"The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong." ― Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Fighter
Spencer and I clambered off my bike and one of the guards, Pedro, came hurrying over to us as we approached the main entrance of the Bureau.
"I don't know what's going on, but we've not to let you inside." He said to me as we hurriedly stalked towards the doors.
"What? What do you mean?" Spencer asked incredulously.
"The technical analyst has re-routed the elevators so nothing stops at the twelfth floor, and the stair doors have been jammed closed. Acting Chief Morgan is warning the rest of the Bureau to stay away, the heads are out for you, ma'am."
I looked at Spencer worriedly and chewed on my lip.
"How can we get inside?" I asked worriedly.
"I can take you in the service entrance," He said, nodding to a singular door which was normally alarmed that nobody ever used. "We allow deliveries through there," He explained. "It's quiet because most people have finished, so use the stairs and run fast." He smirked and brought out a security card attached to a chord with keys on his belt.
"Thank you so much for this, Pedro," I said in relief. "You've really saved us."
He dipped his head in a bashful nod.
"Anything to make sure I don't have your gun to my head again, ma'am."
We laughed and hurried through the service door before keeping our heads down and walking swiftly towards the staircases.
Either the receptionists were on our side or they genuinely didn't care, because nobody even batted an eyelid as we pushed into the stairwell and took to the stairs at a run.
"Not everyone is going to be as kind as Pedro." Spencer gushed to me as we took the stairs two at a time.
"I know." I breathed, dialling Morgan's number on another burner phone Jason's men had given me.
From the first floor, we could hear movement and people scuffling about towards the staircase.
We pressed ourselves to the outside wall as we hurried faster up the stairs, our cheeks flushing and our chests tightening.
From above, people were beginning to descend, and I felt as though I was going to pass out.
But, eventually, we made it to the twelfth floor, and began frantically banging on the doors to try and enter.
"Hey, what's going on?" One of the agents called from a couple of floors above.
We ignored him and I pressed my phone to my ear, hearing the dialling tone reaching out to Morgan.
A moment later, his face appeared in the slim window of the door, and metal against metal sounded before the doors swung open.
"C'mon, hurry!" He gushed and we pushed inside, breathless and desperate.
"What the Hell?" Spencer choked, dropping Caitlyn's bag to his feet as he doubled over to breathe.
I turned to look as Morgan closed the doors and slotted a crowbar between the handles of the doors, alongside a wooden floor-brush, a mop-pole and a shot-gun.
"What in the world?" I mumbled, staring in awe as the men from the staircase rushed to the doors and began frantically pushing them.
"It was all we could find to barricade the door." Penelope said in a soft voice, appearing from the bullpen.
"At least it's secure for now." I mused, straightening and turning to Penelope as Spencer gathered Caitlyn's bag into his hands.
"I'm sorry about Caitlyn." Penelope pouted.
"Thanks Garci," I sighed, hugging her tightly. "The main thing is that she's safe at the hospital and we're all okay."
"Jason and Emily have all of the suspects in the interrogation rooms, Jason's men are watching them just now." She explained, nodding along the hallway.
"Great, and where are Jason and Emily?"
"They're in the conference room with everyone else. We were waiting for you to arrive."
I nodded my head and followed her inside the bullpen, Spencer and Morgan close behind us.
When we pushed into the conference room, Jason and Emily were sat at opposite sides of the table, separated by the team consisting of Carter, Peters, Jackson, Black and Kevin - Penelope's technical genius ex.
I paused as I realised there weren't any of Jason's men left-over, two being with Beth and Tilly, two with the Deacon's, one on Annie, the remaining six keeping close eyes on our suspects.
"Firstly," I said, dumping my jacket down onto the table, rolling my sweatshirt sleeves to my elbows and gripping the table as I looked at everyone.
"I'm suspecting that this room is bugged," I said, looking at everyone in turn as they eagerly awaited instructions. "I don't trust Newton, I don't know who he is, and with us securing this floor, he's bound to have had something fished through the pipes or the ceilings to get ears on us,"
Morgan was nodding as he took a seat at the table, Spencer sitting beside him.
"Penelope, what do you have on him?" I asked, straightening and folding my arms.
"Barney Newton," She announced, clicking an image of him onto the screen. "Graduate of Criminology, attended the academy at eighteen, graduated at twenty-two, one of the best in his class, but pretty average and not destined for glory.
"He went straight into the fraud squad and moved from there to major crimes, he did a period in the TU but the high-risk lifestyle wasn't for him and so he transferred back to major crimes.
"Track record is impressive, but not too good, his performance is on the higher-end of average, but daddy was a Judge in the Supreme Court, and mommy is an attorney within the DA's office," I rolled my eyes and shook my head, a smirk on my face as I realised that of course there'd be higher power behind him.
"So there's no guessing why our little Barney is the new Director."
"Temporarily," I emphasised. "There's no way we're letting him keep that position permanently."
"I don't get it," Jack said, shaking his head from his seat beside Jason. "I thought the heads of the Bureau were in support of you, Mel?"
I nodded and ran my hand over my head.
"They are, it's the intelligence agencies that are putting pressure on them to turn me over. And when that happens, it's a game of politics."
"What are you going to do?" Jack asked worriedly, chewing on his lip as he sat forward and leaned on the table.
I was silent as I thought about this and began pacing, all eyes on me now.
"It's not safe for us here, not when they're watching and listening. They'll be reporting back to the CIA, who have yet to make direct contact with me FYI." I said loudly, staring at the ceiling as though to look at those who were listening.
"What about our plan?" Emily asked, pushing a piece of paper to me.
I nodded and hurriedly grabbed it from the table, glancing over it to realise she and Jason had created the tag-teams for the escape.
"Excellent," I grinned wickedly. "This has to be our top priority." I explained, waving the piece of paper before being interrupted by my cell-phone ringing.
I frowned in confusion and pulled it out of my back pocket, looking at the unknown number.
I accepted the call, but stayed silent, my finger pressed to my lips as everyone watched me intently.
Immediately, Garcia sat down at the table and began frantically typing on her computer, trying to launch a trace.
I answered it but didn't speak, even though I didn't really have to say anything as immediately the caller said,
"You were right, we did bug the room," The voice belonged to a male. New York accent, potentially middle-aged.
"But it wasn't who you thought," He chuckled. "You're right when you say Newton doesn't have a clue," The voice continued. "But he would never have thought of bugging you."
"And yet you did." I said confidently, moving the phone so Spencer could hear too as he approached eagerly.
"Yes, because we're forward thinking like that."
"We?" I repeated. "You're either hearing voices, or you represent a larger group." The man on the other line chuckled.
"You can get Garcia to stop tracking us," He said, and Spencer and I looked at each other in surprise. Whoever this was, he knew about us and he knew about Garcia and our protocols. "How about I tell you where I am and you come find me?" He suggested.
"Why don't you start by telling me who you are, and then we'll discuss a meet?"
"I would have thought you would've guessed by now, Melanie," He said cockily. "Or are you not as up to the task as they told me you were?"
"CIA?" I guessed, looking directly at Emily as I said this.
"Ah, well done, good guess."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"What happened to Peter?" I demanded, growing angry. "My contact was Peter, and before you start, I'm well aware that all of my CIA contacts were fake aliases, but I know they're code names and they'll be somewhere on your database. I have all of their names, numbers and safe-houses memorised. I remember where our local meets were, and I know your protocols.
"Where is Peter?"
There was a long pause as my team stared at me and the voice on the other end of the phone stayed silent.
"Hello Melanie," Peter's voice greeted me from the other line. "It's good to hear you alive and well."
I sighed.
"I'd like to say the same, but considering the agency's on the phone to me at all right now, proves that I'm still just as wanted as the Cell are."
He chuckled.
"I see being tortured didn't take away your wit."
"And how did you know about that?" I narrowed my eyes, pursing my lips.
"News travels fast, Melanie."
Garcia slid the laptop to the edge of the desk where the map was bleeping their location, one of the known safe-houses where our meetings used to take place.
"So what is this?" I questioned. "Some form of a check-in to see if I'll still do your dirty work? You know that ship has sailed, right?"
"Melanie, the Cell still wants you," Peter said. "I'm pretty sure you're second on their hit-list, besides the Eagle." I rolled my eyes at their code-name for the President.
"So you're wanting to use me as bait to trap the Cell?" I questioned, everyone in the room sharing worried and panicked looks.
"You're our only hope of stopping the Cell and saving Eagle."
"Bullshit," I spat. "You just don't want to get off your lazy asses and risk your life to stop the Cell or save the President."
"Don't bre-"
"Fuck your code, and fuck yourself. I almost died and lost my team and the only family I've ever known for your stupid code. Go take a flying fuck to yourself."
I ended the call and launched the phone against the back wall, yelling as I done so, completely and utterly outraged.
The Protector
I'd seen Melanie in her worst of states.
She'd been bombed, drowned, raped, shot, tortured, and now this.
In all of her worst states, she'd survived, she'd had hope and determination and fight and honesty. Now, now she was like a woman deranged, something dark and sinister in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
She launched the phone, screaming, and we all froze, shocked by her sudden outburst, so uncharacteristic and random.
We were all silent, unsure of what to do.
She then climbed onto a chair and onto the table, reaching for a ceiling panel, swearing under her breath.
"Melanie, c'mon, it'll take too long to find them all." I said, taking a step forward to the table.
"Motherfuckers trying to listen in on us, bastards don't know who they're dealing with..." She was mumbling, batting my hands away.
"Melanie, c'mon, you're going to hurt yourself." Morgan said, getting to his feet too.
"Yeah Mel, you'll never find them, c'mon." Emily said softly, looking at Melanie emotionally.
"No," Jack said, getting to his feet sheepishly, shrugging out of his jacket. "No, she's right. We have to find the bugs." He said, nodding at us emphatically as he climbed onto the chair and then the table, pushing up the ceiling panel to look just as Melanie was.
"This is ridiculous." Morgan muttered, shaking his head.
"What do we do?" Garcia whispered to me, looking on with tearful eyes.
"We have to move the suspects. We need to get them to another location, find anywhere we can use." I whispered, hoping the bugs wouldn't be able to pick it up over the rambling of the room.
"Bastards." Melanie said eventually, jumping down off the table elegantly and storming from the room.
"What the fuck?" Emily mouthed, shaking her head worriedly as she approached me on her way to the door.
"You and Jason gather the teams. We get him out tonight." I whispered as we pushed through the bullpen after Melanie.
The Spy
I collapsed onto Jason's chest, both of us naked and sweaty and breathless and totally in another realm.
"Fuckin' 'ell." He mumbled into my hair, his hands shakily coming up to hold me to him in a brief embrace before I rolled off his body onto the mattress beside him.
"I'll say," I sniggered, feeling weak and strong and exhausted but energised, my entire body feeling opposite to how my mind felt.
We were silent for a long time, catching our breaths and coming back down to Earth. I was aware he'd turned on his side and was watching me for a while, but then I wasn't sure if he'd fallen asleep.
"You know I was thinking..." I said absentmindedly. "I'm on the inside with Carter," I said, rolling onto my side to face Jason, realising he was still awake.
His brow furrowed as he looked at me and nodded.
"Isn't it best if we have placebo prisoners?"
He sniggered and shook his head.
"I don't know what I'm most surprised at," He smirked in that Southern English accent of his. "The fact you're talking about work so soon after sex, or the fact you just said 'placebo prisoners'."
My cheeks blushed as I laughed, and so did he.
"I just think it'd be a good idea to have a couple of your men as fake prisoners, also going for probation."
"We've talked about that though," He said, shaking his head as he rolled onto his back. "For that to work, we would've had to have planted them days ago, we don't have that kind of time now."
"I know..." I sighed. "So do you really think we have a chance of it working now?"
He ran his hands over his face and I watched him, chewing on my lip.
"We've gotta hope, right?" He smirked, turning his face to smile at me.
"Let's run through it again," I smiled excitedly and he laughed, reaching for me, pulling me close to him to press a deep kiss against my lips.
"I'm Darren's attorney, Carter is from the DA's office. One of your men is the new guard, and we'll have two regular guards on duty too. The five of us will take Darren along with two fake prisoners in the back of the van, escort them to the court house, where Darren will make his escape."
"See, we don't need to go over it again, you already got it good." He smirked against the side of my face and I smiled, swirling my finger across one of the tattoos on his chest.
We were interrupted by his cell-phone ringing from the pocket of his pants, abandoned on the floor somewhere.
He rolled out of bed and I sighed, doing the same, realising we'd best get ourselves together to head back to the unit.
I retrieved fresh underwear and pulled them on, stepping into my black jeans and flannel shirt from before.
"Got it. We're on our way." Jason cut the call and I turned in confusion, watching him cut the call, already in his pants.
"Who was it?" I asked, jerking my chin to his cell-phone as he slotted it back into the pocket of his pants.
"Spencer," He said with a grunt, bending to retrieve his t-shirt. "They've got Caitlyn," He said coldly. "We're needed at the hospital."
"They have Caitlyn?" I gasped in shock, fastening the buttons on my shirt.
"That's what I said, right?" He said, looking me dead in the eye as he pulled on his socks.
I looked at him in surprise, wondering why the sudden tone.
"It's best if we travel separately," He said, avoiding my eyes as I pulled on my boots. "They might need us in different places."
I opened my mouth to reply, but he just walked out.
*
I couldn't believe that Caitlyn was still alive. I was still trying to come to terms with that as we waited in the relative's room, each of us desperate for news but unwilling to interrupt Melanie's time with her.
"And they just... found her?" I asked Hotch in disbelief.
"He's said so three times already." Jason snapped, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands cupped in front of him.
I rolled my eyes at his attitude and continued chewing on my thumb-nail.
Spencer was outside smoking and Jack was away in search of a vending machine, Frank closely following him.
"I can't believe she's alive." I found myself mumbling.
"You've said so five times already." Jason said, lifting his head to glare at me from across the room.
"And who are you? The repetition police? What weirdo keeps count of what people say?" I snapped, losing my patience at his insolence.
Awkwardly, Hotch got to his feet and walked to the doorway.
"What the fuck's your problem?" I whispered as I hurried over to take to the seat next to Jason.
He said nothing, and instead stood up, shaking his head, and walked to the window.
*
The atmosphere was thick and tense, but due to Jason's ratty attitude, there was an additional layer of awkwardness that really needn't have been there.
After Melanie gave out her orders I moved, my cell-phone in hand as I hurried from the hospital, dialling Garcia's number.
"Speak and ye shall be listened to!" She chanted upon answering her phone.
"Garcia, Melanie needs you to look into the temporary leader of the Bureau, a white guy named Newton. That's all I have," She gasped at the news of a new temporary Director. "I know, it's a huge shock, but the CIA are playing dirty now. I'm on my way back to the unit, we need to get everything into lockdown."
There was a brief pause and I could hear her furiously typing on the other line.
I paused by my bike, my helmet in my hand.
"Understood," Garcia's voice said. "Everything will be ready for your arrival."
I had no idea if Jason was following me or where Jack was or what Aaron was doing, I was just solely focused on getting back to the unit and securing the floor. I didn't know if we could trust technology, and I was apprehensive about the rest of the agents in the building.
When I got there, everything seemed fine, and even the friendly security guard, Pedro, gave me a nod as I entered.
My pass worked at the doors and the turnstalls, and I was able to get into the elevator and out at the TU without any security alarms.
"Wow, that was rather painless," I laughed nervously as Garcia greeted me at the bullpen doors. "I was expecting guns and red laser beams."
She laughed as we walked towards the conference room.
"I managed to get everything you asked for," She said, handing me a file. "How's Caitlyn?" She asked worriedly, chewing on her lip.
"Did the bitch not die?" Carter asked, kissing her teeth as she kicked her feet up onto the table in the conference room.
"No," I said pointedly, although I couldn't help winking at her when Garcia wasn't looking.
"She's stable, as far as I'm aware. Mel and Reid are still with her, they're trying to get as much from her as possible."
"Do they need some muscle?" Carter smirked, flexing her arms.
"Put that away, you don't want to hurt yourself." Jackson joked, sitting down next to her at the table.
She scowled at him and we chuckled, relieved that we still had a sense of humour in amongst all of this chaos and blood.
A moment later,
"Uh, Jackson... You might wanna come down here," Black's voice came through Jackson's radio and he sat forward, listening intently. "That Jason guy is here with Jack Hotchner and they're moving everyone upstairs. Is that right?"
I rolled my eyes and nodded my head as Jackson looked at me questioningly.
"Communication!" I hissed under my breath. "Please apologise, yes, we have to bring everyone upstairs, we need to lockdown and we don't know who we can trust," I said as we all moved hurriedly for the elevators.
"All suspects need to be kept in interrogation rooms under strict surveillance."
"Lockdown?" Garcia asked worriedly. "What does that even mean, Em?"
"It means quarantine, Garcia," I said softly as we all entered the elevator and left her behind. "Nobody in, or out."
*
I watched Melanie with tearful eyes as she pushed the ceiling tiles up and fumbled clumsily along the rim as if she was an amateur looking for a microphone. She was mumbling to herself, her eyes darting around and I felt sick to my stomach.
Was this it?
Was she really losing it?
My heart thudded in my chest in panic as I watched her jump from the table and flee from the room.
We hurried after her, and I panicked. She couldn't use the elevators and if she got out at the stairwell, God knows what the other agents could do to her.
We had to lockdown. We had to get our plan solidified and we couldn't do that if one of us began losing it.
"What the fuck?" I mouthed to Spencer, feeling like I was on the verge of a panic attack.
He hurriedly gripped my elbow and leaned close to whisper,
"You and Jason gather the teams. We get him out tonight."
I then watched on in shock as he ran for the stairwell, threw aside the things jamming the doors closed, and fled down the stairs with Melanie.
A heart-beat later, Morgan and one of Jason's men were securing the doors again.
"What was all that about?" Jason asked, appearing beside me.
"That doesn't concern you." I said, glaring at him.
"If it concerns my brother, it concerns me." He said, catching my elbow before I could walk away.
"Mind your damn business." I said, staring him straight in the eye before yanking my arm free and storming out into the lobby with the rest of the team.
"We should brief the team." Jason said, hurrying after me. I stopped in my tracks and rounded on him, outraged.
"I will brief my team about my plan," I said emphatically. "You are our guest and you will start acting like one," I snapped, feeling anger boiling inside of me.
He'd been cruel, rude, disrespectful and detached the whole day since our time in my apartment...
I was beginning to wish he'd never come to the US.
"I can handle this just fine by myself, thank you." I snapped, turning to walk away.
"You're welcome." I heard him mumble under his breath.
I rolled my eyes, but stopped myself from biting.
"Do we have an update from Frank?" I asked Jack as I approached the group. He nodded vigorously in response before launching into explanation.
"Beth and Tilly are in a safe-house with Peters, they're all asleep and resting for tomorrow," Jack explained. "My dad is still with Caitlyn, no news. We have a man on Liu too, she's at home and hasn't moved in over two hours," He explained, looking at us all excitedly.
"Derek, Penelope, Jackson, Black and I are going to be holding the fort here whilst you, Carter, Jason, and his men make the move." He lowered his voice, his eyes sweeping the lobby as if he could see the microphones listening in.
"Okay," I nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "And how do you five feel about hanging behind?" I asked, looking at them all seriously.
"You know me, Em," Morgan smirked. "I hate missing out on the action."
I nodded, feeling sorry for him.
"We can't risk you getting caught, you're still Acting Unit Chief, and you're still the leader of the team," I said, looking at Jackson. "If either of you were caught..." I shook my head, and they both nodded.
"Penelope, you're on security," I said, and she nodded vigorously. "You're our eyes and ears, and you're watching us," I said, nodding to Jason who was standing a few feet away from me. "As well as the home team," I said, patting Jack's shoulder for emphasis. "Watching whatever the Hell Melanie and Spencer are up to," I said, running a hand across my forehead. "Keeping a close eye on Tilly too. As well as the hospital for Caitlyn."
Penelope was nodding.
"Can you handle that, baby-girl?" Morgan asked, clearly concerned.
"Oh, chocolate thunder this is what I was made for." She purred with a smirk and we all shook our heads in awe.
"In all seriousness," I said, looking at everyone in turn. "We're all risking a major part of ourselves doing this," I said. "I know we all dedicated ourselves to it, but this is where our loyalty is truly tested," I explained, looking around the group.
"If anyone, anyone, has any doubts, now would be the time to share them..."
We all looked at each other, and everyone stayed silent.
"I wish I could tell you to go home and rest and reconvene in the morning, but we have no time for that," I sighed shakily. "Instead, we have to go," I said, looking at Carter pointedly. "Stay in touch and code words only, people."
"Em," Garcia said, catching my hand as I moved for the stairwell. "Be careful, okay?" She said, reaching for my face.
"You too, Penny." I said softly. We both looked at each other tearfully before hugging tightly.
"I love you." She whispered.
"I love you more."
*
It was always emotional leaving one team to join another, especially when I hadn't worked with Jason's 'men' before... They were essentially thugs, and we were breaking the law.
I'd changed into a skirt suit and heels, losing out to Carter on who had to wear the skirt. I hated to admit it, but we had to be as appealing as possible when entering the prison. Majority men meant that in order to succeed at the mission, we had to bat our eyelashes and use our... charm.
Jimmy was driving the van and Kyle was in shot-gun, the rest of us sat on benches lining the sides of the back of the van, looking at each other nervously as we prepared.
Two of Jason's men were in orange overalls, ready to be transferred to the prison van as fake prisoners.
Carter was in a smart pant-suit and trench-coat, preparing herself to act as an attorney from the DA's office.
Jason couldn't go anywhere near the prison, just in case they traced Darren's escape back to him.
We couldn't risk that.
We were risking enough, sending a member of the BAU inside as well as another agent from the Bureau. We couldn't risk Jason getting found out too.
"At least if I'm caught, I'm a thug, you guys are risking your careers for this." Jason was saying to Carter and I as I wired up my comms.
"Shut up," I snapped. "We're not going over this again. Lewis is going in and that's final." I said without even looking at him.
Carter smirked as she lifted her eyes to mine and I looked away, willing my cheeks not to blush and give the game away.
I didn't know why Jason had me acting like this.
I wasn't a blusher, I didn't care for feelings or intimacy or anything like that. I was an agent, committed and dedicated to the field and protecting my country. When feelings and men got involved, that just over-complicated things unnecessarily.
The van rolled to a stop and Jason's men began piling out.
"Can I speak to you for a sec?" Jason asked, gripping my elbow as I rose to climb out of the van.
Carter glanced at me and I shot her a look, making her nod and smile as she left the van with the others.
"What?" I demanded, yanking my arm out of his as I sat back down on the bench.
"About earlier..." He said coyly, sitting down on the bench opposite me whilst rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding my eyes.
"I'm sorry if I came across as a prat."
"No," I said simply, and he raised his eyes to mine questioningly. "You didn't come across as a prat," I said. "You were an asshole." I said and he smirked, nodding as he turned his head away again with embarrassment.
"You're right," He admitted. "I'm sorry... It's just... I'm not used to this..."
There was a pause that he expected me to fill, but when I didn't, he looked at me and sighed.
"Feelings... Women... Being in the field and actually caring about who gets hurt."
"Oh please," I scoffed. "Pull the other one," I shook my head and he looked at me questioningly.
"You wanted to fuck me, so you did. You then regretted getting mixed up in the field, so you pushed me away. It was nothing more than sex. Don't flatter yourself."
I made a move to stand but he caught my hand.
"It's never just sex, Emily." He said in that husky voice, holding my eyes.
"Jason, I'm not falling for your shit," I said, sitting back down on the bench. "The way you treated me was despicable and I'm not getting caught up in it again. It was sex, and it's done, and so are we."
"I..." He looked at me with regret in his eyes, licking his lips nervously as he looked away and huffed, ran his hands over his head and lifted his eyes to mine again.
"I lied to you," He blurted, meeting my eyes sheepishly. "When you'd asked me if there was a Mrs. Jason," He cleared his threat awkwardly, looking at his hands as he wrung them desperately.
"I was married," He choked, taking me completely by surprise. "She was the best thing that ever happened to me. Kept me on the straight and narrow. I did a deal and the boss didn't like it, took her hostage as pay-back and when I thought he was bluffing, he shot her in the back of the head and kept me tied to a post as her body decomposed. I made a vow to never get involved after that."
I looked into his sad eyes filled with regret, my mouth parted in surprise and my mind whirring.
"That's... horrible." I choked.
"I was there for three days before my men got me out. I then killed the bastard and the men who helped him," He shrugged. "But killing them didn't bring her back."
He lifted his left hand and gestured to the tattoo of a ring on his wedding finger, no physical jewellery there anymore.
On the underside of his finger, two initials were tattooed.
"It's to remind me not to get caught up in feelings and women." He smirked and I shook my head with an awe-filled smile.
"That worked," I said sarcastically and he nodded, sniggering. "I'm sorry about your wife," I said sincerely. "And you were right to take that vow," He looked at me in confusion. "Don't get involved in the field," I added. "I think we should both focus on the job and nothing more."
I got up and left the van, seeing Carter speaking with the men by the cars we'd acquired for the job.
"Emily," Jason called from the back of the van.
I turned to see him leaning on the opening, his hands raised above him as he held onto the roof of the van.
"Good luck."
*
I drove in one car and Carter drove in the other. We couldn't drive together, as that would be peculiar; a member of the DA office and a defence attorney driving into the prison together. It just wouldn't happen.
It was the early hours of the morning, so we had the upper-hand.
Our comms were now fully functional, routing us to not only Jason and his men, but Garcia and Morgan too.
At this point, we had no idea where Melanie and Spencer were, and we didn't know what was going on at the Unit either.
Our main focus and priority was Darren, and the job at hand.
He was asleep, and had no idea we were breaking him out tonight. The last he'd heard, he was told to sit tight and he'd know when it was happening.
I drove into the front courtyard and showed the overnight guard my badge - freshly printed courtesy of Garcia and Kevin.
He nodded and raised the barrier, allowing me to drive through into the back parking lot.
Here, I parked close to the doors and climbed out immediately, aware of Carter pulling into the space next to me, and the prison van driving straight for the back of the prison.
I entered the front reception area of the prison and swallowed any last-minute nerves.
"Good evening, I'm Darren Jones' attorney." I said, flashing my badge.
"Good for you, you want a medal with that badge?" The officer behind reception didn't even look up from the magazine he was reading, just continued to lazily flick through the pages.
"Actually, I'd like a trophy for being out at this time of night," I said, smacking my purse onto the counter, making him lazily turn his gaze onto me.
He looked me up and down before finally resting on my eyes, his lips pursed as Carter then entered the building.
"Listen, I need to speak with my client before this woman gets her hands on him please." I begged, turning to glare at Carter as she approached.
"What's this all about?" He drawled, setting his magazine down and getting to his feet.
"Good evening," Carter smiled politely. "I'm from the District Attorney's office, I'm here to witness the removal of your inmate, Darren Jones."
"Removal?" The officer choked. "Not at this hour ya not."
"We have a court order," I explained, pulling a letter out of my bag. "Darren Jones is to attend a probationary hearing in New York City tomorrow."
"New York?" The officer exclaimed. "Y'all best be jokin'," He smirked, taking the letter out of my hand through the tray at the bottom of the screen between us.
His eyes scanned the document before looking back up at us, staring at him intently.
"I gotta go get my manager." He frowned, looking rather peaky.
"Can I at least speak with my client whilst you talk to them?" I asked desperately as he turned away with the letter in hand.
He ran a hand over his jaw.
"No," He said simply. "Y'all take a seat."
He pushed through a secure door and disappeared from sight, leaving Carter and I alone in the cold reception area.
I turned and she smirked ever-so-slightly before we both took to opposite sides of the reception, sitting on the cold plastic chairs, listening to the wind howl.
"Okay, he's moving down a hallway looking at the letter," Garcia's voice came through comms. "I think he's doing as he said, he's just gone inside a room..."
There was nothing for a few long moments until,
"Okay, he's left without the letter, he's making his way back along towards you guys."
A moment later the door opened.
"What did you say your name was again?" The office asked, looking over at me.
"Helena Sparks," I smiled, getting to my feet to click over towards the screen.
"Y'all ain't Jones' lawyer. He got a dude representin' him."
I smiled and nodded my head.
"That's right, unfortunately Mr. Grahams has retired. I'm Darren's new attorney, I'm from the same firm. You're welcome to call the office in the morning to clarify."
The officer was frowning at me.
"If you'd like to sign in here, ma'am," He said displeased, sliding a roster through the tray alongside a pen. "Deposit any personal effects into the tray here and go through the scanner at the end." He said robotically, no doubt as he'd done so a thousand times before.
I did as I was told and after I'd successfully passed through the scanner, and my purse had done the same, the officer told Carter to 'wait right there and I'll be right back, the warden wants a word with you'.
I gulped but didn't so much as glance at Carter again as I followed the officer along a hallway and into a side room.
"Wait here." He said simply, before leaving.
I was in a plain interrogation room, and found myself pacing nervously with my arms folded, my palms sweating as I gripped my biceps.
"Alright Bravo two, he's coming back along to you," Garcia's voice said. "Alpha one's in an interrogation room at the end of corridor seven. Zulu officer should be with you in five... four..." Garcia's voice trailed off and I was relieved for the comms. It kept me from feeling so alone.
After a solid fifteen minutes, I got up and began pacing.
"So you're from the DA's office, huh?" The officer's voice came through the comms and I sat down at the table, clasping my hands on the surface.
"That's right, I'm tasked with keeping that bastard behind bars." Carter's voice came to me, polite and eloquent, even if vulgar.
The officer chuckled.
"Yeah, the warden ain't too pleased about this." The officer said and I heard clanking and scanning.
"Alright, Bravo two is in, I repeat, Bravo two is in." I smiled at Garcia's voice, thankful that - as suspected - they'd allowed Carter inside without subjecting her to the scanning I'd had to go through.
"Trust me, mine ain't too pleased either," Carter chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about it, there's a slim chance he'll pass."
"Then what's this all about?"
"I think you'll find that's a question I have, Fredericks." A third, polite voice came through on the comms and I presumed they'd reached the warden's office.
"Apologies for the intrusion, sir," Carter said politely. "Our office was only notified an hour ago."
"Disgraceful," The third voice said. "These freedom fighters think they can strike whenever they please!"
"In all fairness, sir, this has been on the cards for some time..."
There was a confused pause before,
"Aren't you aware of the appeals Jones and his attorneys have been making?"
Another pause.
"Due to his diagnosis, his attorneys believe it's a breach of his human rights to be detaining him within this facility for so long."
"Aha!" The third voice cackled. "It's a bit late to be pleading insanity!"
Another pause.
"What're the chances he'll get out?"
"Very slim, sir," Carter said. "We're reckoning it's twenty-eighty."
"In our favour?"
I imagined Carter nodding.
"So you recommend I give them what they want? Let them take him out of here to... New York for this preposterous hearing?"
"With all due respect sir," A pause. "Yes."
"Very well," The man groaned. "I'll get onto the law firm first thing in the morning, and I want it cleared with the probation board too, no more late-night jaunts."
"Please sir," Carter laughed. "You'd be doing me a huge favour."
"Alright Alpha one," Garcia's voice said hurriedly. "The Zulu team is bringing Charlie three to you. I repeat, they are bringing the package to you."
I got to my feet, straightening my coat as I continued pacing.
Suddenly the door opened and two officers escorted Darren inside, chained and bedraggled looking in a grey sweatshirt and sweatpants, barefoot and pale.
He appraised me in confusion.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" He demanded angrily, an edge to his English accent and his eyes shining in fear.
The officer handcuffed him to the table before leaving the room, the other one standing by the door.
"A moment with my client, please?" I insisted and he arched an eyebrow at me. I did the same right back and we stared at each other for a few moments before he left the room.
"Hello Darren," I said as I sat down at the table. "I'm your new attorney, Helena Sparks, unfortunately Mr. Grahams has retired since your trial."
"So I get hauled out of bed and stupid o'clock to be introduced to a new brief?" He scoffed. "This is bullshit get me out of here!" He yelled, clanging on the cuffs noisily.
"Please, Mr. Jones," I said, puffing my cheeks. "I have good news, you're going to be trialled for early probation," I said with a smile and he turned to me, wide-eyed.
"Your hearing is tomorrow morning in New York. We have to prepare you for the trial and get you there as soon as possible."
"New York?" He laughed. "You've got to be joking? Probation?" He laughed. "This is all a set up, the government's trying to kill me. Get me out of here!" He yelled again and I frowned, he really wasn't making this easy for me.
"Mr. Jones, please calm down. This isn't a set up, nobody's out to get you. We're trying to free you, Mr. Jones. I promise, it's a good thing."
"You promise," He scoffed. "Grahams promised I wouldn't do anymore than ten. Now I'm here serving life sentences and you expect me to believe I'm up for probation?"
"There's a human rights charity that fought your corner," I explained, reaching into my purse to withdraw fake pictures of protestors outside government offices protesting Darren's innocence.
"Your mental health diagnosis wasn't taken into consideration, you're being held against your best interests."
He looked at the pictures with hope in his eyes.
"This..." He said in a thick voice, pointing to the pictures with his handcuffed wrists. "People fought for me?"
"Always," I smiled emotionally. "Now please, Mr. Jones. We have to get you out of here and in the van to transport you to New York."
"But... But I can't go to trial barefoot." He said, gripping the edge of his sweatshirt.
I lifted my purse, sliding the photographs back inside before crossing to the door and knocking.
The officer opened the door and I dipped my head as I realised it was Lewis acting as the new guard. He had a suit over his arm.
"From your sentencing." He said, dropping the suit onto the table in front of Darren.
"I'll wait outside." I said, jerking my head towards the door.
"Don't you want to stay, love, get a cheeky peak?" He smirked and I shook my head in awe, pushing out into the hallway.
"Okay Bravo two, Alpha one has secured the package. Alpha one, Bravo two has left the office and is waiting in reception."
"Ms. Sparks," I looked up to see the voice from the comms approaching me, two officers on his flanks. "I'm Warden Friars." He extended his hand which I shook firmly.
"Pleasure to meet you sir." I smiled.
"I'd like to say it's a pleasure to meet you," He scowled. "But you're trying to have one of the most dangerous men released out into the public," He shook his head. "That's no pleasure to anyone."
"With all due respect, sir," I said. "Mr. Jones shouldn't even be in here," I said. "He should be in a secure mental facility where nurses can monitor his condition."
Friars scoffed.
"He's bipolar, not psychotic!" He laughed. "Although I do beg to differ," He sniggered and the officers smirked. "Half the men in here are bipolar."
I shuddered.
"They aren't anything other than men, Mr. Friars," I said carefully. "They live with Bipolar, they are not the illness themselves."
He scowled at me and narrowed his eyes.
"I'm informed there's no way he'll make early probation after the crimes he's committed. So I wish your firm all the best, after this case collapses there's no way anyone will touch you again."
I smiled and extended my hand to him politely.
"Then I have an early retirement to look forward to," I smiled and he frowned in confusion as he shook my hand apprehensively. "As do you." I mumbled under my breath as I turned to allow the door to open and Darren and Lewis stood before me.
From here, I could really see what Melanie fell in love with.
Darren really was a handsome guy. Tall, average build, but muscular. A thick and strong neck, dark rugged and ruffled short hair, a thick black stubble and piercing blue eyes. He had a jawline that could cut glass, and hands that could rival any artist.
His slender and muscular frame was accentuated by the black fitting suit he was wearing, straight down to his script black shirt.
"See, I told you you'd wanna stay for a peak." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes.
"Ugh," The warden shuddered. "This way you imbecile." He snapped, and led us further along the corridor as opposed to back the way we had initially come.
"You have the van ready?" The warden asked Lewis, who nodded and confirmed this. "What better chance than to test your ability with this outing? Rather you than me, I'd say." The warden was chuckling and I breathed a sigh of relief, Lewis had made it into the in-team, as we knew he would.
Or rather, 'out-team' as it appeared to be... I sniggered to myself and continued along the hallway.
We pushed out into the back parking-lot where the prisoner van was already waiting.
"Eventually!" An all-American accent boomed and I frowned in confusion. "I warned you to be snappy about this," The man continued. "I have more innocents in here to be transported too, this one isn't the jewel in my crown."
The officers parted in time for me to see Jason standing before me, in a smart grey suit and white shirt, a black duffle-coat over his suit and a smart scarf around his neck, a flashy car parked next to the van.
I parted my mouth and waited on Garcia filling me in via comms, but there was nothing.
Complete silence.
"Mr. Delaware," The warden sighed. "As I advised, these things take time."
"Time slime," Jason snapped, slapping the side of the van with a leather-gloved hand.
I realised he'd been smart enough to ensure his tattoos were hidden beneath his clothes and that his hands weren't on display either.
Darren staggered forward as the back of the van opened and one of Jason's men stepped out in an officer's uniform, nodding to the three guards with Darren.
Lewis escorted Darren up and into the van alongside the three other guards.
"Now do y'all need anythin' else or can we get a'movin'?" Jason drawled, his eyes piercing into the Warden's.
"Very well," He groaned. "I do not wish you luck Ms. Sparks."
The Warden turned and re-entered the building with one of the officer's.
"I'll escort you to your car, ma'am." The remaining guard said.
I stared at Jason as he climbed into the fancy car, winking at me and smirking as we walked.
*
"Garcia WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" I yelled as I started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, tailing Jason who was behind the van, Carter in her car behind me.
"I don't know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, something was jamming the comms, they just dropped, I-I-I couldn't hear you."
"Me or both Bravo and I?"
"Just you Em- Alpha. You completely dropped off the comms, I couldn't hear you or communicate with you."
"Are you aware we have an intruder?"
I was enraged, completely and utterly out of my mind with anger and frustration, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it because we were in the middle of an operation.
"Intruder? W-w-what no, what's going on?"
"Charlie three's associate has intruded, I repeat Charlie three's associate has intruded."
We pulled onto the highway and I fell back, allowing Carter to overtake and pull in to Jason's side, her eyes going wide as she realised who the intruder was.
"And by associate you mean... blood?" Morgan's voice came through the comms.
"Affirmative." I choked, my cheeks heating with rage.
"Full steam ahead," Morgan said angrily. "We cannot let this be a distraction, only a learning curve."
"Learning curve?" Carter choked incredulously.
It was a four hour drive to New York, but due to the fact it was still early morning, the roads were empty and we didn't have too much trouble getting to the courthouse.
The prison van was taken around the back of the building, whilst Carter, Jason and I parked in the parking-lot around the corner.
Jason marched on ahead, his long legs striding beyond Carter and I as we hurried out of our cars after him.
"What's he playing at?" Carter hissed as we hurried along the side-walk with several feet between us.
"Your guess is as good as mine." I mumbled, my heels clacking against the side-walk as I hurried up the court-house stairs.
"Helena Sparks to see Darren Jones." I said to the security, flashing my badge.
He directed me along the hallway and I took off at a lengthy stride, my heels echoing against the marble. Carter was several paces behind me, less speedy and more calm.
"Okay Alpha one, Zulu team has reached out to Delta team to confirm legitimacy of the hearing." Garcia came through the comms and I nodded as though she could see me.
We had intercepted all telephone lines from the prison so that when the Warden or his officers tried to call the court or the probation panel, they'd be re-routed to Garcia and Morgan back the Unit, who of course would vouch for our authenticity.
I flashed my badge to another security guard at the end of the corridor who nodded and allowed me down a set of concrete stairs before I came out at the underground holding cells.
"A moment alone with my client please!" I called along the corridor, seeing Jason mumbling with the two prison guards, his hands on his hips.
They all turned and he made a show of looking me up and down. I refrained from rolling my eyes as I approached.
I opened my mouth to reiterate what I'd just said, and was silenced as the man in the cell turned around, and was definitely not Darren.
"What the Hell is going on?" I choked, turning to glare at Lewis as he stepped out of the cell, looking just as dazed and confused as the other two guards.
"What's going on here?" Carter asked, approaching not that far behind me.
"This is not my client!" I exclaimed, gesturing to the thinner man in black suit and shirt who was looking perplexed and confused.
"Who are you?" I demanded and he looked around him confusedly. "What the Hell happened?" I demanded, rounding on the guards.
"They claim they woke up, drugged in the back of the van." Jason drawled and I glared at him, knowing this had something to do with him.
"Drugged?" I choked. It was at that moment that I realised I couldn't hear Garcia and Hotch anymore, and realised that Jason must have a comms jammer on his person.
"Where is my client?" I demanded of the guards, who looked at each other bashfully.
"I knew this was a set-up!" Carter exclaimed. "Heads will roll for this, wait until the DA hears!" She called, wagging her finger as she spun on her heel and headed back the way we'd come.
"No, wait!" I called in a panic. "Please just, let us try to figure out what's happened here!"
"No!" She called without turning around. "I think I've seen quite enough!"
"Who are you?" I demanded, rounding back on the man behind the bars.
"C-C-Craig Everhall." He choked in a soft voice.
"Craig, what do you remember?" I asked, my fingers looped through the bars.
"I-I-I was on a night out... I-I-I don't know... I just woke up in cuffs in the back of the van and they dragged me in here." He cried, his lower lip wobbling.
I looked at the guards - and Jason - with disgust before turning to holler down the hallway,
"Guards! Come quickly!"
A few moments later, two guards came jogging down the hallway.
"This is not my client, this is an innocent imposter," I explained, gesturing to the man in the cells. "Call the police," I instructed. "Darren Jones has escaped."
The Protector
"I don't know whether you're a genius or insane." I laughed, stepping out of the cab outside of the hospital.
"D'you think they bought it?" Melanie asked innocently, peering up at me with her lower lip between her teeth.
"Oh they bought it alright," I laughed, grabbing her by her waist. "I bought it too."
She laughed and I held her face with one hand, pressing a deep kiss to her lips.
She moaned softly and pulled away, laughing and shaking her head.
"I thought, if I feign craziness, that just might buy us some time." She chuckled, lacing our fingers together and pulling me for the entrance.
We knew we had to get to Caitlyn before the CIA or the Cell. We had to get the truth, and Aaron was going to need some additional support at the hospital in case reinforcements came along to take her.
As we walked along the hallway, we grew suspicious at the fact that nobody was stopping us or asking us what we were doing. There had been police all over the waiting room at the main entrance, and yet nobody even gave us a second glance.
"What's going on...?" I mumbled as we strolled along the corridor, nurses and doctors gently moving us out of the way as they hurried along.
"Nurse Baxter!" Melanie called, catching sight of one of Caitlyn's nurses.
The lady turned and her eyes flew wide as she appraised us.
"Mr and Mrs Reid..." She choked, hurrying over to us both. "Come this way, quickly!" She said, ushering us into the nearby relative's room where we'd all been waiting early.
"What's going on?" Melanie asked, folding her arms defensively.
"Why don't you sit down?" The lady suggested with a bashful smile.
"What's happened?" I demanded, a horrible feeling suddenly seeping into my stomach.
"I can get the doctor to come along and speak with you-"
"Where's my dad?" Melanie demanded suddenly. "Agent Hotchner? Where is he?"
"Your father's fine, Mrs. Reid, rest assured, he's okay."
"That's not what I asked." Melanie said calmly.
The nurse looked skyward for a moment before licking her lips and taking a deep breath.
"There was an incident," The nurse explained. "I regret to tell you both that Ms. Deacon was killed a little under an hour ago," Melanie gasped and her hand threw to her mouth, her other hand reaching out for me. "Her throat was slashed and your father was knocked unconscious. He's fine, we have him under observation."
"She was murdered?" Melanie gasped, tears pouring from her eyes.
"I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Reid." The nurse nodded and Melanie turned to me with large eyes.
She broke down into sobs and I pulled her against my chest in a blur, nodding with a smile to the nurse as she smiled apologetically and left the room.
"They killed her," Melanie choked. "They really killed her, Spencer." She cried, pulling back to look at me.
"She almost killed you, Melanie." I said softly, running my hands over her face to brush away her tears.
"That doesn't make it okay." She whispered.
I nodded my head in understanding and pressed a kiss to her forehead before pulling her into my arms again.
We held each other until she'd composed herself, before she demanded on seeing the body.
"We haven't moved it," Caitlyn's doctor nodded. "The police wanted to take over, but we explained the FBI had jurisdiction." She said proudly.
"You said that?" I asked, perplexed.
The doctor nodded as she led the way along the corridor to the room where Caitlyn had been alive mere hours ago.
"You had explained your purpose here," The doctor said to Melanie. "We know your father's an agent too, and we knew you'd have the presidency over the case." She explained.
"Thank you," Melanie choked in surprise. "After the horror we're bringing to your hospital, I really appreciate that."
The doctor smiled and nodded before opening the door. There were two hospital security staff guarding the room, just as there had been when we'd left.
"The previous security detail were also rendered unconscious. We have no idea how it happened." The doctor explained as I appraised the two men.
I mmed and led Melanie inside the room, worried about what we might find.
The doctor entered behind us and closed the door, before walking to the curtains.
"It is quite the sight," She explained as Melanie and I pulled on evidence gloves. "Please do not touch anything."
Melanie and I both nodded and a moment later the doctor pulled back the curtains, my eyes flying wide as Melanie gasped and covered her mouth again.
Caitlyn's throat had been slashed dramatically, her blood had sprayed all over the inside of the curtains, pooling on her chest and the sheets still covering her.
Her eyes were wide and glazed, and her cheeks were still stained with tears.
"Oh Caity-Cat..." Melanie cried, hurrying to Caitlyn's side, narrowly avoiding the blood-spatters.
"What did you get yourself into you dizzy cow?" Melanie mumbled through her tears, appraising Caitlyn's body.
I slowly walked around the bed to Caitlyn's other side in order to observe the wound more closely.
It was professional, done very swiftly and quickly, with ease and confidence, no hesitation marks and a smooth cut.
"What's this?" I asked, pointing to the centre of the wound at the base of her throat. "There seems to be something there..."
"The staff from the mortuary are on their way to collect the body," The doctor explained. "You can go downstairs and ask them."
"She's going to the hospital mortuary?" Melanie asked, appalled.
"Yes, the local police stations tend to use our facilities here."
I glared at Melanie, shaking my head. We couldn't exactly use the Bureau's facilities whilst we were wanted individuals.
We carefully crept out of the room, avoiding the evidence, and as we were composing ourselves outside, the forensics team appeared to take photographs and gather evidence.
"You don't think any of them are involved with Dylan, do you?" Melanie asked worriedly, glaring after them as they entered the room.
"We can't be suspicious of everyone, Mel..." I said, rubbing her arms reassuringly.
"Do you mind going down with her?" Melanie asked, turning her sad eyes upwards to look at me. "I don't want to leave her alone, but I'm anxious about my dad."
"Of course," I smiled, kissing her forehead. "Stay in touch, okay?" I encouraged her and she smiled.
"I'll come down as soon as I know he's okay."
She pressed a quick kiss to my lips and hurried off to the nurse's station.
The Fighter
"Dad!" I gushed, running forwards to see him propped up on a hospital bed in the ER, an ice-pack pressed against his head and his shirt sleeve rolled to his shoulder so the doctor could check his blood pressure.
"Melanie," He gushed in relief. "I am so glad to see you!" He admitted, giving me a one-armed hug as I rushed to his side.
"What happened?" I asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," He chuckled as the nurse took the cuff away, nodding and smiling. "I must've dozed off, I didn't hear anything, and then the next thing I was aware of, I was waking up in here with a flashlight being shone in my eye!" He explained.
"Dad!" I gushed, looking at a faint bump on his head. "Thank god you're okay, I was so worried."
"Where's Caitlyn?" He asked. "Did they take her back?"
I looked at him sadly, tears pooling my eyes again as I looked at him.
"What?" He asked self-consciously. "She's not...?" I nodded my head.
"They cut her throat," I explained. "Spencer's gone down to the mortuary with her." I said, wiping my tears away.
"Oh Melanie," He sighed, looking more defeated than I'd ever known.
"I'm so sorry..." He said in a thick voice. "I have no idea what happened," His voice broke as he shook his head, looking at me with tearful eyes. "If I'd have stayed awake-"
"No!" I gushed, waving my hands desperately. "No dad, don't do that," I warned. "None of this is your fault, okay? You weren't to know. If you were awake, they probably would've killed you, too."
I squeezed his hand tightly in my own and he sighed shakily.
"Have you called the team?" He asked and I shook my head.
"I don't want to distract them from the escape." I explained in a low voice.
He nodded and sighed again before looking towards the arm-chair next to him where his suit jacket was slung over the arm.
"Well c'mon then," He said, swinging his legs off the bed and letting go of my hand. "Let's go get Spencer."
*
After a lot of back-and-forth and arguing, I finally agreed with my dad and we both took the elevator down to the basement. Spencer greeted us at the end of the hallway and explained the pathologists had encouraged him to go home and they'd call when they had more news.
After arguing with the head pathologist, and after my dad explained we were with the FBI, they agreed to let us stay, but couldn't guarantee we wouldn't be there for hours.
So, the three of us settled into the hard plastic seats in the cold and dark corridor, and we waited.
And waited.
... And waited.
We must've fallen asleep, because suddenly I awoke with someone clearing their throat rather abruptly.
I jerked and so did Spencer and my dad on both sides of me.
I appraised the man in front of me, in white scrubs and an entertained smirk.
"You're the FBI?" He asked and I nodded, clearing my throat and glancing between my dad and Spencer.
"Follow me, please." He instructed, and we did as we were told.
"What time is it?" Spencer mumbled behind me.
"It's six o'clock." My dad hissed and I glared in shock, we'd been asleep for hours!
The team would almost be in New York by now.
We followed him slowly, cautiously, nervously, and came to a stop, standing at the edge of the surface where Caitlyn's body lay beneath a sheet on the slab in front of us.
The man gripped the metal slab and looked at us with a grave expression.
"Her body was badly beaten prior to her death. There's evidence to suggest she was held-"
"Captive, yes we are aware," The man's voice was thick and sombre, despite the fact he was trying to be informative and professional about the situation.
Despite that, my dad still interjected politely, knowing I couldn't handle much more.
The man smiled apologetically and inclined his head in a nod as my dad continued.
"We believe she was being held by the New York Terrorist Cell. She was tortured and held captive before we were able to apprehend local suspects. She managed to escape, and we were able to withdraw her and bring her here for treatment."
The pathologist nodded his head.
"I have accessed her medical notes," He said. "Forgive me, I wasn't aware you were the agents who admitted her," He smiled bashfully. "The fatal wound itself was executed with precision and ease..."
He pulled back the sheet to reveal Caitlyn's face, gaunt and ghastly in death.
I turned, heaving, bile rising in my throat at the sight of my best friend, dead on the slab in front of me.
She may have directed the torture and pain that was inflicted upon me, but she wasn't orchestrating it.
None of this was her fault.
"Excuse me, sorry..." I apologised, and pushed out of the room, feeling as though I was about to begin hyperventilating.
I gripped the wall and pressed a hand to my chest, as if to suffocate the panic itself, as one by one the memories trickled back... Being chained in a cold and dark room, the sounds of Caitlyn's heels on the concrete outside, coming to rescue me, her voice in the dark and the smell of her perfume filling my nostrils, a blanket of safety in amongst so much uncertainty.
Up until that point, she'd been plain, blank, incoherent.
She'd broken her cover within the NYTC to save me.
She'd jeopardised Interpol's entire operation just to get me out. Because she'd had enough. She wasn't going to stand for their abhorrence any longer. She had chosen her loyalty to me, over her loyalty to Interpol and her loyalty to the Cell.
Really... who was she? Who had she been?
One thing's for sure: she hadn't died as a member of the Cell. She hadn't died as a member of Interpol. She'd died as my friend and colleague, a fighter, not a liar.
I took to the seat where I'd been previously, leaning forward and cupping my hands in front of me as I breathed deeply and tried to organise my thoughts.
"Melly..." Spencer's voice broke the silence and echoed off the walls.
"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, hurrying to me to crouch down in front of me, a worried hand on my knee.
"I'm fine..." I smiled weakly. "I just couldn't listen anymore..." I said, trailing off and shaking my head.
"I know," He sighed, reaching his hand from my knee to my face gently.
"He found something," Spencer explained. "The pathologist," He nodded his head back towards the mortuary. "They'd shoved a flash-drive into her wound," He said softly and I winced, closing my eyes and shaking my head.
"We think it's a message from the Cell," He explained. "And there's more..." I cracked my eyes open and he dropped his hand back to my knee. "She'd swallowed something... It looks like a small memory disk from a cell-phone... It could have information on it."
My eyes went wide and he smiled, nodding.
"We need to call Garcia and have her secure a computer for us here in the hospital. We need to access what's on those drives."
*
Once my dad had finished and we'd reached out to Garcia, we bribed the doctor from earlier to allow us into her office to use her computer.
Garcia was able to access the computer and separate it remotely from the network, meaning that if the drive had a virus, it would infect this computer only, and not the entire medical system.
My hands were shaking as I pushed the drive into the USB slot and clicked the file to open it.
Spencer was on a chair on my left and my dad was on my right, Spencer's hand resting on my knee reassuringly, my dad's arm resting on the back of my chair comfortingly.
I gulped as the file contained a web-link, which opened to be a video.
"It's okay..." My dad said softly. "We're right here."
I nodded my head and managed a weak smile at him before turning to play the video.
"Melanie," It was Hart.
She was sat in the corner of the room Caitlyn had been in, by the window, her face a mask of joy and excitement.
"How wonderful of you to make it out alive," She chuckled wickedly, and voices laughed in the background, too.
"We hear you're doing just swell back at work and living your normal life," Hart scoffed. "Well not for long," Her smile fell and Spencer's hand tightened on my knee.
"We're here to tell you that you've gotten away with it for too long," She smiled, getting to her feet. "We've let you have your fun, now you let us have ours..."
She walked over to Caitlyn's bed, and I gasped as the camera spun, Wilson stood by Caitlyn's bedside, Caitlyn's head in a lock within Wilson's arms, a knife pressed to Caitlyn's throat as she squirmed and whimpered, her face turning red.
The camera spun more and I froze, Dylan standing beside my dad, who was unconscious and unaware. She lifted his head with a wicked smile, and drew a knife along my dad's throat lightly before cackling as she let his head fall back down, a trickle of blood running down the side of his face from where they'd knocked him unconscious.
The camera then spun back to Hart by Caitlyn's bedside, smiling with entertainment.
"When this video ends, it's going to send a signal to a bomb we have hidden on the hospital grounds. That bomb is going to explode and wound hundreds of people. We have more planted across the town, and we will explode one every day that you do not return to us.
"We need you, Melanie. You are our end-game."
With that, Wilson shoved Caitlyn back onto her pillows and she gasped, her hand going to her throat as she gulped her last breaths before Hart turned and swiftly pulled a knife across her throat, spraying everyone in blood, including my dad and the curtains.
They laughed hysterically before taking a selfie on an instant-camera, waving the photo around and sliding it into the pocket of my dad's suit jacket.
"See you soon!" Hart laughed before Spencer slammed on the space-bar to pause the video.
"We can't let it end!" He said as the video kept rolling.
I tried to move the mouse but there were no options to pause, stop or rewind.
"It won't stop, there's no pause button!" I gushed desperately.
The video then cut out, and we all sat around in terror and dread.
"Maybe they were bluffing?" Garcia's voice came from the cell-phone that sat on the desk next to the computer. She'd also seen the whole video via the screen-share she'd hacked.
I opened my mouth to reply, but not before the entire room shook with the boom of a bomb going off nearby.