Chapter 10
"Love is giving someone the ability to destroy you, but trusting them not to." Unknown
The hotel was nice but it wasn't the Ritz. It afforded them each a queen size bed and some small closet space. It was enough for them for the moment because they knew that this was just another stop in their insane journey. She had come to expect this from Aimee. She made sure they were comfortable and just enough to stay off any radars.
The car they had acquired looked to be clean, but Emily did some checks to make sure it was. She wasn't sure that she trusted the man at the small dealership, but Aimee had done the haggling. She was amazed at her natural deference and her adaptability. She continually surprised Emily on a daily basis. There nothing that her daughter didn't try at least once in order to make sure that there was another way to try it. Emily could only smile at that.
She watched her as she was on the laptop daily. She knew that Aimee was a planner and she liked to be two steps ahead, but she wasn't sure what she was doing. She never told Emily what she was doing. She just kept plugging away at the keyboard. Whenever Emily got on the computer, the history would be deleted. She knew that it was a precaution, but it still made her wonder what her daughter was doing.
"MOM!"
"What?" Emily asked in response.
"You didn't answer me. You okay? You're acting weird. Is your leg okay?"
"I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired. Have you got our identities set up?"
"Yeah, I got everything here. We're going to have to alter our hair a little, though. It was the only way I knew that we could continue to hide in plain sight. I picked Greek names this time."
"Greek? You already fit the part? What did you have in mind?" Emily asked her.
"I am going blond and my name is going to be Gia Calliope"
"And I am who?"
"I was thinking Elena Maria Nikos."
"Nikos?" Emily asked.
"I've got an old…very old Greek friend that owed me some favors."
"Some favors?"
"Yeah, we start work tomorrow at a local bar call the Jolly Roger."
"A pirate themed bar?" Emily asked, with a cocked eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You'd be surprised, but no, no pirates."
"Then what is it?"
"A 'friendly' local bar," Aimee replied.
"I am not sure that I trust your definition of friendly. What are we going to be doing? Can you at least tell me that?" Emily questioned.
"Yup, we'll be singing and playing in the band and tending the bar. It'll be fun. You'll love it."
"Somehow I am not so sure that I will," Emily replied.
"It'll be fine. I made sure that we aren't doing much. We'll be tending the bar in the lounge area. We can sing if we want. There is a house band. I figure that we could blend in with the local color. We can't keep staying in an apartment and not being out in the public doing nothing. It doesn't look right," Aimee told her.
"I know that, but a bar?"
"It was quick, fast and they don't ask questions, Mom. We can set our own hours. We can do what we want. We will only have one section of the whole club to deal with. It'll be easy. Is there something else that you think that we can do something else without any questions being asked or it raising too many red flags against it? Cause I'm all ears," Aimee stated.
"No, working there will be fine. I don't know about singing though. That was a one-time deal."
"Liar!"
"What are you talking about?"
Aimee pulled up YouTube on the laptop and spun it around to face Emily. She hit the mouse button to make it play the video. She watched as Emily's face dropped.
"Care to explain that then?"
"I'll kill her," Emily muttered.
"Kill who?"
"Garcia!"
"You're computer analyst. Why would you kill her? She is amazing."
"I didn't know that she filmed those. It was just karaoke. It wasn't a performance. How many hits does that have?"
"This video?"
"There are more?" Emily asked, obviously distressed by this idea.
"Yeah, about twenty last time I checked," Aimee stated.
"Great."
Aimee knew that Garcia had put them up because she asked her to. She'd take them down in a few days and they would be erased from the internet completely thanks to Garcia's programming. She just needed them long enough to get Emily to agree to sing.
"Yeah, it is. It looks like this one has over a million hits. That's huge on YouTube. You could get a contract with that if you wanted. But, somehow, I don't see you as a pop star."
"Go ahead and laugh it up. That isn't you on there. I don't even remember singing half of these with her around. How did she get the video?" Emily asked.
"Who knows with her skills? But, then again, after your rescue mission in Amman, I learned to never piss her off. She is one that I would want to keep on my good side. She mentioned one time that if I didn't take care of you and JJ that she would do a 'thing.' I don't ever want to find out what that means," Aimee told her turning the laptop back around and opening a chat window.
She watched Emily as her emotions played over her face. She wasn't surprised to get an answer right away from Garcia either. She told her to take down the videos as soon as Emily made contact or in a day or two if she didn't. She let Penelope know that the videos served their purpose and Emily was thoroughly traumatized by them. She could only imagine Garcia's laugh as she read the "lol's" and "rofl's" she'd typed.
"Do you think I can call her?"
"Who?" Aimee asked already knowing who.
"Garcia?"
"Sure."
"She'll be able to track it, though," Emily mused.
"How bad do you want to talk to her?"
"We need those to come down," Emily stated pointing at the laptop.
"Give me a second," Aimee told her.
She typed out that Emily wanted her to take the down. But, Emily wanted to call her to tell her personally. They needed to make sure that the number wasn't traced and it bounced around. Garcia sent her a program to route the phone thru. It would give her the desired effect, and Garcia would have a number. They would have to kill that burner, but it wouldn't give them a location. Aimee knew it was the only way to give Emily what she wanted, but she also knew that Garcia and JJ knew they were in North Carolina. She just wondered if JJ had figure out exactly where in North Carolina they were yet.
"Okay, I got a new program that will reroute. Let me see your phone and then you can make the call," Aimee told her and Emily handed her the phone. "Here you go."
Emily took the phone. She dialed the number to the FBI switch board from memory. As soon as she got to the operator, she asked for Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia. She was switched to Garcia's desk phone.
"Welcome to the Office of Supreme Knowledge, what can I do for you?" Garcia asked as she answered her phone.
Emily was at a loss for words. She knew why she was calling. She knew that she needed to say something, but as soon as she heard Garcia's voice, she blanked. She looked up at Aimee and had a terrified look in her eyes. She didn't know why she was so afraid, but then again she did. She'd run to protect them and she hadn't told them. She'd promised to tell them because they would help in any way they could, and that is exactly why she didn't tell them.
"Hello?" Garcia asked when a few minutes had passed.
"Penelope," Emily finally said quietly.
"Em? Is it really you? Where are you? Are you okay?" Garcia started a barrage of questions.
"Pen…Pen…PEN!"
"Sorry."
"I need you to take down anything that has my picture or video of me singing from the web. I need to disappear. I need it to never have existed. Can you do that?"
"I'll do my best. But, we both know that once something is on the internet, it's there for life. I can run a virus to seek and destroy, but it will only be able to get things while people are logged on. I can destroy hard copy," Garcia told her.
"That's fine."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Garcia asked.
"I'm fine, Pen. I've got to go. Thank you," Emily told her.
"Emily?"
"Yeah, Garcia?" Emily replied.
"Remember how I told you a few years ago that you weren't alone?" Garcia asked her.
"Yeah, I remember the message. I got it loud and clear. I was thankful for it because it told me that I was doing the right thing."
"Well, you weren't, but I'll let that slide because it means that you love us."
"I do. I really do. We're family," Emily stated.
"And, do you know what family does?"
"No."
"It hits you upside the head when you're being stupid. You're not alone, Emster. We're here to help. I am still waving my flashlight in that dark place you run away to, hoping that you'll see it can come home. I understand that something is going on and you can't right now, but just know that we aren't going to give up on you. Promise me one thing and that is all I want, okay?"
"Okay," Emily replied.
"No matter what happens or how dark you think that you've become, you stay alive. You fight dirty if you have to, but you come home to us. You can always come home to us, Emily."
Emily shook her head "yes" in response as tears streamed down her face. She stared at the floor. She didn't know what to say. She was suddenly in a car looking for Doyle again and she knew that they were looking for her while they were hunting for Doyle at the same time. Her team, her family, wasn't going to let her just disappear without a fight. They would protect her until they couldn't anymore and they would do whatever it took to do it. Rules and laws be damned.
"Em?"
"Yeah, I am still he," Emily replied.
"Can you promise me that?"
"Can you call off JJ for me?"
"I won't do that and you know it. I'll talk to her, but you know that she isn't going to stop. She shouldn't. You're our family Emily. We can help if you let us," Garcia pleaded with her.
"Not this time, Pen. This time they want me deader than dead. And, I can't put you all in jeopardy. I'm sorry. I will do my best to come back once this is all over. I will not ask you to risk your lives for me."
"You don't have to, Em. We'd do it gladly. Hell, you've done it for us. Why can't we reciprocate the measure?" Garcia questioned her.
"Because you all have something I don't."
"What's that?"
"A future…love and each other," Emily replied, looking at Aimee and wondering how long she would be able to keep her daughter out of trouble before something else that she loved was taken from her in a horrible way.
"Damn it, Emily. You know what? Just for that, I am going to find you and we are going to help. I am not letting you off the hook this easily this time. Fuck it! And, fuck anyone that tries to hurt our family. I'm not giving you up, so you'd better not give up on yourself," Garcia replied, angrily, and hung up.
Emily looked up and met her daughter's eyes. So much like her own, she wondered how much emotion she was showing in hers. She could see the wildness and hurt in Aimee's. Her heart was breaking. She knew that Aimee could handle anything that was thrown at them, but she also wished that she didn't have to do it. She wanted to believe that once this was over, Aimee could go home with Diana and Charlie and have a normal life.
"I know what you are thinking," Aimee finally said.
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do. Don't think that I am just going to let you go once this is over. You are my mother. You have a granddaughter that will know who you are. She may never know what her mothers or you did, but she will know who you are. I am not going to let you walk out of my life, Mom. So just give it up. You're my blood."
"Aimee…"
"No, don't you dare! You're a bloody Prentiss for fuck's sake. Act like it. Own up to the fact that people are trying to kill you, but don't you for a fucking minute think that I am not going to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen. So you can sit there and think whatever you want, but I am not going to leave you. I am not going to let you face this alone. You aren't the only one that has done some questionable things in name of Justice and Freedom. My name is on that list with yours, so don't you dare think that I going to let you just fucking disappear like you did when you went on your personal vendetta against Doyle."
"Aimee, I …"
"Save it. I'm going for a walk. You'd better still be here when I get back," Aimee told her, grabbing her burner phone and shutting down the lap after making sure that the history deletion program ran.
She was out the door before Emily even realized what had happened. She took a left out the door and continued down the breeze way until she made it to the stairs. Once she made her way down the stairs, she took another left down towards the road. It wasn't until she was on the road that she pulled out the phone and dialed JJ. She needed to talk to her. She needed to be calm and she needed a way to make Emily realize that she was being an idiot.
"Jareau," JJ answered.
"Hello, Blackbird," Aimee replied.
"Why are you calling me? What happened? Is Emily okay? Are you?" JJ asked a barrage of questions in her shocked state of receiving a direct phone call from Aimee Prentiss.
"JJ…JJ…stop. Everything is okay for now. I don't have much time. Please don't trace this, because you won't need to. I am going to tell you where we are. I need to meet with you. She is starting to lose her ever loving mind."
"I'll do what I can for you, Aimee. You know that, but what's happened? Tell me quickly what you can," JJ demanded.
"I know you know that we are in North Carolina. We are safe for the moment. We've gotten jobs at a local establishment in order to blend in. I need you to get Garcia to run checks on a bar called the Jolly Roger in Charlotte. The owner is an old contact of mine and from what I've found everything is okay. I am sure that Mom would like reinforcement of this."
"Consider it done. What else do you need? I can be there in a couple of hours," JJ told her.
"Not yet. I have an idea. We will still meet up on Halloween. I am working an angle with Mom and in trying to find more information on a possible lead. I need you to promise me to stay away until then," Aimee demanded.
"I'll do my best, but…"
"Look, I understand, but JJ, we need to do this my way. If we don't, Mom is going to run and we might never find her again. She's that good. You know that. I know that. And, dammit, she knows that," Aimee told her.
"What do you need?" JJ asked, ready to give her whatever it was.
"I need you to make a video."
"A video?"
"Yeah, I know that we have been talking through YouTube videos and such, but now we need a new one. I need you to do one that will get to Emily and pull at her. She is in denial that we don't need help. I can't convince her myself. She needs to hear it from you."
"Okay, but what song? Has she even seen any of the other ones that I've posted over the last few months? I mean, come on, Aimee. It's been six months and she hasn't reached out to me yet."
"I don't think that she's had the proper motivation. I know that you can do this. It can't be something that she would assume that you would do. It needs to be something dark and twisted, something that will speak to her and pull her out of this bloody, fucking, idiotic stupor that she has put herself in. Can you do it?"
"I have just the songs. Give me a couple days and then I'll post them. Call the other in three days. I have a drop for you, hopefully. Stay safe, Aimee. Remind her that we love her," JJ replied and then hung up.
Aimee could only hope that JJ would come through. Emily was in a bad place and they needed help. Trying to find out things their way had only gotten them so far. They needed the help of a team they trusted and since they found out that the leak had come from the bowels of Interpol. Aimee thought that was what finally caused Emily to start to break. She'd been betrayed by the people who were supposed to protecting her back while she was protecting the world. That would cause issues for anyone in their situation, only thing was Aimee wasn't hurt by it. Life had told her to be prepared for anything and everything. All she wanted was revenge and her life back. Aimee could only hope that JJ could convince Emily that their help would give them both.
She shook her head. She'd calmed down and knew that she needed to go back to the hotel. She knew that Emily would be worried about her until she got back. She'd been mad, but know she knew that she needed to go back and apologize to her mother. They had bigger things to worry about than each other. She shook her head again.
It was going to be a long month, but she was glad that it was finally October. Now they only had thirty days to get through until JJ would confront Emily face to face. It was going to be a long month. She could only hope that Emily didn't get pissed off at her for this scheme, but she knew it would be there best chance at surviving this craziness.
"Experience is a brutal teacher. But you learn – my God, do you learn." C.S. Lewis