Author's Note: Little bit of a gap between updates, I know, but at least I'm still going and haven't left you hanging for months again right? For those of you that tuned in and read the chapter of my experimental interactive piece I started, you'll see that it has been deleted. I decided that I just really didn't have the time to really get it going and I owe you all my focus on this story first. Then it was also brought to my attention that interactive stories are actually against rules for whatever reason. So that being said, I'll be just working on this one for now. Enjoy!
Garcia and Milo had been idly chatting in the dusty office when Cassi's voice crackled from the radio on the desk, making them both jump in surprise.
"Morgan, what are you doing?"
Morgan's breathy reply came a few seconds later, "we might need it again."
"That ice may not hold your weight Derek." Cassi's voice was louder now, holding a warning in its tone.
"Did she just say ice?" Garcia asked, turning wide eyes to Milo. Milo shrugged.
"Well if it doesn't, just pull me out."
"Oh no you don't Derek Morgan," Garcia scolded and reached for the radio to tell him exactly how she felt about their line of conversation. Before she could key it up, Milo grabbed her hand softly.
"Leave the air wave clear until they're done. You could cut them off when they really need to hear each other."
Garcia thought about it for a moment and nodded. She would tell yell at him later when she knew he was safe from whatever it was he was about to do.
The radio was silent for a few minutes. Milo and Garcia stared at it as if by watching it they would be able to see what was happening on the other side.
"Are you ok?" Cassi's voice broke the silence again, this time sounding very worried.
"Yea, I just have to…"
Suddenly his voice disappeared mid-sentence and drown out into static. Garcia's eyes jumped to the computer and widened when one of the red blips on the screen vanished. This time Milo didn't stop her when she grabbed the radio and yelled into it.
"Morgan?" She released the button and waited only a moment before pressing it again, "Derek Morgan you answer me!"
"What's going on?"
Hotch's voice came from directly behind her. He'd been out checking in with the men in the airport office and re-entered just in time to hear Garcia's nearly frantic yell into the radio.
"We don't know," Milo answered for her as she ignored him and continued to talk into the radio. "Something about walking on ice and then nothing."
Hotch eyed the computer screen, noting that there were only two red dots instead of three. His stomach twisted but he told himself it didn't mean anything more than one of the radios wasn't online. Why it wasn't online, he didn't know.
"Emily?" Garcia changed tactics, "Emily can you hear me?"
Only silence answered them for a few moments until it finally broke with a voice that brought tears to Garcia's eyes.
"I hear you Garcia," Emily's breathless voice answered, "can't talk…Cas…"
Her voice cut out on a yell that they assumed was Cassi's name and Garcia's heart stopped as another dot on the computer vanished.
"Milo," Hotch gripped the younger man's shoulder, "Do you know how to get a hold of Mason?"
Milo nodded.
"Get him in here," he ordered, "we need the chopper in the air."
Milo shot up from his chair, rushed across the room and pulled a cell phone from the computer bag he'd set there earlier. He quickly dialed it up and listened while watching Garcia tap away at her keyboard, zooming in on the remaining red blip on the map.
"What?" Mason answered on the third ring.
"You need to get back here," Milo spoke quickly, "sounds like trouble on the mountain. They need an evac."
"What's visibility look like up there?"
Milo snuck a peek over Hotch's shoulder at the weather tracker running on screen.
"Maybe a mile," he grimaced, "very low winds though."
"Winds don't matter if I can't see anything."
"Well just get back here and we can assess it then," Milo sounded irritated, "if they clear us then we don't have to wait."
"What's going on with Cassi?"
"We don't know yet."
"So they might not even need an evac?"
"Maybe. Come on Mason, do your damn job and just get back here!" Milo snapped. The pilot's lack of action irritated him.
"Don't shit your pants just yet," Mason rasped, "I'm on my way back. Call me if anything changes."
Milo hung up without another word and stuffed the phone into his pants pocket.
"He's on his way," he reported to Hotch, "but I have no idea how long it will take him to get here."
Hotch nodded and took to pacing behind Garcia, watching the remaining dot on the screen.
Nearly ten minutes after Cassi's voice had first broken across the radio Emily's breathless, but slightly calmer sounding voice crackled through.
"Garcia, do you copy me?"
"Emily?" Garcia answered, "God, Emily are you alright? Where's Morgan? Are the others ok? What happened?"
Hotch set his hand on Garcia's shoulder, cutting off her rapid fire questions to give Emily a chance to answer them.
"I'm fine," Emily answered, "We're all ok."
"What happened?" Hotch asked, taking the radio mic from Garcia.
"We had to cross the river. It was frozen, but Morgan fell through. Cassi went in while trying to get to him but was able to push him out. They're cold but doing ok. I think their radios are toast though."
"Don't worry about the radios. We have Mason coming in and we're going to try to get the chopper out to you."
"What? No Hotch," Emily choked back, "we're fine. They just need to rest for a bit and warm up and then we'll be good to go. The other's need us."
Hotch thought silently for a moment before releasing a deep sigh.
"Ok," he agreed, "It's looking like the winds have died down and soon the storms should be over. We'll get the chopper up as soon as we can do it safely to search ahead of you and hopefully find a clearing to land."
"We'll keep an eye out for any clearing when we get moving again. We've only got about three miles to go, but we probably won't make the cabin by nightfall. If you get a hold of Dave again, let them know we'll be there in the morning."
"Understood," Hotch knew he needed to end the transmission. Now with only one radio, they needed to conserve their batteries as much as possible.
"I'll let you know if anything changes," Emily said and then signed off, leaving the old office in silence once again.
"Do you want me to call Mason back?" Milo asked, pulling his phone from his pocket.
"No," Hotch answered, "We're going to need him sooner or later and I don't want to have to wait for him when we do."
Milo nodded and returned the phone to his pocket. They stood in silence for a few seconds before Hotch moved away and Milo sat back down. They were back to the waiting game. Hotch soon decided that despite his team being disposed, they still had a killer to catch when it was all over. So he pulled the case file from his pack and set it on his lap. Even if he got nowhere with it, at least it would distract him for a while.
Back up in the cabin JJ's foot was throbbing. They'd spent the night uncomfortably sitting on the couch after Dan had thoroughly tied their hands and feet to keep them from escaping. She laughed at the thought. Where would they possibly go if they did escape? After he'd tied them up, he'd climbed up into the bed and simply watched them until he'd fallen asleep. Once they knew he was sleeping soundly, Rossi had begun chewing at the ropes on his wrists. If he could just get untied, he could sneak over and secure the rifle that Dan had tucked up against his side. That's when the hound sleeping at the foot of the bed lifted his head at Rossi's movements and bellowed a deep bark. Dan was awake instantly, laughing and reminded them that even while he was sleeping, they were being guarded.
That was nearly nine hours ago. Now JJ imagined the sun was high in the sky despite being blocked out by thick clouds and falling snow she could see through the dingy window in front of them. She wondered how Emily and Morgan had fared the night out in the cold. Her back and neck were stiff from the awkward half slouching position she had eventually slept in for a few hours after sheer exhaustion just wouldn't allow her to stay awake anymore. She could tell by their stiff movements at her sides that both Rossi and Reid felt the same way. She was afraid to look down at her foot. She could feel it throbbing with every beat of her heart that pushed blood down into the damaged veins. She was sure it was infected now having gone for two nights untreated.
Next to her Reid's stomach growled loudly and she looked to him sympathetically. Dan was at the kitchen stove cooking up bacon and after two days without eating more than a couple granola bars, they were all famished.
"They'll be here soon," she whispered to Reid, "then we can have nice hot showers and a big dinner."
He gave her a sheepish smile and nodded. He was still worried about what would actually happen when Morgan and Emily got to the cabin. They wouldn't be expecting an armed killer. His line of thought was disrupted when Dan set three plates of bacon and scrambled eggs on the coffee table in front of them. They eyed him suspiciously refusing to move.
"Don't want it," he growled, "don't eat it. It won't hurt my feelings."
With that he walked away and they listened to his boots clunk across the floor until he disappeared out the front door. JJ risked a glance to make sure he was gone before turning back to the plates of food. Across the table sat the hound, staring wide eyed at their plates with a long string of drool slipping from his lip to the floor.
"Oh screw it," she said, moving her tied hands toward the plate and grabbing a piece of bacon, "I'm hungry."
"Yeah. I don't think he would have done anything to it knowing his dog could get into it," Reid agreed and picked up his own plate.
Rossi agreed and they ate in silence, using their dirty hands to eat. Dan re-entered the house and said nothing to them before digging through the footlocker and leaving again.
"We need a plan," Rossi said quietly once he'd left. "We need to let the team know it's dangerous."
They silenced in deep thought for a few minutes before Reid's head shot up and he forced himself to speak quietly.
"You said that Cassi is with them right?"
Rossi nodded. Still not quite believing it himself yet.
"Then we need to get outside," he spoke quickly, "do you remember in DC when she led us up the mountain to recover Rebecca Marrow's body?"
"How could I forget?" Rossi smirked, vividly remembering the sounds of the crossbow arrows whizzing by his ear.
"Cassi was able to warn us about the trap because she recognized the broken bark on the trees. If we can get outside and mark some trees, maybe we'll get lucky and she'll spot them and know it's a trap."
"That's a good plan kid," Rossi smiled, "now the trick is getting outside."
After a few minutes, Dan stomped back into the cabin, knocking the snow from his boots and swiping it from his head and shoulders.
"Hey Dan," Rossi called over to him, "this place have a bathroom? Nature calls."
Dan scowled, "I told you, no electricity and no running water. Nature calls, you take it up with nature."
"Well can you at least untie my feet so I can go outside," Rossi smirked, "I'd hate to ruin your couch."
Dan thought for a minute and then approached them. He eyed them carefully before deciding that he was telling the truth and he really didn't want the cabin smelling of a urine soaked couch. He slowly crouched down, brandishing the hunting knife in his hand for good measure before cutting through the ropes at Rossi's ankles.
"Make it fast," he instructed, "you run, I kill the girl."
JJ frowned. Why did it always have to be the girl? Not that she wanted the threat to be directed at the boy either. But she wasn't worried. Rossi wasn't going to run.
Rossi stood, flinching as his tight muscles pulled and protested the stretching movement before walking quickly to the door. He opened it and was surprised by how cold it was outside the dinky cabin. The snow was falling heavily and he frowned knowing that Morgan and Prentiss, and hopefully Cassi, were out hiking in it.
He hurried out away from the structure and into a small clump of pines. He risked a glance back at the cabin, checking to see if he could be seen from the window and when he was satisfied that he couldn't, he dropped down and dug deep into the snow. His hand his something hard and he pulled the rough edged rock from the ground and quickly rubbed it against the wet tree bark. The bark peeled away easily, the lighter colored under layer shining through. IF they were looking, they'd see it for sure. He tucked the rock into his pocket before returning to the cabin. He'd pass it along to JJ when she decided that nature was also calling. Between the three of them, depending on how far out the team was, they could mark multiple trees to cover the many directions the team could be coming from. He just hoped they'd see them before Dan saw them coming.
Emily sat between the sleeping forms of her companions silently thinking of the events of the day. Sitting in the tent doing nothing while the lost daylight was making her anxious but she knew that the mere minutes Cassi and Morgan had been in the frigid water and drained them of all the energy they had. The fact that they were both still out cold after two hours attested to that. But her mind kept going to her friends in the cabin. What were they doing while they were here? Were they suffering from injuries they'd received in the crash? They had to be starving by now with no food available to them.
Movement from her left drew her attention as Morgan turned over onto his back and stretched his arms out over his head. He blinked a few times before sitting up and looking at her. He swore at his aching muscles that protested his movements. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck.
"How long was I out?" he asked quietly, noting Cassi was still asleep.
"Couple hours," Emily answered, "I briefed Hotch."
He nodded, "Any word on the others?"
"No," she frowned, "He said the storm looks like it's over. They're going to get the chopper up to search ahead of us as soon as the snow slows down."
Morgan nodded and glanced over at Cassi as she turned over, disturbed by their voices. She blinked a few times, confusion flashing over her face before she turned back onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
"What time is it?" she croaked, then cleared her throat.
"Almost four," Emily answered, "How are you feeling?"
"Better than I did a couple hours ago," she answered honestly. "We've got about two and a half hours of daylight left. What do you say we make use of them and get out of here?"
Emily blinked in surprise at the suggestion. Cassi had been very careful to have them settled securely before night fell the night before.
"Think we'll get very far?" Morgan asked, just as surprised as Emily had been.
"That's up to you guys," Cassi answered, sitting up and kicking off her sleeping bag, "We've been delayed too much. I don't like it, but since the wind isn't threatening to blow us of the mountain, we can walk into the night to make up for lost time."
"Is that safe?" Emily asked.
"None of this is safe. But thanks to Morgan, we still have the rope. We can use it to tie off to each other same as before. We'll just be blind because it's dark and not because of whiteout conditions. I'm tired of being stuck just waiting. It's up to you."
Emily looked to Morgan who nodded to her. Of course they'd want to continue. They wanted to get to their friends as soon as possible.
"Let's do it," Morgan spoke, standing up.
They made quick work of packing up their sleeping bags and bundling themselves up into the snowsuits before breaking down the tent and double checking the area to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind. They filled their water bottles and canteens with fresh fallen snow to melt while they hiked and set off toward the cabin.
Morgan's legs protested the first few steps into the deep snow and he wondered how long they would actually be able to go into the night before one of them gave out. He and Cassi were still exhausted and Emily hadn't slept at all. He doubted they'd make it all the way to the cabin, but it was progress. They were now ahead of schedule and it gave him a new sense of accomplishment. If all went well, Rossi, Reid and JJ would wake up in the morning to their friends at their sides. He smiled to himself and took another step. Only a few more hours.
Back at the airport office, Mason had just stepped out of the cab he'd hired to drop him off when his phone rang. Irritated he looked at it expecting to see Milo's number across the screen, but instead he straightened up and turned away from the office he'd been walking towards and cleared his throat to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hello Mason." The thick voice on the other end of the voice made him wince.
"Mr. Deveraux." He greeted in response.
"I am not happy Mason," Deveraux chided.
"Sir?"
"I was supposed to have a delivery from your boss yesterday Mason. I have no delivery and your employer is nowhere to be found. Care to explain?"
"Something has come up Sir," Mason swore at Cassi silently, "We had to make a detour."
"A detour?"
"I believe it's a personal matter Sir."
"Personal?" Deveraux chuckled, "you know as well as I that there is no "personal" matters here in this business Mason."
"Yes sir, I know." Mason swallowed hard before continuing, "It's Cassi. I believe she's been compromised. I think she's playing both sides."
The phone was silent for a few seconds and Mason had to look down at his phone to see if he'd lost the connection before Deveraux spoke again.
"I see," was all he said. "Where is she?"
"We're in Kotzebue Alaska with a team of FBI agents. She's on a search and rescue mission attempting to find the rest of their team that went down in a plane two days ago."
"The FBI?"
"Yes Sir. What are your orders? What do you want me to do with her?" Mason asked quietly as if the people inside the small office a few yards away could hear him.
"Do you know where the target is?"
"No Sir. If she's found him, she hasn't told me about it."
"Then do nothing. I'll take care of her myself."
The line cut out and went dead without another word and Mason took a deep breath before turning back toward the office. He'd just have to tolerate Cassi's little pet Milo and his FBI computer tech friend for another day or two. It was that agent that had him on edge. Agent Hotchner. He would be watching him closely until Cassi returned. Only then could Mason make his move and by then, Agent Hotchner would be the least of their worries.
Author's Note: Dun Dun dunnn! So the team is almost off the mountain, but the real fun is just beginning. Click that review button and let me know what you think!