Straus had been watching Emily since the woman had entered the room. Her eyes are lifeless. Straus takes a deep breath and squats down in front of Emily, hoping the woman would understand what wasn't being said.
"Agent Prentiss, I can't imagine what you think you saw. But know this: if what you think happened really did happen, JJ would have done it on her terms to protect her friends and family."
Emily stares into Straus' eyes. Part of her is too devastated to hear what is being hinted at. But the other side of her mind is jumping up and waving a huge banner trying to get Emily to focus on the exact words being said.
"They need you right now, Emily," Straus continues. "They need your bravery, your intellect, your help. Put aside what you think you saw and focus on helping us bring them all home."
And finally it dawns on Emily what Straus is trying to say: JJ was not actually raped. That's why the camera feed was cut. Emily allows herself a moment to internally scream for joy. Outwardly, she simply sighs and sits forward.
"You're right. Thank you, ma'am."
Emily stands and starts to pace. "We need to plan without looking like we're planning," she says while barely moving her lips.
Straus stands, her arms crossed, one hand blocking her mouth as if in thought. "What are you thinking?"
"Our security camera's need to go down. Maybe periodic maintenance or an upgrade? Something they would do on the weekend when fewer people are here."
"And we'd be surprised because they would never announce when that sort of maintenance is happening," Straus finishes. "Perfect. But how do we do this?"
Emily pretends to be staring out at the bullpen. "Kevin? Can you slowly hack the system and shut it down?"
"How slowly?"
"Maybe 30 minutes? We don't want him to notice you typing too much."
Kevin pretends to yawn. "Working it now." He puts his elbows on the table and rubs his face with both hands. "I've also built a rider bug. Next time he sends a link I send that bug right back to him. It will give us a trail right to his location."
"Fucking brilliant, Kevin. Totally fucking brilliant."
He smiles proudly. "Based it on a program Penny made after I had to hack the highway to find her when that bastard from the CIA kidnapped her."
Emily stiffens and slowly turns, glaring at Kevin. "Holy fucking shit…they didn't kill him."
Straus had also spun as she too realized who it was that could have this kind of access to the BAU and a sick enough grudge to pull off something like this.
"They should have let Jen kill him," Emily whispers viciously.
Just before Kevin is ready to shut down the camera's, Emily's phone rings. She hits the speaker function.
"Agent Prentiss, time to test that Yale intellect. Return to Agent Hotchner's office and boot up his computer. Time to see if you can save Henry or not."
Emily gives Kevin a pointed look, telegraphing that he shouldn't shut things down until she is back. He nods imperceptibly.
Emily makes her way across the bullpen, trying to control her breathing, knowing she needs to be calm and in control for whatever test is in store for her. She sits down and reboots Hotch's computer. She doesn't have long to wait before his phone rings. She grabs it.
"Prentiss."
"Are you feeling lucky, Agent Prentiss?"
"With the fun you're supplying how could I not be?" she smarts back.
He chuckles. "Feisty. I like that. Now, open up your email."
Emily does, seeing a email supposedly from Garcia, further proof in her mind that she is dealing with Myron Phillipe or his buddy Jackson "Jackie" Walters.
"I think you know which email you should open, Agent Prentiss."
Emily clicks it and sees the picture embedded within it. He has captioned it, "A Tropical Love Affair." Emily smiles at the scene of Garcia being held close by JJ as they sleep.
"How does it feel to know your wife cheated on you?"
"She didn't. She and Garcia are offering comfort to each other."
"True. But what about when she used her body, her hands, her mouth to pleasure my boys? She was having so much fun with them. The way she sucked dick nearly brought me to climax! You could tell she was enjoying it as she swallowed hungrily. Oh, if only I had audio to go along with the video I have," he says dreamily.
Emily knows what Straus had hinted at but she still feels her rage ignite at what her nemesis says. "She would have done what she had to do to survive and protect our friends. That's the ONLY reason she'd have…have…fuck you for saying otherwise!"
He just laughs in amusement. "Bet I could sell this video online for LOTS of money. What would you pay to stop it, Agent Prentiss?"
"So this is extortion now?" she sneers.
He chuckles. "Nope. Just curious is all. This video will stay with me. It will give me something beautiful to pleasure myself to."
Emily winces at just the thought of him watching JJ and fantasizing that way. She bites her tongue, worried anything she says could make his empty threat a reality.
And he is loving every minute of her distress.
"Well, enough of that sort of talk. Time to see if who wins Henry: me or you."
"Leave him out of this. He's just a child! An innocent CHILD!"
"No one's innocent, Agent Prentiss. No one," he says bitterly. "Now, refresh your inbox."
Emily does as commanded and sees another email from "Garcia". She opens it and sees another link.
"Follow the instructions at the site. You have 1 hour or Henry is mine."
He hangs up. Emily reminds herself that there is no way he could know where Henry is. And even if he did, the security around Henry, Rocky and Francesca would be more than he could ever imagine. She takes a steadying breath and clicks the link.
Kevin is pacing. He had both programs ready to launch when Emily says the word. He glances at the computer as he passes it and leaps at the stable.
"JJ and Morgan are back!"
Straus and Elle hurry over to see for themselves. JJ has a bruise on her cheek but otherwise looks okay. Morgan, too, looks fine.
"Thank God," Straus says.
Elle studies the woman beside her. For the first time she notices the signs of withdrawal.
"Chief…are you okay?"
Straus stiffens. "Fine."
Elle raises an eyebrow. "You need a drink."
Straus forces a smile to her face. "Don't we all?"
Elle grins. "I could do without. But I remember when I first stopped. Take a drink."
"No. Not…not until…not yet," Straus finishes weakly but with finality.
Elle just nods. They watch the team in the clearing. It is obvious they are tired of being pawns and are now planning a way to take charge of their own destiny.
"Good luck, guys," Elle whispers.
In Hotch's office Emily had followed the link to a game. She had to beat level 5 in 1 hour or Henry would be tracked down and taken. Additionally, her team would lose one of the boxes of aids. She knows Henry is safe but she needs to do what she can to help her team.
A red readout counts down the time she has left. She finally makes it to level 5 and starts to play. She still has two lives left. She knows she is nearly to the end of the level when a previously unknown hazard pops up and kills her.
"SON OF A BITCH!"
She takes a calming breath. She had 5 minutes left. She launches her last life and fights her way through the hazards and men in her path. She finally makes it to the last ravine she has to cross…but there is no bridge. She frantically runs her avatar around, trying to figure out how to cross but her time runs out and the screen goes black. Then it flickers back on.
"NOOOOOOOOOO! FUCKING SHIT!"
She jumps up and throws Hotch's chair across the office as a caricature of Henry in a coffin populates the screen.
She is still trying to calm herself when Hotch's phone rings.
"WHAT?!" she screams as she answers it.
"You missed the secret ladder in Level 3 you had to activate to escape Level 5. Oh, well," he says chuckling. Emily winces, biting back a sarcastic response. He continues, "You lost your son and lost a prize for your team. Good thing your wife found another woman to comfort her."
"You lay a finger on Henry, you even look at him, and nothing will save you from me," she warns him.
He just laughs. "Empty threat, Agent Prentiss. Return to the conference room while I let your team know of your failure."
He hangs up. Emily stares at the phone. She knows with all she has the man will die by her hand if she has a chance. She takes a deep breath and makes her way back to the conference room.
"He's about to taunt the team because I failed. I was meant to fail just so he could do this. When he's done, we launch our attack."
Kevin just nods. No one presses Emily for more information; they can see she's ready to explode.