Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 60

I'm in the hall outside the room where Elle is still handcuffed. My phone is in my hand as I call Hotch a second time. He picks up right away.

"Hotch, please tell me you're almost here." I glance towards the door of the holding room.

"About an hour out."

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Hotch pauses on the other end. "We've all received strange items or warnings in the past day."

"What do you mean?"

"I got a phone call around midnight. In Vegas, Reid received a package with a skeleton key inside. JJ was given a butterfly, Gideon a baseball card. And a human head was shipped to him. From Montego Bay, Jamaica."

"And the rest of us got the body and a murder accusation. Got it." I run one hand through my hair in frustration. "How the hell does he know where we all are?"

"Garcia. Her system was hacked."

I freeze in the hallway. "The entire system? Hotch, he doesn't just have our vacation spots. He has everything."

"I know." Hotch's voice is bitter.

"What does it mean?"

"We don't know yet. But I'm afraid vacation will be cut short."

"No kidding."

"Have they let Elle go yet?"

"She's their only suspect, even if I've proven them wrong a hundred times. They won't let her go until you get here."

"Okay. I'll be there soon. Good luck."

I sigh. "You too."

I hang up and clip the phone on my belt before pushing through the door in front of me. Every time I come in I'm reminded I'm not supposed to be here. And I continue to remind them that I don't give a shit.

I lean against the wall just inside the door and address Elle, ignoring the other man's complaints. "Hotch will be here in under an hour. We've got a case."

Elle looks at me questioningly. "Here? This isn't under FBI jurisdiction."

"I know. But Elle... it's more than this."

Her eyebrows furrow in worry and confusion. My eyes dart to the man and she reads my expression. Not here.

I check my watch and sigh. It's just after five in the morning. "I'm going to get Morgan." At the door I glance back. "And you some food, seeing as you haven't been offered any," I add, passive aggressively.

The man rolls his eyes while Elle tries to suppress a smile.

Morgan gave me his room number before we left. I walk through the empty halls, my mind running in circles. Elle was framed for murder. Decapitation. And the head was sent to Gideon? What the hell is going on here?

I rub at my temple with one hand and stifle a yawn. I'm already starting to feel the pull of exhaustion. Shaking my head to clear my mind, I knock on Morgan's door. As soon as I do I frown, hoping he's alone.

Morgan opens the door a minute later. He wears a pair of black shorts with his top half bare, one hand rubbing the back of his head.

"C? It's five in the morning, what are you doing here?"

"You're going to want to get dressed."

---

"Arrested? For murder!" Morgan nearly shouts. "Didn't you hear them take her?"

"Morgan, this hotel is made for young adults on vacation," I remind him. "The walls are insanely thick."

Finally, he stops pacing and takes a seat beside me on the bed. "Good point." He sits for a moment in silence, thinking. "Hotch on his way?"

"He'll be here in half an hour."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

I sigh, falling back onto the mattress. "I thought at least one of us should get some sleep."

"When did you go to bed?"

"Late. I was... preoccupied."

Morgan chuckles, placing his hand on my knee. "My man."

"Woman."

Morgan laughs again and stands. "Come on, we should get back out there."

---

Hotch shows up right on time. Ignoring the hotel workers and local officers, he bursts through the door to find Elle, still handcuffed. I'm right behind him, Morgan on my heels.

"About time," Elle grumbles.

Hotch flashes his badge. "We'll be taking over here. Let her go." The other man glares at him. "Let her go," Hotch repeats coldly.

The man takes a key from his pocket and tosses it onto the table. Elle snatches it up and unlocks the cuff. I'm at her side, lifting her to her feet as she massages her wrist. She wraps my jacket around her and I close the first button as she pulls her hair out of the collar.

"You three, go pack. We're leaving in ten minutes."

I nod and follow Morgan into the hall, leaving Hotch to deal with the local detectives. We split up, Morgan's room on the other side of the hotel from mine and Elle's. Once we round the corner she slips her hand into mine.

"Took you long enough," she says, annoyed.

I squeeze her hand. "The FBI hardly listens to me, you think these guys would?"

She gives a sad smile and leans her head on my shoulder. I let go of her hand and wrap an arm around her protectively. When we get to her room we both go inside, and I open the connecting door so I have access to both rooms.

We pack quickly. We've been here less than a day and we already have to leave. I glance towards the table where the empty wine glasses sit from the night before. One day. Hell of a vacation.

When I'm done packing I close the connector and leave through the front. Elle lets me into her room from the other side. We stand on either side of the doorway, suitcases in hand. She looks at me sadly.

"So much for two weeks," she sighs.

I reach forward with one hand and grab her collar. I pull her lips to mine in the doorway, not caring who sees us. Her hands grip my hips as our lips mesh together.

When we separate for air I press my forehead against hers. "One week. We are both taking a week off as soon as this is all over. And I'm shutting off my phone next time."

Elle smiles. "Can't wait." She pecks my lips before taking my hand and leading me down the hall.

---

The four of us sit around the small table on the jet, everything we know spread out before us. It's not much more than random artifacts and small notes of information. Puzzle pieces. But we have no idea what the picture is supposed to look like.

Elle sits to my right, our legs pressed against each other under the table. Her eyes keep fluttering closed in exhaustion. Once we've gone over the case for the fifth time, I turn to her.

"You should get some rest."

"So should you," she mumbles.

"Carli's right," Hotch agrees. "We still have two hours to go. Get some sleep." He and Morgan get up and head to the back of the jet.

I take the file from Elle's hands and put it on the table. She leans her head against my shoulder and her hand finds mine. She closes her eyes and my lips brush her forehead.

After a moment, I feel my own eyelids growing heavy. I tilt my head against Elle and close my eyes, letting my body succumb to the pull of sleep.