As From Discretion Comes Isolation
Chapter 5

A/N - Apologies for the slight delay on this chapter but this is where the story takes a dramatic turn and I needed the beta assistance of the amazingly talented Laurahjess(.xoxo), hope you like it, sorry in advance for the cliffhanger!

Each member of the BAU slept silently as they travelled home from Legoland excluding the designated drivers. The day had completely worn them all out. Other than J.J. and Hotch they were not used to the excitement and energy of children, and they had spent most of the day chasing them around and taking it in turns to accompany them on rides. Morgan and Hotch were the unfortunate ones who had opted to drive back into the city as they were the most comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road. Despite the ride supposedly only taking forty five minutes back into the city it was becoming more and more tedious and irritating as they were stuck in the rush hour traffic and were barely moving.

As the car was stationary Derek turned the cool air conditioning onto him and switched the radio on, turning the volume down low to keep him awake and avoid waking the others. He turned to see J.J. slouched up against the car door with Henry sleeping soundly beside her in his car-seat clutching one of his new Lego toys. He smiled as his Baby Girl snoozed beside him. He had loved to see her so happy while she played with the boys, and more than once she had asked him to join her on the more suitable aged rides. Finally, the traffic began crawling forward but he knew that they would only just make it in time for Emily's seven o'clock reservations.

The situation was similar in the second black hire car. Despite his best efforts to stay awake Rossi had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. He was not as young as he'd like to think he was and the day's excitement had taken its toll. Being younger, Reid had begun the journey chatting enthusiastically with Jack in the backseat but as the drive became increasingly longer they too had dropped off to sleep, leaving Hotch alone with just his thoughts for company. Although he had tried to put it out of his mind, in the silence and stillness of the car he let his thoughts drift to Emily. He couldn't help but think about how completely worn out and sad she had looked earlier. He hadn't noticed it as much the night before but he could now see she had been masking it. Her usual spark which he loved about her was fading; something had changed that had impacted her life greatly and he hoped before they had to leave she would find the courage to confide in them.

Once the team had got into the city they found it fairly easy to get back to their hotel and it took them little time to get ready for their meal with Emily. Despite their delays getting home they arrived at the restaurant with five minutes to spare.

Time ticked on and their friend still hadn't arrived but the group ordered drinks and politely waited before they ordered their food.

"I wonder where she is?" J.J. frowned glancing at her watch, it was now half an hour past the time that they were supposed to meet, "I know she's got all these problems with work but she would always let us know if she was going to be late."

"Should we be worried?" Garcia said quietly her face crumpling slightly with worry "what with all the recent murders, what if she's the next target?"

Morgan took her hand and shook his head, "don't worry Momma, Prentiss was an FBI agent, she can handle herself. And when she gets here, she'll have a lot of explaining to do!"

The darkened office was lit by one concentrated source of light coming from a lamp on the cluttered desk. Files covered every inch and drowned Emily under a mass of paper as she desperately tried to find that missing link that would key together all her ideas and find her unsub.

She glanced up at the clock, 'damn' she thought realising she was late for her dinner meal with her friends. Quickly gathering up the most important files and throwing them into a bag, she began to exit the room with haste before a thought struck her. Backtracking she opened a drawer of her filing cabinet and rummaged through the carefully organised files before finding what she was looking for. She opened it quickly and scanned the few pages of typed text.

Emily smiled as she knew this was the long awaited link she needed. Tucking the file under her arm she dialed Garcia's number to apologise and let her know she was on her way.

"Hey, I'm so sorry I'm at the office, I'm leaving right now-"

"-Leaving so soon Emily?"

Her heart stopped. Prentiss turned quickly to see a man dressed all in black, his face obscured by the lack of light, standing in the doorway of her office, she had no idea how he could have gotten in as security had been increased since the murders, but that was irrelevant now. She immediately forgot about her friend on the other end of the phone. She suddenly felt so helpless, her gun was in her desk drawer, on the other side of the room. She was defenseless and vulnerable and he knew it. She didn't need to know who he was to know that he was here to kill her.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time Emily, I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do," he whispered with a slight growl to his voice.

Emily's shock was soon overtaken by anger. Stood before her was the man that had made her life a living hell for the past year, causing her to lie to her friends and practically cut herself off from everyone she cared about. It was time to end this, she needed to know who he was and she needed to know why.

Prentiss stood tall and narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look at him, it was not the first time she had stared death in the face, "really? I would like to know who's company I'm in before I can enjoy being in it."

He took a step closer yet his face was still in darkness. His northern English accent rang in her ears; she had heard his voice before, but where had she heard it? He placed his hand on the door handle and she could feel him smiling at her. "Tut tut, I honestly thought you were smarter than that Emily, all that time spent with Dr Spencer Reid didn't rub off on you, did it?"

She blinked but refused to respond. She had known he had been researching her but she had tried so hard not to involve her family. She took a step backwards, knowing that she needed to get to her gun. It was her only way out as he was blocking her one exit. If this would end up as a shootout, fine, but he would be the one on the floor writhing in pain. He had underestimated her; she was an Interpol agent and a former FBI agent. He did not scare her.

"Emily?" Garcia's voice rang loudly from her phone which she had dropped to the floor in shock, "Emily! What's happening? Speak to me, are you ok?"

"Oh dear, Penelope is worried about you," he chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. She could hear the smile in his voice, taunting her.

She remained silent and kept her face neutral.

"You're not speaking very much Emily, a conversation usually involves two people and I remember how much you love to talk," he said snidely.

Her mind was racing; he knew her, how did he know her? She continued to stand still, trying to formulate a better plan. She couldn't think. Her mind was blank, her thoughts jumbled and incoherent.

"Still not a word to an old friend? Are you not wondering why I did all this, the murders? The simple answer is for you. I am ruining your life just as you ruined mine" he said and she could feel his anger as it began to seep into his words.

She scoffed. She could not think of any possible way that she could have unknowingly caused the same level of misery that he had inflicted over the past year, "and how did I do that?" she asked finally, keeping her eyes locked on the mysterious figure whilst moving ever so slowly backwards.

He gave a low laugh, "you really don't know who I am do you? Oh that is a shame, that really is a shame..."

Emily edged closer towards the desk, she was less than a metre away. The shootout was looking like her best option. Unfortunately she was not accustomed to keeping items that could possibly be used for self-defense in such situations in her office. She was sick of listening to his snide comments.

"You think I'm scared of you?" she spat, "you've done your research, you should know I put twisted, murderous bastards like you away for a living, as do my friends down the other end of the phone, so think again" she snarled.

He gave a low chuckle and stepped forward further into the shadows, leaning lazily against the filing cabinet she had been stood beside just minutes before. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to get a look at his face, but his features were dressed in shadow. Very slowly he lifted his arm upwards and glanced down at his watch lazily.

"Oh Emily, you really have underestimated me, you think you can stereotype me? I've had you paranoid for the last 12 months, you don't think that's a cut above your common psychopath?" He placed his hand into the pocket of his black jacket, "as for your friends, well we have been here for six minutes, and the restaurant you conveniently left them is at least twenty minutes away even with light traffic, but they should get here in time for you."

"What makes you so certain that they won't be here in time for you?" she asked, lifting her chin to feign confidence. In reality, fear was trickling down her spine and through her body.

He repeated the same low chuckle as if laughing at her ignorance to his master plan, "like I said, I did think you were smarter than this, that's what first attracted me to you..." he glanced at his watch once more, "I think this has panned out just as well as I could have expected but unfortunately our time has come to an end. It is time for part two to commence."

Her heart was pounding she loudly that she could feel her pulse throughout her entire body yet she remained completely still, "part two?"

"It was really nice talking to you Emily after all this time but..." he pulled his hand out of his pocket and she saw the outline of the gun, "...you've got to love a cliffhanger"

This was her only opportunity. Without any warning she bolted around her desk and threw open the top drawer, the tips of her fingers just brushing the gun which she kept there but he was too fast. He grabbed the collar of her jacket and spun her around, throwing her down on the grey desktop with such force that sent her papers scattering across the floor. She struggled against him, twisting in his grip but he grabbed both her wrists in one large hand and squeezed tightly, pinning her arms above her head before leaning towards her face.

"Look at me," he growled, placing the gun on the desk beside them and grabbing her chin with his free hand. Her eyes snapped open but the room was almost in complete darkness, the lamp brushed aside in the scuffle. The deep green eyes were not kind but warped, changed by time and the worries of the world. Yet she knew them. She had met so many people that she could not place where she had known him from, but there was a hatred in those eyes for her and she had no idea why.

A crack, that's what it sounded like. She had heard a gunshot so many times before but this time was different. The sound echoed as if it had been fired from a great distance. In reality the bullet had been fired straight into her. As he released his grip she fell backwards and the room swam in and out of focus.

"Emily!" she heard the distant cry of her friend's voice coming from the phone once more as she hit the floor. Her mind flitted to how she had felt the last time she thought she was going to die, when Doyle plunged the piece of wood into her. She had been glad that she had been able to see Morgan one last time and her Irish ex-lover would not be her last memory on earth. Her friends would be too late this time, and those sad, loathsome eyes would be the last image she would ever see, and that was the worst part.

She could feel him leaning over her, she could smell his tangy cologne and feel his hair touch her face as he leant towards her ear. "I'll be seeing them soon enough" he whispered and she could feel his evil grin. Now that she was aware that he knew about them, they would be next and there was nothing she could do about it. She wished she could have killed him. She had done everything she could to keep her family safe, and it hadn't been enough. She was losing blood fast and her body was beginning to shut down. She was going to die here. She wished more than anything that she could just see them one more time, but she wouldn't.

The pain was so sharp but she didn't move despite wanting to scream out in agony. She wanted him to think she was dead, hopefully he would leave and she could call 999, but she couldn't hear anything, and the pain was overwhelming. Black dots danced in her vision and she gritted her teeth to stop from crying.

It was soon impossible not to surrender to the torment and all too quickly her world was plunged into darkness.