Trigger warning for the second half of this chapter! I'll probably be changing the rating to M very soon.
Chapter 17
After four increasingly aggravating phone calls, Hotch was at his nerve's end. All four calls, each to CIA officials who knew the intimate details of Ava's cases, were a waste of time. According to the Agency, Hotch's clearance wasn't high enough to access Ava's files. The ones he had received were simply a "courtesy" in the name of inter-agency cooperation. As the Unit Chief slumped in his chair, he thought of several things he would like to say about their type of "cooperation". Turning his head, he saw the rest of the team looking up at him from the bullpen. He sighed deeply before straightening himself and leaving his office to inform them of the lack of a lead.
"Don't tell me," Rossi could tell by the man's expression that the calls had not gone as planned, "it's classified."
"Yes." Hotch crossed his arms, standing over JJ's desk. The empty chair caused a sudden chill to run down his spine. What if it was never filled again? The thought was horrifying and vile and he shoved it down as quickly as it had appeared.
"How are we supposed to find them if the CIA won't give us any damn leads?" Morgan cried, his fists clenching. No one had an answer. "This is ridiculous. Hotch, do us all a favor and never let anyone from the CIA join this team again."
"Well that's not very nice." A new but familiar voice caused the BAU to spin on their heels. Not ten feet away, with a large duffel bag slumped over one shoulder, stood Emily Prentiss. Garcia was the first to spring into action, rushing towards the brunette and almost tackling her to the ground with a hug. Despite the situation, Emily couldn't help but chuckle.
"Oh my God, oh my God." Garcia bounced with excitement as she hugged her friend. "What are you doing here?!" Emily offered the woman a smile when she finally let go of her and greeted the rest of the team in kind before responding.
"I, uh, heard about what happened." Emily crossed her arms after dropping the bag beside her old desk.
"How is it that every time JJ is in trouble, you show up?" Rossi squeezed the woman's shoulder. "Are you her fairy godmother or something?"
"Unfortunately, no." Emily's serious tone was back. "Interpol sent me." The confused glances from the BAU were to be expected.
"What does Interpol have to do with an ex-trafficker?" Morgan raised an eyebrow in question. Emily rolled out her old chair and sat down, gathering the necessary energy to bring her friends up to speed.
"Katya Volkov, the woman that has JJ and Agent Thorne," Emily began, "has been working for us since her incarceration."
"Working for you?" Rossi repeated. "What could she possibly contribute?"
"Information." Emily explained. "She was a human trafficker for a long time- almost fifteen years. She has loads of information on other traffickers but our main target was an international arms dealer. Her brother, Grigory."
"Was this entire family psychotic?" Morgan couldn't help but mutter. Emily simply nodded in his direction.
"Katya took over their father's trafficking business after he died in 2004. She was 21 at the time. Grigory was 27 and already working as an arm dealer." Emily quickly informed them. "Their mother died giving birth to her."
"Wow, she really had no chance, did she?" Garcia mumbled under her breath.
"Statistically she did." Reid corrected. "A whole family of psychopaths is rarer than mainstream media wants to believe. Sociopathy is even rarer. Only one in twelve women are classified as sociopaths so Katya actually had a higher chance of being 'normal' than her brother."
"Maybe," Emily shook her head, "if you don't take into account her childhood trauma."
"What trauma?" Hotch almost leaned up against JJ's desk before stopping himself.
"Her father and brother blamed her for her mother's death." Emily continued. "They treated her like a slave. Think Cinderella, only rated R. Their father even went as far as to auction her off when she was thirteen."
"'Auction'?" Garcia asked slowly, almost afraid of the answer. Emily, in a rush to finish the story, didn't bother sugarcoating it.
"Virgins fetch a high price in the sex trade." The brunette waved a hand as if she could make the fact go away with its swish. "But I'm not here to discuss whether Katya is a victim or not. I'm here to help you find them."
"We tried talking to the CIA." Reid informed her. "Everything we need is 'classified'."
"Not for me it isn't." Emily wiped out a cell phone, already dialing. "Bring me everything you have and I'll help fill in the blanks. In the meantime, here's a list of Katya's known associates and past employees." Garcia took the handful of pages and was out of the room, on the way to her lair in a flash. The others simply held in their anxiety as they listened to the woman make the necessary phone calls. The only thing they could do was wait and hoped that Emily's contacts and clearance were enough to help bring their friends home.
The cold had returned just as quickly as it had come all those hours ago. Thankfully, JJ had managed to fall asleep, curled into a tight ball in a futile attempt to warm herself even slightly. Ava knew that the ice cold water she had been soaked in was taking its toll and wouldn't be surprised if the blonde contracted pneumonia within the next few hours. The thought gnawed at her constantly despite JJ's insistence that she was fine and all of this wasn't Ava's fault. Realistically, she knew that it wasn't. However, that didn't stop the piercing guilt that shot through her every time JJ let out so much as a sniffle. Ava tried to force thoughts of what would happen to her friend away. She needed to think clearly. There were several things Katya and her associates had said and done that needed to be interpreted. The most important was the man's comment about Katya's "condition". Ava remembered the nasty scar from the Russian's first days in prison and concluded that it was likely related. Perhaps she had significant internal damage that she would carry for the rest of her life. It was something to confer with JJ about. Another thing that puzzled her was Katya's lion analogy. She had compared herself to a lion in zoo- free from harm but caged nonetheless. The only logical explanation would be that Katya didn't escape from prison at all- she was let out and probably for a good reason. Having been a trafficker for so long, the woman undoubtedly had connections to the criminal underworld- connections that many international agencies would love to get their hands on. There was no way to find out exactly which agency had appealed for her release but Ava was almost certain that she was right. The only other question would be how she managed to plan and execute a kidnapping of two federal agents while supposedly the charge of federal agents. Ava almost chuckled as she thought of how screwed the agents who were supposed to be watching her were.
The telltale sign of a visitor caused the younger agent to stiffen reflexively. As the door scraped against the floor, Ava glanced over at the still sleeping blonde at her side. Hopefully, whatever they were coming in for wouldn't involve waking her. However, there was no "they". Katya entered alone and, as Ava glanced behind the woman, she could see that the two men weren't even guarding the door.
"You look deep in thought." Katya observed as Ava stood, back against the wall. "Care to share?"
"Not particularly." Ava's gaze never wavered as she watched the older woman like a hawk. Katya briefly shot a glance towards JJ, a small grin forming when she concluded that she was actually asleep.
"Then perhaps you'd like to hear what I've been thinking about?" The question was genuine and succeeding in confusing the brunette. Katya's smile widened as she approached, cornering the brunette effortlessly in the small room.
"Does what I'd like even matter at this point?" Ava couldn't help the sarcastic response. Thankfully it only seemed to amuse the older woman.
"Yes. For example," Katya gestured towards JJ, "I know you'd like for her to be set free. I know you'd like to ensure her safety, now and for as long as you deem necessary. However, what I'd like is to see what's left of her after my friends get a few uninterrupted hours with her."
"If they so much as look at her the wrong way, I'll-"
"Whatever veiled threat you've come up with, save it. We both know you're in no position to follow through." Katya dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand, taking in the almost feral look on the younger woman's face. "However, there is a way we can both get what we want."
"Any deal that doesn't end with JJ walking out of here unharmed is a waste of your breath." Ava almost frowned. Was Katya really going to set JJ free? What would be the price? Out of the dozens scenarios she came up with, Ava would've never dreamt of the one Katya presented her with.
"I'll have her brought back home, or to the BAU if you prefer, under one condition." As she spoke, the blonde closed the gap between the two. Now close enough to whisper, she breathed, "you stay."
"Stay?" Ava raised an eyebrow. "What kind of deal is that? You can just kill me right now and let her go since that's what you want." Katya tsked.
"You don't understand. I know you'd sacrifice your life for hers in a heartbeat but that's not what I want." The older woman took a gentle hold of Ava's chin, using her pointer finger to stroke a cheek. "She lives but so do you." Ava tried hard to decipher the woman's meaning, her eyes staring hard into the dark ones before her. "One life in exchange for another…literally."
"You want me to…live with you?" Ava was starting to understand, her rational mind having already uncovered the answer.
"If that's what you want to call it." Katya tilted her head slightly, taking in the brunette's reaction. A mixture of confusion and doubt swirled in deep, green eyes. Katya reveled in the inner turmoil she was causing the agent but didn't think that she fully grasped the nature of the offer. The blonde placed her free hand on Ava's waist, startling her as she pulled her close. Katya watched the range of emotions play out on the brunette's face. Her confusion and doubt quickly transformed into disgust and fear. While she could do without the disgust, Katya's ego was immediately restored by the level of fear in the agent's eyes. The once witty agent was left speechless, her form beginning to visibly tremble as the insinuation fully sunk in.
"You want me to…to…" Ava fumbled with her words, serving only to amuse Katya more, as her eyes danced to and from JJ's prone body. Please let her still be asleep.
"I want you." Katya clarified, her grip on Ava's waist tightening as she saw the girl's eyes wander. "From the moment I met you, I knew I had to have you. I'm surprised you haven't figured that out, profiler. Your friend there caught on surprisingly quick. I guess she's not as stupid as she looks." Katya waited for a response and was greeting with silence. Ava was frozen, either in shock or fear, her mouth slightly open as an internal battle was waged. Katya's proximity didn't help either. The feeling of the woman's hands- hands that had ruined so many lives- on her body made Ava nauseous. She couldn't imagine how she'd feel when those hands were in much more private areas. Her own thought caused Ava to pause. 'When'. Not 'if'. Ava swallowed hard, knowing that this decision was actually no decision at all. JJ's life for Ava's. It was a promise she had already made with herself- that if the opportunity to save JJ came along, she would take it regardless of the consequences. She just never imagined the consequences would be this.
"You'll…you'll leave her alone? Forever?" Ava refused to look directly at the woman, choosing instead to study the ground. Katya would have none of it. She lifted Ava's chin, forcing her eyes up, and watched as a lone tear streaked down her cheek. Frowning, Katya quickly wiped the tear away.
"Yes. If you meet certain…criteria." Ava noticeably grimaced as Katya's hand traveled from her chin down her body to rest on the agent's waist. "They'll be none of that." Ava tried to swallow the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat as Katya leaned in closer, her breath tickling Ava's ear. "I want to be clear on one thing, Ava: I'm not a rapist. This isn't rape. Therefore, you are not a victim and will not act like one." Ava was sure that if she had anything in her stomach, it would've been emptied onto Katya's shoes by now. While she couldn't stop herself from trembling, she could focus on biting back the tears that threatened to spill as Katya explained their arrangement. Katya wanted this- and presumably every other time for the rest of their natural lives- to be legitimate. She wasn't turned on by Ava's fear or any sort of physical struggle. She also wasn't in it for the power. This was purely lust- lust so powerful that it would either kill JJ or resign Ava to a life as a glorified sex slave. In that sense, the blonde really did not resemble a typical rapist.
"I need an answer, Ava." Katya whispered and Ava had to fight hard to resist the urge to jump out of her own skin. Risking one last glance at her sleeping friend, Ava turned her head slightly. Her eyes met Katya's and the older woman seemed to be holding her breath in anticipation.
"I'll do it." Ava found herself whispering back, her voice much more firm than she anticipated. You're saving JJ's life. You're saving JJ's life. You're saving JJ's life. Without another word, Katya's hands traveled around her, nails digging into the skin of her lower back. Ava's heart was pounding out of control, not realizing how soon she would have to make good on her side of the bargain. Frantic, Ava placed her own hands on Katya's shoulders, gently easing her back. The blonde raised her gaze, now narrow and angry. Before Katya could react, Ava spoke.
"Not here." She practically begged. Her own tone made Ava sick. With a shaky breath she added, "Please." Was this going to be her life now? Having to ask permission for everything and only getting half of it? How long would she be able to live like this? How long would she even be sane?
"Alright." Katya surprised her by letting go, crossing her arms defensively. "I suppose that's understandable." She cast a quick glance at JJ. If there is a god, she will still be asleep. "Although I am going to need some…assurance." Ava bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. The look in Katya's eyes was undeniable. Without thinking, Ava took a large step forward and crashed her lips against the other woman's hard. Katya, somewhat taken aback, took a moment to respond. Once she did, she wrapped her arms around Ava's waist, pulling her as close as she could. Ava, trying as hard as she could not to pull back, put as much passion into the embrace as she could muster. If convincing Katya that she could do this would save JJ's life, then she'd play the most convincing role she could for as long as she was able. As the kiss ended, Ava forced her arms to rest on Katya's shoulders instead of releasing the woman like she was itching to do. Katya opened her eyes slowly and took in the dry-eyed woman before her. Satisfied that their arrangement would work out, Katya squeezed Ava's waist slightly before offering her a grin.
"Right then." The moment she felt Katya let go, Ava did the same, allowing her arms to drop to her sides as she stared blankly at the blonde. "I'll make the arrangements. I'll be back for you in thirty minutes." Ava, sensing that she needed a response, gave her a curt nod before watching her leave. As the door closed behind the blonde, Ava found herself unable to sit back down. She remained frozen, staring at the large door as she contemplated what she had just agreed to. Looking from the door to JJ and back to the door, only one thought echoed in her mind.
What have I done?
