A/N: Oh wow - I am so overwhelmed by the love given by you guys. Thank-you so much countrygirluk56, angel897 and the wonderful guest for your reviews. Juneselene, rabbitkirsty, FallenAngel0601, , tamarabvillar and ed24555 (who appeared on these list again! weird haha!), I cannot thank-you enough for following this story and adding it to your favourites.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jodi93 for your wonderful message. I really appreciate the time you took to write it.

Its super motivating to hear feedback from you, and everyone else through reviews, message and favs and follows. I love writing and to know that there are people that enjoy the crazy that is usually locked away in my head is so fulfilling.

Thank-you to all my readers, and I hope you enjoy another chapter of this story.

Yuul x

"G. G… Goddamnit G - wait!"

Callen ignored Sams' pleas, jumping down the steps two at a time. There was no time to lose and there was nothing that anyone could say to stop him. He was on a mission, and he wasn't going to fail. Cassandra's life depended on it.

"G. G! Seriously! Wait!" Continuing his stance, Callen slipped into the bullpen to grab his car keys, checking his phone as he did so. Eric was too good, already having sent the location to his phone. What Callen hadn't counted on, was Sam practically barricading him into the bull pen.

"Sam, don't make me shoot you" He spoke, his glaring at him as he checked his gun and sheathed it.

"G. Come on man." Sam held his hands up in defence, but didn't move. Callen didn't have the patience to engage in this conversation, but knew he would have to humour him.

"What?" Callen asked, pocketing his phone. "What on earth do you have to say?" He was desperate. He could feel his voice tremble, as if it would break at any moment. He had just witnessed a group of men manhandle and kidnap Cassie - and knowing that Nate was there gave him no sense of relief. He trusted no-one with the safety of any member of his team, let along a member who had deadly infection. The more he thought about it, the more helpless he felt, and subsequently, the more violent his reaction was becoming "Sam, seriously, just get out of the way" Callen went the push into Sam, but was held back at arms length.

Sam shot him a look "We're all in this together" He had seen this before. Callen, the lone wolf, but he couldn't let him go off this time. "I am coming with you - but you have to calm down" Sam spoke, his voice full of wisdom, daring his partner to not comply "Because if you become reckless, we are going to lose" Sam had already reserved himself to the fact that they were on the losing team the moment he had met Cassandra Wyatt - but he had more of an affinity to her being alive that dead. Despite the multiple possible victims she'd accrued over the past 9 days, Sam's respect for the woman had not dwindled - but the affect she was having on his partner was growing more and more worrying.

"Do what you want, but I'm going now" Sam finally allowed Callen to pass, raising an eyebrow at him as he rushed off down the corridor. He caught the site of Deeks and Kensi stood on the stairs and he could do nothing more than shrug and follow his partner, hoping that this day didn't end as bad as it started.

"Nates house?" Deeks didn't know why he was surprised as he pulled up and parked behind their comrades car. It was the obvious place for her to hide out, seeing as cameras were installed in and around the NCIS safe houses (even though she had disabled the last lot). What did surprise him, was the fact that they hadn't been here, investigating her wherabouts sooner. He stepped out the car before voicing his more recent concerns.

"Don't you think its odd we didn't look here this week?" Deeks asked his partner, in a relatively rhetorical tone "I mean -" he continued "This is like obvious place number one, right?"

It didn't take much to convince Deeks and Kensi to join the other two in the field. In all honestly, it had taken nothing at all. That was something they were all so proud about their team - they jumped in the deep end and fought even when they had no idea what they were up against. Despite this being a common truth, Kensi was beginning to grow tired of the long game, feeling that something was going to have to give at some point, and the thing she feared most, was that it was going to someones life.

"Well I don't know about you, but this whole thing is odd" Kensi replied, tucking her hands in her pockets as they made their way up the drive way. "Besides, If Hetty had Nate on the job, then she probably knew Cassie was here anyway" She added, stopping to turn to her partner "This whole thing is just too big" Kensi felt a little lost in it all and nervously began to push invisible hairs behind her ears.

"Hey hey" Deeks stepped up, rubbing her arms in comfort "It's all going to be fine. Well jump in, grab goldilocks, beat the three bears and be home for porridge - my treat" His lopsided grin made Kensi smile, which was the point of the injection of jest, but neither of them could admit feeling 100% comfortable with the situation. But they didn't have much time to dwell on it, as a crash inside the house made them both jump and rush inside the residence.

"You have got to calm down!" Sam grabbed his partner by the shoulder "You are not thinking straight!" They heard, as they stepped through the front door.

"What happened?!" Kensi questioned, rushing into the living room, where she found Callen and Sam locked in a death stare, a smashed coffee table at their feet, sporting a flat screen TV with a shattered screen and trailing cables.

"Callen 1, TV 0?" Deeks chirped up, smile on his face. Kensi whacked him lightly in the stomach, indicating that she did not believe that it was the right time for jokes - and it really wasn't.

"G. -"

Callen pushed Sams hand off his shoulder and continued to search the living room without a word. There must be something there, he told himself. She sent that message, knowing that they'd trace it, knowing that he'd be there trying to find her. She would have left something, he knew it.

"This looks just like your place Kens" Deeks spoke, stepping over a load of papers on the floor "Messy and…"

"Deeks" Sam shot his a look, daring him to continue. Sam decided it was time he took charge, glancing over his shoulder at the man who should be calling the shots. It didn't take a genius to see that Callen was too involved in this. What ever it was that had the man wrapped up in this case, it was constricting him more with every minute that passed. Sam couldn't bare to think what would happen if they were too late. "I'll take upstairs, and you guys -" he turned back to the couple to his side "Grab what ever you can and search for any clue to her whereabouts"

Callen didn't even notice the three members of his team disperse around him, leaving him to take the last known location they had seen Cassandra, being dragged away. His eye lids fluttered as not to let the image of her abduction to settle in his mind. He tried with all his might to find strength in the image of her smile, the sound of her sarcastic tone, her expression when she fought with Granger - all those things that had happened over the past month.

So much had had happened… but not enough…

He bit his lip as he glanced out of the window, thinking about how much things had changed in such a small amount of time. She had turned their world upside down, bring with her danger, conspiracy and ultimately, heartache. His thoughts naturally rushed towards the dream he had last week, and how, despite not knowing whether it would have ever come true, he felt like it was more likely to attend her funeral.

"No - this is not happening" He ran his hands through his hair and knelt down to where he assumed she'd been recording, begging internally that a clue would practically pop out of thin air. He needed to find her. And he needed to find her now.

The men who had taken her had trashed the place pretty well, knocking around everything that had been in their grasp, causing a river of papers and books that lined the floor. Callen found his face buried in his hands as he tried to think, tried to rationalise the situation and prayed the answer would come soon.

And by some miracle - it did.

"Hey guys -" Callen heard Deeks say "I think I have something" Callen jumped up, and turned towards Deeks, who was making his way back into the living room. "Post-it-note in one of the kitchen cupboards on a coffee container." Callen resisted the urge to smile. "I'm pretty sure it's her hand-writing" Desk held up the note and Callen nodded in confirmation.

"What's it say?" Sam called from the landing above

"The truth is in your killer backstory?" He revealed "What does that even mean?"

Callen finally let the small smile fall upon his face, thanking god for her obvious intelligence.

"It means -" Callen began, his hands lacing and finding their place behind his neck "She's a genius" He could help but laugh, turning quickly to stand where he was before, eye closed, thinking about what her note said. "Leopold.. Le - o - pold"

"What?" Deeks questions instantly, confusion on his face. It was mirrored by the other two agents as they joined the conversation

"And it's - probably…" He thought it through, processing the words of the note. She wouldn't have chosen those words just because. She was smart enough to know how to convey a message with little information, especially when she knew he'd be there to search for her. "Backstory. Not alias or -"

"In a book?" Kensi jumped in, seemingly the only one following what was going on

"Yes" Callens eyes opened. "Sam, is Nates office upstairs?"

"Yes, but G. What - ?" Callen didn't have time to answer. He rushed out of the living room, and ran up stairs to the office, passing sam without a word. The momentary rush halted when he stood in the centre of the office - where three of the four walls were lined with bookshelves that was filled to the brim.

Goddam you Nate and your love for literature!

"What was your killer backstory?" Kensi asked, now by his side, looking at the mini library in awe

"Leopald" He remembered the very moment that name first came out of his mouth. Not even he was sure why he had chose that name, but he had been more interested in the guy that had interrupted their breakfast. He didn't know why, but that Thomas guy had put him right on edge.

"leopold and loeb?" Sam's voice shook him out of his thoughts "She said killer right?" Callen looked at Sam, who was smiling. "She said killer"

Sam reached up to the highest shelf, pulling out a small black book, which he turned to read the blurb "Among the criminal celebrities of Prohibition-era Chicago, not even Al Capone was more notorious than two well-educated and highly intelligent Jewish boys from wealthy South Side families. In a meticulously planned murder scheme disguised as a kidnapping, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb chose fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks at random as their victim, abandoning his crumpled body in a culvert before his parents had a chance to respond to the ransom demand. Revealing secret testimony and raising questions that have gone unanswered for decades, Hal Higdon separates fact from myth as he unravels the crime, the investigation, and the trial, in which Leopold and Loeb were defended by the era's most famous attorney, Clarence Darrow. Higdon's razor sharp account of their chilling act, their celebrity, and their ultimate emergence as folk heroes resonates unnervingly in our own violent time." Sam looked over to Callen, handing the book to him "Killer backstory"

"She said it was in the book" Deeks finally made his way into the room to stand beside Kensi, who's excitement was suddenly taking over her as they were reaching the end of the clue.

Callen was sure that none of them were breathing as he turned it over and opened the front page. In the centre of the pages of the book, a small square insert had been cut, within which a USB was hidden.

"What do you think is on it?" Kensi asked him.

"I guess, the truth"

It was a pitiful scene. Oxymoronic. A sheer juxtaposition. The light bounced off the white tiled walls making it seem that they were gleaming in holy light, yet in the centre of this heavenly scene was the work of the devil.

Cassandra remained tightly constrained on the chair in the centre of the room. White suited men still bustling around her, paying no heed to her plight. They simply worked on their tasks, ignoring the light groans that she was finally able to release from her dry mouth. The effects of the sedative were wearing off, but not enough to allow her to make an attempt to release herself from her prison. She felt too heavy.

"Leave us"

This was the first voice she had heard since Joshua had left hours before. The lab technicians limited themselves to taking blood and running their diagnostics with use of the many instruments that beeped happily along the work tops that lined the lab. And although she recognised the voice, it was not her brothers.

"I said LEAVE US!" The voice repeated. The lab technicians, who had initially ignored the mans request, instantly complied at the angry tone of voice. Cassandra wondered whether the fact they had not done so sooner was because they didn't understand him - were they foreign? Or were they simply too focused on their work? She didn't know, nor did it change her outlook on the situation. She was still screwed, and ever more so now she saw the face of the man who had shouted come into view. "It's lovely to see you again, Marianne"

Thomas…

"But that isn't your real name is it" He laughed a hearty laugh, pushing his blond locks out of his eyes "But then again, by name isn't Thomas - so we're nil point on that one" He smiled down at her. He began to remove the restraints from her arms, and her body, looking sheepishly over his shoulder as he did so. "Lies… lies… lies" he muttered under his breath.

Cassandra's heart rate spiked as he towered over her. She was in such a vulnerable position and she was not used to it. She tried with all of her might to reach out to him, her mind playing the act of him helping her make her escape so clearly. It was bittersweet to feel that the he grabbed her hand and began to crush her fingers into a tight fist.

"I have to admit…" He began, tightening his grip "…I was fooled at first. They said that that the sister had been spotted in L.A., but no-one knew what you looked like." He paused, remembering the time they'd spent together "and to think, that you were right under my nose the whole time - it's almost unbelievable!" He laughed once more, tightening his grip even more. She couldn't even scream. She felt tears string in her eyes at the pain and frustration, but he didn't stop. Her tears seemed to make him more forceful.

"So when I was finally presented with a picture from my associates, I was furious!" He lifted her hand and pulled on her arm, lifting her sluggish body towards him with such force, she was surprised he hadn't dislocated her shoulder. He grabbed her, and held her head with his other hand in a position that could have been interpreted as romantic, were it not for the anger that was apparent all over his face. "I'd wasted so much time searching" He whispered angrily, his hand wrapping around her hair. He pulled hard, yanking her head back. "I wasted time looking when I had you. I HAD YOU!"

Cassandra closed her eyes and simply let him continue - she didn't have much choice in the matter. The frustration he felt was not his alone. She too felt anger - but at herself. She had been in a pseudo-relationship with this guy for almost a year and had not even clocked that he had anything to do with her brother.

"But then…" He released her hair and lifted her head delicately "that day I saw you on the boulevard with Leopold, or Agent Callen isn't it?" she quickly opened her eyes at the sound of Callens name. They knew who he was - that couldn't be good for anyone. "And I knew that I would be able to prove myself to Ubitsya. I knew that you would show yourself again and I would be able to bring you to him." He began to stoke her face. "There there - no need to shed a tear" His large grin and soothing tone did nothing to calm her. "It'll all be over soon" He stood up quickly, wiping his hands on his lab coat as if he believed she was contagious.

The sound of movement in the corridor spooked him slightly, as he stepped back quickly, craning his neck to see whether anyone was coming this way. He took a couple of steps towards the door and laughed at his nervous reaction. He opened his mouth to be able to speak, but was met with a gun cracking the side of his head. As his body fell to the ground, Cassandra's did also, unable to keep herself up.

"Cassie" She heard another familiar voice now, but she recognised this one oh so well.

"N-nate" She whimpered, her body unwilling to comply to her brains request.

"One sec" He spoke. Cassandra could hear the sound of Nate dragging the body of the man she knew as Thomas. Moments later, she heard footsteps coming towards her. "Up we go" his tone happier than it should be under the current circumstances.

"Where.. are…?"

"No talking, just walking Cassie - we really don't have much time" Nate's tone turned from happy to desperate, as he lifted her dead weight off the floor, slinging her arm around his shoulders.

Cassandra was happy to comply with his order, relishing in the irony of how this very situation, Nate holding Cassandra up, was the very way this entire thing started, from the ambulance to the car to the boat house, Nate has dragged her into this situation and was dragging her back out again. Ironic indeed.

It took the small amount of energy she had left in her body to keep herself from succumbing to the demand of gravity. Both hands lay limp, her feet scuffling along as she was taken from the lab into what ended up being a large maze of corridors. Every so often, Nate would stop, leaning her against some ledge or random filing cabinet that was in the middle of the corridors. This gave him the opportunity to scout ahead and check the coast was clear. Lab assistants and security guards laced the corridors. Despite the constant possibility of being caught, Cassandra was not completely against the pauses. It gave her the opportunity to test her extremities, that were slowly returning to her power.

"We have a little bit of a problem" She heard him whisper, as he let her down once more. She rolled her eyes, pulling her hand up to nurse it in her other. It wasn't broken, but it was sure as hell hurting.

"No. You sure?" She replied sarcastically

"Yeah" He replied, ignoring her sarcasm "Once we get to the end of this corridor, we have to take the life to the surface" Cassandra raised an eyebrow. They were underground? Suddenly, she began to feel her claustrophobia set in and both her hands began to shake. She tried to swallow the feelings of nausea. "Problem is - the lift has a retina scan"

Cassandra closed her eyes and set her head back, raising her hands to rest on her chest, before doubling over herself "And who's eye do we need?"

"No idea" He spoke defeated, leaning up against the wall beside her.

"So you got in with no way out?" She looked up at him "Smart man"

"I didn't think this through" His tone cut into her heart as she realised that she wasn't exactly being helpful. He did risk his life to come and get her - again.

"Rule number 17, Nate - " She took a deep breath and finally arose to her feet "Never enter anywhere without an exit plan"

He pushed off the wall and jumped to her side, afraid she may fall to the floor. "And you have a plan?" He asked, almost hopeful.

She took a hold of his outstretched arms with both hands and stabilised herself. It was in this moment that she actually looked at him. His hair was longer and a lot less well kept as the last time she had seen him, following Granger out of the safe house. It felt life a life time ago when the three heads were her problem. She let out a humourless laugh when she realised that Granger had set this whole thing in motion before it had even happened - he had an uncanny ability to do that, and keep everyone else in the dark. But it wasn't time to dwell on that. It was time to get out.

"Come on Nate, you know me" She said, trying to muster some sort of smile "I always have a plan"

"it's all here" Hetty moved slowly towards the screen, in awe of what she way seeing. "Everything. It's … " she paused placing a hand over her mouth

"She's done her homework" Granger spoke, meeting hetty just a couple of feet away from the large screen in ops "She's delivered his entire operation to us"

"In just 9 days?"

"She's probably been working on it a while but didn't want to give it up." Gibbs was leant against the centre table, slightly uncomfortably. He kind of wished they had the chairs that they had in their own monitoring room, but it wasn't something he was going to suggest. He wanted to find Cassandra and get back home as soon as possible, dragging that Russian blond child with him - he'd never let her out of his sight again "You know what she's like. She'd want to bring them down herself"

"So why give it to us now?" Hetty asked, turning towards the only man that potentially knew her better than she. Potentially. But to her surprise, it was not this man that answered.

"Because she doesn't think she'll be around to complete it"

Gibbs folded his arms over his body at Grangers answer, unable to day anything to dispute the fact. Cassandra didn't expect to survive. "Well I'll be damned if I lose her to this maniac" He spoke, pushing himself off the table. "What else did she store in that stick thing?" He waved dismissively to the USB dock that Nell had set up for them to view the files. "Anything to tell us where she is? Or what Joshuas next move is?"

"Umm. Well -" Nell nervously looked through the file system on her tablet to identify anything that didn't constitute evidential data against a plethora of persons of interest. "I haven't had a good look but, I'm sure there's something" She looked up at Gibbs, who simply looked back expectantly. "Which I will find now" She turned and sat down, tapping away on the keyboard, eyeing Eric out of the corner of her eye.

Gibbs turned to see Callen and his team stood nervously on the other side of the table and cocked an eyebrow. He had seen this before, the nervous calm before the ubiytsa storm - but this one was slightly different, the team behind him was slightly different. None had been assigned, yet all were there waiting expectantly to step up to the plate and get this done. He was proud of the agent that Callen had become, despite knowing that there was something more to his motivation than professionalism.

"Gibbs, I just spoke to McGee. He's got all the background on the Doctor" Bishop rushed into the room, unaware of what the entire team were doing in near silence.

"Great Bishop" He smiled at the young woman "Now- I need you to go back"

"But Gibbs I -" Bishop tried to argue, but he was not having it, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't argue. Flight leaves in an hour." He spun her around and pushed her gently towards the door "Now, Bishop"

"Fine" She didn't resist, knowing that it would get her no-where.

The moment she left, silence took a hold on the team once more, all lost in their thoughts, just waiting for Nell and Eric to give them some sort of direction. This wait was eating Callen inside, and he knew that if they didn't come up with something soon - he was going to explode.

"We're going to find her" Sam spoke, to his left. Callen felt his partner place a hand on his shoulder "Eric and Nell have never let us down"

Callen nodded in reply, wishing that he was out doing some actual field work - but he knew there was no point - their only string to follow was on that USB.

"I'm sorry Gibbs" Callen hared Hetty speak and she watched as she placed her small hand on Gibbs' arm. Callen took this as a welcomed distraction from his own thoughts.

"What for? Putting yet another one of my girls in trouble?" He answered sarcastically, remembering the time he feared for Abbys life "Don't be"

"Thats unfair" Granger turned to look at the older man, defiantly. Callen felt himself stiffen at the sight of Granger turning to challenge Gibbs.

"Don't get me started on what is fair, Owen" Gibbs returned the defiant tone.

"Gentlemen" Hetty stepped between them both, a palm held to each man "Please, lets focus our efforts on this investigation at hand"

Before either could utter another word, Eric jumped from his seat.

"Hetty - I've got something" Everyone stopped dead. This was it. The string had reached the end. Callen stepped forward, making his way to stand next to Gibbs. He looked down at the young agent and gave him an approving nod. They were ready.

Cassandra followed Nate's instructions, trusting his sense of direction as they made it back to the lab. It sounded like suicide (which it probably was), but it only made sense that a man who was able to command all the lab techs to leave was probably the boss in this underground prison, besides Joshua. With that in mind, it wasn't too far fetched to think that maybe his eye was the key to their exit.

True, he was probably still knocked out, which meant that they would have to drag the bodies up and down and round about until they got back to the lift - or at least that would have been the less macabre plan. Cassandra had thought of something a little less socially acceptable, but as her father used to say "Desperate times comes for deadly measures". And this was as desperate as they were going to get.

"Are you ok?" Nate asked one corridor away from the lab, raising his arm to stop her before she continued on. She wasn't as fast on her feet as usual, that much was obvious, but she was much better off now than she was an hour ago.

"Fine - now come on. I can't stay down here much longer" She was impatient and felt like she was drowning. She had always hated confined spaces.

Nate lowered his arm and nodded, unsheathing his weapon. "Lets go then"

She nodded in agreement, following just behind him.

What happened next neither surprised nor phased her.

Thomas, or what ever his name was, was not where they'd left him, but ready behind the door to jump Nate as he entered, the gun felt out of his hand and back out into the corridor. Cassandra reacted by finding the first sharp instrument she could and stuck it in his neck, giving Nate enough time to get out from under his grasp and to the corridor where the gun had slid.

"You BITCH!" Thomas screamed, pulling the scalpel out of his neck, turning towards Cassandra. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Cassandra watched as Thomas rushed towards him, readying herself for the impact - but it never came. The bullet, shot from behind, met Thomas right between the eyes. As his body fell, she noted the location of the scalpel. Lucky the eyes were in tact. They'd be out soon enough.

"Great shot Nate" She spoke, her voice becoming less and less raspy, stepping over the body towards the instrument.

"Cassie?" The tone in Nate's voice caught her off guard. She didn't attempt to bend down, simply turning around to see Nate, gun to his head with Joshua stood behind him, smug look on his face. Cassandra stepped back, with the idea to pick up the scalpel at the first chance she could.

"Don't" Joshua whispered "I have no qualms at having two dead doctors Sandry" She stopped moving, raising her hands at his threat. He placed the gun to the back of Nates head "To your knees. NOW!" Nate complied, looking up at Cassandra. The fear in his eyes was warranted, and it killed her to see it.

Cassandra contemplated begging him to let Nate go, the words already dancing on his tongue - but it would do nothing more than fuel his ego. Alas, she opted for a silent stare, waiting for her chance.

"You are suck a fool!" Joshua was angry at her "Did you really think you were going to get out of here alive?!" He spat "I am smarter than you! I am a veritable genius that is going to be the richest more powerful man in the world in less that 24 hours! Don't you GET THAT!" He was losing it, and it was lucky that he was, because he had just given her an idea.

She smiled at him. Just smiled. A big, cheesy, grin. All she needed was him to be distracted for just a second. Just one second to falter in his stance. Just One Second…

And she got it.

"Why are you…?"

He lifted the gun just a centimetre from Nates head, giving her plenty of time to turn back, reach for the scalpel and turn back to look at her brother, who had subsequently began to laugh like a maniac

"What do you think you can do with that? I have a gun to your precious doctors head!" He almost screamed.

"Yes you do" She finally spoke. "But you won't shoot him"

"And why on earth do you think that"

"Because" She lifted the scalpel to her neck, pressing down on the jugular just enough to rip the skin a little "You need me alive and I have no qualms with suicide" She spoke calmly, stepping backwards.

Joshua's eyes widened when he realised what she was threatening to do, a twitch appearing in his left eye, just like their father used to have when he was furious with her. In this moment, she realised how alike her brother was to her father, and how ironically similar she was to her own mother, driven to suicide by the maniac before him.

"Get the gun" She mouthed to Nate, whose wide eyes met hers, pleading she reconsider "Thank-you for everything"

She closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate. She wasn't going to leave their alive - and maybe she deserved it. 15 years later - she would finally be at peace.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" She heard her brother scream. She smiled, knowing that what she was about to do, would give Nate enough time to overcome her brother, take the gun and get out of here. She pushed down hard, not cringing at all as she felt the skin burst beneath the blade. It was about time this nightmare ended.