𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄 ━━ 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴

⠀⠀𝟮𝟳. ❛ BLACKBIRD ❜

     "We won't be here when they do." Morgan pointed out.

     Taking in a deep breath, the analyst nodded. "Okay... Rose, don't touch anything. I'm going in." Cara lifted her hands off the keyboard. The room was briefly filled with the sound of clicking before a ding sounded. "It's not working. None of the servers are showing any active hard lines."

     "Then we're back to square one," Rossi stated, shoving his hands into his pockets.

     "No, no. We don't have time for that. It's already been twenty-four hours." Penelope's eyes were wide and glossy. The clock was ticking.

     Hotch shook his head. They couldn't waste any more time. "JJ's being held at one of the sites. We'll work our way down the list," he announced, heading to the door. "Morgan, grab Valentine a firearm."

     Unable to help herself, Cara silently fist-pumped the air. "Finally," she muttered, pushing out of her chair. It only took three months, but she would finally have a way to protect herself in the field. This opportunity though would most likely be taken away afterward. They were under unusual circumstances and a team member's life hung in the balance.

     Morgan stepped forward and grabbed her hand, tugging her with him as they exited the room. Unlike when Spencer had held her hand that morning, her stomach didn't twist and she didn't find herself relaxing the way she did with him. It was different holding Morgan's hand, and her conscious mind refused to look further into that fact.

     Focus. It's time to focus.

     "Okay, sir, I'm sending coordinates now," Penelope called.

     "Get ready to put that fighting face on, Valentine," Morgan said, and they walked down the stairs and out of the bullpen.

     A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips and she shook her head. "It's always on."

────

     THE SUV TOOK A HARD RIGHT AT THE RED LIGHT AND CARA NEARLY CRASHED INTO THE CAR DOOR. Shifting her stance as the vehicle straightened itself out, she glanced between the two men in front of her. Prior to tonight, she couldn't recall a time when the tension had been so tense that even a butcher's knife couldn't cut through it. Aside from when she'd stood in during the interrogations of Arthur, Farell, and Owen.

     The team had split up into two separate groups: Hotch, Morgan, and Cara in one car and Rossi, Blake, and Spencer in another. With the list of locations they had, it was smarter if they broke off to cover more ground. So, that was exactly what they were going to do. Or so they thought.

     It wouldn't be long until they were all brought back together as proven by the joint phone call they'd gotten from Penelope Garcia. She'd received an alert on her computer from one of the relevant servers only minutes after they'd left the BAU and Emily Prentiss arrived.

     "JJ must have logged in with a panic sequence that triggered a silent alarm. It's pretty standard protocol. Enter your security codes backward and a preset alarm is activated, in this case, blackbird." Penelope's voice echoed through the car speakers. "Oh, God, JJ sent that alert thirty minutes ago. They must have looped the system."

     Cara sighed inaudibly. "That's why you couldn't read any hard lines."

     "Which of the servers sent the message?" Hotch asked.

     "Um..."

     "Hands where we can see them." An unknown voice interrupted the blonde and Morgan sat up.