UNDER REVISION Silence in the Scars (A Criminal Minds Story)

Chapter 12: Lucky Break

UPDATED: 12.19.16

Reid heard the car pull up and turn off. Then there was the sound of running footsteps and the door to the shack flew open as Tyler burst into the room. His eyes were wide with panic and there was sweat shining on his forehead. Reid could tell that something had gone horribly wrong.

"Where's Jack?" Zoe asked. She had gotten to her feet when Tyler had thrown open the door. Her hand was resting of the gun in her waistband. Reid knew that she could tell something was wrong. Her tone was wary and her body posture was more defensive then Reid had seen it yet.

"Uh," Tyler paused. "He, well, Jack - um." He stuttered, blue eyes darting from Reid to Zoe and then to the door. Tyler was seriously starting to regret his decision to come back to the shack and face Zoe.

"Tyler," Zoe said. Her tone was measured and slow. She took a step forward and Tyler flinched back, as if expecting her to hit him again. "Where is Jack?"

"It wasn't my fault," Tyler said. He took several steps backwards, retreating towards the door. Zoe pulled out the gun and leveled it at Tyler's chest. He froze, eyes going wide, partially raising his arms.

"Do I need to repeat my question?" Zoe asked.

"Come on, Zoe," Tyler protested weakly. For every step forward that Zoe took, Tyler retreated. The shack wasn't that big and Tyler quickly found himself being backed into a corner, cut off from the door.

Reid pulled at restraints keeping him in the chair. He was watching the interaction with a rising sense of fear. He had his suspicions about where Jack was and why Tyler was so hesitant of not telling Zoe anything. If his suspicions were right, he might be in a lot more danger then Tyler was.

"Tyler, so help me god, I will shoot you unless you start talking," Zoe said. Her eyes were blazing with anger.

Tyler hesitated, his eyes once more darting from Zoe and the gun to Reid and then to the door. "The feds, they got him," Tyler said after a moment.

"How?" Zoe said. Her tone was still level and slow, which was somehow worse. Tyler didn't reply right away. Zoe jammed the barrel of the gun under Tyler's chin, forcing his head back. Tyler's eyes widened and he tried to take a step back, but collided with the wall. Zoe kept the gun under his chin, pinning him to the wall.

"We poked around, but couldn't figure out anything so Jack went to get a beer," Tyler said. The words spilled out in a rush and he kept stuttering over them. "I was waiting in the car for him. The Feds pulled up after he paid. I tried to call him, but the black guy tackled him. They were putting handcuffs on him when I drove off."

Reid's suspicions were right. He knew Morgan must be itching to do some damage to someone. Reid smiled to himself. There was a dangerous feeling of hope that grew stronger as a single thought danced around his head. His team had caught one of the UNSUB's and if they could get Jack to talk, they could find him.

"And you left him!" Zoe shouted. Her raised voice brought Reid's thoughts rather abruptly back to the current danger he was facing. It was possible that Zoe would decide to cut her losses, shoot him, and skip town before the FBI could interrogate Jack. Reid had complete faith in the others to get Jack to talk, but he knew that would take awhile. He wasn't sure he had that much time.

"Both of us getting arrested wouldn't have helped anyone!" Tyler shouted back. Something inside him snapping as he shoved Zoe away from him. The danger of the gun forgotten as anger filled him. Tyler turned to leave.

Reid's cry of warning came a second to late. Zoe raised the gun a cracked it across the back of Tyler's head. Tyler hit the dusty floor, letting out a sharp cry of pain and surprise. Zoe paced back and forth across the shack, tossing the gun absentmindedly from hand to hand, talking to herself.

"You fucking bastard," Zoe said. Her voice was sharp, cracking like a whip in the small shack. "I can't believe you would be - would be so, so stupid!" Her rage had rendered her almost speechless.

Tyler pushed himself into a sitting position, hissing as he ran a hand across the sizable knot on the back of his head. "The FBI knew he was there. They must have been tracking his credit cards."

Zoe payed no attention to Tyler or Reid, something both men were very grateful for. Tyler leaned against the wall, his face screwed up in pain as his head throbbed. Zoe kept pacing, still muttering to herself.

"New plan, new plan," she said. "We get Jack out of jail, break him out or something. Then we'll head to Mexico."

"Mexico?" Tyler asked.

"They do it in the movies all the time," Zoe replied. Her tone was clipped and curt. "Why shouldn't it work for us."

"But Mexico?" Tyler asked.

Zoe ignored him. "But first thing, first," she said. Her pacing stopped right in front of Reid's chair. "We have to get rid of the agent."

Reid's breathing stuttered as his pulse and mind went into overdrive. He tried to think of something to say. Anything that would stop the bullet from being fired. His mind came up empty. For once, and perhaps the last time, Reid's brilliant mind had failed him and this time it was going to cost him more than any chess match.

Zoe grinned and raised the gun, pointing it at Reid and cocking it.

"Head or chest?"