Chapter 7

As Callen sailed over the railing he was grabbed, and pulled back, by three sets of hands.

Fighting all the way he struggled as they got him back onto the balcony.

"Let me go?" He struggled again as the hands held him down.

"Shh… G, it's ok, it's Sam, you're safe."

"NO…. no... let me go!" his voice was scared and pleading, "I have to get away."

"G, you're safe, you're with family."

"No...no family, not safe, need to go... find Maria, Maria's safe, she needs me…" He struggled again as a white blur leaned into his field of vision and he felt a sharp prick in the neck.

"No…. Mariaaaaaaa." he called still thrashing as the sedative took effect and Callen collapsed into a heap on the floor.

"Who's Maria?" SinJin asked as he got up, pulling the comforter down on the bed as Sam and String lifted him onto it and Sinjin pulled the cover over his little brother. Sinjin looked over at Archangel who was placing a cap over the syringe he had pulled out of a black pouch in his pocket, "And what did you just give G?"

Archangel shook his head, "I have no idea who Maria is, was there any sign of anyone else being held when you rescued your brother?" He asked.

String went to shake his head, then he stopped, "There was a woman, young, dark hair, she escaped through a hole as we came in the main door."

"Maybe G was protecting her?" Sam suggested. "He doesn't know she's safe, so he wanted to find her. We'll have to wait till he wakes up." Sam turned to the man in white, "What did you shoot into my partner."

"Just a sedative. He'll sleep for longer, I'll have Caitlyn set up an IV to get fluids into Mr. Callen. I had hoped he would have slept off all the drugs, but I think the information he gathered today, plus the residual effects of those drugs meant that his fight or flight response kicked in."

String turned to Hetty, "What were you both talking about?" He asked, then stopped as he saw the devastation on her face. Walking quickly over to her he dropped to his knees, "Hetty? Hetty, G's safe, he's ok...tell us what happened."

Hetty buried her head in her hands, "He knows, I tried, so hard never to tell him, but he knows." she sobbed.

She had done many things in her life that she regretted, letting his mother, sister and Callen down had weighed the heaviest on her heart. She had known that Clara was doomed from the moment she was born, but she had been instrumental in smuggling Clara's mother out of Romania when she was born knowing that her sister was truly in love with George Callen. She was a teenager back then and hadn't cared about a stupid blood feud or what the consequences of her actions would be. She had gone with the newlyweds to America and changed her name, thinking that this would keep her safe from her family. Now, in the distress in the one person she hadn't meant to hurt, out of all of her nephews she had been the one who had needed him the most, and she had failed him.

Callen thrashed on the bed, "No... Maria, need... Wolf…, Hetty... Comescu…, run!" he mumbled. String looked over at him concerned, "I'm gonna need the med kit, that infection is taking hold again."

Sinjin nodded and headed downstairs.

Sam looked at Hetty concerned for the older woman. "Hetty, come on, let's get you a cup of tea." he offered.

Hetty shook her head, "I can't leave him, he needs to know…" She shook her head again, "I let him down."

Sam smiled a full on smile, "You know G loves you, like a mother, he'll never stay mad at you."

"You don't understand Mr. Hanna, I kept a secret from him."

Sam nodded, "I understand, but he will be ok after all he has a family now, The Hawke's and you."

Hetty shook her head, "You don't understand. Sam. We are related to the Comescu's. Callen is related to the Comescu's and he didn't know."

The smile dropped off Sam's face.

"No… Hetty…. Not Comescu... No…" Callen mumbled as SinJin lay a cool cloth on his brother's head.

SinJin looked up, "I don't know who or what this Comescu thing is, but I think G can still, on some level hear us, so maybe this isn't a conversation to be had around him right now."

Hetty nodded, "You are right, but I will not be having this conversation without him or you boys. I have protected you all to the best of my ability, but soon it will be time for all truths to be revealed."

"Henrietta, come downstairs, Miss Jones and Ms Santini have made a light lunch and some nice tea. You need to relax, SinJin and Sam can stay with Callen now." Archangel said.

Hetty took String's arm and allowed herself to be led downstairs.

"Henrietta doesn't talk about this part of her past, it's too painful for her, so when she does, please, let her talk ok Sinjin." Archangel said worried for his friend.

SinJin gave a curt nod, "You know we love Aunt Hetty, but G is my brother, I'll be there for him too."

"You'd better be." Sam growled under his breath, laying a hand on his partner's shoulder to help him relax.

Archangel took another syringe from the pouch he'd had in his jacket. "I'm going to take some blood and get String to take it to the Wolf for analysis. I think he was given something other than Rohypnol I know he had six weeks on the drug, but something isn't sitting right with me. It's a suggestive drug, but Callen isn't the sort to try to kill himself. I may be wrong, but let's see what the tox analyzer in the Wolf comes up with."

Sam smiled as Archangel took the blood sample, "G would hate you by now if he were awake." He said as the man boxed up the sample. "G hates needles."

Archangel smiled as he turned to go, "I know who do you think gave him the fear."

Maria walked around the debris left behind after Callen's extraction, she had no idea what she was going to do now, her employer was dead and she was alone.

She jumped as she heard a noise, a small one. She would have missed it had it not been deathly quiet.

She gathered her skirts up and ran as fast as she could towards the noise.

"Antonio?" She called hoping it was him, it wasn't. She almost sobbed, but pressed on, her small hands moving debris as she looked for the source of the sound.

The noise turned into an all out wail and in an instant she knew who it was.

"Carlos." She sighed, tears of joy rolling down her face as she picked up her child, "My son, you're safe." She checked him quickly to see if he had been hurt, but apart from a small scratch on his face, he was unharmed. "Your papa is dead." She said as she sank to the ground holding him. "We are alone here."

She cried.

She had known nothing but this life, her life before being given to Rodriguez didn't matter. She had been picked from the orphanage she had grown up in when Senior Rodriguez had come to see the Mother Superior running it, he had grown enamoured with the young teenager who had been sitting outside the Mother Superior's office, in trouble again, for something, but she couldn't remember what.

She had thought he was going to be her new father. When she had arrived here and settled in her first night had been informative, he had told her what he wanted from her. She had, at first resisted. But after a nice meal she had felt strange and had woken up sore and naked in bed with him a few hours later. That was how it had been for the first few months. Then she had started to realize he was being kind to her after Antonio had tried to hurt her and Rodriguez had saved her, that night he had asked her if she was grateful and she had tearfully promised she was as he promised to keep her just for him and not give her to the other men in the compound. At fourteen, less than six months ago, she had given birth to her son, Carlos. He had been the apple of his father's eye and Rodriguez had gone so far as to promise to marry her for giving him a son, as soon as she was old enough. She had tried to protest that she was old enough, having birthed a child, but the swift backhander from her lover had made her realize what a stupid child she was at times. In fact the only person who had been nice to her since she had arrived apart from Rodriguez had been Callen. Then he had destroyed her world.

All she knew was that her lover had planned to take this 'Airwolf' and sell it to the Reynosa Cartel, maybe if she could do that then she and her son wouldn't be left destitute. It was Callen's fault that she was there alone, with a son at fifteen. He needed to pay.

She fashioned a makeshift sling for her son and decided that, for now, she would look for the 'father' of her child. After all the authorities would help a 15 year old looking for the father of her child rather than a 15 year old out to kill a man in cold blood.

She packed up what she could carry and they headed in the direction of the nearest town.