Disclaimer: see my profile
Warnings: see my profile and the first chapter
Even though the Explorer was as sure-footed as a tank, Emily bounced around like a ball in a pinball machine. She held on tight to the door handle as the truck scraped over the muddy and bumpy road toward its destination.
Stanton dropped the vehicle into second gear. The engine whined, and the tires dug into the wet earth while the branches of the dark green pines and the black and white birches tried to embrace the vehicle and pull it into the forest. The scratching sound over the paint of the truck sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. It made Emily shiver as thought someone had run a finger down the back of her neck.
Then the endless tress opened around them as they climbed a steep hill. A cabin came into sight in front of them as suddenly as if a magician had called it into being.
The small cabin was stone with two windows looking out at them from the front of the building. The roof was steeply pitched and made from wood faded the same grey as the stones that held it up.
Stanton swung the SUV around in the makeshift driveway and threw the gearshift into park. He shut off the engine and the resulting quiet was a relief. The passenger side door faced the road they'd just come up and to Emily it looked very lonely.
Then she took a closer look at the clearing and noticed something strange. "I don't see -"
Stanton was pointing his gun in her face when she turned to face him. The barrel was very large and the bore as dark as midnight. There was nothing else in the universe but that gun and the beating of her heart in her ears.
"Now," Stanton requested in a tone that was reasonable, bordering on kind. "Take out your gun."
"What are you doing?" Emily stuttered. "W-where's Deputy H-hanks car?"
"Take out your gun now."
"Why?"
"I'm going to ask you just once more." The cocking of the revolver echoed as if they were in a canyon far from anyone.
She reached for her gun. "Alright…"
"Very slowly, Agent Prentiss."
She obeyed with trembling hands. He pushed the button to lower her window. It went down with a smooth, soundless, quality that was the sound of finality.
"Throw it out the window," he ordered, waving the gun just a bit when she hesitated.
Emily tossed the gun out of the SUV and watched it arc out over the low stone wall that surrounded the cabin. It fell into the trees with a swooshing sound that sent birds screaming into the air.
"Get out," He ordered again, shoving the barrel of the gun into the side of her head.
She unhooked the seatbelt as he got out of the car and came around to the door. He stood far back as though he knew what she intended to do with the door.
"Don't get any ideas!" He warned her. "Get up there." He pointed the gun at the top of three large stone steps that went up to the door.
She walked as slowly as possible up the steps until he pushed the gun into her back. "Get moving or your dead."
She opened the door and entered the cabin. The light from the early morning barely illuminated the entryway. He herded her along to the living room with a couch in front of a fireplace that was black and cold. He shoved her again and she stumbled, nearly falling into the long trestle table in front of her.
The walls and floors were stone in the whole building. It was cold and damp. It was like walking into an underground cave. There were woven rugs made from old rags on the floor and a moose head on the wall over the fireplace.
"In there," He pushed her toward the back of the room. Another small room connected the main room with a low wall made from wooden logs.
When she entered the room, she saw a young boy with dark curls lying on a bed, chained and gagged. The boy saw her and his eyes filled up with fearful tears. Her heart ripped up, but she tried not to let it show. She made her face arrange into a smile.
"Hello Terry… My name is Emily."
"Isn't this sweet?" Stanton taunted.
"Let him go you monster." She shouted at him. Anger was like acid eating away at her logic. She threw a punch at him but he blocked it easily.
She cried out in pain as he twisted her right arm behind her back. "You see Agent Prentiss; you're a prime example of why women shouldn't be in law enforcement." He yanked her arm up higher on her back. "Pregnancy makes women weak," He said. "Men don't have that curse."
She cried out again. Terry whimpered. "Shut up you little brat." The man said very calmly and he smiled at the boy.
"Why don't you let him go?" Emily said through her tears. "I'll stay here."
"Oh, you'll stay here alright. I'm only sorry that I can't enjoy you as I'd like." He licked her cheek.
"I know Hanks was the pedophile, not you. I can tell my boss that you helped Hanks, but you didn't do anything."
"That's where you're wrong. You see, Hanks was the pervert. He liked raping and beating little boys, but he didn't have the stomach for killing children. I don't have that problem. We were the perfect team until Blevins grew a pair and called in the BAU.
"I can help you!"
"Oh you're going to help me alright. When your skinny lover shows up, we're going to have a lot of fun."
He hit her hard on the head with his gun and she fell to the floor.
-----
Reid dropped his phone.
"What the hell Red?"
The young man looked up at Morgan with his large eyes so full of torment that Morgan half expected that Tobias has come back from the grave. Reid turned, left the room at a near run, leaving the rest of them staring after him until Hotch followed him out.
Morgan picked up Reid's cell, which was lying on its side and open.
"Hey… What's going on Reid?" a voice said.
"Baby girl… What did you tell our genius?"
"Where's Reid?"
"He took off like a bat outta hell. What did you say to him?"
"Hey asked me to check out Deputy Stanton."
"Why?"
"I don't know, but I think he was on to something."
"Why?"
"I've got bad news."
'What is it?"
"I checked on Stanton. He was born in Duncan Wyoming, where the first kid disappeared. He's the same age as Charlie Hanks. They went to Weber State together in Utah where the second kid was taken."
She had his full attention now.
"They met in college," She went on. "He joined the force in Wyoming a year ago after working in Utah for a couple of years. He quit UHP, but in talking to his commanding officer there, it was just before they were going to get rid of him. I don't know why Constable Blevins hired him. I don't think the Constable knew Hanks and Stanton knew each other."
"What else baby girl?"
"Stanton is an orphan. His dad and stepmother died in the fire. He had a younger brother that died in a drowning accident when he was five."
"Let me guess, the little boy looks like the victims."
"You got it in one sugar. They could all be brothers. Stanton was thirteen and he was the last one to see the little boy alive."
"Wonderful…"
"Yep… They cops questioned him, but nothing came of it. His mother disappeared when he was five. They never found her. Morgan, his dad looks just like Reid.
I have a location for Hanks. There is an old cabin in the woods south of there. I'll send the GPS coordinates to your phones."
"Thanks baby girl."
"I'll keep digging," she hung up on him.
"What did she say?" Rossi asked.
"Let's go find Reid." Morgan said, as he headed for the door. The others followed him in confused distraction to the front of the house.
---
"Reid…"
Reid stopped at the sound of his angry unit chief's voice. "We need to get back to the station!" The young man insisted.
"We're not going anywhere until you tell me what that was all about!"
"I - um Garcia called and…"
He explained all of it to his boss, everything that Stanton had said and the threats he had made. He explained how he had had Garcia check out the deputy and what she'd found.
Hotch was tight lipped by the time Reid finished. He was about to open his mouth when the rest of the team came out of the house.
"He's right… We need to get back to the station." Morgan handed Reid his phone with a hard look.
"I think -"
Reid's phone interrupted them, "H-hello…"
"Dr Reid… I have someone that would like to say hello."
There was a muffled sound and then a small child crying.
"Terry…" Reid breathed.
The child screamed and then there was a slap of flesh on flesh. A voice that chilled him to the bone drifted through the phone. "Don't listen to him. Don't do what he wants!"
There was another muffled slap and a moan. "You know where to find me by now Dr. Reid. I'll see you in thirty minutes, or they all die."
"Hotch… He has them." Reid said after shutting the phone. "We have to go."
"We'll go, but we'll take backup." Hotch insisted. "You and I are going to talk." He warned Reid as they went to their SUV.
Hotch grabbed several state cops on the way and gave them the coordinates Morgan had got from Garcia. They climbed into the vehicles and headed out into bright yellow sunshine.
---
Stanton stood with his gun shoved into Emily's belly. He had one arm around her neck, holding her tightly to him when Reid and Hotch burst into the cabin. Terry tried to scream when they entered the room, but the dirty rag shoved in his mouth muffled the cry.
Reid only had eyes for Emily. Tears were streaming down her face, but she kept silent. Reid felt rage such as he'd never known well up in his stomach. The gun he pointed at Stanton wavered in his hands.
"Reid…" Hotch's voice made his eyes flicker over to his boss.
Hotch nodded slightly and his dark eyes flashed toward Emily. Reid shifted the grip he had on his revolver to something less than a death grip and looked Stanton right in his sneering green eyes.
"Let her go!"
"I don't think so Dr. Reid."
Hotch decided on a different tactic. "You're surrounded Stanton. The State Police are with us. There's no where for you to go. "
Stanton laughed at Hotch. "I don't want to talk to you."
"Who do you want to talk to?" Rossi asked having entered the room behind the two agents
"Shut up old man."
Reid saw his arm tighten around Emily's throat and his finger tightened on the trigger. He wanted to take a shot at Stanton, but it was too dangerous. He'd been lucky twice with a gun, but three times might be asking too much from fate.
Morgan and JJ entered the small room with their side arms trained on Stanton.
"Good… Now that everyone is here Dr. Reid, let's talk about how we'll resolve this interesting quandary."
He looked over at JJ who was edging toward Terry. "I wouldn't do that Agent Jareau."
JJ froze and flicked her gaze to Emily's face when her friend whimpered at the sound of Stanton's gun cocking in his hand.
"Thank you Agent Jareau. Just stay where you are."
"Why don't you put down the gun and we'll talk." Hotch tried again.
"I told you that I don't want to talk to you."
"What do you want?"
"I have a little game I want to play with Dr. Reid."
"What kind of game?" Reid asked, his voice beginning to tremble.
"Don't do it Reid!" Emily whispered around her captor's tight arm.
"Shut up you bitch!" He tightened his grip further around her throat.
"Alright… I'll play your game." Reid said quickly, lowering his gun to point at the ground.
"Good…" Stanton shifted the gun just a bit but it was still pointing at Emily's belly.
"Dr Reid," He said. "I think the rest of your team need to be brought into your little secret."
Reid licked his lips and felt sweat running down his back. His heart was pounding so hard, it shook his whole body.
"W-what do y-you mean?"
"Don't play stupid with me. I know you and Agent Prentiss are hiding something very important from your team. I want to see the looks on their faces when you tell them what you two have been up to."
"What's this bastard talking about?"
"Shut up Agent Morgan. Tell them what you're hiding, or Agent Prentiss and the baby die."
Reid looked at Emily. "It's okay Reid." She whispered hoarsely. She tried to smile, but her throat was burning and she could barley breathe.
"Tell them," Stanton repeated angrily.
Reid took a deep breath and looked over at his teammates. Only JJ was looking directly at him, though he knew that rest of them were listening.
"I'm the father of Emily's baby."
"Very good Dr. Reid, you just saved your baby's life."
"You got what you wanted. Let them go."
Stanton pushed Emily away from him and she fell to the stone floor, cracking her head against it and falling silent.
Then everything happened very slowly and fast at the same time. Stanton turned his gun on Reid even as the young man dove under him to Emily's side. Several shots rang out and something fell next to Reid. Then there was only silence.