Mira

Chapter 1

A/N To those who decide to start and read this story: welcome! Any review is very welcome, as ever. And, just to make sure, this is no love story whatsoever.

Kni®benrots

Disclaimer: as ever, I'm glad to use the #NCISLA characters in this storyline. They all belong to CBS and Shane Brennan's production.

They're back, Grisha. The Comescus are back. Leave, and make yourself unseen.

The short phone call of his boss came at an unusual time of the day. Although he was about to get up at five in the morning, this was no usual alarm-call for all the team members. This was an unexpected personal call and the message came just as unexpectedly. So was the way she spoke; rushed yet a unusual low voice as well. "They're back, Grisha. They are back. Leave, make yourself unseen."

Before he could ask anything at all, he was aware of the loud noises in the background in Hetty's place and the call was disconnected just like that. He let her message sink in for a minute.

Callen didn't need to guess who Hetty meant. 'They' could only mean that years ago, he and his team had been wrong and there were Comescus left and, worse, they knew that he was still alive.
Right now, he needed to act and act fast. The way Hetty urged him to leave — something must have triggered her, yet she didn't tell him what it was. And then there was something which was so bothering him even more than her message only — the alarming noises in the background. As if... as if they found her instead of him.

Finally, Callen decided to call Hetty back. Nothing happened. No one to answer the phone, nor did it switch to the usual voice mail. He sighed deeply. Callen simply needed to know if she was alright. Right now, it was too bad he could not rely on his usual partner; after all Sam was still somewhere in Florida with his kids, since Hetty had granted him another few weeks to mourn. It had only been five weeks ago that Sam Hanna tragically lost his wife. Michelle had been murdered and they all had witnessed her struggle to stay alive. In vain.

Right now, Callen wanted to know what Hetty meant. And despite the early hour of the Saturday, he called Deeks. His co-worker's sleepy voice sounded after over six rings. "Yeah? Callen? What's up?"
Callen felt he didn't really have to explain. "Hetty. Could you guys go check on her place? She called me..."

"Gimme one good reason why I should go and check. Or what, make it worse, why would I want to wake my sleeping beauty? Why call and tell me, and not go yourself?" Deeks asked with an exaggerated yawn.
Callen's reply was short. "Comescus. Listen, I gotta go. Call me if you know more".

"Wait, what… Where you're heading to?" Deeks asked, seriously now.
"Dunno. Call me and let me know if you find anything you don't like. Or wait, just call me anyway."
On that, Callen hung up.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

During his whole life, Callen had found several places he used as hiding places. Places where he hid clothes, money and sometimes weapons too, if available. And there were at least ten places in town where he could sleep — safe houses he chose himself and of which the addresses were unknown to anyone else. Hetty knew he lived this way. Like she knew that there was only place used for more intimate meetings, the place he used as a home, as a base, the North Curson Avenue house. And she had called. She'd practically summoned him to leave, but why? Was there fear that somehow, the 'they' Hetty mentioned would know where he lived too? What kind of breach was he dealing with? All sorts of questions that raced through his mind, but which he needed to park somewhere in his head.
First things first.

Right now, Callen decided it were best that he headed for one of those places he chose himself, the very same abandoned orphanage where he'd met Hannah Lawson. Hannah, who tried to live her life as Amy Callen. All he knew was that she and her husband still lived somewhere in town, but he never had felt he needed to contact her. He knew what he needed to know, and it didn't add anything to talk to her again.

Never mind the fences and the signs that told him not to enter, Callen needed a place to crash and to rest. Or at least, that's what he thought.

Minutes after he laid down, his phone rang once more.

Thank you for reading!