A/N: Okay, now I'm up to where I thought I would be by the end of chapter 1 and things will shortly begin to make a lot of sense. But I'll keep this note short because I'm sure you want to know what's happening with our favourite bunch of amazing ladies.
The reviews just keep on coming so I just keep on writing. Hazmatt and HPforever-after get my undying thanks for bringing a smile to my face yesterday morning when I opened my email; this one is for the two of you. Thanks also to HGRHfan35 for another wonderful review that brought a smile to my face right before I went to bed last night; I promise the angst for our team will actually not be as bad as you are anticipating it to be.
NO MAJOR MISTAKES! Phew; this means I don't have to take time away from the new chapter to reload an old one (and what's the bet I really goofup on this one now that I've boasted?)
I also want to thank anyone else who has alerted to my stories in any way or to me as an author. It really does do my heart good to know that what I write seems to be so appreciated and so please know that this is also dedicated to you, the fans, because you are just so amazing. But please also feel free to review because I do like reviews more.
Rated M for violence, torture themes, drug use, coarse language and sex scenes. (yes, this is going to have a little bit of everything)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India, Kelly and Brad and Ben.
Arabian Nights – Chapter 5
The ringing phone intruded on an extremely boisterous, extremely vocal game of poker. Aaron thought seriously about not answering it, but if it was Emily checking up on everyone and he didn't answer, there'd be hell to pay when the ladies rushed home to find out nothing was wrong except that he was teaching their son a game that he really shouldn't learn before reaching adulthood.
"Jack, remember; if your mother asks what we did while she was gone, we just played snap or something else equally innocent. You aren't to mention that I taught you to play poker. Understand?"
"It's okay daddy; I'll protect you from mummy's wrath if she finds out."
Most of the adults hid amused smiles at the surprise on Aaron's face as he picked up the phone.
"Hotchner residence."
"Agent Hotchner? This is Director Jack Fickler."
Aaron held up a hand and received immediate quiet.
"Director. This is an unexpected surprise."
"I understand that. I also understand from Erin Strauss that you and your team are on medical leave until the end of the year but that you're less than pleased with the situation at hand."
Frowning in confusion, he replied slowly, "Well, all of that is true but is it relevant to this conversation?"
"It may be, if you and your team would be willing to consult on a case for me. All the facts pertaining to the case would be forwarded on to you and you would have clear access to the team spear-heading the investigation. The best part is you wouldn't be involved in anything physical that might get any of you in trouble with spouses or doctors."
"I can't answer for everyone but I personally think it's a great idea. Could I get back to you in a couple of hours?"
"Of course. I expected you would need some time to consult with your team. Time is of the essence however, so please get back to me as soon as you can."
"How many are affected by this?"
"We've got over a hundred victims that we are currently sure of and probably more that we aren't even aware of yet. Then of course it is the families of the victims who need answers and what we've got is a mess we weren't expecting a month ago when I got the primary team onto it."
"I'll call you back shortly with an answer. Is this number the best one?"
"It is, and thank you in advance."
Aaron hung up, thoroughly amused by the implied agreement the director had left him with and turned to answer the query he knew everyone had.
"Director Fickler needs our help on what sounds like a potential ticking time bomb. Who's in?"
New Section
"So what's your name?"
She thought about withholding her name, but the man who'd taken her had all her personal information and though she hadn't seen him since he'd taken her, he could come back at any moment. And besides, this might be a test to see if they'd broken her spirit and if that was so, she didn't want them finding out otherwise until she was ready to escape this crazy place. And when she escaped, she needed to have as much information to take to the authorities as she could manage so maybe this was a good opener to milking this woman for all the information she was worth.
She cleared her throat and said softly, "My name is Marnie. What's yours?"
"I'm Elizabeth. Welcome to The King's Palace."
"How long have you been here and where is here?"
"A few years now and in time, you'll find that things aren't so bad here. You'll make friends among the other wives and then when you start having babies you'll find a full support group of other mothers who'll teach you everything you need to know about how to be a good mother and how to balance that with being a good wife. Trust me, you aren't alone here. As to where here is, it's just home; the location isn't that important."
Wondering what kind of medication Elizabeth might be taking that could cause her to be so delusional and knowing that the location could potentially be everything, she asked, "How many of us are there here?" She could come back on the other facts later. There was no point in being hasty if it got her killed in the process.
"Us? Oh, you mean wives? Well, I think there are upward of about a hundred and fifty of us but that doesn't take into account the fact that Najeeb is out choosing his wives as we speak so it could be a lot more by the time the wedding festival arrives at the end of the month."
"Wedding festival?"
"Mmm." Elizabeth bounced a little where she sat; this was clearly a popular topic with her. "Each male member of the family has one month to gather as many wives as he chooses. Samel was pretty boring because he really only wanted two wives and though he came away with three, well, let's just say the festival was a quiet one. But Malik collected thirty wives in his first month and because he's the oldest, he's recently had a second month because his first wives are beginning to get old and you can't have a sheik with ugly wives. So now he has about seventy wives.
"Anyway, after the month long gathering of wives and the rituals to drive out rebellious spirits have been completed comes the wedding festival. We set up the square with a bed fit for a god and decorate the area with prayers inciting healthy marriages, open wombs, unity and a whole host of other prayers. Then the priest and the prince gather up all the brides and the marriages take place. The festival lasts as long as the prince has women to marry because after each ceremony, the prince takes his new bride to bed in front of the entire community. This ensures no evil spirits can sneak into the marriage bed and drive a wedge between the couple before they even bond and keeps the bride safe from harm as she conceives. There is usually one wedding a day until all the unions have taken place."
Marnie felt nausea threaten but forced it down as she asked carefully, "And when is the next marriage festival?"
"Well, you were the first woman Najeeb chose and that was the day before yesterday and with no one else selected since; this means you'll have such an advantage over the other women coming in. You have me as a friend now and I'll introduce you to some other women who can give you tips and pointers that will help you to become the favourite. Once you are the favourite, you have nothing to fear unless you fall out of favour, but that almost never happens, because being in favour gives you almost unlimited power over the other wives and ensures you spend maximum quality time with your husband."
Her head spinning, Marnie stood up slowly. "I think I need to go lie back down."
Elizabeth jumped up and put a supportive arm around her shoulders. "Of course you do, and here I am just nattering on with not a care for what you've been through. You know, they said you had more rebellious spirits in you than anyone else who has ever come in here, so the ritual cleansing lasted longer than it should have. Of course you'd be exhausted, but don't worry; you'll get your energy back soon enough and when you do, we'll start teaching you how to be the best wife you can possibly be because I like you and I like to help my friends whenever I can."
Marnie just nodded as Elizabeth eased her down onto her bed. Closing her eyes in an attempt to feign sleep, she heard Elizabeth leave and close her door behind her. She didn't hear a lock click, so she assumed she was free to wander about this place and see what she could.
Her head spinning with all this new information, Marnie started to carefully plan her escape from this hell she'd found herself in.
New Section
Emily looked around her at the scene unfolding and though she didn't like the odds, she was almost completely convinced that she could get them all out of this. She just needed to bide her time and wait for the perfect moment.
Upon getting them into the van, the two men with the knives had JJ and Penelope use industrial strength tape to wrap up all of their wrists. Of course, actually getting them to do it hadn't been straightforward and had required several rather dire threats from their captors and assurances from both Emily and Jordan that everything would be alright if they just co-operated. The tones in their voices clearly tacked on an unspoken 'it's just for now; be patient' that both women had picked up on and so they'd reluctantly done as they were told. Surprisingly though the men seemed to think it was alright leaving them untapped and probably thought that they would be the least threatening of the bunch because of their conditions.
Emily thought that what the enemy didn't know wouldn't hurt them; yet.
Clearly the rest of the girls had picked up on those tones as well, because Austin had stopped crying and Kelly and Teresa had started watching them covertly. They were all obviously waiting for her to indicate what the plan was that would get them all out alive. She just hoped she didn't let anyone down in the process or worse yet, leave anyone behind.
Thankfully though their captors had been oblivious to the silent messages passing among the girls and didn't seem to care if they whispered among themselves, so long as they didn't do anything suspicious.
The two men in the front of the van were silent and if they were communicating in any way, it wasn't one that Emily was able to pick up on. The two in the back with them were another matter entirely and though their foreign language conversation was probably to keep everyone in the dark, for her it just making her cold.
"They're middle eastern right? What are they saying?" Jordan asked with barely any noise near her ear.
She turned her head to reply in kind. "They're talking about how the guy with the knife to JJ's side needs to decide if he is going to let them keep the babies or if they should go through forced abortions and cleansing rituals in order to purify them for the marriage bed. The guy holding Penelope says that they'll probably lose their babies anyway during the ritual to drive out rebellious spirits so perhaps it should be done in advance so that it is less painful for them in the end."
Jordan shuddered slightly. "I don't think there is any way of talking about murdering an unborn child that isn't going to be painful to the mothers. Can we get all of us out of this in one piece?"
She looked around them again and nodded just slightly. "Yes, I think there is, but we'll need to be ready the second that both JJ and Penelope's captors might be distracted, and they need to be prepared to possibly get just a little cut up in the process if these guys react faster than we'd like them to to anything we might try."
"The plan?"
Emily outlined her idea and Jordan nodded slowly. "That could work, but there'd have to be no hesitation."
Emily agreed. "JJ can pull Penelope with her because they are together. Kelly's in charge of getting Carrie out, you get Austin and I'll get Teresa. We can do this, but we might only have a split second to get this to work so make sure as you are passing it on that it is clearly understood."
Jordan nodded and turned to Austin as Emily turned to Teresa and nudged her gently.
"How you doing?"
"I've definitely had better days, but I've also had worse so I think I'm doing alright at the moment. What's the plan?"
End-
A/N: Okay, so I thought about just immediately rescuing the girls by getting them to scream for help or to have passersby see their plight and leap to their rescue, but this is far more in line with the story and how it's going to play out in the end, don't you think? Wait, I'm the only one in on the ending. Oh well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see. ;)
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