THIRD PERSON POV
Days passed after Spencer, Garcia, and Hotch had discovered the truth about Caroline Mays. And now Hotch was seated in front of Daniel, and a female CIA operative overseeing the case.
"You think that Caroline Mays is somehow involved with this?" the skinny woman asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"Agent Wright," Hotch said, "We have one of the best technical analysts who confirmed that this 'Caroline Mays' didn't exist until two years ago. Other than a small apartment, that I can assure you was just for show, there is no records of her… She was getting transactions from an offshore bank account every month. Given her recent disappearance, I believe it is safe to say that she is very much involved with this." Hotch handed the woman the file, filled with images of Caroline Mays. "Right now, my team is running her face through VICAP and INTERPOL, but we haven't gotten any hits yet."
Agent Wright looked at Hotch before sighing. She flipped through the file; her mind filled with thoughts that only grew more urgent the more she saw.
"No information is free," she said, shutting the folder. "Am I correct in assuming that your team wants to help with this investigation?"
"We believe that we have assets that will be able to aid the investigation and find Danielle and her sister."
"I believe there is a small conflict of interest, however?" Agent Wright said. "You all know Danielle, and Dr. Reid is – or was – in a romantic relationship with her."
"My team, with the exception of Dr. Reid, didn't know her well. I will pull Dr. Reid from the field, and he will only be working with our analyst," Hotch said, knowing that Spencer would fight him on that.
"I'm not sure about this," Agent Wright said.
"Just give them the files," Daniel said. At Agent Wright's look he elaborated. "This has gone on long enough. We have had years to prevent this. What's a little more help?"
"Agent Ortega," Agent Wright said, reprimanding the man next to her, "you know that this case is highly sensitive and highly classified."
"Respectfully," Daniel said, frustrated, "I don't believe the CIA has ever had Danielle's best interest at hand."
"Agent Ortega, you forget your place," Agent Wright said.
"So, you're going to deny it?"
"Deny what?" Hotch asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. Both of the other agents' eyes fell to him.
"Agent Ortega, please leave and close the door." Daniel did as Agent Wright said. The woman sighed and looked at Hotch.
"Agent Hotchner, what I am about to disclose is highly classified," she said. "When Nicolas Smirnov escaped from prison, the CIA chose to let him get a head start. There is evidence that indicated that Nicolas was merely the front for the cartel. This cartel has ties to multiple terrorist organizations. We have no idea on the identity of this individual, so we believed by letting him get ahead, we would find this mystery person."
"But that obviously didn't work out as you thought," Hotch said.
"We misjudged how desperate Nicolas was to get back at Danielle, however, we do believe that he has made contact with his boss…"
"Have you identified the boss?"
"No, unfortunately, we underestimated their abilities."
"So, now Danielle is in the hands of these people," Hotch said. "And you have no idea how to find them?"
"Yes," Agent Wright said, "and that is why I am going to let your team assist."
"Thank you, ma'am," Hotch said, getting up from his seat. "I do have one more question."
"Yes?"
"Why is Nicolas so desperate to get back at Danielle? I know she was imperative to busting him, but most criminals try to flee to countries without an extradition treaty once they escape."
"That is, perhaps, the most confidential part of this, so much so, that it will not be in the files we send over, because as far as the world is concerned, it never happened," Agent Wright said, standing to meet Hotch's eyes. "We sent Danielle in on a deep cover to find out more about him."
"She got in the ring?" Hotch said, his tone concerned.
"No," Agent Wright said, "we knew from her initial investigation that he had tried to get her into the trafficking ring, but she proved herself too intelligent to fall for his tricks… from our investigation into his life, we knew that he was… intrigued by her, to say the least. So, she went undercover for us as his… significant other."
Hotch felt his gut tighten.
"You sent a civilian to investigate and seduce a criminal with ties to a terrorist organization?"
"It was a decision made much higher up that either of us, Agent Hotchner," Agent Wright said. "But yes."
"How long was she under cover for?" Hotch said, the pieces of the puzzle finally lining up.
"A year and a half," Agent Wright said. "She pulled out once she got the documents maintaining that he has involved in far more than just human trafficking."
"So, he took her for what? Revenge? Closure?" Hotch asked.
"We believe that it may be a combination of revenge and a need for safe passage out of the US," Agent Wright said.
"How do you figure that out?"
"Her sister was found this morning," Agent Wright said. "She was found outside of the same hospital where her son and husband were. There was a tape tucked into her pants, and it has video of Danielle listing the demands of Nicolas, and whoever else in involved with this. She is still unconscious, so we can't question her yet."
"We'll need to see that tape," Hotch said, "we can look for any body language that might help us."
"Of course," Agent Wright said, opening the door. "I'll have it sent over to you at Quantico within the hour."
"Thank you," Hotch said, shaking the woman's hand. "We will keep you updated, and you will do the same?"
"Yes," Agent Wright said. "But I do have two conditions for all of this. One being that it must be kept confidential between these two departments. And the second is that Dr. Reid is not allowed to involved on any field work. Understood?"
"Perfectly," Hotch said, knowing that Spencer would likely try to, no matter what Hotch said.
When Hotch arrived back at Quantico, he was met by Rossi.
"I heard that we are working on a case in tandem with the CIA?" Rossi asked.
"Gather up the team in the room."
"They're already there," Rossi said. Hotch looked up, and sure enough the whole team was waiting for him.
They entered the room, silence filling it.
"We are assisting the CIA on an investigation into what happened to Danielle Hansen, or Sarah Bennett. You all know basic information, however, we recently gained access to confidential files which are now on your tablets."
Stillness filled the room, every member of the team reading over the files. Hotch's eyes found their way to Spencer, who was stoic.
"We also recently gained access to a tape that was found with Danielle's sister, Ashley, outside of a hospital in Detroit. Garcia?" Hotch asked, sitting down as Garcia pulled up a video. As she pressed play, Danielle's figure appeared on the screen. She was restrained to a chair, wearing a simple button down and pants. There were large bandages on either arm, the red tint showing that she had clearly been hurt.
"Go," commanded a gruff voice.
"My name is Danielle Hansen," the woman said, her voice unshaking. Her face looked up and met the camera head-on. "I was in Witness Protection as Sarah Bennett. I am being held… accountable… for my betrayal and lies." Her voice wavered as she said 'accountable.'
"They're feeding her the words," Alex said quietly. No one spoke, their eyes analyzing the screen.
"I am a federal witness and an asset to the CIA," Danielle said, "so my captors know my worth. They demand safe voyage out of the United States of America to Morocco. They will set up a direct line of communication. I will accompany them to Morocco. Once they are safe, I will be released to the custody of Spain, where I can then be brought back to the United States. If these demands are not met, I will be killed. A line of communication will be set up by calling the number below." A number appeared on the screen, and Spencer immediately memorized it.
The screen turned black.
"Like Blake said," Morgan said, "she is clearly being fed those words."
"Has anyone called the line?" JJ asked.
"The CIA wants to set up a shared line with our office," Hotch said. "Garcia, if you can-"
"On it sir," Garcia said, rushing out of the room.
"How do we know they aren't bluffing? How do we know they don't kill her the minute they land?" Morgan asked.
"We don't," Hotch said, his eyes flickering over to the young genius who was unusually quiet.
"They're smart," Rossi mused. "They know that the United States doesn't have an extradition treaty with the United States."
"I don't understand," JJ said. "She said that she was an asset to the CIA… What did she do? She's a civilian, right?"
"I spoke to the CIA agent assigned to Danielle's case," Hotch said. "She informed me that the CIA became involved once it was discovered Nicolas' cartel was aiding terrorists in the Middle East. What your files don't say is how they found proof of that. They sent Danielle in on a deep cover to find out more about him… she investigated him through the use of a romantic relationship."
"How long was she undercover?" Rossi asked.
"A year and half," Hotch said, his eyes flickering over to Reid, who had paled.
"The CIA sent a citizen in to seduce a criminal who had ties to terrorists?" JJ asked.
"She got out once she found the documents proving it, but the CIA suspects that this is a combination of revenge and closure for Nicolas."
"Well, what about this boss that the reports detail?" Blake asked, gesturing to her tablet.
"They don't have any leads on that," Hotch asked.
"How does Caroline fit into this?" Reid said, breaking his silence.
"The CIA isn't sure, but they are investigating it now," Hotch said.
"So what are we going to do?" Morgan asked.
"We are going to go over this video, frame by frame, and see if we can find anything to help the investigation," Hotch said. "Blake and Morgan? Can you handle that while JJ and Rossi do to Danielle's apartment and see if they can find anything?"
Both teams agreed.
"What can I do?" Spencer asked.
"One of the terms of getting access to the investigation was assurance that you would be working with Garcia – no field work," Hotch said. He was expecting a fight, but no such fight came. Reid merely nodded and turned to leave, but was stopped by Garcia.
"Reid," she said. "Danielle's sister Ashley is on the phone. She said she needs to talk to you."
Reid rushed over, wordlessly to the corded phone, picking up the call.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Is this Spencer Reid? With the BAU or something?" came the voice.
"Yes, this is Ashely?"
"Yeah, I'm Danielle's sister. Look, I don't have a ton of time before my doctor comes back to check on me again, but Dani said that I should find you?"
"You saw her?"
"Yeah, and then I was taken out back and injected with something that made me pass out… Look, I don't know how I got here, but she told me to tell you that she's sorry?"
"She's sorry?"
"Yeah, and I don't really understand what is going on here, but you need to find her, okay? They are going to use her as leverage and then they will kill her. You need to find her," the woman said, her voice speeding up.
"We are doing everything we can," Spencer said. "Is there anything else you remember?"
"Crap, the doctor is almost back, but yeah, um… she loves you, so you have to find her, okay? I want to meet the guy who stole her heart, but you need to find her."
Spencer froze, his voice caught in his throat.
She loves him.
Not loved.
Loves.
"I'll do everything I can," Spencer said.
"Ok, I got to go, but I will call if I remember anything that could help."
The phone line clicked and Spencer sat at his desk wordlessly.
She loves him.
He had to find her.
Forget what Hotch said.
It would take a miracle to keep him out of the field.