Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters. Some "guest stars" are based on people in my life while others are totally made up, as are some places and random actions.


"What is it, Hotch?" Morgan asked.

"They sent another link," Hotch answered. "Kevin just sent it to our tablets."


Chapter 12

Garcia woke up abruptly as lights flooded the room. She immediately buried her face into the blanket as the pain in her head engulfed her.

"Get up, it's almost time," the gravelly voice snarled. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to a sitting position. The pain in her leg made her head spin. Her breathing quickened and he forced her head between her knees before she could pass out. When her breathing regulated he released the pressure on her neck. She cried out again as she saw her leg properly. It was black and blue and swollen to nearly twice its normal size. Her head pounded as her eyes tried to adjust to the lights.

"The lights... I can't... I'm going to be sick..." she groaned. A bucket was thrust into her hands and the lights dimmed.

"What'd you do that for?" the gravelly voice asked.

"We don't need them right this second. Better to get her ready without her passing out or puking every time she moves," the soft voice reasoned.

Garcia gasped as the bucket was jerked away and she was forced onto a wooden chair. She felt herself sliding down and was quickly slammed back upright.

"Jesus, Grant! She has a head injury and a busted leg. Give her a minute. Ice wants this to be good and if you keep hurting her it'll never get done."

"Thanks a lot, Alfie! I swear to God if you get us caught you better off yourself because there's no way you'd last in prison."

"Shut up, man! Do you want to deal with Ice if we can't get her to do this on time? Our plan is fail proof. We aren't getting caught."

"Fine, you deal with her!" He stormed off and slammed the door.

Alfie knelt in front of Garcia and put a bottle of water to her lips. She pressed her lips together and refused to drink.

"You must be thirsty," he prodded. Then realization hit. He took a long drink himself. "It's not drugged, OK? We need you awake and coherent."

She nodded and took a few sips. "Why?" she asked.

He ignored her and instead lifted her out of the chair. He took her to the same bathroom as before and sat her on the loo. He left and returned as she finished. He had her purse and a towel. He took a cloth and wet it in the sink.

"It wasn't working last time," she commented.

"I know. I forgot to turn on the water in this bathroom," he replied.

"How many bathrooms are there? How big is this place?" she asked.

"There are two bathrooms. The other has a shower. This is about 2,500 square feet."

"It's damp,"

"We're in the original basement. The rest of the place is more insulated."

Basement? she thought. I'm underground? "So is this like a bomb shelter?" she asked out loud.

"More like a bomb house." He knelt in front of her, removed her glasses, and gently cleaned her face. He winced at her flinch as he patted her swollen eye

"You can let me go," she whispered.

"No, I can't. Look, you seem like a nice lady but you're a traitor. You took skills that you learned underground and used them to help the government. That goes against everything we stand for," he answered.

Garcia felt the tears well up."None of that," Alfie soothed. He dug in her purse and pulled out her hairbrush. He was gentle as he worked out the tangles in her hair. He replaced her glasses and lifted her again. He carried her back to the other room and sat her on the chair. She winced as the action sent waves of pain through her leg and ribs. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Alfie handed her the notebook. "Did you read it?" she asked.

"No, we were told not to," he replied.

"Can I add some more?" she asked.

Alfie looked at his watch. "You have five minutes before we're supposed to start."

Garcia nodded and jotted down a few words. She looked up to see Alfie had the camera turned away and was fixing the tripod. She slipped the pen into the sleeve of her sweater.

"You done?" he asked. She nodded.

"We need you to read your last words. It doesn't have to be exactly what you wrote."

"Why make me write them in the first place?" she asked.

"We need this to be good and what's in your heart, not some on-the-fly crap that will take forever and we'd have to spend more time editing than filming." He turned the camera around to face her. He looked up and paused at the look of horror on her face.

"You're going to film me?" she whispered.

"Yes. We will show your FBI team before..." he faltered.

"Before you murder me," she finished bluntly.

He winced. "It's not like that."

"Executions are not murders. The government executes people all the time. Traitors have been executed forever. You betrayed us. You work for the enemy," Grant boomed from the doorway. He stormed into the room. He got behind the camera and Alfie adjusted the lights.

"All right," Grant thrust a paper in her hands. "Read this first, word-for-word, and then start on yours."

Garcia scanned the paper. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Do I look serious?" Grant growled.

"Are you ready?" Alfie asked.

"No," she snapped. "I'll never be 'ready' for this."

"Shut up. We don't want to hear your smart-ass prattle. I've still got the Louisville Slugger around here and you know I'm not afraid to use it," Grant snarled.

"Fine, I'm ready," she glared back.

"Go," he replied.

Garcia cleared her throat. "I am The Black Queen," she read from the paper. "I spent years learning code by the best hackers in the world. I took this knowledge and sold it to the U.S. government. I... I've accepted this as a treacherous act and know that traitors must be... executed." Her breath hitched. "The following is my final words to my loved ones."

Garcia dropped the paper and opened the notebook. She took a deep breath and read: "I have no family, aside from my FBI team. My parents died many years ago and my brothers still blame me for their deaths. I still blame myself for their deaths, because if it wasn't for me ignoring my curfew they'd never would have been in the path of that drunk driver." She paused before continuing:

"First, I want to apologize to Kevin and Amber. I'm sorry if I ruined your wedding. Take care of each other."

"Kate, thanks for talking and sharing the love of cute videos and pictures of baby animals. Your passion for helping the youngest victims made us understand that crimes against children are truly the worst. Give my love to Chris, Meg, and Bethany."

"Rossi, when you returned you became like a father to me. You shared your love of scotch and amazing food and you were always there whenever I got overwhelmed with technology. Keep writing and catching the bad guys. Love you, sir."

"JJ, you were the sister I never had. I will always cherish the fun times and the crazy after-work conversations we would have. Thank you for letting me be godmother to Henry and Michael. Say 'bye' to Will for me."

"Reid- my little brother. I will so miss our conversations about everything and nothing. I know you'll find someone worthy and smart enough to keep up with you. Keep strong and remember the good times- like the time Morgan and his sister took us to our first basketball game. Remember that? She won tickets in a radio contest so we stuck around in Chicago after the case and visited his family. I can't remember who they played but I remember the Bulls won. Even though you and Morgan explained the rules I still didn't get it. I still had an amazing time. And I'll never forget our talks on the metro ride home. I love you, Boy Wonder. Stay true to who you are, my fellow nerd."

"Hotch- You are more than a boss. You're the best: friend, confidant, and agent. Most people see the wall you've built but those of us lucky enough to see past that see the heart of gold, unabashed loyalty, and an amazing father. Tell Jack Aunt Penny loves him. I'll give your love to Haley. Thank your, sir, for the second chance."

"To the BAU, past and present: I'll never forget our fun times. People fail to realize how dark your jobs are. We've seen in consume people. I did my best to keep that from happening. I'm so sorry I won't be able to do it anymore. Truthfully, I was planning on doing it the rest of my life. I just never expected it to end so soon. You did fine before me and you'll do just fine... after. We had an amazing run and you better continue fighting crime. Stay positive, love each other, and never forget. I love you all."

"Derek..." she choked back a sob as twin tears escaped. "Derek... there are so many things that need to be said. I tried to write them down but I couldn't. It... it's like... the day I got the invitation. I never really felt anything was missing until that day. I saw the future that day. And for the first time wasn't frightened of it. You know how insecure I am about change but it was ok. I never would have gone to a basketball game with anyone but you and you were right, it was so much fun. I'll always cherish our time together. Derek... my best friend... my Baby Boy." She gasped as the tears fell freely. "My love. Never give up. Don't look back. Keep your faith. I'll love you forever. Goodbye." She dropped the notebook and sobbed into her hands.


Their screens went black. Kate and JJ were crying openly. Rossi and Hotch looked shell-shocked. Morgan looked ready to kill someone but immediately softened at the thoughtful look on Reid's face.

"Reid?" he asked softly. Everyone turned, looking from Reid to Morgan, back and forth, as the two men shared a silent conversation.

The young genius stood up so suddenly his chair fell over. "You never took us to a basketball game. She was trying... someone, quick, who do the Bulls play next."

"Hang on." Rossi swiped furiously at his tablet. "The Bulls play Indiana tomorrow night."

"In Chicago or Indianapolis?"

"Indianapolis."

"Guys, she's here."

"'Here?'" JJ repeated.

"We were right. Garcia's in Indiana. She's close by." Reid started to pace.

"You're sure?" Hotch asked skeptically.

"Reid's right," Morgan confirmed. "This was her last chance to say goodbye. Why would she spin a lie? She told us where she is! She must've overheard someone. She said my sister won the tickets through a radio contest." He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial.

"Kevin, I need you to see if any radio stations in central Indiana are giving away free tickets to tomorrow night's Pacers and Bulls game," he ordered.

"Um. OK. Let's see... 88.8 is giving some away. Correction, they were giving some away. According to their website they gave away the last pair early this morning."

"Where is the station based?" Rossi asked.

"It's based out of Blueville, sir, with a sixty-mile radius."

"Thanks, Kevin," Morgan said and hung up.

"She made up something else, too." Reid said. "She talked about us riding the metro home together. We didn't. She has a car."

"Why would she make that up?" Kate asked.

"I don't know," Reid frowned.

"She made up the game to guide us here. The metro means something, too," JJ said.

Morgan swiped through the pictures on his phone until he came across his favorite picture of the two of them. The same one that sat on his desk. He set it to be his wallpaper. "What are you telling us, Baby Girl?" he whispered to the picture.


A/N: Not sure when next chapter will be up. My great-grandmother passed away today at age 100 so I will be spending time with family in no-phone land.