This took forever. I was supposed to have this up a few days ago but I spent over 7 hours in line for the apple store. iPhone 4, yay. & I've been working ever since.
Anyway, here you go guys. Reviews inspire me to go faster, honestly, without them I probably would've given up by now. C:
Ashes of Our Lives – Chapter 5
The team regrouped in the lobby of the hotel at nine am sharp. They straggled in slowly to see Hotch on the phone, and the unit chief ended the call briskly. At their curious looks, he elaborated.
"That was a call from one of the bartenders from the bar," he said slowly. "Someone came in and said they'd seen a car leave from behind the building; a silver lexus."
"That's something," Morgan replied hurriedly, one hand fiddling idly with his belt. "Have you told Garcia?"
"No," Hotch replied evenly, "but we probably should. You can call her on the way to the station, let's go."
They made their way to the cars and split, heading toward the police station. Morgan slipped into the passenger seat beside Hotch and pulled out his cell phone, dialing the familiar number. She answered on the first ring.
"Garcia."
Derek blinked. "That's it?"
"Yeah, well, you know how I get, sugar. I just don't feel so happy right now. Do you have anything for me?"
"Always on top of things, mama. Of course I do. Whoever snagged JJ and Reid was driving a silver lexus. Newer model. Someone saw it leaving in a hurry from behind the bar, but that's all we have."
"Newer model? I'll look for recent sales or rentals, but it's a stretch, honey. Do your best to get me more to work from, okay? I'll call when I get something."
"Thanks," Morgan replied softly, but she'd already hung up. He stared gloomily at the phone, unaware as Hotch's dark eyes glanced over his frame once before returning to the road.
The four remaining team members met up again in the police station, and every one of them looked worn and tired. Hotch shook his head wearily.
"Look," he started, commanding their attention. "I know you're tired, but we have to keep pushing this. Not only to catch the unsub, but to rescue Reid and JJ too. Now Morgan, you and Prentiss go talk to the witness who gave us the description of the car. The sheriff said she'd be in here. Rossi and I will review what we have and talk to Garcia."
Derek and Emily exchanged glances, but obeyed and took off toward interrogation.
"Do you really think we'll find anything?" Emily asked gloomily, glancing at Morgan with an almost sad expression. "I'm worried for them. JJ isn't meant for this kind of field work… it's just not what she's been trained to do. And Reid's so emotionally fragile, especially after…" she paused, nearly biting her lip, "… last time, you know."
"Reid was traumatized after Georgia," Morgan replied simply, "but he held up and made it through. He can do it again, and he's scrawny, but he's a tough kid. He won't let anything happen to JJ. We'll get them both back Prentiss."
He knew he was trying to convince himself as well as her.
"Lookin' for your witness?" The sheriff asked, coming up behind them. "He's in room three."
"Thanks," Emily replied, making way for the room already. "You want this or should I take it?"
"Go ahead," Morgan sighed, sinking into a chair outside the one-way glass. He could see in just fine.
Emily sauntered into the room and sat down across from the woman. She appeared to be in her mid-forties, and her face was marred by a permanent worried frown.
Emily glanced at the paper on the desk. "So, Mrs. Sanders," she started, "you say you saw a car leave the bar a few nights ago."
"That's right," the older woman replied immediately. "I hear the feds were looking for anything suspicious around that area. I've been going to that bar for years, know all the workers. They're the only ones that get to park behind the building and none of them had a car as nice as that lexus was. It was just out of place."
"Could you see anyone inside?" Emily asked, not daring to let her eyes flicker to the glass. She wanted to make sure Derek was paying attention.
"There were some people in the back," Mrs. Sanders replied after a moment, "one driver and at least two, maybe three, in the back seat. They left pretty quick."
"Did you see where they went?"
"They left the lot pretty quick and headed out toward Aliso."
Emily stood. "Is that all you remember?" when the woman nodded, Prentiss felt a relieved sigh threatening to escape. "Thank you, Mrs. Sanders, you've been very helpful."
Prentiss noticed Morgan's mood as soon as she exited the room. Her partner was absolutely joyous. "We have something, finally." He ripped his phone from his pocket just as it started buzzing.
Emily blinked. "Good timing."
"Hey baby doll, whatcha got?" Morgan asked, sounding more upbeat than he had in days. Garcia sounded relieved when she spoke.
"Well, I have a few things for you sweetness. First, there were a few new silver lexus' sold in the area in the past six months. However, only one was purchased by a local who still lives in the area."
"Do you have a name?"
"Who do you think I am?" She replied, sounding offended. "Of course I do. The guy you want is Keith Greene. Now go get him, his work location- 'cause that's where he should be- is being sent to your phone."
"Thank's Garcia, you're an angel." Morgan's tone was affectionate enough to make Emily smile.
"I know. Now go get our sweetheart's back and bring them home."
Alex left them down there for what seemed like hours this time.
However, Reid didn't know how much time was passing them by; there was no natural light, no clocks, nothing to implicate how long they'd been living in the hell in which they were still enclosed.
The young profiler had been drifting in and out of fevered consciousness, each time feeling sick and anxious and desperately reassured by the feel of JJ's cheek against his shoulder and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She was asleep; and he was glad for it. He shivered despite the warm, musty air of the basement.
He glanced at his hand and noticed the grayish hue his skin was taking on, all the way up to his elbow. The bite marks were swollen, very slightly, and oozing clear fluid. He tried not to think about it, but the headache that was stabbing daggers into his eyes and the burning agony across his torso made it hard to think of anything else but the cause of his ailments.
He coughed, and felt trickles of warm fluid seep from his mouth and nose. Despite this, the poison wasn't the main cause of his concerns. The deep stabs to his torso had stopped bleeding long ago, but he knew that trauma could be numb for a long time before it was noticed. Considering the fact that he was still breathing, he knew the blade had missed anything important; something he was sure Alex had done on purpose. Just because he couldn't yet feel it, didn't mean all was well. He grimaced.
JJ roused when the racking cough jolted Reid's body against her side. She blinked multiple times, clearing her vision. The liaison groaned faintly, tilting her head up to look at him. He glanced down at the same time and he tried to smile. JJ sat up and grimaced, reaching out to smudge the blood from his face with her thumbs.
"How much more of this?" She implored quietly, glancing at the staircase. She felt Reid tremble once under her touch, but when she looked back at him he was still, watching her dazedly.
"It's been too long to try anything now," he replied. "He'll come back soon. Next time he leaves, I'll have something thought up by then."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded, glancing around the room. The wall with the instruments had several handsaws- but they were too far out of reach.
"We have to make him give us a tool," Reid spoke up suddenly, drawing JJ's attention again. "If we can get him to leave a handsaw in reach, we can use it to cut through the chains."
The blonde shook her head. "Will that be a good idea? We'd have to get him to use it on-"
Reid cut her off, shushing her urgently. Alex threw the door open aggressively and stalked down, looking irritated.
"Alright," he began sharply, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Someone tipped your pals off about my car- they saw it leaving the bar. So I have to get rid of it, and there's a slight chance we'll have to relocate."
JJ shook her head, trying to sound calm, but she huddled under Reid's coat shyly. "We can't…"
She looked at Reid, slumped back against the wall and watching Napuri quietly, his expression grim. JJ frowned. "He'll die if we move… it'll… circulate the poison."
Alex shrugged. "Not my problem. I'm having an acquaintance dump the car in a little bit, so, sorry if that got your hopes up but if they find this place, we won't be around to see it."
They'll find you, JJ wanted so badly to say, because she knew they would. She also knew from experience that putting Alexander Napuri down would do harm to both her and her colleague.
"Anyway," Alex murmured almost lazily, "I have something for you."
He didn't specify before he moved off again, shuffling through the junk collected at the far side of the enclosure. JJ nudged Reid's shoulder and he looked at her, frowning.
"The car," she hissed, "can they track it?"
"I'm sure they can," Reid replied softly. "Garcia can find it, find out who owns it and is connected to the owner… they'll find something."
"But if he knows they're coming-"
"He'll kill us first. We have to make him believe that he's right, and that he's smarter than us. It'll keep us alive longer because he likes to draw out the torture."
"What are you guys mumbling about?" Alex snapped, and they shut up as he came back with a box. He set it down and kneeled in front of them, opening it. It looked like a very high-tech first-aid kit.
"Can't let you bleed out, can I?" He grunted, "one wrong move and you'll rip open like gutted animal."
He pulled several items from the box, setting them down neatly on the floor. Reid and JJ grimaced; the tools were rusted and didn't look clean.
Alex sat up straighter, and scooted closer. "Before I fix you up, I have a little something for you, too. Actually, it's more for the medical examiner to find for your friends."
He held up a small metal sheet, maybe an inch tall and two inches long. The edges were sharp. There were words engraved on it, but neither agent had a chance to read it before he pressed it into one of the open gashes in Reid's torso. He flinched violently but didn't make a sound, wincing again when JJ grabbed his elbow.
Alex dug his fingers into the wound, pushing the metal as deep as he could. Reid finally hissed and snapped, kicking the older man between the legs. JJ's jaw nearly dropped and Reid blinked in self-astonishment while Alex leapt backward, howling.
"That was a really bad move," Napuri wheezed, lunging to his feet. He staggered toward them and Reid forced himself upright as well. JJ tugged at his pant leg but he ignored her and the two males faced each other. Reid watching calmly, if not disjointedly, and Alex glaring hard daggers.
"I should just kill you now," he hissed, "long and slow and painful, like a cat killing a bird. I could rip you open real good and pull out your insides, right in front of your lady friend. Would you like that? I could cut out your eyes and pull out your nails, burn you or throw you to the sharks, or-"
He cut himself off when a phone started ringing. Alex blinked, and pulled the cell from his pocket, glancing at the ID before glaring back at the agents. "I need to go; but don't worry, we'll hang out some more when I get back."
He moved to leave, but paused by the steps. He gathered the wad of fabric from the floor and turned.
"Cover yourself up properly, girl," he hissed, tossing JJ's clothes toward her. "Damn whore."
He left then, leaving the two again in darkness. Reid turned away respectfully while JJ nearly threw herself into her dirty clothes. She kept his jacket, hugging it tight like a blanket. She felt tears welling again, and she pressed her face into the warm fabric that smelled like pine, just like Reid did.
She stayed like that until Reid gave a soft grunt of pain, and she jerked up to look at him with wide blue eyes. "Reid? What are you doing?"
"We have to get loose," he wheezed, digging his nails into his ankle. He'd broken the skin, and was clawing at the limb. "I can slip out if I can get my foot lubricated enough. The shackles a little big, guess they aren't meant for emaciated kids."
He sounded bitter, and JJ winced at the wording; it was how Morgan sometimes described him. "Please don't hurt yourself," she asked him softly.
"Too late," he murmured, continuing to cut into himself. JJ turned away, unable to watch. When he'd bloodied himself enough, he started pulling at the bindings. The hard metal dug in, cutting through his skin even deeper. It hurt, but it served its purpose.
JJ tried to block out his gasps of exertion and pain, until he tapped her shoulder. She glanced up to see him sitting with outstretched legs.
Outstretched, unbound legs.
"You did it," she said simply, her tone and expression surprised. She frowned when Reid pushed himself up, swaying. He made toward the ominous wall, one hand against the concrete side for support. He grabbed a handsaw from the assortment and returned, nearly collapsing beside JJ.
"Let me see," he murmured, and she stretched out her shackled leg, resting it in his lap. He started working on the chain with the saw.
"Does this seem… too easy?" she asked quietly after a while. The chain snapped and Reid stumbled to his feet again. She rose beside him, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Yes," he said, sounding strained. "But we can think about it later, for now, let's go before he comes back."
They leaned on each other and made their way up the stairs awkwardly. JJ touched the door handle and found the lock broken and the door jammed.
"Lock's broken so he forced the door shut," she said.
"Care to go Morgan-status and fix this problem?" Reid asked, and she couldn't help but smile.
"One, two, three." They kicked the wood door and it flew open, seriously startling the two people on the other side.
A boy and an older woman sat at a maple table, staring back at the two wounded agents in shock.
"What the hell?" The woman cried, getting to her feet. The boy, no older than nineteen, stood as well, green eyes wide.
"Keith, go get the phone," the woman said, staring at Reid and JJ in shock and anger. "Who are you, and how'd you get down there? Are you another one of Alex's projects? She stalked out of the room and Reid pulled away from JJ, doing a quick sweep and finding a pile of belongings on the kitchen counter, behind a breadbox.
"Hey," he coughed, and JJ padded over to him quickly. Their phones and IDs were there. JJ grabbed them, and Reid pointed to a rack on the wall.
"Car keys," he said, "grab some."
JJ pulled two sets of keys from the rack and handed them to him.
"Let's go," she said urgently, and they limped for the front of the apartment as fast as they could. They heard someone approaching.
Reid threw open the front door and the two found themselves facing real, dying sunlight for the first time in days. They were facing the street, and the curb was lined with cars. Reid hit the unlock button on one of the key-sets until a BMW up the street a little ways beeped. They made for it just as the woman jogged outside after them.
She was holding a pistol, but she hid it quickly when she saw that they were already exposed. There weren't many people out, but a gunshot would definitely be heard. She started after them, cursing and breaking into a run.
JJ threw herself into the passenger side as Reid slammed his hand down on the lock. He didn't bother with a seatbelt and neither did he, his hand fumbled clumsily with the ignition, and JJ felt a sick sense of dread as the woman sprinted toward them, her face alit with fury.
"Reid!" She shrieked, the woman threw herself against JJ's window, and the blonde tried not to scream, pushing herself away from the window and eyes growing wide when the pistol was drawn again and pressed against the glass.
She felt the thrum under her as the car roared to life, and Reid thrust the car into gear and peeled out onto the street. Shots rang out immediately, the woman having lost all sense of discretion. They scored against the navy paint, chipping it and shattering the rear windshield. JJ ducked, and Reid leaned against the window, flooring the vehicle.
They continued away from the house for a while before Reid relaxed on the gas, and as soon as he did the adrenaline seemed to wear out of him. He slumped back in the seat, looking drowsy.
"Stay awake Spence," JJ encouraged when she noticed. Her skin was glistening with sweat, and the rough trip had made her already sore body begin to throb agonizingly. She winced at the tearing pain between her legs, but she tried to ignore it.
He coughed a few times, thick, red fluid seeping from his mouth and nose again. But he just stared forward, almost zombie-like.
JJ frowned. "Maybe I could drive, Spence… you should relax."
The second she uttered the sentence, a car roared up behind them. She glanced in the rearview mirror and her heart nearly stopped.
It was a silver lexus.
"Kick it up, Reid," she shouted suddenly. Instead of speeding, the car slowed and veered to the left, just slightly. She looked over to see Reid slumped against the window. Completely out of it.
She lunged over the center consol without a second thought, wedging herself between his long legs. She ignored the awkward proximity and leaned forward, pressing her foot over his on the gas.
Alex's lexus was nearly touching bumpers with theirs, but the BMW shot forward, and JJ struggled to keep her awkward control of the vehicle. She dimly realized somewhere that this was one of her first car chases, and it was definitely something she never wanted to do again. She wasn't sure if she was more concerned with her colleague passed out behind her, or of their torturous captor that was tailing them so closely.
Her ponderings were cut short when the lexus suddenly zipped up next to them, and slammed them from the side. The BMW flipped, landing roughly on the roof. JJ's head hit Reid's and they both yelped, the latter coming around.
The pair found themselves suspended upside down, the window beside them shattered. All they could see was a pair of upside down feet stalking toward them purposefully.
They knew they belonged to Alexander Napuri.
Stupid ending.
Oh well. Working on next chapter, sorry for the wait guys. /: Wish I had more time for writing. On the upside, I have an entire plot laid out for my next CM fic. It's Garcia/Reid centered, but not pairing-wise. After that, I'm going to do a transformers fic. I've been relapsing into that fandom recently. I love you, Optimus Prime. You are my Reid of the cartoon world.
I love you all~
Till all are one,
Sharky.