Chapter 04

Capital Plaza Apartments
Apt #23
Washington DC

June 2012

Every morning. 6 am DC time. "Good morning." Spencer said into the phone. "I'm awake."

But this time it was different. This time he heard something else.

"Where are you?" He asked without thought.

The line went dead.

He lay back against the pillow and mentally reviewed what he had heard in the background.

He had heard church bells.

Interpol Office
NCA Building
7 Old Queen St.
London UK

"What is that?" Emily asked as they walked into the office.

"CCTV from Inner and Middle Temple ground," Devlin said, "Spying on barristers. It's like a bloody horror movie; I'm getting the chills just sitting here."

"Anything exciting yet?"

"Not yet."

"There." Jim pointed to one screen. "That's the main entrance to the priory. Keep an eye on that one for Collette."

"Right," Devlin nodded over his mug.

"You need to call Hotch." Emily said to Morgan. "Clear it with him. We can say you're liaising with my office or something."

"He's in the field somewhere. I'll have to have Garcia see if she can set up a video link, wherever he is." Morgan replied.

"What about asking Strauss?"

"She can't be reached."

"Can't be reached?"

Morgan lowered his voice. "Rehab. Little too much scotch for breakfast."

"You are kidding me."

"I wish. I'll go see if I can call Hotch."

Later that day they re-grouped. "Okay, the paperwork is through." Morgan said. "We are liaising for the duration, whatever that looks like."

"We?" Emily asked.

"Whomever you need. Right now me and my baby girl."

"Oh good," Garcia said, not looking up from her laptop. "I can bribe the new boss lady with cupcakes. This is interesting."

"What's interesting?" Emily and Morgan came around to look.

"Okay, whoever handles there IT is really, really good but not as good as I am. This is supposed to be a list of all the female Knights of the Blue, Younger, with their assignments. But I was able to dig out past versions of it and our victims were only added to the list after they were reported missing."

"More evidence that someone planned this in advance." Emily said. "Local people would be able to identify them but the main office doesn't even know potential victims exist. Once a problem is reported the main office goes to verify and there they are."

"Yeah, and that office is responsible for intake, training, re-assignment, everything. So they can not exist and then exist with a few clicks and no one outside of that office would know." Garcia said.

By now Jim was also looking over their shoulders. "Kerry O'Rourke isn't on that list." He said. "She's the younger Knight of the Blue back in Chicago. From Dublin, real sweet kid, always a smile, you know."

"Does she have a child?" Emily asked.

"I think so. She kinda keeps to herself...yeah, a little boy, Liam. He's..." The light bulb went on. "...eight. You know, I think I'm going to head for the airport, go back to Chicago."

"I think Garcia and I are going to head for DC." Morgan replied.

"Not quite." Clyde came in. "We found something on the CCTV. Collette had a tail on her."

"License plate number?" Garcia asked.

"Cross your fingers." Clyde leaned in to tell her.

Self Storage
Borough of Croydon
London UK

Garcia had tracked the electronic trail from the license plate of the car following Colette Duford to someone on the terrorism watch list to this storage facility in the underbelly of London. Now they had what Morgan would call a SWAT team going in. He and Emily had to hang back, but there was no way they were being left behind.

Until they heard the sound of gunfire from inside the facility. Three deliberate shots.

After that no one held back. They rushed the place. Inside was a single man standing in the cluttered space, staring at them with wild eyes. "Allahu akbar!" He called out.

Then he lifted a knife and dragged it across his own throat.

Blood gushed out as he fell.

The Metro cops tried, but there was nothing they could do for him. Or for Colette Duford. Or for William Taylor. Or for Amanda Cox.

"Son of a bitch!" Morgan said, and he kicked a cabinet in his rage.

It whimpered.

Morgan and Emily looked at each other, and then carefully opened the door. Somehow an eight year old girl had squeezed herself in to a very small space. She cowered away as the light hit her. "Geneviève?" Emily said softly. "It's all right, sweetheart, we're the police. Nous sommes la police. You're safe now. Tu es en sécurité maintenant. No one is going to hurt you. Personne ne va te faire de mal. Come on out of there. Allez sortir de là. Come on." Emily kept cooing to her in gentle tones until the girl unfolded and crept out into Morgan's arms. He swept her up and hurried her out to the waiting ambulance, away from the horror within.

At least they had this.

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children
Casualty Ward
London UK

"Thank you." Luc Gaillard had been crying, you could tell from the red rimmed eyes. But he stood tall when he spoke to them. "I know Collette would thank you as well."

"I'm sorry." Emily kept insisting. "He had cameras out, he saw us coming..."

Gaillard shook his head. "You did all you could. And Geneviève is safe, that is all she would have wanted."

"What are you going to do now?" Morgan asked.

"Stay here. Geneviève has lived in London her whole life. And I am told that the team here to help children through trauma is most excellent." He managed a smile as he looked through the window at his daughter, being tended by the nurses in the hospital room. "I have taken a leave of absence from both the University and my duties as a Knight. I will be able to give her whatever she needs." He sighed. "She has her mother's eyes."

"We will continue to provide protective custody for as long as is needed." Emily informed him

Gaillard looked confused. "Was the man who did this not stopped?"

"The man who we caught was a mercenary, hired to do the job. He was a weapon. This won't stop until we find who hired him. But we won't stop." She promised.

"Anything I can do?" Gaillard said.

"Just look after your daughter."