After he begrudgingly stormed out of the office, he left the station with only a few words to Liam. He handed the copy of the recording of the incident to him after explaining the situation. Liam, without hesitancy, took up the task Detective Cross trusted him with.
Liam immediately carried out Detective Cross's orders with priority. At the same time, Detective Cross and Elias arrived at the diner without a hitch.
Even though she had already seen them the day before, Ellen was happy to see her son and grandson so she prepared a grand lunch for them. She asked about Ares and why she wasn't with them but Detective Cross was distracted and wasn't able to answer her.
Elias too didn't say anything because he felt that a teenager like him shouldn't get involved in it.
Seeing her son being absent-minded annoyed her but she could tell that something was bothering him. It must be something that he doesn't want to talk about in front of Elias. Ellen has always been good at reading people's moods and behavior, so she believed her deduction to be unerring.
"Elias, why don't you finish your lunch in the kitchen? Your father and I have something to discuss," said Ellen, looking at her grandson with a soft smile.
The three of them were sitting in a booth in the diner so the only appropriate place for Elias to eat would be the kitchen. Elias knew that it was more than just a 'discussion' but he still listened to his grandmother and went to the kitchen to finish his lunch, no questions asked.
"Okay, spill it! Tell me what's bothering you," Ellen spoke up after seeing Elias's figure disappearing into the kitchen.
She turned her attention to her son with an intense expression. Though she appeared to have aged, the wrinkles on her face only accentuate her elegance and wise manner.
Detective Cross didn't want to hide anything from his mother and unreluctantly explained the situation going on at work. Ellen considerately listened to his problems and was wearing a serious face. After he finished explaining, it was quiet for a brief time. Detective Cross obediently waited as his mother was lost in her thoughts.
Subconsciously, her lips lowered in a slight frown, rubbing the space between her brow. 'How troublesome!' She sighed inwardly.
At the end of her train of thoughts, the image of Ares eating heartily appeared and it unconsciously influenced her judgment. Ellen finally spoke her opinion. "Honestly, I agree with your captain's order."
Swish!
Detective Cross looked up abruptly, facing her with an incredulous look with a hint of disappointment. He couldn't believe his mother would agree to him giving up on Ares's case especially when he remembered how much she adored Ares during their first meeting.
Was this that same woman?
He wanted to speak up in disapproval of her conclusion but Ellen had beaten him to it.
"There's nothing more you could do. The main culprits are dead and you trying to investigate their past identities won't make a difference...their death was an accident and there's no one to hold accountable to what happened to that poor girl." Ellen stared at Detective Cross with piercing eyes.
Her words were like sharp knives stabbing Detective Cross's heart. It hurts but he knew deep down that she was right. However, when thinking about Ares he couldn't help but feel obstinate. He spoke up again but was viciously cut off.
"I have to—"
"James! I don't know exactly why you're acting like this. It's unlike you...are you doing it just because of the case? Or is it because of other unsaid reasons?" Ellen interjected, looking at her son with impatience. Her son might not be able to see what's right in front of him but she did. She knew exactly why he was acting this way and she was hoping that he would see it too but she underestimated how ignorant he can be at times.
"Of course it's because of the case. What else could be the reason?" Detective Cross looked at her strangely. He couldn't understand the reason behind her asking such an obvious question.
Ugh! Ellen became frustrated. Only at times like this can she see how much he resembles his father. Stubborn and slow on the uptake. Those were his good and bad qualities. In the end, she decided to let him figure it out himself. She was done giving him hints. He was on his own.
"I give up. Figure it out on your own...I hope you figure it out before it's too late," Ellen said resignedly.
After Ellen said everything she wanted to say, she shifted the topic by asking when they would bring Ares over for another visit. Detective Cross happily chatted with her, not even mentioning the incident at the mall. The conversation went on for minutes before leaving when it was getting close to 2 p.m.
The day was coming to an end so he bided his time by cooking dinner for his family. He slept that night replaying his mother's words in his head, over and over like a song. But he still didn't understand what his mother wanted him to realize. At some point, he fell asleep with a heavy heart.
While in the FBI Seattle Division, Montreal and his team of three rushed over to the conference room when they received a message from Penelope.
"Did Penelope find something on the unsub¹?" Blake asked, walking in between two of her team members.
Blake, SSA² Elizabeth Blake, a woman in her prime. She was average tall with blonde hair and striking green eyes made her stand out amongst her team.
Montreal was walking ahead of them, quietly listening to their constant chatters.
By Blake's right, a Hispanic man, SSA Raymond Alvarez, disapproved of her referral to the 'mysterious person' and defended them saying, "Why are you calling them an unsub? It wasn't like they caused the shooting. If anything, they helped prevent a major disaster from occurring."
"Yeah, but you have to admit that it raises some flags. Like, how did they know there was going to be a hostile situation before it even happened? Doesn't this bother you guys at all?" Blake pressed on. She shifted her attention to the other man to her left, SSA Donald Mills. He had a clean haircut and a strong chin. His coal-black hair made his winter gray eyes stand out.
Blake's gaze fixated on his side profile, waiting to hear his opinion.
"Let's see what Penelope found first," Mills said, taking wider steps. He didn't bother with the two of them and caught up with Montreal.
They were a foot away from the conference room and the door was closed but they could hear the constant sounds of typing and chairs rolling. Montreal reached out to push the door open and the sounds became more resounding.
The see-through glass windows were obstructed by blinds, and an immovable round table was placed in the middle of the room. At the corner of the room was a rather large desk with a familiar figure sitting behind it.
They watched from the doorway, Penelope busying herself with four desktop computers in front of her. She didn't once look up but could feel their stares.
"Took you guys long enough," her perky voice came from behind the computers. "You're all gonna want to sit down for this."
From the look of her face and the sound of her voice, it appears that she found something groundbreaking in the case. Montreal and the rest of the team had a knowing grin plastered on their lips. They weren't surprised that Penelope found something because she's that good at her job. But they were interested in what she discovered.
"Why? What'd you find?" Montreal took a seat and the rest followed suit, their focus wholly on her.
"So, remember how we speculated that the person who approached Carol Witiken and the person who apprehended the hostiles is the same? Well, it is no longer a speculation," Penelope started with a brilliant smile, excited. "It took me longer than I expected to find an anomaly… this person was that good at avoiding the cameras."
"Apparently, not good enough since you found traces of them," Blake gave her a thumbs up.
"Of course. Who do you think I am?" She boasted and continued, "These are two video feeds from different- one right outside of the bathroom and the other facing an exit of the ER. Now, I had to slow down the playback speed to capture this-"
The two video feeds were displayed on a wide flat-screen TV and were paused at a certain point. Although there was a slight blur in both feeds, they could still make out the long strands of silver and a large blurred figure passing the camera.
"Is that hair?" Alvarez squinted his eyes, zeroing in on the silver strand.
"It is. I tried enhancing the video feed but this is as clear as it can get," said Penelope. Her expressions sparkled without a hint of disappointment which puzzled everyone except Montreal. When he first laid eyes on the silver strands of hair and the blurred figure he felt something stir in the pit of his stomach and his heart skipped a beat.
"Are you sure?" He looked at Penelope for confirmation.
Blake and the rest of the team listened in confusion but Penelope was clear on what Montreal was inquiring.
"I checked everyone in the hospital during those two time periods and did a background check. She's the only anomaly. Plus she fits the description down to a tee."
"Mind letting us know who you two are talking about." Blake interrupted, feeling left out and perplexed.
"A goddess," Penelope answered, sighing in admiration and envisioning the otherworldly beauty in her heart.
"Goddess?" Blake and the rest looked at Montreal with a questioning look.
Montreal didn't care to answer them. However, Penelope was a different story. She was thrilled to hear them ask about her 'goddess' and like a crazy fan, she displayed a photo she found for them to see.
The photo was a screenshot from the feeds she apprehended from the security at St. Andrews Hospital. It wasn't a perfect, clear capture but after seeing the profile of a stunning beauty the photo was pure art. Seeing their stupefied appearance, Penelope was gratified. No one could rival her goddess's beauty. She believed that no one could resist being enraptured after witnessing her allure.
"I couldn't find anything on her in the system except that she's a part of an ongoing investigation and that her name is Ares. No last name was mentioned in the reports," Penelope explained, bringing them out of their daze.
"Didn't you and Blake say that the person we're looking for is a male?" Mills unreservedly expressed his doubts.
"Carol Witiken said it was a male's voice and she seemed pretty convinced. So, there's a possibility that she could be mistaken. Some women have an androgynous voice...maybe she's one of those women," Blake deduced.
"But there's one teensy problem in Penelope's conjecture," Montreal's voice rang, seizing their attention.
"Oh?" Penelope was surprised. She was rarely wrong and never once made a mistake, so she turned to him and gave him a look that said, 'Do tell'.
"She would fit the description perfectly if she wasn't nine years old."
Hearing that the whole room busted into exclamation.
"What?!"
"No way?!"
Even Penelope was taken by surprise. How could she not? She prides herself to be the best when it comes to searching for new intel and has faith in her hacking skills. She never thought there would come a day when she missed such valuable intel.
"This got to be the worst joke I've ever heard," Alvarez said, not finding Montreal's words funny in the slightest.
Blake and Mills also felt the same as Alvarez but when they saw Montreal's unchanged face they didn't know what to believe. They turned their attention back to the photo of the girl named 'Ares'.
"So, you're saying that SHE, this hot babe, is nine years old?" Alvarez still finds it unbelievable.
"Hey, what do you mean 'hot babe', you pedophile?!" Blake smacked him hard on the head.
"Who are you calling a pedophile?! I'm just saying that she looks like a hot babe! It's not like I'm hitting on her or sexually harassing her. Right, Mills?" Alvarez looked at Mills, hoping he would back him up.
However, Mills only said one word at him before looking away. "Pedophile!"
"Haha hahaha!" Blake burst out laughing and Penelope merely smirked.
"Argh! You two-"
"Enough!" Montreal raised his voice. "Tomorrow Blake and I will be heading back to the hospital to question Ares. Mills and Alvarez, I want you two to question the detectives on this case. Penelope double-back on those video feeds to see if you missed something."
"Why don't me and Mills head to the hospital this time while you question the detectives?" Asked Alvarez.
"See! Pedophile!" Blake looked at him with scrutinizing eyes.
Alvarez was about to retort when he felt a burning gaze from his right. He slowly trimmed to face that direction and found Montreal glaring at him, silently warning him.
Sigh! What a frightening man his team leader was.
The next day Montreal and Blake arrived at the hospital in the afternoon. With Penelope's technical skills, they were able to find out her room number. Not too long before they arrived in front of the room they heard a strong male voice from inside the room, announcing with strong certainty, "I decided to adopt Ares!"
When Montreal and Blake thought they had heard wrong, the sound of the man's voice rang again.
"I'm adopting Ares so there's no need for you to take her away!"
[1] Unsub- Unknown Subject
[2] SSA- Supervisory Special Agent