Tsunami

Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine.

Chapter 11

Callens' house, Los Angeles

Savannah knew from the look on Nell's face something had gone wrong. Her father entered the house behind her sister, he looked livid.

"What's wrong?" Her voice quavered, fear for Callen filled her mind and heart.

"Sit down, Charlotte." Owen's voice was calm, unusually calm for her father, especially with the look he had in his eyes.

She obeyed, the kids were at friends and the twins were upstairs asleep. She twisted her hands on her lap, she felt helpless, that moment in the conference room in D.C. returned to her. She looked up at them, the plea for good news outweighed what she knew.

"Sam and Michelle are keeping a close eye on things."

"But?"

"Callen's been burned by a rogue agent. If Deeks hadn't gotten Kensi out or Callen gotten Arkady's daughter out, there would be more to rescue. At the moment, we know, we have two agents taken captive. Callen and a CIA operative, Jennifer Ashley. Sam suspects Callen went to find Ashley before it was too late, but the agent they were working with, burned them both."

The tears threatened to spill, Savannah tried hard to keep calm and keep hope alive, but it was a challenge.

"Is he still alive?"

"Sam thinks so. What we do know is that he's been injured."

She wiped a tear that betrayed her resolve to stay calm. Her body shook, she knew it was dangerous. The look Callen gave her before he left, he knew it too.

"I can't lose him." She looked up at her father. "Please, Dad, do what it takes to save him."

"We are doing what we can. Bradford Worthington and his team are heading in there now." Owen couldn't stand to see his daughter suffer. He moved in next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "He's a fighter, Sav, we'll do whatever it takes to bring him home safe."

She gripped his shirt tight and sobbed into his chest. It had been a long time since she'd cried in her father's arms.

Chateau Mcely

He'd kept his distance, he couldn't help himself, but he needed to make sure Deeks and his team, particularly his older brother, were safe. Franklin Worthington watched on as the guests arrived at the Chateau Mcely and what followed. He was intrigued to watch Sam leave carrying a blonde out, not Kensi like he had expected. Sam and the woman left, then Lance and Deeks, who dragged Kensi out of the hotel. He sighed a little, at least they were together again and they outnumbered Lance. He could deal with him when he returns back to Los Angeles, if Deeks and Kensi haven't by then. But now, his focus was on his brother.

There was some flurry of activity, a woman screaming, she was slapped across the face and dread washed over him. She was the same woman he'd seen his brother arrive with. He continued to hold his position, high in the tree. The camera remained fixed to his eye as he snapped images to send through to Nell and Eric. They were the only ones he trusted, his brother's team had no reason to be rogue in this operation. However, those who've been undercover for some time now, he suspected all of them. He spotted the vehicle Sam left in return, but it stayed in the forest nearby, waiting. There's a dark skinned woman with him and he realises Sam has Michelle with him. He had no idea she was a Federal Agent too, but it figures. Just like George and Savannah, when you chose this kind of life, no one else understands it than another agent.

He sees two men drag a man out of the hotel, goosebumps spread across his skin. His brother. He's unconscious, blood pouring from a head wound and he musters every ounce of strength to prevent himself from climbing down the tree to kill them all. It would have been a foolish and rash decision. He was outnumbered, like Sam and Michelle, he stayed put in his hideout and watched. He needed to act fast, so he could follow them, see where they take George and his partner.

Záryby, Czech Republic

Sam and Michelle heard movement behind them. They flipped themselves over and aimed their weapons at the intruder. Franklin raised his hands, "It's only me."

"Franklin? What are you doing here? We were expecting Bradford and his team."

"I had to watch from a distance. If Sacha Pajari met me and George, he'd make the connection, so I sent Deeks to go in my stead."

"We saw you at the party, when Lance mentioned Deeks going in, we realised you had something to do with it." Sam turned his focus back around to the villa where his partner was being held prisoner. He turned his head sideways to look over at Franklin, who'd laid under the scrub beside him. "Which agency?"

"NCIS. Director Vance knew I was suspicious of some of the agents sent in. Never thought three of them were bad. Wiles was a big suspect, I wasn't sure about Donati or Hudson."

"Well it's a good thing you sent Deeks in. Hudson decided to sell Kensi at the auction. Deeks bought her for 40,000 Euros."

"What? That's a lot for one woman."

"Not as much as the woman G bought."

"The blonde I saw you carry out earlier?"

"Yes. Turns out to be Arkady's daughter. She's an undercover Chicago Detective trying to find out where a number of missing women went. G paid 50,000 Euros for her."

"He had that amount of money to buy her?"

"Arkady sent the money through. They met at Sacha's villa in Moscow last week."

"Then I did the right thing sending Deeks in. I wasn't sure what to do, I needed someone to keep an eye on Lance."

"Yes you did."

"Have you seen where they're holding George or the woman?" It had taken Franklin a lot longer to get to this location than he'd hoped, but he'd left GPS trackers underneath Sacha's and his men's vehicles, so he knew where to find them.

"G's in the basement. The woman, she's CIA, a Jennifer Ashley. Third floor," Sam advised him.

"So the two of you, both NCIS?"

"No, I'm retired from the CIA." Michelle looked through the binoculars to scan the area. "I think we can head in after dark."

"So how did the two of you meet, joint task force?"

"Something like that."

"It makes sense, with the line of work we do, it's hard to have a relationship outside of the job." They all understood how it was, the lies to keep their covers in tact.

They saw movement in the trees to the south of them. Franklin looked through the binoculars. "Looks like little brother has arrived with his team." He made a bird sound and waited for the response. It wasn't long before his brother returned the call. Five minutes later, Bradford arrive at their location, he and his team laid down in the scrub beside them.

"What took you so long, bro?" Franklin smirked.

"Really? We're going to go there, now when our older brother is probably still unconscious inside that fortress?"

"Oh come on, Brad. George is tough, look what he's been through before we turned up on his doorstep. If anyone can make it through this, it's him. But most importantly, George needs to know we have his back. That his family, blood and team, are here for him."

Inside the basement

Callen moved in and out of consciousness. He tried to pull himself up to standing and he walked the perimeter of the room he was in. He found a pipe, water trickled out of the wall and he moved his mouth underneath for a drink. He'd lost fluids and blood, he needed to keep himself well enough to think of a plan to escape. He heard movement outside, the small grate in the wall above his head would have been the perfect opportunity for escape, if he could reach it. But there was no way in his condition, could he make it up to try and budge it outwards or pull it inwards. A scraping sound just loud enough to echo through the basement from the grate, caught his attention.

"G." He wasn't sure if he was hearing things, was he delirious or was his partner there to rescue him?

"Sam?"

"Tell me your condition."

"Head wound, keep losing consciousness. Hands bound to the front, two ribs broken." He coughed and more blood spurted out of his mouth.

Sam used the night vision goggles to get a better look at his partner. He figured Callen was seven feet below the grate. They needed to get someone down into the basement to help get Callen out of there. He turned and saw Franklin move in.

"I'll go down. Brad's gone up to the third floor on the west wall."

Sam nodded, it was the best solution, he was bigger than Franklin, so he was best to stay there and lift them up. He also doubted he could fit through the grate anyway.

He helped Franklin move down the wall into the basement.

"George, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.

Callen furrowed his brow. "Franklin?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing here?"

"To take you home. Savannah needs you. Dad needs you."

Callen began to shake his head. It hurt to move it and he groaned in pain. "No, he doesn't. He has you and your brother."

"You are my brother, George. Family. Let's get you out of here."

"Sam."

"He's waiting up there for you."

It took him longer to take it all in. His brother, half brother in fact, who he hardly knew was there to rescue him. Callen looked up at the grate and then at Franklin.

"I'll help you up."

Callen looked down at Franklin, he leaned on the wall, his hands cupped.

"Step up, George."

Callen lifted his leg, his vision blurred and he felt light-headed. He swayed.

"Come on, George, before you black out again."

He tried again, this time he felt a little clearer and lifted his foot into Franklin's hands. He lifted his hands up and waited for Sam's large hands to grab them. He bit on his bottom lip as pain speared through his torso. His ribs scraped along the stone wall as Franklin and Sam helped him up towards freedom. He took a breath on the grass beside his partner, while Sam helped Franklin out. When his brother appeared over him, he blinked to clear his vision. "You're not in uniform."

"No, I'm not. I'm here on NCIS duty, not SEAL."

"Vance, he pulled you into this?"

"Brad and I are more like you than you know, George. We're all on Vance's books." Franklin looked around, scanned the perimeter. "It's safe to go now." He and Sam lifted Callen up and helped him across the grounds towards the forest. They arrived at the wall and helped Callen over. He was in a great deal of pain, but he couldn't make a noise, to arouse suspicion.

He could hear footsteps from behind them, he turned when he reached the top and saw Bradford carrying Jennifer over his shoulder. They were being chased. Gunfire broke the silence of the night. Callen felt strong hands on his ankles, he looked and saw Michelle trying to get him to move down the wall.

"Callen, move."

He tried to move, but his body was slow.

Franklin and Sam turned and fired at the guards who chased Bradford and his team. Two fell to the ground. They needed to get over the wall, they were exposed on this side.

"Give me a gun." He called down to Michelle.

She quickly handed him a pistol and he fired at the men who continued to fire upon them. Callen gave them time, time to climb over the wall, and time to get Jennifer to safety.