Title: Operation Tori
Author: luckystraw
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: T for now
Summary: AU – CIA operative Arizona Robbins struggles with her past as she works to take down the world's most wanted criminal. Unbeknownst to FBI agent Callie Torres, there's more to the operation as her life is intertwined with Arizona's and their target.
Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. I do not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters belong to the original creator(s). Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: This story is set in the crime fighting world of the CIA and FBI. As I am neither a federal officer or American, I am writing with creative license as you'll see that some of the stuff that occurs isn't within protocol. I also like the military ranks so instead of sticking to just the traditional CIA/FBI rankings, I interchange them.
A/N2: Thank you so much to my beta, without your work I wouldn't have been motivated to write my own fic. It'll definitely not surmount to yours, but I'm doing this all in good fun. Hope you'll all enjoy!
"Agent Torres," Lt. Burke stood up and gestured to the seat across his desk, "Please, have a seat."
Callie closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair indicated, "It's good to see you, lieutenant. May I ask why I'm here?" She had a good feeling why she was called to his office, but she didn't want to build up false hope. Burke sat back in his seat and regarded her for a moment before speaking.
"Congratulations, Agent Torres. Your application has been reviewed and the board interviewers had nothing but good things to say," he pulled out an envelope from the top drawer and handed it to her.
Callie unwound the string fastening the flap that secured its contents. She pulled out a stack of papers, reading the letter that lay on top.
"Agent Calliope Torres…you are now hereby officially accepted to the Federal Bureau of Investigations' Counter Terrorism unit… Please report to Human Resources by noon this Friday to have your paper work submitted..."
Callie beamed, "Thank you, sir. Without you I would have never gotten the opportunity for the board meeting."
"You earned it, Torres. I'm positive you will do great wherever you may go," Burke smiled and stood. Extending his hand, Callie shook it before excusing herself and going about her last few days in the Miami bureau.
"No, Teddy, I don't want to go," Arizona stated adamantly, walking into the vast room of the Counter Terrorism unit.
"Why not, Arizona? Come on, it's once a year, it'll be fun," excitement lacing Teddy's voice as she followed her best friend.
Gripping the handle to her office door, Arizona shot back, "Having blown eardrums and beer being spilt down your shirt isn't my definition of 'fun.' And you know how I feel about the subject, so can we drop it, please?"
She pushed open the door and walked around her desk before sagging into the customary CIA issued office chair. Teddy closed the door behind her and sat in the seat opposite the desk.
"Ugh, these chairs are horrible. I'm surprised I haven't developed lesions on my backside yet," Arizona whined, "I'm going to get my own, this is ridiculous, I can't focus on any of my work in this lump of hide."
Teddy chuckled in her seat, "Come on, Arizona. If you don't want to participate, then at least come as support."
Arizona rolled her eyes as she scrolled through a catalogue of office chairs on an IKEA website, "Ooh! This chair looks really comfy. Maybe I'll hit IKEA and check it out later," she bookmarked the item before turning her attention back to Teddy who was still pleading with her.
"Major Theodora Altman. I know you're not just here to make me go to some stupid event, so give me the case file already," an irritated Arizona stuck out her hand and glared at her best friend.
"Yikes, Sergeant Major Arizona Robbins is mad. Okay fine, here you go," Teddy handed Arizona the confidential folder she was holding.
"That's Lieutenant Colonel Arizona Robbins to you," she stuck out her tongue in a childish manner, "Squadron Leader sounds dumb when you don't have a plane to fly or cadets to line. Okay what do we got?"
Arizona skimmed the files and arched her eyebrows, "Join Task Force? We haven't had one of those in a long time."
"Welcome back to American soil, Lieutenant Colonel," Teddy drummed her forefingers on the edge of the desk before standing up and extending a hand.
"And here I thought I'd get a break after my two missions in Afghanistan," Arizona stood and shook Teddy's hand, "I'll call the FBI and get back to you in a bit."
"Torres, over here!" a loud voice shouted in the crowded Washington airport.
Callie slung her carry-on over her shoulder as she wheeled her luggage through the sea of people. Mark ran up to her and gave her a tight hug.
"Mark," Callie choked out, swatting at his arms, "can't breathe."
Letting her go, he kept firm hands on her shoulders and gave her a once over before nodding in approval, "You look good, Torres. I've missed you!"
Callie laughed as she took in the sight of her best friend, "Jeeze, Mark. What kinda jobs do headquarters give you? You look like you've aged ten years."
Mark scoffed and feigned hurt, "I do not look ten years older. For your information, I still get it in the sack –"
"Okay, stop right there," Callie interrupted him, "Really, Mark? That's the first thing you're going to tell me when I haven't seen you since we split ways at the academy?"
"Yeah well, you've been in the sun for too long," he retorted, "You look like a baked potato," he laughed as Callie punched him in the arm. Picking up her luggage, they made way out of the airport to Mark's Audi TT Roadster.
"Do you have a place to stay yet?"
"Nope, I was thinking of checking into the nearest hotel by the Hoover."
"So you came all the way to Washington from Miami without any plans?" Mark gave her an incredulous look.
"I wasn't really thinking that far when I jumped at the opportunity," Callie shrugged.
"You know you can always come stay with me, Cal, just for the time being," Mark said as he stopped in front of the hotel.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to relax for the weekend until you're officially incarcerated in my presence," Callie laughed as she met Mark at the trunk of the car.
"I'm hurt. So many ladies love being chained to –"
"Ah ah ah," Callie held up a hand, "What did I say, Mark? Seriously, you need to grow out of your manwhoreness already and settle down with someone."
Mark scoffed as he waved down the bellboy who hovered near the front entrance, "Give me a call if you need anything."
Callie was present in her new commanding officer's office at 0800 hours sharp Monday morning.
"Special Agent Torres, I'm Major Owen Hunt. Welcome to the Counter Terrorism unit, I've heard great things about you from your superiors in Miami."
"Thank you, sir; it's really great to be here. I still have much to learn, and I'm eager to get familiarized with the new setting."
"Straight forward and determined, I like that," Owen laughed, "Very well, let me introduce you to the rest of the team."
Hunt gave Callie a general tour of the floor before leading the way to the Counter Terrorism unit. Entering the air conditioned room, Hunt introduced Callie as the newest member of the taskforce. She surveyed the team. There were 5, including herself.
"Hi, I'm Meredith Grey," a slender brunette began the round of introductions, "And this is Cristina Yang." She elbowed the Asian next to her who was leaning unceremoniously against the desk. Yang shrugged her shoulders before returning to her own desk.
"Welcome to the team, Cal. I thought you were going to Narcotics or something, way to hide it from me!" Mark had a look of surprise on his face.
"Who knows what you would've done if I told you before I even started my first day of work in Washington," Callie laughed. The last man introduced himself as Alex Karev.
"How about a round at Joe's tonight for the newcomer?" Mark announced. Yang shot up her arms and yelled "Tequila!" in triumph. Meredith rolled her eyes at her best friend.
Hunt arched an eyebrow at Yang, "The Brass just passed down a big case."
"What? Torres needs to get initiated into our badass crime-fighting unit before she can actually do the job," Yang quipped from her desk, which happened to be the one across from where Callie took a seat.
"I better see you all at 0900 hours tomorrow then. Enjoy your night, it better not impede performance," Hunt chuckled before retreating to his office.
"What say you, Torres? Joe's tonight after work?" Mark asked.
"I'm game," Callie smiled, looking forward to a night of getting to know her new colleagues.
A phone rang in Owen's office. He reached one hand towards the receiver while rifling through a bunch of paper work on his desk, "FBI Counter Terrorism Unit. This is Major Owen Hunt speaking."
"Major Hunt, this is Lt. Colonel Arizona Robbins of the CIA's Counter Terrorism Unit."
Owen paused his work, "Arizona? Gosh, it's great to hear your voice," he leaned back in his chair, "Lt. Colonel, huh? Congratulations! I take it that Teddy's jeered you already. How long has it been since I last saw you?"
"Thank you," Arizona laughed, "Leave it to Teddy to get me riled up over something so silly. It's great to be back, Owen, and yeah, it's been a few years. I just got back from two missions in Afghanistan and the Brass dumps this big case on me."
"Tell me about it. I'd rather practice my footwork in the dessert than organizing this mound of paperwork I'm getting."
The two ex-military friends continued catching up before getting down to business and arranging for an effective collaboration between both Counter Terrorism units.
"Great, I'll send my liaison down in a week while I gather intelligence on this end. I'll be looking forward to working with you, Hunt."
"It wouldn't be the first time, but we always did do wonders as a team," Owen chuckled, "I'll see you soon, light bird."
Callie's first night at the Emerald Bar was spent getting to know her new colleagues and catching up with Mark who she hadn't seen in 8 years.
"Wait, you live right across from the Hoover?" Callie nearly sprayed her beer all over, "Mark you never told me that even though you were trying to dissuade me from checking into a hotel!"
"You never asked. Besides, it helps keep me on top of the game," Mark winked before taking a swig of his own drink.
"What he really means is shipping the ladies off across the street and into his bed," Yang replied, throwing a peanut at Mark's head.
"Hey, I resent that. It's not like I do it all the time!"
"Cristina lives there too. They're neighbours, so he's right across the hall from her," Meredith added, watching the bar mix fight between Sloan and Yang.
"Yeah, it's a pain in the ass living across from the manwhore. My stock of tequila is being stunted because of you!" Yang jabbed a finger in Mark's direction.
"It's not my fault you don't keep any scotch at home."
"Torres, are you looking for a place to live? I have a spare room. My last roommate moved out, and you can help me keep this one in line," she threw a peanut at Mark again.
"Only because you drove the last one away," Alex shouted over the music blasting from the bar's speakers.
"Shut up, Karev. You're living in Mer's frat house. Besides, if she didn't move out I would've gunned her down myself until she did."
"Who was your old roommate?" Callie asked, enjoying the easy-going atmosphere.
"Mer's old backpacking friend. She's a queer. Where'd you pick her up from anyway? Neverland?"
"Europe, Cristina. And she's not queer. She's…unique. And spoiled," Meredith replied before checking her watch, "Oh, I gotta go, Derek's going to be home soon."
At that, the party began to disband. Alex and Meredith left together while Mark led the rest back to the apartment complex.
Unlocking the front door to her apartment unit and shoving the keys into Callie's hand, Cristina jabbed in the general direction of which doors lead to what room before shuffling back to her own bedroom, claiming a hangover in the morning.
"Hey Torres, if you don't want to hang around the dark and twisty, you can always join me," Mark raised a suggestive eyebrow and cocked his head towards his apartment door.
Callie laughed, "I need to pick up my things from the hotel, care to join?"
A/N3: This is my first fic, so reviews are greatly appreciated. Please be kind, I haven't gotten in touch with my creative side since 2005. I've got several ideas as to what I want to do with this story, so nothing is set in stone yet in terms of Callie & Arizona's relationship. Promise it'll get there, it is a C/A fic after all :) The first few chapters might be a drag, but it's needed to push plot and getting things into motion.