Authors Note: *clears throat* Hello my lovely readers. I was hesitant to post this chapter up but I finally made a few changes and this was the result... you'll probably hate me by the time you finish reading but, don't worry. After every storm there's a beautiful rainbow. This storm, however, is going to take a WHILE before it passes. Well, enough of my excessive ranting, here's the fourth chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Story Title: Desperate Measures
Written By: ButterflyCryx
Chapter Four
Emily spent the last hour observing her surroundings and eventually memorized every item. The room mostly consisted of cardboard boxes and plastic containers. There was also an old tool box that sat underneath the stair case that led to outside. The room had no windows which made it immensely hot. The pregnant SSA could feel the sweat trickling down her face and back, damping her red blouse. She shifted in her seat uncomortably and felt the sudden urge to pee.
'Great' she thought, hoping Jack, John or even his shithead accomplice whose name was still unidentified, would come down and take her to the bathroom. To distract herself, Emily began to focus on the details of her round belly. She was going to be eight months on Jack's eighth birthday, something she and Hotch found quite ironic. It was currently the middle of October. Autumn had been kind to Virginia, the weather wasn't too humid or too chilly. It was the kind of weather you'd feel a nice breeze in and wear a comfortable jacket for. She remembered last fall and how cold it was, as if winter was trying to make an early appearance. While filling her head with random thoughts, the basement door that led into the house opened and small feet descended the stairs. Jack walked over to Emily and hugged her tightly.
"Are you okay?" he asked innocently, resting his head on her shoulder.
"Yes, are you?" Emily asked back as she awaited a response. Jack nodded into her shoulder.
"Jack, sweetie, are you sure?" she asked again, unconvinced of his reply. The small boy lifted his head and Emily immediately noticed he had tears in his eyes. Perplexed, the middle-aged agent questioned her stepsons behavior.
"What happened?"
"Emzy... they... I heard..." Jack struggled, choking on his sobs. Emily waited for him to calm down, trying not to pressure him. After a few seconds, he finally spoke.
"I heard them talking... I was hiding behind the kitchen door. They want to hurt Bradley, Emzy... they want to cut him out of your tummy."
Emily's mind sprung into action as she contemplated on an escape. She needed to get Jack and herself out of that basement and she needed to get them out of there now.
"Hotch!" J.J called, rushing over to her Unit Chief. He was currently searching his and Emily's bedroom. Convinced that the unsub who kidnapped his family had bugged the house, he looked into every nook and cranny. The detectors for the task hadn't arrived yet and he was getting impatient. He took it upon himself, despite Strauss' orders, and practically tore the room apart. J.J watched for a moment as he used a knife to cut through the pillows. He then found what he was looking for; a miniature speaker the size of a raisin. J.J eyes matched his as she showed him the miniature camera she found in Jack Hotchner's teddy bear that always sat on his bed. It was the one Haley had given him for his fifth birthday, along with tickets to see a Lakers game in L.A with Hotch. He remembered how happy his son was in that moment, pulling the tickets out of the bears attached hands. Now the bears eye was used to insert a camera that would spy on him or any of them who entered his room. The older man sighed then continued to look.
"There's got to be more." he stated as J.J nodded and took that as her que to keep searching the boy's room. Just then, Strauss entered the room and was upset at the scene before her.
"Hotch-"
"Please, don't. My pregnant fiancée and son are missing. I need to find them." he emphasized, moving around the room. Erin Strauss sighed as she watched the agent frantically search his own bedroom. She knew he wasn't okay, so she avoided asking him the question. Instead, she stood there, continuing to watch him.
"I found two more. One above his headboard and one in the top corner of his wall" J.J said within seconds of entering the room again. Hotch's internal anger rose as he rushed past the two blondes and walked down the stairs to his kitchen. CSI had already left, only being able to find a few finger prints.
"The UnSub wants something from Emily... and he or she is probably using my son as bait." he said, trying to think of who it could be and why. Was there something he missed? A small detail he failed to notice? Was Emily not telling him something?
Emily practically told him everything about herself. From the times she was forced to move around as a teenager to the horrible days she spent in each high school she attended. She even told him about the most embarrasing things that happened to her while growing up, resulting in the two giggling like little kids at five in the morning while laying in bed together. Every mark or scar she had on her body, he knew the story behind them. The scar on her left knee was from falling off of a skateboard while trying to impress a boy in England; she was fourteen. The scar, left by a cut, on her right hand was from a fight she got into in Venezuela; the girls name was Nancy and she didn't like Emily for whatever reason. She attacked her unexpectedly and pulled out a knife. Emily was also fourteen. When she was fifteen, she played for a lacrosse team in Brazil. Claiming she only did it to make friends and that she was honestly horrible at the game, she tripped and the first thing that hit the ground was her chin, resulting in a faint scar that now remained there. The scar on her stomach was supposedly there since birth. He of course believed her, although his profiling senses told him otherwise. As Hotch reminisced about the love of his life and her past, his eyes inevitably got moist. It had only been ten hours now and he missed her immensely. He wondered what she was doing and what low life had her and his son as J.J cleared her throat and spoke.
"What would he or she want? She's pregnant, there's not much she can offer. She also can't defend herself without hurting the baby." she interjected.
That it was. Something clicked in Hotch's mind and J.J didn't fail to notice.
"Our son... they want something to do with our son." he gulped at the realization then headed out the door, despite the late hour, intending on asking a certain technical analysis for help.
Hotch apparently had some more digging to do.
"I brought you something to drink." John offered, approaching the brunette before him. She was still cuffed and honestly annoyed by it. Staring at the clear glass of water, Emily's mouth watered. Although she was thirsty, she didn't trust John's intentions.
"How do I know it's not some kind of poisonous drug?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the water. She then looked up at him to examine his face. He smiled.
"You're a profiler, right? What do you think?"
Emily stood shut at this then turned away.
"Just drink it."
"Uncuff me first."
"That's not happening."
Jack quietly watched the interactions before him then eyed the tool box under the stair case that led to the outside world. He saw it was open then decided to go look in it. He slowly moved towards it as Emily continued to talk with John and curiously peeked inside. There were a couple of tools but only one caught his eye; a screw driver. An idea emerged into the little boys head and he bent down so he could retrieve the item. Emily's words rushed back into his head and he began to question the action he was about to take. In the midst of his pondering, a loud slap rang throughout the room and Jack froze, turning slowly to see that Emily's face was beat red. Then, unexpectedly, John punched the SSA in the face. He yelled obscene things at her, but Jack couldn't concentrate on his words. He could only concentrate on the blood that slowly slid down Emily's nose and the urge to plunge the object that was in his hand into John's spine. He didn't know what Emily said to cause such a violent reaction but he knew she wasn't the bad one here; she didn't deserve to get hurt. Without further hesitations, the small boy ran towards John and inserted the screwdriver deep into his backside.
Emily's eyes widened in horror as the man who once stood before her now dropped to the floor, holding his back and crying out in pain. She didn't need to see to know that blood was gushing out of John's wound and dripping aimlessly to the ground.
"Jack, oh my god." she said, almost in a whisper, as John's accomplice raced down the stairs.
"You little shit! You're going to pay for this!" John swore as the other man roughly grabbed the seven year old and carried him out. Before Jack was completely gone, there was a brief moment where he looked into Emily's eyes. It was an apologetic look, knowing he had promised something to her but broke it anyway. Tears filled his eyes as Emily yelled.
"Don't hurt him! Please, don't hurt him! Take me, please, just take me!" she begged. Her efforts failed as the upstairs door slammed. John struggled to get up as the screams of a small boy boomed throughout the house and into the basement.
To be continued...
