"Are you ready?" Kurt asked as he took his wife's hand in his before entering the FBI building.
"I guess so," she responded, gripping his hand tighter. Together they made their way upstairs to their level. When they got there, the team was huddled around the monitors. Patterson was the first to notice them get off of the elevator.
"Weller! Jane! What are you doing here? I thought you two were going to take some time off," she asked as they approached.
"Uh-hum," Mayfair mumbled.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Welcome back," Patterson said changing her words. Jane smiled a thank you to her friend. She knew they all had questions; questions that would be rough to answer.
"What do we have today?" Kurt asked trying to change the subject. He knew that it was uncomfortable for everyone to be staring at her, even if she was used to it from all of the tattoos. This time was different.
"A little boy came into our building a few hours ago. He has some cuts and serious bruising, but the interesting part was that he has a tattoo on his left hand that matches one of Jane's." Jane reached for Weller's arm for support to steady herself. He grabbed her forearm as she took a deep breath. "The issue is, he speaks Russian, and only Russian. We have a translator on the way."
"Which tattoo is it?" Kurt asked. Patterson pulled up the matching images.
"It's that one of the eight pedaled flower emblem on her back to the left of your name."
"What does it mean?" Jane asked finally able to speak.
"We don't know yet, but we're hoping the boy can help us."
"I can speak Russian. Let me talk to him."
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Kurt said hesitantly. Jane gave him a crooked look.
"Who knows how long the translator will take to get here. I'm fine. I can do this," she said looking into his eyes. He sighed. This was her stubborn side and he was not going to win this.
"Okay," he responded so that everyone knew the verdict that had been reached. Jane and Weller made their way to Dr. Borden's office were the boy was being held. They entered the white space to find Borden and the boy just looking at each other, each in their respected chairs. Borden turned around to see who had entered the room.
"Jane. Kurt. I'm glad to see the two of you back. I assume you've been caught up about our friend here," he said greeting the couple. They nodded and Jane walked over to the boy, squatting down so that she was at him level.
"Всем привет, (Hi there,)" Jane said looking at the little boy. He looked at her surprised to see that she spoke like he did. "Я Джейн. Как вас зовут? (I'm Jane. What's your name?"
"Степан (Stepan)," he replied sheepishly.
"Степан. Это хорошее имя. Сколько тебе лет (Stepan. That's a nice name. How old are you?)?"
"десять (ten),"he smiled at her.
"Могу я задать вам несколько вопросов? (Can I ask you some questions?)" He nodded in response. Jane smiled back. "Есть ли у вас родители или братья и сестры? (Do you have any parents or siblings?)" Stepan just stared at the ground, swinging his legs.
"Нет (No)," he said sounding sad. "Они убили их (They killed them)."
"Мне очень жаль (I'm so sorry)," Jane said placing her hand on his. "Вы знаете, кто их убил (Do you know who killed them)?"
"Николай Волков (Nickolai Volkov)." Jane turned to her husband and colleague.
"His name is Stepan. He's ten. No living parents or siblings. He says Nickolai Volkov killed them," she said to the two men.
"I'll have Patterson start working on it. See if Volkov has any ties to any terrorist groups or smuggling rings," Kurt said before leaving.
"Степан, я знаю, это может мне трудно, но у меня есть только еще несколько вопросов (Stepan, I know this might me hard, but I have just a few more questions)," Jane said turning back to the boy. "Вы знаете, что символ на руке означает (Do you know what the symbol on your hand means)?"
"Нет, но он сделал это для меня. Он делает это для всех (No, but he did this to me. He does it to everyone)," Stepan said looking at the tattoo.
"Кто все (Who is everyone)?"
"Все женщины и дети, он захватывает. Он держит нас в темной комнате. Мы все эти знаки (All of the women and kids he captures. He keeps us in a dark room. We all have these marks)," he paused for a moment. " Он убил мою семью, но мне удалось убежать. Я просто бежал и бежал, пока я не пришел сюда. Я видел людей, которые могли бы быть в состоянии помочь мне (He killed my family, but I managed to escape. I just ran and ran until I came here. I saw people that might be able to help me)."
"Теперь вы в безопасности. Я не позволю ничего случиться с вами (You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you)," she said with a smile. "Я собираюсь пойти поговорить с моими друзьями, но я вернусь. Хотели бы вы немного еды (I'm going to go talk to my friends now, but I'll be back. Would you like some food)?" He nodded eagerly. Jane smiled and stood up. "Доктор Борден собирается остаться с вами в то время как я далеко в порядке (Dr. Borden is going to stay with you while I'm away okay?" The boy nodded. Jane turned to Borden. "I told him that you'd stay here with him until I return with some food."
"Okay. Thank you for getting through to him. I hope you're alright," Borden said as he placed a hand on her forearm. Jane smiled and returned to Patterson's lab.