Location: BAU
Date & Time: 19 October: 07.23
JJ arrived at work locking herself away in her office, to say she was in a bad mood was the understatement of the century, due to the fact right now she was glad her wife was on an assignment with Reid because in truth she wanted to kill her, not with a gun but a slow and painful death seemed to be very fitting after the conversation they had, had that night before she flew out to Colorado,
Emily had been back a week and within that week Emily had managed to upset and piss JJ off it wasn't the fact she was back at work within a month and a half or the fact that her surgery was coming up in a couple of months, it was the fact that Emily had spent every night in her study, not in bed next to the women she loved, Emily had begun to pull away from her from their children and all JJ could do was watch.
JJ for her part had spent that week locked in her office at work and snapping at anyone who dared to walk in, Emily spent the days at work quite as she worked on the consults on her desk, which the finished stack was piled next to her as she didn't dare to take them up to JJ. Morgan had tried to joke but Emily had cut him off just as fast.
The tension in the BAU bullpen was thick and Hotch doubted a knife would be able to cut through it. So when an undercover assignment came up he decided to send Emily and Reid undercover in an attempt to allow the two women some time apart before things got much worse.
They had received a tip about an local underground cult 'Ranch' that children were being abused, but since the caller never gave a name, only that she had seen it happen, child services had been called and with that so had the FBI.
Location: Colorado
Time: 08.57
As they drove towards the 'Ranch' they ran through the phone call which took place, the caller said she was 15 which fit with the Jessica's description "So what do we know about the leader of the compound?" Emily asked
"Benjamin Cyrus has no criminal record, no record at all really" Reid said as he looked down at the file as Emily spoke to Nancy
"With their view on outsiders it would best if you didn't introduce us as FBI, just use our real names and introduce us as child victim interview experts"
Emily paused as they pulled up outside the Ranch house where they meet Cyrus, who was sitting on the wall buy the steps "The children are in the school, I will take you to them" Reid paused for a moment before following them up the stairs.
"You're using solar panels?" he said to Cyrus
"You sound surprised" he commented as he looked Reid over
"Not surprised, I'm impressed" he replied with a slight smile before starting to walk up the steps again.
Once inside Emily interviews a young girl at a school desk. "We received a phone call alleging that an adult male member of your church was having inappropriate relations with the younger woman here," Before the girl answers Emily explains that the reason for their visit has nothing to do with the community's religious beliefs.
"You're talking about Cyrus," the girl says. "Is it inappropriate for a husband to share a bed with his wife? He's a prophet. It's an honour to bear his children," the 15-year-old says defiantly. Silent alarm bells go off. The girl, Jessie, explains that Cyrus is her husband and "he is a prophet."
Suddenly, Cyrus and a group of men burst into the room carrying automatic weapons. Unbeknownst to Prentiss and Spencer, police are about to raid the compound. Officers break down the doors and rush the school and church. From above, compound members open fire on the police. In the course of the shoot-out, a state police officer accompanying Emily and Reid is shot dead through the chest.
The police pull back. And the stand-off begins….
Time: 14.23
JJ came half racing back into the bullpen switching on the TV in mid-step of calling Morgan's attention. "isn't that where Emily and Reid are?" he questioned as JJ just nodded in response "HOTCH" Morgan shouted with enough emotion it pulled both Hotch and Rossi out of their offices. Morgan drew the attention back to the TV as they all watched in shock, just as the phones began to light up sending each one ringing.
"We are lead on this" Hotch said as the team didn't think twice as they headed straight out the building wasting no time getting to and on the jet. Garcia appeared on the laptop as she looked at them all. Morgan was the first to speak
"What you got for us Garcia?"
"Ah, we got budkiss. It's like the guy never cast a shadow on the known universe. However his predecessor, Leo Cane, is doing a 17-year stretch at Deerfield federal prison. Apparently Libertarians, do not like paying taxes." Garcia stated
"17 years for tax evasion?" Morgan questioned
"Oh no, that'd be two years for tax evasion and 15 for going after four IRS-agents with a Louisville slugger." Garcia said with a slight smirk on her face
JJ sat at the back of the jet wishing they were there already cursing herself for being so mad at her wife and also cursing Emily for the reason she was totally infuriated at her
Time: 13.09
As Emily sat in the basement the thought went through her mind 'if and when we get out of here Jennifer is going to kill me'
Morgan walked to the back of the jet sitting opposite JJ "She is going to be fine" he said softly.
"And then I can personally kill her" JJ said the anger in her voice couldn't be hidden but Morgan pushed a little
"What the hell is going on with you two?" he almost snapped
"Oh you mean beside her pulling away not sleeping, hardly eating and then last night before they left asked me if anything should happen to her make sure that our children knew she loved them and she near enough said goodbye to me, so yeah nothing is going on" JJ snapped at him.
Morgan looked at her for a moment "JJ you know she loves you and she wouldn't have meant it and I am more than sure she didn't know this was going to happen" he said calmly.
JJ let out a sigh as she nodded "Sorry"
"Why didn't we know about a raid" Hotch said as JJ approached them all
"Because the state attorney general kept it quiet. Turns out Wells, has aspirations of becoming governor in the next election and didn't want the raid jeopardized" her voice was somewhat cold and detached as she spoke.
Time: 14.07
Emily sat opposite Reid as they both looked over watching the two men that held the automatic guns.
"Did you know?" Cyrus shouted as he walked into where they were sitting.
Emily looked at Reid both of them had an equally confused look on their faces "No" they answered.
"Where's Nancy?" Emily asked
"They shot her, it wasn't us" Cyrus defended himself as he looked at the two of them.
"You can't just shoot it out with the cops" Emily said as she looked at them, both her and Reid were in shock. They knew nothing had shown up on their search, all they could do now was sit it out and wait.
"We didn't start this." Cyrus said as he looked around at his followers.
"I demand to know why the FBI was sending in undercover agents into the Libertarian Ranch," he bellowed.
Hotch walked up. "The only thing you're in a position to demand is a lawyer."
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief. I'm the guy that is going to tell the Attorney General of the United States to charge you with obstructing a federal investigation or negligent homicide."
"You can't talk to me like that."
Hotch stepped forward and got face to face with him. "I just did. Now get off my crime scene."
Hotch stopped Rossi, as Morgan and JJ headed to the command post. Hotch explained that he had been put in charge of things and was able to choose the negotiator
"I taught most of those guys." Rossi said. "You want a recommendation?"
Hotch shook his head. "I'm choosing you."
Rossi frowned. "But I'm too personally involved. And so is the agent in charge."
"We have to profile both Emily and Reid either one of them could change the outcome of this." Hotch said softly.
Rossi gets on the phone with Cyrus. "Let's stop this before things get worse," Rossi says. "Please, Benjamin, send out your wounded. I promise they will be well taken care of."
Cyrus "With enough supplies we can tend to our own." Cyrus said calmly as he looked around the small church.
"Can you tell me how the three child service workers are?" Rossi asked calmly.
"Ones dead it wasn't us." Cyrus said, his voice calm.
"Can you give me a name so I can inform them" Rossi said.
"Nancy Lunde" he replied softly.
Rossi and Hotch gave a slight sigh of relief.
A few hours later, Rossi drives up to the front doors of the ranch. Listening devices have been hidden in the supplies and agents line the grounds with large microphones. Rossi is let inside and introduces himself to Cyrus. He shares a furtive glance with Prentiss and Spencer, careful not to reveal their true identities.
"I had hoped you'd let me take the children," Rossi says as his eyes cast around the room his eyes gazed over his two friends seeing that they were in fact both unharmed before he drew his attention back to Cyrus.
"They're our protection," Cyrus counters. "I remember Waco. We all do. They stay for now."
Once Rossi is gone, Cyrus begins pouring cups of wine - even for the smallest children. Emily and Reid, watch Jessie's body language in reaction to Cyrus. "She literally worships him," Spencer said. "There's no way she made that 911 call."
Emily nodded just as Jessie's mother placed herself between the two. "You see that?" Emily whispered.
"Yeah"
Rossi returns to team headquarters outside the ranch. "He's too calm," he tells Hotch. "It's like he was waiting for this happen and now that it has he feels vindicated." The team, meanwhile, gets a feed from the listening devices.
"We will be with Him soon," Cyrus says. "They've drank the poison together."
Rossi and Hotchner listen in horror. Inside, Emily wants to act, but Reid kept her stilled. "They just drank poison" Emily said in shock as she tried to get out of Reid's grasp
"I don't think he has, he just told them that," his eyes cast over to where Cyrus is. "See the guy behind him, he's looking at the room. It's a loyalty list. He's seeing who will stay with him to the end" Reid whispers.
"Don't fret there is no poison, only the devil" he glared slightly, although his voice had a sight calmness to it.
Hotch, who was about to send in the troops, exhales deeply. Just as JJ enters letting them know that Leo Kane has arrived.
Morgan questions the former Liberty Ranch leader. Kane explains that he kicked Cyrus out of the compound years ago for "messing" with younger girls. Cyrus returned sometime later claiming he had found God and reformed.
"How does a kid like that get rid of you?" Derek asks.
"One day he came to me and said God told him that I should leave the ranch," Kane explains. "I said 'If God felt that way, God can tell me himself.' He put a gun to my head and said, 'He just did.'"
Morgan asked Cane to draw a map of the compound he commanded for 20 years. The angry inmate is only too happy to help.
Time: 19.01
Back outside, the team gets frightening news: Wells has leaked news of an undercover FBI officer to the press. Inside, Cyrus sees the report and challenges Emily and Reid.
"Which one of you is it?" Cyrus blurted out, seconds after entering the room. Reid passed him a confused look, as did I, but our minds flew into over drive as he brought out his gun.
"Which one of you is the FBI agent?" He began to repeat and I forced myself to lose the look of shock and realisation off of my face.
"Why do you think one of us is an FBI agent?" I could tell Reid was far from panicked. He was now thinking of a way out of this, and both of us knew, there was not one, not with Cyrus. As the only response to his question, Cyrus sent Reid a 'do not play dumb with me' look and clicked his gun into play to support the look.
"God will forgive me for what I must do." He took a step forward, turning the tip of the gun in the direction of Reid, straight on the path of his head. I knew at that very minute that Reid was dead if I did not intervene.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I saw Reid's nervous look, which was hidden so well that only a fellow profiler could notice it. I desperately wanted to be anyone else but me right at this moment. But I also knew Reid would be better at getting inside this guy's head than me.
"One of you does. Who is it?" He never once took his eyes, as he took the safety off the gun not once moving it off Reid, and it was in that moment that I realised. Reid was already as good as dead to him. He had no hesitation in killing him.
"Me." I paused allowing Reid's protective glare to fall on me. "It's me." I repeated, and now Cyrus' eyes came on me. Before I knew it, the gun was unclicked and he had a fistful of my hair in his hand. I was now in a world of pain. So I cried out. I could not help it. It just happened.
"Get up!" He said as he harshly tugged me so I was in a standing position, barely, as the ache in my stomach consumed me and almost crippled me over, but before I could grab my stomach to cushion the pain, I had a fist connected to my face, accompanying the previous slap. The force of the punch sent me hurdling over into the mirror on the wall, shards of glass meeting my chest, one to my lower neck and the rest to my arms and my face. Once again, he had his hands back against my hair, pushing my face further into the broken pieces.
"Proverbs 20:30 tells us, 'Blows to body and wounds cleanse away evil.'"
I remembered that the team could hear me. They could hear every word, every cry of pain and hit he gave me. I knew they would consider coming in. "I can take it." I managed to cry out after he spun me 'round and threw me against the floor.
"You can take it?" Cyrus rhetorically asked with confidence, whilst throwing another slap my way.
"I can take it." I repeated one last time, hoping the team had finally heard me.
"Pride comes before the fall." Cyrus mocked
"She's talking to us!" says Hotch, listening via headphones. "She's telling us not to come in."
"Why is it that she is always smack in the middle of these situations? Ugh!" shouted a very frustrated JJ. "Can't she just sit behind a desk for one day and not end up being held hostage, beaten or something else?" JJ said as she ran her hand across her worried face trying to compose herself "Remind me to kill her afterwards" she glared at Morgan who had the same worried look, that they all had on their faces.
