Acceptable Risk
Chapter 10
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"My darling, what about this?" Hotch smiled lovingly at his 'wife'.
Emily slid the large gemstone into her finger and twisted it about, allowing the stone sparkle about and sighed, "It's nice but…"
Hotch sighed, recognizing her expressions, "You've tried over twenty rings, honey! What is it? The stones are not to your liking? Not large enough?" He threw his hands in defeat. "How about we go to another shop?" He began to get up from his seat, readying to leave.
The clerk, alerted to Hotch, began to wave at him, "Wait! Wait!" he held his hands out to him. "We have more rings in the back, bigger carats…4 to 5 carats, bigger if your wife desires. I'll bring you to our special bridal room…we don't usually show it to anyone but I can see your bride is looking for the special one." He smiled at Hotch.
Hotch in return, gave the clerk a wry look, "What gave you the hint? I mean we've been here for only two hours." He said in a tired tone.
The clerk, in his heavy Middle-Eastern accent grinned wider, "Most apologies, come…come." He waved at them as he beckoned to the two agents to a concealed door he opened. "Please follow me, I'll show you the best rings, your bride will be happy… most happy! This delayed wedding you are planning will be the most talk about event and the jewelry will be the envy of every women present…I can assure you." He said confidently.
Emily smiled, "Really?" She turned to Hotch, "Come on then, darling! I want to see more rings…the bigger, the better! And bracelets, necklaces, pendants! Oh, earrings too!" She gushed. "My cousin's wedding last year was still talked about and I want to top it." Hotch rolled his eyes for the benefit of the clerk. Emily continued, "You cannot imagine the humiliation, my darling. Her jewelry alone cost her parents 2 million pounds! I don't think so! You can double that, can't you, darling?"
Hotch nodded, "Of course, whatever you desire." He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Your cousin will envy you."
Emily leaned over, placed her arms around him and kiss him soundly, "You are too good to me, my dear!"
Hotch grinned, "I know." He turned to her and returned her kiss, "Now, will you pick your wedding set?"
Emily smiled, "Yes, my beloved husband!"
Hotch sighed, "Remember, money is no problem." He said with a large grin on his face.
Outside the shop, the INTERPOL team in the car was listening in with interest.
"They really sound pretty convincing." Officer Williams turned to his partner, 2nd LT Tim Canter.
He nodded in agreement. "They've obviously worked together before."
"Yeah," Williams chuckled as he continued. "Wondered how long and how closely?" he gave him a knowing look.
Canter laughed. "Oh…I see, really, Williams. You're right, they do sound…tight."
"You do know they can hear us." Williams reminded his partner.
"Hey, you started it first." He grinned sheepishly. "Anyways, I'm not going to incur the wrath of the boss or it's endless push-ups with Walter."
Canter nodded and the two men continued their job.
Back in the jewelry shop…
The clerk removed the standard large black rectangular velvet box from a cabinet and laid it on the glass table in front of the two agents.
"Here we are, Mr. Fester, and Mrs. Fester, our most exclusive collection…"
Emily bent low to inspect the rings and pulled one out to try it on and returned it immediately and sighed.
Hotch looked at her, "What's wrong now, sweetheart?"
"It's…nice…but it's not what I'm looking for." She frowned. "My cousin's ring was bigger than these…"
They began to stand up when Emily uttered something in Farsi.
The clerk jerked his head up instantly and started at her and replied in the same language, "What did you just say?"
Emily blinked her eyes and said, "I want to see your diamond and emerald collection. Rubies, if you have them too. Pure ones…not those lab recreated gemstones."
"Oh…Yes…yes…"
"Wait!"
They turned around and a man in a pristine three-piece suit stood by the door, "Who are you exactly?" He asked the two.
Hotch stood up, "I'm Stan Festers, this is my wife, we're looking for a wedding set for her, and a matching set for me." He extended his hand out to shake. "And you are?"
"Abdul Al Babur, how do you do Mr. Festers?" He said proudly as he shook his hand.
"Well," Hotch nodded as he removed his credentials, as well as Emily. "Actually, I'm not Stan and you're under arrest on suspicion of terrorism. Please, if you'll come with us…quietly without causing a scene." He turned to the clerk, "We do not want to cause any panic or embarrassment to your fine and ritzy establishment. I suggest you remain quiet about this to your coworkers, right?"
The clerk nodded nervously.
Stunned, Abdul glared at Hotch, "You have no proof!"
Producing a set of photos, Emily showed him and spoke in Farsi, "Here's your proof, Abdul; you were seen with this man….the brother of Osama bin Laden."
Eyes closed, Abdul sighed, "I knew I should not have agreed to meet with him."
"So, where is he?" Emily asked him.
He shrugged. "Have no idea. He contacts me."
Emily nodded to Hotch, "Let's go…we'll let INTERPOL handle the rest."
Hotch nodded, "Fine by me."
Abdul suddenly turned to his assistance, "Make sure they don't find it!" He spoke in Urdu before he walked on with Hotch.
"What did he say?" Hotch turned to Emily.
She shook her head, "I…I don't know… I think it's Urdu…Pakistani or something." She turned to the assistant, "What did he say to you?"
The assistant shrugged, "I don't know what you mean, ma'am." He glanced briefly towards a panel before he looked back at her with a blank stare.
Emily glared at the clerk and held her gun by his temple, "Tell me what he said to you or I'll blow your ugly head off!"
The young man shook his head in fright, his hands began to shake, "I…he said…don't let you get it."
"Get what?" She yelled at him.
He flinched, "A map….it's all I know…it's all I know!" He pointed at the wooden panel.
Emily pushed him off and walked to the panel he indicated and pulled it opened and saw a piece of paper and slid it out; it was a map of the United Kingdom.
She turned to him, "What's this about?"
The clerk shrugged, "I don't know! Boss…he don't tell me anything! I'm just a lowly clerk…sell jewelry, is all I am here to do!" He threw his hands about in resignation.
Emily stared at him for a moment before she reached for her cell phone, "Canter…lock this entire store down. Get a unit here and do a complete search." She ended the call and turned her gaze back to him, "You and your friends are coming to the INTERPOL for questioning." She then left him.
….
Emily met Hotch outside and said, "I have to get back to the dungeons and check with Mei Lin and Reid." He nodded. She continued, "What about lunch afterwards?"
Hotch nodded, "Sure, I have to call Strauss and Jack but lunch sounds great."
"The books need to be looked into…This is bigger than what it is…bigger…" Her phone buzzed and she looked down and saw it was from MI-6.
"Shit…not now, Gallows!" She muttered.
"Problem?" Hotch inquired.
Emily shook her head, "Nosy 'neighbors'…I have to take this call, excuse me, Hotch." She walked away from him before she answered her phone.
Hotch watched her for a moment before he, too, picked up his phone and began making calls.
Ten minutes later, a very angry Emily stomped towards their car, her hands clenched tightly against her sides.
"…such a foolish man!...if I told that fool I am not lying about the crates…Ooh! I'm tempted to shove him in the damn box and ship him off to the Indian Ocean!"
Hotch was standing next to her by the time she was done with her tirade, as well as her team.
"MI-6? MI-5?" Canter asked her with a grin.
Emily glared at him, "-6, Lt. Canter, and it's not funny!"
The men began to chuckled, except for Hotch who didn't find the situation amusing at all.
Finally, Canter, seeing Hotch's confusion, explained; "It's like this, Agent Hotchner, MI-6's head boss Sir Gallows is known to be a nosy such and such. Loves to stick his nose and ears into everything, and everyone's businesses, including MI-5. -5's boss never liked him as well, makes Gallows' life as miserable as possible and Emily here, has joined in the 'fun' and began to torture -6 whenever possible." The team laughed again.
Hotch smiled but Emily was not as she stared beyond them; Hotch stopped smiling and joined her, "Want to talk?"
She turned to him, "I've been asked to turn over the books to -6."
Hotch shook his head, "That's crap!"
"I know. He's such a bastard…I know it's that ass hole, Harold Brown."
"Who's Harold Brown?"
"That's why I need to get back to INTERPOL, Mei-Lin seemed to know him, she didn't want to talk about him over the phone."
"Well, let's go. The faster we know the details, the quicker we know what we're up against." Hotch reached over and touched her elbow gently.
She smiled, "Okay, let's go." She turned to her team, "Guys…we're heading back, stay here and do a thorough sweep, please. Please find something that ties this damn place with Al Qaeda."
They gave her a salute, "Will do, boss."
Canter turned to Williams, "I don't know about you but I think boss is ready to shoot Gallows." He shook his head.
Williams chuckled, "Wish I can see it when that happens."
"Yeah, me too. Come on, let's sweep the place…Tomas will be arriving soon…you know what a stickler he is."
Williams nodded as the two men began to walk towards the jewelry store.
…..
"Okay, Mei-Lin…Harold Brown." Emily looked at the younger woman.
Mei-Lin's eyes were wide opened and then turned into derision, "That man is a traitor!" She spat out.
"What do you mean?"
Throwing her hands out, "He's the one responsible for Daddy's and Tony's deaths. Yes, I blamed him for their deaths. He betrayed them."
Hotch, Emily, Mei-Lin, and Reid were sitting in Emily's office, her door was closed. Mr. Weaver was out to lunch, which was a fortunate thing as it gave them complete privacy to discuss the situation at hand.
Reid had almost completed his translation; he had 20 books to go when Emily pulled him out of the cubicle for his lunch break. She brought them to her office for questioning.
"Start from the beginning, Mei-Lin." Emily urged her.
Glancing at the BAU agents she shook her head.
Hotch and Reid stood up, "Perhaps if Reid and I were to leave you two…"
Emily nodded, "Okay, if you don't mind, Hotch?"
He shook his head, "No, of course not, Reid and I will wait at the cafeteria downstairs." And they left."
Alone, Emily turned back to Mei-Lin, "Okay, we're alone, you can tell me now. What's going on, kiddo?"
Mei-Lin took a deep breath and letting out a sigh, she nodded, "You know Daddy was involved in working on the nuclear disarmament coding system."
Emily nodded.
"Well, he discovered the codes…and it was not the ones the world leaders have. The Arabs somehow found out and wanted the codes…"
"So, they killed your father…and Tony." Emily finished her sentence.
Mei-Lin nodded, "They took Tony first," her tears fell rapidly as she swiped them away. "His body was discovered three days later…tortured and bu…burned." She covered her face and cried.
Emily went to her and gathered the young woman into her arms and consoled her; she knew the story.
INTERPOL had intercepted a message from Middle East, Dr. Michael Wong, a renowned scientist and physicist was kidnapped together with his assistant and future son-in-law, Dr. Anthony Mandell.
"We were to be married…" Mei-Lin continued. "In one year, after I'd completed my doctorate, we'd have married. Daddy…" she shook her head.
"Mei-Mei, you didn't know…the Arabs, they were relentless. The INTERPOL tried their best to find your father and Tony in time. I'm sorry, sweetheart…I'm so sorry."
Mei-Lin shook her head, "It's not your fault, Emily…you were not here yet."
"Still, we're a team and you're important to us."
She nodded.
Emily took a breath, "So…Harold Brown?"
Wiping her tears, "Yeah, scumbag of the century…Harold worked for Daddy for a few years before…Tony started. He was caught by Daddy stealing his software to the SEIS program…"
"Wait…what's this SEIS?" Emily asked her. "I heard Harold mentioned about it."
Mei-Lin looked at her, "What did he say?"
Emily shrugged, "He mentioned that it's a device you're working on that arms and disarms a nuclear weapon remotely. He seemed to admire the device."
Mei-Lin nodded, "Yes, he's very envious of Daddy's work. He doesn't understand everything but he wants it. It's dangerous software; Daddy shouldn't have invented it, it was a mistake." She took a deep breath before she continued. "It's a known fact that he's in it for the money…" she looked at Emily with conviction, "If he's gotten his hands on the software, he'll sell it to the highest bidder, the Iranians are prepared to offer him millions and millions of dollars. And now, the North Korea is prepared to up the ante…double the Iranians offer."
Emily frowned, "The Iranians and the North Korea."
Mei-Lin nodded, "Makes sense. They'll pay for it to get it."
"And since they took out your dad and your fiance… we have to make sure nothing comes to harm you."
Mei-Lin nodded as she shook her hands, "And I'm afraid…I don't know what to do…who to trust."
"Well, for one; you can trust me...the INTERPOL, Agents Hotchner and Reid."
"Yes, I trust Spencer…he seem very nice and trustworthy…very like Tony." She said softly.
Emily smiled, "Well, I don't know about your late fiancé but Reid is very likeable and he's good at his job. As for Hotch…Agent Hotchner, he's good at what he does. We have worked together for a long time and I trusted them implicitly."
Mei-Lin nodded, "Good, I'm glad I talked to you."
"Me too."
Emily's phone rang
"Prentiss." She answered. A moment later, "Okay…bring them all in, we'll look over them."
Emily stood up and said, "Let's go find the BAU fellas. There's a problem."
She turned to Mei-Lin, "You kept the software safe?"
She nodded.
"Good, make sure no one gets a hold of it."
"Only the ancestors knew of the locations." Mei-Lin muttered as both women left the office.
Emily frowned as she walked beside her, confused by her cryptic sentence.
….
End of Chapter 10