Hotch's POV:
You're sat on the floor with Emily's head cradled in your lap, there's blood all over your crisp white shirt, and there's a maniac pointing a gun at you. Well, this is probably one of the worst rescue attempts ever. A meth lab, being run by a buddy of the Archer's, not only that, no of course not – like that's not enough – she knew you were coming, and decided to take matters into her own hands. Damn it.
AN HOUR AND A HALF PREVIOUSLY:
Emily's POV:
Standing in front of you is a large man holding a rifle, not too unusual considering the fact that he believes you're trespassing on his property. Happens a lot really, now that you come to think of it, big men with rifles, protecting what they see as 'theirs'. God knows, you've been in this same situation countless times, sometimes by yourself, sometimes with others- but there's always a gun involved. So far, he's only asked that you and Hotch remain still, and tell all of the SWAT members to leave the rig, or you die. Lovely, how in a showdown between men, the woman gets shot. Hotch won't be stupid though, you trust him with your life, and don't doubt his abilities as an agent – or section chief. You listen as he calls in the orders to Morgan, who is presently on the other side of the warehouse mounting a search for Reid. Watching him speak quietly into the speaker in his cuff, he does so as discreetly as possible so as not to alert the bozo. Thinking about the bozo standing before you now, you realize that you have absolutely no idea who he is. However, all probability suggests that he is some crazed fan of Lila's, or some buddy from jail of Maggie's. Either way, he's got it bad for the killer, and that can't spell anything good for you.
It seems as though Morgan has taken Hotch's advice and is evacuating the building with all of the SWAT team, Hotch looks like he is thinking hard and you should probably be thinking about a way out too. You watch as he sits on the floor, a submissive gesture, and motions for you to do the same. He's trying to make you seem less of a threat by appearing smaller, this makes sense, as the smaller the woman, the greater the sympathy. Unless small women are his type, then you're screwed. You curl up slightly, to make yourself seem vulnerable rather than threatening, with a look at Hotch you realise that this was what he'd wanted all along. For some reason this thrills you, although it's probably just the thrill of knowing that you know your partner well enough by now. Hotch's plan seems to have worked, as the man holding the gun has now turned all of his attention to Hotch, who is busy staring him down. You watch as he raises the rifle and aims towards Hotch, who remains unblinking and unflinching – unfortunately you do not have as much faith in this plan and are trying to formulate one where the gun is in your possession and not his. Unfortunately, nothing solid's come to mind as yet. In a sudden movement, Hotch's head perks up, your captor notices this and immediately begins bombarding Hotch with questions. Hotch's head turns towards you, and he shakes it slightly as if to say "don't even think about it", then he cautiously turns and faces the man once more and tells him coldly, "Your meth lab has been discovered on the other side by my team before they evacuated, they are now mounting a search for myself and Agent Prentiss, and do not care who they injure in the process of saving us."
Finally, your captor speaks without pressing for information, instead a cold voice emanates from within him, "Tell your team," he spat, "that I don't do "rescues" nor do I give up two prize hostages such as yourselves"
You watch as the gun now points deliberately at you, and he says calmly, "Now, I've been watching how you look at this here Agent Prentiss, and I think it suffices to say that you don't want her getting any serious injuries. Am I correct?"
"Agent Prentiss will sustain no injuries, as you are going to put that gun down and allow us to leave this room as we agreed before."
"I'm sorry agent, that's a no deal. You've found both of my labs, that means the second you're outta here, you're gonna call drug trafficking or some shit, and they're gonna bust my butt for this setup."
"We can promise a lighter deal if you let us out of here unscathed, and tell us who you've just informed of our presence."
"I can promise an injury not quite so severe to Agent Prentiss if you don't stop trying to negotiate, if you continue – well things can only go downhill from there."
"So what do you want us to do then?"
"Nothin'. I tell you though, she's a mighty pretty 'un." This rubs you up the wrong way, as you can only imagine what images are flashing through his mind. Hotch throws you a look that says leave it, and you obey- you have no wish to be shot.
"Now," he continues, "I would like you to take off your fancy vests, and cast them aside. They'll be plenty useful to me later on."
Both of you throw each other a look, and then very slowly begin to unhook your Kevlar vests. Damn it, you hate it when they make these sorts of demands, it always ends badly for the agents. Taking the slowest amount of time possible, you cast your vest aside and wait for Hotch to do the same. As you see it, he's stalling, with OCD like precision; he's removing each strap gently and slowly – as if he's hooked to a bomb. By now, your captor's become impatient, and makes quick work of Hotch's vest by prodding you in the shoulder with the gun. Seeing your opportunity, you yank the gun as hard as you can – foolishly hoping that the gun can be wrestled from his grip. At first he doesn't notice as you've taken him by surprise, but the second he does he squeezes the trigger, and you're numb as you watch the bullet enter your shoulder. You don't really see much else, as darkness engulfs you.
PRESENT
Hotch's POV:
You've ripped a strip off the bottom of Emily's shirt and made a sort of makeshift sling for her shoulder. It looks nasty, and probably hurts like hell too. Emily's stirring gently, and you're doing your best not to wake her, as once she wakes up the pain will become unbearable – you would know. The maniac still has his gun pointed at you, worse, he has your gun pointed at you as well as the rifle he had before. You still have your earpiece and mic though, and you use this to your advantage. Goading him is the only way out, and so you begin something that could possibly be suicidal. "Hey- hey big guy with the gun"
"Yeah Hotchner?"
"Are you like the Archer's bitch or something?"
"What did you call me?"
"You heard me. I mean, you do her bidding when she asks, and exactly as she asks. What kinda situation did she get you out of?"
"Shut up fool. Do you want another shot to your pretty brunette?"
"Oh no, I'm far better- I wouldn't take out my anger at a man on a woman. That's pathetic, and emasculating."
"Fine then, I'll just shoot you."
"Ah, ah ,ah, see I don't think you will, you see, if you do then you're at risk of being shot down by the rest of my agents- who at present have surrounded your warehouse." You finish smugly, as you know this is true. From the minute that Emily got shot, you've had a constant stream of updates from Morgan on how your rescue is going. So far, so good.
Morgan's POV:
It took you awhile to devise this plan, but you think you've got it nailed. A simple entry to spook him on one side of the warehouse, and then bam!, the real entry right into his room. SWAT is going to act as the decoy while you and Rossi go for it and bring him in. You heard the gunshots, you're sure that Prentiss has been hit, but you don't know how hard – that's why you called in the EMTs. Now you're rounding up the troops for round two, and begin to launch your attack.
You give SWAT the go ahead, and they launch the loudest entry into the warehouse you've ever heard. Excellent. Rossi creeps ahead of you and opens the door softly, you watch as the captor leaves to investigate the source of the crashes and bangs, while you and Rossi creep in and help Prentiss and Hotch leave the room. Gently you lift Prentiss' legs and Hotch her head and shoulders, you don't have time to allow the EMTs entry into the warehouse. You set her down carefully, then rush into the warehouse with Hotch and Rossi ahead of you, ready to catch the sick scumbag and put him behind bars. It's like your best lead was served to you on a silver platter. Soon, you'll know the real identity of "The Archer", whether it's Maggie as Lila, or vice versa. But first, Reid's rescue and capture of the Archer. Then questioning...
Hi :) thanks for reading the 13th chapter. Please R&R, and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter :D Anyhow, I've been thinking of branching off this story with another one, more Hotch/Prentiss centric- please let me know what you think :) thanks again, and I really appreciate all the favourites, reviews and PMs.