Tsunami

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

Chapter 13

Harrison Clark Law Firm

Deeks entered the Firm with Hetty and took her straight through to the office Mike Russo had provided him with. No one appeared to look at them with interest or think that Deeks being there was unusual. With a detour to OSP for a suit and tie, he was slick and merged into his alias, Jason Hill.

"Mrs Woods, would you like some tea before we begin?" It was funny to be there with his boss, pretending she was his newest client.

"A tea would be perfect, thank you, Mr Hill."

Deeks picked up the phone and rang through to his secretary. Five minutes later, a young woman, dressed in a navy suit, entered. Her skirt was tight and shorter than one would expect in such an establishment. She brought the tray with tea to the desk, where Hetty sat.

"Now, Mrs Woods. You were telling me about all of your estates across the globe, how you would like to leave it to your favourite nephew?"

He was being cheeky and Hetty pursed her lips to hide the smile that threatened to spread across her features.

"Not exactly. I've provided the properties in Russia, Prague and here in Los Angeles to my son and his family. But the property in Montana, it's a ranch with horses on it, I was thinking it would suit my nephew and his girlfriend very much."

The girl eyed Hetty carefully, surprised she held so much estate around the globe. She quietly closed the door and made her way up the corridor to the end office.

"Mr Harrison. May I have a word?"

Scott Harrison looked up and saw the eagerness in the young woman and he excused himself from his meeting. "This better be important, Lois."

"The new lawyer, the one who went to Prague with Lance, he's back and has an interesting client with him. She's very tiny and old, and has lots of estates, some in Russia and Prague."

"Jason Hill, the one Tom asked to go in his place, because he had clients in Cuba to meet?"

"That's the one." Harrison pondered for a moment. "What did Lance tell you about Hill?"

"Said that he was dirty, worked with Ortega and Lazik."

"Both of whom are dead making it impossible for them to verify." They had been the competition, until they were killed. "I'll make a few calls to see if any of my contacts remember him. If they confirm him, I'll leave it be. But if they don't, we'll need to get rid of him."

"The same way as the FBI agent?"

"Yes. Lois, watch him closely, but don't raise suspicion."

"Yes, Sir."

Lois exited the office while Scott Harrison made a few calls.

Hetty eyed Deeks as they listened into the bug she'd planted on the young woman when she delivered the tea. It had been easier than they'd suspected. It wasn't Leo Clark at all, but Scott Harrison. He was the one running things in Los Angeles and had ordered the hit on Mike Russo and Franklin Worthington. Deeks needed to be careful because his secretary was in on it too. It was a good thing they'd pulled Deeks' old alias from his time undercover with LAPD, when he was a shady lawyer working with Emilio Ortega. They continued the ruse of Deeks sorting out Hetty's many estates, to delay Hetty's time leaving the building.

"Now, Mrs Woods. What about your property in the Caribbean?"

Hetty smiled. "My son's best friend and his family, of course. They've been good to my son, I look on him like another son."

Deeks scribbled the fake names they had for the members of the team, but he couldn't help to think that Hetty was actually telling him who she was leaving her properties to. Of course, Callen was the favourite, but didn't he deserve it after all he'd been through? She'd taken Callen in like a son all of those years ago. He'd only known Hetty for a few years, Kensi not much longer.

It was strange to even ponder life without her and who would end up with her properties. They always expected she'd continue on like she always had. But as he looked at her more closely, she did seem to be ageing rather fast. They all were, they all felt the effects of gravity on them, but she was the most evident, due to her seventy years of age.

A knock distracted his thoughts, "come in." He looked up and was surprised to see Scott Harrison, one of the partners, enter.

The older man, early sixties, Deeks supposed, entered, wearing a very expensive suit and a smile that was as fake as Hetty's fur trim on her jacket.

"Mr Hill, welcome back to Los Angeles. How was your trip to Prague?"

Deeks stood and shook the man's hand. "It went well, thank you."

Scott Harrison looked down at Hetty, intrigued by her petite frame. "How do you do, Madam. I'm Mr Harrison, one of the Firm's partners. I do hope Mr Hill here is looking after you well."

Hetty turned her face upward and scrutinised him. "Mr Hill is a fine young man and he's doing a wonderful job, thank you."

Deeks hid his amusement over Hetty's behaviour towards Scott Harrison.

"I'm pleased to hear, Mrs?"

"Woods."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Woods." Harrison step away and looked over to Deeks once more.

"When you have a moment, I would like to speak with you in my office."

"Yes, Mr Harrison."

Deeks walked back to his side of the desk and sat down.

"Be very careful, my dear." She placed her hand on his, Deeks nodded in response. He was well aware just how dangerous this Scott Harrison was, especially now he knew about Mike and the attack on Franklin's home.

Dovecote

"Nell." Callen tried to sit up, but he struggled, dizziness overcame him again. The sudden move from Franklin's home to Dovecote had taken a great deal out of him and his concern for Savannah and their babies grew within him.

"George, don't move. You've been through enough today already." Savannah tried to persuade him.

"Nell."

Nell entered fully into the room.

"You need to take Savannah and the twins home. Far away from me. They're in danger here."

"You're safe here, Callen. Deeks and Hetty are looking into whose behind the latest attacks."

"Please!"

Nell looked to her sister, before she answered.

"Okay."

"No. I'm not leaving him." Savannah sat back down next to her husband, refusing to budge.

"Callen's right, Sav. You only just escaped Franklin's house down at Long Beach before the armed men arrived. You've got to consider your babies."

Savannah knew Nell and Callen were right, but after almost losing him, she didn't want to leave him. He was weak, but he had the team and his brothers around to protect him and he was at Hetty's home, safe. It was a difficult decision for her to make, but she did need to consider Samuel and Nathan and her other children. She wiped a tear away before giving Callen a firm kiss on the lips. "Don't play the hero. You're here to recover. Let the others do the work." She'd heard the story how he'd fired Michelle's weapon from the top of the wall, giving the others a chance to get out alive and uninjured.

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to." Even sitting up was a challenge for him. He felt tired, and before Savannah had left, he had drifted back off to sleep.

He wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but he felt he wasn't alone when he returned to consciousness. His eyes fluttered open, his vision was blurred, it took him a few moments to realise who was sitting beside his bed.

"Jennifer?"

She smiled down at him, it had taken her a few days before she felt at ease to show her face to anyone, but after the rush from Long Beach to this new location, she knew she couldn't hide any longer.

"How are you doing?" She knew he'd suffered greatly at Sacha's hand back in Prague.

"I've been better." He squinted his eyes to focus more clearly. "How are you doing?"

Her eyes darted away from him, she really didn't want to talk about it with anyone, but she knew she had to. It was the only way to move forward. She turned her focus back on him. "It'll take time to get over this."

Callen watched Jennifer wrap her cardigan tighter around her body. Anger surged through him, he didn't know the details, but the woman before him had changed. He recognised the effects of abuse and his heart felt heavy. "I'm sorry, I promised that I would protect you from him." Guilt washed over him.

Jennifer quickly shook her head. "No. Don't you ever apologise. You asked me if I was okay to go in, we both knew the risks, but neither of us realised that Wiles was dirty."

"I should have left you back in Prague and gone on my own."

"No. We were partners, we had to have each other's back. We thought Wiles could be trusted."

"I wasn't sure, I had my doubts about Wiles, I should have…."

"You saved Arkady's daughter, I know you were on your way back to get me out of there."

"Sam got Anna out so I could get you out of there." He'd failed her, that was all he could think of.

"Do not blame yourself, Callen. We can't change what happened anyway." Her voice faltered. Every ounce of strength she had mustered, began to falter.

"It had nothing to do with you, it was me he wanted, although I still don't know why. He said something about my father killing his father." Memories of his time in the basement returned to him.

"But you think there's more to it, don't you?"

"I do. But I'm clueless to know what." He needed to speak with his father and Arkady. His head was still fuzzy, but his memories were returning. "Talk to someone about what's happened to you. Don't let it eat at you, like I did."

Jennifer furrowed her brow. She was trying hard to block out her time with Sacha, but it was a battle she was losing. It gave her some comfort that the monster was dead. But… maybe Callen was right. She locked her gaze with his eyes and saw his pain. He'd suffered what she'd endured too, she realised. That dark place he went to, to be Vladimir began to come clear to her. She took in a ragged breath.

He gently squeezed her hand. "Talk to someone. It will help you."

She nodded. "Maybe. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Just don't wait too long. Trust me, I did, I shut down and went down a really dark tunnel that became dangerous. I don't want you to go there." He kept from her how he had managed to deflect his pain and avoided talking to the numerous shrinks he'd been sent to over the years. Nate was the only one he'd become close to revealing some, but he'd been pushed into a corner, talk or walk. He loved his job, so he talked, but only what he had to.

Sam stood outside the bedroom and listened to the conversation between his partner and Jennifer Ashley. He was surprised by how easily Callen could admit this to her, but then he realised it was because she'd suffered the same as him. He walked away before he was caught and found Franklin.

"Something's on your mind, Sam," Franklin observed him. "You worrying about George?"

"When am I not?" Sam sighed. "Is it safe enough to bring your father here? I think he needs to see him now."

"I agree. I showed him a letter our father had written to my mom just before I was born. It reveals the pain our father suffered over what George went through."

Sam nodded. "He needed to read it. It should help him. He finds it hard to accept how much he means to others."

"But he's let Savannah in."

"Yes, but it's taken him a long time to get to that point for him to let another in. Hetty and I have tried hard for years."

"She's good for him. I'll talk to Brad, it's probably safer if he brings Dad here, I really cannot afford to be seen out and about Los Angeles at the moment."

"Good idea. Hetty and Deeks will get word to us soon over who it is that's causing this latest threat your way."

Franklin rubbed his hand over his face. He looked as tired as he felt. "Let's hope they do."