Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, follows, and for sticking with me despite my slow postings. However, I should get the rest of the chapters posted much faster than the last few months went. I hope you are all still enjoying the story and I would love to receive any reviews you're willing to leave :)
I do not own Criminal Minds
Emily sat there, her fingers laced, staring ahead. She didn't move or fidget. Her breaths were deep and even. A perfect contrast to how she was feeling inside.
They shouldn't have connected her to DeMarco, at least not this quickly. But they had, which meant that someone had tipped them off. Likely the same person who had requested them on the case.
When the door opened Emily silently counted to five before turning her head to see Hotch and Rossi walk in. Hotch's face was unreadable. Rossi's was different. Curious, concerned, some combination of the two.
"When I said I hoped to see you soon, these weren't exactly the circumstances I had imagined," Rossi opened the conversation.
"Really? You don't like to question old friends?" Emily replied dryly.
Aaron sat down and opened a file. Emily forced herself to look straight forward.
"Henry DeMarco," Hotch said, "Interpol Analyst. Former British Intelligence."
Emily's face gave away nothing while her mind was racing. They shouldn't have been able to ID him at all, let alone in less than a day. His prints and DNA wouldn't have been in any US database.
"Unbeknownst to you, I don't know everyone who works at Interpol."
"But you knew him. We found your prints at the scene," Hotch said.
Emily took a controlled breath. She knew she hadn't left any prints at the scene, and that meant only one thing, someone was setting her up to take the fall for this. Someone wanted her to get arrested.
"But you can still help yourself, Emily," Rossi said, "maybe you didn't mean to hurt him. Maybe things just got out of hand, maybe he came at you first."
"Where is he?" Hotch demanded.
Emily thought through her options, limited as they were.
"You don't have anyone to hide behind," Aaron said, "I contacted Interpol and heard some pretty interesting things. You, for example, are on suspension pending investigation. You are a person of interest in the murder of six Interpol Agents."
And that was the first time since Emily had been taken in that she lost her facade. Aaron picked up on it immediately and used it.
"Did you kill those agents?"
"No," Emily snapped.
"You probably didn't mean for it to happen," Rossi said, "things just got out of hand."
Emily's jaw was clenched. She looked at Rossi, closely examining each movement and facial expression. Then she turned to Hotch and did the same, "I'll talk to you. Alone, no audio."
Aaron was silent for a moment, "fine."
"Aaron–" Rossi started.
"Go, cut off audio."
Rossi stood and exited the interrogation room and walked into the observation room. JJ was standing there, her body tense and her eyes narrow.
"You shouldn't be in here," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.
She shrugged him off, "you can't believe she would hurt someone."
"Sometimes we think we know people..."
JJ was fuming. Fuming that her team had so easily jumped on this, that they had so easily believed lies. Because they had been there, yes, but they had worn gloves and they had been careful. Emily's prints had been planted by someone, planted by someone who didn't know that JJ had also been there. And all she wanted right now was to burst into the interrogation room and tell Hotch everything. Tell him about DeMarco and Interpol and Emily's team. She wanted to protect Emily.
But she needed to think this through. Because the danger Emily faced at the FBI was nothing compared to the danger she would face if whoever was setting her up, setting DeMarco up, discovered he was alive. But with Emily in custody, how would they figure out who that was? If the FBI had her laptop, they had all the evidence.
But this wasn't JJ's call.
So instead JJ turned and faced Rossi, doing the only thing she could think of. The only way she could defend the woman she loved without giving her away, "you worked with her for five years, and you can really say that? You can stand there and accuse her of murder? You can call her a traitor?"
He didn't respond and JJ stared at him as he switched off the audio and turned to look out the window. They could no longer hear anything. Emily's face was hidden behind Aaron's, and all they could see was the back of his head. FIve minutes passed. And then ten.
And when JJ almost couldn't handle the silence anymore Emily and Aaron stood. Hotch pulled out his cuffs and Emily turned with her hands behind her back. JJ sprang forward and opened the door in time to hear, "...if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you..."
"Rossi, get her out of here," Aaron said coldly.
"Five minutes," Emily said, "I gave you a confession, just give me five minutes."
Hotch sighed, "you have two."
He let go of Emily's arm and walked out of the interrogation room, keeping them in his sight as he stood in the hall. He gestured for Rossi to follow and watched Emily and JJ closely as the spoke.
"Come here," Emily whispered to JJ.
JJ walked forward and pulled her into a hug. Emily's hands were cuffed behind her back, but she rested her chin on JJ's shoulder, her mouth close to JJ's ear.
"I confessed."
"Emily–"
"Just let me talk Jayje, we don't have a lot of time."
JJ nodded.
"I confessed to his murder, it's the only way to keep whoever is behind this away. I told Hotch you weren't involved, but the FBI is going to have you under surveillance. I wouldn't tell them where he is, so they're hoping you'll lead them to him, so that means you cannot go anywhere. Stay at the house, anything the FBI gets on this, Interpol will get as well."
"How're we going to figure out who set you up?"
"I have a plan," Emily promised.
"What is it?"
"I know you want to help," Emily said, "and please believe me that this has nothing to do with trust, but the less you know the safer we both are."
And as much as JJ hated to hear her say that, she knew that Emily was right. Because the FBI would have her under surveillance and anything she did to help could just hurt them both. "I still have contacts at the Justice Department," JJ said, "is there anything I can do on that end?"
"Keep me in FBI custody as long as possible," Emily requested.
"And a lawyer?" JJ asked.
"No lawyer."
"Whatever your plan is Em, please stay alive, okay? I know that this is important, but so are you. So is your life."
"Time's up," Hotch barked as he walked back into the interrogation room.
"I love you JJ, I love you so much."
"I love you too."
Emily brought her lips to JJ's and pulled her into a deep kiss. She felt JJ's hands brush through her hair and sighed. A hand took her arm and she stepped back. Aaron led her out of the interrogation room.
They passed through the bullpen where Reid and Lewis were sitting. They both stopped talking and stared wide eyed at her. Emily looked ahead, refusing any eye contact with them.
She had just confessed to murder.
And now she just hoped to god that her plan worked.