Again, I'm sorry this is late, but not only real life but my computer has been giving me fits! I had this all ready to post yesterday when FF went down and I lost the last bit of my work on this chapter. I had to recreate it this morning.

Stefan is frustrated and angry. He's come up with a plan to kill the entire team. Will he succeed?

I only own my own characters which include Stefan Badžo in this story.

Anything in italics within single quotes is a quote from my one-shot "Can't Stay Away". Anything in italics and double quotes is thoughts.

Nope…no matter how hard I wish, NCIS LA nor any of the characters on the show are mine. And sadly, they never will be.

Reviews are always welcome. If you are enjoying this story, especially this chapter, or eve if you're not, leave a review on your way out and and tell me why. Reviews are my bread and butter and my minions really like bread and butter!

Enjoy.

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CHAPTER 18: Third Attempt

The next morning everyone arrived at the Mission bright and early. Nell and Eric were working diligently to find out everything they could about Stefan Badžo's movements since entering the US but it was proving very difficult. He knew how to cover his tracks and it made their jobs just that much harder. The fact they were both worried every time one of the team left the safety of the Mission since Callen had first been shot didn't help their concentration one bit.

Nell was finding it difficult to maintain her objectivity when it came to Callen. Since their relationship had began, she had discovered a new respect for Deeks. He somehow made it seem easy to lay it all on the line to protect Kensi without jeopardizing his own safety needlessly. She still didn't understand how he made it seem so easy all the time, She knew for a fact he worried about Kensi but he was able to let her be herself. He trusted her to take care of herself while making sure he always had her back.

Nell worked hard to do the same when it came to Callen. She knew he was highly trained and was always very aware of what was around him and where his team was when they were out. She still worried about him and knew she always would, but her job was to help protect him and the team when they were out of OSP and she was determined to do everything in her power to do so.

~,~,~

Stefan was still angry. Every time he thought he was close to ending Callen, something went wrong. The sniper had missed and just wounded him at the crash site. The two younger partners, what were their names? He looked at his research again, "Oh yes, Kensi Blye and Martin Deeks; that's their names. He doesn't look like he's much of an agent, but I must have underestimated him. Both of them are highly trained. I see that now" he thought. They had eluded his team following them when they tried to capture them for leverage and to make Callen watch as he tortured and then killed them.

Callen was now nowhere to be found. Callen's team was very protective of each other, which shouldn't have been a surprise to Stefan but was, and they had managed to thwart him on two occasions so far. He was determined there wouldn't be a third occasion. He stood looking out the second story window of the warehouse he was using as a base as he tried to come up with a plan to either get Callen away from his team or kill them all. He stood there thinking over his plan and contingencies for the longest time before a smile suddenly lit up his face.

Snapping his fingers, he called Andrei and told him to bring the Caddy to the warehouse. He knew without a doubt the two younger agents had been able to identify the car when he attempted to kidnap them which he was going to use against them. He was going to use the Caddy to lure the entire team to the warehouse and then blow them all up. He turned to the remaining members of his team and told them to start rigging the warehouse to blow while he dialed the number of the LAPD to call in an anonymous tip about the car. They immediately got to work. There was no time to lose. Stefan knew that as soon as Callen's team heard about the tip, they would be coming to the warehouse to capture him.

Stefan phoned in the tip and then found a good location in an adjacent building where he could watch the NCIS team arrive and be in position to blow the bomb and them up at just the right time. Rubbing his hands to ether in glee, he was looking forward to having his revenge soon and watching the people who had killed so many of his family die horribly.

~,~,~

Eric appeared at the top of the stairs and whistled for the team. "We have a new lead. The LAPD got an anonymous tip about the caddy and we were able to verify that it is currently parked at the address I just sent to your smart phones." He then turned and went back into OPS. The team, led by Callen, moved like a well-oiled machine up to OPS and waited for Nell and Eric to fill them in.

"Two hours ago the LAPD sent us a tip about a sighting of the car; then an hour ago, Kaleidoscope picked up the car. It's the same car that tried to follow Kensi and Deeks yesterday. We've been watching to see where it ended up. It's been parked at the warehouse shown here on East Pico Blvd for a while now. Traffic cams show there have been people coming and going from the warehouse for several weeks. We're running facial recognition on all of them now to see if we get any additional hits. We've identified a couple of them so far." Eric began the briefing and put the pictures of the two identified people on the big scene.

Nell took over for Eric. "We haven't seen Stefan Badžo yet, but the two people that we've identified have been seen with him before, so we think he's using this location to plan his revenge. I'm sending their faces to your smart phones now."

Eric continued "We also found the original plans for the warehouse. I've sent them to your smart phones as well."

"Put them up on the plasma Mr. Beale. Let's see what the building looks like." Hetty directed.

Eric did as Hetty asked. "As you can see, we've found the main entrance here on Pico" he stated as he pointed it out. "There's another door in the back that faces on this alley that runs between Pico and East 14th Ave. Other than that, there are several more doors around the building including a big shipping door at the dock, but they look like they've been boarded up for years. The building hasn't been occupied in a long time, so there is no telling what shape it's in. As you can see, there is a second floor over part of the main floor where it looks like the offices used to be."

The team studied the plans while Callen thought of the best way they could search the warehouse safely. If Stefan was in there, he was probably planning something for their arrival. Callen had a gut feeling that this was a trap. After the team and Hetty discussed their options, Callen told the team to go to the armory to gear up then glanced quickly to Nell telling her with his eyes to meet him in the burn room. As soon as Nell saw his silent message, she excused herself from OPS for a few minutes and left the room.

"Mr. Callen, stay safe out there and watch out. This could very well be a trap." Hetty said as the others were leaving OPS.

"I know Hetty, I'm thinking the same thing, but we have to check it out. Besides we have the wonder twins here to be our eyes and ears. With them helping us, I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Just make sure you all come back in one piece, Mr. Callen."

~,~,~

Callen left OPS and followed Nell discretely to the burn room. Once he arrived, he noticed that she had moved into the one blind spot in the room. No one would be able to see anything from that area of it. Callen moved forward and took her in his arms for a heart-felt hug.

"You be careful out the G. I want you back with me as soon as possible."

"Anything for you Nell, you know that. I don't want you worrying about me."

"I'm going to worry anyway but I won't let it interfere with my job." Nell reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss, expressing all of her love through the pressure of their lips on each other.

Callen deepened the kiss returning the feelings. They then held each other for a few moments longer before putting a little distance between themselves.

"I miss you already Nell. I'll see you later today, okay?"

"You've got that right mister. And you'd better be in one piece!"

"Yes ma'am. I've got to get to the armory" he said with some regret.

"I know. And I've got to get back to OPS. You leave first."

"Okay Nell. Love you" With that, Callen walked out of the burn room and continued to the armory to meet his team.

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Kensi, Deeks and Sam were ready to leave when Callen reached the armory. He gathered his things quickly. "Are we ready to roll?"

"Yes" was heard from all three. The team left the armory and made their way to the front of the Mission to say goodbye to Hetty before heading out.

"Mr. Callen, stay safe out there. That goes for the rest of you as well. Good luck." Hetty told them as they left the Mission.

The team parked a couple of blocks away from the warehouse and approached it on foot very carefully. If Stefan was in there, he wouldn't be easy to take down. And Callen was very aware it could be a trap; hell they all knew it, but they had to do their jobs to hopefully find Stefan and end this perverted game of revenge of his.

Callen began issuing directions. "Kensi, Deeks, take the back. Be careful, we don't know what we're walking into other than it's probably a trap so keep your eyes open. If you see anything suspicious, get the hell out and let us know. Sam, you and I will take the front."

The team split up into partners and proceeded to get in place to breech the warehouse. Unbeknownst to them, Stefan was watching them as they arrived and split up. He was almost panting with excitement. "În cele din urmă, am de gând să se răzbune meu pe Callen și echipa sa. Eu nu pot aștepta până când sunt toți morți . Atunci pot merge după femeie Lange și termin ce am început."

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"Kensi, you ready?" Deeks was on one side of the back door with Kensi on the other side. He had his hand on the doorknob waiting for the 'go' order.

"Yep, let's do this partner."

Deeks turned the knob slowly and opened the door a few inches so they could scope out the space on the other side before entering. Everything looked clear, so they slipped into the warehouse and began clearing the areas one by one. Meanwhile Sam and Callen were doing the same thing from the front of the warehouse.

Deeks went right and Kensi went left. As they cleared each section of the warehouse, they could be heard over coms.

"Clear" Deeks declared as he cleared the first group of shelving on the right.

"Clear" came back Kensi as she did the same on the left.

They could hear Sam and Callen doing the same at the front of the warehouse.

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Stefan watched as the team entered the building. Clutching the cell phone in his hand, he waited impatiently for the perfect time to detonate the bomb. He wanted them to be in the middle of the warehouse when he blew it up. He knew if he timed it just right, Callen's team wouldn't have a chance to escape. When he had given them what he thought was enough time, he smiled "Ne vedem în iad Callen" then activated his cell phone. He heard the first distant explosion and was sure he had them. He began chuckling to himself as he continued hearing the explosions come from the warehouse.

~,~,~

As Callen and Sam continued clearing the front of the warehouse, Callen was getting frustrated. They weren't finding anything or anyone suspicious. His gut was in knots as his intuition about the whole situation grew and grew. "Something is definitely off. It's too quiet in here. We should have seen or heard someone by now. It's a trap, I know it." Deciding it was time to get out of Dodge so to speak he called out to the team over coms "Everyone clear the building. Something is off here. I'm sure it's a trap. Move...move...move!"

He and Sam were running toward the front of the building when the first explosion went off. They sped toward the door they could see in the distance through the smoke that was beginning to build. The smoke was thickening rapidly and they could feel the old building shuddering as one explosion after another was heard. They burst through the front door just as the front of the warehouse slowly began collapsing in a shower of smoke, flame and flying debris. The concussive force of the explosions were pushing them both forward so they took shelter behind Sam's Charger as soon as they reached it. Looking at each other brought the realization that they were both bleeding from various cuts and contusions and covered in soot and debris. Callen had a small cut on his cheekbone while Sam had several small cuts and burns on his head.

"You look like crap" came identical statements from the partners in unison. Both of them began chuckling before realizing they hadn't heard from the other team.

Over coms, they heard Nell requesting status, repeatedly. Callen remembered how scared she had been when he got shot so hurried to reassure her that he and Sam were fine. "Sam and I are fine. We're out of the building with only a few cuts and scrapes. Have you heard anything from Deeks and Kensi?" he asked as Sam continued trying to reach the younger members of the team.

"No we haven't. We haven't seen them leave the building either, but with all the smoke, we may have missed them. We'll keep trying." Nell replied. "Be careful Callen."

"Always, Nell. I expect to see all of you later." Callen tried to convey his feelings to Nell without alerting Hetty.

"Kensi, Deeks! Are you okay?" Sam called again over coms. When he still didn't receive an answer, he and Callen exchanged worried looks. "Do you think they're trapped G?"

"I don't know Sam." he replied. "Deeks, Kensi! One of you answer or we're coming in after you! Are you okay? Come on answer me! Kensi! Deeks!"

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AN: Translation of the Romanian:

Stefan: "Finally, I'm going to have my revenge on Callen and his team. I can't wait until they're all dead. Then I can go after the Lange woman and finish what I started." and "I'll see you in hell Callen."