Back at the beach, Callen checked his watch again. The men had been sitting there about 15 minutes and they were getting increasingly nervous. He was afraid if he did not put in an appearance soon, they'd spook and leave. Pushing up his time table, he secured the backpack he had slung over his shoulder, left his vantage point and began to stroll down the pavement towards the men seated at the table.

"Callen's on the move," Kensi announced tersely to the rest of the occupants in the car.

"Other guys?" Sam snapped at Deeks.

"Still sitting at the table," was the surfer's quick reply.

"Callen's reached the table," Kensi narrated as she switched her feed to the second camera. "He's definitely got a backpack with him. He's sitting down, but they didn't shake hands. The bigger man has a hand in his jacket, guessing he has a weapon. I don't think this is a friendly meeting," she observed.

"Nice day," Callen said to the two men as he sat in one of the empty seats at the table. He noted the bigger man had made a slight move that probably indicated he was carrying.

"Do you have the money for us?" the first man demanded with a slight Hispanic accent.

"Aren't you a little over dressed for the beach," Callen quipped. The two men remained silent so he shrugged and smiled at them. "OK, no small talk. Right to business then. Do you have the drive for me?" he inquired pulling a small laptop out of his backpack as he discreetly glanced around to see if there was any sign of his team.

The first man reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue USB drive and handed it to Callen, who turned on the laptop and plugged it into the port.

"Baddie number one pulled something out of his pocket," Deeks reported to Sam as he drove, "Small, fits in the palm of his hand…"

"I think it is a USB drive," Nell interjected from her observation on the larger screen in Ops. "Yes it is and Callen has pulled out a laptop. I'd guess checking the contents on the drive." Nell paused, then added, "Must be what he expected because he has pocketed the drive and returned the laptop to his backpack.

"Almost there," Sam growled.

"Callen is unzipping another compartment in the backpack and has showed the contents to the guys," Kensi said picking up the account. "Money, I think."

"Definitely money," Eric said from Ops. "Lots of it!"

At that point Sam pulled the Challenger up to the curb and the three quickly disembarked heading in the direction of the meet. Nell kept up a running commentary thru their comm links as the team sprinted up the boards. "Callen has zipped the pack and is…"

After he received the USB drive from the man, Callen made as if to hand over the money, then unexpectedly flipped the table on the two men and took off running with both the drive and the backpack of money. The bad guys tripped over their chairs trying to avoid the table, giving Callen a few seconds head start.

"They're on the run Sam. Callen has the drive and the money and is heading north. The bad guys are back on their feet and in pursuit; guns drawn," Eric supplied calmly yet with a sense of urgency.

"Got'em Eric. Kensi, Deeks, the guys. I'll go after Callen," Sam commanded as they split up heading for their targets.

Callen heard a series of shots being fired and he quickly figured out who they were aiming at as one bullet grazed his thigh and another, higher up on his torso. He stumbled but did a quick shoulder roll and got back on his feet. 'Damn,' he couldn't help thinking. 'These guys are good marksmen.' It is very hard to hit a moving target, especially one that is running away from you; yet these guys had scored two hits, albeit not fatal. Still, the grazes hurt like hell already and Callen could feel the warm blood running down his leg and side as he sprinted away. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted his team and gave a small sigh of relief.

"Shots fired," Kensi said to no one in particular as she drew her gun and yelled 'Federal Agents' at the two fleeing suspects. As usual, it did not slow the bad guys down but Deeks did as he came in from the side and tackled lead baddie number one, dropping him swiftly to the ground.

Kensi sped up and quickly brought down the second perp. Within moments, both men were kissing the pavement as the junior partners secured their hands behind their backs and confiscated their weapons. "We got them Sam," Kensi reported.

Sam grunted in reply as he ran full tilt after his fleeing partner.

Callen could feel Sam gaining on him and was not surprised; even though he was a big guy, Sam could really move. Ducking into an alley, he dashed to the chain link fence that blocked the far end and jumped up on it.

Sam put on a burst of speed and grabbed his partner by the belt as he tried to escape over the top of the fence. A hard yank had Callen tumbling backwards, knocking both men to the ground.

Callen quickly changed demeanor from a fleeing suspect to assailant, striking Sam. Sam, surprised by the attack from his partner took a few hits before starting to protect himself. As two men struggled, Sam's main objective was to defend and repel Callen's attacks; Callen on the other hand had his own objective, to appear he was fighting off an attack, while obtaining Sam's gun and phone. Both men took some hard blows before Callen finally managed to maneuver into a position where he could grab Sam's gun. Quickly stepping back, he trained the SIG on Sam who lay panting on the ground.

"Don't move," he barked keeping the gun steadily trained on Sam while ensuring he stayed out of reach for any counterattack from his well-trained partner.

Sam did as he was told. "What..."

Glancing down the alley to the other side of the fence, Callen saw the black SUV waiting. He knew that he was being watched and had to be very careful what he said and did. He didn't think Vlad could hear him in the car but he wasn't sure so he had to play it absolutely safe. "Shut up," Callen commanded his partner harshly. "Slowly take out your cuffs and toss them on the ground. Don't try anything."

"OK, take it easy," Sam said as he studied his partner while he complied with the instructions. It was obvious G had been hit by the gunfire based on the two dark stains spreading on his clothes. Sam gaze shifted to Callen's face which was an impartial mask, as if he was talking to a total stranger, not his partner. However, Sam could read Callen better than anyone and it was his partner's eyes that had Sam worried; he could see that Callen was scared.

"Do not try anything," Callen repeated with emphasis, "or you'll never see your family again. Rollover on your stomach."

Sam slowly rolled on to his stomach, as requested.

Switching the gun to his left hand, Callen picked up the cuffs with his right. "I'm going to cuff you. Lay absolutely still if you know what is good for your family." Callen placed a knee on Sam's back, and then cuffed his partner tightly.

Sam noted the second reference to his family as he did what he was told, not twitching a muscle while the smaller man secured his hands behind his back. After he was cuffed, Callen patted his partner down as if checking for additional weapons. His hands roamed up and down Sam's legs, torso and into the pocket of his pants drawing out another set of zip-ties and Sam's phone which he also discretely pocketed. "Roll back over."

Again, Sam rolled over and stared up into the muzzle of his own gun as it remained trained on him.

"Get to your feet, slowly. And don't try anything," Callen said tensely.

Sam did as instructed; actually a bit scared of his partner's intensity. No wonder he made was such a good bad guy. He was making Sam's blood run cold.

"Walk backwards, to the fence."

When Sam's back hit the chain links he stopped and waited.

"Turn a little to your right," Callen instructed as his eyes darted from Sam to the black SUV a few hundred yards beyond the fence. Sam caught Callen's fleeting glance and unobtrusively took a look at the other end of the alley and at the car as he turned. "I'm going to cuff you to this fence."

Sam stood as still as a rock as Callen moved in to secure him to the fence. Softly, so softly Sam wasn't sure he actually heard him, Callen whispered, "Sorry. Best Uncle Ever" before quickly stepping away to retrieve the backpack of money he had dropped during the fight.

"Later," he said callously as he quickly reversed the gun and whacked Sam across the face with the handle, dazing the agent and leaving a nasty cut. He hated to hurt his partner, but he had to put on a good show for Vlad. Moving down the fence, Callen tucked the gun away, threw the backpack over his shoulder then scaled the fence and dropped a little less than gracefully on the far side.

Sam listened as Callen's footsteps retreat down the alley; a car door opened and slammed shut followed by the squeal of tires as a vehicle drove away, presumably the black SUV.

"Got all that?" Sam queried.

"Loud and clear Mr. Hanna," the voice of Hetty answered in his ear. "Mr. Deeks and Ms. Blye will be there shortly to cut you free."

"Great," Sam muttered. "Tell them to hurry. It's hot out here. And I'm warning you, one joke from Deeks and I am going to stuff him a trash bin."

"I am sure Mr. Deeks will maintain the proper decorum," Hetty earnestly replied.

"Are we talking about the same man? Deeks never misses an opportunity. He'd figure out how tomake a joke at this own funeral."

"That hurts Sam," Deeks said as he and Kensi appeared from around the corner.

"Just cut me loose," Sam commanded.

Kensi made short work of both sets of cuffs and Sam rubbed his wrist to restore the blood flow. "He didn't have to make them so tight," he groused referring to his erratically behaving partner. He reached up and touched his bruised cheek. "That hurt too."

"Maybe you are going soft," Deeks quipped.

"Wanna see how soft I am," Sam rumbled dropping his hand. "Come closer. I'll show you soft."

"Whoa there big fellow. I believe you," Deeks said back pedaling into Kensi who gave him a quick swat on the shoulder. "Ow, what has that for?"

"Because," Kensi replied non-specifically.

Sam ignored his team mates as he addressed Eric. "Were you able to get anything on the black SUV?"

"Partial plate. Loaded in kaleidoscope."

"Everyone please head back to base," Hetty instructed. It was time to regroup.