Disclaimer: The characters of N.C.I.S. Los Angeles are property of CBS
Next day at O.S.P. Sam and Kensi were already at their desks, but Callen was running late. It was ten thirty by the time Callen showed up; he had in tow with him his bag, a bran muffin for Sam, a donut for Kensi, a container of bacon for himself, and a coffee for Gibbs. After he brief Gibbs, Callen finally took a seat at his desk.
"Hot date with the lady at the bar last night, G?" Sam ribbed Callen after he was seated.
"I don't kiss and tell Sam." Callen said, attempting to look busy.
"Who was she?" Kensi asked giving Callen her full attention.
"No one you two will be meeting; she's a person of interest that could be playing hard to get, while attempting to get information out me." Callen said.
"That's it G?" Sam asked.
Next thing the team heard was Eric's signature whistle.
"Save by the whistle!" Callen exclaimed as he was getting up and heading for the stairs.
"You may have won this battle G, but the war is far from over!" Sam yelled after him.
When the team entered M.T.A.C. the big screen had a satellite image of a plateau.
"What do we have Eric?" Sam asked.
"Hold on; when did Overwatch get authorized to be used?" Kensi asked.
"Those signatures of are of Hetty and Conor." Nell said.
"What are we waiting for? Let's get a team together and go get them!" Callen exclaimed.
"That would be a wonderful idea except for the structure on which Hetty and Conor are currently being held." Gibbs said as he was entering ops after the briefing has already started.
"Why?" Kensi asked.
"Eric." Gibbs said.
Eric typed in a few buttons and the satellite image from top down shot, to a horizontal shot. It was of a little establishment on top of a plateau over thousand feet in the air.
"What is that; a monastery?" Kensi asked.
"Is this a joke Eric?" Sam asked.
"You know I never joke about this kind of stuff Sam." Eric said nervously.
"You have a clue?" Callen asked.
"G, its St. Cyril's." Sam said.
"St. Cyril's?" Kensi asked.
"Do I smell a James Bond reference coming up?" Callen asked.
"In the movie for Your Eyes Only, the final shoot out took place at St. Cyril's. I'm surprised it's still standing." Sam said.
"Well when the monastery is over thousand feet off the ground, give or take, and built on top of a plateau; it's kind of hard to tear it down and get it groundside." Nell said.
"Even if we raid them right now, they will just kidnap Hetty and Conor again." Eric said.
Kensi had an idea, but left it for later.
"Do we have any assets in the area in case we get the green light for the raid?" Kensi asked.
"Yes we do." Gibbs said.
"And onto this morning's daily update." Nell said.
Nell typed a few buttons on her tablet, and the big screen cleared and brought up the information for the case they were working.
"It seems that the D.E.A., F.B.I., N.S.A., and the C.I.A. all want in on this mission." Nell said.
"Well the man that Callen met with last night is an arms dealer that has many dealings with countless terrorist groups." Eric said.
Nell's tablet received a message when Eric paused to catch his breath; she opened the message and read it. When Eric resumed his speech, Nell took as seat at her computer and started to sift through the new information.
"His name is Johan Grissom. European heritage, and has a connection to this man." Eric said.
Eric hit a few more buttons and brought a picture up on the big screen.
"Janus Koza." Kensi said. "Must be a celebrity if the big fish want a piece of the action."
"Our job is to take down Johan before he can meet back up with Janus?" Callen asked.
"In a nutshell." Gibbs said. "How much longer until Johan is ready to make a deal?"
"Seeing as how we just meet, that's up to him. Eric, Nell keeps an eye on his finical records; Johan may try to make a deal on the side while he is working with me." Callen said.
The team exited to go run down some new leads involving Johan Grissom. Callen and Sam went to the warehouse that Johan has in L.A., and Kensi went to check some office spaces that he also owned.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Deeks was walking along when his vision started to darken around the edges. Deeks leaned against the wall nearest to him while he waited for his vision to clear. The worry of his boss and son being anywhere on this planet, plus being separated from his wife were starting to take its toll. Just as Deeks regained his composure, Tanner approached him holding out the most recent communique.
"Pass a message along: tell them to use the computer sparingly, or it could be bad for them." Deeks said. "Where are we headed to next?"
"Camp Chapman." Tanner said, and then walked away.
Deeks froze at the name of the next settlement they would be going to, and then the black circles return with a vengeance. Deeks rubbed the spot north of his left temple. Hidden beneath the "style by pillow" mop was a nice bruise from when they were escaping the lab in Madrid.
{So much for making it in and out without much trouble; or through this op either.} Deeks thought.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Callen was making his way out to the parking garage to run down a lead without Sam, so he could call Celeste. Just as he was exiting the garage Celeste answered.
"I have to say that you are truly interested if you calling me three days later." Celeste said answering the phone.
"Had to deal with the buyers and the hassle of red tape that comes with dealing with them, plus securing the drinks for the next met." Callen said.
"I'm impressed most men choose not to call me back so quickly." She said.
"Why would you be impressed; you wanted me to call you, right?" He asked
"That's beside the point, so what do you have in mind?" She asked.
"Drinks tomorrow night and then dinner Saturday?" Callen asked.
"Sounds good." Celeste said.
"So should I, or do you-"
"I'll text you later where we should meet." Celeste said.
"I will see you then." Callen said, and then disconnected to the phone call.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
"What's your assessment of the team Gibbs?" Director Vance asked.
"Kensi is distant and closed off, but she still is capable of doing the assigned tasks; albeit, I can't get a read on her. Sam and Callen are acting like its business as usual. If anybody is suspicious of the true nature of the mission they aren't letting on." Gibbs said.
"Any word from Deeks and Sasha?" Vance asked.
"They said that Hetty and Conor should use the laptop sparingly as to not spook Koza's men." Gibbs said.
"Keep me posted." Vance said, and then turned to somebody off screen and signaled for them to disconnect to the transmission.
"Keep me posted." Gibbs said, and then exited M.T.A.C.; Eric was returning to his station when he noticed something was wrong with Nell.
"Babe is something wrong?" Eric asked.
"I've been feeling off for the last few days, and some strange sensations too." Nell said.
"Sensations, how?" Eric asked.
"I have these weird cravings." Nell said.
When Nell said cravings she felt that she was about to empty the contents of her stomach. So she grabbed the trash bin and ran for the bathroom. Eric grabbed his tablet and was hot on Nell's heels. When they got to the bathroom Eric waited outside while Nell was emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. After about two minutes Nell came out and then looked at Eric.
"Are you okay?" Eric asked.
Nell looked at Eric, shook her head, and then went back into the bathroom for round two. It was two more minutes before Nell came out, and she was red eyed, and teary face. Her stomach had settled, but she was upset about the conversation that was coming.
"How long?" Eric asked.
"Four weeks." Nell said through tears.
"Anybody else know?" Eric asked.
Nell just shook her head. Nell was going to speak some more, but more tears had come and interrupted her.
"Don't be afraid Nell, we're in this together." Eric said attempting to comfort Nell.
Eric knew that it was going to take more than words to console his wife, so he just pulled Nell into his arms. After Nell felt comfortable, she pulled away from Eric and then gave him a kiss. It was at this time that Eric got a hit; he looked at his tablet. Eric cycled through the information and then realized there was a problem.
"Come on!" Eric said.
Nell and Eric rushed back to M.T.A.C. to get a better picture of the situation, but when they returned Nell saw that there was a ginger ale, and saltine crackers waiting for her by her computer.
"Do you know who put these here?" Nell asked one of the support staff.
"Agent Gibbs." The staff member said.
Eric and Nell shared a look, and the got down to business.
"It seems that Agent Gibbs has experience in dealing with pregnant women." Nell whispered, while taking a bite of a saltine cracker and it with followed with a sip of the ginger ale as Eric cracked a smile.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Saturday night-
Callen and Celeste met at the restaurant, and then entered at together. When they were shown to their table Callen helped Celeste seat herself, and then took a seat himself.
"So how was your day?" Celeste asked with a smile on her face.
"It was a really boring day. I just lounge around my hotel room, or I went window shopping. Since Johan did not having business to attend to today, it was a pretty boring day." Callen said.
The waiter came and took drink orders: Callen order wine, and Celeste a margarita.
"Always order margaritas when doing a business deal?" Callen asked.
"It's going to be a tense few weeks." Celeste said. "Just trying to stay loose."
"No arguments here. Every have any dealings with Grissom?" Callen asked.
"No, but he has connections to anybody, and everybody; plus he has connections to multiple terrorist organizations." Celeste said.
"What is he a terrorist financier?" Callen asked.
"No, Grissom is an arms dealer." Celeste said.
"One who's is not afraid to get their hands dirty either?" Callen asked.
"No sure about that, but I wouldn't put it past him." Celeste said.
"How long has he been on the scene?" Callen asked.
The waiter returned with their drinks before Celeste could answer, and then left just as quickly as he came.
"Johan Grissom was originally from South Africa, but somewhere along the line his loyalty for his country was trumped by loyalty to money. Johan has made a killing in the black market; most know him as "The Deliverer." Celeste said taking a sip of her margarita.
"Why?" Callen asked, feigning disgust.
"Not because he saves people, but because whatever people ask for he delivers." Celeste said.
"And the people have asked for anything, and everything?" Callen asked.
"Yep. I heard a rumor that one of his clients went back on a deal and he put them on the market." Celeste said.
"Human trafficking?" Callen asked.
All Celeste did was nod her head while taking a sip of her drink.
"Wow, first time for everything." Callen said taking a sip of his wine.
The conversation lulled into a comfortable silence, with the pair taking in the beauty of their date and sharing smiles. Dinner was served, they decided to skip the appetizers: Callen order a sixteen ounce prime rib and mashed potatoes; whereas, Celeste had ordered a fillet of Salmon and vegetables. They ate in silence, with the occasional crazy look. After they finished eating and Callen paid for the meal, and then they hit the beach. The pair walked for hours and talked about their past deals, and travels.
By midnight Celeste and Callen had made it back to their cars. Before Celeste got into her car she kissed Callen on the lips, and Callen kissed her back. When they parted from the kiss Celeste winked good bye, and then got in her car and drove home for the night. Callen stood there and watched Celeste leave before heading back to his car and going home for the night.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Monday morning Callen was already up in M.T.A.C. running searches on the information that Celeste gave him last night. Not that he doubted Celeste, but he wanted to verify and have a status update for Gibbs when he saw him.
"Something wrong Callen?" Eric asked as he entered M.T.A.C. followed by Nell.
"I had a nice chat with Celeste Jones Saturday night. She brought up some interesting points about Johan Grissom." Callen said.
"Information that isn't public knowledge?" Gibbs asked as he entered.
"Yeah." Callen said not taking his eyes off the screen.
"You think she's an agent?" Eric asked.
"Possibly; which agency is the sixty-four thousand dollar question." Callen said.
Gibbs took in the information that Callen had presented on the main screen, and then looked at the files that he had printed on the island.
"Want us to run a background check on her?" Nell asked.
"Nah, sooner or later she will reveal herself to me." Callen said looking away from the screen.
Gibbs nodded for Callen to follow. The two men exited the room and stepped into a side hall.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Gibbs said.
"That would make two of us." Callen said honestly.
Gibbs appraised Callen a beat, and the left to do some paper work. By the time Callen was hitting the stairs Sam and Kensi were already at their desk doing paper work.
"How long have you been here G?" Sam asked.
"Since five running some leads down on Johan Grissom." Callen said.
"Where did you get the tips from?" Kensi asked.
"From a woman that was at the first meeting: Celeste Jones." Callen said.
Callen brought up a photo graph of Celeste of when they first met at Club Balm a week ago.
"Wow, and you had dinner with her over the weekend? Don't you think that you are moving kind of fast G?" Sam asked.
"Not really." Callen said.
"Why not?" Kensi asked, joining the conversation.
"Because if Celeste is guilty of anything it's giving me a fake name." Callen said.
"Possibly an agent?" Sam asked.
"I'm not sure of the agency." Callen said.
Just then Callen's phone rang, and the number was restricted.
"Quentin Prior." Callen said answering the phone.
"Meet me at Santa Monica Pier in an hour for the first part of the deal, and bring the money." Johan said.
"On my way." Callen said, and then hung up the phone.
"What's shaking?" Sam asked.
"First deal is going down in an hour at Santa Monica Pier." Callen said.
Callen went and grabbed a suit coat from wardrobe and a nice watch. Callen signed the items out, and then went to evidence and grabbed the money. Callen put a tracker in the frame of the brief case, and then left to make the meeting.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Afghanistan-
Deeks and Sasha were scouting out the next site that they would raid when Deeks had another vision assault; he couldn't hide this one from Sasha.
"How long?" Sasha asked.
"Madrid." Deeks said.
"So what were you planning on doing about it?" Sasha asked.
"Hang back with Quintus, or if it would make you feel better just stay back at the base." Deeks said.
"Hang back for now. We'll see how you are doing for the next raid." Sasha said.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Los Angeles: Santa Monica Pier-
The meeting had just finished and all parties had left when Callen's' phone rang.
"What do you have?" Callen asked.
"I took photos of everybody at the met. I sent them back to Eric for facial analysis. I'll see you in three; it looks like you have company." Sam said, and then hung up the phone.
"Good bye." Callen said ending the call on his end.
"Want to go for a stroll?" Celeste asked as Callen turned to face her.
"Why not." Callen said, offering his arm.
Celeste smiled at Callen and hooked her arm with his, and the two went for a leisurely stroll on the pier.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
"What do we have Eric?" Sam asked as he entered M.T.A.C., Gibbs and Kensi were already in the room.
"Everybody at the meet was either an arms dealer, or an assistant to an arms dealer." Eric said. "But that's not the worse part."
"What is?" Kensi asked.
"We were running old cases involving Johan." Nell said standing up from her computer, while grabbing her tablet. "Johan has a habit to his deals. There were always three transactions before every terror attack that he was involved in. And then three days after the last transaction there was an attack on a civilian establishment nearby where the last transaction went down."
"All we can do is what for the three deals to go down before we can guess what the target is, or you can project what it might be." Sam said.
"If Callen can get a list of things that were sold, or get an idea of what the items are, we might be able to get a rough idea on what we are looking for." Eric said.
"Do it and I will inform Callen to keep his eyes peeled for the information." Sam said, and then left M.T.A.C. with Kensi following.
"What's Callen up too?" Kensi asked, as they hit the stairs.
"Last time I check he was talking to Celeste." Sam said.
"Sam. Kensi." Gibbs said approaching the stairs.
"Yeah Gibbs." Sam said, as he and Kensi turned to face him.
"Eric just found a new lead. Take Kensi and meet Callen at the site." Gibbs said.
Before Sam could ask Kensi showed Sam the address on her phone. Kensi and Sam headed for the parking garage. As they were exiting the garage, Kensi let mind wandering to Deeks and Sasha and how their entire charade was nothing more than an elaborate ruse to shut down Janus Kozas' operation for good. Then Kensi remembered seeing that mission folder on Deeks desk before he left. She couldn't remember the words written on the cover of the folder other than Operation.
{One question after another. It seems that there are more questions than there are answers.} Kensi thought.
T.B.C.