Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 74

TW: mention of r@pe

I tap my fingers impatiently against my sidearm. Elle's been in the house for two hours now while I sit with Morgan in our black SUV across the street. Further down the road, the others wait in a similar vehicle. Between us, at the next house, is a smaller, dark blue car. He's watching her. It's infuriating.

The sting was easy to set. We gave Elle the persona of a secretary working at an office downtown, who lives in a white-collar house in the suburbs. We laid some breadcrumbs for the unsub to follow. He picked them up like a rat.

Now, we wait. Elle is scheduled to leave the house in thirty minutes. The unsub will break in and when she returns home, we'll move in. In reality, she's just going for a short drive around town.

Morgan puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes before letting go. "Carli, relax."

I glare at him. "He's right there. A hundred feet away. And I have to sit here and wait for him to attack my girlfriend."

Morgan sighs. "We can't just-"

"You don't need to explain it to me," I snap. I sigh, shaking my head. "I'm sorry. Just... I don't like this."

"None of us do. But she's going to be okay."

"I know."

---

Twenty minutes later we hear loud music coming from inside. Morgan and I look to the house. "What's she doing?" Morgan asks, alarmed. His phone rings and he puts it on speaker.

"What's she doing?" Hotch asks the same thing.

My eyes widen. "She's panicking." I pull out my phone and call the number of her burner phone. It rings four times but she doesn't answer. I throw it onto the dash and reach for the door. Morgan's hand stops me.

"You can't, Carli. You'll compromise the operation."

It's already been compromised. But I pull my hand away and wait with the others. A few minutes go by and the music cuts out. I take a deep breath. She's supposed to leave the house now. Maybe we can regroup before sending her back in.

Soon enough, the front door opens and Elle storms through. I can immediately tell something's wrong. She rushes to the car with her hands empty. "No," I mutter as I see the gun stuck in her waistband.

She walks directly past the car and straight towards the unsub.

"Hotch," I say to Morgan's phone, "We need to move. We need to move now."

Morgan and I spring from the car and I know the others are coming down the street in the opposite direction. I reach Elle just as she pulls the unsub from the driver's seat and slams him against the car.

"What the hell?" he shouts. "What are you doing?"

"You're under arrest," Elle hisses.

"For what?" he cries.

Elle shoves him harder but Hotch cuts in, taking over the arrest. He pushes Elle away and I grab her elbow, dragging her to the side.

"That was not the plan," I say through gritted teeth.

"I improvised." Her voice is cold.

"D'angelo," Hotch calls behind me.

I look at Elle sadly before turning away.

────

I stand outside the interrogation room and watch Hotch and Morgan try to get something out of Lee. We have twenty four hours to prove he's guilty or he walks. Less if his lawyer sees fit.

Elle screwed up. She'll never admit it, but she let her emotions take over. And now this man, this rapist, could take to the streets again.

A few minutes later and the boys leave the room. I can tell by their expressions that it's not going well.

"Anything?"

Hotch shakes his head. "He's hardly said a word."

I glance back at the man through the windows. "I'm sure he'll have something to say to me." I push between them but Morgan puts a hand on my arm.

"That's not a good idea."

"It definitely isn't," I agree. "But it's better than nothing." I toss my hair over my part and undo the top two buttons of my shirt before entering the room. I close the door behind me and take the chair across from Lee. His eyes trail across my body as I move across the room.

Neither of us speak. After a moment I look towards the cameras and swipe my hand sideways, indicating they cut the feed. I know they won't, but Lee doesn't.

Still, he says nothing, his eyes rotating between my face, my neck, and my cleavage. I lean forward, clasping my hands in front of me. "Just you and me. No one's watching, no one's listening."

He remains silent. I open the file on the table and pull out the pictures of the three college girls that reported their rapes. "Do you recognize any of these women?"

His gaze travels from my chest to the pictures. "No," he says. I know he's lying, which gives me an opportunity to search for tells. The chain on the handcuffs clink as his hands shift.

"I'm sure these three women would disagree." I watch him closely. We both know he wears a facial covering when he commits his crimes. He doesn't say anything.

"Or at least, recognize his voice," I go on.

That gets a reaction out of him. His arms tense and the corner of his left eye twitches.

"What do you think happened?" I ask him.

"I don't know."

"He's foolish, I bet. Made too many mistakes. That's why he changed his victimology."

His left eye twitches again. "Or he's smart. He adapted."

I smile internally. He can't help but defend himself. "Why would a man so smart need to rape women for a good time?" I sneer.

The handcuffs clink again as he jerks in his seat. I lean back in my chair, letting him sit. He's silent for a few minutes.

"You have very nice eyes," he tells me.

I stare right back. "Yours aren't bad. It's a shame your victims never see them."

His eye twitches for a third time. "I haven't done anything to you."

"Not me. Not yet." I lean forward again. "You can't hurt me. But you want to." I stand now, placing both palms on the table and rocking forward. His eyes flicker to my cleavage but stop at my neck.

"You wish you could hurt me," I hiss. "You wish you could wrap your hands around my throat while you rape me."

He jerks in his seat again, trying to stand. His handcuffs prevent him.

I glare at him. "You disgust me."

He sits back into his chair and fights to keep the rage out of his voice. "I want my lawyer in here."

I stand straight, gathering the file. I leave the room without looking back.