Chapter 2
"𝘏𝘦𝘺, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘑𝘑 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘑, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦. "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥." 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘬. "𝘐- 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥. "𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦." 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘑𝘑. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴. "𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘺. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦?" "𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬, "𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘑𝘑, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. "𝘐'𝘮 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥." 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥. "𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶." "𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘶𝘱, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘥𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?" "𝘜𝘩𝘮, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?" 𝘑𝘑 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. "𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦." "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬?" 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘵. "𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱." "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘺? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥?" "𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥... 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘵." 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. "𝘐'𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘯." 𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 "𝘰𝘩." 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘥. "𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥." 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳. "𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺." 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳. 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦?" "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭. 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘴, 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱. 𝘈𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.
Emily groaned in pain. This was getting more difficult by the minute. She didn't know how much longer she could deal with the pain.
"Look, okay. Look, okay. Whatever it is, we can discuss it. You don't have to do this. Just give me the Morphine, okay, and - and - just - you can ask whatever you want." Her whole body was on fire, it hurt to talk, to breathe. "It was our investigation into you? Is that it? Is that what you want to know?"
"Tangentially."
"Oh, nngh." Emily let out painfully. She just wanted the pain relief. "Then what? Tell me. Tell me. Then I'll tell you. It's that simple. Tell me, and I'll tell you." She could have cursed herself out, giving in to Scratch so easily. She couldn't help it. She was practically begging him at this point. She would do almost anything to ease her pain.
Scratch smiled at Emily. He was getting what he wanted. "Yeah. I believe you will now. There is a certain dearly departed team member of yours that I would like to discuss with you."
"Stephen."
"No, not Stephen. This one isn't dead, at least not yet. This agent and I had a little tete-a-tete, and I crossed a line I shouldn't have. I really couldn't help myself, and I started to stalk his son, and do you know what he did, that coward? He went into witness protection... and he has been very difficult to find ever since, so that's what I want to know. I want you to tell me where he is, because I know you know."
"No. Oh, stop, no." She couldn't help the tears rolling down her cheeks. Not this, she wasn't going to let him get to Aaron, or Jack. Even if she did know where they were, she would never tell him.
"Yes, Emily. Where is Aaron Hotchner?"
"I don't know where Hotch is, I don't." Emily cried. "That's how witsec works. He has to be hidden from us because of men like you."
Scratch held up Emily's phone. "Do you recognize this? Well, it was a text exchange you had with a series of burner phones, and a last text exchange between you and this mystery man reads, "Honduras connection is a go. Hunting down all leads to B-Cap in DC. Thanks. A.H."" Emily let out a pained sigh. She didn't know where Hotch was. She'd faked those messages as a trap.
Scratch picked up a hammer, and removed the blanket from Emily's legs.
"Let's get down to the question at hand. Where is Hotch?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. He never gave me an address. All we did was text."
"No," Scratch shook his head. "Last chance."
"Vermont. He's somewhere in Vermont." Emily let out desperately, but Scratch dropped the hammer on her leg anyways. He didn't believe her. Emily screamed in pain.
𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘑𝘑 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘑𝘑 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘑, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯. 𝘌𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰. 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘑𝘑 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶." 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘑 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘑𝘑'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘑𝘑 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰. "𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴." 𝘑𝘑 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘻𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘑𝘑 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. "𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴." 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. "𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘑 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. "𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘺. "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘨. "𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬," 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘑, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘑. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴, 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.
Scratch leant on Emily's bed, getting her attention.
"Where is that place that you got to ground yourself? I'd like to know."
Emily let out a sound of disgust, looking up at Scratch. "So you can destroy it. See, I've read your case file. I've read about how your father was killed when you were thirteen, and earlier, you said something about crossing a line when it came to stalking a child. I realized Hotch's son Jack, he's thirteen now, too."
"I'm not a pedophile. I'm insulted by your inference." Emily shook her head slightly. "No. Your interest in Jack in clinical. You want to see what it will be like if he grows up without his father like you did. That's what I've been focusing on. After you kill Hotch, you'll never leave Jack alone. Am I right?"
"You are."
"Then let me tell you something, Peter. I've died before protecting a child." Declan. Sweet Declan. "That was a child I barely knew, but Jack, I love Jack. I've watched Jack grow up. I will not betray him or his father, so it doesn't matter what you do to me. I will not break."
"Let me test that resolve."
Scratch picked up a scalpel from the side table and held it just above Emily's eyes. She could practically feel it, but refused to close her eyes. She couldn't show him fear. No matter what was about to happen, she couldn't let him break her. He held the scalpel there for several seconds before briefly shutting his eyes in defeat. "You make an interesting point," he said and placed the scalpel back on the table. "I need a plan B."
Emily gasped as he walked out of the room. She had been scared, terrified, of what he might do. She was to be considered lucky at the fact that Scratch seemed to change his mind.
"Hey, you, come here."
The nurse stopped and moved the curtain slightly. "Just for a second," Emily whispered. "Please, I just need a second." She said more desperately.
The man walked in, and took the blood pressure monitor off the table.
"Please. Please help me. You don't even have to get me out of here." The man started checking her blood pressure. "Just make a phone call. You can use my phone. Call 911, leave the phone, and run."
"I can't do that." The man didn't even look up at her as he spoke.
"I won't tell them you were involved," she begged.
"It's not that simple."
"You said that we were both being taken care of. You mean trapped. He has your family, doesn't he?" That got the man's attention, he looked at Emily. She was right. The man looked back towards the curtain, seemingly scared. "Okay. My team can rescue them. It's what we do."
"I have to go." The man stated as he took the monitor off the agent and placed it to the side.
"No. Please." He was her only chance.
"I can't," he said as he rushed out of the room.
"Take my phone. Please take my phone." Emily begged but he was already gone.
"It's so hard to find good help these days." Scratch said as he entered the room again, making his way towards Emily's bed. "It seems like no matter what, I'm left to do all the dirty work." Scratch picked up a needle.
"What is that? Is that the Morphine?"
Scratched started filling the syringe with a clear liquid. "It's Amphetamine. I figured out my plan B. I can't torture the answer out of you, so I'll simply stop your heart instead," he said and pressed on the lever of the syringe, pushing the Amphetamine into the drip attached to Emily's arm. "If you want to live, tell me what I want to know." He had defibrillators in his hand. Emily started panicking, she was starting to seize.
"Where's Hotch, Emily? Where's Hotch." Emily didn't answer him. She meant what she said earlier. She would never turn on Hotch or Jack.
The beeping on the monitor increased in speed, Emily was running out of time.
She gasped, and flatlined. Her vision went black.
Emily opened her eyes, and she could see herself laying on the hospital bed, the nurse trying to resuscitate her.
A bright, white light caught her attention, and she walked towards it, through the curtains.
When her vision cleared, she was walking towards her grave from all those years ago. She looked down into the hole, and then at her tombstone.
"In loving memory of
Emily Prentiss
Oct. 12, 1970
March 7, 2011
Sep. 21, 2011
???"
"Of course. I get it now." She looked around her, saw the trees and grass, the other graves. "I get it." She said and jumped into the pit infront of her.
She came to with a gasp.
"That's it," the nurse smiled at her, putting his equipment back on the table. He put an oxygen mask over Emily's mouth and nose, helping oxygen flow into her lungs. "Please, tell him what he wants. If you tell him what he wants, this can all be over. He'll release my family, and - and then I can help you, okay?" The man almost seemed desperate. Emily tried to speak but the mask made her incoherent. "What? What's that?" He removed the mask from Emily's face.
"Go get him." The man was relieved, put the mask away, and rushed out of the room.
Emily lifted her hands from underneath her blanket, moving her sling and she sat up. She pulled the blanket back, and after a few seconds of looking at them, they went back to normal. She was breaking the delusion. As she looked around the room, objects started fading. She was becoming more lucid. "Yeah, I get it."
She saw Scratch's shadow so she covered herself with her blanket as she laid back down.
"He's on his way, okay?" Scratch said. Emily knew that he was acting like the nurse, that there had never been another man there with her. He repeated "okay" until Emily responded. "Yeah. Yeah. Okay." Scratch briefly left the room before returning again.
"If I would've known that putting you at death's door would get you to talk, I would've started with that. Now, are you ready to tell me where Hotch and Jack are?" Emily nodded in response. "Good. Go ahead."
"They're at..." Scratch leant down towards Emily. "Tell me."
"Eight... five..." Emily lunged forward, biting the side of Scratch's face, making him scream out in pain. He stumbled backwards and Emily took the opportunity to get out of the bed. As she ran out of the room, she saw him grabbing her gun from a drawer.
Emily ran down a hallway, taking a right to get up some stairs. She knew Scratch wasn't far behind her, so she didn't slow down when she heard "FBI" followed by gunshots. Her team was here. Now all she had to do was outrun Scratch until they got him.
"Prentiss! Reid!" She heard Alvez shout, so she looked around the barrel she was hid behind for a second before seeing scratch just a few feet in front of her. She pushed the barrel towards him and ran away, Scratch shooting at her.
"Prentiss!" Reid. He was close by.
She ran down a flight of stairs, turning left and running into Matt. Reid followed just behind her, gun up and ready to shoot.
"Lower you weapon, damn it." She said as she realized who it was.
"Where's Scratch?"
"He's upstairs. Tag in here. Simmons and Alvez can box him in."
"No. I need to go find him." Reid rushed out and almost ran off.
"No, no, no, Spence." Her plea froze him in place. "I need someone I know is real right now, all right?"
Reid holstered his gun, walking towards Emily with open arms. He shared a look with Matt and the other agent took off running. "You okay?" He asked Emily as she started crying in his arms. "Uh-huh."
She was lying, obviously. She was far from okay. She was terrified, her mind was a mess. And that was before touching on her memories of JJ, and what they mean. Reid sat her down on a crate, held her hand and rubbed his thumb over her back in an attempt to calm her down.