Chapter 23

In which Rossi realises something very important, Emily prepares to hand Zack over and it all predictably goes horribly wrong.

Rossi rifled through the desk Collier kept at the top of the building, looking for anything that indicated what the group was planning. Morgan and Booth had the floor below, but there wasn't much that was helpful. The two silver skeletons they'd found - one complete, one partial - assured them that they were definitely in the right place, but it wasn't much good to them now.

Bomb fragments were swiftly discarded, the newspaper articles related to the bombings - it was interesting that he had them, but it wasn't going to give Emily the upper hand in her exchange. A couple more sheets of paper, and then; something interesting.

"Morgan!" Rossi sorts through a set of photographs not dissimilar to the set they'd been mailed, the evidence of the team being stalked.

Morgan ran up the stairs, quickly finding himself at Rossi's side. "What is it?"

"Listen to this: Dearest Collier, I am so close to completion. The traitor is almost in our grasp. Six bodies and my skeleton will be whole, my legacy complete."

"Where's he going to get six bodies from? Even if he gets away with both Hotch and Zack, that's only two," Morgan said as he took the letter from Rossi, reading over the rest of the words.

Rossi still had the photographs. "I had words with Hotch, back when we'd just found the bodies. Practically everyone on the team fits the Gormogon victimology. Reid. Emily. JJ. Wendell. Hotch—"

"And Zack would make six," Morgan finished. "Atlanta wants to take them all out."

"They're walking right into an ambush," Rossi said, the panic setting in across their face.

"Get Emily on the phone, quick, I'll get Garcia," Morgan said. "Let's just hope we're in time."

-x-

Emily scouted the park that Atlanta had chosen as their exchange location, noting all the positions where she knew there were agents waiting. Her eyes scanned the rooftops; the snipers were in position by now. Atlanta had to know that he was walking into a trap. JJ and Reid had the other end of the park covered.

"One last check," she said to Zack, speaking into her mic.

"I can hear you," Zack said in response. Emily looked across to Wendell.

"He's being picked up on the wire," Wendell confirmed.

Emily gave Zack a moment, watching him gather himself up, school his features into something calm. "Let's go." Zack gave a singular drop of his head in response, but fell into step beside Emily as she stepped cautiously into the park.

Zack was concentrating so hard on just walking in a straight line that he didn't notice Emily's phone ring, or her steps slowing at first. It was only when she had dropped a couple of feet behind him that he turned to see what was wrong.

"Are you sure?" Zack didn't like the look on Emily's face. Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced around, long sweeping looks, trying to find something hidden. "JJ, Rossi thinks we're being set up, is there anything on the perimeter?" She was speaking into her mic now, ignoring her phone. Zack presumed Rossi was on the other end of it.

Zack couldn't hear what JJ said in response to it, but it's nothing good. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing, are you sure?" Emily said, and then she turned to Zack. "It's fine, don't worry," she added, but Zack didn't believe her for a second.

There was more chatter, and a response from Emily, and then she closed her phone. "Let's keep moving," she said, striding forward to catch up with Zack, all too aware that standing still was just going to make them targets.

Zack was slower now, cautiously half a step behind Emily. Something was up; tension crackled in the air. They weren't far from the proposed exchange location, and still there was nothing.

"Emily, our snipers aren't responding." Emily looked up as she heard JJ's voice come across the wire. "I've sent someone up there, but we can't get a response."

"We're not far off the drop location, has anyone spotted anything?"

"Not yet."

Emily looked back at Zack, who had raised an eyebrow, but she simply shook her head in response. She resumed walking, taking comfort in the clack of her boots against the ground. Zack tightened the gap between them. They reached a clearing, the one Atlanta had marked, but there was no sign of Atlanta or of Hotch.

"We're here, there's nothing," Emily said into her mic. Her eyes skirted the edge of the clearing, looking for someone hiding in the bushes.

"Emily, look out, the snipers are down—" and then there was a burst of static on the comms. Zack shook his head, hearing it too.

He looked around, eyes wide. "They've taken out the comms," Emily said. "Nothing to be worried about yet." Only there probably was, if JJ was right. She and Zack were without coverage now. Emily looked to the centre of the clearing; there was something glinting there. "Stay close," she said to Zack as she walked towards it.

She knelt to get a closer look, Zack standing over her shoulder. Her hand went out, touching the silver bones. "Six," she said to herself. She stood up quickly. "Rossi was right, we're being set up."

"Why would he leave six bones?" Zack asked.

Emily turned to him. "Rossi found a letter that Atlanta sent Collier. It said Atlanta needed six more bones to complete his skeleton. You, me, Hotch, JJ, Reid and Wendell are all perfect targets. They reckon Atlanta wants to take us all out at once."

Zack's eyes went wide. "What do we do now?"

Emily was in the middle of forming an answer when shots rang out, loud and close, and she tugged Zack down to ground with her.

-x-

At the edge of the park, JJ and Reid both stood in their kevlar vests, weapons in hand. There were other agents milling around the perimeter, looking for any disturbances, anyone untoward. JJ was speaking rapidly into a radio, trying to find out if anyone had contact with the snipers. It was starting to look like they'd walked right into the trap Atlanta had set up for them.

Reid was getting increasingly antsy, fingers drumming on the side of the SUV. He could hear Zack over the wire, his breathing steady, which was about the only thing keeping him calm.

"Agent Jareau, I'm on the rooftop in one of the sniper positions, he's been taken out." JJ and Reid look at each other, Reid having heard the message too.

JJ switched her earpiece, and then spoke, "Emily, look out, the snipers are down—" before the crackle of static came. She watched as everyone twitched, tried the radio to see if it was working, and got nothing in response. "Is Zack's wire down?" she asked.

"Yes," Reid answered, letting his concern flood his face.

JJ grimaced. "I want everyone on high alert," she yelled out, hoping as many of them would hear her as possible. They had no interest in stealth. "Gormogon is likely nearby, he's taken out our snipers and our comms, be careful." She heard movement in response, SWAT agents moving to check the perimeter still held, and then turned to Reid. "He'll be okay, Emily'll protect him."

"I know," Reid said, shoulders tensed as he looked round. "But if she and Rossi are right, she's just as much as a target. As are we. And Wendell."

There wasn't much JJ could say too that. The comms were down, and yet still there was no sign of Hotch or Atlanta. It was clear that something was going to happen, they just didn't know what.

A shot rang out, and JJ and Reid both turned instinctively towards the sound. A couple more shots rang out in response, and that was all JJ and Reid needed to start running towards the source of the gunfire.

More shots; one wizzed past JJ's head, narrowly missing her. Reid looked up, brain whirling with triangulation calculations. "He's shooting from the roof," Reid said, but JJ had already realised that.

An agent was attempting to return fire, unsuccessfully. JJ and Reid fell in alongside her. "Have you seen anything?" JJ asked.

"No," she said in reply, as a shot hit the building they were sheltering behind. "Has the exchange been made?"

She lent round, making a shot in return. It was impossible to know if it hit its mark. "We don't believe so," Reid said, watching carefully for signs of movement on the rooftop.

JJ's radio chose that moment to crackle to life, one of the SWAT agents voices barely discernible through the static. "This is Agent Jareau, does anyone have a location on Gormogon or Agent Hotchner?"

"Negative—" the radio dropped out again. JJ looked to Reid.

"What on earth is he doing?" JJ asked. "Why hasn't anyone seen Hotch?"

A silence hung, Reid not wanting to respond with the obvious, that Hotch might be dead already. "We need to get Emily and Zack and Wendell, and get out of here," he said.

"I'll get Wendell, you get Emily and Zack," JJ said. Reid nodded, looking out as he worked out the best path to take to the exchange location. JJ turned to the agent at her side. "You'll cover us."

She didn't say anything in response, merely positioning her gun up to watch. JJ and Reid glance at each other, then look out, and make a run for it.

-x-

Several gunshots rang out before Emily moved. She kept low to the ground, indicating for Zack to do the same. A minute later, the sounds were slightly further off, and were buffeted by what Emily thought was returning fire. She knelt beside Zack, one hand on her sidearm. "Zack, are you alright?"

Zack tugged himself up so he was facing Emily, flexing fingers and toes. "I'm fine." He looked over Emily, who also wasn't wounded.

"Good," Emily said. She got up cautiously, and then offered a hand to Zack to pull him up. "We've got to get out of here, Gormogon knows precisely where we are, if Hotch is still alive then he wants to take us all down at once so the best thing we can do is not be here." She looked around, trying to work out the best route out.

"Wendell's nine hundred feet in that direction," Zack pointed as he spoke, "and JJ and Reid's position is eleven hundred and fifty feet that way."

Emily was surprised, but now was not the time to comment on his over developed sense of spacial reasoning. "JJ and Reid will have moved as soon as they heard the shots, they won't be there anymore," she said. "And going back to Wendell is exactly what he'll expect we do."

"Agent Windsor and a large proportion of the SWAT team are positioned that way," Zack added, indicating.

Emily considered the options. "We'll head that way." She tried to remember back to the map, of where everyone was supposed to be positioned, but she couldn't remember much of it, and she doubted everyone had stuck to their positions anyway, especially now that the sniper positions were down.

They move quickly; Emily preferring to keep them within the cover of the park whilst she could, rather than the open spaces. Zack kept close. He bumped up behind her when she stopped suddenly, catching sight of a flashlight moving across from them. Emily waited a moment, trying to identify whoever it was, which was difficult in the dark.

She caught the flashlight grazing the white initials of FBI on the vest though, and decided to take a chance. "This is Agent Prentiss, identify yourself!"

"Emily?" came Reid's voice in response, following by quick moving feet.

"Reid?" Emily said in response, as Reid came into view.

Zack stopped cowering behind Emily, stepping back. "Are you and Zack alright?" Reid asked.

"We're fine," Emily confirmed, switching her flashlight back on. "What's happening out there?"

They were moving again as Reid explained. "They've taken the snipers out. Someone's shooting from our sniper positions. No one's seen any sign of Gormogon or Hotch. JJ's gone to get Wendell. We think Gormogon wants us."

"We know," Emily replied. "We found six bones made of silver in the drop location."

Reid tensed at the new information, but kept moving. Zack picked up his pace, just enough so he could fall in step alongside Reid, and grasped his hand. Reid didn't react, he just kept walking, but he entwined his fingers with Zack's. Zack squeezed, just subtly.

If Emily noticed, she didn't comment.

"Are all the comms down?" Emily asked.

"JJ's radio crackled back to life for all of thirty seconds, SWAT were on the other end. Other than that, we haven't heard anything. Zack, your wire's down too," Reid said, turning to Zack.

"Okay," Zack nodded. He hadn't really thought about it, thoughts about the preparations for his handover being completely abandoned given the sudden turn of events.

They were nearing the edge of the park. Emily edged ahead of Reid and Zack, scouting. Satisfied that they were clear, she turned back to Reid and Zack, indicating for them to join her. They dashed across the road, onto the side of the street with more cover.

"JJ shouldn't be far," Reid said.

"I'll get her," Emily said. "You and Zack find Windsor and SWAT and get yourselves out of here." Reid was torn for a moment about leaving Emily on her own. "I'll be fine, now go!"

"Stay safe," Reid said in reply, before grasping Zack's hand tightly and running off.

-x-

The shooting had mostly stopped, but the quiet that took its place wasn't any better. JJ knew that if Gormogon had actually been taken down, if there'd been an all clear, there would be far more hustle and bustle as the area was cleared, forensics and paramedics moving in. Instead, there was little activity and JJ was starting to worry all of her agents had been taken out.

Her fears were partially confirmed when she reached the SUV which she knew she'd sent Emily and Wendell in, with the driver down in front of it. He was bleeding, and JJ feared the worst. She lent over to check his pulse, and he responded with something half way between a cough and a groan. "A man. Five foot ten. Dark clothes. Grabbed Wendell and headed for the park."

"Got it," JJ confirmed. The agent was slipping in and out of consciousness, and he needed medical attention, but JJ couldn't think about that now.

If Gormogon had headed for the park, he was looking for Zack. She just hoped that Emily had had the good sense to get him out of there, that Spence has found them and gotten them out of there.

"JJ!"

JJ turned around, recognising Emily's voice. "I'm here."

Emily didn't take long to make it over to her friend, taking in the agent on the ground. "Wendell?" she asked.

"Gormogon got him. Took him into the park," JJ replied. "Zack?"

"Reid's got him, they're both fine, they're heading towards Windsor's position, I told them to get out of here."

"Seeing as how he wants all of us, probably for the best," JJ responded. "Emily, what does Gormogon want?"

Emily sighed. "Other than all of us as ritual sacrifices, I don't really think there is a plan. I'm worried about Hotch, but I think if he was dead we'd know about it."

"I agree." JJ looked back towards the park, trying to see any signs of movement. She contemplated their situation. "Emily, do you honestly think one person's pulling all this off?"

"I was thinking the same thing. Taking snipers out, sneaking round countless agents, and wanting to take down five of us whilst also keeping Hotch under control? It's not a task you'd do single handedly if you could help it."

"But who's helping him?" JJ asked. "An apprentice?"

"Nothing points to Atlanta having an apprentice," reminded Emily. "Collier's down. There's Charlotte, and the apprentice there, and whoever's working in Phoenix."

"If Atlanta gets us, we complete the cycle, so they'd be looking for an apprentice to take over," JJ said as she thought it over. "Maybe Charlotte's training the apprentice for Atlanta?"

"You saw Daisy's report though, the killer in Charlotte was inexperienced. I can't see them pulling this off."

Both women thought for a moment. "Emily, the apprentices are usually vulnerable teenage boys, right?"

"Yes." Emily's tone had a questioning note to it, but then she caught up to JJ. "Everyone's on high alert for a middle aged man who's a loner."

"When we should be looking for a team, with a teenage boy in tow," JJ finished.

-x-

It didn't take long for Reid and Zack to find the contingent of SWAT agents. As soon as they came into view they were swarmed, asked if they had any clue what was going on. Reid simply shook his head, and Zack knew that it was best just to say quiet, until they make it back to Agent Windsor, who was supervising a couple of technical agents desperately trying to get the comms back up.

"Dr. Reid, Mr. Addy," Windsor greeted, looking up momentarily before turning back to the poor tech analyst. "Can't we change the channels?" he asked, which resulted in a flurry of typing.

Zack lent on the SUV for support as he watched the analyst work. "We need to get out of here," Reid said to Windsor. "Gormogon is after my team, I need us all out of here."

"I can get you two, but I'll need current locations on Prentiss and Jareau if you want any chance of getting them out." Windsor wasn't really paying attention, fiddling with a dial, but one of the SWAT leaders was hovering, pulling Reid aside to speak too.

The discussion between Reid and the SWAT leader was whispered, and Zack didn't manage to catch any of it, so he busied himself watching Windsor's attempts to get the comm system back up and running. A couple more dial twists and a rewarding hiss echoed over the comm system.

"This is Agent Eastland, can anybody hear me?" the tech analyst said clearly, looking at the equipment as he tried to work out if the message had carried.

Clearly, it had, because within seconds all sorts of garbled responses have come in. Eastland looked up to Windsor, who nodded, taking over, trying to put some order back in.

Reid was back at Zack's side. "I've got him JJ, we're both fine," Zack overheard him saying.

There was a break as JJ spoke again, but Zack didn't like what he heard in response. "Wendell's gone? Of course JJ, I'll tell them, but we need a recovery plan."

Reid turned to Windsor then. "You need to get the word out. We're not looking for one unsub, we think we're looking for three, possibly four, and one of them is likely a teenage boy." Windsor looked surprised at the new information, but he nevertheless got to work in passing the information round.