Work Text:
They were in the bullpen waiting for Garcia who was setting something up. They had been assigned to a case they couldn't make heads or tails off, but apparently someone else in the FBI had taken interest.
Garcia had been contacted and now they were going to have a conference with whoever it was. They were all slightly dubious of what exactly this other person had to offer, but who were they to deny help since they were stuck.
Soon everything was set up, and a video call started. A woman appeared on the screen, she couldn't be over twenty-five. She had wavy nearly shoulder length blonde hair with a pair of black glasses on.
She fidgeted but greeted them all.
“H-hi I'm Grace Ashcraft I-I’m an analyst. I wanted to contact you all about y-your case.”
She was clearly nervous but there was determination in her eyes which was promising. Lucky Hotch took the lead.
“It's nice to meet you Grace. I'm Aaron Hotchner and this is my team. I've been told that you were looking into our case can I ask why?”
“O-of course! See I had uhhh…an experience let's say recently, and subsequently I've been taken under the wing of someone who specializes in bioterrorism. I wanted to learn and be able to identify it to ensure others as well as myself don't run into it unprepared. I have reason to believe that's what your case is.”
Glances were thrown around the room. Everyone had heard about it of course. It's hard not to after Raccoon, but those cases usually had a specific feel to them. Not exactly what this case seems to be, but if this was actually the case? Well….
“What made you suspect this is bioterrorism?” Spencer asked.
Grace blinked for a moment then started once more.
“I-it's the decomposition. I saw something similar once when I offered to take a look at a case. People were all but disintegrating. The decomposition on the inside far exceeds the decomposition on the outside. Most T-virus victims have a similar process though usually much more accelerated. So, I don't think it's that in particular, but I also haven't seen a blood screening.”
“People disintegrating…?” Morgan asked no one in particular.
“Also, there's usually more lesions on the outside and the pupils are not quite like a T-virus victim. I think that's what made everyone write off these cases as not bioterrorism. However, I'm unconvinced so I asked an expert. Sure enough he has the same hunch as me and wants to assist.”
“And who is he?” Rossi asked, leaning forward in his seat.
Grace smiled widely then. “Leon! H-he's going to meet you there once he finishes up his current assignment. I have n-no idea where he is right now, I never do.” She rolls her eyes lightly.
Hotch blinked and looked to Spencer to confirm he wasn't wrong. The kid just blinked back, equally surprised.
“As in Leon Kennedy?” Hotch asked.
Grace nodded. “The very one. He's wonderful and beyond good at what he does.”
They all talk for a while longer as Grace explains what she knows and what she suspects before she has to leave. And the BAU are on the plane not an hour later heading to Oklahoma.
They landed in a somewhat small town nearly surrounded by the native nations. They get accustomed to the people and set up their room and go over what evidence they have as they wait for Leon to arrive.
On the flight over Spencer did them all the service of explaining everything he knew about Leon. And surprisingly there wasn't much to say, he was an American agent who did work that was kept extremely under wraps. He however, was famous in many circles despite it and held in high regard for his expertise.
They were there for three hours before the man arrived. A knock on the door frame before the man himself walked in. He wasn't excessing tall or built though his stature was still imposing. He had on a blue compression shirt, leather jacket, and black combat pants and boots. His jaw was stubbled and his side swept hair was streaked with gray.
“I was told I have another case?” He asked.
Hotch stepped forward and offered out a hand. “Apparently, we talked with Grace.”
He shook the offered hand and smiled, his blue eyes lighting up. “Got to love that kid, she's got good intuition after I gave her the basic rundown. I trust her judgment and from what I've seen, I'd like to take a look at least.”
The man's hands were callused and up close he could see all the scars littering the skin that was visible. What really caught his attention was the spider-like scarring that crawled up his neck in the side of his face as well as covered his hand.
After the necessary introductions they left to go survey the crime scenes.
Leon didn't ask any questions, leaving that to the BAU. Instead, he was content with looking the body over, even taking a sample with a machine they'd never seen before. Once they contended themselves with their questions did he finally speak up.
“Has there anyone bought out lots of buildings?”
“Uhhh no?”
Leon frowned. “Ok what about abandoned buildings? Or anything on the outskirts that went under or was bought out?”
Prentiss and Spencer gave each other a confused glance as they paused to listen.
“I mean there's a few buildings but nothing big. The only thing I can think of is a bookstore on the outskirts. They got bought out a few years back. No one can really figure out why considering it was doing fine, but the owner still runs it and nothing's really changed.”
Leon just nodded to himself.
“Do you know who they got bought out by?”
“No, no one really paid any attention.”
Leon didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he pulled out his phone and waited for the others to finish looking the body over.
As they hopped back in the car the questions started.
“Why did you ask about that stuff?” Spencer questioned Leon as he turned and looked at him in the backseat.
Leon shrugged. “I'm going to need to wait for the lab results but whatever it is. There's more than likely some form of virus can't really explain why but well if you do it long enough you get a good feel for it. The bodies look like what you find in the beginning stages of developing something now. Trying to tweak a virus to make it exactly what you want it to be, usually those bodies are burned.”
A sigh.
“However, if people were to plant the bodies? You can form a narrative that weird things have been going on. Set the story and make sure everyone believes it's one thing. Next thing you know you're covered if anything escapes containment.”
“Has that happened?” Prentiss asked unsure.
“I can't say one way or another, but it's probably the smartest thing to do. There's always a containment breach, it never fails because mistakes happen.”
“But that doesn't answer the question about the buildings.” Spencer reasoned.
Leon shrugged. “It's usually the MO. You buy out buildings to cover up what you're doing, maybe in the middle, maybe on the outskirts. Create infrastructure and hide in plain sight.”
“What was that machine that you used on the body?” Spencer asks the next question that was bugging him.
“Just a blood extractor. It takes a sample and digitally analyzes it before sending it over to the labs. I need Becca to look it over.”
“Who's that?” Prentiss asked, squinting at him in the rear-view mirror.
Leon just smiled. “Professor Chambers, the BSAA’s best asset and a good friend of mine. If anyone can figure out what's going on, it's her.”
Spencer blinked, he'd heard about her and had read lots of papers from her. Truly it was a small world. Once they arrived back to where they had set up and debriefed on their observations and the theories. Leon explained he wanted to go visit the bookstore that had been bought out.
Morgan had offered to go with him because he had nothing better to do, and Leon just shrugged.
“As long as you don't look like a fed that's fine.”
Morgan blinked at him slightly lost. Leon just raised a brow in challenge.
“Say I'm right and there's something going on there. Do you want everyone to figure out we're on to them? Just meet me here tomorrow morning and we'll head that way. It's too late now and I need some sleep because I've been going for, I don't even know how many hours.”
And with that the plan for the next day was set. It gave Rebecca time to look over the blood results and rest of them time to rest.
As the next morning rolled around sure enough Leon was waiting outside the precinct leaning on an expensive-looking bike. Morgan whistled appreciatively and Leon just smirked.
“Damn how'd you get that here?”
“What I do comes with its benefits. I can get anything I want pretty much anywhere without issue.”
They're on the road not long after and thankfully didn't take them long to get to the little bookstore. It wasn't exactly outside of the town but definitely wasn't in it. Leon parked and popped off his bike as he waited for Morgan to join him.
And he did just in time to watch the Agent slip on a ring.
“You're married?”
Leon ignored him and just told him to play along.
They walked in and were greeted by a woman who poked her head out from between some shelves. Leon walked down the aisles of books pulling out some before putting them back and moving on. Eventually he picked up one and read a page before chuckling and grabbing the test of the series and making his way to the front.
He put the books down on the counter and the woman started ringing them up as Leon talked.
“My wife loves to read and I need to find her some new books. Figured it'd be a good gift for our anniversary.”
“Aaww that's adorable! Tales From the Gas Station is a great series. It's very funny and I'm sure she'll love them. How long have you been married?”
Leon shrugged. “It'll be 11 years, I'm a very lucky man.”
She nodded before squinting at the both of them. “Did you just move or?”
Leon shook his head. “No, I just happened to run through this town. I travel a lot for work. And my friend here happens to live a few towns over. We're having a small road trip before life gets hectic again.”
Morgan gave a smile and greeting which was reciprocated.
She nods. “I know what you mean. This store actually got bought out. It's been a wild few years I technically still own it but not really? I couldn't say no to the check I was offered. I needed the money and I was told I could keep the place open.”
He blinked surprised. “Really? That seems very unusual, what did they tell you?”
The woman shrugged, “Not much. Just said I could keep the place open and running. They were just going to renovate slightly and there's a few extra rooms I can't get into. I never really questioned it.”
“Can't say I blame you. Who bought you out?”
She shrugged, “It was just some guy Finn Bentley on behalf of some company or another.”
“Huh, well at least you got to keep your business.” Leon observed as he picked up the bag she handed over.
“Yes, or they would have had to offer me a lot more. It's been a pleasure meeting you, come back anytime you end up local.”
“I will.” Leon promised as he led their way back out.
“Well?” Morgan asked as soon as they were outside. Leon had immediately taken the ring off and pocketed it once more.
He just held up a hand as he pulled out his phone, poked at it for a moment and put it to his ear.
“Hunnigan hey I have something I need you to look into. I need you to find me a Finn Bentley, bought out the bookstore I just gave you a pin of on behalf of some company. And I need you to see if this ‘company’ has any connections to any place in this city.”
A pause then. “Thanks Hunnigan you're the best.” He ended the call.
“We're going to see. Let's head back and see what answers we got waiting for us.”
And that's exactly what they did.
As it turns out Penelope and Rebecca had both found some stuff out from their separate investigations. Rebecca confirmed it was in fact some kind of virus but it was very much new and unlike anything she had on record. While Penelope had connected all of the bodies to working for a local company.
Sage Insight, it was a consulting company who'd taken residence in the past five years. But interestingly enough all of the people who'd shown up dead had been working from home. Penelope had continued to explain that they also seem to be living alone.
So their next steps were to ask neighbors and also visit the company itself and ask some questions. Leon immediately declined the offer to visit the company itself.
“I'm well known enough I can't chance being recognized if I were to go in. I’d however love to be on a com and suggest questions to ask.”
With that decided the others divided themselves out into three groups. Spencer and Morgan went to ask one victim's neighbors, Hotch another. Which left Rossi and Prentiss to visit the company.
Rossi and Prentiss were both given an earpiece and a small mic before they were sent on their way. Penelope had brought Leon in to watch from where she had hacked into the camera system.
It went surprisingly well, Leon suggesting only a few questions as the two agents asked pretty much everything he had wanted. To no one's surprise the people in charge of Sage had been extremely unhelpful. I didn't answer any question in a satisfying way and avoided some outright. All and all it was beyond suspicious.
Though one-on-one the employees seem to have no idea what was going on which Leon said was to be expected. It only got interesting when Leon had taken in a sharp breath.
“Shit…why is she here?”
Penelope blinked at him. “What who?”
Leon pointed at the screen to a woman dressed in red who'd made her way into a place she could watch it all happen from afar.
Leon was speaking into the mic then. “Ok there is a woman far back right. Asian, wearing red and black, hair in a bob.”
Rossi as he walked out of the room, he'd been using to ask employees took in a slight surprised breath.
Leon chuckled lightly. “Yeah, don't be suspicious but just know she might approach and if she does bring her back.”
Sure enough, after another person was questioned the woman in red made her way over to Rossi and raised an expect eyebrow.
Rossi thankfully didn't miss a beat, just pointed at her and gestured for her to follow. Sure enough, she did and once inside the impromptu interrogation room, the camera froze. Penelope went to figure out what happened, but Leon shook his head.
“Don't bother, it's her.”
Penelope just blinked at him.
“You know Leon, ironic you show up here of all places looking into this.” She spoke into the room.
Rossi choked slightly but said nothing.
“I really shouldn't be surprised you found the frequency. What are you doing there Ada?” Leon asked.
The woman, Ada, scoffed. “I don't work and tell you know this.”
Leon rolled his eyes. “Well, I assume this means we're on the right track. No other reason for you to be infiltrating this company.”
A moment of silence then she spoke again. “I'd be willing to consider an exchange of information. Mutually beneficial.”
“How generous.” Leon grunted clearly not impressed.
“Tick tock you don't have long before someone gets suspicious of the frozen camera.”
Leon thought it over for a moment before with a sigh he relented. “Fanciest place around?”
“You know me so well~” She purred before the cameras came back on and Ada stood.
Rossi got the message as he walked her back out. And not long after they took their leave and headed back to the precinct. Leon had said he'd explain Ada’s deal when everyone arrived.
Until then he contented himself with looking at fancy restaurants while Penelope just started truly to dig up who exactly Ada was.
Eventually once everyone was in one place and caught up, did the explanation behind. And it wasn't as much of an explanation as it was a warning.
“Ok Ada she's...well a familiar face would be an understatement. We have a long history of running into each other during jobs usually with nearly opposite goals. She's a mercenary but she has her morals if she'll admit it or not.”
Penelope squinted at him but said nothing as the others conversed clearly unsure.
“And what? We're going to have dinner with her?” Rossi asked clearly the most unnerved.
Leon sighed. “Yeah, trust me it'll be worth it. She wouldn't offer a tit for tat if it wasn't.”
And sure enough, at 5 they found themselves dressed nicely and at the most expensive restaurant in town. Leon had said he'd pay and not worry about it, just to let him lead because he was used to dealing with her.
They were there for twenty minutes before she appeared. She wore a red dress that was designed so the chest of it looked like a butterfly. Matching butterfly earrings and back stiletto heels.
She took the seat next to Leon and he gave her one of the glasses of wine he ordered. She hummed appreciatively as she took a sip and smiled at him. Somehow it still felt predatory.
“You're too kind Mr. Kennedy.” She crooned as she looked at him with a tilt of her head.
Leon rolled his eyes, but he had a small smile despite it. He also positioned himself to be slightly facing her. And if he intended to or not his eyes had softened considerably.
“So, I'm guessing you've been looking into what we have. The bodies are planted to help control a future narrative. Because Rebecca already confirmed my hunch.”
Ada just hummed an agreement.
“Yes, and Sage are pretending the people they are experimenting on showing up dead have nothing to do with them. It's a good cover having them work from home but there's still the connection.” She confirmed. Then added. “They’re targeting people in desperate need of a job and kidnapping them.”
“Do you know where their lab is?” He asked.
“I’m guessing you do.” She shot back.
Leon seemed smug as he answered.
“Bookstore outside of town, it got bought out. Hunnigan confirmed it was connected through a shell company and fake name. It was renovated and I bet you anything they worked during the night until they were deep enough it didn't matter.”
She hummed and took another sip of her wine before they were interrupted by a server and they all ordered.
“So, what we hit it tonight? Clear out what we can blow up what we can't?”
Leon sighed and considered it for a moment. “Depends on what you want out of this.”
Ada chuckled before leaning into his space. “Does it? I know I can get what I want by myself without an issue. You are the one that's always needing my help.”
No one missed the slight blush that spread across his face.
“I can handle myself just fine but you're not about to steal what they've started making. We can't have another virus on the market.”
She scoffed. “You know I don't like defective products.” She pulled back offended as she rolled her eyes.
Leon watched her movements trying to hide his amusement but not quite succeeding.
“So, we go down there I need to connect to the servers and give Hunnigan everything she needs and have her delete everything else. We kill anyone we have to and blow the place to kingdom come.”
He offered to which she scoffed.
“You're forgetting the part where everything goes wrong.”
He snorted. “That's true.” He took a sip of his wine.
“What about our investigation?” Hotch asked butting in.
Ada waved a dismissive hand at him.
“The boy scout will deal with it. I'm sure he'll send you everything you need to close out your investigation.”
Leon nodded. “My clearance allows me to not need permission to take actionable moves. It's under my discretion.”
Ada shot him a far too kind look as she crooned.
“You're their favorite attack dog.”
The agent just rolled his eyes
“And their best.”
The rest of dinner was surprisingly normal. Ada and Leon continued to snipe at each other as they discussed their plan of action.
However, the BAU didn't miss what wasn't said. In fact, they were perhaps the only people who could read what was actually happening beneath the words. These two were good actors, Ada even better than Leon. However, surrounded by people whose whole job was to read behavior? Well, the two told a very different story.
Leon could barely tear his eyes off of her his body also facing her. She was where his attention remained no matter what. You could argue it because she was the variable here, but the way he couldn't help but smile at her. The way he seemed to read her body language better than anyone else at the table, responding to unsaid things.
Ada was harder to read, but without fail her eyes wandered back over to Leon. The way she seemed to look for any excuse to lean into his space or touch him.
You could reason she was simply trying to get her way. But that reason crumpled in the face of the fact he'd already agreed to everything. She was doing it now because she wanted to, and Leon seemed to enjoy it.
These two were far closer than what they pretended to be.
As dinner ended Leon promised to send them all the information they needed before giving his goodbyes and disappearing.
Penelope ended up getting Hunnigan's contact and apparently Leon's handler had been happy to patch them into the camera feed and coms if they'd been interested. She'd argued it was their case. They had been and it wasn't a few hours later before they all sat and watched the steam that had been set up.
Hunnigan and Leon's communication remained sparse and brief. The two were clearly beyond used to working with another where words were barely needed. Leon was mechanical in his massacre of the barely functional infection that had been let out to stop him and Ada.
Ada for her part hadn't been seen on the cameras, but Leon had said she was there. Hunnigan hadn't questioned it so clearly this too wasn't unprecedented.
In fact, it wasn't until something particularly big and nasty had found Leon did she make an appearance. She'd dropped in from nowhere using her momentum to drag a knife down its body and steal its attention.
Leon took the chance to sink an axe into its head and jump back now that its attention switched again. From there they traded it back and forth with utter ease until the thing was good and dead.
“See, save your sorry ass again you owe me.” Ada huffed.
“Fuck off I was fine you can't just add to my debt because you feel like it.” He argued.
She chuckled. “Aww and here I was thinking you enjoyed being indebted to me.”
She leaned into his space again, hand on his chest.
He chuckled. “Something like that. Come on, we're on the clock.”
From there they moved, they worked with one another so efficiently it's like they've been doing it their whole lives. Eventually Leon got to where he wanted to be and he and Hunnigan started speaking as he hooked her into the network.
Once everything was done Hunnigan said she'd hit the remote detonation once they were clear. And since they did such a good job of clearing everything up until then getting back was a cakewalk. Not long later the cameras went out, and an earthquake could be felt.
Not that it was one.
“Hunnigan anything else?”
“That's it Kennedy good job I'll see you in a few days. Go home, I have you a flight waiting.”
“Will do pleasure as always.”
With that the line cut before Hunnigan spoke to them.
“I'll send you over everything you need to arrest everyone from there you do what you specialize in.”
And with that the connection was cut, and sure enough a few minutes later they had enough to bury anyone connected to Sage.