A/N: This has gotta be a record of mine. Yay? (grins)
But first, of course… GOSH! THANK YOU, so much, for your love and support! Having readers like you makes me feel really lucky, ya now? (hugs) So thank you!
Awkay, guys. (takes a deep breath) I really hope you're ready for one heck of a hurricane. (gulps) Let's get rocking.
SONG RECOMMENDATION: 'In the End' by Linkin Park.
Our Darkest Hour
If there was anything Ellie Spicer was good at it was reading people, gathering information on them. Sometimes she amused herself with wondering if she could've become a profiler, in another reality, with a different history.
Finding out that Derek owned several apartments, some of which he rented, had been child's play. His tenants were chatty, especially one old lady named Catherine. He was a nice man, always fixing things in the apartments if asked to. Ellie listened to these stories with a well faked smile.
Ellie settled into Derek's most unfinished purchase two weeks after arriving to Quantico, never once asking Foyet's permission to do so. Derek was her business, the one thing that'd kept her going since the dark and abrupt end of her childhood. She didn't give a damn what Foyet thought about it.
So, as often as she could she sat in the dark apartment, observing the shadows lingering on the walls. She sat there and waited, knowing what was inevitable. It seemed she was far more patient than she'd ever anticipated. Until one day she was finally rewarded.
Foyet made leaving easy with telling her that there was something he needed to do alone. Ellie knew exactly where to go. She entered the apartment – and in exactly one minutes heard surprisingly familiar steps approaching in the hallway.
Her eyes flashed.
It'd been almost a week from when Foyet took Spencer, from when the hell that'd lasted far too long moved to a entirely new level.
Aaron didn't know if William's or Derek's expression had been more unbearable to look at when they saw Spencer's cut off finger. William had spent the rest of the day at a shooting range. Emily had picked Derek up from a bar that night, just in time to keep the agent from ending up into a fight with a man who was most likely a member of some violent gang.
Three days later they received eight harshly pulled out toe nails that had blood on them. Derek nearly punched a hole in a wall. William drowned himself into paperwork.
Just this morning three smashed teeth were delivered to them. Aaron hadn't seen Derek since and could only pray that the man hadn't done something stupid. William had been pacing around the bureau like a caged tiger, desperate to find something or someone to tear apart.
The approaching doom was so thick and clear in the air that Aaron could taste it.
And then William's cell phone started ringing. A bizarre, very alarming look appeared to the man's face.
Aaron frowned, something in the back of his head whispering a warning. "Who is it?" he rather demanded than asked.
William looked at him with a loud gulp. "There's no caller ID. I don't know." The man's eyes, however, revealed that he did.
"Put him on speaker." Aaron was quick to dial Penelope's number. He didn't wait for her to say a word before he spat out the order. "Garcia, I need you to track down the phone call William's about to get."
"Yes, sir. I'm already on it."
William's fingers trembled when the man picked up, then put the caller on speaker. "Chief William Reid."
"Hello, William." It didn't take a lot to recognize Foyet's voice. The man sounded calm and so very pleased that it brought chills all over the team present. "It's nice to hear your voice again. I've heard you've recovered from our last… encounter."
William's eyes narrowed. And despite the fact that he was a professional the man was also a father. A father whose child had been harmed. No warnings would've controlled him. "What the hell have you done to my son?" the man hissed out in a wounded, venomous tone.
"I thought I made myself clear in the letter. You will get him back – piece by piece." Foyet's tone of voice changed slightly which made Aaron's eyebrow arch. The man sounded almost… angry, remorseful. "I didn't want to hurt him, William. If you'd accepted my deal I would've never been forced to lay a hand on him. You're the one who made this personal." And then, as fast as it'd slipped, the complete control was back. "I think it's only befitting that he's laid to rest in the same place as his uncle."
Sheer terror, despair, wrath and grief took over William's eyes, and Aaron would've given a lot if he'd been able to offer anything to console the man. The older Reid appeared ready to throw up. "Foyet, don't you dare…!"
But it was already too late. The phone call was over.
A tiny eternity passed by with the rest of them practically staring at William, watching helplessly while the man was falling apart into a million tiny pieces. Then they heard Penelope's quiet, unsteady voice. "I… I got him. I've got an address."
"I already know where they are." They were all startled when they heard William's voice. There was something terrifying hiding in the man's eyes. "My brother, Daniel… He was buried here, in Quantico. It was in this small church, only twenty minutes from here. St Theresa's. I think it's been closed years ago." The man's eyes carried terror and desperate hope. "I took Spencer with me to the funeral – it was the first time he got out of Las Vegas."
It took a couple of seconds before it all registered to them, before they dared to believe what was happening. And then everything was speeding forward.
"Alright", Aaron stated, his voice gaining its usual tight, professional tone. "Let's get going." His eyes swept towards William. "You can wait…"
It wasn't that much of a surprise that the man shook his head vehemently, gritting his teeth. "My son is in there, Aaron. That bastard… He may have…" The man inhaled a gasping breath. "I will not wait. Not this time. If it was Jack in Spencer's shoes would you stand back?"
Aaron found himself unable to say and do what he should've. He was a father, too. He knew that if he wouldn't let William along… "Stay out of our way. And control yourself. Understood?" He went on at William's stiff nod. "Garcia, alert the local police. Tell them to get to St Theresa's." His eyes swept through the team. "Alright, let's go. We don't have any time to waste."
When they left as fast as they possibly could Aaron hoped from the bottom of his heart and soul that this wouldn't turn out to be a disaster. That he hadn't just made a huge mistake.
There was absolutely no way someone like Foyet would've made a mistake when spilling his location. He wanted to be found, and for now Aaron could only wonder why. He sincerily hoped none of the dark thoughts nagging in the back of his head were correct. Seeing this nightmare change into a tragedy would be too much.
In the meantime Derek sat in one of the apartments he owned, with only a tiny table lamp providing him light. He ignored his cell phone as it buzzed on the table for the about a hundredth time, instead inched his hand towards his gun.
He'd barely been in this apartment since first buying it, mostly because other things had kept him occupied for a while now. But then he ran into one of his tenants, Catherine, how complimented the nice young woman who'd visited her. Catherine asked if Ellie had settled in well, if she'd had any problems with the apartment.
Derek was almost sure his heart stopped for a second.
Since coming up with this plan he'd known that he wouldn't be able to put it into action alone. He'd also known that he couldn't ask for his team's help. That's why Elle Greenaway was his only resort.
Tonight it was all coming down.
He just hoped this wouldn't turn out to be a total disaster.
"Morgan, listen to me carefully." Elle's voice was tight and sharp through his carefully hidden earpiece. "Lobo is in position and says he saw a light there, two seconds before you entered."
Chills ran through Derek. He felt his pupils dilate.
Ellie… She was already in the apartment. He didn't know how the hell that was possible when he'd secured the apartment on arrival but she was. She'd been there all along. He wondered if she was looking at him at that very moment.
His hand twitched while his eyes darted around. Suddenly the shadows around him were even more threatening than before.
"You need to be careful." Like Elle would've needed to tell him that. "We don't know what she's going to do. We're offering you cover but there's only so much we can do."
At first it was nothing but a hunch. A breath in the air. The faintest scent.
Derek didn't have the time to catch his breath before there was the sound of a door opening. The bedroom's door was opening even further.
The voice he heard next wasn't Elle's. "I assume you've been looking for me?"
Derek didn't even hear the warnings Elle was shouting at him. All he could see was the girl stood before him. Ellie smiled.
Spencer had absolutely no idea of how long it was from when Foyet took him. In his opinion it could've been years. During that time it seemed only oblivion offered him some sort of relief. If he was particularly lucky he dreamt of Derek.
That day – or was it night? – Derek's voice mixed with Foyet's. He couldn't tell for sure whose hand caressed his hair and cheek. "Open your eyes, Spencer."
He obeyed, for he already knew that there wasn't any real choice. It took a while before the blurry figure kneeled before him cleared enough to allow him to recognize Foyet.
Foyet's eyes were unreadable. "I really wish it hadn't come to this. I enjoyed the time with you, you see? People like you are one in a million." The serial killer kissed his forehead. "But don't worry. I'll make sure your sacrifice counts."
Spencer's eyes widened when the other man pulled out a knife. It took only a flash before his brain made all the necessary connections. "No…!" he breathed out, staring at the man who not too long ago sneaked into his bedroom like it'd been the other man's own. Those same hands that caressed him back then now threatened his very life. He spoke, whispered, although he could barely breathe. "George… Don't." He twisted his wrists but only managed to make them sore. "You've still got a choice."
Foyet's eyes actually narrowed at that. "Do you think that I want to kill you? That I'd do this if I had any other choice?"
Spencer barely noticed the tears streaming down his face. He gasped twice before managing to form barely audible words. "Promise me… Promise me that you won't hurt him. Please."
"Shh…", Foyet adviced, pressing a nearly tender finger to his lips. "I promise, alright? I promise." The man's voice wasn't as steady as it should've been. What he saw in those eyes… He couldn't even begin to describe it. "Just relax and it'll all go much more smoothly. Relax and breathe."
The moment the knife came down Spencer lost absolutely all control over himself. Tears filled his eyes all over again while he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Derek!"
For a while Derek and Ellie simply measured up one another, standing in opposite corners of the room like two boxers preparing themselves for a match. Looking into Ellie's eyes Derek felt shivers go through his body.
Those weren't the eyes he remembered, the ones that'd been haunting his nightmares.
In a moment Ellie's face gained a strange, blank look. "I was already afraid you wouldn't come after all." She sat down to a nearby couch almost calmly, crossing her legs. "I assume you want to talk about your… friend, Spencer."
Something inside Derek shifted uncomfortably. He swallowed. "Is he alright?"
Ellie nodded. "For now. But your team's on the way there. Who knows how that will turn out." Her eyes flashed. "He wouldn't be the first person you've failed."
That hurt, a lot. Derek's eyes narrowed.
"Calm down", Elle's voice commanded through the earpiece that was starting to hurt Derek's ear. "You need to buy us a few more moments."
Derek gritted his teeth, feeling more torn than ever in his life. "I tried as hard as I could, Ellie. I swear. I would've never given up if I'd known you were still alive." His heartbeat increased while thoughts of losing her and Spencer began to take over. "I'm still not giving up."
Ellie gave a dark, humourless chuckle, leaning back. "Are you still trying to save me, Derek? Do you honestly think that you can still pull me back?" When her hand moved all he could see were the scars on it. "It's too late to make amends, now."
"We'll reach the apartment in twenty seconds, so be ready", Elle announced. "Lobo has a clear shot, just in case."
Derek knew it was against all reason. But as he looked at the damned, wounded creature before him a part of him wanted to cry. His heart cracked in his chest. "Please." He was practically pleading but he didn't care. If there was a way, any way, to save this life… "Let me help you." One of his hands, however, seemed to understand for it was already moving.
For a moment, two, three Ellie simply stared at him with eyes he couldn't read. And then her face twisted into a tiny, crooked grin. "Goodbye, Derek." In a flash she was up, both of her hands moving. It coaxed his hand into moving faster in response.
A gunshot echoed.
The apartment's door was taken down.
A bullet pierced glass.
As it turned out Aaron's team made it to the church much before the police. They couldn't wait, not when they finally had the chance to catch a serial killer who'd been hunted down for ages. Not when they had the chance to save a life.
The basement was utterly, deathly quiet while Aaron, David, Emily and William made their way through, trying not to cough or gag while this indescribable, horrendous stench sneaked its way into the cores of their beings.
It was the smell of death.
It was the smell of Foyet.
They were close.
All of a sudden Aaron lifted a hand, then pointed towards the ceiling. Looking up they all noticed the same thing. A surveillance camera.
So much for slipping in unnoticed.
And then they heard the sound. A series of steady, metallic thuds. Like a some sort of a sick version of a hearbeat.
They looked at each other, all attention locking on Aaron. The unit chief's eyes narrowed while the man went through a inner debate, then nodded. In his eyes lingered a prayer that he hadn't just made a huge mistake.
They'd agreed to go together, to not separate under any circumstances. They shouldn't have expected that much of a worried father.
The rest of the team wasn't fast enough to react when William broke into a run, his gun already prepared. He kept running, ignoring the snarl telling him to stop, until the sight unfolding before his eyes made him freeze entirely.
There, in a large room that had barely any light and no furniture, stood Foyet. William didn't even notice the gun in the killer's hand, or the knife that'd been tossed to the floor. All he saw was the blood all over Foyet's clothes, the blood staining the floor like a sickening carpet.
"Did you know that he was the one and only person I was never supposed to harm? He was never supposed to become a part of this." Foyet's eyes were those of a wounded beast. "I told you, William. You really should've made that deal."
Disbelief, rage and grief swell until they boiled over inside William, for a couple of seconds paralyzing him with their intensity. He never even noticed the sounds of the team coming closer and closer until they were already in the room.
And then all control was lost.
"Foyet, put the gun down, now!"
"William, don't!"
In a couple of seconds a gunshot echoed through the gloomy, isolated space.
TBC, right?
A/N: Oh boy…! (winces) My head's spinning right now. And you're seriously going to kill me for that one, aren't you?
Ya know there's only one way to let me know how you're feeling. PLEASE, leave review! It'd seriously make my day. Pwease…?
At this point I've got a raw version of the pretty much rest of the story written, so I think I'll manage to keep up pretty fast updates. How does that sound?
IN THE NEXT ONE: In the darkest of all hours those still standing fight desperately to save what there's still left. Is it too late already? One person makes a decision that may lead to a disaster. The story continues in 'To Hell…'.
Until next time! 'Hope I'll see ya all then.
Peace out!
ilsa: Unfortunately, it was. (winces) It can only be guessed what happens next…
Huge thank yous for the review!
Mariel: My goodness…! (grins from ear to ear and blushes) I can't believe you've actually enjoyed the story THAT much! I can't even describe how much it means to me.
I really hope the rest pleases you as much.
Massive thank yous for the review!
Reidland: Oh mine…! (chuckles) Thank goodness the next chapter was up this fast, then.
We'll see what happens next, now the Elle's showed up. Let's just hope that our boys will get absolutely all the happiness they deserve – and that this nightmare's brought to an end before it's too late…
Colossal thank yous for the review!
