Chapter 8

Emily walked back through the entrance of the team's hotel, bumping into Reid. She had returned from a little side mission after her evening meal with the team. She added a two-pound bag of sugar to Officer Donaldson's pride and joy, his vintage purple Mustang gas tank.

"Emily, could I talk to you, please?" asked Reid sheepishly as he nervously swayed side to side

Emily nodded her consent and followed Reid outside the hotel.

"How are you doing after you stuck up for me with Freya? Thank you, Emily. I appreciate what you did for me," Reid queries as they stroll toward the coffee shop.

Emily smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I couldn't let her speak to you like that, Spencer. There was no need for her attitude; your weapon is your intellect. Your brain is our secret weapon. That's why Hotch arranged for your waiver. Hotch knew it was just a shame Freya didn't." she gently squeezed his shoulder in support as they walked along the sidewalk.

The two agents walked along the sidewalk in uncomfortable silence; Emily groaned. She had had enough of the uneasy silence. "Out with it, Spencer," she told him, slightly annoyed.

"How would you like the chance to get your own back on her for what she has done to you?" Spencer Reid asked uneasily,

"I would love to teach Freya a lesson for what she has done, but I can't. I am on probation. She holds all the trump cards. I have to bide my time and hope she causes her downfall. Why do you ask? Have you an idea?" Emily asked curiously,

"I have someone that wants your assistance in ruining Jennifer Jareau," Reid announced

Emily managed to hide the shock she felt from appearing on her face. She asked herself. Was Reid the informant?

"I would need more details first, Spencer. I am not risking what is left of my career without meeting this person. I need to make sure they have the power and influence to do what they are proposing." asked Emily dubiously

Reid nodded. "She wants to meet you once we return to Washington from this case," announced Reid

Emily was filled with mixed emotions. She felt overjoyed that she had found Barnes's informant but was shocked that Spencer Reid had told Linda Barnes about Hotch and Elle. Then she had her light bulb moment. 'Clever, very clever, adding Spencer to avoid suspicion. ' she thought.

"Who is she?" asked Emily

"You will find out during the meeting, Emily, that's how she wants it done. I will do the introductions at the meeting. That's how she wants it to go down," he clarified under Emily's intense stare.

"Fine, set it up; I suppose it won't hurt to listen...If this is a setup, Spencer, I will hurt you," Emily smiled as she glimpsed his sharp intake of breath at her threat.

EJ

Her call with Erin abruptly ended when Ashley arrived outside her hotel room. She placed her cell phone beside her chair. Her head still hurt, and her eyelids felt like sandpaper; Jennifer Strauss-Jareau wanted it all to end.

"Come in, Agent Seaver, take a seat," smiled JJ as she allowed Ashley into her room.

"Ma'am, you asked to see me?" asked a worried agent

Ashley tried to hide her apprehension from JJ, but she failed severely. She sat ramrod straight in the chair, and her hands balled on her knees. Ashley looked her blue-eyed unit chief straight in her eyes; although she was apprehensive about why she had been summoned, she didn't try to hide the loathing she had for her blonde unit chief that seeped from her entire body.

"Are you in an intimate relationship with Doctor Spencer Reid?" asked JJ,

Ashley looked shocked when asked. She looked like a deer caught in a car's headlights. Her mouth moved as if she were talking, but no words came out. Ashley managed to calm herself down after the initial surprise. "I don't know..." JJ stopped Ashley by raising her hand

"Don't you dare deny you're in a relationship with Reid? You moved in together three months ago," JJ paused, hating herself for being a bitch, but she had to deal with this severely. "You have been seeing each other romantically for five months. It would help to inform your section chief so one of you could be reassigned. We have a policy in place for a reason, Agent Seaver. Did Dr Reid not read that regulation, or did he pass over that particular section of the regulations because he never thought he would find someone who would be interested in a nerd," she told her shocked agent.

Feeling horrible as she watched the tears filling her eyes, she blinked hard, trying to prevent them from tumbling down her face.

"You are being removed from my team upon returning from this case. You have been written up for your breach of FBI regulations."

"You can't do that. That's just..." Ashley reigned her emotions before she said something that would get her sacked.

"I can do what I want, Agent; you broke the rules, Agent Seaver. One of you had to leave the team. Who do you think that would be?" asked the unit chief. " You are being transferred to Anchorage, Alaska, the day after we finish this case. Section Chief Strauss has already signed your orders. You will collect them from my office on our return." JJ paused to apply her eyedrops

Ashley was devastated. Her nightmares had just become real; she knew this would shatter Spencer. It had taken her months to get him to open up to her. Once she had broken down his protective shield, she had located the actual Spencer Reid.

'I could resign, stay in Washington, ' she thought.

"What about all my stuff? A day to pack and sort things out is not enough time, Ma'am," Ashley told her, trying to get a stay of execution from the ice queen.

"Your boyfriend can do it for you, agent. That's the sort of thing your other half does for each other. You both brought this on yourselves, so don't come crying to me about being transferred to Alaska. You can write to each other. That will be all," JJ abruptly dismissed Ashley. She hated herself, but she needed some time to herself.

Ashley stood up, glaring at her unit chief, hoping she would burst into flames and walked out of her hotel room without uttering a single syllable; not trusting herself, she slammed the hotel room door so hard she was astonished it stayed attached—her fight to stop the tears from falling failed as she burst into tears.

The upset woman hurried towards her hotel room so she could have a good cry. She hated Jennifer Jareau. She was so determined to reach her room that she didn't notice Derek Morgan standing in the corridor and walking straight into him.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," she apologised.

"Are you all right, Ash?" asked Derek Morgan.

Stepping back from him, she shook her head, tears still falling. She sniffed and started sobbing. Derek hugged his distraught friend and gently guided her towards his hotel room door. "Come with me, Ash," he told her, not waiting for her reply.

EJ

She accepted the glass of vodka that Derek handed her, taking a long pull on her drink.

"Thank you. Sorry to be a blubbering mess, Derek," Ashley smiled at him.

"Want to tell me what has got you so upset?" asked a concerned friend; he suspected Freya had something to do with it.

Dropping her head, she just nodded and finished her glass of vodka. She took a deep breath, trying to get control of her emotions. "She knows about Spencer and me somehow... I am being transferred to Anchorage, Alaska, the day after we have finished this case. She has written me up for breaking FBI fraternisation policy," Ashley paused and went to fetch a second vodka from the room mini-bar. After refilling her glass, she continued, "My transfer papers are waiting for me back at Quantico. Strauss has already signed them. She told me one of us had to go, and who did I think would be? I even tried to plead that more time a day is not enough time to arrange for my stuff to be sent to Anchorage...she told me Spencer could do that; that was what boyfriends did for their significant other...I should just quit the FBI and find another job," sighed the upset agent

Morgan sat beside his troubled friend and pulled her to his side to help reassure her. He gently rubbed her arm as she sobbed into his neck. He used his free hand to text the other team members, except for their unit chief.

' Freya 911, my room now.'

He quickly typed out his message and held Ashley tightly as she sobbed.

EJ

After waiting for the team to assemble in his room, Derek briefed everyone about what was happening with Ashley and her imminent transfer to Anchorage. Reid was comforting his upset girlfriend, oblivious to the smirks the confessed germaphobe had his face buried in Ashley's hair.

"Thank you for nothing," Rossi barked down his cell phone. "I am not asking for much you owe me, Stephanie..." Rossi tossed his cell phone onto the table in disgust, obviously not very happy with what he had been told

Stephanie Quirk was an old flame who was a senior administrator in human resources at Quantico that dealt with transfers and movements. He had phoned, trying to stop or slow down Ashley's force to transfer to Alaska.

Sighing, he explained, "Steph can't do anything about your transfer. Ashley, her boss Clive Conway, has been running with it, and he even expedited the disciplinary paperwork. Jareau and Strauss have already authorised everything. There is nothing she can do without getting herself into trouble. I am so sorry, Ash. They have made sure nothing can stop your removal from the BAU and transfer to Alaska," announced Rossi, fury clear in his voice

"Thanks for trying, Dave. I am not going to Alaska. I would sooner resign and find another job," Ashley announced sadly; she hugged Spencer tighter as he gently rocked his upset girlfriend.

Emily remained tight-lipped, listening to the conversation as she mulled over everything. Spencer was feeding Barnes details about the team. Her demand to have Ashley transferred now made sense to her; the new couple were just a means to an end for Barnes to use in retaliation. Emily couldn't let Ashley give up her dream career.

"Ash, don't let Freya win. Take the transfer on the chin for a while. Let us destroy our ice queen's reign. You and Spencer can handle a long-distance relationship for a while. If you hand your resignation to her, she has won; don't let her destroy your career as she has with Hotch's and almost destroyed mine. Please give us a chance to oust her before you resign. Don't give up your dream job, Ash," begged Emily, not wanting her friend to do anything stupid.

After a cathartic scream into Spencer's chest, Ashley raised her head and looked around at her fellow team members, "Why me? I love Spencer. How the hell did she find out about us? I can't fly..." Ashley paused to allow Reid to speak

Grins appeared on her team mate's face as the couple interacted like a married couple. "4,275 miles if you drive or 3,369 miles if you fly, sweetheart. The drive should take around three days and two hours, but with you driving with your normal recklessness, two and a half days," smirked Reid, trying to get her to smile.

A mock glare appeared on her face before she gave him a cheeky, playful smirk. "How much would the gas cost me?"

"For a sensible driver adhering to the speed limits, $386...for you, my love, with your lead foot $750.." A playful punch stopped Reid on his shoulder

"Jerk!" laughed Ashley. "Anchorage is what four hours behind D.C?... I don't want to..." mumbled Ashley, stopping mid-sentence

"I agree with Emily. Don't let her win. Take your punishment on the chin," Derek told her.

Rossi glanced down to read the text he had just received. "Lorraine Smith has just been spotted entering a house; police are en route; our presence is requested. Who is telling her?" Announced Rossi

EJ

The two FBI SUVs arrived on the scene. Morgan was driving the lead vehicle, with JJ riding a shotgun with Ashley and Alex Blake in the lead car's rear. Emily, Rossi and Reid followed in the rear SUV. As they arrived, Smith appeared from a side entrance of the house next door, dragging a middle-aged female to the rear of the parked ambulance. Lorraine Smith's head shot up as she noticed the arrival of the two black FBI SUVs. She depressed the plunger of the syringe she had jabbed into her hostage's neck, roughly pushing her through the ambulance's rear door before slamming the back door closed. She rushed around to the driver's door. Within seconds, the ambulance pulled away from the sidewalk, sirens blaring.

"Follow her, Agent Morgan. If she has injected her victim with insulin, we don't have long to save her life," Ordered JJ

"Agent Prentiss follows behind us; Agent Rossi informs PD we are in pursuit of Smith. She has injected her hostage with something and has them send an ambulance. We will need medical help as soon as we stop her," ordered JJ over the team's tactical radio net.

"Agent Morgan, you have command of the takedown. I will stay back and ensure you surround her once we get her to stop while we wait for backup from PD. I don't want her slipping away." JJ ordered

Watching the fleeing ambulance, JJ wished the siren was quieter. It was making her headache worse. Suddenly, Smith took a hard left turn at the last minute, trying to shake her pursuers. At first, it looked like everything was fine, but the ambulance started to tip to the left. A mixture of excessive speed and a raised manhole hatch caused a tyre to blow out, causing the ambulance to tip over onto its side, sliding along the road for a few meters until it crashed into a fire hydrant, snapping it clean off. Water gushed from the broken fire main underneath the ambulance, quickly turning the street into a fast-flowing river.

Smith crawled into the rear of her ambulance unharmed. She grabbed her groggy victim, kicked out the emergency exit window in the rear door, and crawled out with her intended victim. She needed to get away from the damn FBI.

"Lorraine Smith, FBI, let her go. You are under arrest. It's over, Lorraine," commanded Morgan, Ashley backing him up.

Ashley noticed how ill the red-headed woman looked and slumped against the paramedic, holding the woman against her body as a human shield. Ashley holstered her weapon and raised her hands into a non-threatening position. Derek nodded his approval; knowing what she was about to do, he took three steps to the side to cover Ashley as she approached the two women.

"Lorraine, my name is Ashley. Could you let her go? She needs medical assistance," She asked as she slowly approached.

She vigorously shook her head at the request, "No! This is the youngest sister of that slut of a man that stole his heart. He has to know the distress he caused by stealing him from me; she has to die," She snarled with utter malice.

Slowly creeping closer, Ashley concentrated on Smiths' victim. She was being held up physically by the paramedic. It was obvious to the medically untrained FBI agent that this woman did not have long to live. She needed prompt medical intervention to save her life.

"Knife!" Reid shouted over the radio, as he noticed the scalpel Smith had in her hand

"I have no shot," Morgan announced over the radio.

Her hand started toward her holstered service weapon as the woman held by Lorraine Smith started to shake, having some form of seizure. Without thinking about the danger, Ashley lunged towards the seizing woman, all thoughts of drawing her weapon forgotten. Taking advantage of the situation, Lorraine started to lash out at the approaching blonde FBI agent.

"Ashley, Move. I don't have a shot!" commanded an uneasy Morgan. "Anyone has a shot!" Derek asked in despair over the radio

"No shot", answered Reid.

'Bang! Bang!'

Morgan's brain caught up with reality after the two shots rang out. He watched the three women fall to the floor, not knowing who was hit and who had fired the two rounds.