forever after all 🤍

four.

We met at an arranged meeting spot. An old warehouse not to far outside of Quantico. There was the family, bound and bleeding outside the door. Karl stood behind them, his finger hovering over a dead man's switch. "Prentiss, or everyone here dies." I nod, handing my gun and magazines to Morgan. He squeezed my hand, before I pulled away. "It'll be okay," I mumbled under my breath.

"Okay Karl, I'm going to come see you now. Drop the switch, and let the family go." I approached him, and he grabbed my arm, dropping the switch to unholster his gun. In a swift motion, the barrel of the gun was pressed against my temple. I made eye contact with Morgan and JJ, as I forced a smile to show I was okay. Arnold pulled my shoulder, forcing me back into the warehouse. As the doors shut, isolating me from the outside world, I squirmed, trying to fight back. "You have me, now what?" "Oh sweetie, we are just getting started." He yanked my body around, forcing my arms into ropes, and tying me to a chair. "Here's the real fun." Arnold reached for a syringe, and stabbed me in the neck. As I dazed in and out of consciousness, I watched as he revealed the real dead man's switch, and I heard the world around me collapse to pieces.
———————————————————————————
Aaron's POV:
I was pacing around my office, waiting for word from the field agents. We had agreed that Blake, Reid, and I would stay here and work other angles on how Arnold escaped from prison. When my phone started ringing, I was sure that they had completed the task and saved the hostages. "This is Hotch." "Hotch... it's Arnold. He ambushed us, and he's got Emily.. it was a bomb, Morgan and me are okay, but I can't say the same for some of SWAT," JJ said, muffled between heavy breaths. "What do you mean he has Emily!!" I exclaimed. "He used the bomb as a distraction, he must of subdued her and fled in a car." "Go to hospital, and get back here as soon as you're cleared." I made out, before slamming the phone on the table. This was an easy recovery mission, and now Emily was gone. Garcia came into my office. "Sir, the rest of us just heard the news. Em is bugged, so we can trace her location, as long as he hasn't already rid her of them." "Then get on it," I sneered.
An hour later, and no trace of Prentiss. Five bugs hidden on her, and all five deactivated within minutes of leaving the warehouse. "Come on Prentiss... leave me some breadcrumbs," I painful mutter as I stare at the framed picture of the old team I had on my desk.
———————————————————————————
Emily's POV:

I painfully blinked a few times, my head ringing and pounding. I was gagged, and chained to a wall. No windows, just an iron door that was locked. I fought against the chains. I was strong, and I was trying my hardest to break free from their grasp. The last thing I remember was watching the building I was in go up in flames. I silently prayed that my team survived the blast. It was big enough to cause enough distraction for Arnold to take me somewhere.

"Ah, good morning princess," a voice echoed over an intercom system. "Couldn't let your pesky team get in the way anymore. It's time I show you who the real man of the BAU is." I yanked against my chains harder as the words stuttered out of his mouth. "Fuck off Karl, you're nothing but a coward." I kept pulling and yanking, but it did nothing but scrape the sides of my wrists. "Coward... well honey, you're a coward. Running away from responsibility and duty, running away from here, faking your death, trading Doyle's life, believe me I've heard about it all." The iron door swung open, and there was Arnold, standing in the doorway. He was dressed head to toe in fancy suit and Italian leather, similar to what Hotch wears. "You know, when I first met you on that case, you were trying to save Hotch's wife. I wonder if he's trying that to save you?" I turned my head away. He wants attention, power, and I won't give it to him. He bent down to me, grabbing jaw in one of his hands, forcing my neck to look at him. I look up, spitting at his face. "Bitch!" He said, slapping me across the face. "You must be a really idiot if you think you can stop me."

But I was the exact opposite. Back in the warehouse, I had deactivated one of my bugs. I knew it wouldn't register on a scan anymore, but it was hidden in the sleeve button of my blouse. All I had to do was find away to get Arnold to activate it, and I was out of here.