Criminal Minds: Pieces of Ourselves (JJ/Hotch) Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2
Title: Pieces of Ourselves
Pairing: JJ/Hotch
Summary: "I walked into this with both eyes open. People are dying, Hotch. Young women are being killed and you know I can't turn away from that.' Working for the Justice Department was a lie she told to keep the team from worrying. JJ's been working undercover for Andi Swan; Renee's not the only FBI agent that needs to be saved. AU 6.24, Supply and Demand.
Spoilers: Sort of for Supply and Demand
Disclaimer: JJ would have ben in all of season 6 if the show was mine.
Author's Note: Going into the season six finale I didn't know anything except that JJ was going to be in the episode: I was hyper aware every time I saw blond hair. One of those times was in a scene with Renee, just the back of the head of a woman standing at a chain link fence, a woman who had been kidnapped. Obviously this wasn't JJ, but what if it was? What if working for the Justice Department was a ruse so the team didn't worry when the truth was that JJ was undercover trying to break a human trafficking ring? This idea has been simmering in my brain for awhile, and now it's a fully formed story that wants to be told. Canon until the middle of Supply and Demand. The title comes from Hotch's monologue in ...And Back when he asks "And what about my team? How many more times will they be able to look into the abyss, how many times before they won't ever recover the pieces of themselves that this job takes?"
Prologue
Two more were gone. Jake and Paige were both dragged out of their cells last night, as they'd been two nights ago. This time they didn't come back. She knew what that meant; someone had paid for the power to choose life or death, and their choice had been death. She hoped that it had been quick.
She was moving too slowly; a hand grabbed her hair roughly and pulled her forward until her legs hit the side of the van, layering bruises on top of her bruises. She fell forward onto a man too doped up to protest, and rolled over just in time to watch the door slam shut. They were on the move again, making it harder for anyone to track them down. Tonight they'd be someplace new and the cycle of torture, kidnapping and killing would continue. She closed her eyes, knowing that there was nothing she could do right now but sleep in the hope that there came a moment when being well rested mattered.
>*<>*><*><*><
It was chain link this time, instead of bars. The cells on either side of her were empty; they didn't encourage talking and didn't allow whispering. Just like the last place, she had a mattress and a pillow. Just like the last place she had no blanket or sheet, which had nothing to do with denying them warmth and everything to do with not giving them a way to commit suicide.
Somewhere in the room a woman was shouting, railing against her fate. Maybe she didn't understand what was happening, or understood it too well. Either way she must be new; anyone who'd been here for more than a few days learned quickly that shouting only drew attention, and all attention in this place was bad. For the woman's sake she hoped the shouting ended soon. She hoped, too, that Andi was closer to figuring out what was happening than she had been the last time they'd talked.
Chapter 1 - The Letter
"I don't care how you do it, I just want it done. Now." He didn't understand half of what Garcia was trying to explain to him and he didn't have the patience to try. The upshot was that it was taking too long to find out where the organization was holding their prisoners, and that wasn't acceptable.
"Yes, sir." Garcia's voice was shaky and a few notes higher than usual. She backed halfway out of the room until she ran, literally, into Rossi.
"Sorry." She turned and hurried out of the room, heading for her office and the phone; she might need Kevin's help today.
"Do you need something?" Hotch barely looked up from the papers on his desk.
"I thought I'd come in here and volunteer to be your punching bag before you try and go through the rest of the team." Rossi closed the door to the office behind him before approaching the desk.
"A little dramatic, don't you think, Dave?" He was still only giving Rossi half of his attention. His mind was on the papers on his desk though he was careful not to look down; Dave could read him too well, and the fact that he already knew that something was wrong was more than Aaron wanted to share.
"You didn't see the look on Garcia's face when she left here. I don't think she'd looked that scared since that son of a bitch Battle was here. Why did you bite her head off like that? You know she's the fastest there is; if she can't find the answer you're looking for there has to be a reason."
"I'll apologize to her later." He knew, rationally, that it wasn't her fault that things weren't going fast enough, but at the moment all he cared about was finding the location of the group. Lives depended on it, more lives than he had realized before his trip to Renee's apartment with Andi.
"I know that you will. She's not the one that I'm worried about right now. You've been wound twice as tight as usual since you and Andi got back. Is there something you didn't mention at the briefing?"
"Nothing the team needs to know." Nothing the team could know, not without making an already difficult case ten times harder.
"I'm not the team, Aaron. Talk to me."
For just a minute Hotch was tempted, but even if telling someone else made him feel better it was only going to bring Dave's day to a crashing stop, and make it harder for him to keep his head in the game. More than ever he needed everyone to be focused. "I can't. I need you to trust me on this, Dave."
"Is Erin giving you trouble again? Because I can..."
"It's not Strauss. I'll tell you when I can, alright? And I'll apologize to Garcia." His fingers itched to pick up the letter on his desk, the one Andi had given him, to read it for the third time and hope that some miracle had happened and the words had changed. He needed to be alone first, though. "Would you mind checking on her? I think you'd do a better job of calming her down right now."
"I'll do what I can. You know where to find me when you're ready to talk." Dave hesitated only another few seconds before reluctantly leaving. Hotch counted to ten before opening the file Andi had given him and taking out the letter written in a familiar script on yellow legal paper. His lips were pressed together so hard that they turned white, and the frown lines on his forehead that seemed ever present deepened into canyons.
Hotch -
I've had a lot of time to think about this. I know you're going to disagree, but I believe this is the best way for everyone. You're shaking your head now, frowning and maybe even lecturing me through this piece of paper. You think that if I told you then somehow you could have helped me, watched out for me, kept anything bad from happening. You probably think you could have talked me out of doing this, which might be true and is the other reason I didn't tell you.
Mostly, though, I kept this a secret because you would worry, and you do too much of that already. This is something I need to do. It's the right thing to do, and I know you believe that even if you wish I wasn't the one doing it. Don't blame Andi for anything that happens. She presented the case to me but it was my choice and I walked into this with both eyes open. People are dying, Hotch. Young women are being killed and you know I can't turn away from that. I think you understand why, too.
I'm sorry I had to lie to you. I'm sorry you're reading this in a letter and not hearing it from me. I hope I get the chance to explain in person, and that you can forgive me. If I don't then I need you to know that I am grateful for my time working with you; I'm a better agent because I've worked with you, and a better person for knowing you. I am grateful for the family that I found at the BAU. I know you're looking out for them; I hope you're letting them look out for you.
I only left the BAU three days ago, and already I miss the team so much. Coming back to Henry and coming back to the team are the two things that will see me through to the end of the case. If you're reading this now I hope it means the end is in sight, that justice is coming for these people who have caused so much pain. Someone needs to stop them; we see some many terrible things in our job but this is one of the worst. I couldn't turn a blind eye.
Take care of yourself, Hotch, and give Jack a hug from me. I would tell you not to worry about me, but I know that's not going to happen.
Your friend,
JJ
>*<>*><*><*><
They drugged the food. She hated eating it, knowing it made her thinking sluggish and her body more compliant, but without food she'd be weak and have trouble thinking anyway. There were no utensils, but she used the chicken patty to scoop up the beans and drowned out the flavor after she ate with the Kool-Aid. Her hands were sticky; what she wouldn't give for the diaper wipes she used to carry with her everywhere. She laughed a little; being dirty was the least of her problems.
Tonight or tomorrow she would be auctioned off, again. This time she might not be so 'lucky.' Some customers only wanted sex, others wanted human punching bags, but there were those that wanted nothing less than to look a person in the eye and take their life.
>*<>*><*><*><
This was it. He knew, as they neared the abandoned factory, that it was the place they'd been looking for with the same certainly that he had known that Foyet was at his old home with Haley. Tonight's outcome had to be different, through. He couldn't lose JJ. It was bad enough losing her to a safe, ordinary job. Knowing that she was healthy and happy he could live with; seeing her like the co-eds in the trunk would kill him.
"I needed to break this group, and she was one of the best people for the job. I'm sorry that you're upset with me but I needed her. She's good, Hotch. You know how good she is." It was the first time since they'd gotten into the SUV that Andi had spoken, both of them focused on where they were going and what might happen. It also wasn't a good time to have the conversation, so Hotch didn't answer.
There was a scraping of metal on metal as they drove through a chain link fence. He touched the gun strapped to his side, felt his back up gun heavy against his ankle, and rested his hand on the handle of the car door. He needed to be ready to move the moment the car stopped. Every second that passed felt like borrowed time.
"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your team, Hotch. The only good thing about these last couple of days has been watching the way they work together. They're something special." Andi's hands on the steering wheel were as tense as his on the door handle, but her voice was calm and even.
"They're the best at what they do," Aaron said tersely. He had no focus to make polite conversation, especially not with her. He'd made an effort to be professional and courteous when the rest of the team was around, but just then it was too much.
Seconds later they pulled up to the buildings. There were twenty-six of them, counting the SWAT team. Hotch quickly divided them into three groups, sending Seever towards what looked like an abandoned building, Dave and Morgan towards one that had footprints around it, and paired himself with Andi to take the third building. He wanted to remind everyone that there were hostages in the building, to be careful, but they were all aware and stressing the point wasn't going to help anything.
"They're here somewhere. Let's go find them."
Dave gave him a look, just before they separated, that said he was waiting for something more. When it didn't come he frowned and took off down one hallway with Morgan, gun drawn.
Chapter 2 - Number Eight
"Just give me an excuse to blow your brains out." The words echoed in the drafty room. JJ pressed her hands to either side of her head, trying to force herself to focus. There was something about that voice...
She tried to get up from the mattress but her legs were too heavy. She needed to get to the fence, to find out what was happening. She rolled, falling off the mattress and onto the cold, hard floor in the direction of the fence. Henry had gotten around this way once, and if he would to it so could she. She wiggled and rolled and pulled herself on her elbows until she made it there. She was just in time to hear the same voice, speaking softer now, closer.
"It's alright. We're going to get you out of here."
"Rossi," JJ whispered to herself. It sounded more like a croak to her ears. Maybe she was hallucinating, hearing only what she desperately wanted to hear. Maybe trying to get someone's attention would only get her into more trouble, but she didn't care; if there was any chance that her team was here she had to know.
"I'm here. I'm here." Her voice still sounded like she had a mouth full of cotton. She hit the fence with the flat of her hands. "Please."
"There's another one over here." A different voice this time, in the shadows to her left. She strained to see someone, but was blinded by a bright light shinning in her face; reflex had her holding up both arms to shield her face. They had shined a light on her for hours the first night they'd had her.
There was the sound of something hitting the ground, a tiny voice in her head said flashlight, and the light was abruptly gone. "JJ?"
"Morgan." That was the other voice. Derek Morgan was squatting down in front of her cage, a look of shock on his face. She strained to get her fingers, at least, through the holes in the fencing, needing some tangible proof that he was there.
"Rossi, you've got to get the bolt cutters over here now." He didn't look away from her, but his voice was louder for a moment as he called for help. He spoke to her just above a whisper, like he might to a wild animal. She must look like hell. "We'll have you out of here in a minute, Jayje. Hold on. Just one more minute."
"You're here?" His fingers touched her own, and she let her eyes close as she concentrated on the connection. His hand was warm, a sharp contrast to how cold she felt.
"We're all here, the whole team. I need you to open those beautiful blue eyes of yours, girl. Look at me." There was pressure on her fingers, his voice louder than it had been. She opened her eyes to look at him.
"They put something in the food, keep us quiet. I'm fine," she reassured him, speaking slowly because she was pretty sure her words were slurred.
"There were two more around the corner from where we... son of a bitch." Rossi came to an abrupt halt that might have been comical if JJ had the energy to laugh. "Jen?"
"We need to get her out. We'll figure out what the hell is going on after that."
Rossi didn't need to be told to go to work on the chain that held her prison door closed; already his arms strained from the effort of forcing the cutters through the metal.
"Assignment for Andi. Undercover." Her mouth was so dry, it was hard to get out more than a few words at a time.
"Got it." The bolt cutters clattered to the ground, the door banged as it swung open, and a moment later it wasn't only her fingers that were warm. Arms wrapped around her, supporting her, helping her to stand.
"You're alright, JJ. We've got you now." Coming from Rossi it wasn't a platitude, it was a promise. Anyone trying to get to her tonight would have to go through him; she almost felt sorry for any of the kidnappers or their clients that hadn't been rounded up yet.
"Hotch, it's Morgan. You're not going to believe this, but..." Morgan didn't even get to finish when the radio crackled and Hotch interrupted.
"Is she alright?" There was no way, over the static, to read his tone. "JJ. Is she alright?"
"You knew?" Morgan's eyes narrowed.
"Found out yesterday. Is she alright?" Not even the static could hide the agitation in his voice.
JJ raised her head up from Rossi's shoulder. "I'm fine."
"She's safe now. Sooner we can get her out of here the better. Rossi's taking her to the paramedics while I continue in here." As soon as he was done talking to Hotch, Morgan motioned to someone in the shadows. "I need a blanket."
"This explains Hotch's foul mood yesterday." Rossi bent to pick her up, but JJ shook her head.
"I can walk." JJ looked down at her feet, telling herself that she could move them one at a time. Just standing made here feel a little more clearheaded. She didn't have any shoes, but the concrete in the abandoned factory was smooth. For the first time since they'd arrived she was conscious that she was wearing nothing but a tank top and underwear. At least they were clean; bathroom breaks were the one small dignity they were allowed, though JJ suspected it had more to do with not wanting the 'merchandise' to stink.
Rossi let her have her way, for a little while at least. With an arm around her waist they moved like they were in a three legged race, shuffling to one side, finally passing through the door in the chain link fence. Her first steps to freedom. Morgan had a blanket waiting for her when they made it a few more steps.
"Thank you." She was glad for the warmth, but more grateful that she was covered. She was too tired to worry about modesty, but everyone, especially Hotch, didn't need to see the bruises or the jagged cut in her thigh. it was bad enough that Morgan and Rossi had already seen her as she was. When Morgan wrapped the blanket around her she touched his hand.
"I've only been here a couple of days. It hasn't been a vacation or anything, but you guys got here before anything bad happened. I'm fine. Really. Now go make sure none of them get away. They have to be held accountable for what they've done." To Jake and Paige. To the woman who had been screaming earlier. To the dozens of coeds that had gone missing over the past few years.
After one more glance at her Morgan reluctantly moved on, quickly followed by three SWAT team members that had been keeping a respectable distance, leaving her alone with Rossi.
"Now how are you really doing, kid?" he asked gently as they started walking in the opposite direction, towards the door that would take them outside.
"I'll let you know when I figure that out for myself. Numb, mostly. Sore, but nothing lasting." The physical effects of her stay would fade in a week or two, other than the cut that might leave her with a scar. Mentally was a different issue; no matter how prepared she'd been for worst case scenarios there was no way to really prepare herself for what had happened the last five days.
"You know if you'd wanted to get the whole team together there are easier ways. It's nice weather for a picnic." Rossi kept up a light patter of conversation, teasing and words of encouragement as he helped her towards the door. Once they were outside he wouldn't listen to any arguing, and picked her up to carry her towards the waiting ambulances. "You're not wearing any shoes, and who knows what trash is on the ground out here."
"You should be helping Morgan. I'm not going anywhere." JJ sat just inside the ambulance, still clinging to the blanket. She knew there was no way she was getting out of a trip to the hospital, but many of the others were worse off than she was. The paramedics were taking care of the most vital cases first; two ambulances had left already.
"They're almost done in there. At last count all but one building has been checked and sixteen arrests have been made."
"Eighteen," a young woman interjected as she walked past, a step behind a man with his hands bound behind him. The man she hadn't seen before, the woman was familiar. It took her a minute to remember the woman's name; Seaver. They'd met when JJ had broken her undercover assignment for a few days to find Emily.
"Eighteen," JJ muttered, knowing that wasn't all there were. Hopefully everyone involved in the kidnapping was caught, but she knew not all of the 'clients' were at this location. "How many victims?"
"Seven, not counting you." Rossi caught movement out of the corner of his eye as Hotch and Andi came around the corner of the building. He could tell the exact moment his friend spotted JJ; even from this distance he could see the frown on Hotch's face deepen.
"I'm not a victim. I volunteered for this."
"You volunteered for a case, not for this JJ. There's a difference." Rossi might have said more, but a screech of tires was followed by the report of dozens of guns as a red SUV tried to flee the scene.
"That makes at least nineteen," JJ stared at the SUV with tired eyes.
"Eighteen," Rossi said a moment later after one of the SWAT members shook his head. The driver was dead. "And an eighth victim rescued," he added when a young woman was helped from the back seat by Hotch.
"Why was he taking someone with him?" JJ strained to see across the distance. The flashing blue and red lights of the cars made it hard to focus. She stood, taking two steps forward. Almost immediately Rossi was at her side, holding onto her arm."We'll figure out the whys later; we have time. He didn't make it, so she's safe now."
"She was always safe," JJ said in a whisper when she finally got a clear look at the woman being comforted by Hotch and Andi. She started shaking; Hotch was in so much danger and he didn't have a clue. "That's her, Dave. She's the one that organized all of this. You have to warn Hotch."
Rossi's hand was already on his gun when the brunette pointed a gun she'd been concealing at Hotch's head. She didn't have time to pull the trigger before Rossi's bullet severed the top of her spinal column and she collapsed on the ground like a ragdoll. JJ almost collapsed too, but Rossi caught her around the waist and led her back to the ambulance.
Pairing: JJ/Hotch
Summary: "I walked into this with both eyes open. People are dying, Hotch. Young women are being killed and you know I can't turn away from that.' Working for the Justice Department was a lie she told to keep the team from worrying. JJ's been working undercover for Andi Swan; Renee's not the only FBI agent that needs to be saved. AU 6.24, Supply and Demand.
Spoilers: Sort of for Supply and Demand
Disclaimer: JJ would have ben in all of season 6 if the show was mine.
Author's Note: Going into the season six finale I didn't know anything except that JJ was going to be in the episode: I was hyper aware every time I saw blond hair. One of those times was in a scene with Renee, just the back of the head of a woman standing at a chain link fence, a woman who had been kidnapped. Obviously this wasn't JJ, but what if it was? What if working for the Justice Department was a ruse so the team didn't worry when the truth was that JJ was undercover trying to break a human trafficking ring? This idea has been simmering in my brain for awhile, and now it's a fully formed story that wants to be told. Canon until the middle of Supply and Demand. The title comes from Hotch's monologue in ...And Back when he asks "And what about my team? How many more times will they be able to look into the abyss, how many times before they won't ever recover the pieces of themselves that this job takes?"
Prologue
Two more were gone. Jake and Paige were both dragged out of their cells last night, as they'd been two nights ago. This time they didn't come back. She knew what that meant; someone had paid for the power to choose life or death, and their choice had been death. She hoped that it had been quick.
She was moving too slowly; a hand grabbed her hair roughly and pulled her forward until her legs hit the side of the van, layering bruises on top of her bruises. She fell forward onto a man too doped up to protest, and rolled over just in time to watch the door slam shut. They were on the move again, making it harder for anyone to track them down. Tonight they'd be someplace new and the cycle of torture, kidnapping and killing would continue. She closed her eyes, knowing that there was nothing she could do right now but sleep in the hope that there came a moment when being well rested mattered.
>*<>*><*><*><
It was chain link this time, instead of bars. The cells on either side of her were empty; they didn't encourage talking and didn't allow whispering. Just like the last place, she had a mattress and a pillow. Just like the last place she had no blanket or sheet, which had nothing to do with denying them warmth and everything to do with not giving them a way to commit suicide.
Somewhere in the room a woman was shouting, railing against her fate. Maybe she didn't understand what was happening, or understood it too well. Either way she must be new; anyone who'd been here for more than a few days learned quickly that shouting only drew attention, and all attention in this place was bad. For the woman's sake she hoped the shouting ended soon. She hoped, too, that Andi was closer to figuring out what was happening than she had been the last time they'd talked.
Chapter 1 - The Letter
"I don't care how you do it, I just want it done. Now." He didn't understand half of what Garcia was trying to explain to him and he didn't have the patience to try. The upshot was that it was taking too long to find out where the organization was holding their prisoners, and that wasn't acceptable.
"Yes, sir." Garcia's voice was shaky and a few notes higher than usual. She backed halfway out of the room until she ran, literally, into Rossi.
"Sorry." She turned and hurried out of the room, heading for her office and the phone; she might need Kevin's help today.
"Do you need something?" Hotch barely looked up from the papers on his desk.
"I thought I'd come in here and volunteer to be your punching bag before you try and go through the rest of the team." Rossi closed the door to the office behind him before approaching the desk.
"A little dramatic, don't you think, Dave?" He was still only giving Rossi half of his attention. His mind was on the papers on his desk though he was careful not to look down; Dave could read him too well, and the fact that he already knew that something was wrong was more than Aaron wanted to share.
"You didn't see the look on Garcia's face when she left here. I don't think she'd looked that scared since that son of a bitch Battle was here. Why did you bite her head off like that? You know she's the fastest there is; if she can't find the answer you're looking for there has to be a reason."
"I'll apologize to her later." He knew, rationally, that it wasn't her fault that things weren't going fast enough, but at the moment all he cared about was finding the location of the group. Lives depended on it, more lives than he had realized before his trip to Renee's apartment with Andi.
"I know that you will. She's not the one that I'm worried about right now. You've been wound twice as tight as usual since you and Andi got back. Is there something you didn't mention at the briefing?"
"Nothing the team needs to know." Nothing the team could know, not without making an already difficult case ten times harder.
"I'm not the team, Aaron. Talk to me."
For just a minute Hotch was tempted, but even if telling someone else made him feel better it was only going to bring Dave's day to a crashing stop, and make it harder for him to keep his head in the game. More than ever he needed everyone to be focused. "I can't. I need you to trust me on this, Dave."
"Is Erin giving you trouble again? Because I can..."
"It's not Strauss. I'll tell you when I can, alright? And I'll apologize to Garcia." His fingers itched to pick up the letter on his desk, the one Andi had given him, to read it for the third time and hope that some miracle had happened and the words had changed. He needed to be alone first, though. "Would you mind checking on her? I think you'd do a better job of calming her down right now."
"I'll do what I can. You know where to find me when you're ready to talk." Dave hesitated only another few seconds before reluctantly leaving. Hotch counted to ten before opening the file Andi had given him and taking out the letter written in a familiar script on yellow legal paper. His lips were pressed together so hard that they turned white, and the frown lines on his forehead that seemed ever present deepened into canyons.
Hotch -
I've had a lot of time to think about this. I know you're going to disagree, but I believe this is the best way for everyone. You're shaking your head now, frowning and maybe even lecturing me through this piece of paper. You think that if I told you then somehow you could have helped me, watched out for me, kept anything bad from happening. You probably think you could have talked me out of doing this, which might be true and is the other reason I didn't tell you.
Mostly, though, I kept this a secret because you would worry, and you do too much of that already. This is something I need to do. It's the right thing to do, and I know you believe that even if you wish I wasn't the one doing it. Don't blame Andi for anything that happens. She presented the case to me but it was my choice and I walked into this with both eyes open. People are dying, Hotch. Young women are being killed and you know I can't turn away from that. I think you understand why, too.
I'm sorry I had to lie to you. I'm sorry you're reading this in a letter and not hearing it from me. I hope I get the chance to explain in person, and that you can forgive me. If I don't then I need you to know that I am grateful for my time working with you; I'm a better agent because I've worked with you, and a better person for knowing you. I am grateful for the family that I found at the BAU. I know you're looking out for them; I hope you're letting them look out for you.
I only left the BAU three days ago, and already I miss the team so much. Coming back to Henry and coming back to the team are the two things that will see me through to the end of the case. If you're reading this now I hope it means the end is in sight, that justice is coming for these people who have caused so much pain. Someone needs to stop them; we see some many terrible things in our job but this is one of the worst. I couldn't turn a blind eye.
Take care of yourself, Hotch, and give Jack a hug from me. I would tell you not to worry about me, but I know that's not going to happen.
Your friend,
JJ
>*<>*><*><*><
They drugged the food. She hated eating it, knowing it made her thinking sluggish and her body more compliant, but without food she'd be weak and have trouble thinking anyway. There were no utensils, but she used the chicken patty to scoop up the beans and drowned out the flavor after she ate with the Kool-Aid. Her hands were sticky; what she wouldn't give for the diaper wipes she used to carry with her everywhere. She laughed a little; being dirty was the least of her problems.
Tonight or tomorrow she would be auctioned off, again. This time she might not be so 'lucky.' Some customers only wanted sex, others wanted human punching bags, but there were those that wanted nothing less than to look a person in the eye and take their life.
>*<>*><*><*><
This was it. He knew, as they neared the abandoned factory, that it was the place they'd been looking for with the same certainly that he had known that Foyet was at his old home with Haley. Tonight's outcome had to be different, through. He couldn't lose JJ. It was bad enough losing her to a safe, ordinary job. Knowing that she was healthy and happy he could live with; seeing her like the co-eds in the trunk would kill him.
"I needed to break this group, and she was one of the best people for the job. I'm sorry that you're upset with me but I needed her. She's good, Hotch. You know how good she is." It was the first time since they'd gotten into the SUV that Andi had spoken, both of them focused on where they were going and what might happen. It also wasn't a good time to have the conversation, so Hotch didn't answer.
There was a scraping of metal on metal as they drove through a chain link fence. He touched the gun strapped to his side, felt his back up gun heavy against his ankle, and rested his hand on the handle of the car door. He needed to be ready to move the moment the car stopped. Every second that passed felt like borrowed time.
"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your team, Hotch. The only good thing about these last couple of days has been watching the way they work together. They're something special." Andi's hands on the steering wheel were as tense as his on the door handle, but her voice was calm and even.
"They're the best at what they do," Aaron said tersely. He had no focus to make polite conversation, especially not with her. He'd made an effort to be professional and courteous when the rest of the team was around, but just then it was too much.
Seconds later they pulled up to the buildings. There were twenty-six of them, counting the SWAT team. Hotch quickly divided them into three groups, sending Seever towards what looked like an abandoned building, Dave and Morgan towards one that had footprints around it, and paired himself with Andi to take the third building. He wanted to remind everyone that there were hostages in the building, to be careful, but they were all aware and stressing the point wasn't going to help anything.
"They're here somewhere. Let's go find them."
Dave gave him a look, just before they separated, that said he was waiting for something more. When it didn't come he frowned and took off down one hallway with Morgan, gun drawn.
Chapter 2 - Number Eight
"Just give me an excuse to blow your brains out." The words echoed in the drafty room. JJ pressed her hands to either side of her head, trying to force herself to focus. There was something about that voice...
She tried to get up from the mattress but her legs were too heavy. She needed to get to the fence, to find out what was happening. She rolled, falling off the mattress and onto the cold, hard floor in the direction of the fence. Henry had gotten around this way once, and if he would to it so could she. She wiggled and rolled and pulled herself on her elbows until she made it there. She was just in time to hear the same voice, speaking softer now, closer.
"It's alright. We're going to get you out of here."
"Rossi," JJ whispered to herself. It sounded more like a croak to her ears. Maybe she was hallucinating, hearing only what she desperately wanted to hear. Maybe trying to get someone's attention would only get her into more trouble, but she didn't care; if there was any chance that her team was here she had to know.
"I'm here. I'm here." Her voice still sounded like she had a mouth full of cotton. She hit the fence with the flat of her hands. "Please."
"There's another one over here." A different voice this time, in the shadows to her left. She strained to see someone, but was blinded by a bright light shinning in her face; reflex had her holding up both arms to shield her face. They had shined a light on her for hours the first night they'd had her.
There was the sound of something hitting the ground, a tiny voice in her head said flashlight, and the light was abruptly gone. "JJ?"
"Morgan." That was the other voice. Derek Morgan was squatting down in front of her cage, a look of shock on his face. She strained to get her fingers, at least, through the holes in the fencing, needing some tangible proof that he was there.
"Rossi, you've got to get the bolt cutters over here now." He didn't look away from her, but his voice was louder for a moment as he called for help. He spoke to her just above a whisper, like he might to a wild animal. She must look like hell. "We'll have you out of here in a minute, Jayje. Hold on. Just one more minute."
"You're here?" His fingers touched her own, and she let her eyes close as she concentrated on the connection. His hand was warm, a sharp contrast to how cold she felt.
"We're all here, the whole team. I need you to open those beautiful blue eyes of yours, girl. Look at me." There was pressure on her fingers, his voice louder than it had been. She opened her eyes to look at him.
"They put something in the food, keep us quiet. I'm fine," she reassured him, speaking slowly because she was pretty sure her words were slurred.
"There were two more around the corner from where we... son of a bitch." Rossi came to an abrupt halt that might have been comical if JJ had the energy to laugh. "Jen?"
"We need to get her out. We'll figure out what the hell is going on after that."
Rossi didn't need to be told to go to work on the chain that held her prison door closed; already his arms strained from the effort of forcing the cutters through the metal.
"Assignment for Andi. Undercover." Her mouth was so dry, it was hard to get out more than a few words at a time.
"Got it." The bolt cutters clattered to the ground, the door banged as it swung open, and a moment later it wasn't only her fingers that were warm. Arms wrapped around her, supporting her, helping her to stand.
"You're alright, JJ. We've got you now." Coming from Rossi it wasn't a platitude, it was a promise. Anyone trying to get to her tonight would have to go through him; she almost felt sorry for any of the kidnappers or their clients that hadn't been rounded up yet.
"Hotch, it's Morgan. You're not going to believe this, but..." Morgan didn't even get to finish when the radio crackled and Hotch interrupted.
"Is she alright?" There was no way, over the static, to read his tone. "JJ. Is she alright?"
"You knew?" Morgan's eyes narrowed.
"Found out yesterday. Is she alright?" Not even the static could hide the agitation in his voice.
JJ raised her head up from Rossi's shoulder. "I'm fine."
"She's safe now. Sooner we can get her out of here the better. Rossi's taking her to the paramedics while I continue in here." As soon as he was done talking to Hotch, Morgan motioned to someone in the shadows. "I need a blanket."
"This explains Hotch's foul mood yesterday." Rossi bent to pick her up, but JJ shook her head.
"I can walk." JJ looked down at her feet, telling herself that she could move them one at a time. Just standing made here feel a little more clearheaded. She didn't have any shoes, but the concrete in the abandoned factory was smooth. For the first time since they'd arrived she was conscious that she was wearing nothing but a tank top and underwear. At least they were clean; bathroom breaks were the one small dignity they were allowed, though JJ suspected it had more to do with not wanting the 'merchandise' to stink.
Rossi let her have her way, for a little while at least. With an arm around her waist they moved like they were in a three legged race, shuffling to one side, finally passing through the door in the chain link fence. Her first steps to freedom. Morgan had a blanket waiting for her when they made it a few more steps.
"Thank you." She was glad for the warmth, but more grateful that she was covered. She was too tired to worry about modesty, but everyone, especially Hotch, didn't need to see the bruises or the jagged cut in her thigh. it was bad enough that Morgan and Rossi had already seen her as she was. When Morgan wrapped the blanket around her she touched his hand.
"I've only been here a couple of days. It hasn't been a vacation or anything, but you guys got here before anything bad happened. I'm fine. Really. Now go make sure none of them get away. They have to be held accountable for what they've done." To Jake and Paige. To the woman who had been screaming earlier. To the dozens of coeds that had gone missing over the past few years.
After one more glance at her Morgan reluctantly moved on, quickly followed by three SWAT team members that had been keeping a respectable distance, leaving her alone with Rossi.
"Now how are you really doing, kid?" he asked gently as they started walking in the opposite direction, towards the door that would take them outside.
"I'll let you know when I figure that out for myself. Numb, mostly. Sore, but nothing lasting." The physical effects of her stay would fade in a week or two, other than the cut that might leave her with a scar. Mentally was a different issue; no matter how prepared she'd been for worst case scenarios there was no way to really prepare herself for what had happened the last five days.
"You know if you'd wanted to get the whole team together there are easier ways. It's nice weather for a picnic." Rossi kept up a light patter of conversation, teasing and words of encouragement as he helped her towards the door. Once they were outside he wouldn't listen to any arguing, and picked her up to carry her towards the waiting ambulances. "You're not wearing any shoes, and who knows what trash is on the ground out here."
"You should be helping Morgan. I'm not going anywhere." JJ sat just inside the ambulance, still clinging to the blanket. She knew there was no way she was getting out of a trip to the hospital, but many of the others were worse off than she was. The paramedics were taking care of the most vital cases first; two ambulances had left already.
"They're almost done in there. At last count all but one building has been checked and sixteen arrests have been made."
"Eighteen," a young woman interjected as she walked past, a step behind a man with his hands bound behind him. The man she hadn't seen before, the woman was familiar. It took her a minute to remember the woman's name; Seaver. They'd met when JJ had broken her undercover assignment for a few days to find Emily.
"Eighteen," JJ muttered, knowing that wasn't all there were. Hopefully everyone involved in the kidnapping was caught, but she knew not all of the 'clients' were at this location. "How many victims?"
"Seven, not counting you." Rossi caught movement out of the corner of his eye as Hotch and Andi came around the corner of the building. He could tell the exact moment his friend spotted JJ; even from this distance he could see the frown on Hotch's face deepen.
"I'm not a victim. I volunteered for this."
"You volunteered for a case, not for this JJ. There's a difference." Rossi might have said more, but a screech of tires was followed by the report of dozens of guns as a red SUV tried to flee the scene.
"That makes at least nineteen," JJ stared at the SUV with tired eyes.
"Eighteen," Rossi said a moment later after one of the SWAT members shook his head. The driver was dead. "And an eighth victim rescued," he added when a young woman was helped from the back seat by Hotch.
"Why was he taking someone with him?" JJ strained to see across the distance. The flashing blue and red lights of the cars made it hard to focus. She stood, taking two steps forward. Almost immediately Rossi was at her side, holding onto her arm."We'll figure out the whys later; we have time. He didn't make it, so she's safe now."
"She was always safe," JJ said in a whisper when she finally got a clear look at the woman being comforted by Hotch and Andi. She started shaking; Hotch was in so much danger and he didn't have a clue. "That's her, Dave. She's the one that organized all of this. You have to warn Hotch."
Rossi's hand was already on his gun when the brunette pointed a gun she'd been concealing at Hotch's head. She didn't have time to pull the trigger before Rossi's bullet severed the top of her spinal column and she collapsed on the ground like a ragdoll. JJ almost collapsed too, but Rossi caught her around the waist and led her back to the ambulance.