teased.

"I'm saving it for the trip home," Callen returned quickly. He sighed. "Either that or an excuse to pass off my poor performance behind a gun," he added with uncharacteristic unease. Kensi broke her concentration from the road to look at him. After the intense strain they'd all felt during his abduction, she found herself comforted with each passing minute that she spent with Callen now he was back. They had been friends for a long time, and he usually brought a calm balance to the more emotional members of the team. It was hard not to be disconcerted on the rare occasions he showed uncertainty.

"You're worried?" she asked with concern.

Callen shifted his right arm slowly from where he'd been resting it on the windowsill for most of the journey, back down to his lap. It hadn't been the most comfortable position, but at least it served the purpose of keeping his arm raised. The almost unbearable pain from the dislocations had eased following Dr Laura's ministrations, but in spite of the cast any movement of his hand or arm was still a bore.

"I'm glad Deeks is back for this," he said instead of answering her question directly. "I mean…" He still hated the thought of any of his team, but especially Sam and Deeks, getting too close to Janvier again. Under the circumstances though, he was grateful to have the people he trusted most around to support him through this mission.

"Connor's good," Kensi agreed. "He's quiet and he's calm, and he's a damn good shot." In the present company, that was high praise, and though Callen hadn't been intending to seek reassurance, he was pleased Kensi's assessment of the young agent matched his own. "But…" She trailed off, remembering how for the trickier cases over the past few months they'd had a fully-functioning Callen step in to support herself and Sam in the field, and make up for Deeks' absence and Connor's inexperience. "He is good, but he's young. I guess what I'm saying is I'm glad Deeks is back for this too."


"You know, Connor seems quiet – after Deeks – but compared to you as a partner he's positively chatty!" Kensi teased as she lifted the first bag of gear onto her shoulder from the trunk of the Audi. She gave Callen a gentle nudge when he failed to respond. He glanced fleetingly at her but continued to stare searchingly all around them. "Everything okay?" Kensi asked anxiously.

"Are you sure we weren't tailed?"

"Callen, you had your eyes on the mirrors more than I did the whole way here!" Kensi exclaimed. She paused. "I'm sure," she confirmed calmly. Callen stopped looking intently at their surroundings and met her eyes fully at last.

"I wasn't doubting you. Still on edge I guess…"

"Not unreasonable," Kensi nodded. She could only imagine what it must have felt like for Callen to have been captured and held by Janvier, and knew from personal experience it was entirely understandable for him to continue to be uneasy for some time to come. Indeed, given Janvier had yet to be apprehended, she privately thought it was incredible he was holding things together as well as he was. She did her best to be reassuring without patronising him. "But we've taken every precaution. No one except the guy who let us in the gate knows we're here, and Hetty arranged for him to keep this area clear for the day, so we won't be disturbed... And I'm sure we weren't tailed," she added again.

"So, Connor's chatty, huh?"

"I said he's chatty compared to you." Kensi passed Callen one of the smaller bags which he slung over his left shoulder while he waited for her to lock up. "And that really isn't saying much," she added as an afterthought.

Callen smirked. "It must be a restful change… after Deeks."

"I do miss him."

"Connor? Or Deeks?"

"Deeks of course." Kensi realised belatedly that Callen had been teasing her and she blushed. "Oh… Well," she sighed. "I do miss him. And I wish things could go back to the way they were…"

"So do I," Callen said with a scowl down at his arm. He found that by hooking his thumb through the belt loop on his jeans he got fairly good support, and it was easier than trying to put his battered hand in his pocket. The bulky plaster cast was heavy, and an uncomfortable burden both physically and mentally on his pain-ridden extremity. He was finding it very hard to let go of the trapped feeling of claustrophobia it induced in him. Flashbacks to the boat, the restraint, the table of weapons, Janvier's cruel smile, the paralysing fears he'd had that he might lose his hand: they all assaulted him continually and the restriction of the cast encasing his fingers was a constant reminder. It was better without the sling, but not much.

"It's not the same, with you doing Hetty's job." Unaware of his mental turmoil, Kensi turned to him to continue their conversation while they walked. "What do you think will happen after this?"

"Honestly, Kens? I don't look that far ahead anymore." The two were companionably silent for a while, each deep in their own thoughts, and Callen was grateful that Kensi didn't fuss when his injured leg caused him to slow down. She merely slowed her pace to match his on the uneven terrain, and they climbed quietly up through the overgrown brush to a spot Kensi had picked out that gave them a variety of opportunities for distant targets. It wasn't a hot day but nonetheless Callen sweated: less than 24 hours since his return to LA, his body was letting him know that it was a little too soon for an active hike through the woods. He pressed on, ignoring Kensi's concerned glances in his direction, but he was openly relieved when they finally arrived at their destination.

"Couldn't have chosen anywhere closer to the car, huh?" he groused, as he gratefully accepted the opened bottle of water Kensi handed him. She didn't react to his complaints: she understood how he was just grumpy from the pain and limitations to his abilities imposed by his injuries. She knew the difficult situation with Janvier was weighing down on him too. It was hard for them all, but she knew it was worse for Callen. He shouldered so much responsibility for it all. Every wrong Janvier did, Callen felt personally responsible for. He was the master of hiding his feelings, but she could see how tough he was taking it to come back from a mission feeling like he had failed.

His bad mood got worse when he attempted to set up the sniper rifle one-handed and found he couldn't manage it. He glowered when Kensi took over.

"What exactly did you expect?" she chided him gently. Callen huffed and didn't answer, and Kensi carried on quickly and quietly setting up both his rifle and her own. Settling down onto her stomach, Kensi looked through her sights and provisionally picked out a few targets. It felt good to be behind her sniper rifle again. They hadn't had an operation which had required it since the firefight where Fatima had lost her life. Swallowing, Kensi pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. Fatima was gone, and nothing was going to bring her back. There was no point in dwelling on what was lost.

"You good?"

Kensi realised Callen was looking at her. "All good," she confirmed with a tight smile. "Now look." She quickly changed the subject before he questioned her any further. He was too good at reading people, and she didn't want to go into all that had happened in the past right now. She needed to remain focussed on the present: it was the only way she could cope. "We don't know exactly what we'll be dealing with tomorrow until the guys have checked it out, but it's clearly going to be an urban setting. So, we'll hopefully be up high, but it'll still be best if you can get as flat as possible for cover. Is that going to be okay?"

"It'll have to be," Callen muttered. The spot Kensi had chosen gave them the option of squatting behind a ledge forming a natural wall-type barricade, which physically would be easier for him, or a little further over an area where they could fire from a prone position. Kensi was already settled there, and Callen joined her, easing himself cautiously down to the ground as he tried to ignore his ribs protesting.


An hour later, Callen rolled with relief from his front onto his back, looking up to the sky and using the back of his left hand to wipe the sweat off his brow. He had been put gruellingly through his paces by Kensi and by far the hardest obstacle to overcome was the necessity to lie flat on his stomach for any length of time. The heavy bruising to his ribs and the healing wound on his thigh did not like lying on his front one little bit.

But he had only missed one target, and so he considered their efforts worth the cost. He could back Kensi up the following day without feeling like a liability. Though he would much rather be on the ground, closer to the action, able to personally secure and apprehend Janvier, there was some comfort in knowing he'd have a clear view of the proceedings in their entirety from an overwatch position.

"Okay?" Kensi sat up.

"Piece of cake," he responded with a smile. It wasn't quite true. The sniper rifle felt awkward in his left hand, and he'd quickly realised it wasn't going to be possible to use his un-plastered right trigger finger as he had naively hoped when he had persuaded Dr Laura to leave it free. His right hand, in fact his entire right arm, had proved to be of little use to him at all, which had meant a rapid adjustment in how he positioned himself, and he had been grateful for Kensi's expertise to guide him to the compromised technique they had created that worked. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, looking up at Kensi. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Kensi punched him lightly on the shoulder. "What are friends for," she responded lightly. "I sure could eat some cake though."

"Dinner's on me," Callen promised. "For all of us. When this is over." He sat up, and then used the narrow trunk of a nearby sapling to pull himself to standing. He was more tired than he cared to admit. The exhaustion clung round him like a cloak, weighing him down. He watched wearily as Kensi started breaking down their gear. He felt bad for leaving her to do all the work but recognised with irritation that there was little he could do to help to her. She glanced up at him a couple of times as if assessing him, and Callen raised his eyebrows, inviting her to speak.

"If you're not too tired…" Kensi stalled.

"I'm fine," Callen reassured her.

"Then we ought to check out the auction site when we get back." Callen nodded. "Assuming Eric has been able to confirm the location, of course," she added.

"He'd better have," Callen said darkly. "If that sale goes through…" He paused. The enormity of the situation still weighed heavy. "We can't let Incognito get into enemy hands." And, he thought, but kept it to himself, Janvier would be able to disappear forever with the money he stood to make from the sale. They couldn't let that happen, either.


A/N: I apologise profusely for the delay in updating this story, I am SO sorry to leave you all hanging half way through! I've been really busy both with work and family life, and had some health issues to contend with as well... I've barely been online at all, and fanfiction became a distant memory! I'm going to do my best to update more regularly again to see this story to it's conclusion. Rest assured there is plenty more to come - we're about half way through at the moment!

This chapter is extra long - there just wasn't an easy break in it. I hope that makes up a little bit for the lengthy interlude.