White Rabbit - A Criminal Minds Fic

Thirty Five

By the time Aaron and JJ arrived in the woods with extra supplies and backup, Rossi was certain he'd have to attempt to physically restrain Derek. The man was ready to defy all orders given to him so that he could barge in and attempt to rescue Spencer, his best friend.

Dave knew that it had been a bad decision to have Derek out in the woods with him. Whilst they all struggled to think objectively when it was one of their own, Morgan always seemed extra conflicted whenever something involved Reid and him potentially getting hurt. The first thing Aaron did when he exited the truck was to walk directly over to Derek and to place his two hands onto Morgan's shoulders, stopping his colleagues pacing.

"I need you to put your feelings aside Derek. I CANNOT have your head not in the game here. We're all worried and concerned but you're one of my best assets and I need you on this, I need you to follow my orders. If you can't do that, I want you to get back into that truck and drive back into town. Are you with us here?"

Taking a deep breath Morgan responded, looking his boss directly in the eye. "I'm with you. But Sir, if anything happens to Reid...."

"I know Derek, we all know. Because we all feel the same."

"Aaron, have you been listening to this?" Dave called over to his colleague. Hotch shook his head, they'd lost the feed on the ride over here.

"The Kid's got Lewis listening to him again, trying to negotiate a way out, some sort of exchange between the two."

"JJ, Morgan. Quickly unload the other batteries and generators out of the truck. If Reid can convince Lewis to negotiate with us then they'll have to make contact. We need the radio connection to be as powerful as possible, let's get the signal boosted up quickly so we're ready."

...

"You want us to let you and Alice go? Why on earth would we do that?" Lewis stared at Spencer incredulously.

"Because it's the only choice you have here. Think about this. If you kill us, my team will come in and kill you, all of you. Some of you may be able to get away but the likely hood is that you'll die. Because their main focus will be taking YOU out, Lewis. Another option is for you to hold us both here indefinitely. The FBI won't come in unless there's an immediate threat to us our lives but they'll wait you out. And you don't have that many supplies left, you told me yourself. Eventually some of you will have to leave to restock and when you do, you'll be picked off one by one. Or my team will figure out another way of getting in here and infiltrating the compound, and there will again be loss of life. Loss of strong, healthy people. Loss of the children.... Maybe even Abby. Do you want that on your head?"

"If we let you and Alice go, how do I know that they still won't take this place down. That they won't kill us?"

"Because you won't be here for them to kill. Offer an exchange. Our lives for you and your immediate families lives, and safe passage to another country. One without extradition rights. You can start over again there. Ask for supplies, ask for money, build a new life there where you can still prepare for your future, Lewis. You won't be able to take everyone with you, you'll have to leave most of them behind. But those that are true to you, will find you wherever you settle and they'll follow you."

Lewis looked dubious but Spencer kept talking. "I'm important to the FBI, they will fight to keep me and Alice alive. They don't want a blood bath on their hands either. They don't want another Waco. They'll want to settle this as peacefully as they can. If you let Alice and me go, then they'll let you go. Trust me."

Lewis rose from his seat and walked around to Alice, pulling the gag back up and into her mouth before repeating the same with Spencer.

"I'll be back shortly. You've given me some interesting options to consider, but I need to discuss them with my family."

...

Lewis returned later, just as sunlight was starting to stream through the windows. Alice and Spencer had been trying to listen to any snippets of conversation. They occasionally heard yelling from Rebecca but they weren't close enough to be able to hear what was being said. Eventually, Alice's eyes began to droop and she tried to find a comfortable position, not that she could move much.

When Lewis entered the room her eyes snapped open and she narrowed them when she saw who was with him.

Charlie. He was carrying a tray with some water and crackers on. First he went to Spencer, ungagging him and holding the bottle to his lips. He drank from it thirstily and then accepted the crackers one by one as they were fed to him. When Charlie moved over to Alice, she glared at him angrily, resisting the urge to spit the water back in his face. He didn't glare back, just shaking his head at her as she drank. With his back to Lewis, he mouthed "it wasn't me" at her.

Bullshit, she thought. There was no one else it could have been.

When they were fed and watered, Charlie left the room leaving Lewis alone with them again.
"As a group we have considered the options. We wish to talk with your team. How do we make contact?"

"Our bags, in the hut. There's two cell phones in them that will switch to a radio frequency. You need a code though to activate them. And the team will want proof of life before they agree to anything, they'll want to speak with us. Bring the cells in here and I'll explain how they work and how to make contact."

The team already had their proof of life, the fact that they could still hear everything Alice and Spencer were still saying. But Lewis didn't know that.

"I'll fetch your bags. Just so you're both aware, Rebecca is still very much against this. She feels that we should kill you both and take our chances with the FBI. She's a very impulsive person, that girl. I, however, feel that this group can start over somewhere else, should we be allowed to. I have no intention of hurting you, or allowing any member of this family to hurt you. I want the best possible out come here."

"As do we" Spencer told him. Lewis appeared to be telling the truth which made Spencer hopeful that this could and would work.

Now he just had to wait for them to make contact and for negotiations to take place.