A/N: I'm sorry for the long delay in updating this story but you can thank my writers' group for this chapter – it was part of my homework! Anyway we're a step closer to finding out who the coffee lady is and what she wants with Nate. I appreciate those of you who are still with me on this particular journey. Please read and review.

Chapter 12

As Nate ran out of the boatshed, he risked a quick look back and seeing the prone figure of Callen, fervently hoped that he had done enough to keep him alive until help arrived. Nate would need to find out about his colleague's status but for now it would have to wait until he got a chance to speak to Hetty on a secure line away from the prying ears and eyes of this woman. For now his main objective was to maintain his cover and gather information and to do that he needed to focus and have no distractions. At that moment the woman pulled up in the car, keeping the engine running and leaned over to open the passenger door so that Nate could get in.

"Dump your phone" shouted the woman. "If I can track you, so can they." Nate did as he was asked but kept the burn phone he had taken hidden.

As Nate jumped in and slammed the door he said urgently "Step on it. We need to get away from here in case someone reported gunfire." He could hear sirens but they were a constant sound in LA so he could not be sure they were en route to the marina. The woman did not hesitate and slammed her foot hard on the gas pedal and wrestled with the steering wheel as the car skidded left and right before gaining traction and sped off. That's handy. The guys may be able to use the tyre marks she's left behind. Now all I've got to do is find out who she is and how she found me. Maybe then I'll know what she wants.

For the first time, Nate realised he had blood on his clothes and hands. "Slow down" he said to the woman "we don't wanna draw attention to ourselves and get pulled over by the police."

She nodded and slowed the car until she was under the speed limit. She glanced over at him and said "How come you're covered in blood?"

Thinking fast for a plausible story, Nate said "He's a Fed and they're well trained. As I approached him, he swept my legs from under me and I fell. We struggled but he'd lost a lot of blood so was weak. I easily subdued him then killed him." He kept his features neutral and held her gaze when she took her eyes off the road and glanced at him again. She nodded and turned her attention back to the road. The rest of the journey was made in silence.

They drove downtown and finally ended up at a low cost, run down motel located a stone's throw from the highway. Through the closed window Nate could hear the roar of the traffic above. As she pulled into the parking lot, Nate glanced around him and was not surprised to that the motel sported no security cameras, which was probably why she had chosen it. There were cameras on the street and he hoped Eric and Nell would eventually get a hit on the car via Kaleidoscope. She brought the car to a halt in a space furthest away from the road. Nate noticed that it was behind the building and was therefore hidden from the street. As he casually looked around, he deduced the area was a likely haunt for prostitutes and the motel where they took their clients.

Easy access to the highway and the motel itself is rundown so won't attract attention. The car'll be hidden but she's made it easy for the entrance to be blocked. That's something in the team's favour. She's got some solid craft but she's not thinking clearly or may be she's just confident that no-one'll be looking for us thought Nate as he got out of the car, following the woman up the stairs to the first level.

The woman opened the door to the last room, which was located two doors down from the stairs at the furthest end of the building. As Nate entered, he was surprised how tidy and clean it was, a total contrast from the seedy, dilapidated exterior. It was a standard motel layout: to the left of the door, there were two double beds with a small table in between. Opposite the beds was a low chest of drawers which doubled as a desk with a TV and coffee making facilities. The bathroom was at the back.

"Do you want a coffee or anything?" asked the woman.

"A coffee would be great" answered Nate. "I need to wash first but I've gotta have some different clothes."

As she was making the coffee the woman said "You're not going anywhere so you can make do for the time being. Rinse them out. They'll dry quickly enough in this heat."

Nate was about to argue but thought better of it. He needed to go along with whatever she said and not make her suspicious. "Okay. I won't be long" he said as he went into the bathroom.

He glanced about him, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a standard motel bathroom, the same as in other motels across America. This one, however, did have a window. Nate opened it and made a mental note that it overlooked the back of the motel. Outside was a small bank, making it a reasonably easy jump to the ground below. Storing this in his memory, Nate filled the basin and took off his shirt, immersing it in the water. He watched as the water turned pink and his thoughts migrated back to Callen and he wondered anew whether he was still alive. As the shirt was soaking, Nate ran the shower when he saw a towel on the rack. He washed off the blood from his hands and felt all the tension drain from his body. As he stood under the steady flow of the hot water, Nate thought about what he and Callen had talked about back at the boatshed. It seems eons ago and he considered what Callen had told him about being undercover. Nate was determined not to let his team leader down. Turning off the shower, Nate stepped out and dried himself. Pulling his underwear and jeans back on, he wrung out his shirt and hung it to dry on the shower rail. Refreshed and with a vague plan brewing in his head, he went back out into the main room. He sat himself down on the bed and picking up his coffee, watched the woman, who was speaking in muted tones on her phone.

Seeing that Nate had come back into the room, she asked "What size are you? Someone'll get you some clothes." Nate told her and she related the information to the person on the end of the phone. Disconnecting the call, she turned to Nate and said "They'll be here later."

"Thanks" he replied. He paused, scrutinising the woman. "What do you want with me? I thought with the Black Widow gone, the operation was off."

"I admit it was a blow to our plans when she was killed and you were taken but we've still a job to do" she said. "We had to re-organise which slowed us down somewhat but we're almost ready."

"How did you find me?" asked Nate, staying in character and trying to find out what she knew.

"Y' know we've got techies as well so it wasn't difficult." She paused watching Nate carefully. "I must admit I thought you were lost to us" she continued. "I couldn't believe my luck when I saw you at the beach with the agent. There's one thing I'm a little concerned about though."

"What's that?" asked Nate, trying to keep his features neutral, knowing his life depended on it.

"Why you were there and not in custody?" She scrutinised him, her dark eyes never leaving his face.

"Surely you know I'm a federal agent?" said Nate and the woman nodded. "I was disillusioned and Alisa took me in. When the deal to sell the JDX went bad and Alisa was killed, I made out I was still working for them and went back, hoping to gather further Intel to help the cause."

The woman continued to look at Nate and he held her gaze. Finally she nodded and asked "Do they trust you?"

"I think so" Nate replied. "They've not suspended me or anything and I'm still being included in briefings."

She nodded and asked "Where are they on the investigation?"

"Nowhere, to be honest with you. They questioned those taken into custody but they've now been handed over to the relevant authorities. The JDX has been recovered, which was what they were worried about and with Alisa gone, they were confident they'd taken down the group" Nate explained. He needed to give enough information to ensure the woman would trust him but not disclose too much so that any on-going investigation would be compromised.

The woman smiled to herself and muttered "The arrogance of these people! They think they're so smart." Nate kept quiet in the hope that she would disclose more. She looked at Nate and asked "They believed Alisa aka Black Widow was the ring leader? That she was the brains behind the operation?"

Nate thought furiously as what he should say. He was privy to the knowledge that the team knew that the Black Widow had been the leader of the terrorist cell that had 'recruited him', but also knew that they were aware of the possibility that they were in fact just a small cog in a larger wheel. "Yeah" Nate answered with confidence. "They're not actively looking for anyone else."

"Good, now get some rest. Your new clothes will be here shortly but I've got to go take care of some business." She paused at the door and added "Alisa trusted you but I'm still not sure. Don't try to leave. You won't see them but you're being watched and they've instructions to kill you if you try and leave."

She left the room, leaving Nate wondering whether his cover had been blown or if it was a test. He walked over to the window and peered out through a gap in the drawn curtains and scanned the area. He almost missed him but a slight movement pulled his eye back to a figure of a man standing in the shadows of an alley across the street from the motel. There was also car in the parking lot which looked out of place. Nate knew he had to be careful but he also knew he had to get word to the team. He took out his burn phone and typed in a text message. Nate knew it would have to look like an innocent message, in case the woman found the phone and read the message. As he sent it, he hoped someone would understand his cryptic warning.