It took some time again for a new chapter!
I had a block but thanks to the latest episode I got an idea. You'll see...
Chapter V
"Mistakes are the portals of discovery." ~ James Joyce
They spent three hours going through what was already known about New Paradise Demons, which was rather limited and everyone in the team was thinking of it. Gloria presented all the information thoroughly, but the info itself wasn't enough to predict any movements.
"So we should analyse their potential contacts here, the victims.", Rossi concluded.
"That's the way it normally works anyway. You start from the end of the river to find the source, actually to find the river.", Gloria said, taking a sip of the third cup of coffee and Hotch noted that they should give her a break.
"The river?", Strauss asked.
"The source is the source of the 'goods'. These days Interpol is mainly working on that part as it concerns the gun trafficking. Years ago, it was known where the guns were coming from: countries that just finished war, ex-Soviet countries and so on. But today and these types of guns, like MQ-300, don't come from there. They are illegal in most parts of the planet. But the 'river' transports them. The organisations and their associates are the 'river'.", Gloria analysed.
"And it takes years to find it.", Morgan commented, "And we are asked to do it the fastest possible."
"Apparently we should cut some corners.", Hotch said.
"Normally these types of organisations, before they send guns, start with drugs.", Emily stated.
"Actually the speed can be used to our advantage.", Gloria mentioned gaining interesting stares from the team, "Not our speed. Their speed. What is more than obvious here is that they moved guns to the US extremely fast. We are talking about a five year old organisation. Paradise Demons started doing business in US soil after a decade working in Europe. US have their own systems and they are not easy for a not established business from overseas. They have cut some corners themselves."
"So they have used a rather quick way that seems safe.", Hotch said.
"Or probably made mistakes.", Morgan added.
"Exactly.", Gloria agreed.
"Morgan, go with JJ to speak to any people that knew the immigrants couple. Blake and Reid, ask the couple's friend and family about any other contacts out of the ordinary that they had. Garcia, look for similar execution style murders in the last six months. Me and Rossi, we will contact the local police about the drug trafficking and the gang members killed.", Hotch ordered.
"And I will look through the terrorism investigation that led to the alert.", Emily said, as everyone was getting ready to leave.
Hotch nodded and turned to Gloria, who was standing up with the already empty cup in hand.
"You should take a break.", he advised and Gloria looked at him thankfully.
"Agent Paterson, you are very well informed about the matters you talked. In which position have you worked on the particular subject?", Strauss intervened fishing.
Through the whole meeting, Strauss had demonstrated a rather big interest in the younger Interpol agent. She had never moved out of the subject in hand but she had asked particular questions like she was testing and fishing the other woman's knowledge and it hadn't gone unnoticed by the rest, who, as they were getting ready to leave, turned their attention to Strauss. Hotch and Rossi were more than sure that Gloria had gotten unnerved and they were right. Gloria didn't like Strauss in general. There was this something about people sitting behind desks and giving orders when they have no experience in what's really going on out there. But the truth was that Gloria didn't like her since that Christmas night in Hotch's house. Because she looked like those old women that, having failed their families, get grip on some other 'things'– she had noticed that Strauss didn't drink any alcohol that night – or because of something else?
She raised her eyebrows at the question. Three out of the people around her knew. But the rest didn't have a clear idea and she didn't want them to know when it wasn't needed. When it came to the job she couldn't hide it. Emily was able to hide hers because it was less than a year. But her, she couldn't hide ten years of proper undercover work. However, now this wasn't the job.
"Various.", she answered vaguely.
"Various saying?", Strauss pressed, convinced to learn something about the younger woman.
"If I make a job application to you, you are going to read my CV", 'and you're gonna get scared', she thought in her head, "For the moment all you need to know is that I am a great source of information. Excuse me.", she answered calmly and she stepped out of the room.
Strauss annoyed with her attitude turned to Emily, thinking that probably in Interpol they were doing something with the training of the females. She had never gotten past Emily's "Ma'am"s. Emily kept a poker face, even if she was agreeing with her friend's stance. However, what bothered her was the reason of Strauss' sudden interest.
Once Hotch and Rossi were out of the FBI building, Hotch turned to his friend.
"What's going on with Strauss?"
"How am I supposed to know?", Dave replied.
Hotch watched him carefully. Strauss' curiosity wasn't coming only from personal interest in the woman due to reasons that involved the older profiler. Strauss wouldn't have let those types of things intervene with the job but she had some weaknesses and she had showed that before.
"I've told you to be careful, Dave.", Hotch commented nevertheless.
"Aaron, my old bones aren't the matter here. Get a grip. You know how both women are. They just don't get along well.", Rossi protested.
"The results of this are what I am not going to like.", Hotch murmured. "Just keep your 'friend' calm because that's who is getting explosive.", he smiled to the side, he had experience on that.
"I'll work my magic.", Dave grinned.
Hotch got into the car and watched Rossi getting in, too, with the smile still on his face. And that guy was still refusing that there was something up with him and the Interpol spy.
A couple of hours later, after they had finished talking with the lieutenant of the Narcotics, who had no information about any changes in the drug trafficking or the killed gang members, Hotch's phone rang. It was Blake.
"You are on speaker, Blake."
"Hotch, the lawyers were divorce lawyers, weren't they?", Blake's voice came from the phone.
"Garcia went through all of their cases."
"Then what did they have to do visiting a private military firm named Black Cross?"
"Are you sure?", Rossi asked.
"The woman talked to her mother about it.", the female agent replied.
"Do you have a name for the contact?", their team leader asked.
"We are trying to find out."
"Keep looking.", Hotch ordered, hang up and dialled Garcia's number .
"My leash, Sir!", Penelope replied.
"Garcia, did any of the lawyers' clients have anything to do with a private security firm?"
"No, and I am absolutely sure because my alarms would have gone off, and I mean, really off, telling me that we may have had something there. But! Is the name of this firm Black Cross?"
"Yes...", Rossi replied.
"There is a guy that worked there and he got killed in his house, same style as our victims, two months ago.", Garcia mentioned.
"Same weapon?",Hotch asked.
"No. Different calibre and that's why it didn't come up on my initial search.", the tech girl clarified.
"Black Cross again? That's not a coincidence, Hotch.", Rossi spoke.
"It isn't.", he agreed, "Try to find anything known about the Black Cross. I know it's not going to be easy, these companies are highly secretive, but do your best."
"Oh, my kind Sir... You are asking the best to do their best. Isn't that an excess? The best always at your service!", she said and she ended the call.
"Black Cross? Interesting name for a business nevertheless.", Gloria's voice came from behind Garcia.
She was just returning from her break, Garcia had her door half-open so she had heard.
"Oh Glory! Did you have a rest?", Penelope greeted her and turned briefly giving her a wide smile.
"A nap of an hour wasn't that great. These time differences have killed me. Nice office by the way.", she commented taking a seat beside the tech girl and looking around the quirky stuff spread around in Garcia's room.
"You should have seen how I was planning to make my Choco Thunder's office!"
"I can imagine!", she laughed.
"So that's Black Cross.", Garcia spoke, scrolling down the screen, "Offering private security services, nothing to catch my attention... Apart from, well, that there are people out there that hire gunmen to keep them safe. What someone should have done to feel so threatened?"
"Much and nothing.", her visitor replied sceptically.
"Anyway. Let's put my super powers in action."
"Are they importing guns or do they use American hardware?", Gloria asked stopping her.
"We will see...", Garcia said and as she put her programs to look for the answer she turned to the other woman.
"Glory, I don't want to stick my nose but I worry and when I worry... It's just that I want my babies to be fine and love each other and...", she spoke hesitantly.
"What's up, Pen?", Gloria encouraged her.
"You know I love you as much as I love my Gumdrop and today morning, in the other room, you two were a little bit off... Is everything OK?"
Gloria to everyone else would have lied, saying the 'magical' quote: 'Everything is just fine.' But Garcia wasn't everyone else. Such a kind hearted and joyful person wasn't everyone else and even if she was a trained liar, she couldn't lie to her when she was asking out of a completely friendly interest.
"I... don't know.", she admitted.
"What can come between you two?", Penelope asked.
"You should ask Emily that.", she raised her eyebrows.
"Glory, when Emily gets stressed, she gets a little bit harsh. I know. But that's understandable, isn't it?"
"Pen, she gets harsh, when she's hiding things. I've seen that before. But after all, I had thought that we had moved passed any silly 'games'.", Gloria said standing up.
And that's why, even if Emily admitted the situation in the morning, Gloria wasn't talking about the rest. Emily not sharing with her from the start meant that she was thinking something about her. But it wasn't Gloria that had behaved suspiciously before...
Garcia looked at her without quite understanding.
"You are friends. You have to talk.", she pleaded looking the other woman in the eyes.
Before she had found an answer to that innocent but realistic suggestion, a beep came from the computer and the tech girl had to check it.
"And yeah, Black Cross imports guns from... the UK!"
"Better we ask and someone over there then.", Gloria said, taking her phone out of her pocket and going out of the room.
"Promise me that you are...!", Garcia turned to the door but Gloria was already gone, "gonna talk...", she said to herself worried.
A couple of hours later, everyone was back. Morgan, Blake, Hotch, Rossi and Gloria were in the conference going through what was found, when Emily got into the room walking fast with a picture in hand.
"Your contact came through.", she said to Gloria, "Black Cross is involved.", she announced, "MI6 had their deals under surveillance for short when they started business with some dealers there. Look at this.", she stuck the photo beside Peters' photo.
On the photo they could see a man in a suit and behind him there was a man dressed in a pilot uniform.
"This guy is the man from Black Cross.", she carried on pointing at the guy with the suit, "And that's...", she pointed at the pilot.
"That's Peters.", Morgan finished, "Is he his pilot?"
"He is some kind of transporter for the firm. He goes by as James Hathaway. They didn't have reasons to look further. Black Cross didn't have any suspicious contacts."
"They didn't need to. They had the contact with them.", Rossi said.
"I'll tell Garcia to find everything on this name here.", Morgan proposed leaving.
"We have to talk with Strauss about what can be done with Black Cross.", Hotch said to Emily who nodded.
"What's bugging you, Gloria?", Rossi asked, as the woman was still looking at the board with the all the information with a skeptical look on her face.
"Dave, that's too quick. We said that they used a fast way. They probably made a mistake but that's far too obvious.", she replied.
JJ ran into the room.
"Hotch, we have a problem."
"Nothing in the universe can travel at the speed of light, they say, forgetful of the shadow's speed." ~ Howard Nemerov
So special thanks to the latest episode for informing me about the existence of those firms!
I should declare that apparently I don't have any knowledge about how actually these investigations and these 'businesses' work. I just make up stuff according to what I have read in fiction books, movies, series and my imagination. Adding to this that I'm making up the stuff while I'm writing, I'm not working with a plan, the story is 100% mine not using too many things from the events of the series – not like the previous one – and at the same time I'm handling too many characters – not like the previous one that I had only three – sometimes I get confused. I trust myself that everything will fall into place at the end but please make any remarks if you notice something that really doesn't fit! I'm still experimenting to become better!
Spoiler: The "problem" is going to bring Emily's expertise on the surface.
Leave a word to let me know what you are thinking!