TITLE: Criminal Minds – "Darkest Days" (A sequel to Behind the Mask)

AUTHOR: D M Harper

SUMMARY: Agent Prentiss is forced to face her secretive past when it threatens the safety of her BAU colleagues and her beloved family.

RATING: For Mature Readers.

DISCLAIMER: This story was conjured up for reading entertainment only. No money has exchanged hands or bank accounts. There is no profit gained, just fancy flights of imagination. There is no intention to infringe on the copyright of CBS Television Studios or creator Jeff Davis. This writing does feature consensual sexual interaction between two females, so if you are underage or unable to view due to restrictions in your part of the world, be gone and take my sympathy with you. If you find such material offensive, too bad, so sad, you chose to enter this web site of your own free will; hence you have no one to whine to except yourself or a parent if you are caught, so bugger off!

A/N: Please find them time to review and feed the Muse. A longer chapter to start the year, enjoy!

Chapter 14

A white coloured sweater and tan all weather jacket attired Ashley shoved her hands into the front pockets of her trouser and watched as Fahey took a long drag from the cigarette he was holding in his right hand. Beside her, dark suited Rossi's face expressed his dislike for the highly unscrupulous man. Seaver wasn't game enough to look his way in case she laughed at the antics of their suspect turned informant. There was no doubt the man was a complete buffoon, but he was the only hope the team had of locating Emily and Doyle, so she patiently wanted for Fahey to satisfy his need for nicotine.

Exhaling a puff of smoke, Fahey stopped pacing and turned front on to the two Agents and directed his dialogue to Ashley, "Do you know when a cigarette is best?" He didn't wait for her reply, "After sex with me."

Seaver suppressed her desire to vomit at the thought as Dave raised his left hand to the imbecile, "Show some respect you piece of shit. You are walking a very thin line by extorting us for Prentiss' location, so have some manners."

Stepping back, a grinning Fahey took another pull of the cigarette and turned to the side, "Okay, okay."

With a barely concealed snarl, Ashley attempted to garner information, "So what it like working for Doyle?"

Shrugging, Fahey coughed up, "He's not as tough as everyone says he is. He is a pussycat in my presence."

-o-

Liam returned carrying an opened laptop while Doyle continued to stand behind Emily with his hands firmly pushing into her shoulders. Emily watched in horror as Liam placed the computer on top of the chair in front of her and images of Dave, Ashley and Fahey came into view. There was a telescopic target visible on screen and it was obvious the picture was coming via an electronic camera attached to a sniper rifle. She held her breath and her mouth gapped ajar as she watched Rossi talking to Seaver and Fahey walk around smoking.

Liam brought a radio to his mouth and inquired, "Do you have him?"

The image zoomed in and a male voice came over the radio, "Which one is the target?"

Liam didn't have time to answer as Emily's panicked, "No Ian, this is about you and me. That's what you told me. You said they wouldn't be hurt."

"Then why are your team mates here? I left no trial, nothing that would lead them to here."

Emily disregarded her oath to not beg, "Please Ian, leave them out of this. I accept full responsibility for what happened to you and deserve what you have planned for me, but those people are innocent."

"That's a noble offer on your behalf, but I didn't bring them into this, did I?" Doyle looked to Liam, "What are you thinking?"

"Take out the woman first followed by the goateed guy. Leave Fahey for last if there is a clear shot. If there isn't, the death of the other two will shut him up for good."

"I agree."

Emily was out of options, so she calmly proposed, "Take out Fahey. With him gone, my team will have nothing … no leads and nowhere to look."

She was shakily badly and her stomach in knots as Doyle smiled, "Well hello there Lauren, it's nice to see you again."

-o-

Seaver was in full acting mode, "It's impressive that you know him so well. I bet you are Doyle's hook up, you know, considering you are the man and all."

The comment brought forth more bravado from Fahey as he glared at her, "I could show you just how much of a man I really am sweetheart."

Rossi immediately inched in closer and Fahey retreated, "It's okay, I am just having a little bit of fun. There's no need to get all protective. Geez, what's with the sexy cop/bad cop routine? What do you think," his sentence went unfinished as a shot rang out and Ashley's face and white sweater were splattered with blood. Fahey drew in a breath and his eyes bulged with surprise. He glanced down at the bullet wound bleeding in his left shoulder than glared at the two stunned Agents.

Rossi grabbed Seaver by the shoulders and pushed her to the floor. "Get down," he shouted as a dumbstruck Fahey remained immobile.

His mouth opened wider as a second bullet entered his chest, several inches south of the original round. He collapsed backwards as Dave shielded Ashley.

After remaining crouched for several minutes and with no further discharges from the unknown sniper location, Rossi and Seaver skulked over to the prone body of Fahey and Ashley checked for a pulse. As expected, she found none and the two Agents crawled their way towards the rooftop exit.

"You okay Kid?" asked Dave once they were inside.

"Shit, yes, but how the hell did they know where we were?"

"Obviously Doyle has a mole in this Police Department or someone was watching Fahey."

"I guess," mumbled Ashley while looking down at her outfit. She was quickly ushered downstairs and delivered to the nearest restroom before Dave took off to inform Hotch of the latest development.

"What the fuck?" cursed Jillian, unwilling to believe their only hope in finding her wife alive had cruelly been snatched from their grasp.

"Where is Seaver?" inquired Aaron.

"I left her outside the bathroom. Unfortunately, she was sprayed with Fahey's blood and needed to clean up."

"Do you want me to go see if she is all right?" offered a concerned Penelope.

"No," began Hotch. "Give her a moment to process what has happened."

"We are back to square one," pointed out Spencer.

"Not necessarily," returned Rossi. "We just have to look at this from another angle."

"I'm out of ideas," stated Jillian dejectedly.

"Me too," agreed Derek.

"Give me a moment," remarked Dave as he departed.

Moments later he located Ashley sitting on a bench seat in the hallway. She was daubing paper towel to one of the many blood stains on her jumper and he quipped, "You know, that is not going to come out no matter how hard you scrub."

Looking up, a forlorn Seaver nodded, "Yeah I know." She had exchanged her jacket for a dark blue FBI issued one and her face was clear of red fluid.

"Without Fahey we have a problem Kid. There isn't much left to go on and we need your help."

"Me, how can I help?"

"Apart from you, the rest of the team is consumed with finding Emily and we honestly can't think straight anymore. We have all hit a wall and can't come up with anything.

"Okay, what do we need to do?"

"We need to look at this case with fresh eyes and that is where you come into the equation."

"Oh, not me," the shocked blonde protested as Dave took a seat beside her.

Rossi dove right in and fired questions at the young rookie, "Look Kid, you haven't worked with Prentiss for five years, so you are unbiased with your view of her. What has been bothering you about this case since we left Quantico? Do you have concerns about the affair? I know it bugs the crap out of me. How does Doyle sleeping with Emily affect his profile?"

A wide eyed Ashley took a second to contemplate the queries and came up empty, "I don't know."

Dave pushed harder, "Come on Seaver, it's textbook."

The words that followed made Ashley feel a tad incompetent, "I … I haven't read all the textbooks yet."

Pressing on, Rossi grabbed his colleague's right hand, "If you need me to hold your hand, then that's what I'll do. Come on Seaver, think. What doesn't fit with this whole damn case?"

The pressure got to Ashley and she struggled to speak, so Dave kept at her, "Spit it out."

"Families, why did Doyle go after families?"

There was a sigh of relief from Rossi before Seaver continued, "I understand Prentiss is Doyle's stressor. He wants revenger on the woman who betrayed him, but I don't understand why he killed the boy in D.C."

"That's it, there's the Agent I was looking for," encouraged Dave. He got to his feet and held out his left hand, "Come on, let's get you a fresh shirt and go talk with the others. We have a new lead to follow."

Standing, Ashley accepted the hand, "I didn't realise how angry I am."

"Sometimes we need a little push Kid."

-o-

Inside the Conference Room, Garcia, Jennifer and Hotch were pouring over all the evidence they had gathered so far. Penelope glanced up from the file she was perusing, "Okay, because we eliminated Clyde from being the mole, we dug into the JTF member's files a little deeper and discovered Jeremy made several high class plans before he died after coming into a huge amount of money. In particular, a rather large estate in Spain was on his list."

Skimming through several pages in the folder in front of her, Jennifer added, "He signed all documents using one of his aliases and made a hefty down payment in cash. The rest of the money was deposited into his cover's bank account."

Hotch moved closer to the table, "That tells us Jeremy was the one to sell the list of names to Doyle."

"Makes sense," assented Jennifer. "And explains why he was the first victim and why he died so quietly. Doyle did not want to draw attention to himself or his plans."

"Did Tsia know of her fiancé's dealings with Doyle?" asked a subdued Aaron.

Penny shook her head, "I can't tell, but if I was running from a terrorist, the first thing I would do is cash in my IRA. Hum, not that one, but the other, oh you know what I mean. Crap, I am trying to say, Tsia didn't touch any of that money. I don't think she had anything to do with Jeremy's scheme."

Hotch moved towards the door, "I think it's time I had another chat with Easter."

-o-

Entering the holding room, Aaron got straight to it, "Did you know Jeremy sold the list of Agents' names to Doyle?"

With an absence of emotion, Clyde replied, "I had my suspicions."

"So when you arrived in D.C. you couldn't trust that Tsia was also involved. As a result, Prentiss and us read your doubt as duplicity."

"You could have just asked me who Doyle's plant was."

"Would you have given us a truthful answer?"

"No."

"Then why make that statement. You are kind of a dick and have wasted so much time. A person that we both care greatly about is in grave danger and you have withheld vital information. I need your profile on Doyle when he was a terrorist. We need to combine that with the serial killer he has become and we might get somewhere."

"Agent Hotchner, we have both taken an oath to protect the laws of our countries. Do you have any idea of what you are asking me to do?"

"I know it is not easy for you, but there are unusual circumstances."

There was no hesitation from Easter, "I'll do it as long as you join me. I came to realise a long time ago that there is no way of containing Doyle. He will escape your prisons as easily as he did North Korea's. All hell will break loose when he is on the run again and more innocent people will die. To stop the man you must put a bullet between his eyes yourself. Tell me Agent Hotchner, can you do that? Can you willing break your oath?"

"No I can't."

"Can you make one? Can you swear your team will save Emily?"

"Yes."

There was a knock on the door and a solemn Jennifer appeared, "The British Consulate has arrived."

Easter cleared his throat, "Could you please inform him I'll be right with him and advise him I can currently consulting with the FBI on a case?"

"I can."

-o-

Inside the adjacent Observation Room, Jillian swore under her breath, "Fuck, I'd gladly break that oath just to take out Easter and Doyle."

Derek grumbled next to her, "You and me both Jill."

-o-

The BAU Team assembled around the table and viewed the case board. Easter took point and it took all Jillian had to not just walk up to the smug bastard and throttle him. Putting aside her personal feelings, she concentrated and listened to his profile.

"Ian Doyle is a power-assertive psychopath. He is highly controlling and extremely explosive when his plans go awry. He detests failure and always expects someone to pay."

Seaver was standing next to Jillian and she asked, "Okay, so how does that actually fit in with who he is as a family annihilator?"

Rossi added, "And how does Prentiss play a role in all of this?"

Reid expanded on the first question, "Annihilators have this romanticised outlook of who their family is."

With arms crossed, Easter advised the group, "Doyle is actually an orphan."

Derek weighed in on the discussion, "Annihilators think of family as their possessions until some law shatters that and then the killing starts."

Clyde shook his head, "Doyle has never been married."

"What about children?" inquired Dave.

"There are none," replied Easter.

Picking up a photo from the table, Spencer gestured to Easter, "You state in your profile that Doyle carried out his murders with surgical-like precision." He passed the picture of the deceased Cosenza child with a single bullet wound to the head to Rossi.

"That is correct."

"With no collateral damage?" queried Derek.

"That's right."

Dave posed the theory, "Maybe this poor boy was a surrogate for one he had."

Ashley locked onto the possibility, "Maybe Doyle had a child we know nothing about, but Prentiss did."

"Why would she keep that information from me?" asked Easter.

"Who else was in the compound on the day you arrested Doyle?" inquired Hotch.

"There was just his staff."

Aaron continued, "Were they all Irish."

"Yes."

"Then that is where we start," ordered Hotch.

Jillian walked out of the room and kept on travelling down the hallway. Having to spend time in the vicinity of the man she held responsible for Emily's disappearance broke her. Her heart was shattered and all she wanted to do was talk to her children. Finding a vacant room that is what she did before returning to the computer she had been allocated and setting to work.

-o-

Once Fahey had been assassinated, Emily was left alone for some time and she used it to make peace with the fact she was going to die in the not too distant future. Her much anticipated rescue by her team was fast becoming a lost cause. Once again she accepted her fate and regained some semblance of emotional control by the time she heard footsteps behind her.

She was calm as Doyle spoke, "When Fahey informed me you were in Boston, he told me you mentioned you knew where is I was. If that is the truth, then you know what this is all about. The game is over love." Pulling a Sig-Saur P226R from the belt around his waist, he pointed it at her head. Doyle added, "It's time for you to make your last confession."

Emily was tired, so exhausted that she no longer reacted to the threat, "Take me to where he died."

She remained still as the gun was retracted and her captor knelt at the side of the chair to unravel the rope knots. Emily was drawn into the memory of when she found out the blond, blue eyed boy she believed was Doyle's housekeeper's son, was in fact Doyle's. Over the period of the undercover operation, Emily had grown very fond of Declan and was shocked when Ian suggested she raise the child as his mother so he could become a warrior like his father. The other people believing Louise was his mother was a lie perpetuated as a decoy for those who would use him against Doyle. The inclusion of offspring turned the mission on its head and Emily was forced to adjust her plans before the scheduled arrest of the target.

Emily was pulled from recall as Doyle grabbed her and hauled her out of the room. Dragging her along the hallways, he leaned in and whispered into her left ear, "Go to your father, that's what you said. I never told anyone the truth about Declan being mine. You were the only one who knew. You added him to your profile, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"For the first two years I was imprisoned, the North Koreans used everything you gave them against me. It wasn't until they showed me theses." He stopped and pulled several small photographs from his jacket pocket and displayed the image of Declan and Louise bound and gagged to Emily. "Those bastards laughed at me as I cried. You caused all this; this is all your doing."

"Yes it is," Emily replied as her journey continued.

When Doyle ushered her into another room, he stopped and pointed to a wall, "That corner there, that's where he died and that is where you are going to be killed by me." He let go of his grip then shoved a still handcuffed Emily forcefully across the floor, causing her to ram into the brick structure with her forehead and hands.

Stunned, she fell to her knees. Emily turned and faced her murderer as he once again aimed his gun at her and moved in closer, "There is something about those pictures you have no idea about."

"Nothing you say will stop me from killing you."

This was Emily's final roll of the dice, "Maybe, but don't you want to know the truth?"

"What truth?"

"After you were arrested, I relocated Louise and Declan. I got a call from the Head of the Terrorism Division at Interpol seeking more dirt on you so they could finally break you."

"Shite, so you used my son for a promotion?"

"No, I kept that information to myself and refused to allow him to be a pawn by the Agency. I knew they would use whatever means they thought necessary against him to get you to spill your guts. I also knew that even without my cooperation, they would eventually find Declan, so I had to …"

Doyle angrily demanded, "What did you have to do?"

"I had to end his suffering before it began."

Enraged, Doyle smashed the gun across Emily's face and she toppled to the floor with a grunt.

Bending over, Doyle pulled Emily to her feet and shoved the weapon into her chest, "After you put my son in the profile, what did you do?"

With her right cheek now sporting an open wound, Emily took a moment to clear the ringing in her ears and the pain clouding her cognitive thought process, "Declan wasn't added to the profile until after the photos were taken."

"How could you? You had no way of knowing when those pictures were taken. You don't know when they killed my boy."

"Yes I do. I'm the one holding the gun."

The words sent Doyle into a psychical fury and he grabbed Emily's shirt by the lapels and set her spinning into some metal shelving then crashing onto the floor.

Settling on her right side, Emily took several deep breathes, "Do you want to know what his last words were to me?"

The question set Doyle off again and he kicked her in the rib cage with all he had.

Breathing was now difficult, but Emily pressed on, "Declan said "I look pretty good for a dead kid, don't I?" He then cleaned up and got on a plane and I never saw him again."

Stunned, Doyle asked, "My boy is alive?"

"Yes."

Rocking back onto his right heel, Doyle delivered another kick to Emily's flank.

"Just because I held a gun to him, didn't mean I shot him. I only had to make you and the North Koreans believe he was dead."

Reaching down, Doyle grabbed Emily by her hair and slammed her into the nearest wall. As she recovered, Ian wrapped an arm around her throat from behind and moved in, "You are lying." He went to retrieve his gun.

Taking the opportunity afforded her; Emily struck out with her left elbow and rammed it into Doyle's ribs. The action caused him to drop the pistol and for Emily to reverse their positions. With her shackled arms around his throat, she seethed, "I bet you Ian … even before you got out of North Korea." Kicking into Doyle's left peritoneal, she forced him onto his knees, "I beat you because I gave Declan back his life."

"I'll find him," vowed Doyle as he struggled for breath.

"No you won't. Ever since you informed me my Team had Fahey, I have been stalling for time. I can hear them outside now."

When the lights when out, Emily was distracted for a nanosecond, but it was enough time for Doyle to jump to his feet and attempt to twist out of Emily's hold. It caused them both to fall backwards and onto a wooden table.

Emily was the first to get to her feet once the table shattered and she swiftly grabbed one of the broken legs and smacked it against Doyle's head. Repeating the swing twice more, she stumbled away in search of team mates. She was barely able to walk as she tried to move to what she hoped was safety.

Bleeding profusely from head wounds and his lips, a still conscious Doyle reached out and picked up a splintered piece of wood Emily had dropped and drove into the left side her stomach.

Grunting, Emily staggered and collapsed onto her back.

Doyle got to his knees and hovered over her, "Emily, where's Declan? Emily, tell me where he is?"

"No."

"For fuck's sake tell me where my boy is?"

There was no reply from Emily as she went into shock. She heard gunfire outside the room and watched as Doyle took flight.

-o-

Earlier at the Police Station, the BAU Agents submerged themselves into locating any data on children connected to Doyle.

"I got him," announced Penelope from her station. Everyone turned to look at her and waited for more, "I matched Irish Immigration records based on Doyle's employees and found one Declan Jones. He is the only boy to match and he happened to move to Boston eight years ago with his adoptive guardian Louise Jones."

The others gathered around her to view the photos and Easter declared, "I know Louise Jones; she was Doyle's housekeeper."

Hotch spoke next, "Are they still alive Garcia?"

"Oh, doesn't look good. Declan and his mother went missing seven years ago. Bodies have never been found … oh hang on … what is this?" She opened another file, "Oh my god, someone took pictures of them being shot."

"Is there an address?" inquired Aaron.

Typing frantically into her search parameters, Penny returned, "Not yet, but it looks like some kind of warehouse big enough to hold a small army. That means weapons and supplies and its own perimeter … and we have a winner. 1518 Adams Street."

While Hotch, Rossi and Easter left to organise the local SWAT and Police, Penelope went back to the photographs. "Oh shit, hey guys take a look at this."

Reid and Derek looked to the screen, and Morgan said, "Okay, there is a gun, a hand and a black coat sleeve."

"Look at the fingernails," suggested Spencer and the three Agents simultaneously commented, "Oh my god."

"What is it?" asked Jillian as she neared.

"Prentiss is holding the gun that killed Louise and Declan Jones," replied Reid.

Those words pushed Jillian over the edge one more time and she fell into the nearest chair, "My wife is a killer of children too. Fuck me." Her hands went into the palms of her hands and she wept.

Hotch returned to find her there and with questioning eyes, he glared at Morgan. When updated, he went to Jillian and lay a hand on her left shoulder, "I think it best if you sit this one out."

"Thank you," she sobbed.

Getting up, Penny approached and offered comfort in the form of a hug and a handful of tissues.

-o-

Outside the warehouse, Hotch addressed the group of Officers and Agents, "Agent Prentiss is the only friendly in the building. Once those inside are aware of our presence, there is nothing to stop them from killing her. We remain in stealth mode until we have her. Move out."

Once the targets surrounding the exits and entrances were eliminated by SWAT snipers, the others moved in. Those inside were quickly disposed of as Officers and Agents cleared the hallways and rooms.

As the teams moved to the lower levels, Hotch gave the order to cut the electricity. Under the cover of darkness, Doyle's men were taken out without trouble. Derek led his team of four towards the basement and he had the pleasure of eliminating Doyle's right hand man Liam when the man tried to fire on them.

Moving on, they breached the next chamber and Morgan found Emily on the floor. He raced to her and dropped to his knees. Activating his radio, he transmitted, "I've got her. She's in the south side of the basement. I need a Medic A-SAP."

Hearing the news on her radio back at the Police Station, Jillian sprang into action and grabbed Penelope by the hand. They ran outside to one of the vehicles available and Jillian pulled out a set of keys. Once the pair was buckled in, she turned on the siren and lights and sped towards her wife's location.

-o-

Derek gripped Emily's hands, careful not to disturb the block of wood protruding from her belly, "Stay with me baby."

Emily's eyes drooped as she whispered, "Let me go."

"No Prentiss." Glancing over his shoulder, Morgan screamed, "HURRY THE MEDICS UP, HELP ME." Locking onto his friend's dull eyes, he continued, "I know what you did for Declan and so does the Team. Jillian does too now. We know you saved him and us and we are so proud of you."

Emily's eyelids closed and Derek pleaded, "No Emily, stay with me. Come on, stay with me. You need to fight for your wife and those two beautiful children of yours. They need their mama and I need my friend and partner. Please stay with me baby. If you can hear me and understand, just squeeze my hand. Help is on the way."

In response there was a slight tightening around his hands, "That's it girl. Be strong and stay with me. Just keep holding on Emily."

Two Paramedics rushed into the room along with Hotch, Easter, Reid, Rossi and Seaver. The Medics took over as Hotch pulled out his phone and called Jillian.

-o-

Jillian tossed Penelope her ringing phone, "Can you answer that for me?"

"Sure thing. Oh, it's Hotch. Hello Sir, Garcia here."

"Where is Jill?"

"She is currently driving us to your locality."

"Tell her to go directly to Faulkner Hospital. We have Emily and she is being taken there now."

"Oh my god, is she all right?"

"She is in a bad way, so hurry."

"Yes Sir, understood."

Ending the call, Penny tried not to cry and failed miserably, "Emily is hurt and on the way to Faulkner Hospital."

"Thanks and hold on tight." Engaging the handbrake, Jillian completed a 180 degree turn and headed for the new destination.

-o-