A/N: There's some Pashto in this chapter so here's the translations:
Sahr pikheyr = Good morning
Zeh mutaasif yum = Sorry
Also, I forgot that considering Reina has a doctorate, her title is Dr. and it's not mention in any of the earlier chapters. There was also some vague language concerning the seller/buyer in the previous chapters. So I made some adjustments. Feel free to check it out! Hope you enjoy!
When Reina awoke, she was laying in the middle of the large king bed that sat in the master bedroom of the hotel suite. She was naked, the sheets wrapped tightly around her, and she winced as she shifted her sore hips. After their reunion, Anwar had checked her out from her own room and moved her into his. She didn't dare argue and told with herself that it would be easier to extract information this way. Reina had hoped he would talk to her in the morning but as she glanced around she realized he was gone. She pulled herself out of bed, slipping into some clean clothes and surveyed the room. Most of his stuff was still scattered around the room, indicating his absence was temporary.
She heard a crackle in her ear as the in-ear coms spurred to life.
"Are you okay?" Callen's voice was quiet, almost inaudible.
"I'll be fine," she responded just as lowly. "Have you and Sam been surveilling the whole time?"
The question was most certainly not about surveillance. She was incredibly embarrassed when she realized that Callen and Sam may have had to listen to her and Anwar. Callen picked up on the waver in voice almost immediately and he could feel the blush on his neck and ears. Clearing his throat he responded softly, "When Anwar left, Sam and I split up. Sam's been tailing Anwar; he went to go meet up with the other militants at a warehouse downtown. I've-I've been here, but I turned off my coms when-uh-"
"I appreciate it."
"Of course."
He was silent then, allowing Reina to rummage through Anwar's suitcase. She stopped short when her hands settled on a folder buried deep beneath his clothing. She opened it, observing the figures and skimming the text.
"I've got papers detailing specifications of the bomb,"
"Excellent, take pictures. I'll let Eric know they're headed his way."
She grabbed her phone, snapping pictures of each page, and sending them through a secure server to the Ops Center.
"Done."
"Good work. Listen, Nell identified a possible buyer and Kensi and Deeks think they have a target. We need to figure out when the exchange is happening and confirm the intel."
"What's the target?"
"The LAPD ceremony on Friday night. Anwar's phone lead to a man named Pedro Chaves-"
"I've heard Anwar talk about him!" Reina exclaimed, her mind struggling to place the familiar name.
"He's a Colombian drug lord who recently had a shipment of arms confiscated at the border by LAPD. Several of his cartel members were arrested and few were killed in a shootout. We think its revenge for the losses he endured at the hands of the LAPD."
"Okay so we have exactly a week. The exchange has to be sometime between now and next Friday," Reina commented, thinking aloud.
Suddenly Callen's tone changed, "I just got a message from Sam, Anwar's on his way back."
Quickly Reina stuffed the folder back in the depths of his suitcase. She pulled her hair into a braid, putting on her jewelry. When she was done, Reina wandered towards the pantry, making a cup of tea. "Thanks for having my back," she whispered.
Callen exhaled loudly, wishing there was some further way to help her. "Of course," he replied lamely. Fifteen minutes later, Anwar unlocked the door to the suite finding his lover absentmindedly stirring sugar into her cup of tea.
"Sahr pikheyr Aadila," he greeted her good naturedly.
She smiled mechanically. "Sahr pikheyr Anwar. Tea?"
"Thank you my dear." She could feel his strong arms wrapping tightly around her waist, his lips meeting the back of her neck.
"I woke up alone this morning," she purred, turning his arms, allowing him to kiss her. She could hear Callen shift uncomfortable in her ear.
"I had a meeting with Abdul, Sajed, Parviz and Jahed," Anwar responded, he seemed to be brimming with excitement.
"How did it go?" she asked casually, handing him her cup and turning around to make herself a fresh cup.
He took a gulp and his face contorted in disgust. "This is terrible. Learn how to make some proper tea!" he barked, hurling the cup at her. She moved quickly, cringing as the cup shattered by her ear against a cupboard. "Reina…" Callen muttered uneasily.
She ignored him and mopped up the mess before quickly setting to work perfecting her next cup. "Zeh mutaasif yum, this cup will be better I promise," He sipped the new cup, nodding in approval and strode into their bedroom. She hurried after him.
"We have agreed upon a meeting place and time with the buyer. You will come with us."
She nodded. "I'm happy you were able to find a buyer."
He smirked, "Chaves has good intentions. He claims he will use the bomb to purge our world of a room filled with Los Angeles policemen."
Reina mirrored his smirk, "This pleases you obviously."
"Of course it pleases me," Anwar responded hungrily, "Our services could not have been put to better use. Think of what people will say, what publicity we will receive!"
She leaned up and ran a hand through his hair, smiling. "I am overjoyed to see you this happy. When are we going to meet Chaves?"
"On Monday. At the lot behind the pier."
"Out in the open?" she responded cautiously.
"It will be quick, you needn't worry." And with that, he pulled away from her, disappearing into the bathroom. She picked up her cup and his, busying herself at the pantry. She glanced towards the bedroom, deciding that it was safe. Her fingers lightly touch the in-ear com, ensuring that it was on before whispering, "Did you guys get that?"
"Loud and clear. Get yourself out," Callen replied curtly.
"Actually, Dr. Khan, may I request that you stay in until the exchange? We must ensure that it goes according to plan, we need someone on the inside." It was not Hetty's voice that stunned Callen, he was rather accustomed to her sneaky intrusions, but rather the weight of her request.
There was a pause before Reina responded, "I can do that Ms. Lange but after Monday, I'm out."
"That is all I ask,"
Callen watched his team as they gathered around a table in the armory. Kensi was packing the parts of a sniper into a case while Sam and Deeks were loading and double-checking their weapons. He cleared his throat.
"Okay, so Hussain and Chaves have made this difficult. They've chosen a wide open space in public, there's not a lot of cover for us but luckily, the same applies for them. Kensi, I want you station on the roof of high-rise on the east. It's the closest building and you'll have a clear range. According to Reina-uh Dr. Khan, they're planning on closing off the lot with the cover of construction. Deeks you'll have Dr. Khan's back, I want you positioned in boat off of the pier, stay low and hidden until you're needed. Sam and I'll approach from back street. We'll move when Dr. Khan's clear, take out anyone you need to but I want Chaves and Hussain alive if possible.
The team nodded, taking in his instructions. Deeks grinned slightly at his leader's casual use of Reina's first name and his hastiness in covering it up. Callen had taken it upon himself to keep over watch on Reina over the weekend and it seemed, when she was out of Anwar's range, that they had been chatting through the coms.
When they arrived at the empty lot, there was nothing but silence. They knew the lot was being watched, so Sam and Callen stayed hidden in the Challenger parked down the street. Kensi had split up with Deeks earlier and was already setting up on the roof of the high-rise. She unpacked the sniper, and put it together, surveying the scene. As per the naked eye, there was nothing unordinary about the lot. The tide splashed against the wooden frames of the pier, sending the soothing sound of the waves across the wide space. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the storm ahead. Clearing away the space in front of her, she dropped to her stomach, her dominant eye firmly attached to the eye piece of the sniper that was resting on the edge of the roof. And then she waited.
Meanwhile, Deeks, clad in his wetsuit slipped off the side of a small blue and white stripped boat docked on the opposite end of the pier from the lot. The boat, Hetty's boat to be precise, had docked in the pier only an hour earlier carrying the shaggy haired detective. Quickly stripping down, he pulled on his wetsuit and Kevlar vest. He deftly attached a waterproof sack, containing his gun, badge, his in-ear coms and extra ammunition, to his waist. When he was ready, the detective entered the water, swimming quickly and strongly, staying under the surface as much as possible. He reached the second boat they had placed on the pier the day before. It had a perfect view of the lot. Deeks clambered onto the deck of the boat, making his way lithely towards the front where there was a large piece of tarp spread out. Yanking it up, he slid under the large blue plastic material covering the surface of the front deck.
Kensi watched her partner slither out of view, and said lowly into her coms, "Deeks is in position, waiting for him to get online."
"Copy that," she heard her leader mutter.
A minute later they heard a crackle in their ears. "I'm online and armed," Deeks' firm voice came through the coms.
"Great. Hetty, we're standing by in our positions. Do you copy?"
"I copy Mr. Callen. Let's makes this clean."
The team sent in their acknowledgements and then fell silent, waiting.
Approximately 15 minutes later, their coms crackled again and loud unmistakable Pashto filled their ears. Reina had activated her coms and joined their connection. Sam listened intently to the Pashto conversation and then finally stated, "They're about five minutes out."
"Everyone ready?" Callen asked his team. Sam nodded beside him, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. He waited briefly for Kensi and Deeks' confirmations before exiting the Challenger and heading quickly in the opposite direction of the lot, curving around the block and popping up on the narrow street on the other side of the lot. He found the dumpster they had identified earlier and sunk down low beside it. Sam watched carefully as a large black SUV followed closely by a large storage truck drove past his position and pulled into the lot.
After ensuring that no one else was following them, Sam left the Challenger as well. He snuck up the street, moving surprising nimbly and silently for a man his size. He settled himself on the corner of the street and peered around the edge of the building he was leaning against. "Dr. Khan and the Afghans just arrived with the explosive,"
"Roger that," Callen responded as the convoy appeared in his line of vision. "We wait for Chaves and the move." The team watched as Anwar, Reina and three members of the group exited the SUV. The fourth remaining militant was in the driver seat of the truck, his shoulders tense, eyes darting to survey the area.
Deek's eyes were trained to the back of Reina's head. He watched his friend closely as she clung quietly to Anwar's side. The group waited, looking rather odd in the middle of the empty lot. 10 minutes ticked by and then 20 and the burly leader of the group looked towards the street warily.
"Are we missing something?" Sam hissed. "I don't see Chaves."
"Kensi?" Callen whispered.
"Negative. No Chaves in sight."
"Deeks?"
"Negative."
Suddenly, Reina's accented voice lightly filled their ears. "Anwar, they are late."
"I can see that," came the response, thick and loud.
For another minute, there was nothing but silence. And then all hell broke loose. The engine of the truck spurred to life, and the Afghan behind the wheel pulled out a gun reaching out of the window and pulling the trigger. The bullet hit one of the militants in the shoulder, and he fell to the ground almost immediately. Stunned, the other militants rushed to help their fallen man. The truck peeled out of the lot and instinctively Anwar pulled away from Reina, jumping into the front seat of the SUV.
"Kensi, the SUV, Hussain can't get away. Sam, the truck! Deeks, eyes on Dr. Khan," Callen's command came from the coms. Sam grunted, turning on his heal and dashing towards his car.
"Eric, Nell help me out. Don't lose him."
Meanwhile, Kensi had taken out the tires, effectively rendering the SUV useless. Hearing the shots and finding that his car was not responding, Anwar threw open the door furiously, pulling out a gun. Deeks' body tensed, ready to jump out of his hiding place beneath the tarp.
"IT WAS YOU!" Anwar roared, his gun now trained on Reina's head. The militants, recovering from the shock, followed suit, their guns also trained on Reina. The injured militant, Parviz, was already back on his feet, clutching his shoulder.
"What-what are you talking about Anwar?" Reina cried, her voice wavering expertly. "It was Abdul, he betrayed us!"
"Your affections were never real! You played me!"
"I've got a clear shot on Jahed," Kensi's voice came through the coms.
Callen responded quickly, "I've got Sajed. Deeks can you get Parviz?"
Deeks hesitantly moved his aim from the burly leader to the smaller man, finding he had a perfect angle. "Affirmative."
"Reina, you've got about a two second window."
Callen watched her head move so slightly that had he not been staring intently at her, he would have missed it. He gritted his teeth, praying this would work and then muttered, "3…2…1"
Three shots rang out and the militants crumbled, Anwar's eyes shifted, watching in horror as his friends sunk to the floor. Angrily, he moved his gaze back towards his lover. But she had already moved, crouching low. He let out a short gasp as one of her hand wrapped firmly around his wrist, the other around the barrel of his gun, ripping the weapon from his grasp. Her elbow came towards his face with a blinding speed and he felt the darkness close around him.
A/N: As always, review por fa!