She had only seen this in movies, hell she never thought this could happen, let alone happen to her. But here she was, standing between her two lives. Her two families. She had to choose and she had to do it now. But, how can she? How can she choose between love and law? Looking to her left she saw her team, the ones that always had her back, looked out for her, loved her.
Glancing to her right she saw her lover and family, the man that loved her beyond her lies, beyond her past, beyond her betrayal, beyond what she was. His family took her in no matter what and who she was. Who watched out for her in ways she never experienced. Who loved her more than simply being the new girl.
Both families calling to her, both waiting for her to choose. Taking a step, she made her choice.
TWO YEAR EARLIER:
Hotch went over the file for what seemed like the hundredth time. Cruz had walked in a few hours ago, with a new case. Only this case had everything you can imagine smashed in a chaotic ball of thin string and tossed it to him. You had gangs, murders, drugs, guns, and everything in between. Cruz had given him the file and told-no ordered him to solve it. This was out of his and his team's job description. This wasn't a serial killer or a sociopath on a killing spree.
Opening the file, he went through page by page. He looked for any way he could solve this, but no matter how hard he looked and re-read Hotch knew what needed to be done. He was going to have to send someone in, someone that can win their trust and report back to them. Hating this as much as he did, he had just the right person. Running a hand down his face, he took in a deep breath and composed himself.
The rest of the team was gathered in the bullpen. Morgan and Pen were chatting about some movie they watched last night. Reid was busy reading a book Rossi bought for him. Rossi himself was currently running late. As for Kate and Emily, they were busy fuzzing over JJ and her 5-month-old baby Matthew. The babysitter had thought a little baby love wouldn't hurt the team.
"He looks nothing like his father." Kate grinned, letting the baby grip her finger.
JJ laughed. "Don't let Hotch hear you say that."
Emily ran her fingers through his hair. "Well, besides having Hotch's hair color, I have to agree with Kate."
"Agree on what?" Hotch asked, walking down the stairs of his office. The ladies shared a look and giggled. "What?"
"We were just agreeing on how much Matthew is looking like you." Kate replied.
Hotch grinned. Kissing his son on the head, he nodded. "That he does."
JJ scoffed. "Ego booster."
"He has your eyes though." Giving her a quick kiss, he suddenly took the child. "Jessica." Knowing they were about to start work, she took the child and bid them goodbye. "Hate to disturb this rare break in the morning, but I need you all in the conference room now. Garcia, Cruz sent everything to your laptop."
"On it." Garcia was a blur of colors, as she rushed to her office.
As they made their way towards the room, Rossi decided to finally show up.
"Glad you can join us." Morgan laughed.
Rossi simply fixed his tie. "Traffic jam."
Emily walked out from the kitchen area and grabbed a hold of his shirt collar. "Yeah sure, that's why you have lipstick on your collar."
Rossi sighed. "You mind?" With another laugh, she grabbed a wet towel and cleaned it off. "Thank you."
"No problem, now let's go befo-"
"Rossi! Prentiss!" Hotch's voice boomed throughout the bullpen.
Once everyone was settled in and Garcia had set up the laptop, Hotch began. "Earlier this morning Cruz handed me a case. This isn't our usual type of case, but a slightly more common one."
Morgan raised his hand. "Common?"
Grabbing the control, he aimed it at the screen and clicked it. A picture of a man popped up. He was leaning against a staircase rail unaware of being photographed. He was good looking there was no denying that. He had a small beard just enough to cover his jawline and around his mouth. Short dark brown hair, but what caught their attention was his eyes. They held nothing, no emotions whatsoever. They were empty and vacant.
A black abyss.
"Meet Emilian Black, head of Los Angelico's." Hotch began. "Where there are guns, drugs, and trafficking, he is involved one way or another. The higher-ups want him and his people gone. The reason we are asked to take over this case is because others have failed to do so. They want this done clean and by the books." Hotch paused, letting that bit sink in. "Last month, a detective from GTF was suspended after it was discovered, she planted drugs on Damon Black. Emilian's oldest son. He walked and so did any and every evidence they had on them up to that point. Which means we need to start from scratch."
"GTF?" Kate asked. "New division?"
Hotch nodded. "In a way. GTF stands for Gang Task Force. Run by Captain Chapel. The team is built by one agent of each alphabet and is funded by each head of said alphabet. It was established four years ago."
"What are we to do?" JJ asked.
"Cruz had every agency send me everything they had. Turns out there is a new drug on the market. Fish scale. Suppose to be better than any other drug on the market. Emilian Black has the first and only product and is looking to distribute it across the state. Now we have another problem." Clicking the remote once more, pictures of another gang appeared. "A war between Los Angelicos and The Lords has broken out. There are pictures of the aftermath from their last encounter are in your tablets." Hotch didn't need Garcia seeing the pictures. "PD has had death's every day between these two, last I heard Black was leading by three."
"What started it?" Kate asked. "I know a bit about each one, we did a sting during my cop years. I had a few run-ins with both gangs. They have always been at war, but nothing like this." She swiped at the pictures on her tablet. It was a massacre. The streets were bathed in the blood of Lords and Angelicos. She stopped swiping when the picture of a little girl clutching her backpack covered in blood appeared. Collateral damage. "Based on the pictures, they are exterminating each other and whoever gets in the crossfire. Who did what? Better yet, who pissed of Los Angelicos. I have never meet Black, but I have studied him and his way of leading."
"Lord members ambushed and shot Damon Black 27 times. The boy lived, most of the bullets hit the car, but doctors said he is to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair." Hotch replied.
"Karmas a bitch." Morgan mumbled.
"Did they catch the ones who did it?" Emily asked.
"They did." Hotch brought up three pictures. "But they were ambushed and killed in the prison yard." Three new pictures of the dead prisoners appeared. "Each stabbed 27 times."
"Same number of shots given to Damon." Morgan said. "This was payback."
Rossi shook his head, at the clear overkill. It was impossible to distinguish anything from the photos. "By who?"
"No one spoke. Even the prison guards said they saw nothing. They claimed, the prisoners waited until they were gone to attack." Hotch replied. "Word is Emilian is not finished yet. He currently has men looking for the Lord's son."
"Eye for an eye." JJ scoffed.
"Where is the boy?" Kate asked.
"Custody protection, we have him on lockdown." Hotch said. "Now our job is to go in and take them down from the inside." He raises his hand, stopping them from arguing. "I don't like this any more than you do. Two of you will be going in and gather as much as you can. Get close to the Emilian's, earn their trust and report back. We will always be close by. You will not be alone."
"Who's going in?" Reid asked. Deep down he was hoping it wasn't him. The last time he went undercover, it was a disaster. Nearly getting his partner killed.
"Emily, you are going in as a new business partner. Looking to buy the new product from him. In the process try and become his friend." Hotch said. "Morgan will be with you, consider him your right hand."
Emily nodded, grabbing her file. "Understood."
Hotch took in a deep breath and handed the second file to Kate. "You have worked undercover many times. I need that experience now. You will have to gain the trust of not only Emilian but of his family as well. He is looking to hire a caretaker for his son Damon. All paperwork has been done and reviewed by him. We just got the word you have the job." Hotch stated. "Start with Damon, then move to the others. Leave Emilian until last. The man is no stranger to undercover cops. Move too fast and he will discover you. Move too slow and..."
"And I am dead." Kate took a shaky breath. "Alright."
Hotch placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a small squeeze. "You up for this?"
Opening the file, Kate scanned through the few words. It has been four years since she has taken up any undercover job. Now she must jump in and become friends with one of the most feared gang lords in the state. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax. She can do this. No biggy. "I got this Hotch."
"Alright." Hotch offered her a small smile, before continuing with the briefing. "The Black family is a large one and it seems to only be getting bigger." The picture of said man popped up on the screen once more. "Emilian Black, 35 years old. Black has been the founder and head of Los Angelicos since he was 18." A picture of a young female blond appeared on the screen. "5 years ago, his wife Jess Black was killed by a rival gang. It was rumored the killing was a message for him. This was the first time we got to see what he was really capable of. Emilian hunted them down, only he didn't go after the ones responsible for the killing." Multiple pictures of crime scenes popped up on the screen. It was hard to distinguish anything from them, but a few things were made out. "He went after the wives. Killing each one the same way his wife was killed. All wives had broken bones and throats slit. The wife's ring finger were removed and mailed to the husbands. None of this was able to be pinned back to him."
Kate had to pry her eyes off the screen. It was too much. The pictures were a bloody massacre. The wives laid splayed on the bloody beds, throat slits, and fingers missing. How in the hell was he never caught!
Clicking the remote, three new pictures appeared. "Damon Black 20, Jack Black 18 and Allison Black 15. These are his three children. Damon had - until the shooting, been Emilian's, right-hand man. Jack moved from the family business and became a real estate agent, but that does not mean he is out of the loop. He also works for the bank, so let's keep a close eye on that. Now Allison is the youngest of the three and there for Emilian keeps a real close eye on her. She is always with someone. Either friends or a guard. Still in school and never leaves the house alone. Kate, get close to her."
Kate nodded. "Yes sir." She looked to be about Meg's age. So innocent in a dirty world. Meg! "Hotch."
"Yes?"
"What about Meg? I can't simply leave her and we don't know how long this will last." Kate was not about to leave her daughter. She was all Meg had.
Hotch paused for a moment. He had completely forgotten about the girl, but he couldn't allow Kate to take her. "We will come up with something, for now, let's focus on this. Okay?"
Kate wasn't convinced but knew better than to argue with him. "Okay."
"Alright, now Sean Black is Emilian's adopted younger brother by two years. Sean is the one that does all the dirty work. He is what we would call the working dog. Attacks when ordered and kills when told to. Keep an eye out for him, like Emilian he is no stranger to cops." Shutting the tv off, Hotch placed his palms on the table and exhaled. "I know this is not something we do, nor is it going to be a walk in the park, but we have no choice. Cruz and the others want him gone and done for. Emilian has killed many innocent and not so innocent people. In those killed are cops and agents." Standing back up, he ran a hand over his head. "What I am asking from you two is hard I know, but I also know I am asking the right ones. If you can't or don't want to do this, let me know now. Judgment free."
Kate and Emily glanced at each other, debating the pros and cons of this assignment. But in the end, they knew what needed to be done.
"I'm in." Emily assured.
Hotch nodded, glancing towards his newest agent. "Kate?"
Kate glances up at him, unlike Emily she would be living with them. Day in and day out. She would have contact with all of them. See what really goes on in there. Deal with their problems. Become one of them. If not her then someone else would take this assignment and she didn't want to disappoint her boss. But better yet, she didn't want to put anyone else in danger. Not to mention that the only other option was JJ and Kate was not about to let that happen. So, sucking in some air, she stared her boss straight in the eyes. "I'm in."
Hotch gave her a small smile. "Good. Kate, you are to arrive the day after tomorrow at the Black's resident. Emily, you have a meeting with Emilian in a week."
Both Kate and Emily nodded at his instructions. Sharing a look between them, they stood up and left.
Time jump:
Kate pulled into her driveway, placing the car in park she shut the engine off. She threw her head back, trying to calm herself, yet the feeling in her gut was refusing to leave her. Her heart wouldn't stop racing and her stomach had been acting up since the meeting. She even pulled over a few times, when her gut threaten to throw her food back out. Now she needed to tell her niece, of course not the whole truth. Just snips of it. Lies. That simply made her gut feel worse. What she was going to tell Meg was still a mystery to her. Before she got Meg, she was fine doing undercover. Back then she just had to look out for herself that was no longer the case.
Taking in a deep breath, she pushed all job-related out of her mind. She was home and it was all about Meg at the moment. The moment she walked into the house, she was met with a wonderful smell. Before she could say anything, her stomach growled. "I need to stop overdoing it." Walking into the kitchen she found Meg standing over the stove, stirring a pot, and the last person she wanted to see using her knife cutting her tomatoes.
Her smile was quickly replaced with a frown. Placing her purse a little too hard on the counter, Kate glared at the intruder. "Chris."
"Kate! Hey." Giving her his carefree smile, he moved to try and hug her. Kate backed away, placing her hand on the butt of her gun. He knew the last thing she wanted was for him to touch her. Dropping his hands as quickly as they had come up, he returned to what he was doing. "Still mad I see?"
Kate scoffed, this man was seriously an idiot. "Yeah and I'd say I have reason to be." Taking in a deep breath, she quickly calmed herself. Meg was still in the room. "What are you doing here? Last I remembered, you don't live here no more?"
"Meg called, she asked me to pick her up from school. She wanted to make you dinner and asked that I help." Ruffing Meg's hair he grinned. "Don't worry I wasn't going to stay. Just going to help with dinner and be on my way."
Kate sighed. As much as she hated the man and wanted to shoot him, right where he stood, Meg still liked him. And going to jail for manslaughter was not in her life plan. "No, it's fine. Stay and eat, but I want you out after."
"Promise."
Kate was true to her word, literally kicking him out after he had taken the last bite on his plate. Having him close did nothing, but give her goosebumps and not the good kind. She wondered if she had been going to a certain douche bag phase. Chris was never really her type, to begin with. She preferred them tall, dark, and handsome. They respect the woman they are with but are demanding, aggressive, and alphas. A man that took control in the bedroom. Chris was never any of that. In the end, she was too much for him to handle, so he decided to screw some bimbo as the solution. From there Kate simply told him to get out. He could still see Meg, but between them, it was over.
Once Kate was sure he was gone, she walked back in locking the door behind her. Pulling Meg out of the kitchen, she pulled her to the couch. "We need to talk."
"Why are you so rude to him?" Meg asked, clearly showing her displeasure. "I know you two broke it off, but he did help raise me."
Kate hadn't told her the real reason for their break up. She didn't want to ruin the image she had of the man, she saw him as a father after all. Instead, she simply told her they needed a break and called it quits. "Look that's not important right now. I need to tell you something and I need you to hear me out."
Meg frowned, worried by her words. "Everything alright?" Kate only spoke this seriously when something was wrong or she was in trouble.
"Yeah, yeah everything is fine. It's just...We-umm-caught a case today and this one is going to take me away for a while." She quickly stopped her from speaking." Before you freak out or say anything, I had no choice. I am the only one in the team with the most experience with what they need."
Meg studied her for a bit, processing what she just heard. "What do you mean you had no choice? More experience? Aren't the others going with you?" Kate shook her head, causing the teen to freak out. "What?! You are going in solo?! What is this case? Are you going to be safe? Why are they se-"
Kate pulled her into a tight hug, effectively shutting her up. "Shh. Meg, it's fine, I will be safe." That was a lie, but Meg didn't need to know that. "The others can't be there physically with me, but I will be in contact with them daily. Emily will be there as well, Morgan sometimes. I won't be completely alone hun. I will call you when I get a chance to do so. But the team will check on you daily. Morgan and Pen have offered to look out for you while I am gone."
Meg sniffed a little, wiping the tears away quickly. Meg was still panicky since the abduction. She was still scared in spending nights alone sometimes. "Where will you be at?"
"In Las Angeles." Kate whispered.
"Kate, I don't want you to leave." Meg whispered.
Kate smiled into her hair. "I know baby, but I promise it won't take long for me to complete this. First chance I get, I'll have you come to me for a visit." Lie.
Meg glanced up at her with wide watery eyes. "Really?"
Kate chuckled, wiping the tears off her face. "Yes."
That night they spent watching movies and eating all the junk food they had. Meg knew she wouldn't see her tomorrow morning, she wouldn't make her say goodbye knowing it would hurt her. Yes, she left many times, but never to the extent of having to ask teammates to look out for her. She was fine one or two days alone, but now...now she didn't know how long Kate would be gone.
Once she was sure Meg has fallen asleep, she made her way to her office. Serving herself a glass of red wine, she turned on her music and sat at her desk. Pulling out her "file" she laid it open on the table. Kate Aguilar – 30 read on the upper corner. Basically, it gave out her immediate information. She was born and raised in LA. Her parents moved from Mexico to LA three years before she was born. Has two deceased siblings, no immediate family in the states. She served with the marines from 18-25. During her time with the marines, she studied to become a doctor. At the age of 25, she did no re-enlisted and proceeded to move back to LA, where she works and goes to school. Does nursing and caregiving on the side to earn money. Never married, no kids of her own. "Damn, he couldn't give me at least one husband." Shutting the file, she finished her wine and shut the music off. Tomorrow was the beginning of her new life.
A/N: Lee Pace plays Emilian Black.