Chapter 10

When Hotch, Kahlan, and Joey got back to the castle they saw Dave and the boys with a bunch of fishing gear. Dave smiled at them. "I was wondering where you were."

Joey's smile revealed her dimples. "We going fishing now, Poppi?" she asked as she ran to him.

"Unless you don't want to go," Dave teased her.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I want to go!"

Wyatt looked at his parents. "You all coming?"

"Of course," Hotch told him as he grabbed one of the tackle boxes.

"When was the last time you went fishing?" Dave asked him.

"That time you let me and the boys use your cabin."

"And we didn't catch anything," Jack reminded him.

Hotch nodded. "Hopefully we'll have better luck today."

Joey looked at them with her Hotch stare. "You will not keep them!"

Wyatt chuckled. "Nah, Joe, we won't."

"Where's Grandma?" Joey asked as she looked around.

"Reading," Dave told her. "She doesn't really like fishing."

"No. She just likes reading more," Kahlan pointed out.

"Then let's go," Joey said excitedly and started out, the little fishing pole over her shoulder bouncing with every step.

They all laughed, grabbed the gear, and made their way to the loch.

After Dave showed her how to bait her hook and cast the rod a few times, Joey was an expert. She giggled as she caught the first one. She took her pole to Dave so he could get the fish off without hurting it.

Jack laughed at it. "I don't even think that can be classified as a fish." Joey looked at him questioningly. "It's more like a minnow."

"Jack," Hotch said in a tone.

Joey huffed and watched the little thing swim away from the shore. Before she could cast her line again, Wyatt was battling something big, so Joey quickly ran up to watch him. "Maybe it's a monster like Nessie."

"I hope not," Kahlan told her with a grin. "That thing might like to eat little girls."

Joey quickly stepped back from the edge and Hotch and Kahlan shared a smile.

After about five minutes, Wyatt finally landed a long, heavy fish. He held it up proudly as Kahlan took a picture. "That's a pike, isn't it?" she asked Dave.

Dave nodded. "Yep, and watch its teeth," he told Wyatt seriously.

"How much do you think it weighs, Dad?" Wyatt asked as he held it out for Hotch to take.

Hotch grabbed it under the gills and hefted it. "Easily ten to twelve pounds."

Wyatt smiled proudly.

"Coll said they've gotten some out of here that were over twenty," Dave told them as he patted Wyatt on the back.

"Put it back before it drowns," Joey pleaded. They all looked at her questioningly. "Well if we breathe air and water makes us drown, wouldn't air make them drown since they breathe water?"

Hotch chuckled at her child-size logic as he held the fish back out to Wyatt. "You caught it, you release it."

Wyatt took it and walked to the edge of the water. He held it down in the water a few seconds and when the fish started trying to swim, he released it.

"Bye fishy!" Joey called to it as she tried to watch it swim away. She looked up with a smile. "Ohhhh, Daddy, you have a bite!" she exclaimed as Hotch's pole almost bent over to the ground from the force of the fish.

"Here, Joe. You do it," he told her as he picked his pole up from the twig he had leaned it against.

Joey smiled and ran up to him. "You sure, Daddy?"

"Yeah," he told her with a smile and handed her the pole.

When the fish suddenly tried to take off, it pulled Joey forward a step.

"Watch her," Kahlan told her husband. She didn't want her daughter to be pulled into the cold water of the loch.

Hotch went behind Joey and knelt down beside her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and held the pole with the other hand. "Try to reel it in."

Joey giggled as she struggled to turn the crank of the reel. As soon as the fish let up its pressure, she'd reel it in quickly, but the fish would take off again and pull the line back out.

Hotch shook his head. "Maybe it is a monster."

Joey giggled some more. Jack and Wyatt left their poles and went to watch Joey. Dave shook his head as he smiled. "That damn thing could weigh as much as she does."

"That would be a record, I bet," Jack told him. "Come on, Joe. You at least have to get it in so we can get a picture."

"I'm trying, but he's strong!" Joey told him as her tongue went out to the side of her mouth in concentration. Suddenly the line went slack and Joey almost fell over but Hotch caught her. "Awwww," Joey pouted.

"Did the line break?" Kahlan asked them.

Before Hotch could answer, Joey was jerked forward and a massive pike broke the surface of the water in a mighty jump. Joey almost fell in the water because Hotch had let go of her under the assumption the line had broken, too, but he grabbed her before she got wet. "Sorry, Angel," Hotch told her sheepishly as he grabbed the pole long enough for Joey to right herself.

"Did you see how big that thing was?" Jack asked them all excitedly.

"He's been out here a while, that's for sure," Dave told them.

"Should we just cut the line and let him go? He's probably a grandpa fish," Joey told them seriously.

"No," Kahlan told her as she joined her. "If the hook is in his mouth, he'll get sick and not be able to eat. Let Daddy reel him in if you can't."

Joey nodded her understanding. "Yeah, Daddy. You better do it," she told him and moved to the side a little so he could get ahold of the pole.

"You sure?" Hotch asked her before he took it. She nodded, so he took the pole and stood up.

Even Hotch struggled a little to get the massive fish into the shore. Once he had it close enough, Dave used a net and scooped it up. Hotch reached in a grabbed it and held it up for everyone to get a good look at it. He had to support his wrist with his other hand and they could all tell it was heavy.

"Awww," Joey started sadly. "He's got three hooks in him."

"Poppi will get them all out," Kahlan assured her and Dave grabbed a pair of pliers.

"He has to be old. Look how some of his scales are fading," Wyatt pointed out.

"He's not just a grandpa fish, he's a great, great grandpa fish," Jack told Joey. She nodded her agreement.

Dave carefully took out all three hooks. "Apparently he got away from a few people."

"He's probably over forty pounds," Hotch told them.

They all looked at it for a few more seconds and Hotch finally moved toward the shore. "Better get him back in."

They all followed him and watched as he put the huge fish into the water. When it didn't move, Hotch bent down further and moved it around trying to stimulate it. He shot a quick look to Kahlan and she cringed.

"Awwww," Joey started as she teared up.

Kahlan put her hand on her shoulder and was about to comfort her when the fish's massive tail moved and splashed the shallow water.

Hotch let it go, stood up, and wiped water off of his face as everyone laughed. "He did that on purpose!" he exclaimed as he shook his head.

Kahlan went to one of the tackle boxes and got out a few paper towels. "Here, Hun, let me help you with that," she told him as she still laughed and wiped his face for him.

He looked at everyone else with his stare and they all quickly went back to their poles, not laughing anymore, but still grinning. He shook his head again.

XXX

After fishing until it was starting to get dark, and everyone catching at least a couple, the family made their way back to the castle. As they got close to the wall, Kahlan and Hotch both noticed who was sitting on a bench beside the castle gate. "What does he want?" Hotch asked as he shot a look to his wife.

"How should I know?" she asked innocently.

"Maybe he's mad because of all of the trouble you two caused for his people in London," Dave suggested with a chuckle. Kahlan and Hotch both looked at him. "I'll take the kids in and we'll get cleaned up for dinner," he told them and led the kids inside the gate.

"Really, Clyde, your goons following us all around London wasn't bad enough you had to come all the way here to bug us personally?" Kahlan asked as she and Hotch walked up to him.

He stood up with a smile. "On the contrary, I've come to enlist your services."

Kahlan and Hotch shared a quick look. "Services?" Hotch asked him.

"How should I put this?" Clyde wondered aloud as he started down the path away from the castle, and they followed him. "I am in need of a couple, and you two have just the expertise I need."

"Talk fast Clyde; we are on vacation, but I do get bored easily," Kahlan told him dryly.

Hotch chuckled as Clyde turned to look at them again. He licked his lips and Hotch thought he was actually nervous. "After hearing from my people in London, it is obvious that you still have it," he told Kahlan and then quickly went on at her raised brows that showed her impatience. "I need someone to do a little surveillance and maybe even a little covert op."

Hotch almost smiled at Kahlan; he could tell her interest was piqued, but she shook her head and he almost choked.

"No," she told him flatly and started to turn back to the castle.

"But," Clyde stammered.

"We are on vacation," she told him simply.

Clyde looked at Hotch pleadingly. "It is rather important." Hotch was about to agree with Kahlan, but Clyde spoke up again. "Many lives could be saved."

Hotch studied him for a moment and then turned to Kahlan. "We can at least hear him out."

Clyde smiled. Emily had told him all about Hotch, so he knew what type of man he was. He knew Hotch wouldn't turn down the offer to save lives, and he was hoping Hotch could sway Kahlan to help.

She huffed as she looked at Clyde knowing full well what he was doing. "Come on," she told them and headed for the stables. She took them into the tack room and sat down on one of the saddle holders. Hotch moved to stand beside her. "Speak," she told Clyde with a look that told him she wasn't really interested; that she was only doing it to pacify her husband.

Clyde cleared his throat nervously and sat down. He ran his hands down his thighs and looked at them both slowly. "It seems we have a nasty individual in England, and we need someone who can get close to him without him realizing it." Kahlan studied him and he felt a little awkward under the attention.

Hotch crossed his arms as he studied him. "And why can't you use your own people to do it?"

Kahlan huffed. "Cause he's connected and possibly knows them," Kahlan answered for him.

Clyde bit his lip but his look told them she was right.

"And what is he supposed to have done?" Hotch asked.

Clyde sat up straighter. "He's a regular crime boss: drugs, human trafficking, guns, you name it and he has his hand in it somewhere. We just haven't been able to actually connect it to him because he is one slippery bastard."

"And how do you think she could get close to him?" Hotch asked as his deep rooted want to take care of all bad guys was starting to get drowned out by his worry for his wife.

"What's his name?" Kahlan asked before Clyde could answer.

Clyde looked at the ground. "See. . ."

"It not me you want, it's Aaron!" Kahlan exclaimed as she stood up defensively.

"What?" Hotch asked not sure what he had missed.

"He doesn't know who it is, and he wants your profiling skills to figure it out."

Hotch looked from her to Clyde. "What?"

"Tell him," Kahlan demanded.

Clyde stood up and dusted off the back of his pants. "I need both of you," he told her seriously and she tensed so he quickly got on with it. "We're not sure who is actually in charge. That is the main problem. They're five of them, and we haven't been able to narrow it down to the actual ring leader."

Hotch licked his lips as he started to understand. "So you want me to go in and figure out who is in charge and then you want her to get close to him and do her thing."

Kahlan shook her head in disgust. "And where is all of this supposed to take place?"

"There is a gala at one of the palaces. You two could go in under the cover as rich Americans and no one would suspect you for what you really are." He turned to Hotch. "You can observe them and figure out who the leader is, and then," he paused to look at Kahlan. "And then Kay can go in and set up surveillance on him so we can get the proof we need to take him and his organization down." He smiled at them. "We'll probably never get another chance like this. This is the first time all five of them will be in the same place."

Kahlan huffed as she walked toward the stalls, and Hotch knew she was thinking.

"Emily has always told me how great of a profiler you are," Clyde tried.

Kahlan turned back to him quickly. "And what, you think challenging his abilities is going to make him want to jump and do this to prove how good he is?" she laughed. "Aaron's not prideful like you Clyde. He knows how good he is and he doesn't have to prove it to you to feel validated."

Clyde shrugged. "Maybe you don't think you're up to the challenge any more, then."

Hotch laughed. "Now you're just being mean."

"Does this man's tendrils reach into the US?" Kahlan asked.

"Not yet," Clyde told them honestly.

"Then he's not our concern. I think you all need to take care of your own problems," she told him flatly as she folded her arms across her chest.

Clyde huffed as he looked at them.

Hotch smiled, though, and looked at his wife. "You never know, it could be fun."

She didn't hide her shock at his statement. "Aaron, those men are probably dangerous as hell. . ."

"We would equip you with everything you would need," Clyde assured Hotch.

"I haven't worked undercover in a while," Hotch told her longingly.

She shook her head, and Clyde knew she was close to saying 'yes', so he moved in with the big guns. "Part of their trafficking ring sells children to foreign countries." Her look of disgust almost made him smile because he knew he had her; he knew children were her weakness. "He really needs to be taken down, Kay."

She looked at her husband and he gave her a look that told her he wanted to do it. "Dave and your mom can watch the kids."

She sighed deeply. "Where and when?"

Clyde smiled as he pulled an envelope out of his inside jacket pocket.

XXX

As Hotch and Kahlan made their way back to the castle keep alone, she shook her head. "You know he played us, right?"

Hotch chuckled. "Yeah. His ability to manipulate people is what probably helped him get to where he is."

She stopped and locked eyes with him. "We are just supposed to get in and get out. You probably won't have the chance to see them take him down. It will probably take them a while to build their case against him." She knew he was driven by the need to make the world a safer place, and she was worried he would want to do more.

He gave her a cocky grin. "We'll see," he told her and started for the castle again.

She looked at him with shock. No, Aaron! She quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. "Aaron Jackson Hotchner! You do not have plans of going in there and baiting him once you figure out who it is, do you?"

He quirked his brows and then smiled. "I will only do what is needed to be done."

"Don't you dare try to turn my own words against me!"

He chuckled. "How does it feel?"

"Aaron, please! If those men are truly responsible for what they think they are, they would not hesitate to kill you!"

"It's just another unsub, Babe."

"Yeah, but you usually have your team as back up when bringing down those unsubs."

He smiled. "I don't need my team if I have you," he told her as he put his arms around her waist.

She shook her head slowly as she cut her eyes to the side. If one of those son of a bitches tries to hurt you, I kill him! I'll kill them all if needed!

He noticed her hands were balled into fists so he pulled her closer to him. "Together we can do anything."

She bit her lip, looked him in the eyes, and finally smiled. "Together."

He nodded. "Together."