CHAPTER 11
JJ awoke to the sudden shocking jolt that ran through her body. She was unsure if it was from the horrible nightmare she had, or just her weird biological clock. One thing that she did know was that she'd lost track of time. But considering the non-fatal damage done to her body, she could say that she'd been out for only a couple hours.
Before falling into her unconscious daze, her captor and leader of Alliance, Daniel Barker, and his men had come in periodically, beating her for information. He wanted the location of the black box. She didn't dare to tell them. If she did, the safety of the entire country would be compromised. So they continued on, until she blacked out. He'd been frustrated with her uncooperativeness. That was all that she could remember.
Every inch of her body ached with a raging fire. There was an uncomfortable amount of blood staining her face, making its way down to her already bloodstained shirt. The open gashes on her face that were already there were made worse by Alliance's men, and were stinging to the exposure of air. Her head made its way up, staring at the damned chain that was still holding her against her will. Her shoulders burned and ached at the base, and she could've sworn her shoulder blades were already popping out of her skin. She could feel the scars of the incisions from her bullet wounds starting to throb violently from being stretched. Her body had been hanging there for too long. However, she was a bit more thankful that she was dealing with non-perverted terrorists that only wanted information, and not pleasure. Still, she was disappointed in herself that it had come down to this. She was disappointed she couldn't protect herself. She knew she was in trouble, but there was so little that could have been done to prevent this. It was only a matter of time, the question was when. Her previous superiors thought it would be best for her to transfer back to the BAU, Strauss and Cruz included; something she was unsure would be permanent or not, but either way she was thankful because it'd meant that she'd be reunited with her family.
She never thought that she'd enjoy working at the State Department, but matters became complicated; the attack on Bravo-7, murders and disappearances… All was made worse when Strauss had been murdered. She was unable to say anything about it, but she knew it had to be related to her time at the department. It wasn't just a coincidence that they were targeted last year.
Strauss was there, in Fallujah with herself and Cruz before the infiltration that day – the day it all went to hell.
Vivid memories of the infiltration consumed her mind.
25 JANUARY 2011, 3:01 PM – UNIT SNIPER JENNIFER JAREAU
"7-5-9? Status?"
We hear the voice of Navy Lieutenant Christopher Palmer speak over our radios. I start to panic, hearing the blast that might have possibly just killed the other half of our unit. Suddenly, a grainy signal starts to transmit through, and I hear the sound of Matt's voice.
"We're good! Moving to rendezvous point now!" we hear him say. I let out a small, thankful breath.
I see their unit running straight ahead. We sprint to catch up with 7-5-9, as I continue to lay cover fire. The extraction team would be here soon, and we'd get the hell out of this God-awful ghost town. This was supposed to be a simple capture or kill. Who the hell gave up our information to these bastards?
I continue running, firing back at the men chasing us. Sergeant Smith is on point, Lance Corporal King closely behind him. The weight of the sniper rifle on my back is starting to add up, but I refuse to allow it to slow me down. I aim my assault rifle to the left, as I see two men aiming at our unit. I don't have to think to act – my finger instantly reaches for the trigger, quickly firing two shots; both killing them instantly. The scene is chaotic; our initial airstrike team had just been taken out, and I hear the boys yelling numerous things at each other, but I've tuned them out – I'm focused on covering our unit.
Soon, we find ourselves running for our lives toward the extraction team. I'm at the very back, laying down cover fire for our team to get in those convoys.
Then out of the blue, one of the boys yells something that catches my attention – "RPG!"
I turn around and watch in horror as the convoy that Cruz and King were about to enter, flips over from getting hit with a missile.
I soon hear Edwards talking through the radios, assuring Matt that he'd be fine. He damn well better.
Suddenly, I see a group of men starting to run toward us. Our team's a mess right now; Lieutenant-Commander Edwards is trying to help Matt, Sergeant Johnston is attending to Corporal King's injuries, Price is yelling over the radios along with Edwards trying to get another extraction team to get us the hell out of here, and Smith is in front of me, covering my three o'clock.
"Fall back! Fall back!" I shout, as the men creep closer and closer toward us. I'm doing the best I can to take out as many of them as possible, but I'm running low on ammo. I quickly check the front pocket of my vest. I have one more mag left. I need to make each shot count. I continue to shoot, and quickly peek behind me. The extraction team has made it - Cruz and King are being dragged towards the truck.
I turn around once more, and find at least 8 more guys running toward me. It's not looking too good for me… I'm too far behind the extraction. If I don't cover them, they're all going to die.
Shit.
I kneel on my right knee, to get a better shot at them, firing shot after shot.
It looks like Smith might be able to make it to the truck. I yell at him. "Get the hell out of here Smith!" I continue to shoot at the enemy.
"To hell I'm leaving you, JJ! I'm staying here! We do this together!"
Why does he have to be so hard headed?
"Smith, get the hell out of here, right now! That's an order!"
"JJ, no!"
I ignore him, as Alliance men are getting too close for comfort. I can tell he's already made his way back to the truck.
Good.
But this is it. The inevitable feeling of death consumes my body, as I prepare to give up my life to save theirs. My mind questions me - am I doing the right choice?
In a heartbeat, my heart answers that question. Then I remember exactly why I agreed to do this.
To support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
I place my hand over my heart – the shirt pocket in which I keep a picture of Will and Henry.
I'm sorry it has to be this way…
I let go of my shirt, change the empty mag, and prepare to fire, as they come closer.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Then shot after shot, I continue to fire. They fall, but more of them follow. Soon, I feel the explosive impact of a bullet enter my shoulder, and I'm on the ground. The pain is excruciating, but I ignore it. In a heartbeat, my hand pulls out the handgun holstered at my side, and I'm firing my last shots.
I feel one more bullet enter the right side of my abdomen, as someone attacks me from the side. The firm grasp I once had on my last weapon is now gone. I lay on the ground, and I watch as the man that knocked me down proceed to sit on top of me, holding down my good arm. I feel too weak to fight back, so I glare at him.
I watch him strike his elbow against my face. The impact blows my head to the side, but I'm still conscious. He tries again once more. I can feel my blood violently gushing out of my nose and mouth. I try to struggle against his hold, but he is too strong. I stare him dead in the eye, refusing to give into the fear he wants me to show. I spit my blood-riddled saliva right into his face as a final "screw you."
Then I watch, as he delivers one final blow.
She shook her head, trying to fill in the voids from her time in Iraq. Her entire life had changed that day – the pain she'd suffered from laying down cover fire for Matt to get the hell off the field; the intense adrenaline rush she'd felt, putting bullets in each and every one of the enemy's heads; the initial force that pushed her back, getting shot in the shoulder. She remembered the internal desire to keep going, continuing to fire. The final tremendous force that brought her to the ground, getting shot in the gut; a fatal wound. She remembered the absolute disheartening feeling of possibly never getting to see her now-husband and son ever again. Placing a hand on her shirt pocket, where she'd kept a picture of them, before getting knocked out by the enemy. She thought about when she'd woken up in almost the same position she was in right now; seeing that she was all patched up from the gunshot wounds, but still in extensive amounts of pain. Being asked questions, and getting the absolute living shit beaten out of her when she didn't have the answers…
It was horrifying, the first time. For three whole years, she'd been living under the constant threat of death from whoever was targeting her old unit. Her worst fear had come to light, and she found herself fearing for her life once more.
However, the voids in her memory started to make sense – there'd been a rat… She could smell it. It was unfortunate they had to evacuate before they could do a sweep of the base. She couldn't understand why they hadn't anticipated more men than they'd seen on the systems. They had the satellite technology for God's sake. Unless someone tampered with King's systems, she mused.
Suddenly, the large metal door opened up wide, letting light from the hallway shine through. The silhouetted figure at the door made steadily made its way closer and closer to her position. JJ cringed – it wasn't Barker. It wasn't any of his men. Then he started to speak.
"Well, look who we have here."
You son of a bitch.
Her head shot up, and she glared him right in the eye. She instantly knew who it was.
"Traitor." she spat.
"Love it when you say it sweetheart." he made his way up to her, taunting her with his gun.
"Why, Jonathan? Why are you doing this?" she questioned. She couldn't believe her own eyes right now. It had been Smith all along. He'd turned on them a long time ago.
"Well, our friend Daniel here couldn't get you to talk so he called in a little favour, and poof, now I'm here" he smirked. JJ glared at the man. She was at a loss right now.
"Hurt me all you want, I'm not saying a word, jackass" she spat. He circled around her, grazing the barrel of his gun against her body. A shiver ran up her spine.
"Wanna know why I'm doing this? I'll tell you why. I've worked my ass off for that sniper tag. Five years of failing that goddamned sniper academy, only to get my ass beat by a little blonde bitch that never even served in the Corps! Combat's not for little barbies, it's for men. So when I was assigned under civilian command, your command, I lost it. I was stripped of my frickin' manhood. Do you know what it's like to work so hard for something you thought you'd be good at, only to get knocked off by a goddamn woman?! I hated you for that. But of course I played along. Why get rid of you so quick, when I could play along for the perfect moment to destroy you and this team? Why serve for a shitty unit as a spotter for you, when I could join Alliance? I was paid more doing a simple job than the Corps did for two years of service. So when Barker made a deal with me, I'd get everything I could ever hope for. So I slowly took out our old teammates overseas. Edwards was the first. Johnston the second. Then we'd come for you and the rest of your bastard State Department friends."
He removed a picture from his pocket, holding it up to her face. She tried to mask the gasp that threatened to escape from her lips. John Curtis was hired by Alliance. She should've figured it out sooner. He couldn't help but smile to the distraught look on her face.
"That's right, we sent 'The Replicator' after you and Strauss. He never got to you, but you know what, I'm really glad little Johnny boy screwed up here, cause now I get my chance to play with you. I'll get my shot at revenge, and get the money for it, and I'll walk away a very, very happy man."
She couldn't believe her own ears. She continued to glare at the man she once trusted as her partner. He's betrayed not only her, but also the whole country. She was ashamed and disappointed.
"You're a coward."
Out of nowhere, his fist slammed into her face, snapping her head to the side. A small groan escaped her lips. Smith grinned. JJ cringed, as he started playing with the loose strands of her hair, tucking it behind her ear and out of her face.
"I'm going to enjoy this."
AN: Hello friends! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Expect updates to be published more often, as there's only 32 days left until episode 200 airs! [February 5th, everyone!] I have a deadline of 32 days to get this done before February 5th haha. Anyway, I hope you all had a great New Year! Don't forget to leave reviews and all that wonderful stuff!