Bellicose
A Criminal Minds Story
She clutched the small object in her hands so tightly that she was sure it would leave a permanent mark on her palm. Yet she couldn't let it go. As she held it to her heart, she closed her eyes and desperately tried to keep her tears at bay. She couldn't cry, not now. She had to be strong. Though, as she watch her best friend struggle to breathe as she lay unconscious on the cold floor, her head on Morgan's lap. She didn't think she was strong enough.
Jennifer Jareau could feel their eyes on her as she squished herself further into the wall. Her nails digging into her palm as she tried to hold the precious object even tighter. She could sense their worry for her, for Emily, and for them. It was fogging up the room so much that she could barely see past it. Looking back at Emily, she gulped at her fragile blood-spattered form. Then her eyes caught Morgan's they were filled with desperation and fear.
It was understandable, as Emily hadn't woken yet.
"JJ," Morgan called out carefully, his eyes flickering towards Emily for just a moment, "JJ, we'll be okay."
Reid coughed out a laugh, as he opened his eyes and looked at him with an incredulous look on his face. Which quickly turned into erratic fit that left him gasping for air, while trying to grasp onto the rough cement walls.
Morgan looked slightly disheartened as he cast his gaze downwards.
JJ shuffled over to the young genius placing her hand on his shaking back. She didn't know what else to do. They were all breaking down, they were losing it. To see Reid shrug off hope was the last straw. Opening up her palm in a robotically slow motion she looked at the object that had been concealed inside. And she knew, she felt it…
They couldn't give up hope, not yet.
"What will they gain from information about the RDM?" JJ questioned aloud. Morgan's attention immediately switched to her with a surprised look, Reid finished a cough before he too looked at her.
It was strange.
Because they didn't talk about what went on beyond The Room ever since Rossi came back and never spoke again from there.
JJ flashed the senior profiler a look. The man was still staring at the ring on his finger.
The blond trembled a bit before she continued, "The name isn't even supposed to be known. So we know it was leaked. Who would do that? And why us? One of us has got to have information they want."
Everyone was silent. No one said anything and JJ wanted to scream in frustration. Reid closed his eyes as Morgan turned away from her. They were giving up.
They were giving up.
"We have to get out of here. We have to. Look at Emily," JJ pleaded as she motioned towards her, "She has to get out of here. She'll die here if we don't."
"What do you expect us to do?" Derek whispered, his hand holding onto Emily protectively while he looked up with almost hopeful eyes.
"Do what we do best. Profile. We can do that, that is something we can do. Hotch and Garcia will find us, but until then lets what we know how to do. Figure out the bad guys and figure out their game plan," JJ stated her eyes flying desperately to each of her teammates, "It is time to start sharing. Because I want to go home."
"She's right." Everyone's gaze whipped around and the sudden response as David Rossi looked up at them for the first time in several days. With an astonished gasp JJ cried out, her hopes soaring.
"Let's get it done then," Morgan replied smiling proudly at his teammate. JJ opened up her palm again, happily looking at the object within.
They would get through this, she knew it.
"I think I might have something that will help," a weak voice continued.
"Emily," JJ kneeled next to her now awake friend. Derek helped her sit up as both Reid and Rossi stumbled over to check on the brunette.
"The RDM has a mole and I am fairly certain I know what they are after."
Derek hid a quick smile as he felt an impending sense of victory flood through him and fill the room, "Go."
As Emily recounted her story of near escape the team listened with intense focus. They soaked in every detail and every word. Then they began to share their own findings that they have been secretly storing this entire time. Reid told of how when they snapped his arm, he noticed the same tattoo. Rossi mentioned how they questioned him on what he knew and how in doing so they revealed that they were afraid of how. He said something that angered him and that is when they knocked him over the head. Morgan with an energetic volume shared about the conversation he heard when they thought he was knocked out.
All the while JJ, held her hands to her chest, a beautiful feeling swelling inside of her. Inside of them.
Reid even joked after a coughing fit about how he was certain there was part of a rib lodged in his throat. And they laughed before Derek stated, "That's gross Kid."
And they laughed/coughed again.
But then they heard the locked door unlock and watched as the handle slowly turned. A man opened the door. They each scrambled to the wall, pressing themselves as far into as they could. Emily snatched JJ's hand while also holding onto Morgan's arm.
But they each noticed that something was now off, they were no longer wearing masks.
"Ah. Miss. Prentiss. You look well."
Morgan flashed a disgusted look at the man before putting his arm protectively in front of her, the man laughed, "Don't worry Agent Morgan. I'm not here for her. But Emily already knew that. Didn't share though did she."
Emily eyes widened as she turned towards JJ and their eyes met. It was then that JJ understood why Emily had apologized to her only a couple of hours before. It was her turn and Emily knew it would be.
"Let's go. Miss Jareau. We have some questions for you."
"No, no. Don't," Reid pushed himself to his feet, sweat falling from his brow from the effor, "I won't let you."
The man chuckled again before shoving the doctor to the ground with a single hand. Morgan and Rossi went to stand, but sat down at the sudden presence of two other men in The Room.
It was a battle they knew they wouldn't win.
JJ let go of Emily's hand and slowly stood up, "Jayje…."
With a raised hand, JJ silence her as she walked towards the bad man. A sinking feeling formed a large pit in her stomach as she brought one fisted hand to her heart as the man pulled her the rest of the way. His knuckle clearly showing the letters, RDM.
It was as The Room fell behind her, and they locked the door to it that JJ felt something. A gut feeling. And she knew… she just knew.
Her hand grasped the object even tighter.
Penelope Garcia wheeled around her office in a whirlwind of bright colors. She had just discovered something big. Something huge, really. Retrieving files from her printer she stood up from her chair and raced down the hall towards Hotch's office. It was late but everyone was still there. All of them doing all they could to help find their own. Which wasn't much, since the entire basis of the case was classified.
"Not today. I'm not going to lose them today," Garcia repeated herself as she flung open the door to Hotch's office and held out the files with a shaky hand. Aaron Hotchner took them from her and opened them slowly, his eyes widened in confusion as he looked back at Garcia.
"How is a dead RDM agent relevant?" He had no doubt the analyst had a reason, but he asked anyway.
"He's not dead," Garcia motioned back to another picture she 'stole' from the CIA database. Hotch raised his eyebrows, there dated at two months ago was the man who had supposedly been dead for two years.
His name was Lucas Blathnaid, he was for awhile the center of the BAU investigation twenty seven months ago. Which in turn brought the existence of the Roy Damon Nathaniel to the team. It had been a long case, but they finally got the guy and closed it only to spend the next three days being briefed about the covert agency within the bureau.
Garcia remembered seeing each of the those separate debriefings looking stressed and shocked. It was that day that she was sure each of her team had been told a different secret about the RDM.
And in doing so the BAU became the RDM's personal secret keepers.
She knew it was so if something happened, the BAU would be the ones to blame.
And that didn't sit right with Garcia then and it still doesn't now.
They heard about Agent Blathnaid's death three months after the case closed. They never did find his body, just a bunch of trashed belongings and blood-stained fabrics in the mountains. To be honest, the team wasn't totally heartbroken by the news. The man had hated the BAU ever since they first met. He wasn't very high on the intel ladder.
And maybe that is what bothered him.
"Garcia find everything you can about what he was doing for the last two years. I'll call the director and Strauss. Get Anderson to help you."
"Got it," Garcia nodded before rushing out the door.
Hotch looked down at the agent's picture one more time, this time catching the tattoo that was clearly etched in the skin of his knuckles.
RDM
What do you think? Did they figure out who the Unsub is? Please let me know your thoughts and if you have any suggestions, comments, or criticisms. Thank you all so much for the reviews and for simply reading the story. The both mean a lot.
Thanks!
-HCB
