So sorry for the time its taken to update! I had gotten in the habit of updating once a week. Back on schedule hopefully. Hope you enjoy!
Previously...
Garcia's heart pounded in her chest when she saw Charles Pratt run from the garage to a van parked near the alley. He turned toward her and she saw it, a gun. He raised it at her as she shouted, "Drop your weapon!"
Morgan and Hotch were listening to every word as they quickly left the house and jumped in the SUV. They could hear Rossi and Prentiss clearing rooms, but not Garcia. She must not have been wearing a wire. Just then they heard a muffled shout. They must have found them.
Just then they heard something across the wire that they had not expected. A gun shot, followed by Prentiss yelling the one name they had hoped was not involved in the gun fire, "Garcia!"
As soon as Charles raised his weapon, she knew she only had a split second to make a decision. Garcia fired her weapon, grazing his shoulder. Before she could lower her weapon and move toward him an arm closed around her neck and her back was pressed against their chest.
"Ms. Garcia, it's so good to finally meet you." Mara Lewis tightened her grip around Penelope's neck. "I'm surprised Agent Morgan let you go on such a dangerous job, seeing as you fit so perfectly into our little plan."
"Let her go!" Rossi shouted as he lifted his weapon at her.
Mara smiled as she lifted a knife from her pocket and held it to Penelope's neck.
"Or what, you'll shoot me?" A trickle of blood ran down the blade as she pressed it to Penelope's skin.
"Put your weapons down, or I'll slit her throat right here."
Emily and Rossi slowly laid their guns on the ground.
Prentiss put her hands up in defense as she began to speak. "Mara, you don't have to this. She's done nothing to you. Let her go, and let's talk about this."
Charles had slowly made his way inside the van while the agents stood helplessly at the mercy of Penelope's captor.
Sirens could be heard in the distance.
Mara looked at the agents with rage in her eyes. "You don't get it, do you? You have no idea who she is, or what she'll do, what she's capable of." Blood dripped down Penelope's neck.
"I'm doing Agent Morgan a favor."
Mara slowly backed toward the sliding door of the van.
Penelope began to panic. She couldn't control her breathing and tears clouded her eyes. She was going to die. The grip on her neck grew tighter and her vision started to blur. She was thrown into the back of the van and the door was slammed shut behind them.
Prentiss and Rossi looked on in horror as Penelope was shoved into the back of the van. As the door slid shut and the van peeled out of the alley, they grabbed their weapons and ran. They aimed at the van but lowered their guns for fear of injuring Penelope in the process.
Rossi called on the wire, "I need an APB on a white utility van, early 2000 model, no plates. Heading west on 15th. The vehicle is carrying three occupants. Wanted suspects Mara Lewis, and Charles Pratt, and one hostage, Penelope Garcia, Federal Agent. Suspects are armed and dangerous."
Emily headed toward the front of the house as Hotch and Morgan jumped out of their SUV.
"Where is she?" Morgan yelled. He grabbed Rossi's shirt collar. "I said, where the hell is she?"
Hotch pulled Morgan away. "Derek! This is not the time."
Derek shrugged him off. "Where was her backup? Why wasn't anyone with her? This was her first case as an agent, why did you leave her alone?"
Hotch got directly in his face. "Derek I am warning you to stand down. You and I both know that blaming David and Emily isn't going to bring Penelope back any quicker. Now I suggest you take a minute and compose yourself so we can work on getting her back."
Derek's eyes filled with angry tears as he walked toward the alley. He punched the side of the garage, not noticing the pain in his hand before crouching on the ground where her gun had been dropped.
"It's my fault. I had a feeling she was in danger. We were too close. I should have had her taken off the case."
Emily crouched down beside him. "Have you met Penelope Garcia? Do you really think she would have listened if you had told her to stay behind? She wants to prove herself, Derek."
He shook his head in anger. "You think I don't know that? I'd rather her be back at the precinct seething mad at me than at the hands of a murderer."
Rossi walked up from behind and spoke with quiet confidence. "We're gonna find her. And we will make them pay."
Garcia awoke to hushed voices of a man and a woman. She looked up and could see trees and houses quickly pass, reflected in the window. She was still in the van.
Charles deep voice spoke directly above her. "Looks like our sleeping beauty is awake." As soon as the words were out of his mouth her head was slammed into door by the impact of the back of his hand to her cheek. She could taste blood in her mouth. "That's for taking a shot at me. That's just a taste of what's coming."
Mara scolded him as they drove. "Keep your hands off her until we get somewhere safe. This wasn't part of the plan. We should have been miles away by now. We need to ditch this van before they track us down."
Charles took some tape that had been in the back of the van and pressed it tightly to Penelope's mouth. "In case you get any ideas," he spoke with his face inches from hers. He took his hand and slowly slid it along the top of her shirt collar, touching the skin above the first button.
Penelope's eyes rolled back, she was going to be sick. Derek had been right, she wasn't cut out for this. Fine agent she was, couldn't even arrest a suspect without being taken hostage. Oh, Derek. He was probably so worried.
Mara pulled up beside her car that she had parked a few miles away. They quickly moved Penelope into the floorboard of the backseat. Mara sped away in hopes of putting as many miles as possible between them and the police.
Back at the precinct J.J and Reid approached the team.
Reid spoke first, "We heard everything on dispatch. Has anyone spotted the van?"
As everyone shook their heads in answer, Hotch quickly walked into the room just having ended a phone call.
"Police just reported an abandoned van a few miles away."
"J.J, I need you and Prentiss to handle the press. Make sure Mara Lewis and Charles Pratt's information is out there. I want their pictures plastered all over media outlets. If they move, we need to know about it. Rossi, I need you to look through Garcia's computer, see if she found any additional information on either suspect we don't know about yet. The rest of us are headed out to get a look at the van."
Garcia tried to calm her racing heart. She knew the longer she was in the car, the harder it would be for the team to find her. Penelope knew her best chance was to get them to stop the car, to take her somewhere close. She had nothing to lose. Penelope started to struggle against her bindings, thrashing in the floor of the backseat.
Charles turned around in the seat and grabbed her neck, squeezing until she began to see black. "I thought I told you to shut up?"
Garcia began to kick at the car door in an attempt to reach the handle. She felt the car swerve to the side of the road and come to an abrupt stop. Penelope saw Mara get out and open the back door. She had a knife in her hand. She grabbed Penelope's hair and jerked her head up. "You are either going to shut your mouth, or I'm going to end this right here." Penelope's muffled voice could be heard behind the tape.
Mara grabbed hold of the tape and none too gently ripped it off of her mouth.
Penelope stared right into her eyes and said, "Then do it. What's stopping you? Do I remind you too much of your mother, Mara?"
"Shut up! You don't know anything about my mother. She deserved was she got. She destroyed my family."
"Is that what your grandmother told you? Or your dad?" Penelope knew what was coming the second the words left her mouth. Her head was knocked back against the floor board by Charles fist.
Penelope looked up at Mara, blood dripping from a cut above her eye. "They're going to find you, Mara."
Mara dropped the knife, hurriedly put the tape back across Penelope's mouth and got back in the driver's seat. She looked over at Charles. "Change of plans. We're going to take a little trip down memory lane. She's right, they're going find us. But it doesn't mean she'll be alive when they do."
Morgan opened the sliding door of the van. Empty. Part of him was glad she wasn't in there, it meant there was still hope she was alive. The van was humid, a stale odor permeated the air inside. He could smell sweat and blood. He could see it all over the floor of the backseat.
Hotch looked up, "It may not be hers, she wounded Pratt when he was trying to get away."
Morgan nodded. He knew Hotch was trying to be encouraging, but even if it was true, it still didn't bode well for Penelope.
After completing a search of the van, they didn't turn up anything that was getting them any closer to finding Penelope and bringing the suspects into custody.
As they were speaking to the forensics team concerning the blood traces, Hotch's phone rang.
"Go ahead, Rossi."
Rossi stared into the computer screen, unsure of what he was seeing. "I'm no tech genius, but I believe our little kitten has set up some type of GPS device."
Hotch responded, "A GPS for what?"
"From what it looks like here, there are 7 devices. I'm going to take a wild guess that those devices represent…"
"Us…It's a protective strategy. Her way of making sure we're all okay." Hotch finished quietly.
Reid spoke up, "If we're all being tracked, where are the devices?"
Rossi said, "It looks to me that she hadn't activated them yet."
A few moments of silence passed before Rossi questioned Hotch.
"What do you say, should we try it?"
"We've got nothing to lose. Do it, Rossi."
David activated the program and immediately heard a short beep sound from his watch followed by a vibration. He looked at the screen as 7 dots slowly appeared on a map of the metro area. "I think we got it!" Rossi shouted excitedly.
Morgan, Hotch and Reid looked down at their watches in surprise. "How did she…?" Reid began.
Morgan just laughed and shook his head. "I ask myself the same question."
He whispered quietly to himself, "That's my girl."
Penelope felt the car stop. Her head was still swimming and she was having a hard time concentrating. The back door opened and she was jerked out of the car. She was roughly grabbed by Charles and she found her face mere inches from his. She also felt the distinct coldness of metal pointed in her side. "Move. Now."
Penelope obeyed as she followed them into what looked to be an abandoned apartment complex. She couldn't place it, but it certainly looked familiar. She was led to a unit on the second floor. It was dark, and unbearably hot. Sweat dripped down her forehead, burning as it touched the wounds from being slammed against the floor of the car. As they walked in, Penelope realized where they were. She had seen this place in crime scene photos. It was Mara's childhood home. The place that her mother had been murdered at the hands of Charles Pratt.
Charles smiled as he ran his hands up and down the walls.
Penelope backed toward a corner as Mara pulled out her knife. She slowly walked toward her until Penelope's back hit the wall. She felt the sharp end of the knife as Mara traced her cheek with it.
"What does he see in you?" Mara whispered in her ear.
"You're weak, and so insecure. I can see it in your eyes. You act so tough on the outside, Ms. Garcia, but I can see through the façade. You're not good enough for him. You know that, right? He deserves someone strong, someone beautiful, someone faithful."
Penelope saw the distance in Mara's eyes. They were mere inches from her face, but she seemed to be looking at someone else. Something snapped and Mara grabbed Penelope's braid, jerking her to the floor. Mara straddled Penelope's waist and placed one hand tightly around her neck. Penelope could feel the knife as it was poised over her left side.
Mara smiled, her face darkened in the dimly lit room. "I never got to see the look on her face when he did it. I never got to feel the life leave her body. But I'm not hiding in the closet this time."
Before she realized what was happening Penelope screamed as the knife was plunged into her side. She gasped in pain, her body felt like it was burning from the inside out. Penelope gasped, failing as she tried to draw a breath. She whimpered as Mara leaned down close to her face.
"There it is, I can see it. The fear. You know you're going to die, don't you?"
Penelope could feel hot tears coursing down her face. She knew she was losing a lot blood. Her eyes were becoming heavy and she felt so cold.
She could hear Charles laugh as he watched in amusement from the other side of the room. She knew he was waiting for his turn.
In the distance she could almost hear the familiar sound of a government vehicle cutting its tires through gravel. But it couldn't be.
Penelope forced her eyes open and stared back into Mara's eyes. "They're coming for you."
Mara smiled manically as she raised the knife once more. "Then let's not disappoint them."