Secrets of the West Wing

Chapter 22 - Capturing Athena

June 2026 - Emily's POV

Come on y/n, pick up.  I cursed when I heard her voicemail again.  I had been pacing our living room floor for about twenty minutes now, worry increasing by the second.  I dialed y/n's number again, my nail beds now bleeding from how much I was biting them.  I couldn't even register the slight sting right now.  Y/n wasn't picking up and she never ignored my calls.  I knew something was wrong.  Call it a gut feeling, but this didn't feel like when she disappeared from Green all those months before.  I somehow knew she was safe then, just as I knew now that something was wrong.

"Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging system 30-" I hung up again.

I called Garcia's number, hoping she would be able to tell me y/n was still in the Oval.  "Hello my glorious goddess!  What can I do for you on this fine evening?"

Normally, Garcia's peppy greeting would make me smile.  But I couldn't even pretend to match her energy.  I couldn't greet her back, rushing to ask the only question on my mind.  "Is y/n still in the Oval?  Have you seen her recently?"

"I'm sorry, Emily.  I've already left - I left before her."  Shit.  "She sent me home saying she had some work to finish up.  Is everything alright?"  I ripped my finger out of my mouth, the taste of my blood just as bitter as my worry.

"No, I'll call you later."  I quickly ended the call with Garcia and called down to the Oval.  No one picked up.  My stomach plummeted.  I hurriedly grabbed my gun and rushed out of the residence to go look for her.  I found it a bit odd to see that Green wasn't posted at the door.  Maybe he was following y/n around on a walk.  What could be so wrong that she needed to go on a walk?  Why wouldn't she answer the phone?

I went down to check the Oval first since Garcia had last seen her there.  I found the office empty and the lights out.  Panic rising in me, I rushed out to the gardens and scoured them.  When I found them empty, I put my ear piece in and asked, "Does anyone have eyes on Athena?"

I heard a quick, "She went to the residence half an hour ago, Prentiss."  My stomach sank, my heart pounding.

"She never made it," I whispered.  Where the hell was she?

I sprinted to my office, dialing Hotch's number on the way.  He answered quickly and I frantically explained that no one knew where y/n was.  I thought I might throw up.  My worst fears were coming true.  And she swore to me that she'd be careful; she promised Hotch she would pay attention to her surroundings.

Hearing my frantic ramblings, Hotch said, "You need to calm down if you want to find her."  His voice was stern.  I knew he was right, I just couldn't make myself actually do it.  I couldn't breathe right now.  It felt like my whole world was crashing down around me.  Y/n needs you.  Get it together.

As I impatiently waited for Hotch to get back to the White House, I engaged in the protocol for this situation.  I called the cabinet to come back to the White House to confer and invoke the 25th Amendment - sign over temporary presidential powers to Rossi.  Then I called the director of the FBI to ask for more agents.  Lastly, I called JJ so we could get ahead of the media.  I hoped we could find her before the media caught wind of her being missing.  This didn't need national coverage yet.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Hotch swiftly entered my office.  "Any updates?"  He wasn't bothering with greetings or social pleasantries either.

I shook my head and blew out a heavy breath.  "No.  But I think we should re-examine that old letter - reform our ideas about it.  I had previously dismissed this thought completely, but y/n thinks the letter and the photos are related.  That the same person did both.  She thinks it's an inside man."