Chapter 15

Outside the Jefferson Memorial
Washington DC

"Hey Pete." David Rossi had skipped the interview with Lieutenant Commander Gillon this morning. He decided his time would be better spent having coffee with an old friend, which was why he had two cups with him.

"Dave." Peter Maxwell stopped feeding the ducks and slid over to make room on the bench. "When the hell did we get old?"

"You retired. That's what made you old." Rossi chuckled. "Go back to work with the kids, they keep you young."

"Bullcrap. The CIA made me old. No one is young there, not even the kids just out of college." Pete shook his head. "So, why are you buying me coffee?"

"I need help with a case. One that's more CIA than FBI." Rossi stretched his legs out among the lingering ducks. "Has anything been blowing in from Tel Aviv lately?"

Pete gave Rossi a long, sideways look. "Depends on how you define 'lately'."

That, Rossi thought, was a very good question. "Go back four years. Anything?"

"Not so far back." Pete looked back at the water. "About six months ago something hit the fan. From what we heard, The Old Man called everyone in, and I mean everyone. Deep cover, sleeper, fresh meat, the works."

"The old man?"

"Zamir. I don't care who they say is in charge, he's going to run it until they carry him out on the door." Rossi made a noise of following, so Pete continued. "They were all given a list, eight names, and one order. Locate and terminate, full stop. And full backing, the government will cover you."

"That's unusual. Do we know why? Or who was on the list?"

"Why? No. Who? Seven names we don't know, and one Navy SEAL, of all things." Pete shook his head and chuckled. "SEAL Team 8 was in the Med at the time. They got re-routed to Baghdad at the first logical opportunity. It was the safest location to store them, of all places."

"Lieutenant Commander Ari Gillon?"

Pete gave Rossi another long look, "Now how did you know that?"

"You know he's married?"

"Yeah, some nice Jewish girl. Rumor has it he was gone too long, she Dear Johned him."

"Her maiden name was Zamir." Rossi looked over just for the pleasure of seeing the shock in Pete's eyes. "Yep, the Old Man's granddaughter."

"You're shitting me."

"Nope." If nothing else out of this case was good, being able to blindside Pete like that would be a memorable thrill. "DIA's been sitting on her. Said she was the Old Man's personal assistant."

"This is what they get for not sharing. Personal enforcer more like it. She's his top operative, the Fire of God." Pete was still off his stride. "That was her grandmother's code name during the war. She's been trying to live up to it, successfully I might add. Unofficially they call her 'the vulture' for the way she used to hover behind the Old Man at meetings, like she was looking for her next meal. We don't know how many kills in the past twenty years, all wet and hot, but we suspect at least thirty."

Rossi whistled low. That made her one impressive assassin. Or serial killer depending on which side you were on. "And now the Old Man is after her husband?"

"Yeah. And if you can figure out why every international agency from us to the Coast Guard will be keeping you in coffee for life."

"And we don't have a copy of that list?"

"We have code names and bad pictures, that's all."

"Can I get a copy?"

"I'll see what I can do."

BAU Headquarters
Quantico, VA

After hearing what Rossi had learned, Spencer was more confused than ever.

"Kidon." Emily said. "Their assassins unit. Has to be. And if Claire said they were sisters then she's former Kidon as well."

"That little girl?" Morgan replied. "No way."

"That's what makes them so good." Emily replied. "You never see them coming. There's always been a rumor of another unit inside Kidon, one better trained and even more dangerous. I'd say what are the odds but the way this case is going..."

"There is no way that Claire was an assassin." Spencer said. "No way. She doesn't have any sign of ever having committed any violence at all."

"You're too close to this." Morgan replied.

"Bigger problem." Rossi said. "So far we have one Mossad agent off the rez who had been hiding out as a military wife and another hiding out as an FBI agent's girlfriend. Now assuming she never asked you about work..."

"Never." Spencer said. "And I never brought case files around her."

"Then she wasn't here for the espionage. Perhaps neither of them were. Then what is the connection with ClearWater?"

"We need to go interview the Ellensworths." Hotch said. "Rossi, with me."

Later on Spencer stopped in to see Garcia. "Are you okay?"

"No. I'm upset about Claire. Sorry, I mean whatshername. Because, you know, she lied about everything, even that." Garcia, Spencer noted, got snappy when she was angry. It was almost like little lightning bolts were shooting off the end of her glasses, and the fur on her pen stood straight up. "She lied to me, she broke your heart, she broke Hotch's nose, and she left us all in the middle of this giant mess. No, I am not okay."

"You know, from what she said to Hotch and what her brother said to me, I don't think she expected this to happen."

"I don't care. She knew they were after her, she planned an escape. That means she had to at least suspect it could come to this. She should have said something, or she should have turned you down, or something. And if I ever see her again I am going to tell her and then I am going to wring her neck." Case clearly closed. Garcia turned back to her monitors.

Spencer just crept out the door.

ClearWater Security headquarters
Washington DC

Hotch and Rossi were ushered into a large, sleek office with one of those million dollar views of the Capitol. Michael Ellensworth came around the desk to meet them. He was a tall man, expensively dressed and groomed, with the dark hair, pale skin, and brilliant blue eye combo that was so tempting to women these days. He practically exuded money and power. "Ah, Agent Hotchner, Agent Rossi. Very good to meet you again. Please." He indicated the chairs opposite his desk. "What can we do for the FBI today?"

"We're looking for two missing women suspected of espionage." Hotch opened a file to show him the two pictures. "We believe you can help."

He didn't show a flicker of a microexpression when he looked at the pictures. "Of course. How can we help?"

"We believe you know them both. One of them referred to you as her brother. Her name is Claire Barlowe."

"I'm sorry; my sibling is meeting with the Senate Appropriations Committee today."

"We also believe they are current or former members of Mossad."

Michael chuckled. "We don't contract with the Israeli government."

"Are you working for them?" Hotch was fishing for a reaction.

He didn't get one. "Our company has the full faith and trust of the US Government, at every level. I hold multiple clearances myself."

"So you have no knowledge of Claire Barlow or Rayna Gillon."

"I'm sorry Agent Rossi, I can't help you with this."

Rossi took a deep breath and tried again.

Forty-five minutes later Hotch and Rossi left the building. "He's good." Rossi said. "I never heard so many non-replies in my life."

"Think we'll get anything if we send someone else in?" Hotch asked.

"Oh, I'd bet he has a wall of lawyers going up as we speak."

After the agents left Michael Ellensworth tapped his intercom. "No visitors or calls, Marsha."

"Yes, Mr. Ellensworth."

He settled back in his chair and loosened his tie as another man walked out of the shadows. He wasn't tall or short, stocky or thin. He wore his grey-brown hair short but not too short, and his stubble in no particular pattern. The light in the room glinted off the steel frame glasses he wore. "So that's Lord and Lady Montague." He said with a thick Brooklyn accent.

"Yeah." Michael replied. "How's Juliet doing?"

"Still crying. Becca gave her tea, she rehydrated. How the hell do they know already?"

"Fuck if I know. I told you they were good. Think if we just lie low they'll give it up?"

"You want to tell that to Juliet?"

"No." Just then an alert went off on Michael's phone. He cursed long and low in another language.

"What now?" The other man came and looked over his shoulder. "Oh hell."

.

We already saw Michael's picture. Carmine Giovinazzo as Zeke.

Just as an FYI, he also played the Unsub in 11x15 "A Badge and A Gun".