Spencer Reid/Derek Morgan
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. Any characters or related settings are not mine and belong to CBS and Jeff Davis unless otherwise stated.
Here's chapter three, guys!
Spencer held a shaking Henry as the man that had caught them passed them again. It was the seventh time he had done so, and Henry was getting more and more nervous, his hands clenching and unclenching in Spencer's shirt. He was currently clinging to Spencer's neck and silently crying, as were many people in the tent. It had been several minutes since the police had arrived outside and set up a perimeter barrier not too far from the tent, and he could hear Hotch calling to the gunmen over a speakerphone. He was trying to convince them to give themselves up without hurting anyone, but Spencer could see that his tactics weren't going to work. These men knew they'd be caught, but they seemed determined to take as many people as possible out with them.
As he watched, the men began to search through people's belongings, looking for anything that highlighted people as more valuable than others. Already, they had made a small group of people that they were planning on killing out of the people that had annoyed they so far, and Spencer didn't want him and Henry to end up in that group. Inside his messenger bag, his credentials felt like a ball and chain, and he knew that if they were found, things could turn very ugly for both him and Henry.
As their captors got closer to them, and as the group in the middle of the tent grew larger, the knot in Spencer's gut grew larger. He knew his escape was impossible, but he had been carefully thinking out an idea to help Henry. With Henry still shaking against him, Spencer managed to get his phone out of his pocket, and opened a new message to Derek. He debated telling him he loved him but didn't want to waste time, so instead he sent him a message comprising of two words.
TENT REAR.
Sending the message, he whispered to Henry, making sure it looked like he was only comforting him. He stroked a hand through the little boy's hair as he did so to try and calm him.
"Henry, listen. I need you to do something. When I tell you, I'm going to lift the back of the tent, and I need you to crawl out as fast as you can. I want you to run straight to the barrier, okay? Don't stop for anything. Can you do that?" He felt the little boy nod against him. "Promise me?"
Henry looked up at him with wet eyes. "I promise, Uncle Spence" he whispered.
Nodding, Spencer tucked Henry's face back into his neck as he waited. Out of one of the plastic windows of the tent, he saw the team behind Hotch, and noted when Derek moved away from them, heading towards the other side of the perimeter with Emily. Now he just needed to wait for the right moment.
Two minutes later, that moment came when a man on the other side of the tent lunged for one of the gunmen, and the others turned to see what was happening. As soon as the nearest gunman's attention was caught, Spencer released Henry and slid the peg out of the ground just behind him. Lifting the tent's edge, he kissed Henry's forehead and pushed him towards the gap. Henry looked back at him once, eyes red rimmed and wet, before disappearing under the tent, and Spencer immediately replaced the peg, a weight lifting from his chest.
Releasing a sigh, he turned back to the gunmen, but froze when he saw one on the opposite side of the tent pointing at him whilst whispering to the one that had caught him and Henry. The one with the scar turned towards him, a furious glare on his face as he scanned the ground beside Spencer, noticing Henry's absence immediately. He stalked over to Reid and yanked him up by the front of his shirt.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Spencer braced himself. His chances of survival had just diminished greatly, and he had to stop his mind from thinking; he didn't want to work out just how low his chances were. He closed his eyes as he was flung into the centre of the tent and let a single thought flit through his mind.
I'm so sorry, Derek.
Derek Morgan frowned as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Reluctantly tearing his eyes off the tent in front of him, he flipped it open to see Spencer's name flash up with a new message. His heart in his throat, he opened it, expecting the traditional goodbye message, but instead all it held were two words.
TENT REAR.
He frowned, but tapped Prentiss on the shoulder as he passed, motioning for her to follow him, and together they headed for the other side of the perimeter, stopping behind the tent. Prentiss touched his arm, her dark eyes confused. She gestured back to where the rest of the team were gathered.
"Morgan, what are we doing here? We should be up front."
He shook his head.
"Spencer just sent me a message to be here. I don't know why though."
Just then, their questions were answered. There was movement at the bottom of the tent, drawing their attention and sending their hands reaching for their weapons, and then a small blond head appeared from underneath the material of the tent. A scared and tearful Henry scrambled to his feet as a shout boomed from inside the tent.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Derek holstered his weapon as he ducked under the security tape despite police officers trying to stop him and sprinted towards the running little boy who was holding his arms up to him with tear stains on his cheeks. Scooping him up into his arms, Derek turned in mid-stride, sending a lingering glance towards the tent, and ran back to the perimeter line, his heart aching with the knowledge that Spencer had probably just been seen helping Henry escape.
As he neared the tape, he saw Emily holding it up, so as soon as he and Henry crossed the tape line, he pulled back to check the little boy out. His eyes were red and swollen from tears that were still leaking from his eyes, but he looked unhurt, just very shaken. His little arms snaked back around Derek's neck and hugged him tightly, so Derek held him close again, Emily's hand stroking down the little boy's back in an attempt to comfort him. The two agents started back around to the rest of the team, Derek throwing worried glances towards the tent every other step, his heart pounding as he wondered what danger Spencer had landed himself in.
JJ jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder, and she turned to see Penelope Garcia standing behind her. The bubbly blonde's usual bright makeup was in streaks down her cheeks, and her eyes were red from crying. JJ threw herself into her friend's embrace and they held each other for a moment before pulling away.
Penelope's voice wavered as she looked around.
"I can't believe it; not Henry and Reid. What's the news? Have you called Will?"
JJ shook her head, biting her lip to hold back her tears.
"There is none. They're not answering or acknowledging Hotch at all. Everyone's still inside. One of them has just been shouting but we don't know what's happening in there. I called Will earlier. He left straight away but he won't be here for hours."
Garcia closed her eyes and pressed her right thumb against her lower lip, but frowned when she looked around again. Her eyes fell to the empty spot at JJ's side. "Where are Derek and Emily?"
JJ followed her gaze, a frown crossing her face when she realised her friends' absences.
"I-I don't know. They were here a moment ago."
Turning back to one another, the two blonde women stood holding hands for a moment, their foreheads pressing together until a shout broke their concentration.
"JJ!"
She turned in time to see Morgan and Emily rushing towards them. Her eyes widened when she saw Morgan. In his arms was a little boy. A little blonde boy dressed in denim shorts and a green t shirt. Her little boy. He looked up, and she saw tear tracks in the lion face paint he wore. Choking on tears, she rushed forward, her arms outstretched until she could lift Henry out of Morgan's arms, hugging him close as his little arms threw themselves around her neck and squeezed, a wail rushing from him.
"Mommy!"
His cry caught the attention of Hotch and Rossi, who both turned to look, and when they saw Henry, they instinctively looked for Spencer, frowning when they didn't see him. JJ held Henry tightly as she looked at Morgan and Emily over the little boy's shoulder. When she spoke, her voice was a broken whisper.
"How?"
Emily looked at Morgan before speaking, but he was looking towards the tent with a tortured expression, so she faced the rest of the team, one hand curling around Morgan's wrist in silent support as she did so.
"Morgan received a message from Reid telling him to go the back of the tent, but he didn't say why. After we got there, the back of the tent lifted and Henry came crawling out. Morgan went and got him and then they started shouting inside. We think Reid might have been seen helping Henry get out; it's possible Reid's now a target."
JJ clenched her eyes shut and buried her face in Henry's hair. Her best friend had just risked his life to save her baby boy. She may never get to thank him. A sob tore up her throat as she thought of Spence dying, and she hugged her little boy a little tighter when she heard him whimper in fear.
Behind her, she heard Rossi swear, and they all turned to see the gunmen emerge from the tent, each holding a hostage in front of them. On the far end, held by the largest of the group, was a pale, terrified looking Spencer.