Okay I lied, there are a total of three chapters :-) Enjoy
Six months have passed.
JJ walked into the conference room of the BAU early one Saturday morning. Without even saying a hello to the group she whined, "Do any of you have a clue as to why I received a phone call from Strauss at 7am requesting me to be here?"
"Your guess is as good as ours," said Rossi.
"We were just discussing what it could be," said Hotch. "She never told me that she was calling you."
"This could be related to why she has been absent from the office so many times this past month," said Reid.
"Think she's retiring?" Garcia asked hopefully.
"She wouldn't have contacted my supervisor to make sure that I came here just to hear that she was retiring," JJ answered. "Do you think it could be about Emily?"
A silence fell over the room as they all thought about their departed colleague. They were still grudges held against Strauss for her orders and demands making sure that they could not be a part of the investigation. They were told that the explosion was the result of a gas leak and that since no foul play was suspected, the case was closed. They didn't believe the reports and tried to do some investigating on their own, but hit dead ends at every attempt in their inquiries.
As they all continued to sit there in silence and in their individual thoughts, no one noticed the group of four people walking towards the conference room. Strauss walked into the room accompanied by two men, while the fourth person stayed outside of the room. "Thank you all for coming in today," said Strauss.
Before walking into the room, Sean told me to stay out in the hallway until I am ready to confront them. They're going to hate me when they find out I'm alive.
"With all due respect ma'am," said Hotch, "what is the reson for this meeting?"
"And why was I called as well? I have been out of the BAU for a year."
Oh they got JJ here too! Her and Pen will be so angry with me.
"I am sorry for disrupting your weekend activities, but this matter was too important to push off until Monday. As for your, question," she looked at JJ, "you'll understand in a moment. I'd like to introduce you to Agents Sean McAllister and John Sanders from Interpol."
"Interpol?" asked Rossi. "What's going on Erin?"
Rossi never missed anything. He knows something's up.
The man introduced to them as McAllister stepped forward. "Two days ago Ian Doyle was shot and killed during the attempt to arrest him. He escaped from a Russian prison seven months ago and traveled around the world seeking out revenge on those that were responsible for him being in that prison."
Oh God I can't breathe. I'm going to have to reveal myself soon.
"We were finally able to track him down and after the death of three agents, two failed murders and the deaths of one of our agent's family, I can now say that it is all finally over." McAllister looked over to Sanders and nodded. They watched as he left the room and could hear him talking to someone, but could not hear any reply back so they assumed that he was just talking on his phone."
Strauss took over, "Last month I received a phone call from Interpol and was briefed on this case. I was instructed that the case was to remain off of your radar and instead they asked for help from Cooper's team. "
"Why were we kept from the case?" asked Morgan.
Oh he is definitely going to be pissed at me. I look up into John's eyes pleading with him for the support that I am going to need. He rubs my arms and tells me that it will all be okay. He reminded me that they will be upset at first for not telling them, but that they are smart and will eventually realize that I did this to protect them.
"It was Agent Prentiss' wish for that to happen," McAllister answered.
"Emily?" asked JJ. "This is related to Emily? Are you saying that her death was not an accident and Ian Doyle is responsible for it?"
"Doyle is responsible for the explosion, but not for Agent Prentiss' death."
Ready or not, I have to face them now.
"Stop speaking in riddles," Morgan said glaring at the agent.
"She's not dead, is she?" Reid asked hopefully.
Is that hope I hear in his voice? I look to John to see if he heard it the same way. He smiled at me and told me again that it will all be fine. I nodded and took the steps into the room. I walked in with my hands in my pockets.
"No, Reid. I'm not dead," I said to him with a nervous smile.
The room filled with gasps and then silence. I couldn't bring myself to look at any of them in their eyes. I was afraid of what I might find hidden in them. So, I looked anywhere else that I could. The wall. The table. Strauss. Anywhere, but at my friends that had to deal with the thought of me being dead for the last six months.
Finally, I broke the silence of the room. "I know that you are all confused and angry with me right now. If you'd let me, I'd like to explain the whole story to you and when I am finished, if you do not want anything to do with me, I will understand."
No one supplied her with any objections so she continued. "The BAU was actually my first assignment with the FBI. Everything was forged to make it look like I was in St. Louis and Chicago before Strauss had me transferred here. Only the Bureau Director knew the truth. Before that time, I was an Agent with Interpol. My last case with them involved Ian Doyle. He was the most dangerous man out there. He quickly rose to power controlling some of the members of the Russian government, killing anyone in his way. Our team was brought in on the case and my assignment was to get close to him.
"For months, I played the role of his girlfriend. I pretended to not notice anything going on round us, when in fact, I was noticing and reporting everything to Sean and John. Finally, we had enough information to put him away in prison. To keep up appearances, I was arrested along with him and his men. It wasn't until his trial that the truth was revealed that I was and Interpol Agent. I left Interpol after that case and they helped to get me into the FBI and gave me a new background that even Garcia couldn't find holes in." I made the mistake of looking at them and I could see the pure look of hatred in each of their eyes. I knew it. They hate me.
I pushed forward and continued my explanation. "Seven months ago, I got a call from Sean asking me to meet him. He told me about Doyle's escape from prison and warned m that I was in danger. When I got home from meeting with him, there was an envelope waiting for me at the door to my condo. Inside the envelope were pictures of all of you." I looked up at them again. "There were also pictures of Kevin and Will, my parents and the final picture was of me with Jack and Henry. You need to understand that the time I spent with him so many years ago, I learned his tactics. He pictures were meant as a warning. I called Sean right away and he told me that an attack was made on John's life." I looked over at John and saw his eyes filling with unshed tears. "When Doyle learned that John was safe, he made another attempt, this time he killed his wife and family in a bombing. A note was left saying that if he couldn't have John safe, he would just let him suffer.
"The explosion at my condo was cause by a bomb left by Doyle. It was set on a delay timer to ensure that I would be further into my apartment when it went off. What he didn't count on was me remembering that I left a casefile in my car and I left the condo to retrieve it. I was at the elevator when it went off. Sean happened to be on the phone with me the whole time. Everything happened so fast after that. He picked me up and I told him that I didn't want any of you involved. Doyle knew that Jack and Henry mean a lot to me. That's why he included that specific picture instead of one of them with their parents. I couldn't let anything happen to them or to any of you. I hope that you can one day understand this and maybe forgive me."
I looked hopefully to them, but they didn't show me any signs of what they were feeling. I let out a small sigh. "I've been offered my position here at the BAU, but I will not return if you feel like you cannot trust me enough to work with me. I hope to not lose any of you as friends, but I understand if that is how you feel. I will be staying at my mother's for the next few weeks. If you want to reach me, you'll find me there."
I turned to leave, but an unusually confused voice finally spoke, "Where are you going?"
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