James was far ahead of Emily and everyone else, leaving most of the SWAT team, The Detective and Elkins far behind in the wood. He had no intention of slowing down or waiting up for them, even though Emily had asked him to do so repeatedly.
Emily doubted that he would listen to her even if he back to his old self. She knew enough about him by now to realize when he was not going to back off from something. Could she really blame him? James had more questions than he did answers about these people. For all he knew these people could have molded the events that shaped the course that his life took.
They were all unaware of the true danger they were putting themselves in.
Tyler was the only tangible lead that James had left to get some real answers about his family. For Emily and the Team, this was just another psycho left to be taken in.
It was as they continued to walk through the open wilderness that Emily heard a click sound on her last step. The whole team heard it as well, even James hear it even though he was so far from them. He had heard it more than a few times in the NAVY SEAL's.
"What was that?" Morgan asks. They began to circle her as Emily was about to rise her foot up to see what it was when James started shouting "Don't move raven, stay perfectly still."
Emily did as he said, the tone in his voice was way beyond serious it was almost concerned. But she could tell he was burying it deep down.
James quickly walks over to her and the team; they could all see it in his facial expression. The fear was clear as the sun during the day. James slowly bends down on one of his knees and pushes the dirt away from what it had been covering.
"What is it?" Emily asked. James came back up, she could see the terror in his eyes before he finally spoke "Stay completely still Emily, even the slightest gesture could set it off."
"Set "what" off?" Emily asks, putting more emphasis on the what, demanding, wanting to know what was going on. It was a request he complied with "Your standing on a mine Raven. Looks like modern made one at that."
"Who puts a mine in the middle of a forest?" Emily asks; she could feel her heart beat like a drum as she grew more and more nervous as her foot remained still on the mine. James had a couple of guess as to where someone could have gotten this and says "I don't know; Tyler or Caleb could have set one of these up before they kidnapped me. Probably put a few of them around here."
"Can you disarm it?" Emily asks, and then James says "I could if I had the right tools, but that's not possible right now. I could probably get you off of it if I found something near your weight, but to do that I would either need a body or a heavy weight."
"Are you implying that I'm fat?" Emily asks jokingly, trying to make the tress of the situation swell down and James replies "Really, you're going to start with the banter now of all bad times?"
As James looks at the mine he asks "I don't suppose one of you has a radio to call for help by any chance?" they all nodded their heads in a no response. Rossi then took notice to the SWAT team sniper than was beginning to arrive on the scene and says "He might, hey you over there. We need your radio."
James looks up at the officer as the others do. He could not help but get a funny feeling about him. There was something about him that was just off. Then he took a closer look at the rifle in his hands and recognized it as his SR-25 outfitted with a suppressor.
His eyes then took a look at the snipers name tag and saw Tyler written on it and he says "He's one of them." and he begins to raise one of his pistols. Tyler was one step ahead of him though, aiming his rifle at the defenseless Emily and says "All of you put your weapons down or I will kill agent Prentiss."
The others complied despite Emily's protest for them not to do a thing that he said. James was reluctant at first but then drops his weapon to the ground and Tyler says "Now that's much better. And don't worry about Brody, he's not going to be a problem anymore."
He then starts to remove his helmet and mask revealing a face similar to Caleb's. Then he says "Well, James Greaves, I don't think we've been properly introduced, my name is Tyler Cullen. I must admit I was expecting more of a challenge from you Greaves. Now I'm starting to wonder how you could have possibly bested the Comescu family."
"Sorry, it's been a long day." James retorts back. Looking forward to the chance to finally kill this bastard or at the very least beat the living day light out of him for aiming his weapon at Emily.
Tyler took his time as he stood motionlessly with the rifle in his heads as he relished the misery he was causing James and asks "What's wrong there cousin? You wanted to see me. Well here I am in the flesh. You don't look to happy to see me though."
"Well congratulations psycho, you can read facial expressions." James said before feeling the urge to reach for his other weapon.
"I'm sensing some animosity here. Have I done something to offend you?" Tyler says as he makes a smug look on his face.
"You know exactly what you did!" James angrily shouts back at him.
Tyler was starting to move his weapons aim away from Emily as they talk. He then asks "Now what did I do to make you hate me so much? Was it the fact that I slept with that girl you just broke up with, because we both know she was practically looking for trouble. Or was it when I told the Comescu family where you were?"
"You did that?" James says, hurt, anger and hate all in his voice.
"Yeah, man was they just itching to kill you." Tyler said, then he follows up on his taunts by saying "Instead they kill your best friend." after that Tyler started to notice the expression on his face and then his eyes looking up at him for a second then down to his gun on the ground then back to him. He then asks "If you want your gun back just pick it up."
James took the gun in his hand without hesitation and says "Why?"
"Why?" Tyler said, repeating the question. Then he says "You don't call, you don't write. How else am I supposed to get you all the way out here?"
"Now it looks like you're going to lose someone else just because you want to know more about your family." Tyler was enjoying himself. He knew that James wanted him alive, but he also knew that he loved Prentiss and would have done anything to save her.
"That's not going to happen. All I have to do is kill you and put your body on that mine." James said, realizing a way to save Emily.
It a surprising twist; Tyler lowers his weapon to the ground and provokes him saying "You won't kill me."
"Is that right?" James asked before Tyler replies "Yeah, that's right. You won't because if you do you'll never know the truth about your grandpa or mine. But go ahead prove me wrong, pull that trigger, I dare you."
As James and Tyler stared down one another Tyler was confident that James would not kill him. All his life he manipulated people with their emotions and feelings, he truly believed that as long as James wanted to know the truth that he was in control.
He was wrong, because in an instant James fired two shots into his chest, one going through the bullet proof vest he was wearing. Then he fires one more shot into his skull, killing him instantly. It was surprise to everyone including Emily.
James walks over to the body and retrieves his rifle before dragging the body over to them.
"What are you doing?" Morgan asks, and then James replies sarcastically "Oh I'm lifting weights. I'm complexly bored. WHAT's it look like I'm doing? I'm going to put this body on the mine as soon as Emily pulls her foot off."
"Are you sure this will work James?" Emily asks James, he was unsure; he had only done this a couple of times before in Afghanistan. He then says "One way to find out. It's either this or wait here until tomorrow until one of us comes back with the bomb squad."
Emily was hesitant at first, just like the whole team was. She had more faith in him though than they did. Finally she made up her mind and says "Do it." Despite protests from other members of the team. James roles the body next to her foot and looks up to her saying "Be very still."
Before she had time to understand what he meant, he pushes her back as he places the body on the mine, seconds after her foot comes off of it. James remained still on the body while Emily backed away, both surprised to see that their plan worked.
As to who was more surprised was anyone's guess
Emily looks down at James as he backs away from the body and she says "Thanks." James then replies "No problem, I guess we're even now." James then says as he backs away "Okay, I think we're good for now. But just to be safe we should probably get as far away from here as physically possible."
The team agreed and Hotchner says "We'll go back to Parker and call to Quantico. I'll see if they can spare any reinforcements for this one."
"Sounds good to me." James said, and Emily follows up by saying "Same here." As they start to walk away side by side.