Wednesday evening
Tom and Samantha, along with the BAU team, had joined Luis Lopez's unit at the second camp where Lopez updated them on the successful arrest of a handful of guards at the training compound. The young women being held there were on their way to the nearest hospital under the supervision of local officers and the American Consulate. That camp was now secured by the Colombian National Police.
Now, behind the cover of the dense forest, they were in a position to breach the structure that had become a hellish prison for an untold number of young women. In and around the compound was a flurry of activity as the men employed by Santiago appeared to be clearing out of the camp. The officers watched from their cover as unconscious women were loaded into waiting vans.
Lopez's voice crackled across the comm. "We wait until we are sure all the women are loaded in the vans. But none of them leave this site."
Morgan crouched with Hotch behind their cover, both in borrowed Kevlar vests and automatic rifles. Not far from them, Rossi and Samantha waited as well. Their orders were to follow the Colombian Operatives and Special Operations Commandos when the raid began. Morgan wasn't used to not being the first one in and he gritted his teeth in outrage as he watched the unconscious girls being loaded into vans like they were nothing more than garbage. Shouting filtered through the compound but Morgan's knowledge of Spanish was very limited and he sighed in frustration. Suddenly cartel guards were pouring from the building; most were shooting into the forest while a handful ran to the vans.
"Move in!" The command originated from Luis Lopez, but was repeated by Captain Sosa of the National Police and Tom Kohler. Morgan waited as Commandos quickly stormed the structure, with Columbian operatives providing cover. As the cartel guards became aware of the breech, he joined the engagement with Hotch close behind.
"They're trying to get away!" Hotch shouted. A van was moving towards them and Morgan joined his boss in shooting out the tires, careful to keep from hitting the van itself. As the vehicle rolled to a stop, the driver jumped from the van and tried to run into the forest. Hotch took him out with a single shot before he could make it past the clearing.
Morgan shot another guard in the leg and quickly ducked behind a tree. Bark exploded around him as the man returned fire. When the barrage stopped, he peeked around the tree to find the man dead; taken out by someone else.
The situation in the compound quickly turned to chaos when half the force guarding the compound tried to flee and the rest stayed to fight. Two helicopters had appeared, circling overhead and between the noise from the copters, and that of the gunfire around him, Morgan felt like he'd been dropped into a war zone.
"Hotch!" He yelled as he sprinted, diving for cover as another barrage of bullets whizzed by him. He had lost Hotch in the chaos and hoped his boss was okay. His thoughts strayed briefly to Prentiss, who should be joining them at any time. He hoped they had this mess under control before she arrived.
Santiago motioned to one of his men. "Is the merchandise loaded?" Around him, the camp was in upheaval as Isabella's men rushed to move the merchandise out of the building and into the waiting vans. The move became even more urgent as attempts to reach the training compound had failed.
"Sir, we're loading the last van, but we won't be able fit all the merchandise."
"Load what you can and kill the rest. Give the order to move out when that's complete." As his subordinate turned to follow his order, Santiago entered his office and moved to the safe, bringing a small metal trash can with him. He dumped the trash on the floor and filled it with the papers from inside the safe. He dropped a lit match into the can and watched it burn for a moment; soon they would all move out and he would burn this structure to the ground. It was time to start over. Isabella had enough connections, they should be up and running again within a few months.
He turned to the row of security monitors that showed various locations around the compound. The guards were tossing their cargo into the back of the last van, while others were getting behind the wheel of the vehicles already loaded. In the back room, the remaining merchandise was sprawled unconscious upon the floor. A guard un-holstered his gun as he entered the room. Santiago turned his head, disgusted with the waste of merchandise, no matter how necessary.
Movement from the monitor showing the perimeter of their camp, caught his eye. Leaning closer, Santiago held his breath as he studied the monitor closely. There it was; movement in the trees. They've been discovered.
Santiago opened his office door, "We are under attack!" Rapid gunfire sounded at the front of the building. Screams filled the air, followed by more gunfire. Around him his men rushed to join the fight, shouting as they joined the melee. Santiago ducked back into his office. Overhead the sound of choppers filled the air and he knew his men; Isabella's men, would lose this battle.
He grabbed his small assault rifle and slipped through the window. Crouching in the bushes, Santiago scanned the area around him. The sun had fallen behind the tree line making it difficult to see in the deepening twilight. A pair of Commandos jogged around the corner, fitted in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles. Keeping in the cover of the bushes, Santiago fired. The first officer went down, with a bullet to the throat, the second one with a bullet to the thigh.
Without hesitation, Santiago ran to the cover of a nearby car. He ducked as bullets pierced the vehicle and the window shattered above him, raining glass over him. He was only a few yards from the forest. He peeked above the car and fired rapidly as he sprinted into the cover of the trees. Bullets whizzed by him but none found their mark as he raced deeper into the darkening forest, dodging trees and jumping over felled logs. He barely noticed the branches that slapped his body, leaving large welts on his skin as he continued his mad dash to safety. On and on he ran until he could no longer hear the sound of gunfire or helicopters.
Tom and Hotch were hovering around a laptop that rested on the tailgate of a Jeep truck when Captain Sosa and Lopez found them.
"How does it look?" Tom asked as the pair approached.
The seizure of the second compound had been a messy bit of chaos at first, but in a couple of short hours the commandos had swiftly brought the compound under control. The darkness of full night had been illuminated by halogen flood lights as what was left of the cartel guards were loaded into transport trucks.
Lopez replied. "We lost four of Sosa's commandos and fifteen commandos and operatives were injured. We've arrested a dozen men and at least a dozen more are dead or injured."
"And the women?" Hotch asked.
"The women who were loaded into the vans are safe, but still unconscious. We're monitoring them until the medics arrive. Of those inside, two were killed before we infiltrated the building, but the other ten are alive, but unconscious like the rest." Captain Sosa's report was delivered in heavily accented English. He turned to Tom. "I don't understand why you had us stand down from going after that gilipollas who got away."
"I know where he's going. And the transmitter in his boot will guarantee that we will be there before him." Tom assured the captain.
Lopez snorted in frustration. "He burned papers in his office. What if that was his client list?"
"I doubt he would keep anything of consequence here. He didn't even have a computer system in that office." Hotch offered as Tom nodded his head in agreement.
Morgan approached the group and stood between Hotch and Lopez. His gaze caught Tom's and held it. "Sam took a bullet in the arm." He held up his hand to stop the team leader from rushing away. "She's fine; Rossi's hovering over her like a mother hen." He chuckled. "And she seems to be eating it up."
"Are they taking her to the hospital?" Tom's voice was tinged with worry.
Morgan nodded and smiled. "Yes, but she's being stubborn and insisting that the girls are transported first." He was about to make another comment when he realized Emily and Nicholas still weren't there. "Where are Prentiss and Murphy?"
The Range Rover pulled into a gravel lot and came to a stop in front of an abandoned building. Enzo had not bothered to blindfold either of them, confirming Nick's suspicion that Andres intended to dispose of Ryan and Deanna now that their usefulness was at an end.
Emily felt Nick's hand at the small of her back as she followed Andres into the building. A glance over her shoulder showed Enzo behind them, his pistol trained on her partner. For his part, Nick ignored the man and his gun and gave her a wink. She felt ridiculously comforted by his protective hand on her back and even more so by the wink. The two of them have been in more scrapes than she cared to remember, and somehow they always made it back.
The abandoned building wasn't as empty as it looked. The front door opened to a cavernous room. Weapon lockers lined one wall, while another held large monitors with satellite images from various locations. Desks and workstations took up space near the monitors where two men working at computers didn't even glance up as Nick and Emily were escorted through the room. Four other men stood at attention, two at each end of the room, all heavily armed with assault rifles.
"You're taking over Javier's business with a half a dozen men?" Emily asked as Andres unlocked one of the doors on the far wall.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about my resources, my dear."
The door opened to a private office and Enzo shoved Nick roughly into the room, knocking him to the ground.
"Hey!" Emily objected as she followed closely with only a slight push from Andres and she moved to help Nick from the floor. Enzo blocked her way and as the door clicked shut behind her, the henchman grabbed her by the throat with one hand and dragged her away from Nick.
"What are you…" Nick scrambled to his feet and stepped towards Emily. The blonde froze as Enzo squeezed her throat tighter and held his pistol to her temple. Turning back to Andres, Nick asked, "What do you want from us? We've done everything you've asked."
"What's going on at Moreno's estate?"
"I don't understand, what do you mean?" Nick looked back at Emily. Her eyes were only on him as she gasped for air. "Please stop!" He implored. Enzo pushed the barrel of the gun tighter against her temple as a response.
"The man I have placed in Javier's employ tells me that something is happening. He's too low in the guard to be privy, but a large contingent of the guard left the estate a few hours ago, leaving a skeletal crew." Nick tore his gaze from Emily's and turned back to Andres as the man spoke. "That's never happened before, so I'm asking you again; what is going on?"
"We don't know anything. We aren't supposed to meet with Javier again until tomorrow." Nick hissed through clenched teeth. His eyes narrowed and his blood pounded in his ears as his rage tried to take over. He turned back to Emily. Her face was now red and she gripped the hand that clutched her, trying to pry it from her throat. Her strangled gasps had turned to outright choking. "Please make him stop hurting her! We'll cooperate with whatever you want!"
Andres nodded his head and with that small motion, Emily fell to the floor in a heap as Enzo released his grip. The henchman calmly stepped over the brunette. Nick clenched his fist, feeling helpless while watching as she coughed and retched on the ground.
"Why are you leaving?" Andres' question pulled his attention from Emily.
"I told you, one of our clients contacted us with an emergency." The coughing behind him stopped and he fought the urge to turn and check on her. Instead he held Andres' gaze, needing him to believe their story.
"That's unacceptable. You expect me to bel…" A strangled cry interrupted Andres. Nick turned to see Enzo fall to the ground, writhing in pain while clutching the back of his right ankle as blood flowed through his fingers. Emily, lying prone on the floor, held a bloody blade in her outstretched hand.
Emily met Nick's eyes and gave him a slight nod before she turned her attention back to Enzo. The henchman's complete dismissal of her was his Achilles heel: literally. Raising herself to her knees, she hunched over him as she thrust her dagger just above his collarbone.
She grabbed the gun laying next to the dying man and turned to find Andres vacant eyes staring through her. Nick gently eased the drug lord's body to the ground.
"You're covered in blood." Nick told her softly. She looked down her body to find that blood covered not only her hands, but also her sleeves and most of the front of her shirt. Emily unbuttoned her top as Nick started stripping Andres of his clothes.
With Andres' shirt he wiped the blood from her hands. Emily blinked as he also wiped blood off her neck and face that she didn't even know was there. Finally, he picked up her blade and wiped it clean, before he eased it back into her forearm sheath.
"He never found my dagger." Emily's voice was hoarse as she regarded him, her face void of any emotion.
Nick kissed the top of her head as he helped her into Andres' jacket. He knew shutting down was her way of getting through a crises. "It's a good thing Enzo was more interested in patting down your breasts than your arms." He was rewarded with a small smile and an eye roll. It was a start.
He helped her stand and she rolled up the sleeves of the khaki jacket. "Do you remember where the guards are?" He asked her as he handed her Enzo's gun. She nodded as he crammed the car keys into his pocket and checked the clip in Andres' gun. "Good. You take the two on the left; I'll get the two on the right. We have to be quick to make the most of this surprise attack."
"What about the two at the computer?" She asked.
"Leave them to me."
A/N – Thank you for reading! And a huge, special thanks to those who reviewed: 123a456e; kp4377, Guest #1; Lostinoblivion; rmpcmfan; Guest #2. Interest seems to have waned (understandable, considering the time between posts) so I really appreciate that you have stuck with me. Please know that your show of support is very encouraging.
