Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS Los Angeles or any of its characters.
Thank you so, so much to SilverSentinal21. Believe me, this story would be so much worse off without you. Your help was invaluable.
The NCIS Los Angeles office was in organized chaos. They were all in a state of controlled panic. Eric and Nell were rushing around from computer to computer, trying to access traffic cams, hacking into systems, doing whatever they could to find Callen. Deeks was in a loud and fiery phone conversation with the LAPD. Kensi and Sam were going through piles of documents with tense faces, hoping that they could find something that could help. Hetty was on the phone with the director, actually having to shout to make herself heard over all the noise. Sam suddenly slammed a pile of papers down and swore.
"How did this even happen?" He yelled at no one in particular. "We've searched the house for hours and haven't found a single clue. I've known G for five years no way he would have given himself up until he got knocked out. But there's no DNA, or fingerprints, except G's Nobody can do that thorough a cleanup job without taking a lot of people and a lot of time."
They had revisited Callen's house and had found a USB drive there. It was placed neatly on his sleeping mat, obviously put there by the bad guys. They had found a single clip inside that showed Callen being whipped, followed by a five second clip of him and Isabella in a cell together, both hurt.
Hetty sat with her arms folded in her lap. Being an agent was hard, but being in charge of other agents was even harder. Every time she sent one of them undercover a small part of her worried that she was sending them to their deaths. She had lost agents before-Dom, and others before NCIS. But if Callen died…she wasn't sure if she would be able to move on. She remained outwardly calm, letting her thoughts remain a mystery to those around her.
Sam was furious. He glared at the screen, hating what he was seeing. He would never admit it, but he did feel slightly protective towards his partner. Probably had a lot to do with him almost dying in his arms, an experience not exactly easy to forget. Since then, their partnership had become even stronger; people around them noticed the complete trust they had in each other, communicating with subtle glances and hand gestures. I should have had his back he thought to himself.
Kensi was half turned away from the screen. She didn't want to watch, couldn't bear to watch, but couldn't quite turn away either. It was like a horror movie; you don't want to want to watch, but you can't keep away. She remembered what a great teacher Callen had been when she first came to NCIS. He had been so patient, improving her fighting technique, her surveillance skills, gaining her trust. He had helped form the agent she was today.
Deeks winced as the whip came slicing down on Callen's back. He had always truly admired Callen. He was a brilliant leader, great undercover operative, quick with his gun. Callen might have been slightly aloof when he had first joined NCIS, but he hadn't seemed surprised at Deeks entrance into the team. The two had gotten to know each other better throughout time, and their friendship was one shown through jokes and sarcastic remarks.
Eric stared open-mouthed at the screen. He felt glad that his job as a tech-specialist didn't normally include much violence. He had been part of the original team, before Nell and Deeks had joined. He had been working with them for a long time, but seldom was a case so personal. He wished that he could do something. Anything
Nell's eyes were wide open with shock. She ran through organized lists in her head of possible things she could check on the computer and try to do. She let loose a small gasp as she watched the whip travel down. This was the one thing she hated about her job, having to watch things through a screen and feel powerless to do anything while the field agents went through dangerous tasks.
"Why do you think we were given that clip?" Deeks asked. He seemed subdued, and unlike his usual self.
"Callen would hate to know that we're worrying. The captor probably knows that too, and is trying to use that to break Callen." Kensi replied. Silence followed her comment.
"Eric, who's that woman in the cell with Callen?" Sam asked once he had calmed down.
"We don't know, her files are classified." Replied Eric.
"That woman is Isabella Knight." Hetty announced. "She is a top agent, working for the CIA. I have not had the pleasure of meeting her, and I doubt that Mr. Callen has either. I have heard of her extraordinary talents though. They are much like those of Mr. Callen."
Just then, Nell interrupted. "Um, the director of the CIA is requesting a video conference."
"Then by all means, let us have it." Hetty replied.
The screen flickered, and cut to a video feed of the CIA's director.
"Henrietta" He greeted.
"It is nice to see you again, Malcolm, and we are on the same side this time, are we not."
Kensi, Deeks, and Sam exchanged a glance. Normally, they would joke about how Hetty seemed to know everybody, but they weren't really in the mood to do so today.
The director continued: "Hetty, I'm going to cut straight to the chase. It is not only Special Agents Callen and Knight who have been captured. Eight other elite agents have been captured too. All from different agencies across the US. Right now it can be assumed that they will all be tortured for information. Agents Callen and Knight seem to have been specially targeted with some of the worse…torture methods. They are our best agents and have been trained to hold under interrogation, but if they were to reveal information, the results would be disastrous. That is why a joint task force between all agencies for this case has been suggested. The best from each agency will all work on locating and eventually rescuing these agents. Your director has agreed to this if you will."
"Then you may expect NCIS co-operation. Tell me, if the best people in this business are all working on this, has anything been found yet?"
"I'm afraid not. This man is very careful. But nobody can be perfect. In the meantime, we will all continue searching.
"Very well. I would like information on Agent Knight, there has to be a reason these two agents were paired together."
"You shall have it, Hetty." The screen flickered again, then went off. Everyone in the room felt sick with apprehension. Their faces were strangely symmetrical; lips pressed together, eyes filled with worry, faces drawn. Eric and Nell started fiddling with the computers again, not able to keep still.
"There has to be some kind of technological footprint." Eric muttered under his breath.
Kensi was staring at a picture of the team besides one of the computers. In it, Callen was standing casually next to her. Although their appearances were totally different, Callen still managed to look like her older brother. Deeks was also staring at the picture. His thoughts ran in a similar line to Kensi's. The team all looked like a family in the picture, laughing and having a good time. Sam had his phone out, going over all possible leads, not wanting to let his mind wander to the worrying.
Hetty was hoping that she would not soon have another reason to hand in her resignation. But she could not go about thinking like that. Taking a deep breath, she ordered:
"Mr. Hanna, Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks, check Mr. Callen's house frequently for any more drop offs of memory devices. Talk to neighbors; see if you can find out who dropped off the memory device. Find the location of where Mr. Callen was taken. You may have done some of this already, but double check everything. Go. Mr. Beale see if you can find out exactly what information this captor might want from Callen. We all know that Callen has plenty of important information, but if we can find any terrorist activity that might be linked to something Mr. Callen knows, we might be close to finding out the identity of this captor. Ms. Jones, you will handle the profiles of all the other agents, which I will get you. Check for anything they might know that will link to something Mr. Callen knows. All the agents have very extensive files, these agents have extensive files, so get our field agents to help you as soon as they come back."
With that, Hetty walked away. Deeks glanced at Kensi and said: "Kens, I know that we have no leads, but at least we're doing something."
Kensi nodded in agreement, and together the three of them headed out to try and save their team leader and friend.