Chapter XVI

"We can't command our love, but we can our actions." ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

David was one step before bumping his head on the wall of his office. He had kept his coolness when Gloria was still there, because she was the priority. But now with her rushed out of the room, knowing that he had lost every string of communication, Rossi was furious, angry with no one else except himself.

How had he behaved so stupidly? How had he gotten carried away so much? The one moment he was so worried about her and the next one he was… Anyway it was better not to go to what he almost did. Gloria had acted spasmodically. She had that in her and a million explanations for her actions. Him, he wanted so much to console her, so desperately to confirm that the woman he had come to know was still there and hadn't disappeared beneath the sorrow, the exhaustion and questions like if her own good mattered, that he hadn't been able to think clearly. It was him that had to keep the control. But her closeness, her skin were enough to make him lose it. Now he had lost her. She was going to close off completely, ashamed of what happened.

The even bigger problem was that it wasn't her fault. He was the one that had enticed her desperate reaction. She was looking for someone to hold on to and he was encouraging her towards him. He was touching her far too much, too. For a man that was aware that he was struggling to resist a lust that was dragging him to her, even all the external factors that kept his mind occupied all that time, he was playing with the fire. And it was her that got burnt finally.

David shook his head. He cared about her deeply that was the only certain fact. As what? He didn't know even himself. Or he didn't allow himself to know. Did he care as a friend? In David Rossi's world, a person he had shared a bed with was not a friend or not just a friend. Did he care as an ex-boyfriend? Actually, someone would have laughed ironically with his relationship with the women that had passed from his life. He always tended to be the caring ex, at least with those that didn't want to kill him. The reason for this was that in the majority of the cases, the separations and the divorces were his fault. The job and his tendencies to isolate himself in his files and his books were the ones that intervened with his personal life once or twice. His habits of playing around intervened more than twice. He was never the innocent one. But he wasn't the caring ex now, just because he was never an ex. Did he care as a lover? He couldn't be in love with a twenty years younger woman when he couldn't offer her the happy, long family life that she deserved, could he?

"What was that?", Hotch's voice came from the door, clearly annoyed.

"Hotch…", he got startled.

"You know for too long that I don't tolerate any unprofessional behaviour around here."

Rossi hang his head. Hotch had heard them. Getting told off by his boss at this age for unprofessional behaviour with a woman was at least humiliating.

"I'm sorry.", he murmured.

"I hope you are because I can't accept any distractions from you or from Paterson.", the Unit Chief carried on in his strict tone.

"It was my fault. Not hers.", he covered it up, at the very end he was equally responsible, actually even more.

"I don't care whose fault it was. We have a job to do and no time to deal with your sentimental adventures, Dave."

"It won't happen again, Aaron.", Rossi finally turned to the younger man.

Hotch noticed the hurt and worrying look on his old friend's face and for a moment he regretted being so harsh. In any other case he would have barked an order and he would have walked out of the room, too irritated to deal with something so improper. Probably because David's expression was unexpected, probably because 'Emily did really good to him', he softened a bit.

"What's going on? Have we fallen ten years back in time?"

Actually it was almost twenty years ago, that David Rossi had gotten involved with a woman on the job. But Hotch was pretty much aware that during his retirement years while he was writing his books, he was pretty much fooling around, as well. Thank God he had stopped when he came back to the Bureau at least while on duty.

Rossi thought the same thing but his mind stuck to the number of the years. It was, actually, two decades ago that he was in a similar position. He was married to his third wife back then and had a fling with a fellow agent. There were no regulations in the FBI, things were far less strict. In any way, Rossi wasn't planning on staying in the agency. The mistakes of the job, his crumbling personal life that had led to the affair were already driving him away. He had left just after the incident. His personal life kept being full of 'sentimental adventures', though. But it was less than a decade since he had any. It was six years ago.

David Rossi was doing the presentation of the second edition of his third book. There were many times that he found these occasions boring. They were chances to travel though, like that time that he had ended up in a big bookstore in Oxford Street, in the rather chilly London of February 2007. That presentation would have been no exception, as it concerned the boring part, if the woman sitting in the last raw hadn't asked a question that given the vocabulary used showed that she was probably some kind of colleague of his. He had agents and cops before in his presentations especially overseas. This wasn't what caught his attention. What raised his interest was that she looked more like the students walking around the British capital than like any law enforcement employee in the whole world. He couldn't exactly pinpoint what gave him the idea. It was her body language maybe, reserved and mediocre, not exactly the confident, upside posture of an agent. Or probably the fact that he didn't hear any British accent in her voice.

He discretely watched her during the whole event. He almost laughed at himself. Those years his attention had a preference for some showy ladies with low-cut, high end dresses and shiny jewellery. After three divorces he didn't look for anything more than someone looking appropriate to accompany him to a high gourmet dinner followed by two shots of single malt scotch and probably to a hotel suite. Those women didn't look for anything more. They had already an ex-husband supporting their shopping expenses or, if they were young – yeah, Mr Rossi had some quite young lovers in his lifetime but he didn't have any illusions, he knew very well that when a woman under the age of 35 gets interested in a man over fifties, she is not interested in him but in his wallet –, they could find someone else once they would figure out that there was no way to become the fourth Mrs Rossi and inherit him. That woman with long, curly, black-reddish hair, in a jean, long, probably a little bit outdated skirt, a loose, black, woollen sweater and flat, sport boots obviously didn't fit the description.

The event ended and the majority of the audience had left. She was getting ready to leave and he took the opportunity to have a chat with her.

"I'm guessing professional interest brought you here.", he smiled approaching her.

She smiled and turned towards him. He could have a better look at her face. She was young – thirty? –, green eyes, pale skin, no much make up, double pierced ears, no northern European facial features. She was beautiful and he could guess also that a nice body was hidden underneath her clothes. He couldn't miss that, he was the legendary Casanova Agent Rossi, at the end of the day.

"The question eh? When the subject is close, I can't hide it.", she replied, chuckling.

He raised his eyebrows, 'Hide?'

"No cop, then."

"No, no 'copper'. You are in Britain remember?, she corrected him.

So she wasn't a cop. Scotland Yard, MI5, MI6?

"I was always bad with the different words."

"No worries. I don't know all of them, myself, and I am British. Probably I am more of a co-patriot to you and I don't mean American."

"Italian? Davvero? (Really?) And I was thinking that you look familiar."

"Half, la mamma." (Half, the mother.)

"Hai vissuto li?" (Have you lived there?), he changed the language, a quick way to gain her trust and keep the conversation going.

"Ho vissuto in Italia fino all'eta di dieci anni. Voi?" (I lived in Italy till I was ten years old. You?)

She was confident and with manners but she looked him like she was evaluating to talk to him. Funny wasn't it? She knew who he was and he was the one with no idea. Some things had started to intrigue him. David Rossi didn't know just to profile. He had a gut feeling when it came to humans and he could see that she had that shadow in her eyes, the shadow derived from having witnessed dark things. He had seen that before and actually in a reserved, like her, agent's eyes, an agent that he had taught well to follow his steps and he was doing more than fine. But she was a woman and for a woman that shadow was always more cruel. There was no wedding ring or anything on her fingers. The most probable thing was that nobody was taking care of her.

It was just him and her in the bookstore at that time. Only the manager was walking around getting prepared to close the shop and he was eyeing them curiously.

"No. Ma sono da Bari. Dato il tuo accento, immagino nord Italia." (No. But I am from Bari. Given your accent, I imagine north Italy.)

"Venezia." (Venice.)

"Ecco romantico." (That's romantic.), he smiled, deciding to start adding a little bit of his charm.

She just smiled and Rossi got the idea that his appeal wasn't really affecting her.

"Anyway. I think I should introduce myself at some point. Gloria Paterson.", she said going back to English, offering her hand.

"Incantato." (Charmed.), he answered sincerely taking it.

It was soft but he could feel the callous that he had, as well; those ones that are formed after practicing on guns for years.

"And I'm working for Interpol, even if I don't look like it. I'm guessing that's the big question in that mind of yours.", she smiled knowingly going to put on her coat.

"You caught me, I should admit it.", he replied.

"It's an honour to meet you, agent Rossi. Someone can learn a lot from you.", she finished genuinely taking her bag from the chair.

She had gotten him curious. But Rossi didn't really know if it was that or the fact that she looked untouched by his charms or both that made him take a chance. She was an attractive woman and he had nothing to lose.

"There are some parts in your question that couldn't be really answered in public. What about we have a drink as some kind of colleagues or just Italians?"

He noticed a glimpse of surprise crossing her eyes, not discomfort, pure surprise.

"I... why not?", she said pausing a bit and that was the first question that he had asked and she hadn't the answer in hand immediately.

That was how all started, David thought, casually, just like any other 'sentimental adventure', but it was the last one of that kind.

"Dave?", Hotch spoke and brought him back to reality.

"I'm sorry, Aaron. What were you saying?"

"What's going on? That's what I am asking.", Aaron repeated, getting impatient.

"I don't know.", he let a breath.

"Then better figure it out, Dave. I wasn't alone in my office. Strauss was there, too."

David shook his head. He had thought about the external factors. Eventually, they had caught up with him.

"I told you multiple times to be careful.", Hotch finished.

He finally left the office. They had a pile of things around to deal with. Rossi's personal life had the worst timing in creating extra problems.

The rest in the conference room were working around JJ's theory that Hathaway was an agent, when Gloria stepped into the room.

She had managed to have a quick cigarette to calm her body down and swallow her tears for one more time. Sometimes what she was feeling was just too much. She wasn't used to sharing but even if she could, she couldn't put her feelings in coherent order. And now she had created a mess, she had lost a friend, she had embarrassed herself. Damn her. She was a disaster, a screwed up disaster. But there was only one thing that she had to do right: to catch that monster. And after that? She didn't care about the after. So simple. At the very end, it wasn't the first time she wasn't caring about that.

"Garcia couldn't find any related history for Hathaway being an agent of any agency at least not official.", Reid said.

"Hathaway is an agent?", Gloria spoke surprised, "Can I have a quick look at this, please?", she asked noticing the marks at the top of the paper that JJ was holding and the blonde gave her the paper from MI6.

"According to his behaviour and background, it is more than likely.", JJ answered, "There is a possibility that Black Cross has more extended business than we think.", she carried on, "Everybody knows about private spying."

"Companies tend to do it to monitor each other and even steal ideas.", Reid replied.

"But Hathaway, if we believe that Black Cross is the employer, was spotted around Paradise Demons. Not exactly a company.", Emily remarked, "And why is he trying to communicate with us? If he is working as an undercover agent, his information is classified. He is not from Interpol that's the only sure thing. He can actually be FBI or CIA."

"Wait, wait a moment.", Gloria intervened shifting her eyes from the paper, the message part was really incomprehensive, "And what the heck is he doing for ten years and more? And even if he was an undercover agent, he should be registered somewhere, somehow. The only chance that he is not is if…"

She stopped abruptly. JJ's theory about the private spying and the talk about undercover agents had driven her to a theory but suddenly something else crossed her mind: her inability to access the classified area of the system. Was she falling in the same category as Hathaway in her theory?

"What, Ria?", Emily pressed.

"The only chance that he is not is if he is acting on an operator basis.", Gloria finished.

No, what crossed her mind wasn't possible. Her status was changed many years ago.

"Meaning?", JJ asked.

"In some occasions, an agency deploys a person for a specific undercover job or even more. They are not direct employees of the agencies but they have the skills and they are required to carry out the operation for the agency. It is basically a self-employed thing but not with the traditional sense. The paperwork is pretty specific but minimal and with no apparent record. However, after some years if the person accepts more and more jobs, they can become proper employees of the agency or at least look formally that they are.", the British woman explained.

"And why do they do that?", Reid got curious.

"Most of the times the reason is that the agency required assistance from the private sector. Least of the times, because there is something kicking with the person and the agency doesn't want to be held responsible if anything goes wrong.", she answered, 'Imagine in which of the two categories I was.', she carried on in her head, "You have to follow orders, don't get me wrong, but the required work is normally dirtier with whatever this means."

Emily frowned. Gloria seemed to know far too much for a rare policy that herself, she wasn't very familiar with.

"Then that implies that Hathaway can have worked for both Black Cross and an agency.", she assumed.

"But what was he investigating around Paradise Demons and he didn't come forward when they were taken down?", JJ thought out loud,

"The only sure thing is that this guy isn't good news.", Gloria murmured just before the rather abruptly woken Garcia's face appeared on the screen.

"I have finally something magnificent, thanks to my amazing server that keeps working overnight without asking for coffee."

"Did you find anything from the cameras, Garcia?", Hotch spoke as he entered the room, apparently informed by Penelope about a development.

Rossi was following him. Gloria fixed her eyes on the screen, avoiding his, making David think for one more time of the mess they had and they had provoked. Strauss appeared right behind him. No, they didn't have only one mess.

"So I looked for everyone that looks familiar with our creepy guy Hathaway and I found this.", Penelope started and a screenshot from a man getting into a car appeared on the screen, he was dressed as Hathaway but only his back could be seen.

"He looks like him.", JJ spoke.

"He is him.", the tech girl replied, "See that reflection on the windshield?", a piece from the picture got zoomed, revealing pretty clearly Hathaway's face, "It's him."

"Were you able to get license plates?", Rossi asked.

"Don't ask the obvious, Mr Rossi. Of course, I did. It is registered to a John Smith – what a surprise – but his address is a house in the suburbs of the city.", the satellite image of a small house in some middle class neighbourhood appeared on the screen, a car could be seen just in front of it, "And before you ask another plain question, I checked the satellite footage. The car is parked there since last night. It appeared two hours after the bomb and almost half an hour since he got into the car which is the average time to get there from here and it hasn't moved since."

"We have to go there. Garcia, send us the address.", Hotch spoke.

"Already on your tablets.", Pen replied and ended the call.

"Rossi, Morgan, JJ and me will go there. The rest of you carry on here.", Hotch ordered.

"Hotch…", Gloria tried to speak concern clear in her voice.

They had too many obvious things and that could mean a trap. Hotch knew it but that couldn't stop her from getting scared that what she had witnessed once in her life could happen again.

"We are going to move carefully and I'll get the SWAT before we leave.", he could understand her fears, he reassured her more calmly and she nodded.

"We'll keep in touch. I have to fill you in in some facts.", Emily said.

"OK.", Hotch said.

Emily wanted to go with them. But fieldwork wasn't part of this co-operation with Interpol. Hathaway was on American soil, it was up to the American authorities to bring him in. And she knew that Hotch would have said exactly that.

"I'll keep you informed, Chief Strauss.", he turned to Strauss who hadn't spoken at all.

"Good luck and be careful.", she wished.

The only reason that Erin had appeared was to get the news of the action in first hand. She wasn't a fan of the reports mainly with major cases like this. And she wasn't a fan of the surprises that the updates had, too, like the one an hour ago. The others left. Strauss before she turned to go for her office looked at the British agent for short.

Gloria could read her expression. Did she know what happened? If last night she had only a 'slut theory' written on her face, now she was absolutely convinced. Gloria got occupied with Hathaway's file left on the table. It wasn't the first time that she had been characterised with that theory. Most of the times it was wrong. Some others it was right and this time was one of those.

They reached the area of the house as carefully as it was possible. They scanned everything and every movement. But once they had silently surrounded the house and were getting ready to move in, the door opened. A man appeared with his hands in the air and unarmed. That man was no other than James Hathaway.

"Thankfully, it didn't take you too long to find me."

"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." ~ Oscar Wilde

Another soon update! I'm getting on a rhythm but I don't know if I can keep it up!

For you that appear confused with David's behaviour, keep in mind that he is more confused than you…! (That was the point: the confusion!) I hope that the upper part of this chapter gives some clues. I don't want to spoil everything, just to clarify that Strauss is a story of the present, Gloria is a story of the past but not like the "we were together - we broke up" type of story. (I know their first ever meeting didn't have anything in particular - apart from Rossi getting interested in a much different woman than his regular type - but I wanted to show that their story – whatever it is – really started as almost nothing special. And it was a good opportunity to give a full description of my character through Rossi checking her out, too.) So they have a rather blur line between them (and some luring lust) and that's what creates the tension accelerated by David's worries and Gloria's desperate efforts to find a grip. Where this will go, we'll see…

And just to have you prepared in case someone wonders in the future why, even if Gloria appears a lot unstable, no psychological evaluation seems to have caught it, Emily has said before that "Psychological evaluations can be damned. If you know what you say you pass." Emily had done the same thing. Gloria is a professional in decepting. Plus, it doesn't affect her on the actual job (at least not obviously).

Spoiler: Hathaway is going to try to mislead them.

Let me know your opinions!