AN: I don't really like this Episode, but it's Emily's first case so I included it. 

~~~~

Parker opened the glass door. They were looking through a file and didn't notice JJ and another agent approaching them.

"Parker?"

The young agent stopped and looked up.

"This is Agent Emily Prentiss. She is new to our team. Emily, this is Agent Parker Gallagher," JJ introduced the two of them.

Parker held out his hand to the black-haired woman. She seemed a little shy, but she seemed nice.

"Agent Gallagher, nice to–"

"Please, call me Parker."

"Well, Parker, it's nice to meet you. Call me Emily."

"Nice to meet you too, Emily. I'm sorry, but I gotta go. I'll see you later," Parker said goodbye and continued their way.

~~

Gideon and Hotch were the last to enter the briefing room.

"Everybody meet Agent Prentiss?" said Hotch and pointed to the new colleague.

"The other day," JJ explained. "I've been filling her in on protocol."

"Derek Morgan," the profiler introduced himself and held out his hand.

"Emily Prentiss."

"We can make nice later. What do we know?" asked Hotch.

"The DEA raided what they thought was a hardened meth lab right here in Northern Virginia. But they found this instead," reported JJ.

What looked like a homemade bomb appeared on the screen.

"That could be a dispersal device for a chemical weapon. It's sophisticated."

"Homeland Security is thinking Al-Qaeda."

"They've developed devices that span the spectrum of sophistication. Some as simple as soda bottles and paint cans."

"They're called 'Al Ikh'te'rAA.' Literally, 'The invention,'" Emily said.

"That they are."

"Do we know what the biological or chemical agent is, yet?" Parker wanted to know.

"No, not yet."

"The cell members bailed out through a tunnel. The DEA recovered a Nextel two-way and managed to intercept a message."

JJ put a piece of paper on the table.

"That's not the transcript. It's–"

"No, it's in Arabic," Emily mumbled. "'Our friends surprised us and eloped. We can no longer wait for the wedding as planned. We can deliver our gift at the next crescent.'"

Emily simply translated the message like that, which got her surprised looks.

"I lived in several Middle Eastern countries growing up," explained the black-haired woman.

"Next crescent?"

"Muslims sometimes use a lunar calendar. I'd have to look it up to know when–"

"Next crescent moon is in two days," Garcia said.

The technical analyst had looked up the information on the Internet.

"Whatever they're attacking, it's happening in less than 48 hours."

"That sounds like it, sir."

"Payment for the Nextel is linked to this man, Jind Allah."

A photo of a middle-aged man now appeared on the screen.

"Literally, 'Soldier of God'."

"That's pretty poor operational security for a sophisticated plot."

"Two months ago, Jind Allah was captured leaving the US using a forged Pakistani passport via Richmond International Airport. He's been held as a ghost detainee in Guantanamo Bay ever since."

"So, technically he doesn't exist."

"'Soldier of God' isn't a name."

"No, it's most likely a name taken on for the jihad, meaning "struggle." Extremists claim it's a holy war."

"Yet the words 'holy' and 'war' never appear together in the Qur'an", Spencer pointed out.

"Do we know his real name?"

"CIA interrogators have gotten nothing out of the guy."

"And they need us to break him?"

"We do know from past intercepts that he is a recruiter. He came into this country to assemble the Omega Cell. A sleeper cell with an unknown mission."

"We have 48 hours to do what the CIA hasn't been able to manage in two months?" summarized Derek.

"We could be looking at the first attack on our soil since 9/11."

~~

Dale Turner mused,

"Some of the best lessons are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom of the future."

Parker, Spencer and Emily accompanied Gideon to Guantanamo Bay.

Emily was quiet during the car ride and most of the flight– but that was okay.

The young agent managed to engage the woman in conversation. Parker could understand what it was like to be the new agent and tried to make it as easy as possible for Emily.

On the flight, Spencer and Gideon played a game of chess while Parker convinced Emily to play a game of cards.

Parker was shuffling the cards for the next round - they had won once, and Emily had won once– when Emily turned to Gideon.

"Excuse me, sir? I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate–"

"Don't thank me," he interrupted her without looking up from the chessboard.

"Sir?"

"It's not a favor."

"Of course, I know that. I–"

"You're coming to do a job."

Emily looked a little uncertain at Parker, who was now dealing the cards. The younger agent made a dismissive gesture and gave the agent an encouraging smile. She would get used to Gideon's ways, like everyone in the team.

"Do you think the interrogation of Jind Allah will work in time?" Spencer changed the subject.

"Interrogation's the most dynamic form of profiling."

"That's not an answer," Emily commented.

This time Gideon looked up.

"Sir," she then added.

"He's been locked away in Gitmo. He doesn't know we raided the cell's safe house. That's an advantage for us. The main thing is to get him talking about anything. Then his language and body movements will betray him," he explained Profiler.

He made a move and was able to throw out one of Spencer's pawns. Then it was Spencer's turn again and he too was able to throw out an opponent's piece.

"It's like this. You just focus on how your opponent holds his piece, how quickly and firmly he places it, and then you watch his face and body. I'll telegraph a player's strategy, his training. Even his motivations."

"Is that what you need us to do?" asked Emily.

"No, I need you to listen. You're fluent in Arabic. I won't know the nuances like you. Every word, every phrase. Be on the lookout for subtext, ultimate meanings."

"What do you want me to do?" Spencer wanted to know.

"I want you and Parker to watch for tells. Non-verbal's, micro expressions. Watch him when he's comfortable and relaxed. Then note the behavioral changes when he's under stress. If we can establish a baseline, we'll be able to read him once I challenge his belief systems. Before I can get him to give up where or how they'll attack, I'll first have to cause him to reveal something of himself."

Gideon leaned back in the seat and took a quick look out the window.

"Game over."

"What are you talking about?" Spencer asked.

Before Gideon answered, the jet made a sharp right turn. The chessboard landed on the floor and the investigators had to hold on to keep from falling off their seats– what happened to Parker.

"Everything's fine," they assured and quickly sat down again.

"Gitmo's runway is perpendicular to Cuban airspace. So, approaching aircraft have to negotiate a last-minute 90-degree right turn in order to land. They call it 'The Gitmo Twist.'"

"I was winning," Spencer complained.

"Actually, he would have had you in three."

~~~~

"You must be the BAU boys", a man approached the profilers.

Then he noticed Emily and Parker.

"And gal and pal pardon me."

"I'm Jason Gideon," he introduced himself and held out his hand to the other man.

"Andy Bingaman, FBI."

"Oh, yeah, Agent Prentiss, Agent Gallagher and Dr. Reid."

"Hi."

"I'm the Intelligence Supervisor here at Gitmo," Agent Bingaman explained.

"CIA's having a hard time getting Jind Allah to talk?"

"Not only can't they get him to budge, but two weeks ago word got out that one of the other detainees was spilling secrets," Agent Bingaman began to report.

He led the profilers into a small room with several small screens.

"Jind Allah managed to have a conversation with him in the shower line. That night, the other detainee committed suicide."

On the small screens you could see the footage from several cameras, all aimed at Jind Allah.

At the moment it looked like the man was praying.

"He's reciting the Qur'an from memory. He's most likely a hafiz."

"He must've done that a dozen times since he's come to this facility."

"Some Muslim children are able to do it since age 12."

"Two months of interrogation, and that's all the CIA has been able to get out of him."

"There are cuts and bruises under his right eye socket," Spencer noticed.

"What kind of tactics are they using?"

"I control the access to the detainees, but my protest about their methods has been ignored."

"Let the interrogation proceed normally. I'm going to interrupt and demand they stop harassing him."

"Maybe I should tell them in advance."

"No, it's better if they don't expect it."

"Their reaction will be more visceral, more believable," Parker explained.

Agent Bingaman grabbed his radio and ordered them to move on.

"Go ahead with phase two as planned."

"Copy that."

A few moments later, two men came into Jind Allah's room who didn't really look friendly.

"You're really going to put a show on for these guys?" Agent Bingaman wanted to know.

"No, not for them. For Jind Allah. He needs to see me as a complete contrast to what he's come to expect from his captors," explained Gideon.

"It's the best way to jump-start him into talking. We have less than 36 hours."

"Have at it."

"You three ready?"

"Yeah."

Bingaman then led Gideon to the interrogation cells.

Gideon sent the two men out and apologized to Jind Allah for the treatment he had received. The profiler then asked if it would be okay for here to stay there.

"He stopped his recitation. He's sizing Gideon up," said Emily.

While Gideon was talking to Jind Allah, Parker got a call from Hotch. He and Derek had driven to the house, which was thought to be a drug lab.

During the search, they found a list of chemicals needed to make Anthrax weapons-grade.

"Could they get enough anthrax?" Emily asked.

"The letter sent to Senator Tom Daschle's office in 2002 only contained two grams of purified spores. Enough to kill 25 million people if effectively distributed."

"Oh."

"Are you willing to have a chat with me?" Gideon wanted to know from the other man.

"Gayed Giden. Let's chat."

"He's from Egypt. Cairo," Emily said suddenly.

"You sure?"

"No. He could be Yemeni, but odds are he's Egyptian."

"What type of name is Gideon?"

"American."

"I often forget that in your culture you put your country first and your God last."

"Sir? He was born and raised in Egypt. They pronounce 'J' sounds like a 'G'," Emily reported over the radio.

"You don't consider yourself Egyptian as well as Muslim?" asked Gideon.

"Hmm, Egyptian? In two minutes, you know more about me than those thugs found out in two months."

The men then talked about how Jind Allah had already memorized the Qur'an at the age of nine before Gideon let the other man pray in peace.

~~

"I'd like you to explain something to me," Gideon began another conversation sometime later.

"Hmmm."

"How can you ignore the fact that Muhammad preached passivity while he was in Mecca? 'Do no violence.'"

"His later message from Medina was perfectly clear. 'When violence comes upon you, you must fight back with violence'."

"That's not–" Parker muttered.

An old friend of theirs is Muslim, and Parker had talked to him about religion often enough to know that it wasn't from the Qur'an.

They grabbed the radio and explained: "He's quoting from a Hadith, not from the Qur'an. Extremists call it the 'Verse of the Sword.' They argue it cancels out earlier teachings."

"'Verse of the Sword.' It's just someone's spin on the words of the Prophet. It's not even part of the Qur'an."

"But it says in the Qur'an, 'Fight and slay the infidels wherever you find them, 'and seize them in every stratagem of war.'"

"'Unless they repent, establish regular prayers, and practice regular charity.'"

"Is it your intention, Mr. Gideon, to become a man of faith and revert to Islam?" asked Jind Allah.

"I am a man of faith. I have repented, I pray regularly, and I practice charity. I have never committed violence against you. So how is it that my faith would allow you to live and worship as you please, and yours would "Take my life and snuff it out?"

"You are simply misguided people of the book. But, if you revert to Islam you–"

"'A billion Muslims. One billion Muslims manage to practice their faith in peace. 'For Allah is surely merciful.'"

"Hmm. You inquired about my childhood earlier. I will tell you that it was a happy one. Until, one day, a bomb fell out of the sky and leveled the bazaar that I was in with my family. I was only eight. "

"Must have been horrifying for such a young boy."

"He's opening up about himself," said Emily.

"Maybe. We need to verify what he's saying, though."

Spencer grabbed his cell phone and called Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to check something for me. I'm looking for a stray bombing in a bazaar, somewhere in Egypt, approximately 30 years ago."

"Okay, that's not too obscure."

"I don't need you to get any details. We're just trying to set a baseline for Jind Allah's truthfulness. I just need to know it happened at all."

"When I know, you'll know."

"Thank you."

"And when the rubble was cleared, half of my family was dead. It was on that day that I swore my life to vengeance for Allah," Jind Allah ended the story.

"And for that very reason, those holding you here can never let you leave. Your only hope is to tell me, so I can, hopefully, one day, share your struggle with the world."

"Your government won't even admit that I exist. How possibly can you tell my side of the story?"

~~

After a brief meeting with Parker, Spencer and Emily, Gideon decided to tell Jind Allah the truth.

"I'm going to give you the respect of telling you what just happened. A team of agents raided an Omega Cell location. Actually, both of them. Our men are in place in Annandale as we speak. You gain nothing by remaining silent ."

Jind Allah's hands relaxed as Gideon spoke. Not the reaction Parker expected. They had expected that Jind Allah would take this as bad news.

"Jihad is forever."

"Something's wrong."

"Yeah, look at his hands," Parker muttered.

Spencer and his better half reacted at the same time. Parker grabbed their cell phone and dialed Hotch's number and Spencer reached for the radio to warn Gideon.

"Gideon, something's wrong. This guy seems relieved by what you just told him."

"Excuse me."

The profiler rejoined the others in the room.

"Is that Hotch?" he wanted to know as he took Parker's cell phone.

"What's the problem?"

"Get everybody out of there, now. Now! Now!"

~~

The few minutes it took for Hotch to call back were terrible. Nobody knew whether they could warn the others in time.

What if they were too late? Parker thought.

They shook their heads, thinking like that was bad. The others were fine.

Then Gideon's cell phone rang.

"Are they okay?" asked Parker.

"We were right about the trap," said Gideon. "It was rigged to explode. A SWAT agent was killed."

"What anthrax involved?"

"No."

"Then that's not the final target."

Gideon nodded. He wasted no time and set off again to talk to Jind Allah.

"You look troubled, my friend," said Jind Allah.

"You killed one of my men."

"I was here with you."

"The second location was a trap. One of my agents was killed in the explosion," Gideon summarized.

"This is war. We expect casualties. Shouldn't you?"

"He was a good man."

"Well, if he would convert, there would be no reason for him to fear death."

"What do you say to his family?"

"I say, 'Where were you to mourn when my son was murdered?'"

"His son?" Emily repeated confused.

"Did you see that? When he told the story about his childhood, the bomb landing in the bazaar, his behavior changed."

"We know he was lying, Garcia couldn't find any record of a bombing during the time Jind Allah was a boy," Parker reminded him.

"Exactly. But this time, when he mentioned his son, he looked at his hands, like he had to concentrate to control his anger," Spencer explained his thought.

"That first story wasn't about him. It was about his son."

"Which means it must have been more recent," said Spencer.

He moved a little closer to the laptop and started a video chat with Garcia.

"Garcia."

"I need you to look for a bombing again in Egypt, this time, anything in the last 10 years," explained the young man.

"On it."

"We're looking for civilian casualties. An eight-year-old boy."

"Okay, I'm cross-referencing "bombings" and "child victims. – Huh. Seven years ago in the heart of Cairo, Egyptian government blamed Hezbollah, but conspiracy theories on the street claimed it was a joint US-Israeli strike that went astray. Your ghost detainee's name is Jamal Abaza."

"How about his son's name? Do you have that?"

"Amir Abaza, eight, killed in the blast."

"Find out everything you can on that. I'll get back to you soon."

Spencer ended the video chat and grabbed the radio: "We know his real identity."

~~

"Jamal Abaza's been in the US for a while. He volunteered as the prison imam at the Deerfield Correctional Center, three years ago," explained Garica.

"How could the CIA not know that?"

"They're focused overseas. We're domestic," said Emily.

"They probably sent a request for a domestic information search and it's making it's way through."

"If he was a prison imam, he must have recruited Militant Islamic Society members," Spencer launched into a short monologue. "MIS is an atypical prison organization. They pick up an amalgam of ethnicities. Those that slip through the cracks, the ones that traditional groups won't accept. It's made up largely of American citizens. American citizens with a reason for hating the government."

"We're looking at homegrown terrorists."

~~

"He seems much calmer than he was yesterday. It may make any reading of his body language less accurate," Spencer addressed Gideon.

The profiler took a break from the interrogation and let Jind Allah pray in peace.

"I know."

"Is that what we want?" Emily wanted to know.

"I hope so."

"Well, isn't that the exact opposite of–"

The profiler stopped her sentence when she noticed that Gideon had already left the room.

"He hopes so?" she addressed Spencer and Parker. "We have less than 10 hours before the new crescent moon rises."

"Nine," Spencer corrected after looking at his watch.

"Aren't you worried?"

"Parker and I have known him long enough to trust him."

"You'll get used to it," Parker assured.

~~

"Ready?" asked Gideon.

"Yep. I just have to start the video," Parker explained.

On their lap sat a laptop connected to a screen that Jind Allah could see from his cell if the door was opened

"Alright, wait until I come back out with Reid."

The two profilers now entered the cell together and talked to Jind Allah for a minute.

On the monitor, Parker saw Gideon pretending to tell him something before storming out of the room, followed by Spencer.

Gideon gestured to Parker to wait 10 seconds and then press start. The young adult counted down and then started the video as Gideon reentered the cell.

Spencer stood at the door, Emily stayed a few steps back, and Parker wasn't visible from Jind Allah's position.

"This just in. We go live to the site of what appears to be a terrorist attack. What can you tell us, Jim?" said a voice in the video.

"They've just–"

"Something has happened?" asked Jind Allah.

"There's absolute hysteria–"

"How could you?" Gideon said in dismay. "You choose to condemn Islam into an excuse for a life of violence. You have perverted your faith to justify murder."

"Now we are finally chatting, Gideon."

"You accuse Americans of being puppeteers of the Third World. Yet, you used your own people's faith tonight, to make them dance for you. Why? Why is it always those who profess to be the most fervent believers in this war, they always manipulate other people to die for them?"

"Does your president go into battle? Or does he send your children?" replied Jind Allah.

"Tonight, all those innocent people."

"There is no such thing, Gideon. They were infidels. And they were engaged in activities that spread American policies over the entire world. Your incessant need to own things. Material things. Your capitalism rests on the back of Third World countries. No "One's hands are clean. No one is innocent."

"Those people tonight, they were innocent. They never hurt you."

"They hurt me by existing–"

Parker sucked in a sharp breath. That was mean.

"–Yes, the infidels shall fall at the hands of the righteous. And that is when the jihad will end."

"So you are ready to murder four billion people?" Gideon wanted to know.

"America has learned nothing from the past. You harden targets like your power plants, but you leave the soft fruit for our taking. What has happened tonight will affect your economy for years. The way September 11 affected air travel. And maybe the next time a giant shopping center opens–"

That was Emily's cue. She stepped out of Jind Allah's sight and immediately called the others.

"– people will think twice before going. And maybe next, it will be a school! Hey!"

Gideon didn't need to hear anything more and decided to leave the cell without another word. They had gotten the information they needed. After passing Spencer, the young man also took a few steps back.

"You can shut down the video feed down now, Parker," he addressed the young agent.

They stopped the video; the screen went into screen a save mode and Parker turned on the lights. And now Jind Allah also noticed that something was wrong.

"Has the sun not set yet?"

"No," Spencer replied and closed the door.

~~~~

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,

"In order to learn the important lessons in life, one must, every day, overcome a fear."

On the flight back home, Spencer and Gideon also played a game of chess. But this time Emily sat down with the two of them.

Parker already fell asleep on the small sofa– officially to read something

"When did you know, you were going to have to trick him?" Emily asked Gideon halfway through the flight.

"The first time I talked to him."

"You realized you couldn't break him?"

"Well, I realized he was too smart to have had that Nextel phone registered to him accidentally. He drew us there. He wanted our presence in Gitmo, to confirm that he was successful."

"And that's when you started moving up the time of his prayers," Emily realized with a small grin on her face.

"If I'd used an actual clock, he might have caught on."

"So, it was all a chess game."

"We won this round. But you heard him. Jihad never ends."

After that, Spencer and then Gideon made a move.

"Mate," Gideon explained.

"I quit," Spencer replied quickly and stood up. "Yield. Surrender. Capitulate. I'm gonna take a –"

The young man sighed softly as he saw Parker sleeping on the couch.

"– nap."

Spencer pulled the blanket back over Parkers legs and shoulders before sitting on another seat and trying to get comfortable.

"Prentiss," Gideon addressed the woman.

"Sir?"

"Do you play?"

"Yes, sir. I'm playing."