Twisted Vengeance

Clues

"That's a good choice, Elle," Hotch said. He was in the bureau again, along with the rest of the team. Everyone gathered around the phone as Elle spoke. Hotch grabbed a notecard and began writing to the team, phone held in one hand by his ear as he waited for Elle to continue talking.

Elle's going to turn herself in. Everyone raised their eyebrows, not speaking. They didn't want to interrupt what Elle was saying for fear she may stop sharing her information and change her mind. Hotch raised a finger, shushing the team, preventing them from saying anything at all.

"Hotch, everything has gotten so complicated. Anything must be more fun than whatever is happening now. Can I talk to Emily again? I want to talk to her one last time. Before I, you know, end up in a jail cell. Emily seems like she'd be more interesting to talk to when she's not held at gunpoint."

"Prentiss is in the hospital right now. I'm afraid you can't talk to her." Hotch's response was short and concise.

"Well, then you'll just have to drive up to the hospital. She may be resting and in pain, but she can talk if she wants. You want me to turn myself in, right? Well, that's what I want. I'm not going to let you just catch me that easily. I have to get something as a last wish."

"Fine. The hospital is a few minutes away, we're going there right now. Stay on the line." Hotch knew that negotiating with someone as mentally unstable and homicidal as Elle was dangerous. But it was the only way to get her help. It was the only way Hotch would be able to retain some of his happiness.

"Ugh, fine, I'll stay on the line." Elle's mood changed with almost every paragraph. She was unpredictable in the current moments, her voice sometimes layered with sarcasm, other times sadness, and most often, anger towards no one in particular. That's what made her so dangerous.

The team got in the FBI vans for what felt like the millionth time. Without Emily, everyone could fit into the car. Even Garcia came along, sadness flooding over her usually bubbly personality.

Everything that could've gone wrong had gone wrong already. One of their former closest friends was a serial killer. Emily had been shot. Elle had no clear motive and the only thing she did all the time was unpredictable. Not to mention she took her victims' blood and wrote words on the walls as they were alive. That was pretty bad, too. And now she was leading them to who knows where, and obviously had a crazy endgame in mind so they'd remember her. They didn't need a crazy endgame to remember all that Elle had put them through.

"I know I've traumatized you. I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to hurt all of you. I guess I just wanted to hurt some of you. Are we almost to the hospital? I want to talk to Emily. God, is it too much to ask to have a fucking conversation with the person I shot a little bit ago?"

"Elle, we're letting you talk to her, be grateful. Because honestly, I don't think you really deserve even that much." Spencer's anger rose and he had lashed out at Elle's constant games.

"Reid, quiet." Hotch remained calm, but he obviously wanted Reid to be quiet. Reid knew himself well enough to know he should listen to Hotch. It wasn't even the fact Hotch was his superior. It was because Hotch had gotten them out of situations before, and he didn't want to mess anything up. He wasn't in tune enough with his emotions to know what was best.

"Ok, Elle, we're here. We're going up to Emily's room." When the team arrived in Emily's room, they ushered the nurses out.

Emily was confused. "Why are you here? What are you doing? Is everything all right?" No one had alerted her that the person who had caused her all this trauma was ready for a chat.

"Elle, say what you want." Hotch's voice was cold and unfriendly, as the case had really gotten to him. Elle's games had been enough for him at this point.

Elle's voice went into a sing-song tone. "Emily! It's been a bit. I just wanted to ask you one question before I give them another hint on how to find me. It's only one question. It's actually a really simple question—"

"Stop stalling Elle," Hotch spoke up from the room. He wondered why Elle was talking as though Emily was an old friend instead of the woman she shot. It was entirely different from how she acted. It was almost as though Elle herself didn't know who she was.

"Did they ever talk about me after I was gone from the team? Did they ever mention me at all? Even once?"

Prentiss stared, trying to concentrate on anything she could remember. "Elle, I don't think they did. It may have been a bit personal for them. It certainly was personal for you, and I think they wanted to remember you as how you were instead of who you ended up becoming."

"Say whatever you want. Elaborating and empathizing doesn't change the fact that they never said a word about me. That's all I wanted to know, though. I'm going to tell you exactly where I am. I'm in the abandoned warehouse three miles to the west of the last victim's house. But I have one condition or you'll regret ever finding my hideout in the first place."

Reid spoke for the first time in a while. "What the hell do you want more with us? I thought you said that this was almost over! Do you even—"

"Shut up, Reid, no one asked for your input. However, you're the conditions. I only want Spencer to bring me in. He's the only one I'll accept or you will regret it, I swear. So make your choices, and see what happens. You won't know until you send him."

The line went dead and left the team silent. They now had a choice. Would they risk their agent's life? Or would they ignore Elle's threat and risk the lives of many?

Author's Note:

We're almost done with the story. I have five more chapters left, and then the story will be done. Thank you to those who stayed with me throughout the writing of this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as I enjoyed writing it a lot. Elle is a queen, so I hope I'm doing her some justice by making her the unsub.