SELCOUTH

Chapter 15

I gathered my papers and ran back to the conference room.

"Hotch!" I called as I entered.

"What is going on?" Morgan demanded.

I slapped Alli's case file on the table and began to present what I knew. I was shaking, I was so excited.

"The most recent victim is Dr. David Scott was found with a crown on his head. The victim in Alli's case was David's daughter, Emma. Emma was found with a tiara in her hair. After Emma died, Dr. Scott and his wife moved to Pennsylvania to try and cope as most middle-aged white families do after experiencing a death in the family. In the tape we received of Alli being, uh, hurt, she was surrounded by pine trees. There is a huge forest full of pines in Pennsylvania called Allegheny National Forest. The UNSUB in Alli's file and the UNSUB we're hunting, are the same person." I was out of breath when I finished.

The team sat, shocked.

"Well...the MO fits." Emily finally said.

I nodded eagerly.

"Wheels up in five." Hotch said and power walked out of the room.

I smiled and gathered my papers.

"Reid." Rossi called.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at him.

"You did some great work, son." He smiled at me.

I smiled weakly and looked back out the plane window.

"What exactly are we looking for once we get there, Reid?" Emily asked from across from me.

"Well, Joel clearly feels like anyone who is superior to animals has to die, so he won't use anything like arrows or guns. He is probably scared of her because he knows she could overpower him if he had to fight her, so he probably hasn't killed her yet. He's trying to wait her out-"

A thought flashed through my mind. What if he was going to let the animals take their revenge on her? What if he tried to feed her to the animals? What if-

"Reid?" JJ asked.

I snapped out of it. "Yeah, uh, we should probably look for some kind of shelter. Like a car or tent or something you could live out of."

The team nodded and steeled themselves for what the rest of the night would hold.

Almost as soon as the plane landed, Rossi had Garcia on the phone. She had contacted the local authorities and they had blocked off every road on the way from the airport to the forest so we could get there as fast as we could. We separated into two black SUVs; Morgan, JJ, and Rossi in one and Prentiss, Hotch and I in the other. The entire car ride I couldn't help but pick at my hands and recite the classic poems of Edgar Allan Poe in my head again and again. I could barely breathe.

Under Garcia's instructions, we located an abandoned cabin in the midst of the forest. This had to be it. There were no vans, cars, RVs, or tents that weren't registered on the campground, which seemed to be a first. I took a deep breath and we parked the car on the road and began the hike to the cabin. The entire hike down I clutched the gun at my side, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. Finally, after what seemed like forever the cabin came into view. My breath quickened.

"Stay back." Morgan said with his hand on my chest.

"Like hell I will." I refused.

He chuckled and whispered in my ear, "We have the element of surprise. Go with Hotch around the front and I'll stay with Rossi here in the back."

I nodded and he smacked my butt.

I jumped a bit and he covered his mouth to smother his laughing.

I rolled my eyes, this was no time for games.

I met Hotch and we crept up the front patio. It was rickety and groaned under our weight.

"Joel Mead!" Hotch yelled. "FBI, open the door."

Nothing happened.

Hotch signaled to me and then kicked in the door. We went in just like we were trained, guns in first. From what we could tell, no one was home. I sighed. I had to be right. I had to. Alli was the only thing I had left and if she was gone-

"Out here!" Morgan called.

Hotch and I ran towards his voice.

There was a pair of tire tracks clearly imprinted in the wet mud.

"Get to the cars!" Hotch yelled as we all ran back to our vehicles.

We all jumped in and the car was moving before Prentiss could shut the door behind her. We followed the tracks through the forest until the emerged onto a road. We speed down the road and turned the corner to reveal a dark grey van blowing down the country road.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled. I couldn't control myself.

The SWAT team that was accompanying us called to the van over their intercom, "Joel Mead, pull over now."

The van continued at an even faster rate.

I tried to squirm my way to the front seat but Emily held me back with one hand.

"Ahh!" I let out a frustrated yell.

The SWAT team's vans boxed Joel's van in and slowed until Joel was forced to stop. Hotch pulled our SUV to the side and I practically jumped through the car doors and was running towards the van before my feet hit the ground.

"Reid!" Hotch called after me.

I was too far gone for him to do anything about it. I held my gun out at arm's length and scooted around the back of the van to the driver's side door. I paused a moment and then flung it open. Joel was nowhere to be found. What? I heard a branch snap in the forest beside the parked van. I stepped away and looked. I saw him.

"Joel! Stop! This is the FBI!" I yelled.

Joel kept running. I couldn't let him get away. I wouldn't.

I fired.

The bullet connected and I heard the man thud to the ground. I holstered my weapon and went back around to the back doors of the van. I took a deep breath and opened the doors. There she was. Her skin pale, her hands and feet tied, her hair with wood chips knotted in it, and her jacket with holes, but there she was.

"Ahh!" I yelled in relief. "Alli!"

I climbed in the back of the van and took her head in my hands. She was unconscious. I cut the ties on her hands and feet as the rest of the team arrived. Hotch called for a medic and Morgan began to lead the SWAT team to go retrieve the body. Alli didn't move and her skin was unnaturally cold. Was I too late? No. No I couldn't be.

When the team found me after I had been held hostage, they didn't think I would live either, but I did. Maybe this was the same way. My hands began to shake just thinking of the time I spent as a hostage and the months after I spent questioning my every move.

"Let's get her out of here." The medic said and climbed in the van with me. I helped him move her to the gurney and strap her in then I followed them into the ambulance.

I said nothing to Hotch or Rossi as I left. They knew.