Chapter 3
The two black SUV's with the FBI agents stopped outside what looked like an abandoned building a long way from the city.
"Rossi and Reid, you're with me up front. Morgan and Prentiss, you two sneak back and enter through the backdoor." The team split up and Emily and Morgan snuck around back, trying to be as quiet as possible.
On the other side of the house Emily and Morgan heard Hotch knock on the door.
"There is no response, we're entering the house." Hotch voice came through their earpiece.
In the corner of her eye Emily noticed a movement and turned around quickly.
"Hotch, he is running!" Emily shouted and started running after him, with Morgan close behind.
"FBI!" both of them shouted while running through the woods after the UnSub. They looked at each other and both understood what the other meant. Emily ran to the left, while Morgan continued to chase the man.
Morgan was getting impatient and angry. There was no way this man was going to get away with hurting JJ. He pushed himself faster and was slowly starting to get closer to the man.
Out of nowhere Emily jumped at the UnSub from the left and tackled him to the ground. When Morgan reached them he saw that the UnSub were struggling with Emily, and simply stood back and watched as the other agent punched him in the face before cuffing him.
"He didn't cooperate" she simply said while they dragged the UnSub to his feet.
"No worries, Prentiss, I was there, I saw it." Morgan understood, and he knew he probably would have done the same thing. "Come on, let's get out of here."
While Emily and Morgan were chasing the UnSub, Hotch, Reid and Rossi searched the house. There was no sign of JJ.
"Hotch, we've got him and bringing him back." Morgan's voice came through the earpiece, "You found JJ?"
"Negative. Bring the UnSub back and we'll split up."
When Emily and Morgan reached the house with the UnSub, they were greeted by their team and the New Orleans PD.
"Morgan, you and Rossi will take the UnSub back to the station. Prentiss, you okay to help me and Reid looking for JJ?"
Emily simply nodded and went inside to join Reid.
Reid was sitting in the kitchen and looking at some papers.
"What is that?" Reid looked up when Emily entered the room and sat down next to him.
"Some sort of journal that the UnSub kept. I'm looking for something that can help us find JJ." Reid looked tired and sad.
"Reid, look at me" when Reid turned to Emily she tok his hands in hers, "we ARE going to find JJ. The UnSub, mr. Lee or whoever he is, will crack!"
Reid simply nodded and offered a small smile. They were going to find JJ.
"Are you okay here? Do you mind if I looked around a bit?" Emily simply asked. Reid knew she wanted to check out the house for herself, he would've wanted the same thing if their positions were reversed.
"Yeah, I think I'm going to sit here and look through this a bit more and then I'll join you. I don't know what Hotch's plan is after this."
Emily offered a small smile, stood up and walked out of the kitchen.
"Reid, do you have anything?" Hotch sat down on the same chair Emily had just left. Like Reid, Hotch looked tired.
"I'm not sure Hotch. He is very careful about what he is writing. It's like he know he would be caught and someone would be reading his journal." Hotch nodded and scanned through a bit of the text.
"But if you see here" Reid points to a page. "His handwriting changed slightly. He was angry and gripped his pen tighter."
"Good job, Reid. And the date matches the date when JJ went missing"
"Exactly. It can't be a coincident!"
Before Hotch can agree with the other agent, his phone starts to ring. Picking it up from his pocket, he sees Rossi's name appear on the screen.
"Rossi, what do you have?" Hotch puts his phone on speaker and lays it on the table.
"Nothing Hotch. He won't say a word. Not about the murders and not about JJ." In the background they hear Morgan curse loudly.
"Keep pushing him Rossi. We need answers!" With that the agent closes his phone and turns to Reid. Both men know that they need to find JJ. And they need to find her fast.
Emily looked around the living room. The walls were empty, no personalizing or pictures. She walked to the stairs and went upstairs. She found a bathroom and a bedroom. The rooms were the same as the living room, empty and no pictures. After looking around she went downstairs again.
She heard Hotch and Reid in the kitchen, but decided to take a look in the basement before joining the two men. If they needed her, they knew where to find her.
She made her way downstairs and was met with a cold, empty room. The walls were made of concrete. After a round of the room, she finds it as empty as the rest of the house.
Frustrated Emily punches the wall to her left. When she does that she hears something that makes her heart beat fast in her chest. The wall is made of wood! She looks closer and brings out her palm to feel the surface. Slowly working her way over the wooden surface, her hand hits something. In that moment her heart is caught in her chest. It's a doorknob.
"HOTCH!"