Unavoidable

Chapter 2

Thankfully JJ and I are rooming together so I can talk with her about what happened in the car. When we get to our room we decide to have Reid over to get some room service and talk about the case some more. Once Reid and the food get there I spill what happened.

"Guys you'll never guess what happened to me earlier," I say.

"What?" They both ask at the same time.

"Prentiss, like the Emily Prentiss, was nice to me!" They stare at me in shock.

"Wait what, you're joking. Oh my gosh Lil! Spill!" JJ says and Reid nods while eating .

"Okay so we were driving to the McHenry house and I guess I dozed off and she gently shook my shoulder to wake me up. I know it's not much but coming from Prentiss that's a lot. Especially in relation to me." Jayje squeals in excitement.

"Maybe she's coming around to you Lil. She's never acted this way before to anyone new so I don't know exactly what to say but maybe just keep doing what you're doing. Hopefully that will work?" She says. Reid shakes his head in agreement with a mouthful of pasta. I giggle. We finish our food and Reid heads back to him and Morgan's room to get some sleep. JJ and I say our goodnights and head to sleep.

Soft hands, dark hair, a dim room and tangled sheets.

I jolt awake. What was that? I think to myself. It was just a dream, it was just a dream, I think over and over again until it lulls me back to sleep.

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I wake up wondering who my dream was about. And if it's who I have a sneaking suspicion about, then I am worried. JJ and I finally get up to go get dressed and ready before heading down to the lobby to meet the rest of the team. I put on some dark slacks and a burgundy button up before brushing out my long hair. JJ puts on a navy pencil skirt and a white blouse and then we exit the room together laughing over something funny Reid said last night. We finally get down to the lobby to meet the rest of the team and start to talk amongst ourselves while we wait for orders. I'm standing by the coffee cart talking to Jayje and Reid when I glance over at Prentiss. She's staring at me but when she sees me look at her she quickly looks away and starts talking to Hotch. Huh.

"Alright team let's move out," Hotch says and we all head to the Suburbans. We get to the station and start discussing whether or not to give in to the ransom demands. We have been debating most of the day as well as going back over the crime scene and through a possible suspect list. We finally decide to give in to the demand because at the end of the day we need Emmy alive. We fill a large duffel bag with fake bills and head over to the exchange site. I was originally going to oversee the exchange with Hotch, but Prentiss took it over from me. We arrive to the spot in our cars and so does Raleigh PD. Hotch, Prentiss and I get out and head over to the middle of the lot. Prentiss has a firm grip on the duffel bag. A beat up station wagon pulls into the lot. A man gets out and stands about 10 feet away from us in the lot.

"Where is Emmy McHenry?" Hotch asks.

"Where's my money?" the man says.

"We need proof she's alive first," Prentiss says to him. He grabs a photo from his pocket.

"Here's your proof, send the pretty one on the left to come get it," He says and winks at me. Hotch starts to say no but I nod that it's fine while subtly unclasping my holster. I close the space between me and the unsub. I reach out to grab the photo and in the blink of an eye, the unsub has me in a chokehold. I claw at his hands. Everyone looks frantic, even Prentiss, which surprises me a little bit.

"Bring me my money and both your agent and Emmy will be returned unharmed. Although," His free hand strokes my face and I squirm, "I might have to keep this one." I reach my free hand down to my holster and grab my gun slowly. I press the barrel into his stomach.

"Let me and Emmy go or you'll get a bullet," I say. I feel his free hand each around to his waist band and then something cold and hard presses into my temple. I hear JJ gasp from somewhere in front of me.

"Stop squirming," He says. "Give me my money or I'll blow her pretty little face off."

"Okay okay, you'll have your money," Hotch says. He motions Prentiss forward with the duffel. She slowly walks forward with her free hand in the air to show surrender. She tosses the duffel at the unsubs feet.

"Alright you have your money, now give me Agent Porter and Emmy and you can be on your way," she says. He starts to lower his gun from my temple and I sigh in relief. Prentiss looks up at me and gives a slight nod. I understand. A gunshot rings out and I start to fall. Prentiss grabs me before I hit the ground and helps me back onto my feet. Our hands linger on each other for a prolonged moment and then she pulls away.

"You good Porter?" She says and I nod. The unsub is laying on the ground with a bullet hole in his stomach. I crouch next to him and grab his wallet.

"Edward Fair, age 49. Huh, was he on the list?" I ask Prentiss and Hotch. They nod yes. Good we got the guy, but still no Emmy. The only clue we have now is a new picture of her tied up on a bed in a room and our one lead is lying dead in the parking lot. We head back to the station to mull over the loss of the unsub and try to figure out Emmy's location from the singular photo we have. When we arrive at the station the McHenry's are distraught with the fact that their daughter is now alone in an unknown location. JJ heads over to them and leads them into a quiet room to comfort them. We hand the picture over to Reid so that he can try and figure out the location, after all Boy Genius does have an IQ of 187 so if anyone can figure it out it's him.