Hey all, here is the next chapter for this fic. I just wanted to say how amazed I am by the attention that this story is getting. I never imagined that this many people would be interested in it, but to all of you who read this story, thank you. I hope you enjoy and please remember to review! Happy reading. x
P.S.: We're getting closer to the more...interesting (to say the least) chapters. I'm so excited for you all to read them, so stay tuned!
All rights go to the owners of Criminal Minds, except for my original character.
Not Like This
Chapter Eight: The Risk Worth Taking
"…Jamie?"
The young agent's green eyes opened at the soft call of her name. Looking at Angel, Jamie saw he was awake, responsive, and talking. He was talking, talking to her and it made Jamie smile. She sat up closer to the boy, but still regarded his wariness.
"How are you feeling?' Jamie asked, hoping he wouldn't shut down before she could try to get anything from him.
Angel looked at Jamie, adjusting himself in the bed. "…fine."
"Three syllables so far…that's a start." she told herself. Nodding her head, Jamie sat back in her seat. She didn't ask other questions for a moment, until she remembered that the boy could shut down again without a warning.
"Angel, my team and I-" Jamie started, but she didn't want to come off a unsensitive. "We need your help. The person that took you, has taken another boy and we need to find him. Can you help us do that?"
There was no response from the boy. He looked away from Jamie and the guilt hit her like a brick. Jamie ran her hands down her face, silently scolding herself for the exact thing she didn't want to happen. Clearing her throat, Jamie looked back over to Angel. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I wish we knew why, but right now we don't. But you, Angel, you can help us to make sure that this man doesn't hurt anybody else." There they were, the unshed tears she was holding in. "You don't need to feel shameful or like this is your fault, because it's not. But I can tell that it's not good for nobody to keep their pain buried inside of them. Pain can destroy a person. You can't let this guy beat you, let him get the best of you. Please, don't give him that. We can take away what he took from you-what he values the most, and that's his own freedom; but I need your help to do that."
Jamie's watery, green eyes watched Angel as he seemed to be studying her. She wasn't purposely trying to put on a show for the boy, but watching him trying to cut his wrist, sent her over the edge.
"Okay." Angel replied silently. Then, his eyes went behind Jamie, letting her know that someone was standing behind her.
"Angel," JJ said, approaching the boy. "Can you tell us if any of these men look familiar?"
Jamie gave JJ a look that told her it might not be the best idea, especially since she just got him to speak to her. JJ looked back at her, telling her they needed to do it.
Jamie looked back at Angel, who's own eyes were now watery. He observed the tablet with the male's pictures on it and eventually said, "No. It was always too dark to see." Angel's eyes shifted back to Jamie. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay." Jamie reassured him. She looked back at JJ, who knew exactly where the conversation had to turn. It would be dark and unpleasant, but it had to be done. "Angel, we know that you don't want to talk about this, but it's very important that you tell us…what happened to you." Jamie cleared her throat, already feeling uncomfortable. "What did he do?"
Angel gave no answer, his eyes looking blankly at Jamie. He swallowed the big lump that was in his throat. "He-he used to bite me. He hasn't for a while, though. A-and he did other things…"
"Will you let the doctor take a look?" JJ questioned.
"Yes."
Jamie gave Angel a reassuring look as her phone rang from her pocket. "I'll be right outside, okay?"
Angel nodded, watching Jamie take her call outside.
"Carter." she answered.
"Carter, is Angel's mother still at the hospital?" Hotch asked.
Jamie looked in the waiting area of the floor. Mrs. Suarez hadn't left that spot ever since they told her she would eventually get to talk to her son. "She's still here. She wants to talk to her son…"
"We know, but we need you to ask her if Angel had a puppy the day he was taken."
"Okay, give me one second." Jamie walked towards Angel's mother. "Hotch, I'm putting you on speaker, okay?"
"Hi, Mrs. Suarez." Jamie greeted. "I'm on the phone with the rest of my team and they think they might have a valid clue. Did Angel have a puppy when he was younger? One that might've went missing when he did?"
"I, uh…" Mrs. Suarez shook her head, not immediately remembering any dog. Then, the lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh, that's right." she spoke. "Some of our neighbors had a litter and were giving them away that day. I wouldn't let the boys keep one…"
Jamie held the phone up to her mouth. "Hotch, did you get that?"
"Yeah, thanks, Jamie."
"Hey, wait. Hotch…" Jamie called before he could hang up. She took the phone off speaker, dismissing herself politely from Angel's mother. Turning her back, she put the phone to her ear. "I need to be a part of this."
"What do you mean?" Hotch questioned, but Jamie knew that he knew what she meant.
"I need to be out there when we take this son-of-a-bitch down."
"Carter, you-"
"Please, Hotch. I told Angel that I would get this guy…I promised him. I have to be out there when we do."
The line was silent for a minute, all except some shuffling on the other end. She heard a sigh and then, "Can you be at the precinct in ten?"
Jamie held back her grin as she replied, "Make it nine." She rushed back to Angel's room, seeing him and JJ talking to one another.
"JJ, can I talk to you for a second?"
The coworker nodded, following Jamie outside the room. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I got the okay from Hotch to join the other's in the field."
"Wait, really?"
Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I just need to tell Angel."
The two agents went back into the room. Jamie sat down in the chair by Angel's bed. She held out her hand, offering it to the boy. He accepted, looking at Jamie.
"I made you a promise," she began. "and now it's time for me to keep that promise. I need to go for a while, but JJ will be here with you. There's nothing to worry about. Okay?" Jamie's eyes were soft, but her voice was stern, without seeming too alarming.
Angel nodded and so did Jamie, understanding that he knew she was doing her job.
So, Jamie stood up from the seat and gave both other occupants a smile. She walked out the hospital, on her way to get justice and to save another young boy from the trauma one had already faced.
Red and blue lights were no joke. Once the cars were off to the side, Jamie was able to race her way down any road. She arrived to the precinct, hopping out of the SUV within record speed. Entering the building, she was met with the sight of her team already on their way out the door. Her eyes met with Hotch's and she knew she made it just in time. They all went back out the building, piling into their SUVs.
The dark of the night made Jamie's anger for the man that had done this to Angel overwhelm her. There was no need to remind her to not be emotionally invested in the case, because it was too late for that. She was going to be the one to take down the son-of-a-bitch, whether she got hurt in the process of not.
With Hotch in the driver's seat, he made a call on speaker to JJ. "We're all on our way to Allen's house." he informed her.
"You're thinking he has a secondary location?"
"He could, but guys like this one tend to keep their victims close." Rossi added. "We're going to search every inch of his property."
"Keep me posted." JJ said, ending the call.
Jamie shifted uncomfortable in her seat. Her bullet-proof vest felt like it was squeezing her. She assumed it was her breathing pattern, it was heavy and quick. Luckily, J.B. Allen's house was not that far, they were practically there since they used their lights to get around traffic.
When the SUV came to a stop, Jamie was the first to jump out. Her gun was already in her hand, ready to find the unsub. The rest of the team followed, along with officers from the station. They all walked forward to the house, guns at the ready. Upon the steps, Rossi was the one to open the door to the possible cage for victims. Entering with guns at the ready, the agents and officers searched the house with stealth. Their flashlights shined on anything visible, their eyes observing every noticeable surface. When the rooms in the house were cleared, they made their way down to the basement.
Hotch, Rossi, and then Jamie made their way down the old stairs. The drill was the same as the first floor. Lights, eyes, search, observe. There wasn't anything that pointed to Allen keeping his victims in the basement.
Jamie stood between the two older agents and said, "Angel told me and JJ that it was always dark."
"So, he must've had him underground somewhere." Hotch concluded.
"It's a big property, so let's keep looking." Rossi said.
They left the basement, their legs taking them to th outside of the house again, to the back side. There were sketchy sheds back there. You couldn't miss them even if you tried. Exchanging looks for the ready, the door was kicked open to a cloud of dust. Hotch and Jamie entered at the same time, their flashlights and gun never faltering. When her foot landed on an unfamiliar surface, Jamie pointed her light down, noticing the tarp on the ground.
"Hotch…"
Hotch acknowledge her call, his eyes meeting the same sight her eyes were fixed on. He bent down and pulled the tarp away, revealing a door with a lock on the outside. A light was turned on from above, thanks to one of the helping officers. When Hotch opened up the door, Jamie felt sick to her stomach.
"Jesus…" she whispered.
Hotch went down into the hole, searching both ends before he cleared it.
"His truck is still here, so maybe he is, too." Rossi offered.
"He better god damn well be…" Jamie seethed, lowering her gun. Rossi gave her a look and she knew, she knew that things had gone too far.
"No, he wouldn't risk that. He has to have another vehicle." Hotch pointed out. "I'll get the road blocks back up."
"Any idea where he would go?" one of the officer's asked.
"Someplace that feels like home to him. Let's get going."
Once again in the SUV, Jamie sat in the back. Her mind was racing, thinking about what it would be like to get her hands around Allen's throat. Of course, if she had voiced the thoughts out loud, she would be in some deep waters; but her mind was a safe place for the dark thoughts that swirled around up there. There's demons that live within every person on the planet. They mess with your brain, they mock your reflection, make you doubt yourself. Then, there are the ones that turn people into monsters. How they have that sort of power, nobody knows; except for the one who gives it a home.
Breaking her from her own daze, Jamie heard the phone ring from the front of the car.
"We found his target-rich environment." the voice informed, Jamie identifying it as Emily.
"The construction sights?" Hotch asked.
"Yeah."
"Ask Sam if she remembers a specific one. It would be one that he frequently took her to."
"Just one place?" Emily questioned.
"He keeps his victims for years. So, the burial sites would be someplace he sees as special, giving him a reason to revisit the site."
Jamie listened intently the chatter on the other end of the line. Emily was trying to get Allen's daughter to remember things she didn't know that she remembered.
"…he said it's the place that changed everything for him. It set the foundation." Sam finished.
"Hotch, did you get that?" Emily asked.
"Yes."
It felt like a lifetime before they got to the site, but Jamie and the other members of her team made it there just in time. Her eyes locked onto the big machinery that was being operated, seeing Allen trying to take off before he could be caught. Before the SUV even came to a complete stop, Jamie was out of the car, running with everything she had towards the unsub. It wasn't that hard to catch up to him, considering he was older, but Jamie didn't dare put it past him. When she was close enough, she dove at him as he made his way down a ditch. They both rolled around in it, trying to get the upper hand on the other. Her injury from earlier where Angel had accidentally cut her arm with a blade, began to bleed through its bandages and the blood trickled down her arm. Even though Jamie had a height disadvantage, her strength came through when it mattered the most. The intense fire of anger that had been burning in her body now had the source of its creation.
She ended up over him, taking his jacket by the shoulders and throwing his head to the ground. Jamie didn't hold back, either. She delivered a punch straight to the guy's face.
Then another, and another, and then another one. Her hits were fueled with force, enough to ask herself is she had broken her own hand. She didn't want to stop. In her mind, anything else that the bastard got as a punishment would be too easy for him.
"Carter, stop! That's enough! That's enough!" Hotch called to her.
But she didn't stop.
"Carter!" Hotch had to take her by her toros and lift her off Allen, who was clearly knocked the hell out. She shook herself loose from Hotch's grip, looking up to him as he eyed her with concern. She looked down to her right hand and saw the blood and the broken skin of her knuckles. Seeing that Rossi had taken care of Allen, Jamie shook some of the dripping blood from her hand and walked away from a disgusting sight.
At the ambulance, while her hand and arm was being worked on, Jamie watched as Allen was being put into the back seat. She winced as the bandage was being put around her skin, shrugging off the medic's apology. Then, she caught sight of her unit chief stalking towards her.
"Can we have a minute?" Hotch asked the medic, even though it wasn't really a question.
The medic nodded, leaving the two agents alone to speak. Jamie was waiting for Hotch to scold her, but he didn't say anything, he just stared at her and she stared back.
"He got less than what he deserves." Jamie finally spoke up.
Hotch exhaled a breath he was holding. "I know that, but that was risky, what you did."
"I know"
"This isn't the place for rogue agents, Carter. I understand that this case got the better of your emotions, but something like this…it can't happen again. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Jamie replied, standing to her feet. She knew she was taking another risk with her next statement, but she need to do it. "I'm going to get a ride back to the hospital with one of the officer's, if that's okay, of course."
Hotch nodded once, not giving a verbal response. He left Jamie by the ambulance, momentarily questioning her own sanity.
Arriving back at the hospital, Jamie swiftly made her way through the security on the floor where Angel was staying. Before she dared to enter his room, she took a minute to compose herself. What would she say to him? What if Angel asked about her hand? Deciding to cross that bridge when they came to it, Jamie walked a normal pace to the familiar hospital room. She stopped at the door, knocking before she came inside. Jamie smiled at JJ and Angel, taking her stand at the end of the bed.
"Your hand…" Angel voiced, concern evident for the young agent.
Jamie held her injured hand in front of her. There was some blood seeping through the bandaging, but nothing to worry about. She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "It's nothing. I'm okay."
She looked to JJ, telling her that she was going to let Angel know that Allen had been caught.
"Angel…it's done. The man that did this to you, who took that other boy, we got him. It's over." Her voice cracked as she spoke, giving away her stoic front she was playing for the boy.
Jamie's eyes weren't the only pair that had shine to them. Angel shed a couple of tears himself. To hear that the man who had held him for years and abused him so many ways, was finally captured, of course it had an emotional effect.
Jamie composed herself, sniffling her nose. "Um, I don't know if you're ready, but there is someone who has been waiting to see you."
"Angel, your mom is here." JJ informed the boy.
He looked between the two agents, nodding his head slightly. Turing over is covers from the bed, he grabbed onto the monitor that also had his IV's. JJ was by him, right by his side if he needed help. When he was standing steady, all three of them made their way out into the hallway.
"I'll go get her." JJ told them.
Jamie and Angel stood there, side by side, watching as JJ made her way to his mother.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Angel looked at Jamie, then back towards the end of the hall where his mother would come from. "Yeah."
It took her by surprise, but when she realized when Angel ha wrapped her in a hug, she couldn't help the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. She hugged him back, hesitantly at first, but her arms eventually wrapped around the boy. When she opened her eyes again, she saw JJ and Mrs. Suarez standing at the end of the hall, watching them.
"Hey, look over there." Jamie told Angel.
He released her from the hug, looking to where she was motioning with her head. There was his mother, waiting to once again hold her baby. Angel gave Jamie one last questioning look, as if he was asking her if he should go.
"It's okay." Jamie reassured him, eyes rimmed with red.
Angel started walking slowly towards his mother with the monitor in his hand. Mrs. Suarez did the same, but as they got closer to one another, her crying was more clear and she engulfed her son in a hug.
JJ walked back over to Jamie and gave her a small smile. The two female agents watched as the reunited duo hugged in front of them.
"You know that he's never going to forget you, right?" JJ asked Jamie.
Jamie looked at her teammate, grinning half-heartedly. She was happy that Angel was safe and that Allen was caught, but she couldn't shake a bad feeling. "You don't think I'll just be another reminder of the worst thing to ever happen to him?"
"Absolutely not." JJ assured. "You gave him some hope, promises you kept. Don't sell yourself short for doing your job."
Jamie nodded, eyes still focused on the two people in front of her. This was a happy ending in her book. A family reunited, a child abductor in custody with a little blood on his face. This was the job she lived for, no matter how much it hurt and no matter how much she gave into the darkness. Delivering justice to those who deserved it, gave Jamie more hope that maybe one day, things wouldn't be so terrible.
The flight back to Quantico was quiet. Everybody on the team was doing their own thing. Some were sleeping, some were listening to music, another reading, and one in particular couldn't let her mind rest.
Jamie readjusted herself in the seat of the jet, leaning her head against the window. Her eyes danced around, looking at the different lights from the cities below her. She had another victory under her belt, so why was she beating herself up about the whole thing? Perhaps it's because she still felt sad for Angel, but she left him in good hands and they had parted on good terms.
"Hey…" Spencer greeted her softly, sitting in the seat opposite of her.
Jamie jumped a little when he spoke, calming when she realized it was just Spencer.
"Didn't mean to scare you."
Jamie rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter in her seat. "No, it's okay. What's up?"
"I, uh, just heard Hotch and Rossi talking earlier."
Jamie knew exactly what he was referring to. "Are you here to scold me or something?" she joked.
"Nope. Just want to know what happened."
The young, female agent sighed, meeting the hazel eyes in front of her. "I lost it. I saw Allen there trying to run off…and after everything that Angel had told us from earlier, everything we learned about him…I wanted to hurt him.
Spencer didn't respond, he just stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
"That's how I hurt my myself." she told him, holding up her bandaged hand.
"What about the one on your arm?" he questioned, pointing to the bandage there.
Jamie lifted her arm, eyeing the big, white cover up on her forearm. "It was just an accident..."
Spencer nodded in understanding, yet, he was still focused on getting what he wanted from the person in front of him. Jamie could see that and she tried to come up with the best possible explanation as to why she did what she did.
She shrugged her shoulders, mouth twisting a little. "I don't know, Spencer. I don't know why this one hit me harder than the others."
"It's probably because it involved a child and you felt for him. It happens…"
"Yeah, but…I've never been the person who lets my thoughts or emotions get the best of me, especially with work. It's been what-three, almost four weeks since I started and this one case, I cried more tears than I have in years." Jamie scoffed at herself, silently berating her own emotions. "What does that make me?"
"…it makes you human." Spencer told her.
Jamie offered him a small grin, sitting back in her seat. She yawned and looked back at Spencer, who had already gotten up to leave her alone. The two of them hadn't really spoke a lot since their "discussion" after her first case. The only times they spoke to one another was either the occasional hello or bye they said to each other as the day began and ended, or when they were working on cases.
Jamie never thought too much about them possibly being friends, but more like civilized, co-existing teammates who kicked ass and hunted down serial killers. She didn't know if she could be the kind of person who could sit across from someone who at one time, meant the world to her and have everything feel normal. She wasn't sure how they could have a normal, everyday conversation without things going south or opening up old wounds. Then, he had to come along and practically tell her that it was normal for her to feel the way she did.
Would that change things?
Thanks for reading and please remember to review! I would really appreciate it.
If you like Supernatural, check out my other work(s): The Unforeseeable Life of Alexandra Winchester & Alexandra Winchester: One-Shots
