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gryfflepuffinthetardis · 10 days ago

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Secrets and Lies

Season One Masterlist

Charm and Harm

Summary: The BAU are called in to investigate the CIA’s counterterrorism unit on a mission to save one of its informants and identify a mole in the unit while Zoe has to call in help from an old friend who the mole may had wronged.

Warnings: Killing, Mentions of terrorists; JD; Mistrust of the CIA; Mention of torture; Mention of sexual assault

"A wise man once said, 'be careful who you let on your ship because some people will sink the whole ship just because they can't be captain'."

Albert Einstein said, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the Gods."

Spencer, JJ, and Garcia walked out of the elevator

"We have a CIA escort, okay?" Garcia said, "It's weird and a little scary."

"What do you suppose this is all about?" JJ asked.

"Call me cynical, but considering it's 2:00 am, I doubt it's good news." Spencer said.

"You are a genius." JJ said.

They entered the briefing room where Morgan, Elle, Hotch, Gideon, Alexander, and Zoe already were.

"The CIA's counterterrorism unit is engaged in a mission to save one of its informants." Hotch told them, "They suspect one of their agents is a mole, and until the identity of that mole is discovered, they've locked down the unit."

"This gives us the opportunity to profile the UnSub up close. Go ahead."

One of the CIA agents spoke into his watch, "Start the video feed."

A man appeared on the monitor.

"John Summers was the CIA's best field agent in the Middle East. Three nights ago he was found in his home in Washington. He'd been tortured and murdered." Pictures of his body appeared on the screen

"CIA made it look like suicide." Gideon said.

"How'd you like to have that job?" Spencer said, grimly.

"Look at the wound patterns." Zoe said, "They come from two distinct angles. Different heights. One's right-handed and one's left-handed. He was definitely tortured by more than two people."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been tortured and seen torture enough to know." Zoe said.

"Hotch, what was Summers working on?" Elle asked.

"Aaliyah Nadir. Had been beaten and sexually assaulted at the hands of her husband, Hassan Nadir. That's how Summers flipped her and got her to work for the CIA." Hotch said.

"And what's the husband's story?" JJ asked.

"He's a diplomat for the Saudi government, but he's a fundraiser for major terrorist organizations." Zoe said and they looked at her. She just shrugged in that way she did.

"Aaliyah gave Summers intelligence on terrorist organizations the CIA had never been able to penetrate, organizations Hassan, her husband, funneled money to."

"And Hassan realized he had a leak?

"Yes, but he didn't know who." Hotch said, "For Aaliyah's protection, Summers never revealed her identity to the CIA until about eight weeks ago. CIA arranged papers for her and Summers brought her and her children to the US about a month ago."

"Only Summers knew where he hid her." Gideon said.

"What did Hassan think happened to his family?" JJ asked.

"Car accident. Bodies too disfigured to identify." Hotch said. "Only the CIA knew it was staged until Hassan arrived in Washington last week under diplomatic cover."

"Only someone in this unit could have given Hassan the information about his family." Spencer said.

"And now he's here looking for her." Morgan asked, "Why us?

"Over the years, I've conducted psychological evaluations on every field agent in that unit." Gideon said.

"You work for the CIA?" Garcia asked.

"Not officially."

"And I may or may not have been sporadically in contact with this unit before the BAU." Zoe said.

"You were?" Spencer asked.

"I didn't speak to them personally. It was more just sending them what I profiled. And then I was kidnapped by terrorists for six months and they really wanted to know about that but almost everyone in that prison ended up dead."

"The train's running and if we stop this mission, even for a second, Aaliyah and her children are as good as dead." Hotch said.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

They left the elevator in the CIA building

"Don't remove your firearm." Gideon told Spencer who was about to do so

"US soil. Federal building." Hotch said.

"Just your cell phones. Non-negotiable." Gideon said.

"The moment we walk in there, the UnSub's going to know we got him cornered." Morgan said, "We don't hand jack over."

They walked through the scanner, the scanner picked up, Hotch's hip gun and his ankle gun. Spencer's gun. Then Zoe's right hip gun, her left hip gun, her left ankle gun, her right ankle gun, her left thigh gun, her right thigh gun, the gun tucked into her front, the gun tucked into the small of her back, her gun concealed in her bra, the guns inside her jacket, and her micro pocket guns in her leather jacket.

The man behind the scanner gave her a look as she was carrying thirteen guns. She just nodded at him like, what's up?

They stepped through the unit when Bruno Hawkes who had called them on the case came out of his office

"Special Agent Hotchner." Hotch introduced himself with a handshake.

"Oh, I know who you are, and your team, too. Doctor Noble-Valdez. I am very sorry for the ordeal last year." He said.

"By ordeal, you mean me and my ex-boyfriend being tortured for six months by terrorists?" Zoe deadpanned.

"I'm afraid so."

"Well, that makes it better." Zoe had a bite to her tone and less professionalism in her eyes than usual.

"I've got the personnel files all set up for you guys. Video, whatnot, it's all there in the conference room. Now, if you have any questions, feel free to talk to my senior officers. This is Gina Sanchez. She's the Associate Director of Field Operations. And that guy up there is Kruger Spence, the Assistant Director of Operations. The lady with him is his second-in-command, Olivia Hopkins. And, uh, thank you for coming."

As he walked away, Zoe clearly gave him a sarcastic smile. People were looking at her. She didn't blame them. They knew things about her that were classified to the team. Including that she shouldn't be there. She was technically on a list...

"Neither of you ever mentioned Bruno Hawks." Hotch said

"You never asked." Gideon said.

"Eh." Zoe shrugged.

"How long have you unofficially been working for CIA?" Hotch asked.

"Long enough to know who and what we're dealing with." Gideon said.

They all entered the conference room and Hotch closed the door behind them.

"We're looking for what the CIA classifies a Type A personality. Overachiever. Highly adaptable. Well-educated. Virtually unshakable." Gideon said, " Manipulative enough to persuade a loyal foreign national to betray their country, a wife to betray her husband. Most importantly, this UnSub long ago accepted the reality they will be summarily executed if caught." He had looked out the window and then turned back to the team, "Life means nothing to this UnSub. Not his own life, not his family's, not his colleagues', certainly not ours, and certainly not theirs." He pointed the the missing family on the monitor.

"One of those agents turned against everything they believe in. Why?" Hotch asked.

"Well, they stopped believing. Maybe it was about ideology." Morgan said.

"We need to find the stressor. A major event that caused them to turn. Love. Revenge. Economics. Ideology."

"The intelligence community's mantra says, 'Increase the parameter of your enemies' paranoia.' Right now, we're the enemy. Whatever you see or are told, please trust no one but me."

"Gideon, you're going to want to take a look at this surveillance video." Garcia said, appearing on the monitor with JJ.

"What is it?"

"Uh, it's you. It's your name next to a whole slew of MPEGs. There's one that says 'John Summers.' It's three hours long.

The video showed Gideon in his car, talking to Summers through the window, but it was taken from a little bit away, hidden.

Shoot, go.

"When was this?" Hotch asked.

"Three days before he was killed."

"Who called this meeting?" Summers asked Gideon.

"Does that matter?" Gideon asked him.

"Every detail matters."

"Why?"

"It can only be one of four people." Summers told him.

"Why is that important?" Gideon asked.

"Whoever requested this wanted more than just an eval from you."

"Did you know they were filming you?" Morgan asked.

"I assumed they were." Gideon said.

"Taking in all factors discussed, age, rank and field status, and if you eliminate all non-field agents, we're left with a total of sixteen candidates." Spencer calculated.

"All of whom are in this unit." Elle said.

"We have to assume the mole has an exit strategy." Gideon said.

"Only now we're blocking the exit, and the only way out is through us." Hotch said.

"Zoe, we need all hands on deck," Gideon said.

Zoe raised her eyebrows as she understood his meaning. "I can call J.D., but I can't guarantee he'll cooperate."

"Why wouldn't he?" Morgan asked.

Zoe clenched her jaw.

"He's... different. He's impulsive, he has trust issues, he doesn't cooperate, I mean, he's my ex-boyfriend."

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Hawks presented the BAU to the unit, "Now, we all know why BAU are here. They have their job and we have ours. And we're down to the wire on this. Aaliyah Nadir risked everything, and now she and her children deserve our fullest attention. Let's find her."

It was four at night, so getting a hold of J.D. was difficult. Zoe was still on "hold" essentially, she had connected her phone to an earpiece that was in her ear now.

She stared at a video, "Hey, guys, take a look at something." She said when Gideon and Hotch returned. She pointed at the screen, a nearby car. "Right there. That's a woman sitting in the passenger seat of that car." She took the remote and the screen zoomed in and optimized the picture.

"Looks a lot like Aaliyah." Elle stated.

"Why would he leave them in the car, unless he knew he was being videotaped?" Hotch asked.

Gideon took the remote from her and played the tape, replaying the scene from earlier.

"Who called this meeting?

"Does that matter?"

"Every detail matters."

"Why?"

"It can only be one of four people."

"That's not true." Gideon said, "Anyone in this division could have insisted upon an eval.

"Why narrow it down to four?" Elle asked.

"Well, he rightly suspected Hassan came to the US because he knew his wife was alive." Morgan asked.

"And that someone in this agency was working for Hassan." Spencer said.

"If we don't discover who the mole is before they find her, she and the kids are dead." Morgan said.

"Zoe."

"Still on hold. I'm seriously about to go down to that prison and shove a pitchfork up their..." Zoe said, clearly very annoyed.

"Garcia." Gideon interrupted

Garcia and JJ appeared on the monitor.

"Right here, boss."

"How many agents in this unit were actually in Saudi monitoring US interests?" Gideon asked.

Garcia did some typing, "Uh, four."

"Let me guess. Bruno Hawks, Gina Sanchez, Olivia Hopkins and Kruger Spence." Gideon said.

"Four-for-four."

"See what else is on the tape.

"All right."

The two BAU blondes disappeared from the monitor and Gideron gently placed the monitor down. "John Summers would have only trusted seasoned agents, of which, in this unit, there are only four."

"So he guessed that the mole had to have been one of his four bosses." Zoe said.

"Before he put in for Aaliyah's extraction, he wanted to know which one not to ask." Morgan said.

"We need to match up with them, one-on-one." Gideon said.

"But there's six of us." Zoe said.

"You, sweetheart, will be switching between all four. You've seen the most darkness, you can recognize trauma." Alexander said.

"But..."

"Sweetheart, you have the best instincts the BAU has seen ever. You worked with this unit."

"Barely. I insisted on being as far away from the CIA as possible. I don't really trust them. They deal with politics more than the FBI and I think politics make people distrust each other. It breeds bad people like our UnSub."

"Exactly. There's a reason you're on a list and the CIA still had to let you in here because you're that good at profiling." Alexander said.

Zoe huffed, grumbling under her breath. Now she had to interview four CIA agents while she attempted to get her extremely uncooperative ex-boyfriend to cooperate and help the CIA of all people.

"Kruger Spence, assistant director of operations. Recruited at the age of eighteen after graduating from M.I.T." Gideon said.

"It says he had six years of experience as a weapons systems designer and an IQ of one-ninety-seven. He butted up against the system and didn't deal with authority. They moved him into field operations in China for eight years before transferring him here."

"Olivia Hopkins, divorced mother of two. She spent nine years in field operations in Europe. She also visited Riyadh with Krueger." Elle said.

"I got Gina Sanchez. West Point graduate. Black belt in two martial arts. Served in Iraq doing psychological operations with military intelligence. She joined the C.I.A. Speaks three languages, including Arabic." Morgan said.

"Bruno Hawks, deputy direction of operations. Extensive field ops in the Middle East and Europe. Did his military service with Jason Gideon." Hotch said.

"One thing I've learned over the years profiling CIA agents, spies are some of the smartest liars in the world. Be smarter."

Zoe suddenly slammed her hand on the desk. "Finally! I got through to you." She looked at the others. He picked up. J.D. I need your help... of course, you heard." She lifted her hand in incredulity.

"What?" Morgan asked.

"He's speaking in Old French for some reason. J.D. J.D.! Stop speaking like you're a Frenchman from the thirteenth century. You're from New York!" She looked at the others, "It's going take a while to get him to cooperate. Give me ten minutes."

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Zoe finally got him to stop speaking Old French and talk like a normal person.

"Why would I help them? They never helped me. The CIA is one of the reasons I'm stuck in the locked box in the middle of nowhere for the rest of my life." He argued.

"And the fact that we're trying to save a woman and her children's lives doesn't sway you?" She asked.

He didn't reply. She didn't think it would. He wasn't emotionless, he just... felt less for others... except when it came to her.

"Alright, how about this since the only thing outweighing your IQ is your egomania. We worked with this unit two years ago. That means it's very real possibility that it was this mole who informed the terrorists about us and got us kidnapped."

"You really think so?"

"Would I lie to you?" She asked.

"No." He admitted, honestly. "I hope you wouldn't. Will they pay for it? They work with the CIA."

"J.D. If they compromised us, then that means I will blame them for what happened as much as I blame myself." She said, steely cold.

Knock. Knock.

Zoe turned to see a more awkward-looking than usual Spencer. "Zoe, I'm about to talk to Kruger.

"Who's that?" J.D. asked sharply.

"No one." Zoe said. "Just a coworker. You're sure this line won't be compromised?"

"Are you doubting me?" He asked, cockily.

"Don't be cocky."

——————————————————————————————————————————————

"We can't circulate a photo of a woman who's supposed to be dead." Krueger told Zoe and Spencer.

"We realize that, but..." Spencer said.

"Look, I appreciate you have a job to do, but so do I." Krueger said and got to his team of agents

"All right, start looking at where Aaliyah would feel the most comfortable. Arab-populated areas...

"This guy sounds like a real numbskull when it comes to profiling. You sure he has an IQ of one-ninty-seven?" J.D. asked.

Zoe and Spencer exchanged looks at Kreger's strategy plan.

"Actually, you might wanna start by profiling Summers." Spencer said.

"Be my guest. Aaliyah's about to be brutally murdered in front of her children." He said, rather condescending to the two and he looked at Zoe. "Got nothing, sweetheart?" Zoe narrowed her eyes at him in a way that reminded him of so many of her female family members.

"Tell me this guys IP address, I'm gonna ruin his life." J.D. said but Zoe ignored him. "No one talks to you like that!"

Kreger turned back to his team, "Okay. Where were we? Let's put some teams together."

"John Summers was obsessed with his own security." Zoe said.

"Aren't we all?" Kruger groaned out, exasperatedly.

"Can you shut up for five seconds and listen to the actual profilers?" Zoe snapped.

J.D. clapped over the line.

"He didn't care about money, or possessions, or family. All he cared about was his job. He was a classic control freak, a meticulous paranoid." Zoe explained in a mocking somewhat condescending tone.

"A loner who chose to live outside the community," Kreuger realized.

"In an environment that he could control." Zoe said.

"All right. So he would have placed Aaliyah outside the community in an environment only he could control or have access to."

"May-maybe." Spencer stammered, "on the other hand, he might..."

Krueger held up his finger to silence Spencer, "Alright. New deal. I want you to search the areas surrounding Summer's apartment..."

"So, we're looking for industrial sights, uh, storage spaces, warehouses." Zoe cut in. "Basically anywhere that can hide a grown woman and her two children but still have the ability to keep them from suffocating."

The team moved out as if Krueger had given the order and he looked at the two young agents, impressed. "That's good. Thanks."

"Oh, and sweetheart? Don't ‘sweetheart’ or condescend me again. We may be young but we are geniuses, we're as successful as we are for a reason." Zoe growled.

"That was mucho sexy, Zoe."

"No, no, no, no. Don't do that." Zoe said and she turned to Spencer, "I'm going to Morgan and Gina."

She arrived to them and said, "Well, Kreger's a jackass. I set him straight.

"I commend you." Gina said, slightly deadpan, and said, "I don't think I could have a job where I had to sit and talk to people all day."

"Okay, wait a minute, it's not all psychobabble. Trust me." Morgan said.

"We get our fair share of action." Zoe said.

"I'm sure you do. Here's something you might find interesting." Gina said and spoke to her coworker, "Joystick, come around thirty degrees, fifteen by thirteen north. Zoom in two miles." The computer she was on zoomed in on the Earth and into Virginia, to a neighborhood.

Morgan frowned and leaned forwards, "Wait a minute. That looks like my neighborhood. That is my neighborhood. That-that's my house and that's my bike."

"What kind of bike does this guy have?"

"Something inferior to my bike." Zoe told him and Morgan gave her a look.

Gina zoomed in on Morgan's house and a white spot moved around the green-outlined furniture.

"You have a dog."

"Yeah, yeah, I got a dog. That's Clooney." Morgan chuckled.

"Well, it looks like Clooney's on the couch." Gina said.

"Okay, so you know where I live. I like that." Morgan said.

"Tell me does this guy ever flirt with you?"

"He knows how many guns I carry." Zoe told him and she looked at Gina, "- You also knew where Summers lived."

"That's my job." Gina said.

"Your job to make it look like suicide?" Morgan asked, "You stood over the dead body of a friend and a colleague, you stuck a shotgun in his mouth, and you pulled the trigger?"

"Yep." Gina said, but there was clearly not happy with it.

"Must take a psychological toll, no?" Morgan asked.

Gina turned to Morgan and Zoe. "Let's get one thing clear. We all write a letter just like the one Summers wrote."

"Yeah, I know. When the CIA joined my cousin's anti-terrorism task force, they tried to get me to do the same. I wasn't putting up with that shit." Zoe said. "Writing a suicide note is one thing. Shooting the brains out of your friend's corpse's head is another."

"That doesn't mess with your mind just a little bit?" Morgan asked.

"I'm neither disillusioned or confused about what I am, what I do or what I have done."

"Somebody here is. Why else would they rat out their own people?" Zoe asked.

"You'll have to ask them."

"Did it bother you what you had to do to Summers' body?"

Gina turned to her and countered, "Did it bother you when you had to do your job and arrest your boyfriend?"

J.D. grew quiet.

"Yes. But I didn't do it because it was my job, I did it because it was the right thing to do. I could've easily let him go but I didn't. I thought about it but I didn't. It only bothered me because I pushed him into doing it. It's my fault and if the mole here is the same, it's just as their fault. And they should remember what Maze was capable of before fucking with me." Zoe said with a cold danger in her voice and then she walked off.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

She joined Elle with Olivia who looked like she was being bothered by a child peppering her with questions when she was trying to work.

"CIA looks a lot like the FBI." Elle said, "This is a real boys' club. Must be tough being a woman here."

"Get to the point, Agent."

"Well, she's a real ray of sunshine, isn't she?"

"Divorced, lost custody of your kids." Elle said, "That didn't help your career, huh?"

Hopkins slammed the file she was working on shut and started to storm off, demanding Are you interrogating me?

"Just questions." Elle said.

"You're doing your job. We're doing our job." Zoe said.

"You want answers, look in my file."

"That's not how profiling works, agent." Zoe said.

"I did. During an operation in Europe you were taken hostage." Elle said.

"For which I received counselling."

"But it didn't help. Your marriage fell apart soon after." Zoe said.

"How does this help you?" Hopkins asked them, crossing her arms.

"It would take a major event for someone to turn against their country, don't you think?" Elle asked.

"A major event like what?"

"Like one that's not in any file." Zoe said. "I've was taken hostage too... multiple times and I know what does and doesn't go in files when it comes to that."

"What happened to you over there?" Elle asked but Hopkins didn't reply.

"I know what people like that do." Zoe said, "Did they attack you? Did they torture you? Did they rape you?" Zoe's tone didn't have the hostility that Elle's did. It was blunt yet... understanding of that the situation.

Hopkins didn't reply.

"Olivia!"

"That's enough." Kreger said, "This is in violation of her civil rights."

Hmm. That's interesting. Mister Condesending's ego isn't big enough to defend Hopkins.

"Until they find the sleeper and we find Aaliyah, all rights are revoked." Hawks said.

"And they wonder why we refused to work with the CIA." J.D. said.

"Where were you on the night that Summers was murdered?" Elle asked. The rest of the team and the CIA agents they were following had gathered around.

"I was with her in her apartment." Kreger confessed.

"Well, you're a married man. At some point you must have left to get back to your wife, right?" Gideon said. Kreger just looked at Hawks. "You wake to an empty bed?"

"Yes, I did." Hopkins said and looked back at Elle, "Are we done here?"

"My wife will testify that I arrived home at 1:30 am." Kreger said.

"We all know none of this'll ever reach a court." Hawks said.

"Look, if you want to arrest us for having an affair, be my guest." Kreger said.

"I'll deal with you two later." Hawks said and Olivia walked off.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

A few minutes later, Zoe noticed that the CCTV monitors were down and having a bad feeling, she went after where Olivia went to find Olivia's body. She was in front of a computer slumped over it. The bones in her neck were pushing against her skin in an unnatural angle. Her neck was broken... just like Summers'. She felt for a pulse but there wasn't one.

She fetched Gideon and brought him to the room.

"When I saw the CCTV monitors were down and Olivia hadn't returned, I thought I'd better come looking for her. Her neck was broken. She must've been killed just after we all saw her." Zoe told him.

"Have any agents seen the body?" He asked.

"No."

"Good. We can use this to our advantage. Get the others."

——————————————————————————————————————————————

They gathered the rest of the team, informing them of what happened and brought in the remaining possible moles: Hawks, Kreger, and Gina into the room the team had set up in.

"What? What's going on?" Hawks asked.

"What are we doing here?" Kreger asked. "You're pulling us away from our assignments? There's a woman out there whose life depends on us."

Gina looked around and asked, "Where's Olivia?" Kreger also looked around until Zoe spoke.

"I'm sorry but Olivia Hopkins was murdered ten minutes ago. Her neck was snapped. Just like John Summers."

Kreger scoffed, "What are you talking about?" Gina looked at Hawks. "You're lying. Where is she?" He looked around at them as Gina looked at him, "Look, people don't just get murdered inside the CIA." He turned to Gina to see her, looking at him, "What are you looking at?"

"I realize the enormity of this, but Hassan Nadir is still out there looking to kill his wife, and I need every agent on this." Hawks said.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Zoe entered Hawks' office with Gideon as Gideon stared at Gina at her chair.

"What do you think it would take for somebody to betray their country?" Gideon asked.

"If I knew that, you wouldn't be here. Or is this the part where you two profile me?" Hawks asked.

"I've done that for over twenty years and for free.

"What'd you come up with?" Hawks asked.

"Well, you don't smile as much as you used to, but the Rogaine's working." Gideon said.

"You need to quit your day job."

"You've strived your entire life just to seek the approval of your father. Obsessively tried not to make the same mistakes he made. The emotional cost wipes the smile off your face." Gideon said.

"You know, my kids, they don't even know who or what their father really is." Hawks said.

"But they know there's absolutely nothing you wouldn't do for them." Gideon said.

J.D. scoffed, bitterly, "Wonder what that's like."

"Who says, you know, our kids need to know everything about us?"

"Or that our parents need to know everything about their kids." J.D. said but Zoe didn't quite know what he meant by that.

"Trust me, we're not that interesting." Gideon said.

"I beg to differ." Zoe said. Twenty years in and her parents and father figures in Rossi and Gideon were still her heroes.

"Who do you think it is?" Gideon said.

"I'm so close to it, Jason, I honestly can't tell." Hawks siad, "But I will say this, I'm glad you're here."

"You feeling okay?" Gideon asked and Hawks tilted his head, "I mean, you lost two of your people. Two colleagues. Two friends."

"I've lost plenty of those along the way." Hawks said, "I just feel pissed off." Zoe furrowed her brow, something didn't sit right with her. Even for a CIA agent, Hawks' emotions didn't quite fit his words. She had seen agents after they lost friends. She had seen anger... after a while, the anger's not as impulsive. It would've fit more to be tired with his reaction. Tired of it all. Tired of the guilt. But that's not what he said. The human response would be to feel guilty. "Someone is going to pay dearly for what they've done."

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Zoe had excused herself and joined Morgan and Hotch in following Gina, "You lined us all up to see how we'd react to Olivia's death." She said, "What did you see?"

"You stared straight at Kruger like you were trying to deflect blame onto someone else." Hotch said as Gina sat back down at her desk.

"You are wasting precious time. Time she doesn't have." Gina told them as she, "Now, unless you having something useful to ask, we're trying to save lives.

"So are we." Zoe said, "This is how we do it." J.D. said something and she said, "You're getting a call."

Gina furrowed her brows but then her phone rang. "It's our tech analysist."

Gina picked it up to see that she was right, "Patch her through. It's for you." Then she walked off and Garcia and JJ showed up on Gina's monitor.

"Garcia? talk to me."

"That virus that knocked out the CCTV."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It was downloaded into the system three weeks ago."

By who?

"Kreger."

Well, that was easy. Almost too easy.

Morgan and Zoe went across the room to where Elle and Spencer were questioning Kreger. "Just because I lied about Olivia doesn't make me the mole."

"No, but the virus that took out the CCTV monitors does." Morgan said.

"It originated from your computer." Zoe explained.

"Then whoever put it in my computer is trying to frame me." Kreger exclaimed.

"Olivia was looking for something. She didn't find a thing. You know why?" Morgan asked, "Because all of your files have been erased."

"Do you really think if I was the mole, I would keep files that would incriminate me?" Kreger demanded, "Those files were erased to make me look guilty."

"It's what I would do." J.D. said.

"Looks like it's working." Elle said.

"Garcia's calling." Zoe said.

"Morgan, your girlfriend's back." Gina shouted.

They went back to Gina's computer. "Garcia, it's Morgan. Go."

"Can she not see that?" J.D. asked.

"Hey, listen, that virus left a back door into the CIA mainframe."

"Yeah, so?"

"So I sort of went ahead and used it to find out who ordered John Summers' psych eval with Gideon." Garcia said.

"Who was it?"

"Well, that's what's so weird." Garcia said.

"Who, Garcia, who?"

"John Summers." JJ said.

"Summers? Why would he order his own evaluation?" Morgan asked.

"So we'd ask that question ourselves." Spencer said, "Guys, we missed something on that tape."

"We better figure out what it was before Hassan's friend in here beats us to it." Morgan said.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

They watched another part of the footage, Summers was now in Gideon's car with him, "Presidents come, presidents go. One thing always remains: the people that run those presidents."

"People like you?" Gidoen asked.

"Me?" Summers laughed, ironically, "No. No, no, I'm an expendable pawn, but I got wise to their game."

"Game? What game?"

"Battleship. I'm the ship at sea. They try to sink me." Summers said.

"What the hell is this guy talking about?" J.D. asked in Zoe's ear and she shushed him.

"How do you cope?" Gideon asked in the video.

"Compartmentalization. Separate and seal every aspect of my life."

"How does that work?"

"One part of the hull is compromised, the rest of the hull remains intact." Summers said, "I stay afloat."

"Wow, he's really sticking to this ship metaphor, isn't he?" J.D. said and Zoe shushed him again.

"And what about a direct hit?"

"Then I have a box that I put the really important things in, a sort of insurance policy."

"Against what?"

"Sudden death. Keep it safe from those who appear to be friends."

"That's the only thing he's said that's made sense."

"I forgot how much you talked. Shush!" Zoe shushed him as Morgan paused the video.

"What?"

"J.D.'s yapping." Zoe said and then nodded to the video, "Summers was trying to tell you about the mole."

"If they were following Summers, how come they don't know where Summers put Aaliyah?" Morgan asked.

"You couldn't follow Summers through a desert. He was that good." Gideon said

"So they followed you." Hotch said.

"So Summers must have known they'd be filming him." Morgan said.

"They always are. Smile." Zoe said.

Garcia and JJ appeared back on the monitor.

"Garcia, let's review the tape again." Hotch said.

Garcia and JJ conversed amongst themselves.

"He sure likes boats." Garcia noted.

"He refers to compartmentalizing his life like the hull of a ship. Yeah, and then he talks about a box."

"And putting something inside the box as an insurance policy."

"He was telling Gideon how to find Aaliyah." Garcia said.

"Summers' cover in Saudi was for a shipping company." JJ recalled.

"Okay, um, what about a shipping container?" Garcia asked, "That's a box. That's a big box."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." JJ agreed as Garcia typed, "The only shipping port near Summers' apartment in Baltimore, it's north up the I-95 from Langley."

"Garcia, I love you." Hotch said.

Zoe heard J.D gasp.

"J.D.?" She asked. "Guys, something's wrong?"

"Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Someone just hacked into this feed." Garcia said.

"We just found out where Aaliyah is. But so did someone else." Hotch said.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

The office was as frantic as the CIA seemed to allow themselves to now that they knew where Aaliyah was

"I can have a chopper on the roof fueled and ready in two minutes." Gina said.

"Yeah, but there are thousands of containers at that port." Hawks said. "What makes you so sure Aaliyah's in one of those containers?"

"Why don't we send in a SWAT team? Split them up." Elle suggested, "Have them search in grids."

"Why? Because Hassan has diplomatic immunity, this mission can't exist." Hotch said.

"It's not Gina." Gideon said and Gina looked up at him, shocked.

"Yeah, obviously." Zoe said.

"Morgan, Zoe, take Gina with you." Gideon ordered.

"Wait, this is my command. These are my people." Hawks protested.

"We have jurisdiction here, and there's nothing you can do to stop us." Hotch said.

"This is my career on the line here." Hawks said.

"No, this is Aalyiah and her two children's lives on the line here." Zoe said, bluntly.

"You always trusted me, right?" Gideon asked and Hawks asked, "Trust me now."

Hotch and Elle approached Kreger, "Come with us."

"This is crazy. Bruno." Kreger protested yet he gave up his firearm anyways in resignation.

"Come on, let's get moving!" Zoe urged.

"Use the thermal imaging. Search every container for body heat." Gina said, "You can walk us in and direct us when we get there.

"J.D.'s doing that too." Zoe siad.

"What, how?"

"It doesn't matter! Hurry up!" Zoe shouted.

"Green, Adams, Duncan, come with me." Gina instructed.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

"How'd you know I wasn't the mole?" Gina asked Zoe as they got on the chopper.

"Your profile. Highly intelligent, strong-willed. That's because of your dedication to what the CIA protects. You're a good person, you may do morally dubious things but so have I. When it comes down to it, you do the right thing even if it comes to disobeying orders, unfortunately that's not what the CIA likes to hear."

They arrived soon and ran through the port of shipping containers that kind of smelled like fish.

They're somewhere on the east side of this port." Gina said, "You guys, take that area over there. Morgan, Zoe, let's go."

They kept on running as they were informed Hassan had found them and was in the container.

"This is crazy, Gina. We're just running in circles."

"J.D., your directions are not helping at all, now stop screaming in my ear!" Zoe shouted and she touched her other comm, "Reid, come on, help us out here. Give me something."

"A hundred meters southwest of your current location." Spencer said.

Zoe took off running, "Come on!"

She came upon a particular container that caused both Spencer and J.D. to speak, saying different things in the other ear.

"Okay, you're both talking but I get the gist." She said.

"Make the arrest. It's FBI jurisdiction. You're in charge." Gideon said.

When they reached the container, Morgan, Gina, and Zoe pulled the doors open

"FBI!" Morgan shouted

"Let her go and put the gun down." Zoe shouted and he narrowed her eyes at him. He didn't obey, "I said, put down the gun or I will shoot you. I can still arrest you if I cripple you with a bullet!"

He let Aaliyah go and put the gun on the floor, holding his hands up.

"Diplomatic immunity, my friend." He said, smirking at her, she knew he recognized her, maybe not personally but from photos perhaps.

Zoe grinned at his underestimating her intelligence, "Uh-uh. You got it wrong, my friend. You see this container hasn't passed through customs." Hassan's smirk fell. "Officially, we're not on US soil. Summers was a smart man."

Suddenly Gina pressed the barrell of her gun into the back of Zoe's head.

"That he was. Drop the gun."

"Lower the gun, Gina!" Morgan shouted, now pointing his gun at her.

"No, keep your gun on Hassan! Do not give him the chance to hurt Aaliyah and the kids." Zoe shouted.

"Morgan, what's going on?" Gideon asked, the screen kept flickering to static.

"You still certain that Gina isn't the mole?" Hawks asked.

Crystal.

"Angel?" Alexander asked, pleadingly.

"Morgan? Zoe? What's going on?"

"Gina's holding a gun to Zoe's head." Morgan said.

"Well, get it away from her!" Alexander cried.

"When she drops her gun!" Gina shouted but Zoe didn't move.

"Zoe, just drop the gun!" Morgan shouted and J.D. joined in, she relented and handed Gina her gun.

"Gideon, we got a situation here." Morgan said as he and Zoe shielded Aaliyah and the kids and Gina held a gun at Hassan.

"Gina, don't do this. Gina, don't do this." Gideon said.

"I don't take orders from you. Bruno, what do you want me to do?" Gina asked.

"Cover their eyes. Cover their eyes." Zoe said, "he's a monster but they shouldn't witness this."

Aaliyah covered her children's eyes as she pleaded, "Please, please stop this."

"Bruno?" Gina asked.

"You know what to do."

"Say it." Gina requested.

"It's not your call."

"I told you from the start, this was strictly in-house." Hawks said to Gideon.

"This is not your call." Gideon gritted to Hawks.

"Gina, what are you waiting for?"

"An order." Gina said.

"Finish him." Hawks said and then he repeated it, "Finish him."

"Gina, don't do this." Gideon pleaded.

"You're going to cut the visual feed, right, Bruno?" Gina asked.

"Of course. Cut it, now. Cut it!" The visual feed was cut off, followed by four gunshots.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

"I want to thank you, Jason, for your help." Hawks said when he turned back to Gideon.

"Why?" Gideon asked, "Why'd you turn against everything you believe in?"

"What are you talking about?" Hawks asked.

"When someone asks you how you feel about losing one of your colleagues, the only human answer is, 'I feel guilty,' isn't it?"

"But as you so brilliantly deduced, Kruger Spence is the guilty one." Hawks said.

Elle handed Hawks a note they had handed Kruger earlier. It read: We know it's not you. Bruno is the mole.

He just chuckled, "Ridiculous." He scoffed, "Absurd."

"The only thing that's absurd is your arrogance." Gideon said, "to believe you could get away with this."

"Unfortunately, with Hassan now dead, you have no proof." Hawks said.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

They had turned off their microphones and arrested Hassan.

Zoe checked on Aaliyah and the kids.

"You're going to be all right." She reassured them. "They're a little dehydrated and malnourished but nothing a little hospital food can't fix. You should get checked out just in case. I don't see any signs but better safe than sorry."

"Sorry about that. I had to find out if I was right." Gina said when Zoe walked away from the kids.

"No problem, believe it or not, you're far from the first person to hold a gun to my head." Zoe told her.

"How'd you know it was Bruno?" Morgan asked.

"Because Agent Gideon believed in me, and there isn't a reason in the world to kill a man who knows as much as Hassan does." Gina said.

"Except one." Morgan said.

"The same one that made Bruno and Hassan kill Summers. Self-preservation." Gina said.

"Looks like Gideon was right." Morgan said.

"Yes, it does."

"He usually is." Zoe said. "Same as that eval. You disobeyed a direct order."

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Spencer put down the phone and said, "Actually, Hassan is alive and well." The smugness on Hawks' face falls. "He's en route. That's all the proof we'll need."

Hawks looked at Gideon and stepped closer to him, "You are a fool if you think they're going to put me in prison with all that I know."

"Why'd you have to kill Olivia?" Elle asked.

"Economics." Gideon said, "Olivia was looking into your financial records when you snapped her neck."

"So she knew your dirty little secret." Elle said.

"Which one? I have so many."

"You were looking to cash out using Hassan." Elle said.

"Mmm-hmm. Twenty million from Hassan will go a very long way to helping occupy my mind on a beach somewhere." Hawks said.

"The only beach you'll see is on a postcard I send you from my vacation." Gideon said.

"Did you tell them about my daughter?" Alexander asked.

"It was so I could prove myself to Hassan, so he could trust me." Was all he said.

Alexander balled his fists and was clearly itching to empty his gun into Hawks so Hotch stepped in front of him.

"Let me have your gun." Gideon said.

"You know, I think the consequences of what you're doing to me, my friend, are going to be a lot harder to live with than you think."

"No, I think that's what happened when you gave my daughter over to those terrorists." Alexander spat.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Zoe, Morgan, and Gina returned on the chopper. She was quiet as she gathered her things. An act of closure upon her while J.D. ranted in her ear.

"Thank you, J.D. For everything." She said.

"It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has. But we can't do this again. And you know why."

"Yeah, I do. Bye, my rebel love." He said and he hung up.

Zoe took the ear piece out of her ear and looked down at it. She sighed heavily and pocketed it.

"What I don't understand is why he invited us here." Spencer said as they exited the conference room.

"He didn't. Summers did by asking for the eval." Hotch said.

"When I put the call in, Bruno had no choice." Gideon said, "He had to find outwhat I knew and keep me close."

"Bad choice."

"You said you'd send a postcard of a beach. You lie." Alexander said.

Yeah, you hate the beach." Spencer said.

"Beaches are for storming." Gina shrugged.

"Only if ordered to." Gideon said.

"Thank you." Gina said and shook Gideon's hand and the team went to leave while Morgan flirted some more with Gina.

"So how are you and J.D.?" Elle asked.

"Uh... I think I might visist him during our two weeks coming up."

Spencer frowned.

George Orwell said, "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

*I actually quite like Kreger, not necessarily his character but the foil he is to Spencer. They're both stated to have exceptionally high IQs, they were both recruited to agencies at young ages from good colleges after skipping grades, and if you've watched half way through season twelve there's another thing they have in common. But Kreger is arrogant and condescending and rude to those who he thinks are beneath him, like he was to Spencer before Spencer proved to be just as smart as him. Spencer is kind to everyone, he values everyone's contribution, despite his intelligence he doesn't think his intellect is better than others, he knows he's a genius on paper but doesn't think that it can truly measured.*

*Gina originally knew Zelena but I feel like I already have too many cases that will connect to Zoe*

——————————————————————————————————————————————

2 notes · View notes

redclercs · 1 year ago

Text

DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

v. i gave my blood, sweat and tears for this

— the one where both of you have given everything to be where you are.

warnings: misogyny, sexual harassment, this is how monaco went btw i accept no criticism. barely proofread, sorry. 3.7k words (+ article, podcast excerpts)

masterlist ✢ next

'Have we let y/n y/ln get away with way too much?'

By Alan Gomez

Yes folks, it might be our own fault, we have created a monster in the form y/n y/ln. Mediocre actress at best and with an even worse personality, if the latest events are any indication.

But how could we let this happen? Come on, we're smarter than this!

The thing is, y/n brainwashed us into believing that her doe-eyed, no-brain characters were actually her. Don't beat yourselves up over this too much, even I was a victim of those pretty eyes. But now that the blindfold has fallen, we have come to realize we have let y/n get away with everything!

You might know y/n from Supercut, the romantic comedy that took the world by storm in 2019, where she starred alongside Aidan Kim and it lead to these two becoming one of the general public’s most cherished couples. At least until two months ago, when their breakup was announced via Inside Out. Although there haven’t been any official statements, given the circumstances, we believe it was the actress who broke it off with Kim.

→ Aidan Kim and friends at Cannes Film Festival

→ Y/N supports alleged boyfriend at charity football match

But whether she’s dating a new guy now or not, why do we keep letting her do whatever she wants?

How did she actually brainwash us into thinking she’s anything close to an “it girl”? After Supercut, all she’s done is the absolute bare minimum to keep people talking about her, it’s all RomComs and no effort. I didn’t want to be that person, and you have to believe me on this, but Aidan Kim made her.

Let’s remember Aidan built his career from the ground as a member of Star-5 the early 2010’s boyband that split in 2018. He was the ‘someone’ in the relationship. How can people even compare having the hit song “Round and Round” in your résumé to being in Scream (Netflix) and The Mist (again, Netflix)?

Aidan made us like her and the writers of Parisian Valentine, The Hating Game and Last Night In Love, did her a HUGE favor by consolidating her as the “Queen of RomComs” by what standard? Well, don’t ask me.

The truth is, we accepted y/n into our hearts and homes, thanks to Aidan Kim and an unbelievable amount of luck, and we haven’t held her accountable for anything ever.

Here’s what I’m talking about, if you’re still wondering what the point of this article is, click on every link to be taken to the whole context, you’ll thank me later:

❍Y/N yells at paparazzi to leave her alone as she walks around Beverly Hills with Victoria Presley.

❍ Y/N praises Taylor Swift while tearing down several male artists for writing songs about their personal experiences.

❍ Y/N says in interview with ELLE that not every movie has to be “profound”.

And just for fun:

❍ A collection of Y/N’s disastrous looks.

It’s time we realize y/n y/ln is talentless, has a horrible personality and feigns innocence she certainly doesn’t have. You will NOT continue to take advantage of us, y/n! It’s all over for you, so I’m glad you’re dropping your pathetic career to become a WAG. #Y/NIsOverParty.

↺ FROM ❛WE WATCH❜ PODCAST

Paul Byrnes: Can y/n really do another role now, after all she’s known for are romantic comedies?

Anna Sanchez: well, I really liked her in The Mist, she did great as character in a horror it was—

Paul Byrnes: No one cares about The Mist, Anna, just you.

Anna Sanchez: all I’m saying is she’s a good actress, she can do other things. That was your question, Paul.

Paul Byrnes: Well, in my opinion she can't and that's it.

↺ FROM ❛IT TALK❜ PODCAST

Greg Zane: Let's talk y/n y/ln and her fashion choices now that she's an F1 WAG. What do we think?

Riley Green: She's a what now? How long has it been since she broke up with Aidan Kim?

Martha Vincent: I think she's looking great, I just wish she'd let go of the ugly caps.

Riley Green: No seriously, how long did she stay single?

Greg Zane: I agree Martha, but caps are big in Formula 1, nothing we can do about that. I'm wondering if she'll go for a more glamorous look in Monaco.

Riley Green: guys? hello?

Martha Vincent: Oh Riley, we're not talking about her love life, let it go.

↺ FROM ❛HOLLYWOOD VIBES❜ PODCAST

Pauline Oscar: [cont.] I'm just so curious about the reason of their breakup, why hasn't anyone said anything?! It must be juicy.

Brenda Yim: I feel like it's bad for one of them, most likely y/n. Hello, can anyone offer one of their friends some money? Just like old times!

Pauline Oscar: [laughs] Definitely! We need to know! Can it get any worse than the fact that she's already with another guy? What's his name? Charles Le what? She soooo cheated.

liked by charles_leclerc, vicpresley, mati.bassi, carlossainz55 and others.

ynfreesia UM THE LIKES?

xxynbaby it's "monaco" of course

aidanluvs you don't even have the decency to pretend like you're alone? fuck you

ynredstar i cannot defend you if you pull this shit girl

mati.bassi great view for breakfast with my best girl!💕

ynredstar oh ynredstar nevermind thanks mati ↳ feels4aidan don't be so gullible she's obviously covering up for them

THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST ARE DISABLED.

May 27th, Montecarlo, Monaco.

THERE are tears in your eyes, and despite your best efforts not to let them run down your cheeks, it's futile. The worst part is that you're the one doing this to yourself. There's zero need to read 'articles' from pseudo journalists on how a man gave you your career and how you're tossing it into the trash for another. Not to mention the cascade of curses you received for a picture on instagram, where everyone thought you were with the other man.

Has your life really come to this? People don't talk about you unless a guy is involved? You loathe it. Your career was never about Aidan, and it's not about Charles now. Who only makes things worse every time he shows up and yet you can't manage to bring it up to him.

It's embarrassing. You don't want to walk up to him during whatever free time he has in a hectic weekend, and ask him if it really doesn't annoy him everything the press has made up about the two of you, or if he's really that unbothered by being paired up with you in the wildest scenarios, and tell him that he can shut them down whenever he feels like it (you wish he would already), and let him know you won't mind whatever he says about not being involved with you.

But no, Mr. Leclerc is busy giving unclear answers at interviews and liking your instagram posts, as if this isn't already a wildfire.

You put down your phone and pick it back up almost immediately, Vic's ringtone fills your hotel room and you wipe away your tears before answering her FaceTime request.

"Were you crying?" it's the first thing she says, moving her sunglasses to the top of her head. There's a lot of noise in the background and you can barely make the words out, but she comes so close to the phone that all you can see is the tip of her nose. "Why were you crying?"

"It's nothing, Vic. What's up?" you sigh, rubbing your eyes only makes things worse but you don't want to worry about that now.

"I just got to Monaco, babe," the phone is at a safe distance from her nostrils again and you can see around her, the airport where you landed a few days ago. "I'm with my parents," she rolls her eyes, lowering her voice. "But if you could get me into the Ferrari Suite I can hang out with you tomorrow!"

They allowed you one guest and the spot has already been taken by Mati, so there really isn't much you can do in terms of getting her into the Ferrari Suite. "Well, let me see what I can do, okay?"

"Okay," she sounds unsure, you know Vic enough to be sure she expected a different answer. "I mean my parents have Lounge privileges but it's more fun to be with you."

Had she said something about coming to Monaco you might have been able to do something, but as far as you were concerned she planned to stay in France all week, enjoying Cannes and mingling.

"I'll do my best Vic, but you know how they are," you exhale heavily, "Plus it's a crazy-ass weekend."

"Isn't it always?" she's yawning now, "We can meet for dinner later and you can tell me what's up alright? Being with my parents is so boring."

You shake your head, "Be nice, they just want to hang out with you. I'll call you after Quali," you check the clock on top of the nightstand, it's 10 am. You have to get ready for FP3, which you don't care about attending or not but Stuart Schaffer asked to see you, so you haven't got much of a choice.

"Sure babes, love you." Vic pulls her sunglasses down again and blows a kiss to the screen.

"Love you too," it's your turn to yawn as you tap the hang up button.

You look at the special edition Ferrari cap you received as a gift yesterday on top of your suitcase and immediately discard the idea of wearing it. No caps. And then the wave of disgust invades you, are you seriously going to do what some random man said on a podcast you came across by accident?

The answer is yes, unfortunately.

─────────

You would rip your leg off if you could, at least it would mean you’d be able to get out of this chair and away from Stuart. But his palm resting on top of your knee feels like a death grip and you’re frankly afraid to move in case it goes further up.

Mati decided to skip FP3 and you’re really hoping she’ll be on time for Quali because you have no one else to talk to, Stuart is just parading you around again and keeping you way too close for comfort because he’s in a great mood since both Ferraris maintained their top spots and things are looking hopeful for Qualifying.

You know it’s your chance to ask if you can bring Victoria around tomorrow, and you know the answer will be yes, but you don’t. You don’t want to ask things from this man, he’s the type to never forget a debt.

You barely catch a glimpse of Carlos and Charles as they walk by on the way to their debrief and Charles waves at you quickly, with a single-dimpled smile. He’s wearing the same cap you refused to put on.

“I’m going to call my friend,” you blurt out once Charles is out of sight, finally moving your leg back to make Stuart’s hand drop. “She had the worst hangover, I have to check up on her.”

“Oh, you girls get wild in Monaco,” Stuart cackles as you sprint away from him, actually resisting the urge to wipe your knee clean.

"Hey y/n!" Mati's voice can barely be heard above the EDM playing wherever she is. "What's up?"

"Where are you?" you whine, looking back inside the Suite. "Help."

"What's wrong?" you picture her frowning as she tries to walk away from the noise helplessly.

You feel guilty for worrying her so you sigh. "Nothing, I just hate being here. Are you coming here for Qualifying?"

"Yep," she pops the 'p' and laughs. "Listen, why don't we have lunch here at the yacht and then go back for Quali?"

"Yes!" once again you look over your shoulder to where the Elix men are laughing at their own jokes and patting each other's backs. “I’m on my way, okay?”

“I’ll be right here, also don’t scare me like that again, please.”

“Sorry,” you chuckle, embarrassed. Maybe you’re a bit dramatic at times, but it’s really all good-natured. “See you in a minute.”

You turn to the door of the Suite, giving a short jump back when you open it at the same time as someone else.

“Oh, god,” you sigh, stepping inside as Charles moves out of the way to let you in. “Thanks.”

“Sorry I scared you,” he smiles, closing the door again once you’re fully in. Charles is once again holding a closed Elix can, tapping his fingers on the side.

You eye it suspiciously, wondering if the thing has really grown on him. After all, one of the first things he told you was how much it disgusted him.

“It’s alright. I thought you were in your debrief?” You grab a can of Elix yourself, looking good in front of the sponsors cannot hurt.

“It was a short one. Keep doing what you’re doing kind of thing,”

“Right. Well, good for both of you,” you look around for Carlos but he’s nowhere to be seen. “Would it jinx it to say ‘good luck’ for later?”

You know many sportspeople take their jinxes and rituals way seriously, and you don’t want to be the one to blame if something goes wrong for the local star.

Charles considers this for a second and then shakes his head no. “Wish me luck,” he smiles.

“Good luck, Charles.” You beam back at him, enjoying—despite yourself—the way his eyes burn into yours.

─────────

You’re back at the Suite with Mati 10 minutes before Qualifying starts. The tension that had seeped out of your body in the form of laughter and loud singing with Mati is already making its way back to your back and jaw. You’re not ready to be around the Elix people again, but you must. However, first, you make Matilde promise she won’t leave your side.

Stuart Schaffer is already patting the empty seat next to him when you make your way through the refreshment tables. You smile at him, a muscle in your cheek falters as you walk past him on your way to the balcony, to catch both Ferraris leaving the garage.

“Oh don’t drink that,” you whisper when you see Mati walk your way, two cans of Gold Elix in her hands. “Don’t.”

Matilde snorts, “You’re literally the ambassador of this thing, and you don’t like it?”

“SHHH!”

“Fine, but those guys are looking at us so we have to at least sip it.”

You groan, opening the one she offers you and then taking a huge gulp. “Yum,” you mock.

Mati laughs again before her face goes sour with the taste. “Oh my God,”

“Warned you,” yet you take another sip. You think that if it grew on Charles it might grow on you, but you don’t really see it happening.

Q1 and Q2 go by smoothly, at least for Ferrari and you’re on the edge of your seat for Q3. This is the race you’ve been more excited for, but it’s not like you’ve attended many others. Still, Monaco just hits different.

The end of Q3 almost gives you a heart attack, although you also blame your almost empty Elix. You didn’t even notice how much you drank, but the thing that really gets your heart jumping out of your chest is Victoria’s ringtone.

Begrudgingly, you turn away from the track. She has texted you a thousand times, without exaggerating, since Quali started and you know it’s because she’s bored out of her mind at the Lounge with her parents. But you’re starting to find this genuinely entertaining and you are bothered by the distraction.

“I told you I’d call you after Quali, Vic,” you singsong, looking up at the screens inside the Suite.

“Well Quali is almost over, no one cares about the last three minutes.”

You do, Max Verstappen is in first place, then Charles and Checo in P3. You’re crossing your fingers for Charles to manage to get above both Red Bulls. And for Carlos to squeeze in there too.

You don’t say anything else, too enthralled by the battle on the screen.

“Y/n?” Vic raises her voice, “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes Vic, what is it?”

“We’re going to be at Ferrari together tomorrow, right?”

You wince, glad she chose a phone call instead of FaceTime this time around. You haven’t asked and you don’t intend to. Vic still has VIP Lounge access, she’ll be fine.

“They said no, Vic.” You lie, your eyes scanning the screen, it’s the last lap before they get the checkered flag out. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why? Did you tell them I can give them publicity? I have one million followers!”

“Monaco is different from Miami,” you explain gently, “But you’ll still be at the VIP, you have a great view.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she’s beyond annoyed now, as it happens every time things don’t go her way. You can’t blame her, but you also think it will be good for her to spend some time with her parents, whom she refuses to visit although they live in Malibu and pay her mortgage. “We’re still up for dinner though, right?”

“Yep! I’ll meet you at your hotel.”

“Okay see you then, babes.”

By the time your eyes return to the screen, Charles is in P1, Carlos in P3 and the Ferrari Suite is exploding in cheers.

YOU’RE up painfully early the next day. Vic and you went back to your respective hotel way past three am and you’re exhausted, but at least you had enough self-control to avoid today’s hangover.

Nevertheless, the morning goes by in a blur between breakfast with Elix people, calls with Mildred and Walter, your manager, and two casting agents that tell you that no, you don’t need to go for an in-person casting, you’re not getting the role.

By the time you get to the Suite you have a headache and the knot on your throat is progressively getting harder to swallow. You only make things worse by rage-reading tweets with your #IsOver hashtag.

People claim, with more force every day, that Aidan gave you everything and you are starting to regret ever meeting him.

You have worked your ass off for years, taking on small roles, commercials, stock-photo deals. Learning scripts and going to castings and taking classes, you have been criticized and rejected for more things than just “not fitting the role”.

You have given everything you are and everything you have, and people assure what you got in return you owe it all to some man.

“Hola y/n!” Carlos is the first one to get back to the Suite and you wish he would rub off some of his good mood on you. “How are you today?”

“Hi Carlos, I’m alright and you?”

“You definitely look it,” he says, semi-sarcastically. “Something on your mind?”

The knot is back in your throat so you shake your head no. “And yours?”

“Nada de nada.” he smiles. You’re still growing on each other, but this is the most comfortable you’ve been while sharing the same space.

Charles arrives while Carlos, Mati (who is hungover from her party at the yachts) and you are comparing workout playlists. Wearing what now seems to be like his comfort cap, and a pair of ugly ripped jeans, he smiles brightly at the three of you.

You’re happy to see both Ferrari boys so smiley after the past couple races. Miami especially. And you hope they’ll do well; but you’re particularly scared for Charles, and whatever it is that made him unlucky in his hometown, you don’t want this day to end on a sour note.

You spend about an hour talking to them about anything, your movies, their races, Mati's tour with Romeo and Juliet. Music, hobbies and quirks, Charles and Carlos have an opinion on everything and they are actually quite fun to be around. Then, a Ferrari Team member comes to get them for the Drivers Parade so you wave them goodbye, wishing them a smooth race.

"You're not going to wish me luck, y/n?" Charles asks, the smirk on his face is one you identify as mischievous, and it makes a small wave of anxiety run down your back.

Mati stops the bottle of water halfway through her mouth to ogle at the two of you, and the palpable tension that has installed itself in the space.

"Good luck, Charles," the smile you return falters in one corner, but Charles doesn't seem to mind as he adjusts his cap and says thank you before leaving behind Carlos.

Mati has forgotten about her need to hydrate and is staring at you with both eyebrows raised. "I thought you were not doing that?" she gestures with her head towards the door through which both drivers vanished.

"I'm not doing anything," you reply, defensively. "He's being—"

"y/n, you could cut the tension there for a minute," Mati finally takes a swig of water and you wait for her to continue talking. "Like I said, I don't recommend it but... you're free to do whatever you want." she isn't unkind while wording that last part, but it still stings you with annoyance.

"Thanks, Mati." you bite the inside of your cheek, leaning back into the sofa.

─────────

The Ferrari Suite explodes in cheers once the checkered flag is out. After a frankly insane race with rain, crashes and too-long pit stops, both Ferraris have crossed the finish line, and most importantly Charles has finally managed to get rid of his Monaco curse. His enlarged picture appears on every screen with P1 right in the middle. Carlos is P4, but the points are extremely important in the long run, so people celebrate nevertheless.

Before you know it, Mati and you are being dragged down to the track for the podium celebrations. You're buzzing with excitement, holding Matilde's hand as you run to one side, where the mechanics can't crush you as they jump up and down.

Even above the general screams of happiness, you can hear talks of 'Charles deserves this so much', 'It was about time' and 'His hard work is finally paying off at home'.

At least someone's blood, sweat and tears are valued.

YOU are probably not living down the Charles dating allegations this weekend. Which is not your fault, honestly, had they enlarged the picture, it would have shown Mati just as excited for Ferrari as you were. She's Italian, and she bleeds for Ferrari.

But right now, surprisingly, you're not overwhelmed with whatever it is they're saying on Twitter. Although it took Mati snatching your phone away and tossing it in her own purse before sitting you down to retouch your makeup for the celebration party.

Victoria is joining you too, because a 'the more the merrier' applies to any sort of party happening in a Monaco club, especially if it is for the unofficial prince.

It is the first time in three months you let go of your worries, even if it is for the shortest amount of time as you dance with Victoria and Mati and drink anything you please and whoop every time the DJ mentions Charles and Carlos.

You're happy to be with your friends, away from Elix and celebrating two people who can become something more than coworkers to you. Although through the night you see them on a few occasions, Carlos waves at you as he passes by a few times only stopping in the third time to let you congratulate him with a quick hug that's more of a shoulder squeeze than anything.

Charles is obviously harder to approach, and to be fair, it's not like you're even trying. He's surrounded by his hometown friends and by anyone who wants to have his attention for a minute, for a picture or a dance or to buy him a drink.

It's past three am when Victoria is beyond buzzed and you're starting to feel exhausted so you decide it's time to leave. Mati has found someone to take home so she's been gone for around forty minutes, minding her business.

"Come on, let's go," you are grabbing Victoria by the wrist as her ankle twists. "We've both had enough," you laugh, Victoria joins your laughter as you snake through the crowd of people pumping fists in the air, some of them point and wave at you and you smile back at them politely.

You hear your name being passed around a few times, but you focus on finding the exit while keeping Victoria by your side, who has started to whine about not wanting to leave.

Once you break into the outside, you take a breath of fresh air, the coolness makes your skin rise in goosebumps and you shiver, letting go of Victoria to lift the hair on the back of your neck.

"It's too early!" Victoria complains once again, her eyes are glassy and she's just as sweaty.

"It's not, plus you're drunk, we should leave," your ears still feel drowned in the sound of music. “My feet are killing me.”

The exit opens again, and a couple stumbles out laughing and they tell Vic and you goodbye in drunken French. Before the door shuts again, Charles is out on the street too.

"I heard you were leaving," he says in what you're sure it's a too loud voice. But your ears have barely stopped ringing, so you can't blame him. "Are you two okay?" he eyes Victoria, who is starting to lean down on her knees to soothe her dizziness.

"Oh we're alright, we've just partied enough," you smile at him. Charles is rosy, bright-eyed and sweaty. Is it corny to describe someone as painfully handsome?

"I didn't get to congratulate you," you add, trying to keep your attention on Charles while being aware that Victoria might start retching at any given moment. "You did amazing."

Victoria straightens immediately, her glassy stare focusing on Charles. "You're such a good driver, Charles, for real."

"Thank you," Charles nods awkwardly a few times as Victoria pokes him with her left index finger. "And thank you y/n."

"Come on, Vic," you chuckle, keeping her hand away from Charles. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you."

Charles smiles again, running a hand through his hair. "Thank you, really. I'm sorry I didn't see you earlier," he points behind him, to the club.

"It's your party, you can't be everywhere,"

Vic is yawning loudly, and you roll your eyes, amused. "We better get going."

"y/n, when are you flying to Spain?" Charles blurts out, the moment you turn to lead Vic down the street.

"I'm not sure, Wednesday probably?"

"You know, I can still show you a place or two in Monaco. If you want." He sinks his left hand in the front pocket of his dark jeans, and you wonder where the mischievous aura from what seems like ages ago went.

You pause, letting Vic put her whole weight on your shoulder as she finally gives up to the exhaustion. "Um well..."

The same tension that appeared at the Ferrari Suite is back, and the more you hesitate, the thicker it becomes.

Victoria pulls you down with her as she throws her head back, yawning again. Charles is just in time to hold you back up, his other arm pulling Vic back to a standing position.

"Only if you want," he says, he is far too close now and you can smell the mix of alcohol and cologne on him.

And maybe it's the alcohol in your own system, and you'll regret this once you sober up and realize that you told Matilde several times this is exactly what you were not going to do, but you say yes.

─── team principal radio: ❝thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I want to say thank you to everyone who interacts with this series, it means a lot to me to know that you're enjoying it!♡❞

✰ paddock club members: @majx00

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