Chapter 4
"Guys! We have a case, conference room in 5." JJ calls walking through the BAU. "Has anyone seen Em?"
"She hasn't come in yet." Reid replied. You don't look too great, JJ. Next time you should limit your consumption of alcohol. Alcohol in large quantaties has a severe effect on liver function, not to mention the impaired cognitive function, there are long term ramifications... "
Morgan cut him off before he could get any farther, earning an appreciative smile from JJ.
A few minutes later the team, minus Emily, get comfortable in their seats around the conference table. Garcia is sitting in on the discussion.
"Okay." JJ announced. "Last night a plain blue van was seen pulling away from a house in a residential community. Moments later the house burst into flames. Metro police identified the owners of the residence to be the Cosenza family. The mother, father and their son were all found with gun shot wounds."
"If this was a murder suicide, there would be no one to torch the house." Rossi mused. "That is a clear indicator of foul play."
"Jayj, we don't typically get called in after a single event. It was most likely a disgruntled acquaintance." Morgan added. "I don't see why this is a BAU case."
"You're right. There is another case which may be connected. The Fagan's, a husband and wife were found dead in there bedroom from an apparent gas leak." JJ added.
"Did the Fagan house also explode?" Reid asked.
"Yes, in addition to both homes being burned down by some unknown source, 2 of our victims were also European citizens. Ron Cosenza was from Italy, while Kerry Fagan was from Germany."
"Do we think there may be a terrorist connection here?" Hotch questioned.
Before anyone could answer, Emily ran into the room, finding an open seat next to Garcia. Emily's usual flawless appearance looked dishevelled. She had a coffee stain on her blouse, her hair was in a messy bun and dark circles were forming under her eyes.
Emily felt the curious eyes scrutinise her.
"Sorry I'm late Hotch." Emily quickly provided, rattling off excuses including a car accident, angry dog, and broken shoe.
"Don't let it happen again." Hotch reprimanded. Wwilling to let it slide this once but not believing her.
Emily looked at the screen. She recognised the names instantly, and a stab of panic made her feel sick. Doyle was getting too close. She needed to distance herself from the team soon.
The team finished brainstorming there profile and cleared the room.
Just as Emily stood up ready to execute her escape, Garcia grabbed her arm.
"My raven haired super woman you look like hell. Here take these." Garcia offered, handing Emily some Tylenol. "And for goodness sake, go splash some water on your face beauty."
"Thanks Garcia, love you too." Emily replied, giggling lightheartedly, trying so hard to hold it together. To act normal.
The short interaction was enough to draw Emily in. To make her forget her plan. She would stay under the watchful eye of her family, for now.
The morning flew by as the team started the profile for these killings. Garcia was on her babies trying to find more connections between the vics while the team set off the interview the neighbors.
Morgan and Emily had just finished up in the Fagan's neighborhood.
"Hey Morgan, do you think we could swing by my place really quick? It's on the way back and I'm starting to get some nasty blisters from these shoes." Emily asked with her best pouty lips on display. How could he refuse that look?
"Princess, don't give me that face. You know you have me wrapped around your little finger. Just be quick, okay." Morgan replied.
Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to Emily's building. She went inside, and out the back door. She didn't have long before Morgan would get suspicious. She ran the 2 blocks down the street and slipped into a seat at a café.
Clyde walked by dropping a newspaper on the table. As he walked away the phone began to ring. She opened the phone.
"Tsia's gone, Emily. We are the last of the original team. We both know it's you he really wants. I'll hold him off as long as I can. But Emily... Doyle's profile has changed. He's going after families now, you need to tell your team. They have been added to his hit list." Clyde said.
Emily didn't speak. She swallowed hard, standing abruptly she walked away from the table dropping the phone into the garbage. For a moment she froze. Fear engulfing her as she thought of her team being picked off one by one. Then, something snapped in her.
Shit! Morgan!
Emily ran back threw the alley and back out the front door to the SUV, sweat pouring down and a slight hitch to her breath.
"I will never understand how it takes you women 15 minutes to pick out a pair of shoes. I have 5 of the same kind. They all feel the same, they all look the same. I just don't get it." Morgan said.
"Sorry!" Emily replied. "I had to patch up my wounds. Beauty isn't free."
"Hotch called, there was another attack, Byron Delaney, a British citizen. Hotch wants us to go straight to his place." Morgan replied.
Emily nodded then turned to stare blankly out the window, an internal battle playing out in her head as she silently scolded herself.
'You have to come clean, Emily. You don't deserve to be a part of this family. You just have to accept it.'
'When they find out what you did, Emily, that you slept with a criminal for a profile...they are all going to turn and walk out on you.'
'Some things are beyond forgiveness. You don't deserve forgiveness anyway, Emily.'
'They don't even know who you are Emily, not really.'
This is what Emily Prentiss tells herself over and over. 'They only think they know you, Emily'.
It's true, they only see the Emily that she has let them know.
They see the walls, of course. They are profilers, how could they not see the massive fort Emily has erected around her life? They know she has a past. Baggage. Who the hell doesn't? They extend each other the professional courtesy of keeping the profiling on the job.
'They never even tried to get to know you, they never wanted to.'
Emily tells herself. She takes it one step further. Trying to shift the blame .
'If they had tried to get to know you, well you would have told them everything.'
Emily knows she is kidding herself, trying to justify things to make it easier. She couldn't help the words play in her mind.
And the fact of the matter is- she can't come clean. She doesn't want to. She would rather die with them loving her, deluded as they may be. She would rather die as part of a team, a family. She would rather die than see the shame and disappointment in their eyes.
She would rather die, literally die, than be abandoned from the one place she finally belongs.
She was aware she was being selfish. She needed to be the martyr, she needed to clean up her own mess. It was time to end this and the only way she could do that was to track Doyle down and lay her life in front of him. A trade- her life as a sacrifice for her team, her family. And the added bonus of not having to live long enough to see the look of horror in their faces when they realise the kind of person she really is.
She is snapped out of her self pitying thoughts as she and Morgan pulled up at the Delaney's house. Morgan shuts off the SUV, looking up at the house.
"Hotch said he's expecting us, the lights are out…." Morgan began.
Before he could finish three gunmen stepped out of the door, firing endless rounds at their SUV. Morgan and Emily were stuck behind the SUV trying to shield themselves from the fire. Morgan was able to reach Hotch.
"Hotch, were at Byron Delaney's house. We just got ambushed. There are three shooters with high power semi-automatic guns. Were covered by the SUV but its not going to last long. We need help quick."
Hotch, hearing pieces of Morgan's pleas through the sound of gun fire, was out the door in seconds with Rossi close behind.
Sirens blared from down the street sending the gunmen running around the corner. Emily and Morgan took the opportunity to fire back. Emily shot one gunmen in the left knee. As he fell, Emily heard him cry out to his friends. They turn and shot him point blank in the wrist and the head before taking off.
Emily walked up to the lifeless corpse. She gazed down at his wrist seeing the remainder of a four leaf clover. Emily secretly hoped the shooters had hit it well enough no one else would be able to identify it. She would know that mark anywhere, no matter how distorted it was. Doyle was here, the goon squad was a warning. This was her last chance to save her team.
Hope you are all enjoying the story…its starting to pick up. Many more chapters to come! It will start to split away from the "Lauren" storyline and take on a life of its own.