A crackling radio broke the silence. "Perimeter secured." A stranger's voice popped and snapped.
"You can go." Hotchner said quietly. Methos just stared at him.
"You …" Methos swallowed and tried again. "Why?"
"Because we aren't you. You're afraid that if people know about him, they'll find out about you. I understand that, maybe you're even right about it. But we are not executioners Mr. Pierson." Hotchner said quietly almost gently.
"No, no they aren't, are they?" Methos replied rhetorically. He knew the look that had passed over Hotchner's face. He'd worn it himself thousands of times. It was the cold face of an executioner. He didn't think Hotchner had ever killed in cold blood before, but he could. He was fully capable of it.
Ethan snarled as Methos started to walk away again this time he paused at the doorway. The quartet had surrounded the animal, Hotchner was talking via his earpiece to the team outside. Methos was torn. He knew, knew the only way to be safe, the only way to be sure was to make sure the Sleepwalker was dead. But they weren't going to let him do that. Shoulder still aching he turned away and walked out.
A uniformed officer met him with a blanket and a police issue windbreaker style jacket. Methos allowed the officer to lead him to an aid area where EMTs bandaged his still bloodied shoulder.
"Looks like an animal bite, what the hell is in there?" One of them asked. Methos didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the door. Moments later an animal control van pulled up. A heavyset woman emerged and immediately went to the back; she pulled out a pole noose and a small toolbox. She walked straight to the gym and entered. Methos sat up the EMT clucked his tongue at the movement.
"Hold still man, looks like you're going to have another scar to match this one." He said and finished taping the bandage in place. Methos shrugged on the police jacket and checked the sidearm he'd been issued. It was still there. He walked up to the edge of the perimeter. He couldn't go, not yet. He had to…what? Shoot Ethan in front of witnesses? Burn him? With what? He didn't know what he could or would do but he couldn't go, not yet, he had to know.
They emerged several achingly long moments later. Reid lead, he looked shell shocked, his sidearm was in its holster but the clasp was undone, Prentiss and Hotchner were next, Ethan slung between them, Methos could see several darts festooning him and the pole nose was secured around his neck. Behind him came JJ and the animal control officer, the officer was holding the pole, her skin was pallid with fear. As the officers on the perimeter saw what was being led out of the gym gasps, cries and conversation broke out.
"Jesus fucking Christ what the hell is that?" An officer behind Methos asked.
"It's a Sleepwalker." Methos replied brokenly. The officer didn't register that Methos had spoken. While Methos watched Hotchner spoke into his radio again. The perimeter moved in, tightened, weapons were pointed at the group. Hotchner spoke again and they were lowered, Kevlar vests or no nothing except maybe the sleepwalker would survive a barrage from that many weapons.
Methos had a sudden thought. Without giving himself time to think through the consequences he started to jog toward the team and their prisoner. He broke through the perimeter as he approached the team, he locked eyes with Hotchner for several heartbeats, and knew that Hotchner was going to try to stop him. Methos pulled his sidearm and the world slowed to a crawl. Rain started to fall. A drop struck Methos' cheek as he finished drawing his sidearm, he ordered the team to back away, his shouted orders sounded like they were under water to him. Reid backed off turned toward Hotchner for orders, help, guidance Prentiss backed away from Ethan and moved toward Methos with Hotchner. Methos raised his arm to coldcock Hotchner, to pistol whip him into backing off. A shot rang out, something bit Methos in the back, he swung at Hotchner anyway, but his right leg buckled, and he dropped to one knee. Hotchner caught Methos' shoulders before the immortal hit the ground.
"Why?" Hotchner asked. Methos laughed and a wet gob of blood splattered his chin.
"He'll kill you all." Methos hissed and slumped as the pain of the gunshot wound momentarily robbed him of all strength.
Hotchner looked grieved; he slowly lowered Adam to the now wet pavement as more rain fell. As Hotchner lowered Methos could see that Ethan had taken advantage of the distraction to break free from the animal control handler. The terrified woman wisely sprinted back into the gym. Prentiss and JJ fell back as well, Prentiss snagged Reid's jacket and dragged him in with her, out of the inevitable gunfire from the perimeter. Methos registered the movements immediately, he reached up to Hotchner and grabbed the agent's tie, he hauled Hotchner to the ground with all the strength he could muster and rolled on top of him as the first shots from the perimeter rang out. Terrified and urged on by the primal satisfaction of a group kill the officers on the perimeter opened up with everything they had.
The gun fire seemed to go on for hours before it stopped. For a moment everyone was still. Prentiss, JJ, Reid, and the animal control officer slowly crept out of the building, Prentiss raced to Hotchner and Methos. The original shot that had felled Methos hadn't killed him. A ricochet to his skull had, Prentiss made a small noise and pulled the heavy blood-soaked corpse off Hotchner. Hotchner groaned and blinked at Prentiss.
"Emily." He said blankly, his hearing, damaged in a bomb blast, was full of whining and throbbing echoes. She got him to his feet, and they looked at Ethan. He wasn't even in one piece anymore.
The animal control officer vomited and then started to cry softly. Methos stared up at the sky, eyes blank with death, his mouth was slightly open, his sidearm abandoned on the ground. The rain fell harder, bouncing on his face, in his open eyes, smearing the blood on his face. As Hotchner stared down at the immortal the cacophony in his head settled to a hiss and then died away.
"Do you hear that?" Hotchner asked Prentiss.
"Hear what Hotch?" She asked still checking him for wounds. Hotchner stared at her face as she spoke, half reading her lips he answered, "The silence."