The Empty glass of truth.

Chapter 14

Hetty walked out of the motel room and got into her car, tears trickling down her cheeks. This was not the way she had wanted him to find out, not the way she wanted to leave. This was why all the large UPS envelope in her case with his name on contained a letter of explanation and a thumb drive with his file on. He was supposed to see it after her death where she wouldn't have to deal with the recriminations of what she had done.

As she peeled out of the parking lot she saw her agents looking after her from the doorway, maybe one day she could go back, but after they found out what she knew, what she was, they would never trust her again and she knew that.

She headed for home, only Callen knew where she lived, all of her homes, but he was in no fit state to go looking for her, so she knew she had time.

"Bali?" she said aloud as she drove down the PCH, "Bali would be a good place to retire to." She decided as she took the turning for one of her large homes.

Deeks held Kensi as they watched Hetty drive away.

"Why would she just leave us?" Nell asked dumbstruck.

Deek shook his head, "We need to see what's on that Thumb drive and what secrets she is keeping."

They nodded and walked into the main motel room, Nell shot a look at Callen who was fast asleep and followed the others to the table where Clara was already plugging in the thumb drive.

One file was on it,

G. Callen 3.11.70 - …

She clicked on it as the others grabbed chairs and jostled for position behind her.

"Martin, I do not want you to see this." Clara said, "No matter what I learn from this Grisha is your brother, I do not want anything on here to take that away from you." She said.

"Mom…I need to know too, I want to help him." Deeks argued.

"Sit with your brother, my son, keep watch over him until we are able to do so." She asked him.

Reluctantly Deeks nodded and moved to watch over his brother.

Nell, Kensi and Clara opened the file and silently started reading. Kensi got up first, tears in her eyes and went to sit with Deeks for a while.

Nell let out the odd sob as she read all that had happened to Callen during his childhood realizing that his nightmare had to have been an amalgamation of that and what had happened in the warehouse with Vasilie.

She clasped Clara's hand as the two of them continued to read.

Deeks knew that look on his mother's face, she wasn't just angry, she was livid, especially when at one point she gasped and pointed to the screen.

Nell looked and read the same line… "No? No…not Hetty…how could she…she knew and she left him there?"

Deeks and Kensi came over and looked at what Clara was pointing at her hand shaking.

"No!" Deeks exclaimed, "She knew? She's a...But…she didn't tell him…?"

"Apparently not." Clara's tone was clipped and Deeks put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"So she knew and could have helped him, but according to this Callen was with a family called the Cottrell's Mike and Sheila Cottrell, he was with them for 3 weeks before he ran away and they were arrested. It says here that he was found a week later…in…in a…"

"Dumpster." Callen's voice came from behind them. "Where I belonged."

He limped over to them still slightly sleepy. "What's this…?" he asked and read over her shoulder, his forehead crease in anger. "SHE KNEW!" he yelled. "WHERE IS SHE!" he turned looking for her.