Acceptable Risk – Chapter 7
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"Okay, we have target in sight." Emily keyed in her mic to her team from her car.
"Roger that, boss."
Hotch smiled, "Kind of strange to hear someone else calling you boss for a change."
She turned to him and grin, "Yeah? It is and it took some getting used to, Hotch."
He smiled at her.
She beamed seeing his smile; he looked ten years younger and those damn dimples deepening…so like a boy!
Take a deep breath, Prentiss! And grow up…he's taken. Emily reminded herself.
She turned back to the shop across the street. "Shall we hit it?"
"Huh?" Hotch frowned.
"Um…head over there." She pointed at the shop.
"Oh! Okay…Yeah, sure, let's go." He nodded and stepped out of the car. "Just like we rehearse it."
She nodded as she climbed out of the car and walking around the vehicle, she joined him and together they crossed the busy street and stepped towards the shop of their suspected target.
"The Spice Merchant." They read the store together and smiled. "Ready?" Emily wrapped a scarf over her head and covering her hair before she hooked her hand through Hotch's elbow.
Together they entered the shop, Hotch allowing her in first.
Emily grinned and then smelling the various aromas of spices she closed her eyes and let it infused her mind; it reminded her the time she spent in the Middle East and the times she snuck out and wander in the bazaars where the locals sold their fresh spices.
"Oh my god, this is so great! It's almost like…home!" She gushed as she spun around and placed her face into the jars of spices and inhaled. "Oh, the smell!"
Hotch stood aside and watched her; a different Emily; a very young Emily.
And he liked this Emily…very much.
"Good afternoon, sir, madam?" A clerk approached Hotch smiling pleasantly. "May I help you?"
Hotch, still smiling, pointed at Emily, "My wife is looking for a particular spice."
The clerk nodded and walked to her, "Madam?"
She turned to him and began to speak in Arabic, "Do you have the Kala Jeera spice? It's part of the parsley family and it's for flavoring rice?"
The clerk frowned, "I'm not sure…"He replied in Arabic. "Let me ask my boss, I'll be right back." He bowed at her and left.
Emily continued to bend down at the jars and inhaled at them.
Hotch smiled indulgently at her. "Having fun?"
She straightened up and grinned, "Yes! There are so many fragrant spices…and they remind me of so many memories…!"
"Good afternoon, I understand you are looking for the Kala Jeera?" A bearded man came to stand near them.
Hotch and Emily nodded at him, Emily began in Arabic. "Yes, I am looking for the rare spice, my darling husband is having a grand birthday next week and I want to cook this special rice dish for him on his special day." She looked lovingly at Hotch who returned her smile with a beaming one as he didn't understand one word she had said.
The man brightened at her, "Ah! You have come to right place! What a lucky man he is! Not many people know of this rare spice! I have it, how much do you need?"
"Oh, about one kilogram or maybe two…make it two." She replied.
He nodded several times, "Come, come…I will get them for you but it's not cheap…it'll be about 200 pounds per kilogram."
"Price is not a problem, Mr…?"
"Saifuddin…Saifuddin bin Ahmed." He bowed at them."
Hotch and Emily nodded at him and then she pulled out her credentials as she and Hotch took out their guns, "INTERPOL, please follow me, Mr bin Ahmed. We'll like to ask you a few questions."
Hotch turned to the assistant, "Just move to the front of the store please." The man, his hands up nodded as he complied.
In the meantime, Saifuddin bin Ahmed sagged and nodded as he raised his hands and began to look around him.
"Don't think of escaping, sir. There are INTERPOL agents outside in case you decide to leave suddenly." Emily told him.
Hotch stood near her as they walked him out, "You're enjoying this too much, aren't you?"
She smiled, "Seeing his look is worth it, Hotch. Putting away scumbags like him always brings pleasure."
He grinned.
One of her agents handcuffed the man and placed him in the car.
"We'll meet you back in the –POL, boss." They waved at her and drove off.
She looked at Hotch, "I'm hungry, how about lunch?"
He looked at her, "Sure…what about your suspect, don't you want to be there for interrogation?"
She shook her head, "Nah, the agency can handle themselves. Besides, all that smell of spices is making me hungry for curry or…or Indian food now. What about you?"
Hotch shrugged, "I'm up for anything, you treating?"
She raised her eyebrow, "What? You…whatever happened to gentlemanly gestures?"
He laughed at her, "I'm pulling your leg, Em. Come on, show me a good Indian restaurant and I'll buy." He shook his head as he held his hand out.
She laughed as she took his hand and swinging it walked to the car.
….
In the basement of the INTERPOL.
Reid had so far successfully interpreted 50 books before his eyes began to burn.
"Hey…Dr. Reid, how about a break?" Officer Mei-Lin knocked on the door.
"Hang…Hang on one more moment!" Reid exclaimed as he pressed pause on the machine and closed the books and placed them back in the box as he marked them.
He stood up and stretched up and said, "Okay, I'm ready."
A minute later, the door opened Reid emerged and he walked out and thanked her before she closed and locked the door again as he left the room and used the bathroom.
"Feeling better?" She grinned at him.
He nodded shyly as he looked at the locked door. "I'm not going back in there?"
She shook her head, "Lunch time, Dr. Reid. You've been in there for over five hours." She began to walk out of the warehouse, Reid followed her.
"Where are we going?"
"Do you like Italian?"
He nodded, "Oh yes…spaghetti, pizza, calzone."
She laughed as she shook her head, "No, the Italian fare I'm talking about does not serve the traditional American tourist stuff. They do a really mean pasta and shrimp and scallops." She paused in her step suddenly and turned to him, "You're not allergic to seafood, aren't you?"
He shook his head, "No…I love seafood."
She sighed, "Whew, good, I like seafood too. If you are, we'll have an issue, Dr. Reid…May I call you…?"
"It's Spencer. And yes, you may." He nodded nervously.
She smiled, "Good, Dr. Reid is so formal and so long and takes forever to pronounce. I like Spencer. It goes well on you, Spencer." She smiled as she pronounced his name again.
He frowned at her, "You're welcome?"
She laughed. "I know, I'm a loon. Please don't mind me, Spencer." She waved her hands off. "Agent Prentiss told me many times I talk too much but" she shrugged, "I just can't help it."
They stepped into the elevator that led them up to the first floor of the INTERPOL building.
She then pulled out her cell phone, "Agent Prentiss, I'm taking your Dr. Reid to lunch…the food court, nowhere fancy." She then placed her phone back in her pocket and opening the door out of the building and they left the building.
"I guess phones don't work in the basement?" Reid turned to her.
She shook her head. "Not at all, too much concrete and metal and all those steel thingies around the building, it blocks out the wifi and network."
He nodded and followed her to a nearby Food court that catered to the workers of the INTERPOL.
"So, this pasta, shrimp and scallops, what else is in it?" Reid asked her.
They began to talk as she led him towards the building.
Reid looked at it, 'The Seafood Eatery'.
"Very catchy."
She smiled, "Don't let the simple name fool you, the food is really rad."
"Rad?" He frowned.
"Rad…means very good…Don't you people in the States use that term?"
"Er…yeah, I think so."
"You're kind of unusual, Spencer." She walked up to the store and ordered their food.
"Hey, Mei-Lin, do you know we're been followed?" Reid turned around.
She grinned, "You mean you just now notice?" She waved at the two guards, they nodded at them.
"You knew?"
She shrugged, "Agent Prentiss had us followed, she doesn't feel that we're being safe on our own. It's for our own good. We're important for her." She said casually.
"So, you think someone knows what we're doing?"
She shrugged, "I'm not sure, there's always spies everywhere…my VOIST is also a very important invention." She said sadly. "Actually, my father began the works. The Iraqis killed him to try to gain the software, as well as my brother."
"I'm sorry, Mei-Lin." Reid said quietly as they took their seats.
She shrugged, "It's okay, it happened two years ago. INTERPOL has taken care of me since. I mean they've been keeping a close eye on me…so far there had been three near attempts." She took a sip on her drink.
"Three attempt?" Reid stared at her. "You mean three kidnap attempt?"
She nodded, "Yeah, but INTERPOL managed to stop them while I finish VOIST and other things."
His interests perked, "Oh? What other things?"
She smiled mysteriously, "Sorry, I can't say…top secret projects."
He looked disappointed, "Oh. I see."
She smiled, "Don't worry, it's not that major, Spencer. I'm just taking over a lot of my father's unfinished projects and then some…some of them are kind of boring stuff, really."
He grinned, "You must be pretty smart."
She shrugged, "Not really…I'm always under my daddy's shadow. I'd love to prove to all that I'm my own person."
"Well, I think you are," He said shyly. "I mean, you must be to do this stuff and continue your father's works…what's your IQ?"
She frowned at him, "Oh, don't laugh…I mean, ever time I told a guy my IQ, they fled." She looked down at the shredded paper napkin.
Reid removed her 'handiwork' from her hands and tossed them in the trash can and sat back down. "I have the same problem, and I have a big problem speaking my mind. Emily…she, well she never fail to tell me about my brutal honesty and lack of discretion."
She laughs, "Yeah, she tells me that a lot and she's brutal about it too." She watched him closely. "We kinda have a bit in common."
He looked at her and smiled, "Yeah, so it seems…and you haven't answer my question…"
"Here you are, lunch for two…and two plates." The server laid out a large platter on their table and two plates with utensils.
The steamy aroma of seafood was filling the air around them as Reid sniffed at the platter, Mei-Lin began to scoop their plate and placed it in front of them. "Dig in, Spencer. Bon appetite!"
He grinned as he picked up a fork and began to eat. "You are right, this is great!" He spoke through a mouthful of pasta and seafood.
She chuckled at him, "I told you so! The best seafood ever! And it's cheap." She closed her eyes as she savored the flavor, "Mmmm, so good, right?" When she opened her eyes, she looked ahead and saw something unusual; two men were approaching them fast and they were armed.
Reid saw them as well and instinctively, he pushed her down from the table, "Get down, get down!" He fell down on top of her using his body and covered her as he unholstered his gun and fired a shot at one of the men. The two body guards who were standing nearby pulled their weapons out and shot the two men instantly, they lay dead not five feet from Reid and Mei-Lin.
"Not again! Not again!" She began to sob.
"Shh…It's okay, Mei-Lin…they're dead." Reid said as he turned to look over to see their dead eyes staring upwards and then the screams of the food court patrons as they scrambled around and about.
"Are you two all right?" The guards bent down and were looking over them.
Reid nodded at them, "Yeah, we're fine, she's shaken up…"
"I'm fine, Spencer." Mei-Lin cut in. "I'm okay." She was angry now as she shoved Reid away from her as she tried to stand up, "I'm okay. See!" She held her shaky hands out for the guards' inspection.
They nodded and one of them got on his phone, "Agent Prentiss, we have a situation…" He began to relay the incident to her.
"Yes ma'am." He nodded and placed his phone back in his pocket and spoke to Reid and Mei-Lin, "Agent Prentiss will be here directly."
Reid groaned, "You had to snitch." He muttered.
The two guards stared at him and shook their heads, "Sorry, we have to report every incident." They nodded to him before they stepped away to attend to the two dead men.
Mei-Lin was about to move away when Reid pulled at her, she glared at him, "What?"
He released his hold, "Just making sure you're not going to wander off."
"I'm not, just going to see who those two dirt bags are…were." She was still angry.
Reid nodded but he accompanied her to them.
Standing by their sides, Mei-Lin asked the guards, "Any ID's?"
The guard shook his head, "Unfortunately, they're not packing any. They did not want to be ID'ed. It'd have to be done through DNA. We're waiting for the medical examiner's arrival."
She nodded.
Five minutes later, Emily and Hotch arrived.
"What happen?" She asked as she looked over the younger girl with concern.
"Are you two all right?" Hotch asked.
They nodded as they told them what happened again. Emily then went over to the guards and they told her their versions which matched the story as well.
The ME soon arrived and upon examining them, found that the two men were from the Middle East.
"But until I run their DNA, I will know more about their identities, Agent Prentiss." The ME nodded at her.
"Thank you, Dr. Mangawa. And I don't have to remind you that this is a priority case."
He nodded and began to direct his assistants to bag the bodies.
Emily then received another phone call where she took it aside from everyone else.
Ten minutes later she turned to the group, "Um…Reid, how are you on your interpretation?"
"Done with 50 books. And as soon as we're done with all this, we should be heading back and continue."
Emily nodded. "Okay, there is a slight change of plans though," She turned to Mei-Lin, "You, little one, are not going home for a while."
Mei-Lin frowned, "Why not? What's going, Agent Prentiss?"
"That was Tomas, he and the gang found bombs in your apartment." Emily told her.
"My…my…apartment?" Mei-Lin's eyes widened. "But…who?"
Emily shrugged, "Who else? The Arabs. So, you can't go home."
Mei-Lin shook her head, "Then where am I going?" she waved her hands about her.
"You're coming with me, kiddo." Emily began to walk towards the guards.
"Wait…wait, Agent Prentiss! What about my clothes? My laptop?"
Emily turned around to face her, "Tomas managed to save your stuff out of your apartment but as far as going back there, it's a no-go. Sorry kid."
"Wait a minute, Tomas went through my dresser and pilfer my clothes…underwear?"
Emily chuckled, "Relax, Mei-Mei, he had a female officer doing it, he refused to touch your …er…how did he say it? Unmentionables? Yeah." She laughed. "Unmentionables, kind of an old word, but a female officer packed your stuff, along with your electronic gadgets, once they find them safe."
Mei-Lin sighed, "At least, it's a female that did it or I'll never hear the end of it from him! You know what a big tease he is."
Emily grinned, "If he gives you a hard time, let me know and I'll take care of him. Or better yet, tell Walter."
Mei-Lin began to smile, "Yes…Walter…he'll do."
"Come on, are you two able to get back to work?"
They nodded.
"I'll escort you back to the dungeons." Emily began to walk towards her car.
Hotch quickly caught up with her, "Is that a good idea?"
Emily looked up at him, "What do you mean?"
"This bomb scare, are they able to get back to work?"
Emily turned to watch Reid who was walking and talking to Mei Lin as they followed her.
"It'll give them a distraction and Hotch, we can't delay or we'll have to turn over everything back to Syria."
Hotch nodded, "Yeah, you're right. And we still need to figure the second location."
Emily nodded. "And a few more locations too."
…
End of Chapter 7