Hello and welcome to my first NCIS: Los Angeles fanfic! Obligatory "I do not own any of these characters except for my OC; all rights go to CBS and affiliates, etc." post here. Please read and review. I'd love to hear from you guys.

Darkness has long since descended. The sun sinking below the horizon, making way for the moon to take its reign in the night sky. That is the way I prefer it. In the darkness, there is no one to witness your sins. The hope that is nurtured by the dawn can be shattered the moment those brilliant rays give way to inky blackness. It is a fragile thing. So hard to build and maintain yet so easily destroyed. I delight in that cataclysm. To see that innocent naivety, that perpetual light ripped from another.

Oh, but of course I must take my time. Human emotions are vast though not wholly unpredictable. A strong push in any given direction can elicit nature's preprogrammed response. Doing this requires very little finesse. The frailty of the human psyche, on the other hand, demands I pace myself in my work. If I desire to utterly demolish that light, then I must peel back each and every layer of my subject. Uncover their tolerances, their fears, their values...everything that lies at their center. Only then can darkness overpower light.

I find adults to be difficult, at best. Not entirely a waste of my talents but far more time consuming. Most have built up defenses over their years of living. Walls built around the heart and mind to prevent artists such as myself from intruding. They always require that I plan in excess. How much material, how many tools, the where, the how, the when- all of it needs to be accounted for down to the letter if I wish to achieve maximum efficacy. Now children...they are less challenging. Yes, the same ideas apply. After all, I do not wish to be captured over a single, silly mistake, do I? But they do not have the same capabilities as adults. Children are still learning how to tell right from wrong, good from evil. Very few- truly only those matured before their time- have even started to develop the shields adults so pride themselves on. Their understanding of the world is woefully limited. The very same plucky, carefree, doe-eyed innocence is simultaneously the bearer of demise. A purity to be snuffed out in an instant.

My how I do enjoy seeing the light dim in the eyes of a child. There is something magical about it. Absolutely inspiring. I have done some of my best work with children. My garden flourished with them! Pieces of exquisite artwork adorned every iota of space. The land to be forever marked with their presence. An eternal symbol of my genius for me to cherish and behold. It was to be my masterpiece. Alas, I grew careless. I grew desperate. I wanted for nothing more than to see my vision come to fruition. It was so close that I felt as if I could reach my hand out and grasp onto it. Just a few more then it would have been complete. My impatience ultimately won over my perfectionism. The desire had grown too strong to deny. The want, the need could not be held back any longer.

I am loathe to admit my mistake. It was a moment of weakness. An opportunity presented itself. Who was I to turn down such good fortune? Except it was my misfortune. Despite all of my careful planning, my consideration of every detail, that moment of single-minded desire proved to be my undoing. From the instant I brought those two here, my hard work was jeopardized. I underestimated them. I was so blinded by the need to finish my masterpiece that I could not comprehend my own lapse in judgement. Those two- they were my personal apocalypse, bringing upon me a tribulation I never saw coming. They ruined everything! All that I had built here, all of my dreams, my wondrous visions, even my ability to create- they took it all from me that day. I could only watch as my art was dismantled and removed before I was forced into hiding.

The world may have deemed me finished. It may have thought my chapter of history closed, written off my life's work as that of a madman. But I am nothing if not patient. I have bided my time well, remaining in the shadows of society, simply awaiting the proper time to reemerge. The passage of years has lulled them into a false sense of security. Where they have grown complacent, I have diligently been regaining my strength and refining my skills. Now it is finally time. Time for the world to appreciate my art once again. Time for my garden to be brought back to its former glory! I have already started to rebuild. My garden grows little by little. It will be done soon. Then I will finish what was started. Are you ready for me? I am coming for you two, and there is nowhere to hide. Callie Kano, Eric Beale- my magnum opus.