Chp. 26
Emily's neck hurt from Spencer's death grip, but she wasn't about to tell him that. She was just happy he was here at all, and that neither of them had to go through this alone. She smiled at the protective ring of her friend's that had surrounded her and Spencer. When they reached Rossi's mansion, Carolyn, Garcia and Mama Rossi were standing on the front porch. The women encircled them and guided her and Spencer upstairs to the master bedroom. Emily was thankful beyond words for the support and the distraction from her desire for bloody vengeance. William Reid was probably dead several times over by now, but the other person who was to blame for what had happened to her little boy was still very much alive. As soon as Spencer was settled, Emily resolved to give Mark Rossi a piece of her mind, and it wouldn't be pretty. Sensing that her mood was only agitating the child in her arms more, Emily forced herself to calm down. Dealing with Mark could wait. Spencer was her concern now.
Once the group reached the master bedroom, JJ and Garcia started a bath for Spencer while Carolyn and Mama Rossi led Emily and Spencer to the bed. Feeling Emily stop, Spencer risked a quick look around and saw that he wasn't in the bad house anymore, but he didn't recognize where he was. He saw another woman standing next Emily, but he hadn't looked closely enough to see who it was. Deciding to risk it, Carolyn spoke in a quiet and gentle tone. "Spencer, honey, its aunt Carolyn. You're safe, sweetheart."
Spencer sat up and looked at Emily, as if needing her to confirm what Carolyn was saying. Tears blurred Emily's vision slightly. Brushing a hand across her face, she forced her mouth upward in a small smile and nodded. "You're safe, honey."
"No go bad house, Emwy?" Spencer asked in a small voice that broke both Emily and Carolyn's hearts.
"No, honey, you don't have to go back there ever again." Emily said with as much steadiness and conviction as she could muster, even as her composure threatened to give way. Sensing movement to her left, Emily turned. She knew that they were safe, but her protective instincts were still running in overdrive. Prentiss relaxed when she saw JJ. Walking over to the bed, JJ moved to where Spencer could see her. She smiled and he relaxed a little. "Hey, Spencer, you remember me?"
He sat up on Emily's lap and looked at JJ. "Aunt JJ?"
She smiled and reached to palm his cheek. "Yeah, sweetie."
Both Carolyn and Emily smiled at the interaction, happy that Spencer was coming out of his shell to someone, but Carolyn knew that Emily secretly wished it had been her to get the boy to open up. She had a feeling that Emily and Mark would have it out at some point. Carolyn had her own axe to grind with her son, but like Emily she set it aside to help Spencer. Catching Emily's eye, she moved her eyes to the bathroom. "Hey, Spence?" Emily asked, waiting for the boy to look at her. "How about we get you cleaned up, huh, kiddo? Would that be ok?"
Spencer considered this for a moment and the women all waited patiently, hoping he would trust them enough to let them help him. Finally, Spencer gave Emily a small nod, "Ok, Emwy." Then he seemed to wilt with this effort and collapsed into Emily's chest. Emily put on as brave a face as she could and Carolyn smiled sadly, silently telling Emily that Spencer would get through this and she would too.
000
Mark, Will and James drove back to Rossi's mansion in silence. All three men were exhausted, but their work was far from over. To a man, the Dragon Slayer team had a sneaking suspicion that Spencer's troubles didn't end with the death of William Reid. But their concerns went deeper than that, especially for Mark and Will. Having seen what Spencer was exposed to and most likely endured at the hands of his biological father and other captors, they knew he had a long road ahead in order to heal. As their SUV pulled to a stop in front of Rossi's mansion, Mark turned to James who was sitting in the back seat and asked, "Would you be willing to call Alex and do you think she'd be willing to help us?"
James didn't hesitate. "If involves helping a child in need and Ethan will be kept safe, I have no doubt she'd be willing to help. What time do you want her here?"
Mark checked his watch and saw it was just after four in the morning. "Call her at seven and if she's willing tell her we'll be there to pick her up at eight. You guys get some sleep; I'll take watch out here."
"You need to sleep at some point." Will admonished.
Giving his friend a sad, half smile Mark said wryly, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."
000
Dave decided in light of the night's events, it would best if someone shadowed Morgan, and Rossi shouldered the task himself rather than ask anyone else to do it. The front door opened and four heads shot up. Rather than watching the two men who entered, Rossi's gaze focused on Morgan. "Where's your boss?" Derek asked Will without preamble.
Jerking his head back toward the door, Will said. "He's on watch out front." Morgan made a beeline for the door. Dave opened his mouth to say something, and James discretely shook his head. The door opened and slammed shut a moment later. Before Rossi could say anything, Hotch filled the silence, "So you're just going to let them go at it? Morgan's trained in hand to hand combat."
"And Mark's had similar training, except whereas your agents are trained primarily to subdue a suspect and bring them out alive. We're trained to kill." James said.
"And your point is?" Hotch asked.
"Your boy's gonna get his ass kicked, but he'll get past this and focus on what's really important."
000
Mark heard the door open behind him, but he didn't turn around. He heard footsteps coming toward him and still, he didn't turn. The footsteps stopped a little behind him and to the left. The former Navy Seal's hand tightened around the pistol grip of his HK 416, and forced his body to relax. "So that's it, huh?" Derek said in an angry tone.
"What's it?" Mark asked.
"You just wash your hands of everything you've done?! Ok, yeah, you helped get Spencer back, but he was in that situation because of what you did, Mark!" Derek was shouting now and Mark knew the FBI agent was close to breaking.
"If you care so much, agent Morgan, why are you out here screaming at me instead of trying to help Spencer?"
Mark ducked, but he felt Morgan's fist brush the top of his head. Pivoting around so that he was facing the FBI agent, Mark raised his hands to defend himself, letting his M4 hang loose from the sling around his neck. If Morgan wanted to fight, then they would fight. Mark turned to let a wild punch sail past him and watched as Morgan stumbled, apparently thrown off balance from putting too much power behind the punch. Mark watched as Morgan regained his balance and whirled around to face him. A shotgun blast from the direction of the house drew the attention of both men and Morgan pulled his Glock from the holster on his belt while Mark centered the bright red aperture of his EOTech holographic sight on the perceived threat.
"Worthless Bastardo Idiota! You two fight out here over whose fault this situation with the bambino is, when you should be up there trying to help him." Isabella Rossi said, her shotgun lowered and her withering gaze on Derek Morgan.
Morgan, his Glock reholstered, hung his head for a moment before looking at her again. "And what if he won't let me in?"
Isabella's face softened. "Then you wait until he does, Derek, because you're his papa."
Without acknowledging Mark, Derek turned and walked back to the house, and thanked Isabella before going in the house. For her part, Isabella waited for her grandson to follow, but she wasn't surprised when he turned his back to the house and resumed his watch.
"We not finished, Marko." Isabella said.
Without turning around, Mark said, "Yes we are, Nonna. Derek's right. I'm asking you as respectfully as I can to drop it." A moment of silence passed between the two, before Isabella turned and went back into the house.
000
Ignoring his fellow agents, Derek climbed the stairs and found the door to master bedroom firmly closed. Rather than knock or try to enter, he sat down against one wall and settled in to wait. However long it took.