Chapter 02

BAU Headquarters
Quantico, VA

Fall 2005

"So what the hell was this gift?" Morgan asked.

"No clue." Elle replied. "I guess we'll know soon enough."

But the first one who had any clue was Garcia. Three weeks later she met them all at the coffee machine in the morning, brimming over with gossip. "So there is this creepy rumor going out over the internet." She said.

"About what?" Elle asked

"The aliens."

"Come one. They're gone." Morgan said. "Let the world get back to normal."

"What's the rumor?" JJ asked.

"That they're rounding up everyone who was anywhere near that thing when it took off." Garcia replied. "And locking them all away somewhere."

"I don't buy it." Morgan said.

"Me neither." Elle agreed.

"My team." Hotch called out, ending the conversation. "We're briefing on the plane, wheels up ASAP."

And that would be the first sign that something was not right. The second were the military officers on the screen once they got in the air. "What's going on?" Morgan asked.

"Lance Corporal Jorge Mendoza, 20, from Escondito, California, gone AWOL out of Camp Pendleton." Colonel Chatman replied. "Homeland Security matter, we have reason to believe he's gone over to the other side and taken some materiel with him."

"Other side?" Elle asked.

"He's converted and become a terrorist."

"Why do you think that?" Gideon asked.

"Some of the evidence we've found on his computer. We had it translated for you, sent it to your tech."

"We need to see the originals." Hotch said.

"We can send those as well."

"What did he take?" Gideon asked.

"That's classified."

"Then how are we supposed to get it back?"

"We just need to find him. That's all."

"We'll need access to his teammates and his quarters." Hotch said.

"Of course. It'll all be waiting when you arrive."

They spoke for a few more before the line closed. "Does this smell hinky to anyone else?" Morgan asked.

No one answered. They didn't have to.

MCB Camp Pendleton
San Diego, CA

They made Mendoza's fireteam and buddies available for interviews. "He came to hate this country." One of the guys said to Hotch and JJ. "Ever since his uncle was deported or something."

"It was all politics with him." Another said to Morgan and Elle. "He hated the way this country is going. He thought the ragheads had a good idea going, getting a country right with god and all that."

"He started listening to the preachers on our last deployment." A third said to Gideon and Spencer. "They got in his head. We shouldn't be over there, that kind of thing. I guess this is what happens. It's sad."

Into each conversation they slipped the same question. "What did he like to drink?"

Each time the reaction was the same, honest confusion. And the answer was the same. "He's under 21. He doesn't drink."

Whoever was asking gave the interviewee one of those looks and asked again.

"I don't know. Beer."

"What brand?"

"Bud, I guess."

"Okay."

When it was all over Gideon went to the officer in charge. "We're going to need to talk to his family."

The family's behavior was different. Where the Marines were cool and confident these people were nervous, even scared. But the answers they gave were the same. He hated this country, hated the politics, got won over on his last deployment.

Until Gideon asked the brother just older than him what his brother liked to drink. "Bohemia." He replied easily.

"Uh huh."

The mother was the one who finally broke down to Elle. "Por favor, encontrad a mi hijo." She begged as the tears started to flow

"Estamos tratando." Elle replied. We're trying to.

"Es un buen chico. Él no es así. Nos obligaron" He's a good boy. He's not like this. They make us.

"¿A qué se refiere?" What do you mean?

"Nos obligaron a decir eso. Dijeron que si no lo hacemos nos enviarán a la cárcel a todos nosotros. Hasta a los bebés." They make us say these things. They say if we don't they send us to prison, all of us. Even the babies. Mrs. Mendoza kept weeping. "¡Mi hijo ama este país! ¡Está orgulloso de ser un Marine! ¡Nunca haría las cosas de las que lo acusan, nunca!" My son loves this country! He is proud of being a Marine! He would never do these things they say, never!

"Okay, shhh." Elle patted her hand. "Le ayudaremos. Haremos lo que podamos" We'll help him. We'll do what we can. She turned to the two way mirror and made the high sign to Gideon, who met her just inside the door. When she came back she had one question. "¿A dónde iría Jorge si estuviese en problemas y no supiera qué hacer?" Where would Jorge go if he was in trouble and didn't know what to do?

"A ver a mi sobrino, su primo, el Padre Martin." To my nephew, his cousin, Father Martin.

"¿Es un sacerdote?" He's a priest?

"Sí, en Santa María" Yes. St. Mary's.

"Muy bien"

They met quietly, quickly, before Hotch sent them on their way. "Go." He said. "Find out what's going on. Gideon and I will run interference."

"You got it." Morgan said. Then he led Elle, JJ and Spencer away.

By now night had fallen. Thanks to Morgan's driving experience they were able to shake the tails they had on them when they left the base. "What is going on?" JJ asked.

"They're covering up something." Elle said. "Those weren't Mendoza's buddies. No way a close bunch like a fire team wouldn't know what beer he asked for."

"They were lying." Morgan agreed. "You could see them get nervous the moment we went off script."

"The question is, what are they covering up?" Spencer said.

"That's the question."

"You were supposed to tell us where to find him!" Colonel Chatman raged. "Not go after him!"

"You don't have clearance to work inside the borders." Hotch replied. "You would have had to send the FBI after him anyway."

"And we don't appreciate being lied to." Gideon added.

"You have no idea!" They could see it now, Chatman's façade was cracking. He was terrified. "You have no idea what you've done!" He turned and nearly ran down another hallway. Hotch and Gideon followed, closely enough to get through security with him. They found themselves in another part of the complex, in what looked like a crisis room. Something was being monitored in real time. "I need to get a lock on those FBI agents." Chatman said. "GPS off their phones, Lojack their vehicle, satellite, I don't care just find them."

"Colonel, what is going on?" Hotch asked, his calm betraying his anger.

"Have Bio Team 1 ready to deploy." Chatman said to his people.

"Bio Team?" Gideon asked.

"You have no clue what we're dealing with here." Chatman replied. "Where are they?"

St. Mary's Church rectory
Escondido, CA

By now it was late. And in this working class neighborhood it was quiet. Hopefully they could get in and out before anyone saw anything.

They took up positions to cover as much ground as they could before Morgan went to knock on the door. He was polite to the man in the Roman collared shirt who answered, but spoke through the screen door. Father Martin?"

"Yes."

"Derek Morgan, FBI. We're looking for Jorge Mendoza."

"He's not in here."

"Look, we know he's in trouble. We just want to help him."

Fr. Martin studied him for a moment. "I believe you. But he left a few moments ago."

Damn it. "Can you tell us where he was going?"

"No. He didn't tell me, to protect me."

"Did he say what was going on?"

Father Martin nodded. "In confession." The priest looked troubled. "And now I must go make mine as well. If you are a faithful man I suggest you do the same."

"Why?"

But all Father Martin did was say a blessing over them, and close the door.

"What is going on?" Elle asked when they regrouped.

"Aliens." A male voice replied. Then he coughed.

They spun, weapons out, to find a young Hispanic man with a Marine haircut coming around the corner of the garage. His face looked a little swollen, a little flushed, even from where they were they could see the shine of moisture around his eyes and nose. And he had a handgun. "FBI!" Morgan said as the others fanned out to present less of a target. "Drop your weapon!"

"I can't do that." Jorge said. "I'm sorry."

He wasn't threatening them with it, so they started trying to talk him down. "We just want to help you Jorge." Elle said. "We know they were lying to us."

"Doesn't surprise me." Jorge cleared his throat, coughed again. Then he sneezed. "They're trying to pen us up. Rats in a cage. I know what's going to happen. Know what I got to do. I just wanted to get to confession first, you know. Get right with God."

"Just tell us what's going on." JJ said. "Maybe we can help you."

"No one can help me. No one can help any of us now." He coughed again

Us. "Look, we met a bunch of guys, but they weren't your buddies. Where's your unit, do you know?"

"Yeah, they stuck them in quarantine early this morning." Jorge looked him dead in the eye. "They ain't getting out."

"Quarantine?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah, man." He sneezed several times. "Son of a..."

Spencer holstered his weapon and put his hands up, hoping for trust. "Did you go anywhere else but here today?" He asked.

"I stopped for gas, got some Mickey D's. Why?" Jorge sneezed again. Then his eyes went wide. "Oh shit, man! Oh shit!" He panicked

"Look, it's going to be okay." Spencer said. "We'll call Colonel Chatman and..."

"No man, it's too late for that! We're all going to die! And it's all because of me!"

"You don't know that."

"Yeah I do. Look at me man. I saw my abuelo die. Cancer. Took him weeks, in the hospital all those tubes. No dignity in that." Jorge shook his head. "I'm not going to go like some lab rat." He closed his eyes and started praying.

"Reid! What's going on?" Elle asked. There was the sound of sirens in the distance.

"Spence?" JJ asked.

Spencer's hands shook as his brain ran faster than his mouth could process. LAPD was pulling up, Likely alerted by someone in the neighborhood. "Jorge, where was your last deployment?"

The locals say the guns and came out with their own ready. "LAPD! Drop the weapon!"

Jorge opened his eyes. "We were guarding that ship." He sneezed. "Now it's too late for us. All of us. And I ain't gonna be no lab rat." He pointed his gun at the cop car.

"Wait!" Morgan called out.

"No, don't!" Spencer screamed.

Jorge's gun fired.

The cops shot back.

The wind was blowing toward the agents.

They were all splattered.

"Ew!" JJ said as she went to wipe the blood from her cheek.

"Damn it!" Morgan said. He wiped off his own face. "Reid, what was that?"

Spencer was wide eyed, dotted in misted blood. "The aliens left a gift." He said.

They turned as the sound of more sirens started swelling in the distance.