A/N: I have seen this done only once before, and wanted to try it since they never really go into detail of what happened on the show. I'll probably do five chapters total, Gideon POV, Hotch POV, Morgan POV, Reid POV and JJ POV. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Do I own Criminal Minds? Let's see, I own a computer, a cell phone, a cat...nope. Not Criminal Minds.
Warning: Spoilers for Extreme Aggressor and Won't Get Fooled Again.
Word Count: 518
Happy reading!
It's my fault. We had been chasing Adrian Bale for two weeks; I was too eager to get him into custody. If we had cleared the building, if I had patted Bale down, then seven people would still be alive today. One civilian. Four Boston agents. And two members of my team.
We had just found out the bomber's identity that day. After eight bombings, he'd finally slipped up, been caught on tape. I didn't realize until later that he'd let the camera of the convenience store across the street see his face on purpose. I didn't stop to consider it. The only thing on my mind was getting Bale.
When we watched the footage we immediately recognized him. He was one of the witnesses to the third bombing, right after we arrived in Boston. We knew that with the UnSub's ego, he wouldn't be able to keep himself out of the investigation, but there were too many bystanders to check them all out. If I had told the team to take the time, we would have found out that Adrian Bale was in his mid-thirties to late-forties, drove a truck, worked a menial job and had lived in Boston all his life. Just like the profile said.
Hotch got a SWAT team, and we prepared to raid the building. It was my idea to go in soft, a few agents, try to coax Bale out before sending everyone else in. It would have worked beautifully if he hadn't already rigged the building to explode. Hotch, Crane, Reynolds and I went in first. Morgan and Reid had gone to interview someone before we knew who Bale was, and weren't back yet.
We saw Bale right away, standing in front of us, trying his best to look surprised. I should have studied at his expression more carefully, noticed that it was fake. Hotch ran up to handcuff him. I told Crane and Reynolds to stay and check out the building, then nodded the okay to the four agents waiting outside the door while I helped Hotch escort the UnSub out.
We were almost to the police cars when I felt it. The sound paralyzed me and the force almost knocked us to the ground. Adrian Bale was grinning, holding a small black remote in his handcuffed hands. Hotch tried to hold me back, but I ran to the building. My agents were in there, and I couldn't abandon them. Crane and the Boston agents were nowhere to be seen, but Reynolds was laying on the ground by the door, unconscious. I dropped to my knees and started doing CPR, over and over again. There was blood all over his chest and head and it looked like at least one of his arms was broken. He wasn't breathing.
Finally Hotch tugged my shoulder. Red coated my hands and I had no idea how much time had passed. I knew what Hotch was going to say, I just didn't want to hear it.
"He's gone."