Chapter 28: Priorities
"Where's your son?" Morgan prompted softly.
"I – I hid him –" her voice was cut short by a fit of small coughs.
"He can't think he's gone," Morgan nodded to Reid. "That kid is the only thing keeping this delusion alive. If Daniel thinks he's gone, he won't care about Laurie anymore. He'll let her just bleed to death or – he'll kill her."
Spencer had been deducing the same theory as he had gone over the facts of the case countless times as he had been confined. Their conversation swiftly ended as their capture reentered the room. Daniel dropped the supplies next to Reid and returned to pointing his rifle at the agent's head.
"Now," Daniel commanded, "fix her."
Reid took the glass of water in his trembling hands and held it up to Laurie's cracked lips. The cool liquid slid down her throat and she momentarily smiled to savor the feeling. She couldn't remember the last time her capture had given her water.
"Okay, Laurie, this – this is going to hurt – a lot. I just – I need to get the bullet out and –"
"Just – do – it," Laurie whispered through a coarse throat. "Do it."
Reid swallowed as hard as his body would let him and delicately picked up the pliers with quaking fingers. He leaned over closer to the wound and slowly slid the tool inside. He could feel the metallic object brush against the pliers but continually failed to obtain it. Laurie squirmed and groaned, biting her lip to contain screams.
"You – you need to hold – hold her still."
"What?"
"You need to hold her still so I can do this!"
It appeared as though both Daniel and Derek were taken back by Reid's outburst. Daniel promptly obeyed and began to hold down who he thought to be his dying wife as Derek looked at his partner with great respect.
"Hang on, Gina. Hang on, darling."
"I – I – I think I'm going to be sick," Spencer choked on his words and nearly dropped the instrument.
"You can do this, kid," Derek prompted, changing his tune from moments earlier.
Reid had been right. Of course, Reid was almost always right. Still, Morgan wanted his friend to escape and live. Right then though, he reverted his mind back to when he thought his friend had been murdered. This was their job. Laurie and her son were their priorities. End of story.
"No, Morgan – I don't – I can't –"
"Reid, come on man, focus."
"I – I can't get. I need my hands. You need to untie me. You need to untie my hands."
"And have you running off on me like some coward?"
"I won't run off, I swear. You can keep my legs tied up. I just – I just need my hands."
"I will not fall for it!"
"Untie my hands or your wife will die!"
Daniel stared down into Laurie's glazed over eyes and huffed. Without a word, he leaned forward and released Reid from his bondages.
Spencer feverishly went to work, desperately trying to obtain the cause of this entire mess. His hands quickly were stained red, the tool nearly slipping from his grasp in the bloody chaos. With a sudden cry of victory, Reid pulled the pliers out of Laurie's abdomen, and with it, the bullet. He tossed both items aside and grabbed the tattered cloths. His hands trembled as he continued to apply pressure to the unceasing bleeding.
"Why isn't it stopping?" Daniel demanded.
"I – I can't stop it."
"Yes you can! You have to!"
"No, I can't! Lau – your wife – needs a hospital. Gina needs a hospital. If she doesn't get to one soon, she will die."
"It's a trick!"
"Mr. Griffin, I am telling you the truth. I cannot fix your wife here. She is going to keep bleeding, until she stops and then she will be dead. I know that you love your wife, I know you do. Right now, she needs your help. Gina needs you. You are the only person who can do this. You have the power here."
Daniel frantically stroked his weapon, facing back and forth hastily across the living room. His free hand slid through his hair several times before he finally turned back to face the agents. He stared at them both for some time and then promptly spun around and nearly ran to a small table beside the door. He threw open the drawer and shifted through its contents. By the sound, both the agents had their suspicions as to what that box held. Their thoughts were confirmed as Daniel revealed a set of silver keys between his fingers. He enclosed them inside of his fist and approached Reid, gun already aimed for his head.
"Untie him," Daniel barked, pointing at Derek.
Reid glanced up at the man and then at Morgan curiously.
"I said, 'untie him'!" Daniel pushed the gun towards Spencer's face and he quickly obeyed.
Reid crawled across the floor and gradually released his friend. As Morgan cautiously stood, Daniel pulled Reid back towards him violently. The gun still aimed for Spencer, Daniel backed away from Laurie, throwing the keys on the floor.
"Take them," Daniel ordered. "There's a blue and grey truck out back. Take it and take my wife. Get her to a hospital."
"Why can't you go with her?" Reid prompted. "She'd – she'd want you there with her."
"No!" Daniel shouted in fury. "That's not how it works! This isn't how things are supposed to happen." He paused and grunted. "I go with you and you arrest me."
"No," Reid lied almost immediately, "no, we won't. We can't. We can't arrest you if you haven't done anything wrong. She's your wife. It was an accident. You – you thought we were trespassing."
"You're lying! You'll lock me up and take my family away from me for trying to protect them!" He steadied the gun to point directly at Reid's temple. "Go. Take her to a hospital. You have to save her. Save her and bring her back to me, or I will kill your friend."
"Let him take her," Morgan countered, "he's injured too. Think about it. You keep him, all you'll have to bargain is a body."
"Then I suggest you hurry!" Daniel refused the offer in rage.
"Reid –"
"Morgan, just go. I'll be fine," Reid lied, already feeling his strength fading.
"Don't be a hero, kid," Morgan warned his friend as he hesitantly picked up the keys.
Spencer watched in trepidation as his teammate lifted the bleeding girl into his arms and carried her out the front door. Morgan had been right. The bullet had only grazed his leg, but it was still deep enough to prompt significant bleeding. His body did not possess a spot that did not ache. His skull throbbed and his mind was hazy. If he had to endure another one of Daniel's rage-induced beatings, he just might not survive it.
