Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 30

TW: violence

After hours of cross-checking our lists with the profile, we have nothing.

"This doesn't make sense. Our unsub is on this list, he has to be." I hear the frustration in my own voice. I stand with my palms on the table top.

"We've gone through every name. Everyone checks out," Morgan reminds me.

"Let me see the list," Elle holds out a hand. Reid tosses her a pad of paper.

She skims it, her head resting in her palm. Suddenly she sits up. "Ian."

"Who's Ian?" Reid asks.

My eyes widen in understanding. "The owner wouldn't be on the payroll."

A triumphant smile lights Elle's face, her dimples showing.

"Someone want to let us in on the secret?" Morgan chimes in, crossing his arms.

"Ian. We don't have a last name, but Jax told us that he's the owner. He wouldn't be on the payroll like the other employees," Elle explains.

"And Jax mentioned he was a little off, always shut up in his office," I add. "It has to be him."

"I'll go get Hotch," Reid heads to the door as Hotch walks in.

"I'm here. Did we get a hit?"

Elle begins to explain as my phone rings. "Sorry," I sigh as I take it out of my pocket. I frown at the unfamiliar number.

"D'angelo," I answer.

A man's voice fills the receiver, gravelly and deep. "Hello, Agent."

I match his ominous tone, my eyes narrowing. "Who is this?"

"You really shouldn't have put your number on her arm," he growls.

My heart skips a beat. "If you hurt her–"

"You're in no position to make threats, Agent. Don't come after me, and she'll stay alive."

He hangs up without another word.

My hand falls to my side, dropping the cell phone to the table. I feel a hand on my shoulder. "C?"

I look at Elle, her eyes concerned at the dread on my face.

"He has her. He has Riley." My voice is quiet but steady.

"How did he get your number?" Reid questions.

"I wrote it on her arm last night... This is all my fault." I close my eyes and shake my head in frustration.

"I have to go." I grab my phone from the table and leave the room in a rush. The team follows me into the bullpen.

"Carli! You don't even know where you're going," Morgan calls after me.

"Garcia's office." I shove through the glass doors and rush down the hall.

I push through the two doors and stop at Garcia's side. "PG. I need you."

Garcia frowns at the urgency of my voice. "All ears."

"The owner of Shooters Bar, Ian. I don't have a last name. You need to get me everything on him. I need to find him."

Her fingers fly across the keyboard and she gets a name in seconds. "Ian Walsh. Lives alone in an apartment not far from the bar... mother died when he was a kid, father a corporate businessman for a company called Cobblestones Incorporated. They have three warehouses in the city and surrounding suburbs, two are in use but one was shut down about a year ago. Building's still there and currently empty."

My phone dings as the address sends. "I owe you one, Penelope. Thank you."

"Anything for you darling." She smiles as I walk out the door and back to the conference room. The team is waiting for me.

I send them the address and wait for Hotch's orders.

He nods. "We leave in five, I'll call in SWAT. Get vests on and get to the cars."

Everyone leaves the room except Elle and Hotch. She starts to approach us but Hotch catches her eye and gestures towards the door. With one last glance my way, she follows the others out the room.

Hotch directs his attention to me once we're alone.

"I'm going, Hotch," I say before he speaks.

"It's a conflict of interest."

"I barely know her."

He shakes his head and sighs. "Promise not to do anything stupid?"

The corner of my mouth twitches up. "Promise."

---

By the time we get to the warehouse darkness has settled across the sky. The moon hides behind the clouds, the headlights cutting through the darkness. We follow flashlight beams into the dark halls of the building.

The place is huge. There's our group of six and four SWAT agents. We've split into teams of two, one team per floor.

Elle and I reach the basement quickly and I curse under my breath, wishing for a brighter flashlight. There's no windows down here.

"We should split up," I whisper in the dark. "I'll go left, you go right, we'll circle around and meet on the other side."

Elle nods. I'm about to turn away when she grabs my wrist in the dark, pulling me back towards her.

"Be careful, Carli. Please." Her voice is quiet, barely audible. Her words remind me of what Riley said to me at the bar. The emotion behind their voices is identical.

"You too," I whisper. I squeeze her wrist before letting go.

---

The hallway is pitch black save for the weak beam of my flashlight. The light flickers every few minutes. The batteries must be dying. Just what I need right now.

I walk through the hall with my gun raised. Every door I've passed leads onto an empty room. I reach the end of the hallway and turn to my left, following the rectangular floor plan.

A thin line of green light shines across the floor. A door to my left stands ajar. I walk towards it without making a sound.

In one fluid motion, I burst through the door and raise my gun. Riley stands at a metal column, her hands handcuffed to a hook about six feet off the floor. There's a piece of fabric gagging her mouth. The green light comes from a neon sign that reads END.

That's not ominous at all.

I move towards her and she screams through the gag. I spin at the last second, barely blocking the fist coming my way. He misses my head but knocks my gun to the ground.

He points his gun at me, inches from my forehead. In his other hand he holds a hammer caked in dried blood. "Don't move unless you want your brains splattered across the room," he growls at me.

"Ian," I keep my voice calm. "I just want to talk."

"I told you what would happen if you found me." His eyes flicker back to Riley. My heart beat quickens.

"Ian, you don't have to do this. You know Riley. You don't want to hurt her. You want to hurt me." I fight to keep my voice under control. I can disarm him easily, but he might get a shot off. It wouldn't hit me, but Riley is right behind me...

Ian holds my gaze. He smiles like a maniac. "I want to hurt everyone."

He aims the gun past my head and pulls the trigger.