BPD Homicide Dept. 14:27
"Okay, guys, so I ran the two names that JJ wrote down on the scrap of bandage Morgan was carrying and I got a hit." Garcia said excitedly, looking up from her laptop. Almost immediately, Hotch, Rossi, Blake and Reid were at her side. Santiago was watching her intently from across the room.
Prentiss was at the hospital with Morgan, charged with ensuring he didn't argue with the doctors or try to leave before he was actually healthy enough to do so. He wasn't seriously injured, but he was still being treated for dehydration and a cut that had become infected during his trek through the sewers.
Hotch was also hoping that giving Prentiss something to do that wasn't directly related to the case might let her unwind enough to get some rest. It was unlikely, he knew that, but there was only so long someone could go without sleep before just collapsing. If Emily was truly determined to drive herself over the brink of exhaustion, she might as well do it in a hospital.
"Jeremy Knight and Tony Achat were two BPD officers who were killed in a shoot-out with a gang at a warehouse seven years ago." Garcia continued.
"Why would JJ write down the names of two deceased police officers?" Rossi mused, "It must be important for her to go to the trouble of writing them down in..." He trailed off without finishing the sentence. He didn't need to. Everyone on the team found it profoundly disturbing to think that JJ had so little freedom that she had been forced to write in her own blood rather than use a pen.
"Where was the warehouse of the shoot-out?" Santiago asked quickly.
"1430 West Avenue, why?" Garcia replied.
"That's on the border of the Triangle, on the Third's side."
"The Triangle?"
"It's the only place in Boston where all three Lieutenants' territories overlap." Santiago explained. "Back in the 80s it was a crime hot zone but since the Lieutenants took over things have quieted down. Aside from the occasional gangland shooting they keep a strict order on the streets there. 1430 West Ave. is on a block controlled by the Third."
"Could this warehouse be the location of the upcoming fight?" Reid asked. "When Morgan asked JJ if she knew where it would take place, she apparently nodded."
Santiago nodded. "It's highly probable. Relations between the First and Second are tense at the moment, it's likely that the Third is hosting the fight to ensure the exchange remains genial. I'll have a couple of my guys set up surveillance in the area."
"How long have we got until the fight?" Hotch asked.
Santiago frowned. "Jareau indicated 4 days. That was 3 days ago. These fights typically take place between 11pm and 2am. So that gives us…" He glanced at the clock, "Between nine and twelve hours."
Massachusetts General Hospital. 16:48
Prentiss jerked awake. She grimaced and rubbed her neck. Falling asleep in a hospital chair had done the muscles in her neck no favors. She glanced across at Morgan. He was also asleep. That was good, he needed it; he looked terrible. Then again, so did she; the bags under her eyes were beginning to get to the point where no amount of concealer could hide them.
She leaned forward and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Aside from Morgan, she knew the most about JJ's condition, and combining what she had heard with what Morgan had seen it did not look good. She felt her frustration grow inside her. She didn't know what to do. For now they were powerless, and it was killing her. Emily Prentiss was a woman of action, the kind of person to face a problem head on, to deal with it now and worry about the consequences later. But instead she was stuck, just waiting, and hoping.
