Chapter 50

Day 15

Morgan couldn't decide if he wanted Hotch's intel to be accurate or not.

Workhouse 5 was on the other side of the nearby mountain range from the rebel camp, over on a hot, dry plateau. Because it was so far away from anywhere finding them then coming back to raid was out of the question. They packed along a couple of Maddox's men and would have to do it all in one trip, setting it up on the fly. Not anyone's first choice of how to handle it. On the other hand, if they were here then they'd be on their way back to the transport device tonight and safely home by tomorrow. That was the part he was hoping for.

The visit started the same as the others. Maddox had chosen men who spoke the local language well enough to pass for an accent or something so their guide had lots of distractions. They got a tour of the building, the usual dining hall of nightmare fuel and what all have you. But then they were taken to a new sort of thing. It looked for all the world like slightly steampunk MMA fighting octagon, only with full on iron bars around the center cage. "What do they have fighting in there?" Morgan quietly asked Maddox. "Bears?"

Maddox had a dark look in his eyes, and his men looked outright pissed. "No." He said.

Right, sore spot. He wasn't here to get involved in Maddox's issues. Morgan shut his mouth and went back to keeping his eyes open. But as they walked out of the room he couldn't help but notice that the tension was thicker, thick enough to cut. "What?" He asked.

"They're having a fight tonight." Maddox said. "We're invited."

"Great."

After the tour of the guard's facility they moved on to a tour of the factory. Open pit mines are oh so fascinating, as are ore crushers and the various ways they moved rocks around the place. It wasn't until they got inside the boiling plant that things started getting to work as torture once more. He felt like a turkey around three on Thanksgiving, the constant rattle of rocks made his head ring and the dust and stink were so bad even his nose was burning.

He was trailing the group, trying to look at every prisoner in there. They were all over in this place, moving rock, tending to the equipment, stirring the big boiling pots, and in and around all of them were people carrying jugs of water, the only comfort in this place. Morgan was trying to take it all in when one of the women carrying water pushed right past him. "On your seven Agent," she said in clear, unaccented English.

Huh?

Morgan's head whipped around to about 7 on the clock where he spotted the most heavenly sight. A familiar tall, slender form pushing a big stick around a bigger pot. Reid smiled in a way that told Morgan that he had just tested what he was seeing and had passed.

Maddox caught him by the elbow. "Approach him like you were trying to talk him into bed."

"What?"

"It's common here, a good excuse for a guard to be seen talking to a prisoner."

Yeah, but he didn't...and Reid didn't...right. He took a deep breath and moved over like he was picking up a hunny in a bar. "What the hell happened?" Morgan said. "Please tell me JJ is here."

In reply Reid nodded in the direction of where people were filling water jugs. Morgan looked and spotted a familiar figure with the same injuries. "It lowers our victim profile." Reid said. "The guards are predatory. How the hell did you get here? Did the kids make it?"

"Yes, they did. The DOD was holding out on us, they have a transport device. We want to move you right after lights out, still looking at four going back with us?"

"Yeah, and two more to get out of here I think. I'll have to confirm."

"Can you do that by tonight?"

"I can before you leave this hall if we do it right." Reid looked around the room. He must have met someone's eyes because he looked away like he was embarrassed or ashamed. "Good cover."

"Glad it's working, pretty boy. How do I find you?"

"We're in the last bunk of the furthest left column off the main entrance in the upstairs dorms. Come find us, we'll all be there."

"Got it."

"All right, I'm going to push you away like you said something offensive. Get the muzzle of your weapon on me then expect the big bald guy over there to come try to break it up. Before you walk out look back and I'll let you know how many. Got it?"

"Yeah."

Reid finally met his eyes then. "Thank you." He said with a lot behind it.

"Let's just get home. Ready?"

"Yeah."

A moment later Reid gave his shoulder a healthy shove as he stepped back, a look of revulsion on his face. Morgan stepped in like he was offended and screwed the muzzle of his rifle up under Reid's chin. "How the fuck dare you..."

"Ayyyy!" Sure enough Baldy came over. He had the combination of cold eyes and obsequious behavior that Morgan had seen on a hundred thugs back in Chicago, every time they had to talk to the cops. Hell he'd Uncle Tommed to Gordinski more times than he could count back in the day. "Wyen ael zsa'tk a'phphaeris? Wyenistis aen ael nyael a'ti vaev ta'n diet aen. Hi ael laergis nyet da'ln, aen evvril nyi mseaet. Soisirh I ret mi a'ph lisstaeri, zyen ret I va'?"

Maddox joined them then and the other guards and a couple of other big guys on the prisoner's side and a small disagreement was briefly had. It seemed to end with them being shooed back to work and the locals chuckling over a newbie trying to make time with one of the sicker ones. "He said the ones that sick will make your cock rot off." Maddox told him.

"I'll remember that." As they climbed the stairs to the catwalk to get out of here Morgan looked back. Baldy wasn't Uncle Tomming it any more. That man was a hard-assed soldier, as cold and calculating as Hotch on a good day. The little water bearer was there as well. Reid met his eyes and held up six fingers. "We're good to go with six tonight."

"Six?"

"Four to return."

"We can leave the other two with Xetvis then. There's a large za'rph group there, they'll be safe." Maddox nodded. "Right, let's get this done and get home."


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And we are in part four at this point. I attached the quote to chapter 49. Sorry about that.