Tears welled at Emily's eyes as she continued listening, "God, Emily what did you think? That we would just let you walk out of our lives? I am so furious at you right now! Then I think of how scared you must be, how you're in some dark place all alone. But you're not alone, okay? You are not alone."
"We are in the dark place with you. We are waving flashlights and calling your name. So if you can see us, come home. If you can't then stay alive. Cause we're coming." The line went dead at the end of the message. Emily held her phone to her ear, too emotional to move. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
Doyle's SUV was across the street. She had a semi-automatic and a couple of flash bang grenades in the passenger seat. All she had to do was storm the vehicle, take out Doyle, and everything would be over. It was simple and yet she found herself reluctant. Penelope told her to stay alive, that she wasn't alone.
Emily had spent her whole life being independent, doing things alone. But now, now she had a family that loved her and would do anything to save her. They were coming after her even though it would be putting them all in danger. They were willing to risk their own lives to save hers. She could never repay that debt but she knew if she waited, if she just waited a few more hours, she would have backup and they could take Doyle out as a team.
She sat in her car as precious moments passed. She needed to make a decision and quickly before she missed the opportunity to take Doyle by surprise. She weighed her options before getting out of the car, gun in hand. This was just something she needed to do alone. She shook her head to clear it and focus on her mission. Just as she was about to cross the street, Doyle's convoy pulled away. She stood in the middle of the road and watched it drive away.
Emily did the only thing left she could do, she got in her car and picked up her phone. A shaky hand dialed the only number that came to mind, she waited as the line rang. Once, twice, three times. She was just about to hang up when she received an answer.
"Emily?" came JJ's voice.
"JJ, I fucked up," Emily said as she broke down into tears. "I'm in Boston. There's so much I need to tell you but I went after someone from my past, someone who is a really bad guy, and I went after him alone. And now I think I'm in over my head."
"Emily, I know," JJ said calmly. "I'm with the team, we're coming for you. We know everything about Doyle. You did the right thing to call me. Please just don't do anything drastic until we get there."
Emily was shocked, JJ was helping? She had underestimated her team, her family. They had called in JJ from her job at the State Department. She felt even more like a nuisance knowing they had torn JJ away from her work. "JJ, I don't know if I can wait. I don't want to involve anyone else int his mess I created."
"Dammit! Emily, don't you see?" JJ asked in a serious tone, "You're not inconveniencing us. You're not some burden. You're one of ours and we would do anything to bring you home safely. We're in the air. Do you have any idea where Doyle could be?"
Emily looked in her rear view mirror, he had been right there and she missed her chance because she let her emotions get in the way. She couldn't change anything now, she would just have to sit tight and wait. "I have an idea."
She had more than an idea. There was an abandoned warehouse Doyle used to use when he had set up base operations in Boston. It was the same warehouse where Emily had staged Declan's death. She knew Doyle would recognize the location in the pictures and it was meant to hurt him. Doyle had no idea his son was alive and Emily needed to keep it that way. She was willing to let the team help but there were some things she just couldn't share with them. Declan was one of those things. His safety was her main focus.
An hour later Emily was meeting with the team at the local field office. She could feel the tension from Derek and she knew she deserved it. She had held so much back about her past and now they knew. They knew what she had done on JTF12 they knew what she had with Doyle, they knew what she had done as Lauren Reynolds. It had been nearly eight years but the memories were still fresh for her.
"We have to stop him," Emily stated. If not for her safety, for the team's. He had already taken out a number of operatives that had stood in his way. Including Tsia. Tsia. No, she couldn't focus on that right now. There would be time to grieve later but for now she needed to stay objective. For Declan.
"We will," Hotch promised. "You told JJ you have an idea of where he'll be. But Emily, we need to know everything before we go in. It isn't just your life that is at stake. We will go in with SWAT and I can't afford to go in blind. If there is anything you're holding back, tell me now."
Emily bit her tongue, she wanted to be honest but how could she be? "You know everything," she lied. Hotch nodded accepting her answer.
"We'll go in an midnight," Hotch told them. That gave them two hours to organize a task force. Things were already abuzz in the field office. Emily overheard Rossi saying something about using JJ's pull at the state Department to get the ball rolling.
She watched as her team jumped into action. Garcia sent them the blueprints of the building and they worked with SWAT to map out their attack.
"Stealth is all we have," Hotch advised. "As soon as they know we're there Doyle will try to run. We have to go in hot and under their radar. Emily is calling the shots on this one, know one knows Doyle better. This is her call, understood?" He looked to Derek with a stern glance, Derek reluctantly nodded. "Good, let's go."
Emily pulled Derek aside, "Can you at least let me explain?"
"What is there to explain?" Derek asked shortly.
"There are things you have to understand and there are reasons I couldn't tell you. I did things I'm not proud of."
"I feel like I don't even know you, Emily."
"Derek, I'm sorry," Emily said earnestly.
"Sorry won't bring back the people Doyle killed because you withheld vital information," Derek scoffed as he made his was out of the room.
They suited up and headed out to Doyle's warehouse. Emily rode with JJ and Hotch. JJ sat in the backseat with her and watched as Emily nervously chewed her fingernails. JJ took her hand and gently pulled Emily's hand away from her mouth and intertwined their finger. Emily looked down at their hands and thought for a moment of how well they fit together.
"It's almost over," JJ reassured.
The team got to the warehouse a little past midnight. Snipers on the roof across the building took out the guards quietly. It was go time. Emily lead the way as shots were fired between Doyle's men and the team. She knew Doyle would hear. They needed to hurry, time was of the essence.
Emily called on the comms the back alley was clear. Hotch confirmed the front was clear as well. She and Derek approached the back door quietly. Derek went to take the lead but Emily pulled him back, "This is my call."
He shrugged her off and went in anyway before she could stop him. They came to a hallway that forked into two directions. Emily motioned for them to split up, she could hear Hotch and the rest of the team coming through another entrance. Derek made his way to the left as Emily went right. She was met by one of Doyle's men and took him down with two shots.
Derek quietly crept down the corridor before entering the main part of the warehouse. It was dark, he had to rely on the focused light attached to his gun for guidance. He made sweeping motions in the darkness before hearing a noise behind him. By the time he turned around it was too late. Doyle hit him over the head and threw him into a wall. Derek slumped to the ground, his gun out of reach. He got to his feet and tackled Doyle. Doyle went down and Derek picked up a nearby piece of wood and began to beat Doyle in the face.
"Derek!" Emily called as she entered and took in the scene.
He only looked away for a moment but it was all it took. Doyle grabbed the sharpened piece of wood and shoved it into Derek's abdomen. The sound of gunfire hung in the air as blood trickled down Doyle's forehead and he fell to the ground. Emily holstered her gun and rushed to Derek's side.
"We need a medic!" she called over the comms. She pressed firmly around where the stake was sticking out of his stomach, in any attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Derek," she pleaded. "Derek, stay with me. Oh god, I am so sorry"
The next few minutes seemed like hours as she held her hands steadily in place awaiting the EMTs. They rushed Derek to the hospital and immediately into surgery. The team waited anxiously in the waiting room. Garcia arrived an hour later and hugged Emily tightly.
"I was so worried about you," Penelope confessed.
"I'm safe," Emily assured. "Now we need to worry about Derek." Penelope nodded in agreement and took up a seat next to Spencer.
Time passed slowly as they all awaited news. Finally the doctor called JJ in, she still had power of attorney for half of the team. She was gone for ten minutes before making her way back to the team with tears in her eyes.
"No," Garcia gasped.
Emily was on her feet, "JJ?"
"He never made it off the table."