Author's notes:
We are finally getting toward the end. Special thanks to Smlindsey3281, Namira0.0, and moira4aku for leaving reviews. I hope you enjoyed this story. Please let me know by leaving a review.
Chapter 7
Rossi turned to Prentiss. "I'm going to let him have my car. You don't have an expensive car like that without some kind of tracker in case it gets stolen. After he let's Sarah go, we park the car in front of the house, but just a little off to one side, so it doesn't look obvious. They'll have to take a few extra steps. If the snipers have a clean shot on any of them, good. We take them out. Otherwise we track the car from a safe distance and follow them. It's not much of a plan, but it's a plan. Let everyone know." Prentiss agreed it wasn't the best plan, but it just might work. She set off telling the police and the team.
"Ok, John. The car is on it's way. Send Sarah out."
"I keep saying I'm not that stupid. Bring the car first, and when I see it's clear, I'll let her go."
"Luke, I want you to drive the car, and park it in the street, just a few steps away from the front. Leave the motor running, and run like crazy. Hopefully, he'll think you were too scared to leave it any closer." Then he turned to the officer in command of the snipers. "If he wants it that badly, and I think he does, he'll have to chance walking those few extra steps. That will give the snipers a chance to get a clear shot. It has to be a clear shot. I don't want a fire fight, and I don't want Reid killed in a crossfire."
"Got it. I'll get it out to everyone" and he turned and left. Luke drove Rossi's car and parked it off to the side and ran like crazy.
Western turned to Spencer. "You heard, I made a deal with Rossi. He's providing us with a car. You keep your end of the deal and we'll walk out of here just fine. Anything goes wrong, and you'll be the first to go." He handcuffed his hands in front of him and pulled him towards the door.
Sarah ran over to him, giving him a hug. "I'm not leaving without you," she whispered in his ear.
"Sarah, I made a deal. He let's you go and I tell him what he wants to know. If he takes both of us, we'll both end up dead. You go and remind Rossi about the letter in the bedside table. I need to know you'll be safe. This is my job. I knew what I was getting into. Well, I didn't really know all this was going to happen, but you get the idea."
"When he gets what he wants, he'll kill you" she pleaded. "Please don't do this, There has to be another way."
"Rossi is a great negotiator, I trust him with my life. He's got to have a plan. Just do what he says, please. And when this is over, we'll meet for coffee. How does that sound?"
"Coffee, sounds great. Promise me you'll be careful. I can't lose my favorite fan."
"I'll do the best I can, I promise. "
"Dean, Frank, we're ready to go. I'll call Rossi." Both men came to the front of the house and looked out the window.
"Send her out, we're ready."
Sarah gave Spencer one last hug before Western pushed her toward the door.
"Remind Rossi what I said about Spencer. I am not going to prison."
"I'll tell him." And with that, Western opened the door a crack and pushed Sarah out. She stood on the porch and looked around. She didn't see anyone. She went down the steps and started walking, when suddenly she saw a woman rush over and grab her.
"Quick, this way," JJ said and they both ran over to the side of the house, out of any line of fire. Once there, a policeman led her away to where the paramedics could check her over. While she was there, Rossi came over.
"Exactly how many are inside? How are they armed? Is Spencer all right?"
"Slow down, slow down. First there are three plus Spencer. He's ok for now. They beat him up pretty good last night. All I saw were handguns. They all have one. He wanted me to remind you that if anything goes wrong, he'll shoot Spencer and Spencer wanted me to remind you about a letter in a bedside table. What was he talking about?"
"Let's hope we never get to find out. I need you to go with these officers. After your're checked out, they'll take you back to Quatico. There you can give your statement about your involvement in all this. You'll be held until we can sort all this out. Your sister is already on her way there."
"But I want to stay. I need to know that Reid is okay."
"Sorry, but right now you are a witness, or a potential suspect in all this. Officer, she's all yours."
Sarah wanted to yell, scream, anything to let him know how much she wanted to stay, but she knew it wouldn't work. The best thing she could do was get out of the way and let them do their job, so she let the officer lead her away. After a quick check up, he put her in a car, and drove off.
Rossi's phone rang. "Are you satisfied? Now let's get on with the deal," Western said.
"Yes, I'm satisfied. You can come out when you're ready. I won't do anything to stop you." Then he muttered "Not me, anyway."
The door opened and Spencer stepped out followed by Western who was using Spencer as a shield. Next came Dean and Frank, flanking either side of them. Western had a handful of Spencer's shirt just in case. They walked to the top of the stairs and looked and waited. When he thought it was clear they stepped down the steps and started heading for the car. There was a sound, like a snap, and suddenly Dean stopped, a look of horror on his face. His hand went to his chest, and when he pulled it away, it was covered in blood. He fell to the ground. Frank panicked and started to run for the car. He was hit by a sniper and when he fell, he rolled a couple of times, ending on his face.
In the meantime, Western pulled Spencer down to the ground with him, making sure he pulled Spencer on top of him, one arm around his neck and the other holding a gun to his head.
"I thought we had a deal," he yelled. "Any more shooting and Spencer is next."
Rossi yelled right back. "There won't be any more shooting as long as you stay down. My snipers are good at their jobs. Now we can sit here all day. I have nothing else to do, or you can surrender. Just throw your gun away, let Spencer go, and I will guarantee your safety. How do you want to play it?"
Reid was laying on his back, sprawled across Western, the gun pushed against his ear. "How long do you think we can hold out? We try to move and the snipers will have a field day. You shoot me and you'll get the death penalty for sure, maybe even right here. Surrender and you'll at least get a trial."
Western didn't answer. He kept trying to find a way out of the situation that didn't include getting himself shot or killed. He didn't want to go to prison either. Maybe he could get a judge that the Knights owned to preside over his trial or a lawyer that could keep things tied up for months, if not years.
Finally he gave in. "You win. I'm tossing my gun and letting Spencer go. Don't shoot." He turned the gun away from Spencer and gave it a toss. Spencer rolled off Western as fast as he could, even with the handcuffs on and stood up. He ran over to where the gun was and pointed it at Western. Suddenly there were police and FBI surrounding them.
Luke was the first one there, unlocking the handcuffs. "You okay, you look a little worse for wear."
JJ came running over and gave him a hug. "I'm so glad your okay." She looked at his face. "Well, maybe that's a little premature."
The police had Western in custody, hands handcuffed behind his back and were starting to lead him away. Spencer hurried over. He leaned over and whispered into his ear "I hope you enjoy summer camp." Then Western was loaded into a car and it drove off.
Rossi took his time walking over. He let the rest of the team have their time with Spencer before he intruded. When he finally got there, he put his hand on his shoulder and looked him right in the eyes. "You did good kid. Let's get you looked at."
Rossi and Spencer walked in silence to the ambulance. Spencer sat on the gurney while the paramedics tried to clean up his face. They wanted to take him in for a check up but Spencer turned it down.
He grabbed Rossi and pushed one of the men away who was trying to put ointment on one of his cuts.
"Where's Sarah? Is she okay? What about Jessi -"
"Hold on, slow down. Everyone's fine. Jessi is at Quantico and Sarah is on her way. She'll be in custody and questioned until we can figure everything out." He turned to the paramedics, "He'll be ready in a minute. I need a full report on all his injuries, as usual."
Spencer started to protest, but Rossi stopped him. "You know you have to be checked out. Now be a good boy and maybe they'll give you a sucker when they're done."
Spencer opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind. He wasn't going to win, so he laid down on the stretcher and they loaded him up.
When Rossi returned to the BAU, he went straight to Western's office. He wanted to search it to see if he could find anything to help their case. "I don't think you can go in there", the secretary said, as she followed Rossi.
He stopped her at the door. "It's okay. I don't think he'll be coming back."
The secretary plopped down on her chair, in the outer office, definitely not happy. "Damn, we'll have to start over."
2 Weeks later
Spencer was sitting at his old desk, reading over his report of his "little adventure" as Garcia put it. He was so involved in his reading that he didn't notice when someone came up and laid a cup of coffee next to him.
"Hey! What's a girl got to do to get noticed around here?"
He looked up suddenly and there was Sarah. He jumped up and gave her a hug. "I've been so worried about you. Are you alright? How's Jessi?"
She hugged him back. When she pushed away, she gently ran her fingers over his face. "Looks like you're healing up pretty good. I'm so sorry they beat you like that." She gave the room a once over. "So this is where you work, huh?"
"I used to work right here", he pointed to his desk, "until I was transferred to do special assignments. Looks like I've come around full circle."
Rossi stepped up and excused himself. "Hi Sarah, can I borrow Spencer for a few minutes? It won't take long."
"Uh, sure. I'll just wait right here." She sat down in the chair Spencer had just vacated.
When they got to his office, Rossi closed the door behind them. "Have a seat." He gestured to the chair while he sat on the small couch.
"So, how are you feeling now that you've had a little time off? Did you do anything exciting with your time?"
Spencer looked at him suspiciously. "Not unless you count sleeping as exciting. Read a few good books I've been meaning to catch up on, but that's about it."
"Fine. Did you give any time to think about what you might do now that your "special assignment" is over?"
Now he knew what was going on. "I'm keeping my options open for now. I've been approached by several department heads that want me to work for them, but I haven't made up my mind."
"Well, we didn't fill your position yet. As a matter of fact, I was kind of hoping I could talk you into coming back."
"Did Prentiss put you up to this?" Rossi gave him a guilty look. "So what's the proposal?"
"Just long hours, bad coffee, spontaneous travel, adventure -"
"Adventure!? You call what I just went through an "adventure"?
"Where else can you hide out in lousy hotels and eat bad food for days on end while being hunted by a bunch of crazies?"
"No where. You know most people don't call that an adventure. They call it insanity."
He stood up and started to leave. As he went through the door, he looked over his shoulder. "When do I start?"
Spencer went over to his desk where Sarah was still sitting. "Didn't you say something about coffee?" she asked as he took her hand and started to lead her toward the elevator.
Just before they got in the elevator Spencer paused. "By the way, did you ever get your two hundred dollars?"
Sarah turned around and started running to the stairs. "ROSSIIIII !"
Notes:
What a ride. I had so much fun writing this, even with the constant rewrites and disruptions. I won't even mention the nights this story woke me up and demanded I change things. Please let me know what you think of it. I will answer any and all messages and, as always, I appreciate people taking the time to leave a review.