"What the hell?" Emily said, as she looked at the picture Hotch had just sent her, with 911 below it. It was of an unfamiliar man with a gun.
"Wait. That's the bank, isn't it?" JJ asked, leaning in to get a better view. They didn't need anymore time to put the pieces together.
JJ didn't let herself think. The bank was just down the road. She grabbed her gun and her vest and ran for the SUV. Without looking, she knew Emily was on her heels.
Hotch was in the bank. Everybody was supposed to have time off, but JJ's schedule was a little different than the rest. She and Emily had just returned from the last case they worked. Morgan, Reid and Rossi remained behind, with plans to vacation at Rossi's cabin for a day or so. But Hotch had taken an extra day because Jack had a special program at school.
"Garcia, what do you see?" JJ asked, knowing she was working on getting access to the bank's security cameras, and that, perhaps, with her technical background, she would be able to see other angles - things the rest of them could not.
"He looks crazy," Garcia reported, her voice tight, squinting at the screen. "Oh, my God..." she gasped, as the man with the gun wrenched a child away from his father, holding a gun to the boy's head.
The image was grainy, but Garcia would know that child anywhere. The way he stood absolutely still and didn't struggle. The way he took cues from his father to see how to react.
"What? Garcia?" JJ pressed.
"He's got Jack."
As Emily raced through the streets, she and JJ listened carefully as Garcia fed them information about their unsub. His name. His age. His history with drugs. He hadn't worn a mask, so Garcia had run the image through VICAP and found him immediately.
By the time they arrived, JJ and Emily had a rudimentary profile in mind, and because of that, knew this guy wasn't planning to come out alive. They knew he would most likely try to take as many hostages with him as possible.
"He's got them at the back near the safe. They're on the floor," Garcia reported as JJ and Emily approached. "Go to the west entrance."
Silently, they made their approach and went inside. There was no law enforcement present yet. They had broken procedure, but JJ knew that procedure didn't mean anything when your child's life was at risk.
Sobbing.
That's what registered first. Little Jack, crying for his dad, as a man screamed about how everyone was going to die.
Emily approached where she could be seen - her gun drawn - trying to reason with him. "Just let the boy go, and we can talk this out."
But now, he was eerily quiet.
"JJ, something's wrong! He's smiling!" Garcia said urgently.
And in a moment, JJ saw it - the muscles in his arm flexing with intention - and JJ didn't flinch. She took the shot, and watched as he dropped to the ground.
Jack screamed and shook, as JJ rushed in and scooped him up. Emily went to Hotch, who looked strange and strained in casual clothes.
"I'm fine," he repeated, even as his voice and hands shook.
Sirens sounded in the distance.
JJ held Jack tightly, knowing the truth, even as she soothed him.
If they had waited, it would have been too late.
There would have been no one left to save.