Chapter Twelve A meeting with Strauss

When Persephone had entered the BAU on Monday morning she noticed an older woman with blonde hair talking to Hotch. He did not seem happy to see her. The women on the other hand seemed to be very pleased with the situation. In fact, one could say she was enjoying the misery on Hotch's face. The women in question clapped her hands together when she spotted Persephone. Her boss singled her to follow them, so the Brit ascended the stairs and entered the Unit Chief's office.

"Agent Ambrose this is Section Chief Strauss." Hotch introduced.

So, this was the infamous Section Chief she'd heard so much about. Persephone profiled her easily. It was clear that she was here to assert her authority. Her steely eyes bored into her skull and her flaring nostrils made her feel nervous. She understood now, why Morgan called her a dragon.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, ma'am." Persephone greeted. Her tone was pointed but polite as she was aware she was speaking to her boss' boss. However, she was still curious as to why it had taken this long to meet her. It was nearly seven months since she had joined the team.

"Yes." Strauss drew out, knowing what was being hinted at. "It is… unfortunate that we have not had a chance to meet yet. I have been busy."

"Chief Strauss stopped by to see how you were doing Agent Ambrose." Hotch explained though his warning tone did not go amiss.

"Hotchner has been singing your praises Agent. It seems he is very happy with your work."

That was reassuring. Not that Persephone would expect Hotch to sell her out that easily. According to Spencer and her observations, her boss was very protective of his team. Once you earned a spot on his team then he would do his best to defend you. Persephone was pretty sure that she had to earn hers by now.

"Thank you, sir." Persephone indicated her head gratefully.

"If you would follow me to my office, Agent Ambrose. There are a few things I need to discuss with you in private."

Persephone looked to Hotch for a mixture of permission and reassurance. Her boss gave it with a nod. It wasn't like she could do anything to do here at the BAU and if she did try to do anything he would deal with it later. All the same, as he watched his agent go he went down to where Reid and Morgan were bickering. He ordered them to inform him the minute she was back. He then informed Rossi about the same thing. The Italian had the magical touch when it came to their boss.

Strauss led Persephone to her dragon's lair. Not only did she had the appearance of a dragon her demeanour made her scary. Yet from somewhere Persephone felt a surge of confidence though she was not put fully put at ease.

"I have spoken to your last superior. He seemed to be pretty eager to hear some updates about you."

"Agent Turner is a good man."

"He is. Though he does wonder why you left."

"I told him why I left. I am a profiler and there was a spot on the most precious team of profilers."

"Yes, well now that you have got that spot we need to have a chat."

Persephone had a feeling she knew where this was going. Prentiss had already talked to her about the meeting between her and Strauss when she joined the team. If Strauss thought that she would be her snitch she had another thing coming. She hadn't been on the team long but wasn't going to sell them out. She didn't fully trust them just yet, but she owed that small amount of loyalty.

"If I may be frank Ma'am." She asked for permission but didn't really care if she received it.

"Go on."

"If you had spoken to Disco, excuse me Agent Turner did speak to you then he would have informed you about my loyalty and my integrity. My word is my scared bond." Persephone warned evenly.

"You suspect that I would ask you to break that bond and dare to threaten me."

"With respect, it isn't a threat. It is a pre-emptive measure to establish an understanding."

"I see you have been speaking to Agent Prentiss."

"She told me you tried to force her to run to you like a child to a teacher."

"Watch your tone, Agent Ambrose."

"I apologise Ma'am."

"Agent Prentiss was a unique situation. It is also one I do not need to repeat. I have no ulterior motive other than to warn you."

She was telling the truth. That much Persephone was certain of. It didn't mean that she trusted Strauss fully though. She may have no ulterior this time but that didn't mean she never would. One thing was certain and that was that Strauss was a slippery customer. Persephone didn't like her, and she certainly didn't trust her. And why was Strauss warning her anyway?

"You're warning me. Why?"

"I don't like loose cannons. They tend to blow up in your face. While your reports have been glowing, I have also had some concerns. I hear you have a temper."

"Don't we all?"

"Quiet. But for you it seems to be limited to certain cases and when certain people are threatened. This is a dangerous job. I am not sure I can trust you to keep to the conduct becoming that of a Federal Agent. I will be keeping an eye on you."

"And?"

"And if I see something I don't like you won't be on the team much longer." Strauss threatened.

Logically Persephone knew there wasn't much Strauss could do without Hotch intervening. He wouldn't let the Section Chief fire one of his agents with his say so. That didn't reassure her. There was something that Strauss disliked about her. It was clear as the threatening tone for her voice.

"Is that everything?"

"No, it isn't. I didn't just speak to Washington. I spoke to the London Office of Interpol. I managed to get through Agent Gibson. Believe me, she was quite helpful."

"That sounds rather unlike her." Persephone remembered her old chief. She wasn't the kind of women that you forgot about.

"What can I say? I have a way with people. They like me."

Persephone had to hold herself to stop herself from laughing. The only way Strauss was with people was to rub them up the wrong way. It seemed that anyone around her was in a perpetual state of disarray and annoyance. If she knew Gibson and she did, the women would quickly tell her to piss off.

"She told me about The One That Got Away."

There was no way. There was no way on earth that Strauss would know about that. Gibson may not see eye to eye with her, but she wouldn't share that information with Strauss of all people. Even if it were allowed Gibson at least had some morals. She was as tight-lipped as they came.

Then how did she know to mention it? It didn't make sense. Persephone tried not to show the surprise on her face as she called the women's bluff with irrefutable confidence.

"Do you film recommendations from all your agent's past employers or am I just special like that?" Persephone asked. She dared Strauss to try and lie again. Persephone was adamant she had no idea of the true meaning of the words.

"Are you telling me that you don't know what that means?"

"I'm not trying to tell you anything, Ma'am. I just don't really know what you are hitting at."

"Mmm." Strauss considered Persephone's answer and her behaviour. She was trying to root out the lie and determine the truth in her statement. But Persephone wasn't considered a good poker player for nothing and Strauss wasn't a profiler. She brought it, hook, line, and sinker.

"All right Agent Ambrose you're dismissed. That's it."

Persephone got up to leave. She got as far as the door before Strauss' voice made her stop.

"For now."

So, Strauss wasn't fully done with her yet. Well, Persephone was. Next time Strauss decided to speak to her, she would be ready. If Strauss was asking questions about her past work history there must be a reason. She wasn't one to waste time on idle chatter.

Persephone wasn't surprised when she was cornered by Spencer as soon as she stepped into the bullpen. She was equally unsurprised when she was joined by the other members of the team. She apricated their concerns but it was entirely necessary.

"Percy!" Spen greeted "Hotch said Strauss pulled you into her office." The young genius began searching his friend for any signs of distress. Finding no obvious sign to indicate she was anything but ok, he gave a sigh of relief.

"She did." Persephone confirmed. "And as you can see, I have survived the dragon and her lair."

"What did she have to talk to you about?" Prentiss questioned.

"Did she threaten you? Because if she did, I'll-" Morgan began.

"Relax Rambo. She'd didn't pull a Prentiss on me." Persephone stopped him before he said something that would get him in trouble. His protectiveness was starting to grate on her nerves. It wasn't like she was completely helpless herself.

"What did she have to talk to you about then?" JJ repeated Emily's question. Of course, her lack of an answer had not gone unnoticed. Nothing ever did. Not for the first time did she question her sanity for staying around a group of the world's best profilers.

"She just wanted to warn me to keep to the straight and narrow." Persephone informed them.

"Why did she do that? You've followed the handbook to the letter." Reid questioned. If anything, she had been too stringent when it came to the rules. Persephone would be the last person he'd expected to be warned about her conduct. It had taken her four months to stop calling Hotch sir all the time for Pete's sake.

"She seems to think I will lose my temper if a case gets too personal."

"Maybe she's worried after what happened with Greenaway." Prentiss suggested. Persephone saw her fellow team members exchange knowing glances. She was missing something here. Whatever it was, it was big and before her time.

"Greenaway?"

A silent conversation happened between the group. Persephone watched as they concluded. Reid was the one that spoke.

"Err I'll tell you later. I think Hotch wants to speak to you."

Reid pointed to the balcony. Persephone looked where he was pointing and saw that Hotch had been watching them for a few minutes. When she met his gaze, he indicated his head towards his office. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

She nodded. Hotch returned it and smiled. After the last time he called her into his office he wanted to reassure her that she wasn't in trouble. This had been like when Reid had first joined the team and has been convinced that anytime he had been called in he was in going to be fired.

"Ambrose. I see that you back from meeting Chief Strauss."

"Yes sir." Persephone agreed.

"Come to my office. We can talk about what happened."

Persephone obeyed. She knew that the talk would be just that, but the feeling of nervousness was not something she could overcome. Hotch still made her apprehensive. Oh, she was sure Hotch wouldn't hurt her. Even if he didn't care for her, he wouldn't risk his job or the BAU. But that didn't mean she wasn't a little scared.

"So, you've met Strauss." Hotch probed. He had been worried about his agent since Strauss had asked to speak to her alone. He knew from experience how disheartening a meeting with the Section Chief could be. It always struck him as strange that how much she seemed to hate his team despite running the section it was a part of.

"Yes. It was an experience."

That was one way to put it. Talking to Strauss was either something you hated or something you loved. There was no in-between. Usually, for Hotch's team, it was more towards the negative side than the positive.

"And not one you hope to repeat." Hotch assumed. While it seemed that Persephone had come out of it relatively unharmed it was also clear that the meeting had been less than pleasant.

"Not really, no." As far as Persephone was concerned if she ever spoke to Strauss again it would be too soon.

"I trust that she didn't manage to scare you off."

Persephone shook her head vehemently. It would take more than Strauss to frighten her off. She may be a dragon, but Persephone had experience dealing with dragons. She had a feeling that Strauss' bark was much worse than her bite. The words of her team members echoed in her head. No. She wasn't worried that Strauss would be able to fire her. While this was a political race and Strauss was just one person. She was more worried about what would happen if she started digging into her past.

"She didn't. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I wouldn't try to." Hotch spotted the insecurity in her voice and was quick to reassure her. Persephone thanked him silently.

"What did she want to discuss with you?" Hotch queried. While it was clear that Persephone was all right, he still needed to know what had been discussed. He couldn't stop a threat he didn't know about.

"Well firstly sir, she seems to have concerns about my conduct." She stated.

Now it was Hotch's time to be confused. What kind of concerns could she have about Ambrose's conduct? It made no sense whatsoever. The only time had had to reprimand her was for a minor transgression. Even then she hadn't been put completely been in the wrong.

"What concerns?"

"Apparently I am a bit of a 'loose cannon' and that may 'blow up' if the case gets too personal."

"Well officially? You should pay head. Unofficially? You shouldn't put much stock in what she said. I have no concerns so neither should you."

"Thank-you. There's something else sir."

"Oh?" Hotch questioned, "What's that?"

"She hinted that she knew something about an old case of mine. I knew that she didn't though."

Hotch raised his eyebrows at the new information. Strauss always had a reason for doing what she did. If she had questioned Persephone about a case of hers then it must mean something. Considering how rattled Persephone was about it, the case must have been a major one.

"That's interesting. What case is that?" He asked. Persephone didn't answer immediately. She seemed to be having some sort of internal conflict with herself. Just as Hotch was going to ask again, Persephone spoke.

"If it's all the same to you, sir, I want to keep that to myself." She faltered. Her gaze didn't meet Hotch's gaze. The nervousness in her voice spoke volumes. Hotch did not doubt that if he ordered to share the details of the case she would do just that. The only issue was, he didn't feel comfortable doing that.

"Persephone is everything all right?" His agent seemed preoccupied. The meeting with Strauss had bothered her more than she was letting on. You didn't need to be a profiler to tell that there was something wrong.

"Yes sir. Why?"

Hotch thought they had got past this. She has fallen back on the formality she had used when had first joined the team. It concerned Hotch.

"Because that's the fifth time you have called me sir. I thought that you'd stopped calling me that all the time. And now you are deciding to withhold details about a case my boss is interrogating you about"

"I'm sorry sir – I mean Hotch."

"It's all right Ambrose. Just tell me why Strauss is interrogating you and why you are unwilling to tell me about it."

"I wouldn't say she interrogated me. And it's just, I want to leave the past in the past."

The past was better left just there. Nothing good would ever come from dredging things like that up again. All it would do would open old wounds. Those wounds had long since healed and Persephone did not want to experience them again.

"In my experience anyone whoever said that was in some kind of trouble. Are you in some kind of trouble?" Hotch asked softly. The last time one of his agents hid something like this from him, the agent had nearly died. The time before that the agent had killed someone. He wasn't going to make that mistake with her.

"No. Everything's fine. I think Chief Strauss is just curious."

Hotch was satisfied with that answer. She didn't seem to be in any danger though he doubted Strauss was just curious. Maybe part of her was, but there was some deeper going on at play. However, he was going to trust that whatever it was, Persephone could handle it herself. He wasn't happy about it, but he couldn't force her (well technically he could but he wouldn't). If Strauss had not been able to get the information then Hotch probably would not have much success anyway.

"If anything changes, let me know." Hotch ordered.

"Of course."

Persephone saw the order for what it was. Hotch wasn't letting this drop completely. He knew there was something more than what she was suggesting. However, he was going to let her handle it herself first. But if she was struggling or he thought she was in over her head; they would discuss this again.

"Then you're dismissed." He replied knowing that Persephone would still need to a direct dismissal before she left. The ginger was getting better at feeling at ease around him. There were still things that she wasn't comfortable doing just yet. One of them was risking walking away when she was still being addressed.

Persephone left Hotch's office and let out the breath she didn't realise she was holding. There was no use fretting over the past right now. So far it seemed that Strauss' curiosity was put at bay, for now at least anyhow. While she did briefly wonder how her old boss was she saw little point in dwelling about her. There were other things that she needed to do.

"Did Hotch have anything to say about your meeting?" Prentiss asked as she joined them in the bullpen.

"Much of what you would expect. He did share your opioid about Chief Strauss' conclusions though. He doesn't think there is much to worry about."

"There you see. I told you there was nothing to worry about." JJ said triumphantly. She gave the other agents a look that said 'I told you so'.

"We never said you were wrong JJ." Morgan pointed out. "Just that we know from experience what Strauss is like."

Clearly, they had been discussing what her while she had been in Hotch's office. Persephone was still annoyed at that even if she wasn't completely surprised by it. It was a quiet day in the BAU (though of course, Persephone would never say that aloud FBI Agents being as superstitious as doctors when it came to the q word) which meant they had little else to talk about or do.

"Well, everything is going to be all right. I mean, I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me but you've said yourselves that she doesn't like anyone: excluding Italiano of course."

"I think being hated by Strauss only consolidates our opinion that you should be here." Reid commented dryly. There was a couple of chuckles at that. It did seem that any agents Strauss liked, bar Rossi, were disliked by the team as a whole. Agent Lester was particularly popular with their Section Chief though he hadn't been seen since the bullying fiasco.

"And if she's warned you about conduct you're practising Christened into our unconventional family." Morgan agreed.

"I'll see you guys later. I have a mountain of paperwork to get through." JJ mentioned.

"Paperwork?" Persephone asked a little concerned. "Do we have a case coming up?"

It wasn't that she would hate a case to happen. They were far more interesting than filling out statements and reports. However, they had had quite an eventful week and it had been pretty exhausting. The weekend at Rossi's had helped but she wasn't sure if she could deal with being sent out straight away.

"Nothing has crossed my desk. The team has been placed on the reserve list so if there is anything that comes by it'll go upstairs first. So unless a team needs an assist, we're at Quantico for a few days a least."

The team muttered their thanks as JJ left to do some work. While Hotch's team was considered the main one and had the highest solve rate in the BAU, they were not the only team. In fact, there were five teams all in all. They didn't tend to mix much outside of work but the agents on the other units were both highly competent and good people. It meant that the main team got time to relax and that they had time to unwind.

"I'm glad everything's all right Ambrose. I know from personal experience how Strauss can be." Prentiss admitted.

"That reminds me. Spen." Persephone turned to face Reid. "What happened with Greenaway? You never said."

Reid sighed. He had been expecting her to bring that up. It wasn't that he didn't or couldn't share the story with Persephone. It was just a little hard to explain.

"Or not..." Persephone added seeing the hesitation in Reid's voice.

"No, it's fine. Greenaway, Elle Greenaway, was an agent here. It was a few years ago. She got attacked on a case and nearly died. Once she was back she struggled with the trauma until she snapped and shot a guy."

Oh. That was worse than she had expected. It would make sense that Strauss would be a little concerned if that was the case. However, it didn't mean that she was right to voice those concerns. It didn't mean she was right about her either.

"Wow." That was all that Persephone could say. How much had she missed out on thus far? Of course, it made sense that the team had had their adventures and instances before she had joined. There had been agents that were part of the team before her and left before her as well. Her place on the team was here due to concerns over the team's efficacy since Agent Gideon left them.

"Yeah well, know you get why Strauss warned you so I wouldn't take it personally," Reid assured.

"I know you worry about being fired but Strauss has no real power over that unless you did something majorly wrong," Morgan added. He gave Persephone a pointed look. If anyone had to worry about their conduct it was him and not her. Just like Rossi had a way with Strauss he had a way of irritating the hell out of her. He was much more of a throne in the Section Chief's side then the Brit ever could.

"Thanks, guys." Persephone smiled.

Erin Strauss was an annoying pain in the backside but she was harmless most of the time. Of course, there were times that she could be a little more dangerous. Mostly, she was a flea in the team's ear. When things got a little tricker Rossi was usually a great help in bridging the gap between reality and Section Chief's demands.

If things ever did escalate Persephone could call on her team to help. It might take a bit of explaining which she hoped to avoid but the safety net was there just in case. She wasn't going to bother them with her every problem. They would stand by her if Strauss ever came after her. For now, though she was perfectly content with leaving things alone. It wasn't a problem yet and she doubted it ever would.

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