Emily and Morgan stare down at the ravine. Had a hunter not been taking advantage of a mild winter day to prepare his blind for turkey season they may never have found the cars.
Emily looks away. "What are the chances they both crashed in the exact same place?"
"Slim to none," Morgan answers.
A state trooper walks up to them. "No bodies in the vehicles."
"Thank God," Emily whispers.
"We still need to see them," Morgan tells him. "How do we get down there?"
"If you drive it's about 45 minutes to where you park and another 30 to hike to the cars. Or you rappel down."
Morgan shakes his head. "Uh, we'll drive."
"Morgan, we may not have time. I'll rappel down and let you know what I—"
"No way! Not after your doctor's appointment this morning!"
Emily's anger flares. "Don't make me regret confiding in you. Besides, it was extraction, not implantation."
"Fine. Then I say no because you don't know how."
Emily laughs. "Morgan, I lived in the Alps for 2 years. You think I never rappelled? You're crazy." She looks at the trooper. "Get me the gear."
He nods. "Yes, ma'am."
Emily turns and stares at Morgan. He finally shakes his head. "Fine. But if JJ gets pissed I'll have a witness that says I tried to stop you," he warns with a grin.
Emily smiles and nods. "I understand…you're scared of her. Smart man."
Derek laughs as Emily gets her combat boots out of her go bag and prepares to go down the mountain.
Five minutes later JJ and Reid pull up. They hop out of their vehicle and race over to Morgan.
"What happened?"
"We don't know yet. There are no bodies in the cars but Emily's on her way to get a look at them to see if there's anything that can help us."
"Is she riding with a state trooper?" JJ asks.
"Uh, not exactly," Morgan responds. He glances towards the edge of the ravine. JJ's eyes follow his. She pales.
"Oh, no fucking way!" She runs to the edge and sees Emily about halfway down to the cars. She steps away from the edge, her fingers tangled in her hair. "If she lives I'm going to kill her," she mutters as she paces back and forth.
A few minutes later, Emily's voice comes across the walkie talkie Morgan holds. "Signs of spike strips on Hotch's car. It couldn't have gotten far on just 1 tire. He and Straus were taken nearby. Rossie's car looks like it was just pushed over the edge. Only one tire is damaged but it looks like it was done in the fall."
"Emily, any signs of blood?"
"Not that…wait…shit…nope, not that I can see. But I just found what looks like Rossi's phone. It's smashed so Garcia will need to check it. I'm going to squeeze into Hotch's car to see if I can find his or Straus' phone."
"Be careful, Em."
"I will be."
Morgan turns to Reid and JJ. "Start walking north. Look for any signs of where Hotch's car might have been disabled."
They nod and start to walk up I-81.
With the help of a trooper that had rappelled down earlier, Emily pries the passenger door of Hotch's car open. She digs around on the floor and with the help of a flashlight finds Straus' phone. As she starts to back out she notices a picture wedged into the dashboard. She pulls it out: it's Jack. She tucks it into her shirt pocket to give to Hotch later. She works her way out of the car and stands.
"Morgan, I have Staus' phone. It's totaled. There's no sign of blood in the car. They were out before it went over."
"I figured as much. I've got Reid and JJ walking north to see if they can find where the strips took out the tires. Get up here and we'll figure out our next step."
"On my way," she acknowledges.
She walks over and looks up the steep incline. She had always loved rappelling…it was the ascent she hated with a passion. She attaches her safety harness to the rope and starts the slow, deliberate climb back up to the road.
By the time she reaches the top, Reid and JJ have found where Hotch's car went into the ditch. They've also found what's left of his phone.
Morgan stares at it. "So, Rossi and Straus have their phones left in the cars to be destroyed on impact. But Hotch's phone is deliberately smashed. Why?"
"More anger towards Hotch," Reid starts. "Maybe a call Hotch made is what has the unsub upset."
"Okay, but is it literally a phone call or a call he made in the line of duty?" JJ asks.
"And why Rossi? I think it's safe to assume Straus was an accident. But they took Rossi, too. Are they coming for all of us? Or is this about something that predates this team?" Morgan asks.
"I think we need to worry about both for now. And knowing that, we need to get in touch with agents that worked with both Hotch and Rossi. They should be warned," Reid states.
JJ nods. "I can have Garcia send me the info we have on those agents. I'll make the calls," she offers.
"Okay," Morgan says. "Problem is, what the hell do we do in the meantime? We need to start combing through their cases, finding anyone who just got out on parole or who died and might have vengeful family members. I hate to leave this area but everything we need is at Quantico."
The others reluctantly agree. They know if they get a solid lead they can always call for a chopper but it still feels wrong to be leaving the area without the missing agents. As they head to the vehicles, JJ looks at Emily.
"Prentiss, you're with me. Time for you to learn first hand about making calls that really suck to make."
Emily nods, knowing there is more to their ride than just that. "Whatever you say, Agent Jareau."
Morgan gives Emily a look that tells her 'good luck' and heads back to his SUV with Reid. Once inside their vehicle, JJ glares at Emily.
"Rappelling? Really?"
"Jen, we had to get a look at those cars. It would have been over an hour to drive down there and hike in. Besides, it's something I enjoy doing so it was no big deal," Emily finishes.
JJ stares at her a minute, then chuckles. "Em, don't take this the wrong way but you do know when you get pregnant you'll have 9 months of no Wonder Woman feats, right?"
Emily grins. "Then you'll just have to take my place, Supergirl."
JJ chuckles. "Uh, rappelling? Nope, not gonna happen. We'll just dangle Reid down there."
Emily laughs. They had needed the moment of lighthearted banter to help them clear their heads. Now, as Emily drives, JJ makes the call to Garcia to get emailed the numbers of previous members of the BAU team.