ABLOCATE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME ONE
━━ ❛ 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅 ❜

chapter no. 027!

❝ WE'RE FAMILY. ❞
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     "GARCIA, VALENTINE, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT?" Hotch asked, trailing into the room with the rest of the team. Only an hour had passed by since the order to track the servers down had been given, and luckily, the two resident blondes' had been able to do just that.

     "We found the relevant servers," Penelope answered, glancing over her shoulder.

     Placing a freshly brewed mug of coffee next to Cara, Spencer peered over her shoulder. "How many were there?" he asked, running his eyes over the laptop screen.

     "In the D.C. area, six," Cara replied, tilting her head up to give him a small smile of gratitude. Spencer returned the gesture and her stomach churned.

     "We need to narrow it down." Blake sighed, arms folding.

     Averting her attention away from the doctor, Cara nodded. "We can ping the servers to see who's hard-lined in."

     Spencer leaned in closer to Cara, his eyes scanning over the list of servers. He mouthed the words to himself. A small smile was tempted to tug at the corners of her lips when she noticed how concentrated he was becoming on the words in front of them. It was winsome.

     For once, she didn't mind the closeness. Perhaps that was because they'd held hands earlier and she'd grown comfortable enough with him. Perhaps it was because of something else. Something she didn't feel like considering at that moment or anytime soon.

     "But the second we start knocking, F.B.I. Data Security is gonna know," Penelope interjected. "It's not gonna be a big leap to figure out why we're doing this."

     "We won't be here when they do." Morgan pointed out.

     Taking in a deep breath, the analyst nodded. "Okay... Rose, don't touch anything. I'm going in." Cara lifted her hands off the keyboard. The room was briefly filled with the sound of clicking before a ding sounded. "It's not working. None of the servers are showing any active hard lines."

     "Then we're back to square one," Rossi stated, shoving his hands into his pockets.

     "No, no. We don't have time for that. It's already been twenty-four hours." Penelope's eyes were wide and glossy. The clock was ticking.

     Hotch shook his head. They couldn't waste any more time. "JJ's being held at one of the sites. We'll work our way down the list," he announced, heading to the door. "Morgan, grab Valentine a firearm."

     Unable to help herself, Cara silently fist-pumped the air. "Finally," she muttered, pushing out of her chair. It only took three months, but she would finally have a way to protect herself in the field. This opportunity though would most likely be taken away afterward. They were under unusual circumstances and a team member's life hung in the balance.

     Morgan stepped forward and grabbed her hand, tugging her with him as they exited the room. Unlike when Spencer had held her hand that morning, her stomach didn't twist and she didn't find herself relaxing the way she did with him. It was different holding Morgan's hand, and her conscious mind refused to look further into that fact.

     Focus. It's time to focus.

     "Okay, sir, I'm sending coordinates now," Penelope called.

     "Get ready to put that fighting face on, Valentine," Morgan said, and they walked down the stairs and out of the bullpen.

     A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips and she shook her head. "It's always on."

────

     THE SUV TOOK A HARD RIGHT AT THE RED LIGHT AND CARA NEARLY CRASHED INTO THE CAR DOOR. Shifting her stance as the vehicle straightened itself out, she glanced between the two men in front of her. Prior to tonight, she couldn't recall a time when the tension had been so tense that even a butcher's knife couldn't cut through it. Aside from when she'd stood in during the interrogations of Arthur, Farell, and Owen.

     The team had split up into two separate groups: Hotch, Morgan, and Cara in one car and Rossi, Blake, and Spencer in another. With the list of locations they had, it was smarter if they broke off to cover more ground. So, that was exactly what they were going to do. Or so they thought.

     It wouldn't be long until they were all brought back together as proven by the joint phone call they'd gotten from Penelope Garcia. She'd received an alert on her computer from one of the relevant servers only minutes after they'd left the BAU and Emily Prentiss arrived.

     "JJ must have logged in with a panic sequence that triggered a silent alarm. It's pretty standard protocol. Enter your security codes backward and a preset alarm is activated, in this case, blackbird." Penelope's voice echoed through the car speakers. "Oh, God, JJ sent that alert thirty minutes ago. They must have looped the system."

     Cara sighed inaudibly. "That's why you couldn't read any hard lines."

     "Which of the servers sent the message?" Hotch asked.

     "Um..."

     "Hands where we can see them." An unknown voice interrupted the blonde and Morgan sat up.

     "Utherlay Oadchurchbray. Utherlay Oadchurchbray!" Penelope shouted desperately, and then her line went dead.

     A chill raced down Cara's spine.

     "You don't need to be a linguist to recognize Pig Latin," Blake stated on the remaining end of the call.

     "Luther and Boradchurch is the location of Cramer Industries. It's a research and development company." Spencer spoke up.

     Morgan looked at Hotch. "R and D... that's gotta be a front for clandestine operations."

     Without hesitation, the Unit Chief turned the wheel. "Hang on."

     Successfully crashing into the car door this time, Cara groaned quietly. "Ah hell."

────

     A FAMILY AFFAIR. That's what Penelope had called the team's outing that night. After the chaos that had ensued at Cramer Industries, a well-deserved night out at a local bar was in order.

     When the team had arrived at Cramer Industries, they were met by Emily Prentiss and a security guard, who'd shown them the way to the server mainframe. Once they'd made their way there, the team split into three groups: Emily and Hotch, Morgan and Spencer, and Blake, Rossi, and Cara.

     Emily and Hotch had managed to find and free JJ, as well as find a beaten and bleeding-out Matt Cruz. Meanwhile, Morgan and Spencer had managed to take out some of Hastings' men, as had Blake, Rossi, and Cara. The moment JJ had been freed though, she'd quickly run after Hastings up to the roof with Emily following. From what had been told to Cara and everyone else, the three had gotten into a tussle that resulted in Hastings falling from the roof of the building.

     Hours passed by and the team, alongside Will LaMontagne, JJ's husband, were now entering through the dark-stained doors of a bar. Small talk and laughs were being exchanged and Cara Valentine found herself drifting toward the back of the team. Part of it was intentional because she felt oddly displaced and like an intruder.

     Next to her was Spencer, whose mind was anywhere but in the present. Every gear in his brain was working on overtime as he was tempted to look over at Cara. He'd been trying not to ever since they rescued JJ and he'd witnessed the hug the two had shared and how concerned Cara was over JJ's safety. Something about the way Cara handled the case and how she'd treated every one of them had caught his attention. He couldn't stop thinking about it and about how it'd felt to hold her hand earlier.

     After minutes of resisting, Spencer caved and turned his head to the right. Just as he'd stumbled into a black hole at the Korean film festival, he found himself falling back into it. His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds as he unknowingly began to slow down. Then, without hesitation, he reached forward.

     Before Cara could join the rest of the team at the bar, she suddenly felt a tug on her elbow. Turning, her brows knitted together as she saw it was Spencer who'd held her back. With a jerk of the head, he motioned for her to follow him off to the side.

     Once they'd stepped away from everyone, he let go of her. "Thank you," he choked out, noticing her slightly confused expression. "For being there for me during the case and letting me hold your hand. I'm sorry I didn't ask at the moment, I just—"

     "Always." Cara interrupted, fully facing him.

     Faltering for a moment, the doctor's gaze softened. "You're a really good friend, Ara."

     A light pink blush dusted her cheeks. "So are you," she breathed, feeling uncomfortable under his endearing stare. After four seconds, the corner of her lips quirked up. "Ara?" Spencer averted his eyes when he saw the rare smile that was growing on her face. "I like it."

     Waves of déjà-vu washed over Spencer. Their exchange was heavily reminding him of the moment when his nickname Spen was created. One of his favorite memories of and with her.

     "Cut your cheeky shit and shut up."

     Cara's jaw dropped. "Hey! Get your own catchphrase," she scoffed, slapping his arm. "And since when did Spencer Reid curse?"

     Laughing, Spencer shook his head and caught the hand that'd hit him. Both of their smiles widened as he interlaced their fingers. "It's not like I don't. It just happens on infrequent occasions."

     Her brows raised as she nodded. "And what exactly qualifies this as an infrequent occasion, hmm?" It was then that a particular silence settled between them. Neither of them was able, or willing, to look away from the other.

    From across the bar, Emily, Penelope, and JJ watched the pair with small smiles. Reid was holding her hand and running his thumb across the back of it absentmindedly. Cara was repeating the same action and the corners of her eyes crinkled as she simply smiled up at him.

     "They've gotten close, haven't they?" Emily asked, jutting her chin towards them.

     Penelope's smile turned into a full-blown grin. "They have," she beamed, sighing softly as she admired the way the two were staring endearingly at each other.

     Nodding, JJ took a sip of her beer. "Yeah. It's kind of hard to miss their connection," she added; her heart was warm as she continued to watch. Spencer seemed to have finally found someone with that he could truly connect to and that understood him. The same went for Cara, and that thought made her incredibly happy.

     "I uh," Spencer stuttered, unsure of how to answer the blonde's question. "Truthfully, I don't know. Perhaps it's because I'm happy?" His statement sounded more like a question, but she took it regardless.

     "Good," she murmured, squeezing his hand before releasing. "You deserve to be."

     Spencer opened his mouth to respond but was promptly cut off by Rossi. "Next round's on me!" A series of claps promptly followed his announcement.

     "Now that's what I'm talking about," Morgan beamed, clapping the man on the back.

     "Emily," Hotch called, grabbing her attention. "How much longer do we have you?"

     Emily's ears perked at the sound of her name. "Um... six hours," she said, lowering her wristwatch as she, the other women, and Spencer re-joined the team.

     Penelope pouted, leaning into Emily's side and throwing her arm around her torso. "It's too soon."

     A solemn shadow loomed over the group and Cara couldn't help but feel incredibly out of place. Not to mention still feeling like she was intruding. Each of the agents had a detailed history together and had known the other for years. Meanwhile, Cara was the ex-drug trafficker that'd been taken in because one of the BAU's brightest somehow decided that she was worth a second chance. Her detailed history was one coated in crime, secrets, lies, manipulation, and blood. There was a drastic difference between the two and it almost pained her.

     "It's more than we had yesterday." Rossi pointed out, breaking the silence.

     Nodding, the colorful analyst sighed. "Yeah."     

     Adjacent to Cara, Blake couldn't help but notice the slight flicker of a frown curling on her lips. "I'm just glad Valentine and I finally got to meet you," she spoke up, eyes darting to Emily. "We've heard such amazing things."

     In an attempt to recover, Cara forced a nod. "That's true. Penelope and JJ have shared many stories with us," she added, inhaling deeply.

     "Oh, goodness," Emily sent Penelope and JJ a playful glare. "I have no doubt that they did."

     From there, a surge of separate conversations sparked. Two hours passed and both Cara and Spencer found themselves continuously glancing over at the other, occasionally locking eyes. Although he maintained an engaging dialogue with Hotch and Blake, Spencer still found his focus settling on the blonde who was laughing at something Morgan said. The pair was standing on the opposite end of the bar with JJ and Will. The same applied to Cara. While she was enjoying the company she was with, she kept finding her attention floating to the brown-haired doctor that she couldn't shake from her mind. The moment when he'd held her hand yesterday kept replaying in her head and it was making her stomach churn.

     Suddenly, a hand curled around her arm and she blinked, turning to the right. Deep blue met dark brown and Cara raised a curious brow at Emily, who'd just made her way over.

     With a jut of her head, Emily gestured for Cara to follow her. Leading the two of them to the side, Emily turned to her. "We didn't get to have a proper introduction earlier," she smiled, letting go of her arm. "I'm Emily Prentiss."

     Cara nodded. "Cara Valentine."

     From her cold demeanor, Emily quickly knew that the two were similar in the fashion that they didn't trust anyone but themselves. The reputation her old teammates had given her regarding Cara was very much true thus far. "I'm assuming Hotch filled you in," she raised a brow, watching as the woman blinked.

     "O.A.? Yes." Cara answered, referring to Operation Azrael. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Spencer indiscreetly staring at them.

     "Good. I want to assure you that we will catch the Founding Fathers. Even if there isn't any international activity presently, I will be there when Hotch calls." Emily vowed; her stance and words firm and professional.

     For the first time since the two had laid eyes on the other, Cara's facial expression morphed into one of skepticism. "Why?" she asked, confusion evident in her tone. "We don't know each other. Why would you help me?"

     Emily tilted her head to the side an inch. "We've all got a past," she replied, shrugging lightly. "Sometimes it's one that's messy and finds its way back to us. It never hurts to have people in your corner, ready to help."

     Her words struck a cord and Cara held her breath, allowing what Emily said to sink in. It never hurts to have people in your corner, ready to help.