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Spencer looked at the phone and then tilted his head to catch Dave's eye. The text was not lost on him and he looked to the door.
"We need to play this right. The best thing is not to let on that we know anything."
"So what do we do?" Reid asked quietly as he pushed the phone back into its original position.
"Let's move away so he doesn't see us near his phone." The elder profile nudged the Doctor back to their designated work space. "Then when he comes in have him join us for a cognitive interview."
"Why would he do that?"
"He's trying to make it appear that he's on our side so he'll play along to try and get you alone."
"Okay." Reid shrugged still uncertain and slightly unnerved that he was next up on their list.
When they got a safe distance from the desk Dave thought for a moment then pulled his phone out and pressed his speed dial for Garcia.
When she picked up the line was silent at first and Rossi could hear the keyboard click as their resident hacker's fingers expertly pressed them.
"You're calling me to give information not get any right?" Her cool voice was unexpected and Dave was confused by the greeting. He lost his thought as he tried to figure out a response.
"Garcia what's wrong?" He finally asked in a weary voice and cringed for the response.
"What's wrong?" Her voice increased in volume and Dave had to push the phone from his ear and his look to Reid for support did not save him from her sharp tone as she continued. "Are you seriously asking me that?"
"Penelope-" he tried to intervene in a calm voice to no avail.
"No, Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi you listen to me. I had called the urgent care and every place around it but there are no records of Emily being checked in. I even hacked into the security cameras to look through the waiting room. Not one of my lovelies was there by the way."
Dave made an attempt to speak when she took in a breath between her words but her jagged voice kept him at bay, "And Derek is still not answering but his phone is conveniently in the same spot. So do you want to tell me what's going on?"
Dave shook his head and once again looked to Reid who could only offer a look of condolence to be on the receiving end of Garcia's frustration.
"We don't know, that's what we're trying to figure out. We need you focused and when you're calm we can continue."
"That's easy for you! I hate being so far away and I feel so helpless!" She took in some controlled breathes and let her voice soften as she exhaled, "I'm sorry."
"Penelope you are so important to this team where you are and all the information you get will help bring everyone back."
He could hear her take in a few more deep breathes and remained silent on the other end, but the clacking of keys continued.
After a brief pause her confident voice finally broke through, "My endless skills are at your disposal. What do you need?"
"Good, everything you can get on Karl Bane."
Derek spun around and rose the crossbow up to the man that stood tall at the bottom of the stairs.
Damon remained unaffected by the alternate weapon pointed in his direction and held his gun stretched out and began to laugh as he spoke. "Are you trying to intimidate me with your muscles?"
Derek refused to respond and adjusted his stance then quickly shifted his eyes to JJ who he saw pull her own weapon closer. She moved slow and tried to adjust herself so she could remove her arm from behind Prentiss to handle the crossbow more appropriately. As she tilted herself to the side Emily began to stir and lifted her head.
The groan of pain that made its way from the far wall caught Herst's attention. He smiled and then creased his brow in a more serious expression. "I'd stay real still and let go of that bow." He warned and alined the direction of the gun to face JJ.
JJ glared back up to him but clutched the handle tighter. They were in an obvious disadvantage but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She decided to not pull her other arm out from Emily yet. She realized that as she came to Emily was struggling to support herself. JJ moved closer to wrap her arm around Prentiss' waist to help stabilize her. It took everything in her to not look over to the brunette when the small whimpers escaped with every exhale.
Derek made a step to the side to pull Damon's focus back to him. "Let's just stop this."
"I don't think you're in a position to make that decision. What do you think will make it first my bullet or your already useless bolt? You got lucky with my dog."
He adjusted his weight and kept his eyes moving between Derek and the two female agents. He spit his words out in both directions. "Which by the way needs to be answered for."
Morgan tried to think they had some chance. The room was not large and he figured if he drew the fire away from JJ and Prentiss, with at least an attempt, he had no doubt JJ would use the distraction to take a shot as well. It increased their odds and he was willing to take the gamble if it saved their lives.
As the two men continued their silent stare down Derek felt his finger twitch on the trigger. If it were a gun in his hand he would be more than confident that he had the advantage, but this weapon was not in his comfort zone. Damon was right that the bolt would travel slower and his was quite deformed from its previous impact with the wall.
Damon scoffed at the dark agent. He felt no threat from Derek and really couldn't take him serious without a shirt on. He still was in control and he knew Derek felt it. He was confident that there was no way JJ could get into a position to have any effect with her crossbow and Emily was useless to do anything. Her eyes were on him but he could see she wasn't comprehending what was going on.
He decided to really put an end to the annoyances in front of him. The game had begun to drag out, and not unfolding like he had hoped. In his perfect plan they should all be dead by now. He needed to adjust and figured if he took the two woman out it would leave Morgan and Hotch reeling, and just might bring his interest back. At his decision he turned all of his attention to Emily and JJ unsure who he'd enjoy seeing go first.
"Don't do it Damon!" Derek warned from behind him.
He only cocked his head back, "Not now muscle man I have something to do."
Derek took the threat to end the madness that was in front of them. He didn't hesitate and let his finger pull back on the trigger. When nothing happened he felt his stomach drop and he looked down to see that the bolt still sat where he had loaded it. His lack of knowledge of the weapon became apparent and he felt helpless to do anything. He tried not to show the fear that began to emerge from him.
Damon looked back in amusement at his empty attempt but his enjoyment suddenly vanished with the realization of his own distress. He threw a hand down to his leg to acknowledge the newly acquired injury. His emotions ran the gamut then settled on rage and directed his crazed eyes to the perpetrator.
"You bitch!" He yelled out and readjusted his gun again to face her.
The satisfaction of hitting her target fled as soon as JJ realized it was a mere distraction that only enraged him.
Reid paced in a small circle near the boards and kept his eyes down as he tried to understand what was unfolding. In one text so much had been revealed. His suspicions were valid and now they needed to make the moves to get to the team. He tried not to think it was too late. The text had said the players were in place so it gave him a small spark of hope that they would intercede Herst in time.
"Reid please would you stop you're going to put a hole in the carpet."
Rossi's remark landed on deaf ears as Spencer continued his repetitive path. He only stopped when the frame of Bane came through the doorway.
He looked down to not give anything away, but was drawn back when he felt a light draft of air as Rossi flew passed him.
Rossi put his hand out to catch Bane's attention before he got to his phone. "Detective, do you feel up to that cognitive interview we talked about?"
The man froze and ran a shaky hand over his bruised face. He quickly gave an acknowledging smile, "Sure anything that could help. Not sure what else you'll get."
"You'd be surprised." He put a hand on the man's shoulders to guide him to their new destination. "Let's go into that room where its quiet, huh."
As the two walked Rossi nodded to Reid to join them.
With a small skip Reid moved to catch up with the two but not before he scooped up the cellphone from the desk.
Bane sat down and ran his hands over his face before he extended them over his head to stretch. He let them land with a thud on the desk and looked up to Dave. "Lets do this."
Rossi moved around the table and didn't take his eyes off the man and was more than determined to get the answers they craved from him.
Reid slowly shut the door behind him and then slide the Detective's phone across the table with the text clearly visible on the screen.
As JJ stared at the barrel in front of her a blur that was Derek crossed the room and collided violently with Damon. Her instinctual reaction was to move the two of them out of the way. She knew the jolting from the inevitable shove would hurt Emily but in the spilt second they had she figured it would be better than death. She moved her arm to engulf Emily's waist and lifted her to move from the spot they had sat. JJ tried to roll her so she wouldn't take the brunt of the force as they hit the floor, but her legs tangled with Emily's and all of her weight transferred to the body under her.
The spray of debris from the wall as the bullet blew into it was of little consequence compared to the blood curdling scream, that even with her body over the top of, could not muffle. JJ scurried to get off of Emily and instantly regretted her decision when she saw the side of Emily's body that took the brunt of the impact.
As the two men fought for dominance JJ struggled to get a clear look at what damage had been done.
Rossi and Reid towered over the Detective as he read the text. He swallowed hard but kept his head down.
"So do you want to tell us how exactly you planned on getting Reid alone?"
The man only shrugged and did not answer.
"Where is Herst?"
When the man didn't answer again Dave slammed his hand down on the table and became satisfied when Karl jumped.
He turned his eyes up to Dave and shook his head, "You're not going to intimidate me. I know how interrogations work, I have run enough of them." He licked his lips and looked over to Reid, "and whose to say that's what the text is about."
Reid let out a small laugh, "You're not that smart."
Bane only shrugged and let his eyes fall back to the table in front of him.
"So tell me how long have you been bored with your life and job?"
The man's eyes shot up to the tall agent. He tilted his head in curiosity to what he was going to reveal.
"I mean you've been behind a desk for six months. You've not contributed in anyway to the department. Why are still you hanging around?"
He remained silent and rolled his eyes to Spencer but Rossi took the cue to jump in, "Bored in life and the job, well something like what Damon Herst had planned sounds exciting. But what I don't get is what you're getting out of all of this."
Reid took a step closer and kept his arms across his chest. "You're just a grunt to Herst. He'll sell you out the second he gets a chance."
"No, I think he's setting it up perfect." Rossi pulled the chair across from the detective and sat down. He was satisfied when he saw they had Bane's full attention.
"Damon Herst is after one thing and you're going to give it to him."
Bane's eyes narrowed as he attempted to comprehend what the senior profiler was saying.
"He's not one to share the glory with anyone, and you know that."
"You have no idea what you're talking about." Karl scoffed but started to show the uncertanty he was feeling.
Rossi interjected quickly, "I think he does, but regardless of Damon's plans for you we're going to intervene and you're going to comeback to the right side."
"Why would I do that?"
Spencer leaned across the table and came in close, "Because if anything happens to our friends you can guarantee that we will make sure you spend all of your time with the general population at the prison you're going to rot in."
Damon had found the trigger but lost his target as the force of the Derek's hit took him down. The gun slid from his hands and skidding across the floor.
In the seconds that he had to look Derek saw JJ scoop Emily up in an attempt to move them from the impending danger. He heard the horrifying scream but Damon's fists connecting with the side of his face brought him back to dealing with the monster. He used Damon's already injured leg as an advantage and with a free hand pressed down on the end of the bolt that poked out. Damon yelled out and as the tension of his body lessoned Morgan brought his balled fist down one last time across his face. When the man went limp below him Derek pushed himself up and released a breath. His face throbbed and his hand ached from the solid hits that he received and gave but he really had no time to concern himself with it.
He scanned the room for a way to confine Damon and his eyes landed on the shackle that hung loosely on the wall. He felt satisfied to know they were a step closer to winning. Just as he was about to move the dead weight across the room his head snapped around at JJ's frantic voice as she called to Prentiss. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she writhed in pain on the floor next to JJ. He checked Damon's pulse and felt the need to get him locked up but the urgency to check on JJ and Emily overwhelmed him. He made the decision to come back as soon as he knew the girls were okay.
"What's wrong?" He called out as he took large strides across the room. But before he could get an answer he saw the stain of blood that appear through Emily's shirt. He wasn't sure at first what he was seeing, but felt paralyzed at Emily's inability to hold back her cries and the shaking that overcame her body. Her eyes were sealed shut and she fought to remain still and somehow grasp the agony to control it.
JJ was doing everything she could to calm her down so they could understand what had happened. She was afraid to touch her but lightly swept her hand across her forehead and caught a few errant strands of hair and moved them out of the way.
"Emily look at me. Please open your eyes and look at me."
Her attempts were futile and Emily's breathing became more erratic and she began to choke on the air that was getting caught between inhaling and exhaling. Her eyes shot open and they held a distant pain that allowed the tears to stream down her face. Shock was taking hold and the two profilers were lost to what to do.
JJ gave a panicked look to Derek to take over and do something. He took the cue and moved over the brunette and edged JJ out of the way. JJ did not resist and she slipped to the other side of them. He gave JJ a look of concern before he reached out and cupped Emily's head in his hands and forced her to look at him.
"Prentiss, Prentiss look at me." He spoke softly at first to try and be a calming force she could cling onto.
Bane looked at the two men that held him captive in the small room. He didn't feel intimidated but as the two agents spoke he realized he was on the losing end.
He spun his phone on the table in contemplation, he really had no way out. He messed up by leaving his phone out to be seen. He was waiting for the text, but never actually thought they'd catch on.
He could feel their enraged eyes on him and it began to make his decision easier. Damon would kill him for this mistake, but if he played along and get the agents back he may find himself with the better end of the deal.
After a few minutes lost in his own thoughts he brought himself to look over to the impatient agents. "What do you need?"
"Good move." Rossi nodded and pushed his chair back. "Text him back exactly how you planned to confirm that you had succeeded in abducting Dr. Reid. Then you're going to lead us to where our team is."
Emily's mind fought the signals to shut down in an attempt to understand the excruciating pain that overtook all of her senses. She saw Derek in front of her but the only thing she could acknowledge was that with every micro movement the pain that radiated from her shoulder became worse and more unbearable. She began to lose control and the panic that gripped her was winning. She found that she couldn't catch her breath and all of her attempts to do so were useless. When Derek's hand held her steady it was the only instance she felt any focus and she allowed herself to look at him.
His voice was pleading but strong, "Breath for me please. Take in a breath, slowly."
As she stared into his soft brown eyes she complied and slowly drew in the air that she needed and with its release she felt a small sense of calm emerge. She repeated it and felt her heart slow a little and some clarity filtered into her mind.
"There you go baby. There you go." Derek smiled in encouragement as he watched Emily's eyes focus a little better. He wanted to check the source of the blood and discomfort but JJ's uneven voice drew him away.
She pointed to the spot where an unconscious Herst had been.
Derek shot up, "How the hell?"
He cursed himself that he was so absorbed in helping Prentiss he had forgotten about him. Derek's eyes followed a small trail of blood that led up the stairs, and then moved to the now vacant spot he had left Damon. He shook his head in disbelief and looked back to JJ.
"He was out cold. Shit!"
"What do we do now?"
"I don't know."
Then he remembered Hotch on the other side of the door, who had been relatively quiet up until that point and was now pounding on it for attention.
Thank you for reading! Please drop me a line to let me know your thoughts on the story!
Hotch POV next chapter, and will reveal what is wrong with Emily! I have it in the works, but I'm moving this weekend so I can't say when it will be up, sorry!
