To Hurt The One You Love
Chapter Eight : To Protect The One You Love
Callen's P.O.V
You do what you have to, to protect the one you love.
It's the cold, harsh truth; sometimes, you'd kill for the one you love, sometimes, you'd die for them.
Sometimes, you hurt them.
"Whatcha got, Eric?"
Kensi strides in with me just a few steps behind her. She flings her bag on the table, standing next to Hetty, arms crossed.
I walk over to stand next to her as Eric pulls up footage from the airport. "Approximately two hours ago, these guys were spotted entering through LAX. They flew in from London, still tracking their movements there." Eric zooms in to give us a closer look as I recognize the men I've been evading.
"Nikolai Stalin, Ivan Petrov, Aleksandr Igorov and Boris Nikitin. They're like, second-in-command to the big guy, so you must be pretty important, Callen." He whistles, impressed.
I scowl. "I'd rather be normal if I'm getting this kind of attention." I turn to the team. "Okay, these guys know me from way back. They were Alina's neighbours; I remember them now."
"Alina Rostov?" Kensi blinks, shocked.
"Yeah," I nod. "They heard about her and think I've got something to do with it. The 'big guy', as Eric calls him, is Vladimir Putin, Alina's childhood sweetheart."
Sam nods. "What's the plan, G?"
"These guys aren't that bad," I start, earning incredulous looks from everyone. "Really, they won't harm you if you're innocent. The trick right now is getting close enough to explain Alina's death to them-"
"-Without getting killed first." Kensi finishes for me. I nod.
"Exactly."
"And how, pray tell, do you hope to achieve that, Mr. Callen?" Hetty speaks up.
"Any suggestions are welcome." I tell them, holding my hands up. Kensi and Sam share a smile before turning to look at me.
"I've got just the plan." Kensi smirks.
Thirty minutes later, Sam's heading upstairs where Hetty, Nate and Eric are waiting.
Kensi's leaning against my desk, waiting for me to state the obvious.
"You're not going."
She groans and rolls her eyes. "Callen, I'm-" She comes to an abrupt stop, her hand slowly moving to rest above her stomach. I stand up and place my hand over hers, watching her fight against herself.
"Kenz," I sigh. "Please, just do this for me. You know what they've done. Please don't let them do that again."
Her eyes move down to her stomach as she relives the previous incident. I can see that she's trying to rationalize this to herself; trying to find a loophole. Finally, after minutes of silence, she speaks up.
"Fine," She says so softly I might've missed it if not for my close proximity. She looks up at me as her fingers grasp mine. "But you have to be careful too. The kid needs a dad, Callen." I smile and nod.
"Yeah, wouldn't want him to drive you crazy."
"Who said anything about having a boy?" She retorts, pushing my hand away. There's a familiar twinkle in her eye; this isn't a new discussion.
"A girl would devastate half of L.A."
"A boy would take care of the rest!"
"Maybe we're having twins." I say casually and she narrows her eyes into a dangerous glare.
"If you think," She says slowly, always a bad sign when it comes to Kensi. "That I'm pushing out another child just minutes after the first…" She leaves the threat hanging, unfinished, in the air. I laugh.
"Let's just wait and see, huh?" She nods. I lean in to kiss her quickly, because Hetty has a knack at catching us when we're in 'compromising situations' and that's an automatic 30-minute lecture for us. "Love you." I press my forehead against hers as her arms wrap around my neck.
"I love you too, but I won't if you die."
I break away, laughing and lead her up the stairs to the room where everyone's waiting. As we approach the sliding doors, I turn to face her.
"Okay," I agree. "I won't die."
"Thank you." She nods as I wrap an arm around her waist, trying to comfort her. We walk in to find everyone talking over each other; even calm Hetty is dangerously close to shouting.
"Hey, hey! What's going on here?" I demand, letting go of Kensi. She hangs around near the doors until everyone goes quiet.
"Nate here suggested that it would be a good idea for Kensi to go undercover." Eric explains, obviously clueless as to why this would lead to an argument.
"I strongly oppose this, Ms. Blye. It's not safe," Hetty states.
"Come on, Hetty! We'll all be there; they might be more receptive to Kensi. And are you saying that you'd rather put me in danger?" Sam retorts, trying to make a point.
"I said no, Mr. Hanna, and that is it." Hetty crosses her arms, firm in her decision. Beside me, I feel Kensi squeeze on my hand. I turn to face her as Sam starts talking again.
"I think we should tell them." She whispers as Sam stops talking. I nod and we turn around to face them.
"Ms. Blye is not going out to the field, Sam, and that is final." Hetty says, so far gone that she's dropped Sam's last name and her customary 'Mr.'
"Why?" Sam demands, straightening up. There's a moment of silence – Hetty won't make our personal matters public without permission – before I hear Kensi take in a deep breath beside me.
"Because, Sam," She starts, gaining everyone's attention. She gives my hand another squeeze and I squeeze back, supporting her. "I'm pregnant." She announces.
Everyone goes still. Except for Hetty, of course.
"Well," She beams smugly. "I believe congratulations are in order, dearie." She states, walking over to give Kensi a light hug. Kensi smiles as I step away to give them some space.
"Thanks, Hetty."
"And Mr. Callen. Congratulations, both of you!" She surprises me by moving in to hug me too. When I let go, everyone else has recovered from this.
"Yeah, congrats you two!" Eric calls, smiling as usual. Nate nods.
"Congratulations," He says in his usual way of speech – half wistful, half clueless. "This will be interesting." He mutters softly, jotting down some notes.
"Man, why didn't you guys tell me earlier?" Sam complains, hugging Kensi. "Congrats, Kenz," He pats me on my back. "You too, G."
"Thanks, guys." I nod to Eric and Nate as we go back to work, reviewing some footage Eric pulled up from the London City Airport.
"I still think you should've told me earlier." Sam states, breaking the silence. I groan.
"Stop being such a whiner, Sam. It's not very becoming on you." Hetty retorts, barely looking away from the screen.
Kensi and I share a smile before refocusing on the screen. I'm smiling as we piece together our plan. It's not fool-proof, and it's not the most well thought-out plan, but as long as we stick together, we should be okay.
We have to be okay, because this time around, I plan on making Kensi stick to desk work without having her worry about me every single second.
Sometimes, the best route to pick is a simple one. Even when it's a case this big, your best choice is still to try the simple route. And if they start firing bullets, then you know it's time to pick up the guns and go with the more aggressive approach.
It's a few more hours before we finally get a shot at our plan, which is fairly simple: Sam will hand them the case file, while I stay out of their sight.
Of course, we all know the trick's not to let them spot or kill us first.
I mean, as if four professional criminals would spot their target immediately. Highly unlikely. It's not like they've spent months tracking me and making my life Hell.
Yeah.
"G, you see them?"
My earphone crackles to life as Sam communicates from his spot near the kitchen. He's undercover as a waiter once again; we'd talked about simply having a real waiter pass the file to the men, but that plan had two drawbacks: a) We couldn't just entrust a confidential file to a civilian, and b) They might shot the guy.
I move slowly, trying not to draw attention to myself at the back entrance of the restaurant. I've got a clear view of the main door, hidden behind other customers and waiters, along with the usual dinner-rush crowd.
"Not yet." I state before Kensi's voice sounds on both of our earphones; she's back in the office with the others, keeping tabs on the surveillance cameras.
"They're heading in; it's just the four of them, but one of them – Boris – is on the phone, so expect some company." She warns, observing them through the main camera.
"I see them." I tell Sam as four impeccably-dressed men – definitely my old neighbors - enter the restaurant. Aleksandr slips the hostess a wad of cash; they wouldn't have risked using any names we could trace to reserve a table.
The hostess – a young red-head – discreetly accepts the tip and leads them to a table out of my view, probably somewhere private.
"Sam, they're here, but out of my view."
"I'm on it." He says seriously, all of his usual humor gone from his voice.
"LAPD is ready." Kensi informs me. "Just say the word and they'll move in."
"Okay." LAPD's our back-up plan; if the guys start to follow Sam after he slips them the file, Sam will move out and lead them to an alley near this entrance where LAPD will be ready to shoot if they pull out guns.
It's a few more minutes before Sam starts talking. "I'm walking to them. The file's hidden in between the menus; I'll be gone before they realize it."
"Good. Make sure they can't find you, Sam." I tell him; it's much more important for Sam to escape.
"Copy that, G. Good thing I don't stand out amongst the crowd of mainly Italian waiters." He jokes before clearing his throat.
"Hello. I'm Michael, and I'll be your server for the night. Would you like for me to leave you with the menus first?"
You know, Sam does one heck of a waiter impersonation. He's really charming, in fact. I'm about to voice this out, but I don't want to risk any suspicion.
Nikolai – I recognize his voice; he's the oldest and his voice had gone deep before I'd left – replies for the others in heavily accented English.
"Yes, thank you. We'll let you know when we decide."
"Very well."
I make a mental fist-pump; we'd been counting on them to want some privacy, but there had always been a risk of them asking for Sam to hand them the menus separately.
"I'm on the move," Sam says urgently. "Kensi, they see it yet?"
"Ivan's picked up the menus," Kensi observes. "He's taking one and passing the rest to Boris…and yeah, they've seen it." She confirms.
"I'm out of uniform," Sam reports. "Coming your way, G."
I wait a few moments before speaking up. "What're they doing, Kenz?"
"Nikolai's scanning through the file – he seems to be in charge here." She notes.
"He's the eldest." I affirm.
"Yeah, thought so. Okay, he's getting up…we've got company, guys." She says urgently.
"Who?" I demand as Sam walks through the entrance, joining me. He shoots me a look that says I told you we should've just shot them!
I roll my eyes, waiting for Kensi's answer.
"Guys," She says finally, her tone worried. "You're not going to like this." She declares.
"It's Vladimir."
"Great." Sam says sarcastically.
"Yeah, they're asking for you, Michael." Kensi states dryly.
"And?"
"This poor guy's told them you're in the back for a break."
Sam eyes our surroundings. "Not my break spot of choice, but I'll take it." He shrugs.
"What's going on, Kenz?" I ask.
"They're talking…way too fast, and not in English." Her tone tells me that she's trying to read their lips. "Russian?" She guesses.
"Most likely."
"Either way, they don't look very happy." She reports. "I count at least three mentions of Alina, and one of Callen."
"See, G, you're not the favorite." Sam teases, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. I laugh dryly.
"Okay," Kensi says. "They're getting up…walking towards you guys."
"They shouldn't see me." I decide. "Kensi, ask Eric-"
"-for a spot, I know." She discusses this with Eric for a while before they come to a decision. "Okay, Sam, you're supposed to stand where you are. Callen, to your left, there's a door to an empty storage room."
I start walking until a reach an unmarked door. I try the knob and open the door, quickly sliding in. There's a small, clear square which lets me keep tabs on Sam and the entrance. "I'm in." I state.
"Okay Sam, they should be there…now." Kensi says unnecessarily as the Russians, all five of them, walk into the alley.
"Where is he?" Vladimir demands, the rest of the men flanking him. His English, unlike Nikolai's, is flawless, sort of American-sounding.
"Who?" Sam says, playing dumb.
Vladimir sighs – I see his shoulders slump for a minute before ignoring Sam and calling out to me.
"Callen, I know you're here."
He starts walking to his left, approaching me, while Nikolai and Aleksandr walk to the right; Boris and Ivan guarding Sam.
"Kensi, tell them to get ready." I say quietly, referring to LAPD.
"They're on stand-by." She says quickly. "Be careful." She tells me.
"Always." I take a deep breath; Vladimir's calling to me again. I steady myself and step out of the door, hand on my holster.
"Hello, Vladimir." I say, trying to remain calm; Vladimir has always been good at reading body language – when you've got that kind of talent, you either become a cop or a bad guy.
"Callen. Hello." He says in Russian and I nod.
"It's been a long time." I reply in his language, observing all five of them. Boris is leading Sam to us; the others are already standing to Vladimir's right.
"Yes. I read your file." He states, waving aside pleasantries and cutting right to the chase. I hear Kensi say something to Hetty, something about the LAPD. Sam and Boris reach us, but Boris does not head to stand next to the others, standing, instead to Vladimir's left, a firm grip on Sam.
"You did?" I ask casually.
He nods, and takes a moment. I steel myself, ready to give the signal. In front of me, I see Sam move his other hand to rest on his gun, waiting for my command. We're tense now; it's show time.
Or so we thought.
"I'm sorry."
Vladimir's apology catches me off-guard; my hold on my gun slips, my hand coming to rest on my side.
"I'm sorry," He says once more in English, knowing that I've got others here. "For what I have done."
"It was a mistake, Callen." He says in Russian. "A mistake on my part which cost you your child." He seems regretful; I find myself walking closer to him.
"I know." I tell him. "I'm sorry, too."
He looks me in the eye with shame. "I wasn't thinking," He tells me. "It was Alina, and that alone was enough for me to jump to conclusions."
I dig through my memories to find pictures of young Alina, a bright and bubbly girl everyone loved. Especially Vladimir. Applying his logic to my situation, I know that if it had been the other way around, if something had happened to Kensi, I would have acted without thought.
I nod, signaling to him that I understand. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Sam walking to stand next to me; Boris remains motionless, still in shock, I guess.
"Truce?" Vladimir holds out his hand.
I look down at this hand and contemplate this for a moment. This man is responsible for the death of our kid; for all the pain I've caused Kensi.
And yet, I nod and take his hand. "Truce." I agree.
Because when it comes to the one you love, you will stop at nothing to protect them, dead or alive. And I think Vladimir and I have come to a mutual understanding on this.
I let go of his hand. "Where are you going now?" I ask, partly out of curiosity, partly out of a sense of duty – I can't be responsible for five criminals running free in L.A.
He laughs shortly. "Oh, don't worry about that. We will go back now; we're not going to cause you any more trouble."
I think his laugh shocks everyone more than his apology. In my ear, I hear Nate rambling about how this doesn't fit his profile.
"Thank you." I smile sincerely; I'm really just too tired to deal with any more of this.
"Thank you, G Callen. I hope we will meet again."
Already, the other three are moving backwards, back into the restaurant. Only Nikolai remains; he's probably second-in-command.
"I know we will." I tell him; our paths are bound to cross sometime.
He nods, signaling Nikolai to move as he turns his back to me and walks away.
"Goodbye, Callen." Nikolai calls, catching me by surprise for a moment. But then again, he'd been my best friend those short few months; Nikolai is the closest to me in age out of the five.
"Bye, Nik." I wave. He too, nods and walks away as I sigh in relief.
"Well, that went…great." Sam says dubiously, breaking his silence. I laugh.
"Yeah, it went great."
"I told you they're good guys."
We're back at OPS, where everyone's gathered together, celebratory donuts on my desk. After making sure that Vladimir and the guys had left, LAPD had packed up and that left the two of us. Sam and I had stopped for donuts before heading back; we hadn't had a team-night in a while, because of everything Kensi and I had been going through.
"Yeah, right." Sam snorts.
"No, seriously," I stress. "I mean, they're into all this illegal stuff, but they don't do anything to innocent people. Vladimir inherited the business from his dad, but he was a good kid. He just really loved Alina."
"I understand where he's coming from, but I don't expect to see him anytime soon." Kensi says protectively, one hand on her stomach, protecting our baby. I smile.
"Yeah, he's sorry about that." I tell her from my spot next to her.
"I know."
"But you don't forgive him." She's about to reply when I cut in. "Neither do I," I reassure her. She purses her lips and nods, still unhappy, but relieved.
"Well, thank you for your explanation, Mr. Callen. Now, go home, everyone. I expect all of you in here first thing Monday to complete the paperwork." Hetty stands up, looking around.
Protests are heard amongst Sam, Nate and Eric. "Come on Hetty, we worked a Saturday!" Sam says. "Can't we at least get a day without paperwork?"
Hetty walks up the stairs without a word, leaving Sam stunned.
"Harsh," I tell Sam as I pass by him, getting Kensi's things. She stands up and takes her bag from me while I fish out the car keys from my pocket.
"Yeah," Eric nods, walking off with Nate trailing after him for a ride.
"You coming?" Kensi quips as she walks past Sam to join me. Sam looks around the empty office.
"Yeah," He sighs. "We've got paperwork on Monday…gotta rest up." He explains, shrugging helplessly, accepting his fate.
We say our goodbyes and goodnights before walking to the car, Kensi's hand safely in my own. She rests her head on my shoulder. "You're tired." I observe.
"Try spending hours worrying about your husband only to have the bad guy apologize to him." She mumbles, her words running together.
"Hey, I spent hours worrying about you," I remind her, opening up the passenger-side door for her, helping her in. I know she's exhausted when she goes in without so much as a protest. I rush to the driver's side, intent on getting her home as quickly as possible. Kensi deserves some rest after all that I've put her through.
We drive in silence as she drifts in and out of consciousness until her phone rings, startling both of us. She rummages through her bag with an annoyed frown on her face until her eyes fall on the caller ID.
"Abby." She gulps, looking at me helplessly. I pull to the side and take the phone from her.
"I'll deal with her first." I tell her softly. "I'll pass her to you when she stops ranting and/or squealing, 'kay?"
"Mmm," Kensi hums, eyes drooping once more. "Love you." She mumbles.
"Love you too." I brace myself, take a deep breath and pick up the phone. Everything's all right now, there's just one thing left to do, and that's to tell Abby.
"Abby?" I pick up, determined to make our lives go back to normal.
"Eeeeeeeeppppppppppppp! Congrats you guys! OMG, I've gotta come visit again! We can go baby-shopping again! And I'll throw a baby shower! I need more Caf-Pow!"
I chuckle, stealing a look at Kensi's sleeping form. She's safe and sound; no one's after us. The greatest danger right now is to unleash Abby upon the un-suspecting citizens of L.A.
And after all that we've been through, that doesn't sound nearly as bad, especially knowing that Kensi will be next to me, forever.
"Hey Abby…"
We do what we have to, to protect the one we love.
Sometimes, that means hurting the one you love. Sometimes, keeping the one you love safe, means hurting them. Sometimes, to hurt the one you love is your only option.
Sometimes, that means that you'd kill for the one you love; you'd die for the one you love; you'd do anything for the one you love.
And sometimes, the one you love will do anything for you, too.
~The End~
NOTE : YEAH, THIS ONE'S LATE BY A DAY, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO TAKE MY TIME WITH THIS ONE AND MAKE SURE IT'S GOOD...'CAUSE IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER! EEEP!
NOTE 2 : Evershort, something's wrong with my email so your review didn't show up and I couldn't reply to it. I think this fic is kinda AU by now, because if you haven't noticed yet, no Deeks! So…I think it's AU…maybe since before Deeks showed up…my bad! And I decided to break the pattern and go with no flashbacks, 'cause this was all so action-packed and stuff. :p
First and foremost, I hope I haven't offended any Russian readers (I count at least 2 – story stats) by insinuating that they have gangsters and the likes. Oh, and I hope I got the names right.
Second, oh my God it's over! This is it, the last chapter! My baby's all grown up and complete…though we do have an epilogue left, thank God because I'm not ready to leave this yet.
Third, it'll be a while before I start writing CaKe again, but a few of my readers know that I've got another fic planned. It's in the works and the title and summary will be up on my Twitter soon. Tweet tweet! Remember, if you're looking for me, I'm ESalvatore3.
So…I'll see you guys tomorrow! Woah, that's a huge relief – no goodbyes for now!
Second last chance for you to review or PM me regarding this story!
P.S, I wrote that bit of interaction between Callen and the Russians to leave a storyline, in the event that I start a sequel.
E Salvatore,
March 2011.