Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 25

It's 5:00. The unsub will call in about twenty minutes. I'm walking through a hallway on the first floor of the house to a side room we agreed to meet in to discuss the case in private. I knock on the door and after I don't hear an answer, I enter.

Elle stands at the table, the only one here. I contemplate walking out, but decide against it.

"I knew it was you, that's why I didn't respond." She keeps her eyes on the file in her hands. A table sits in the center of the room and she stands to the right of it. I can clearly see the bruise on her temple, a painful shade of purple.

I close the door behind me but leave it open a crack. I approach slowly and bring my hand to her face. I know I shouldn't. But I do anyway. She closes her eyes as my hand touches the tender spot, my fingertips brushing across her temple. It's worse than I thought. Whoever did this was strong, possibly used brass knuckles.

"What really happened, Elle?" I try and fail to keep the emotion out of my voice.

"Something went wrong." My hand moves to grip her shoulder. She takes a deep breath before continuing. "There were three girls. All Emma's age. I was trying to get them out while the rest of the team dealt with the unsub. We were in a basement, I led the girls to the stairs, about to follow them when I felt his hand on my arm. He spun me around, hit me. Hard. I got back up and managed to arrest him, but I almost passed out near the end."

"I'm sorry. I should have been there."

She shakes her head. "It wasn't your case, Carli. It was mine. There was nothing you could have done."

I spin her to face me and place my left hand on her other shoulder. "I could've been there for you. I am now."

Her expression is sad. I don't know if it's because of the case or because of us.

"You got him, Elle. That's what matters."

She moves to hug me but I take a step back, my hands still on her shoulders. There's a sad warning in my eyes, a reminder. We can't, Elle.

The door suddenly swings open. I drop my hands to my sides as Reid enters the room.

"Hey guys. The others are coming." He joins us in the center of the room, oblivious.

Morgan comes in second, followed by Hotch and Gideon.

I glance at Elle, trying to put the last few minutes out of my mind. "Here we go," I mumble as I hop onto the table, sitting with my legs criss-crossed.

"Why can't you ever sit normal?" Morgan asks with a chuckle as he approaches.

I smirk. "Bi, remember?"

He laughs as I lean back onto my hands.

"We need a plan for the call," Hotch dives in.

"We know he really wants Emma. We can arrange a drop off for the ransom, keep Emma at a safe house," Elle suggests.

"And the money?" I question.

"They're getting it together now," Hotch responds.

"But the money isn't as important." Gideon speaks as he peels an orange in his hands.

"This unsub profiles as aggressive, he will kill Trish if we don't get him what he wants," Reid reminds us.

"And we have to consider the possibility that Trish is already dead," Elle points out, her voice solemn.

We stand in silence for a moment, the weight of the situation pressing on our shoulders.

"The call is in ten minutes. We'll use the same tactics, try to get him riled up. Maybe the tracking software will get a hit this time," Gideon decides as he hands out the orange slices.