Freya's Return: A Project Odin Story
Chapter One
Bath, South Carolina
She sat in the rundown trailer as she watched and remembered everything that the hateful man before her was saying. She had to keep herself from shaking her head at the craziness he was spouting. She knew that this job would get to her, but listening to this rhetoric was going to make her go insane. She wasn't sure when the other members of her team were going to act. She decided that she would forward them today's newest information and then ask for an extraction.
"Allison, you okay?" the red haired woman next to her drawled out.
"Yeah, Becca, I am fine. Tired is all. It was a late night at the factory."
"You wanna go?"
"Nah, not yet. I can wait. I know that Dustin will be done soon. I can wait. I just want to go home and go to bed," Allison replied.
She picked up her red solo cup and took another drink. She wondered how much longer Dustin was going to rant about the "Muslim Infestation" before taking a break. She was really tired and she needed to get online and upload her information quickly.
She perked up when she heard his tone change. He was no longer talking about peaceful protests and discrimination. He wanted to do something more elaborate and lasting. She knew where this would go and it wouldn't good. She needed to get to her contact tonight. They couldn't wait anymore. He was stock piling and now he wanted to act. This is why she was there. This is why she did these jobs.
Finally, Dustin stopped talking. Everyone at the America's Sons meeting agreed to meet at Baker's Field in the morning. They would make plans for their attack on the local mosque. Allison couldn't tell if it was just going to be graffiti or violence. Now, she really needed to get back to her place. She didn't have as much time as she wanted.
"Hey, Ally," Dustin called out to her as she started towards the door.
"Hey, Dustin."
"Good meeting," he stated.
"It was. I can't wait until tomorrow. Those towel heads need to learn their place in our country," she replied as tried not to choke on the words.
"I know. They deserve it. I want you by my side tomorrow."
"Me? Why me? Doesn't Mike usually go with you?" Allison asked him trying to figure out what was really going to happen.
"Yeah, he does. But, he is taking Becca and some of the others. They are going to hit the back, while we hit the front."
"Oh, that sounds good."
"Yeah, I got a new guy meeting us tomorrow."
"New guy? Isn't that risky, Dustin? We don't know him."
"Don't worry about it, woman. He is just what we need. He's going to meet us in the field with some devices. I am going to make sure that Akmed knows he isn't welcome here anymore," he said, his voice full of venom.
She knew that he really believed the words that he was saying. He was a dangerous man and now he was going to act. She was kinda glad that she was there gathering intel, because she wanted to shut down people like him.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I've kept you up too long. Go on home, Ally. I'll see you tomorrow after you get off. I know that you are tired."
She gave him a curious look.
"Becca told me. I should have waited until later in the day for this, but everyone was home, so..."
"It's fine, Dustin. Thank you for thinking of me. I'll see you tomorrow morning," Ally told him as she was tried to make it to the door again.
"Okay, baby. Be careful tonight. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," he told her.
Her stomach lurched. She wanted to hurl on him. She hated the fact that she had moved up in the ranks of the organization because their leader fancied her. When she told the task force captain, he told "by any means necessary." She hadn't realized that meant and relationship with the bigot. But, now she more intel than any other agent had been able to get them.
"Don't worry, baby. We're going to make America great again. And, you are going to help us find our way back."
"I know. I love you. Now, go get some sleep."
"Thanks, baby. Love you too. See you in the morning."
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and fled the trailer as fast as she could without it looking like she was. She got into her beater car and hit the panic button. She didn't know what else to do. They only had a few hours to stop this madness.
"Love, friendship and respect do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something." Anton Chekhov
BAU Headquarters, Quanitco, Virgina
JJ looked up from her desk to see a flustered Garcia running into Prentiss' office. She smiled at the bubbly blonde as she thought about her friend now being their unit chief. It had been a rough few years for them all. Between Emily leaving, trying to keep a replacement, Morgan retiring, Hotch going into witness protection, and JJ becoming a widow, they each had their own issues. Things were starting to look up for them. The family was back together with some new additions, but they all worked well together and their close rate was phenomenal.
She looked up at Emily's office window. Garcia was frantically waving her hands and Emily brown creased. JJ knew that it couldn't be good.
"Ten dollars says that we are flying out and getting briefed on the plane," Reid said as he caught JJ's stare.
"I am not taking that bet," Alvez stated as he looked up at them too.
"Okay, first round says it is out west," Reid replied.
"Why is that, Spence?" JJ asked turning her chair to face them.
"Statisically, it is time. Realistically, we can never know. Plus, it's warmer there right now."
"Are you saying that heat makes people crazy?" Dr. Tara Lewis inquired as she joined them all standing around their clump of desks in the bullpen.
"It can be a factor," Reid added as he turned back up to look at the office window. "But, statisically, I don't think that it is a major factor. The heat tends to make people uncomfortable."
"Okay, then I'm saying somewhere down south," Tara replied.
"First round?" JJ asked.
"Yes, if it isn't on the West Coast, I've got first round," Reid replied.
"Then, I'll say deep South," JJ stated.
"Tara and JJ are thinking South, what about your Alvez? What do you say? Any guesses as to where the case will be?" Reid asked him.
"Let's see. Reid took out West, Dr. Lewis and JJ both the South, so I'm going to go with Midwest. I doubt that we are going to be anywhere around here though."
"What makes you say that?" JJ asked him.
"The way Garcia was mumbling on the elevator. It didn't seem good and she kept saying something about the plane. That tells me that we are flying out at the first possible chance. Plus, I know that it must be something urgent," Alvez stated.
"Why is that?" Reid asked.
"Garcia ran the entire way to the elevator on our way up."
This was certainly was new information for them. Garcia walked quickly. If she was running, then it was something devastating and it would take all of their know-how. This was either going to be clean-up case, which they hated to work, or it was going to be a long and painful case with too many factors and players. Both options sucked, but they knew that they would go and they would solve the case or bust their asses trying.
"Sorry, Crime fighters, conference room now," Garcia said as she walked out of Emily's office and into the conference room near it.
JJ watched her. There was something in her eyes that she didn't like. When Emily came out of the office, she saw the same look.
"This isn't going to be good," JJ murmured as they all grabbed their electronic and paper tablets and headed up the walkway to the conference room.
"No, I don't believe it will be," Reid stated just behind her.
Reid sat next to JJ as they all filed into the room. Lewis and Alvez sat across from them. Rossi joined them and took the seat closest to the door. Emily took the seat closet to the giant TV monitor at the front of the room, leaving a seat between her and JJ open for Garcia. The usually bubbly blonde stood before the TV with the presentation remote and waited for Emily's nod to begin the briefing.
"Okay, not spooky stuff, but spooky stuff. We've been given intel from a task force that a domestic terrorist attack is going to happen soon. We aren't exactly sure where, but we know where the cell is located. This is a domestic hate group that has been under watch for years. We don't know what is sparking them to act now, but they are."
"They don't want another Ruby Ridge or Waco, right?" Rossi asked.
"Exactly. The task force has asked that we figure out who are the major players and what their target is. We think the intel that has been received could possibly be a smoke screen. But, there is another major reason that they are asking us to help in this situation. Normally Homeland would be on it, and to a degree they are, but this is going to delicate hands and plenty of finesse, which is why we've been called in," Emily added.
"What else is there?" Reid asked.
Garcia hit a few buttons and a picture of a plant of some sort showed on the screen. Reid studied it for a while. But, they all waited for more information.
"This is Savannah River Site," Garcia explained.
"The nuclear plant?" Reid questioned.
"One and the same," Garcia replied.
"Guess drinks are on me," Reid said.
Everyone turned to look at the young genius. He knew where they were going and now why the FBI was involved. They wanted to make sure that no one was going after any nuclear residue that could possibly make a "dirty" bomb.
"We're heading to North Augusta, South Carolina. Wheels up in twenty. I guess I don't need to tell you that this is a classified operation and we need to be on communication silence except between ourselves," Emily stated looking them each in the eye. "Alright then. Let's go."
They each gathered their materials and headed for the door. JJ hesitated. She wanted to know what was bothering Emily so much about this case. It had to be more than the threat of a "dirty" bomb. She watched as the brunette turned to face her more fully. Their eyes locked and a silent war, deep brown with ocean blue.
"What is it, Emily?"
She just shook her head. JJ cocked her head and her eyebrow. She didn't know why her friend and confidant was being so mysterious about the case. JJ was wondering what she missed. It wasn't like Emily to be vague with her. They both had worked jobs off the "radar" for the government. They were each other's emergency contact. They both had burner phones that they used to contact each other. Emily had been there after Will's death six months ago, practically moved in just to make sure that JJ would survive it. But, this Emily was foreign to her. This Emily before her wasn't her unit chief, fellow profiler or agent, colleague, or best friend. JJ didn't like it. It made her uncomfortable as Emily looked down and basically ignored her.
"Emily?"
The brunette stopped her packing and looked back at the blonde. She could see the questions in her eyes, but she wasn't sure that now was the right time to tell her. She shook her head again and grabbed her stuff heading towards the door around JJ.
JJ reached out and grabbed her arm. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to stop the unit chief. Emily looked down at her hand and then back up into JJ's pleading eyes.
"Emily, just tell me."
"You might want to rethink this case, JJ," was all she said as she pulled her arm out of JJ's grasp and left the conference room.
JJ couldn't shake the feeling that she might have done something wrong, but she couldn't think of anything. Then, she remembered the look on Garcia's face. It was the same as Emily's. What was it about this case that was troubling them both?
JJ just grabbed her stuff, ran down to her desk, got her "go" bag and headed to the elevator. She would look over the information they had on their tablets on the plane. The flight to South Carolina couldn't be that long and maybe by then, she would know what the big deal was.
About an hour into the flight, JJ pulled out the tablet and started going over all the information that Garcia had managed to weasel out of the Task Force and other sources. They were after a white supremacist group that seemed to just spout rhetoric against Muslims and Hispanics. She couldn't see anything about the group that would warrant the warning from Emily.
She pulled open an IM app and sent a quick message to Garcia. She wanted to know what it was that was bugging the both of them. She hoped that Garcia would at least shed some light on the problem. The only answer she got was "read the file."
JJ pursed her lips in thought. She dug deeper into the file. There was information on the group and it's origins. It seemed like a want-to-be group of the KKK or the Aryan Brotherhood, but they didn't have the clout to warrant such backing. They were locals and homegrown. Mostly from small country, county areas outside of Augusta and North Augusta. She kept reading. And, that is when she found the personnel file for Allison Adler.
She sucked in a breath as she looked at her former roommate's picture. She didn't look like she'd aged much from their time at Georgetown, but to see her in a military uniform was odd. She never knew what Allison was actually majoring in, just that it was for the government. They had a few classes together and attended functions together. They had been close, but when JJ joined the FBI, Allison had graduated and left. They hadn't seen each other since around 2003 at school. She couldn't finish reading the file.
She looked up and found Emily's eyes. Emily had been watching her while she read the file and she knew exactly when JJ found out about Allison. She could see it on her face. Now, she was waiting for JJ to say something and possibly excuse herself from the case.
"Oh, Ally, what have you done?" JJ asked aloud but quietly.
Emily cocked her eyebrow at her in question, but JJ just shook her head. She wasn't going to walk away from the case. She wasn't going to let her person feelings get in the way.
She shot Emily a IM via her tablet.
I'm not excusing myself. I can handle this. You'll need all of us.
I know who she is to you, JJ. I won't think less of you if you need to walk away. No one will.
That was years ago, Em. I'm fine. We need to stop this group. I can handle it.
You'll let me know if you can't?
Yes.
Emily nodded at her across the plane. She was going over her own notes. She knew they only a few more minutes until they would be on the ground. The local FBI office in Augusta would have their arranged SUVs waiting for them at the Augusta Airport. She just hoped that everything would work out. If not, a lot of people would be hurt and least of all, JJ would be one of them.