Disclaimer: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest is owned by Hanna-Barbara. No money is being made from this story. It is simply by a fan for other fans. Also, Criminal Minds is a product of CBS, no money is being made from the use of their characters.
A/N: Thank you to all those that are reading this story and for those that have left reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy. Goddess Evie, like I said, I'm sorry, I knew you'd react to the cliffhanger in the last chapter, but I didn't think I'd leave you speechless!
Chapter 14
"Are you sure this was the right move?" Almin asked after uploading the video. "We don't need any more heat from the Feds, you know."
"They know nothing." Kosta replied looking down at his subordinate. Almin was nervous, but Kosta no longer cared. He had grown tired of all these games.
"They will soon enough." Almin had worked with the hired tech analyst to upload the video, but that nameless goon now floated in the harbor with the other two men that Jessie had killed.
Kosta ignored his compatriot's concerns and asked, "What about the men that went to Philadelphia?"
Almin shook his head, "No word, however the local news reported a shootout. I don't think they made it."
"Incompetent fools all around!" Kosta growled. "That means the Feds have the woman and the stone."
"That is a safe assumption."
Kosta glared at the other man, but said nothing. He had to think, plan out the next move. Kosta's cell phone rang; answering it he said a few words, some laced with anger, and then hung up.
"Who was that?" Almin asked.
"The Chechens, they are almost out of patience."
"Then we need to act quickly."
Kosta shook his head, "I don't care about them anymore."
"What do you mean?" Almin was confused. "Drazen said…"
"I don't care what Drazen said or what he promised to them. Don't you get it, Almin?"
"What?" The man's confusion was evident in his mannerisms; his hands began to shake. Kosta knew Almin was afraid of him; Kosta enjoyed that.
"Why should we go through all this trouble just to sell the stone to the Chechens?"
"Drazen promised. So did Delic."
"I said I don't care what Drazen promised and Delic doesn't matter anymore. Those two idiots manipulated us from the beginning, even back during the war. All we did was follow their orders; paid thugs and not even well paid!"
"I don't understand." Almin stuttered, hesitation evident in his voice.
"Why should we just hand over the stone to the Chechens? We can keep it for ourselves and then we would hold all the power!" Kosta declared, bravado filling his voice as he made his statement.
Almin nodded, he was starting to understand where Kosta was going with this line of thinking. "But how do you plan to deal with the Chechens?"
"Once we have the stone and we can unlock its secret the Chechens will be just as insignificant as everyone else. They already know how to weaponize Delic's formula, so we just take that from them once we have stone."
"But the Feds have the stone and Delic's daughter more than likely."
Kosta bit his lip as he thought. "Well we need to make them give it to us."
Almin motioned back at the computer screen, "Well once they see that video they'll be ready for a fight, no doubt."
"We've set the trap and shown them the cheese," Kosta said, "Now we just need them to come to us. We still have the advantage."
"They'll bring a whole Army. Bannon will be determined."
Kosta eyed the other man and said, "Good. Bannon is mine."
"Why do you hate him so much?"
"I hate what he represents. What they all represent; their arrogance and their sense of superiority over the rest of the world." Kosta looked the other man in the eyes and said, "Do you think they will be able to trace the link?"
"Eventually; that tech analyst and the Quests are the best at what they do. It will take some time, but sooner or later they will find us."
"Good. That's exactly what I want." Kosta laughed.
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The BAU's tech analyst, Penelope Garcia had retreated back to her office with Philip Corbin in toe. Benton had left to find Hadji, not sure how he was going to tell his son about what he had just seen on the video.
"Are you going to tell them?" Garcia asked Phil as she sat back down in front of her monitors. The small room was filled with equipment, but her desk was also covered with colorful toys, nick knacks, and crazy pens. Those items, combined with her eccentric personality and clothing made her feel safe in such a cruel world. She'd seen a lot of things in her time with the BAU, horrible images brought to life on her screens, but she always felt like they would catch the bad guys. Now she wasn't so sure, these men were some of the cruelest people she had ever seen.
"I have to," Corbin said as he sat down next to her. Garcia studied him closely. She may not be a profiler like the rest of her teammates, but she could identify the signs of guilt when she saw them. This man was blaming himself for what had happened and Garcia wasn't really sure that he wasn't justified in beating himself up about it. After all, these men were from his past and his actions, while honorable, were at least partially to blame for what was currently happening.
"Connect me to Agent Hotchner." He said pointing at her phone.
Garcia complied and a few seconds later, the other agent answered. Garcia started typing at her computer, attempting to trace the IP address that the video had been uploaded from.
"Aaron, its Phil," Corbin said, "What's your status?"
"We ran into some trouble, but we're on our way back now; had to get some new vehicles from the field office here in Philly."
"Is everyone alright?" He asked.
"Yes," Hotch replied and Corbin heard Garcia breathe a sigh of relief. "We should be back within the hour. We have your friend, Doctor Smith, and the stone."
"Good," Corbin wasn't sure how to proceed.
Hotch seemed to pick up on the apprehension in Phil's voice and said, "Is everything alright there? Any news on Jessie?"
'He's good,' Garcia mouthed to Phil in regards to her boss.
"Just hurry back, we need to talk."
"What's going on, Phil?" It was Race who asked the question.
"Something new," Phil said.
"Stop being so damn cryptic for once in your life!" Race said, had picked up on the nervous tone in the I-1 agent's voice.
Phil sighed and rubbed his eyes, "We received another video."
Silence on the other end, then Race's voice, low and serious, "What kind of video?"
Corbin glanced at Garcia and she felt sorry for him. She couldn't imagine how he was going to tell that girl's father about what they saw. "Race, just get back here as fast as possible. I don't know…" He trailed off.
"Damnit, Phil!" Race barked. Over the speaker phone they heard Hotch flip the sirens on and the engine accelerate.
"We'll be back soon." Hotch said and hung up.
Phil sighed and placing his elbow on the desk he cradled his head in his hand, "None of this was supposed to happen." He said.
Garcia wasn't sure how to respond, so she continued typing. "I…"
Corbin shook his head and looked over at her screen, "Any luck?" He figured the inevitable was going to happen when Race and the others returned, so if they could get a lead before that time it might help.
"You know, I can't tell if these guys are good or just playing games with me." Garcia admitted; glad to be focused on her task and not on the incident from the video.
"What do you mean?"
"They're using multiple servers, routing their signal all over the place, bouncing it off of numerous points throughout the world."
"Trying to mask their location, right?" Phil asked.
"Yeah, but it's sloppy. Almost, like they want us to find them." Garcia said.
She continued working and the door to the office opened. Hadji and Benton had returned, both looking solemn and reserved. They both sported red, bloodshot eyes and Benton appeared to have aged ten years in a matter of an hour. Corbin knew that Benton had not shown the video to Hadji, but he had more than likely sat the young man down and explained what they had witnessed.
"I think I may have found something." Hadji announced.
"What is it?" Corbin asked, appearing a tad hopeful.
"Jonny and I had set up an alert database. We used the evidence that was given to the FBI from the crime scenes in Virginia and North Carolina as parameters that would alert us if any similar cases or evidence was uploaded to another law enforcement database. The moment anything that matched our criteria with a sixty percent or greater accuracy was uploaded, my system would get an alert and route me back to the system that uploaded the data."
"Is that even legal?" Corbin asked.
Hadji shrugged, "If law enforcement agencies were more concerned with data sharing than worrying about who has jurisdiction or who gets the credit then it would not be necessary, however we all know that is not the case sometimes."
"Oh believe me, honey, I know," Garcia chimed in.
"So what did you find?" Corbin moved out of the young man's way so he could get to one of the terminals. Standing next to Benton, Corbin briefly glanced at the older scientist. Benton, always a man of reason and logic, looked torn apart, but he placed a comforting hand on Corbin's shoulder, as if to try and relieve some of the agent's apparent remorse.
"Two bodies," Hadji said as he pulled up the data onto the monitor. "Unidentified as of yet, but both bore the same tattoo markings on their forearms. Both men had been stabbed, one pretty violently in the throat."
"Where were they found?" Benton inquired.
Hadji hit a few more keys and then gestured at a point on a map he had called up to the monitor. "Here."
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As soon as Hotch put the vehicle in park, Race was flying out of the vehicle. After the call from Corbin a million scenarios had played out in his head and he cursed his superior for not telling him anything more about this new video. Hurrying across the parking lot he slammed against the door that led into the garage entrance, not waiting for anyone else to follow. Race considered himself a reasonable man, but when things like this happened; when his family (including the Quests), were being threatened he became irate and vowed never to slow down until those responsible were taken care of.
"Race, wait up!" Jonny yelled causing Race to stop and breathe. Reluctantly he waited for the rest of the group to catch up to him and they rode the elevator up to the sixth floor, the location of the BAU offices together. Agents Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss waited for the next ride.
The elevator was a little tight and Estella stood next to Race, leaning against his arm. She took his hand in hers and squeezed and was relieved to feel his hand squeeze back. They didn't say anything, there was nothing to say.
As soon as the elevator door opened they were on the move again, "The conference room." Hotch stated and led the way.
As they entered they found those they had left behind; Benton, Hadji, Corbin, and Garcia. They all had grim and sad looks on their faces.
"What happened?" Race immediately asked, he didn't bother to sit down.
Corbin rose and hugged Natalie, happy to see that she was safe. He spoke to her in Slavic and she nodded and said, "Yes, I'm fine." and then added in English, "I'm pregnant. I was going to tell you the next time we spoke. My fiancée is out of town in Chicago, business trip."
Corbin smiled, but it was weak and forced. He kissed her forehead and motioned for her to take a seat on the couch. After she did, he turned his attention back to Race. "Ms. Garcia received this video while you were gone, sent straight to her email." He looked at Benton, who nodded, and turned to his sons, "We need to leave. You can't see this."
"No!" Jonny protested.
"I'm serious, Jonny," Benton said, his voice sterner than Jonny had ever heard before. "Let's go."
Jonny fumed and tried to resist, but it was no use. He looked towards Race for assistance, but his bodyguard was wrapped up in his own rage. Jonny relaxed and let his father lead him out and Hadji out of the room. As they walked, Hadji leaned over to his brother and said, "I don't know what it is, but it is not good, Jonny. But I did find something useful."
Jonny barely heard him; all he could think about was Jessie.
After Benton and the boys left, the other three agents arrived and took seats around the table. Hotch closed the door and said, "Go ahead, Garcia."
Garcia, looking paler than normal, bobbed her head. She had transferred the video to the large wall-mounted monitor. She hit play. Race watched the short video and felt ready to explode. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. As the video played out, Race experienced a flood of emotions he didn't know how to contain himself; anger, fear, sadness, fury, rage, guilt. It all overtook him at once. He heard Estella begin to sob.
The video ended, but Race continued to stare at the screen. He had balled his hands into fists and his jaw was clenched so tight that it began to ache. No one said anything and the silence only infuriated him further. Slowly, he turned towards Corbin who stood a few feet away and locked eyes with the man.
"This is your fault." Race growled and before anyone could react he rushed his superior.
Corbin stepped back, but he had nowhere to go. He held up his one good hand in defense, but Race was too fast and he landed a hard punch to Corbin's cheek, knocking him to the ground.
"Stop!" Someone yelled, but Race didn't care.
With Corbin dazed from the blow and trying to stand, Race continued to lash out and kicked the fallen man hard in his wounded shoulder, producing a pained shout from the other man. Corbin went down, flat on his back, and Race lunched at him, no longer caring about the consequences.
"You could have just talked, you bastard!" Race growled and began swinging at the man he held responsible. Corbin took a few hits as he tried to scramble away, but he was defenseless. Race grabbed a fistful of Corbin's shirt, lifted his slightly off the ground and hit him again, a combination of sounds filled the room, from Corbin's shirt being ripped to the back of his head banging into the floor.
Suddenly Race felt his arms restrained and he was being pulled back off of the other man. He struggled as Morgan and Hotch held him back.
"That's enough!" Hotch ordered, but Race continued to struggle in their grasp. The other two men held firm, determined to let Race wear himself out before letting him go.
Corbin was pulling himself up off the floor as Natalie, who like Estella was shocked and in tears, and Prentiss helped the I-1 Agent to his feet. His face was bloodied and he grimaced in pain from both his shoulder and his head; Race had landed one of his blows to his stitches, causing them to split open. Corbin steadied himself on one of the chairs as Prentiss grabbed a first-aid kit to help stop the bleeding. She then left to go find some ice.
"Let me go!" Race howled, but he was slowly losing steam.
"Calm down," Hotch ordered. "I'll restrain you if I have to. Don't forget where you are!"
"Those bastards!" Race said, but he suddenly felt weak and sick to his stomach. The tension in his body relaxed, but the other men held on to him in the event it was a trick.
"Race, I'm sorry," Corbin wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "I had no idea this would happen." He turned towards Estella, "Estella, I…"
Estella, like Race, was consumed by emotions and she didn't know what to say or how to react. Corbin's eyes pleaded for forgiveness and she knew that nothing he did had been intended to be malicious in any way. She nodded to him, but turned away.
"Why can't we find these assholes?" Race insisted as Hotch forced him to take a seat.
"Guys, hold on a sec," Doctor Reid said. In the commotion no one had seen that the young man was studying the video. "Something's not right here."
"What is it, Reid?" Hotch asked, his hand still firmly placed on Race's shoulder.
Reid turned towards Garcia and said, "Can you pull this back up on your laptop and slow the image down?"
Garcia, who was also shaken up by the fight, snapped back and said, "Yes, what are you looking for?" She pulled the image off of the monitor, much to the relief of Estella and the others, and started typing.
"Go back to before the gun goes off, when the two men are speaking to each other. The body language of the man holding the gun changes, very subtly but it is there," Reid observed then he turned to Corbin and asked, "Do you know these men?"
Prentiss had returned and given Corbin and Race both ice packs, one for Corbin's head and the other for Race's knuckles. Corbin winced as he placed the pack to his head, but he nodded and said, "Yes. The first one that Jessie taunted is Drazen, he's their leader. The other is a man named Kosta. I was always weary of Kosta, he's a straight up sadistic killer; no emotions and no remorse."
"I consider myself to be well versed in many languages, but I can't make out what they are saying to each other," Reid admitted.
Corbin leaned over towards the laptop and then Natalie joined him; they studied the replay together.
"Well?" Race asked.
Corbin shook his head, "I don't get it."
"I knew these men better than you did, Mr. Corbin," Natalie said and she turned towards the others, "their behavior is out of character, at least Kosta's. He'd never change his mind so suddenly. Drazen wants to hurt Jessie and then kill her, but Kosta tells him not to, that they need her, but then he suddenly changes his mind. It doesn't make sense."
"Why would he do that?" Hotch asked.
"He wouldn't, that's the point," Natalie responded, "Not unless…"
"Unless what?" Race was becoming impatient.
Natalie said something to Corbin, again in Slavic. His brow furrowed he said, "Unless he's manipulating Drazen and us." Corbin turned back towards the others, "Like I said, the man is a sadistic killer. He may have seen Drazen's behavior as a sign of weakness. He may also be fed up with playing lackey for a man like Drazen and for whoever busted them out of prison."
"Garcia, play the video again," Reid said, his hands and fingers moving swiftly threw the air as he spoke, "Slow it down to right before the first gun shot."
Garcia did as she was asked and then Reid shot in, "Pause it, right there. Did you see that?"
Garcia nodded, "We didn't catch that before. The camera angle changed, just slightly."
"We were kind of caught up in the actual content," Corbin added.
Reid straightened up and said, "That was probably the point. This Kosta fellow didn't want us or Drazen to see what his next move was going to be. Continue, Garcia, in slow motion."
The group was huddled around the laptop and watched as Reid narrated, "Did you see that?" He asked.
Morgan nodded, "It looks like he changed his angle."
Reid nodded enthusiastically, "Right. I don't think he shot Jessie at all."
"You mean?" Estella said, a flutter of hope engulfing her body.
"Yes, I think she may still alive." Reid continued, "He was probably just trying to scare her…and us."
"Well it damn well worked!" Race said.
"Besides, it doesn't make sense to hold her hostage then kill her given the history of the stone."
"What do you mean?" Hotch asked.
"I did some more reading as we drove back from D.C. after finally getting a look at the stone for real."
"He had my smart phone the entire time." Prentiss quipped.
"The story, as we've already stated is that the stone was given to the Virgin Mary at Jesus' birth. The image of Mary has always been one of purity and selflessness throughout time, the iconic figure that many people base their life pursuits after."
"What does all this have to do with Jessie?" Race interrupted.
"Well, if the legend is true and the stone does hold some secret that Yuri Delic somehow hid within the stone, then it could be that Drazen and his people believe that only someone with a pure, untainted soul can unlock it."
"She's more than a hostage, she's insurance." Morgan added. Race shot him a look, somewhat offended by the FBI agent's straightforward talk about Race's little girl.
"Right," Reid added. "In the event that Doctor Smith here couldn't unlock the stone, which by being pregnant they would have realized she is no longer pure in the same sense as the Virgin Mother, and therefore would have needed someone else. That's why they kept her and that's why Kosta stopped Drazen from attempted rape."
Race opened the door and called out into the hallway for Benton and the boys.
As they arrived, Benton saw the relief in Race's face and said, "What is it?"
"Jessie could still be alive." Race told him and Benton's shoulders sagged with relief. Jonny and Hadji each stood on opposite sides of their father and placing his arms around their necks Benton pulled them in and hugged them both.
"What about Hadji's findings?" Jonny shot in, not wanting to be left out, but also relieved to hear the news about Jessie.
"Garcia?" Hotch looked at her for answers.
"I'm still working on getting an exact location, but Hadji's program narrowed their location down to possibly Baltimore. Two dead thugs were discovered floating in the Inner Harbor the other day, both with the same tattoos as the creeps Estella took out. Someone had cut their arms, trying to mangle to markings, but Hadji's ingenious program was still able to make a match."
"So they're hiding out somewhere in Baltimore. How much longer till you can get an exact location?" Hotch asked.
"Hopefully soon, if I can get a hit on the IP, I can send you straight to the room the terminal is in."
Race turned his attention back to Corbin and said, "I want the stone."
Corbin hesitated, but then motioned for Natalie to hand over the stone. "Just make sure if stays out of the hands of any of those murderers. If Kosta gets his hands on the stone, no one is safe. He'll use Jessie then kill her the moment he's done with her."
"He'll never lay another hand on her again." Race proclaimed.
"Let's head to Baltimore," Hotch said, motioning to the same team that had gone to Philly, minus Estella and Doctor Smith. "Garcia, as soon as you pinpoint a more exact location,"
She cut in anticipating Hotch's order, "Got it, Sir Bossman. It'll be send to you before you can say 'sim sim sala-bim'!"
As the team got ready to leave, Race turned back towards Corbin, "Hey, Phil,"
Still pressing the ice pack firmly to his forehead, Phil replied, "Don't bother. I deserved it."
"It was blind rage, poorly directed. I would have killed you if they hadn't of pulled me off of you." Race admitted.
"It would take more than a couple punches to my hard head to do that," Corbin said lightheartedly, but Race could tell his boss was a mix of emotions…and physical pain. "Just go get Jessie. The rest will work itself out."
Race nodded, cracked a little smile and the followed the BAU team out the door.
"That was mighty noble of you, Phil," Estella said after the group disappeared.
"He needed to hear it and like I said," He turned and looked at Estella and added, "I deserved it."
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To Be Continued…..
A/N: Now that Jessie's location has been revealed I will wanted to say that when Jessie temporarily escaped her cell she knew where she was because she saw a one-eyed man. That man is Mr. Boh, the "mascot" of National Bohemian Brewing. Naty Boh beer was originally brewed in Baltimore and most of its sales are still in the Baltimore area. The image of Mr. Boh is a mustached man with one eye.