A/N: I apologize profusely for the long silence in updates. Since last tuesday I've been on vacation in Oahu with family and moving for college there, and I've just been so busy and distracted. I start classes in the morning but still will be updating regularly and have sundays to write. Again, very sorry, hope there's still someone to read this. ;)
This chapter is very short and not very exciting, but I wanted to include it and thought a small update was better than waiting longer. I will have more up within the next few days. I really appreciate your patience. Please be so kind and leave me a little review :)
Sam, Kensi, and Deeks arrived at the airport as fast as the Challenger could be maneuvered through traffic. On their way out of the mission, Hetty had briefly stopped Evan to inform him that he'd be assisting the San Diego office in another case involving the death of a classified Navy officer who'd been vacationing in Long Beach. Frankly, the rest of the team weren't too disappointed upon hearing the news. Sure, he was a good agent, but this case was just too personal for the rest of them. On the way to the airport, Kensi began to suspect that Hetty intentionally separated Evan from this case to prevent any tensions that could arise. Their boss always had ulterior motives going on under the surface.
Soon, the three of them had checked in and boarded their small, private plane headed for Moscow. It would be a long flight for all of them, for they were eager to find their missing teammate, but after an hour of silence mixed with pacing, Sam took charge and suggested they go over their information and formulate a plan.
They pulled out all the files Eric and Nell had prepared for them. Seated around the small table inside the plane, they formed a circle and laid out the information in front of them.
"Okay, so what do we know?" Kensi prompted.
"Callen's alive, and has been held for the past four months by this Scott Iverson, an ex-CIA agent who betrayed his country." Sam's eyebrows furrowed in detest at the truth of his statement. He continued, addressing his younger teammates. "Callen's being forced to trade information to Alexsander Novikov, a powerful businessman, tomorrow night. This is the best lead we have, if we can't find him before this deal goes down, we may never get another lead in time."
They looked over the files as he spoke, trying to obtain as much information as they could. Kensi picked up a file on the Russian in question. "Novikov has made a large fortune in trading almost anything. Guns, drugs, information. He's made quite a name for himself. Looks like the CIA hasn't gotten anything to stick against him." Sam nodded in acknowledgment.
Deeks held up a CIA file and looked toward his teammates. "Callen tried to catch him before during his years in the CIA. This must have to do with something that went down fifteen years ago."
"Callen was undercover with Novikov back then," Sam reasoned, silently considering different options. "If Iverson went through all this trouble to have Callen make the deal for him, he must be using his old alias."
"That makes sense. These reports sound like Novikov liked Callen. It makes the deal easier for Iverson and if anything goes wrong, Callen becomes his insurance policy." Kensi reasoned, not liking what it suggested. She read on, worry growing as the details became clearer. "Iverson was Callen's partner. He burned him to some buyers, and it sounds like it didn't end pretty. You think he'll be okay, Sam?" The concern in her voice was clear.
The idea that his partner was being manipulated by someone he used to trust wasn't easy to hear a second time. What if this hurt all the progress Callen had made in trusting others? He didn't even want to think about what it would mean, but he knew Callen would still trust them.
"He will be once we find him." Sam declared. "We need a plan. Iverson has been planning this for months. He's two steps ahead of us. We only have a few hours until the deal once we land. We need to move fast once we get there if we're going to catch up."
"Eric will trace their movements once they arrive. If we're lucky, he'll find where Novikov's residence is and we can be there when the deal goes down."
"Iverson's scum, right?" They both looked at Deeks in interest. "I mean, he's the kind of guy who only cares about how much is in his pocket. He won't care at all about what happens to Callen. What happens when the deal is done?"
They all considered the detective's words. Too many answers they came up with only meant nothing good for their leader. The weight of this case was heavy for each of them. Only a couple hours ago did they find out Callen was even still alive, and now they had about a day to find and save him, stop a CIA traitor and powerful Russian businessman, and retrieve classified information. Luckily, they were the best team the agency had and knowing the gravity of their situation only increased their determination and ability to see it through to the end.