Fic: Sword of Logic (1/1)
Title: Sword of Logic
Series: Of Innocence and Empathy
Author: Frogg
Beta: Nilandia and Adam
Rating: FRT-13 (strong language)
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Damnit.
Challenge: 50episodes - Criminal Minds, Morgan/Reid
Table: 2
Prompt: 38. Movie Night
Word Count: 1507 (with quotes from Evolution of Frank)
Author's Note: Spoilers for the end of Evolution of Frank.
"Emily?"
Emily glanced up at Hotch momentarily, then turned back to Garcia with a soft, "Just a second."
Hotch nodded and sat back, watching as the two women hovered over Garcia's laptop and several small stacks of other equipment.
Garcia's rapid typing died with a few sudden, harsh keystrokes. "There. We are cloaked and daggered." Grinning wickedly, she turned upward. "I'd like to see Batman try and break that," she told Emily. JJ gave her a mock salute from her position behind the couch.
"You're setting up jammers in my house during a so-called housewarming party," Morgan stated in disbelief.
Emily looked over to where Morgan and Reid were sitting on the couch, her expression cold and uncompromising. "I'm just glad I had a reason for us all to be here that wouldn't draw suspicion. Otherwise we'd be sitting in a hotel room somewhere." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe."
"What's all of this about? I know you and Hotch had interviews with Strauss--"
A baleful glare silenced Gideon's curious inquiry; then Emily straightened, picking up a CD case and making her way to the entertainment center. She inhaled deeply, squaring her shoulders and bracing herself. "There's a line we all draw, at some point, between politics and loyalty. Ambition and trust. I'm drawing that line -- my line -- now."
The knot that had been slowly forming in Hotch's stomach tightened, niggling suspicions growing concrete. "The line between you and Strauss."
Emily nodded. "I didn't get here on my own merit. Oh, I tried, I worked my ass off to get here," she added with a bitter laugh. "I suppose I should have realized it when you didn't know what I was doing in your office, but I didn't, not until Baltimore, with the Chernus. My mother said something that tipped me off, and I thought maybe she'd whispered in a few ears, but..."
"But?" Hotch dreaded the answer, but couldn't afford not to know.
"She may have, and probably did, but she wasn't who, or what got me here. The truth is," and underneath the calmness then was a note of savage anger, "I wasn't assigned to your team to replace Agent Greenaway. I was assigned here as a Trojan horse."
"I'm aware that Strauss wants to replace me," Hotch said slowly, ignoring the caught breaths of his team mates at that news, feeling Gideon's support from across the room.
"She doesn't just...Here." Emily cut herself off and turned, inserting the DVD disc into the player and turning on the television. Backing up to the couch, she held out her hand and took the remote control from Morgan. "I want this job, more than I could possibly articulate. Working at the BAU, with you guys, is everything I've ever wanted, more than I ever hoped to have. But if having it means letting that--that---bitch use me like a marionette, then it's not worth it." She turned her attention back to the television and pushed play before anyone could react.
The screen turned from plain blue to a view of Erin Strauss' office. A moment later, she began to speak.
"I put you in the BAU."
"Jesus," Morgan whispered.
"I knew how badly you wanted it. Everyone did. You were never exactly shy about letting us know. But there were those who didn't think assigning you to the BAU was a good idea. They thought you were too reckless. I believed in you, however. It's time to pay back the faith I had. Your team is in trouble. They've lost sight of the big picture. I believe they are reckless and at times out of control."
"I wondered why..." JJ trailed off, eyes wide in shock.
"It's time for Agent Hotchner's career to come to an end. And if you want to stay in the BAU, Agent Prentiss, you're going to help me make that happen."
Emily hit the pause button then, but said nothing, staring at the floor. Silence dragged on for a long moment as she refused to look at anyone, hiding behind the curtain of her hair.
"That BITCH!" Morgan surged to his feet and was halfway across the room in one motion, an explosive echo of Emily's earlier sentiment. "Goddamned slimy excuse...Never trusted her..stab you in the back..." he growled, half his words unintelligible. Then he laughed, tone dark and bitter. "Does she really fucking think Emily'd cooperate with this?!"
Reid wasn't much better, on his feet, half watching Morgan. "She's using what happened to us--" He broke off incoherently, jabbing one finger viciously at the screen, before turning and pacing, muttering under his breath. "If she thinks that--that--"
"This...this is why they've been going after all of us, isn't it?" JJ asked, eyes wide. "She's trying to use...to use...she can't DO that!"
Gideon waited for the commotion to die down before speaking up. "There's more, isn't there?"
Emily nodded, brushing her hair back, but still not meeting anyone's eyes. "I don't know if it's just her, or if other people are involved, but--"
"I've been pulling security logs," Garcia added. "I haven't gone through them all, but what I have, what we have, paints a pretty nasty picture." She shuddered delicately.
"I need to call Haley and tell her to take Jack and go stay with her mother," Hotch said quietly, pulling out his cell phone.
"Um."
Hotch paused and glanced up at Emily. "Did you want to add something?"
"I guess now would be the time to tell you I already had Haley take Jack and her mother out of town. They're on a plane to Jordan. Your brother Sean's on his way to St. Petersburg, Russia." She swallowed hard. "I didn't know who's involved in this, or how far they'll go, so I thought it'd be best to get them as far out of reach as possible."
Hotch could only stare, listening to the stunned silence from the rest of the team.
"Sir? If there's anyone else I need to arrange protection for--"
"Wait. You sent my family overseas with what, next to no warning?"
"I've spent almost my entire life overseas, sir. Enough time to make some very powerful friends. I just called in a few favors." She shrugged, hugging her arms to her chest uncertainly.
Watching as Emily fidgeted, Hotch thought about what might have otherwise happened to Haley, and Jack, and even Sean and Haley's mother. If Emily hadn't gotten them to safety, he would have had to. He owed her, and had to wonder what Emily had done to earn the kind of favors this had to be costing her, and if he wanted to know. Finally, when Emily was all but ghostly out of anxiety, he nodded. "Thank you." He turned back to others. "Ideas?"
Another long pause, this time to let tempers cool.
Morgan was the first to respond, nodding at the television. "I say we watch the rest of that, just to see what we're dealing with aside from the obvious."
"We should probably start figuring out who'd want you out of the FBI, and who has the connections for this," JJ added.
"Anyone with a grudge, and that'd be a long list," Reid put in.
"Emily, I hate to ask this, but..." Gideon started, then continued at Emily's nod of acceptance. "Is there any chance your mother might be involved in this?"
Emily shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. She'd be outraged to hear about this." Something in her tone begged Gideon not to ask for more explanation.
"Do you think she'd be willing to help?" Gideon asked.
"She would, but...if it's at all possible, I'd prefer that be our last resort."
Gideon smiled. "Of course. Of course."
"Hotch?"
"Yes, JJ?" Hotch twisted himself around so he could see her.
"Granted we're going after anyone and everyone involved in this, but what exactly is our goal? I mean, it'd be a huge scandal for the FBI, and maybe some other organizations."
"True. It depends on exactly who is involved, but I think we can press Strauss, at the very least, into early retirement."
"Counter blackmail?" Reid said, eyebrows drawn together as he thought the concept over.
"Rather poetic, don't you think?" Morgan's eyes glittered with malice.
Hotch nodded. "Emily, you'll probably have to pretend to cooperate with Strauss' plans. We'll help you however we can, but we can't go in there with you." He paused, remembering a similar conversation that had gone much differently. "Are you up for this? We can figure out something--"
Emily interrupted. "Sir, I'm up for whatever you need me to do. That's why I planned this 'housewarming party'," she finished, sarcasm thick in her voice at the last. "Besides, I already started that much. You'll see in the video."
Hotch nodded, a small smile quirking his lips. "I should have known better."
Smiling wryly, Emily turned back to the television.
"And Emily?"
Emily glanced back at him. "Sir?"
"Call me Hotch. You've earned it."
~~~the end~~~
Previous: Innocence Won
Next: God's Will in Earnest
Series: Of Innocence and Empathy
Author: Frogg
Beta: Nilandia and Adam
Rating: FRT-13 (strong language)
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Damnit.
Challenge: 50episodes - Criminal Minds, Morgan/Reid
Table: 2
Prompt: 38. Movie Night
Word Count: 1507 (with quotes from Evolution of Frank)
Author's Note: Spoilers for the end of Evolution of Frank.
"Emily?"
Emily glanced up at Hotch momentarily, then turned back to Garcia with a soft, "Just a second."
Hotch nodded and sat back, watching as the two women hovered over Garcia's laptop and several small stacks of other equipment.
Garcia's rapid typing died with a few sudden, harsh keystrokes. "There. We are cloaked and daggered." Grinning wickedly, she turned upward. "I'd like to see Batman try and break that," she told Emily. JJ gave her a mock salute from her position behind the couch.
"You're setting up jammers in my house during a so-called housewarming party," Morgan stated in disbelief.
Emily looked over to where Morgan and Reid were sitting on the couch, her expression cold and uncompromising. "I'm just glad I had a reason for us all to be here that wouldn't draw suspicion. Otherwise we'd be sitting in a hotel room somewhere." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe."
"What's all of this about? I know you and Hotch had interviews with Strauss--"
A baleful glare silenced Gideon's curious inquiry; then Emily straightened, picking up a CD case and making her way to the entertainment center. She inhaled deeply, squaring her shoulders and bracing herself. "There's a line we all draw, at some point, between politics and loyalty. Ambition and trust. I'm drawing that line -- my line -- now."
The knot that had been slowly forming in Hotch's stomach tightened, niggling suspicions growing concrete. "The line between you and Strauss."
Emily nodded. "I didn't get here on my own merit. Oh, I tried, I worked my ass off to get here," she added with a bitter laugh. "I suppose I should have realized it when you didn't know what I was doing in your office, but I didn't, not until Baltimore, with the Chernus. My mother said something that tipped me off, and I thought maybe she'd whispered in a few ears, but..."
"But?" Hotch dreaded the answer, but couldn't afford not to know.
"She may have, and probably did, but she wasn't who, or what got me here. The truth is," and underneath the calmness then was a note of savage anger, "I wasn't assigned to your team to replace Agent Greenaway. I was assigned here as a Trojan horse."
"I'm aware that Strauss wants to replace me," Hotch said slowly, ignoring the caught breaths of his team mates at that news, feeling Gideon's support from across the room.
"She doesn't just...Here." Emily cut herself off and turned, inserting the DVD disc into the player and turning on the television. Backing up to the couch, she held out her hand and took the remote control from Morgan. "I want this job, more than I could possibly articulate. Working at the BAU, with you guys, is everything I've ever wanted, more than I ever hoped to have. But if having it means letting that--that---bitch use me like a marionette, then it's not worth it." She turned her attention back to the television and pushed play before anyone could react.
The screen turned from plain blue to a view of Erin Strauss' office. A moment later, she began to speak.
"I put you in the BAU."
"Jesus," Morgan whispered.
"I knew how badly you wanted it. Everyone did. You were never exactly shy about letting us know. But there were those who didn't think assigning you to the BAU was a good idea. They thought you were too reckless. I believed in you, however. It's time to pay back the faith I had. Your team is in trouble. They've lost sight of the big picture. I believe they are reckless and at times out of control."
"I wondered why..." JJ trailed off, eyes wide in shock.
"It's time for Agent Hotchner's career to come to an end. And if you want to stay in the BAU, Agent Prentiss, you're going to help me make that happen."
Emily hit the pause button then, but said nothing, staring at the floor. Silence dragged on for a long moment as she refused to look at anyone, hiding behind the curtain of her hair.
"That BITCH!" Morgan surged to his feet and was halfway across the room in one motion, an explosive echo of Emily's earlier sentiment. "Goddamned slimy excuse...Never trusted her..stab you in the back..." he growled, half his words unintelligible. Then he laughed, tone dark and bitter. "Does she really fucking think Emily'd cooperate with this?!"
Reid wasn't much better, on his feet, half watching Morgan. "She's using what happened to us--" He broke off incoherently, jabbing one finger viciously at the screen, before turning and pacing, muttering under his breath. "If she thinks that--that--"
"This...this is why they've been going after all of us, isn't it?" JJ asked, eyes wide. "She's trying to use...to use...she can't DO that!"
Gideon waited for the commotion to die down before speaking up. "There's more, isn't there?"
Emily nodded, brushing her hair back, but still not meeting anyone's eyes. "I don't know if it's just her, or if other people are involved, but--"
"I've been pulling security logs," Garcia added. "I haven't gone through them all, but what I have, what we have, paints a pretty nasty picture." She shuddered delicately.
"I need to call Haley and tell her to take Jack and go stay with her mother," Hotch said quietly, pulling out his cell phone.
"Um."
Hotch paused and glanced up at Emily. "Did you want to add something?"
"I guess now would be the time to tell you I already had Haley take Jack and her mother out of town. They're on a plane to Jordan. Your brother Sean's on his way to St. Petersburg, Russia." She swallowed hard. "I didn't know who's involved in this, or how far they'll go, so I thought it'd be best to get them as far out of reach as possible."
Hotch could only stare, listening to the stunned silence from the rest of the team.
"Sir? If there's anyone else I need to arrange protection for--"
"Wait. You sent my family overseas with what, next to no warning?"
"I've spent almost my entire life overseas, sir. Enough time to make some very powerful friends. I just called in a few favors." She shrugged, hugging her arms to her chest uncertainly.
Watching as Emily fidgeted, Hotch thought about what might have otherwise happened to Haley, and Jack, and even Sean and Haley's mother. If Emily hadn't gotten them to safety, he would have had to. He owed her, and had to wonder what Emily had done to earn the kind of favors this had to be costing her, and if he wanted to know. Finally, when Emily was all but ghostly out of anxiety, he nodded. "Thank you." He turned back to others. "Ideas?"
Another long pause, this time to let tempers cool.
Morgan was the first to respond, nodding at the television. "I say we watch the rest of that, just to see what we're dealing with aside from the obvious."
"We should probably start figuring out who'd want you out of the FBI, and who has the connections for this," JJ added.
"Anyone with a grudge, and that'd be a long list," Reid put in.
"Emily, I hate to ask this, but..." Gideon started, then continued at Emily's nod of acceptance. "Is there any chance your mother might be involved in this?"
Emily shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. She'd be outraged to hear about this." Something in her tone begged Gideon not to ask for more explanation.
"Do you think she'd be willing to help?" Gideon asked.
"She would, but...if it's at all possible, I'd prefer that be our last resort."
Gideon smiled. "Of course. Of course."
"Hotch?"
"Yes, JJ?" Hotch twisted himself around so he could see her.
"Granted we're going after anyone and everyone involved in this, but what exactly is our goal? I mean, it'd be a huge scandal for the FBI, and maybe some other organizations."
"True. It depends on exactly who is involved, but I think we can press Strauss, at the very least, into early retirement."
"Counter blackmail?" Reid said, eyebrows drawn together as he thought the concept over.
"Rather poetic, don't you think?" Morgan's eyes glittered with malice.
Hotch nodded. "Emily, you'll probably have to pretend to cooperate with Strauss' plans. We'll help you however we can, but we can't go in there with you." He paused, remembering a similar conversation that had gone much differently. "Are you up for this? We can figure out something--"
Emily interrupted. "Sir, I'm up for whatever you need me to do. That's why I planned this 'housewarming party'," she finished, sarcasm thick in her voice at the last. "Besides, I already started that much. You'll see in the video."
Hotch nodded, a small smile quirking his lips. "I should have known better."
Smiling wryly, Emily turned back to the television.
"And Emily?"
Emily glanced back at him. "Sir?"
"Call me Hotch. You've earned it."
~~~the end~~~
Previous: Innocence Won
Next: God's Will in Earnest