Disclaimer: All recognizable material does not belong to me.
Hunted
Chapter 7
"Osborn. You can go – leave – right now, and I'll let you." Reid said, gravely.
"Are you afraid to fight, Taryn?" Osborn cracked his knuckles. "You should be. You should run."
Reid stood his ground. "This is your last chance."
"I refuse."
"Reid, get away!" Morgan yelled, trying to get a clear shot at Osborn.
Reid and Osborn faced each other, unmoving.
Reid stared down Osborn as he took in the objects around them.
Find a way to switch places with him. Hotch and Morgan will take him out.
Osborn moved first.
Reid stepped back and ducked low.
Why is your heart beating like that? You're me. I've been in fights before. Reid ignored his thoughts and moved to a defensive position.
He raised his arms to a guard and blocked Osborn's next punch.
Osborn shifted his weight onto one foot.
Reid tried to dodge the kick – too late. "Ah!" his side exploded in pain and he pitched sideways onto the concrete.
You can't do this – you need a new plan. The Taryn part of Reid told him.
Bang!
He heard shots fired from behind him as he rolled to his feet, but Osborn was still standing.
Ok. That's the new plan.
Reid swung at him.
Osborn dodged the hit and kicked him in the stomach.
Reid stumbled backward, but Osborn grabbed his arm and pulled him into a tight headlock.
"You're as incompetent as you ever were, Taryn."
Reid fought against Osborn's grip.
Don't react to his taunts. Just - distract him. He understands your fighting style, and the way you talk and act. Try something different. Try something he won't expect. "'Competent' actually refers to there being a specific set of standards that one must pass." he coughed, struggling to breathe.
Osborn glanced down at him, surprised.
"Since I've not been tested for anything, there's no reason I should be competent. If you're saying I'm not competent enough to beat you, I think that statement is just about to be disproven."
Hotch, Morgan and Rossi fanned out in front of Reid and Osborn.
"Really?" Osborn pulled Reid closer, not letting his team get a clear shot.
"Osborn. Give yourself up. Now." Reid begged. "You don't have to die here."
"Funny, Taryn. Now stop joking. You get your new team to stand down and you don't have to die here." Osborn hissed in his ear.
"No."
"All right." Osborn shrugged and started backing toward the trap door, pulling Reid with him.
Reid slipped his fingers through the headlock – loosening it to get some air.
"You forgot." Reid whispered.
"About what, Taryn?"
"The -" Reid choked and coughed. "The girls."
Osborn's eyes widened.
Clink. A gun cocked behind them.
Osborn swung around to face JJ in a panic, dragging Reid with as a shield.
Reid jumped at the loud crack of Hotch, Morgan and Rossi's guns reporting simultaneously.
Osborn slumped forward, sending them both to the ground.
Reid shoved Osborn's corpse off of him and collapsed onto his hands and knees, coughing. One hand went to his side.
"Reid!" Morgan grabbed his shoulder as he holstered his gun. "You ok, kid?"
Reid nodded, gasping. "Em -"
"What?"
"Emily." Reid managed.
"I'm fine, Reid." Prentiss was standing nearby.
Morgan pulled Reid to his feet.
Reid looked down at Osborn. A bullet had gone clear through his neck, and two more struck the back of his head.
The blood puddled on the floor.
"You sure you're ok?" Rossi checked.
"Bruised. That's all."
"It could've been much worse." Hotch said, seriously. "Reid, what were you thinking? Pulling a stunt like that?"
"I had to try to save Yakovlev." Reid pointed out.
"Because you knew him before?" Hotch asked. "If you're going to try to save all the people you met before -" he paused. "Then I can't have you working any cases remotely connected with Russia."
Reid shook his head. "It's because he was just like me. He must have a family and friends – somewhere. He was taken away and drugged. He could've been me, and I could've been him."
Hotch nodded, slowly. "I get why you did it, Reid, but you pull anything that like again there will be consequences."
Reid nodded.
Criminal Minds
"Thanks for the ride, Morgan." Reid pulled the door shut.
"No problem."
Reid glanced up at the roof's edge, trying not to see where the police were roping off the body on the sidewalk.
An awkward silence reigned.
"You did your best, Reid." Morgan told him. "There wasn't anything else you could've done."
"I should've known – I did know. I just wouldn't listen to myself." Reid sighed.
"How could you possibly have known?"
"If I was in his position, back as Taryn, finding out that everything I'd known was a lie, and not remembering any of my old life – I'd do the same thing."
Morgan swerved the car onto the curb. "Reid!" he exclaimed. "You wouldn't kill yourself! I mean – you didn't, when you found out!"
"But I remembered you." Reid turned and looked him in the eye. "I had something to live for. As Taryn, I lived for the next day of training – the next mission. I took that away from Yakovlev, and he didn't know anything else besides that life. He didn't remember how precious his life was before."
Morgan couldn't bring himself to speak.
Reid turned back to look out the window. "I remember what I did as Taryn, and I remember my mom and you guys. The life I had before the abduction matters to me more than my conscience – more than the guilt I feel every day for what I did. But without you, I'd be dead."
Morgan stared at Reid.
Reid watched a flock of birds settled across the grass.
"You ok, kid?"
One bird moved a few paces away from the rest.
"Yeah." Reid nodded. "I'm fine."
"You know – If you need to talk – I'm always here for you." Morgan offered.
"Thanks, Morgan."
Morgan put the car back in drive and started it moving forward.
The birds scattered at the large vehicle moving off, but, glancing back, Reid saw them regroup a few yards away.
Nice job today, Reid. A voice told him.
Reid smiled.
End
Author's Note: I hope you all have enjoyed the story. I will publish the first chapter of the next story To Surpass in the next few days, and Trained to Kill should be updated at the same time.