Chapter 7
The journey to the prison to meet Emily was made in utter silence, JJ furious she had been ordered by Strauss. Morgan or Rossi are unwilling to suffer Jennifer rath as they drive towards the prison.
"This way, agents, Prentiss, will be brought to the interview room presently." Chief Gibbons told them when leaving the room.
Two guards secured Emily to the table with her handcuffs and retired, showing the agents the location of the alarm.
Looking at her battered and bruised face and splinted finger as she sat opposite JJ, she felt horrified at the state of Emily but managed to keep her emotions from showing on her face.
"What happened to you, Prentiss?" Morgan asked his old partner.
"I slipped in the shower, Sir." Replied the brunette with her two guards just outside the door, possibly listening
Raising his extremely expressive eyebrows, he didn't question her reply, knowing she was only trying to protect herself. She was a marked woman in prison, a former federal agent for the duration of her time locked up. Beatings would be a regular thing.
"Prentiss, let's get on with this; I am only here because Strauss forced me. Tell us everything you fiddled within the evidence stores in Quantico. You've caused a massive fire sale for killers, child rapists, and the scum of the earth to have their conviction overturned and released to disappear and carry on killing. Can you confirm for the camera you have declined the presence of your attorney?" JJ barked out, not wanting to be here any longer than she had.
"Just you, Jennifer. I will only speak to you alone." Emily told the blonde
"That's Agent Jareau! You don't get to make demands, Prentiss. We're here now. Tell us everything." demanded JJ
Emily locked eyes with the blonde and stared for a moment at her heartbreaking.
"Ma'am, sorry it's you alone, or I go back to my cell. Your choice Ma'am," she told her ex-girlfriend. It had been six-and-a-half months since she held the blonde in her arms. She was desperate for intimacy with her soul mate. Her blue eyes were cold as a Sapphire, with no feeling. She had truly lost her.
"Not happening, Prentiss; just tell us everything now, or we are out of here," warned Morgan
"Ok, Sir, Guard!" shouted Emily
Rossi took charge, knowing how hard-headed his junior agents were, recognising he had to intervene.
"Were not finished with her yet, officer," Rossi told the two corrections officers
"If we are not finished, Sir, too many males are in this room. I have nowhere to be for three months. Sir, your call." Emily calmly told him
"Out agent Morgan, don't make me phone Strauss to order you," he warned
In disgust, Morgan walked out of the interview room, glaring at Emily.
JJ remaind speechless, waiting for Emily to speak first
"Do you believe I'm guilty? Jennifer" was the singular question asked by Emily
Standing, she started pacing around the small space. She stopped with her hands on the table directly in front of Emily. Looking her straight in her eyes
" Yes! The evidence is too damning against you. Emily Prentiss, you've changed. I no longer know who you are. I agree with your mother's statement. Now let's get this over with as soon as possible." JJ coldly told the brunette prisoner.
Looking at her ex-girlfriend, she thought, 'yes, Prisoner.'
"Guard!" shouted Emily
"What are you doing, Prentiss? You promised to give us the information." asked an angry blonde agent
" No, Ma'am, I used your desperation to get you here. It was the only way to contact you alone to ask you if you believed I was guilty. For your information Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I am innocent. Somebody is setting me up. Goodbye, Jennifer. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Guard, I'd like to go back to my cell, please." a tearful Emily asked
JJ watched as Emily was taken out of the room, her hand on the engagement ring attached to her necklace.
" Did she give you everything?" asked Rossi
" No, she just wanted to get me here to ask me if I thought she was guilty. She told me she was innocent. Someone was setting her up. You two will take me back to Quantico in silence; I am going homesick." JJ glared at both men with her don't argue face
Rossi started to say something, "I mean it, old man." warned the blonde agent as she walked away.
EJ
Morgan parked the SUV in the BAU allocated parking at Quantico. The journey back had been silent as she had requested, her head swirling with good and bad thoughts about Emily; she hated her because she had been the cause of Penelope's untimely death in that prison yard. But her heart told her she wasn't capable of doing the things she had been arrested for. Her brain told her she was wrong. She was an FBI agent and followed the evidence.
Stepping out, she was still stuck in her head when she jumped when agent Anderson called out her name.
" Agent Jareau, you have a visitor who is on Agent Prentiss and your access list," he told the bewildered, Blonde agent
She could see a woman and a teenager sitting in a power wheelchair. Not recognising the woman wondering how she was on her authorised entry list for Quantico, she walked over. As she approached, the brunette teenager raised a shaking arm, pointing to her
"Jenny, Jenny, it's Jenny. Look, Abby," he shouted with great pleasure
"That's right, David, that's Emily's Jennifer." the redheaded woman replied. "Agent Jareau, Emily Prentiss told me if for whatever reason I couldn't reach her, I should reach out to you. My name is Abby Hawker, and I am David's caregiver. Might I introduce you to David Eli Prentiss, Emily's 19-year-old son?." smiled Abigail,
Rossi and Morgan had joined JJ to listen to Abby's introduction of David. " I need your help, Jennifer; Emily moved us away from our bungalow when my mother was murdered six and a half months ago. Emily became very concerned, so She arranged for money for us, but that stopped two weeks ago. I have seen the news and know Emily is in Prison. Will you help us, Jennifer?" Abigail asked
"Mama loves, Mama loves.." chants a pleased David pointing at JJ
Abby leaned down to David, "We have talked about this. Remember David?"
He nods at Abby and looks up at JJ, "sorry, Jenny."
"I didn't know Emily even had a son," JJ said, a little hurt
" Jennifer, she planned on introducing you to David after she asked you to marry her. They both picked out your ring together to make it unique. Emily changed after my mother died. She stopped visiting her son, refusing to endanger us. It was just like when she went undercover for six months when she worked at Interpol. She sent me this text." handing over her cell phone
JJ reads the four-worded message ' The Phenix hAs flJw.'
"The capitalisation means she is in danger. Do not contact her. Please Ask Jennifer." Abigail tells the surprised agents
"Jenny, will you be my Mum too like Mama tells me she hopes so, loves Mama as you do?" David stops and starts fitting.
Abby jumps in and helps him during the short fit. He is presently sleeping his little fit off in his power chair.
" He got himself overexcited. He has wanted to meet you for years, Jennifer. Emily is very protective of David; she has a complicated past and can be overly protective of her son. She blames herself for not noticing the signs of his meningitis early enough. By the time she took him to the hospital, he had a severe case of bacterial meningitis. The doctors successfully treated him, but he had some brain damage. David is an enthusiastic young man, his mother's proudest moment and worst moment combined into one constant reminder. She would do anything to protect her family." Abigail tells the three agents
" come inside, Abigail; you can stay with me. I will arrange agents to watch my house." Rossi tells her
"Thank you, Agent Rossi." smiled Abigail
EJ
Hotch listened to everything Garcia and Maddy had collected. The normally unreadable man now looked furious the more he heard.
" you need to see this, Mr Hotchner," Maddy told the FBI man that intimidated her
"Hotch, Maddy, please." smiled Hotch attempting to calm the anxious hacker
He watched the video extract from the round table room at Quantico when JJ refused to visit Emily. Knowing his team was exploding from the inside, it was time for him to return and bring the resurrected Garcia with him. He needed their help. Knowing Emily was innocent was one thing now he legally required to prove her innocence.
"Garcia, are you ready to be reborn. Maddy, are you up for a visit to Quantico. Time to go and get Emily out." Hotch asked his hacking duo.
"Are you going to introduce me to that honey?" smirked Maddy
EJ
Her ribs ached, and her face was tender and swollen from her welcome earlier. Emily and Issy had been locked in their cell as a punishment for Emily bad-mouthing the FBI agents. The chief guard made it very clear as she locked their cell door.
"I'm sorry about this, Issy. I didn't mean to cause you any problems when I got a little carried away with my old friends.
"Where did you say you were from?" asked a sleepy Emily
" Mexia, Texas, a little over nine and a half thousand people who live there, all but two hate me. I cost them their dreams to live like a wealthy bitch for two and a half years before the state police arrested me. I did so much damage, Emily. My 80-year-old grandmother still has to work at the family diner. My mother will not be able to retire because of me." a very remorseful woman told her, " I wish I could repay every cent, but it's all gone, Emily. Booze, Drugs, Fashion and Texas Hold 'em poker, which I suck at."
" Is that why you let them mistreat you?" asked Emily
Issy just nodded as her tears poured down her face; Emily struggled up and grabbed her cellmate's hand. Trying to comfort her
"We all make mistakes, Isobel. Does your family still stay in contact?" Emily asked her upset friend
"No." was the simple reply
"They had to be seen to disown you to be able to stay in Mexia?" she asked, her heart heavy, thinking of her David
" you have one friend, me, for as long as I am here. I promise you now, Isabel, I will regularly visit once if I get released from here." she squeezed her upset friend's hand.
" how much did you get charged with stealing with your Ponzi scheme?" enquired Emily
" A total of 5 million dollars, it doesn't sound a lot, but for the people of Mexia, it was everything, Emily. I even stole from my own family. It was an addiction." she sighed
Emily laid down, trying to sleep.
EJ
JJ, Morgan, Rossi and Reid had been summoned to the round table room by a mysterious call from Hotch.
"What do you think this is about?" asked a curious Reid
" Drama queen Prentiss demanding my presence again, no doubt. I didn't know that woman; she had a hidden son," grumbled JJ
" No, I bet she has important information that proves she is innocent." laughed Morgan
The group didn't notice the group of three enter the room.
"ENOUGH!" yelled Garcia. "That's because Emily Prentiss is innocent. She is being set up, very well set up." shouted a very annoyed Penelope Garcia
Four very shocked people turned and glanced at the analyst they all believed dead.
"Penelope!" shouted JJ and Morgan. Rossi and Reid still looked shocked, with smiles on their faces
"SSA Derek Morgan, SSA Jennifer Jareau, sit your backsides back down. I will deal with you both later." The tone of her voice instantly stopped both agents. " This is Maddy, a fellow hacker. Sorry Hotch, all yours, sir." apologised Penelope
" Carry on, Penelope." Hotch smiled
" Emily, for the past six months, has been forced to do things to safeguard our family members. Forcing her to leave the BAU and you, sweet Jennifer. Failure would result in severe injury or even death." she told the speechless group
Morgan gasped as he watched his sister leave the convenience store where she had been attacked, obviously live—watched in horror as the perps ran away, leaving her unconscious on the floor.
Next, they watched a drunk Emily escorted from her Condo by a couple to the stairwell. They watched the brunette tumble down the flight of stairs after being pushed. JJ gasped as she watched her leg being broken. The audio had been cleaned up by the hackers allowing everyone to hear the threat.
"Remember, Prentiss; you're an alcoholic. It would be a shame for Jack, Sandy or Sarah to have a nasty accident." the woman told Emily as she walked off
Over the next hour, the two hackers presented their assembled evidence. The BAU members all looked shocked; JJ looked very guilty as well.
"Now we all know Emily is innocent; we now need to prove that with the evidence we can use in a court of law. We owe this to her for what she has done for us all. We can apologise to her profusely once we get her out of jail. I understand if you feel like you can't help out." Hotch told his team, already knowing everyone would help Emily.
EJ
Elle Greenway laid entangled with her two male escorts in the five-star hotel room after a very strenuous workout. She rolled out of her bed to grab another glass of champagne. Pouring herself a glass of the expensive bubbly, her hotel suite door opened; FBI agents burst through the open door, weapons drawn
"FBI ON THE FLOOR!" Yell the agents
Hotch laid a blanket over the naked, handcuffed body of Elle lying on the floor, still in shock.
The team is all aware Elle had suffered a breakdown after leaving the BAU, blaming Emily. She was the weakest link in the group. Garcia and Madison had listened to her clinical sessions with Her Psychiatrist. Penelope considered her gloves well and truly off, and they had caused her to hurt a friend. Nothing was sacred or safe if it was contained in cyberspace.
A very calm and collected JJ walked up to the woman that forced Emily to break up with her. She wanted all of them behind bars. Any empathy JJ had for her old colleague soon disappeared
" That bitch deserved everything she got, bitch stole my place in the BAU deserved to suffer." cried out Elle
EJ
Rossi, Strauss and Hotch observed the questioning of Elle Greenaway by Morgan and JJ. Strauss had thought it would be a foolish idea with two very emotional agents. Hotch had persuaded her with the caveat that he positioned agents outside the interview room door. Morgan and JJ performed professionally, though Elle knew both agents were ready to explode. The sweet innocent blue eye blonde looked like a human barbie doll. UnSub's frequently made that mistake. Jennifer Jareau was an avid kickboxer, a skilful black belt third dan. Elle had witnessed the petite, blond in action with a man twice her size and weight,
Three hours of questioning gave the team the actual names of the remaining five team members, all officially recorded and admissible in court.
EJ
JJ felt a horrible person; for six months, she had hated Emily Prentiss for what she had done. Watching her protect Sandy, her mother, she felt like an awful person. Fresh in her mind, the brunette had a bruised face and a broken finger.
Her hand strokes down the side of David Prentiss as he sleeps at Rossi's house. Laid next to David made her feel close to Emily.
"Jenny?" asked a sleepy David
" Sorry, sweetheart, I didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep. I will leave you alone
In peace." Smiled JJ sadly
" No, stay; Moma cuddles with me like this. I like it, Jenny." Smiled David.
Happy to accommodate the younger Prentiss, she snuggled into his side and soon fell asleep Abby found David snuggled into JJ's side, both sound asleep.
Pulling out her cell phone, she snapped several pictures of the sleeping pair. She closed the door quietly and walked to the kitchen.