My Sister's Keeper

Chapter 11: Taking The Lead

     "Ready for this?" Emily asked, her eyes trained on the road ahead.

     You sighed as a mixture of excitement and anxiety festered in your gut. "You asked that as if I were going to be taking the lead on the apprehension of this Unsub."

     She glanced over at you and pulled the car into the apartment complex. You unbuckled your seatbelt as did she.

     Before leaping out of the vehicle she said, "it's because you are."

     With no further verbalized instructions, you did as she expressed. You knew you had to do this to prove that you were confident in yourself, showing off your skills the team taught you. The two of you along with the rest of the team in suit behind you, you reached the doors. Quickly trotting through the building using the stairs to make a discreet appearance, you arrived at the fourth floor.

     "FBI,"you shouted, Luke knocking the door down.

     The inside of the once quiet apartment, the interior was layered with tinfoil over each wall and window. Thinking nothing of the place littered with photos of unknown people, you had already drawn your gun from its holster. Shuffling followed by a figure shot from one room to the other down a hall.

     Running after the Unsub, gun aimed in the air ahead of you, you shouted, "Jesse Watkins, FBI! Stop right there!"

     As you turned the corner, you scanned the inside of the room for any threats. But what made you stop dead in your track at the doorway wasn't anything the team had predicted.

     "Jesse," you stated in a stern tone.

     "Stop!" He yelled back. "Get out."

     Your blood turned to ice, leaving you calculating your next move. You looked back at Emily wide-eyed.

     "You don't want to do this," you stated as calmly as your tone would allow. "Put the remote down."

     He stared at you with a burning glare, stone cold expression written over his face. "No. They killed her!"

     "Who, Jesse? Can I call you that, Jesse?" You asked, already knowing his answer.

     "Those criminals, they murdered my Laura! With their sick games and drug deals." He wept.

     "Your daughter was an addict. She was very sick, Jesse."

     "No! All those thugs used her until all that was left of her was a shell of who she used to be."

     "I'm so sorry for your loss." You rebutted, one hand up and the other with the gun in the air. "But murdering people won't help you start to heal."

     "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" He shouts, angrily placing his free hand to his temples.

     "Jesse, what can I do to help ensure that you get out of here safely?"

     He seemed confused at your wanting him to remain alive. You stepped closer, now holstering your weapon. Hands in the air, you tilted you head to express empathy. When you did this, all you heard were Emily's words of advice from the day you met; show them your empathy. It's one of the most difficult things that we as profilers must do.

     "Get over here." He demanded.

     Glancing back at the doorway, he pulled you in before you had the chance to react. Somehow he got to your gun before you did, now aiming it at your head. Just as you thought the situation couldn't worsen, here you were, gun pressing your temple.

     "Jesse," you stated, your voice shakily making its way past your lips. "This isn't the way to do it. You won't get what you want."

     "Well, if I have to blow up this entire building with Feds in it, then I will." He replied.

     "No," you plead again. "I can tell you're a good man, a good father, who only wanted to protect his family. You just... got lost along the way."

     The silence filled the space around you and you took this moment to steal a look out of the window beside you. The snipers were not yet set up, infuriating you because of the time sensitive situation.

     "Mr. Watkins," you hear JJ say as she stepped toward the doorway. "My name is Jennifer, and I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. How desperately you want revenge, to inflict pain on those who you deem responsible for their death."

     You stared at her as a single tear dropped from your eye. She was your saving grace at this moment, and you hoped that it would work.

     "Lies." He repeated.

     "My older sister, she committed suicide when she was just seventeen years old. I was eleven. And every day, I have to live with the fact that, just like your daughter, she was sick. If she just had the right resources, she might have even made it."

     "Am I supposed to feel that way? I don't want to let them go. Those drug dealers are the ones that should die. And if you don't get out, right now, then I will kill your agent."

     "Jesse, ask Jennifer who I am to her." You interjected through a cloudy voice.

     "Bec-"  she stated sternly glancing over at you.

     "Jennifer is my sister, and if you do what you're thinking of doing, she will lose another person. Don't you think that losing one child is hard? Our father will have lost two of his children if you do this."

     "She has a daughter, just like you. Could you imagine how it would feel for a teenager to lose her mother? How painful it would be for her to go through the rest of her life without her mother?" Jennifer begged.

     You heard Jesse sniffle as his hand tremors with the gun barrel rocking off your skull against your skulll. But just as soon as you thoight that the ordeal was almost over, you felt the gun lift from your head. Before you could turn your head, you heard it.

     The ear piercing pop of your gun just a mere few inches from your head rang through your ears. The wet feeling of blood splattering on your face and neck overwhelmed you. You didn't even have to turn to know that Jesse Watkins snapped one last time.

     JJ quickly approached you with her arms open. She pulled you into her tight embrace, letting go of a couple short sobs. You didn't know how exactly to react, so just brought your left hand up to her right shoulder blade. You burried your head into her shoulders while bringing your other arm up across her back.

     As another tear escaped your eye, as you remained frozen in place. Everything was a blur from there, with you not even fully aware of your surroundings. JJ took charge and walked you down to the ambulance car to get checked out.

     "Just a fractured wrist and a could of bruises on your face and scalp." The paramedic explained to you. "Let's get to the hospital and fix this all up for you, agent."

     You glanced over at JJ while she softened her expression. You sniffled and winced while the medic placed it in a splint.

     "Can I ride with her?" JJ asked as she laid her hand on your shoulder.

     "Yes, of course." He replied, with a nod.

     While sitting on the gurney, the ambulance took offf. "It's okay. You're going to be okay, Bec."