Hunted

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

"Victoria, as in Vancouver Island, Victoria?" Hetty asked him, still in disbelief that she'd been kept out of the loop for so long.

Chapter 1

Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada — five years later

It was a beautiful summer's day. The wind was light and the sun was warm. Perfect to let the children run outside and enjoy the sea air. Thea Campbell rode her bike with her two year old son, Tristan, on the toddler seat in front of her, and her four year old daughter, Alice, riding on the tandem attachment behind her. They rode their bike everywhere around their city of Victoria—-except in the snow. That's when they'd pull on their coats, hats, gloves and boots, and walk everywhere. Neither Alice or Tristan complained. They had so much energy, they revelled in the exercise—-they seemed to grow on the fresh sea air alone.

Victoria was surrounded by inlets and smaller islands, with the mainland to their east. It was easy to get around the island, either by boat, car or sea plane. Sea plane was their choice of preference. Thea's husband, Stephen, flew sea planes for a living. He'd travel to the mainland on a daily basis, and when it was just family time, he'd fly them as far north as Cape Scott Provincial Park. It was pure wilderness, where you could spend weeks there and not see another single person.

Life on Vancouver Island was precious. The Campbells had all the necessities that modern life had to offer in the city, as well as the means of escape, without having to travel far. It made life simple for them and stress free.

Except for moments like this one that Thea now found herself in. Her front tyre had blown. She'd have to walk both kids along the track from the beach, to the house.

"Mommy, look?"

Tristan loved planes. It didn't matter how big or small they were, he was enthralled by them. He was pointing to a private jet, which was approaching the local airport. It had been a long time since she'd seen this kind of jet, and her stress levels rose higher.

"Yes, sweetheart. A plane. This one is a jet. It's much bigger than the one Daddy flies."

"Jet?" It was adorable the way Tristan would hold his hands out to the side, with his palms up in question.

"Fast plane," Thea explained.

A wide grin spread across his porcelain features. He had rosie cheeks from walking beside her, as she pushed the bike home. He had her pale complexion and auburn hair, but her husband's ocean blue eyes. She was sure if they lived in a warmer climate, his complexion would tan better than hers. No matter how much she tried, she never tanned. It was fake tans for her.

"Can Daddy fly a jet, Mommy?" Alice watched the jet smoothly fly over them as it lowered its wheels to land. The national airport was north of the city, farther enough out for the smaller sea planes to fly safe around the many inlets and harbours.

A smile spread across Thea's face. "Yes he can."

"Why doesn't Daddy fly jets all the time?" Life outside the island intrigued the four year old.

"Because he loves the sea planes, sweetheart. And that's his job. They can take off and land anywhere. Take us on adventures, whenever we want."

The children giggled. They loved it when they went off on their adventures.

"Whale! Whale!" Alice hazel eyes widened at the sign of the orca, as it came up for air. They heard the water push through the air hole, a blowing sound echoed around the small bay.

Thea watched the orca swim in close to shore. "Look, it has a baby."

All eyes were fixed on the mother and baby whales, that had swum thousands of miles north from the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico seemed so far away, it was hard to imagine they'd come that distance. But so did the humming birds. Every spring, they would make the long journey north for the summer and head south to Mexico again each fall, for the warmer climate in winter.

A car screeched as it swerved around the corner. Thea pulled her children down the embankment, leaving the bike, for cover.

"Let's go look at the whales," Thea told them.

The children were easily distracted, but her nerves her on tender hooks. It had been a long time since she'd had this feeling of dread. Fear for her safety and that of her children, became her focus. She pulled her cell out of her pocket and dialled.

"Stephen. Where are you?"

"Hey, sweetheart. I'm almost home. What's for dinner?" It was their usual chit chat they had when she called him at work. But this time, she needed him with them right now. The car continued down the road, but she was on edge.

"Can you meet us now? We're down at the local bay, there are two orcas here."

Stephen looked down and saw their small figures from the air. He would have waved, but they couldn't see him.

"Look up?"

Thea's head lifted and she waved.

"I'll set it down. What's up?"

"I don't know. I've just got a feeling."

Stephen had had that feeling all day too. It was why he'd flown home earlier than usual. "Do you want to get away for a few days?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a good idea."

"Okay. I'll come and meet you at the jetty."

"Look, there's Daddy now."

Alice and Tristan ran towards the jetty, Thea following. Stephen had no sooner stepped out of the plane, when he was bowled over by his kids.

"Daddy!"

"Daddy!"

He scooped each up in his strong arms and swung them around three-sixty degrees. He put them down and helped them up into the plane. He brushed Alice's blonde locks off her face as he strapped her into her seat-belt.

"Glad you're here."

He turned and pulled his wife of five years close and kissed her.

"Me too. Where's the bike?"

"Flat tyre."

Stephen nodded. "I'll drive this way home to pick it up. Then we can pack."

"Stephen."

He furrowed his brows, it had been years since he'd seen her this worried.

"What is it, Thea?"

"I don't think we should go home."

Stephen scanned the small bay, his eyes studied every person he could see. Some were familiar, but no one out of place.

"Okay. If you think we shouldn't."

Stephen started the engine and directed it out of the bay. Gunfire echoed around them as they lifted up into the air. He pushed the small sea plane as hard as he could and he sighed with relief when they flew around the corner.

He gave his wife a worried look. Five years of peace, living the life, but now they had been found. It was time they headed into the wilderness, where they couldn't be found. But it wasn't just the two of them on the run anymore, they had Alice and Tristan to think about.

Office of Special Projects

Henrietta Lange was ageing faster than she'd like. Her joints needed fish oil to keep her well tuned. She felt like her old Porsche. Her head lifted as chatter grew in the bull pen. The dynamics changed after her team leader suddenly resigned. His replacement, Matt Dodds, was a good agent and he'd fitted in well. Like Sam, he was a family man, with two sons aged five and eight.

Sam's cell buzzed. He picked it up and noticed the caller id. "Gibbs, how's it going back east?"

"Hi Sam. Our friends are in danger."

Sam's eyes lifted and met Hetty's. She knew that if anyone knew where Callen and Nell were, he would. But he'd kept his mouth shut and refused to tell her anything. She'd taken it personally. Why wouldn't she? After all, she'd done everything she possibly could to keep him safe. Now he was determined to do it on his own. The look in Sam's eyes told her the news wasn't good. She raised onto her feet and walked down the steps.

Sam nodded his head, it was difficult to figure out what was going on, but she would, even if she had to extract it out of him by force.

Sam disconnected the call. "Vance needs to speak with us up in Ops."

Hetty arched her right brow, curious to Sam's response. This was not what she'd expected.

Sam ran up the stairs into Ops, the team not far behind him. She swiftly moved to follow.

Leon Vance's image was larger than life up on the screen in Ops. It was never a good idea to stand too close to it at the best of times.

"Leon, what is going on?"

Leon sighed. "Henrietta. We've received reports of gunfire in a small bay in Victoria."

"Victoria, as in Vancouver Island, Victoria?" Hetty asked him, still in disbelief that she'd been kept out of the loop for so long.

"Yes." Leon looked to Gibbs, who replaced him on the screen.

"My team are about to leave for Victoria. We'll meet you there, Sam knows the rendezvous point."

"Shouldn't the local police department be handling gunfire in Victoria? This is not in our jurisdiction, Jethro."

"Witnesses told the local detectives, that they saw who was in the sea plane as it took off from this bay. They are well known in the area, and they are worried about them. They're not sure if anyone in the plane was hit as it was fired upon."

Deeks scratched his head and looked at his partner. Kensi didn't know a thing and she too had a puzzled expression on her face.

"Sam, we've got to go. I'll let you fill your team in on the rest."

"Okay."

The screen went dead, all eyes shifted onto their team leader.

Sam looked to Eric and nodded. He'd prepared the Technical Operator on such occasion, although he'd prayed this day would never come.

Eric brought up photos of a family. A man, a woman, and their two children. At first the team had puzzled expressions, they looked to Sam and Eric as if they had the wrong photos up.

"Meet the Campbell family. Stephen flies sea planes for a living. An honest job, and earns enough to provide well for his wife, Thea, and their two children. Four year old, Alice, and two year old Tristan."

"Why are we looking into this family? Do we know them?" Deeks stepped forward, studying them further.

"I don't remember any of our cases dealing with a Campbell," Kensi added.

"That's because they are aliases." Sam looked at Eric, who brought up closer images of the husband and wife.

Hetty drew in a deep breath. Clever indeed. For five years, she has tried to find her agent and intelligence analyst. She would never of found them, with them looking like they now did. It was amazing how a change of hair style and colour, different clothing, coloured contacts and fake tans could change a couple. A smile curved slightly. They looked happy in their new life with their beautiful children. Such a mix of both parents, who would have thought!

"Callen and Nell?" Deeks voice rose in pitch from surprise.

"They've been found. It's the only thing that explains why they were shot at."

Worry replaced her previous smile. Hetty stepped forward. "Do you have a meeting point with the Campbellls for such an occasion, Mr Hanna?"

"Yes, we do. Gibbs and myself have worked alongside them and we'll meet them there."

Hetty pursed her lips and nodded. "Good. Gather your gear and I'll have a jet ready for you waiting at Santa Monica airport."

Sam nodded. "Thanks, Hetty."

A/N: Reviews welcome.