DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the NCIS characters, I'm merely borrowing them.
Katy was used to going at a back breaking pace; sitting around waiting for the next case was grueling. Hardly able to keep her eyes open, she lay out on the couch while the other worked on reports or miscellaneous paperwork. Callen watched her from his desk and smiled.
"I guess we're too boring for her now?" He laughed elbowing Kensi.
"I know the least she could do is sit over here and keep up company or help with some of the paperwork." Kensi added with a smile.
"Is any of that from before I left on assignment?" Katy asked.
The four quickly went back through the stacks of files. One by one, they all said no. Katy stuck her tongue out at them and stayed put. Hetty walked into the bullpen looking for Katy, then walked over to the couch and tossed her feet off the couch. Katy shot up, eyes wide, gasping.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Levin, did I wake you?" Hetty smirked.
The four at the desks chuckled. Katy cleared her throat. "Sorry, they're working on reports for cases they worked while I was gone."
"So you thought you'd just lie right down and take yourself a nap?" Hetty asked arms crossed across her chest.
"Sorry Hetty, I'm just really tired, I'm used to being constantly on the move. I'll go see if Nell or Eric needs any help." She said standing and stretching.
"No, actually Mr. Getz would like to have a word with you." Hetty said as she stood.
Katy groaned and dragged herself up the stairs and over to Nate's office. She knocked on the door, he looked up and smiled. "Come on in, good to have you back."
Katy stumbled into his office and into his open arms for a hug. "Good to be back. A little slower than I remember."
"Oh, it's just a lull; you guys will get a case soon." He said ushering her to the couch as he closed the door. "So tell me what's new and exciting."
Katy smiled and instinctively played with the engagement ring on her finger. "Well, Callen and I got engaged after Christmas."
Nate smiled a huge smile. "That's what I heard, congratulations. Have you set a date?"
"We have." She smiled. "December twenty-seventh in San Francisco at Grace Cathedral."
"Well, I'll have to remember the date." He said.
"Yes, please. We'd like to have you there." She smiled.
"So how was the assignment, we didn't get a chance to talk before you left."
"It went well; we managed to save fourteen out of fifteen of the single-births and arrested all of the fifteen sets of twins." She told him.
"Very good, are you inviting your new family to the wedding?" He asked.
"Yes we are. My half-brother Paul has offered to pay for all of those in Europe who cannot afford to pay for the flights themselves, a very generous offer." She said.
"Yes, that is a very generous offer. Are you hoping to have relationships with all of them?"
"I'd like to, I already talk to several on a regular basis. One in fact; my sister Anastasiya has a thing for Reggie." She smiled.
"Ah, good and how are Reggie and the kids doing?"
"They're doing so good; Callen and I went up there for a few days after New Year's. Reggie sold the old house and bought a new. Three story Victorian, with some of the original furniture." She smiled remembering the guest room they stayed in.
"Very good. How have you been sleeping?" He asked. "Any nightmares?"
"I've been sleeping well, no nightmares in a long time." She said.
Nate nodded. "Is there anything you wanted to talk about?"
Katy shook her head. "No, there's nothing bothering me. I'm happy, truly happy."
"Alright, well, I guess I'll let you go back to work then. Meet back in a couple weeks?"
Katy stood. "Sounds good." With that, Nate stood and watched her walk out of the office and down the hall to Ops.
Nell and Eric were trying to look busy, but Katy could tell they were bored. She talked to them for a few minutes before heading back down to her desk. Callen was packing his bag when she walked in. She poked him in the side when she walked by.
"Please tell me Hetty's letting us go?" she asked.
"Yes Ms. Levin I'm letting you all go home. There's nothing more we can do today. Get a good night's rest. No sleeping on the couch tomorrow, please." She smiled.
Katy got in the Mercedes and laid the seat back, almost immediately she was asleep. Callen worried that there was something wrong. Once they got home, she showered and changed into a pair of sweats. She dropped onto the couch and grabbed the remote.
"Katy, are you sure you're okay?" Callen asked concerned.
"I'm just tired, honey." She smiled up at him as he leaned over the back of the couch.
"I've never seen you so tired." He said leaning further over to kiss her.
Katy pulled him over to lay with her. "I'm fine, Callen."
Callen pushed her over so he could lay behind her. Within minutes, Callie was on them looking for a spot to lie down. Together, the three watched the evening news before Callen got up to make them some sandwiches. By eight, they both were falling asleep on the couch, so they locked up and headed to be with the hopes of a new case in the morning.
Katy was more awake as she walked into the bullpen and put her bag on her desk. Kensi, Sam and Deeks were already there and embattled in a very heated conversation. Callen and Katy felt like they were watching a tennis match, looking from one to the other and back again as they retorted and argued. All were smiling, so they knew it was all in fun. No sooner had Katy gotten herself a cup of coffee and Eric called from the landing.
With a smile, she gulped down as much of the hot coffee as she could and followed the others up the stairs. Hetty was standing in Ops next to Nell waiting for them to settle themselves so the brief could begin. Kensi and Deeks stood next to one another, elbowing each other trying not to laugh. Hetty cleared her throat and gave them one of her looks, immediately, they stood straight faced and attentative. Hetty nodded at Nell to begin.
"At zero five this morning, Marsoc and First Recon Battalion were conducting PT exercises at Del Mar Beach when they found a sail boat washed up just shy of the jetty. PMO was called and once PMO was on scene, they called NCIS. When the responding officers boarded the vessel, they found thirty-five years old Staff Sergeant Tanya Blanter and her husband; thirty-eight years old Gunnery Sergeant Darrell Cox. Both had been severely beaten, along with the bodies of their two children. Ten year old Denise and twelve year old Dennis were shot execution-style. Unfortunately, Gunnery Sergeant Cox was DOA when he got to the ER there on base. Staff Sergeant Blanter is listed in serious, but stable condition." Nell said with the pictures of the boat and the bodies on the screen.
"An hour after the two was taken to the Naval Hospital, two bodies washed up on the beach; they've been identified as Adam and Leo Asmik. Both men had been shot in the head." Nell said and clicked the tablet to remove the previous pictures only to be replaced with a picture of another boat in the middle of the water.
"This boat was found thirty-five miles off the coast near Santa Catalina Island." She said pulling up another series of photos. "On board this boat the body of an unidentified woman was found. Along with a considerable amount of blood."
"Entirely too much for one person." Callen said.
"Yes, as you can see there's also blood going over the side of the boat, the Coast Guard is assuming that the two bodies that washed up on the beach were from this boat." She said.
"So how did this wind up in out laps?" Katy asked, already knowing the answer.
"Adam and Leo Asmik are a set of Dmitri's twins that we didn't find. Apparently their target was Tanya Blanter."Nell said.
"Cassidy Long and Michael Lewiston will be arriving within the hour; they will assist us with the investigation." Hetty told them.
"So who's taking point on this investigation?" Callen asked.
"That's for you and Ms. Levin for figure out." Hetty told them.
Katy smiled uncomfortably at Callen. "You do what you feel is right and I'll go with it."
"No, we'll follow your lead on this." Sam said, before Callen could get it out.
"No, Callen's the team lead." Katy insisted.
"Katy, Sam's right." Callen told her.
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly.
"What do you want us to do?" Kensi asked.
"Go to the Blanter/Cox residence; see what you can find there. Callen, Sam and I will go to the hospital to see if Staff Sergeant Blanter feels like talking. Nell, as soon as Cass and Mike get here, can you send them down to Pendleton. I'd like them to talk to PMO and the Coast Guard to see about us getting on those two boats. As soon as you have an ID of the woman on the second boat, let myself, Sam or Callen know. I'd also like a full background on Tanya Blanter and the twins, before we get to Pendleton, if possible please." Katy said.
Nell and Eric smiled. "On it." Eric said. "Kensi, Deeks their home address is already on your phones."
As Katy was about to head out the doors, Cassidy and Michael walked in. "Hey you two." She said with a huge smile and open arms. "How was your Christmas?"
"Good, though it couldn't have been better than yours, I hear." Cassidy said and waved. "Hi Callen."
"Let me make introductions really quick. Sam Hanna, Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks. This is Cassidy Long and Michael Lewiston, Mike's one of the three CIA members of the team." Katy said as they all shook hands.
"Actually, I'm no longer with the CIA. I'm officially with NCIS now." Mike told her proudly.
"Really, you're one of us?" Callen said congratulating him.
"Ok, I'm dying to see it; the ring." Cassidy said holding out her hand expectantly.
Katy looked over at Hetty who nodded. "Ok quickly, we've got to get going." She said showing her the ring.
"Aw, it's beautiful. Good job Callen." Cass said. "Alright, where do you want us?"
"I'm sending Kensi and Deeks to the house to see if there's anything that could help us. Callen, Sam and I are going to talk to Blanter. Could you two go talk to PMO and the Coast Guard, make arrangements for us to see those two boats?" Katy asked.
"Of course, we'll follow you guys down." Cass told her. "Mike, you ready?"
He smiled affectionately, "Yes ma'am."
"Alright, go." Hetty said ushering them out of Ops.
Katy sat in the back seat on the drive down to Pendleton, looking over the backgrounds on the twins and Tanya Blanter that Nell already had on file. Unfortunately, nothing new came through until they actually got to the Naval Hospital, so she didn't have much time to look anything over. The doctor was leaving SSgt. Blanter's room when they walked up and showed the guards their badges. He stopped them.
"She's not in a good frame of mind right now. You might want to come back after she's had time to process everything that's happened." He said.
"We need as much information as she can give us. If she starts to show signs of distress, we'll stop immediately." Katy told him. He nodded and walked away towards the nurse's station a few feet away and watched.
She was battered and bruised, several bandages on her forehead and face covered stitches. Katy noticed her high cheekbones, definitely a trait she'd gotten from her father. In her dazed state, SSgt Blanter looked at them. "What now?"
"My name is Special Agent Levin with NCIS; these are Special Agents Callen and Hanna. We're so sorry for you loss, Ma'am, but we need to ask you a few questions about what happened." Katy said.
The brunette pulled herself up more to a sitting position and grimaced with pain. "I'll tell you everything I can remember."
"That would be greatly appreciated." Katy said with a warm smile. "How did you and your family wind up on the boat?"
"Sunday night, we were getting ready for bed, Darrell and I. The kids were already asleep. We heard glass breaking, so Darrell grabbed one of Dennis' bats and headed downstairs. I went to check on the kids, I heard yelling and shuffling. I'm walking out of Denise's room and these two men bringing Darrell up the stairs at gunpoint. The other one grabbed me and a woman came up the stairs behind them and grabbed the kids. They took us out to a van and threw us in the back. The kids were crying." She said and stopped recalling the image in her mind.
"Can you recall anything about the van?" Katy asked.
She sat there silent for a moment thinking. "It was dark, I couldn't really see the color, but I know it was a darker toned paint. There was carpet in the back, smelled new. A rental maybe. They drove us around for an hour or two and took us out to the Oceanside Pier. We got on the boat and headed out to meet another boat they said."
"Did they have any time of accent?" Callen asked.
"Yes, only very slight, I couldn't place it until they started speaking Russian to one another. They were fighting." She laughed. "The definitely didn't have their shit together, they looked like a bunch of amateurs."
Katy smiled. "What happened next?"
"They told me that this was my fault." She said looking confused. "Then they shot Dennis and Denise. Darrell and I went nuts and flew at them. That's when they shot Darrell. The woman hit me with something and I was out. I woke up a while later and the kids were gone, Darrell was losing a lot of blood. I tried to stop the bleeding. I heard them talking up top, so I tied off Darrell's leg hoping to stop the bleeding and snuck up top to listen. The boat stopped and they got off onto another boat, I got out on deck and saw a third boat coming towards us, so I hid on deck. I heard gunshots, three and then two splashes." She said, vividly remembering the whole scene.
"I went back down into the cabin to check on Darrell when we were boarded. It was a man and a woman. She had red hair and green eyes, very fair skinned. I didn't get a good look at him. She checked to see if the kids were still alive, while he checked Darrell. Darrell grabbed him and they fought, even thought Darrell was weak from the blood loss." She smiled and shook her head. "Darrell fell back and hit his head. The woman checked on me, I hit her she flew back and then lunged back at me. He stopped her, said that I'd be dealt with."
"Staff Sergeant, what can you tell us about your childhood?" Katy asked.
"Please call me Tanya, I was born in Russia in nineteen seventy-eight, I was adopted by an American family in nineteen eighty. We lived in Chula Vista, my parents still live there." She said.
"I need your parent's address." Katy said and Tanya gave it to them. "Call Nell and have Chula Vista PD do a welfare check on the house."
Callen pulled out his phone and walked out of the room.
"Why is this happening?" Tanya asked.
Katy asked what she knew about her biological parents; all Tanya knew was that her mother had died either during or shortly after giving birth. Katy shook her head and began explaining about Dmitri and the single-birth. Tanya was shocked.
"So you're telling me that my mother was killed because she gave birth to just me and not twins?" Tanya asked enraged.
"Unfortunately, yes Dmitri uses the twins to find and eliminate all of the single-births." Katy told her.
"And you're one of the single-births? How many of us are there?" Tanya asked.
Katy told her about the others and how they lost Artur before they could get to him. Tanya was clearly disturbed. Thirty minutes later, Eric called with more disturbing news. Callen asked Katy out of the room to tell her about Tanya's adopted parents.
"Eric's checking the security footage for the house, but her parents were shot to death in their bed." He told her.
"Damn, I don't know if now's the time to tell her that." Katy said.
"I wouldn't wait." Callen told her.
Katy took a deep breath and walked back into the room. "Tanya,"
"They're dead, aren't they?" She asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry." Katy said sympathetically.
"Why are they doing this to me?" Tanya asked as she sobbed. "My entire family's gone in the blink of an eye."
"You're not the only one. They killed my daughter and her father's parents. They either want us dead or to suffer." Katy told her.
"But he's in jail, right?"
"Yes, Dmitri, his son Yuri and brother-in-law along with the twins we've been able to find and arrest are all in jail. We didn't know you existed. I'm sorry; we thought we'd gotten all of them."
Katy said feeling like she'd failed Tanya.
"Don't blame yourself. You can't save all of us. I'm being protected. I'll be fine. Focus on getting whoever did this and then if there are others like us, help them." Tanya told her trying to smile.
"We're going to let you get some rest; this is a lot to take in all in one day. If you think of anything or just want to talk here's my numbers. The top is my cell and the bottom is the house phone." Katy said looking at Callen, he nodded.
"So have you met the others, our half-brothers and sisters?" Tanya asked.
"I have, they're a wonderful group of people. When you're better, I'll tell you about them all." Katy smiled.
"They're going to be in San Francisco in December, all of them." Callen told her, smiling.
"Really, why?" Tanya asked.
"A wedding." Katy said.
Tanya smiled. "That's a good reason to get everyone together. Who's getting married?"
"These two." Sam said pointing at Katy and Callen.
"Really the two of you are getting married?" She beamed.
Katy smiled and shot Sam a look. "Yes we are. December twenty-seventh. We'd love to have you there."
"I will do what I can." Tanya said.
"Alright, get some rest. I'll check in with you later today." Katy said and hugged Tanya.
On the way out of the hospital, Katy called Cass to find out where they were and what time they could see the boats. They were still at Del Mar beach with the first boat and the second was being pulled to the pier and they'd be able to go aboard as soon as it was in a slip. After talking to Cass, she called Kensi to see what they'd found at the Blanter/Cox residence.
"A whole lot of nothing, there's broken glass and a couple shoe prints, but no fingerprints. They at least knew enough to wear gloves." Kensi told her.
"Damn, alright, Tanya's parents were killed too. They live in Chula Vista. Do you and Deeks want to go have a look over there?" she asked.
"Sure, I'll call Eric for the address." Kensi said.
"Nope, I've got it." She said giving her the address. "Let me know what you find. Eric's going over the security footage from the house to see whether it was the Asmik's or the new pair."
Kensi asked about the new pair, and Katy told her about the two who killed the Asmik's. Once they hit the beach, Katy called Nell to see if the female on the second boat had been identified. She had; Olga Asmik, Adam's wife. They were in the process of running a background on the woman as they spoke. When Sam pulled up at the beach, Cass waved. Once they got down to the boat, Cass and Mike introduced them to the PMO officer.
The smell of the dried blood was foul; Katy had to cover her nose with the sleeve of her jacket just to walk up to the boat. The officer showed them pictures of the interior of the boat since the bodies had been removed. They looked in and found the black fingerprint powder over every flat, touchable surface of the cabin. Several prints were found, but they were all the Blanter/Cox family's prints. Katy didn't recall Tanya mentioning whether or not the two that boarded the boat after she heard the gunshots wearing gloves and made a mental note to ask her about it.
The five headed over to check out the second boat and found nothing useful there too, so they headed back to the Mission to see what Nell had come up with. The five were in Ops when Kensi and Deeks got back. While they were in Ops, Eric pulled up the footage from the parents house and found that it was not the Asmik's that killed them, but the unidentified pair. Again, there were no prints to be found; only boot prints and neither looked at the cameras. The consensus was utter frustration.
By five o'clock, they knew nothing more than they did earlier that morning. Katy called Tanya just to check up and ask is she remembered the male and female who boarded the boat wearing gloves. She said that they weren't; which made no sense considering no prints were found other than Tanya's, her husband's and the children's. Katy and Cass brief Hetty on what they had and hadn't found thus far and they were released for the day.
As they packed up, Callen asked what Cass and Mike had planned for the evening. When they had none, he invited them over for dinner. Katy could tell that Kensi was more than a little dejected and invited her and Deeks over as well. The six talked for a few minutes about what they wanted for dinner and agreed that cooking was too much so they'd order dinner in. Once they got to Callen and Katy's there was another lengthy discussion about what exactly they wanted to eat. Settling on Chinese, Callen opened a bottle of wine for the ladies and got a few beers for the guys.
They avoided talking about the case and discussed the wedding. "Ok, so we assume you've set a date, right?" Cass asked.
"Yes we have Saturday, December twenty-seventh. It will be at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, we're torn between the Fairmont and the Sir Francis Drake for the reception. I like the spaces available for the reception better at the Fairmont, but Callen likes the menu at the Drake." Katy said.
"What about the dress, have you been dress shopping yet?" Cass asked.
"No, we haven't. In fact, I was wondering if you'd be a bridesmaid." She asked.
"Me? I thought you were talking to Kensi." Cass said.
"Kensi's the Maid of Honor. I was asking you." Katy told her.
"Of course I'll be a bridesmaid." Cass smiled.
Once dinner arrived, the conversation turned to their holiday celebrations. Cass and Mike told them about their travels to one another's home towns so they could meet each other's families. Kensi and Deeks told them about their Christmas at her Mom's house and Katy and Callen told them about the trip up to San Francisco. It was a nice, casual evening. At nine, Cass got a call from the rest of her team letting her know that they'd landed at LAX and were on the way to the hotel. By nine, both couples had headed either home or to their hotel. Callen and Katy cleaned up and went to bed.
Katy left early for work, leaving Callen to drive in on his own. She was up in Ops pouring over all of the information collected so far when he got there. He, Cass and Mike walked in to see if there had been any new developments. Katy smiled at them and stole a kiss from Callen when no one was looking. There was no new information and Katy felt as if she was going cross-eyed from looking at everything. Cass and Callen insisted she take a break and get a cup of coffee. Nell assured her she'd let her know when something new came in. The rest of the two teams stood around awkwardly staring at each other.
"Wow, feels like we're walking into the middle of a gang stand-off." Katy laughed. "Sam Hanna, Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks, this is NCIS Agents Jason Davis and Anthony Carter and from the CIA; Carson Pierce and Raymond Light."
Finally once the ice was broken, there was smiled between the two teams. "Yeah, just remember she was ours before she was yours." Callen laughed.
"How've you been, Callen?" Jason asked. "I hear congratulations are in order."
Callen stepped a little closer to Katy, "We're doing very well, thank you."
"Alright you guys, make yourselves comfortable. I need a cup of coffee." Katy said walking through the group.
Callen, Cass and Mike followed her and got themselves a cup of coffee too. Looking back at the agents gathered in the bull pen. "Wow, feel that tension." Katy laughed.
"Yeah, they're so used to you being in charge, they're having a hard time adjusting to Cass being the lead now." Mike told them.
"Then Callen has to make that comment about me being with this team before I was with your guys.
Callen laughed, "You know that's what our team was thinking. Once again, it all comes down to who had you first."
Katy shook her head, feeling like a possession. "Well it doesn't matter where I was first or last, it's about this case."
They all looked at her, hearing the disdain in her voice. "Katy, we know we're here because of the case." Cass said.
"We need someplace we can all sit down so we can brief your team." Katy said.
"The conference room." Callen said. "I'll go see if it's free"
Once they were all seated in the conference room, Katy and Cass began briefing Cass's team. Occasionally, Nell or Eric would interrupt when there was a new bit of information. After the briefing, the two teams tried to decide what to do next. Cass took her team back to Pendleton to talk to Tanya again and look at the two boats. The LA team started at the Blanter/Cox residence and then headed to Chula Vista.
Nothing new was found at the Tanya's house, so they headed down to her parents house. Half-way down to Chula Vista, Nell called to tell them that one of the parent's credit cards had just been used at several stores in Carlsbad and one in Los Angeles. Katy had Eric go through the store's security footage to see if they couldn't identify the two. The LA team went through the house with a fine tooth comb, looking for anything that could possibly be missing. Everything except that credit card was accounted for, it appeared.
First thing back at the Mission, Katy headed up to Ops to see what exactly had been bought and where. "What have you got Nell?"
"There were three purchases made at three different stores. The first was a sporting goods store this at ten this morning in Carlsbad." Nell started.
"What did they buy?" Callen asked, interrupting her.
"More bullets." Nell said matter-of-factly.
"It looks like they're not done with Tanya." Katy said shaking her head.
"Or there's someone else they're after too." Callen added. Katy nodded in agreement.
"The second purchase was at a knife store in Carlsbad. The third purchase was for a meal here in LA." Nell said.
"Did they happen to look at the security cameras at all when they were in any of the shops?" Katy asked.
"They definitely tried to stay out of the view of the cameras, but the knife store has a camera in the display case. This is our male suspect; we're still running him through facial recognition. Unfortunately, we've not been able to get a good shot of the female suspect." She told them.
"Damn." Katy said then suddenly remembered Hetty's no swearing policy and pulled a dollar out of her, handing it to Nell.
"We should get one of those for home; we might be able to pay for the wedding with it." Callen laughed.
"Ha ha ha, funny, you're just as bad as I am at home. I don't want to hear about my mouth." Katy said elbowing Callen hard in the ribs.
At a quarter to five, Cass and her team walked back into the office, looking exhausted. Cass plopped herself down on the couch and buried her face in her hands. The rest of her team help up a wall of sat on the tiled floor. Katy waited for them to collect themselves before asking how it went.
"We got nothing new from Staff Sergeant Blanter." Cass told her. "In face she was more than a little perturbed that you weren't the one there talking to her."
"I'll give her a call later to apologize." Katy told Cass.
"Anything new here?" Cass asked.
Katy told her about the purchases at the stores around Pendleton and the one in LA. She showed her the picture of the male suspect that the still didn't have an ID on. With that, they called it a day and headed out to get dinner. Katy, Callen, Kensi and Deeks followed Cass and her team over to their favorite Mexican restaurant while Sam went home to Michelle and the kids. It was late when Katy and Callen got to their house.
Something was wrong. Callie wasn't at the door like she normally was and they couldn't hear her howling when they got out of the car. As Callen got closer to the front door, he saw that the door was damaged. He stopped Katy and told her to stay out for a minute until he checked the house over. Callen could smell then blood when he walked in the house and looked back to make sure Katy was still standing on the porch. He flipped on the light and turned his head at the bloody mess.
"What is it?" Katy asked starting to enter the house.
"No, stay outside. Call the teams." He ordered.
"Why?" She asked stepping through the door and gasped. "Oh my God, Callie."
"Katy out." He said pushing her out the door.
Immediately, Callen walked further into the house, following the trail of blood to their bedroom. Callie was laid out on the bed, gutted. Her innards lying spread out across the comforter. He closed his eyes and fought the wave of nausea and tears. This was going to be hard for Katy. Callen walked to the bed and looked at the lifeless cat, turning to leave the room, he saw 'You're next' written in blood on the wall.
He walked sullenly back out to Katy and pulled her to him. "Katy, they killed Callie."
She stood there motionless, inside she wanted to scream and cry and pull out her hair. She tried to move past him to go see her, but he stopped her. "I want to see her."
"No, it's gruesome. That's not how I want you to remember her. Did you call the teams?" he asked.
"I did. What else?" she asked, seeing there was more.
"There's a note written on the wall that you're next. I don't know if it's aimed at you or both of us, but we aren't staying here tonight, or anytime soon." He told her.
Slowly, Katy sank to the steps on the porch. The only thing on her mind was Callie, she was gone. The only other thing that she had left of her past and now it was gone too. She thought of Reggie, looking at her phone, she saw that it was half past nine. Katy got off the step and walked out to the curb, dialing Reggie's number.
"Katy, what's wrong?" He asked after answering on the first ring.
"They killed Callie." She said.
"Oh Katy, what happened?" he asked.
"I don't know Callen won't let me in the house to see. He said there was a note on the wall saying 'you're next'. We found another single-birth." She said.
"So someone's after you again?" he asked.
"Keep your guard up, I'll talk to Callen and Hammond about getting you some protection. They killed my cat, who knows if they'll come after you and the kids too." She said.
Callen walked out to her and stood a foot or so away, she crabbed his jacket and pulled him to her. She said goodbye to Reggie and slipped the phone in her pocket, then wrapped her arms around him. Kensi and Deeks were the first to arrive and headed into the house. When they emerged a few minutes later, Kensi called Hetty. Deeks walked out to Callen and Katy, offered his condolences knowing it would rip him apart if something happened to Monty. Katy let go of Callen and allowed Deeks to give her a hug.
"I hope she didn't suffer." Katy said, still not allowing herself to cry.
"She hasn't seen it?" Deeks asked Callen.
"No." he said and shook his head.
"It's probably better that way." Deeks told her.
Kensi walked over. "Hetty wants the two of you at a safe house tonight. Deeks and I are coming with you."
Katy and Callen nodded.
Cass and her team arrived fifteen minutes later while Cass and Mike talked with Callen and Katy; the others went into the house. No one was in there long; the brutality of what had been done was overwhelming. Callen, Deeks, Mike and a few of the other men went back into the house. Callen ceremoniously placed Callie in a trash bag and took her out to the back yard before going around to the gate to get Katy, Kensi and Cass. Without letting Katy see Callie, he began digging a hole under Callie's favorite tree in the backyard. Mike and Deeks grabbed a pick and another shovel and helped with the hole.
When the hole was roughly three feet deep and big enough for Callie's body, Callen placed her into the hole and looked over at Katy. She walked over and took the shovel from him and cried as she covered her body with the dirt. Twenty minutes later, the six of them stood over the mound of dirt. All eyes were on Katy. Anthony stepped out the back door and called Callen over.
"What do you want us to do with the bed linens?" he asked.
"Did you guys process it like a normal crime scene?" Callen asked.
"We did. Took pictures, swept for prints; I'm sure everything we found will be yours and Katy's. Is she okay?" Anthony asked.
"I think she's still in shock." Callen said looking back at Katy. "Just bag everything up. If you think it would be worth sending it all to the lab, then do so, if not through it away."
"What about the wall?"
"I'll call for a cleaning company to come in tomorrow." Callen told him.
By midnight Callen, Katy, Kensi and Deeks were settled in the safe house. Katy just sat in the living room staring into the darkness. Kensi and Deeks watched from the dining room table. Callen walked in and sat next to her on the couch. Without looking at him, Katy leaned into him and started to cry. He held her. Not knowing what to say or do, he just sat there silently listening to her heartbreaking sobs. Callen shook his head not believing the events of the evening. It was going to be difficult coming home to the house without Callie's howling, without her sitting with them on the couch or sleeping with them.
Katy felt like a zombie by the time they got to the office the following morning. Hetty called her over as soon as they walked in.
"Are you alright?" Hetty asked, clearing seeing that she wasn't.
Katy plopped into the wicker seat across from her. "I don't know, Hetty. It was just a stupid cat."
"We both know that's not true." Hetty told her. "Do you want to talk to Nate?"
"No, I'll be fine. How long do we have to stay at the safe house?" Katy asked
"Until I feel you're safe and we've caught whoever's made the threats against you and or Mr. Callen." Hetty said seeing the pain in Katy's eyes.
"Alright, just more motivation to catch these assholes." Katy got up, tossing five dollars on Hetty's desk.
"Ms. Levin, I understand you're upset, but does it warrant such language?" Hetty almost laughed.
"That's why I gave you the five dollars. That should cover me for the next few choice words I find to use when referring to them." She said and walked away.
Sam watched Katy walk into the bullpen and drop into her seat. Callen walked over with a cup of coffee for her. She thanked him without looking up, grabbed the cup and took a sip. "What is it, Sam?"
"Are you okay?" He asked softly.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Hell if I know." She said. "Yes, I know it was just a cat."
"A cat that you've had since you were nineteen or twenty." He added. "It's okay to be upset; animals tend to be a part of our families."
"Yeah, whatever, I'm just going to stop trying to get close to anyone. It seems like the more I do, the more hurt I get. Now they're threatening Callen. I never should've come back. I should've just stayed with the other team. All of you are in danger because of me. Anyone I care about." She said and stormed from the bullpen.
Sam wanted to go after her, but Callen was already hot on her heels. He worried about their relationship. If he knew Katy like he thought he did, this was going to hurt his partner. Callen stood outside the women's locker room waiting for her to come out. Once she did, he followed her into the gym. Immediately, he noticed she wasn't wearing her ring. She walked over to the punching bag and began pummeling it. Katy never once looked at him; he stood there silently watching her. The longer she beat the bag, the weaker he saw her become until she was reduced to a pile of mush sobbing on the floor.
When he reached to comfort her, she pushed him away. "No, I can't do this anymore. I'll get everything out of the house as soon as I can."
"Katy, no." he said trying to reach out for her again.
"I'm serious, Callen. It's over. I'm putting in for a transfer back to the other team. I can't run the risk of something happening to you. I love you too much." She said getting off the floor and walking out of the gym.
"Katy." He called after her. He walked back to the bullpen and waited for her to return. When she did, she laid the engagement ring on his desk and walked to Hetty's desk.
He sat there staring at it for a few minutes before he picked it up. Sam sat at his desk watching. Callen put the ring on his index finger and looked at it, his expression souring as the moments passed. Finally he got up and went to Hetty's desk. Hetty merely held up her hand when she saw him coming, almost begging for him to stop as she tried to convince Katy to stay.
"If you don't let me transfer, I'll give my notice and go to another agency." Katy said knowing Callen was behind her. "I can't stay here any longer."
"Ms. Levin, I honestly think you're decision is a little brash. Take a few days and think about this." She said.
"My decision won't change. The longer I stay the more people will get hurt. I don't want anything to happen to anyone here." She said making it a point not to mention Callen by name for fear of crying.
"Please think about this. I'll call Director Vance in the meantime." She said.
"I'm telling you Hetty, I'm not going to change my mind." She said adamantly.
"Katy, please." Was the last think Hetty said as she watched Katy walk away, knocking Callen in the shoulder as she left. "Mr. Callen?"
Callen sighed and walked the three or four steps to her desk and took the seat Katy had been in. He removed the ring from his finger and tossed it on Hetty's desk. It bounced a couple times before finally resting with the stone staring him in the face. He looked away.
"I'm sure she'll change her mind." She assured him.
"And if she doesn't?" He asked.
"I don't know, Mr. Callen." She admitted.
"Are you going to call the Director and ask for a transfer for her?"
Hetty smiled. "No, I believe she'll calm down in a few days."
"I hope you're right." He said standing and started to walk away.
"Mr. Callen." Hetty stopped him and held the ring up. "Forgetting something?"
"I don't need it." He said and walked away.
Katy walked into Ops Nell and Eric looked at her without saying anything. She just stood there for a minute before walking back out again. Finally, she found herself standing outside Nate's door. Katy heard the wrestling of papers and knew he was in his office.
"The door is unlocked." He said.
Katy smiled and opened the door, peeking her head in. "How did you know I was standing there?"
"I saw the shadow under the door." He smiled. "What's going on?"
"I guess I'm just looking for someplace to just sit for a while." She said.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.
Katy sighed and stepped in, closing the door behind her. "I don't know if I want to talk or not."
"Have a seat; I'm just going to be sitting here going over this paperwork. When you feel like talking, we'll talk." He said watching her walk to the couch.
Katy nodded. After a few minutes, she sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees. Looking at the door, she saw a set of feet standing outside the door and knew immediately it was Callen. Looking at Nate, she shook her head and gave him a pleading look. He saw the engagement ring absent from her finger.
"Katy, what happened?" he whispered.
She looked at the door and shook her head. Nate walked over to the door and stepped out to talk to Callen. Katy couldn't hear what was being said and say them move further away from the door.
"What's going on?" Nate asked Callen.
"Someone broke into the house last night and gutted the cat, wrote a threat on the wall. Now she's asked for a transfer and gave the engagement ring back." Callen told him.
Nate sighed. "I'll talk to her."
Callen nodded. "Thank you."
Nate walked into the room to find Katy leaning back on the couch. "We need to talk." He told her.
"Yeah, I guess we do." She agreed.
"Why'd you give Callen the ring back?"
"Everything I love is being taken from me, first Kari and now Callie. I don't want anything to happen to Callen, so I ended it with the hopes he'll move on and forget we ever met." She said with tears in her eyes.
"Is that why you asked for a transfer?" he asked.
Katy nodded. "The farther away I get from everyone here, the safer they'll all be."
"Katy, you can't tuck tail and run, you've got to stay and fight." He told her.
"I love Callen too much to let something happen to him. In time he'll understand, I know he will." She said.
"You at least need to tell him that." Nate pointed out.
"I can't it's just better if I leave. It's safer, Nate." She said.
"You're not just hurting Callen, you're hurting the rest of the team. What about Kensi?"
"Kensi's a big girl, she can handle it." Katy said firmly.
"Obviously, nothing's going to change your mind." He said.
"No, nothing." She said and left his office.
Katy walked right into the bullpen, grabbed her bag and started to walk out. Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her over to a quiet corner. "You're leaving just like that?"
"What else am I supposed to do, Sam? I'm not going to sit and watch anyone else I care about die." She said trying to pull her arm from his grasp.
"Katy, you're ripping his heart out. Don't do this." Sam pleaded.
"Sam, I can't stay." She said shaking her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I don't know. I'll call you, okay?" she offered.
"Not good enough, you know he's going to want to follow you." Sam told her.
"Please don't let him. The sooner he forgets about me, the better it will be." She cried.
"You're supposed to get married. He loves you. He's never going to forget about you. G will go to the ends of the earth to find you." Sam said trying to reason with her.
"Then I'd better be sure he never finds me." She told him.
"Katy. Don't do this to him, to the team. We need you here." He said.
"I'm sorry Sam." She said pushed him aside and walked out of the mission.
He walked back over to her desk and found her phone, badge, credentials and gun. Collecting them, he walked over to Hetty's desk and handed them to her. Hetty looked up in horror. "Please tell me she didn't leave."
"Just now." He said.
Hetty saw Callen walk into the bullpen. "Find her Mr. Hanna."
Sam walked towards the door, looked back at Callen and left to follow Katy.
Hetty picked up her phone, dialing the Director's number. "Leon, we have a problem."