❛ 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑨𝑺 𝑰𝑪𝑬 ❜
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•☽.⭒✻❙ 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐀 ❙✻⭒.☾•
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂'𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕
❝ 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫. ❞
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𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑴𝒀 𝑳𝑰𝑭𝑬
𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒔
❝ maybe you don't know what's lost 'til you find it ❞
𝑇𝑂𝐷𝐴𝑌 𝑊𝐴𝑆 𝐸𝑀𝐼𝐿𝑌 𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑁𝑇𝐼𝑆𝑆'𝑆 first day as a profiler and so far, only few had met her. Hotch was the one that hired her, Valentina had run into her, and JJ had been showing her around. They all missed Elle and knew she was an amazing part of the team, but there was no doubt that Emily had a strong probability to fit right in. This was still somewhat of a test run, however.
The BAU team had just piled into the conference room and Hotch introduced the newest member to everyone, "Everybody meet Agent Prentiss?"
"The other day. I've been filling her in on protocol." JJ informed, Valentina then sent the new agent a small wave since they were familiar with each other. Morgan introduced himself and shook her hand, them all saying hellos. As usual, Hotch just wanted to get to work, "We can make nice later. What do we know?"
"The DEA raided what they thought was a hardened meth lab in Maine, but they found this instead." JJ pulled up a picture on the screen which showed complicated devices with tanks of chemicals. Morgan, who was the explosives expert here because of his experience on the bomb squad, pointed out, "That could be a dispersal device for a chemical weapon. It's sophisticated."
"Homeland Security is thinking Al-Qaeda." JJ acknowledged, to which Spencer remembered, "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 informed. Everyone looked to Spencer for clarification since he's their personal encyclopaedia. He nodded his head, showing Emily was right. They were all quite impressed by her extensive knowledge; already a good first impression.
"Do we know the biological or chemical agent yet?" Valentina wondered, JJ shaking her head. "No, not yet. They did find an escape tunnel and inside, they found a phone, which they went through the calls. The last call made was inside a maximum security prison in Maine to an Alessandro Giovanni."
Valentina's head immediately wacked against the table. She hid her head with her arms, loathing that name and the fact she was going to have to revisit this part of her life. Valentina knew that dealing with cases that had to do with child abductions were difficult to revisit and there was always a chance that her family could have another public scandal, but Alessandro was in prison. Valentina assumed that chapter of her life was read and closed.
"What's wrong?" Emily was the newest person there, so she didn't know everyone well. Not everyone on the team there was aware that Valentina knew Alessandro Giovanni. Morgan did, so he explained, "Alessandro Giovanni is Tina's ex-boyfriend. They dated for three years."
Valentina's head shot up and she held her hands up in surrender, "In my defence, I was traumatised and he had fluffy hair."
"Seems fair." Emily agreed, to which Valentina pointed to her to prove a point. "Thank you! You get me, you really get me."
"Well, they were able to get the message off of the cell phone." JJ informed as she put a page with the conversation written out on the table. Emily picked it up and started to read it, to which JJ was going to tell her it wasn't in English, but Emily was full of surprises. She was able to translate, "It's in French. '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.'"
Everyone looked to Emily with shock. First, she knew Arabic and now French, she really was an incredible asset to the team and she had been here for five minutes. She explained her knowledge with a simple sentence, "I lived in France for a little while."
Gideon moved the subject back to the actual case at hand by asking, "Next crescent?"
Valentina knew this was a specific part of the message that only she would know, which clearly meant Alessandro was trying to get her attention with whatever this was. She explained, "I think that's in reference to me. Alessandro and I used to go moon gazing instead of star gazing. We came up with our own meanings for different moon phases and even made a way to count the days until we'd next see each other. We'd always go on dates on crescent moons. We called it our mooniversary."
"You came up with the name?" Spencer guessed.
"Obviously." It was a very small part of Valentina's personality, but Spencer came to realize that she liked making up words such as adorkable, catctus, and now, mooniversary. Valentina was always very proud of her creations and saw them as genius, even though they were cheesy. But Spencer admired them with his whole heart.
"The next crescent moon is in two days." Garcia informed everyone, which helped Morgan draw the conclusion, "Well, whatever Alessandro's attacking it's happening in less than forty-eight hours."
"There have been several links to Alessandro recently. Apparently, he's developed quite the cult following in and outside of prison. Cons get out and still look up to him. Two months ago, an ex-con working for him was captured leaving the U.S. using a forged Italian passport via Richmond International Airport. Because of the connections, Alessandro was moved to be held as a ghost detainee in Guantanamo Bay."
"So, technically he doesn't exist." Garcia summarised the specifics JJ had laid out. Valentina, already familiar with their unsub, pointed out a personality trait of his, "The name Alessandro means 'defender of the people' and he used to always talk about protecting the minority. By minority, he meant anarchists."
"CIA interrogators have gotten nothing out of the guy." JJ pointed out with not a lot of hope. It was never helpful interviewing unsubs that simply refused to talk, but with a run out the clock situation, it could cost lives and they'd have no idea how many.
"And they need us to break him?" Gideon assumed, earning a nod from Hotch, who too was familiar with this case. JJ did have more to elaborate on in terms of Alessandro himself. "We do know from past intercepts that he is a recruiter. Every convict they've caught outside of prison with something to do with Alessandro has had a past of violent behaviour. Alessandro stays in that realm."
"Fantastic. We have forty-eight hours to do what the CIA hasn't been able to manage in two months." Valentina spoke sarcastically.
"But we have something the CIA doesn't-- Valentina."
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Hotch was taking a huge leap here with his trust. He was sending Valentina and Spencer alone with the newest agent. Normally, himself or Gideon would watch over new hires so that they have a good feel of how the BAU works and if they had any questions, they could ask. However, Hotch trusts Spencer and Valentina, and Emily at least had some experience in the FBI. It was a risk, but one Hotch was willing to take.
On the plane ride over to Guantanamo Bay, Valentina and Spencer were playing chess against each other to pass the time. Within the silence, Emily had finally spoken up, still hoping to make a good first impression, "I just wanted to let you guys know that I appreciate you letting me come along."
"No problem. But it really wasn't our choice. Believe me, if I could be in Quantico right now, that's where I'd be." Valentina expressed, desperately not wanting to speak with Alessandro, but Hotch had done this in a very calculated sense. Because Valentina and Alessandro have a history, Hotch wanted her to do most of the talking. Spencer had gone with her to-- one: keep Valentina sane. And two: help out with his own expertise. Emily had gone with them because it was a good learning opportunity for her, but they also just needed another agent's mind with them.
"Did things end badly with you and Alessandro?" Emily wondered, wanting to know if this could possibly result in some sort of violence. Valentina scrunched her nose and nodded her head. "We were together for three years, then became so hopelessly in love with me that he started killing any guy I'd talk to. Now, he's moved onto terrorism, I'm assuming to get my attention. I get like three letters a month from the guy."
"You do?" Spencer really hated this case, almost as much as Valentina. He was already uncomfortable with the fact that the first girl he's ever been in love with had already had these deep feelings for someone else; someone else psychotic. Spencer never thought he'd have to meet this man, but what he was most worried about was Valentina seeing her former love. Spencer didn't want any old feelings to spark.
"I just throw the letters out. I never read them, Mr. Jealousy." Valentina taunted Spencer. Now, she knew that when she saw Alessandro that the only feelings that would emerge were hatred and anger. Valentina has seen the worst of Alessandro, there was no way she could fall for him again. Especially not with Spencer in her life.
"I'm not jealous." Spencer scoffed, to which he was met with snark, "And I'm not kicking your ass in chess right now."
"...Are you?..." Spencer genuinely had to contemplate over the chess game in front of him because he wholeheartedly believed that Valentina was losing.
"So, do you think the interrogation of Giovanni will work in time?" Emily wondered, bring the subject back to what was actually important here while Spencer continued to hesitate in moving certain pieces.
"Interrogation is the most dynamic form of profiling, but he's been trapped in Guantanamo Bay. He doesn't know the DEA found his explosive materials, so that's an advantage to us. I'm gonna focus on getting him to talk about anything, which should be easy since he knows me. It's his body language and speech that'll betray him. It's why Spencer has never beaten me at chess because his body movements betray him."
"That's not why." Spencer contradicted as he moved one of his knights. Valentina proceeded to tease, "Then why haven't you won?"
"Because you cheat." Spencer spoke with a small laugh.
"I think you're just bad at chess." Emily pointed out. Valentina leaned over the table and held her hands in her as she expressed, "I would die for you, Emily Prentiss. You're just so perfect and I've known you a day."
Emily was trying to be as lighthearted as possible, and she was glad the teasing didn't offend anyone. She was being much more passive that Valentina was her first day and now she's a valued member of the team. Emily hadn't yet blatantly said Spencer had no friends in high school and basically catcalled Morgan, so Emily was already a few steps ahead.
"What is it you need us to do?" Emily wondered, hoping to be able to focus on one part of the job and execute it flawlessly. "Listen. You're fluent in French. So am I, but I'll be more focused on body language, so I might miss something he says. Just look for nuances, subtext, ulterior meanings."
"And me?" Spencer asked.
"Look for tells. Non-verbals or micro-expressions. Take note of his behavioural changes when he's stressed versus calm. See if we can establish a baseline because then we'll be able to read him once I get under his skin, which shouldn't be too hard." Valentina was the one giving orders simply because she had to talk to Alessandro directly, so whatever Spencer and Emily could do to help her, they would.
"Why do you say it'll be easy?" Emily wondered, which had a simple answer. "He's still in love with me."
Spencer shifted in his seat slightly, these facts only making it worse for him to experience this case, so he muttered, "That makes me feel great."
"Oh, Spence. Don't worry. He's not nearly as pretty as you."
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Once Spencer, Valentina, and Emily had landed, they had gone into the CIA's building. They wanted to start questioning immediately, but they had to meet with the FBI liaison first. It was someone in major crimes who had been working on Alessandro's case for a while and was now overlooking his stay at Guantanamo Bay.
They weren't quite expecting it, but once they walked into the viewing room, they saw Lance standing at the double-window. He too was shocked to see his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. "Oh. Hey, guys. They told me they were sending people in from the BAU, but I didn't know it would be you. It's good to see you again."
The last sentence was more directed to Valentina since he held his hand out for her to shake. Their breakup wasn't bad in any sense, Lance saw it coming a little just based on Spencer, but they hadn't spoken since then. Valentina shook his hand, trying to be civil. "Yeah, it's good to see you."
"Spencer, hope there's not bad blood or anything." Lance spoke to her boyfriend, wanting this to be solely focused on the case and there wouldn't be tension. Lance had gotten over Valentina pretty quickly since they weren't ever too serious. Spencer thought the same. "No, no. We're good."
"Um, Lance, this is Agent Emily Prentiss. Emily, this is Agent Lance Callahan. The CIA's having a hard time getting Alessandro to talk?" Valentine briefly introduced the new agent, but they did need to get a move on with this interrogation due to the run-out-the-clock situation. Lance nodded, answering her question. "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. Alessandro managed to have a conversation with him in the shower line. That night, the other detainee committed suicide."
"Well, Alessandro's always been really good at manipulating people." Valentina informed, which reminded Lance of some important piece of information he meant to ask the BAU when they arrived. "Valentina, is your middle name Mary or something? Because he's been mumbling the name Mary Barnes quite a lot. Two months of interrogation and that's all the CIA has been able to get out of him."
Valentina let out a breath, still hating to hear that name, but it would forever be her curse. Alessandro knew many personal details about her that Valentina has tried to suppress, but he was the vault of horrible memories. "Yeah, I'm Mary Barnes."
Emily had been looking at Alessandro, who was sitting in a chair in the interrogation room, his wrists and ankles chained, which was attached to the floor so he couldn't go too far. Really only stand up and sit down. There were CIA agents talking to him, but she noticed a few injuries. "There are cuts and bruises under his right eye socket. What kind of tactics are they using?"
"I control the access to Alessandro, but my protest about their methods of interrogation has been ignored." Lance informed, really wishing that these CA agents wouldn't abuse Alessandro to get information out of him, but that was why the BAU was here. Valentina could get him to talk without laying a single finger on him.
"We should let them keep interrogating him how they have been. Alessandro already has an established trust with me, but if I interrupt and demand they stop harassing him, it'll create a stronger bond." Valentina threw out the idea, to which Lance agreed, but he wanted to solidify, "Maybe I should tell them in advance?"
"No, it's better if they don't suspect it. Their reaction will be more visceral, more believable." Valentina denied the idea, to which Lance crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So, you're really gonna put on a show for these guys?"
"No, I'm putting on a show for Alessandro. He already wants to see and talk to me, so if I'm somewhat on his side, it'll establish a better relationship." Valentina explained as Spencer began to set up the viewing room so they could watch through the cameras to see more specific and targeted reactions before Emily added, "It's the best way to jump start him into talking. We have less than thirty-six hours."
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Once Valentina was mentally and emotionally ready to speak with Alessandro again for the first time since she was nineteen, she had gone into the interrogation room. The two CIA agents that were there were uneasy with her presence, especially since it was one of strength and authority. Valentina needed to speak with Alessandro alone, which the CIA wasn't a fan of.
"Who the hell are you?" One of the agents asked as Valentina put her hands on her hips, hoping she wouldn't have to get them out the hard way. "Dr. Valentina Barnes. I'm an FBI behavioural analyst and I outrank you in this case, so I suggest you leave the room before I make you."
"You've got to be kidding me." He scoffed, seeing as how the CIA had had a hold of this case for weeks, and now a young FBI agent was telling them otherwise. Valentina, however, was not going to be undermined or intimidated, so she walked right up to this CIA agent and stood face to face with him. "Do I look like I'm kidding? You have orders from Agent Callahan and myself to leave so I can speak to this detainee alone."
The CIA agent squinted his eyes at her, almost trying to challenge her authority. Valentina's expression did not waver, change, or weaken. She stood strong and in charge, which got her the authority she deserved. The two CIA agents left the room and didn't even stay in the viewing room-- Lance made sure they were no longer part of this case.
Valentina turned to Alessandro, and all she saw was an arrogant smirk; an arrogant smirk she did not miss whatsoever. The taunts could have been forgotten about as well. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Valentina Mary Barnes, mia cara." [my darling-- Italian]
"No nicknames, Alessandro. I'm here for work." Valentina scolded as she sat down in the second chair that was across from Alessandro. He did still feel the need to tease her. "So, you didn't miss me?"
"Not particularly."
"And so that's not why you're wearing my favourite colour. Mon amour, tu sais que tu es si belle dans le rouge." [my love, you know you're beautiful in red-- French]
"Alessandro, I'd like to talk about your new...hobby, if you don't mind." Valentina changed the subject. She never did get used to Alessandro switching between English, Italian, and French. She only spoke two of those languages, plus Russian, but Russian wasn't helpful with Alessandro. What also wasn't helpful was him constantly flirting with her rather than being productive.
Valentina wanted to cover her whole body. The way that he looked her up and down like she was his property disgusted her. Valentina liked her red button up tucked into her black pants and black suspenders to match, but if it was also appealing to Alessandro, she hated it.
"If I don't mind?" Alessandro challenged, this being the first time he had actually been considered as a person in an interrogation rather than just dismissed and punched in the face. "Studying human behaviour is what I do. I'd like to know your new faith and ideology."
"And this is for your work, not pleasure? Because I too would love to get to know the new bellissima Valentina." [beautiful valentina-- Italian]
"Alessandro, I just want to talk to you about why you're here. It's no secret there's something going on if the government is keeping you off the grid." Valentina pointed out. Alessandro sat up straighter and his smirk returned. It was infamous for sending chills down Valentina's spine. "Actually, I think we should talk about you. I mean, it's the least you could do since you've never visited me in the last...well, actually I don't know how long I've been in prison. It's easy to lose track of the days when you're in confinement. You'd know a think or two about that."
Valentina's glare never wavered, but it could kill.
"So..." Alessandro leaned his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in one of his hands as he smiled sweetly at her. "La vie est bien?" [life is good-- French]
"I'm not in prison, so clearly better than you." Valentina shot back, slightly frustrated that he was already getting under her skin, but Alessandro was a unique chapter in her life she never believed would have to be rewritten. Alessandro bit the inside of his cheek at the small remark as he sat up straight in his seat as Valentina tried to bring back a civil atmosphere, "I think that you and I can put our differences aside so that we can come to some sort of understanding and make a peaceful resolution."
"Is that so?"
"Alé, I don't know what you've done or what you have planned to do, but unlike the other detainees here, you're incredibly smart. You got better grades than I did in university, your IQ is higher than mine, you were always the better profiler. Your mind is what interests me." Alessandro has always been intoxicated by Valentina, but because there was the new relationship of law enforcement and criminal, there was an aspect of this that Alessandro found incredibly predictable. "Yeah, until I don't give you what you want. Then you'll resort to other tactics like the idioti senza cervello in this place." [mindless idiots-- Italian]
"I swore an oath to uphold the United States Constitution. No matter where I am, no matter who I deal with, I will not use police brutality or violence of any kind." Alessandro knew that that answer was full of lies. Valentina has had issues in the past with anger, it seems to run in her family. Alessandro, however, has witnessed them first hand. He knew that if Valentina got angry enough, she could really hurt someone.
"You're sure? I know you're not great when it comes to controlling violent outbursts." Alessandro pointed out, but Valentina did need to correct him, "I've only had one violent outburst."
"Yeah. I remember." Alessandro rolled up his sleeve to show the large scar across his forearm. When they were seventeen, Valentina had a horrible break of anger and she hit Alessandro with a chair. Their fight was the worst Valentina had ever endured, but it was the only time she couldn't control herself. Alessandro brought out a special kind of anger within her soul.
"We had a huge fight and your parents were being assholes, c'est pas nouveau. [that's not new-- French] And you took it out on me." Alessandro recalled. That was Valentina's most regretful memory of their relationship, but it was Alessandro's favourite. He always believed that anger was the only true emotion because it shows who people truly are. Anger allows the real potential a person could have to come to the surface, and that is how these expected and violently unexplainable occurrences of crime occur. Valentina's truth was shown the day she hit Alessandro with a chair.
Valentina was silent, not wanting t engage in this conversation. There was also the issue of she being aware that Spencer was listening in on this conversation. Valentina didn't want Spencer to know about this side of her yet. He's seen parts of it such as when she kicked down a child abductor's door and was very ready to kill him, but Valentina could control herself. Valentina too remained silent so she didn't take the chair she was sitting in right now and hurt Alessandro with it.
"I thought you loved me, mia cara?" Alessandro teased.
"I don't love you."
"Then why did you call me Alé?" Valentina hadn't even realized that she called him by that old nickname. It was a reflex. "You only called me that when we were together. Tu m'a manqué si beaucoup?" [you missed me that much-- French]
"I really didn't, I just want to talk to you." Valentina breathed out, desperately hoping to get on with the interview, but at every turn, every opportunity, Alessandro had to remind her of their connection, "Je manque ton voix aussi, ma cherie." [i miss your voice too, my darling-- French]
Valentina sent him a deadpanned look, unamused by his teasing. Alessandro knows that she can't speak Italian, so he used to always compliment her in French. It meant more since it was in a different language, and one they both spoke. He was trying to remind her of those...well, complicated times. "Alright, fine. Let's chat. What does the name Valentina mean?"
"Strong."
"Fitting. And you remember what mine means?" Alessandro wondered as he began to fiddle with the chains hanging off his arms. Valentina nodded her head. "Defender of the people. It's Italian, but derived from Greece. I know you don't like your name because you identify with your French heritage more than your Italian."
"Wow. Two minutes and you already know more about me than those enfoirés [assholes-- French] found out in two months. Then again, you know me already."
"I also have very different motives and methodologies." Valentina pointed out since her first instinct in an interrogation is not to beat the suspect senseless. Alessandro did try to dig her into a hole by insulting the very institution they were in. "Yet your country relies on them to protect you."
"You say that as if you weren't born and raised in Maine." Valentina argued. He always spoke of how much he hated America simply because his parents aren't from this country, but Alessandro himself had only left America a few times.
"Doesn't mean I'm from this country. Neither of my parents are. Not one bit of my blood is american and thank the gods for that." Alessandro spoke with a small laugh. Valentina actually understood that distaste he felt since, only select times, Valentina was ashamed of what happens in this country. "Well, sometimes Americans are their own worst enemy."
"And who's your worst enemy, mia cara?" Alessandro wondered, hoping to mess with her and maybe make her choke up so that he could flip this interrogation around, but he underestimated Valentina's honesty. "My anger."
"Honnête comme toujours." [honest as always-- French]
"What about you? Who's your worst enemy?"
"Dr. Spencer Reid." Alessandro responded as he looked to the two sided glass, almost like he was staring down Spencer on the other side, even if all he saw was his own reflection. Valentina checked her watch quickly before Alessandro's eyes slowly moved back to Valentina as he spoke bitterly, "After all, he is dating the love of my life."
Valentina rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. She moved to the door to leave, earning a taunt from Alessandro, "What, did I hit a nerve?"
"No. The sun is about set and I won't be losing sleep over you."
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Valentina had only waited two hours to talk to Alessandro again. They let him sleep to make him think that a whole day had gone by, but they needed all the time they could get with him. They had a time limit and Alessandro sleeping could not be part of that.
Valentina had just gone back into the room after their small break and right over to the table with a water jug and glasses on it. She poured her own glass as Alessandro decided to tease her, "Mi sei mancato con tutto il cuore, amore mio." [i missed you with my whole heart, my love-- Italian]
"You know I don't speak Italian." Valentina reminded him as she turned to face him, then taking a sip of her water. With that comment, he switched his language, "Je t'ai manquer avec tous mon coeur, mon amour." [i missed you with my whole heart, my love-- French]
Valentina sighed and took another drink before she motioned to it. "You want water?"
"The only keep it there to show me what I could not have. Same reason you were sent in here to talk to me instead of lovey dovey Spencer Reid. He'd just piss me off." Alessandro expressed as Valentina put her empty cup down and sat back in the chair across from Alessandro. She really didn't want to hear about how much her ex-boyfriend hated her new boyfriend, so she tried to change the subject. "Can you explain something to me?"
"Depends."
"Why did you kill those men when we were nineteen?" Valentina figured that while she was here with Alessandro, she might as well get some answers. This too could lead to figuring out how he developed a psychotic mind and why he was organising acts of terrorism.
"I loved you." It was a simple answer, but not one Valentina was pleased with. "I loved you too and I didn't kill every woman you spoke to."
Valentina watched Alessandro's eyes avert for a split second-- a sign of hesitation. "When I was ten, my mother forced me to go into military school because I was acting out so much. While I was there, the commanding officer clearly didn't uphold the law very well since I got beat every time I opened my mouth. Not much different than home, but you know that."
"I'm still sorry about your parents." Valentina might hate Alessandro with every fibre of her being, but she will always stand by the belief that no one, no matter how horrible of a person they may be, deserves to be hated by their parents. Monsters are created, not born, and more often than not, it is the parents that create these monsters.
"Right. But I ran from it. I spent three days in the woods just to get back to my parents, only for them to put me on a bus and send me back. All I wanted was to be around the people I loved and all they did was toss me to the wolves, but you...no matter what I said, no matter what I did, no matter how mad I was...you stuck by me. You actually wanted to be around me. I couldn't let the most perfect and caring girl in the world so, so those men terrified me."
"You never told me that." Valentina's voice softened, but it wasn't due to sympathy, it was due to contemplation.
"It's slightly embarrassing. And you had your own mountain of problems to deal with, you didn't need to worry about mine." Alessandro spoke as if this was some sort of charitable, sweet gesture, but Valentina saw right through it. She knew this must have had to have been a lie along with the fact he was still a murdered. "Alé...I'm sorry that your parents were horrible to you. I'm sorry they took their anger out on you and I'm sorry that I'm the only person that ever noticed or cared, but that doesn't give you the right to kill people."
"So, it's okay for you, but not for me?" Alessandro challenged, but it only earned a scoff from Valentina. "What are you talking about? I've never killed anyone."
"Valentina Mary Barnes, I know you better than anyone. I know you better than your parents, better than your brothers, than your aunts. I know you way better than your little loverboy behind that glass. You and I both know what you did during those four years." Alessandro reminded her of that one horrible incident in the basement.
Valentina had an opportunity when she was nine to escape. Valentina had taken that opportunity, but on her way out, she had to kill the woman abductor, Anita Roycewood's, brother. He too was helping keep Valentina contained, so when he tried to grab her, Valentina stabbed him. He ended up bleeding to death.
Valentina didn't need to hear about this. She didn't need to go back into the depths of her mind and be reminded of the horrific event that she endured just to be caught again by Anita and brought back into captivity. There was also the issue of the blatant lie Alessandro had told.
Without letting Alessandro get in a single word, Valentina had left the room. She joined Emily and Spencer in the viewing area. Emily had been taking notes on his speech patterns in Italian and French, as she was asked to, but Spencer had gotten a bit sidetracked and distracted by the more important issue at hand here. "Val, what's he talking about?"
If his girlfriend had murdered someone, Spencer very understandably wanted to know about it. Of course, Valentina was never charged or put in juvy because it was very clearly self defence. Valentina desperately wanted this topic out of her mind, so she ignored Spencer's question and just called Garcia as Spencer asked again, "Val, did you kill someone?!"
"Hello, my beautiful." Garcia greeted Valentina as she picked up the phone. Spencer was fiddling with his watch, trying to get Valentina to answer his question for his own safety, but Valentina needed to double check what she assumed was factual. "Garcia, can you check the Maine Military School for Troubled Boys' records for an Alessandro Giovanni and a Marco Barnes?"
"Sure thing. That's not too obscure." Garcia complied before Valentina specified, "I don't need any details, I just need to know which one actually attended because it's one or the other."
"Then Alessandro Giovanni never attended, but Marco Barnes did."
"Thanks, Garcia." Valentina hung up the phone, but because neither Emily or Spencer knew what was going on in her mind, so Emily had to ask, "What is it?"
"You're going to find out anyway, so I'll just tell you. When I was seven, I was kidnapped and held in a basement for four years. During those four years, my older brother, Marco, was sent to a military school for a bit because he was misbehaving a lot. He never spoke about it or even told me directly that he went, I had to learn from my other brother, Maverick. Whenever I asked Marco, he would deny he went, but Alessandro's story was exactly Marco's. He knows Marco wouldn't tell me he attended. He's lying about what happened."
During Valentina's small explanation of what information she had come to realize within the interview, Spencer had gotten a call. Once she was done, Spence put Hotch on speakerphone and told him who was there. Lance was dealing with the agents that had been hurting Alessandro and making sure they knew that they couldn't do that, so they were only one person short. "You've got Val, Prentiss, and me."
"It's Hotch. We're at cell location number two. There's no lab, mo dispersal devices. there's o sign of anthrax," Valentina had been slightly out of the loop with what was going on with Hotch, Morgan, and Gideon. She had been interviewing Alessandro the whole time, so she didn't exactly have time to be informed about every situation that was happening. Although, now was the time she'd be debriefed. "Anthrax?"
"We found out that that's the 'bomb' he's setting off." Emily explained before Hotch informed, "Yeah, we're still looking for some escape tunnels. We'll call you back if we find anything."
Hotch had hung up the phone and this was all just proving what they already knew. The ticking time was making everyone nervous. Spencer simply voiced it, "We're running out of time. The attack's supposed to take place in less than twenty-four hours."
"So getting Alessandro to talk is our only chance." Emily pointed out the horrible truth. Valentina crossed her arms in front of her chest as she pitched the idea, "I should confront him with the truth then, but he won't admit anything."
"So, what are you gonna do?"
"What I do best. Read an unsub like a book. I'm fluent in knowing what people mean when they avoid questions." Valentina informed before she walked right back into that interrogation room. It seemed that she wasn't getting any breaks. It was just talk to Alessandro, debrief with the team, and a constant repeat of that over and over, but they needed to solve this case before another bomb went off.
Valentina sat down in front of Alessandro and didn't let him get a chance to speak. "Okay, I'm sick of this little dance, so I'll just tell you what happened. A team of FBI agents just raided both Omega Cell locations. The FBI is in place in Annandale as we speak, so you're not going to get anything out of being silent."
"I'm doing all of this for you, mia cara." Alessandro simply spoke. Valentina had noticed a small flicker in his behaviour, however. His eyes had flickered to the wall behind her while his shoulders relaxed slightly as well. He was calm, almost relieved by the news.
"You know how you said you know me better than anyone?" Alessandro nodded. "Well, you're right. But I also know you better than anyone...and I know when you're keeping something from me."
Valentina wasted no time standing right back up and darting out of the room. Spencer and Emily were caught off guard by her quick exit and how frantically she was trying to dial someone's number. They shared a look of concern as they heard only Valentina's side of the conversation, "Hotch, get everyone out of there now! It's a trap!...Hotch?...Hotch, are you okay?...Alright...Is everyone else okay? It Morgan alright?...You're sure?...Yeah, okay. Check in if anything else happens."
As soon as Valentina was off the phone, Emily and Spencer began searching for answers. "Are they okay?"
Valentina ran a frustrated hand through hair before taking a deep breath, attempting to compose herself so she wouldn't get angry at the wrong person. "We were right about the trap. It was rigged to explode and got a SWAT agent killed."
"Was anthrax involved?" Emily wondered, to which Valentina shook her head at. This did help Spencer draw the conclusion, "Then that's not the final target."
Valentina was mad enough that Alessandro had gotten an innocent SWAT agent killed that was just trying to do his job, but Hotch was near that explosion. Valentina never gets to tell him because Hotch is extremely professional and has a busy life outside of the FBI, but Valentina is so eternally grateful for Hotch and everything he has done for her. So, knowing that Alessandro had almost gotten him killed, well, it didn't sit right whatsoever.
As Valentina walked back into the interrogation room, Alessandro had noticed her angered expression. "Qu'est ce qui se passe, bellissima principessa? [what's happened, beautiful princess-- French & Italian] You looked troubled."
"You know that question we had in one of our psychological theories classes? The one I never had an answer to? If everyone you ever knew, from strangers, to the people you've hated, to the people you've loved, were all in a burning building, and you could only save one person, who would you save? Well, I have an answer now. If you know me so well, who would I save?"
Without skipping a beat, but with an arrogant smirk, Alessandro responded, "C'est trops facile. [that's too easy-- French] Spencer Reid."
"Wrong."
Alessandro was shocked. Even Spencer on the other side of the glass was surprised. Of course, there are a lot of people in Valentina's life that are very important to her like her aunt Florence, her parents, her brothers, everyone in the BAU, Rossi-- there could be many different answers, but Spencer is Valentina's boyfriend and best friend. Valentina knew that not even Spencer could find this deduction because she's quiet about how much she cares about said person. "Who would I save, Alé?"
"Maxwell." Alessandro guessed one of her brothers, the one that she bonded with the most. He knew that Maxwell had never known she was dead, he always had a belief she was out there somewhere, but they were also the only queer siblings in the Barnes family, which wasn't so much an identifier, but with a mom who took time to accept them, more Maxwell, they developed a strong relationship.
Although, he was still wrong. "Wow, you're bad at this."
"Marco?"
"Aaron Hotchner. I would save Aaron Hotchner and you almost killed him." Alessandro was a little shocked that this was who she was picking, but Alessandro was still trying to appear as if he had the upper hand. "How could I have almost killed him? I was here with you."
"That second location was a trap and one of the SWAT agents was killed in the explosion. If Aaron Hotchner had died in that explosion, I would have already resorted to beating you senseless. I'd bash your head in with a metal pipe and torture you to the extent that you'll be on your knees begging for mercy, to which I would spit in your face and kill you."
"Come ti amo." [how i love you-- Italian]
"I'm done playing games, Alessandro. You murdered a man today and almost killed someone I think of as family." That last word set off something in Alessandro. It was like a switch that pissed him off. "You know, you talk about your found family quite fondly, but what about your real family? Where were you when your brother was suffering?"
Valentina scoffed. "I was in my abductor's basement fighting for my life, you psychotic douchebag."
Alessandro's jaw clenched as he carefully watched Valentina stand. "I'll come back in a few hours. But if you pull something like that...I'll kill you right there in that chair."
•☽.⭒✻════◅∘≼↜.◦◦.↝≽∘▻════✻⭒.☾•
It was actually morning now, they weren't simply lying to Alessandro. They needed a small break anyway. They had called Garcia since she had been trying to find more information on Alessandro's business he had been running from within prison, seeing if there were any more connections or clues as to what he was going to bomb next or unleash the anthrax.
"So, I did some digging and apparently Alessandro Giovanni has been coordinating with people all the way in Italy, which was how he's been able to get these explosives and anthrax without the CIA realizing." Garcia explained, but Valentina found it hard to believe that the CIA didn't question foreign contacts. "Are you serious? His name is Alessandro Claude Giovanni and if they even sat down for a minute to read his file, they'd know his parents are immigrants from France and Italy, who have connections to large businesses in those countries. How could the CIA not put two and two together?"
"Yeah, they're overseas and we're domestic. We shouldn't be the ones figuring this out." Lance pointed out. He was now part of the investigation since he had enough information to add to this conversation on account of him overseeing Alessandro's case for the last while.
"They probably sent a request for a domestic information search and it's making its way through." Garcia deduced. That was really the only explanation, but it wasn't helpful to the situation whatsoever. Valentina was already holding a grudge against him for the Hotch situation, but the CIA being incompetent was only fuelling her frustration.
Very sarcastically, Valentina retorted, "Great, so while some overly tired desk jockey is sifting through their piles of paperwork, Alessandro is blowing people up and making anthrax. Our justice system has no flaws whatsoever."
"If he has foreign connection in Italy and France, within prison, he probably recruited people of those nationalities. He had something in common with them and there's no language barrier. Val, you've said that he has a way to charm people and he's a great talker. He most likely focused on citizens from France and Italy that moved here or Americans that have a reason for hating the government." Spencer theorised.
"So, we're looking for homegrown terrorists." Emily summarised Spencer's realization, but they still needed specifics, so Valentina asked, "Lance, if you have any names that overlap, we need to know."
"I am part of the FBI, but because I'm running with the CIA on this case, I have to follow their protocol." Lance couldn't just give away information that the CIA has, even if it is for this case. They need to actually have a warrant or some kind of disclosure that says the FBI has the jurisdiction to have all of this information. Even Emily, who was new, thought this was ridiculous. "Wait, we're going to risk lives because of protocol?"
"No, we're not. That guy in there will not stop blowing shit up if it gets him more attention, so if we have connections, we need to use it. If we don't break a few harmless rules, a lot more people are gonna die. Are you willing to let people die just because of protocol?" Valentina really didn't want to make Lance feel bad in order to get the connections and overlapping names, but he's very by the book, he always has been. Valentina is the opposite. If it saves lives and punishes horrible acts, Valentina is willing to break rules.
Lance sighed, knowing that they had a point. "I'll see what information we have. In the meantime, you should get back in there."
Valentina nodded in agreement. Valentina grabbed the plastic container that had food in it for Alessandro. She walked back into the interrogation room to find Alessandro looking up at her lovingly. Because she had been gone for so long, Alessandro had gotten some sleep, so she asked, "Slept well?"
"Being threatened by a beautiful woman always helps me sleep at night, so yes." Alessandro teased as she handed him the food. "Good. I had the agents here make you a decent meal. I don't want you to die of starvation. If you're going to die, it's going to be because of me."
"Grazie dolcezza." [thank you, sweetness-- Italian]
This was all Valentina really went in for, so she was going to leave to let him eat. Although, he called her back. "Valentina."
She stopped and let out a breath as she turned to Alessandro. "What is it you want from me?"
"I told you. I want to understand you." Valentina reminded him, but Alessandro knew that this was just a front for her genuine reason.
"What if that's not possible?" Valentina only shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't care anymore what happened to Alessandro, she just wanted this case solved and finished. She didn't need to answer any of Alessandro's questions or indulge his behaviour.
"You know, he seems much calmer than he was yesterday. It may make any reading of his body language less accurate." Spencer explained as Valentina had joined them again and closed the door behind her. She sighed, hating that her boyfriend was right. "Yeah, I know."
"Is that what we want?" Emily wasn't exactly catching on to what Valentina's plan was, especially when she responded with, "Hopefully."
"Well, isn't that the exact opposite of-" Emily began, trying to comprehend what was going on in Valentina's mind, but she was cut off when Valentina just left the room. She wanted to go talk to Lance to see if he had made any progress, but Emily was still confused, so she looked at Spencer, "Hopefully? We have less than ten hours before the new crescent moon rises."
"Nine." Spencer corrected.
"Aren't you worried?"
"I know Val well enough to trust her. She's the newest member of the team, other than you, but she's the agent with the most expertise in human behaviour and she's proven to know what she's doing." Spencer had faith in Valentina. He does get a little worried when cases bring up unresolved emotional issues, but Emily has yet to learn how impulsive and reckless she could be. "How so?"
"Well, the third case she ever worked, she figured out an obscure religious connection to an arsonist, which no one but her deemed plausible-- she was right. Val's broken protocol to save children's lives, she's gotten mentally deranged sociopaths to calm themselves and feel safe around her, even though she's manipulating them. Valentina knows Alessandro, which means she knows his weaknesses."
"Wow. Valentina would make a crazy unsub."
Valentina just then, had walked right back through the viewing room and into the interrogation room. Valentina didn't have any new information for Alessandro, but at any chance she could get, she wanted to speak with him. The more he spoke, the more he revealed. Alessandro let out a breath as soon as she walked in. "As much as you might find this hard to believe, I don't really want to talk to you anymore."
"Is that so?"
Alessandro nodded. "I'd like to speak to Dr. Spencer Reid."
"You're not talking to him." Valentina didn't know what Alessandro was getting at here, but she was not about to force Spencer to witness the eccentricity that is Alessandro Giovanni. Speaking of whom, challenged her answer, "Why? You afraid I'll tell him what you've done?"
"No. I just don't want to subject him to your stupidity."
Alessandro put his hand over his heart theatrically. "Tu m'as blessé. [you hurt her-- French] Now...Spencer Reid, you little smartass, get in here! And bring my dear friend Lance with you!"
Alessandro had yelled pretty loudly even though Spencer could hear all the conversations through the cameras. Valentina had looked to the double sided glass and nodded her head, telling Spencer that he could go in. It only took a moment for Spencer to get Lance, but in no time, they had joined Alessandro and Valentina in the room. Alessandro greeted them, "Bonjour, mes amis. Or hello, my friends. Mia cara, could you leave the room, please? The men need to have a private chat."
Valentina let out a breath before she looked to Spencer. He sent her a small nod, showing that he and Lance would be fine, so she complied. "You pull any typical Alessandro shit, I'll get dumb and dumber of the CIA back in here to beat you senseless."
"You have such a way with words." Alessandro taunted as Valentina headed back to the viewing room with Emily. Valentina was a little nervous at the fact that every single one of her ex-boyfriends and current boyfriend were all in a room together, one of them being psychotic. Emily had pieced together some of this puzzle, but this being one of the few times she and Valentina had spoken to each other, she didn't have all the context. "So, I get why he wants to talk to Spencer-- he still loves you and Spencer's your boyfriend, but why does he want to talk to Lance?"
"I dated him after Alessandro, but before Spencer." Valentina explained, which earned a small look from Emily. "What?"
Emily held out her fist. Valentina smiled and fist bumped her, celebrating what Emily saw as Valentina dating someone like Lance. Valentina crossed her arms as she watched the three boys with slight nervousness. Emily did bring the conversation back to an idea she had, "You know, I had an idea that I wanted to run by you. What if we make him think his plans have worked? we can use the news footage from the last explosion and somehow make it seem like the next one. I think he might get overconfident and accidentally admit something."
Valentina perked up, genuinely liking that idea. "That's really good. Garcia can probably make it look like recent news. Alessandro's always been cocky, so you're right, he'll definitely slip up."
Valentina gave Emily Garcia's number so that she could let her in on the idea and get started on the footage. Valentina wanted to speak with Alessandro again with this footage, so it was a good thing Lance and Spencer were naturally buying them some time.
It only took Garcia about ten minutes to make the footage from the last explosion look like a recent news broadcast. Emily and Valentina, with the footage, set up a TV that the CIA had and put it by the door so when they opened it, Alessandro would be able to see it. Ready to go, Valentina rushed into the room. She walked right past Spencer and Lance to grab Alessandro's shoulder, who was standing, and forced him to sit down in the chair. Emily held the door open as the footage played, showing a building being blown up, but there was more Garcia had added, which wasn't real, but it said hat multiple innocents had been killed.
"Is this really what your life has come to? You're so petty and desperate for attention that you're going to murder innocent people?" Valentina scolded as Emily got Lance and Spencer out of the room and closed the door. Emily and Valentina had planned on getting him either overconfident or angry, so with that possibility, they wanted Alessandro's passionate emotions directed at Valentina since she could manipulate them.
"They weren't innocent." Alessandro contradicted what Valentina was trying to guilt trip them with, but Valentina challenged him, "Just like those men you killed when we were eighteen weren't innocent?"
"One of them was someone who waved to me while we were walking, jackass! What the hell did they do?! You killed these people for fun! They were innocent!" Valentina exclaimed, trying to get him to see the truth of what he had done, but Alessandro was stuck in his ways. "There is no such thing as innocent people! Every single person in this goddamn country is so obsessed with material things-- you would know! Your aunt lived in a castle, your family is one of the richest in America! Your capitalism rests on the back of third world countries and you're so selfish that you're willing to throw it all away just so you can stand here and waste your time trying to trick me! You live amongst the worst Americans, the one-perfect, the kind of Americans that will spit at their privileged and complain that they have nothing!"
"Just because you're mad at me does not give you the right to hurt those people." Valentina pointed out, which caused Alessandro to stand up.
"They are you, Valentina! They are people that ignore the cries of criminals and shove them to the side like they're some bad memory! When you finally admit that I actually mean something to you and that you actually still feel something for me, and I am not some reminder of the regretful person you used to be, that is when all this will stop!"
"So you're ready to murder four billion people?" Valentina questioned, referring to all of America, but Alessandro had not wavered once. "When my parents came to this country, I did not blame them one bit for being disgusted. That is the one thing I have kept dearest from my parents. America has learned nothing from the past. You still have wars and hatred and prejudice and disgust for those who are just like you. You Americans should think twice before opening a giant shopping centre. Because who knows? Maybe next time it will be a school."
Valentina's lips very slowly lifted to a smile. Alessandro had just given himself away. Valentina patted his shoulder with condescension before she looked to the double sided glass and ordered, "Emily, call Garcia. The next target is a shopping mall."
Valentina turned to leave the room, but then quickly looked back. "Oh, Alessandro. I should have told you. The sun hasn't actually set yet. It's been...oh...I don't know...four hours?"
"What?"
"Like I said. I know you better than anyone."
•☽.⭒✻════◅∘≼↜.◦◦.↝≽∘▻════✻⭒.☾•
Hotch, Morgan, and Gideon were able to figure out what shopping mall was the next target, so they stopped the goons Alessandro had been working with, or more, manipulating. Alessandro's plan had fallen apart and he was moved back to a regular maximum security prison, but it was near Washington.
Valentina no longer had to speak to this bad memory, so she, Emily, and Spencer were on he plane ride back. Lance had to stay at Guantanamo Bay a little longer due to him having to oversee Alessandro's transfer. On the jet, Valentina and Spencer were playing chess against each other again. Gideon was there to win, so Valentina had to do it.
"That was a good idea, by the way. Using the explosion that already happened, it was a good trick." Valentina complimented Emily, who was next to Spencer, as she moved her rook forward. Emily smiled. "Thanks. You know his linguistics were very impressive. I mean, he mixed Italian and French together in the same sentence quite often."
"His dad is French and his mom is Italian. Both his parents wanted him to identify with only one culture, but because they got pushed on him at the same time, it all sort of blended together. Not speaking Italian, it was really hard to have a conversation with him sometimes." Valentina explained, remembering all the times that she couldn't talk to Alessandro because he naturally began mixing in Italian with French and English. There was always a small language barrier, but that was because Alessandro never learned to separate his languages.
"You ever miss those conversations?" Spencer asked, his voice quieting as he moved a pawn. Spencer hated that this whole case had just been Valentina and her ex-boyfriend trying to get under each other's skin. He was also scared it might bring up old feelings, but Valentina only had eyes for Spencer. "Not in the slightest. He never challenged me mentally."
"Pretty, but stupid." Emily labelled it.
"Just my type." Valentina smirked at Spencer, who only breathed out, "For the millionth time, you are not smarter than me."
With impeccable timing and Spencer moving one of his knights, Valentina was able to trap him. "Checkmate."
Spencer simply stared at the chess board. Emily was hiding her mouth with her hand to stop herself from laughing. "I quiet. Yield. Surrender. Capitulate. I'm gonna take a nap."
Spencer gave up, seeing as how he had yet to beat Valentina in chess. Spencer went over to the couch to get some rest as Valentina began to reset the board. "Emily, you play?"
"Yeah, I do." She responded with a smile, moving to Spencer's spot so they could play.
"Cool, 'cause I don't." That was always a strange attribute to Valentina's mind when people first heard it. Emily furrowed her eyebrows with confusion seeing as how she had just witnessed Valentina playing chess. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to play chess." Valentina elaborated, earning a scoff from Emily. "But you just beat him."
Valentina let out a small laugh. "I know."
Valentina knows she isn't smarter than Spencer, she's nowhere near the ballpark of Spencer's intelligence, but she will always be able to read him like a book. Spencer has been told his whole life that his mind could get him anywhere, but Valentina knows realistically that Spencer's success is only as good as his determination. Sometimes, he has a habit of working less and relying on his mind, so Valentina humbles him. When she does that, he works harder.
❝ 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫. ❞
- 𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒐
❘ ❙ ❚ ❚ ❙ ❘
a/n
i do speak french, so that should all be right, but i do not speak italian, i used a translator. so please, if something is wrong, correct me
and the impulse i feel to make spencer and valentina an unsub couple is so strong. they'd literally never get caught