A/N: Here's another chapter. I hope everyone likes this!

Special thanks to jenny crum, snuggleUP, Christiangirl, waiyeex90, HotchRocks, lovecm and Jareau37!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 59: Operation X

JJ had silently followed Jill across the space as she felt eyes stare at her but she managed to ignore all of them, not wanting to talk to anyone. She wasn't ready for the thought of jumping into a new job without any thought, and black-ops just made it that much worse. It were the mission that could never be acknowledged, which meant killing and lying a lot more than she wanted. If someone had offered her that job a year earlier she would've jumped at the chance but now her entire life had changed, and all that was left to do was to find Ward and arrest him to keep him from being a threat in her life.

Jill stepped behind her desk after she closed the door to her office. She took off her coat and hung it on the rack and then she proceeded to sit down in her chair as JJ kept standing across from the large desk. ''Have a seat, JJ.'' Jill offered.

JJ sat down in one of the chairs, flashing back to the times she sat down across from Collins. In so many ways it felt the same, but somehow it also didn't. Jill seemed to be different, more compassionate than anyone she had ever dealt with in the CIA before. ''Before you tell me anything…about…this…place.'' JJ began. ''I need to tell you about the intell I just acquired from a contact in the States.''

''Go ahead. I am listening.''

''In DC,'' JJ started off hesitantly because she didn't want to live in the past but that was where some of it had started so she needed to explain everything step by step. ''…I met Grigori Durov and Ivan Zhukov. Both were associates of Christian Ward but I never knew to what degree.'' she continued. ''I was just informed that Durov was former KGB and went freelance. This intell confirms the theory of the Russian Organization I've been trying to track down for years.''

Jill rose from her chair, realizing JJ seemed happy with the lead she had managed to find, but to her it was just another small piece to a puzzle. ''Follow me.''

Once again, JJ was following Jill to another part of the office. It was a large room with no glass windows. In the middle was a control board for the screen that were on the walls. ''What is this place?'' JJ asked in awe.

''I like to call this the war room.'' Jill said as she typed in a few codes before getting to the files she wanted to access. Once she had found the right files she displayed them on the biggest screen for JJ to see. ''This is one of the major operations we're working on in SOD, JJ.'' Jill said as she pointed at the screen.

JJ stepped forward as her mouth fell open. She saw dozens of names, some with a picture next to them, and others blank. On the top of the screen was a big question mark, suggesting there was no knowledge of who was heading the organization the chart displayed. And as JJ looked at every detail, she recognized Ward's picture. ''This is everything you have?''

''This operation, or as we would like to say…Operation X has been in the works for the past year.'' Jill began to explain. ''We have slowly been identifying contacts linked to the operation.''

''We?'' JJ asked as her curiosity began to take over. It wasn't just her curiosity but Jill's team had found so much more than she ever expected. But as JJ gazed at the chart of contacts and agents, she realized that Christian Ward was linked to a massive criminal organization. It really was so much bigger than she ever expected.

JJ snapped from her focus when the door to the room opened and a tall man walked in, his eyes immediately being directed at her. And as JJ stared back, she realized he never stopped staring at her. So she looked away and refocused on the board when she heard Jill and the stranger talking behind her. Well, it was more like whispering but JJ still kept her focus.

''We talked about this!'' the man said in slight anger. His voice was raised above a whisper and when he saw JJ finally looking at him, he turned his back towards her. ''Jill, she's not the right addition to this team. We can't risk the operation.''

''She's invaluable, Adrian.'' Jill stated clearly. She cleared her throat. ''JJ, there's someone I would like you to meet.''

JJ turned around with a fake smile plastered across her face. She stepped towards Jill and extended her hand to the strange man, once again looking back into his eyes. They were a striking blue color. And she could swear that if she looked closely enough she saw distance and coldness, maybe even a deadness and it caused her to have an eerie feeling about him. He radiated a good amount of authority and confidence with his body language. He had a tall, strong build and his toned body was easily viewable through his suit. Overall he seemed impressive, but not like any other man JJ had encountered before, especially in the CIA. Most field officers were fit and carried the confidence as needed in the field.

''Hi, I am Jennifer. You can call me JJ.'' she said nicely as their hands finally touched, waiting for a name from him.

''I'm Adrian Ivankov.'' he introduced with a slight smile on his face as he looked at JJ's injured shoulder. ''You must be the hero Jill has been gushing about.''

JJ was pleasantly surprised when he talked to her. He had a slight Russian accent mixed in with American. It was weird to hear, but nothing that JJ hadn't heard before. ''I'm no hero.''

''Well, if you defused a bomb and saved innocent lives, you're a hero in my book.'' he responded easily, turning to Jill. ''What did you tell her about Operation X?''

''Not much. I thought it would be best for you to inform her since I put you in charge.'' Jill explained. ''I'll leave you two to it.''

After Jill had left them alone in the room, Adrian walked towards the screen and turned around to face JJ again. ''What do you know about this operation?''

''Not much.'' JJ replied honestly. ''I've only ever been involved with Christian Ward and now he's probably hunting me down.''

''Your personal knowledge of Christian Ward can definitely help us.'' Adrian responded. ''I have been working on this case since I joined SOD.'' he went on. ''What we know is that a pool of agents went freelance and started working for this organization.'' he said as he pointed at the board. ''They're mercenaries working for god knows who.'' he said in clear annoyance because they had no idea who was in charge. ''They are after American intelligence, weapons, secrets. Just about anything worthwhile they can get their hands on.''

''What is your plan of attack?'' JJ asked.

''At the moment I have a few agents undercover working their way up in certain circles. They are providing us with information.'' he answered. ''And my new task is to train you.''

''Train me?'' JJ said with a puzzled expression. ''Why do I need training?''

Adrian walked back towards the control board in the middle of the room and quickly opened a file of pictures. ''Because this is what they are capable off and your CIA training won't be enough.'' he said as he showed her picture by picture of corpses. It was horrific and only made him more determined. ''After your shoulder has healed we're going to start training to prepare you for field work.''

''You do realize that I don't want to go back into the field, right? I only want to apprehend Ward and get back to my life.'' she stated clearly to remind him that she wasn't going to stay longer than she needed.

''Yeah, I heard. Something about a lost love?'' he asked, a hint of teasing and sadness in his voice at once. ''After spending a few months in here you will have forgotten everything about him, believe me.''

She couldn't point out whether he was joking or not. ''You can train me and I'll go into the field, whatever you want. But as soon as Ward has been caught or is dead, I'll be out of your life before you know it.''

''For now you'll be in charge of technical operations like Jill told you. You will report directly for Jill for the time being.'' he began to explain with authority. ''In a few weeks we'll see how your shoulder is doing. Once you've healed properly, you and I will start training. I need my partner to have my back after all.'' he ended, hinting that he and JJ were going to be working together closely.

''Partner?'' JJ wondered out loud, being reminded of her situation with Owen. First he was her trainer and then her partner until it ended very badly, and their friendship had never been the same again.

''Yes partners, Jennifer.'' he confirmed.

''Good.'' JJ stated simply as she turned her back towards him. ''I'm going to head to technical operations now. It was nice meeting you, Agent Ivankov.'' she said, reminding herself not to use his first name. She wasn't planning on making any friends. Even a friendship could compromise the mission she had in her head, and she wasn't about to let anything or anyone get in her way.

Before Adrian could respond, JJ had walked out without another word, leaving him to himself with his thoughts. When Jill had suggested to bring her in he had been deadest against it. He believed an agent with a personal vendetta could only risk the Operation he had been in charge off. But meeting her had certainly changed his mind about JJ and her abilities. She seemed to be perfectly capable to compartmentalize and leave her own personal issues outside of the office. But he, just like her, knew what it was like to hold onto a person grudge. He knew that revenge was the biggest drive there was if you had nothing left to live for. It could drive you to do nearly anything without a thought. He had experienced that all by himself and now he was trying to bury his past by focusing solely on his job and eliminating evil from the world they lived in.

He caught a last glimpse of the long blonde hair before she had fully left his sight, and he felt a small smile cross his face, which was rare for him. She had her own opinion, she was determined and she didn't blink at the horrifying photos he had showed her. He knew she would be the perfect addition to their team. He just wondered for how long. Her primary goal was to apprehend Christian Ward and his was to get to the identity of the man in charge. It led him to wonder if any conflicts were on the horizon for them. But no matter what happened they all had the same goal. To take down the entire organization, and to keep them from being a threat to their country, maybe even to the world in the long run.