"I want to thank everyone again for coming," Reid said as he stood up in front of the group. "I want to recap where we are for everyone and also fill in those who have just joined us." Everyone was crammed in Rossi's living room and looked up to Reid intently. "Now for a little backstory. As we know, Charles has been in hiding ever since someone tried to kill him. We were able to link that conspiracy back to the Cortez cartel. However, there was another attempt on our team who were not working for Cortez."

"That's when we were chased by the motorcycle gang," Alex chimed in.

"Major Grant, our inside man at the CIA, found that several of our old team's files have been scrubbed from their system. We even tried some back-hacks to try and locate them, thanks to Garcia," Reid said, motioning to her.

"And you know if I couldn't find them, then they are gone," Garcia said.

"We still don't know the motive behind it," Alex said. "From what we have been able to put together, they weren't anything extraordinary. They were typical cases we worked."

"While Major Grant was working on the search officially, we were able to use our latest development to our advantage," Reid said as he looked at Alex.

"With my pregnancy, I was able to shift to a desk job, and from there, I could focus on rooting the mole out."

One Year Ago…

Alex left Major Grant's office and was headed back to hers. She carried a few brown folders in her arms as she walked past people who would always look up as she walked past their doors. Then suddenly she heard a voice call out to her.

"Well, if it isn't Alex Marcus," Officer Koechner said.

"Hello, Robert," Alex said. "You're looking well."

Koechner grinned and rubbed a hand over his balding head. He then smoothed down the tie over his beer belly. "Some of us are just lucky, I guess."

"Yes," Alex said kindly.

Koechner looked from right to left, then took a step closer. "So, I heard that your team was taken away from you," he said with great sympathy. "I have room on my team. I could always use someone with your talents." His hand moved to her shoulder. "It's never fun to get a demotion, but I'm sure you will get past it," he said as his hand squeezed.

"I think there was a misunderstanding," she said. "I asked for the transfer."

"Oh," Koechner said, a bit startled.

"I wanted to take a break from fieldwork and be able to come home at somewhat decent hours for a while," Alex explained.

"Is everything okay at home? You and Spencer having problems?"

Alex let out a wry laugh. "No, we're good. I just thought they could use my talents with analytics for a while."

"What are you going to do for them?"

"Mostly translations. I am fluent in several languages and pretty well versed in many others. So I am sure my skills will be beneficial there. But I really appreciate the offer to join your team. I will keep that in mind if I am ever anxious to jump back into things." She smiled and went to her office.

Alex moved around her desk and dropped the folders down. She went to sit then stopped. She stared at the post-it notes taped to her monitor, and her eyebrows furrowed. She picked up one from the bottom of the screen and moved it to the side where she put it in the first place. She headed out of her office, crossed the hallway to the other office, and rapped on the doorframe.

A woman diligently writing looked up and removed her glasses. "Yes?"

"Were you by chance in my office today? Looking for something?"

"Uh, no, I wasn't." She put the glasses down on the desk. "I did see Brandon in there, though. Is everything alright?"

"Of course. I was more concerned that someone needed me," Alex said. "Thanks, Diane."

Alex returned to her office and mentally scanned over everything, searching for anything out of place. "Get control of yourself," she muttered. "This case is making you paranoid." She picked up the folders from her desk and headed to Brandon's office.

Brandon was standing in front of a bookshelf with a resource book open in his hands. He glanced up and closed it when he noticed Alex standing in his doorway. Alex always described him as looking like Superman but acting like Clark Kent.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

Alex entered the office and placed the folders down on the edge of his desk. "Diane mentioned that you might have been looking for me."

"Oh, right." He put the book down on the folders, and they all fell to the ground. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry."

Alex moved to help Brandon. "Oh, It's my fault," she said as she grabbed the book and watched as he glanced at the names on the files. They both stood up and exchanged the items in their hands. "No harm done."

"What was I saying? Oh right. I had a recording, and I wanted to have you listen and let me know what you are able to pick up from the voices in the background." He pulled up a file on his laptop and then pressed play.

Alex tilted her head as she listened to the recording. One person was speaking in the foreground, close to the mic, but two others were talking to each other some distance away. She then suddenly looked at Brandon with realization. "They're speaking different languages."

"That's what I thought. Every time one of them speaks, it's a different language. But why?"

"From what I heard, it is a simple conversation. Something about going to the market," Alex said. "You're right; that is very odd." Alex turned toward the door with the files in her hands. "Was there something else?"

"Not right now. I have the sound guys working on scrubbing it. I'll let you know if I hit a roadblock."

"You know where to find me."


"You put the files on the edge of the desk on purpose, didn't you?" JJ asked.

"Yeah. Everyone knows Brandon Shaw is a bit accident-prone. I used it to my advantage."

"What was special about the files?" Morgan questioned.

"When I met with Major Grant, the only person who knew what I was really doing, he set up a dummy case for me to work on. I was supposed to have clues to that case exposed to all of our suspects. If anyone looked into it, then they would be moved to the top of the list."

"So, with some help, we were able to narrow it down to three suspects," Reid started. "They had the right level clearance and access. Brandon Shaw, Robert Koechner, and Diane Dent. And now it's time for the next part of our plan."

"The embassy ball," Hotch said.

"Exactly," Reid said. "All three suspects will be there."

Rossi leaned forward. "A perfect time to root out the bad apple."