Callen saw that Alex moved his gun towards them. Before he could get a shot off Callen took a shot, hitting Alex in the leg. Alex released his hold on Pete but the gun went back up to the agents. Sam shot him in the chest before he could get a shot off causing Alex to fell backwards on the ground. Callen walked over to Pete as Sam walked over to Alex.
"You okay sir?" Callen asked.
"Yeah I'm good."
Sam checked Alex. "He's dead G."
"Did he really do what I think he did?"
"It seems that way yeah."
"Why? He was a really good employee."
"Probably money."
They cleaned up at the scene before going back to the office. They finished their paperwork before going back home.
….
That weekend Callen went to do some housework. He cleaned up some stuff and came across some of Joelle's stuff. He should probably return those to her but that would mean he would have to see her again. But it were her stuff so he should return them. Callen grabbed a box and put Joelle stuff in there. Callen finished up cleaning and did some laundry.
In the evening after he had dinner he took the box to Joelle's place. He grabbed the box out of the car and walked up to the front door. He knocked on the front door and waited for Joelle to open the door. Joelle was surprised to see him when she opened the door.
"Hey Joelle."
"Hey Callen, what are you doing here?"
"Oh I was cleaning and I found some of your stuff, figured I'd return them to you."
"Thank you."
Callen looked into the house and saw a man sitting on the dinner table. It appeared he and Joelle were having dinner.
"Oh I'm sorry, it seems like I'm interrupting something."
"It's fine G. Don't worry about it."
"Well enjoy the rest of the evening."
"Thanks, you too and thank you for dropping my stuff off."
"It's my pleasure."
Callen walked back to his car and Joelle closed the door. Callen got in the car and drove home. Was Joelle dating another man? Okay they were separated so she had a right to date another man but Callen still had hoped that he and Joelle could get back together but that was probably off the table for good now. Maybe he should just move on as well. He wanted Joelle to be happy, he should just forget about her. But perhaps it wasn't a date, maybe it was just a friend she was having dinner with. What was he thinking? Joelle broke up with him because she couldn't handle his job, she wouldn't just turn that around and come back to him. No, Callen would be better off just to forget her, it wasn't going to happen. Maybe this relationship life just wasn't meant for him, maybe he was destined to stay alone forever. Maybe it was better that way, no woman in his life meant his enemies couldn't use her to get to him.
…
Today was Valentine's day. When Callen woke up he realized he had nothing to do today. It was on a Sunday this year so he didn't have to go to work. That would at least have kept his mind off of things. Last year Callen had spent Valentine's day with Joelle. It was after the Christmas she found out about his real job. Callen had enjoyed that day. He had made a special dinner for him and Joelle. As Callen lay in his bed he thought back to that day.
..
Valentine's day was on a Saturday this year which gave Callen plenty of time to get everything in order for tonight. Joelle was coming over to his place tonight and Callen would cook dinner for them. Joelle had been teaching him a lot and Callen could actually cook now. He was going to make a nice dinner for the two of them. In the afternoon Callen went to the store to get everything he needed for dinner. He had already picked up a present for Joelle earlier this week. Callen was actually looking forward to tonight. He never cared much for Valentine's day but he did this year. Joelle knew about him, about who he really was. He could totally see this turning into something really great. Maybe Joelle was the one for him.
Once Callen was home from the groceries he got started on the preparations for dinner, the stuff he could do already. Joelle was coming over around 6pm. Just after 5pm Callen went to get showered and dressed. He set the table and put some candles around the house. He really liked how his house had turned out with all the furniture and decorations. It really was more homey now. Just before 6pm the doorbell rang. Callen took his apron off and went to open it.
"Hey Jo," Callen greeted her.
"Hey G."
Joelle gave Callen a kiss and stepped into the house.
"Let me take your coat," Callen offered.
"Thank you."
Callen helped Joelle take her coat off and he hung it up in the closet. Joelle looked around the house, it looked cozy and romantic. Several candles were lit around the room and there was soft music playing in the background.
"Hmm, it smells delicious here," Joelle admitted. "I hope that's dinner."
"Yes it is. It's almost done. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Some red wine please."
"Coming up."
Callen went to the kitchen and returned with two glasses of red wine. He put them on the coffee table and joined Joelle on the couch.
"Thank you for making dinner for us Callen."
"It's my pleasure. I hope it tastes good."
"With all the cooking lessons I've been giving you I'm sure it does."
"You really are a good teacher."
"You're a fast student and it wasn't that hard to teach you since you didn't know anything about cooking," Joelle replied with a smile.
"Yes that's true. With my job I just never really found the time for it, I thought it was just easier to order something in or get a quick meal from the microwave."
"Well this is more healthy."
"That it is. Sam's been teasing me about that."
"You two seem really close together."
"Yeah, he's not just my partner, he's like a brother to me. I never really had anyone in my life that cared for me, Sam was the first."
"It's nice that you have him now and the rest of the team. You have a family now."
"Yeah I do. Who knows, maybe one day I will find my real family."
"I really hope you do."
They were interrupted by a beep coming out of the kitchen.
"Dinner's ready."
Callen gave Joelle a quick kiss before he went to the kitchen. Joelle went to the dinner table. Callen grabbed the oven dish out of the oven and brought it over to the table. He had made lasagna from scratch.
"Hmm, it smells delicious G."
Callen grabbed the bottle of wine and sat at the table. He put some food on Joelle's and his plate. It was actually really delicious. Callen was proud of himself for making this. It was a bit hard but he managed and it was really good. As dessert Callen had made tiramisu.
"Hmm G, this was really good."
"What can I say, I had a great teacher," Callen responded with a smirk.
They cleaned up after dinner and sat on the couch.
"I bought you a little gift," Joelle spoke and pulled a present out of her purse. "Happy Valentine's day G."
"Thank you Joelle."
Callen took the present and opened it. It revealed a box with several matryoshka dolls in it.
"You told me you're part Russian so I thought this would be a nice gift."
"Thank you Jo."
Joelle caught staring at the box. "Is it not okay?"
"Huh? Oh no it's fine. It's great. I was just remembering. When I stayed in this house with Rostoff's they had these matryoshka dolls too. These really look a lot like them."
"That's nice."
Callen took them out of the box and placed them from tall to small on the mantle.
"Thank you Jo, these are really nice."
"You're welcome G."
"I got you something too. Happy Valentine's day Jo."
"Thank you G."
Joelle took the present from Callen and opened it. It was a necklace. It was round and it had two layers. The top layer was a little smaller than the bottom one. There was a ruler and an apple on the necklace as well, all in silver. On the bottom layer stood in a downward arch, underneath the top layer, teach . inspire . care. On the top layer stood Ms. Taylor in the same downward arch. There was a card attached.
"To the best teacher and amazing woman ever," Joelle read. "Aww thank you G. This is really beautiful."
There were also earrings in the box. It were two apple shaped earrings with the text special teacher on it and a red diamond about it.
"Thank you G. This is beautiful."
"You're welcome."
Callen put the TV on and they enjoyed a nice evening on the couch. Joelle was spending the night at Callen's place. Once the movie had ended Joelle got up from the couch.
"You just wait right here. I've got a surprise for you in the bedroom," Joelle told him with a smirk.
"Oh really?" Callen asked with the same smirk.
"Yeah, I'm sure you're gonna love it. You just wait here. I'm gonna call you when I'm ready."
"Deal, just hurry up."
"Oh impatient are we?"
Seductively Joelle backed up to the hallway and went into the bedroom. She closed and locked the door so Callen couldn't come in. Callen cleaned up in the living room, blew the candles out and locked up. He waited for Joelle to call him.
"G, I'm ready," Joelle called after a while.
Callen turned the lights down. Callen walked to the bedroom. When he opened the door he stood dead in his tracks. Joelle was lying on the bed wearing a red sexy see-through night gown.
"You like it?" Joelle asked.
"Wow, you look great."
Callen had never seen this side of Joelle but he liked it. She looked really hot wearing that.
"Maybe you should get over here then so you can get a closer look."
Callen kicked his shoes off and joined Joelle on the bed. Joelle pushed him down on the bed and straddled him. Joelle bend down and kissed him. Callen wrapped his arms around her and wanted to turn them around but Joelle stopped him.
"Let me this time."
Joelle shifted backwards on him so she was sitting just below his hips. She moved her hands underneath Callen's shirt and pushed it upwards before pulling it over his head and tossing it on the floor. Joelle let her hands wander over his chest as she applied a bit more pleasure with her hips. Joelle kissed him again before making her way down. She placed kisses on his body before she reached his pants. Slowly, very slowly, she undid the belt, button and zipper of his pants. She could feel that Callen was getting impatient. Once it was free Joelle moved Callen's pants down, leaving just his boxers on. Joelle could see how turned on he already was, she liked having this effect on him. She straddled his hips again and took her night gown off. It joined his clothes on the floor. Underneath the gown she was wearing sexy red lingerie. Joelle pressed down and moved her hips, teasing Callen.
"Jo please," Callen begged.
He never begged much during sex, mostly it was Joelle who was doing the begging but he couldn't take her teasing anymore. He wanted to make love to her. Joelle stopped her movements and got off of Callen's lap. Callen whimpered at the loss of contact but that was soon forgotten as Joelle took his boxers off and started pleasuring him.
"Oh god," Callen called out.
Once he had finished Joelle crawled back up his body and kissed him.
"You liked that?"
"Oh yes very much."
Callen kissed Joelle again and turned them around. Now it was his time to pleasure her. Callen took her bra and panties off, they joined the rest of their clothing on the floor. Joelle yelped with pleasure when she felt Callen where she needed to. When she had finished Callen crawled back up her body. He kissed her as he pushed inside of her. It felt so good to make love to her.
Three hours later they lay heavily breathing on the bed next to each other.
"Wow," Callen uttered.
"Yeah wow, that was really good."
"Yeah it was, I really liked that thing you wore."
"If you're a good boy I'd might wear it again."
"I'd like that."
Callen pulled Joelle to him and gave her one more kiss before he took her into his arms. I didn't take them long to fell asleep.
...
Callen got out of the bed and went to get a shower. Even though it was Valentine's day today it was just like any other day to Callen this year. He had nothing special to do today. After getting some breakfast Callen went to the store to get some groceries. Callen just lounged around the house for the rest of the day. In the evening he went for a run and took a shower. He sat down on the couch, sipped on his beer and watched a bit of TV before going to bed.
The next morning Callen was at work bright and early. He went to the gym to get a workout. He changed into his workout clothes. He put some gloves on and went to the punching machine.
"What are you mad about?" Sam spoke as he walked into the gym a few minutes later.
"Nothing," Callen answered without stopping his punches.
"Okay, so you're just beating the hell out of the machine for no reason."
"Just working on my punches."
"Ah okay. So it has nothing to do with yesterday?"
"Sam….." Callen warned him.
"It's okay G, I get it. I'm just saying I get it."
"Great, so stop bothering me about it."
Sam realized Callen really didn't want to talk about it so he dropped it.
"You're needed up in OPS," Eric called a little later when he walked into the gym.
Callen went to get a shower before joining the others upstairs.
"What have you got Eric?" Callen asked.
"This happened this morning in downtown LA," Eric spoke as he put footage on the screen.
The agents watched the footage. They watched a chase on foot just in front of the mall. The man that was chased ran into traffic and got hit by a car. The men who were chasing him stopped and disappeared into the crowd.
"Who's the guy that got hit?" Sam asked.
"He is petty officer David James," Nell informed them. "He just got home yesterday in between two tours. He unfortunately didn't make it."
"Any ID on the guys who were chasing him?" Callen wondered.
"Not yet, facial reg is running."
"Look into James' life, see if something happened that could lead to this. You find out who's his commanding officer?"
"Yes. He's currently home too in between tours."
"Any next of kin for James?" Kensi asked.
"Yeah he's got a wife and two kids here. Both addresses are on your phone," Eric spoke.
"Alright, Kensi, Deeks, you go see the wife. Sam and I will talk to his commanding officer."
With everyone knowing what to do the agents left and Nell and Eric sat behind their computers. Sam drove them to Mike Connor's, James' commanding officer, house. Callen knocked on the door and they waited for the door to open. A little later a man opened the door.
"Commander Mike Connor?" Callen asked.
"Yeah, who are you?"
"Special agents Callen and Hanna," Callen answered as he and Sam showed their badges. "We're here to talk to you about petty officer David James."
"What about him?"
"I'm sorry to say sir, but he was killed this morning," Sam told him.
"Come on in." Callen and Sam walked in and sat down on the couch. "What happened?"
"We have footage of him being chased in downtown LA. He ran into traffic and got hit, he passed on the way to the hospital," Callen informed him.
"Do you know anybody who would wanna hurt James?" Sam asked.
"No, we just got home from our tour. We're home for three weeks and then we're going back. As far as I know David didn't have any issues. Everyone on our team liked him. He was a nice guy."
"What about your mission? Maybe that followed you home," Callen said.
"I'd doubt it. We weren't involved in combat. We were helping to rebuild villages, give the people a somewhat normal life back. We never had to use our weapons while we were over there. We were far away from the warzone."
"Did David mention anything to you about being in trouble or something?"
"No nothing. He was excited to go home. His wife had given birth to a baby girl while we were stationed over there about two months ago. He was excited to meet her. I would make no sense for him to get into trouble. He was so excited about going home."
"Do you maybe recognize these men?" Callen asked and showed Connor the pictures of the men who were chasing James.
"No, were these the men who were chasing James?"
"Yes they were."
"Thank you for your time, if you think of anything please give us a call," Sam told him.
"I will. I hope you find who did this. David was a good man and a good soldier, one of the best I worked with."
"We will find out what happened."
Callen and Sam went back to the office. Just as they walked back in Kensi and Deeks came in too.
"Anything from the wife?" Callen asked.
"No, she had no reason to suspect that David would be in trouble. He was so happy to be home and see his little girl for the first time. She said he was going to the mall to get some groceries. We showed her pictures of them men who were chasing him but she didn't recognize them," Kensi told them. "How did you guys do?"
"Not much either. He didn't know about David being in any kind of trouble. And he didn't recognize the men either."
"This just doesn't make any sense. Who would go after a man who just came home to meet his newborn girl. He wasn't even in combat over there," Sam thought out loud.
"Maybe he went on a tour to get away from something and the men found out that he was back," Deeks threw a theory out there.
"But why wait so long then. They could have gone after his family while he was away. He was only home for a short while now, what could he have gotten himself into?" Callen said.
"Maybe we can help with that," Eric spoke as he and Nell came down the stairs.
"We dug into James' life," Nell started. "Since he was home he made several calls to this number. Now it's a burn phone so no luck there. But this morning he sent a text to this number saying he would meet them at the mall."
"Okay, if he was there to meet them why did he run?" Kensi questioned.
"Maybe something went sideways and he decided to run."
"What could a new father and a soldier be into that would cause him to run?" Sam wondered.
Nell's tablet beeped. "We got facial reg back on one of the guys." Nell put the ID on the screen. "His name is Javier Sanchez. He has a prior arrest for dealing in drugs."
"James was buying drugs off of him?" Deeks asked.
Nell pressed some keys on her tablet before putting a picture on the screen. "James withdrew five thousand dollars from this bank account earlier today."
"Maybe it was to pay them," Callen said. "Can you find footage of James in the mall park from earlier."
Eric typed some keys on his tablet. "Alright here he is." Eric put the footage on the screen.
They saw James waiting on a bench and a little later the men came up to them.
"Can you zoom in a little closer?" Callen asked and Eric zoomed in a little closer. "Kens, can you read what he's saying.
They only saw James' face on camera, the other men had their back to the camera.
"He's saying that this is some of the money and they get the rest later. He said to stay away from his family."
Then nothing and James ran. Eric's tablet beeped. "We got a location on Sanchez."
"Send it to our phones."
The four agents left and went to the address. SIGs at the ready they walked up to the warehouse. Callen looked in through the window but couldn't really see anything. Sam carefully opened the door and the four agents entered.
Suddenly a few men came out and started shooting at them and an agent got hit.
