A/N: Here's another chapter. I hope you all like it!
And I want to thank you all for the amazing response. I can't thank everyone enough for the continued support.
Special thanks to guest, snuggleUP, jenny crum, HotchRocks, GottaLoveCM, lovecm, guest, Jareau37 and Christiangirl!
I don't own criminal minds!
Chapter 64: New Enemies
For what seemed ages to her, JJ had been locked up inside one of SAD's interrogation rooms. The ones that were awfully familiar to her. And every once in a while some agent came inside to bring her food and water. But after she had seen three different agents, Owen had finally come inside and had started to ask her questions. JJ hadn't responded to any of them and stayed quiet the entire time.
And after JJ had been in interrogation for eight hours while Owen had been questioning her for the last three hours, she finally had enough of his laugh and smirk. He was slowly setting her off and he probably knew it. He showed her a picture of the man he had shot dead in the hotel room to taunt her. He knew exactly which buttons to push.
JJ looked at the ground while Owen began taunting her with the picture. ''Why are you doing this, Owen?'' JJ finally asked, her voice hoarse and low as she spoke.
Owen rose from his chair and began walking around the room. ''Orders.'' he stated simply. ''So tell me, why are you in DC after all these months?''
''It's absolutely none of your business.'' JJ shot back. ''You have no reason to hold me here.''
''Actually we do.'' Owen began as his smirk grew only wider. ''You see you intervened in a CIA mission, JJ. I believe you know the charges for that.''
Things finally started to snap into place for JJ. ''You've been waiting for me to get involved with a CIA mission just so you could arrest me.'' she laid it out for Owen. ''So what does Collins want with me now?''
''You should ask him yourself.''
JJ rose from the chair, her hands cuffed to the table. ''You're smiling while you're treating me like a common criminal!'' she yelled at him. ''You have no idea what you stepped into today.'' she warned, knowing Jill would put his career in ruins if she had the chance. ''You're going to realize what consequences mean.''
''So who are you working for? Who is going to protect you this time from the mess you created?''
JJ sat back down ready to give up, but she wasn't about to give Owen or Collins that satisfaction. It was obvious that they wanted something from her, but she knew Owen would never give it away. ''I can't believe that this is what it has come to.'' she croaked out. ''Are you doing this because you're jealous that I moved on with another man right in front of your eyes? Or is it something else?'' she yelled.
''You had everything, JJ.'' Owen shot back. ''You had it all and you just walked away from it. You turned your back on it all. On me.'' he went in anger, his voice loud and filled with anger. ''Tell me who you're working for! Who is your boss?''
Before JJ had a chance to respond the door to the room busted open and no one other than Adrian Ivankov stepped inside with an angered look on his face. He turned to Owen for a moment to respond to his question. ''I am.'' he stated simply.
JJ couldn't believe that he had actually come to get her, but it also showed her how different SOD truly was from SAD. Someone finally had her back through thick and thin. ''You came?'' she wondered out loud.
Adrian turned away from Owen and put all of his focus on JJ. His very first thought was to check if she hadn't been injured in any way. ''How are you? No injuries?'' he asked kindly as he stepped in front of her.
''No, I am fine.'' she promised him. ''Thanks for coming.''
''Always.'' he responded as he gave her an encouraging nod. ''Never leave a man behind, remember.'' he said to remind her of what he had mentioned to her so many times during training.
Adrian proceeded to unlock JJ's cuffs much to Owen's surprise. He handed her a bag of clothes and helped her up from the chair. ''You should get changed.'' he insisted.
''I will.''
''Agent Jareau is not allowed to leave, sir.'' Owen intervened as he stepped forward to block the door. ''She still hasn't answered all of my questions.''
Adrian immediately stepped in front of Owen and pushed him back, causing him to stumble into the wall behind him. He then closed the distance and stepped awfully close to him. ''Don't you dare touch her!''
JJ stepped away from the door and walked up to Adrian to get him to calm down. She noticed a protectiveness in him she hadn't seen before, but it meant the world to her. ''Do you mind if I change in here then?''
''No, go ahead.'' he said, liking how JJ wasn't bothered by the other man's presence. It showed the trust that had been established between them during training. So he quickly rid himself of suit jacket when he noticed Owen's eyes up and down JJ's body when she began to unbutton the uniform she was wearing. He held the jacket up in front of JJ to block Owen's view, and turned his own face away to give her the privacy she deserved.
It took JJ only a few seconds to change into a pair of skinny jeans, black tank top, combat boots and a leather jacket. When she was finished, she put everything into the bag and gave Adrian a nod to let him know she was ready to leave, but he seemed to have different plans.
''Have a seat.'' Adrian offered Owen, but both men kept standing. Adrian had purposely stepped in front of JJ as if he was trying to protect her from Owen and everyone who was trying to hurt her. ''You have no idea what you just did.'' Adrian threatened.
''I followed orders.'' Owen shot back.
Adrian put both of his hands on the table and stared Owen down in a rush of anger. ''The CIA claims that you killed an innocent man in that hotel room today, JJ.'' he announced, knowing the CIA was outright lying to him and Jill.
JJ knew Owen had been up to something. But she could never believe he would actually claim that she murdered the target in cold blood. And as much as she wanted to yell at Owen, she kept quiet.
''But unfortunately for you, my agents recorded everything that went on in that hotel room, and techs support that the gunshot came across the room from where JJ was standing.'' Adrian said angrily and in disbelief. He never dared to believe that a division like SAD operated like that. But he knew their sole focus had been to burn JJ as an agent and leave her no opportunity to work anywhere else. ''Is this what Collins does? Burning his former agents by sending you in?'' he asked.
The look on Owen's face spoke volumes to JJ. Adrian was getting to the truth and it only shocked her even more.
''I don't know who you work for, or who you are but JJ is on our team. She belongs here and Collins wants her back here.'' Owen snapped angrily.
''So he wants her back by blackmailing her with murder charges?'' Adrian asked for clarity, but he received no answer from the other agent. ''He was following orders, JJ. When he did this to you he knew what would happen.''
The tears started to well up on in JJ's eyes. It wasn't only out of anger, it was out of complete despair. The people she once trusted with her life would go through hell to get her back at any cost. And it could even cost her her own life in the near future. ''What happened to you?'' JJ croaked out. ''This isn't the man I met all those years ago.''
''I am so sorry, JJ.'' Owen apologized as he rose from his chair. No matter what JJ and her boss were going to do, he was safe from any consequences.
JJ looked at Adrian and he gave her a nod to let her know he was done talking to Owen. So she stepped forward to close the gap between her and Owen. ''Christian Ward put a hit on my life, Owen.'' she said and she watched him stare back at her in disbelief. ''The man you killed today was my only shot at finding him. You took away my chance to get the man who's threatening my life.'' she went on. ''I'll never forgive you for this. Not this.''
Adrian watched as Owen was about to leave the room without another word. ''Tell Collins that this is over!'' he warned. ''JJ is off limits!''
When the door closed, JJ turned back to Adrian and was fighting to hold back her tears but she realized he saw right through her when he pulled her in for a hug. She let her head rest on his shoulder as her arms found their way around his back. She started to shake softly in his arms, her head spinning from everything that had happened. When she finally felt herself calm down, she pulled away from his embrace and took a step back. ''Thank you, Adrian. This means more to me than you'll ever imagine.''
''Don't thank me. Please don't.'' he said immediately. ''I should've come with you. I was stubborn and you lost your chance to get your life back. I am so sorry.''
''This isn't your fault.'' JJ whispered as she touched his shoulder for a short moment to let him know she wasn't mad. But when he stared back into her eyes, she felt a surge of emotion strike her. She didn't know what it was, or how to even explain it. So she quickly pulled away and picked up the bag from the floor.
Adrian snapped from his haze and followed JJ out of the door and through the hallways of the offices of SAD. She seemed to know her way around, and it let him to wonder what kind of life she was leading before he ever met her. He had heard of her through Jill. His boss had been extremely disappointed when Collins had snatched her up before Jill ever had the chance to offer her a job. But now she was with them. He just didn't know for how long.
Once they reached the bullpen, JJ came to a halt and looked at the office where Collins worked. And when she saw him on the phone in his office she couldn't walk away without talking to him. So she turned to Adrian. ''Can you give me a moment?'' she asked and when he nodded she continued on. ''I have some unfinished business.''
JJ quickly walked through the bullpen, feeling some eyes on her as she kept walking. When she reached the office she stepped inside without a word. And she just stood there as he stared back at her in shock. It had been months since she last saw him, and she didn't mind. The working relationship they once had was completely destroyed when he choose to put her career in the ground. Not to mention that he always choose Owen over her, and she could no longer live with that.
But today she had to talk to him. What he had tried to do to her was unacceptable. Getting her back by burning her in the field was the unthinkable, and it would've worked if JJ hadn't been working with SOD. They had her back and protected her. And the best thing of all was that they would never figure out who JJ exactly worked for. Her new post was classified and no one had any real knowledge of what SOD did.
''How are you?'' Collins asked with concern as he rose from his chair and walked away from his desk. She looked like a person who lacked any true emotion. She looked angry and a coldness had settled onto her face.
''I am fine. Thank you!'' she breathed out.
''You made a bad judgment call today, JJ.'' he blurted out. ''You shouldn't have gotten involved in CIA matters. What were you thinking?'' he said, acting as if JJ didn't know his true motives behind his division's actions. ''Involving your superior in this matter was the last straw.''
JJ stepped forward, knowing she was about to cross a very thin line, but her patience was gone. It had been shattered along with her trust in the man before her. 'My boss put his ass on the line for me.'' she spoke calmly. ''He saved my ass today and without him I would still be stuck here. So what's really bothering you, sir?'' she asked, putting the emphasize on sir.
''I am still responsible for this division, Jareau. And this division views you as a threat now!'' he shot back. ''You're on very thin ice here. Your integrity has been compromised.''
JJ turned around and looked into the bullpen, her eyes gazing at her new boss. The man who supported every decision she made, no matter how dangerous. ''My integrity?'' she repeated angrily. ''You held me hostage in a hospital room after I defused a bomb.'' she spoke out. ''When I came back I was fired because you didn't approve of my relationship with Aaron Hotchner and because I had gone against everything this agency believed in!'' she continued on. ''But when I was dating him you encouraged me to exploit the relationship for the purpose of this agency!''
Collins didn't say another word, so JJ turned towards the door when there was nothing left to be said. ''Next time you should think before you send Owen after me.'' she warned. ''You have no idea who or what you're dealing with anymore.''
With those final words JJ walked out with a sense of pride. She returned back to Adrian and let him know she was ready to leave. But as they left the building, JJ couldn't shake the bad feeling that had surrounded her. She didn't know if it was instinct, or if it meant nothing, but it felt like something horrifying was about to happen.