A/N: it's been a year?! I'm sorry guys..
Hotch hadn't been to the bureau in weeks, Penelope wore black every day, JJ never smiled anymore, and Emily was sitting in a room with two men from Internal Affairs.
"Is this an interrogation?" She asked.
"This is standard procedure," one of the men answered, his hands intertwined on the table, "we simply want you to tell us what happened."
"I think it's pretty damn clear what happened."
"I would advise you to cooperate, Agent Prentiss. What happened after Agent Blake's phone call with Doctor Reid?"
Emily between the two men, letting out a deep breath.
***
"Alex," Emily said, "the team lands in thirty minutes but we have an entire police force at our disposal, you can't go alone."
Alex shook her head, "he's prepared, Emily, he wanted Spencer to contact us and so we have to assume he's holding him at gunpoint the entire time. I ruined his life, he has nothing to lose, if we storm in there and he panics.. we can't risk him killing Spencer."
"It doesn't have to be you."
"Doesn't it, though?" I took a deep breath and pulled my lips into a thin line.
"I'll do it," Emily offered.
"No, you haven't pissed him off the way I have.. it has to be me."
Emily stared at me for a moment, the wheels in her head spinning.
"Okay," she said finally.
I smiled weakly, "you know you don't have to worry about me."
"It doesn't change the fact that I do."
***
"So you decided to send a federal agent with no backup into what, clearly, was a trap?" One man from Internal Affairs asked accusingly.
"No," Emily defended, "I was right outside with SWAT and the team was five minutes away."
"But five minutes can change everything, can't it?"
***
Alex was determined as she stood outside the entrance of the abandoned building, her breath visible in the cold night air. She looked around, checking her surroundings for any sign of movement. There wasn't any.
"I'm going in," Alex whispered into her coms.
"Copy." Emily's voice carried in her right ear.
With a deep breath, Alex pushed open the creaky door and stepped inside. The interior was dark and foreboding, with shadows dancing across the walls. As Alex moved cautiously through the building, her senses on high alert, she heard a muffled cry for help echoing from deeper within. She quickend her pace, gun gripped tightly in her hands.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, blocking Alex's path. It was Timothy, a menacing glint in his eyes.
"Well, well, well... Look who decided to show up after all," he grinned.
Alex's heart raced, but she refused to show him any fear, her resolve unwavering.
"Where is he?" She asked calmly.
Timothy chuckled darkly, brandishing a knife in his hand.
"Why don't you come and find out?"
Without hesitation, Alex lunged forward, engaging in a fierce struggle with the man. She dodged his knife strikes, delivering blows in return. But Timothy proved to be a fierce opponent, his strength overwhelming. With a swift motion, he disarmed her and pinned her against the wall, the knife dangerously close to her throat.
"Nice try, sweetheart," he breathed in her face.
"Hey, Tim," Alex said and pushed her coms button, "you have something in your teeth."
Static emanated in her ear, but no response came from Emily or her team who should have arrived by now. Something in the building was blocking the signals.
***
"And after you lost contact with Agent Blake, it took you fifteen minutes to locate her."
"Without eyes on the inside, we had no way of knowing what was going on," Emily said, irritation in her voice, "we had to be extremely cautious."
"And still it did not prevent what happened to Agent Rossi."
Emily kissed her teeth, "it seems you have already made up your mind about what happened."
"Not at all."
***
Spencer was beaten badly and unconscious in the chair next to Alex, also tied up to the point of turning blue. Timothy was standing with his back to her, looking at black screens stacked on top of each other.
Timothy turned around to face her. "You just had to ruin everything!" He spat.
"What? You thought you could sell information about my case and I wouldn't raise an eyebrow?" Alex scoffed, "you never were a very good agent, were you?"
He laughed, the gun shaking in his hand, "you can't trick me with your profiling bullshit."
"Why don't we find out how much bullshit it is?" She smirked. "Let's start with the obvious, yeah?
"For what gain did you gamble your honor? Money? No," she shook her head, "arrogance. You felt superior, thought yourself smarter than us, thinking you had tricked everyone into believing you were loyal.. it was all just a boost to your ego, wasn't it? It made you feel like a man, but in reality you are nothing, insignificant, a coward."
The screens turned on and showed the front entrance, the SWAT team was moving through the corridors.. and Aaron was in the front.
"Not so insignificant now, am I?" Timothy grinned.
"You're outnumbered, Timothy," she said through clenched teeth.
But he was looking pleased, too confident. He pressed another button and a red dot appeared at the back of Derek's head.
"Choose one to die."
"You're not going to kill them," Alex rolled her eyes, "selling classified information is one thing, but killing federal agents.. not even your friends at Interpol can help you then."
"As you said, I'm outnumbered," he smiled, "I'm not planning on getting out of here alive."
"No, you want to live, I know you do," she said, "because surviving this, it would be the ultimate testament to your superiority, your intelligence."
"Shut up and choose one to die!"
"No!"
"Then I will choose for you," he aimed the red dot at Dave.
"Me," she growled.
He shook his head, "choose someone else."
"Kill me."
"You care about a lot of people, Alex, a buffet we could choose from," he laughed. "Agent Prentiss, your mentor, Agents Jareau and Morgan, another pair you hold very close to your heart, even famous mr. David Rossi, the father you never had," he breathed, a smirk plastered on his face. "But Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner," he paused and pointed the gun at her head, "your one true love, your sweet spot, your. biggest. weakness."
"He is not a weakness," Alex said through gritted teeth.
"No matter how strong you are, Alex, you will always be weak for him," he laughed. "I've got you on your knees, you're vulnerable.. now beg."
"I don't beg," Alex said with steely determination.
Timothy shrugged, "too bad."
He pressed another button and Dave went down.
***
"After Agent Rossi was shot, Agents Morgan and Jareau helped him outside while Agent Hotchner and myself continued the search with SWAT."
"And you did not think to locate the shooter? Or retreat for further assessments of the building?"
"For all we knew Agents Blake and Reid were fighting for their lives, we couldn't afford to wait," Emily said, "we all knew the risks."
***
"By the time SWAT finds you, your whole team will be dead." Timothy held up a radio by her face, "tell them to get to safety and leave you."
Alex glared at him, this was not at all how it was supposed to go. Timothy pressed the button and signaled her to start talking. She glared at Timothy, his pleased grin making her nauseous.
"Aaron?" Her voice echoed through the corridors, "are you listening?" Then she turned her head to Spencer, his breathing shallow. "When I came back to the BAU, I tried to be different, I tried to be responsible and mature.." she spoke into the radio, "but I can't be when your lives are on the line, I just can't. I'm sorry, but I have to be a little reckless now."
Before Timothy could react, Alex pushed herself up and right into him to deliver a decisive blow. The chair broke under her as she fell to the ground, she quickly removed the ties from her hands and struggled to take the gun from his hands.