Chp. 20

The four men had been part of a team watching the hospital where the BAU had been taken. They'd split off to follow Mark and Garcia, with express orders to watch and do nothing more. Personally, all four men were perfectly happy with that. None of them had any military or police training and the thought of fighting a former Navy Seal hand to hand terrified them. Chris Springer, the driver, turn Alvin Jones, the man in the passenger seat.

"Follow 'em inside. Report anything suspicious."

"And try not to get killed," Jones added.

"Yeah, that too. Go on."

"Why are we bothering with this anyway? We've already got the kid."

"It's what the boss wants. Get going." Springer said, finality in his voice. Jones shrugged and got out of the SUV.

000

"So where to first?" Mark asked.

"Baby stuff." Garcia said confidently, leading the way. Mark let her, because to do otherwise would have put Garcia in danger and that was unacceptable. Plus, he didn't want to tip her off that they were being followed.

"Isn't Spencer four years old?"

"Yeah, but Emily told me he regressed in the hospital. This will traumatize him even more than he already has been. If we get him back, that is." Garcia added the last part quietly.

"We'll get him back." Mark assured her. "So, I'm guessing by your skill set you did some digging on me?" He smirked to let her know that there were no hard feelings.

Penelope looked away. "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry about everything that happened to you."

He could tell by her voice that she meant it. He'd been lied to enough times to know the difference. "Thank you, Penny."

She thought about correcting him, but she liked the derivation of her name coming from him. They lapsed into silence as they reached the baby aisle and began filling the cart with whatever items Spencer might need. They moved to clothing next and filled the rest of the cart with age appropriate clothing for Spencer. The entire time, Mark felt the hair on the back of his neck standing up and he'd seen a man following them by using metallic surfaces as mirrors to check their rear flank. Mark smiled at the prospect of combat. The adrenaline rush never got old.

000

Alvin's confidence grew the longer he followed the two federal agents. This Mark Rossi was supposed to be a former Navy Seal, but he sure didn't act like one. Alvin watched as they paid for their purchases and left the store. He followed, just like he'd been trained. Rossi had parked their SUV in the parking lot's equivalent of a dark alley. This was all so easy. Then Alvin heard a noise and turned in the direction in came from. When he turned back, his targets were gone. Before he had time react to this new twist, he felt a sharp pain in his temple and his neck twisted violently to right, throwing him off balance.

As Alvin lay on the pavement, he stared up at the man he was supposed to kill.

Mark leaned down, inches from the other man's face. "You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I swear to god, you will die in an agony you haven't even begun to contemplate."

Before Alvin could respond, Mark grabbed him under the arms and pulled him toward the waiting SUV.

As they drove away, Garcia glanced back in the cargo area, a worried expression on her face. "What are you going to do with him?"

Mark debated telling her the truth and decided against it. "You don't want to know, Penny."

Garcia fixed him with a hard stare. "If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked."

"I'm assuming you've heard of waterboarding?" Mark asked.

Garcia was silent for a moment before answering. "I have. Just don't lose yourself, Mark. I'd like to get to know the real you when this is all over and we have baby boy back with us."

In spite of the situation, Mark grinned. "It's a date, Penny."

000

Will was among the least injured on the team and had stayed with JJ and Henry while they were checked out and to act as part of the rear guard while everyone else was getting taken care of. His phone vibrated and he answered on the first ring, eager to get moving. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I need you and dad downstairs in the parking garage asap."

"On our way." Will disconnected the call and looked at his wife and son. He was torn between his duty as a law enforcement officer and as a father and husband.

Sensing his distress, JJ looked up. "Who was that?"

"It was Mark, cher. He…"

"Go, Will. We'll be ok. Help him take care of this." JJ said this as if reading his thoughts.

Will walked to the bed and gently hugged his wife and child. In his line of work, you never knew if you would see your loved ones again. It was probably the worst part of the job, for Will anyway. When Henry was born, he'd thought about giving up this job.

"I love you, JJ. Always." He said, kissing her forehead gently.

"Be safe." JJ said, their goodbye ritual complete. Will kissed one finger and gently placed it Henry's head.

Then he turned and walked out the door.

As he approached the waiting room, he went to Rossi without looking at anyone else. "Mark's asking for us. He's downstairs."

"Ok, let's go." Dave said, standing to leave.

"David," Caroline called, reaching out. "Be safe, all of you."

"You listen to your wife, David." Isabella said.

"Always, Caro. Mama."

000

"So, what's up?" Dave asked as they took the stairs down to the main lobby.

"Knowing your son…somebody messed with 'em and he took a prisoner." Will said as they left the hospital and started to the garage.

"Interrogation," Dave asked.

"Yeah, I'll try and convince Mark to let you know what we find out, if anything."

The two men reached the SUV Mark and Garcia had taken and saw what they expected to see. Garcia was white as a sheet and Mark looked like nothing was wrong.

"Dad, escort Penny back upstairs. Will, get in the truck." Mark squeezed Garcia's hand. "You ok?"

She gave him a watery smile. "Yeah, I'll be alright. Take care of yourself and find our boy."

"Will do, boss lady."

When they were inside the hospital Dave asked, "Penny?"

"It sounded right coming from him." Garcia answered.

000