Hetty looked from one to another. All three of the agents in front of her wore what could only be described as sheepish looks. She was tempted to smile. It was amusing to see three grown adults standing in front of her like they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Well, this preverbal "cookie jar" was worst then most. Their little stunt had broken the first rule of undercover work; don't get caught.

She could feel somewhere behind her that Eric was hovering. She should have known that he was included in this. Still curbing the temptation to smile, she folded her hands on her desk and looked gravely down her glasses at the two men and one woman in front of her.

"Why is it that we now have a company that claims, and I quote "cleans anything." And how is it that this company has racked up over $200,000 dollars since it's creation, which I'm assuming happened yesterday."

All three of them spoke at once.

Hetty held up a hand and they all stopped. If anything she had trained all of them well. Though it was wonder that they managed somedays. They were the best, the cream of the crop, and yet sometimes she got the feeling that the scraps they got themselves into could somehow be avoided with a little careful planning; something that was of want in the undercover field.

It was Sam that spoke first. "It was my fault, Hetty. I insisted that Kensi should..."

"But I was the one that decided to go..."

"We should have seen the condition of those vents..."

Again, Hetty held up a hand and they all fell silent. "I see." She replied. "Eric, would you please...?"

The fourth member of their little soiree came around the desk into her view, clutching the portable computer that seemed to be permanently glued to his hands. Hetty sometimes wondered if he slept with it at night, though that seemed highly uncomfortable and a little obsessive.

"Let me see if I've got this straight. Sam, you insisted that Kensi climb into these vents. Callen, you noticed that something was off about the vents, but still let her climb anyways. Eric gave you directions and then a weak spot in one of these vents caused the entire thing to collapse and for you three to be responsible for over $200,000 dollars in damages. Which by the way could come out of your personal salaries for the next year if I hadn't already decided not to charge you considering what was at stake during this assignment."

She peered at all four of them. "So tell me, did you manage to do what you were after?"

Four heads nodded in agreement.

"And Kensi, except for the vigorous coating of dust that you received – you seem none the worse for wear. Did medical check you out?"

The agent nodded, small specks of grey dust falling from her head with the motion.

Hetty sat back in her chair. "Then carry on. Let's see if we can't get something from that bug that was planted." She dismissed them. With a grateful sigh, the four agents departed; chiding over.

Hetty turned around in her chair and this time she did smile. She picked up the bill from it's place and peered at it. She smiled again.

She knew just the person who would take care of this little problem. And chances were that they would do it for free and without any protest either. It was one of the many perks of knowing someone who owed you a favour.

"Now, let's see if we can't just make you go away." She muttered, turning back to her desk and picking up the phone. "Who needs a working HVAC systems when you're a front for the mob?"

-end-