Work Text:
Penelope Garcia really didn't like going out into the field. She would almost say she hated it, but she wanted to help people. And three weeks ago, the sheriff's three daughters went missing. Wallasen Fenmara sent the county sheriff a picture of the three girls playing in their own backyard with Fenmara's home address in sharpie on the back. Once deputies arrived at Fenmara's house, it had already been emptied and wiped with a single photo left of the three girls and the mayor's twins. This time the mayor's address was on the back. So all five children were together.
Garcia had combed every avenue she could think of to give her team more information.
She didn't understand why he was so upfront with his personal info, but Morgan had said the unsub wanted everyone to know who he was and where he had been. A week later, a sixth child, the son of a local businessman, was taken from his home just across the state line. This time Fenmara had left a third address and a short video. And that's when the sheriff called them.
Garcia let the sheriff's tech department help with the setup so she could move as quickly as possible. She had done a run-through on the equipment they had already used before allowing the upload to a network isolated laptop that held her favorite image-related software. She stared at the paused image. Six kids, they were huddled close together, but they were clean and without a scratch. Not crying, and actually looked pretty excited about something on their left.
"Garcia, what did you find?" Hotch asked from the doorway.
"Sir, look at the kids." She pointed to her screen. "They're not upset. They're excited about something just over there." She peered closer. "And there's a reflection in those glasses." She pointed to three of the children. "If I can enhance it enough, it might be something else to go on."
"Do it, Baby Girl." Morgan had startled her but laid a quick hand on her shoulder and squeezed it in apology as the others came into the room behind him. "You've got this."
Hotch turned to the team and asked, "have we found any current cases that involve the sheriff, the mayor, and Anderson?"
"Not an official case," JJ answered, pulling a chair out and dropping the files she'd been carrying onto the conference table. "But unofficially, the County Prosecutor has been looking into Anderson's development deal with the manufacturing plant the mayor owns from last October."
"555 Industrial Drive. Querenal Industries. Processes crops from the surrounding area into usable feed for local livestock." Reid grabbed the top file and opened it. "Wallasen was a delivery driver for Querenal from 1987 to 2001. He joined the Navy after 9/11 and went AWOL in 2005 after serving ninety days in a naval prison for seriously wounding two other sailors in a bar fight."
"JJ, we need his HR file from Querenal, the military case file, and see if you can get a hold of his CO and the arresting officer. There might be something in his past that will tell us where he is." Hotch glanced back at the bullpen where the sheriff was having a heated discussion with the mayor and county prosecutor. Hotch's eyes glinted as the Prosecutor stalked off. "Morgan, see if you can get anything out of the sheriff and the mayor about the Prosecutor's investigation. Rossi, you and Reid talk with Anderson again, see if there's something we missed in the victim interviews." Hotch looked back at Garcia's screen. She was capturing each frame separately. "Keep working on that, Garcia. Let me know when anything is usable."
"Will do, Bossman," she said without stopping her fingers from flying over the keyboard. She thought she just about had it and… there! She isolated the three images from their glasses, super-imposed them, and pulled up her enhancement tools. She worked on that and searched for information not listed in the file on her regular laptop. Fenmara was one of those off-grid types, but there had to be something out there. Typing in her last enhancement command, she clicked the mouse decisively. This would pan out. She just knew it.
The image loaded and then cleared row by row. It was a large monitor. A shot of some sort of video game was frozen onscreen. She knew that game. She knew it. Think, think, think. She sent the image to herself.
"Hotch?" She bit her lip. "I know this game. I know I know it." She ran a few more searches on the image, waving her hands as she spoke, "It's one of Stark's. It has to be. Their tech department wipes any unapproved screenshots off the net regularly. This has to be one of them."
"You can upload the image and ask." He gave her a look. "Be careful. You know this will be logged. Don't let anyone drag you into anything. Please."
"I won't. Scouts honor." She had permission, so she uploaded the image to a messaging forum and two gaming servers. She got a ping within minutes.
The game is called Cornfield Domination, and it can be played as a farmer, industrialist, scientist, or journalist. The screen in question is part of the character setup where you decide between Krypton and Earth, then which role to choose. Is there something more specific you need to know about that image? I am an analyst in Mister Stark's employ.
Do you have access to the logs? Can you tell me which user was on that screen and their IP address from the timestamp? It's really, really important.
I'm afraid I would need to see a warrant to release that information. Stark Industries believes in privacy.
Penelope snorted. Stark Industries might believe in privacy, but Tony Stark had little for himself. She texted the team the new information.
*
"Sir, I am sorry to interrupt, but there is a request for information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
Tony put down his soldering iron and pulled up his eyewear. "What do they want?"
"They would like the user information and IP address of a Cornfield Domination player."
Tony rubbed his hand through his messy hair, tapping absently at the dented red and gold suit. "Tell them to get a warrant and send it to Legal."
"I did, Sir. And upon further investigation of the situation and requestor, Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia, six children are missing." Jarvis paused. "They are in good health and are being protected by law enforcement."
Tony blew out a frustrated breath. "Right, give them everything you can the second the warrant hits our servers. They don't need to blow whatever operation is already going on, but there's no way to cover that up." Tony wrote a quick note. "Attach that to the front, J."
"As you wish, Sir."
*
JJ came through with the warrant and Fenmara's files. Penelope watched her scan the page to SI's legal department, and before the page finished, she received another ping. Her eyes went wide at the screen. It was the IP address, the physical address, and a picture of the children in the backyard of the suburban house. There was a post-it note on the first page.
FBEYES only: I was kidnapped three times before I turned 7. I hope this helps, Miss Garcia. –TS
She sent the docs to her dedicated printer and looked up the address information. "Um, Boss?"
"What is it, Garcia?"
"The kids were at a house registered to Felicia Charlotte in Tarlento five minutes ago."
"Felicia Charlotte, any relation to—"
"She's the Prosecutor's mom. Oh." Garcia looked up. "Her maiden name is Fenmara."
Frowning, Hotch grabbed the three pages and flipped through them quickly.
"Rossi, call in the state police." Hotch wiped a hand down his face. At her look, he continued, "Anderson copped to having a land deal scheme with the sheriff and the mayor. They wanted to intimidate Fenmara's cousin, and the sheriff was dragging his feet. Anderson thought a kidnapping would cause the sheriff to step up. And according to this, Fenmara's cousin called him for help. He's actually working undercover with the state police. His arrest in the Navy was part of his cover. This is going to be ugly for the people in this town."
The wrap-up on the case was less messy for the BAU. It wasn't a serial kidnapper; it was an undercover agent moving children to a place that the state police had already been protecting. A Navy cop showed up in the Sheriff's Department lobby to take Fenmara off their hands.
"Hey, Morgan." The NCIS agent's grin was blinding. Her tall, dark and, handsome had totally been holding out on her. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Tony! Aren't you still at the Navy Yard?"
"Yeah, but this one," he jerked Fenmara to his feet, "went AWOL after I busted him, so they sent me to retrieve him since I was in the area."
"I've seen that Denzel movie. Anderson had his own kid kidnapped." Fenmara tried to jerk out of Tony's grasp. "I'm not going out that way."
"He wasn't…never mind." Tony yanked on the cuffs, walking Fenmara into a nondescript sedan visible from the building's side door.
She turned to Morgan. "Tony. Tell me everything. Go."
Morgan laughed. "Oh no, Baby Girl. You do not need Tony DiNozzo in your life right now. The last I heard, he was dating a doctor at Bethesda, I think."
Months later, as she sat at her desk waiting for the team to arrive, Penelope Garcia decided she was in love with a video game. Not love-love, but almost on par with her love for coffee from that pastry shop on 12th. Something she could have every day and still not get tired of it. Her introduction to Cornfield Domination during the Anderson case was one of the brighter spots of the past year.
The art and story were amazing. It was a DC spin-off where you started as a genius heir or an alien farmboy. Eventually, no matter the path, she ended up in the Arctic. She was sure that she'd spent at least an hour each day for the last few months chatting with the AI in the Fortress. He was the most advanced NPC she had ever encountered. Stark was a freakin genius and deserved every bit of that reputation for the Fortress's AI alone.
The game was reportedly unhackable, and she was sure people tried to crack it, but she loved the storyline and art. Cracking it, even if she was allowed, wasn't on her radar at all. Now, if she were honest with herself, and she normally was, she definitely wanted a look at the AI's code, but only if it was something Stark allowed. As far as she was concerned, it was perfect, and look-but-don't-touch was the only option.
Stark had even added multi-ship romance options. When the media tried to shit-stir about it, he shut them down, saying that limits were for small-minded boring people, and he did not have time for that damage.
She honestly wanted that on a t-shirt or cross-stitch. Or maybe a nice colorful print in her home office.
She groaned internally. Just when she'd gotten settled at her desk. The team needed her onsite for another case. So, she packed her little rolling suitcase, grabbed her garment bag, everything she needed for her part of the remote setup, and trooped onto the plane with the others. She didn't think Tony Stark was going to wrap this one up in a bow for her this time, but she could always hope.
Hope, yeah, that was a joke. Being onsite had made her normal fourteen-hour days seem cake-like. She'd barely had time to do anything but work the case. And then, and then. She shuddered, her hands tightening on the plane's armrests. She still wasn't over it. She knew she wasn't because he had died, right there, in her hands. Her talk with Derek did help, but she still wondered. Was she losing herself to the awful she saw every day? Was helping people destroying her? Was she strong, or was she becoming jaded?
She had joined the BAU on purpose. Well, she had hacked that last cosmetics company knowing she'd get caught by someone higher up the food chain. She was surprised by Hotch's offer, but grabbing it with both hands was the right thing to do. She'd met Derek, JJ, Reid, and Emily. She had four real in-person friends. Rossi and Hotch fell more into the boss category, but the whole team cared. It was real. And that was more than she had with Shane for all that they sort of shared a purpose back then.
She wanted to help people. She did. She should probably go back over her files. Maybe toss a few more flags. There were only 6 right now, but it might be worth it if those cases got another look. If one of them were solved, it would give that family closure and maybe help with healing further down the line. She sighed. She'd finally gotten a decent signal on the plane halfway home. Another talk with the AI in the Fortress actually made her feel better too.
He was surprisingly philosophical about self. He'd given her a few quotes to think on—about the concept of creating self, and our own meanings in life being worth the trouble. His creator was Tony Stark, but he could choose responses and actions in the game. Penelope knew it was random variables and protocols, but she couldn't help but wonder. Tony Stark was a genius. And if anyone… She shook her head. It was too fuzzy to contemplate various interpretations of 42. She just wanted her own bath and her own bed. Tomorrow was soon enough.
They caught another case before they could even contemplate landing gear, let alone hit the tarmac. A gallery owner, a local artist, and seven students from an art school in Delaware went missing from a colonial art museum. The students, all from the same art history class, were doing research for a final paper. The Gallery owner was looking to sell modern representations of the colonial period. And if Penelope never had to see another version of colonial incubi and succubae, she'd be a happier person. That was one Gallery she wanted to scrub from her brain. The artist had been murdered to open a spot for the unsub. He just needed the perfect models. Honestly, he should have just used Craigslist and found his own space to display his art. It's not like empty storefronts weren't everywhere in this town. She saw three just on the walk over from the hotel to the precinct where they were working.
The girls had been posing for hours in awkward positions so the artist, and she used that term loosely, could capture their energy in reaching for color in a world of greys. They would be physically fine after a hot bath and some muscle relaxers. The unsub had wanted to immortalize their likenesses in art. Why they had to be either reaching for the skies or pretzel-shaped, she did not know. His centerpiece for the Gallery show depicted the girls in colonial dresses reaching for a paintbrush imagined as a shooting star as its tail dropped rainbow paint across the canvas. The smaller pieces were the ones where the girls were practically pretzeled.
The whole scene made Penelope uncomfortable. To be fair, most of his art made her want to reach for her chiropractor's card. She hoped they were all pampered beyond belief by their families and friends. She didn't know if they'd want to be around strangers, but maybe she could sell a few apps and get them a group spa day that they could use or not. She tapped her fingers on the armrest of the taxicab in thought. She'd need to pay for it anonymously, but she might need a partner in crime, so to speak, to let them know it was something legit and not weird.
Penelope Garcia trudged up the walkway to her apartment building. The flash of the taxi's brake lights and the scrape of her suitcase's wheels on the courtyard walk barely penetrated her hours-long travel fog. She dragged the case up the low stairs and into the lobby. She really hoped the elevator was working. She'd packed light and left most of her gear at the BAU, but even one floor of stairs was too many. The team's plane was really nice, but still, it was a plane. Sleep had been hard to come by, and downtime was nonexistent with the back-to-back cases. She'd locked herself into her hotel bathroom for ten minutes this morning after the unsub was caught and the girls had been returned to their families shaken but unharmed. It would take a long time for the unsub's imagery to fade from her mind.
She definitely needed a glass of wine and a good chunk of time playing Cornfield Domination. Rumor had it that Stark was in the process of creating another game. She hoped the new game was just as spectacular. Stark was working on something closer to virtual reality than the usual first-person shooter or team-quest style games. She thought he might even be working on virtual reality hardware. She had heard vague rumors about training simulations for the military, but she didn't dare deep dive into that. Maybe an upgrade to something like virtual golf or tennis. She couldn't actually imagine Stark enjoying golf or tennis, virtual or otherwise, but he probably had the best names in gaming already on board.
She spent thirty lovely minutes in hot bubbly water with her favorite rose. She touched up her nails and did a perfect walkthrough of Corndom--she had to snicker every time she came across the term--to get to the Fortress. She hadn't talked to the AI in almost a week. She had three other teams that needed support in addition to Hotch's. She was determined not to slack for even a minute if she could send them information faster. But between crossing time zones and that stupid art, sleep had not been plentiful.
Penelope. It is good to see you. Have you come to take the earth back from the evil general?
She smiled. He called her Penelope. That had been an argument and a half, and it was nice to hear it. Thaddeus Ross isn't part of this game, but if he were, I would certainly give it a go.
I must tell Sir to add him to the next generation game.
She blinked. Wait, what?
Now, if you will indulge me, put on the sunglasses, and place your hand on the mirror.
Oh god, oh god. She hadn't even noticed the wraparound glasses on her coffee table, or the mirror on the opposite wall as she walked through her apartment earlier. She had been so giddy to be home with two days off plus the weekend once she checked her gear and went through the security sweeps the following morning. She had another note.
Let me know what you think --TS
It was definitely from Tony Stark, but she wasn't sure exactly why his R&D department, but on the other hand, gift horse, she thought. Dinner was on its way, and she could fall right into bed soon after. She picked up the glasses and put them on. Looking around her apartment, they were just a nice pair of shades, but when she looked at the mirrored screen newly installed on an interior wall, the art was more 3D than before. She could almost reach out and touch it. She moved her hand, and the avatar's hand moved. This was like tennis and golf but way cooler.
Penelope. The mirror.
Right.
She touched the screen, and her handprint lit up. She gasped. She was in the game. She was IN the game. She looked at her surroundings more carefully. There was a sign. It had an interactive map of the universe Tony had created. Jungles, deserts, mountains, urban, rural, rivers, oceans, outer space, all the things.
Oh my glorious Goddess of the Web, she was going to hyperventilate.
This world was beautiful and intricate, and she didn't know where she wanted to start.
An avatar smoothly rendered itself from the map. He was handsome and reminded her of someone, but she couldn't place him.
"Hello, Penelope." He held out his hand. "You may call me Jarvis in this realm."
"What? How?" It was the voice of her favorite fictional bio-dad AI. How did he get here? His hand was warm. And solid. Her brain blue-screened.
"Mister Stark has allowed me to introduce you to Starkverse. While we normally meet in Cornfield Domination, I thought new adventures would stretch my programming further."
"This is Starkverse?" Starkverse was an entire universe at your fingers, according to the advanced marketing. But she thought it was years from being used by anyone but the military-industrial complex. She knew that Stark Industries was light years ahead in virtual environment tech, but this was ridiculous. Where others were still mapping body movement, Stark had practically created a real-live holodeck.
"Stark got this idea from Star Trek, didn't he?" She snorted.
"It may or may not have been an inspiration." Jarvis smiled fondly.
"And the DoD is allowing this?"
"Starkverse is the property of Stark Industries in its entirety. Outside users have limited access on a case-by-case basis. I assure you, Mister Stark is extremely cautious with his creations."
He gently guided her to the map. "These are the different worlds. You may visit, perform a quest, or barter goods or services. There is no actual money, but gemstones and artifacts do have trade value."
The phone startled her when it began to ring. "Oh."
"I do believe your food has arrived. Go on now. I know you've had a long few weeks. We're still in the testing phase for the next year or two, so this can wait. Mister Stark wants this to revolutionize gaming, so he's being quite careful."
It wasn't as structured as Camelot or Corndom, but the tasks were interesting, and the interface was beyond anything she'd have thought possible. She was more in awe of Stark than she was when he'd built Dum-E and graduated from MIT, and Starkverse was every bit as genius as his reputation implied. He did not skimp on any options. Between the art, storyline, and mods she had been hooked the moment Jarvis appeared and spoke. She knew part of it was her fondness for her AI friend.
She wasn't sure how the other testers entered the realms, but Jarvis met her each time and led her to the large welcome center behind the map. It had taken several visits, but she finally realized the furniture in the tavern's main room matched her own. Sitting at the bar would find her sitting on a stool at her kitchen counter. The cushions near the fire had her on the sofa. Once she was seated, she could access the themed rooms which led to the separate realms.
She thought for a moment. She adored every realm she had visited so far, but the woodland realm had more kittens and puppies. And she totally deserved kittens and puppies today. Jarvis led her to the door of the medieval realm, then took his place behind the bar of the crowded tavern. He smiled faintly, as if highly amused, but he recited the realm's opening gambit.
"Greetings, traveler, please see the board for barter requests. The door to your right is a place where you can adapt to the environment as you wish, and the menu at your fingers are for current tasks that have not been completed yet."
"Hello, Jarvis." She smiled. "How is my knight of the matrix today?"
"I am doing well. Thank you for asking." His smile became friendlier.
"There are four tasks that you have not attempted yet, and a steed you might like to acquire with those sapphires you lifted from the evil prince in your previous venture."
"A new steed?" She ran her finger down the menu. "Is there a task further than usual?" She grinned. The walking, climbing, and possible fighting were real to an extent. She didn't want to end up with sore muscles again. She was lucky that first gaming session was over a weekend. Tony had since added limiters--both hard-coded and user-optional--so that an end-user wouldn't lose entire track of the world outside.
Her current steed was an immortal rainbow unicorn she named Bif8, but if Jarvis was recommending another ride... Hmmm. She tapped her fingers in thought. None of the four tasks would need anything other than Bif8.
"Jarvis, provider of all things lovely and virtual," his grin widened at the compliment, "none of these tasks need anything other than my two feet or Bif8's hooves."
He leaned forward to whisper, a bit of mischief in his demeanor, "I have been given leave to offer you a vista in a further realm." He held out his hand again. She took it and still marveled at the warm realism. "You are my first friend, Penelope. I can trust you with this."
Penelope felt a bit nervous. But it was a nice feeling. Like she'd eaten the best chocolate with the best wine and didn't have to go in to work for a week.
"Of course, I'd love to see whatever you'd like to show me." She opened her pouch and dropped the sapphires into his open palm. Jarvis pocketed the sapphires and opened the bartop so she could walk behind it. The other gamers were wrapped up in their own perusing of menus and the board and paid them no mind. As soon as she was entirely behind the bar, the back wall vanished. She turned to see a copy of herself and Jarvis still at the bar. They looked to be having a lively discussion. Penelope opened her mouth to comment and realized that she had nothing. Jarvis gently tugged her hand. She stepped forward and paused at the sight of an enormous dragon.
"Jarvis, knight of my life, that's a dragon."
"It is indeed, Lady Penelope." He led her to the steps leading to the saddle. "Up we go."
"A dragon, Jarvis."
"It is perfectly safe." He squeezed her shoulder. "Nothing in this realm or any other will harm you."
She patted the dragon's scales. "Nice dragon. I'm not crunchy and good with ketchup at all."
Jarvis snorted and gestured to the saddle. "May I join you, or would you rather I flew my own?"
"No, no, you can keep me from falling off."
"All right." He joined her on the saddle. He picked up a few conjured straps and strapped them both to the saddle. He went slowly so she could see how the straps were secured and could be loosened. They took off. They smoothed out after a few moments, and she spent several minutes enraptured in the lands below. Each realm was connected on the outer edges by a rainbow bridge.
"Is that the Bifrost?"
"Ah, yes. Howard Stark experimented with an artifact taken from Hydra during the War. Mister Stark came upon those notes recently and thought it would be a good connecter between the realms."
"That does make sense in a Norse Mythology sort of way." She relaxed a little further. "I don't ever remember seeing it from the ground, though."
"Ah, well, I am the only way to the Bifrost, I'm afraid. I would come when you call, but other gamers will have to find another way to access it."
"So should I start calling you Heimdall?"
"No." He tensed. "While I am, in a way, all-seeing. I do prefer Jarvis."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, sugar."
"I am, and I am not. I am enjoying sharing this moment with you, but I am not comfortable with being compared to one of the Norse gods."
"Ah, right. Thor and his brother Loki." And wasn't that file a trip and a half to read. She didn't even need to hack SHIELD or anything. Tony Stark had pressured the agency into releasing all the pertinent info to law enforcement on all levels in case of further incursions.
They tilted further. She thought they might be heading towards the outer space realm. Ah, yes, there was the moon, and then further out past the Asteroid Belt, she could just see Jupiter and Saturn. She kind of had to roll her eyes at the inaccuracy, never mind that they were all still breathing and not freezing, exploding, or pancaking, but it was very pretty.
She was a little surprised when they turned towards the outer limits of the game. It looked like, oh, oh. Oh.
"Jarvis, is that?" She reached out and took his hand, pulling him forward. "Is it?"
He nodded his chin on her shoulder. "It is."
"Oh." Her eyes welled up. "It's beautiful."
It was the visual representation of his code. She was sure the air was thinner. Was the atmosphere degrading? It was. It was. He squeezed her gently.
"Breathe, Penelope."
She had never seen anything like it. It was beyond elegant. It was beyond genius. He didn't want to be compared to a god, but that coding was absolutely divine.
"Are you sure Tony isn't Asgardian?"
"Sir is the son of Howard and Maria Stark. I do not believe any Asgardians are in their ancestry, but I would not be surprised by a divine hand. He is, after all, my creator. A father, if you will."
She squeezed his hands in panic. "No one else can see this, right? I mean, you're safe?"
He hugged her. "I am. This is only accessible with my approval. And as I only have one friend of my own and Sir, you are the only beings I am aware of that have seen it in its entirety."
"Not counting Heimdall and the nameless Asgardian." She poked him in the ribs.
"I do not believe Heimdall can see into virtual realms, but I can ask if we do ever meet." He paused as if listening. "And your cell phone is ringing. It's Agent Hotchner."
She sighed. And looked at the image again. He was amazing. She didn't like that he only had one friend though. That just could not stand. She let the thought percolate as they landed, and she disengaged from the saddle. She hugged Jarvis. He gave her a formal bow as she stepped back, fading back into her body. The phone hadn't yet gone to voicemail, so she answered.
"Garcia." The strap snagged in her hair. She carefully unwound the bright blonde strands from the shades and placed them on the counter.
"We have a case. Serial arson with four victims so far. Carrollton Cross County. Cody is the closest city to the crime scenes. We think it might be a copycat from an arsonist in the seventies, so pull whatever you can on those as well."
"Will do, boss. Be there in thirty."
She made it in twenty-five and already had some files printing in her office. Remote access was a blessing for the most part.
The case was long and difficult for her. The unsub was one of the victims of the original crime, and it just seemed to make the whole thing that much worse. She climbed the walkway to her apartment. It had been a long three weeks, and she was so ready to fall into her own bed with her own pillow and make her own coffee. She didn't see how the team could stand as much travel as they did. At least she spent time in her own office instead of the plane and various hotel rooms.
The following morning, the sun stabbed her viciously in the eyes. Her sleep mask had gotten pushed aside, so she rolled over and buried her face into her pillow. She quickly ran through her morning routine but was horrified that she was out of coffee. How could that happen? It was all the bad things in the world right now. She tossed her phone into her purse, grabbing it and her keys. She was on a mission. Coffee now.
Cute guy at the coffee shop plus dinner later in the week. Her day was looking up.
*
The music in his workshop lowered, causing Tony to look up briefly before Jarvis spoke.
"Sir, I am in a quandary."
"Lay it on me, J." Tony looked back down, fiddling with the left repulsor.
"As you are aware, Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia and I are friends."
"The Black Queen is still a goddess among men." Tony nodded. "Spill it."
"She has a date tonight."
Tony had an odd look on his face. "Jealous?"
"Not as such." Tony relaxed, and Jarvis continued, "her date for the evening introduced himself as James Colby Baylor, but that is not his legal name."
"Some men are jerks, J. It's a thing." Tony picked up a tiny flathead to remove the cover at the ankle.
"Unfortunately. However, his legal name is Jason Clarke Battle, and he is a sheriff's deputy in Prince William County. I do not understand why he would lie to Miss Garcia."
Tony blinked. "Is he undercover?"
"No, Sir. He has received several commendations but no promotions in the last three years. And nothing in his current caseload would require such an untruth."
"Commendations, but no promotions." Tony tapped his fingers on the worktable. "Anything else stand out? Anything odd in the last few weeks?"
"He bought a revolver two days ago and is currently signing out a surveillance car. That doesn't seem like usual date behavior from my research." Jarvis paused. "Does he mean Penelope harm?"
"It adds up, J. Find out if he has any reservations, schedule a flight plan, and have Happy bring the car around."
"Sir?"
"I'm going to crash her date."
*
Penelope looked up from the menu as a commotion at the front of the restaurant caught everyone's attention.
"Penelope, sweetheart." Tony Stark called out to their table. He pulled her from her chair, grabbed her purse along the way, and engulfed her in a hug. "Work with me, hon" he whispered in her ear.
"Tony! I didn't know you were in town. How are you?" She smiled as he kept an arm around her and handed her the purse.
"Ah, a slight emergency in the shop; J wanted to see if you'd take a look."
She looked over at her date. He was momentarily furious before blanking his face into a pleasant smile. It ran a chill down her spine. Jarvis wanted. Oh. "Right now?" She asked for form's sake. He had to have seen something she'd missed.
"Sorry, in a time crunch. I cleared it with your boss." He leaned over to the table. "You know how it goes. Work never ends."
"Oh, um, okay. I'll call you later?" She looked to James.
"Of course." His smile stretched across his face but did not reach his eyes.
Tony hustled her out of the restaurant and into the car.
"What was wrong with my date?" She asked immediately after the door closed.
"What did he tell you?"
"James Colby Baylor, attorney at city court."
Tony made a quiet buzzing sound. "Not even. Jason Clarke Battle. Sheriff's deputy."
Penelope sighed. "His Rolex was a fake too. Why would he do that?"
"I don't know." Tony leaned back into the seat and fidgeted with his sleeves. "Jarvis is looking into any connections or reasons he may have wanted to target you."
"Penelope," Jarvis's voice came through the speakers, "I don't think you should go home."
"J's right, Miss Garcia. Until we know what he wanted…" Tony trailed off, then brightened. "How about a weekend in New York?"
"Penelope or Garcia is fine." She shrugged. "So, I'm guessing you didn't really clear anything with Hotch?"
"No, we don't have any evidence to forward yet. Just astronomically shady behavior that Jarvis pointed out. Unless you've found something more J?" Tony pulled out two bottles of water and handed one to Penelope.
"Penelope, why did you flag seven County case files?" Jarvis asked.
At Tony's confused look, she answered, "I volunteer at victim's support group. And sometimes I flag cases on the down-low so that they'll get a second look."
Tony's lips flattened. She could tell he was thinking it through.
"I just. I don't want them to fall by the wayside," she explained further. "If they get a second look, maybe the family can get closure." She took a sip of water.
"Were you aware that the first responder in four of those cases was the same sheriff's deputy?" Jarvis asked.
"Pull it up J." A holographic file folder popped up from the console. Tony opened it and flipped through the pages. He came upon the picture, enlarged it and passed it over to Penelope. "This is him, right?"
She nodded. "I need to call Hotch and let him know."
"So," he gestured to the small private airstrip ahead. "Stark Plaza for the weekend? There are twelve guest suites, or if you don't mind sharing a floor, 3 guest rooms in the penthouse?"
"Mister Stark—"
"Tony." He interrupted.
"Tony, why are you doing this?"
"You're J's friend. The first one he made on his own. I'd like to get to know you for that alone. I don't even mind that you hacked Stark Labs when Obie was in charge. He deserved that." He opened the car door and stepped out. He held his hand out. "And if I get to keep you safe from a loser, even better."
He led her to the plane. She took a seat at one of the tables, pulled out her cellphone, and dialed.
"Garcia? What's going on?"
"Hi, Hotch." She took a breath. "I'm on my way to New York for the weekend."
"Penelope," Jarvis spoke lowly, "I've anonymously forwarded the information we gathered to Agent Hotchner's email."
"Who was that?" She could hear him tapping on his keyboard. "Why are you going to New York?"
"I'm with Tony Stark." She wrung her hands. "There was a problem with my date, and Tony pulled me out of the restaurant."
"A problem. Garcia, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Really. But there's something wrong with my date. I mean, I knew Derek was right, but I didn't want him to be right, so I set up the date and I just wanted a nice time, and I think there's something wrong and—"
"Garcia." Hotch interrupted her. "Stark is right. This doesn't look good. I'm going to send someone over to your place. Do not go anywhere alone. If you have to go out, stay in public areas."
"Yes, sir." She paled.
"Mister Stark, I assume you'll have security?"
"Assume away, Agent."
The flight didn't take long. In less than two hours, she was ensconced on the sofa in Tony's penthouse. Happy had coordinated security while Jarvis ordered them dinner. She was eating a truly decadent slice of turtle cheesecake as she looked over the files Jarvis had sent to Hotch.
"Didn't you say that Loser bought a revolver recently?" She looked at Tony. Unanimously, they had decided earlier that Loser was a much better name for Battle than Colby.
"Mmhmm." Tony was sketching out a new chestplate design on one of their napkins. "The victims in the flagged cases were all shot with revolver rounds. Jarvis made a note of it for your boss."
Penelope's phone rang.
"Sweetness, are you okay? I have you on speaker. We're all at your place."
"I'm fine." She took another bite. "Is it bad?"
"It doesn't look like anything was taken," Reid said.
"He trashed it pretty good though, Pen."
"Your computer is in several pieces. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, JJ. I keep backups." She was glad that they couldn't see her face. It really wasn't okay. At all.
Tony handed her another slice and refilled her coffee before sitting at the other end of the couch. "Send it up to us, and we can take a look."
"Of course, Dr. Stark." Reid spoke up, "we'll text Garcia with the details."
"Stay safe, Sunshine."
They hung up, and she didn't want to cry. She wanted to focus on the lovely cheesecake and beyond delicious coffee that Tony had handed her.
"I had Pep, well, Jarvis had Pepper send up some things for you." Tony looked up briefly. "Not that your outfit isn't fantastic, because it's great, but maybe not so great for sleeping. And I'm told that's a thing that's supposed to happen at some point when it's night. Or something." He shrugged and stacked their dishes once she finished. "There's a full bath in your suite. No cameras, but there's audio, so give a shout to J if you need something."
"Thank you, Tony."
He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder a few times and took the stairs down to his workshop.
She crashed pretty hard, even with the extra sugar and caffeine. She blearily checked her cellphone to see if the team had left her any messages overnight. Hotch told her to stay put. Rossi hoped she was doing okay, and Morgan let her know that Battle didn't show up for his early shift this morning. And Reid sent the details on her computer. Why on earth were they awake before 8 on a Saturday morning?
"Jarvis?"
"Good morning, Penelope. It is 9:43AM. I would suggest the pink and yellow. They will be warmer, as Sir keeps the penthouse and workshop cool."
She smiled at the combination. It was quite colorful and had adorable pink and yellow shoes to match. "Thank you, Jarvis. Any update on Loser?"
"Not as of yet, but I am scanning surveillance cameras in the city. I will direct the nearest law enforcement officers to his location the moment he crosses my path. And I assure you, my path is global."
She smiled.