Chapter 16

Ally didn't like waiting. JJ knew that. Emily could see it in her body language as she paced back and forth in the offices. Seaver looked up at the clock and then said, "Thirty hours." Emily just nodded. She had called in some contacts from Interpol and they were all still scrambling to get information. It was the waiting game part of the threat and they all hated it. None more so than Ally, but there was nothing that they could really do until they had more hard facts about the threat, the organization behind it, individuals supposedly involved and what was going to happen. This wasn't a drill. This was going to happen if they couldn't stop it. They had to stop it.

"I'm calling State again," JJ said as she walked away.

Seaver and Emily stood there unsure of what to do. Emily knew what she wanted to do, but she couldn't go rouge now. She didn't have enough time to get where she needed to be. She would have to rely on the information that they were given and she didn't like that. She wanted to make sure that the information was valid and vetted. She needed to be able to trust the information was right and what they needed and not just fed to them.

Reid can running out of his office with a set of maps in his hands. Emily watched as he moved. It was still awkward and gangly, but he made it work. Seaver tracked him as well.

"He's got something."

"He thinks he does," Emily replied.

"Are you doubting him?" Seaver asked her.

"Not him, no...I'm doubting our intel."

Seaver looked at her. She could see the hardness in Emily's eyes. She could only wonder what Emily was thinking. She knew that there was some sort of history between JJ, Emily and Ally, but they worked well together. She was trying to learn from them. She was still trying to help people and be the best FBI agent that she could. She knew that it was stupid, but she also wanted to do this to make up for her father's crimes.

"My office now!" Ally called out from her office door.

Seaver looked over to Emily. She watched as the brunette grabbed her tablet off a desk and started up the catwalk. She did the same. She watched as JJ came out of her office and looked at them. Seaver pointed at Ally's office and JJ nodded as she went back into her office.

A few minutes later, Reid has his map on the wall. JJ, Emily and Ally were all standing in one corner together looking at the map and trying to figure out what Reid had figured out. Seaver had moved closer to the map to study it. Garcia came running in with a tablet and gibberish flowing from her mouth. Alvez, Lewis, and Rossi were all standing near the desk. Ally moved to her window and closed the blinds.

"Lay it on me again, Spence," she said, knowing that she was using the nickname that only JJ used.

"I figured it out from Emily's translations and the information that JJ got from State. These guys are smart. They aren't going for a normal hard target. They've learned from other's mistakes. They are looking for massive casulties, but they want max devestation, too. Hitting a large target, like say New York would cause massive casulties, but not max devestation. It will be seen as 'been there, done that' attack. It's over done. They are looking for something that can be a small target but make a maximum statement," Reid started to tell them.

"Like?"

"Hit a nuclear power plant," he offered.

"What would that prove?" Alvez asked.

"Mass casulties, a dirty bomb we can't trace because it's already there, and massive devestation. Hit the right areas, cause a melt down and destroy thousands of miles of land, people, et cetera. They could wipe entire counties off the map."

"Shit!"

"That's right, and that is why, I've narrowed down the possible targets."

"Tell me that SRS isn't one of them?" Ally asked.

"I can't."

"Shit!"

"How high on the list is it?" Emily questioned as she watched Ally's respose to the news.

"Pretty high."

"Em?"

"The mosque was a test run," Emily stated.

"You think so?" JJ asked.

"I do. And, so does Ally. Tara work up a profile for the people that would do this and cross it with the profiles that we have from the supremacists that we were tracking back in South Carolina and Augusta. I want to see if we have any crossover. Alvez, go with her and start looking for languages and possible contacts that could lead us to anyone that might be related to this. Just you two. See if you can find anything else in relation to the nuclear plant," Emily told them.

Ally watched as they left the office. She looked at Emily and nodded. She was effectively turning the reins over to her for the moment. Emily understood what she was staying.

"Reid, what other sites do you have?"

He started to tell her. She just nodded along with his information. She turned to see Seaver, JJ, and Ally writing down the names of the other plants that could be targets. Of course, they were all just outside of medium sized towns and cities.

"Ally, stay back. The rest of you break up the sites. Get with the locals. Get Garcia running everything we can. And, assemble teams for each of you to head. We might have to split up for this. And, before any of you protest. I know it isn't ideal, but we've got to move and we got to move fast. Go," Emily told and they all went scrambling.

She could already hear JJ calling agents to her. Garcia was taking notes and nodding along before she went scrambling to her office there. Reid was just watching JJ and taking notes to pass on to a few agents that were huddled around him.

"Are we ready for this?" Ally asked her.

"Are we ever?" Emily replied.

"Who is going to go with JJ, Em?" Ally questioned.

"You are."

"ME?"

"Yes, you. You won't be focused unless you are. And, JJ and I know how to worry but work without each other. I know that you say you can do that, but I don't think that you can now that you can be in her life. Plus, I would feel better if you were with her. I know that you'll protect her and not let her do something stupid. I on the other hand, will be more worried about the mission and stopping it. I won't be paying attention to her as much," Emily explained.

"And, who will you be with?"

"I'm going to go with Alvez and Lewis back to Augusta. I think that Reid is right and it is the bigger target. They might be smart enough to hit all the targets that Reid picked and that scares me more than anything. The clock is ticking and we are racing against an unknown that we can't control and don't know a lot about. We have to use the information that we have and hope that it's right. I hate that. I know you do, too, but we can only work with what we got."

"JJ's called State."

"I know. We'll get all the back up that we want, but I don't think that is going to help when we have to evacuate entire towns. People are going to freak out. Mass hysteria will cause more issues that we will have to deal with. And, we will have to be prepared for contingency plans. They aren't going to go quietly and we already know that. If the mosque was a test run, they've already got that people in place. If that's the case, we are way behind the eight ball on this and it's going to end very badly for us all," Emily stated.

"How long?"

"Last calculation?"

"Yeah?"

"Twenty-nine plus hours."

"I'll see you back here tomorrow, then," Ally said as she reached out and shook Emily's hand.

"Drinks on you."

"Absolutely," Ally replied as she let go of Emily's hand.

"Good, see you at closing time tomorrow then," Emily said as she made for Ally's office door. "And, Ally?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring her home to me, yeah?"

"I will, Em. I promise. Even if I have to force her on an evacuation plane myself."

"Thank you," Emily said and left.

Ally watched her go. She knew that JJ was going to fight her when she found out that Emily was going back to Augusta with Alvez and Lewis, but they all knew that breaking up the team would be better. They could cover more ground. And, using the agents that Ally and Seaver had already been training meant that it wouldn't take too long to get them all up to speed. Time was not their friend, right now. They needed to act and they needed to act fast.

She pulled out her phone and started texting Odin. She needed teams on the ground and now. She knew that he would make it happen and they would know that agents Ally had were in charge. It was a small step, but it was something that needed to happen for the mission.

She walked out to the floor. Agents were all scrambling. They knew that this was a timed event and they needed to move with a purpose. No one was slacking. Everyone was on a phone, on their computer and working. Ally was proud of them. She really wished that they didn't have to do this, but she knew that they were all doing their job. It was a far fetched scenario, but they were trained to deal with it. She knew that it was mostly adrenaline, but they were still pushing and wouldn't stop until the threat was over.

"Everyone get to your sites. We should have enough intel to work remotely. We need to be in place. I need each of the head agents to tell me where they are going so I can have Odin personelle availible for as soon as you hit the ground. I don't think that I need to tll anyone that this is a matter of national security and that nothing you've learned can leave these offices or the offices in which you will be working from. We don't want to start a panic. Let's go people. We've got a country to save," she barked out her orders.

When she saw JJ start to move towards the exit, she caught up to her quickly. It was then that she realized that Emily wasn't near either of them. She watched JJ as the elevators doors closed. She could see the wheels in her head moving. She was calculation everything.

"She went to Augusta with Alvez and Lewis, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"Okay," JJ answered quietly.

"I've sent my best team to help her."

"Good."

"Where are we going?"

"Columbia," JJ answered.

"Columbia?"

"South Carolina. V. C. Summer is just outside of town in Jenkinsville, but it will be a big enough issue. It makes sense."

"SRS in Aiken and Augusta is only forty minutes to an hour away and then there is Catawba to the north, also an hour away," JJ told her.

"So, is anyone heading to Catawba?" Ally stated.

"Yeah, I have a detachment heading there."

"Good."

"We're going to stop them, right?" JJ asked.

"That's the plan," Ally answered.

"Good."

After that, JJ was unusually quiet. Ally didn't push her. She knew that JJ was planning, praying, and prioritizing all at the same time. She knew that it had to be hard for the woman. She wasn't still the same carefree girl that she'd met in college. No, this JJ was driven and she liked it. She was determined and it was going to be that determination that would get this mission done before anything bad happened. She had no doubts in her people. She had no doubts in their ablities and their presence of mind. She just hoped that it would be enough this time.

She knew that the BAU fought every case differently. They knew that they couldn't go into this one the same way they went after a killer. They had to find the target and defend it. They couldn't wait for the UNSUB to strike. If they did, the loss of life would be too much. They would probably all walk away if they failed. Failure was not an option. Failure wasn't something that they could even contemplate. Failure was not allowed this time. They had too many people to protect. Too many people working on the issues. There was no way that they should fail.

And, then the most henious thought entered her mind.

"Garcia," she said into her phone before she even realized that she had it open and to her ear.

JJ was watching her as she spoke.

"Yes, my leige?"

"Run backgrounds on everyone. Including me. Deepest, darkest secrets and if you find anything...and damn it, I mean anything that seems hinky, you send it to JJ to review. Got it. Not to me. To JJ. She's the only one I know that has a clean background that working with us. And, yes, I mean even that little stint with Justice and State. It's been cleared and added to her record. Find everything and anything. I don't care what you have to do. Find it. If anyone looks hinky, dig deeper and deeper. And, make sure no one's records have been doctored with, even mine and Emily's. I know that you can find the truth, so find it. Don't completly uncover it, but use it to dig."

"Okay, Cupcake, I will."

"Good, and Garcia?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget yourself."

"I won't."

"Garcia?"

"Yeah, Cupcake."

"I still owe you. Just add this to my list of things I need to buy you, okay? And, I know you hate time limits, but I need this ASAP."

"Like a few hours?"

"Preferably, yeah."

"On it, dog gone it. Get 'em, Cupcake and Kitten. Garcia out."

Ally hung up her cell and clipped it back to her side. JJ was just watching her, waiting. She knew that JJ wanted an explanation, but she wasn't sure that she was going to like.

"Looking for moles?" JJ asked her first.

"Yeah."

"And, you know I'm clear?"

"I do."

"So is the team," JJ stated.

"I hope so," Ally replied.

"You should know, right? You've studied them all. You know more about us, then we do about you," JJ told her.

"I know."

"But, you still don't trust them?" JJ asked.

"I have no reason to trust anyone. It's what's kept me alive, JJ. You have to understand that this is the first time in a very long time that I've gone out into the field and I wasn't going undercover to find out information and get it back to the right authorities. This is me trying to function as a unit chief of an elite branch of the FBI and coordinating a joint effort to do what I used to do alone, behind enemy lines as it was, and hoping that back up showed up on time. This is a completely different game to the one that I am used to playing. Sure the players are usually the same people, but the rules are different," Ally told her.

"Glad to know where I stand in all this," JJ said as the doors to elevator opened and they both turned to head towards the car park.

"JJ, I trust you more than anyone. And, Emily just behind you. I don't know the rest of the team like you. The fact that you trust them is why I selected them. I know that they are the best. I know that they work with you. I know that you have learned to trust them in the field and in some very harrowing situations. I haven't had that luxury. Nor, would I really I to have it, but I don't have that choice. This case in point is going to cause me many headaches and many heartbreaks. I am going to learn whether or not I have what it takes to head the ODIN team within the FBI or if I am going to go back to teaching."

"And if you can't hack it?" JJ questioned.

"Then, Emily would be the most logical successor for me," Ally told her.

"And, if she doesn't want it?"

"She wouldn't have the choice. She would either take over as the unit chief or she would have to retire. And, I doubt that she is ready to retire," Ally replied.

"You would take that from her?" JJ inquired.

"I wouldn't, no. I don't have that kind of power. But, her mother might be able to help her more than I could in that department. Elizabeth has more power than Emily wants to believe. It is the reason that she wasn't selected for ODIN to begin with. Otherwise, she'd already be here with me."

"Do you want to do this job?" JJ asked her.

"I want to protect this country. I can't go back under deep cover. My time doing that is over. I have to find a way to make this work, or..."

"Or?"

"I don't know, Jenn. This is what I've been trained to do. This is what I know. Take that from me and what am I? I would be nothing and no one. I don't have an identity outside of Allison Adler. That is the name I can keep, but I don't know who she really is," Ally told her.

"Then, may be when this is over we help you figure out who Allison really is," JJ told her.

"We have to stop this first," Ally replied.

"Then, let's go stop them and come home quickly."

"Come home and have a beer."

"A beer?"

"Yup, first round is on Emily once we get back."

"Sounds about right," JJ said with a trademark smile as they started the vehicle and started towards the airport to get on a private jet to Columbia.