CM FIC: Russian Roulette, PG-13

[innerslytherin]

Title: Russian Roulette
Author: innerslytherin
Rating: PG-13
WC: 635
Character/Pairing: Emily Prentiss, gen
Spoilers: Tonight's episode "Coda"
Summary: Emily, in DC, after Louisiana
Note: Unbetaed and written fast.




She pulled the trigger.

****

It would have been easier to get Doyle arrested, if she'd had any faith in any traditional law enforcement team to do it.  She had no pretext on which to involve her team, not to mention there was a little boy who needed the team's resources more than she did.  Emily was well aware of her own capabilities, and those of her former Interpol team, and she knew they were the only people who could have taken Doyle down.  Her current team, though, was even better than her Interpol colleagues--no matter what Clyde thought--and she knew they could handle him...if they'd known he needed handling.

So when Ian moved to get up from the table, she pulled the trigger.

****

Except she didn't.  How could she, knowing that every member of her team had had eyes on them tonight?  How could she, knowing that not only Hotch, but Jack was in danger?  How could she, knowing that Ian had watched Reid long enough to know about his quirks?  How could she, knowing that Derek and Penelope might prefer death together over death apart...but that both would fight for life to their last breath?

So in her mind, Emily squeezed slowly, the Glock heavy and reassuring in her hand.  In her mind, Emily shot Ian Doyle through the balls and watched as he bled out from the femoral artery.  In her mind...

But if wishes were horses, as Emily's mother had always said.

So she didn't pull the trigger.

****

She could handle this.  Screw Tsia and Clyde.  As much as she loved them, she didn't trust them.  She'd been lying--just barely--when she told them she didn't trust anyone anymore.  She trusted her current team.  She'd let Dave into her deepest secrets.  She'd shared with Derek her bone-deep geekiness.  She'd been pleased that Spencer knew her well enough to invite her to Solaris.

But as smart as her team members were, they didn't know who--what--they were up against.

So she did her laundry in another seedy laundromat and fed Sergio in the bathroom of her motel room, hoping tonight there would be no top-of-the-lungs arguments that kept her awake.  She applied the mineral foundation thicker than usual under her eyes and slipped a mirror under the car every time she got in.

And she prayed.

God, did she pray.

****

The night they got back from Louisiana, she woke in another thirty-dollar motel room, drenched in sweat and gasping.  She'd dreamt that she was at Haley Hotchner's funeral, but there was something wrong.  Hotch wasn't there.  Couldn't be there, because they hadn't caught Foyet.

It didn't take a 'posh FBI profiler' to know what her subconscious was trying to tell her.

If you really don't trust anyone, then Emily Prentiss needs to die tonight, she told herself.  She looked down at Sergio, curled on the bed at her feet.  An Elizabeth Moon novel was sitting on her bedside table next to her cell phone.  Emily shivered, hating the way her thighs slipped against each other, slick with fear-sweat.  There was a stench to fear-sweat that honest sweat didn't have.  And yet,  in a curled up kitty, there was a security that even a Glock couldn't provide.

She took a slow breath, glancing from her cat to her cell phone.  Garcia could pull the team together at an undisclosed location.  Hotch would do it for Emily--for any of his team; he'd proven that time and time again. Derek already knew something was wrong.  Dave had known people like Doyle personally and could provide insight.

Lauren Reynolds had been alone despite her team.  Emily Prentiss had more than a team, she had a family.

****

She didn't pull the trigger.

But she did make the call.

Comments

[amichevole.livejournal.com]

Have I mentioned lately how much you rock?

Because you do. Seriously.

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :D Your post-eps have been making me happy, so I wanted to return the favor.

[amichevole.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you did :). Now that I've finished playing Mass Effect, I should hopefully be able to get back to writing.

[microgirl8225.livejournal.com]

That was fantastic. Thank you for this. It soothes my achy heart.

[innerslytherin]

*hugs* Thank you! I needed soothing too.

[katewallace.livejournal.com]

I think you need to write for the Show. I like the way your arc is headed more than the way I think they might be going. But then, these last two episodes have been better than we've gotten in a while, so maybe they've turned the corner.

Awesome work, as usual.

[innerslytherin]

Aww, thanks! :) Right now, I confess, I'm more invested in Emily's fate than I am the cases. I think once I know what happens to her, I'll be able to go back and rewatch this arc with less pain. Heh.

[daylyn.livejournal.com]

Amazing! A wonderful insight into Emily.

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :)

Ian Doyle

[(Anonymous)]

Excellent! You've really captured Emily's fear and let her play out the possibilities.

I find Doyle fascinating, so far. What unnerved me, though, was that he knew what Penelope/Derek and Dave/Ashley were doing at that moment *and they were all at the office!* You can't get any more secure than Quantico, yet Ian knew exactly what they were doing. That implies he could get to them at any moment. *That's* frightening.

I still hope there's a twist to this storyline and Doyle is not just a relentless Terminator. (Already did that with Foyet) I'd love to see Sean, Clyde, or Tsia be Ian's partner (the one he spoke to on the phone as 'Lauren' was arrested 7 years ago). He's clearly upset at Emily because she "took the only thing that mattered to" him -- Lauren. My guess, anyway. He loved her and Emily 'killed' her. He wants 'Lauren' back or he wants Emily dead. Her choice. She may leave with Ian to save her friends.

Possibly. ;)

Kathy

Re: Ian Doyle

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :) Yes, the fact that he knows what's going on in Quantico seems to me to imply that he has a "good guy" helping him, someone like Clyde or Tsia who would have clearance enough to access the BAU. I confess, I would hate to see Sean as the traitor, though that would be quite a twist, since he was the one to warn Emily! Talk about psychological manipulation if that were the case! :)

[mingsmommy.livejournal.com]

Excellent work. You've captured the anxiety of uncertainty.

Favorite line:

And yet, in a curled up kitty, there was a security that even a Glock couldn't provide.

Awwwwww.

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :) Purrs are very powerful things. *G*

[dragonladyk.livejournal.com]

If. Only.

Better than canon, my dear, better than canon.

DragonLady

[innerslytherin]

Thanks!