And, here we have chapter five!
Thank you to all of my followers and those who are reading along!
I'm going to be evil and leave you with a bit of a hanger here! ;D But hopefully you enjoy the twist!
I STILL do not own any part of Criminal Minds or affiliated characters.
Warnings and Ratings: M – A sprinkle of language and a splash of graphic violence.
The morning came much earlier than anyone was ready for. Even with the previous night off, each member of the team groaned in protest as they woke. The BAU team was ready to find this UnSub once and for all. The battle was becoming exhausting.
Hotch and Rossi were the first two to arrive back at the station. Hotch stepped into the office belonging to the Chief of police, "Has anything changed overnight?"
The Chief shook his head, "There weren't any new murders, but... I'm afraid this envelope has arrived for you. About an hour ago."
Hotch hesitated before taking the priority mailer from the Chief. "Thank you," he added before turning back to the conference room.
"Dave, we've got another package of some sort."
Rossi turned around at that, sipping from a mug of coffee, "I'm not surprised. It's been..." He glance at the watch on his wrist, words dripping with sarcasm, "An entire 16 hours."
Hotch pulled back the tab on the envelop, removing the sheet of bubble wrap surrounding a plastic CD case. "A DVD?" He questioned.
"I'll go find a TV," Rossi offered, leaving the room.
Hotch turned toward the door as the rest of his team filed into the conference room.
"This guy sent us a video?" Morgan asked at the sight of the disk.
"It appears so," Hotch replied.
Once Rossi had returned with the TV set, Hotch popped the DVD into the player, and sat at the table with his team. They all silently hoped the content wasn't too graphic.
One by one, a group of children dressed in all white entered the pews.
"Twenty-five," Reid nearly whispered.
From the opposite side of the lens, a group of older men and women filed onto the altar and sat in another set of pews. The team easily identified who Bishop Johnson was. He was dressed differently than the rest and immediately began to lead the congregation in prayer. The older men and women had to have been the retreat participants.
After the initial prayers were finished, Bishop Johnson began to deliver his sermon. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, today is a very special day!"
The excitement in Johnson's voice did not reach the faces of his congregation. The children bowed their heads to their chests, obediently remaining still and silent.
Bishop Johnson continued on, "We have finally established the perfect group of children and elders for our combat against Hell. We have a group of individuals truly dedicated to the service of our Lord. He will test us, but we are stronger, aren't we?"
"Yes, Bishop Johnson," the congregation spoke in unison.
"That's right," Johnson continued. He then made direct eye contact with the camera, "Don't forget, we have a special group of men and women coming to visit us. Very soon. They don't believe our work for the Lord is valid. We'll just have to show them how wrong they are." Johnson slammed his fist down on the altar, startling a few of the children in the congregation.
"Today, I invite these men into our house of God. They'll be sent this invitation along with directions to guide them here. We will be ready, won't we?"
Another monotone, "Yes, Bishop Johnson," emitted from the congregation before the addressed man smiled brightly.
After a series of concluding prayers, the video cut off.
Just when it seemed as though the taunting was finished, Bishop Johnson and the adult congregational members appeared on the screen once more.
"Good morning, team!" Johnson chuckled to himself. "I hope you're ready to meet my own beautiful team. We truly are excited for your visit... Here's a fun fact for you, Agent Hotchner. Did you know Aaron was Moses' older brother and keeper of God's command. He was the first high priest of the Israelites and is often remembered for carrying a staff. What a remarkable name we share, and it appears we are both leaders of a team. One who is exalted from mountain of strength." Johnson drifted off in contemplation for a moment, truly believing he would enjoy working with the unit Chief.
Hotch's face hardened further. The man crossed his arms over his chest and swallowed uncomfortably.
Johnson's voice became serious then, "I sincerely hope, Aaron, that you do not plan on a hostile visit. That may prove to be catastrophic for many, many people involved." Another smile grew on the Bishop's face as he spoke, "Remember, while I love each and every one of my children and helpers," he used a hand to motion at the adults surrounding him, "We are all dedicated enough to our Lord to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good." Each of the elders nodded their agreements. "I've sent our specific location along with this video. Perhaps your- What is it you call him? Boy genius? I've seen better- Maybe he can crack the final code. We'll be expecting you." And with that, the video finished playing.
Reid tried to shake the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.
"He hasn't told us where to go, what is he talking about?" Prentiss asked.
Reid wasn't convinced. "He does everything for a reason," the youngest agent reminded. Reid grabbed a pen and circled every number he could find on the mailer. He then rewrote them in the exact order he had found them in. There wasn't any address noted, and the numbers couldn't possibly match a letter combination. "Garcia!" Reid called as he figured out the message, "These are longitude and latitude coordinates! We need a map!"
The technical analyst's fingers flew across her keyboard as she furiously typed in the coordinates Reid was giving her. Finally, Garcia pulled up a corresponding map.
"Let's move!" Hotch's voice boomed.
The room sprang alive. Everyone pulled vests and assorted gear on as Hotch made his way to the Chief's office. "Sir, we've gathered coordinates to locate the house. We need to go!"
Moments later, Hotch was briefing a SWAT team while the BAU team assembled into SUV's. The vehicles took off at lightening speed with Garcia giving the drivers turn by turn directions from the police department. The enforcement finally reached the edge of a wooded area with an open fence at the end of a narrow dirt path.
"That's it to your left. Follow the drive- It's a rather long drive. About four miles- and then you will see the building," Garcia instructed.
Bishop Johnson was alerted to his visitors as soon as they had reached the driveway.
"They're here," Johnson grinned, turning to Father Pomfret and Father Myers. "How delightful!"
The congregation had trained for this day time and time again. The Bishop joined his team of adults in the basement where the children were gathered. "Everyone, our visitors have arrived. We've practiced for this day, haven't we?" A few of the children whimpered in fear. "Fret not, my beloved children, we will all reunite with the Lord one day in Heaven." The children seemed more at ease after Bishop Johnson consoled them.
One of the eldest boys approached Johnson, "I'd like to be the one. To go with you."
Bishop Johnson's smile grew, "Thank you, Timothy. I appreciate your courage. The Lord is with you now and always."
The Bishop turned back to the rest of his adult congregation, "Don't forget the task at hand. Keep your cool, and remember who we are giving ourselves to."
The elders nodded before each of them grabbed their weapon of choice. Half of the adults stayed in the basement to keep the children at bay. The second half moved to the Sanctuary, positioning themselves toward the front door.
Deacon Roberts and Timothy ran about the church, helping Bishop Johnson ready himself.
Finally, when all were set in place, Bishop Johnson smiled brightly, "It's time."
The dirt road was littered with crater sized holes and puddles large enough to be recognized as small ponds. Morgan was leading the way in the black SUV, but he was quickly becoming frustrated. "This is completely intentional," he decided, rage building from the pit of his stomach. "I swear when I see this son of a bitch I'm gonna-!"
Prentiss squeezed Morgan's forearm tightly, effectively stopping him for a moment, "It's all a part of his game. We can't give him this satisfaction. Your head needs to be clear when we get up there!" She pointed out before releasing her hold. Morgan swallowed thickly, gripping the steering wheel with far too much pressure.
After three nauseating miles of dirt road, the SUV's tires hit pavement. Morgan nearly floored the SUV for the remaining mile with Hotch hot on his tail.
As they drove, Morgan could see the outline of four bodies coming into view. "Hotch, we have people outside," he informed through his headset.
"I see them," Hotch confirmed. "We need to assess before we take action."
When the team finally reached the end of the pavement, the vehicles were thrown into gear and every agent jumped out with pistols drawn.
"Aaron Johnson, FBI," he warned. From what Hotch could see, two men were holding AR15 rifles, and Johnson was using a teenage boy as a human shield.
The team crept forward until Bishop Johnson began speaking.
"Aaron! Is that you? How nice it is to finally meet you in person. How rude of me. Allow me to properly introduce myself!" And with that, Timothy dropped to his knees, revealing a bomb suit tightly wrapped around Johnson's body. The Bishop held a release trigger in one hand with a wire trailing behind him.
Every agent took in a deep breath and held it. Who knew how this place was rigged. The house was in range to take out every agent present and there were at least 25 children held captive inside. Not even to mention the adult retreat participants.
"Hotch, that trip wire leads straight to the house," Reid whispered.
Hotch didn't speak. Johnson took up the opportunity.
"Agents, I'm feeling a bit threatened by your guns so carelessly aimed in my direction. I'm going to need you to put them away."
Hotch shook his head, "That can't happen, Mr. Johnson. Let the boy go."
The Bishop released is hold on Timothy. "Go ahead, Timothy. You're free to go!"
The boy's expression did not change and he did not step away from Bishop Johnson. He was brainwashed and fully prepared to die in the Lord's name.
"You see, Agent Hotchner, Timothy is representative of any one of my twenty-four other children. They are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Now withdraw your weapons or I will have to prove to you just how serious this is."
Hotch's hold on his pistol only tightened, "You've brainwashed and manipulated these children into believing your word is that of God. You've literally instilled the fear of God with each of them. Timothy is brainwashed. He isn't even functioning as a normal boy. You need to let him go. God doesn't ask you to hurt children."
The Bishop's eyebrows narrowed and he suddenly became outraged, "You think I'm hurting them?! They've fully devoted themselves to the Lord! Their pain and suffering is not nearly comparable to that of God's only begotten son! We can only imagine such torture! Their life and death is honorable, even at such a young age!"
Hotch realized they would not be able to talk this UnSub down.
"We just want to help you, man. But we can't do that with children in danger," Morgan tried.
The Bishop wasn't having any of it. "I don't think you understand what I'm saying," he boomed before shoving Timothy flat onto his stomach and sending a bullet straight through the back of his skull.
Hotch's eyes shut for a moment as he regained his composure. Rossi was completely stunned as Morgan's blood boiled. JJ and Prentiss nearly shrieked and Reid had to physically turn his head away from the sight.
"Now agents," Johnson continued to scream, "I believe I said to Withdraw. Your. Weapons." Each word was punctuated by a stream of venom nearly visible in the air between the team and Johnson.
Finally, Hotch made the difficult decision of telling his team to do just exactly as was asked of them.