Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: Los Angeles or the characters. I'm just borrowing them. I make no money from this.

Callen watched along with the others as Kensi and Deeks coaxed the girl from her hiding spot and into the car. "Doesn't look like it was a trap," he commented. His eyes remained focused on the girl. Something about her was bringing out all of his protective instincts.

"No, thank goodness for small favors," Hetty said.

"Incoming call from Kensi," Eric called out. "Putting it on speaker."

"So what's your mom's name?" Deeks' voice came over the line.

"Erin, Erin O'Rourke." Came the girl's quiet response.

A jolt went through Callen as he heard that name. Sam noticed. "G?"

"Do you have any idea why they would have taken her?"

"Searching the databases now," Eric said as he and Nell began to type. But Callen didn't need them to tell him what they would find, he already knew. Just as he knew the answer to Deeks' question.

"Hey, it's ok. Just tell us whatever you can." Deeks continued to coax the girl into answering his question.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it."

"Hey, we're the good guys. I promise you, we just want to help. You can trust me."

Callen's mind was racing. It couldn't be the same person. There had to be plenty of people with that name. Plus last he'd heard she was on the other side of the country.

"Mom used to be a federal agent, before I was born. She got injured, really bad."

Callen closed his eyes briefly, now certain he knew exactly who she was. She must have moved afterward. He'd have no way of knowing, not keeping tabs, having decided a clean break was best for all involved. He listened as the girl, Callie continued.

"I'm not even supposed to know but I heard her talking once. She made me promise not to tell anyone. That the bad guys would come looking for her if they knew."

"Limiting the search to government agencies," Eric announced. "It would help if we knew which agency though."

"Do you know what agency she was with?" Came Kensi's voice.

"I don't know. She really didn't want to talk about it. It made her sad. Bad memories, I guess."

"ATF," Callen spoke up, not meeting their eyes as they all turned to look at him. "She was with the ATF about 15 years ago."

"G? You know her?"

He nodded. "After the CIA, before the DEA. I worked with her a few times. That last mission she was shot, but they said she'd make a full recovery. It was after that mission that I left and joined the DEA." He quieted as he heard Kensi's next question come over the speaker.

"What about your dad?"

"Don't know. Never met him. Mom didn't talk about him much."

He frowned, wondering for a second before shaking the thought away. No, the girl was too young. He was aware of Hetty and Sam giving him looks but he ignored them, focusing on the phone.

"That's a nice locket," Deeks commented. "Can I see?"

"Ok, never mind. Well, we're here, in one piece too."

"You want to walk next time?" Kensi sounding irritated with the sound of car doors opening and closing in the background.

Sam shook his head. "When's the fool gonna realize it's not smart to piss Kensi off."

Callen shot him a grin. "This is Deeks we're talking about, he'll never learn."

"Hmm, let me think about it. Walking who knows how many miles vs. your driving. Decisions, decisions. Ow! Really? You see what I have to put up with?"

A weak giggle came across the line.

"They've entered the boat-shed, switching to it's video and audio," Nell said.

They watched as the three entered and got their first good look at the girl. "Damn," Sam said, taking in her filthy appearance. "Kid looks worse than Deeks does after going undercover as a vagabond. Glad it was Kensi that had to pick her up and not me." He shook his head.

Callen listened with half an ear as he studied the girl. He supposed she looked like Erin, it was hard to tell with all of the dirt caked on her face. He frowned at the cuts and bruises he could just make out under the dirt, wondering how badly she was injured.

He listened as Callie began her story, shaking his head at the cause of the argument. He'd heard similar from Sam's kids, all kids argued against bedtime. He nodded in approval as Kensi reached out to her, knowing it must have touched a nerve. Hopefully this story would have a happier ending than Kensi's had.

His hands clenched at his side as she described the men bursting in. But the revelation of who was behind it had him seeing red. "Son of a bitch!"

"Mr. Callen?"

"Patrick Connors was an arms dealer with strong ties to the RIRA, providing them with weapons and funding. That last investigation, the one where Erin was shot was aimed at taking him down. We managed to take down a good chunk of his organization thanks to Erin who was assigned to the case because she spoke fluent Gaelic, but Connors managed to get away. How the hell did he manage to find her?!"

"Good question Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she turned to look at Nell and Eric who were typing faster.

Callen ignored them, focusing his attention on the monitor. He briefly closed his eyes as Callie described Erin begging for them to let her daughter go. He thought of his own mother, wondered if she had done the same for him and his sister. Did she even have the chance to? He clenched his fists again as he saw the girl's reaction and heard Kensi's question. What did that bastard do to her?

He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding as she continued. He couldn't help the incredulous look that came across his face as Callie described her escape. This tiny little girl had actually thrown herself out of a moving vehicle? He knew from personal experience how much that hurt. He found himself studying her, trying to determine what injuries she was hiding.

Sam's chuckle drew his attention. "She sounds like you G."

"Ha, ha," he groused, turning back to the monitor. He shook his head as he listened to her blame herself for leaving her mother behind. How could she not realize that she did the right thing?

"Eric?"

"We've got the files from the ATF, crosschecking for any recent information on Connors and his organization." The computer tech turned to look at the Senior Agent. "It could be a while. It doesn't look like they've updated the file in years and he hasn't been a blip on our radar."

Impatience filled him as he opened his mouth to tell them that wasn't good enough but Hetty beat him to it. "Keep working on it Mr. Beale, Ms. Jones. In the meantime, you two can bring some clothes to the boat-shed for our guest. And Mr. Hanna be sure to check her for injury, you should know what to look for by now."

Sam nodded. "With this daredevil here of course I do. Come on G."

But Callen hesitated. "Hetty-"

She shook her head at him. "No Mr. Callen. There is nothing else you can do at the moment until Mr. Beale and Ms. Jones have a lead for you to follow. Meanwhile, that young girl has been through a horrible experience and needs to be checked over."

"Fine," he huffed before turning and storming out the door, his partner following behind.

Hetty waited a moment to be sure they were gone before she turned to the two members of the support team. "Ms. Jones, I want to know every detail about that mission, about Erin O'Rourke and her daughter."

"Yes Ma'am," Nell said, exchanging a look with Eric before she began pulling up documents.

Hetty stood there a moment as she contemplated her Senior Agent, the girl, and the whole situation. And not for the first time she wondered just what the connection was to Owen Granger.