DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the NCIS:LA characters, I'm only borrowing them.
Katy and Callen were up at five and decided to get a run in before the others woke up. Kensi stepped out of her room with the same idea and the three ran around the main side area of the base. Callen couldn't help but smile as the girls were met with leering, whistles and cat calls. They just shook their heads and kept running. By the time they'd circled back, they were joined by several of the smaller companies PTing. All three laughed as the trim and fit, big, bad Marines had a hard time keeping up with their pace. By the time they got back to billeting, they'd lost most of them. Those few that stuck with them thanked them for the work out and tried getting Katy and Kensi's numbers. Both apologized and told them that they already had a boyfriend in Kensi's case and a fiancé in Katy's.
Sam was pacing the room when they walked back in at half past six. "Where the hell have you three been?"
"Sorry, we figured we'd get a run in before we left for the day." Callen said.
"And you didn't think to wake me up and either offer for me to join or tell me where you were going?" Sam said.
"Sorry Big Guy." Callen said patting Sam's back.
"Yeah, yeah, get showered and dressed I'm hungry." He said walking out of the room.
"Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Katy said as she stripped out of her running shorts, tank top and sports bra before heading into the shower.
"He gets like that when he's away from Michelle and the kids." Callen said joining her in the shower.
"So what's the plan for today?" Katy asked as she wet her hair.
"I was thinking I'd send you and Kensi to Palm Springs and Loma Linda. They guys might talk to a couple pretty girls better than they'd talk to Sam, Deeks or I." He told her.
"I don't know if they're all a bunch of chauvinistic pricks like the lieutenant, I doubt they'd be inclined to talk to us." Katy said shampooing her hair.
"You never know. They're all Lance Corporals and Corporals, they'll still out chasing tail." He laughed.
Katy rolled her eyes and rinsed her hair. "What are you Sam and Deeks going to do?"
"The NCIS agent from the base said they were going to send up a couple helicopters to look around the Cabazon area and Moreno Valley to see if they can spot either the remaining missing Marines or the Radar Jammer. I think Sam and I will do that and I'll send Deeks and one of the agents from the base over to the staging area to talk to the Marines in the convoy again, see if a good night's sleep jogged their memory." He told her.
"Alright, sounds good. Are Kensi and I taking the Expedition or are we borrowing a car form the office here?" She asked rinsing the conditioner from her hair.
"I think we'll ask to borrow one." He said lathering up a washcloth.
Once Katy was finished, she kissed Callen and stepped out of the shower, dried herself and got dressed. She was brushing her hair when Callen walked out of the shower and dressed. He noticed that she had cut her hair and asked why. She told him that she just wanted to cut off the split ends. He was content with the answer and watched her braid her hair. Fifteen minutes after Sam walked out of the room; they stepped out and met the rest of the team by the Expedition. From there, they drove out to meet the agents from the base and make arrangements for the day.
For breakfast, they indulged in the nearest Chow Hall; the food had vastly improved since Katy had eaten in one, all those years ago. Both Katy and Sam commented of how good the food was. Shortly after they finished eating, they all parted ways for their assignment for the day. Katy and Kensi stopped in Palm Springs to talk to the two Marines who were sent there. Neither was able to add anything else to their investigation since they were riding as passengers in the vehicle behind the POL truck. From there, they headed out to Loma Linda and talked to the six or seven Marines who were sent there.
The driver and 'A' driver in the humvee behind the POL truck told them that the RPG came from the right, but they didn't see which ridge it came from. The girls asked them if they recalled seeing the Com truck and Radar Jammer leave the convoy line. Neither of them remembered but said it was complete chaos after the POL exploded. Katy and Kensi thanked them for their time and asked that they call if they thought of anything else. Sgt. Smith was listed in serious condition, but was awake and coherent enough to talk.
"Sgt. Smith, I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye and this is Special Agent Katy Levin, we were hoping you could tell us a little about what happened yesterday and how you wound up a hundred and fifty yards from the road." She said.
He smiled. "Wow, all of the NCIS agents on base are brown baggers, where have you two been hiding?"
Kensi looked at Katy, unfamiliar with the term. "I'll explain later." Katy laughed.
"Sorry, we don't get many pretty girls at the Stumps, unless you want to pay for them." He laughed. "I've been trying to think back over what happened yesterday and honestly I can't remember much."
"What vehicle were you in?" Katy asked.
"I was 'A' Driver in the Com truck." He said.
"And where were you in the convoy?" Katy asked leaning on the bed.
Sgt. Smith leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling, thinking. "We were seventh in the line of twenty vehicles. Right in front of the Radar Jammer."
"The POL truck was what, five vehicles behind that?" Kensi asked.
"Yeah, something like that." He said smiling, his brown eyes dancing in the sunlight. "What about Cochelli, Platt and Meyers; did you find them out there too?"
"No, we only found you and three hundred yards beyond where we found you, we found the Com truck stripped of everything valuable." Katy told him.
Sgt. Smith's eyes grew wide. "Shit are you serious?"
"Yes, the engine was also disabled. How well do you know the other three Marines; Cochelli, Platt and Meyers?" Kensi asked.
"Um, pretty well. Cochelli and I went to Afghanistan together. Platt and Meyers signed into the unit while we were deployed, about four months into the deployment." He told them.
"Did they join you in country as replacements or were they part of the RBE (Remain Behind Element)?" Katy asked.
"When we deploy, the entire Battalion doesn't deploy, only companies so they stayed behind to support the companies that were rotating in and out. I think at that point in time we had two companies deployed and one on the MEU. The other three stayed behind and trained for the rotation." He explained.
Katy nodded, "So I assume since the company was headed to Twenty-Nine Palms that you're getting ready to deploy again within the next few months?"
"Yes, we're due out in June." He said, impressed by her knowledge of the Corps and the procedure. "How do you know so much about the Corps Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I served from ninety-five to ninety-nine, stationed back East. I was an armor." She told him.
"Well Semper Fi Ma'am." He said offering his hand.
"Semper Fi to you too." Katy said taking it. "Kensi's father was a Marine."
"Really, it's hard to be the kid of a Marine in peace time or war. Is that why you became an agent?" he asked.
"Yes and no, my father died suspiciously when I was fifteen. I wanted to get down to the bottom of his death." Kensi said.
"Did you?" Smith asked.
"I did, caught his murderer and solved the other suspicious deaths of his team mates. My Dad was SpecOps." Kensi said proudly.
"Yeah, I tried to join Recon and Marsoc. Washed out of Sere school." He laughed.
"Sgt. Smith, can you tell us how you and the other vehicle wound up leaving the convoy?" Katy asked refocusing the conversation.
"Please call me Dave." He said shaking his head. "I remember seeing the explosion in the side mirror and feeling the blast wave. But for the life of me, I can't remember how we got away from the convoy."
"You can't remember anything after the explosion?" Katy asked.
"No Ma'am, I think I may have hit my head, it was a good jolt forward and back. Those seats in the Humvees aren't the softest." He said smiling.
Katy and Kensi looked at one another and had the same feeling. He knew nothing more. "Dave, if you think of anything else, even the slightest thing would you call one of us? It doesn't matter what time day or night, call myself or Agent Blye."
"Yes Ma'am, I will." He smiled. "Am I going to get to see the two of you again?"
Katy laughed. "We will see what we can do about getting back out here on our way back to LA."
"Wow, he's a smooth talker, isn't he?" Kensi asked.
"Yes he is, reminds me of Reggie when he was younger. That man could talk you into anything or out of your clothing in a heartbeat." Katy laughed.
They spoke to the other Marines and then called Callen. They were still in the air, so they grabbed lunch and headed back to Twenty-Nine Palms. Kensi asked what Sgt. Smith had been talking about when he mentioned 'brown baggers' and laughed when Katy told her. The rest of the drive, Kensi judged the other drivers as they blew past them.
As they pulled up to the main gate, Kensi said. "Ooh, definitely not a brown bagger."
Katy laughed, rolled her eyes and showed her ID. They were waved through the gate and drove over to the air field to meet back up with Callen and Sam. Deeks was standing with the other agent when they pulled up. They talked a little about what they had or hadn't learned until Callen and Sam landed. The two walked out of the gate windblown and dusty, Callen looked sunburned. Katy honestly couldn't tell because of the layer of sand caked on his face.
He leaned over and tried to give Katy a hug and she ran the other way laughing. "No, I'm clean thank you!" She yelled over the noise of the F eighteen that was taxiing to the runway, getting ready to take off.
"Oh you're no fun." He yelled back and waved her back over.
"Did you guys find anything?" Kensi asked.
Callen shook his head. "No, we saw tire tracks, but no vehicles. We couldn't tell if they were fresh or not and saw no bodies."
"What about you Deeks?" Katy asked.
"No, they all had the same story as last night. Either they truly don't know anything or they're all hiding something." He told them.
"Well, we talked to Sgt. Smith and he can't recall how he wound up leaving the convoy or out of the truck." Katy told them.
"Alright, let's get cleaned up and call Hetty, let her know we're going to stay here again tonight hopefully we'll get something tomorrow." Callen said walking over to the Expedition.
"We'll meet you at the NCIS office on base so we can drop off the car." Katy said as she started to walk away.
"No, just keep it and meet us at the billeting, we'll need it again tomorrow." Callen told her.
Katy nodded and head back towards main side and the base billeting. Katy, Kensi and Deeks walked over to the MCX while Sam and Callen showered. The guys walked over and met them in the furniture department. Katy had found a couple chairs for the living room and was sitting in one when Callen leaned over and kissed her.
"I like these, they're nice." He said looking at them.
Katy got up and let him sit down. "They're pretty comfortable too."
"They are. We're not getting them now, though." He laughed.
"No, I know. We were just passing the time. Have you called Hetty yet?" She asked.
"Yeah, she's fine with us staying another night. Nell and Eric are looking at satellite footage of the highway at the time of the attack to see if we can figure out exactly when and how the two vehicles departed the convoy." He told them.
They all sighed and nodded, knowing they were no further in the investigation than when they arrived the day before. They walked through the Exchange looking at this or that. Sam stopped and picked up some Navy shirts for his kids. Katy tried to get him to pick up some Marine Corps shirts too, but he laughed and told her if she wanted the kids to have them, she'd have to be the one to buy them. So she and Callen picked out some shirts that said 'My Aunt is a US Marine' and bought them. Sam just laughed when he read the shirts.
They headed off base and out to Yucca Valley for dinner. The team wandered around the various shops and hit Starbucks before headed back to the base to go to bed. All of them hoped they'd catch a lead or two the next day so they could finally piece everything together. Around midnight, Katy's phone rang.
Callen and Sam sat and listened to the conversation.
"Special Agent Levin, its Sgt. Dave Smith. I think I remembered something. I don't know if it will help or not." He said.
"At this point, anything will help." Katy said.
"I don't remember driving away from the convoy, but I do remember driving through the desert. All of the sudden we stopped and the passenger door opened from the outside. There was some guys in cammies standing there, he yanked me out of the Humvee and hit me with the butt stock of his M sixteen. It wasn't very hard, so I acted like he knocked me out and watched as he got in and they drove off." He said.
"Had you ever seen this Marine before?" Callen asked.
"That's Special Agent Callen." Katy told him.
"Oh, okay. What are you doing with him at midnight?" he asked.
"It's kind of a long and complicated story." Katy laughed.
"Ah, ok." He said hesitantly, not understanding.
"Did he say anything to you?" Callen asked.
"No, not to me, but to the guys in the truck he did. I took an Afghani course to become a translator but never finished the course. He told them to hurry and meet the others. He sounded like he spoke it fluently." Sgt. Smith said.
"Alright Katy, my partner and I are going to come see you tomorrow. Is that alright with you?" Callen asked.
"Well, if I can't have both of the pretty girls, I'll settle for Special Agent Levin." He said.
Callen smiled. "I'll make sure she looks extra nice for you, you should see her when her hair is down, and she looks so hot."
Katy laughed and pushed Callen over. "Pimping me out now?"
"No, I'm not." Callen laughed.
"What time do you think you'll be here, they're talking about releasing me tomorrow?" Dave asked.
"Is someone from your company supposed to pick you up?" Katy asked.
"Not that I know of." He said.
"We will take you back to Twenty-Nine Palms ourselves. We will have to meet the rest of the team." Callen told him.
"Alright, thank you." He said. "I'll see you later this morning."
"Get some sleep." Katy said and hung up. "I can't believe you told him you'd make sure I looked good tomorrow."
Sam threw a pillow at them. "Can we go back to sleep now?"
"Yeah, sorry Sam. We're probably going to go running want to join us?" Katy asked.
"Sure, what time?" he asked.
"Five." She said fluffing the flat pillow before she lay back down.
"Ok." He said and turned off the light above the nightstand between the two beds.
Bright and early at five, they all woke up and went running. Sam finally understood what Callen had been talking about when he complained about not being able to keep up with Katy. She was a good, steady runner and kept a very steady pace. He told Katy that he'd run with her anytime. By the time they got back to the Billeting, Deeks had fallen a good mile and a half behind them. Kensi hung back to make sure he got back okay.
"Holy crap, Katy." Deeks said bent over, nauseous. "Remind me to never run with you again."
"Now you know what I was talking about." Callen said still winded.
"Aw, come on you guys she kept a killer pace. Did you run in school?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I ran cross country, took fifth in state finals." Katy told them. "Boot camp was a breeze."
"I bet." Sam laughed as he unlocked the door. "Who's showering first?"
"Go ahead, Sam. Callen and I will shower together. We'll wait out here." Katy told him.
"Alright, see you in a few." He said and closed the door.
"I'm going to go shower, you ok Deeks?" Kensi asked.
"Yeah, I'm just going to lay here and die." He said from the ground.
"Really Deeks? Get up; you can lie down in the room." Kensi said helping to his feet.
Deeks walked over to Katy and stuck his finger in her face. "You're evil."
"You're outta shape." Katy laughed and kicked him in the butt as they walked into their room.
Callen leaned against the building and pulled Katy to him. "Finally, a few minutes alone with you." He said and kissed her.
"Mm, we had time in the shower yesterday morning." She reminded him.
"Yeah, but you were out so quick I couldn't try anything." He smiled.
"I don't think you're going to be able to do anything this morning either. You're going to have to wait until we get home." Katy said kissing his neck.
Callen groaned. "You're asking for trouble, you know what that does."
"I know," she grinned. "Just think about tonight in our own bed with no one around."
Callen pulled her closer, pressing himself into her. "I can't wait." He said kissing her again.
"I can tell." She winked.
Sam opened the door and stepped out, Katy and Callen instantly separated. "The room's all yours. Try not to take too long, I'm hungry."
"Be out in fifteen." Katy told him and stripped off her sweaty running gear as soon as Callen closed the door.
"You're so mean." Callen said as she disappeared into the bathroom.
"I know, but you love it." She laughed.
They fooled around in the shower. Thirty minutes later, they walked out of the room dressed and ready for breakfast. Callen and Katy couldn't help but smile when Sam gave them the knowing stare. Instead of going to the Chow Hall, they headed off base to Denny's. From there, the five of them went to see Sgt. Smith at Loma Linda.
The kid smiled when he saw Kensi and Katy walk into the room. "They told me you weren't going to come with them."
"Aw, change in plans; we came out right after breakfast." Kensi said sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Wow, you are hot with your hair down." He told Katy.
She blushed, thanked him and introduced him to the guys. "Dave this is Special Agent Callen, Special Agent Hanna and LAPD Detective Deeks."
"Nice to meet you all." He said, shaking their hands.
"Did you remember anything else?" Callen asked.
Dave shook his head. "Only bits and pieces after the truck pulled away."
"Did you hear any other vehicles?" He asked.
"Only the sirens from the fire trucks and ambulances that responded." Dave told him.
"Tell us more about the man who pulled you out of the truck." Katy said.
Dave smiled. "He didn't look Afghani, he looked white. I think I saw blonde hair under his Kevlar."
"Was he wearing all the normal gear? Flak jacket and ammo belts?" Katy asked.
Dave thought for a moment. "It all happened so fast. I just saw the Kevlar; he may have been wearing a flak jacket. He had a scar across this cheek and down to his chin."
"Would you say it was four or five inches long? How far down his chin did it go?" Sam asked.
"I'd say an inch from his ear clear to the center of his chin, like he'd gotten sliced in a knife fight or something." Dave said.
"Anything else you can remember, what color were his eyes?" Katy asked.
Dave shook his head. "He was wearing a pair of Oakley's; they were too dark to see his eyes. He did have a lot of pock marks on his face or acne scars."
"Good. Is there anything else you can remember?" Kensi asked.
"He had a cigarette in his mouth when he pulled me out of the truck and then flicked it at me before he walked away." He said remembering more and more.
"Good. Do you remember anything about how you left the convoy?" Katy asked
"No, I'm pretty sure I got knocked out. I've thought and thought about it and I can't remember anything from that period of time." He told her.
They talked with him a while longer, just trying to pick his brain and jog his memory. Still after two hours, there was nothing more. Deeks asked if the other three in the Humvee were acting different than normal and Dave stopped, telling him that they were. It was like a light had come on. He told them that the three had been huddled together at the staging area on Pendleton before the convoy left and that he'd seen the three together the few days before they left for Twenty-Nine Palms. Dave had been on duty in the barracks two days before they were due to leave and saw Platt and Meyers leaving Cochelli's room around midnight.
Katy asked if he'd ever seen Johnson and Anderson with the other three. He said that he could recall ever seeing them together. Dave's doctor came in to check him over one last time before discharging him. The team excused themselves and waited outside for the doctor to finish. Callen got a call from the NCIS team at Twenty-nine Palms telling him they'd found Cpl. Cochelli's body in the LZ for the exercise. It appeared that he'd been beaten and dumped there. He was barely recognizable. Callen told him that they'd be back at the base in a couple hours.
"They found Cochelli's body." Callen announced in a hushed tone. "He'd been severely beaten and dumped in the landing zone for the exercise."
"I take it we aren't going home tonight?" Sam asked.
"Sorry, I don't think so." Callen said sincerely.
"I think we should take Sgt. Smith out to the area he was found in to see if just being out there and seeing the surroundings trigger anything." Katy suggested.
"I agree." Sam said.
An hour later, with Sgt. Smith in the Expedition, they stopped for lunch before heading out to the ambush site. Slowly, he walked out there with them trying to remember something. Katy and Kensi walked by his sides while the guys hung back a few feet.
"Do you remember a certain smell?" Katy asked.
Sgt Smith stopped and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "I remember diesel fuel and the smell of the dirt or sand or whatever the hell you want to call this stuff. I remember smelling the rain."
"Did it rain out here yesterday?" She asked watching Kensi pull out her phone, checking the weather for the day of the ambush.
"Dave, it didn't rain out here that day." She told him.
"Then I smelled something wet. You know how it smells right before it rains, you can almost smell it?" he asked looking at both of the women.
"Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. Just like you can feel a Thunderstorm coming in your chest." Katy told him.
"Yes, exactly." Dave said, getting excited.
"Listen, what do you hear?" Katy asked refocusing him.
"Just the sirens." He said.
"Take the sirens out if you can, what do you hear?" she asked him again.
"I hear tires on the gravel and the engine in the distance." He said. "There's shouting."
"Is the shouting from the convoy or ahead of you?" Katy asked.
He stopped, thinking again. "It's ahead of me."
"What are they saying, can you make it out?" Kensi asked.
He sighed. "Hurry, get the stuff, get the stuff."
"Good, do you think you can walk a little further to where we found the Com truck?" Callen asked him.
"Yeah, but do you guys have any water?" He asked.
"Of course." Katy said pulling a bottle of water from her bag.
"Thank you." He smiled.
The guys looked around for the cigarette butt and didn't find it. Once he'd swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, they continued to walk until they came to where they found the Com truck. The team explained to him how they found the truck; Katy pulled out her camera and showed him the pictures. He studied each and every photo carefully. Then asked if it would be possible for him to see the stuck, maybe sit in it. Katy turned to Callen and he immediately called the NCIS office on base to see if it was possible.
Standing in the evidence bay at the office on base, Dave slowly walked around the vehicle. He touched it, trying to remember something. Katy opened the passenger side door with her gloved hand and handed him a pair of gloves. The seats were covered with paper as were the floorboards so there wasn't any contamination of the scene since the forensic analyst was still going through the truck.
Dave closed his eyes once he was seated in the truck. He inhaled deeply and shook his head, unable to remember anything. While Katy was disappointed, she felt it wasn't a waste of their time. Something, somewhere in the near future would trigger a memory. They drove him out to meet his command at the staging area and told him to call if he thinks of anything else. Then returned to the NCIS Office to see the photos of Cpl. Cochelli's body.
It truly was gruesome and brutal. His face had been beaten in with a blunt object. His left eye hanging out of the socket and the right had been pecked at by the vultures and other scavengers native to the area. His throat had been cut from ear to ear and there was a point blank shot to his head with muzzle burns around the entry wound. There were cuts and scrapes on his knuckles indicating he'd fought back for a time.
Katy shook her head, astonished that one person could sustain such injuries. The agent they spoke to said that the county ME had arrived at the Naval Hospital to start the autopsy. They asked if they could see the body before the procedure was started. By the time they got to the hospital, the Corporal had been stripped out of his cammies and laid out on the autopsy table. It was obvious that his ribs were crushed. The ME had taken X-rays of the skeletal injuries and led them over to a wide screen monitor where he showed them the injuries.
Not only had his rib cage been crushed, but both the Radius and Ulna of both arms had been broken, the Tibia and Fibula were broken and his knee caps shattered. Katy cringed when she looked at the x-rays of his Femur and Pelvis; both were broken in multiple places. Finally, the ME pulled up an x-ray of his spine; clearly his back had been broken in several different places from the Coccyx, clear up to the cervical section.
"What would cause injuries like that to the spine?" Katy asked.
The ME rolled Cpl. Cochelli onto his stomach, revealing boot shaped bruising in all of the areas where the spine was broken. Kensi commented on being able to make out the tread on the bottom of the boots in the bruises. When the ME and his assistant rolled him back over; he began to explain that the Cpl died on his stomach, because of the way the blood settled in the body. He also pointed out the debris in the wounds on his face.
"With all of the injuries, is there any way to figure out which one actually killed him?" Callen asked.
"I can tell you right now that the shot to the head was done post-mortem, as were the beating to his face." The medical examiner said.
"Are we one hundred percent sure this is Dominic Cochelli?" Katy asked. "They could've put his cammies on someone else, making it look like he's the one who died."
"Good point, we've already taken fingerprints and tried to take dental x-rays, but with as much damage as was done to his jaw, we couldn't get enough to match to the Cpl's dental records." He said with a discouraged sigh.
"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Callen asked.
He gave a light laugh, "In all of my nearly thirty years in the field, I've never seen something this brutal come across my table. Not even when I volunteered for a tour during Operation Iraqi Freedom did I ever see anything like this."
"Alright, thank you for taking the time to show us everything. When you have all of the results back, can you please let the NCIS office here on base know?" Callen asked as they walked to the doors.
"I definitely will I'm sorry I couldn't offer you more information." He said shaking Callen's hand.
"No, you've been very helpful." He said before walking out the door.
The team was completely silent on the drive back to the billeting. No one mentioned being hungry, but everyone could hear everyone else's stomach growling. With what they just saw, food was the furthest thing from their minds. Once they got back to the billeting parking lot, Callen asked Sam if he'd ever seen anything like that or heard of anything like that in his studies of warrior cultures. Sam shook his head without a word.
"I need a drink." Katy laughed from the back seat.
Sam turned around to her and smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Let's stop by the store in the Exchange and pick-up a case of beer or something." Callen suggested.
"More like or something, I don't think beer is going to cut it tonight. I want to erase that from my memory forever." Katy said with Kensi nodding beside her.
Not wanting the team to get too inebriated, Callen picked up a bottle of liquor and a twelve pack of beer. They sat in Sam, Callen and Katy's room passing the bottle around, refilling their small glasses and chasing it with a swig of beer. Admittedly, no one even felt like drinking. So they dumped their glasses, finished their beers and headed to bed. Katy cuddled closer to Callen for the first time since they'd been in Twenty-Nine Palms, she didn't care if Sam took exception to it, and she needed to be close to Callen tonight.
Nell called first thing in the morning. "Okay, we managed to find an overhead view of the convoy's ambush. There are over a hundred fifty time lapse photos that show the whole thing. The projectile came from a passing car. As soon as it was fired, the car sped off to the head of the convoy and then out into the desert. Within seconds of the shockwave, the two trucks leave the convoy and head North in the same direction as the car. You can see Sgt Smith being pulled out of the Com Truck by the unidentified man, and then he gets in the truck and drives out to where you guys found it. We see the Com gear being loaded into the Radar Jammer and by that time, the satellite is out of range."
"Alright, are you guys still looking at the satellite footage from the last few days looking for the Radar Jammer?" Callen asked.
"Yes we are, as soon as we find something we'll let you know. Oh, by the way, Hetty wants you back in LA tonight." Nell added.
"Alright, are we to leave the investigation to the office here?" He asked.
"For now, yes until we find more information on the missing vehicle and the four missing Marines." She said.
"Alright, fine." He said and punched the end button on his phone.
The weekend after they returned from Twenty-nine Palms, Katy notices Callen was acting differently, distant. She decided to make a nice dinner and set a table cloth on the table, pulled the nice dishes from the top of the cabinet and even lit a few scented votive candles in the middle of the table. When she told Callen dinner was ready, he walked into the dining room, picked up his plate and took it to the living room. Katy sat there stunned and ate at the table by herself. When Callen had finished, he took his plate into the kitchen and sat it in the sink.
Katy blew out the candles, took her plate and the empty wine glasses to the kitchen. Once she'd washed and put away the dishes and put away the leftovers, she walked out to the living room and over to the couch. Leaning over the back behind Callen, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on his head.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" He said annoyed.
Katy loosened her arms. "Are you okay, you've been acting weird all day?"
"I'm fine." He said shrugging her off.
Katy slowly pulled her arms away and backed away from the couch. She stood there for a few minutes waiting for him to say something, but nothing came. Finally, he asked if she was going to stand there all night and she quietly walked out of the room. Katy went to the bedroom and got in bed, when he came to bed four hours later, she laid awake, staring into the darkness. He neither talked to her nor looked at her just got into bed and laid with his back to her.
She spent the entire night racking her brain trying to figure out what she'd done or said wrong. Whenever she rolled closer to him, he moved further away, so she'd roll back over to her side of the bed and stared at the bright red numbers on her alarm clock. The rest of the time she listened to his even, rhythmic breathing. Every time she took a breath, she felt like her hear was bring ripped from her chest. She didn't understand the sudden cold shoulder. It was long and lonely night like this when she missed Callie's company the most.
As the weeks passed, the distance between them only grew. When they went out on an investigation for a case, Callen had Katy go with Kensi and Deeks. If she did happen to tag along with Callen and Sam, he only addressed her when he absolutely had to. Sam noticed the change in his behavior and tried to talk about it, only to be met with a thunderous wrath and was told to mind his own business. Katy just shrugged from the back seat with tears in her eyes.
Soon, Callen was awake and out of the house before Katy returned from her morning run, so she'd shower alone and drive to work by herself. When she walked into the bullpen, he didn't look up and never offered to get her a cup of coffee like he used to. If Katy tried to talk to him, he wouldn't look her in the eyes, always at something to the side of her in the distance. She felt like she was falling apart.
The weeks turned into months, it was the same thing day after day. There was no intimacy between them what-so-ever. Most nights, Callen never made it to bed, he just fell asleep on the couch and would grumble and growl when she accidently woke him when she put a blanket over him. Katy didn't know how much more she could take without knowing what she did. She called Reggie telling him she needed to get away and talk to him about what was going on. When she told Callen he was indifferent, asked if she was driving or flying. She told him she was flying so she could get there and back quicker in the event they got a case. Even went so far as to invite him, hoping the time away together would solve whatever was wrong between them.
Callen refused to go with her. He berated her about taking weekend trips, when they had a responsibility to stay there. Katy argued that Sam, Kensi and Deeks could cover the case until they could get a flight home. He scowled and scoffed at her and walked away. She stood there once again just shaking her head.
When she got to San Francisco and explained what was going on to Reggie, he was clueless. Katy spent the rest of her time there locked in the bedroom. The following weekend, Callen up and disappeared Saturday afternoon, not telling her where he was going. She lay in bed all day. Kensi came by to hang out and Katy refused to answer the door. When Kensi stood on the front porch calling her cell phone, Katy didn't answer. Finally after thirty minutes of knocking on the door and Katy not answering her calls, Kensi got into her Cadillac and drove away.
Sam checked the time just as the doorbell rang and answered the door with a smile. His expression changed when it was only Callen. "Where's Katy?" He asked.
"At home." Callen said dropping on the couch.
"I thought she was coming with you." Sam said sitting across from him.
Callen looked at Sam. "I didn't invite her."
"What do you mean you didn't invite her? Where ever you go, Katy goes. You're a couple and that's what couples do." Sam said.
"Yeah well, I don't know what the hell we are." He said getting up and traipsing into the Kitchen for a beer.
"Hey Callen, how are you?" Michelle asked and looked around for Katy. "Where's Katy?"
"She's not here okay!" He shouted slamming the open can of beer on the counter.
Taken aback, Michelle backed out of the kitchen and grabbed the phone to call Katy. She called three times and got no answer, before she walked out to the living room and motioned for Sam to follow her to the bedroom.
"I called Katy three times and she's not answering. You don't think something's happening, do you?" Michelle asked.
"I don't know he's been acting like this for a few months now." Sam said.
"A few months, are you serious?" Michelle asked irate, trying to keep her voice down. "How's Katy been acting through all of this?"
"She's sad. They barely look at one another anymore. I know something's wrong, but neither of them are talking about it. From what I can get out of Katy, I don't even think she knows what's wrong." He said with a worried look on his face.
"I'm going to call her a few more times and try to send her a text. If she doesn't answer, I'm going up there to check on her." Michelle said.
"Yes please." Sam said smiling, kissing his wife.
"Try to get him to talk, let's see if we can fix whatever's wrong before it breaks them up." Michelle said.
Sam nodded and walked back to the living room.
Michelle called twice more before the texted Katy threatening to come up there. Finally on the third round of calls, Katy answered.
"Katy, what is going on? Why is Callen here and you're not?" Michelle asked.
"Oh that's where he is. He didn't say where he was going, just left without saying goodbye." She said choking back the tears.
"How long has it been like this?"
"About three months." She admitted.
"What the hell Katy, did you two get in a fight or something?"
"No, he just up and stopped doing anything with me once we got back from that case in Twenty-Nine Palms. I have no idea why he's being like this." She said with her voice cracking.
"Oh God Katy, you should've said something sooner." Michelle said.
"I thought Sam would've mentioned something to you about it. Michelle, Callen even leaves for work before me, he's sending me off with Kensi and Deeks more than I am with him and Sam. He hasn't looked at me, let alone touched me since Twenty-nine Palms. I wish I knew what was going on, it's killing me." Katy sobbed.
"You can't think of anything that would've caused him to act like this?" She asked.
"No and I don't think there's going to be a wedding. Since he's not talking to me and refused to go to San Francisco with me, we can't finish the pre-marital counseling. He's not even sleeping in the room with me anymore. If he's not on the couch, he's in his old room on that damn bed roll." Katy said pulling the covers to her chin.
"Sam's going to try to talk to him. I can't stand to see you two like this; you're so good for one another." Michelle said.
"Thank you, but don't expect him to say too much, the last time Sam asked what was wrong, I thought Callen was going to rip his head off. I'm going to try to get some sleep. I'm back to an hour if I'm lucky. I'm going to go talk to Nate on Monday and if I have to, I'll ask for a transfer." Katy said.
"Oh Katy Honey, I'm sure it can be worked out." Michelle tried to assure her.
"Yeah, but I don't think it's going to turn out the way I'd hoped and planned it would." Katy said before she hung up and burst into tears.
"G, what's going on with the two of you?" Sam asked.
"I don't know." Callen said looking at him. "I just don't know if it's there anymore."
"What do you mean you don't know if it's there anymore? You love her don't you?" Sam said waving the idea away.
"I'm serious, I feel like I'm just waiting for her to leave again. We both know its coming." Callen laughed nervously.
"The only reason she's going to leave this time is if you keep pushing her away. You're sleeping on that stupid bed roll again, aren't you?" He asked harshly.
"I feel like I've got to keep Katy at arm's length, to protect myself." He said.
"G, that's bullshit and you know it. What's really going on?" Sam asked.
"I'm serious Sam, she's up and disappeared twice abandoned the team." He said trailing off.
"Ah, I see what it is." Sam said nodding. "It's not the team she abandoned, it was you."
Callen looked at him. "You could say that. I can't trust that she won't run away again. We're six months out from out supposed wedding, what happens if she runs off right before the wedding or after we get married?"
"G, you went into this relationship knowing full well Katy had issues of her own. Just like you've got yours, she accepts and loves you in spite of the asinine shit you do. When was the last time you looked at her, really looked at her? She's miserable, G." Sam said.
"If she's so miserable then why doesn't she just leave, that's what she's good at?" Callen snapped.
"That's not fair G; she left the second time because she loved you and wanted to protect you. In that warped mind of her, it was the right thing to do." Sam tried to reason with him. "When was the last time you two talked and I mean really talked about your feelings and stuff."
"We talked before she went on her trip to San Francisco last weekend." Callen said.
"You didn't go with her? Damn it, what are you trying to do push her so far that the only thing she can do is leave?"
"We both know she'll find a reason to leave, everyone always finds a reason to leave." Callen said walking to the bookcase, trying to read the spines on the books while his emotions and thought ran wild.
"Callen, go talk to her. You need to work this out before it ruins things between you two." Sam suggested.
"Katy already ruined it the day she left and gave me back the engagement ring." He said.
"Then why did you bring her back here, put that ring back on her finger and act like there was nothing wrong?" Sam asked, wishing he could shake some sense into his partner.
Callen's eyes filled with tears, he shrugged and said, "Because I love her."
"Then go talk to her, G. Make this right. We can't do this for you. This is something you're going to have to do on your own. Man up and save your relationship. Katy's perfect for you." He laughed. "You're both a huge pain in my ass."
"What if she's already gone, I've been such an ass to her?" Callen asked.
"Then you'll go to the ends of the earth to find her." Sam said pushing him towards the door.
Katy sat in the bed with her knees pulled to her chest. The house was silent and she jumped when the front door opened. Her heart broke as the familiar sound of Callen's foot fall filled the house. She thought about locking the door, but didn't think she could get out of bed and across the room quick enough or quiet enough. Instead, she lay down with her back to the door and the covers pulled over her head. He walked through the house and never once came to her door. She sobbed silently and resolved to start looking for an apartment the following week.
It was over. She didn't know what she did or how or why it happened, but she finally admitted to herself that it was a battle no longer worth fighting. It killed her, Katy loved Callen so much and the thought of losing him was enough to make her want to die. Oh how she longed to be with Callie and Kari. She'd give anything at that moment to hold her two babies in her arms.
Katy heard his footsteps stop outside the bedroom and the door creak open. "Katy?" he said softly thinking she was asleep.
"What do you want; you haven't talked to me or looked at me in almost three months. What the hell is so important that you suddenly want to talk to me now?" she sobbed.
"I think we need to talk." He said sitting on his side of the bed, his back to hers.
Katy laughed. "You think? After three months of me crying myself to sleep you finally feel guilty enough to take pity on me and talk to me. Screw you, Callen."
"Katy." He said angrily.
"What? Say whatever the hell you're going to say and get the hell out. I'm trying to make up for the sleep I don't get at night anymore, because you can't bring yourself to tell me what the hell I did to piss you off."
"You cry yourself to sleep?" he asked sincerely.
"Don't act like you can't hear me." She snapped.
"I didn't know, I'm sorry." He said.
"Yeah and I'm sorry for whatever I did that made you turn you back on me like this. The ring is in your nightstand and I'll be looking for an apartment next week. I can't live like this anymore." She told him softly.
"There you go leaving again, I knew it. It was just a matter of time before things got to be too much for you to handle and you turn into a chicken-shit." He said.
Katy threw back the covers and jumped out of the bed. "No I'm leaving because of you this time. You don't talk to me, you don't look at me, at work even, and you talk to me as little as possible. You've made it very clear that you don't want me to be a part of your life anymore."
"I never said I didn't want you in my life." He said raising his voice.
"Callen that's what the lack of communication and the lack of intimacy and the lack of everything tells me. Somewhere along the line, I've done something that made you stop loving me. I can't live with you and love you as much as I do if you don't love me too." She sobbed.
He stood and turned to face her. "You left me; abandoned me just like everyone else in my life. You were the only one I thought would never do that to me. You hurt me, Katy."
"But I came back." She sobbed and collapsed to the floor. "I came back, I'm here now and the only reason I'm leaving now is because you don't love me anymore. I'm not abandoning you. I never abandoned you. I had planned on coming back after Kari's memorial and I would've come back the last time once I knew you weren't in danger."
"I can't trust your word that you won't leave again. What if you leave me standing at the altar, or when we have a baby, that you don't take off with the baby and leave me worrying about the two of you?" He said kneeling on his side of the bed.
"So that's what this all is about, you don't trust me anymore?" she asked.
"I guess so." He said. "And because you left."
"And the fact that I remained completely faithful to you when I was gone means nothing?" she asked.
"How do I know? I can't trust you, Katy." He said sitting back against the dresser.
Katy shook her head, "I can't believe this is what tears us apart. It's the stupidest shit I've ever heard."
Callen laughed. "Yeah, well you're issues are stupid too."
"When do you want me out?" she asked trying to keep her composure.
"As soon as you find another place is fine." He said.
Katy sobbed. "So telling you I love you won't make a bit of difference?"
"Not this time." He said.
"You'll regret this, Callen. I'm telling you, when your old and grey and lonely, you'll think of me and what we could've had and I hope you're happy with the choice you made."
There was silence in the room as they both thought about what was said in hurt and anger, truly wondering if what the other said was meant or just said. "So since you can't trust me in our personal life, I take it you can't trust me as a member of your team either?"
"I didn't say that. But you abandoned them too." He told her.
"Is that how they feel or is that just your feeling?"
"Mine." She said softly.
"Fine, I'll put in for a transfer and if they won't give it to me, I'll quit. Hetty already told me this was my last chance." She said.
They sat there in the floor separated by the bed, neither willing to break, neither willing to bend. Once Katy got herself calmed down, she'd begin sobbing again. It was driving Callen insane. He wanted so much to comfort her, but didn't want to stand in the way of the decision she'd made to leave. Never really realizing it was a decision he'd forced her to make.
The more Katy thought about it, the more it hurt and the more she wanted him to hold her and tell her it was going to be okay, but she knew, there was nothing left to the relationship if there was no trust. Eventually, she'd learn to live with it, the shame of it. She couldn't keep a child or a cat and now not a man either. By nightfall, they sat in the dark, willing the other to speak. But the only sound was the ticking of the clock in the living room, Katy's occasional sobs and the wing blowing through the tree outside the window.
"I love you." She said into the darkness in the middle of the night when she woke, not knowing if Callen was still in the room or if he'd left.
A few minutes later, "I love you too." He said.
They spent that day Sunday talking, but not necessarily to one another. Katy stayed on the floor on her side of the bed, Callen on his.
"I just can't believe you let this go for so long without saying something to me about it. I can't believe you chase m down again, dragged me back here, watched me put that stupid ring on my finger and we planned the god damned wedding if you were only going to pull some shit like this." She said.
"I didn't plan on this happening. I honestly thought we'd be okay when you got home." He said.
"So the fact that I love you isn't enough anymore?" she said crying again.
"Katy, would you stop crying, God it's getting really annoying." He snapped.
"Kiss my ass Callen; you deserve to hear me cry. You go on and on about how you're hurt, what the hell do you think I'm feeling?" she retorted.
"You brought this shit on yourself with all of your damn insecurities." He said looking out the door, wishing Callie would wander in.
"My insecurities? You've got a hell of a lot of nerve bringing up my insecurities right now. You're the one with the major trust and abandonment issues. I've been seeing Nate on a regular basis, when was the last time you saw him?" she asked.
"It's been a while." He admitted.
"God, there are moments I wish I'd never met you." She said honestly.
"Yeah, well the same goes for me too. I never should've let you move in here. I blame this on Hetty. If she hadn't wanted us to save your ass so bad, we wouldn't be sitting her like this right now." He said.
"Wow, so that's how you really feel?" she asked.
"Yes…No, I don't know how I feel anymore Katy. This is all just so friggin' confusing."
"Maybe we just need a break from one another?" Katy suggested.
"Oh, like we haven't had enough of those? You just got back in December from your assignment to find your long-lost family then you took off for another two or three months during the Asmik case. We've spent more time apart than we have together."
"Maybe that's the problem, we don't spend enough time together?" She said.
"Stop trying to analyze this shit. It's over, we're not getting back together." He yelled, his words reverberating off the walls.
"You think I don't know that, do you really think I'll open myself up to this shit and you again?"
"God, I need to find an apartment. I need to get the hell out of that office and away from you." She cried.
"Just stop crying damn, you did this, this is all your fault. Just like everything else that has happened to you in your life, you allowed it to happen."
"I didn't allow it to happen, Callen. It just happened like everything that happened in your childhood."
"Don't bring my childhood into this." He yelled.
"Why not you're bringing up everything that happened in mine. That's where you're issues come from. I didn't ask to be molested or raped. I didn't ask to get pregnant or for my baby to be killed."
"No it happened because you're weak." He snapped.
"You just need to leave." She cried.
"This is my house, you leave." He said.
Katy stood and looked at him. "You want me gone that badly?"
"I just want you out of my life, forever." He told her.
"Wow, just a few weeks ago, you wanted me to be yours forever." She said picking at the comforter.
"Things change." He told her.
Katy walked to the closet, grabbed her duffle and started pulling her clothes out of the closet. Once the closet was empty of her clothes, she removed the hangers and folded them, shoving them in the bag. Callen sat there watching.
"Katy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it." He said quickly trying to stop her.
"No, you said yourself it's over. You want me out, so I'm leaving." She continued to fold her clothes. Once the bag was full, she went out to find a box for everything else.
"Katy just stop. We can work through this." He pleaded.
"Fuck you Callen. I'm not doing this yo-yo thing anymore." She cried, throwing the contents of the dresser in the box.
"Where will you go?" he asked, reaching out to touch her.
"Keep your hands off me. I'm not yours anymore. I'm not a possession, I'm a person." She said swatting his hand away.
"Katy, please I came home yesterday to make this better, not end it."
"Really, because it sure sounded to me that the only think you wanted to do was and this." She stopped and looked at him for the first time in a long time. There was so much hurt and pain in his eyes and she felt responsible for all of it.
"I don't want you to leave." He told her, moving closer to her.
Katy looked down at the box at her feet. "It's too late. Too much has been said."
"Please Katy, I'll do anything just don't go, not like this." He begged, taking her hand.
It was like a shot of electricity coursing through his body, oh how she missed his touch. "Callen, please this is what you want, not me. If I had my way, we'd be in bed talking about this wrapped in one another's arms. But that's never going to happen again."
"Katy look at me." He asked her hand still in his.
She shook her head and moved her face away when he tried to make her look at him. "Just stop this, please."
"I love you; I want you in my life. I want to take everything back that I said. I was hurt and scared." He said softly.
Finally, her eyes met his. "It's too late for that now."
"Damn it Katy, why do you have to be so stubborn?" he growled.
She ripped her hand from his and went back to packing her things. By noon, she was completely packed and taking the boxes and bags to the Nissan. Callen followed her through the house like a lost puppy. When everything of hers was out of the house, she stood in the living room staring at him.
"I guess this is goodbye." She said choking on the words.
"Katy, can we talk about this?" he asked.
"No, we're done talking. Good luck to you." She said and handed him the house key.
Callen stepped forward, but she walked out of the house and out to her car. He watched her get in, give the house one last look and she was gone. Furious with himself, he threw the key across the room and sunk to the floor.