Chapter forty-nine
Gulfstream G-IV
Tail # N4SP

Spencer

"This is entirely my fault." Spencer moaned. "I did this."

"Where are you getting that?" Morgan asked.

"I was so wrapped up in that letter from Leah, when she told everyone about my being at that meeting; I never stopped to ask how they knew. They've been watching me this entire time. For all we know they've been manipulating us all along."

"Why would they do that?"

"Elderly women don't get points in that game. Rossi told them. "FBI agents are worth quite a bit. They could have assumed that Mrs. Knox would be comfortable going out and leaving Susanna with Pendleton."

"I wonder what they did with him." JJ said.

"Too soon to tell," Rossi replied.

"I should have known." Spencer moaned again. 97 days. That was less than he'd had with Maeve. "I led them right to her."

"And we're going to get her back." Morgan replied. "Susanna is not Maeve; this is not the same thing."

"That was the Dallas field office." Hotch said, hanging up the phone. "They're heading out there with SWAT, the state police and everyone else they can manage. I doubt this will last long."

"No one wants another Waco." Rossi nodded.

"We'll be meeting them in Minaloa."

Liberty Vision Compound
Mineloa, TX

They met the local agents outside the gate. "No one's come in or out." The agent in charge told them. "But this isn't what we expected."

"No, it's not." Rossi replied as they assessed the scene.

The fields on the outskirts of the compound were full of RV's, the closer ones full of cars. And on the front gate and adorning the uniforms of the gate guards were floral decorations. "We tried to get a look from some of the hilltops." The lead agent told them, "This place is crawling with children."

"Great." Morgan muttered.

"There may be an easier way of doing this." Rossi said. He looked at the team. "Matthew 25:6"

"But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him?" Spencer asked.

"Take your vests off." Rossi replied. "Everyone else, circle the place and come in quietly….."

At the door they were met by an usher. "We're on the bride's side." Rossi told him.

"Oh. The ceremony just got started."

"That's all right. Have they gotten to the point where they ask about just cause for the bride and groom to not be married yet?"

"Um, no?"

"Good."

They filed quietly into the back of the hall. A large number of people and every child that had any hope of sitting still were watching Pastor Goodwin standing at the altar with another older man who was probably his Best Man. Leah Holman was standing there, dressed as a Maid of Honor, looking very uncomfortable and dubious. And a clearly furious Susanna was being firmly held in place by her father and…Agent Pendleton.

"Brian, will you have Susanna to be your wedded wife, to live together in the covenant of faith, hope, and love according to the intention of God for your lives together in Jesus Christ?" The minister asked.

"I will." Goodwin replied.

"Susanna, will you have Brian to be your wedded husband, to live together in the covenant of faith, hope, and love according to the intention of God for your lives together in Jesus Christ?" The minister asked.

"I…WILL…NOT!" Susanna shrieked as she struggled to get away.

The minister didn't even look up from his book. "If anyone has any reason why this couple should not be married, let him speak now or forever hold his peace"

"I've got one." Rossi called out. The entire congregation made a surprised noise and turned to look. "She agreed to marry him." He gestured to Reid.

The shock must have loosened John Holman's hold. It certainly loosened Pendleton's. Susanna wrenched free of them both and landed in Goodwin's arms. He said something no one heard clearly, but whatever it was it caused Susanna to turn and bring her knee up sharply between his legs. Goodwin let out a high pitched scream and pushed her away, doubling over in pain. She took the opportunity and ran down the aisle, stumbling into things as she went. "Susanna!" Spencer ran forward just as he saw the flash of metal from the altar. He caught her in his arms and pulled her down to the floor, out of the line of fire.

"Nobody move!" Morgan called out sharply as the entire congregation let out a frightened gasp.

"You don't want to do this with all these kids in here." Rossi said. "It's over Michael."

"I knew you'd come." Susanna murmured into the hollow of his throat.

"Always," he murmured back. Then he felt the team moving past him and he turned to look. The minister had made Michael lower his gun, and Morgan was just getting to him. Pastor Goodwin was still clutching himself in agony. Yep, Susanna was so not Maeve. "Where did you learn that?"

"Kavi gave me a clue."

They finally, slowly stood up. "Miss Holman." Hotch asked. "Do you know who kidnapped you?"

"Yes, Jeremiah West, Tom Smithson and Agent Pendleton; he let them into the house as soon as Marsha left. They brought me here in Pastor Goodwin's plane."

"Well, that's good enough for conspiracy." Rossi said, turning to arrest the still shaken pastor. By now other agents were filing in. "Secure the house and outbuildings and any paperwork you find, we'll need to see just how far this conspiracy goes." He looked over at Pendleton. "And you're under arrest."

"How did you know?" Pendleton stammered.

"BAU, remember." Rossi kept his face a mask. "We read minds."

In the meantime the minister stepped over to Susanna. "Is this true?" He asked sternly. "Did you or did you not agree to marry Pastor Goodwin?"

"I did not, Pastor Allen. I agreed to marry Dr. Reid, and I did so in front of a witness. I would never agree to marry Pastor Goodwin. And before this goes any further I no longer consider myself a member of this church and no longer under its discipline, so you can take your letters and just…just…stuff them!"

"They you'll go to hell." Pastor Allen said simply. "Your father said he gave you to Pastor Goodwin for marriage."

"That's between me and God." Susanna replied. "I'm not a sack of grain to be traded about. I'm a free adult and as such I no longer consider myself under his authority or any other earthly authority. So I don't care what my father said, he can stuff it too!"

Just then Pastor Allen raised his hand and slapped her, twice. The crowd gasped. Spencer's vision went completely white. Without realizing what he was doing he shoved the pastor away from her and swung, his fist connecting sharply with the other man's nose.

The sudden sharp pain in his knuckles brought him back to reality. Then Hotch was there, pulling him away and Morgan was pulling the pastor up and in to cuffs. The pastor's blood was white against his crisp shirt as the blood dripped from his nose. "That's assault!" He cried out. "Police brutality!"

"That was getting between you and a vic-tim." Morgan told him. "You hit first, that's not okay." He sounded like he was talking to a kindergartner. Well, these people did seem to have a dim grasp of the basics.

Now Spencer's hand hurt. He accepted the handkerchief Hotch offered to wind around them as a bit of a brace, and nodded that yes, he was back in control. Only then did he turn his attention fully back to Susanna, and winced at the sight of handprints, bright red against her pale skin. "Are you all right?"

"I just want to go home." Susanna said, clearly shaken. "Please."

"Home?"

"DC. With you."

He pulled her in tight. "All right."