"Eric, you almost done? Someone's coming."
"Okay I'm in and copying the drive now."
"Hurry up."
Marisa heard the footsteps getting really close. Just as she heard the footsteps stopping in front of the room Eric was done. Quickly she pulled out the flash drive and shut down the computer. Quickly Marisa looked for a place to hide. She saw a side door. It was open. Marisa quickly hid in the closet. Just as she had closed the door she heard someone come in. She recognized the voice. It was Santoro. He wasn't alone. There was someone else with him. That voice Marisa didn't recognize.
"Marisa, you okay?" Eric's voice came through the com but there was no response. "Marisa, everything okay?"
"I'm fine," Marisa whispered.
Marisa held her com against the lock so Eric could maybe hear something. She heard what they were talking about. About 30 minutes later she heard footsteps again. She heard the door open and close and the lock turning again. Marisa listened for a little while to be sure no one was in the room. When she didn't hear anything she carefully opened the door. No one was in the room anymore. She quietly walked to the door and listened for any noise outside. When she didn't hear anything she unlocked the door. She peeked her head out. When she saw the coast was clear she got out of the room and used her lock pick to lock the door again. Quickly she sneaked back to her bed. When she turned around the corner she stumbled upon one of the guards.
"What are you doing up Mia?" The guard asked.
"I was just looking for the kitchen. I wanted to grab something to drink."
"The kitchen is that way." The guard pointed. "And then second door on your right."
"Thanks."
Quickly Marisa walked off without looking back. She hoped that he didn't suspect anything.
….
The next morning Marisa was up bright and early for the new assignment.
"Follow the route on your GPS, you'll get further instructions when you've reached your destination," Ramirez spoke.
"Where are we going?" Marisa asked.
"You'll find out when you get there. Not get moving."
Everyone walked to their car, plugged in the GPS and drove off.
"Keep an eye on Mia," Santoro told Ramirez.
"Will do."
The others were tracking Marisa and followed the group at a safe distance. They were going back into the US.
"Where the hell are they going?" Deeks thought out loud.
"I have no idea," Sam replied.
"Marisa, do you have any idea where you're going?" Callen asked through the com.
"No not a clue."
They drove for an hour until they reach the naval base in Coronado.
"What are they doing here at the naval base?" Callen questioned as he parked the car in front on compound.
"I have no idea. At least now we know why they needed Navy personnel. So they could get onto the base," Sam stated.
"Yeah but to do what?" Deeks spoke.
"I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling about this," Callen said.
After about 10 minutes Callen drove onto the navy base as well. The cars had all gone into a different direction. They heard Marisa getting a phone call.
"Well done Marisa. A van will be by shortly to pick you up," Ramirez's voice was heard and he hung up.
While she was waiting Marisa opened the trunk to see what was in.
"Guys, we've got a problem here."
"What's up?"
"I've got a bomb in my trunk."
"A bomb?!"
"Yes a bomb, and it has 25 minutes left on the clock."
"So, they plan to blow up the navy base," Deeks stated.
"Yeah, if Marisa has one the others cars will probably have on too," Sam added.
"Probably," Callen said. "Marisa, we're coming your way."
"I'll contact the MP's, so they can get the bomb squad out here," Sam spoke.
5 minutes later Callen pulled next top Marisa's car. Sam went to look if he could defuse the bomb. Marisa stood guard to see if the van was coming.
"They're coming," Marisa said after about 5 minutes.
"I'm almost done," Sam replied. "Got it."
The others quickly hid away and grabbed their guns. The van pulled up and at the moment Marisa wanted to get in the others came out of hiding.
"Federal agents! Turn off the engine!" Callen yelled as they raised their guns.
The driver turned off the engine.
"Hands where we can see them!" Sam added.
All of them including Marisa put their hands up.
"Out of the van!" Callen spoke.
All of them got out of the van. Callen and Sam kept their guns on them while Deeks and Kensi cuffed them all.
"Where are the other drivers?" Callen asked the driver of the van. "Where's Ramirez?"
The driver kept quiet.
"Get in!"
Kensi and Deeks pushed all of them inside the van. Sam got in the back with them while Callen got in the car. Luckily there was a GPS in the car which had the pickup locations of the other drivers. Kensi and Deeks followed in their van. They picked up the other drivers as well and threw them in the back too. They gave all the locations of the cars to the MP's. The bombs were disabled just in time.
"Who the hell are you?" one of the drivers asked.
"NCIS," Sam answered.
"NCIS? How did NCIS get involved?"
"Maybe when you guys killed Winston."
"What?! We didn't kill Winston, we would never to that. It was Ramirez."
"Where's Ramirez?"
"I was supposed to drive them back to him," the driver of the van said.
"Then take us to him."
The driver sat behind the wheel as Callen moved to the back. Callen kept his gun on him.
20 minutes later they were at Ramirez's address.
"Out all of you," Sam ordered.
The agents held the guns at them as they marched them inside.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Ramirez said angrily as he saw his drivers walk in with cuffs and guns on them.
"Federal agents! Hands where we can see them Ramirez!" Callen yelled.
Ramirez motioned to put his hands up but instead he grabbed his gun and fired at the agents. They managed to duck away just in time. Marisa had managed to get out of her cuffs and grabbed her gun as well and started shooting at Ramirez and his bodyguards. Kensi and Deeks made sure the drivers were out of the line of fire. Callen and Sam were shooting at Ramirez and they hadn't noticed that someone had come out from behind the wall left of them. Marisa saw it and she quickly turned her gun at him and shot him. The bullet just went by Callen and Sam. Callen saw the man fall and looked at Marisa.
"Thanks," Callen mouthed.
A little later Santoro and his bodyguards came too. There was a lot of gunfire. Marisa saw Santoro making a run for it. Marisa went after him.
"Freeze Santoro!" Marisa yelled and she aimed her gun at him.
Santoro stopped and turned around. "Mia? What are you doing?"
"The name's Marisa and I'm a federal agent."
"What?"
"Federal agent! Get down on your knees."
"I know we shouldn't have trusted you," Santoro replied as he went down on his knees."
"Too late."
"Maybe not."
Marisa held her gun on Santoro. Then she heard a gun fire just behind her. She turned around to see where it was coming from. She was too late to get out of the way and the bullet hit her in the stomach. She managed to fire a shot at him before she fell on the ground. Her bullet hit the guy in the head. Santoro got up and grabbed his gun and wanted to finish the job with Marisa.
"I can't believe that I trusted you."
"Too bad for you. But your plan is not gonna work, all bombs are defused," Marisa replied as she was bleeding out.
"You're gonna pay for that."
Santoro was about to shoot Marisa when there was a gun shot and Santoro was hit in his arm. He dropped the gun onto the floor and grabbed his arm. Marisa looked up and saw Callen standing there. Callen quickly made his way over to Santoro and cleared him of him gun and tied him up. Then he went over to Marisa.
"Eric, we need and ambulance. Marisa's been hit."
"On it's way Callen."
"Thanks dad," Marisa whispered.
"You're welcome. Just rest, help is on the way," Callen replied as he applied pressure on her wound.
"G," Sam voice sounded across the room.
"Over here Sam."
Sam walked over to Callen and saw Marisa down on the ground and Callen's hand full of blood.
"She'll be okay?"
"She was shot in the abdomen. Ambulance is already on it's way."
"Alright. Come on Santoro."
Sam pulled him onto his feet and dragged him to the van.
Callen held Marisa in his arms. He saw Marisa's eyes closing.
"Come one Marisa stay with me, ambulance is almost here."
"Dad," Marisa whispered.
"Yeah sweetie?"
"I love you."
"I love you too. You're gonna be alright. Don't worry. I'm gonna stay here with you."
Marisa's eyes slowly closed as the ambulance pulled up. Callen went out of the way so they could work on Marisa. They stabilized her and loaded her in the ambulance.
"Can I ride with you?" Callen asked.
"Sorry sir, only family is allowed," the paramedic said.
"I'm her father."
"Oh alright then."
Callen got in the ambulance and they drove to the naval hospital. The others wrapped up at the crime scene. All of the bodyguards were dead. Ramirez, Santoro and the other drivers were taken into custody and brought to the navy base in Coronado.
When they arrived at the hospital Marisa was being wheeled off into the OR. Callen went to the restroom to wash the blood of his hands. When he came back Sam, Deeks and Kensi were in the waiting room.
"How is she?" Kensi asked.
"She's in surgery right now. The bullet is still in there so they have to get it out. She had lost some blood."
"She'll be alright G," Sam spoke.
"I hope so."
"She'll be fine. She's strong. Just like you."
"I hope you're right Sam. I can't lose her.
"You won't lose her G."
After about an hour and a half Marisa was out of surgery.
"Family of Marisa Mathews," the doctor spoke as he walked in to the waiting room. As soon as Callen heard that he stood up, followed by the others.
"How is she doctor?" Callen asked.
"She has lost some blood but we were able to remove the bullet and luckily it didn't hit any vital organs so we managed to patch her up."
Callen let out a relieved sigh. "Can we see her?"
"Sure, but one at the time for now. She's in the ICU." Callen followed the doctor to the ICU. "She still unconscious for now but she should wake up soon."
"Thank you doctor."
Callen walked in and sat down on the chair next to Marisa's bed and grabbed her hand.
"Please wake up soon Marisa. You're gonna be fine. You can pull through this."
A little later Hetty stood in front of the door.
"How is she Mr. Callen?"
Callen looked up as he heard Hetty's voice. "She's okay. The doctor says she's gonna be fine."
"That's good to hear."
"What about Santoro? Is he speaking?"
"Mr. Hanna and Ms. Blye are interrogating him now."
"Okay good. And what about the other drivers?"
"We handed them over to the MP's. They will deal with them. Most likely they'll get a dishonorable discharge."
"I hope they put them in the brig for a few months first. I can't believe they would betray their country like this."
"They were probably in it for the money. But that doesn't justify their actions."
"No it doesn't."
"Stay here as long as you want Mr. Callen, Ms. Mathews needs you right now."
"Thank you Hetty."
Hetty gave him a smile and left. Callen sat there waiting until Marisa woke up.
About 2 hours later Marisa woke up. Callen noticed that she was awake.
"Hey Marisa, welcome back."
"What happened?" Marisa spoke in a weak voice.
"You were shot when we took Santoro down. You're at the naval hospital in Coronado."
"Did we get him?"
"Yes, him and Ramirez. Sam and Kensi are interrogating them now."
"Good." Marisa closed her eyes again.
"Just rest up. I'll be here."
"Thanks dad."
"Anytime sweetie."
"What about my car? It's still at the navy base.
"Sam picked it up and brought it to the NCIS office here in Coronado."
"Good."
Marisa drifted off to sleep again. Callen stepped out of the room and called Sam.
"Hey Sam, how's the interrogation going?"
"Ramirez confessed to everything. A group of Navy SEALS raided one of Santoro's compounds and killed everyone there including some family members so Santoro wanted revenged and used disgraced SEALS to do so."
"Sick bastard."
"Well he's going away for a long time. Anyway how's Marisa?"
"She just woke up. Still a bit weak but she should be okay."
"Okay good. Kensi, Deeks and I are heading back to LA. I'm guessing you're staying here."
"Yes. I'll be back when Marisa gets discharged or moved to LA."
"Alright. Take care."
"Will do. See ya later."
"See ya," Sam replied and he hung up and Callen went back to Marisa.
2 days later Marisa was stable enough to be transported back to LA. Marisa was taken back to LA in a chopper while Callen drove her car back to LA. Callen brought the car to OSP. He went inside to see what was new.
"Hey guys," Callen spoke as he walked into the bullpen.
"Hey G, welcome back," Sam replied.
"How's Marisa?" Kensi wanted to know.
"She's stable. She's here in LA now. She still has to stay in the hospital for a while but she's doing better," Callen answered.
"Good to hear."
"Welcome back Mr. Callen. I take it Ms. Mathews is in LA now."
"Yes, she's in the hospital here now. She's doing very well."
"Good to hear. What are you doing here Mr. Callen?"
"I just came to see if we have something new."
"There's nothing new so I suggest you go home and get some rest."
"I'm fine Hetty."
"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. Go home get some rest and go see Marisa. That's an order Mr. Callen."
Callen realized it was of no use to fight her on this so he packed up his stuff and went home. He went to get a shower. He was really glad his daughter was doing so well. He couldn't handle losing her. He always worried about her when she was out in the field. Sam told him that was normal for a father to worry about his daughter.
After Callen got out of the shower he grabbed himself something to eat. After he had eaten he went back to the hospital to visit Marisa.
"Knock, knock," Callen spoke as he stood in front of the door.
Marisa looked from her bed to the doorway. "Hey dad, come on in."
"How are you feeling?"
"Still a bit weak but doing better. Doctor said I could probably go home next week."
"That's good."
"And then about 2 more weeks of resting at home. It sucks but it's still better then here in the hospital. They give me the creeps."
"Yeah I know how you feel. I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Me too. And thanks for staying with me."
"No problem. Someone has to make sure you stay in bed, right."
"Right. We're good with each other for that. You make sure I stay in bed and I make sure you stay in bed."
"Yep, we make a good team."
"Yes that we do."
"Well since you're feeling better how about a game of poker?" Callen spoke as he pulled out a deck of cards.
"You're on."
Callen and Marisa played a friendly game of Texas hold'em. Marisa had a pretty good hand. She was convinced she was gonna win. Callen had the same feeling.
"Alright show me what you got dad."
"Full house," Callen replied as he but his cards on the table. "Queens over nines."
"Good hand… But not good enough." Marisa put her cards on the table. "Kings over nines. I win."
"Well played."
They played some more games until it was tied at 3-3.
"Winning game," Marisa suggested.
"Fine. Deal me."
They were raising each other almost every turn until Marisa went all in. Callen went all in as well.
"Show me what you got Marisa."
"Straight to the Jack." Marisa put her cards on the table.
"I've got a straight too," Callen said as he put his cards on the table one by one. "To the Queen."
"Arghh no," Marisa spoke defeated. "Defeated by one signal card."
"That's too bad for you."
A little later Marisa parents dropped by. The 4 of them talked for a while until visiting hours were over.
…..
A week later Marisa was discharge from the hospital. Callen went to pick her up in her dodge charger.
"Hey Marisa," Callen spoke as he walked into her room.
"Hey dad."
"You're ready?"
"Yeah just packing up some things."
The doctor came by with her discharge papers and wanted to see her again in 2 weeks to see how she was doing. They got into the car and drove home.
"So how's everything at work?"
"Okay. Not really busy. Got a case last week which took us about 3 days to solve but that's it."
"Ah okay, so you're managing without me?"
"Yes, we're managing without you but we do miss you."
"That's good to hear."
20 minutes later they were at Marisa's place. Callen carried her bag inside.
"I picked up some groceries for you. You're fridge was pretty empty," Callen told her as they walked to the door.
"Thanks."
Callen stayed for dinner and made her a nice meal. After dinner Callen went home.
"You sure you're gonna be able by yourself?"
"Yes dad, I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Alright, if you need me I'm just a phone call away, even in the night."
"I know dad, thanks."
"Alright. I'll come by tomorrow after work."
"Sure that's fine."
….
Marisa was healing very well. After two weeks the doctor cleared her for work again.
"Good morning," Marisa uttered as she walked into the bullpen.
"Good morning Marisa, welcome back," Kensi replied.
"Thanks. It's good to be back. I missed you guys."
"We missed you too," Sam stated.
"Anything new I should know about?"
"No not really."
"Alright."
Marisa sat down behind her desk and started working on her paperwork. Because she was away for a while her stack was getting a little big. In the afternoon Marisa got a phone call from her mom.
"Hi mom," Marisa said as she answered.
"Marisa, you've gotta help me." Marisa heard she sounded scared.
"Mom, calm down, what's wrong?"
The others heard the conversation and looked Marisa's way, wondering what was going on.
"Someone's in the house and they got your father. I managed to hide but it's only a matter of time before the find me."
"Calm down mom, I'm on my way."
"No, they want you. I heard them asking where you are."
"I'll be fine mom. I'm a federal agent. I'm coming your way."
"Hurry, I don't know what they are doing to your father but it doesn't sound good."
"Stay there mom. I'm one my way."
Marisa grabbed her car keys and made her way outside. The others looked at her wondering what was going on. Callen got up and followed her. Marisa was almost at her car when she heard her mom yelling.
"Marisa! Help! No! Let go off me!"
Marisa heard he mom screaming just before the line went dead.