Chapter 35

BAU Headquarters
Quantico, VA

The following Monday Penelope received a distressing phone call. "We have a problem." She said to Emily as she walked into the bullpen. To Emily but in reality to the team that was gathered there.

"I'm only one cup into my morning." Emily warned.

"I just got a call from Roxy's daycare. Luke never picked her up Friday."

"Kid?" Matt asked.

"Dog." Dave replied. "Same problem, he never would have left her there without checking in."

"Do we know where he was going Friday?" Emily asked.

"He was taking Spencer and Sin home and then going to pick her up." Penelope replied. "I've already tried calling all of their phones, straight to voicemail. Should I call the Consulate?"

"Noooo no no no." Emily replied. "Mom always said never tell another country you're having a problem unless you have a solution."

"Planet." JJ said.

"Whatever. Do not tell the Martians anything yet. Do we know how they went home?"

"They were taking the train. I'm on the video." Penelope said.

"Good. Just to be on the safe side I'm calling Hotch."

Thirty minutes later the team gathered in the conference room. "Okay, here's what I have." Penelope said. She put up a security video of the Quantico train platform. Spencer, Sin and Luke were standing together, talking, relaxed and easy. They were surrounded by a small crowd of fellow agents and government workers heading home for the night, small for being a bit later than the usual quitting time. "I don't see a threat." JJ said.

"No." Emily replied. "Right there." She pointed to a man at the edge of the crown who was looking at them as he spoke on his phone.

"Can't be Russian." Dave said. "It's a secure platform. They check ID's in and out."

"Garcia, see if you can get a time stamp for when he went through security. Maybe we can get an ID on him." Emily said. "For now keep going."

"Okay, they boarded the train here and got off in Alexandria." Penelope said.

"Why not go all the way to Union Station?" Tara asked.

"I checked, they're working on the tracks. Everyone is getting off the main line and taking the Metro." She switched to videos showing the trio exiting the train, leaving the station and walking down a ramp. They turned right and disappeared under the train crossing. They still appeared relaxed and easy. "And then this." She switched to a camera covering the other side of the crossing. "They never came out."

"Garcia, how often does that train run?" Tara asked.

"Every two hours."

"Quitting time at Quantico." JJ nodded. "If a flock of agents had passed under that bridge they would have noticed something."

"Go back to the previous train and scan forward." Emily said. "Split screen, both sides of the crossing."

There was a street as well as a walkway under that crossing. Every time a car went under it appeared on the other camera in the next frame. Until…. "Okay, where did those vans go?" Matt asked.

Three frames later one of the two vans came out. "Drop off?" Tara asked.

"Very likely." Dave replied.

"Split screen that with the Quantico platform." Emily said. "And the front of the station." Sure enough just a few moments after the man on the platform who had been watching the trio spoke into his phone the vans were moving down the street. "They were targeted. Okay, move forward to after they disappear." About ten minutes after the other van finally came out from under the crossing. "They're in that van. Garcia, run those plates."

"On it." Penelope's fingers flew. This was quick and simple and easy and…. "No, this makes no sense."

"What?" Emily asked.

"Those are government vans. DC regional motor pool."

"Stolen?" Tara asked.

"No. They were checked out Friday morning by two ICE agents and returned later that night."

"Penelope." Dave said. "Check security at Quantico Station. Did they let an ICE agent through?"

Her fingers flew again. "Yeah, one." She put up the video.

It was the guy with the phone.

"Anyone know anyone in ICE?" Emily asked.

Matt was already puling out his phone. "On it." He said as he stepped out of the room.

"So why is ICE targeting those three?" JJ asked. "Spencer's a citizen. Luke is a citizen, and Sin has a diplomatic visa."

"I don't know. Garcia, see if you can track them in the ICS system."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Same question." Tara asked.

"I think I know." Came a familiar voice from the doorway.

They all turned. "Hotch." Emily said. "What's going on?"

Hotch sighed. "This is need to know only…."

"We'll keep it to ourselves." Dave said.

"I've been working for the Special Counsel's office."

A palpable sense of horror fell over the group. Except one. "Okay, I don't know what that means." Penelope said.

"It's been all over the news." JJ replied.

"I don't follow the news, you know that."

"Spencer is carrying evidence of treasonous acts committed by a number of highly placed government officials." Hotch said.

"Treason?" Penelope asked. Hotch nodded. "Our government?" Hotch nodded again. "How high?" He didn't answer. "Oh god". She started typing faster.

"You should have warned us." Emily said.

"We didn't think it had gone that far." Hotch replied.

Matt came in then. "I think we have a problem."

"What?" Emily asked.

"My friend doesn't work for ICE any more." Matt sighed. "ICE is broken into two units, Homeland Security Investigations or HSI, they handle terror threats, drug smuggling, human trafficking, the big stuff, and Enforcement and Removal Operations or ERO. They're supposed to remove illegal aliens."

"I thought that was Boarder Patrol." JJ said.

"Border Patrol can only operate within two hundred miles of a border. ICE ERO handles the entire country. My friend used to work for them, but he was let go back in January of 2016."

"Why?" Tara asked.

"They let everyone go. Complete house clean, they replaced ten thousand agents in two months."

"How can you do that?"

"Pre-vetted lists." JJ replied.

"There's a term for that." Dave said. "I believe it's in German."

"Did your office have any idea?" Emily asked.

Hotch shook his head. "They haven't killed him."

"How do you know?" JJ asked. "I mean, I believe you but what's your logic?"

"They don't know if he gave us the evidence. They don't want him dead, they want to break him until his evidence is discredited."

"So he's somewhere and they're torturing him." Emily said. "Garcia?"

"I can't find them." Penelope sounded near tears. "They haven't been processed anywhere."

"Keep looking. We have to find them."

JJ discretely followed Penelope back to her lair. "What are you doing?" She asked. "I know you, you're planning something."

"We need to find them." Penelope said. "They're not in the system anywhere."

"Are you sure? Well, yeah, okay you're sure. So what are you thinking?"

"Remember how Sin said they can track their translator things from orbit?" Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

"And Emily said not to contact the aliens."

"No, she said not to contact the Martians. Not every alien is a Martian." She looked up as a video conference started.

A moment later a face came up on the screen. Fur covered, whiskered. "Ahhh, Penelope." The figure said.

"Screen Dancer. Hi." Penelope replied. "This is my friend JJ. JJ, this is Screen Dancer."

"Very pleasant to meet you." Screen Dancer said.

"Hi." JJ replied, wide eyed.

"We need help." Penelope said. "Like, emergency help. I don't know if that translates."

Screen Dancer's ears went back and her eyes widened. "It does. The translators on our ships do a better job of translating Mrr'tan'gari than the IGFP standard issue. What is wrong?"

Between Penelope and JJ they explained everything. The kidnapping, the ICE agents, the Special Counsel's office, all of it. And then they explained it again to the other Mrr'tani Screen Dancer asked to join them. She was slender, delicate, and looked even more intelligent than Screen Dancer and according to her was one of their diplomats. "You said one of them is a member of their Nobility." Gentle Words said.

"Yes. " JJ said. "Does that matter?"

"The Q consider detaining any of their citizens a grave insult. But they consider detaining a member of their Nobility an act of war."

"So out of my pay grade." Penelope said.

"But he hasn't been detained by our government." JJ said. "It's actually a group of criminals posing as government workers."

"Ahhh." Gentle Words nodded. "I will be certain to inform them of such. That being the case I am sure they would be more than willing to extend assistance in dealing with such criminals. They have many times in the past."

This could work. "So you can help?" Penelope asked.

"I've been interfacing with your planetary mapping system." Screen Dancer said. An image popped up on another screen. "Here are all of the translators operating in your geographic area."

It was an active Google map. It looked like they were all in New York, a few in DC, a handful out in Iowa. "What's in Iowa?" JJ asked.

"Looks like an agricultural research station." Penelope said. "There are two in Tennessee." She zoomed in and queries what was at that location. "Bingo. West Tennessee Detention Facility. Under contract to Homeland. But they are not showing up in their computer system."

"We'll just get the legal run around." JJ said. "Think the Q government can help?"

Gentle Words smiled and nodded. "If I know Her Highness she will help. Yes, she will help."