The Playing Game
Chapter 5
I was eating my chicken salad the break room, Garcia walked in looking nervous.
"Garcia, there's nothing to worry about."
"Then why does this feel so wrong?"
"I'll handle Hotch. Something tells me you had no such luck?"
"Whoever is sending the texts-." Hotch walked in with a stern look on his face.
"What texts?" I looked at him like I caught with the last slice of pizza.
"I've been having Garcia running some unknown texts for me."
"When were you going to tell me this?" Garcia started to notice the tension between us.
"I should go." He nodded.
"Look I should have told you about the texts." He nodded.
"Why didn't you?" His voice raised some making me wince.
"Because I knew how you would react. I was hoping I would have answers."
"What do you know?" I felt my eyebrows twitch up.
"All I remember is a barn blowing up and the random texts." He thought a minute or two, but the look on his face told me a different story. "You're pulling me off the case, aren't you?" He didn't say anything but I knew the answer and left him standing in place.
I was sitting at a local bar, my cell phone went off with Prentiss's picture flashing across the screen as I picked it up and pressed the ignored button.
"Rough case?" The bartender asked as he placed a long neck in front of me.
"That obvious?"
"You're here in the middle of the morning…" I gave him a tiny smile.
"Point taken." JJ walked in with Morgan.
"Looks like you have some visitors." He went back to the dishes as I led both Morgan and JJ to a back both.
"Hotch send you?"
"Actually Prentiss."
"Right." I started to peeled the label off.
"What's with you?" Morgan asked.
"What, I can't enjoy a nice cold one in middle of day?"
"Hotch pulled you off the case didn't he?" JJ asked as I pointed my index finger at her.
"Bingo." Morgan took the beer from my hands. "Oh come on."
"You think we're going to let you drink your worries away?"
"I'm going to win this am I?" The two shook their heads no as I ran a hand over my face. "Fine."
Few days later I pulled into Rosewood and stepped out of my Mercedes-Benz in front of the old high school. I was lucky enough to run into Aria's mother in the office who had a surprise look on her face.
"Alex, hi." We exchanged hugs. "It's good to see you."
"You too."
"Is there something I can do for you?"
"Actually I was wondering if I could speak with you, that is if you have time?"
"My free period is coming up. Say meet at the Brew in twenty?" I gave a nod just as my cell buzzed with JJ's picture.
"JJ, what's up?"
"Ezra Fitzgerald escaped from jail." I ran my hand through my hair and headed for Aria's classroom.
"I'm at Rosewood High."
"You think he'll go there?" Next thing I knew I was knocked out and saw Ezra's hand pick up my phone. "Alex, are you there?"
"Alexandra is tied up at the moment." He pressed the end button.
JJ rushed to Hotch's office just as he looked up from his current paper work.
"JJ what is it?"
"Ezra Fitz has Alex." He grabbed his pistol from his desk draw.
"Tell everyone we're rolling in ten." She nodded.
"On it."
Ezra Fitz's old classroom
While Ezra was taping my hands to the desk chair, I looked over at Aria who was already tied to a chair nearby.
"Why are you doing this Ezra?" Aria asked as he finished taping my legs to the chair.
"You should know Miss Brooks, after all, she works for the F.B.I." I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Alex?"
"I never trusted Fitz." Aria gave me a stunned but more of a hurt look as Ezra grins.
"There it is. The truth doesn't hurt some bad does it?" I saw him getting what looked like to a bomb.
"You gotta be crazy."
Ella was getting her second refill just as a couple of black SUV's pulled up to the high school just as Spencer walked in with Hanna.
"Mrs. Montgomery, are you waiting on someone?" Spencer asked.
"I'm supposed to meet Alexandra here." Hanna gave her a confused look.
"She's back?"
"She didn't tell anyone of you?" The two shook their heads.
"What's going on at the high school?" Spencer curiously asked.
"I'm not sure." Hanna recognized Morgan who was taking off his sunglasses.
"Wait a second. That guy works with Alex."
"Come on." Spencer said.
Ezra was doing some finishing touches on the timer which was making Aria a lot more nervous than I was.
"How can you not be nervous?" She asked in a low whisper as I swallowed to keep my throat not being dry and looked at her.
"I am."
"Why didn't you tell me you didn't trust Ezra?" Aria asked as I was trying to keep the feeling from my wrists from going numb.
"I know I should have and I'm sorry."
"If you two are finished chit-chatting," He zipped the black duffle. "I have errands to make."
"You won't get away with this." I said coldly. "You have an F.B.I. agent held hostage do you-." Next thing I know I felt his hand against my face as I heard footsteps in the hallway. "Look, why don't you let Aria go-."
"Alex!" I ignored her.
"I'm more valuable than she is. I can get you anywhere you want."
"She's right, Ezra. What we had I'll always treasure." He looked at us.
"You have a valid point." He opened up his pocket knife and walked over towards Aria making me close my eyes as he cut the tape off. "Go." She looked at me and I nodded.
"I'll be fine."
Aria ran down the steps of Rosewood High and was greeted by both Morgan and JJ.
"Are you ok?" She nodded.
"I'm ok." She said shaken.
"Where's Alex?" Morgan asked.
"Ezra still has her." Both he and JJ started for the steps. "He has a bomb." The two turned around.
I looked down to see the time bomb counting down making slightly nervous as Ezra was writing something on the green chalk board.
"Ezra, Ezra come on. This is just-."
"Crazy?"
"I was going to say suicidal. But yeah, crazy works. Look, my team is already outside. We can talk about this."
"Really talk?" I nodded. "You did say that you never trusted me, Alex. Why is that?"
"So, I thought you had something to do with Alison's death."
"And now?"
"Now I just think you're a lonely guy, who got tied up with false relationship who thought he had a son with his high school sweet-." The next thing I knew I was knocked out with his gun.
"No one talks to me about relationships!" He walked over towards his old desk and grabbed the duffel. "I hate to cut the reunion short-." Derek, JJ and Hotch rushed in.
"F.B.I.! Drop the duffel and inner lock your fingers." Hotch said.
"Morgan."
"Hang on baby girl." I felt JJ's fingers touch the cut on my forehead making me wince.
"Looks like you got yourself a concussion."
I was sitting on the back of the ambulance when Mrs. Montgomery walked up with the girls followed by Hotch.
"Is she ok?" Ella asked.
"I'm fine."
"You have a concussion." The paramedic said while I stumbled off the back of the ambulance just as Spencer caught me before I fell.
"Maybe you should get checked out." Emily added.
"I'm fine really."
"You should really get checked out, Miss." Hotch spoke up.
"It's a mild concussion, correct?"
"Yes."
The ride on the jet home was quieter than usual, both Aaron and I were sitting on the couch when Morgan brought us some coffee which I gladly took.
"I know it's not-."
"It's fine, Derek. Thanks." I took a sip and passed it on to Hotch who sat it on a nearby table.
"So, how are you two going to handle Strauss?" Reid asked making the two of us share a glance.
"We really haven't put a lot thought to it." Hotch said as he was rubbing circles on my hand.
"You might want to think of something before Garcia grabs a hold of you and starts asking questions." JJ added.
"Garcia I can handle." She popped up on the screen.
"Good cause you've got a lot of explaining to missy."
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.- Confucius"
Here's chapter 5. I don't really know how I long I'm going to make this. Like always, let me know what y'all think.