Title: Infamy
Summary: The return of a deadly rival sparks controversy within the BAU team. Will they be able to set aside their personal grudges to catch the ruthless killer that got away with permanently injuring one of their own? Sequel to Habitual. CaseFic.
Rating: K+ for some cursing, violence, and disturbing imagery.
Disclaimer: We do not own Criminal Minds or its characters. Although, we can say that we own Special Agent Megan Clarke. We own her hard.
Dedication: Dedicated to those who enjoyed Habitual and wanted to see the storyline to continue! We didn't forget about you guys!
akaccino's A/N: It's been quite a lot of time since Habitual. I hope that you have hung in there with us! If you didn't read Habitual, please do! It is crucial to our second collaborated story, Infamy's, storyline. Enjoy it!
dieselwriter's A/N: We're baaaaAAAAaaaack! And yes, before you ask, this prologue is, in fact, a flashback.
Prologue
In this, our age of infamy, Man's choice is but to be a tyrant, traitor, prisoner: no other choice has he.
-Aleksandr Pushkin
Washington, DC
December 3rd
Emily Prentiss could feel the adrenaline pounding through her veins as she raced after Hotch, taking the stairs two at a time. Derek had already far surpassed them, leaping three steps for each of their two, while Reid and Rossi followed at her heels.
Morgan held the old door leading from the staircase to the third and final floor of the forlorn hotel open, and Hotch led the way into the hallway. Knowing their UnSub would be located on the south side of the building, their leader placed a finger to his lips before pointing at Rossi and Morgan and then farther down the hall. It was obvious what he wanted: not knowing which room the UnSub was currently residing in, the best method to find him without warning him of their presence would be to enter each room, and the fastest way to do that was to split up.
Rossi and Morgan jogged as quietly as possible to the rooms farthest away from the staircase while Prentiss, Reid and Hotch started with those closest.
Prentiss went to the second door on the left side of the hall when Hotch took the first. It was times like these she felt she would have made a decent skydiver; although her nerves were jangling her hand remained steady on her gun. She was pleasantly surprised when the door opened at her touch, but disappointed a few moments later at finding the surprisingly large room completely empty.
The female agent kept her senses acute to the noises of her comrades as she continued down the hallway, opening doors (slamming them open with a less-than-subtle shoulder shove when necessary) and clearing rooms. She was continually shocked at not only the size of the motel rooms but also how thick the walls were; whenever she was in the room she had a harder time hearing the rest of her team. A heavy weight lined the pit of her stomach; while she was pleased that the UnSub would be less likely to hear them coming, she was afraid that she might miss hearing cries for assistance from her colleagues.
They were slowly yet methodically eliminating hotel rooms, and Prentiss had to derive amusement at seeing Morgan bust down doors in the corner of her eye, knowing that he was probably enjoying this immensely.
Hotch was once again in the room on her left and Reid about to enter on her right when she broke into her next room. She entered the threshold, sweeping her weapon as she passed the restroom to check the far corner of the bedroom that was out of her initial line of sight.
Her heart leapt in her throat at finding a young man crouching by the window, a rifle set up on a stand at his side.
"FBI!" her voice rang out, but she internally flinched at hearing Reid break down his door next to hers at the same time, certain he had drowned her out. "Sir, I need you to step away slowly."
The man, who Prentiss thought couldn't have been older than 25, froze in his actions but made no movement to indicate he would comply with her orders.
"FBI?" his face turned toward her, but he never made eye contact. "Good, that's good."
She really hated hearing that eerie calmness from him.
"Step away slowly and put your hands in the air," she took a step towards the doorway, wondering if she could call out to Hotch or Reid without causing the UnSub to panic.
Prentiss quickly realized it might be a bit late for that as she watched him raise his arms, noticing the blatantly obvious detonator in his right hand.
"He said you'd catch up to me eventually...he knows everything," the young man turned towards her slowly, eyes averted and hands still in the air in an act of compliance.
The bombs strapped to his chest proved otherwise.
"He?" she felt her voice should have been far less serene than it sounded to her. "Who are you talking about?"
"He is my master, and I am his protégé," his charcoal eyes finally locked on hers, flickering with a wild fire that made a chill run down her spine. "He taught me everything, he knows everything. He knew you'd come, and he prepared me."
She heard movement behind her and found Hotch standing in the doorway, watching her with a dawning comprehension. She had no doubt what was just about to happen and likewise knew what she would have to do.
She swung the door in her boss' stunned face.
"You will never catch him."
And he released the trigger.
akaccino's A/N: As we always say, please stick with the storyline, even if it is a tad bit confusing at the beginning! Posting chapter one tomorrow, and after that, expect updates every Monday! Ta-ta!
dieselwriter's A/N: In case anyone had wondered what happened to Prentiss in our storyline, well, here she is! We didn't forget her at all! Get ready, because the fun is just about to start. ;)