DISCLAIMER: I claimed not ownership of recognized CM characters. I do claim ownership of OCs, Mark Rossi, Jake Gibbs, Dave Mallard, Max Sciuto, and Travis McGee. The name Travis McGee was also used by American author John D. McDonald. My use of the name was pure coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended.
WARNING: EMOTIONALLY INTENSE CHAPTER. TISSUE WARNING.
"He who does not punish evil commands it to be done." – Leonardo da Vinci
Chp. 25
Rossi didn't recognize his billiard room. It had been transformed overnight into something that resembled Eisenhower's command bunker prior to the D-Day invasion. Cork boards with pictures, maps and diagrams were stationed all around the room. The doorbell rang and that caused Rossi to consider the other part of Mark's plan to get Spencer back. He remembered the conversation they'd had over breakfast in the early hours of morning.
"You think we can do this?" Rossi asked, smirking at the look of surprise on his son's face.
"You're asking me?"
"Of course, this is your area of expertise after all."
"I think we can, but we need real shooters, not a bunch of desk jockey febs." Mark said in a lighthearted tone to let his father know it was a joke.
Dave rolled his eyes and placed a hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion. "You wound me."
"Let me make some calls."
Rossi stood from the club chair he'd been sitting in while scrutinizing a map of the property on one of the boards. He stepped out into the main entryway and saw Mark standing with four men who could've been his brothers. Catching Dave's entrance out of the corner of his eye, Mark turned.
"Dad, I want you to meet Jake Gibbs, Travis McGee, Dave Mallard, and Max Sciuto. We've all worked together on various assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan." Mark explained.
"And those are just the places he can name." Jake said, extending a hand a Rossi. They shook and Jake's men followed suit.
"What units were you with?" Rossi asked.
"Delta, SAS, Green Berets and Seals." Jake supplied for himself and his men. He may as well have said "the best of the best."
"Let me introduce you to my team. Thank you for coming." The four new arrivals nodded.
"Give us a minute, dad." Mark said, and Rossi nodded.
After his father was gone, Mark turned to the other men. "Let's talk business. You're going into harm's way, and I won't ask you to do it for free. How much?"
"You said the kid's father took him and that the man's a pedophile, right?" Jake asked.
"Yeah, that's right." Mark answered.
"And we're not arresting anyone?" Travis asked.
"Not if I can help it." Mark said, and the group smirked and snickered. Since when did they arrest people?
Jake looked at each of his men before speaking again. "We're in, and not for the money."
Mark hesitated, but knew if he brought up money, his comrades would be insulted. "Alright. Thanks again."
They walked into 'War Room' and found the BAU, plus Carolyn, Isabella, and Beth waiting for them. Before Mark could say anything, Emily stepped forward. She looked at Jake Gibbs, as if sizing him up. "Are you any good?"
To his credit, the former Delta Force operator didn't hesitate. "Yes, Ma'am."
"And your team?" she asked.
"I wouldn't work with them if they weren't, Ma'am."
"Ok then, and its Emily."
000
"ComCheck, Overwatch, you up?"
"Confirm, south approach clear to the objective."
"Roger that, moving."
"Confirm."
Mark clicked off and turned to his team, which consisted of himself, Will, Jake Gibbs and Dave Mallard. Travis McGee and James Blake were assisting the BAU. The plan was relatively simple. Secure the house with overwhelming force by coming at it from the front and rear with two separate tactical units. As a trained sniper, Max Sciuto was providing overwatch on the north side, with Hotch providing overwatch to the south. Using vehicles and other objects as cover, the two teams moved to their assigned positions.
When they were five yards from the house, Mark clicked his radio twice to let his father and the BAU team know they were in position and preparing to enter the house. He smiled and the adrenaline rush intensified when he heard the acknowledgement click. As the door breacher for his team, Mark's HK 416 rifle was fitted with an underbarrel, cut down Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun known in the trade as a "Masterkey." Firing the round that was already chambered into door lock, Mark was pleased to see the lock disintegrate and the door fall open. Pushing through, Mark and Will went right, with Jake and Dave going left. The rules of engagement for this operation were simple: Kill everyone who presented a threat, and push through the house as quickly possible. Mark shot a man and woman in the living room, killing them both before they even had time to move, his eyes scanning the room for threats. Finding none, he announced this by yelling, "Living room, clear!" At the same time he and Jake were clearing the living room, Mark could hear shots coming from the dining area to the left of the front door. James' yell of "Dining room, clear!", followed closely by two shots and a yell of, "Kitchen clear!" Mark checked a small hallway that connected the dining and living room, with a small closet on each end and a small half bath to one side, he found all three rooms empty.
The three groups met in the dining room, with one member covering the front and back stairs. Mark pointed to the kitchen, then ceiling, signaling the others to converge upstairs. He knew this part of the plan would present a risk, but an acceptable one, because for him the ultimate mission was killing William Reid and whoever helped him. For him, getting Spencer back was secondary, despite what he'd told Emily Prentiss. Moving quickly, Mark pulled an M84 stun grenade from his vest and lobbed it up the stairs, bouncing it off the opposite wall and listening to make sure it went the direction he'd intended. Yelling, "Banger!" to warn both squads, he looked down and away, squeezing his eyes shut and opening his mouth in an attempt equalize the pressure the grenade he'd just thrown would create, before feeling rather than hearing the distraction device detonate.
Trusting the other team would do their job and that the men behind him would back him up, Mark ran full tilt up the stairs and turned into the room where he thrown the grenade. What he saw tested even his battle hardened nerves. William Reid and another man were lying naked on either side of Spencer, covering their ears and yelling in pain. Spencer wasn't moving and Mark feared that everything they had done, everything they had risked, was all for nothing. But he couldn't worry about that now. Scanning the room, Mark didn't see any other threats. He moved to the opposite side of the bed and pulled the other man the bed by his hair. Pulling him to the end of the bed, Mark tried to force the man on his knees, but he resisted. Mark stepped back and kicked him in the balls, then pushed him to the floor on his back. Letting his rifle hang from its sling, the former Navy Seal pull a .45 caliber Glock 21 from the holster on his thigh, raised the gun and pointed it at the unknown man's head. He waited as he saw the man trying to speak. "Wh-Why?"
It sounded pitiful and weak in Mark's ears. But he did not pity any of the people he'd killed this night. Raising his .45, Mark said, "Because people like you belong in hell and it's my job help send you there." Before the man could speak again, Mark squeezed the trigger twice, putting two rounds into his target's head. He turned to see that the rest of his squad had tied up William Reid. "What'd you wanna do with him?" Jake Gibbs asked.
"Take him outside." Mark answered, and they did. As he left the room, Mark turned to see Gideon and Morgan holding Prentiss back. "It's clear. Kid's ok." With that, he left the BAU to tend to Spencer and went downstairs to deal with William Reid, once and for all.
000
Emily paused for a moment to collect herself. She hadn't shot anyone tonight; somehow, she was sure Morgan and the Special Forces operators who'd joined her team had made sure of that. Feeling a hand on her arm, she turned and saw JJ. It had been agreed between the team that the two women would be the only ones to go to Spencer, as any man would just increase the boy's distress and unease. Knowing how hard this was, JJ reached down and squeezed her friend's hand. "He needs us, Em."
Emily turned and gave her friend a watery smile. "Yeah, I know." Taking a deep breath, Emily moved into the room. She saw the man Mark had executed and her stomach did a flip when she turned and saw her baby boy lying naked on a filthy mattress. He was facing away from her and she called his name, slightly louder than normal. "Spencer, its Emily. Baby, you're safe now." He didn't move and she tried again, fighting to keep the tears that threatened to fall from seeping into her voice.
Spencer's eyes snapped open as her words somehow got through. What was Emily doing here? She had to get out! Daddy would hurt her, and Spencer had to protect her. "Emwy…Emwy, run…" he tried to tell her but he was too weak. Emily couldn't hide her emotions anymore and she let the tears fall. She knelt by the bed and gently lifted Spencer into her arms. He whimpered, either from fear or pain or both. "shh, it's mommy and aunt JJ, you're safe kiddo." Emily said this in a soothing tone, hoping that Spencer would relax as much as he could. The two women watched as Spencer's eyes closed and he turned into Emily's chest. Emily looked at JJ and nodded. Both women had tears in their eyes, but JJ quickly wiped hers and watched as Emily nodded for her friend to go ahead with her part of the plan. JJ reached into her pocket and pulled out a prefilled syringe Carolyn had given her before they left the mansion. It was enough morphine to make Spencer comfortable without causing him medical distress. Spencer cried and whimpered the needle pierced his skin and both mother's felt guilty for causing him more pain. "Shh, it's ok, sweetheart. That's medicine to help your owies." Emily soothed, waiting until the morphine took effect. When she was sure Spencer was knocked out, Emily slid off the bed and walked to the hall. She stared straight ahead, knowing she would lose what little composure she had left if she didn't. Rossi took the lead and her team filed out.
Emily saw the other group of heavily armed men huddled around a naked and bound William Reid, but she ignored him and went to the first SUV. She knew Derek had peeled off, because only a few seconds passed before she heard the sound of a man being beaten. With JJ and Rossi's help, she got Spencer into the SUV. It seemed like only seconds passed before Hotch was there and in the driver's seat. Emily heard the rear cargo door open and saw Mark's face in the dome light as he reached in and started to pull out a long black case. She half turned and did the only thing she could think of to communicate her anger toward him that wouldn't wake Spencer. She spit in Mark's face. Instead of reacting, Mark pulled the case and closed the back door, tapping on it signal Hotch. Morgan appeared from nowhere and slid in beside Emily and JJ. Hotch checked to make sure his team was all there before he started the truck and turned around, heading back in the direction of Rossi's mansion.
000
As the BAU's SUV drove away, Mark walked back to the house carrying the rifle case. The rifle inside was a Barret M82A1 .50 caliber semi-automatic sniper rifle. The rifle he would use to kill William Reid, as Will LaMontage had suggested a few days earlier. One thing was certain, Mr. Reid's final minutes on earth would be terrifying. Mark looked at Jake and his team. "Thanks for coming you; you don't have to stay for this."
Jake snorted. "After what I saw in there, I definitely wanna watch this piece of human waste get his." The rest of the men nodded, and Mark shrugged as if to say 'up to you.' He set up the rifle a short distance away, then walked to where Mr. Reid was, kneeling down and cutting the man loose. Mark stood and yanked the head bag off William Reid and the man blinked in the lights from the house even though it was dark. He looked up at the men around him, fear in his eyes. The former special operations soldiers watched as the man before them pissed himself in fear. "Pussy." William heard a man with a British accent say.
"What…what do you want?" William asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"I want you to run, William." Mark said.
William noticed that his captor's gaze was directed at something the man's left, William's right. William turned and saw a rifle of some kind set up on a mat and he knew what the man intended to do. Without further prompting, William Reid stood on shaky legs and ran for all he was worth. Mark walked over to where his rifle lay and steadied himself behind the gun. A moment later, Max Sciuto lay next to him with a spotting scope. They were silent for a few minutes, watching the terrified man run away. Finally, as William Reid started to tire, Max said, "Range, 350 yards."
"Good enough." Mark answered, before acquiring a better sight picture and taking up the trigger slack. The world seemed to shift underneath them as the rifle boomed. They waited and after a moment the round struck home, hitting William center mass and knocking him off his feet. Both men checked their scopes.
"I think you got 'em." Max said.
Smiling behind the rifle, Mark said. "If I didn't some critter'll have a nice meal. But we'll check just to be safe."
And they did. The group drove to where William Reid's now dead body lay and he was most assuredly dead. They left the body where it lay and drove back to house, setting it on fire, before they drove away into the night.
000