"Callen… Don't!"

Gibbs' face was full of worry as he moved to cover both men not sure who he should be protecting, his friend or his former partner.

Callen looked back at Tony with a face devoid of emotion.

"Is that what you want Marco? Do you want me to shoot you?" He asked his voice flat and even. Even though his face was emotionless his gut was churning.

If Marco said yes could he do it? Would he do it? Would he complete the training he'd been through as a child; could he become that person again?

"I want you to listen to me." Marco turned slightly. "You need to know that you are wrong. I was never abused, neither were you. It wasn't like that."

"Really?!" Callens eyebrow raised and a slight smirk grazed his face. "We get trained in different places?"

Marco stepped back as if slapped. "You're playing me? How can you take this so lightly, take your oath so lightly."

"I was a child when I promised that. I had no idea what I was promising." Callen took a step forward. "You didn't know either, did you?"

At that point in his life Callen would have gladly traded his soul for a chance of a loving family and a safe place to call his own.

He'd been thirteen then, the idea of promising something to get what he wanted had been intangible. A promise to him was something easily given and very rarely kept. If he'd had no idea what he had been promising at thirteen how could Marco, who had made the same promise at four, have had any idea what he was getting into.

Marco looked at him angrily. How dare Callen even insinuate that the Calling was wrong, that all he had been brought up to believe in was wrong.

"I was giving my oath to my family. The people who saved me, the people who saved you!"

"They are not your family. You don't have family. I don't have family. Just us. I have me and you have you. It's how it's always been and how it always will be for people like us."

"I had my father." Marco argued the pain of his loss still eating away at him. "He may not have been my biological father but he taught me about the sort of man I wanted to be. He knew there was something out there bigger than us. That there was something worth fighting for!"

"Yeah and how did that work out for ya." Callen snapped sarcastically. "He used you. You were played. You believed that The Calling were going to fix things and make things better for kids like us?" He laughed sourly. "Face it Marco, things will never be better for kids like us. Kids like us exist to make life better for others. Question is, do you want The Calling to continue to do that to other children, maybe your children one day?"

Marco stopped, finally the gun wavered.

"It saves them." He said softly his voice no longer as sure as it had been.

"You really believe that the basic training we did is good for children? Or the advanced training that we did? You think it saved us?!" Callen's voice hitched at the pain of the memory. Basic training had been the stuff of his nightmares for many years after leaving The Calling. He had been a teenager, old enough to realize that what had been done to him was wrong. But if no one had ever told Marco it was wrong he would still think it was normal, that all children went through things like this.

He let out a small wry laugh as he remembered the moment he had thought the Calling was wrong, he had stormed out of the training ring only to be stopped at the door to the large training room by Alexei. Callen had glared at him, "I'm not doing that, it's abuse. I know it and I ain't doing it!"

Alexei had held his breath for a microsecond and then wrapped his arm around the now sobbing child. "It's not abuse till someone says it is son. Until then it's just family." Alexei had laughed and walked a scared and shaking Callen back to the training ring.

Watching the myriad of emotions crossing her favorite agents face Hetty coughed. She'd been holding it in for a while but now couldn't help it, besides she needed to bring Mr. Callen back to the present.

Marco's attention went back to her.

"You still trust them? Even her? Did she show you the folder we got from the dark web. Do you know she has known about you since you were a child?"

"I knew." Callen said, truthfully he didn't know everything but he knew enough. He knew that as he had escaped Juvenile hall Hetty had been the one to save him. To make his conviction disappear and give him a fresh start at life.

Hetty looked at him, with a mixture of concern and pride on her face.

"Marco. You need to put the gun down." Gibbs nudged.

"You don't get it!" Marco swung around to stare at Gibbs. "I'm not the one in the wrong here Boss! Callen's wrong, you need to stop him, he'll mess everything up!... I…" Marco stopped as from behind him Anna suddenly moved and put her gun up to his head.

"I think it is you who needs to stop now." She said.

"What?" Marco looked shocked, "But I handcuffed you!"

"Yes you did." Anna agreed, taking the same cuffs she'd been tied to the chair with and putting them on Marco's wrists.

"No…" Marco shook his head, "This can't be happening! It's all wrong!" For him it was like a bad dream. Everything he had worked for was ruined, they just couldn't see how destructive their actions were. "You're making a mistake!"

Hetty sighed as Callen moved to untie her.

"Are you alright?" He asked worried.

"I am unharmed." Hetty replied, "I know someone who may be able to help Mr. Marsino and possibly yourself."

"Me?" Callen looked shocked. "What on earth would I need help with?"

Hetty smiled a pained smile. "I believe Mr. Marsino could use a professional deprogrammer come and talk to him. Also we know you still have… something. Something left over from when you were with The Calling."

"I'm fine Hetty." Callen shook his head but couldn't meet her eyes. He turned from her as Gibbs moved Marco out to another room and walked over to Anna.

"Are you alright?" He asked as his hand cupped her face, moving a strand of her blonde hair that had fallen over one eye. "I was worried." He admitted.

Anna smiled and kissed his cheek gently mindful of their audience.

"I am unharmed Callen."

"Agent Gibbs, if you wish to detain Mr. Marsino in my pantry for now and we will deal with him. I need to see if the person I had asked to come to the boat shed wouldn't mind making a detour here." Hetty said.

Gibbs followed Hetty to the room she had discussed leaving Anna and Callen alone.

"Are you alright Callen?" Anna asked looking deep into his eyes.

For a moment Callen stared back, then he looked away.

"I'm fine." He lied.

Anna smiled and placed a hand on his cheek.

"No you are not. However I know you won't talk now. But know I love you Callen." She said the sincerity in her voice making a lump form in his chest. He pulled her tight to him relishing in the closeness and making sure that she couldn't see his tears

But she knew. She rubbed her hand on his back. "It's ok Callen." she said softly.

He pulled away sharply, "I was just worried for you and Hetty that's all."

Anna smiled at him. She didn't believe a word of it but didn't argue with him.

Deliberately she took him in the opposite direction that Marco had been taken in and out to Hetty's walled garden. She felt him relax at the peacefulness in the garden and lead him to a bench.

"Callen, no one will think bad of you." She eased him down onto a bench.

Callen put his head in his hands and sighed. "It was there… Everything, everything we were taught to believe. Everything… I should have been… I could so easily have been Marco."

"Gibbs and Henrietta have him, he will be helped." Anna promised him.

Callen laughed, "There's no helping us...him. It's not his fault, we're just broken Anna." He turned away wrapping his arms around him in a self comforting gesture. "They broke us and didn't care about picking up the pieces, just when I get my life together, they come and poke at the cracks just to watch us break again. There's no way I'm gonna be allowed to work for a federal agency once this gets out. I was sure I was free of them."

He chuckled sourly, "I suppose this must be what it's like having parents. You pick up traits of them and no matter how hard you try you just can't shake it. I am literally a product of my upbringing, not worth saving."

He turned not looking at Anna, not seeing Gibbs enter behind him.

"I was thirteen, I knew what was happening to me. I should have stopped. At least Marco had an excuse, he was only four. He should be helped."

Callen slumped defeated onto a small stone bench, "You should leave me."

He was done, there was no fight left in him anymore. In his mind The Calling had won.