The brilliant sunshine and candescent blue skies of the previous day were nowhere to be seen when Callen and Deeks woke, both refreshed yet bleary eyed after their much needed day off. Deeks had already been asleep when Callen returned in the early hours of the morning and as was customary, he fell asleep in the armchair minutes after sitting down. The overcast skies were, in Deeks' own words, an omen of what lay ahead. Callen had scorned him and was just thankful the day was cooler, albeit rather humid. Neither had caught up with any news or weather forecasts and Deeks was predicting rain before the day was out - which again Callen had ridiculed. Looming bad moods were set aside as the pair ate breakfast, drank coffee and spoke in whispers just outside their rooms. There would be a lot of information disseminated and they would both need to have their wits about them.

They returned to the ranch shortly before the designated meeting time of nine. Coffee was offered and Callen grabbed a water instead; he had no desire to mainline caffeine, unlike his partner. They made their way to the kitchen and were greeted with the sight of a small group of men and two women already seated around the farmhouse table. 'Good mornings' and 'hellos' were muttered and nodded and the pair made their way to the empty chairs. Callen looked around, mentally ticking names and faces off his check list; Lyneham, DuValle, Ariel were present as expected and also present were Thomason Hawker, the resident master-hacker and other familiar and expected faces like Stone, Chet and Brad. Joining the select group was a woman neither partner had yet encountered, a dark skinned woman with long straight hair, certainly of an Asian heritage. Notable by his absence was Raider and even accounting for him, there were still three unfilled chairs.

'Raider's had a special task this morning,' Lyneham said, noticing Deeks looking around the room and presumably wondering where his buddy was at.

'That's good.' Deeks replied. 'We were back early, not like you two dirty stop outs.' Deeks' comments were directed towards Callen and Lyneham, and caused the former to scowl and the latter to tilt his head and grin. 'Well at least one of you is in a good mood. Guess you didn't get any?'

Callen's scowl turned in to an evil glare and he scraped his chair noisily back from the table, deciding he needed coffee after all. In fairness, he thought the whole situation was rather amusing but he was happy to go along with Deeks' play. After all if his alias was moody he could be more ruthless in his suggestions to counter whatever plan DuValle had in mind. He grabbed the pot of coffee and poured himself a mug, now also thinking that a caffeine overload might actually be in order. He may have stopped drinking alcohol the previous day as soon as Lyneham had appeared but the art of pretence, hustling and the very long day, coupled with his slightly conflicted emotional state, somewhat caused by Anna, was taking its toll. Today was the one day he could not allow anything to distract him. He could hear a general sniggering from the table at Deeks' words and let it wash over him. Ignoring his 'brother', he turned and faced his audience.

'So is Raider picking up special guests or something?'

'What makes you ask that?' Ariel asked bluntly.

'Really?' Callen said. It seemed that his alias was not in the mood for games today either. 'Raider's on a special task and there are three spare chairs. It's just ticked after nine and I'm pretty sure no one would even consider being late for this little soiree.'

'Aren't you a real Sherlock Holmes now?'

'Ease up Ariel.' Lyneham said. 'It is pretty obvious don't y'think?'

Ariel shot Lyneham a poisonous look and turned her attention to DuValle. The pair were standing a little distance from the table and had been talking in lowered tones, clearly not for the ears of anyone else, at least not yet.

'So who's this?' Deeks was keen to break the uneasy silence which had fallen over the group. He nodded in the direction of the Asian looking woman with a smile. 'I'm Billy, by the way.'

'Lin.' The woman answered.

'Ah.' Deeks replied. 'Have you been here long? I mean we've only been here a few weeks but I'm sure I'd remember you...'

'I was here, then I had to go elsewhere,' Lin answered vaguely and with a poker straight face. 'Currently I'm here.'

'Wow, that is...good.' Deeks refrained from glancing in Callen's direction. Lin's answer was suitably hazy and he could detect a few flaws in her American accent. She was not a native. Close though, so either grew up in a close Asian family or community or moved to the US maybe as a youth. She looked no more than thirty, short and lean. He reckoned there were muscles within her lithe frame and was probably very highly skilled. He'd learnt a long time ago never to under estimate any woman.

'This is Rob, Billy's brother - but don't hold that against him,' Lyneham introduced Callen. 'They've been with us a few weeks now. Solid guys, just not always the best socially as you may have guessed. You know the rest.'

'Good to know,' Lin said, a serious expression on her face as she nodded an acknowledgement to Callen and raised her eyebrows to Deeks who grinned in return.

Deeks was about to reply when he heard the sounds of voices and footsteps entering the living area. Raider's voice was the only one he recognised and he, together with most others in the room, turned their attention to the kitchen entrance. Raider smiled broadly as he entered the room, followed by three men in their thirties, all of whom looked like they were ready to start a war, dressed in combat gear and carrying large, heavy sports bags which they carefully placed by the door.

'Ladies and gents - Billy,' Raider announced, pausing slightly for comic effect. 'These fine men here are Tom, Patrick and Al and they have travelled all the way from Northern California. I'll leave y'all to introduce y'selves so grab another coffee, slice of toast or something.'

At Raider's words murmurs started and there was movement as everyone accepted Raider's invitation to relax and circulate with each other for a few minutes more. Both Callen and Deeks had realised the men were from the Lightfoot Militia and they again refrained from making eye contact to acknowledge the fact. More so now than ever they would be under scrutiny, particularly from DuValle and Ariel and they had agreed earlier to keep away from each other as much as possible. Shared looks could easily be caught and interpreted as suspicious, maybe even leading to a betrayal of their aliases. A mug of fresh steaming coffee still in his hand, Callen walked up to Tom just as he was taking a bite of toast. His pals were already talking to DuValle and Lyneham and so Callen decided to seize his opportunity.

'Hey, I'm Rob.'

Tom nodded and with a mouth full of toast, put his coffee cup on the sideboard and held out his hand for Callen to shake.

'Tom. We should've gotten here before sunrise but my dumb-ass cousin Patrick decided we had time to stop at some strip club.'

'Really? What in LA?'

'No, on the five.'

'So where've you come from? San Francisco? Sacramento?'

'Further north, top of the state.'

'There's nothing but national parkland up that way. No wonder he wanted to stop at a strip joint.'

'Hmm.' Tom's response was clearly not an agreement with Callen's sentiments. 'He's already got a woman and a mighty fine one at that.'

'Ah.' Callen nodded in understanding. 'I get you. You been here before?'

He glanced around the room and saw that most were making easy conversation and he wondered about the relationships between the new men and the residents of the ranch.

'Me and Pat, yes but it's Al's first time. He's from Hawthorne, Nevada. We detoured a bit and picked him up at Palmdale.' Tom paused to look around him. 'There are quite a few new faces. Must've been six months since we were last down this way.'

'Looks like you bastards brought the weather with you,' Lyneham said as he joined Callen and Tom. He held out his hand and pulled Tom in for a friendly hug.

'We sure did. Why else do y'think it's all dull like?'

'I would say next time don't bother, but my brother - we need you.' Lyneham smiled. 'Let's sit down. We have big plans.'

Minutes later, the elite members of the ranch were as comfortable as they could be, seated on cushioned wooden chairs and falling silent, waiting expectantly for Lyneham, DuValle and Ariel to begin. The three stood at the head of the table and Lyneham spoke first.

'Almost three weeks ago we launched an attack on Los Angeles to prove two things. Firstly that we could do so without endangering any lives and secondly to see if we could remain undetected. And we succeeded in both. No one was killed or injured and no one was even aware of what was going to happen. We didn't claim responsibility because we didn't want attention drawn to ourselves. Not yet anyway.'

Lyneham paused and looked around the table, making eye contact with each person and then nodding briefly when he caught Ariel's eye. Having received her cue, she continued.

'We've been listening to chatter from law enforcement, the Feds and LAPD. They've been running around chasing shadows and we're not even close to being on their radar. They haven't a clue about who we are or even the reasons why. We've been monitoring the internet, dark web, radio frequencies and there is nothing to suggest our camp is under suspicion. We've continued to allow strangers here and made sure some only stayed one night. We have access to highly classified databases and every single person is thoroughly vetted. There's been five newcomers since the attack. Al arrived this morning and is affiliated to the militia. The other two are also in this room; Rob and Billy. We combed through the lives of all three in case to make sure they met our criteria. The other two both stayed for less than twenty four hours and did raise suspicions. First was a backpacker who turned up past midnight just after the attack. Her story didn't quite sit straight and we encouraged her on her way the following morning. The other was a man in his thirties brought here by invitation like many of you. He arrived a week ago but his story didn't check out and he's no longer with us.'

Ariel's words hung in the air and both Callen and Deeks breathed a hidden sigh of relief. Eric had really come through for them this time and Callen was thankful Hetty saw through his original hair brained idea, although he was concerned the last minute story used by Nell was not watertight.

'Who was that one from last week?' Raider asked. 'I don't remember him.'

'Must've been too loved up with Billy, your new BFF, to notice.' Stone replied, causing a few sniggers to ripple through the group.

'Like most, he arrived late at night, bedded down and was err, encouraged to leave before breakfast.' Ariel replied with a sinister smile.

'Seems he took a wander in the early hours and was found trying to get fresh with one of the young girls.' DuValle added, barely disguising the lecherous look on his face as he imagined the scene.

'Claims not to recall anything about this, which is not surprising as we made it up.' Lyneham continued. 'The point is, you're all here now because we trawled through every dark crevice of your life. From your birth, kindergarten, high schools, juvie, military records, criminal records, drivers licence - you name it, it's been triple checked and then some. Every one of you has the skills we require from the military, the streets, from the business world and life in general. Thanks to computer genius Thomason, we also now have floor plans for buildings key to our cause and the ability to plant information and identities.'

'Gentlemen - and ladies,' DuValle allowed his eyes to linger a little longer than necessary on Lin. 'Welcome to stage two.'

Large sheets of paper featuring the schematics of federal buildings and welfare offices were placed on the table, and the team poured over them as Lyneham explained the key target was the FBI field office on Wilshire Boulevard. The building also housed the Veteran Affairs Benefits Office and the LA Passport Agency. This way they could express their displeasure at multiple agencies and areas whilst infiltrating only one building. Lyneham continued with a sly glance at Callen that it may not be the CIA but the FBI was an excellent starting point. Deeks suggestion they focus on lesser known agencies such as NCIS was ridiculed by Ariel, stating their focus was LA and the nearest NCIS office was San Diego. Future waves of attack would see them tackle other cities, just not yet.

Second to the Federal Building on Wilshire was Social Services. Many of the families, as well as some of the adults were angry with the welfare state and they were reminded that although there was a strong veteran presence at the ranch, their movement to Make America Decent reflected the mood of every individual as a microcosm of the American nation. There were countless nods and murmurs of agreement and DuValle directed their attention to the floor plans of headquarters of the LA County's Department of Children and Family Services. Photos were passed around showing a neat white office building. There had been much debate about other targets with possibilities including banks, courthouses and tax offices. Instead they had chosen a soft target - realtors - ones dotted all over the city. For these the plan was to use children to throw eggs at the windows.

'That your idea again?' Raider asked DuValle.

'Yes. The kids were off the grid and invisible to the cops.' DuValle said. 'Trouble is, they now have photos of some of them and their faces are in data bases. Next week when the attacks start we'll need new faces and even better, smarter ways of working. We've chosen new targets that are unconnected to the last ones and we'll use different technology.'

'What, like duck eggs instead of chicken eggs?' Deeks said. 'If the feds are searching for these kids now, in a few weeks they'll just be looking for more kids and we're gonna quickly run out of kids.' Deeks grinned at Ariel, hoping to ease the tension which he had inadvertently created. 'I'm just makin' sure y'all don't overlook the obvious.'

'Different technology means the use of drones.' The condescending tone of Ariel's voice drew a smile from some of the men, including its intended target. 'And we've been working on that with Al. Through his contacts at Hawthorne Army Depot we have state of the art equipment and will be able to fully draw on all your skills.' Ariel looked pointedly at each individual around the table.

'So we're using drones?' Raider asked, his eyes lighting up at the thought of a new toy.

'Probably not.' Lyneham admitted. 'This time we use different faces, new targets and next time we step up to drones as weapons.'

'So duck eggs and kids and no drones even though you have them?' Callen shook his head. 'You said the feds don't know who or why the first attacks were made. Why not claim responsibility and tell everyone the reasons? Keeping quiet defeats the whole purpose of what we want to achieve.'

'I advised against it.' DuValle responded despite the question being asked to Lyneham. 'Thought it made for better headlines to leave the country guessing. Also wanted to see those bastard feds chase their tales. Assholes.'

'Sounds like you're afraid to make a bold move.' Callen replied scornfully. 'I thought you wanted to make a stand. I'm here 'cause this country has treated me like crap all my life, even after I put my life on the line every day to keep people safe. I want everyone to know that changes have be made. That's not gonna happen if you get a bunch of ten year olds to egg a building in downtown LA.'

'What if someone else had claimed the attacks, like ISIS?' Deeks piped up. He had witnessed Callen's jaw tightening ever so slightly and the undisguised look of anger on DuValle's face. He figured it would not be the best move if a fight erupted between Callen and DuValle, and the chances of that were increasing with every word Callen uttered.

DuValle turned to Deeks and grinned. His eyes sparkled brightly as his grin became a fully developed smile. Deeks suppressed a shudder at how feral he suddenly appeared.

'I like what you did there - changing the topic. Maybe you ain't as dense as you make out to be.' He smile disappeared as he fired a glance towards Callen before returning to Deeks, the feral grin instantly reappearing. 'I was half expecting that to happen. The press will just go along with whatever bullshit the feds spew out.'

'That's why we need to hit the city again, hard and fast.' Ariel added. Like Deeks she seemed keen ensure DuValle's attention was not focused on Callen. 'We can't afford for this to be sidelined. This next attack will have enough similarities to be connected to the first one which is why we're still using kids and eggs. And in answer to your earlier question Billy, several of the new faces will also be sacrificial lambs.'

A silence fell over the room as Ariel's words sunk in. She took half a pace back from the table and surveyed the faces of the team. The appetite was visible in every one of them but she could sense a sudden apprehension that phase two was a serious step forward from which there would be no return. She stared a little longer at Billy, Rob and the most recent newcomer Al, but just like the others they gave no sign of wanting to back out.

'Who will be the sacrificial lambs?' The question came from Thomason Hawker, the youngest and quietest man on the team.

'Don't you worry your pretty little baby face about that.' DuValle grinned. 'We got some volunteers happy to face jail time in exchange for a nice pay cheque.'

'So no one is gonna die?'

DuValle laughed outright at what he perceived to be the naivety of Thomason's question. He shook his head in an exaggerated manner and moved around the table. He stood behind the young man and placed his hands heavily on Thomason's shoulders.

'No one is going to die dipshit. And the volunteers know exactly what's expected of them and the risks.'

'It's a valid question Anton.' Callen came to the defence of Thomason, whose face was now a bright shade of pink. The young man had flinched from DuValle and was trying to shrink in to himself. Callen wondered how such a timid youth with clearly talented computer skills had managed to infiltrate the trusted ranks of the group. He recalled the wonder twins had not been able to find information on him and he wondered if Thomason had hacked government databases to eradicate his own existence.

'Oh I'm sorry Rob.' Sarcasm dripped from DuValle. He moved away from Thomason, back to his position at the head of the table alongside Lyneham and Ariel. Whatever liking he had previously displayed for Callen had been totally eliminated, and it had taken Callen only a few minutes to turn DuValle in to an enemy. 'Maybe I should have volunteered people instead. Last in, first out?'

'Guys, this is not helping.' Ariel stepped in to dissipate the tension which had suddenly gathered. 'Everyone involved knows and understands our cause, the risks. There is no pressure for any of you or the good men, women and children living here to take any part in this if they don't want to. We don't want anyone to die and if anyone is unhappy, they can leave the room now.' Ariel paused, not expecting anyone to actually leave and she was not disappointed. 'Good. We've completed our research and now we share our plans with you and refine them.'