Chapter 14: The Dirty Dozen
Reid and JJ were driving home from Joy's case talking about the baby.
"JJ," said Reid. "Do you have any suggestions about who should be our baby's godparents?"
"Well," said JJ. "Garcia came up to me asking about that this morning. But, I think she was really saying, 'Hello! Hello, I'm right here!'"
JJ and Reid laughed.
"Well," said Reid. "Garcia was always a great godmother to Henry. However, I thought up one other person who we could choose as our baby's godmother..."
"Emily?" asked JJ.
"Emily," answered Reid. "She's always loved kids and fun times. She loves Jack and Henry. She's practically raised Declan Doyle herself. If we choose her, then it would make it much harder for her to leave us again."
"But, Emily's already promised that she wouldn't leave us again, Spence," said JJ.
"I know," said Reid. "But, she's already left us twice."
"And, what?" asked JJ. "Three times just isn't nice, Spence?"
"Well," said Reid. "If we choose Emily, then she and Garcia could also share godmother duties."
"Yeah," agreed JJ. "They could. But, what about a godfather, Spence? You know, once we get married, you can't be Henry's godfather anymore."
"I know, JJ," said Reid. "I did think of somebody who could be both Henry and our baby's godfather..."
"Morgan?!" asked JJ.
"Morgan," answered Reid.
JJ rolled her eyes.
"Why would you want Morgan to be our children's godfather?!" asked JJ.
"Both Morgan and Henry lost their policeman fathers in the line of duty, JJ," answered Reid. "If Henry ever feels upset about that in the future, then Morgan is the best person for him to talk to."
"Well, yeah," said JJ. "You know that I love Morgan like a brother, but he's always teased you, Spence. He recently tricked both you and Penelope into working out for two hours for a fit test that he already had waived just to have a good time for himself!"
"Yes," said Reid. "He does always tease me, JJ. But, whenever things got serious, he has always protected me and Garcia. When I got poisoned with Anthrax, Morgan wanted to stay by my side until I was cured. When Garcia was shot, Morgan slept on her couch guarding her until we found the shooter. When I got shot in my neck, it was Morgan who moved me to safety. He rode in the ambulance with me trying to keep me awake. Morgan still keeps in touch with James Barfield, Ellie Spicer and Angel Suarez. Both Henry and our baby need a strong big brother protector type to take care of them if anything ever happens to either one of us. Morgan is that protector type."
"Maybe," sighed JJ.
"Well, what about the time Morgan had me playing that softball game against the Secret Service, JJ?" asked Reid. "I was never a good ball player growing up in Las Vegas as a child. I arrived at the field that day hoping that I wouldn't even need to play. But, I did play. And then all of you guys showed up as well to watch the game. Hotch brought Jack and you brought Henry?"
"We all wanted to be there for you, Spence," said JJ. "We were supporting you."
"I know that now, JJ," said Reid. "But, back then I thought, 'Great! Now my whole family can watch me being terrible at softball. Henry will probably disown me as his godfather right after I lose us the game!'"
"Spence," said JJ. "That never would have happened."
"Well," said Reid. "After I struck out every time I was up at bat, I thought that it would happen for sure. But my final time at bat, Morgan called a time out to give me a pep talk. Do you know what it was that he said to me?"
"No," said JJ.
"He told me that I needed to get out of my head and just feel the game," said Reid. "That I could erase all of those bad sports memories I had growing up and just hit the ball and win us the game."
"I remember you still swung two strikes," said JJ. "And then I heard an infielder yell, 'This guy has nothing!'"
"And then," said Reid. "I finally hit the ball and both Morgan and I scored runs and won us the game."
"We were all so proud of you, Spence," smiled JJ.
"And the great way I was feeling after beating all of my doubts and winning us the game, JJ?" said Reid. "That's the way I believe Morgan can help Henry or our baby feel like in future events in their lives. All I ask is that you think about it."
"Okay," sighed JJ. "I'll think about it, Spence."
Reid's phone rang and he read the caller ID.
"It's Morgan," said Reid.
"Ugh! His ears must have been burning," said JJ. "He's probably calling to ask us to make him our baby's godfather!"
Reid answered the phone.
"Yeah, Morgan?" said Reid. "Great. Who is it? - What? - What do you mean? - Oh, no! - Yeah, JJ's right here with me. - I'll tell her, Morgan. Tell her we'll be back as soon as we can."
Reid hung up.
"That sounded serious," said JJ. "What did he say?"
"JJ, please turn around," said Reid. "We need to go back. Garcia needs us. She's figured out the identity of the Dirty Dozen."
"That's great," said JJ. "Now we can protect this Dirty Dozen from the hitman network of four. But, why does she need us?"
Reid gently put his left hand on JJ's right hand.
"JJ," said Reid. "Garcia is the Dirty Dozen!"
JJ abruptly stopped the car.
"What?!" asked JJ.
"Morgan said he found Garcia hiding in his office in the dark," said Reid. "She said something about using 12 botnets on her online activity for us."
"And, 12 equals a dozen," said JJ. "Oh, my God!"
Reid continued, "Garcia's turned off everything in her lair to slow the hitman network down from finding her. She's scared to death that the hitman network will kill her."
"But, Morgan will protect her just like he always did before, Spence," said JJ.
"And, he told her that, JJ," said Reid. "But, Garcia said that if the hitman network of four could kill Giuseppe Montolo in a supermax prison right in front of Morgan, then they could kill her just as easily. Garcia is afraid that not even Morgan can protect her this time. Morgan is calling all of us back to Quantico because..."
"...Garcia needs us," whispered JJ.
JJ turned the car around and they drove back to Quantico to join the rest of the BAU team in trying to comfort Garcia. They walked into Morgan's office to find Hotch, Morgan, Rossi and Joy inside watching Prentiss hugging Garcia. Garcia was so scared she was shaking.
"Pen," said Prentiss. "We won't let anybody hurt you."
"But, they've killed Montolo in prison right in front of Morgan," cried Garcia. "No one can stop them! I shut everything down to slow them down from tracking me..."
"Garcia," said Reid. "Would they know that it was you?"
"They would know that it was somebody at Quantico," cried Garcia. "It's only a matter of time before they figure out that it's me. And, then, they...they will kill me!"
"No, they won't!" said JJ. "They're threatening our family, now."
JJ and Garcia hugged each other tightly.
"And, nobody threatens our family," vowed JJ. "Nobody!"
"If they threaten one of us," said Rossi. "They threaten all of us!"
"This is one of those 'for worse family times,' isn't it, dad?" asked Joy.
"Yes," answered Rossi.
"Well, I may not be an FBI agent," said Joy. "But the six of you just adopted me into your family. You've all proven to me earlier that you guys are the best at what you do! I don't know what you can do about this hitman group, but I do know that you can save our Penelope's life."
"Thank you," tearfully whispered Garcia.
"No, thank you!" said Joy. "You told me to always trust my gut, remember? Come here."
Garcia and Joy hugged each other tightly.
Hotch pulled out all the stops for protecting Garcia. He convinced witness protection that Garcia would be safer staying at Quantico rather than leaving town. Garcia had Agent Anderson gather her most needed things from her apartment. Garcia moved into Morgan's office. Prentiss took care of her cat, Sergio. During the next month in between cases, Rossi played cards with Garcia. JJ and Prentiss spent some time eating ice cream with Garcia. Reid and Morgan gave Garcia vegetarian meals and some extra assurance that they would get the hitman network of four.
Hotch was walking from a restaurant to his car to go home one night when a limousine stopped beside him. The passenger inside said a Mr. Axelrod wanted to talk to him. Hotch rode the limousine to DEA headquarters. Axelrod told Hotch that a joint NSA/DEA investigation into an online drug trafficking cartel called Libertad was going south. Three DEA undercover agents went in to gather intel on the operation. One agent was found dead and the other two agents were missing. Axelrod suspected there was a mole inside the department leaking information and exposing the agents. He wanted Hotch to have the BAU team investigate the murder/missing agent case while Hotch investigated the assistant DEA director, Bernard Graff for proof that he was a mole. Because the BAU team were investigating Giuseppe Montolo's murder, they had the perfect cover for the case.
While the rest of the BAU team flew to El Paso, Texas to investigate undercover agent Mark Bowers's murder, Hotch went to the DEA cyber headquarters to investigate Assistant Director Graff. Graff had a flash drive on him that he wore like a wristwatch. Graff did ask Hotch was the BAU team looking for the Dirty Dozen. An agent named Mitchell told Hotch and Graff that a confidential informant named Simon Kahn was killed because of a car bomb. Hotch didn't profile Graff as the mole of the DEA operation. Rossi called Hotch saying that the second undercover agent, John Portman was just found dead with his face removed. Which left the BAU team the third undercover agent, Sarah Miles left to find before the unsub killed her as well. Hotch had received a call from Graff to meet him at a hotel bar he was going to. Hotch carefully hit the remote of his SUV from a distance just in case there was a car bomb in it. The SUV engine started normally. Graff got into his car to go meet Hotch, but he got shot dead inside of his car.
Hotch met Axelrod at the murder scene. Axelrod thought that Graff had a guilty conscience and killed himself for being the mole. But, Hotch noticed Graff didn't have his flash drive on his wrist. Hotch talked to Agent Mitchell about Graff. Mitchell and Graff both thought that Hotch was the mole coming to the DEA cyber headquarters to tie up loose ends. But, Graff had stopped thinking Hotch was the mole just like Hotch stopped thinking Graff was the mole. Agent Mitchell had Graff's flash drive on her. She showed Hotch the flash drive's information showing that a DEA agent had accessed a police case file about a serial killer in 2011 who was murdering people and removing their faces. His name was Jacob DuFour and he was the unsub who killed the two undercover agents and abducted Sarah Miles. Hotch texted Garcia DuFour's name. Garcia sent Morgan and Prentiss to DuFour's last known farm address. Morgan had found DuFour and shot him dead and Sarah Miles's life was saved. Prentiss comforted Sarah.
Rossi and JJ had arrested a soccer mom named Jillian Carter aka Ben Franklin of the Libertad drug operation. Back at DEA headquarters, Hotch and Axelrod arrested DEA director Brian Cochran aka George Washington, the leader of the Libertad drug operation, the DEA mole and DuFour's murder partner. DuFour didn't know that he was killing undercover agents. Cochran had a 5 million dollar Panamanian account that Garcia had traced back to him. Hotch had acquired a flash drive pen from Cochran. There were access codes to the Libertad servers on it. Garcia was disappointed that they hadn't found the hitman network of four during the case. So, Hotch shared a late night vegetarian meal with Garcia in Morgan's office.
After a week in solitary confinement at USB Terre Haute and fear of getting easily eliminated like Giuseppe Montolo, Cochran talked to Garcia and Hotch via FaceTime about the hitman network of four. He only knew the hitman names, not their actual names. The Chemist who poisoned Montolo in prison. The Sniper who shot both the dirty prison guard and Graff dead. The Bomber who car bombed to death Simon Kahn. And, Miss .45., a black widow hit woman who had killed many men who all hired her to kill someone in their lives, but she turned around and killed them instead. Hotch used Cochran's flash drive pen to help the BAU team find a hacker known as the Snowman whom the hitman network had abducted to use his hacking skills to help them with their online hit hiring. Garcia used the Darknet to locate the Snowman aka a high school boy named Barry Winslow at the safe house the hitman network of four were keeping him in.
Garcia silently warned Winslow on his computer screen to duck because the FBI were coming to save him. Rossi and Prentiss stormed the safe house while two of the hitman network were inside doing a shift change. Their SWAT team confronted the Sniper and the Chemist. Prentiss shot the Sniper in his leg and arrested him. The Chemist chose to poison himself to death with a syringe rather than get arrested. The SWAT team cleared the rest of the safe house. Rossi and Prentiss uncuffed young Winslow from the desk and Rossi immediately hired him into the FBI. At Quantico, Winslow told the BAU team that while the other three hitman members took turns guarding him, he never saw the Bomber in that safe house. Garcia and Winslow hacked the online hit hiring activity together to convince the Bomber and Miss .45. that nothing had happened in that safe house. The BAU team profiled the victimology of Miss .45. to identify her.
Reid had gone undercover as a husband to meet Miss .45. aka Cat Adams. Her victimology was that she enjoyed killing men who wanted their wives killed. Meaning her father must have killed her mother when she was younger. Hotch wanted her taken alive so she could help the BAU team find the Bomber. Cat met Reid in a restaurant full of people one night. Hotch and Garcia were monitoring Reid's table from Garcia's lair. JJ was observing Reid from a table while Rossi was also observing Reid from the bar. Reid told Cat that he was married for four years and that he wanted his pregnant wife murdered. But, Cat realized that Reid wasn't married because the wedding ring he wore was brand new. Cat pulled a gun on Reid under the tablecloth and disarmed him.
Cat warned Reid that if she saw any other agents or police in the restaurant she would start killing the innocent people in that dining room. Morgan and Prentiss were at a nearby table from Reid and Cat posing as a dating couple. Prentiss grabbed Morgan's head with both hands and she started kissing him on the lips. Morgan kissed her back. Cat played a game of questions and answers with Reid for nearly thirty minutes. When the time was up, Cat tried to leave the restaurant. But, Reid wouldn't let her leave. Cat told Reid that the fourth hitman member, the Bomber had planted bombs in the restaurant's basement during those thirty minutes. And, if Cat wasn't allowed to leave without anyone trying to stop her, the Bomber would blow up the entire restaurant.
Rossi and JJ went down to the basement and confirmed to Hotch that Cat was telling the truth about the planted bombs. A cell phone trigger could blow the restaurant up if the Bomber called that cell phone. Hotch ordered everybody not to engage Cat until the bombs were deactivated. Morgan and Prentiss profiled that the Bomber was a woman because Cat clearly didn't trust any men. They looked for a woman who was alone in the dining room. After spotting a woman at a table alone looking at her cell phone screen, Morgan and Prentiss pretended to leave the restaurant.
"You know what, baby?" said Morgan. "Let's get out of here. I'm not really feeling this place."
"Really, Derek?" asked Prentiss. "I kind of like it."
"It's not bad," said Morgan. "But I want to take you someplace where we can do some dancing."
"Ooh, you know I love dancing," smiled Prentiss.
Morgan and Prentiss walked by the Bomber's table and Morgan suddenly grabbed her hands. The Bomber struggled with Morgan while Prentiss slammed her face on the table, knocking the Bomber out cold. Prentiss grabbed her cell phone. Cat pulled her gun on Reid's head. The other people in the dining room panicked. Morgan pointed his gun on Cat.
"FBI," said Morgan. "Everybody stay calm!"
Prentiss used the cell phone to disarm the bombs. In the basement, the bomb lights changed from red to green.
"Hotch," said JJ. "We're clear!"
"Reid's not," said Hotch.
"Oh, my God!" cried Garcia. "Jayje, she's holding our boy genius at gunpoint!"
JJ's heart stopped.
"Spence," whispered JJ.
"We've gotta help the kid," said Rossi.
"Rossi," said JJ. "Wait a second..."
Prentiss cuffed the Bomber's wrists. Rossi and JJ came into the dining room.
"Looks like we're back where we started, Spencie," said Cat. "You, me and a gun!"
"Guys," said Reid. "Get everyone out of here."
Morgan and Prentiss evacuated the dining room. Prentiss and JJ took the Bomber out of the dining room as well leaving Morgan and Rossi pointing their guns at Cat.
"Morgan, Rossi," said Reid. "You, too. Please."
"We're not going anywhere," said Morgan. "You shoot him, lady, and we'll shoot you. There's nowhere for you to go."
"Game's over, boys," said Cat. "Lower your guns and let me leave or Spencer dies!"
"Okay!" said Rossi. "Okay. Morgan, stand down."
"Rossi..." said Morgan.
"Stand down!" ordered Rossi. "That's an order!"
Rossi and Morgan put their guns down on the floor.
"Kick them away from you," ordered Cat.
Morgan and Rossi kicked their guns away from them.
"Reid," said Morgan. "We have to tell her now!"
"Morgan, no," cried Reid.
"Kid," said Morgan. "I'm trying to save your life. We have your father outside!"
"What?" asked Cat. "He's here?!"
"We have him in a police wagon," said Morgan.
"There's no statute of limitations on murder," said Rossi.
"We arrested him for murdering your mother," said Morgan.
"You can testify against him if you give up," said Rossi.
"Don't do this," pleaded Reid. "If you give her this, she wins! Don't!"
"Hotch said the wagon is outside right now, Morgan," said Rossi.
Outside, Prentiss and JJ saw a police wagon backing up towards the restaurant entrance. Cat could hear the wagon's backup beeping inside.
"Go ahead," said Rossi. "Look outside and you'll see the wagon."
Cat backed Reid up through the restaurant entrance and she saw the police wagon. In Garcia's lair, Hotch and Garcia lost their camera view of Cat and Reid. Outside, Prentiss pointed her gun at Cat.
"Stand down, Emily," said Rossi.
"Dave..." said Prentiss.
"Stand down!" ordered Rossi. "That's an order, Agent Prentiss!"
Prentiss put her gun on the ground.
"If you give up," said Rossi. "Then you finally get to hurt the man who really deserves it, right?"
"All men deserve it!" said Cat.
"But your dad deserves it the most, doesn't he?" asked Rossi.
"If you let Reid go and surrender, we'll let you see him," said Morgan.
"No, Morgan," cried Reid. "Don't do this!"
Cat laughed, "Nice try, boys! If daddy were really here, Diana Prince, here would have opened the wagon doors so that I could see him inside!"
Cat clicked her gun and pointed it at Reid's head.
"No," said Prentiss.
"No men can outsmart me!" boasted Cat. "Goodbye, Spencie!"
"No!" yelled Morgan.
Suddenly, Cat got shot in her forehead and she dropped dead. Morgan, Prentiss and Reid looked at the angle from where Cat was shot and they saw that JJ had fired her gun from a distance.
"JJ," whispered Reid.
"Spence," whispered JJ.
Garcia and Hotch heard the gunfire from Garcia's lair.
"Oh, my God!" cried Garcia.
"Morgan, report," said Hotch.
JJ and Reid ran to each other and hugged each other tightly. Rossi took JJ's gun from her hand.
"I love you so much, Jennifer," cried Reid.
"I love you, too, Spence," cried JJ. "So, so much!"
Prentiss took Cat's gun from her hand and Morgan confirmed that Cat was dead.
"Maybe no men can outsmart you," said Morgan. "But, Agent Jareau is a woman!"
"Reid!" cried Garcia.
"Morgan," said Hotch. "Dave, Prentiss, status report!"
"We're clear, Hotch," said Rossi. "Cat Adams is dead and both Reid and Garcia are safe."
Garcia breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Understood," said Hotch. "We're all clear!"
Hotch put his hand on Garcia's shoulder.
"Do you want to go home?" asked Hotch.
Garcia took off her glasses crying quietly while nodding her head. Morgan and Prentiss put the Bomber inside of the empty wagon and had her taken to jail. Then the BAU team returned to Hotch and Garcia at Quantico.
Authors note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is what I thought would have happened if Cat Adams realized her father being in that wagon was a lie. Another romantic Reid and JJ author recently chose to keep Reid away from the Tobias Hankel case that got him addicted to dilaudid. I chose to keep Reid from getting those three months in prison because Cat Adams framed him.