Hunted

HUNTED Chapter 4

"No." Callen studied the footprints. "She knows better than this. It's a diversion."

Banning Municipal Airport

Time was of an essence. The demands set in order to see Nell again ate at him. He couldn't do what this apprentice wanted--to break out a few members of the Reyes cartel from prison. There was no way he was going to have them running free in California.

He was torn. He knew that focussing on Nell was the right thing to do. But what if they found her too late? His gut clenched tight with anxiety.

The helicopter couldn't arrive at their destination soon enough. They landed and searched the airport for the white van. The local police met them, but they came up empty. The driver of the van, their suspect, had vanished.

They spoke to a mechanic, who was working on a plane in one of the hangers. The operations manager for the airport came over to them.

"Can I help you gentlemen?"

The woman, Callen noted, was in her early fifties, mouse brown hair had been cut into a bob. Her well defined chin asserted her authority at the airport, making up for her small stature. They saw Hetty and Nell in the woman and smiled warmly to her.

"Yes. We're looking for the driver of this white van." Callen and Sam showed her their badges.

"Yes. Mr Brinkmann. He has a small jet he flies into our airport regularly from Colorado."

Callen gave Sam a look of worry--they hadn't expected Nell to be taken so far from Los Angeles, so quickly. But with the knowledge that Mr Brinkmann was a trained pilot, he could have taken her anywhere. They were looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Do you know exactly where in Colorado?" Sam inquired.

"I would have to look it up in our system."

Sam nodded and followed her into her office. They wondered if they would need the Red Team in on this rescue mission. They couldn't do this on their own, not with this case spreading interstate. Callen stepped away and dialled Ops.

"Eric. We need all we can on our fugitive. The Operating Manager here at Banning, referred to him as Mr Brinkmann. Have you had any success on his face rec yet?"

"Hey, Callen. Yes. Finally, we've got a hit. But it's not Brinkmann. His real name is Jenson Fellows. He's forty-eight, married with four children, ranging from sixteen to ten. He's a wheat exporter, working for his family's business. He's based in Denver, but he travels to Banning for business every few weeks. He's probably using an alias at the airport, to keep himself under the radar, if he's been up to no good and working with Janvier."

"That would explain the Colorado connection."

Callen shook his head at the information Eric gave him. A family man. Surely, he's no monster? He prayed he wasn't, Nell's life depended on it.

"Do you have any vacant properties he or his family own, where he could take Nell? He'd need an airport nearby."

"Country then. If he flew into the city, someone would more than likely see him carrying Nell. I'll delve into the Fellow's company and get back to you."

"Thanks, Eric." Callen heaved out a sigh.

Deeks and Kensi walked around the airport, hoping someone there could help them. No one was either willing to get involved, or they knew nothing. Perhaps this suspect was good at keeping to himself, so no one remembered him. It was a good thing the manager had something for them. Sam exited her office and headed over to them.