JJ and Emily have finally gotten a few moments to speak to each other without Morgan's men eavesdropping.
"Do you understand what you have to do?" Emily asks the blonde.
"Yes. Emily, are you sure you can't get away with us?"
Emily stares into scared blue eyes. "Yes. If he has me he'll be focused on me. He won't care about the four of you."
JJ frowns. "Four?"
Emily glances around to confirm they are still alone. "You have to make sure Morgan's men die before you escape. He brought his worst for a reason. If any make it back across the bridge either you or he has to kill them. Otherwise…otherwise you three won't get away. And if it looks like Morgan is going to betray you…kill him, too."
JJ stares into brown eyes, looking for doubt; praying to see there could be another way. She sees honesty and determination. She nods. "Understood. I hate it, but I'll do it for Pen and Reid."
"Good. And don't stop believing that I will fight to get back to you," Emily states, bringing a hand to JJ's cheek.
"I'll believe it forever," JJ vows, turning her head and kissing her lover's palm.
They maintain the connection until they hear footsteps approaching. They step away from each other and Emily pulls off her black leather trench coat.
"Here: fold this up and put it in your pack. You can use it to make a stretcher if you need it or if he can walk he can use it as a jacket if it will fit."
JJ thinks about tall, lanky Spencer and smiles. "The arms might be a bit short but it should work for Spence. I'll make sure he takes care of it so you can have it back when you come to me."
Emily nods, smiling. "Deal," she whispers.
Morgan walks into the clearing as JJ finishes putting the folded coat into her pack.
"He knows we're coming."
Emily nods. "I know. It's like…I can feel him waiting…watching," she admits.
Morgan steps close to her. "Don't do it, Em. Get away with us. I'll…I'll figure out what to tell Hotch."
Emily shakes her head. "No. It will bring war on the clan if he loses both Reid and me. Regardless of how things had gone the last week or so, my loyalty to Hotch and the clan hasn't wavered."
Morgan runs a hand over his bald head in frustration. "He fucking raised you and then does this to you? That's FUCKED!"
Emily shakes her head. "This isn't about a father sending off his daughter to die. This is about a leader sending off his soldier to do their duty. And I'll do my duty." She glances to JJ, who is nearby talking to Garcia. "And I won't regret anything about this situation. She has allowed me to live for the first time since I was a child. She reminded me about God and love and family." She looks back at Morgan. "Even if things don't work out as planned, I have no regrets and no love lost for Hotch or you or our clan."
Morgan studies her and slowly shakes his head. "You're a braver woman than I ever realized, Emily Prentiss. Our son would have been blessed to have known you."
Emily smiles. "Thank you."
The two share a firm hug. When it ends he stares into her eyes.
"Ready?"
She nods, her eyes hardening. "Let's do it."
Twice Morgan and Emily had made everyone wait as they took out small patrols silently and swiftly. But as they get closer to the bridge, the patrols have more people. Morgan takes his men to take the first patrol out, leaving Emily with the women.
"Emily?"
Emily glances at Garcia. "Yeah?"
Garcia reaches out and takes Emily's hand. "Thank you for…for everything."
Emily nods. "No problem."
"And Emily?"
"Yeah?"
"If you don't make it back to JJ I will spend my life wishing curses on your afterlife."
Despite the tense situation Emily chuckles. "Understood. I promise, Garcia, I will live to return to her arms. Someday, somehow, I will get there." She takes Garcia's hand. "But if I don't make it, don't let her give up on life or love. The world needs as much of both as it can get."
Garcia nods. "I won't let her. Promise. She has a lot to live for."
Before Emily can respond they hear people approaching. Emily's grip on her gun tightens…then relaxes as Morgan and 3 of his men enter the clearing. Emily stands from behind the bush that concealed her and Garcia.
"Clear?"
"Yep. Lost Jeremiah."
Emily sighs. "I'm sorry."
"Cost of battle. Let's go," Morgan orders as he turns to go.
Morgan loses another man to the next patrol. As the group huddles in the bushes watching the last patrol, the one right at the bridge, Emily glances at Morgan.
"Ideas?"
"Send JJ out to distract them. She can run, some will follow. Those are yours and mine. My guys can kill the ones left behind."
As much as she hates the idea, Emily nods. "Right. Let's go." They walk up to the others. "We have to split them up. Garcia, stay here with our gear. JJ, go back in the woods and start down the road before that bend. As soon as they see you, run back the way you came and disappear into the trees. Morgan and I will be waiting to kill those that follow you."
Morgan looks at his men. "Anderson, Noth, you take out the ones left behind as quietly and as quickly as possible." The men nod.
Morgan and Emily follow JJ to the bend in the road. JJ moves a little farther on and steps out onto the road. Emily whistles to let JJ know the two members of Fidelis are in place.
JJ takes a deep breath and starts to walk up the road. As she comes around the bend she sees the first guy notice her and smack the guy beside him. She grins and keeps walking. By now 5 of the ten guys are watching her. She stops about 20 feet beyond the curve in the road. She lifts her hand in the air and waves.
A couple of the guys actually wave back, making her roll her eyes.
A few guys start towards her. She lifts her hand again, this time forming a fist.
"DEATH TO DOYLE!"
She turns and runs, hearing the men curse and start after her. She never looks back. She trusts that Emily and Morgan will do just as they promise. She rounds the curve, waiting until she hears the men come around out of view of those still at the bridge before she cuts into the trees.
"GET HER!" one man yells.
In the cover, she finally looks, thankful that 6 men had followed her. She watches as Morgan and Emily surprise the men by leaping out of the trees. As the fight begins, JJ leaps back into the road and takes out a man who is about to club Morgan.
Emily had faced off with 2 men after first dispatching one with a knife across the throat. She fights hard but notices the men avoid doing anything to hurt her. She frowns. That doesn't make sense unless…unless they have been ordered not to hurt her or kill her. She smiles cruelly.
"Don't you fucking hate orders," she sneers.
In seconds the men are dead since she doesn't have to worry about injury. She turns in time to see JJ take out one man as Morgan takes out another. The sixth man is already dead. She walks over to them.
"They've been ordered not to hurt or kill me," she says bluntly.
"Sounds like old Ian is eager for a reunion," Morgan replies dryly.
Emily snorts. "Be still my beating heart."
"So what does this mean for rescuing Reid?" JJ asks.
Morgan sighs. "Nothing changes. We all go across, we get him out, and Emily stays behind. Truth is, once he has Emily it may be easier for us."
"Wow. Nothing at all comforting about that thought," JJ states.
"But the difference is, I lead. And if it looks like we're about to get caught, I take off running right at the captors while you all get away. I can engage them, keep them busy, while you do what needs to be done. Let's get the bridge and get it set to blow," Emily says, not daring to look into JJ's eyes, not wanting to see the fear and love within them.
They hurry down the road. JJ stops to get Garcia and their gear as Morgan and Emily make their way to the bridge. They see Ian's 4 men dead. Noth, too. Morgan looks at Anderson.
"What happened?"
"He thought a guy was unconscious. He wasn't and knifed him."
"Shit." He turns to Garcia as she runs up. "Give me my bag. Let's get these charges set."
Anderson nods as Morgan takes the bag. The two men start to get things set as Emily talks to the women.
"I will lead us across the bridge." She kneels and draws a map in the dirt. "Your friend will be in the lower section of the mansion here," she draws an X. "Get him and get back across the bridge. If Morgan falls, detonate the bridge. If Anderson makes it back, kill him. He's been our spy. That's his knife in Noth's back."
JJ's eyes widen. "That son of a bitch. Why not kill him now? Why not trust him?"
"Because the guys we fight won't know that. He'll fight to stay alive." She takes a deep breath. "Keep running until you get home. Rest during the day, move at night. Do NOT stray from the path I told you to take. Come too far south and you'll run into pockets of Doyle and Foyet's men. Stay north near Picard's territory. His New Frontier clan is more open to new life and the thought of new civilizations."
JJ nods. She grabs Emily and pulls her into a kiss full of love and promise. "Stay alive, Emily. I expect to see you soon."
Emily smiles and strokes JJ's cheek. "From your words to God's ear, my love."
"Damn you two are so cute!" Garcia gushes.
Emily grins. "Thanks. Now, let's go get your man."
They walk over to Morgan. Emily raises an eyebrow, asking a question without words. He nods: he had double-checked the charges Anderson had set and they are ready to go. The bastard will die here for his betrayal of Fidelis.
Morgan looks up at the sky. "We've got clouds moving in. As soon as the moon is covered we go. Emily first, then you Anderson, JJ, Garcia, then me. Let's get Reid and get the hell out of there."
Five minutes later Emily starts across the footbridge. She has a revolver in one hand and a sawed off, 5-shell shotgun with pistol-grip in the other. As she nears the end of the bridge a man steps out and lifts up a lantern.
"Bellin? That you?"
Emily fires the revolver, hitting him between the eyes. "No," she answers as he falls.
Screams start to sound. Emily races the rest of the way off the bridge and cuts to the left to face off with the largest group of Doyle's men. They hesitate to fire. She does not. As her revolver empties, she drops it, firing with her shotgun as she pulls another revolver. When the shotgun empties, she grabs the gun from the first man she killed and keeps firing. She hears shots behind her and knows her team is now off the bridge and entering the fray.
"MORGAN! NOW!" she screams.
"DONE!" he answers.
She catches the trajectory of the first grenade out of the corner of her eye. She turns her head as it explodes, piercing the darkness with a blinding flash of light. A second, then a third flash bang grenade explodes. Emily knows this covers JJ, Morgan and Garcia racing for the torture chambers. She kills a few more of Doyle's men before dropping her last gun and raising her hands.
"I surrender," she tells the men in front of her.
One approaches her warily.
"Smart man," she says with an evil grin. She grabs him, yanking the knife off his belt as she spins him and slices his throat. She races into the stand of trees, hearing men cuss as they start to follow her. And if they are following her, hoping to be the one to deliver her to Doyle, they aren't following JJ and the others. She runs for 10 minutes until she gets to a place where she can hide and quickly hunkers down, laughing silently as several men run right by her.
"Time to prepare for Doyle, Prentiss," she tells herself.
She pulls out a dagger and makes a small cut in the top of her hand. She pulls out a handcuff key, knowing how Doyle likes to secure his prisoners, and slides it into the cut, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. Once it is in, she pulls a bandage from her hand and wraps her hand to stop the bleeding and conceal the cut and its hidden treasure.
She turns her attention back to her pursuers. She hears one man swiping at the brush with either a sword or a long stick. Guess he's the lucky one, she thinks. She stands and turns to him, her arms in the air.
"Let's try this again, shall we? I surrender."
He studies her a moment. He pulls a set of cuffs off his belt and tosses them to her. "Behind your back," he orders.
Emily picks them up and cuffs one wrist. She turns so he can watch her secure the other wrist. By now several more men have arrived and watch the capture of Doyle's Most Wanted.
"Kneel down, bitch," the man orders.
Emily does, sensing when he comes up behind her. It takes every fiber of her being to keep from slamming her head back into his face. She sits as passively as possible as he ratchets the cuffs as tight as they will go to ensure she can't get away. He looks at one of the other men.
"Give me your shackles."
The man tosses them over. The first man binds Emily's ankles and yanks her to her feet.
"Time to see the boss. He's going to reward me well for bringing you to him. But first," he slams the butt of his rifle into her stomach, taking her to her knees. He grabs her by the hair and stares into her eyes. "That was my brother you shot between the eyes. If you weren't worth so much to Doyle I'd make you pay so much more for his death."
He yanks Emily up and shoves her back towards the house. She says nothing; her face betrays no fear, no anger. It was time to meet with the man that wanted to end her.
And pray he did not get a chance to do just that.
"I'll fight to get back to you, Jennifer. I swear," she vows silently.
As soon as Morgan had tossed the flash bangs, JJ had grabbed Garcia's hand and dragged her off to the right of the large manor house. As the grenades explode both women are amazed by the amount of light they give off and shocked by the screams of the men blinded by them. They hear gunfire and know Emily is doing her best to give them time to get to Reid.
"Keep going, Pen," JJ encourages as her friends' step falters. The best way to save Emily was to get in, get Spence, then get out so she can start to plan her own escape.
Soon they find the windows leading down into the rooms Emily had indicated. They hunker down by them and JJ eases forward to look down into the first room. She winces as she sees the blood on the walls, floor and table in the room.
"Empty. Come on."
They move on. Finally through the third window they see a figure on a bed.
"Spencer! Oh, my sweet boy," Garcia whines.
JJ starts to pick the lock on the window. Garcia turns as two men come out of the woods. She sighs in relief to see Anderson and Morgan.
"He here?" Morgan asks.
"Yeah. Just need…there," JJ says triumphantly as she gets the window unlocked. "He's skinny. Lower me down and I can get him over here and help you get him out."
Morgan nods and helps JJ down. She quickly moves to the bed, thankful when she confirms he is alive.
"Spence? Spence can you hear me?" she whispers.
He moans and rolls over. "Fuck. When do the dreams stop?"
She smiles into his cloudy eyes. "It's not a dream. Pen and I are here to get you out. Can you stand?"
He starts to shake his head. "No…not Pen…not you…go…hurry before…they come back."
"Not leaving without you, Spence. Now stand up."
She gets him to the edge of the bed. She cringes when she sees how badly emaciated he is, not to mention the bruises that color his body.
"Oh, Spence." She takes a deep breath. "You're going to be okay now, Spence. I promise."
She gets him to the window, braces him against the wall and lifts his arms up to Morgan. The strong, black man pulls him out. JJ looks over the room to see if there is anything they need. Her eyes fall on a black bag on a nearby table. She goes over to it and sees it is filled with vials of the drugs like Emily had given her. She shakes her head, hating that the poison flows in Reid's veins. But she had seen people addicted to such things and had seen the pain they experienced as the drugs worked themselves out. She takes the bag, planning to make her friend's detoxification as painless as possible.
She tucks the bag in her coat and runs over to the window. She reaches up to Morgan and he grabs her hand. As he pulls her up she hears the door to the room open.
"What…NO! GET BACK HERE!"
She feels someone grab her ankle. She kicks at him, trying to get him to let go. A gun shot rings out and the hands fall away. She turns back and sees a shaggy haired man lying on the floor, a gunshot wound in his chest. The man smiles at her.
"They…finally stopped…fighting in me," he gasps, as Tobias Hankel releases his last breath.
JJ turns her head and looks at Garcia and the gun that still smokes in her hand. "He hurt Reid."
JJ nods. "Yeah, he did. Nice shot, Pen."
Garcia holsters the gun. "I fucking hate killing."
JJ pats her friends' shoulder. "I know, Penelope. I know. But you do what you have to do to protect your family." Garcia just nods in agreement. "Come on: let's get Reid out of here."
JJ stands. Together she and Garcia get Reid up between them. He moans and cries out, begging for the pain to stop. They sit him down and JJ makes a hard decisions. She pulls a bandage out of her pack and gags him with it. She looks at Garcia, who seems horrified.
"Just until we get far enough away from Doyle's men, Pen. I swear."
Garcia just nods and they get Reid up once more. Morgan and Anderson lead them back towards the bridge. Not surprisingly, there are at least 20 men in front of it, their arms ready to go as they scan the trees and ground in front of them. Morgan looks at Anderson.
"The more we kill the better our chance to escape."
Anderson nods. "Then lets kill them all," he agrees. "Then there is more for Doyle to give to me," he adds to himself.
Morgan pulls his last two grenades. "One. Two. THREE!"
He lets them fly. The four close their eyes until the explosion subsides. Morgan and Anderson leap up, firing at everyone they see, cutting men down as those men fire blindly at their attackers. As soon as most men are down, JJ looks at Garcia.
"Let's go!"
The two get up and half drag, half carry Reid to the bridge. Morgan covers them as Anderson leads them across as fast as they can go. Once across, they set Reid down. Garcia starts to prepare a stretcher for him as he is too weak to walk. Morgan comes across and stares in awe at Anderson, who is unscathed.
"How the fuck do bullets miss you?"
Anderson shrugs. "Guess they are bad shots and missed. I see you have a few wounds."
Morgan nods. "A couple."
He lifts his gun. "Then allow me to put you out of your miser- -"
A gunshot ends his statement. As Anderson falls, Morgan sees JJ standing a few feet away with the gun Emily had given her.
"I never miss, you traitorous bastard," she says in the direction of the body.
Morgan grins. "Nice shot, Blondie."
JJ just nods and goes to help Pen. Morgan goes to the main charge. Once it blows, the others will go in rapid succession and the bridge will collapse. He stares across to the island, half expecting to see Emily racing towards them. But he knows better. Her sense of duty would make her stay no matter what. For Fidelis. For Hotch. Morgan shakes his head, fighting back tears…
…and detonates the first charge.
Emily is shoved into a room where Ian Doyle waits. The man behind her kicks her in the legs and knocks her to her knees. Doyle walks up and smiles down at her though there is nothing but cruelty in the expression.
"Well, we meet again." He grabs her face and stares into her eyes. "You'll beg for death before I'm done with you. And then I'll let others have you. Death is too good for you and you will never, ever receive it. Pain is your sentence, not death."
Emily spits in his face. He wipes it off his cheek then backhands her.
"Chain her to my- -"
His words choke off as an explosion sounds. He runs to the window and watches in shock as his bridge is blown to smithereens. She starts to laugh.
"They got away, Ian. There's nothing you can do to me now that can hurt me. They are alive and they got away. I win."
With a roar he storms back towards her and clubs her upside the head with the butt of his gun. She drops to the floor, unconscious. He stares down at her, a trickle of blood seeping out of the cut where he connected with her temple.
"It will be days before we can get enough boats here to get us all off this island. Days that will be the worst you've ever experienced," he vows to her body. He looks at his men. "Chain her to my bed. Tonight she starts to pay for her deception."
"What about those that got away?" Liam asks as two men drag her away.
"We have two boats. Fill them with however many you can and find them. Cut them down and bring me their heads so I can show them to Emily. I want her to know that they were granted the death I will deny her."
Liam nods and heads out to do as Doyle wishes, still worried that there is more at play here than his boss understands. Emily Prentiss had given up too easily and Liam can't help but feel that will spell the death of them all.