Thank you guest reviewer TAYLOR for your sweet review!
And to my Beta! Awesome! As always! Thank you!
And to LunarLycan87! thank you for your inspiring PMs! Coolness!
...here's a little fun with Emily and Harry Pearce!
.
ENJOY!
.
INTERPOL Intrigue / Spooks Beguiled – Chapter 20
.
Beth nodded happily, "WE are pregnant, Aaron, you're going to be a daddy …again."
To say Hotch was stunned was an understatement, "Beth, I thought you were on a contraceptive preventive method…"
Beth's smile faltered, "Aaron…birth control pill can fail, there is no fail-safe method…I …don't understand, you're not happy that I'm pregnant?" She began to tear up...
Hotch immediately gathered her to him, "No! No, Beth, I'm …happy! I'm shocked. Give me a moment to absorb this news. I mean I'm not…Beth, I'm happy for y...us" He hugged her tightly but not too tight, concerned for her well being.
"I'm sorry Aaron. I thought you'd be ecstatic to be a father again." She mumbled in his shirt.
He patted her back as he continued to hug her as he closed his eyes, "I am happy babe. We're going to be a family. You, me, Jack, the baby."
"A girl, this time?" Beth said.
Hotch nodded woodenly, "Yes, a girl, I'd like that...a little girl."
Unconsciously, an image came unbidden to him, a little girl that resembled Emily more than Beth as he smiled fondly while he continued to hug her….
…..
Sitting alone with Harry in his office, Emily was smiling, he was not.
Not that that surprised her much as Harry, she had come to know him rather quickly, he never smiled much at all.
She thought that he would make an excellent poker player, which was exactly the very question she had posed just to stir his dander.
"You came all the way from INTERPOL just to ask me that, Agent Prentiss?" Harry glared at her.
Trying her best to not laugh, she shook her head, "Not at all, Sir Harry." She said cheekily. "I talked to Clyde this morning and he suggested I approached you and seek your opinion."
"And what may I ask is this opinion?"
"Oh, come on, Harry. You know what I'm going to ask you." She stood up and leaned over him.
.
Lucas, Tariq, Ros and Ruth were in their cubicles supposedly working but they were watching Harry and Emily with avid interest in Harry's office.
"Oh my, Harry is literally staring at her girls!" Tariq's eyes were wide. Ruth was also as she saw how close Emily was leaning over to Harry and she was wearing a low cut shirt that showed quite a bit of cleavage and Emily had lots of cleavage!
Lucas was grinning, "All barrels blazing…" he muttered.
Ruth gave him a dark look.
.
Harry arched his brow, "If you're talking about that little bomb Oleg Darshavin put in your apartment last night, I'm well aware of it."
Emily straightened up as she suddenly was aware of the exposé she was showing and blushed. "I want to know about him and what he wants with me."
Harry shrugged, "He worked in a Russia prison for over 20 years."
"As?" She prompted him.
"He's a jailer, Agent Prentiss, What do you think jailers do? Sit around with their finger in their arse? You tell me?"
She turned to stare at him, "He tortured his prisoners," she shrugs. "Why can't you just say that?"
"What the bloody hell are you trying to get at?" He was turning slightly red.
"Why is he here? What is his interest?"
Harry stood up, "I don't bloody know! And I don't bloody care!"
.
"Are they having an argument?" Ruth looked concern. "Harry's turning a rather nasty shade of purple."
Tariq was grinning, "Nah, he looks pretty good in that shade. Quite becoming."
Ros nodded, "Look, it matches his tie."
"I don't like it," Ruth was shaking her head. "I think one of us should go in."
"Not me, I wouldn't want to get my head bitten off." Lucas shook his head, he was grinning as he watched them, specifically Emily who was walking about the room calmly.
.
"I don't need protection, Harry."
"Yes you do."
"I have capable agents that can do the job." She argued.
"Agent Prentiss,"
"Emily,"
"What?"
"Call me Emily," she smiled. "We're friends, aren't we?"
Harry glared at her, "I don't make friends, Agent Prentiss…Emily. You're the daughter of an important member of the National Security Council Member and the daughter of the highly valued Ambassador. If anything should happen to you, it would be on our head."
She shook head, "MI-5 does not do baby-sitting services. I appreciate it, Harry. But it's not necessarily; you will be well spent utilizing your officers in their true capacity."
Harry arched his brows, paused for a moment and began to laugh, truly laugh.
.
His officers were staring at him.
"Is that Harry laughing?" Tariq staring, his mouth opened.
"I think you're right, Tariq." Ruth marvelled.
"We should be taking a picture of this, it will never happen again." Ros said.
"I'll be…she did it again." Lucas was chuckling.
.
"That has got to be the worst load of manure I've ever heard of." Harry said as soon as he recovered from his bout of laughter.
"Well, it sounded pretty good, and it made you laugh." She grinned.
He nodded, this time he was smiling, "Yes you did, I'll give you that. All right, no protection, it will be on your head."
She nodded with satisfaction, "Now about Darshavin."
"You're not giving up on this?"
She shook her head, "He left his business card, who am I to ignore such invitation?"
"Be careful whom you're dealing with. Look at Lucas. He still has scars, not the ones you can see. Oleg had done a pretty good work on him."
They turned their gazes at Lucas.
.
"Uh oh, I think they're talking about us now." Ros commented.
Lucas frowned as he noticed they were looking at him directly.
"What are they talking about?" Ruth wanted to know.
"I don't know if I want to know." Tariq shook his head.
.
"I want files on Oleg Darshavin, Harry."
"I don't have anything on him."
"I don't believe you."
"Believe or not, I don't have it." He looked squarely in her eyes.
"Very well, Harry. Thanks for your help."
"Don't mention it, Agent Prentiss." She turned to look at him and nodded as she made to leave.
She was just about to open the door when he said, "Wait," he stood up and opened a drawer from his desk and withdrew a file and handed it her, "No one sees it, least of all him." He indicated Lucas.
Emily took the file from Harry and smiled, "Knew you had a soft spot for brunettes." She whispered. "Ruth is a lucky gal."
Harry looked stunned and then recovering, he yelled at her, "GET OUT OF HERE, Agent Prentiss!" as Emily left his office, grinning.
"Bloody witch…"Harry muttered, as he glared darkly and then smiled secretly after "…profilers…"
.
"Oh dear, now you've done it," Lucas grinned as he stood up when he saw and heard Harry yelling at Emily.
She shook her head, "He'll get over it." Ros had also stood up but Harry stopped her and informed them they no longer need to play body guards to Emily anymore. Ros nodded to Emily and turned back to her desk.
"Where to, Snow?" Lucas grinned at her.
Emily thought for a moment, "Lucas, just drop me off at the INTERPOL. I've still got a ton of work to do at my office."
"And dinner?" he asked her. "You always need to eat."
She grinned, "Of course. Then I have my girls' night out since it was slightly delayed last night."
He nodded, "Sounds good, Harry has some work for me to do as well. I'll see you tonight?"
She nodded.
…..
Alone in her office, Emily opened the file Harry gave her and she saw it was a file about a Russian named Arkady Kachimov. Kachimov, a high ranking FSB agent who was captured by British intelligence. MI-6 and FSB worked on a spy to spy exchange that freed Lucas to the UK and Kachimov back to Moscow. But it was known that the Kachimov, prior to his capture had visited the Russian prison and met with Oleg, and subsequently Lucas while incarcerated. The exchange was not a coincidence. It was an agreement between Russian and British Intelligence for both men. The Russians wanted Kachimov back so badly that they were willing to give up North. It was noted on the files that Oleg was the one who applied the tattoos on North's body through the years.
Emily closed the file when she was done put it in a safe.
Then before she left for home, she called Sam.
"Doc,"
"Snow! How's the jaw?"
She moved her mouth and smiled, "It's fine, no injury."
"Good, knew you were a toughie."
She smiled. "Ready for your surveillance job?"
"Spit it out."
"Gosh, you've been hanging out with them Yanks too long you're starting to sound like one."
"Your fault, Snow." He grinned.
"Okay…here's the deal, this is a hot surveillance, so you guys better be on your six. I mean it. These people are no Pansies."
"Will you stop stalling and spill it?" Sam laughed. "We're big boys, we stopped wearing training knickers a long time ago."
She groaned, "Training diapers…sounds better than knickers."
"Boss…"Sam warned her.
"Okay, okay…here's the deal…"
For the next several minutes she told him of what she wanted them to do and stressing to him of the dangers of the assignment.
"You're not kidding, Snow. Operation Teddy Bear is now going in effect." He named it.
"Oh I like it." Emily laughed, "Teddy Bear, yeah, you know that stuff bear was actually named after US President Theodore Roosevelt and um…okay, now is not the time for US history lessons."
"Right you are, Snow." She could hear his grin. "Target Alpha and target Bravo will be on track by Fanta, up and ready tonight. Although we still don't know much about Bravo yet."
"I'm getting the intel, hopefully today. Just get it started and roll out Sweet Baby when you're ready," she said.
"Oh, Sweet Baby is eager to roll out with the state of the art electronics and Dopey is salivating."
"I bet he is." She laughed. "You guys try not to have too much fun and I'll check on you from time to time, I might pop in if I get the chance."
"Ooh! I better warn the dwarves to be on their best behaviour."
"I'll talk to you later, Doc."
"Watch you don't eat that poisoned apple, Snow."
"I won't. Good luck."
"You too."
Leaving her office, she drove towards the US Embassy and showing her credentials at the gate, she drove in and parked in the parking lot and walked into the building.
Walking up to the office, she smiled when she saw her father conversing with an old friend of his.
She walked up behind them, "Still talking like a bag of air, Council member Prentiss?"
They turned their heads and her father's friend cried in surprise, "Well I'll be, if it isn't little Emily! All grown up!"
"Councilman Colson, how are you?" She greeted him.
The elderly man laughed as he gathered her in a bear hug, "Come here, and give your Godfather a hug, Councilman Colson, indeed. You silly little girl!" The man bussed both her cheeks.
He whispered into her ear, "I see you're still carrying that plastic toy gun in the back of your pants like you used to do when you're little, just you watch it and don't misfire it and shoot it into your arse!"
He patted her back where her gun was.
Emily laughed, "Godfather, still as sharp even though you're getting on in your old age!
He looked shock and then laughed, "Oi! You!" He wagged his finger at her. "Sassy little britches, you're not too old to get a whooping! Remember I still have my belt and I'll put it to good use!"
"Come on Poppet," James pulled his daughter with him. "He's been itching to do it for the longest time, don't encourage the old geezer!"
Councilman Colson laughed and waved at father and daughter as they hurried to his office, "Come to my office, Emily! I'll show you that whipping you're long overdue."
James shook his head as he closed the door and waved his daughter to sit.
"Emily, I want you to cut all ties with Lucas North. I want you to stop seeing him."
.
….
End of Chapter 20