So this one's for ItsAllMine, who wondered how livestock could be used as a weapon. Here's how.
A/N: This one is a companion to my story "Fireworks," so I suggest reading that one too.
Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.
"He went out the back!"
No one wasted a second. After six days and eleven victims, their lone remaining unsub was not going to escape by sneaking out the back door. The other half of the duo had been killed during such an escape attempt, deciding that it was better to goad one of the local officers into shooting him than being caught.
"Oh, no, you did not," Morgan gritted through his teeth as the lithe suspect wove through a maze of furniture and doorways, making a beeline towards the large barn. Reid was moving steadily behind him on the off-chance the man would double back, and Hotch, Rossi and Emily were already outside.
"He's heading towards the barn!" Reid cried, picking up the pace. Outside, the sounds of cows and other livestock lowed into the twilight, waiting patiently in the yard to be led in for milking.
"Federal agents—don't move!" the two men heard Emily call out as she spied him trying to sneak in a side door to the barn. Not wasting a second, the quick woman followed the suspect inside, only to find even more stock—a couple of horses and a chicken coop. Nearby lay a pig pen; its inhabitants rolling lazily in the cool mud. The unsub dropped something into the pig pen and took off again, this time for the fields.
Emily froze, wanting to see what had been put in the pig pen—it could possibly be evidence—but knowing that she couldn't lose their one remaining suspect. Thankfully, Morgan and Reid emerged from the back door of the old house, their eyes peeled for the elusive man.
"Towards the fields!" Emily shouted, and the two agents took off in that direction. Emily herself motioned to JJ, who was busy fending off the hordes of press from storming the house and yard. "Hey, come here a second, will you? Have the locals fend them off for a minute!"
JJ turned to two of the local police officers, who nodded. Though they wanted to be the ones to catch the sick son-of-a-bitch, they really couldn't stomach seeing another dead body lying in a field--or rather, parts of one, anyway. After being slammed in the shoulder by a rather aggressive reporter, JJ made her way to the pig pen where Emily was turning several shades of green.
"That explains how he managed to hide most of the bodies," she said, fighting the urge to throw up.
"You mean…they ate them?" JJ asked in disgust. Her fears were confirmed as she was one of the pigs nibbling on what looked like part of a femur. "My God…"
"Well, that's confirmed," said Emily. "He's definitely our guy…"
--
In the back fields, the unsub was giving the male agents quite a chase. He'd managed to race out the wide double doors of the barn, weaving his way around the several dozen head of cows and bulls grazing in the pasture. The motion was enough to spook some of the animals, who began to run—and in some cases, charge—their way to perceived safety.
"Over here!" called Hotch, racing to keep up. The muddy ground wasn't helping matters.
"Behind you, Hotch!" called Morgan, setting his sights on the fleeing man. "He's heading towards that patch of trees!"
Rossi broke into a full sprint, hoping to head the unsub off at the pass. He nimbly dodged several cows that had miraculously stayed put where they stood, and began making a beeline for the spot where the unsub was heading.
Reid, on the other hand, was as terrified of the charging animals as they were of him. Morgan caught a glimpse of the younger man frozen in fear as a terrified bull began to charge.
Seeing Rossi ahead of them, Morgan called out to Reid, "Hey, kid, get out of the way!" Reid, still in shock, remained where he stood. He could easily see the bull making headway, and knew that if he moved, the bull might change course to follow him…
The next thing Reid knew was his face had become one with the ground, Morgan was lying on top of him wincing in pain and there was a sickening snap just below his left knee. He let out one ear-piercing shriek, and then bit back any further cries of pain. This was certainly not the time for that, he rationalized.
Hotch and Rossi continued their chase, circling the panting unsub as he made his way towards the trees. Defiantly, the unsub pulled out his weapon of choice—a long, well-kept saber—and swung the blade wildly at the agent in front of him: Hotch. One of the swings just managed to nick the team leader in the arm, just below the elbow, and he could feel the blood dripping form the wound as he struggled to keep his aim steady.
"Go ahead, shoot me," the unsub shouted, daring the agent. "Cows'll make quick work of me, if'n you don't…"
"Or not," said a voice behind him. With one deft move, Rossi grabbed the unsub's hands and bound them behind his back. "Now, about those cows…"