The Annihilation of Jennifer Jareau

1

Better Than Revenge

Agent Jennifer Jareau, aka JJ, often felt the impending danger when in the field, but never before had she felt it so heavily. As she dodged trees that seem to pop up from nowhere, and stumbled over fallen limbs below her line of sight, she breathed in slowly and deeply, the cold air thick with fog. Her thin FBI-issued windbreaker and bullet-proof Kevlar vest were barely keeping her warm.

She knew the coldness was as much metaphorical as it was literal. She had spent too many nights alone in the previous year. Her ex-fiancé, Will, had disappeared in the middle of the night 9 months earlier, a note of apology on his pillow. He had left her to raise their 3 year old son, alone.

She then returned to the BAU just seven months later. Her team received her warmly; especially Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia who had refused to get to know Agent Seaver, the rookie that essentially filled the empty seat left by JJ. One week after JJ returned, Seaver happily transferred out of the BAU.

Two weeks after that, Agent Emily Prentiss returned from the dead. JJ and BAU leader Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner had to admit to their teammates that they knew all along she was alive. JJ watched Garcia's eyes as they delivered the news to the team. There had been a mix of elation and betrayal as she had looked at JJ.

In the last month and a half, the rest of the team was still resentful and kept conversations with Hotch, Prentiss, and JJ limited to work. JJ hoped with time there would be forgiveness.

The fog was tangible against her already chilled, pale skin. Her right hand gripped the handle of her Glock handgun; index finger hovering nervously over the trigger. Her left hand was curled tightly around her flashlight. She could hear footsteps. Her tension released slightly knowing her team was close behind.

It had been four very long days of profiling and hunting for the man responsible for the rape, torture, and murder of 13 women in the Smoky Mountains over the course of two years. They had finally caught a break when Dr. Spencer Reid's geographic profiling pinpointed a specific area of the national park in which to search.

Images from the crime scene photos invaded her already disturbed thoughts until the worried voice of Agent Emily Prentiss coming through her ear piece broke her onslaught of imagery, "JJ we've lost visual on you. The fog is too heavy in this area. We can't see your light."

JJ stopped and turned several times searching for her teammates. As quickly as her eyes focused, she realized she had lost her bearings. She inhaled and exhaled audibly. She was lost.

"JJ?" Agent Prentiss persisted.

A quiet voice in JJ's conscience told her she couldn't leave the woods without the latest victim. She was intelligent enough to know that every case she worked was her personal mission. It was her method of trying to make up for the betraying her teammates.

She spoke into the microphone attached to the t-shirt below her jacket and vest, "I'm not turning back now. If he has another victim then maybe we can get to her before it's too late. I have to do this."

"JJ, you have nothing to prove to anyone," she looked pointedly at Agent David Rossi and Agent Derrick Morgan.

JJ knew that wasn't true. Her team didn't trust her. They once considered her the heart of the group, "Em, I'm not stopping. Besides, you guys are close behind me, I can hear you walking."

"Get out. Get out now," JJ could tell Emily was trying not to panic. "We're not behind you, JJ. We're all back at the road."

JJ's heartbeat quickened to the threshold of panic. She stilled herself, closing her eyes and focusing on the sounds around her. She knew he was watching her. She knew he was close. She knew if he had the chance he would take her. She knew if she didn't get out she would die.

With sudden, great, force, JJ felt her blonde hair being violently yanked. Her gun and flashlight were knocked immediately to the ground. A rough hand was pushing against her face, trying to cover her mouth. A scream escape before she was silenced with a blow to the back of the head.

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"JJ?" Emily looked at the other agents of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. She shook her head, eyes wide with fear when their younger co-worker didn't respond, "JJ, hang on! I'm coming."

The ever-growing fear in the air was shattered by a piercing scream. Hotch quickly barked out orders and his team divided into the woods. Morgan and Reid headed in the direction Prentiss had already sprinted, while Hotch and Rossi headed in another.

The fog made it impossible for them to search quickly or efficiently. They had been calling for JJ for more than 15 minutes when Emily finally stumbled upon JJ's flashlight on the ground. The light was still beaming brightly and in its illumination Emily could see the Glock that JJ had been holding. There was no other sign of JJ or JJ's microphone and ear piece. Her stomach filled with acid at the realization that it was all really happening.

"Hotch!" Emily called out to her boss, "I've got something."

She hated that her ability to compartmentalize had taken over, when her inner being was shaking with the sinking feeling that her best friend had been taken by a truly evil man. She fought back any emotion that dared to show as Hotch got on the radio calling for immediate backup.

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The first things she saw as she came to were the imaginary stars circling the peripheral of her vision. As her vision cleared slowly she could barely make out the real stars in the sky moving quickly overhead. The fog was gone. Her arms were aching, her back burning. She was being dragged through the forest by rope tied around her wrists.

She couldn't tell what time it was or how long she had been out. She couldn't really see the face of the man dragging her. She quickly committed to memory the few details she could ascertain. She could tell the direction they were heading. The stars were excellent navigating tools. She could see by his silhouette that the man who had abducted her was at least six feet tall and very muscular.

Inspite of her insurmountable fear, she took a head-to-toe inventory of aches, pains and changes in her body. She quickly discovered why her back was burning as the underbrush scraped her skin. Her bullet-proof vest and jacket had been removed and she was now down to her thin white t-shirt. She found small comfort in knowing that her adrenaline was keeping her warm.

Her head was throbbing from the blow that had rendered her unconscious, but other than that, she was uninjured. JJ debated her next move. She wanted to panic. She wanted to kick and scream and make it really hard for him, but she also wanted to find the latest missing girl.

She tried to look at the man's face as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Her voice was as calm as she could make it, "Where are you taking me?"

The man's voice was low, gruff, creepy, "Shut up."

JJ tried to dig her heels into the ground to make some resistance and slow his journey. He jerked hard on the rope that bound her hands. Her shoulders jerked upwards sending a brief pain through her muscles.

"Where are you taking me?" JJ persisted louder but still in control of her emotions.

"Shut up," he answered again, annoyance obvious in his voice.

JJ fought the urge to cry and thought of how stoic Emily always was in the face of danger. She wanted to emulate that. The skin on her back screamed at her to fight, to make noise, to wrestle him to the ground and strangle him with the rope he had used to tie her hands.

As he dragged her over another patch of thorns, she finally screamed. She screamed as long and as loud as she could. She called out into the dark night hoping for a response. The only response she received was a chuckle from the man pulling her.

"Let me go," She screamed at him.

He dropped her hands and she felt some relief from the pain. The relief was replaced with fear as he moved above her. She kicked her foot out toward his groin but he caught her ankle in his large hand. She cried out again as he raised his free hand and violently backhanded her sending her reeling into unconsciousness. Before completely blacking out, she heard his voice.

"I told you to shut up."

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It had been 45 minutes since the abduction of SSA Jennifer Jareau. Emily ran a shaky hand through her dark hair as she paused long enough to get her bearings. They had broken up into 5 groups of three. Each of the agents had a Tennessee state trooper and park ranger with them.

Emily knew they were only half an hour behind the unsub and JJ, but it was a half hour too long. She thought about the phone call she made to Garcia. They had spent the last month and a half not really talking. Emily felt guilty that JJ apologized every chance she could to the woman for having to lie to her. Emily refused to apologize. They had done what needed to be done to protect a little boy and to save Emily's life.

Emily had relayed the information of JJ's abduction to Garcia and had been met with silence. As she heard Garcia stifle a sob, she was relieved and heartbroken to know that the silence was because Garcia had been taken over by her emotions. The sound of her close friend breaking down over JJ's very sudden disappearance broke Emily's compartments. Her own emotions spilled into her professional demeanor. She had delivered the news to Garcia with tears in her eyes, a catch in her voice.

Garcia had only responded with, "Don't you come back Emily. Do you understand me. Don't you leave those woods without her. I lost you once, and she brought you back…now you do the same for her."

Emily had known with those words that forgiveness had been given. She prayed it wasn't too late.

She shook the phone call out of her mind, but she couldn't shake the emotional lump in her throat. She coughed once before turning to the ranger.

"Are there any cabins out here?"

He shook his head, "None on the books, ma'am, but mountain folk build what they want, where they want. Could be a hunting shed here somewhere and we'd never know it."

"But you'd know if there was hunting," Emily concluded.

The ranger nodded, "We get a poacher…we make an arrest."

Emily slid her cell phone out of her pocket and called Garcia again. She needed information but she also needed to hear the voice of someone who truly could understand the fear coursing through her system. They were both terrified of what was going to happen to JJ. The reports, the pictures, the bodies of the victims were all evidence of what their unsub could do to the young blonde.

"Garcia," Penelope answered without her usual jovial manner.

"It's Emily," Emily tried to swallow the knot in her throat again with no result, "I need you to look something up for me."

"If it'll help get JJ back then name it. I'll do anything," Garcia responded with conviction.

"Can you search for locals from this area and see if any have priors dealing with hunting, poaching, or any trouble with a game warden?"

"Got it. Any more parameters?"

"Not yet," Emily stated, "If I come up with anything I'll let you know."

Emily paused, "Has the rest of the team checked in with you?"

"Everyone. No news."

Emily nodded to herself. She looked at the ranger and officer in front of her on the trail. Her feet were numb from the cold and she thought about JJ. She wondered if she was hurt, scared, trying to be brave when she shouldn't be.

"Em?" Garcia was still on the line.

Emily sighed, "I'll check in if we find anything."

"Bring her home Em. Just bring JJ home."

Emily ended the call and slid her cell phone in her pocket. They walked another hundred feet when a voice came over the trooper's radio, "Team 3 to all searchers, we've found your agent's vest and jacket."

Emily glanced at the GPS tracking device in her hand. They had been assigned numbers and given transmitters. Team 3 was only two hundred yards west. Emily wanted to see the evidence. She wanted to be close to anything JJ. She wouldn't lose anything or anyone else.