Hello all! Glad to see you're still here!
My surgery is set for Friday morning; I'm assuming that they're gonna give me the good stuff, the stuff that knocks you out for a good couple of hours and makes you wake up all doozy and groogy... Also, I'm watching House while writing this AN, so I'm wondering what would happen if House happened to do my surgery... :D
I own nothing pertaining to Criminal Minds, but I'm eagerly looking forward to "The Thirteenth Step!" Really, all I have is a t-shirt and the 5th season on DVD.
….
The pen is mightier than the sword. ~Benjamin Franklin
"You'll never defeat me!" The man cried.
Reid deflected another one, biting his lip as a slight twinge of pain from a slash of the hook burned its way across his shoulder. "True, the odds are not in my favor, experience-wise," he admitted. "But I'm younger, faster." He ducked as the blade held by the older man swiped at his head, wincing as the wounds from last night chafed against the bandages. "Smarter, admittedly."
"Who do you think you are, Peter?"
"If I said Captain Jack Sparrow, I'd be lying." Reid smirked as he said this, despite the pain he was in; Garcia had forced him to watch the entire Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy after he'd been shot in the leg. But, he was secretly glad for the experience; he didn't think he'd have been able to hold his own here without those movies.
Hook roared, thrusting forward. Reid dodged, pivoting. But Reid forgot about the hook, until it slashed into his back. He screamed, falling backwards as Hook leapt thward him, as if to finish him off. But Reid raised the blade in front of him, to defend himself. Once again, their blades met, the wielders' faces only inches away from each other.
::::
Johnny watched the fight, leaning against the one of his two guards that was watching the fight. To anyone watching, it would appear that Johnny was leaning against his guard due to heat exhaustion, or dehydration. But if anyone had dared to look closer, they would see that the ropes around Johnny's wrists were frayed….
Johnny smiled, shifting his body to hide his now unbound hands from both his guards. Not that they were paying attention; they were too focused on the promise of a new form of entertainment if Spencer lost. But Johnny knew that wasn't going to happen; all Spencer had to do was say the word and they would both be off that deck, swimming toward safety.
He was brought back to their present reality as Spencer landed on the deck, raising his sword as Uncle James leaped to attack him. Johnny cast Reid a sideways glance that he caught from the corner of his eye.
At least, he hoped they both would.
::::
Reid glared up at James, heart pounding, back and chest throbbing in pain; he was convinced that some of the cuts had started bleeding again. He squirmed under the gaze of Hook's eyes.
"Looks like I finally beat you, Peter!" the man crowed; Reid watched as he dropped his sword and leaned over him, placing the hook at Spencer's jugular vein.
Reid wouldn't let this man scare him. He may have lost the fight, there was still a chance, though a rather small one, but a chance nonetheless, that he would still win.
"Do you have anything to say?" Hook growled. The cool metal of the hook caressed Spencer's neck, moving up his cheek to tuck a strand of chestnut brown hair behind his ear before moving down his neck to his chest, tracing the edge of his hook down one of the fresh cuts on his latest victim's torso.
"Well, Boy." The voice was demanding. "What say you?"
Reid caught Johnny's glance from the corner of his eye; there was a small smile on the younger man's face. And in that moment, Spencer knew what he had to say.
"It's Hook or me this time," Reid muttered softly, keeping his eyes on Johnny as he spoke. "It's Hook or me this time," he whispered, his voice a little stronger as he quoted the famous phrase again.
"What?" The pirate captain was confused.
Reid pushed himself up as best he could, considering the pain in his chest and the man on his waist. "I said," Reid voiced as loud as he could. "It's Hook or me this time!"
As he spoke, Johnny moved his hands. One hand took the dagger that had cut the ropes from the guard who owned it, and used the weapon to stab at the owner. The other hand curled into a fist and slammed into the side of the other guard's head before he turned and leaped from the deck of the ship and into the water.
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Hotch watched the action on deck, his face betraying no emotion, but his heart beating in fear for his sub-ordinate as he fought the man before him; he nearly lost his composure when Reid fell and Riley made to attack him, but held it in when Reid parried that last move. It was only when Johnny jumped from the deck into the water that Hotch sprang into action.
"All units! Go, go, go!" He cried into his mike.
The helicopters descended….
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Prentiss jumped into the water to intercept Johnny as he rose from beneath the surface. Together, the two of them swam toward the boat she had just left, where Rossi held out a blanket for the young man as he was pulled aboard by Coast Guard officials.
"What about Spencer?" he gasped, staring at Rossi and Prentiss.
Rossi and Prentiss exchanged looks. "We'll get him," Rossi replied. "Right now, you have to relax."
Prentiss laid a soothing hand on his shoulder. "It's over; you're safe, Jon. These Coast Guard officials will take good care of you."
::::
Reid pushed Hook off him at the sound of approaching helicopters and the voices of others… people who weren't pirates… filled his ears.
At the same time, Hook stood, raising his sword; Reid knew that the man was planning on finishing him off before his team could stop him. Words came unbidden to Spencer's mind:
"One, two! One, two! And through and through/ The vorpal blade went snicker-snack."
Reid smiled. "Yes," he stated. "There is something I want to say!" As he spoke, footsteps echoed across the deck.
"James Riley, FBI." Hotch intoned.
"You're under arrest for kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, fraud with intent to murder, murder, attempted murder…."
But 'Hook' wasn't listening; his eyes were on Reid's as he raised his sword high into the air…
Morgan shot the man in the stomach and he fell, falling toward the sword that Reid still held in an upright position. Suddenly, Reid took the blade that he still hadn't released, the one that had been forced into his hands earlier that afternoon and thrust it away from Hook's body. Hook gasped, dropping the sword as he landed on the deck.
Nobody moved for a second. Then, Reid slowly got to his feet, leaning on the sword now in his possession as he rose before taking it in his hand and moving the blade parallel to the ground.
"And for the last time," Reid growled. "My name is not Peter. It's Spencer."
A moment later, Reid collapsed into Morgan's arms, falling unconscious as the adrenaline stopped, and the tribulations of the last week caught up with him.
::::
Temper is a weapon that we hold by the blade. ~James M. Barrie
….
A/N: YAY! Reid's been saved! :D
And remember what I said last chapter... It still stands... No one's taking a trip to the Heavenly King's Cross Station any time soon! I can promise you that!
And if anyone can guess where the poem fragment that raced through Reid's mind came from, you'll get virtual chocolate! ;)
Thanks to my reviewers: danicalif80, zannabanana, Noel Ardnek, ZuZu-Chan, The-Vampire-Act, SSAFunbar, 68luvcarter, GoddessSumizofVenus, SayidRocks, shotforthesky and Integer! And thanks for everyone who favorited and alerted.
shotforthesky: I'm glad you love it so much! I hope you come back for more! :D
Integer: I hope this cleared up your cliffhanger blues; I should have another chapter up after the weekend is over.
And a HUGE thank you to everyone who took a look at my other story, Guardian Angels Are Protecting Me! You know who you are! I'll post another chapter there ASAP! :D
*~N_CBAU~*