"Is everything all right, ma'am?" Penelope asked as she looked up at Strauss, seeing the serious, drawn, look on her face and the way she was worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Everything about her body language screamed that she wanted to drown the tension that she was under in the bottom of a bottle, and Penelope felt for the woman, knowing how hard it had to be to come back from rehab and have this be the first case. Reaching out, she touched Strauss's hand lightly, trying to get her attention, and finally, the woman tore her eyes away from the camera feed they had been watching to look into her eyes.
"Am I that obvious?" she whispered before licking her lips and taking a deep breath. "Of course I am, why would I even ask something so ridiculous. I've ignored calls from the Director, gone against what everything in the handbook says that I should do, and what have we gained? An agent's partner was shot, and we have no idea if he's dead or alive. Because of my decisions."
"Hey, stop that line of thought. You did not pull the trigger on that gun. You did not choose to hold up this bank. You are just trying to make the best of a bad situation. These unsubs, they're some of the worst that we've seen, because they're so chaotic. There's no good way to profile them, but at least you have Hotch heading things up. He's one of the most level-headed men I know."
Strauss nodded absently, her attention drawn to the monitor once more. "Where did the Queen of Hearts go?" she muttered as she tightened her hands around the back of Penelope's chair.
"I have no clue."
She turned her attention back to the monitors, trying to figure out what was going on, but all she seemed able to focus on was the remaining brother pacing around like a caged lion, ready to strike out at the next person who came into his path. It took a moment for her to register that her phone was ringing, and she pressed the button on her Bluetooth, hearing Reid's voice enter her ear before she put him on speaker. "…that just doesn't make sense. We know that there are only two ways in or out of the building, and we're covering them both. Unless…what are our team doing right now, Garcia?"
She cleared her throat as she searched the monitors for them. "It looks like they're getting ready to storm the building to try and rescue the hostages. Why?"
As she glanced between monitors, she saw that the accomplice was now headed for the back of the bank, and she frowned as her heart dropped into her stomach, knowing that Reid was about to tell her nothing good. Pushing away from the desk, she tried to ignore the slight gasp of pain that Strauss let out when she rolled over her toe as she started for the door. "Garcia, you need to get everyone away from the perimeter of the building. She's been trying to find the right place…"
"I got it," she said as she pushed past Strauss and Rossi to explode outside, screaming out, "The building has been rigged! Everyone needs to get away from the bank!" As the last words escaped her lips, she began to feel the percussive vibrations that spoke of a large explosion starting to occur, and she turned to face Rossi and Strauss, grasping for their arms as she tried to get back into the mobile command unit, knowing that that would be the safest place for them to be, that the blast would most likely be absorbed by the insulation of the rig.
As a plume of heat roiled over them, Penelope tripped and fell into the unit, feeling a rough edge cut into her leg as someone's body covered hers. Closing her eyes, she prayed for it all to stop, knowing that nothing good could have come from that moment in time. Her ears rang with a loud, piercing, tone, one she couldn't place, and Penelope struggled to cover them, to stop the noise, but found that her hands were not working like they should, that there was a heavy weight holding each one down around her hips, and she began to struggle. There was a deep feeling of claustrophobia that was settling into her bones, and she knew that she would start hyperventilating if she couldn't get up, and soon.
"Kitten, stop struggling, it's not safe yet," Rossi nearly shouted in her ear, and she nodded as she contorted her body to be closer to the sound, knowing that he was doing his best to protect her. Which meant that Strauss was on her other side, still not moving.
"Is, is Erin okay?" she asked, using her first name out of shock.
"I'm fine, Ms Garcia. My head just hurts." Penelope felt Erin shift a little, turning so that she could move closer to the two of them. As the ringing in her ears subsided, Penelope also began to stir, seeking out the comfort of Rossi's body, knowing that he was doing his best to protect them both. "David? Can you get up please? I think I cut myself, and I need…"
He slowly got to his feet before helping Penelope and Erin to their feet, and she reached down to find that she had indeed cut her leg from just below her knee to nearly her ankle. Glancing up at Erin, she found that her shirt sleeve was torn, a jagged tear marring the skin there. "Is anything broken, ladies?" Rossi asked as he took hold of Erin's arm gently, brushing his fingers against the cut. From the way that he looked at her, Penelope knew that they were much closer than anyone realized, and she also knew to keep that information to herself.
Taking a few ginger steps, she found that her leg was just cut, nothing was broken, and taking a deep breath, she turned to look at the bank, seeing heavy black smoke billowing from the wreckage. "Derek!" she screamed out, trying to search him out in the madness that was rapidly surrounding them. Glancing back at Rossi and Erin, she saw that they were still softly conversing, his hand cupping her face before he leaned in and kissed her softly. Giving them a small smile, she used their distraction to try and get closer to the scene. "Derek!"
Penelope was barely able to take four steps forward when a strong arm wrapped around her torso, pulling her back against a broad chest, and she fought to get away. "Penelope, stop fighting Davie. Please. You can't go in there, it's too dangerous, and I am not about to perhaps lose another member of one of my best teams. Please, don't leave my side."
The stark terror in Erin's voice took her aback and she nodded as she turned around to face them both once more. Tears were trembling on Erin's lashes, and somehow Penelope knew that she wouldn't let them fall, no matter how badly she wanted them to. Sighing a little, Penelope tried to catch her breath before letting her own sobs break from her lips, collapsing against Rossi as she tried to stop her mind and heart from racing to conclusions that she didn't want to face. The only thing she knew for certain was that their lives would never be the same again.