Disclaimer:

I don't own Criminal Minds. Sigh.

I want to say a quick thank you to all who are following this story and to those who have reviewed. It means so much!

You may think I'm portraying David Rossi unrealistically in this chapter. I think this is well within his character as we've seen it. We saw his hometown and got hints and what kind of people he was involved with growing up. Last season, we saw him take steps to protect Krystall with a K and Two L's daughter from a scumbag. I think it wouldn't be out of line for Rossi to do whatever he had to do to get what he needed to rescue someone he loves.

Chapter four

The team, accompanied by Aaron and Derek, entered the FBI building in gathered in the conference room.

"The first thing you need to do," Hotch said, "is to get their leader out of this building. Is he still in a holding cell here?"

Prentiss nodded.

"First mistake," Morgan said. "Why didn't you make sure he was out of here?"

"We didn't know Meadows was part of the cult," JJ tried to explain. "We've always left people in holding cells, if we finish the case here, and we leave it to others to get them to jail. You both know that."

Hotch nodded and shrugged.

"Okay, you're right, JJ. But this time it's created a huge problem, and Penelope is in danger."

He looked around at them all. Only Reid and Rossi could meet his glare. Prentiss crossed her arms.

"so, enough discussion of what we did wrong," she said. "We don't have time for that. We need to figure out how to get Garcia back."

"I have an idea," Rossi said.

"what is it, Dave?" Hotch started to ask. Just then Kevin burst into the room.

"I've found something," he said, rushing to the conference table with a laptop. "I went back through Penelope's files from her work on the case. I did more digging and found some other people who might be part of this cult."

"Kevin, that's fantastic," Tara said.

"I'm sending it to your tablets right now."

"Thank you," Hotch, who was nearest, reached out to shake Kevin's hand. "I won't forget your help on this."

"Penelope means a lot to me, even though we haven't dated in years. You know that, Hotch. Just bring her home."

"I will. You can count on that. I will not rest until she is back."

Nobody doubted Aaron's word. The people who had been on the team during the Foyet era knew very well just how far Aaron Hotchner would go to protect his family.

"Kevin, can you stay and hand the tech stuff for us?" Prentiss asked.

"Of course. I'll be in Penelope's lair."

"Good man." Morgan nodded and turned back to Rossi. "what were you about to say before Kevin came in?"

"We need to throw Meadows off her game," Rossi said. "I think Morgan and Alvez should go to the hospital and be ready to question her as soon as she's awake. In the meantime, the rest of us should follow up on the info Kevin gave us. Someone will talk."

'Morgan is not an agent," Prentiss said. "Neither he nor Hotch can be a part of questioning anyone. How many times do I have to remind everybody of this?"

Aaron started to scowl and opened his mouth ready to argue. Rossi knew that if if he let Aaron go off on Prentiss, things might be said that could never be taken back. He held up a hand.

"Wait, Aaron. Hold on, Emily. That's why you send them with someone from the team. Morgan with Luke. Hotch can come with me and Reid. The rest of you can divide up however Emily wants you. There's no way you can expect these two to stay here calmly and wait."

He gestured to Hotch and Morgan.

"I won't sit here on my ass doing nothing, not while the woman I love is in trouble," Aaron said.

"Neither will I." Morgan nodded in agreement.

Simmons, who had known them both casually, grimaced. He'd heard the stories about how they'd clashed, but trusted and respected each other. No wonder both Hotchner and Morgan had been such strong leaders. He could tell by the stern and angry way they both sat and glared at Prentiss, that neither would back down. If it hadn't been so serious, he might have laughed at their similar stances, crossed arms, clenched fists, glares firmly in place.

"The more people we have working this," he said, turning to Prentiss, "the faster we can find Garcia. I think we should welcome their assistance. I, for one, appreciate it. I can't stand to think of what might be happening to Garcia right now. This isn't something she signed up for, and she isn't prepared to withstand it."

"Penelope is one of the strongest people I know," JJ said. "but she hasn't had any physical training or any other kind of training agents get. We need to find her."

Tears filled her eyes. She looked away, getting herself under control.

Sighing, Prentiss nodded.

"You're all right, of course." she said. Looking at Hotch, she continued, "I expect you to follow Rossi's lead and don't get in his way. Same with you, Morgan, let Alvez take point. If either of you have any ideas or input, don't hesitate to speak up, but you're not agents, so you have got to stay out of the action. Is that clear?"

Hotch and Morgan exchanged a look. They both nodded.

Only Tara seemed to notice that neither had agreed verbally or made any kind of promise to follow Emily's directions.

Garcia sat, helpless, tied to a chair, more frightened than she'd ever been in her life. There had been that time, nearly eleven years before when she'd been shot, but other than that, she wasn't usually the one in danger. She was always the one, sitting in her office at Quantico, worrying about her friends, the ones who were actually often in danger. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Terrified, she thought, I'm terrified. Is there a word that means more terrified than terrified? Oh, what will Aaron say? What will he do? She knew her man. He would tear the city down around them all to get to her, but at what price, and what would happen to her until he reached her. The ropes on her wrists had begun to cut off her circulation, and her skin was chafed where she had pulled, trying to get free. This couldn't be happening. Would anyone find her in time? What would her captors do to her in an attempt to get the BAU to do their bidding? She began to shake.

There were no windows in the room where she was being held. She tried to think like a profiler, looking around to see if there were any details she could give to help them find her, if she somehow got the chance. The walls were plain white. It was a basement, she thought, because she'd been dragged down a flight of stairs when they brought her here. There was a door at the top of the stairs, but even if she could get loose, she was sure her captors had locked it. what could she do?

The door opened. A tall, husky man came down the stairs.

"Hello, Ms. Garcia. Welcome to my home. I'm sorry for the inconvenience to you, but your team has greatly inconvenienced me and my cause. I do not intend to hurt you, but that will be up to your team. We need them to do something for us, and we might have to, shall we say, use you for, let's call it encouragement."

"They'll never give in to your demands. You don't know them very well if you think they will. Meadows should have told you that much."

"Your Dr. Reid got the jump on Mary, unfortunately. But we have you. They'll do anything to keep you from being harmed."

"No they won't. Meadows didn't understand them at all, if you thought kidnapping me could get any of them to do anything."

"We have other uses for you," the man said. "after all, you are supposed to be a tech genius. So, if we can't get them to comply with our demands, we can have you work something on the technology side of things. I'm sure a few clicks from you would have our Messiah walking free in not time."

"I won't help you."

The man chuckled.

"Oh, Ms. Garcia, may I call you Penelope?"

"No. Only my friends call me that."

The man went on without seeming to hear her.

"Oh Penelope. You have no idea what methods we can and will employ to get our Messiah back. I told you I don't want to have to hurt you. But believe this, if you believe nothing else I say. I may not want to hurt you, but I will do whatever it takes. I'm going to leave you here to ponder that a while."

He turned toward the stairs.

"Please, don't leave me here. Stay and talk to me. I'm afraid down here alone."

The man's face softened briefly. He shook his head and started up the stairs.

"at least tell me your name."

Looking back over his shoulder, he answered.

"You can just call me Nicholas. Sleep well, if you can, Penelope. I shall return in the morning."

He exited the room, and Penelope heard the lock click.

She longed for her hands to be free. She wanted to weep, to bury her face in her hands, to pull her hair in frustration. Her arms and legs were already becoming numb. How would she even be able to move by morning. She was hungry and thirsty. She wanted to go to the bathroom. She wanted to curl up in Aaron's arms, to feel his strength and love surround her. She wanted to hear Jack's laughter. She wanted to see Aaron's dimples. She just wanted to go home.

"Please, Aaron, please find me soon."

Her tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

Author note:

Oops, I didn't get to Rossi's perhaps questionable actions in this chapter. I planned to, but as I was writing, I knew we needed to hear from Penelope. Rescue in the next chapter.