Chapter 7

Emily just stared at her. She knew that Ally had been watching Jennifer and protecting her when she could, but she didn't know the whole extent of what happened in Afghanistan. The fact that Ally had been there...that she had rescued JJ...it made her respect the woman more. She knew what it was like to be on the outskirts during a government operation. She knew what it was like in the darkness as you are searching for the light in order to protect the world and your country. She knew what it was like to be utterly alone in the field and have no one but yourself to trust. Ally did that everyday, with every mission, and still found time to make sure that JJ was safe. She didn't understand and she couldn't fathom the reasons, but she was still thankful for it.

"Do you mean to say that you were there during the fire fight?" Emily asked trying to get more information about what she thought she'd heard.

"I was. I was in a support vehicle not too far behind them. We heard the explosions and moved in order to flank the attack. By the time we got to the kill zone, it was almost too late. Hastings and Askari were gone. I was more worried about get Jen out of the kill zone. Forgive me for being one track minded on that part."

"I am not upset about that. I just didn't know that you were there. Last we had spoken was after I took up the job at Interpol," Emily stated.

"I kept it that way for a reason. I had someone on the inside then. I didn't need to have an agent on the team."

"Who?"

"Penelope Garcia."

"Pen?" JJ asked joined the conversation as she realized that Ally had been secretly tracking her movements since Georgetown.

"Yes, Miss Garcia and I have a strange relationship. She has helped out with Project Odin on various cases. She is sometimes called Mimir, but that really doesn't matter."

Emily stared at her. She wasn't amazed that Garcia had been used by other government agencies. She possibly didn't even know what she was working on, but she doubted that. Emily knew that Garcia did other things when they weren't asking her to look up some information for them. Her computers were usually running almost twenty-four seven.

"I need to go. I can't stay here too long or Odin will find me. This is the one place that I can hide and just be for a while. This is where I find myself again after a mission. Now, I really must go. I need to tend to my shoulder before something happens and I need to be back in Washington for my debrief," Ally stated.

"Wait," Emily stated.

"What?" Ally asked as she stood up from the table.

"Let us go with you. I'll look at your shoulder. I know that it needs tending and more than just a cursory looking to that you have done. And, guessing that you are enough like me, you aren't going to be happy about going to the hospital," Emily suggested.

"I am not going to the hospital."

"I know. Let me look at it. I can patch you up," Emily offered.

"Fine, you can both come back with me, but you aren't staying. I need to keep my place to myself. You will have to forget that you were ever there. I need a place to relax and just be."

"Why here?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know why you've come here?" JJ asked her.

Ally looked at her. She was still standing. Her shoulder hurt, but she knew that Emily was right.

"Fine. You can come with me. As for why I chose to live here, I don't know. I just kinda liked the place," Ally told her.

"We are so not done with this conversation, Allison. You can't just drop a bomb like that on me and walk away. Why didn't you ever tell me?" JJ asked.

Ally turned around as she neared the door. This was so not the place to be having this conversation and she knew it. Plus, she wasn't exactly sure what she could actually tell Jennifer to begin with. There was only so much that she was capable of handling and the other half of the information was still classified. She didn't care that Jennifer had a high enough classification to know. It was just too much for one person to take in all at once.

"If you have more questions, fine," she answered looking around the coffee shop. "But, not here. You can follow me."

Jennifer just nodded. She wondered what other bombshells that Ally had in store for her. But, it was the fact that Emily knew her some how that still bothered her. She didn't know enough Arabic, but she'd picked up some while in Afghanistan. She knew enough about what Ally had said to her. It just made her wonder more about the brunette that just walked out of life, literally, back when she was in Grad School at Georgetown.


Afghanistan, End of September 2010

Allison sat back and watched as the new operatives came in the makeshift camp. She knew that it was wrong for her to be there, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to make sure that Jennifer made it home okay. She'd heard about her transfer to the State Department from Emily and it had been enough for her to do what she needed to do to get there. It didn't matter that no one would know who she really was. She had a job to do and a mission. Her job was to keep Jennifer safe. Her mission was to find Osama Bin Laden. She was an expert on getting information. It was the only reason that Odin let her go. They knew that Jennifer was going to be there. It was a test.

She'd gotten word from Sif that Odin was testing her. It was time for her re-evaluation for Project Odin. She was a good operative and was a supreme infiltrator. They knew that Jennifer was going to be there. They had seen the requests from Section Chief Strauss. They also knew that Allison would do anything for her. When she requested Afghanistan, they agreed. Not because of Jennifer, but because she would be one of the best to be there for this mission.

She was posing as a man. Her name was Capt. Al Adler. At least her name was the same this time. It wasn't hard to blend in and not be found out as a woman. She was always in body armor and Kevlar. The Gortex black or tan, depending on the time of day, uniform was very emasculating. The only thing anyone ever saw of her was her eyes. And, if anyone asked about Captain Adler, they would say that he was quiet, cold, calculating and very good at his job. No one wanted to cross him and that worked in her favor.

The only ones that knew the truth was her five man fire team that she had hand selected from the CIA, Green Berets, SEALs, Marine RECON and Air Force Pararescue. She'd selected them for their specialties, abilities, and language skills. She smiled when they all met for the first time at the beginning of September.

"Hey, Cap?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"We've gotten word that the package will be in town within the month."

"And, are our preparations ready?"

"Yes, Cap. She'll not leave the area without one of us on her tail. She'll be protected."

"Good. Good. Any news from the TOC yet? A new mission?"

"Not yet, Cap. Sarge will be in soon though. He heard some traffic earlier that he wants you to see."

"Roger that, LT."

She was busy studying maps. She wanted to know everything that she could about the area. She knew that they would most likely just be doing recon missions and the like. But, it wasn't going to be enough to keep the men busy. Following Jennifer would only keep them busy for so long. She knew that they would want to help be instrumental in finding Bid Laden, but she needed to keep them close to base. Having an in with the Alphabets and mostly with CIA helped a lot in this fact, as she would send them out slowly, one at a time, on different missions.

"Excuse me, Captain," Chief Strauss said as she entered Ally's base of operations.

She motioned for her to come in and take a seat in front of her desk. Strauss crossed the desolate room and took a seat. She looked across the desk at Ally, but she still didn't see the woman. She only saw the captain.

"I know that you are going to answer me because of the issues with your voice. I get that. I also understand that you have made some inquiries into one of my agents. I assure you that everyone on the task force from the FBI has been personally vetted by me, Captain."

Ally nodded.

"But, I am not sure that I understand why you have taken a sudden interest in the media liaison from the BAU. I assure you that she is the person that we want for this assignment. She'll be able to get us closer to the families of the targets. We can use that information to get what we need. Don't you agree?"

Ally nodded.

"But, there is more to it than that? Does the State Department actually have a use for her when this is over? Is that what this is about?"

Ally nodded.

"Why wasn't I informed?" Chief Strauss asked.

Ally just sat there...still and unblinking.

"Need to know, I assume."

Ally nodded.

"And now that I know, can I tell her?"

Ally shook her head.

"She'll be cared for when she returns?"

Ally nodded.

"Well, will she find a way back to the FBI, eventually when the State Department is done with her?"

Ally nodded. She knew that she would open some doors for Jennifer if she needed to, but she would wait to see what Jennifer wanted. She knew that this assignment wasn't something that she wanted, but that she was assigned. She would wait to see what the State Department was actually going to do with her before Ally stepped in to do anything. Jennifer was making contacts with people that she might never need, but Allison was sure would look out for her no matter the question.

"And, Mateo Cruz? You've vetted him as well, I see. Anything I should know about with him?"

Ally shook her head.

"Good. I've been told by the General that you will be our personal security while we are here. Is this correct?"

Ally nodded.

"Well, then, thank you for that. I understand that your men will go out on missions from time to time. Will my agents go with them?"

Ally shook her head.

"Good. Well, if you have any other questions about my team, I would hope that you would come to me or send one of your men. I will give you whatever answers you want, Captain. I have nothing to hide here. I hope you don't either," Strauss told her as she stood up.

Ally shook her head again.

"Well, good day then, Captain. I'm sure that I'll see you around. I'll let you know as soon as my agents arrive."

Ally nodded as she left. It was easy enough. The General wasn't sure what to make of her team and he wasn't going to go against them. He knew political maneuvers when he saw them. And, he knew that it had to be something huge for the craziness that made up her team. Teams like that were Black Ops. They didn't exist on paper and they wouldn't. They weren't even technically there. They didn't report to anyone but him. Ally liked that way and so did the General. He knew that they weren't there to stop his hunt, but to help him. They were sharing information and as long as they did, there wouldn't be any problems between them.

"Cap?"

"Yes, Agent Marcos?"

"The General has some new maps that he wants you to look over and work with the MI unit to decide where to head to next. He thinks that will your input they could make a better strike at the heart of the matter. Do you want me to leave them here for your review?"

"Yes, Marcos, that's fine. Tell me something though, will you? Are the men getting restless?"

"A little, sir," Marcos answered even though he knew that Adler was a woman.

"Good. Tell them to get ready. I'll look over the maps and we'll do a little recon tonight. I'm feeling a little twitchy."

"Roger that, sir. I'll let them know. Briefing at?"

"We'll go dark, eighteen hundred."

"Roger."

She watched him leave her makeshift office and head out into the camp to the tell the fire team to prepare. She knew that meant that they would all come back to their building and sleep. They would want to be ready for tonight. She looked down at the maps. So did she.


They entered the house quietly. Emily and JJ were right behind her. Time seemed to be going slow for her and her shoulder ached.

"Get me your first aid kit," Emily commanded as they all made their way into her living room.

She just nodded as she headed into her bedroom. She pulled out some combat bags from the closet and dug through them until she found an emergency surgery kit that her pararescue medic had given her in Afghanistan. She knew that it was still good for the most part. She wasn't worried about the drugs anyway. All she cared about were the instruments and the bandages.

She walked back into the room and set it down on her coffee table. Emily opened it up and just looked at her. She shrugged as Emily started pulling out the necessary items to stitch her up and clean the wound.

"Take off your shirt," Emily told her.

"I'd rather not."

"Well, I can't do with your sleeve rolled up, so take it off."

Ally huffed but did as she asked. She took off her shirt and dropped it on the table beside her. Emily slowly guided her down to sit on the table.

JJ couldn't stay still. She left the living room for the kitchen. She grabbed a few beers, a fifth of vodka and two bowls of water. She sat the bowls and vodka on the table next to Emily. Emily just cocked an eyebrow as she was handed a beer.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch."

"I know."

"Do you have anything for me to give you a local with?" Emily asked as she searched through the bag.

"I don't know if it is expired. Besides it doesn't hurt that much. I've had worse."

And, that is when JJ's eyes turned and actually looked at the woman half dressed sitting on the coffee table. She saw the burns and the wounds. She saw the other gun shots and stabs. She could see the trauma that Ally's body had taken, but part of her still didn't understand why.

"So you were recruited while we were in school?" JJ asked as she finally found a seat across the room in an EZ chair.

"Yeah," she panted as Emily tried to remove the bandage without doing anymore damage to the wounds.

"And, you made sure that I stayed protected."

"I did," she hissed.

"Sorry," Emily whispered as she started to clean the wound with water.

"You knew about Will and my boys."

"I do."

"But, you've never shown yourself to me," JJ accused.

"I haven't."

"Why?"

"I couldn't."

"Bullshit."

"Jennifer...there were so many times that I wanted to come forward and let you know that I was there, but I couldn't. I am supposed to be a shadow. You aren't supposed to know that I even exist. The fact that they called your team in to help means that Odin was questioning me. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"No, I don't. And, right now, I am not sure that I care. What would it matter that they called us in? We are the FBI," JJ stated.

"I don't care about the FBI, Jennifer. I care about you and Odin knows that. He sent you to test me, and I failed. I know I did."

"To test you?" Emily asked as she swabbed the area with some clean alcohol cloths.

"I am due for evaluation soon to see if I can continue to work with the team. I am the best at what I do, but I am getting a little old to infiltrate some groups. I have already been teaching a replacement. Since, I've failed my test, I will no longer be allowed to be in the field. I will be brought back to Washington to work the Alphabets as Odin's liaison. I will be going over local and national chatter and trying to determine what should and shouldn't actually be investigated. I will have a desk job."

"There is nothing wrong with that," JJ said as she stood and started pacing.

"There is when all you've known is the field."

"You don't get it do you?"

"Don't get what, Jennifer? I have no family. I have no friends. No one would miss me. That is why I was chosen. The only problem in the mix was you. You were my weak link and they figured it out. Odin will press me to stay out of the field. My work and my life are over. I am now expendable or just good enough to be a trainer."

"You'd still be alive," Emily said as she started stitching up the hole.

"True, but what life would I have when I have nothing to show for what I've done? What life would have when I have no one to share it with? What life would I have when everything that I have done has been a lie? Who could I tell? What could I say? Who would even believe me if I did? I am nothing and no one. I am agent that has lost their ability to do their job because I let my mind get clouded years and it still haunts me."

"What the Hell does that mean?"

"I never forget, Jenn. I know you haven't either or you wouldn't be so mad. Everything that I have done to jeopardize my career, I did to protect you."

"Why?" JJ demanded to know.

"Because, even though I wasn't with you, I never stopped caring."