Fortitude
Chapter: 2
Alex entered the private waiting room a little hesitantly. Emotions were running high. And she could feel the tension as soon as she entered the room. But when she looked at Erin's tear stained face she knew. She just knew. There was more than worry etched on her face. There was determination and anger and revenge.
She quietly closed the door behind her. "Can I get you anything?"
"No." she wiped in vain at the tears spilling down her cheeks. It seemed like the more she wiped away the more that fell.
Alex sat down beside, reaching for a fresh tissue off the corner table and handing it to her. "We'll get him, Erin."
She wiped at the mascara she knew was running. "Somehow that doesn't seem good enough, Alex."
"I know." she replied. "I don't know what else to say."
Her eyes were red and puffy. She was completely vulnerable. Completely undone. "Tell me you're going to help me."
"Help you?"
Erin nodded. "I want this guy." she told her agent. "I want a bullet between his eyes. And I want to put it there."
"You really should stay here with Dave…"
"It's an inside job, Alex."
"Are you sure?"
Erin nodded. "Yes." she replied. "I amended some of Aaron's reports. I've been tracking this guy for months. He's someone within the bureau. Someone that reads my reports when I send them to Director Parker."
"How long have you known this?"
"When I was in with David, briefly, the doctor showed me a marking on his wrist. A figure eight. It was something I added in to one of my recent reports."
Alex nodded. "Does Hotch know this?"
She shook her head. "I really need your help on this, Alex. I need to know who reads those reports. I need to know who did this to David." desperation bleed through her voice. "Please, Alex?"
/
Alex knocked lightly on the open hospital door before entering. David was still out of it, cords and tubes and machines everywhere. Erin was sitting beside his bed, both of her hands holding his. And Alex was positive she had never seen Strauss so raw and vulnerable. "How is he?"
"Coming around." she answered. "His temperature is at ninety-nine and his vitals are stable. The doctors put him in a medically induced coma for now."
She stopped at the end of the bed. "I got the information you wanted."
Erin was immediately on her feet. "How many suspects?"
"Ten." she laid them on the counter beside the sink. "I thought we could eliminate them together."
And together they went through all the folders only ending up with two possibilities. John Curtis and Isaac Thompson.
Erin repeated the names in her head several times. But neither of them seemed to ring a bell with her. Alex studied to two photos in front of her. "Curtis worked on the Amerithrax case." she told her boss. "He was one of the ones that took the fall that day."
And sudden everything came together for Erin. Bells and whistles sounded in her head. This entire thing wasn't about the team. It was about her. It was supposed to be her in the hotel room, not David. She was responsible for everything. The revelation took the breath right out of her. And Blake quickly moved to steady her superior.
"Are you okay, Erin?"
"I need a vest, Alex." she told her. "And a service weapon."
Alex didn't understand. She knew that Erin had connected some dots in her head but she was holding her answers close to the vest. "I can't let you do this."
"Can't?" she repeated. "I'm in charge."
"You can't do this alone." she rephrased. "I want to help you."
"This is my mess, Blake." her voice was firm. "I'll take care of it."
"No." Alex's voice was just as firm. "There's no way you're doing this alone. I'll get you what you need but I'm going with you."
Erin knew she had hit a brick wall. "Fine." she quickly agreed. "But I call the shots."
Alex nodded in understanding. "I'm just here to back you up."
Aaron Hotchner stepped inside the doorway. "We'll all back you up, Erin." he told her. "We're a team, your team, and we're at your complete disposal."
Erin looked between Hotchner and Blake. "How long have you been standing outside the door?"
"Long enough to know that there's no way in hell you're going to do this alone." his voice was firm. "If the Replicator wants you then the last thing you need to be doing is taking him on alone."
"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, Agent." Erin told him. "But we are a team. And that's how we're going to handle this. As a team."
Aaron nodded in agreement. "I'll gather the team."
"I don't want David to be here alone." she said. "Agent Jareau will stay behind with him."
"Yes ma'am."
/
/ Virginia /
Confusion clouded the air. And an explosion was on the horizon. It had to be. Curtis had enough C2 to blow them all to the heavens and back. All the agents seemed to be accounted for. Everyone but Chief Strauss.
Hotchner's eyes searched for Erin in the crowd of emergency responders. "Where is she?" he asked. "Where's Chief Strauss?"
Morgan looked around. "She was right behind me."
His heart pounded in his chest. "Find her!" he ordered his team.
In the cellar Erin came face to face with the man who had started this entire thing. The man that had caused so much pain and suffering. And all because of something that happened more than a decade ago. All because of something she was a part of.
His voice was so condescending when he spoke. "Happy now, Chief Strauss?"
She subconsciously took a step back. "You're sick."
"And it's your fault, Erin." he told her. "You set all of this in motion. This is your mess. It's your fault that Agent Rossi is fighting for his life."
"David is going to be fine."
"That's what you'd like to believe isn't it?" he asked. "That all of this is just going to go away and you're going to come out smelling like a rose again. I'm here to tell you that things don't always work out that way. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices, Erin."
"I couldn't agree more." she drew her gun. "There's no way you're getting away with this."
Curtis laughed. "There's no way you'll shoot me."
"You don't think so?"
"I don't think you've ever fired a weapon in the field." he condescended her. "In fact I don't think you'll want to dirty your hands." He stood with his arms wide open, giving her the perfect shot. Several long moments lingered silently and Curtis started laughing. "I knew you didn't have it in you."
It was then that the shot rang out loudly. Reverberating off the stone walls, screaming in her ears. Curtis crumbled to the floor in a heap. And Erin felt strong arms encircle her. "It's okay." Hotchner whispered, taking the gun from her. "Let's get you out of here."
"No." she fought him. "I need to see." she cried. "I need to see if he's really dead."
Hotchner kept his hold on her. "He's really dead." he assured her. "Perfect shot, Erin. Now we need to get out of here. This whole thing is rigged to blow."
No sooner than they had gotten across the yard the explosion rang out in the distance. Hotchner's body protecting hers as they hit the ground.
tbc….