A/N: Hello hello! Sorry for the delayed update. I started school again this week and it was super crazy! But I have another long chapter for you guys to make up for it. I hope you enjoy! If you feel like it, let me know what you think!
Reid, Morgan, JJ, and Joey had been waiting for what felt like hours. JJ had started to pace, Reid tapped his pen on his desk nervously, and Morgan stood with his arms crossed, staring intently at the door. Finally, Hotchner, Prentiss, and Garcia pushed their way into the bullpen. They strode up to Reid's desk, where everyone else had gathered.
JJ stopped. "Did you find anything?"
Hotch looked straight at Joey, a dark look on his face. "Take her to interrogation one."
"What?" Morgan cried as Reid and JJ exchanged looks of alarm.
"That's an order." Hotch nodded his head at Prentiss, who offered Joey a small smile and beckoned for her to follow. "The rest of you wait in the conference room." Hotch moved away to his office while Garcia, who had a frightened look on her face, lead Reid, Morgan, and JJ to the round table.
The interrogation room was dimly lit and the sky was changing to evening pink outside. Prentiss sat across from Joey, nervously picking at her fingernails.
Joey felt her palms begin to sweat. She wasn't sure if she could tell Hotch or Prentiss everything. She definitely trusted her team, but then again, she had trusted Pearce in the beginning, too…
The door burst open and Hotch entered. He slammed the door and stood behind Prentiss, his arms folded. "What information does Pearce have on you?" He demanded.
Joey chewed her lip but said nothing, glancing back and forth between her two colleagues.
Hotch leaned forward on the table. "Let me repeat myself. What information does Pearce have against you?" He asked menacingly.
Joey closed her eyes and bit her lip harder to keep it from trembling, but still she said nothing. Prentiss gave her an empathetic look, but Hotch slammed his hand on the table. Joey flinched.
"All we could find was a sealed file which contains a joint investigation between the Department of Homeland Security and the CIA." Hotch growled. "Now Garcia could probably find a way around the clearance if she had enough time, but I really don't want to jeopardize her position, so you need to tell us what is on that file."
"Hotch!" Prentiss warned.
Joey squeezed her eyes shut again as tears began to pool in her eyes.
"She's scared." Prentiss implored. She stood and pulled Hotch out of the interrogation room, leaving Joey alone.
She quickly wiped a tear off her cheek and gripped the armrests of the metal chair so tightly the skin around her knuckles felt like it would tear.
Prentiss and Hotch were hardly gone for a minute before they returned. Prentiss returned to her seat and Hotch stood behind her again, though he seemed calmer. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted at you like that."
"It's okay." Joey mumbled.
"Ryan." Prentiss folded her hands on the table. Her voice was soft and kind. "We know the information in that file is sensitive, but we need to know what it is, or we might not be able to help you." She smiled gently.
Joey glanced up at Hotch, who still looked serious, but nodded once. Joey sighed and rubbed her hands on her thighs. "Okay…but if I'm going to tell you, I might as well tell everyone."
"We'll meet in the conference room." Hotch said. Joey and Prentiss rose and followed him out.
In the conference room, everyone took a seat except Hotch and Prentiss, who stood near the television screen, arms folded.
"What's going on?" Garcia asked. "Why isn't anyone talking. What did you find out?"
Joey paused, looking to Hotch, who nodded severely. She took a deep breath and placed her hands on the table, folded. She couldn't believe she was finally coming out with it all. She spoke only at the table as she began.
"As you know, eight months ago I graduated from the FBI's academy. I was in the top five of my class and passed all the tactical skills tests with flying colors. I had everything I needed for a job except a good recommendation. A week after my graduation, Chief Aidan Pearce approached me and said he had put in a good word with the BAU, and that I was hired. I wasn't sure why he chose to give me such a recommendation, but I was grateful and gladly accepted the position."
She chanced a glance up at her team. None of them said a word, but continued to stare at her expectantly, so she pressed on. "About a month and a half after I started here, Pearce approached me and asked if I would do him a favor, no questions asked, since he had made sure I would get this position, which he frequently reminded me was rare for a new graduate. I told him that of course I would do him a favor, and I was sent to pick up an envelope. It was left in a P.O. Box. I retrieved it and gave it to Pearce without any other contact. It seemed harmless enough, and I never knew what was in the envelope or who it was from."
Joey began to wring her hands nervously. "A couple of days later, he asked if I would do another favor. This one was similar, but I was to pick up a bag this time. Again, it seemed harmless and I never had contact with anyone but Pearce. Eventually, Chief Pearce began asking favors almost twice a week when we weren't on a case. They escalated from retrieving envelopes and small bags to becoming a personal driver for masked men who were heavily armed. I think they were Czech."
Joey heard Garcia give a small gasp, but she ignored it. "That was when I approached Pearce saying that, while I appreciated his recommendation to the BAU, I wouldn't be able to do anymore favors or run any more errands for him because I knew what he was doing wasn't…strictly speaking, legal. I told him I wouldn't tell anyone what he had been asking me to do, but I wouldn't be able to continue. However, that was when Pearce informed me that he had a file that contained…sensitive information that he knew I would rather keep sealed. He threatened to use the information against me should I refuse him again."
Joey hesitated then, looking up at Prentiss, who gave a small smile and an encouraging nod. Joey dropped her hands into her lap and took another shaky breath. She hadn't said any of what she was about to reveal in over thirteen years.
"My real name is Samara Hassim, and I was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq." She paused as she felt her team shift around her, taking in the information. She briefly looked up to Hotch. He was still staring at her intently, his mouth a hard line, but the sharp edges seemed to have softened a little.
Joey stared back at the table as she pressed on. "In 2001, just after the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. Military approached several members of our community who they knew had ties with terrorist groups, but might sympathize with U.S. goals. They were looking for informants…and my father agreed. He was a tailor and some prominent members of Al Qaeda used to visit him. He was horrified with what had happened to the Twin Towers, and wanted to prove that those men didn't represent his…our country, so he agreed to become a Confidential Informant."
She couldn't seem to stop now. It was as if her mind had been waiting all these years for an opportunity to reveal what she had kept hidden for so long. "For two years, my father quietly worked in his shop and passed information on to the U.S. military. He knew it was dangerous, but he felt an obligation to do anything possible to make up for the horrible attack in New York. Overall, everything was fine until one day, one of my older brothers discovered what my father had been doing. My two older brothers had been away for the past three years, and when they found out, they were angry. They called my father a traitor and said that they never wanted to see him again. It destroyed my father, but what we didn't know is that for the previous three years, my brothers had been recruited and were training with a branch of Al Qaeda…"
Joey's hands began to tremble and she folded them in her lap. "We knew we had been compromised, and that it wasn't safe anymore. The CIA deployed a team to covertly extract us, but somehow, my brothers found out and brought their team to stop us. The CIA showed up the same time that they did, and there was a shootout as we were leaving. My father and I made it to the HumVees, but…my mother and younger brother were killed in the crossfire. I was thirteen."
She rubbed her hands on the armrests of the chair. "My father and I were taken out of the country and flown to the States. We were given new names, new identities. The government gave my father a job and a modest house for us to live in as the relocated us to a small town in the middle of Indiana. We worked hard to fit into our new lives. I made sure I didn't have an accent when I spoke English, and my father expanded what little English he did know to become fluent. We never spoke of my mother or younger brother, and did everything to destroy any evidence of my two older brothers. It's just been us two for the past thirteen years."
Joey took another deep breath. "When Pearce found out what was in the file, he said that if I refused to work for him, he would plant evidence to make it seem as though my father had switched allegiance and was now working with a known terrorist cell group based out of Indianapolis. He would be arrested and deported back to Iraq." Joey stared straight at Hotch. "If my father gets deported back to Iraq, he will be executed."
Joey finally looked around at the rest of her team. Garcia had silent tears streaming down her cheeks, while JJ had a hand over her mouth. Reid's eyes were wide as he tried to take in all of the information, and Prentiss had a look of horror on her face. Morgan's face was hard and set, and Hotch's eyes had turn sympathetic.
"And he hurt you, too?" Garcia whispered. Joey looked up at her. "All the bruises," Garcia expanded. "Pearce hurt you, as well?"
Joey tightened her jaw as she subconsciously brushed her fingers over a still-fading bruise above her right brow. "Uh…yah, after a while he got physical if I put up any kind of resistance, but…" she shook her head. "I couldn't let my father get framed."
"I'm so sorry." Reid was barely audible to Joey's left. "None of us had any idea this was happening."
Joey smiled softly at him and reached a hand out to cover his. "Reid, you don't have anything to be sorry for. You couldn't have known he was like this."
"Morgan, Prentiss." Hotch said quietly. Morgan stood on command and the three stepped into the room behind the round table.
"I'm sorry about your mom and little brother." JJ spoke up, her eyes heavy.
"Thank you." Joey replied earnestly.
Hotch, Prentiss, and Morgan reappeared. "If we're going to catch Pearce, we need to be careful. Ryan's right. We have to act normal, or else he'll catch on and try to bolt." He sighed looking at his watch. "It's been a long day. Everyone head home for the night and we'll talk about this tomorrow morning."
Everyone stood as they were dismissed. "Hey, Ryan." Joey turned to see Prentiss stalling while everyone else filed out. "Are you going to be okay tonight?" She asked.
Joey nodded and gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Yah, I'll be fine. Thanks."
Reid and Joey were walking across the parking deck together. Joey had parked next to him that morning, and she dug through her bag for her keys.
"I'm sorry about everything." Reid said after a long period of silence.
Joey smiled over at him. "I know, Reid. You already said."
Reid twitched his mouth to the side. "Yah, I know, but I don't know how to help the situation, and I really want to, but I don't know what to do so I just keep saying I'm sorry because I hope it makes it a little bit better—." He began to ramble.
Joey cut him off, grinning. "It does help. It means a lot that you guys are on my side and want to help me."
Reid smiled back at her. They had reached their cars. Reid allowed Joey in first, so she could back out to give him more space. Joey got into the drivers seat and turned the ignition. Nothing happened. Frowning, she tried again. Still nothing, no lights or sounds or anything.
Joey looked up as Reid tapped on her window. "What's that?" His question was muffled through the window as he pointed to her windshield. Joey looked over to see something tucked under her wipers.
Joey got out and reached forward, snatching an envelope off the front of her car. Her heart sank as she turned the envelope over to reveal 'Agent Josephine Ryan' printed on the front in type-lettering. She quickly unsealed it and pulled out a note saying 'call with report.'
Joey sighed. "What is it?" Reid asked curiously. Joey gave him a measured look before handing over the note. Reid frowned. "It's from Pearce?"
Joey nodded. "And coincidentally, my car's dead." She said bitterly. "I wonder what could have happened."
Reid handed the envelope back. "Well come on. I'll give you a ride." He gestured toward his car. Joey stared at him for a moment, sizing him up, before following.
As Reid pulled out of the parking garage, Joey's phone buzzed. Did you get my note? Was Pearce's text. Joey gritted her teeth and replied.
Yes. How do you expect me to run errands with a dead car?
A few moments later, the reply came. That's not my problem to worry about, is it? Joey sighed and threw her phone in her bag, annoyed. Reid glanced over at her.
"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"
Joey looked over at him and took in his sweet, virtuous look. She calmed a little. "No thanks. I really appreciate it, but I'll be fine. I promise." She added as Reid looked like he was about to protest.
"Thanks for the ride." Joey said with a small smile, leaning into the window from the sidewalk outside of her apartment. "I'm really grateful."
Reid smiled back. "Anytime. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I pinky promise I am." Joey's mouth twisted wryly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Her smile faded as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. It was all out in the open now, all off her chest. As Joey changed for bed, she wondered if it was a good idea, bringing her team into it. She certainly felt better for it, but she feared it would complicate things. Deciding she would worry about it tomorrow, Joey switched off her light, fell into bed, and became dead to the world.