Chapter 25
Three weeks.
Spencer had been engaged for three weeks. Three weeks of utter bliss. Sure, there were cases on his end, and sure the 'aiga always needed something from Jem, but for the most part it had been three weeks of coming home to warm, welcoming arms and all the comfort love and trust could bring. Spencer thought he had never been happier in his life.
Of course he didn't get to go home every night. Cases were still a thing. "Los Angeles California." Garcia said. "Specifically the docks. The cops found this there four nights ago." She put up a picture of a young, Asian man, very dead. This was a body, but not just any body. The staging was elaborate. And gruesome. "And two days ago they found this." Another young Asian man, similarly staged, but even more horrible.
"Was the throat slitting ante- or post-mortem?" Spencer asked.
"Before, as was pulling the tongue through. Apparently it's called a necktie. The victims choked to death on their own blood. Everything else was post." Garcia very deliberately sat where she wouldn't have to look. "I am not looking to give details."
"Did these men have anything in common?" JJ asked.
"According to intel from the local office they were both police informants and members of the Black Dragons, one of the Triad gangs. Specifically the gang that controls the container ports."
"Ports, plural?" JJ asked.
"Los Angeles and Long Beach."
"The Los Angeles and Long Beach container ports are the two busiest shipping terminals in the US." Spencer said. "Combined they move two hundred and forty eight million tons of cargo a year."
"Nice place to be a smuggler." Alex said.
"And snitches get stitches." Rossi replied. "The Black Dragons are sending a message, but why does LA need us on it."
"Because this morning they found this." Garcia put a third picture up on the screen. Another young Asian man, another elaborately destroyed body, but this time someone wrote "FBI BAU" on one of the containers.
"Blood?" Morgan asked.
"Yeah." Garcia replied.
"I do love being invited to a party." Rossi said.
"He's moving fast." Hotch said. "Wheels up in 30."
"Isn't Jem running some informant program for Org Crime?" Alex asked as they were packing up.
"Yes." Spencer said. "But I can't talk about it."
"Could this have anything to do with that? This guy is going after informants. If that's why he's calling us out there."
"No one outside of our teams knows we're in a relationship." And the 'aiga, but they would never say anything.
"Still."
Spencer shrugged and pulled out his phone.
To: Taimana, J
From: Reid, S
Are you currently working with anyone in the LA area?
...
To: SR (DC)
From: JT
No, why?
...
From: Reid, S
To: Taimana, J
We have a case out that way. Wanted to check. I'll call you tonight.
...
To: SR (DC)
From: JT
Okay. Be careful love. Hoki ki ahau
...
From: Reid, S
To: Taimana, J
Always.
"Nope. Nothing in LA." Spencer said to Alex.
"All right then."
Once in LA Hotch took Spencer to the crime scene to check in with the agent in charge there. JJ and Morgan went to the coroner's office. That left Alex and Rossi to go straight to the FBI office to see if there was anything new. As they were walking in to the Federal building Rossi slowed his steps and stopped. "What is it?" Alex asked.
"A shark." He replied.
"Excuse me?"
Rossi didn't reply. Instead he went inside to the reception desk. "Excuse me." He asked, showing his badge. "The woman who just left, who was she here to see?"
The woman at the desk looked it up. "Director Noland in Homeland Security."
"Thank you."
"Who was that?" Alex asked.
"Are you familiar with the term consigliere?" Rossi countered.
"A consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian, Calabrian and American Mafia." Alex said. "Third in command behind the head of the family and his second they are usually a trusted friend, an adviser or counselor to the head of the family, with the additional responsibility of representing the boss in important meetings both within the boss's crime family and with other crime families. Why?"
"That was Stella Diamante, legal counsel and consigliere to her father Luca Diamante, head of the largest and most powerful crime family on the west coast."
"Why was she meeting with Homeland?"
"I would really like to know." Rossi replied.
"Think she has anything to do with this case?"
"I know her family has been trying to take over the docks down here for decades." Rossi replied. "They can't get them away from the Triads."
"Just what we needed. More complications."
They spent all day going over old cases, trying to figure out why the Black Dragons would care about or even know about the BAU. And they kept coming up empty. From what they could see there was absolutely no connection. "Let's go over it one more time." Hotch said. "What do we know about the Black Dragons?"
The Black Dragons is a Chinese/American Triad or secret society and street gang that was formed in 1980 by Chinese immigrants in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles." Spencer said. "It was started by a group of young men who bounded together to protect themselves from other Asian and Hispanic gangs. The Black Dragons has operated in Los Angeles for over two decades. They quickly became known for violence. The FBI opened a task force against them in 1999 and took them down in one of the largest gang sweeps of 2002, as federal agents simultaneously raided and arrested 30 of its core members. They re-grouped and were known to be involved in extortion, counterfeiting, prostitution, money laundering, drug smuggling, human trafficking, racketeering, home invasions, murder, assault, robbery, arms trafficking, auto theft, and burglary. Two years ago Org Crime took them down again, court cases are pending."
"So they have reason to be pissed at the FBI, but why us?" Rossi asked.
"Elephant in the room." JJ said. "One of us is involved with Org Crime." She looked over at Spencer. "Was Jem in on that bust two years ago?"
"I don't know." Spencer replied. "If he was he couldn't tell me, his operation is classified."
"Great."
"Assume that might have something to do with this." Hotch said. "Morgan, don't let him out of your sight."
"On it." Morgan replied. He chuckled at Spencer's groan.
"But who outside of this room knows about this relationship?" Alex asked.
"Your family?" JJ asked Spencer.
"I haven't said anything to them yet."
"Jem's family?"
"They wouldn't."
"Jem's unit?"
Spencer took a deep breath, but then let it out again. "I think there are trust issues there." He admitted.
"Are we saying what I think we're saying?" Morgan asked.
"Possibly." Alex replied. "And that being the case here's another question, are we sure this is the Black Dragons? We're assuming local intel is good."
"Just what we need. More complications." Rossi replied. "Let's try looking at this tomorrow."
"We might get a fresh crime scene tonight." Alex said.
"Not something you hope for, but."
They headed for their hotel. The Royal Palace on Tiveron was only a few blocks away from the office, but it was more or less a dive. "I can't believe this is the best Garcia could do." JJ said.
"I can't believe this is costing us one-eighty a night." Alex replied.
"Seriously!"
"Graduation." Spencer said.
"Oh god." Alex said.
"Graduation?" JJ asked.
"It's graduation week-end. UCLA is approximately one mile from here." Everyone groaned in understanding. "I'm honestly glad we got this lucky."
"This is true." Alex said.
They ate at the Denny's on the corner and then turned in. "We're rooming together." Morgan said as he pushed his way into Spencer's room.
"What? Why?"
"Because you might be why we're here. You can live without the phone sex for one night."
Spencer looked shocked. "I wasn't..."
"You going to try that on another profiler?"
Spencer closed his mouth and went to shower as Morgan chuckled at him.
In the middle of the night something woke Morgan. Maybe a change in pressure in the room or a change in temperature or something but he woke from a deep sleep, all of his senses on alert.
Unfortunately it was a hair too late.
He felt weight drop on to his mattress and a hand clamp over his mouth. His eyes opened to see three black clothed figures in their room. "Tell Agent Taimana we said hello." The one covering his mouth said.
Two gunshots rang out in the room.