Writing this at the boyfriend's house. He is veeeeryyy distracting.
Anyone still reading this? I can't tell, a lot of my "regulars" didn't review last chapter. :C SADNESS.
Things heat up here, sorry about all the medical gunk but it is, unfortunately, quite necessary.
Ashes of Our Lives – Chapter 6
The two suburban's sped along the street, paying no mind to the speed limit signs. They were moving too fast to read them anyway.
Hotch was stony as he floored the vehicle toward their destination. He followed Morgan into the parking lot, skirting around other cars and trucks until coming to a crooked halt between two spaces. He and Rossi slipped from the car and moved to meet Prentiss and Morgan.
"Let's move," Hotch stated firmly, "and remember, there are children here. No need to show weapons unless it's absolutely necessary."
The entire team moved toward the entrance of the facility with seamless purpose, and the attendant looked up when suddenly there were four FBI badges smashed against the glass in front of him.
"We're looking for Keith Greene," Hotch said.
The attendant blinked. "Keith took off early today. Come to think of it, his dad left a little bit ago, off early too."
"Dad?" Emily asked, dark brows knitting together. "What's his name?"
"Uh," The boy looked down, flipping through a binder. "Alex. Alexander Napuri."
"Can you get us an address?" Morgan questioned urgently. Shrugging one shoulder, the kid relayed their unsub's home address.
"Let's go," Hotch snapped, and they made their way back to the cars. The attendant stared after them in bewilderment as they stalked away without further explanation.
"Keith Greene… Alex Napuri," Morgan murmured once he and Prentiss were again situated in the SUV. "We've got this son of a bitch, finally."
"Something about this case," Emily said softly, looking up ahead at Hotch and Rossi's car, speeding ahead of them toward the apartment complex, "just doesn't seem right. I have a feeling… a bad feeling."
Morgan frowned. "Don't say that, we've got this guy… we're gonna get our friends back."
"And… and if we don't…"
Derek's eyes were hard as marble. "Then we make him pay."
Napuri's boot-clad feet swept closer to the overturned BMW, and JJ began to squirm, too panicked to react to Reid's pained moans beneath her. When Alex stopped and began to kneel, JJ screamed, twisting in a desperate attempt to get away. She felt Reid's hands on her shoulders and she jerked, falling from the seat completely and ending up draped across the roof of the car. Reid squirmed, thrashing in the upside-down car-seat until he toppled over too.
They were a tangle of limbs and wide, panicked eyes when Alex knelt low to the ground and bent to look inside the overturned car, his worn face twisted in a soft grin.
"There you are," he said slowly, reaching in with both hands. He grabbed fistfuls of blonde hair and pulled. JJ yelped, clawing at his wrists but Alex paid no mind, standing halfway to drag the liaison from the shattered car window. Reid turned onto his torn abdomen, grunting in pain and lashing out to grip JJ's ankle. Alex yanked her free and tossed her onto the pavement, moving to pull Reid from the car next.
While he was busy, JJ scrambled upright, eyes wide. Freedom was so close, all she had to do was run. But she wouldn't leave Reid. Instead, stricken blue eyes swept the area until they settled on Napuri's idling lexus. She backed toward it slowly, eyes locked on Alex as he cursed at a very lively Reid. The young agent fought back furiously as his captor dragged him from the car, and JJ breathed a relieved sigh when she saw him land a good punch right under their tormentor's eye.
Having escaped unnoticed, she slipped into the driver's side of the car, but instead of driving it, she rummaged around the junk strewn about the vehicle in search of a weapon. She found a hunting knife under the passenger seat, and she pulled it from the leather holster and gripped it tightly in her right hand. Mouth set in a grim line, she left the car and jogged toward Alex, where he leaned over Reid.
JJ frowned; her partner was flat on his back, and his expression was upset. Clear hazel eyes rolled over to meet hers, and he noticed her approach. He looked back at Napuri immediately as not to give JJ away, but his struggles didn't cease. The blonde froze when Alex strained upward, only to throw his weight down on Reid's side. The young agent cried out, prompting JJ into quick action.
"You're going to regret trying to get away," Alex hissed, raising a hand. He didn't have a chance to strike. Reid kicked out with his left leg, nailing the unsub in the crotch, again. The reaction was the same. Alex recoiled with a wild howl and Reid rolled onto his opposite side, pushing himself upright with his good hand.
JJ took the chance and staggered forward, trying to look fierce. Alex whirled around, his face ghost-white and pain stricken. He lashed out with one hand but JJ ducked around him, slashing the blade and cutting a thin line in their attacker's palm. However, she was inexperienced with the weapon and in one fluid move he'd knocked it from her grip.
He bared his teeth in wild anger, raising a fist to hit her but without warning, he froze. Blinking in surprise, JJ stood up straighter and looked behind Alex. Her tormentor turned around as well.
Though it was nearing dusk and there was nobody outside, a man now stood on the sidewalk holding a cell phone and approaching them quickly. Reid lay crumpled a few feet from him, and JJ assumed he'd staggered off to ask the man for help when he'd seen him.
"What's going on over here?" The man cried, seeing the smashed BMW and the struggling woman. "I had that guy come up to me rambling about the FBI and a suspect or something- and he took me over here and you're about to beat that woman- what the hell, man!"
Alex glared hatefully but saw no other option. When the man finally got close enough to reach out and touch JJ, Alex backhanded her violently, throwing the young woman to the ground.
"Hey," the civilian started, but Alex was already back in his car and driving away. The man struggled to memorize the plates before he knelt down beside JJ.
"You okay, miss?" He asked after a moment. "My name's Marcus. I called 911 for you and your friend, ambulances are on the way."
"Spence," JJ moaned, not trying to sit up, "need to help…"
Marcus glanced to where the other agent was sprawled limp on his left side, not far away. "He ran for me, but collapsed… he started bleeding pretty bad but the paramedics will be able to fix him up."
JJ stuggled, shrugging out of the oversized jacket she was wearing. "It's his," she breathed, "give it… back…"
He could see that she was losing consciousness, so he bit his lip and took the coat, draping it over one arm and hooking his arms under her. He couldn't leave the woman in the middle of the street.
He set her down again next to her colleague and he knelt down, pressing the jacket over the male agents' badly bleeding torso. He stayed for a few minutes until the sirens started to approach.
He waved his arms until the drivers noticed, and the ambulances stopped. Medics exited the vehicles and made their way over.
One woman gave JJ a rapid check over, face marred by a frown. "She's got a concussion for certain. She's dirty and looks malnourished, a few visible signs of assault but I can't be sure about sexual assault until we run a rape kit. Cuts and gashes all over and definite signs of trauma and shock. What do you have, Paul?"
Another man looked up from beside Reid. "Temperature, unsure of the cause but poison is probably a safe bet. There are bite wounds and the skin around the area is gray." He gestured to Reid's abdomen, "stab wounds and from what I can tell, gastrointestinal bleeding."
"We're ready to take them back," another called from the back of one of the cars.
"Let's take them down then," The female paramedic said as her team helped her load both patients onto stretchers. They were taken in quickly but Paul felt his wrist grabbed and he turned to look Marcus in the eye.
"Is there anything I can do?" He asked, and Paul smiled.
"You did enough by calling and staying with them. If what you said you saw on the phone was true, you probably saved their lives."
With that, Paul climbed into the ambulance and left, leaving a dumbfounded Marcus left to wander home and wonder what hell he'd witnessed that day.
Consciousness returned to her quickly enough, though JJ felt the fog being lifted from her mind sluggishly. The first thing she was aware of was the hot overhead lights that seemed to become brighter the longer she was awake. Squinting, she turned her head harshly and jerked in surprise at the startling feel of someone grabbing her shoulders.
Her thoughts went to Alex, and she began struggling at the thought of his hands on her again, groping her chest and slipping below the line of her skirt, violating her where he had no right to touch her. She could remember the feel of his nails dragging lines into her skin, remembered the smell of their mingled sweat and the hot, stale heat of his breath on her throat.
But most of all, she remembered the tears tracing hot tracks on her face and the ripping pain as he violated her in the worst way. She cried out and tried to push the person away.
"Hey, hey, I'm trying to help."
The voice was female, and JJ relaxed immediately. "Emily?" she wheezed, hoping against hope that her thoughts were true, and that her dark-haired friend really was there.
"No, not Emily," the voice said again, and JJ felt her heart sink. "My name's Melissa. I'm a paramedic. You were rescued from an attack almost an hour ago, and we're in the hospital. We just got you checked in so I'm going to hand you over to the nurses now, is that alright?"
She waited patiently for JJ to bring herself around enough to understand.
"Hos… hospital? Then… then- we're not with him anymore?"
"With that man? No, we don't know where he went but you're safe now."
"What about Reid?" JJ's voice rose in volume and her blue eyes were now wide with apprehension. "Is he okay?"
Melissa's kind face was sad. "I don't know yet, honey. But you'll know as soon as the doctor's know anything. I made sure to let staff know that you and him were together."
JJ was too tired to blush at the odd thought of her and Reid being 'together' at anything. But, despite all the awkward moments they'd shared, he'd been a great comfort to her throughout the entire ordeal.
"You have to call… call them." She was so, so tired.
"Your next of kin will be notified, honey."
"No," JJ said, trying to bring herself around again. She felt the edges of awareness slipping again. "My boss, please, you have to call him… Reid and I are FBI- we're here… murder case. Please, we've been hoping he and the team would find us… you have to call Hotch- Hotchner..."
Melissa's features slackened in shock but the young blonde was out cold again before she could reply. She stood and made her way out of the hospital room and into the corridor where she saw Paul.
"Hey," she called softly, "how's the other kid?"
The older man frowned. "He wasn't well when we brought him in but I'm hoping the doctor's can save him. He didn't seem too far gone, just… close, you know?"
"Any time we have to save someone," Melissa said darkly, "it's too close. Anyway- my girl said she and your kid were FBI and that we needed to call their boss because he's been looking for them."
Paul nodded his head, handing his partner a folded wallet. Melissa opened it and blinked in surprise at the federal ID in her hand. The young woman she'd just spoken too smiled at her from a small photo, one Melissa assumed had been taken not too long ago. The agent looked healthy, and her smile brought a glow to her eyes that made the medic believe she was a genuinely good person.
"FBI, yeah. I picked these badges up off the guy. Names are Spencer Reid and Jennifer Jareau."
"Good," Melissa replied. "She mentioned a name to me- her boss, Hotchner, I think she said."
"Aaron Hotchner?" l
"Yeah, did yours say the same?"
"Well, that, and that the guy is listed as power of attorney for my kid. I looked it up after I dropped him off in the surgical bay."
"Kiddo must not have family, then."
"Guess not," Paul agreed, "but enough snooping on their lives, let's get this situation ironed out."
At first, it had been numb.
The sensation of the cold, hard pavement under his body had disappeared and he had no sensory feelings whatsoever. Mercifully, all traces of pain had dispersed.
Until touch returned. He could feel hands touching him, pressing into his damaged body and brushing back his hair. He felt fingertips on his cheekbones and pressure on his collar.
Taste and smell brought about only blood. The thick, metallic taste in his throat and the accompanying stench was all he noticed, only to be disrupted when fingers pushed up his chin and forced something into his mouth. He distantly felt his body twitch against the sensation, his mouth filled and throat clogged with whatever it was. He realized he was fighting it, but before long a liquid sort of calm washed through his very veins and the fight left him.
He had no idea what had happened, how long he'd been free of his captor or unconscious on the sidewalk. His mind was a hazy fog of poison and pain.
But she stood out, clear as diamond.
Through the agonized confusion of his mind, he could still see JJ's worried face, with wide blue eyes and mussed blonde hair.
It was comforting, and he couldn't wait to see her again to make sure she was still all right.
Soon, he groaned internally, soon.
"Dr. Grant, what's the status?" A pudgy nurse asked concernedly, lips pursed as she readied another IV line.
The older doctor looked up, mouth set in a hard frown. "Two small bites on the back of the hand. Going from that, I'm going to assume spider or snake venom."
"Poisoned?"
The doctor nodded mutely, tilting his patient's chin upward. "The poison is destroying his systems. We need to get an anti-venom but until I can find out what bit him, I can't do anything but try to fight the symptoms."
The nurse slipped the IV into the young man's wrist, taping it down. "Scans are showing severe internal bleeding," her tone was clipped.
"Lungs and viscera are hemorrhaging, the blood is seeping from his mouth and nose at a steady rate. I've no doubts that the bleeding will increase unless we can stop it soon."
"I can prep some clotting medication if you think it'll help," she replied quickly, handing her superior a syringe.
He emptied it into a vein in the young man's neck quickly, handing it back to his assistant. "Do that, then. And get me some alcohol swabs; I need to clean up the blood. It's getting everywhere." He lifted a thin plastic tube from a metal table to the side. He pulled at his patients' jaw, pressing the clear plastic into his mouth and easing it down into his throat with practiced ease.
"Are you prepping him for surgery?" The nurse asked in surprise, resting one hand on their charges' ruined abdomen.
"Preparing him, yes, but I'm going to try to avoid exploratory surgery if I can," Dr. Grant replied stiffly, "we need to bring him around and see if he can tell us what bit him."
"Looks like he's coming out of it anyway," the nurse replied when she noticed their patient beginning to stir. His young face was twisted in a pained grimace.
"Can you wake up for me, sweetie?" She asked, touching his cheek with one hand. Misty hazel eyes blinked, half-lidded. His pupils were dilated despite the bright overhead lights.
Dr. Grant leaned down. "Son, can you tell us what exactly bit you? On your hand, do you remember?"
The young profiler coughed, fluid tracing lazy paths from his mouth and nose. He murmured faintly, voice lost around the thin tubing obstructing his throat. Dr. Grant frowned, removing it quickly. It only made the coughing worse.
"Snake," he wheezed hoarsely after a moment of struggling to take deep breaths, "yellow-jawed… tommygoff… fer-de-lance… if untreated, necrosis-"
"Oh, that's enough honey," The nurse said quickly, patting the back of his good hand gently. He started to shift, as though trying to get upright, and Dr. Grant pressed a hand to his left shoulder.
"Don't move," he warned, "your right side was almost crushed and you're in no shape to be up. Lie down. Can you tell me your name?"
A few seconds passed, the patients' labored breaths being the only sound. "Spencer," he murmured finally, "Spencer… Reid. FBI- you have to call Hotch. Call him…"
"FBI?" The nurse asked, blinking.
"That's enough son, just try to relax now. We'll have you all fixed up as soon as we can."
The nurse stepped forward with a syringe, frowning when her young charge cringed away from it. "Don't worry sweetie, it'll help you sleep better… and then you won't feel the pain anymore." She administered the drug into the IV line, and the anesthesia worked quickly, putting Reid out in seconds.
"We'd better go call that man," The doctor said grimly, peeling off his gloves. "Get the surgical team in here. I need to have someone called about anti-venom for a fer-de-lance."
She watched him leave with a frown, turning to look back at the young man again; her gray eyes were sad, and she could only wonder what could've possibly happened to land the agents in the hospital in the shape they were in.
Whatever it was, she decided, had to have been true evil.
The team finally made it to Greene and Napuri's apartment only to find it empty.
"How can nobody be here?" Morgan growled, "there's evidence to suggest people have been here recently- but of course, now they're cleared out."
"They probably figured out we were coming and left," Rossi suggested grimly, eyeing the still lukewarm coffee cups on the table.
"I found a basement," Emily called after a moment, and the three males made their way to where she stood on the other side of the room, in front of a busted down door. It led downstairs, and the room was completely dark.
Weapons raised and flashlights poised, the team made their way downstairs with Hotch in the lead. He found a light-switch near the bottom of the steps and clicked it warily. The room illuminated after a few flickers from the one dying bulb.
The shock spread through the entire team at once, stilling them into stunned silence. There were bloodied shackles chained to the floor against the far back wall, another wall loaded with instruments and surgical tools. Some were scattered about the floor, stained with spatters of blood. Some of it was still drying.
On the other side of the room, a massive dog watched them from a kennel, pacing back and forth and growling threateningly.
"Oh, god," Emily whispered, edging closer to Hotch. "God. I don't even want to know what's further down there, behind the kennel."
Hotch was unreadable. "We'll have forensics look into it. We'll call the police and have them bring CSI. For now, we track Greene and Napuri." Before he could issue and order to move out, his cell phone started vibrating. He ripped it from his pocket and pressed talk without checking the ID.
"Hotchner," he nearly spat, turning back toward the stairs to begin marching upward. After a few seconds, he froze, leaving the team to exchange nervous glances behind his back. "You're sure it's them?"
Emily couldn't help the sick sense of dread that washed over her, and she felt Morgan's hand grip her should tightly. His eyes were fiery. Rossi moved up beside Hotch, glancing at the unit chief inquiringly.
"Yes, do what you can. We'll be there in fifteen minutes." He hung up the phone and turned to face his subordinates, who glared at him heatedly.
"Well?" Morgan demanded, trying not to show the desperate worry eating at his heart. Emily only stared with wide, black eyes and Rossi was frowning.
"They're down at Saddleback Hospital. Alive."
A desperate rush of relief washed over the four of them, and Hotch continued. "A man found them earlier fending off an attacker- a middle aged man who couldn't have been Keith Greene."
"Alex Napuri," Morgan snarled.
Hotchner nodded crisply. "The nurse said neither of them were in great shape, but they're holding off any major medical decisions until we get there, so let's go because I have no clue just what condition they're in."
The four of them made their way back into the house and onto the street, heading toward the two SUV's parked a little ways off.
"See?" Morgan asked Emily softly once they were alone in their suburban. He turned the ignition and the powerful vehicle roared to life. He eased it onto the street to follow Hotch and Rossi toward the hospital. "I told you we'd find them."
Emily brushed a hand through her dark hair, and her partner could tell she was still stressed. "Even so," she murmured, "what if we're still too late?"
"We won't be," Derek replied warmly, "be positive. They made it this far."
"It'll be good to see them," Prentiss admitted, "it's been a long week."
They settled into silence, comfortable for the first time in nearly two weeks. Things were only going to get better.
Hopefully.
Holy hell I started out with major writer's block then this chapter grew into a massive demon that fed on my energy because now it's 3AM, I'm dog-tired and I had to cut off a lot of this because it was getting wayyyy too long. Oh, Garcia will be called next chapter. Don't freak out.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this despite all the plot-holes. D: I'm trying my best to get everything covered but I'm sure there are still some mistakes. I'm going to put JJ and Reid's time having been missing at around 2weeks- no, I didn't cover everything that went on when they were gone but that's what a sequel is for, right?
COUGH COUGH SEQUEL WHAT? COUGH.
I hope people are still reading this… reviews declined a LOT for the last chapter and I've been SO LONELY. TALK TO ME.
Til next time, loves,
Sharky