Rosa stood still as she watched the private jet land and then moved slowly turn toward her and her crew at the hanger. The jet stopped, and after a few minutes, the airstairs lowered. A Japanese man wearing an expensive suit took a few steps down. His hand remained on his hip as he looked around. He then looked at Rosa then went back into the plane.
A few minutes later, a man wearing sweats exited the jet. He held up his hands, which were bound above his head, to shield his eyes from the blinding sun. The man in the suit returned and cut the bonds. He then held out his hand as a gesture to leave.
Rosa started toward the jet, turned to Miguel, and motioned her head toward her brother. Miguel rushed over, and as soon as Alvaro stepped onto the ground, he wrapped his arm around him and rushed him away from the jet. The plane started back toward the runway and left as quickly as it came.
Alvaro approached Rosa and cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away her tears. He then wrapped his arms around her, and they embraced.
Rosa collected herself then looked into the distance where Roman and Prentiss were watching. They were both leaning against the car, wearing sunglasses, and with their arms crossed. They looked like twin figurines. Rosa gave a nod to Roman, who nodded in reply.
Hotch, Reid, JJ, and Morgan sat in the conference room of the police station going over the latest information of their UnSub. "The profile matches with Rico Moreno. He is known as the 'fixer' to the Cortez Cartel for over fifteen years," Morgan started. "We all know Reid and Charles had a run-in with him a decade ago. He is fierce, he won't go down without a fight."
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Hotch asked.
"He also grows tomatoes," Reid said. He then cleared his throat as he watched Hotch's eyebrows furrow. "Thanks to Garcia, we were able to link all of them to connections with Mexico or to the Cartel directly. If they served their purpose, Rico would have eliminated them."
"What about the keys?" JJ asked. "Why remove a key and then add a brand new one?"
"It obviously has some significance to him," Morgan said. "We may never know why he does it."
Hotch looked to the team. "Reid said that he had a plan."
"We are going to have to color a little outside the lines on this one," Reid said as he glanced at Hotch.
"Let's hear it," Hotch said.
Morgan and JJ exited the conference room and entered the bullpen of the police station. They went toward the kitchenette area and poured themselves some coffee. JJ looked to Morgan with raised eyebrows when she knew that the reporter Diego Perez was in earshot.
"Well, Hotch just said that we won't go to the Cortez compound," JJ said.
"Why is Hotch so scared? We just bust in there and show them our warrant and extradition and take Rico with us," Morgan countered.
"Hotch doesn't want to risk it. He knows they won't hand over one of their own to American federal agents." JJ then pulled out her ringing phone from her pocket and answered it on speaker. "What you got, Garcia?"
"I have news on Rico. I was able to locate his cell phone at an abandoned factory. I'm sending you the coordinates."
"Thanks, Baby Girl," Morgan said. "Let's go."
The two of them rushed out the front door as Diego picked up his phone and dialed. "They know where you are. But I know where you should go."
A few hours later, Hotch and Reid were in the SUV with Morgan and JJ following behind with an armored car between them. Hotch turned the corner then he looked to Reid. "Have you heard back from Prentiss? Has everything been worked out? I don't want to start a shoot-out with these people."
"Yes, Prentiss confirmed the plan was a go. There shouldn't be any problem," Reid replied.
Hotch pulled into the driveway and headed toward the gate. A man who made no effort to cover the handgun protruding from the top of his jeans approached the car. Hotch resisted the urge to present his badge as he lowered the window. "Hotchner and Reid here to speak with Cortez."
"Cortez is waiting for you," he said as he held out his hand toward the gate.
Hotch nodded, then raised his window. When the gate was open, he pulled forward and drove down the long and winding drive toward the large estate. He parked in front of the gate to the compound, and the armored truck and Morgan pulled over to the side."
Hotch and Reid exited the vehicle and headed to Morgan and JJ. They removed their weapons and handed them over.
"You're not going in there armed?" Morgan questioned.
"It was part of the deal," Hotch said.
"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with all of this. Are you sure you don't want us to go in there with you?" Morgan asked.
"The agreement was for the two of us. We shouldn't be that long. Just wait here." Hotch and Reid turned and headed toward the entrance and met with the man standing at the gate. They were quickly let in and escorted into the mansion. They were greeted with menacing stares from the men loitering the compound, who all unconsciously touched their weapons as they passed.
Miguel walked toward them with a grin. "Gentlemen, we have been expecting you. Please, come this way." He started down the hallway then opened the two French doors at the end of the hall. He walked into a large room that would be the envy of any man-cave.
A woman was relaxing on a white sofa on top of a large white fur draped along the side. "Are you the American agents Roman told me about?"
"Yes, I am SSA Aaron Hotchner, and this is Dr. Spencer Reid."
"You can call me Rosa." She swung her legs off the sofa and sat up straight. "I am glad we were able to come to a solution where Rico is concerned. We were able to subdue him for you; however, it was a bit of an undertaking. We almost had to use a tranquilizer dart to bring him down."
"I hope it wasn't too much trouble," Hotch said diplomatically.
Rosa waved her hand in dismissal, then rose to her feet and took a step toward Reid. "I remember you from all those years ago."
"Yes, you were sitting next to the person who we thought was Cortez," Reid said.
"Well, technically, he was Cortez then. That was my elder brother, Rodrigo. I took over a short time after."
"So, you just kept the name like the Dread Pirate Roberts?"
Rosa let out a laugh. "Yes, exactly. It is the name Cortez that holds power."
"Am I to understand that Rico is incapacitated?" Hotch asked, pulling the conversation back to their task at hand.
"Yes, he took a bit of a beating, and we did have to use medical intervention to subdue him. He is tied up in the back. Come follow me." She moved around the couch, past the pool table, and went to the door in the far corner where a man stood guard at the door. She nodded to the man, and he opened the door for her. "Gracias, Tomas."
Rico was tied to a chair in the middle of the room. His head was down, and his long black hair fell, covering his face. Rosa entered the room and walked around behind Rico as Hotch and Reid stood in the doorway.
"Will you need any assistance escorting him to your vehicle?" she asked as she nodded to Tomas.
Tomas moved toward Rico and pulled out his knife sliced through the strap around his wrist. Rico's fist flung back and collided directly with Tomas' face, instantly breaking his nose. Tomas dropped the knife and clutched his face as he stepped back in pain.
Rosa's eyes widened and backed up. She quickly scanned the empty room for a weapon but then cowered against the wall as Rico stood up and swung the chair still attached to his other wrist toward her.
Hotch's hand went to his empty hip, then looked down at the knife on the floor. He quickly lunged for it then collapsed on the floor as Rico broke the wooden chair against Hotch. Rico stomped on Hotch's hand, preventing him from stretching toward the knife. Rico bent down and picked it up, then swerved around and grabbed Rosa by the arm and held her in front of him as a shield.
Reid stood in the doorway with his hands out towards Rico. "You don't want to do this."
