Callen and Sam quickly ducked behind the first thing they could find and fired back at him. After a while Callen managed to hit him in the shoulder, causing him to drop his gun. The two agents quickly made their way over to him and Callen kicked the gun out of his reach.
"You shot me!" the man yelled.
"Be lucky that's all he did," Sam replied. "Who are you?"
"You've gotta get me to the hospital. You shot me."
"You'll live. Now tell us, who are you and why did you run?"
The man still kept quiet.
"The sooner you tell us the sooner you can see a doctor," Callen spoke
"You can't keep me here, I have rights."
"You shot at two federal agents! Now, who are you?"
The man still kept quiet so Sam felt around the man's pockets.
"His name is Petty Officer Nathan Rogers," Sam read from Nathan's Navy ID.
"So Nathan? Why did you run? Where you afraid we would find something in the office? Did you have anything to do with Thomas' death?"
"No, I swear I didn't kill him."
"Then why did you run?" Nathan didn't answer. "You might as well tell us cus we will find out eventually." He still kept quiet. "Fine, have it your way."
Sam cuffed him to a pipe and he and Callen walked away.
"Hey! You can't leave me here! I need medical attention!" Callen and Sam kept walking. "Fine, I'll tell you everything I know."
Callen and Sam walked back to him.
"We're listening," Callen said.
"I was looking for some papers of a cargo shipment."
"Which cargo shipment?"
"I will tell you everything but first you've gotta get me a doctor."
Callen and Sam shared a looked and decided to take him to the Naval hospital on base. Callen and Sam stayed in the room as the medical personnel worked on him. His uninjured arm was cuffed to the bed.
"Are the handcuffs really necessary?" The doctor asked.
"Yes, he ran and he shot at two federal agents," Callen answered.
Once the medical personnel had left the room Callen and Sam stepped up to the bed.
"So, which cargo shipment were you looking for?" Callen asked.
Nathan thought about what to say. How could he put it without incriminating himself? But then again he had shot at two federal agents, so that wasn't good.
"Thomas was using the shipments to transport drugs into this country. He's in charge of the cargo shipments so he could hide them very well."
"Then how did he end up dead?"
"I don't know. Maybe a drug deal gone wrong. I mean a body washing up on the beach, that's kinda the style of a drug cartel right."
Sam and Callen looked at each other.
"How did you know he washed up on the beach?" Sam asked.
"I must have heard it on the news or you guys told me."
"We didn't," Callen replied with a smirk.
"And it hasn't been on the news either," Sam added.
"So how would you know he washed up on the beach? Unless you had something to do with his death," Callen stated.
"I didn't kill him!"
"Then how did you know his body had washed up on the beach?!"
Realizing he had nowhere to go Nathan came clean. "I didn't mean to kill him. But he was gonna expose me, turn me in. I couldn't let him do that, I would lose my job."
"So you were the one transporting drugs?"
"He was gonna turn me in. I tried to stop him so I pushed him. He hit the car with his head and fell to the ground. I checked him but I couldn't feel a pulse. I panicked. So I put him in my car and drove to the ocean. I dumped him in the ocean, hoping no one would find him. I didn't mean to kill him."
"You're gonna tell us everything about who were in on this, including the people on the other side."
Nathan gave them all the names that were in on it and Callen and Sam informed the MP's of it. The Navy would deal with those people. Callen called Eric to tell him that the case had been solved.
Callen and Sam hopped on the chopper back to LA. The team finished their paperwork before going home.
"Hey girls, I'm home," Callen spoke as he walked into the house.
"Daddy!" Myra and Julie squealed and they ran up to Callen.
"Hey you two," Callen replied as he got down on his knees and took them into his arms. "Daddy missed you two today. Have you been good girls to mommy?"
"Yes daddy."
"Good. Can daddy get a kiss?" Both girls gave Callen a kiss on his cheek. "Where's mommy?"
"Kissen," Myra answered.
Callen gave both girls a kiss before he got up and walked to the kitchen where Lori was cooking dinner.
"Hey honey," Callen spoke and walked up to her to give her a kiss.
"Hey G."
"Hey my little babies," Callen spoke to Lori's stomach and gave it a kiss. "Have you been good to mommy today?"
"Yes they have."
"Good."
Callen gave Lori one more kiss before he went to the living room to spend some time with Myra and Julie before dinner. As soon as Callen sat down on the couch Myra and Julie came up too and crawled next to Callen as they watched TV.
When dinner was almost ready Callen went to set the table and put Julie and Myra in their chairs. He helped Lori carry the pans over to the table and put some food on the plate for Myra and Julie to let it cool off. The girls ate some cucumber as they were waiting for their dinner to cool off. Once it was cooled off Callen and Lori put the plates on the chairs. The girls took their spoons and happily started eating.
"Who wants some ice cream?" Lori asked once the plates were finished.
"Me!" Julie and Myra yelled.
"Sit honey, I'll get it," Callen spoke when Lori wanted to get up.
Callen took some stuff back into the kitchen and went to get the ice cream. Callen put some in the bowls for Myra and Julie and put some whipped cream on it.
"Stwabay too daddy," Myra said.
"Me too daddy."
Callen put a couple pieces of strawberries in the bowl too before he put them on the girls' chairs.
The girls faces were covered with ice cream and whipped cream when they had finished. Lori cleaned their faces with the bibs as Callen brought everything to the kitchen.
"Okay girls, time for bath," Callen spoke when he walked back outside.
Callen picked the girls up from their chairs and carried them upstairs as Lori got started on the dishes. Callen filled the tub as he undressed Myra and Julie. Once the tub was full enough and not too hot Callen put the girls in it and gave them some water toys. Callen sat on the small stool they had in the bathroom watching the girls. Callen let them play for a while before he went to wash them. Once the girls were finished he drained the tub and dressed them before taking them to bed. Callen put them in their beds and read them a story.
"Goodnight girls," Callen spoke and gave both of them a kiss.
"Niwt daddy," Myra and Julie replied.
Callen turned on the nightlight before shutting down the big light and closing the door. He walked back downstairs. Lori was just finishing up in the kitchen. When she was done Callen took her outside and together they lay down on the hammock, enjoying the beautiful summer evening.
….
That Monday was the first day back at pre-school for Myra and Julie after the vacation. Both Lori and Callen had to work today but luckily they hadn't been called in yet so they could drop the girls off at pre-school in the morning.
"Hello Myra, Hello Julie," Kelly greeted the kids.
"Ello Ms. Kelly," Myra and Julie responded.
"Did you have a nice vacation?"
"Yes," Julie answered.
"Great. If you want you can tell me and the other kids about it when we're all together in the circle. Everyone will get a turn to tell, okay."
"Okay."
Callen and Lori gave the girls a kiss before going to work.
Once all the kids were there the teacher took them inside. They all sat on the carpet in a circle.
"Welcome back kids, I've missed you all. I hope you all had fun on your vacation. We're gonna do a little talk and everyone can tell us something about what you did on vacation okay. And remember class, when someone else is talking we are…."
"Quiet," the kids responded.
"Very well."
The kids listened as the other kids told stories about their vacation. Myra and Julie waited for their turn. First it was Myra's turn.
"What did you do on vacation Myra?"
"We go in plane. Plane no go up."
"The plane didn't go up in the air?'
"No, osser plane."
"You had to go on another plane?" Myra nodded. "And what did you do on vacation?"
"Swim, daddy was funny. Cass daddy."
"You had to catch daddy? In the water?" Myra nodded. "Well that's very nice. Do you remember where you went?"
"Long plane."
"You had to stay in the plane a long time?"
"Yes, people talk funny."
"They were speaking in another language?" Myra nodded. "Did you have fun too Julie?"
"Yes, we stay in tent. We go in boat with….." Julie wasn't sure what it was called so she showed with her arms how she and Myra paddled.
"Ah you went in a canoe." The teacher grabbed her tablet and looked up a picture of a canoe.
"Yes. We go in boat in big pool wis sand."
"That's nice. Like a river or a lake?"
Julie looked at Myra but they both weren't sure. The teacher showed them a picture of a river and a lake on the tablet. Julie pointed to the picture with the lake.
"We wore swirt."
"Ah like a life vest so you couldn't drown in case you went in the water."
"Yes."
"Yes that is very important. That's why you all have to wear them or floaties on your arms when you go into the water so you can't drown. You still have to learn to swim so you have to wear them. Big people don't have to wear them anymore cus they've learned how to swim. When you will go to your new school you will learn how to swim too so you won't have to wear the floaties anymore."
They all listened to the others kids before they could pick out something to do. Myra and Julie chose to color.
….
Lori and Callen had just arrived at work when Eric whistled them up.
"We've got a case everyone."
Eric went back upstairs and the agents followed.
"Hit it Eric," Callen spoke as they walked in.
"This morning LAPD raided a warehouse in Westchester. When they went in this is what they saw," Eric spoke and he put some picture on the big screen. They could see four men lying on the ground, appearing to be dead, in Navy uniforms. "Now this is where it gets interesting. LAPD ran the names on the uniforms but they couldn't find anyone with those names in the Navy records so they contacted us. Me and Nell looked too but we couldn't find anyone by that name in any Navy database. We ran facial reg but we didn't get a hit."
"So, who are these guys and why are they posing as Navy officers?" Deeks wondered.
"Where are the bodies now?" Callen asked.
"They are at the morgue."
"Alright, Kensi, Deeks, why don't you head over there see if you can ID them by fingerprints or something. Sam and I will check the crime scene. Lori, you work with Nell and Eric, try to find out who these guys were and why they were posing as Navy officers."
With everyone knowing what to do they went to work. Lori sat behind one of the computers up in OPS and started searching for anything that could might help.
"Why would they pose as Navy officers?" Sam wondered as he and Callen walked onto the crime scene after showing their badges.
"I don't know. But I don't like it. Agents Callen and Hanna, NCIS. Are you in charge here?" Callen spoke to one of the LAPD officers.
"Yes, Alex Matthews."
"What can you tell us about what happened here? Why did LAPD raid this place?"
"We had gotten a tip from a CI that this place was being used for trafficking drugs. We were tracking this group and they were supposed to be hiding out in here and using this as an office for their drug trafficking. So a few LAPD officers and SWAT raided this place. When we got inside we saw these men in Navy uniforms lying on the floor but they weren't the guys we were looking for. We checked the entire place but there was no sign of them. We then checked the men on the floor but they were all dead. When we ran their faces through the Navy database we didn't get any hits so we called you guys."
"What about the drug trafficking? Were they trafficking drugs from this place?"
"The place had been cleaned out but we did found some traces that would suggest they were making drugs in here. CSU is going through the place now. You can go in and have a look around. I'll make sure everything we have on the case will be send to your office."
"Thank you."
Callen and Sam looked around the place. There was nothing there that would tie them to the Navy. So why were they dressed in Navy uniforms? With nothing really new Callen and Sam went back to the office. Maybe Kensi and Deeks had better luck at the morgue or Nell, Eric or Lori had found something. Once they were back at the office Callen walked upstairs.
"Hey guys, did you find anything?"
"Not much, we're still haven't been able to ID these guys. Kensi and Deeks are still at the morgue. They ran the fingerprints but they didn't get any hits so we're waiting on dental records now," Nell informed them.
"Okay, keep looking if you can find out anything. LAPD will sent everything they have on the case so far over to us."
Eric typed in some keys on his computer. "I've got it. We'll look through it, we'll let you know if we find something."
"Great. Where's Lori?" Callen asked when he didn't see Lori.
"Bathroom."
"Ah okay."
Just as Callen wanted to walk down the stairs Lori came up.
"Hey G," Lori greeted him.
"Hey Lori," Callen replied and stole a quick kiss from her. "You good?"
"Yeah I'm good. Did you find anything at the warehouse?"
"No, not much. LAPD send the file over so we can use that for the case."
"Ah okay. I'll see what I can find."
"Okay. How's it going up here?"
"Good, but I'd rather be out in the field with you guys but I know I can't right now."
"No you can't. It would be too dangerous for you and our little babies," Callen replied as he rubbed her stomach.
"I know, I know. But I'm an agent not an analyst."
"I know you are and you're a great agent. But for now you'll just have to be a good analyst."
"I know but that doesn't mean I have to like it but I'll do it for our babies cus I don't want them to get hurt."
"And I don't want to see them get hurt either or you. So you're just gonna have to stay upstairs for now."
"I know and I will. I don't want to risk them getting hurt."
"Good." Callen gave her a kiss before Lori went back to OPS and Callen went back to the bullpen.
It was about two hours later when Eric, Nell and Lori came downstairs.
"We may have something," Eric spoke. "We dug deeper and found out they bought uniforms at a local dress up shop. Luckily the store had security cameras. They paid with credit card so we looked up the records of that store and found the name of the account. The man that paid for the outfits is Frank Morgan, he's one of our dead guys," Eric spoke as he put the pictures up on the screen.
"Good work Eric," Callen spoke. "Did you find ID's on the other guys too?"
"One of them. We checked Morgan's personal records and he lives in Marina Del Rey with one of our other dead guys." Eric put another picture up on the screen. "His name is Greg Harrison."
"Do they have any connection to the Navy?" Sam wanted to know.
"No, not that we could find."
"Then why dress up as Navy officers and why were they found in a warehouse that's used for drug trafficking?"
"What about the case LAPD was working on?" Callen asked. "Did you get any information off of that?"
"We looked through the file. The LAPD has already identified some of the players involved with this drug cartel," Eric answered and he put some more pictures on the screen. "They all have no connection to the Navy."
"Do you have an address for Morgan and Harrison?"
"Yes, the address is on your phones."
"Great, we'll check it out."
The four agents left for the house as Lori, Nell and Eric was back upstairs to see if they could find more.
By the end of the day they weren't any closer to solving the case. They still had no idea why they would dress themselves up as Navy officers and who killed them. They suspected the drug cartel the LAPD believed was using that warehouse but they had no proof. Eric had some searches running before he closed up and went home.
"I just can't figure this case out," Callen spoke as he and Lori were sitting on the couch after they had brought the girls to bed.
"I know, me neither. We know they got the uniforms at a dress up shop but why would they do that? Why would they pose as Navy officers? What did they have to gain by that?"
"I have no idea. I've been going over possible scenario in my head but nothing makes sense."
"Yeah I know, up in OPS we have no clue either. Maybe we'll have better luck once we've ID'd the other two guys."
"Yeah perhaps."
….
Three days later they were still working on the case. All the leads they had found turned out to be dead ends. They still hadn't been able to ID the other two guys, nothing on facial reg, dental records, fingerprints. They had asked around the neighbors of Morgan and Harrison. Some neighbors said they had seen them at the house but they didn't know their names.
Lori was sitting upstairs in OPS helping Nell and Eric. The agents were either in the gym or at the shooting range. Lori looked up as her phone rang. She looked at the display. It was the girls' pre-school.