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It took all of Sam's control not to react as the truth of the situation slowly unfolded in front of them. When Roberts had called in the meeting he had thought that things were finally going their way. The man was going to let Callen, or James Stark as he was known this time around, in on everything that he was doing. He should have known better.
Yet when that all knowing smirk bloomed on Roberts lips he had felt his heart stop. There was no way that they were any closer to taking him down than they had been when they started the whole thing. Hell, he had been sure that the man knew that they were NCIS.
Now that he was looking at the photos that Roberts had brought though he wasn't sure which was worse. While they never planned on having their covers blown it was one of those things that was bound to happen at some point in time. They would have figured it out.
No, this was worse than that. Not only were their covers intact, but the man they were chasing knew about Callen's family. The table was filled with stills of Deeks and Isabelle doing different things around the city and their home. They weren't safe. Callen was though. In a way.
On a normal day they all walked a very thin line of being safe and being in harms way. That was just how things went in their line of work. It was something they got used to though never let get far away from their thoughts. They couldn't be stupid.
A part of Sam wanted nothing more than to draw his weapon and try to put a stop to all of it before it got any further. They might be in danger, but Deeks and Isabelle would have been safer. If he did though than Roberts could escape everyone would be in danger. There was no winning.
Still he couldn't just sit there and let things play out the way that there were. If he did than he would not only fail at keeping his partner safe, but also his family. He hated more than anything knowing that he was so close to failing people that should have been safe.
He couldn't say that he didn't know it might happen though. When they had been assigned the case everyone knew that they had to be careful. A lot of police forces had tried to take down Julian Roberts over the years and no one had even come close to succeeding.
If what was in the files was right than at least two people in every single team that tried ended up dead or missing. Whether that meant their bodies just were never found or they had joined Roberts he didn't know. The last thing that any of them wanted was to end up on that list as well.
Something that he didn't want to admit to being very worried about. When the team was at its best he wouldn't have given it a second thought. They were good and they had each others backs. Nothing was going to stop them from doing what needed to be done.
They weren't at their best though. They hadn't been for almost two years. Ever since Deeks lost his hearing and had to leave the team they all felt out of balance. It was like they had no idea how to function without the detective there.
He wasn't sure if he was surprised by that or not. Being Kensi's partner he had known that she would have needed time to get back to herself. Eric, Nell, and he were really close as well so he would need time too.
Those two had been understandable though. He had even got it when he caught Hetty staring at the detectives desk a few times. It was something she did no matter who got hurt. She felt responsible for all of them.
What he hadn't expected was himself and Callen. Well, he hadn't expected Callen for about five minutes. Then he saw his partners face and he realized just how much the man had been hiding from him. He hated to admit it, but he had known something was going on.
He didn't know that it was something as big as he and Deeks being married and starting a family, but he had known there was something being hidden. He still couldn't believe that things had happened the way they did.
So, yes, Callen being as lost as he seemed was understandable. It was himself that threw him through a loop. The last thing he thought was that he would feel as if the team was missing such an important part for so long.
He never could have guessed that the detective had wormed his way into his heart as much as he had. Yes, he had been there for a few year and he knew how the rest of the team thought about him, but he thought that was it. He was just someone he had to deal with until he was gone.
Sam had told himself over and over that he did not care about him. He had never even thought that Deeks was going to last with them. As soon as he got bored he was going to walk away without a second thought to any of them. Because of all of that he never bothered to give the man a chance.
Sometimes he wondered what they would be like if he had listened to them and not been so hard on the detective. Would Callen have told him about their relationship? Their marriage? Would he have been able to share that day with his friend?
He still couldn't believe that the man had gotten married and not told him. They were family. Callen was his little brother in everything but blood and he never thought to tell him that he had gotten married and had started a family until he couldn't hide it anymore. What did that say about them?
Alright, so that wasn't really all that shocking when he took the time to think about it. That was exactly the type of person Callen was. He man kept everything to himself until the choice was taken away from him. Especially the important things that most people considered essential information.
Him and Deeks dating, getting married, and then starting a family was important. It was the type of information that was important. It was also the type that needed to be closely guard so the situation they were in didn't happen.
Them not saying anything did make sense in that way. If Sam was honest with himself he might not have told anyone about his wife and kids if he could have gotten away with it. It wasn't as if he didn't trust them, but mistakes did happen sometimes.
There was also the fact that everyone knew that Sam wasn't the biggest fan of Deeks. It wasn't as if he didn't like the guy. He was perfectly fine. A little on the annoying side, but it was charming at the same time. No, he just always thought that he belonged somewhere else. He was like Callen in that way. Ready to flutter off as soon as he could.
All in all it did make sense that they didn't tell him, tell any of them. Maybe they thought that he wouldn't approve of the relationship. Something that he wasn't completely sure he would have at first. Things could have ended so differently for them all.
Now though he could see a lot better than he could before. He almost couldn't believe how good the men worked together. Everything that he had thought was so annoying and juvenile about Deeks complimented how lonely and grounded Callen was.
Seeing them together made him realize just how perfectly they were for each other. He wouldn't go as far as saying they were opposites, but they brought out the best in each other. He couldn't see them truly being themselves with anyone else.
All of that was in jeopardy. Roberts might not know exactly who Callen and Sam were but he knew about Deeks and Isabelle. He wasn't the type of man to make idle threats either. If he was letting them that he knew about Callen's family then it was already too late.
They might be able to get someone into the house to help protect them, but they'd have to be careful how they did it. The last thing they wanted was to let him know they were cops. They also could possibly move them to a new house, but that came with just as many risks.
"My, my," Roberts started the twisted amusement he was feeling dripping from every word, "You look down right murderous, Mr. Stark. Have I hit a cord?"
"What do you want?" Callen growled out his eyes never leaving the photos.
"To talk about your lovely family, of course. Oh dear, don't look so afraid. I promise, I'm not one of those homophobes. I don't care that you married a man. He will die all the same if you don't do what I want."
From where he was standing Sam could see his partner shaking as he tried and failed to keep his anger and fear in check. Normally that was unheard of when it came to Callen, but nothing about having your husband and daughter threatened was normal.
"What. Do. You. Want." Callen said once more punctuating every word like it was being punched out of him.
An almost angelic smile came to Roberts lips as he stood up and slowly walked around the room. He sounded so confident and pleased with himself as he outlined what he wanted done. It was easy to tell that this wasn't even close to being the first time he had done something like this.
Both of them were hanging off every word knowing it was their only chance of keeping the family safe. At the same time though, he knew that there was nothing on the planet that would stop them from taking Roberts down. He was never going to get away with this. He was going down. One way or another.