N/A: I really can't thank you enough for your comments and encouragement. I hope you're up for a little bit of action now ;)

6:30 AM in L.A., 10 hours later for G. His friend was living the future, thought Sam who was restless in ops. Eric found very difficult to concentrate on his tasks with him pacing around. The last information they had received was that the SEALS were ready to proceed with the rescue operation. Their helicopter was a faked civilian chop and they weren't wearing their uniforms. The mission didn't exist and the men participating on it were just ghosts. To Sam these ghosts were his friends, his family. He has asked the SEALS to record all the operation and Eric was trying to have a live connection with the camera installed on the helicopter.

- "C'mon Eric, why we don't see or hear anything?" - He asked nervously.

- "You're not helping, Sam!" – Answered the poor Eric feeling the pressure – "Remember that we'll only have access to the image, but not to the sound, and we can't communicate with them."

- "Mr. Hanna"- called Hetty entering the room with Nell who sit down next to Eric and concentrated, started to type a complicated code on the computer. – "Mr. Hanna, calm down, please, and let Mr. Beale do his job. I think that both of you will be pleased to know that Miss Blye and Mr. Deeks are flying home right now. Miss Jones confirmed their presence in a commercial plane to San Diego. Tomorrow morning they will join us."

- "Good to know, Hetty" – said Eric not looking Sam in the eye.

- "Yeah, Hetty, thanks, but right now I'm more concerned about the rescue operation. Eric, you're killing me! Why you don't have any visibility?"

- "The system is ready, once they turn the camera on we'll be able to see what they see –it is a high resolution 360º degree camera Sam, so we can have a pretty good idea of what is happening in: three, two, one …now!" – announced theatrically Eric with a hint of pride on his voice as the grey Turkish sky appeared on the big screen illuminating the room.

- "They are flying under the radar"- said Hetty – "these trees are too close!"

- "Impressive"- admired Eric. The entire wall in ops was covered with the live images, like a giant cinema.

- "Five minutes to the objective"- exclaimed Nell- "Callen should be on the spot right now."

The four members of the team stared at the screen intensely, the helicopter was moving fast to the meeting point and the terrain started to become irregular.

- "Two minutes"- said Nell.

The image showed a sheer hill at the Nord side and only trees around. Sam was worried, he didn't know why his friend has chosen that location so steep knowing that the helicopter will have difficulties for landing. Then he understood: in front of them the threes leaved way to a forest clearing. Hill on one side, slope on the other and just in the middle a plateau big enough for the helicopter to land and well hide from the sight.

Hetty recognized Callen's work. The agent best quality was his capacity for improvisation, but he always studied thoroughly all the possibilities.

- "Thirty seconds… I can't see Callen"- said Nell.

Hetty, Eric and Sam stared attentively to the screen. If Callen didn't show up in the next seconds the rescue will be not possible.

- "Landing"- said Eric waiting for his friend to appear on the image.

An entire minute passed and they can see the SEALS exchanging worried looks. The rescue team couldn't stay there any longer without being detected. Then a SEAL gave the signal; they would go in ten seconds.

Sam was holding his breath, and Hetty closed her eyes for a moment. If Callen wasn't there, it only could mean very bad news.

- "Where's Callen?" - asked Eric not even trying to hide his anguish and verbalizing everyone's thoughts.

Time was over; the camera swung as the helicopter started to take off. It wasn't safe to remain there. The operation was aborted.

- "Thereee!" - Exclaimed Sam signaling the right hand side of the screen where a wild bush moved and the form of a man carrying a much bigger one in a firemen's grip appeared.

The pilot seeing also the movement stopped the ascension maintaining the helicopter positioned at one meter from the ground. Callen was advancing with difficulties struggling to maintain balance with his heavy burden. Even from the distance everybody could see that he was exhausted. Then, at twenty meters from the helicopter Callen trip over a rock, and, overwhelmed by the deadweight of the Captain, failed heavily with the man still on his back, hitting his head hard against the stones.

At ops Nell let escape a cry. Eric was eating his nails and Sam was repeating "C'mon buddy" like a mantra. Hetty just pried in silence. The only noise was the one of their accelerated breathings.

The helicopter turned slightly and then they can distinguish perfectly their friend. Callen was already on his knees lifting the dead weight of the unconscious soldier. He was bleeding heavily for a nasty cut on his right eyebrow and half of his face was covered with blood. The team in ops witnessed as Callen, with a supreme effort and clenching his teeth, stood up carrying the man again and walking quickly to the helicopter.

- "Yeeees!" - Yelled Eric jumping from his chair, as the camera showed a SEAL hanging over the door and helping Callen to lift the Captain's body to the safety of the cockpit.

A sight of relief escaped from Nell's lips and she started to clap. Just Sam and Hetty remained still.

The image showed G about to get on the chopper when they saw his friend turning his head suddenly alarmed. Callen was telling by signs to the pilot to escape as he tried to hang on the landing skid with his right arm and reached for his gun with his left. A group of four armed men were shooting at the helicopter.

The tension in ops was so thick it could be cut it with a knife. Sam was barely breathing, Nell was holding her tablet like the remote of her drone with the illusion of controlling what she was seeing, Eric taped frenetically on the board in order to keep the connection and Hetty was standing arms crossed over her chest trying to maintain her composure. The image on the screen changed abruptly as the helicopter began to gain altitude. They could see Callen on the center of the screen still hanging on from the landing skid, shooting dead one of the terrorists, and just when he was climbing to the interior of the helicopter trying to reach the SEAL's extended hand, they saw G's expression changing from resolution to surprise and from surprise to pain as he loose his grip and failed to the ground where he laid, still, as the helicopter got away and his image with it.