Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 35

The next morning I ride up in the elevator alone. My head throbs, a tension headache behind my eyes. She hates me. She must. After everything... We were in such a good place. And I ruined it.

I shake my head to clear away the thoughts as the doors slide open. The harsh movement only increases the headache. I put one hand to my temple as I enter the bullpen. Her desk is empty. I check my watch. She's probably just running late.

I put my bag on the floor and take a seat, leaning back and closing my eyes.

"So, she kick your ass last night?"

I smirk at Morgan without opening my eyes. "She's good, I'll give her that."

"No bad bruises, I guess you did alright," Morgan jokes.

I open my eyes and lean forward with my elbows on the desk. "No. I lost," I mumble under my breath.

Another few minutes go by and still no sign of her. "Morgan, where's Elle?"

He checks his watch. "Nearly in Texas by now."

"Oh, right." I totally forgot. She's consulting on a case in Texas, left this morning. I won't see her until Monday, if she's even back by then. I lean back in my seat and take a deep breath. 

At least I have a few days.

---

Around 10:00 am, I watch JJ come through the doors and enter Hotch's office. I catch Morgan's attention and gesture in their direction. "Hey, we've got another one." 

Not three minutes later JJ leaves Hotch's office and points with the file towards the round table.

"What do we have?" Morgan asks as we enter the room. Hotch turns to JJ.

"Hostage situation," she announces. The screen displays a black and white live video feed of a train car.

I examine the file in front of me as Hotch relays what we already know. "Five hostages, train car crossing through a rural area of Texas. The unsub is a passenger, shot the security guard, now holding the rest hostage."

"Where did he get a gun?" Reid questions.

I look at Hotch, cutting off his answer. "Wait, did you say Texas?" He nods.

I glance back towards the footage and freeze. My heartbeat quickens, the headache shooting a sharp pain behind my eyes.

I stand and walk towards the screen to be sure. 

No. No, please.

"D'angelo, what is it?" Gideon calls to me, confused.

"Elle." My voice is hardly more than a whisper. She sits in a seat at the bottom left corner of the frame. She's turned toward the unsub as he threatens the others with her gun. Her left hand is handcuffed to the seat.

I turn back to Hotch, ignoring the shocked looks on everyone's face. "We have to go. Now."

I'm already walking out the door when he speaks. "Wheels up in ten."

---

Our vans park on the dirt road beside the train car. Hotch and Morgan are in the front seat, Reid and Gideon in the other car. We're connected by a phone line.

I reach for the door but Hotch stops me. "Wait. Stay in the cars."

The local PD have been in contact with the unsub through a phone. He believes they work for something called the "Higher Authority", which is the only thing he'll speak to.

We're playing a part. We wait, where he can see us, get him nervous. Then come out and start negotiations.

My knee bounces impatiently. Elle is on that train. Handcuffed to a seat, maybe injured. And I know she will do everyone to convince the unsub to let the others go–even if it means hurting her.

Finally, Hotch lets us out of the car. "Don't look at the train; we have to seem uninterested."

I keep my eyes on the ground and the people in front of me. Gideon talks with the unsub for a bit. The guy sounds terrified. Ironic, considering he's the only one on that train with a gun. He begs us to "take it out." We hang up on our end, our team stepping away to try and find out what he means.

"I think he means a chip, maybe a tracker of some kind, something to monitor him," Reid suggests. "He thinks this Higher Authority put it there and is watching his every move."

"And if we take it out, he might let them go," I add.

"Yeah," Morgan agrees. "Only one problem. There's no chip in his arm."

"I might be able to convince him otherwise." Reid takes out his cellphone and pops the back off, digging out the SIM card.

"You really think that'll work?" Hotch sounds skeptical.

"I do, when it's covered in blood and I pull it out of him." Reid curls his fingers makes the chip disappear. "Sleight of hand. Growing up in Vegas has its perks."

"No way I'm letting you go in there alone," Morgan says sternly.

Hotch shakes his head. "You can't, the unsub will respond badly to an alpha male. We tell him Reid's just a medic."

"Still, he shouldn't go by himself," Morgan argues.

"He's not," I tell them, already pulling off my blazer and gun, leaving me in a thin, long-sleeved, light blue button up. I feel the knife strapped to my ankle but leave it be.

Hotch shakes his head again. "I'm not having three agents trapped in there."

"Hotch. I'm not letting Reid go alone. You know me. If I get a chance I can take him down, even without a gun." My voice is steady, determined. He can see I'm not taking no for an answer. Finally, he caves.

"Okay. You'll both go." He hands Reid some medical supplies and a pair of gloves for Spencer to put on. Hotch looks at each of us. "Under no circumstances do you take this vest off. Understand?" We both nod. "Okay. Good luck."

-----------------

a/n
Carli may or may not do something stupid
:)