AN: Screams and cries. I'm so sorry. I have this next chapter planned and the one after that, but I haven't had any time at all to just sit down and write and I feel horrible for it. I was going to sit down tonight because I had some free time, but I ended up spending time with my dad destressing so that didn't happen. I'm really sorry but I AM going to finish this story I promise, I'll try never to go too long in between updates. Which is why I'm here now: I have part of a chapter written, it's pretty boring and short so I didn't want to post it but I don't know when I'll be able to finish and I don't want to keep you waiting any longer. I'm super sorry. I'll try to update in the next two days, but it's just a matter of being able to type up the stuff I'm thinking. Sorry again! Thanks for sticking with me.
Aaron Hotchner was furious.
Derek Morgan was impatient.
Dave Rossi was angry.
Emily Prentiss was professional.
Jennifer Jareau was upset.
Henry Spencer was guilty.
Juliet O'Hara was worried.
Carlton Lassiter was pissed.
Buzz McNab was numb.
Karen Vick was sick.
Burton Guster was clueless.
Hotch had picked up the call, confused as to what Reid wanted, worried that something had happened. He had a bad feeling in his gut, and he had learned to trust that feeling a while ago. "Hotchner."
"Agent Hotchner," he heard Shawn Spencer say, his voice tinged with pain. His bad feeling increased tenfold as he placed the phone on speaker, beckoning the others into the conference room.
"Shawn. Did something happen to Agent Reid?" He heard commotion on the other end of the line, someone yelling and a panicked breath.
"C'mon man," he heard Shawn say as Dave leaned closer to listen in. Detective O'Hara was pacing anxiously, whispering to JJ. "Don't you know you aren't supposed to bring a baseball bat to a gun fight?" There was a nervous pause, and Hotch had to restrain himself from trying to speak to Shawn. He needed to know the situation. "You know you aren't going to get out of here. The police are on their way, and if you don't drop the bat soon this guy will shoot you."
So someone's attacking them, Hotch concluded. With a bat. And Reid at least, or he assumed it was Reid, still had his weapon. Why hadn't he fired it? That was an easy answer. Reid always talked first and fired last. Not to mention the young agent wasn't exactly proficient with guns. He could hear someone scream something - he couldn't make it out, but he assumed it was the unsub - and Shawn's breath hitched again. JJ was physically holding Juliet from leaving now. It was a dangerous situation. They needed more information. On the surface, Juliet knew that; they all knew that. But it was hard to restrain hot-blooded instincts. Someone could be hurt.
There were several sounds and Hotch waited, anxiously ordering JJ to get the Chief and send out some cars. "Man, why don't you just put the bat down. If you want to talk, we'll talk. No need for violence." Shawn was trying to talk the man down. From the nervousness in his voice it didn't seem to be working. Hotch thought about the profile, and was sickened when he realized it was highly unlikely they would be able to dissuade the delusional unsub from his obsession (that being Shawn). Morgan rushed into the room and started yelling, with Prentiss trying to calm him down, but Hotch ignored them, straining to hear the phone.
"Why don't you tell Shawn your name?" Relief passed through them all when they heard Reid's voice, and Morgan sagged tiredly into a chair. At least they knew Reid was still able to defend himself and Shawn. "You know Shawn, but Shawn doesn't know you. He'd like to know your name, right Shawn?"
"I'd love to know the name of the guy who took down my dad! You know, not a lot of people can do that, it's some feat, and-" Shawn was babbling nervously. So Henry Spencer was disabled or hurt. That was enough to shake anyone.
"You know my name!" they heard a shriek through the phone. Hotch had to hold back a flinch. The unsub's delusions were so strong he believed Shawn knew him, and probably that Shaw loved him too. "What do you mean, what's my name!? You know my name! You love me!"
"Why haven't you called Garcia to start a trace?" Prentiss asked quietly, and Hotch glanced at her.
"We know where they are. They're at Henry Spencer's house. The unsub was probably in the middle of a botched kidnapping attempt. It doesn't sound like either of them are hurt..."
"Why aren't we on our way yet?" O'Hara hissed, not insubordinately, and Hotch noticed that her eyes looked distinctly watery.
"We're treating it like a hostage situation," Rossi mumbled back, meeting her eyes. "We don't know if the bat which Shawn mentioned is his only weapon. He's taken down Henry Spencer and most likely took down the officer stationed to guard the house. That gives him at least three hostages, maybe four if he moved the officer inside. If we approach carelessly it could make the situation worse."
"Let's see if Reid can talk him down. He's good at that," Hotch said quietly, and O'Hara seemed to deflate a bit, nodding slightly. She understood their reasoning.
"... affectionate and all? My mom calls me Goose-"
"Shut up," the unsub snarled, and Hotch realized that the situation was escalating. "You forgot about me. You fucking forgot."
"Of course I didn't, how could I forget-"
"Shut up! I don't want to talk to you right now Shawn! I don't want to talk to you! I want to talk to those bastards you called on the phone!" Hotch held back a flinch and glanced at Rossi, sharing a look.
"Well, I don't know your name," Rossi said calmly, glancing around the room. The Chief had entered, looking livid. "I'd like to know it, if we're going to hold a pleasant conversation. I'm Dave."
"I'm not that stupid. But for the sake of a conversation, you can call me John." The team shared a look, irritation and worry flashing over Rossi's face as he considered his words carefully.
"Alright, John. What do you want to talk about?" If you asked the team, they would say that the unsub displayed narcissistic tendencies so they were giving him a form of control; but in reality they had no idea what the guy wanted. And no matter what they tell you, it scared the crap out of them, because it meant their profile was wrong.
"I didn't want to talk about anything." Hotch and Rossi looked at each other in confusion and surprise.
"Spencer- Behind you!" There was a slamming and the sound of something sliding across tile. Half of the room jumped, and tension made it hard to breathe.
"I just wanted a distraction. I guess it worked."
Sounds of a struggle could be heard, grunting and shouts. "Shawn!" Juliet yelled. "Shawn, what's going on! Shawn!"
"It's a pair! Two guys, it's a pair!" The line went dead.
The team shared a tentative look of horror before Hotch muttered "Shit!" and snatched his phone off the table, all but running out of the station, shouting orders the whole way.
