Chapter 15: Night Boat to Tangier
A week had passed by since the failed attempt to capture Abu, and the team was no closer to finding the prime suspect. Arizona suspected some members of the team, namely Callie, blamed her for him getting away, but she stood by her decision. She remembered the images on the monitors in the back of the surveillance van and the feeling of dread that had engulfed her, as Abu had punched Callie in the face. They had watched in horror in what seemed like slow motion as the FBI agent had lost her footing and tumbled down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom. Arizona had feared the brunette had hit her head on the way down and so knew her responsibilities as the officer in charge was to ensure the safety of her team and so stood by her decision to get Agent Sloan to check on Callie, even if it meant those lost seconds gave Abu an opportunity to get away. Arizona would never have been able to live with herself if something had happened to Callie, and while the agent was angry with her, the blonde knew if the situation happened again, she would do exactly the same thing.
After their talk by the river when the two ex-lovers had laid everything out in the open, they had barely spoken. Any interactions had been short and businesslike, neither of them really knowing how to react around each other. Callie was still sulking about being put on light duties whilst she recovered from her fall. The Latina's body was covered in bruises and while she would never have admitted it herself, Arizona knew she needed time to heal. Zaynab had been taken into safety following her decision to work with the team to try and capture her husband. Arizona and Addison had grilled the young woman for hours to see if she had any idea at all as to the possible location of Abu, but it was clear she knew nothing. She was another victim in many ways and was now facing the prospect of bringing up her child without a father. Zaynab returned to Cadiz with her sister Ana and the local authorities moved the family to a safe house so that Abu and his cell could not find them.
As the days edged by, Arizona did all she could to keep the morale levels up amongst the team. They were all exhausted from chasing leads that ended up being wild goose chases. Their emotions were shot to pieces when they would think they were onto something, only to feel completely deflated when it was a dead end. She would report back to Webber and Bailey daily on their progress, or lack of, and worried about how her performance was being perceived back in the corridors of Langley, not to mention the White House. Sometimes at night when she was awake unable to sleep, she would see the faces and names of Abu's victims: Brady Williams aged 9 and his mother Lauren who had been in the Nike shop buying a new football with money he had been given for his birthday the day before; Tucker and Wendy Moore, a couple who had been married 55 years who were in the travel agents planning a cruise and of course Gabriella Yang, the President's niece.
Bailey had offered to send more resources, but Arizona had suggested that resource was better used monitoring the various channels ISIS were known to use to communicate with their cells. All private airports were being monitored and it was believed that the suspect was still in the local area whilst they planned an evacuation to get him out of Spain. They just needed one loose email and they would pick up the scent again.
The team had to wait another four days before that scent came. The local Civil Guard had received a tip-off of suspicious activity at a warehouse near the Guadalquivir river. An informant who worked as a security guard had reported seeing a number of unfamiliar faces coming and going late at night. A check on the license plate of one of the vans spotted by the guard had been linked back to a known member of ISIS that was on the CIA's wanted list for questioning about a botched terrorist attack in Dallas back in 2017. With little else to go on, Arizona had decided it was worth checking out and mobilised the SWAT team and they were on their way down to the warehouse hoping it was not another false lead.
As the team sat in silence in the back of the van Arizona could not stop herself from glancing over at Callie. It had been nine days since her fall and she had been allowed back into the field, much to the brunette's delight. The awkwardness and frostiness that had initially been there after their big talk had been slowly melting, and Arizona could not prevent a small smile form on her face when she realised that Callie's eyes were already pointing in her direction. Having seemingly forgiven the blonde for putting her on desk duties, the FBI Agent had brought her coffee and donuts one afternoon after the blonde had finished a call with Washington.
"Knock, knock," she had said as she had entered the boardroom. "I umm figured you could probably do with one of these," she said, holding out the coffee cup and a small takeaway box containing a sugary treat.
Arizona had smiled warmly. "Oh my god… are they donuts?" she asked excitedly. Sugar and coffee were exactly what she needed now.
"I umm didn't know if you were still a fan of the jam ones, so I got a chocolate one as well." Callie had said as she had placed the coffee and donuts down on the table near the blonde.
"Oh, you know me...I'm a traditionalist, so it's jam all the way." Arizona held the brunette's gaze a little longer than normal as she felt relieved that they seemed to have moved past the animosity that had started to become apparent to the rest of the team.
Callie gave a small smile back. "Well, I'll leave you to enjoy it in peace" as she reached for the door handle.
"Stay!" Arizona had blurted out as she felt the disappointment hit her as she watched the FBI Agent make to leave the boardroom. "I mean, only if you want to," she added hurriedly. "This chocolate donut has your name all over it," Arizona had replied, raising her eyebrow in a hopeful way. She was exhausted and spending time with Callie was just what she needed right now. She had hoped that if nothing else they might be able to salvage a friendship out of this.
Callie had hesitated momentarily before accepting the invitation and she took a seat next to the CIA officer. The ex-lovers had smiled in unison as they bit into the donuts. "Ohh, that's good!" Callie had said with her mouth full before going back in for another mouthful.
Arizona had chuckled as she had watched the brunette close her eyes as she enjoyed the sugary treat. "Not to sound like Homer here, but I frigging love donuts!" the blonde said as she took a bite, causing the jam to burst free from its hollow hole.
Callie looked over towards the blonde and noticed some of the red jam on her chin and without thinking she had leaned over and gently brushed it off with her thumb, freezing as she made contact with those baby blue eyes. The last few weeks had been a rollercoaster ride and yet in the simple gesture, the world seemed to stop around them. For a split second, it had felt like the past six years had never happened, like they were back in their room at the training camp, just the two of them, discussing their plans to rid the world of all evil people.
They had spent nearly an hour reminiscing about their time at training camp, their instructors, fellow classmates, and Arizona was thoroughly enjoying being alone with Callie without the constant tension that had hung over them since the first day they had set eyes on each other again.
"Oh my god...do you remember that run we had done in the pouring rain?" Callie had asked.
"You mean the one where you fell face-first into a massive puddle?" Arizona had laughed. "How could I forget! I...umm...have a photo from that day at home," the blonde had admitted, generating a surprised look from Callie.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I was actually looking at it the other day. You were caked in mud," Arizona started chuckling again.
Callie thought back to Arizona's words by the river. I've never stopped thinking about you, caring about you. She was starting to believe the blonde….believe that while she had married Tom, she had always had feelings for her.
"You know I fell because I tripped over a branch that I didn't see because I was too busy looking behind me to make sure I finished before Tom?" Callie confessed. "There was no way in hell I was letting him overtake me and so even after I ate the ground, I jumped straight back up and carried on as fast as I could."
"I never knew that!" The blonde said softly.
The brunette held the blonde's gaze for a moment before looking away. "I'm not gonna lie...it killed me a little bit when I heard you had married him." Callie thought back to the day she had heard the news from one of their classmates. She had dragged Mark out that night and sunk far too many tequilas before she had found someone to sink her tongue into.
Embarrassed at how much she was sharing with the blonde, Callie had quickly jumped up from her seat and made some excuse about needing to leave. Arizona was left in the boardroom alone with her thoughts...thoughts and regrets on what could have been.
###
When they had arrived at the warehouse the Marine SWAT team under the command of Alex Karev had done a sweep of the area and the small fishing boat that was tied up by the side of the river.
Arizona, Ben, and Lexie were in the back of the van again monitoring the situation when Alex confirmed that the boat appeared to be carrying a number of military-grade weapons. Shit! The tip-off had been correct. Now they just had to wait it out, wait for Abu to turn up and they would have him.
Four hours later, a little after 2 am, Lexie had spotted a black SUV approaching the warehouse via the satellite surveillance they had ordered on the surrounding area. "Heads up everyone. Looks like we have visitors" Arizona had radioed to the team as they watched the car travel down the gravel road towards them. "Looks like we have three, I repeat three suspects in the car, which we presume will be armed."
Callie, Mark, Cormac, and Carina were equipped with body armour and located around the four corners of the warehouse. Two of the SWAT team were hiding in the boat, with the remaining three officers on rooftops where they would be able to easily get a shot if necessary.
"Remember guys, as much as we want Ahmed alive, if it's a choice between you or him, the order is to shoot. I can live with going home with his body in a bag, but I don't want it to be one of yours!"
Arizona hated how nervous she felt knowing that Callie was out there, in danger again. Her adrenaline was already sky high, but now she had the added stress of someone she cared deeply about being in the line of fire.
Arizona's training had taught her to remain calm in these situations as the car pulled up outside the warehouse and one-by-one the passengers started exiting the vehicle. The team was to wait for Arizona to confirm that Abu Ahmed was one of the targets before moving in.
Her heart rate increased as she spotted Abu climbing out from the back of the car "Eyes on Ahmed. I can confirm the target is on the move. Everyone stays in position until I give the order."
Callie was hiding behind a small outbuilding as she heard an exchange of words in Arabic. The targets were too far away for her to make out exactly what they said, but she picked up the words Tangier as the three suspects came into view. She had her weapon drawn and glanced to the side where Mark was hiding. Come on Arizona...what was she waiting for? Callie was determined that he wasn't getting away this time.
As if reading her mind, Arizona's voice came into her earpiece "OK move in. Go!"
"FBI. Put your hands up!" Callie shouted as she jumped up from her position and pointed her gun towards the three men. In an instant shots were fired from the suspects as they shouted in Arabic and Mark pressed the trigger on his gun hitting one of the men square in the chest. Callie ducked down as another round of bullets headed in her direction and she fired off a round, hitting one of the group as they ran to take cover. "One suspect down, one wounded" She yelled down her mic.
Callie scanned the area searching for the main target as she heard shots coming from above as one of the SWAT team took aim at the suspect who Callie had hit. "suspect two down" Jo Wilson's voice came over the radio.
"Where's Abu?" Arizona yelled just as she spotted Ahmed walk calmly out into the open, hands above his head.
"FBI. Get on the floor" Mark yelled as he pointed his gun at the suspect. Ahmed ignored the instruction and started chanting "Allahu akbar," over and over. God is Great. Callie's blood ran cold as she spotted the explosive vest. "He's wearing an explosive vest," Callie yelled
"Hold fire! Repeat, hold your fire!" Arizona yelled. It was a trap, he wanted them to shoot him so the bomb would explode. "Suspect is armed with a bomb. Do not shoot"
"Tawakilt ala Allah," Abu chanted "I put my trust in God" just as his arm started moving up towards his chest and the detonator. If he was going to die, he intended on taking the Americans with him.
Sergeant Alex Karev had other ideas "Oh no you don't you son of a bitch... you are coming back home with us!" as he pressed the trigger on his gun, the bullet hitting Abu's shoulder, the force knocking him off his feet onto the floor. The SWAT team was on him before he had a chance to recover and pull the cord that would have detonated the bomb.
"Suspect is alive and neutralised, repeat, suspect is alive." Callie reported down the radio as she walked over to the young Algerian who had wanted to die to become a martyr. As she looked down at Abu she saw a young scared man whose hate-fueled actions had caused so much pain to so many people. To the families of the victims of the Culver City bomb, to President Yang and Carina DeLuca.
###
Arizona had just climbed out of the shower and pulled on her PJs when her phone started buzzing. She let out a groan at the thought of another conversation having spent three hours grilling Abu Ahmed before reporting back to Washington.
She checked her phone to see who was calling and smiled when she saw Addison's name on the screen. She hit answer and put the Interpol Director on speaker as she rubbed moisturiser on her skin.
"Hey Addie. How's things? How's Carina?" Arizona asked as she thought of the young Italian. They had all watched in horror as the Interpol agent had stood over Ahmed's body pointing her gun at the man responsible for her brother's death. Thankfully Carina had managed to control her emotions, but for one horrible moment, Arizona feared she might have pulled the trigger.
"She's as good as she can be considering. I think she was going on adrenalin these last few days. She's on her way back to Italy for the funeral," the redhead replied.
"Anyway, how are you?" Addison asked. "I'm surprised I got hold of you! I figured you'd be out celebrating."
"Ha, I wish! With great responsibility comes great paperwork! I've literally just finished filling all the reports," Arizona explained to her counterpart.
"Well if you've finished it, then what's stopping you?" Addison pressed her friend.
Arizona knew the answer to that question. Callie Torres. Aside from work, the brunette had been avoiding her since it had all come out during their talk by the river. The FBI agent had of course been professional, but there had been no more coffees and shared donuts or trips down memory lane. Arizona had for the most part put everything to the back of her mind, but now their work had been done and Abu Ahmed was in custody awaiting extradition to the US, she had no more distractions.
Arizona had told Callie everything there was to tell. She had explained why she had broken her promise the day of graduation and the brunette was dealing with that news by avoiding her. Arizona was not sure what she expected the FBI Agent to do exactly, but she had hoped for more than this. At a minimum, she had hoped they could be civil to each other, maybe even have some sort of friendship. She refused to think beyond that. She simply could not. Could not get her hopes up for more than that.
Arizona understood that to Callie it had looked like she had chosen the 'easy' life over a life with her. She thought back to the moment her mom had broken down and told her daughter that Daniel was dying. They are words no child wants to hear, and Arizona's heart had literally stopped at the news. She had been in shock as Barbara had stood there talking about the various treatments they had tried, about the pain her dad was in, about it spreading and being out of control. She hadn't really been listening, she was still trying to process the headline news that her dad was dying. As she snapped out of her thoughts and registered the agony written all over her mom's face, she had made a snap decision there and then to wait. To not say anything that day, but before she had had a chance to speak to Callie, to warn her from saying anything, the brunette had practically ran over to them and Arizona had panicked.
As they had stood in the grounds on that warm day in June waiting for the graduation to start, that lie had resurfaced, and instead of correcting her mum, of introducing Callie as her partner….Arizona had stood in silence having decided to go along with it.
It had been a decision she regretted instantly. A decision she had tried to explain to Callie in her letters, and when Callie had ignored her calls and text messages, it was a decision that she ultimately ended up sticking with. When she had received Callie's note and the unopened letters, she had reluctantly accepted it was over and so agreed to go on a date with Tom.
She should not have married Tom. She knew that now, but hindsight is a marvelous thing, and at the time she had thought she could make it work. They were friends so that was a start, but it had not been enough for either of them. Tom had wanted a wife that Arizona was not, correction, did not, want to be. And Arizona….well Arizona had never really been able to stop comparing Tom to Callie. Tom could be funny, but Callie was funnier. He was smart, but Callie was smarter. At the start, he had been attentive, but Callie had always known exactly what the blonde had been thinking or feeling. And there was no competition when it came to how Callie had made Arizona feel in the bedroom.
As she thought of the brunette she pictured how she was probably at that very moment dancing with some hot woman, she let out a deflated sigh.
"It's Torres, isn't it?" Addison's voice from the phone pulled Arizona out of her thoughts. Her hesitation answering the redhead's question for her.
"Talk Robbins!" Addison barked down the phone. "Use your words," her friend joked, generating a small smile on the blonde face.
"Yes, it's Callie. I..I just didn't want to spend the evening watching her making out with some Spanish senorita," Arizona admitted as she closed her eyes to try and banish the thought.
"So, go tell her that!"
"What?" Arizona replied horrified at the suggestion.
"You heard me!" Addison replied in a determined tone.
"Addison..I really don't think…," Arizona started to speak, but her friend interrupted.
"If you are about to tell me you don't think it's a good idea...then you are not as smart as I thought you were. From how I see it…it's a brilliant idea. It's the only idea you should be thinking about now. Seriously Arizona, you really don't wanna let this opportunity pass you by...again!."
Arizona opened her mouth to argue again that Addison was wrong, but closed it without saying a word because maybe there was some truth in what she was saying.
"I don't know Addie. I mean, I explained everything to her, what happened with my dad, why I broke my promise, and she...well she hasn't exactly given me any indication, that she...you know…" Arizona paused as she struggled to find the right words.
"That she what?" Addison picked up. "That she likes you? Why would she do that?"
Arizona was confused at the question "I..I don't get what you mean?"
Addison let out an audible sigh. She loved her friend, but sometimes she did question her wisdom when it came to matters of the heart. "Look, I've seen it, the way she looks at you, hell we've all seen it!"
Arizona felt her cheeks blush slightly at the thought that the whole team had been witness to glances that had been exchanged. And that they might have picked up on the history she shared with Callie.
"And you told me just the other day that you have never stopped having feelings for her, but all you have done is talk about the past," the redhead continued, not giving Arizona a chance to back out.
"Because I haven't seen her for nearly seven years!"
"I know. And the last time you saw her you hurt her. You had your reasons, and they were valid ones, but all you have done is talk about what happened, not what you want to happen in the future!"
Arizona absorbed what Addison was saying. She slowly started to realise she had gone about it the wrong way.
"Robbins, from what you've told me Callie hated you. Then you turn up as her boss and everything you went through comes back up to the surface. Why on earth would she open herself up to possibly more pain. You married Tom for God's sake...you need to tell her first. You need to tell her how you feel now about her. Come on….as far as I see you have nothing to lose!"
Arizona's heart was beating so fast she thought it might break through her ribcage.
"But what if she says no?" Arizona asked nervously as she for the first time started considering doing what Addison had suggested.
"Then you will have done all you can. She'll know how you feel about her, which right now...as she is probably dancing with some hot Spaniard as you said earlier...she doesn't. Go talk to her Arizona. Give her the facts this time. Make sure she hears exactly what you have to say...exactly how you feel!"
"Fuck it!" Arizona had said out loud as she made a decision to do something very un-Arizona-like. She was going to act on her gut. She was going to follow her heart rather than her head. Addison was right. She had not fought hard enough before. She had not made Callie listen last time round, she did not want to make the same mistake twice.
