Chapter 14

Days later, Ally was sitting at her desk at Quantico. She was reviewing the chatter that was coming her way. There wasn't much to be worried about, but she was still sending personnel to investigate. She believed in the philosophy that it was better to have too much information than none at all. It was nearing lunch time, but she wasn't really hungry. She knew that she had to prepare her lectures for the class later, but that wasn't something that would take too long. Besides most of her classes were fly by classes. She taught what she knew. There was no book for that, only experience. And, she used that experience to get her points across.

She looked up in time to see Ashley heading her way. There was something off by the way she was walking. She watched her a little more carefully and finally saw that she was limping, but trying to hide it in her gate. She was in Ally's office before Ally could even stand up and let her in.

"What happened?" Ally asked her.

"Minor disagreement with a smuggler," Ashley replied as she took a much needed seat in a chair in front of Ally's desk.

"What does he look like?"

"He'll live," Ashley said flippantly.

"That's good. So, what brings you down here to darken my door? Something else happen?"

"I got this off one of my wires this morning," Ashley told her as she pulled out a hidden file and dropped it on her desk.

"You hid it?"

"I wanted to make sure that it fell into the right hands. Brass will give it to the CIA or NSA and then I'll still be worried about it. At least this way, I know someone will look into it and let me know that its been handled, on or off the record. That way I can sleep at night," Seaver replied.

Ally quickly opened the file and started reading. Four sentences in, she was reaching for her phone. She quickly dialed, by memory, on a small flip phone that she had stashed on her desk, while she continued to read. She looked at Seaver with horrified eyes.

"Has anyone else seen this?" she asked as she dropped the phone back onto her desk.

"Just the crew that helped me clean out that warehouse this morning. So, only two other agents. It was processed and sent to the lab to be translated and sent to the appropriate departments for investigation. It just seemed off to me. I couldn't...I didn't want it to disappear, so I made notes and a copy as quickly as could. I came straight here," Ashley told her.

"So you're the only one that saw these translations?"

"Yeah, and the translator...he ran upstairs with it as soon as he did it, though...so..."

"Okay," Ally said as she continued to read the reports and the rest of the untranslated material.

Her phone rang two minutes later. It was her desk phone. And, somehow she knew that it wasn't going to be the brass but Odin instead.

"Freya?"

"I've already got a copy."

"Seaver is efficient," Odin replied.

"She is."

"Good."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Neutralize the target and protect lives."

"My team?"

"Whomever you choose."

"Seaver?"

"If you wish," Odin said.

"The BAU?"

"Of course," Odin replied.

"My cadets?"

"If you deem it necessary, yes," Odin told her.

"I'll call you when it's done," Ally stated.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he said before the line went dead.

"Up for some fun?" Ally asked Ashley.

Ashley cocked a very blond eyebrow at her, but gave her a quirky smile. She nodded. Ally was up and helping her to the door. They were making their way to a bank of elevators when two of her best students were coming down the hall.

"Smoak, Whitlow, come with me."

They snapped to attention and followed her onto the elevator. She hit the button for the sixth floor as she pulled out her cell phone. She scrolled through the names and numbers until the one that she was looking for showed. She quickly hit the call button. It rang twice.

"Ally?" the voice questioned.

"We have a case. Have the team assembled in the conference room ASAP. We're on the way."

"We'll be waiting," The voice replied and the line went dead.

"Prentiss?" Seaver asked her.

"Yup."

"They ready?"

"We're all about to find out if we are," Ally deadpanned and leaned into the elevator's paneling.

Emily looked down at her team as soon as she hung up. She didn't know if they were ready for such a case, but that didn't matter. They had it and they would work it. She stood up and went to the catwalk. JJ saw her first.

"Conference room, five minutes," Emily told her.

JJ nodded knowing that she needed to get the rest of the team there. Emily would get Rossi and she was already on her way to his officer. JJ called Garcia and told her to get upstairs quickly. She could tell by the look in Emily's face that this wasn't going to be an easy case, not that they dealt with easy cases. She just knew that this wasn't going to be a normal BAU investigation.

As she turned to tell Morgan, Lewis and Reid about the case, she saw Seaver, Ally and two other agents come off the elevators. Her heart dropped. No, this was going to be a very difficult case. She was already mentally preparing herself for what was about to happen, the long nights away from, curling up with Emily trying to make sense with the case, and wishing for more than anything to be at home with Henry, Michael, and Emily. It wasn't that she was upset. She wasn't, but seeing Ashley and Ally together, she knew it meant a big case and one that wasn't going to end quickly.

"Guys, case, conference room, now," JJ told them as she grabbed her iPad, legal pad, and phone.

She ran up the catwalk to meet Rossi and Emily as they were heading inside. She could see Garcia, Seaver and Ally already setting up at the table. She looked from Rossi to Emily and back again.

"I'll see you inside," Rossi said as he left them standing there.

"What's wrong, JJ?" Emily asked her as soon as Rossi was out of earshot.

"How bad is it?" JJ asked her.

Emily hung her head. That was all JJ needed to know. She grabbed her cell phone and call the nanny. She was giving her a head's up that she didn't know when she'd been home. The nanny understood and told her that she could call anytime to speak to the boys. JJ thanked and then went into the conference room.

Sitting down on Emily's right, she saw that Ally was on her left. To Ally's left was Seaver. The rest of the team was in their usual seats. JJ tried to read both Seaver and Ally, but she wasn't getting anything. Emily was closed off as well.

"What we got, Em?" Morgan asked.

"Seaver was working a trafficking case when she came upon some disturbing information. Knowing that this information would be a case more suited for Ally's team, which means us and whoever else she deems fit to help. Whatever is said in this room doesn't leave this room. We haven't had to work with Ally on case since she's taken her new position, so I expect everyone to respect her and the information that she is going to give us. She is going to be on point with this one. We won't be working on anything else until this case is finished. You can and may work on your consults, but nothing more. Understood?" Emily asked the team.

They all nodded in agreement. Ally muttered something under her breath and stood up. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but she really didn't have choice. This was her team to lead now. Sure, she could call on Odin if it was needed, but she would have to try to do it her way first. That was just what she did.

"As Emily stated, I have my own team of selected individuals through out the FBI. I have sources in every task force, but when I was asked if I wanted a profiler. I told them, 'no, I wanted a team.' I've selected you all to help with my cases as needed. Sometimes it won't be more than a consult or a think tank type environment, but unfortunately, we are under the wire and I know that I am going to need help on the ground with this one."

"Whatcha got?" Rossi asked.

"During a raid here in DC, SSA Seaver and her team found a warehouse that was being used to traffick children for sex trades. They managed to get their men and free the children. Missing persons and the Center for Missing Children is working to get the children replaced with their families. Those who don't have families will be cataloged and either sent back to their home countries or put into foster care. It isn't the best solution, but it is the only recourse that the government has at this time for them," Ally told them.

"Where do we fall into this?" Morgan questioned.

Ally grabbed a sheet of paper and held it up. It was the only copy and the only evidence that they had from the warehouse. It hadn't even been sent to lab yet for testing, but they weren't taking any chances. She'd already had been called by Odin himself to deal with it.

"This paper was found. It outlines the procurement for materials for a dirty bomb. So far, I don't have information from normal channels that anything is missing at home or abroad, but that doesn't mean a damn thing and you all know it. This is high priority op and we cannot for any reason cause panic among the masses. We need to get ahead of this and find these individuals and the sources. We need to cut them off and make sure that they can't get anything else."

"Do you have anything that we can work with?" Reid asked.

"I'm glad you asked that Doctor Reid. I would like you and Agent Seaver to work together for now. Comb through her cases and start trying to get a geographic profile for this unsub or unsubs. Morgan, I want you to pick a strike team that you trust and maybe ones that cause any friendly fire. Rossi and Doctor Lewis, can you both start working up a profile of someone that might be trying to get these items and where you think that they might be getting them. Garcia, do your thang for me. Leave no part of the web untouched. Emily, I want to read this and see if you can tell me more about where the person who wrote is from. JJ, I want you to be my coordinator. I want everyone to get in touch with JJ with any information. I'll see if I can't get us a private room here on campus for us to use. Just remember that once I find us somewhere, that no one and I mean no one will be allowed in the room who isn't here now without prior authorization from me. That includes the director. No one but this team, is that understood?"

The all agreed and moved to leave. Emily and JJ stayed. Garcia hovered at the door.

"What about my babies?" Garcia inquired.

"Pack what you need. i want you in that room and running as soon as possible, Pen. No matter how deep and dark, you dig. Got it?"

"Gotcha, my liege. I'll need to bring someone in to help me do the set up and get the wiring right. After that, I'll be secure," Garcia told her.

"You have an hour from the time I secure the space."

"Roger that, mon Capitaine."

Ally turned and handed the paper to Emily. She took it and read it over...three times before she looked back up at Ally. Her mouth was ajar.

"You just got this?"

"Yes," Ally replied.

"Odin is aware?"

"Yes."

"You know what this says?"

"I do."

"Fuck."

"Exactly."

"We've got less than two days before a target is hit."

"I saw that."

"The diction is definitely Saudi in nature, but if varies a little," Emily told her.

"Meaning?"

"Whoever wrote this was born and raise in Saudi Arabia for the majority of their life, but not the entirety. This phrasing is Egyptian, but the script is the same. And, this one here is Yemeni. I think this guy has been all over the Middle East. He's either a recruiter or a procurer. He's high enough in rank to be allowed to move around without checking in with anyone but the higher ups. And this was in the warehouse?"

"Yes."

"Was it planted?" JJ questioned.

"We don't know. There is no chatter to prove or deny it. Everyone is looking who can look. But, we are going to treat it as real threat until we know otherwise."

"Agreed," Emily stated.

"What do we do now?" JJ asked.

"Can you see if we can get the old TAC offices and conference rooms on the eighth floor?" Ally asked her.

JJ looked at her surprised that she knew about it, but then again she wasn't. She reached for the phone and started making calls. Emily grabbed her phone and made a call to security. She would get badges for them so only they could access the areas. She saw Ally approve as she started to outline what she needed and when.

"We'll get Garcia set and security. Then we'll be on lockdown until the case is over. We need to get moving," Emily told them.

"The eighth floor is ours. Security will be up soon to set up new key pads and badge codes. Garcia should be able to issue the new badges for this," JJ told them.

"I'll get with procurement and make sure that eighth floor stays secure. I'll move my office there, but near the elevator. That way I can vet everyone as they come off as needing to be there. I want both of you to pick an office as well. Each member of the team will have their own office as they will each have their own crew or mission for each case. I would recommend that they select a desk, chair, filing cabinets, and a bed or couch to sleep on. I will try to get everyone home as often as possible, but these cases tend to have a mind of their own," Ally told them.

"I know," Emily replied.

"I already called my nanny to care for the boys. Will we be leaving the country for this? If we need to?" JJ asked.

"No, I will send the information to Odin and let our international counterparts and teams deal with it. We only work Stateside. There will be no need to do that for now. If for some reason that we have to go interrogate someone overseas, I will select the team then."

"It will be the three of us," Emily said with a finality.

"Why?"

"Because you know that it will be."

"Probably," Ally stated.

"Just give us ample warning," JJ demanded as she headed out of the conference room.

"I will do everything within my powers and some that aren't to make sure that your family is safe, JJ. I swore to that years ago. This changes nothing."

"But what about..."

"I don't care about protocol, Emily. If I have to form an evacuation, JJ and you will leave the possible affected area and you will take the boys. There will be no questions or statements. You will gather your gear and go to a safe house or place. Once the threat has been neutralized, then you will come back. That is an order. Do you both understand?" Ally questioned.

Emily stood there flabbergasted. She couldn't believe that Ally would do something like that. She loved JJ, but they both knew that their job was to protect the people of the country. She never saw Ally's command coming. She never figured that Ally would break protocol to save both JJ, herself and the boys. But, after everything that Ally did to make sure that JJ stayed safe, Emily shouldn't have been as surprised as she was.

"Ally..."

"NO, JJ. That is an order. Someone from Odin will find you afterwards and you will continue with the mission. You will not question me on this. You will do as your told. Now, go upstairs and pick your offices. Make sure that they are close to each other and be prepared to start teaching and grooming the next generation. I am going to need your help. We're going to have to get a team up here and working. I am not going to be able to have you all the time. You will still have your cases to work and I might not be able to call on you. I will need replacements to fill your shoes. I will need someone to stand in when you can't be there."

"We'll talk about this later, Ally," JJ told her as she walked away started to make her way upstairs.

Emily just stood there. Ally followed her out. Emily wasn't sure what just happened, but she knew that it wasn't good. Ally was still putting JJ before the mission or the case. She knew that given the choice JJ wouldn't allow it, but she also knew that JJ wouldn't fight her if it came down to it. If Ally told her to go, JJ would go to protect her children. She would call her mother and have her meet them somewhere safe. Emily knew that after JJ made sure that the boys were safe, she would try to return to DC and to the case. She would make sure that boys were safely away from any danger and then JJ would head back into the fray. Emily would follow her. She wouldn't let JJ face it alone.

Garcia came back up to the sixth floor. She was coming to get JJ when she saw Emily just standing there. Giving her a quizzical look, she entered the BAU bull pen.

"You coming?" Garcia asked her.

"Yeah...yeah...I'll be right there," Emily told her as she grabbed some folders and followed Garcia to the elevator bank.