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She had only seen this on movies, hell she never thought it was possible for this happen, let alone happen to her. But here she was standing between her two lives. Her two families. She had to choose and she had to do it now. But, how can she? How can she choose between love or law? Looking to her left she saw her family, always had her back, always looked out for her, always loved her. Glancing to her right she saw her love and family, the man that loved her beyond her lies, beyond her past, beyond her betrayal, his family who took her in no matter what, who watched out for her, who loved her more than simply being their father's girl. Both families calling to her, both waiting for her to choose. Taking a step, she made her choice.
ONE YEAR EARLIER:
Hotch went over the file for what seemed like the hundredth time. Cruz had walked in a few moments ago, with a new case. Only this case had everything in it, gangs, murders, drugs, guns and everything in between. Cruz had given him the file and told-no ordered him to solve it. This was out of his and his team's job description. This wasn't a serial killer or a sociopath on a killing spree. Opening the file, he went page by page. He was going to have to send someone in, someone that can win their trust and report back to them. Hating as much as he did, he had just the right person. Running a hand down his face, he took in a deep breath and composed himself.
The rest of the team were gathered in the bullpen. Morgan and Garcia were chatting about some movie they watched last night. Reid was busy reading a book Rossi bought for him. Rossi was currently running late. As for Kate, JJ and Emily, they were busy fuzzing over JJ and her 5-month-old baby. Matthew Hotchner. Jessica was there with them, for she cared for the baby while the parents worked. Jack and Henry were off at school, so she decided a little baby love wouldn't hurt.
"He looks nothing like his father." Kate grinned, letting the baby grip her finger.
JJ laughed. "Don't let Aaron here you say that."
Emily ran her hand over his hair. "Well, besides having Hotch's hair color, I have to agree with Kate."
"Agree on what?" Hotch asked, walking down the stairs of his office. The ladies shared a look and giggled. "What?"
"We were just agreeing on how much Matthew is looking like you." Kate replied.
Hotch grinned. Kissing his son on the head, he nodded. "That he does."
JJ scoffed. "Ego booster."
"He has your eyes though." Giving her a quick kiss, he suddenly took the child. "Jessica." Knowing they were about to start work, she took the child and bid them a good bye. "Hate to disturb this rare break in the morning, but I need you all in the conference room now. Garcia, Cruz sent everything to your laptop."
"On it sir." Garcia was a blur of colors, as she rushed to her office.
As they walked to the room, Rossi showed up.
"Glad you can join us." Morgan laughed.
Rossi simply fixed his tie. "Traffic jam."
Emily walked out from the kitchen area and grabbed a hold of his shirt collar. "Yeah sure, that's why you have lipstick on your collar."
Rossi sighed. "You mind?" With another laugh, she grabbed a wet towel and cleaned it off. "Thank you."
"No problem, now let's go befo-"
"Rossi! Prentiss!" Hotch's voice boomed throughout the bullpen.
Once everyone was settled in and Garcia had set up the laptop, Hotch began. "Earlier this morning Cruz gave us a case. This isn't another serial killer case, but a more common one."
Morgan raised his hand. "Common?"
Grabbing the control, he clicks it. A picture of a man popped up. Good looking, fit and well dressed. Man had money and didn't care to show. A go-tee and curly short hair. Latino, but something else. His eyes were the ones to attract them, they held nothing. They were empty and vacant.
"Meet Javier Acosta, leader and head of Los Angelicos." Hotch began. "He is known every where you go, the higher ups want him gone. The reason we are asked to take over this case, is because of the failure of others. They want this clean and by the books. Last month, a detective from GTF was suspended after it was discovered, she planted drugs on Carlos Acosta. Javier's oldest son. He walked and so did any and every evidence they had on them."
"GTF?" Morgan asked. "New division?"
Hotch nodded. "In a way. GTF stands for Gang Task Force. Run by Captain Chapel, the team is built by one agent of each alphabet and is funded by each head of each alphabet."
"What are we to do?" JJ asked.
"We need to bring them down. Cruz had every agency send me everything they had. Turns out there is a new drug on the market. Fish scale. Suppose to be better than any other drug on the market. Javier Acosta has the product and is looking to distribute it across the state. Now we have another problem." Clicking the remote once more, pictures of another gang appeared. "A war between Los Angelicos and Lords has broken out. They have had death's every day between these two, last I heard Javier was winning."
"What started it?" Kate asked. "I know a bit about each one and I also know they have always been at war, but I also know not like this. Based on the pictures and no breaks in between days, they are exterminating each other. Who did what?"
Hotch nodded. "Lord members ambushed and shot Carlos Acosta 27 times. The boy lived, but is to spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair."
"Did they catch them?" Emily asked.
"They did." Hotch brought up three pictures. "They were taken to the patio in prison, where they were killed."
Rossi shook his head. "By who?"
"Everyone and no one. They didn't speak, even the guard's said they saw nothing." Hotch replied. "From there on, Javier has been looking for the Lord's leader's son. An eye for an eye."
"Where is the boy?" Kate asked.
"Custody protection, we have him locked down." Hotch said. "Now our job is to go in and take them down. I don't like this any more than you do. Two of you will be going in and gather as much as you can. Get close to the Acosta, earn their trust and report back. We will always be close by. You will not be alone."
"Who's going in?" Reid asked, hoping it wasn't him.
"Emily, you are going in as a new business partner. Looking to buy the new product from him, become his friend." Hotch said. "When you go in, Morgan will be with you. Consider him your right hand."
Emily nodded, grabbing her file. "Understood."
Hotch took in a deep breath and handed him the last file to Kate. "You have worked undercover many times. I need that experience now. You will have to gain the trust of Javier Acosta and his family. Become one if possible. The Acosta are looking to hire a care taker for their son Carlos. All paper work has been done, you have the job. Start with Carlos, then the others. Leave Javier until last, he is no stranger to undercover cops. Move too fast and he will discover you."
Kate took a shaky breath. "Alright."
Hotch placed a hand on her shoulder. "You up for this?"
"Yeah, yeah." Opening the file, she sighed. It has been four years since she has taken up undercover. Now she must jump in and become friends to one of the most feared gangs. Yeah, okay, she can do this. No biggy. What's the worst that could happen?
"Alright, the Acosta family is a large one and it seems to only be getting bigger. Javier Acosta, 40 years old. Has been the head of Los Angelicos since he was 22. The man does not take anything lightly. 5 years ago, his wife Maria Acosta was killed by a rival gang. It was done to send him a message. Acosta hunted them down, only he didn't just go after the killers." Multiple pictures of crime scenes popped up on the screen. "He went after the wives. Killing each one the same. Broken bones and throat slit. Of course, none of this was able to be pinned back to him." Clicking the remote, three pictures appeared. "Carlos Acosta, Daniel Acosta and Karla Acosta. These are his three children. Carlos had - until the shooting, been Javier's right-hand man. Daniel moved from the family business and became a real estate agent, but that does not mean he is out of the loop. He also works for the bank, so let's keep a close eye on that. Now Karla is the youngest of the three and there for Javier keep a real close eye on her. She is always with someone. Still in school and never leaves the house. Kate, get close to her."
Kate nodded. "Yes sir." She looked to be about Meg's age. So innocent in a dirty world. Meg! "Hotch."
"Yes?"
"What about Meg? I can't simply leave her, we don't know how long this will last." Kate was not about leave her daughter. She was all she had.
Hotch paused for a moment. He had completely forgotten about the girl, but he couldn't allow Kate to take her. "We will come up with something, for now let's focus on this. Okay?"
Kate wasn't convinced, but knew better than to argue with him. "Okay."
"Alright, now Luis Acosta is Javier's younger brother by two years. Luis is the one to do all the dirty work. He is what we would call the work dog. Attacks when ordered and kills when told to. Keep an eye out for him, like Javier he is no stranger to cops." Shutting the tv off, Hotch placed his palms on the table and exhaled. "I know this is not something we do, nor is it going to be a walk in the park, but we have no choice. Cruz and the others want him gone and done for. Javier has killed many innocent and not so innocent people. In that bunch are cops and agents. What I am asking from you two is hard I know, but I also know I am asking the right ones. If you can't let me know now."
Kate and Emily glanced at each other, debating the pros and cons of this assignment.
"I'm in." Emily assured.
Hotch nodded, then glanced at Kate. "Kate?"
Kate glance up at him, unlike Emily she would be living with them. Day in and day out. She would have contact with all of them. See what really goes on in there. Deal with their problems, but she knew she had too. If not her someone else and she really didn't want to disappoint her boss. Beside if not her than most likely JJ and Kate was not about to let that happen. So, sucking in some air, she stared her boss in the eyes. "I'm in."
Hotch gave her a small smile. "Good. Kate, you are to arrive the day after tomorrow at the Acosta resident. Emily, you have a meeting with Javier in a week's time."
Kate returned home with a gut feeling. Her heart wouldn't stop racing and her stomach had been acting up since the meeting. Now she needed to tell her niece, of course not the whole truth. Just snips of it. What she was going to tell her was still a mystery to herself.
Walking in she was met with a wonderful smell. With a smile, she walked into the kitchen to find Meg and the last person she wanted to see with her.
Dropping her smile, she glared at the intruder. "Chris."
"Kate! Hey." Giving her a smile, he reached to hug her. Kate backed away. He knew the last thing she wanted was for him to touch her. Dropping his hands, he returned to what he was doing. "Still mad?"
Kate scoffed, this man was seriously an idiot. "Yeah and I'd say I have reason to be." Taking in a deep breath, she calmed herself. "What are you doing here?"
"Meg called, she asked that I pick her up early from school. She wanted to make you dinner and asked that I help." Ruffing Meg's hair he grinned. "Don't worry I wasn't going to stay. Just going to help and leave."
Kate sighed. She may hate the man and may want to shoot him, right where he stood, but Meg liked him. "No, it's fine. Stay and eat, but I want you out after."
"Promise."
She literally kicked him out after he had taken the last bite on his plate. Once she was sure he was gone, Kate pulled Meg to the couch.
"Why are you so rude to him?" Meg asked, annoyed with we aunt's behavior. "I know you two broke it off, but he did help raise me."
Kate hadn't told her the reason for their break up. She didn't want to ruin the image she had of the man, she saw as a father. Instead she simply told her they needed a break and called it quits. "Look that's not important right now. I need to tell you something and I need you to hear me out."
Meg frowned, worried by her words. "Everything alright?"
"Yes, yes. We-umm-caught a case today and this one is going to take me away for a while. Before you freak out, I had no choice okay." Kate watched her, trying to figure her out.
Meg studied her for a bit. "What do you mean you had no choice? Aren't the others going with you?" Kate shook her head. "What?! You are going in solo?! What is this case? Are you going to be safe? Why are they se-"
Kate cut her off with a hug. "Shh. Meg it's fine, I will be safe." She knew that was a lie, but she didn't need to know that. "The others can't be there physically with me, but I will be in contact with them daily. Emily will be there as well, Morgan sometimes. I won't be completely alone hun. I will call when I get a chance, but I promise a day won't pass that I don't check in with you. Hotch and JJ have offered to look out for you."
Meg sniffed a little. Kate has not left her overnight once since the abduction. She was still scared in spending nights alone. "Where will you be at?"
"In Las Angeles." Kate whispered.
"Kate, I don't want you to leave." Meg whispered.
Kate smiled into her hair. "I know baby, but I promise it won't take long for me to complete this. First chance I get, I'll have you come to me for a visit."
Meg glanced until at her with wide and happy eyes. "Promise?"
Kate chuckled, wiping the tears off her face. "Promise."
That night they spent watching movies and eating all the junk food they had. Meg knew she wouldn't see her tomorrow Morning, she wouldn't make her say goodbye knowing it would hurt her. Yes, she left many times, but never to the extent of having to ask team mates to look out for her. She was fine one or two days alone, but now…now she didn't know how long Kate would be gone.
Kate showed up at the bullpen thirty after ten, which meant she had two hours to arrive at the house.
Hotch drove her to the airport, where the others waited. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Kate mumbled.
Hotch nodded. "You have the names?"
Kate nodded. "Javier Acosta leader of Los Angelicos and head of his family. Wife was killed five years ago. Has three kids, Carlos Acosta oldest, Daniel Acosta middle child and youngest Karla Acosta."
"Good. What is your job?" Hotch asked.
"Get close to the family, learn and report. Become one of them if possible." Kate was hating that part, she couldn't stand those that gained trust and then broke it. Yet here she was doing the same.
Hotch patted her on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, we have you."
Kate scoffed inwardly, 'yeah just a plane ride away right'. Forcing a smile, she waved bye and climbed into the plane. This was the start of a new life for her, at least until she did what she had to do.
Javier walked into the warehouse, greeting his men as he walked in. Reaching the darkest part of the room, he 'tsk' at the man before him. Removing his jacket, he addressed the man. "My people tell me you don't want to talk." The man shivered, but said nothing. "So, I am going to ask you nicely. Where is the fish scale?"
The man gasped for breath, before speaking. "I already told you, I don't know!"
"Tiene huevos este cabron." Javier laughed. Just as he removed his tie and rolled up his sleeves, his phone went off. "Hello?"
"Senior Acosta, the nurse is here." His man told him.
Javier glared at the man and sighed. "I'm on my way." Clicking the phone, he turned to his brother. "Make him talk, do what you have to, but I want to know where my fish scale is."
"You got it brother." Luis gestured to bring the man. "We will have it by the end of the day."
With a stiff nod, he walked out. Time to meet the newest member of his family.
TRANSLATION:
Man has balls.