A/N: It's been a while that I posted a story for this fandom. When I found the draft on my hard drive, I thought I'd give it another try though. I hope there are still some people out there who are interested in HotLy fics.
Summary: AU set some time after Season Five. Hotch left the BAU to go into business for himself as a personal adviser. Emily Prentiss is one of his clients, hiring him to protect her from anonymous threats. The more Hotch tries to get to the bottom of things, though, the more secrets his client seems to hide until it's a matter of life or death for both of them.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. This is just for fun. I make no money out of it.
Prologue
The light in the room is harsh. There is no furniture aside from a table and four chairs. A classic interrogation room. They raised the temperature to a slightly uncomfortable level so that the suspect feels as if his guilt makes him sweat.
Save that the man who is sitting in the interrogation room right now knows all the tricks. He had used them himself years ago. Before he left the FBI and stepped down from his position as unit chief of the BAU.
The door opens and two men come in, their dark suits giving away that they are not the police. The Feds are here.
"Mr. Hotchner," one of the men greets him friendly and sits down on the opposite side of the table while the other man remains standing in the background. They don't believe that he will fall for the good cop – bad cop act, do they?
There is no need to ask for his name or his address, not even for his current occupation. They know all that. He left the FBI, but the Bureau tends to keep former employees under surveillance when they choose a similar but unappreciated business as he did. Aaron Hotchner works as a personal adviser these days. At least that's what his name plate says. He is not a private investigator in the proper sense; what he does comes close enough to raise suspicion though. The requirements of his occupation entail a mixture of profiling, advising and investigating. His new job has a remarkable resemblance to his old one.
If someone had asked him during his earlier years with the FBI whether he could imagine leaving the Bureau to pursue another career, he would have denied it vehemently. But that had been before George Foyet, before that unsub hunted him down, stabbed him and went after his family. His son, Jack, survived; his wife didn't. Actually, she was his ex-wife by then, but that was just a question of semantics when you had to bury someone you had loved half of your life.
During the fight for the survival of his son, he killed Gorge Foyet. There was an investigation; his reputation as unit chief was whitewashed. The BAU team wanted him to come back to work. His superior wanted him to retire. He simply wanted out.
There were several job offers, good job offers, indeed. Economy, politics, an internal change of job. It would have meant even more working hours, though, even more time away from his son. A son who was already suffering from nightmares due to the one he had experienced in real life. Therefore, and after careful consideration, he chose to become a personal adviser.
He is his own boss and can decide when he wants to work and when he wants to spend time with his son. His former sister-in-law, Jessica, helps him with Jack, but he doesn't intend to let her bring him up. Since he is not a conventional private investigator, he doesn't have to do the dirty work. No cheating husbands or wives. He has several regular clients, some come and go – all of them want the same. He mostly is hired to check potential associates. It is not unusual that his clients ask him to use his profiling skills and attend one of their business lunches to screen someone. Albeit he is not a profiler anymore, he will never stop thinking or measuring up other people that way. It runs in his blood. Bottom line, it's a safe job. His clients are wealthy and pay their bills on time. No imminent danger. Well, until he met his current client that is. Emily Prentiss.
This latest case has turned his world upside down and is the reason he is sitting here.
Aaron Hotchner isn't worried about himself. He is pretty sure that he will be out of here soon. Unfortunately, he is running out of time. Emily Prentiss wasn't in a good condition when he saw her last and he is worried about her. Very worried. More than he should be about a client. But that's another story.
He resists the urge to show his nervousness because that is what these men are waiting for. They would interpret it as a sign of guilt. And they would be right. He is guilty of what happened – at least partially. Emily Prentiss hired him to find out what and who was behind the strange things that were going on in her life, whether they were plainly annoying or a potential threat. Basically, she hired him to protect her, and by his standards, he failed.
All the worse, he doesn't know who he can trust. Who is involved. Whether these two men who are in the room with him are part of it or not.
Before the agent who is sitting at the table with him can start the interrogation, Hotch insists, "I need to know the whereabouts of Emily Prentiss. Is she alright?"
He doesn't dare to say or ask anything else due to his suspicion, but this he has to know although he doesn't expect an answer. And he doesn't get one. Instead, there is the question he has been anticipating ever since the men entered the room.
"Why did you shoot Derek Morgan?"
There is only one answer to this question – because he had no other choice. The last thing Hotch saw before he was taken into custody was how the paramedics resuscitated Morgan. He had aimed for his shoulder, just had wanted to immobilize him, never had intended to kill him, but at the last moment Morgan had moved unexpectedly. The bullet had hit him in his chest, much too close to his heart. Hotch doesn't want to think of the possibility that he dies. Derek Morgan is more than a former colleague and the current unit chief of the BAU. He is a friend. Hotch considers all members of his former team friends but especially Derek Morgan and David Rossi. They are the only people he trusts right now.
"I want to talk to David Rossi," Hotch says instead of giving the man an answer.
"Then talk to me," he hears the familiar voice as David Rossi comes in. Hotch immediately is relieved. His ally has arrived.
The two agents stare at Rossi hostilely. Apparently, they know who he is, though, and seem to accept that he is in charge. At least for now.
"Dave," the relief in Hotch's voice is evident. "Did you talk to Emily? Did you see her? Is she alright?"
When the older man doesn't answer and avoids eye contact, Hotch starts to wonder what is going on.
"Get me out of here," he urges, anyway.
But when his friend looks at him, Hotch almost flinches from the cold determination in his eyes. He is his ally, isn't he?
"Sorry, I can't do that," Dave says, confirming Hotch's fear. He isn't his ally. He is a traitor.
"What have you done?" Hotch hisses, barely able to suppress his rage. "Where is Emily?"
He jumps up, and from the corner of his eye, he sees the two agents approach him. They grab his arms and push him down on the chair.
This can't be happening. He can't believe it. David Rossi was his last hope that they will get out of this more or less unharmed. Hotch puts up a fight, his fury taking over against better knowledge. He is well aware that this is futile and counterproductive since he already is the suspect and doesn't need to dig an even deeper hole for himself.
Only when he sees the syringe, he realizes that the situation is much worse than he thought.
There is nothing he can do. The more he struggles, the more the men bottle him up, rendering him immobile.
The needle pricks his skin, and shortly after, Hotch feels a weird cold in his veins. The world starts to spin; the last thing he sees is David Rossi and the two agents laughing at him. Then everything goes black.
To be continued
