Chapter 13

JJ awoke slowly, the throbbing in her head a warning that something had gone terribly wrong. She rolled on her side, lifting her hands to her head in an attempt to stop the pounding. Frowning, the blonde realized that her hands had been tied together with a wire. It was already digging into her skin, worsening as she moved. Hissing in pain, JJ forced herself to her knees, blinking hard to remove the haze around her head. As her vision returned to her, JJ remembered what had happened.

"Ava." She breathed, spotting the unconscious brunette on the other side of the room. Ignoring the pain in her head and wrists, JJ brought herself to a standing position, swaying slightly, and began to walk towards her friend. Dropping at her side, JJ moved the woman onto her back, examining her for any injuries. Finding only a small, now aggravated, needle mark on her neck, JJ pulled the woman into her lap and began to shake her in an attempt to wake her up. JJ didn't know how long it had been since they had been taken but she was hopeful that the effects of whatever drug they had injected her with should be wearing off. Before long, an uncomfortable groan escaped the brunette's lips as her head rolled to the side. JJ almost smiled in relief.

"Jay?" Ava frowned up at her, her eyes glassy and unfocused. "What happened?"

"We've been kidnapped." JJ didn't see the point in sugarcoating it for her. Ava's frown deepened, as if unsure as to whether the blonde was joking.

"Kidnapped?" she mumbled, trying to piece everything together. She remembered breaking it off with Kate and leaving her apartment but after entering the parking lot, everything was blank. A bound hand travelled up her own body, searching for injuries, until it reached her neck. As Ava grazed the injection site, she shot up, eyes wide in understanding.

"Are you alright?" JJ asked slowly, her hands out as if she could catch the woman. Ava glanced down at the wire around her already raw wrists and shut her eyes tightly as she shook her head.

"Well," she sighed, "this is a first."

"What, being kidnapped without your permission?" JJ would've crossed her arms if she could. Ava gave her a small 'yea' before she responded with, "Well don't worry, it's not for me. We're going to figure this out."

"I think I already have." The haunted tone in the younger agent's voice surprised JJ as she stared. "There was a woman." She explained. "She knew me."

"A woman?" JJ thought. "That's pretty irregular."

"Yea, that's one word to describe her." Ava slid to rest against the wall of their new prison.

"You know her?" JJ wanted to get as much information on their captor as she could. Ava nodded once.

"If it's who I think it is," she said, "then she was my first assignment at the CIA. Katya Volkov."

"So she ran a human trafficking ring?" Ava nodded again. "And now she's back? How?"

"I have no idea." Ava sighed. "When I asked, they told me she was killed in prison a few months after we arrested her. Apparently, that's just another lie the CIA told me."

"Well," JJ reasoned, "there's a chance it's not her, right?"

"Yea," Ava prayed, "I hope so."

"After all these years, that's what you have to say about me?" A voice caused the two agents to jump to their feet as the only door in the room swung open to reveal its owner. The woman was tall, taller than Ava, with bottle-blonde hair and dark eyes that focused solely on the brunette. JJ suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to shield the younger agent from the woman's falcon-like gaze. As she moved to stand in front of her, JJ felt Ava wrap a hand around her arm, holding her back. She watched as the woman and Ava stared at each other- Ava with anger, the blonde with…no, JJ thought. That can't be right.

"Katya." Ava tilted her head slightly as she fought to steady her breathing. The woman was young, no older than mid-thirties, and JJ found herself more than surprised that she had been the leader of a trafficking ring.

"Avalona." Her full name coming from the woman's lips made Ava want to take a shower. "What have you been up to for the last," the woman thought for a moment, "four years?" Her accent, Russian, was still detectable despite years of schooling.

"Just putting away as many people like you as a I can." Ava shrugged nonchalantly, her distaste for the woman clear. "What about you, enjoy prison?" Katya ground her teeth at the mention, placing her hands on her hips.

"I didn't much care for it." The tall blonde laughed. "Or it for me, quite frankly." She lifted her shirt slightly, showing the two agents a jagged scar that ran from the left of her bellybutton up to her left breast. JJ would've winced had the woman not probably deserved it.

"Yea, I heard they didn't really take to you there." Ava almost grinned, probably a mistake but she couldn't help it. "I guess that's what happens when you're a sadistic bitch, huh?" The blow that came from Katya was nothing like the one she had received from Kate. Ava was knocked to the ground as the woman's knuckles met her cheek, groaning as blood pooled in her mouth. JJ was on her knees beside her immediately.

"Whatever you want from us," JJ glared up at the woman, "you won't get it. Let us go and there's a chance we won't find you." Katya laughed wholeheartedly at the smaller blonde.

"Ah, so the mouse speaks." She grabbed JJ by the collar and yanked her up, slamming her against the wall beside them. JJ coughed, hands immediately clawing at the taller woman's wrists. "Listen to me carefully, little mouse. The only reason you're still alive is because I figured it would be fun to watch you bleed before I kill you. I'd sooner feed you to my dogs than waste my time with you. You're here to further my entertainment and then, when I grow bored of you, you will die slowly, painfully, and in front of your friend here. Understand?" JJ, being dwarfed by the woman, did the only thing she could; she spat on her. Katya released her, wiping the saliva from her eyes quickly before rounding on the blonde once more. Grabbing a fist full of hair, Katya tossed JJ like a ragdoll to the other side of the room.

"Leave her alone!" Ava demanded, rising to her feet and running towards the two. Katya ignored the cry as she wound back a leg and kicked JJ in the gut just as she was beginning to stand. With her hands bound, Ava was limited in offensive options. However, there were two of them so perhaps they would be able to overpower the Russian and bolt out the door before anyone realized. The brunette leapt forward and landed on the taller woman's back, bringing her bound hands in front of the woman's neck and pulling back as hard as she could. Katya gasped, her airway blocked, as she watched JJ begin to rise. The smaller blonde wound back a fist and punched her in the nose, a river of blood pouring down the woman's face. Katya cried out, more in anger than in pain, as she ran backwards and slammed Ava against the wall one, twice, three times. The brunette winced but kept tightening her hold on the criminal's neck. As JJ approached them, hopefully aiming to knock the woman unconscious before she could break Ava's ribs, three men burst into the room. One tackled JJ, landing on her hard as he attempted to restrain her. Ava struggled to maintain her hold on Katya's neck as the remaining two rushed to yank her off. Eventually, Ava felt herself hit the ground hard, her body practically bouncing off the dirt floor. She gasped in pain, rolling onto her side in an attempt to draw a less painful breath. As she did she caught sight of JJ, blood flowing from her mouth as the man landed a solid punch to her face, effectively subduing her. A heeled boot found its way onto her chest as Ava struggled to draw breath. Katya's face appeared over her, applying more pressure to the woman's most likely broken ribs.

"Well that was fun, wasn't it?" she beamed a toothy- and bloody- smile. Ava opened her mouth to respond in some sarcastic way only to feel the pressure increase and her words unable to be spoken through the pain. The boot turned into a knee as Katya brought herself closer to Ava, a hand wrapping itself in her hair in an attempt to draw the brunette up. "Attack me again and I'll have my friends carve up your girlfriend like a Christmas roast. You remember what they like to do, right?" Ava felt tears stinging her eyes as the woman's knee dug into her chest. "Right?!"

"Yes, I remember!" Ava cried, wanting nothing more than the woman to get off of her. Katya released her hair, allowing her to drop to the ground and offered her a sweet smile before removing the knee from her chest. Ava rolled over immediately, drawing in air despite the pain it sent shooting through her.

"Good." Katya sighed contently. "Now I'll be back in a few hours to begin our game. До скорой встречи."

"Иди на хуй." Ava managed to groan loud enough to earn herself a laugh from the woman as she slammed the door shut, locking it in place.

"Are you ok?" JJ asked without hesitation. Ava turned her head slightly to the left to see the blonde spit a mouthful of blood out. She swallowed hard. This is all your fault. You should've killed her when you had the chance. "Ava?"

"I'm fine." The younger woman moved to lean against the wall of what she assumed to be a basement. "Are you?"

"Yea." JJ nodded, joining her. "What does she want from you?" Ava shook her head as her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"I-I think she just wants to kill me." She told the blonde. "If she escaped from prison, then she doesn't need anything from me. She chose to come back, reveal herself, and take two federal agents hostage for a reason… and what's a better motivator than revenge?"

"If she just wants you dead, she could've hired someone to do that while she goes on with her life." JJ insisted. "Why go through the trouble of taking you herself?" JJ understood that she was, essentially, collateral damage. Katya was never after her- she only took her because she happened to be with Ava at the time.

"You don't know her, JJ." Ava shook her head slowly. "She's as violent and as sick as any male unsub you've seen. She wants to do it herself. It's not revenge for her if someone else does it."

"She can want all she likes," JJ raised an eyebrow, "it's not going to happen." Ava turned her head, latching onto the blonde's gaze with an urgency JJ had never seen from her before.

"JJ, listen to me," Ava pleaded, "don't get in her way."

"I'm not just going to sit back while she kills you, Ava." The blonde scoffed. "Besides, didn't you hear her? She plans on killing me too."

"Yea well, that's not going to happen." Ava said with surprising resolve. "You're a consolation prize for her. She never intended to take you, JJ. That means that her plans don't necessarily have to include you."

"And you think she'll what, drop me off at the BAU with an apology note taped to my chest?" JJ sneered. "We're in this together and I am not leaving here without you. I hope that's clear." Ava glared at her menacingly, wanting nothing more than to shake the blonde until she saw reason. "Besides, I'm still, technically, your superior. I can just order you to do as I say."

"I think we're a little out of Bureau jurisdiction right now." Ava reminded her. JJ softened her look, nudging the brunette lightly.

"They're going to find us." She informed the woman. "They always do."

"I know." Ava told her. "I just don't know what'll be left of us to find."

"Don't talk like that, Ava." JJ admonished. "I know it looks bad but-"

"You haven't seen what they do to women." Ava's voice was low, the fear behind it clear. "Those men, they don't get paid to work for her. They do it because, every once in a while, she would throw a girl or two at them and let them do whatever they wanted to her. None of them survived, JJ. Not a single one."

"They're not going to touch you," JJ promised, "do you understand me?" Ava shook her head slowly.

"It's not me I'm worried about." The woman's emerald eyes had long since filled with tears. They fell now, staining her dirtied face, at the thought of anything happening to her friend. "JJ, I'm so sorry. None of this would've happened if you weren't with me."

"This isn't your fault. Nothing that happens here is your fault." The blonde urged, shoving down her own fear. "Besides, I'd rather be here with you than out there worrying." Ava almost laughed at the lie, her body shaking as she cried.

"Just say you forgive me." Ava practically begged. "Just say it so I can hear it, JJ, please." The blonde swallowed back her own tears.

"I forgive you, Ava." She breathed. "Even though there's nothing to forgive." The brunette let out a teary laugh, nudging the woman jokingly. The two settled into a comfortable silence, pondering what their next move should be as they waited for whatever twisted game Katya had thought of to begin. They ignored their growing thirst- especially Ava who was beginning to feel the side effects of whatever drug they had given her- and tried to focus on something else.

"What'd you say to her?" JJ asked suddenly. Ava frowned, unaware of what she meant. "In Russian. I understood what she said, 'see you soon', but not what you said."

"I, uh," Ava smirked, "I told her to fuck off." JJ couldn't help but burst into laughter. Not in the least bit surprised at the nerve of the younger agent, JJ's laughter grew infectious and before long, Ava was laughing too. The seriousness of their predicament was sudden lost on the two of them, acting as if they were in JJ's kitchen after a long day at work instead of some dirty basement in the hands of a sociopath. Their ridiculous laughter caught the attention of the woman on the other side of the door. Her teeth ground hard against one another as she fought to control her temper.

"We'll see if you're laughing soon enough." Katya growled to herself, turning to the men at her back. "Разбей их, а блондинка твоя. Старайтесь не испортить чужое лицо слишком плохо. Она моя."

Break them and the blonde is yours. Try not to mess up the other one's face too bad. She's mine.