lullabies through the window

Fourteen: The Phone Finally Rings

i feel vaguely bad for leaving off everything where i did last night, so here: new chapter like eight hours after i posted the last one

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Hotch lunged for the phone and answered it, the team swarming to the speaker.

"Hotchner." He said, his voice somehow steady.

"Oh, glad you answered. For a second I was worried you would miss your chance-- and because of me!" Amber's laugh was genuine. 

"Why did you wait so long to call." Hotch demanded, no tone of question in his voice. 

"Oh, well... we started doing something with the Dr. and we lost track of time." She said casually, as if stating why she was five minutes late to a lunch with friends.

"What did you do?" Hotch immediately asked. The team looked at each other, worry on each of their faces. 

"Nothing that can't be fixed with time-- and the right setting. Speaking of the right setting, Spencer is not  in one right now, not at all. So if you want to get him out, listen up and stop talking."

The team went completely silent.

"Okay, good. I'm going to give you an address.  You are going to drop Mark Adams there and leave. We will know if you are monitoring in any way possible. We will switch him for Spencer. Are we clear?" Amber asked. 

Rossi leaned in."Not quite. I can imagine you understand why we don't trust you, and wouldn't blame us for asking to change the terms slightly." His voice shook with anger as he finished the statement.

The voice on the other side of the phone paused. "That depends. I wouldn't push anything if I were you."

Hotch thought for a moment. "It will still be an equal exchange. But we bring two chaperones to oversee it and so do you. We both get what we want. "

Amber sighed. "No. I don't trust that. If any chaperones are coming, then fine; two of you can go. At least one of you will need to help Spencer anyway. But all of us will be coming.  And don't think about trying to take us in. We have business with Mark after."

What choice did the team have? Keep Mark Adams, and let Spencer die? Or trade Mark for Spencer, so Mark could die? Or attempt to fake the trade-- and risk the chance that they all die?

The trade would have to be faked.

Hotch sighed. "Okay. What's the address?"

Amber gave the team the address and time to be there, then hung up. She turned to Margot and Sarah. "Get Spencer ready to be moved. Knock him out or something, just make sure he looks absolutely pitiful before we bring him out. We can't risk the BAU thinking he's okay."

Margot smiled and nodded."I mixed up something else when I made that hallucinogenic. I think it could give the team quite a scare if he wakes up and is completely paralyzed...."

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Morgan and Hotch sat impatiently in their SUV, listening to Garcia as she talked fervently into their headsets. She hadn't been able to trace the call, and so was trying to instruct them on the best way to trick the unsubs into giving them Spencer first. 

"I think that's them." Morgan said into his earpiece. 

The young FBI agent winced from the back seats at the two headlights pulling towards them. He had a close resemblance to Mark Adams, as they couldn't actually put anyone in danger-- if it wasn't their job. They had gone through simple measures to make him look more like Mark; Mark was taller than him, so they gave him rised shoes, and they made it look as if he had been in a fight a few days prior, giving him a fake black eye and a couple scars. The dim lighting would only help. Side by side, there wasn't an easy way to tell them apart. 

"Okay, Babygirl, we have to go, so--" All three men jumped as Garcia accidentally knocked something over. 

"Okay-- okay, okay, that's fine. Just-- be careful, okay? All of you." She said quickly.

Hotch and Morgan got out of the car as Margot, Amber, and Sarah did the same. They sized each other up. Morgan leaned against the front of his car, squinting his eyes at them, while Hotch stood completely straight, subtle fury flickering in his eyes. Amber raised her eyebrows at the two of them, Sarah took a stance like that of Hotch's, and Margot took the one like Morgan's and sat on the hood of the car. 

Amber was first to speak. 

"So I assume Mark is in the car?"

i decided to make this a short chapter. not much consolation for last night... anyway new chapter coming soon. keep up the commentary!  :)

thank you sp3nc3erswh0re for the comments and support! (and check out the fics she's writing, they're fantastic so far.)