Thank you for all the reviews so far, especially to Skippy who signs in as a guest (otherwise I would message you my thanks!). And my French guest reviewer - please comment in any language you fancy . I ummed and aaaahhed whether to post this before "Rage" airs, but I wrote this about a month ago and hopefully any revelations about Callen as a teenager in "Rage" will not impact too greatly on my interpretation of his youth in this chapter (which is relatively minimal).
Ch 15
The rest of the team watched in shock as they witnessed CIA Agent Jessica Bolton verbally assault Callen. There was a stunned silence in Ops disturbed only by Assistant Director Granger shuffling his feet.
"Bugger," Hetty muttered in a voice that was barely audible.
"What they've got is more than just circumstantial," Granger commented. "If they go to a judge with this, the CIA will most likely get full access to Callen's records." He turned to Hetty. "What exactly will they find in his juvenile files, Henrietta?"
Hetty raised her head slowly to meet Granger's accusing stare. "I don't fully know," she said quietly. "I've not been privy to the entire contents and I certainly do not think that Callen will want his past shared with his team. That decision will lie solely with him. However it will provide specific details as to why he was moved from home to home so frequently and it would have a note of the...gaps..."
"What d'ya mean by gaps?" Granger growled accusingly.
"I've kept an eye on him for many years Owen, but he'd disappear for months as a teenager. I know where he was some of the time, but for the rest...? He could have been on the streets – or he could have left the country..." Hetty rested against the table. "His first placement after the Rostoff's ended abruptly. I only know that he did not return from school one day and was not found for a number of months...If the reasons why were made known to welfare, that information was certainly not passed on to me. I was going to bring Nate in, but he had to stay in -, he had to stay on his current assignment another week. This is not looking good." Hetty shook her head, pushing her glasses up her nose as she started thinking.
"Well I guess that explains the math for his thirty seven foster homes and small length of time he spent in each. But there must be something we can do?" Kensi almost pleaded to the team to come up with some miracle.
"First we need to stop them accessing any of Callen's juvenile files and his classified operations." Sam said.
"But how?" questioned Eric.
"Leave that to me," Hetty said with sudden confidence and a cunning smile. "I've just thought of several ways to thwart our so called friends at Langley. But I'm also concerned as to how the Agency suddenly knows that Mr Callen's father is, as we believe, a former KGB officer?" She stared pointedly at Owen Granger.
Granger met Hetty's stare. "Well Hetty," he drawled. "Three weeks ago I was reviewing personnel records and noticed that Agent Callen's hadn't been updated. I spoke with Director Vance as there is no hard evidence that Reznikov is his father – you can't update records with conjecture and supposition now – and Vance agreed to leave his file alone."
"So you brought Callen's Russian background to the attention of the Director of NCIS?" Sam asked, shaking his head in disgust. "Why would you do that?"
"It's called doing my job, Agent Hanna," Granger answered straight. "The director agreed that until there was firm evidence, Callen's records would not be updated. I'll call him and find out what the hell's going on here." Granger nodded curtly to the team and strode out of the Ops centre.
"I'll need to make a few calls too," Hetty said, making a move to follow Granger. "Can I assume that you all know how to investigate this slanderous case against Mr Callen? Sam? Kensi?"
"Yeah," "Sure," were the muted responses as Hetty exited the room.
"So if Granger and Hetty are working the classified angle," Kensi thought aloud. "and the CIA are already working on that too..."
"That leaves the electronic trail of money," Nell completed the sentence for Kensi.
"What money?" Sam asked aggressively. "You know you won't find anything and if you do it'll be planted."
"Nell, are you saying we need to hack into Callen's bank account?" Eric questioned. He did not like the idea of invading Callen's privacy and from the look on the team's faces, neither did they.
"Hey guys I'm not siding with the CIA but if we're covering all angles we need to think like them and they'll be looking at Callen's money and spending habits," Nell defended herself to the team.
"We're gonna have to do it," Sam admitted reluctantly. "You two review his finances. You know what to look for; anomalies, large deposits and withdrawals outside of his Federal salary, patterns, off shore banking..."
"This is Callen we're talking about. He won't bank off shore and I doubt he even withdraws much money. You know he barely even buys a round of drinks, especially when you're around Sam. He doesn't buy anything material..." Kensi smiled at her colleague, knowing how much he complained that he always seemed to be putting his hand in his pocket instead of Callen.
"You're not wrong," Sam confirmed with a wry smile. "But what else are we missing?"
The room fell in to silence as they considered the overwhelming attack from Agent Bolton that had stunned Callen and the team.
Sam clicked his fingers. "Russian mafia! The CIA said they had evidence of Callen meeting with the mafia at the Langham Huntington. They must have been following him to know that."
"Or they could have been working a different case, had surveillance in place and along came Callen?" Nell suggested. "I'll check traffic cams and the hotel feed for any tails."
"Callen did say one of the mafia guys looked familiar, that would fall in with someone setting him up." Sam said. "Eric, run a check on Yegor Petrov and send the address to my cell. We'll start with him. And then update Hetty. Get her to access Callen's Federal case records so we can make a list of all the people he's pissed off. C'mon Kens, we're goin' huntin'."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Callen remained in a stunned silence. Deeks opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. The two men were totally bewildered and shocked by the barrage of accusations Agent Jess Bolton had laid on to Callen. By contrast, the two CIA agents were looking very smug. Fordham was leaning back in his chair, arms folded and his face sporting a rather supercilious smirk. Bolton meanwhile, stared at Callen, head tilted slightly and the left corner of her mouth twitched as she tried to control her emotions.
"This is all circumstantial," Deeks finally spoke with a confidence he certainly did not feel. "Photos may place Callen with these individuals but there is no context. You have nothing."
"On the contrary Detective Deeks we have the video feed that shows Agent Callen accepting money from an official of the Russian Government as well as footage of him offering his services to Russian Mafia." Agent Bolton leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. Although she addressed Deeks, her eyes remained firmly on her prey.
Callen mimicked Bolton's move seconds after she leaned forward so there was barely ten centimetres between their two faces. Neither was willing to back down.
"I'll bet the feed cuts off just before I tried to shove the money back into Kozlov's hands and the footage of me kneeling down and feeding the bills under the door is also conveniently missing. And I have a witness that will testify I did not accept the bribe." Callen remained face to face with Bolton. "It's called a 'set up', something I know the CIA is very familiar with," he added sarcastically.
"So you don't deny taking the money then," Bolton persisted.
"Callen," Deeks said, firing a warning glance at the senior agent.
"The money was hidden in the note that Kozlov passed to me. As soon as I realised he slammed the door in my face so I fed the bills back underneath his door. Just before I finished Agent Sam Hanna saw me doing this. Incidentally he'd been called to the car park as this was happening as someone was trying to steal his car. If you were doing your job properly you'd be investigating who is trying to frame me. You have my CIA records – I have never jeopardised my job, my missions or my country."
"Bravo," CIA Agent Fordham slow clapped Callen's speech. "Have you ever seen your records? They're not exactly clean now are they?" Fordham had returned and was seated opposite Callen. He selected a thick brown folder and opened it to a marker about half way through. "Let me see now, there are instances of insubordination and disobeying direct orders which resulted in a number of suspensions from duty, ranging from one day to...wow, one month. I've seen agents fired for less."
"And I was right every single time," Callen narrowed his eyes and glared icily at Fordham. "If you've seen agents fired for less, then it sounds like you've been working with the dregs of the agency for too long. I would suggest you check the details of my missions but I doubt you have a high enough security clearance."
"Callen," Deeks repeated his warning. This interview was not going as he intended and he was already losing control of both Callen and the situation, although he was pretty sure he never had Callen in his hands in the first place.
Fordham shook his head slightly. "You're deflecting."
"Wouldn't you?" Callen replied with a smirk.
"You're enjoying this,"
"Am I?"
"Do you think this is a game?"
"Is it?"
Fordham slammed his palm against the table. "This is not a game Agent Callen and you need to stop with the wise-ass remarks. This is an investigation in to a serious accusation that you are a double agent, working for the Russians. Do you understand?"
"Who's accusing me? Where are you getting your intel from?" Callen paused momentarily to stare at Deeks. "Have you challenged the sources or just taken them at face value? It links into your people smuggling case, someone gives you my name, drops a few hints and throws you some circumstantial evidence and suddenly I'm number one on your hit list." Callen's voice continued to rise as he gained momentum and by the end he was standing and shouting at the CIA agents.
"Sit down Agent Callen," Fordham had risen to his feet in response to Callen's anger.
"Callen sit down," Deeks ordered. "This is not helping. You need to sit down and calm down."
Callen turned and glared at Deeks.
"Callen," Deeks returned Callen's stare, silently willing him to sit down, knowing the CIA would soon have him in cuffs if he didn't obey.
Callen angrily scuffed his chair along the floor and thumped himself down in protest.
"Agent Callen," Bolton said. "If you lose your temper again, I'll have you in handcuffs. Do you understand?"
Callen ground his teeth together in frustration, knowing his outburst would not go in his favour. But at least he felt slightly better for it. He knew the CIA would not seriously look at the source of their information, not until he or his team could disprove some of the evidence. At least he had gotten Deeks' attention, and he hoped what when Deeks hooked up with the team, he would direct them to search for whoever was providing the CIA with their intelligence.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Ops Centre
Eric studied his computer screen and the finances of their team leader. He narrowed his eyes as he concentrated, rereading the dates and figures.
"Callen's finances," Eric finally addressed Nell. "I've looked into his personal finances and he only has the account that his NCIS salary is paid in to."
"What's so surprising about that?" Nell asked absently as she continued to focus on traffic cams. "Most people have one bank account."
"Actually most people have at least two – one for day to day living and then a savings account."
Nell paused the footage and faced Eric. "So they do, I guess I wasn't counting savings as a bank account."
"And what is interesting about Callen's only account is that each month he withdraws the same large cash sum on the same date. What do you think he spends it on?"
"How much are we talking?" Nell peered across to Eric's monitor. "Oh..."
Eric flashed her a worried look.
"We can't be too alarmist at the moment, the CIA are trying to frame Callen for being a traitor so they're more interested in large payments being made to Callen, not him withdrawing a proportion of his legal salary each month."
"But what if the CIA finds out and they say he's trying to bribe or blackmail someone?" Eric grew more concerned with each word as his imagination started to run riot.
"Pull it together Beale," Nell said. "There is no way that money could be deemed as bribery payments. The CIA will probably try to say he uses it to gamble, for drink, women, drugs..."
"But what do you think he does spend it on?" Eric persisted.
Nell shrugged. "This is Callen we're talking about. Maybe he just stashes it inside his mattress and saves it for a rainy day."
"Hmm. Maybe. He did buy Sam that replacement car after his Challenger was stolen a few years ago."
"See, that makes much more sense now doesn't it?"
"But what if the CIA doesn't find the money in his mattress?"
"Eric!" Nell shook her head in despair. "It's a figure of speech. Worse case if the CIA go looking and find nothing, Callen will tell them what he spends it on – he will, won't he?" It was now Nell's turn to sound unsure. How well did any other them really know their team leader?
"Yeah sure," Eric said and turned back to view his screen. "He'll probably tell them he gambles, drinks and spends it on women – no paper trail...Hey did you find anything on the traffic cams or the hotel to show the CIA had an operation in play with the Russian mafia? "
"Nothing yet on traffic cams, but if you can hack in to the hotel cameras we might get lucky."
Eric smiled to himself. "I'm on it."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Give me details of your off shore bank accounts," Fordham demanded and was met with silence. "Why do you withdraw two thirds of your salary each month, in cash and on the same date? Who are you paying and what for?"
Callen remained silent. He could evade the question by answering with lie or a sarcastic comment but instead he sat back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him.
"Well?"
"Agent Callen is quite within his rights to refuse to answer your questions," Deeks advised the CIA.
"We know you own your house outright so there are no mortgage payments. We tried to visit you at home yesterday but you were out but we could see you live frugally. Ha you don't even seem to have a bed or sofa. Even your car is owned by the Government." Bolton paused to allow Callen a chance to interject. Silence. "So that leaves vices where cash and no paper trails are crucial. What y'into Agent Callen? What has you hooked each month? What's your weakness? Gambling, drugs, prostitutes..?"
Deeks could no longer contain himself and he broke in to a broad smile. "Y'gotta be kidding right? You've done your research into Callen? I've known Callen for four years and he's had one girlfriend in that time and she lasted a month. He practically lives like a monk. And as for drugs – he doesn't even smoke. And gambling? Hell, we gamble with our lives every day in this job but really? Shouldn't you be more concerned as to why you're investigating a so called double agent who is not getting paid for his services?"
Callen was glad the CIA could not trace his cash withdrawals each month. Over the years he had created several hidden stashes of cash, weapons and passports at locations across Los Angeles, as well as in Washington, New York and Miami. He feared there would come a time where he would need a large volume of cash, untraceable guns and fake IDs, and it was looking increasingly like that time had arrived.
"What do you do with your money Agent Callen?" Fordham questioned.
Callen shrugged. "Maybe I get high, gamble, lose heavily and spend the rest on hookers. You're investigating, so why don't you investigate?"
"You do realise that you're not helping yourself with these answers?" Fordham challenged.
Callen just stared defiantly at Fordham. He certainly was not going to make it easy for the CIA to pin anything on him.
"Why did you keep the fact that your father was a KGB Major, secret from us?" Agent Bolton asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"You never asked and I have no proof he was my father," Callen answered. "I only heard about him a few months ago so who told you?"
"It came to our attention in the course of our investigations," Bolton replied vaguely.
Callen looked at Deeks. "That son of a bitch...Granger!"
"Really?" Deeks said in amazement. "Why would Granger do that?"
Callen shook his head. He had no idea why but he would bet a hell of a lot that Granger had somehow let it slip. OK so it was highly probable that Reznikov was his father but until there was DNA evidence or he stood face to face with the man – if he was still alive – Callen had to allow himself an element of doubt. He'd been let down so many times in the past, that he never dared to fully embrace the idea that he now knew who his father was.
"The evidence is all circumstantial," Callen said.
"Sort of like what you have here against Agent Callen," Deeks interrupted with a cheeky smile.
"Exactly," Callen joined Deeks but without a smile.
"Agent Callen, may I remind you that you are already under arrest. And when we've finished interviewing you today, you will be handcuffed and escorted to the local PD where you will remain in a cell, on your own until we are ready for you tomorrow."
"We have a right to post bail," Deeks stated.
"Bail will be refused," Agent Jessica Bolton continued. "Agent Callen is a flight risk. His recent trip to Russia is proof that he has access to fake passports that are good enough to get him in and out of America and Russia undetected. He will not get bail."
"I think that leads us nicely on to fake passports," Fordham said. "The ID you recently used was very high quality and the backstopping meticulous. How did you finance that Agent Callen? From that money you withdraw each month. Cash can buy you a lot of illegal documents and weapons."
Deeks shot a quick glance at Callen, who wisely remained silent. Deeks waited for the CIA to throw in the fact that it was him as lawyer that eventually came to Callen's rescue, but Fordham too remained silent. Suddenly it became a game of who was going to break first and speak. It was a game that Deeks hated, and he was already itching to speak. He gently started tapping his fingers along the top of the table, glancing first at Callen and then at Fordham. He started smiling as he realised both men were as determined and stubborn as the other. Agent Bolton was busy scribbling notes and appeared oblivious to the inaction from the two men. And still the battle of wills continued.
Callen remained silent as he really could not answer the question without landing himself, Hetty and the rest of his NCIS team in deep water. He may not have sourced the ID or passport but he certainly could if required. And fund it himself. Hetty, Nell and Eric had backstopped him fully and produced the IDs, although Callen was vaguely aware that the alias had originally been created for him a number of years ago but had never actually been used. Worst case, he could be accused of stealing a Federal undercover alias, which in itself carried a heavy penalty and a prison sentence. Worse case though, he would admit to stealing it, to protect Hetty and the rest of the team.
Agent Bolton's phone vibrated on the table, disturbing the silence that still ensued. She picked it up and unlocked the screen, tapping the touch screen to access the email which had arrived.
"Well gentlemen," she said. "I hate to break up this little game but we have a lead. Agent Callen, stand up with your hands behind your back. Agent Fordham will handcuff you and escort you to the Police Department where you'll remain until we are ready to resume questioning you."
Callen stood slowly and placed his hands behind him. Fordham grabbed his arms and placed the cuffs tightly around his wrists, causing Callen to wince slightly in discomfort. Neither CIA agent paid him any attention.
"Deeks," Callen said. "You'd better catch up with Sam and Kensi. Find out who's doing this and why."
"You gonna be Ok?" Deeks asked in concern.
Callen smiled without humour and shrugged. "Been through worse," he replied, already thinking of ways he could escape.
Jessica Bolton glanced up from her mobile and stared straight in to Callen's eyes whilst addressing her colleague. "Agent Fordham, before you remove Agent Callen from this room, be sure to remove his belt, shoes and watch. Search him for any small objects like bobbi pins. Just for security and your own safety of course."
Callen forced himself to smile a little more. Round one had definitely just been won by the CIA.