CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX: PANDEMONIUM !

7x23

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      FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE, THE TEAM HAD FINALLY GOTTEN A DAY OFF. They'd even planned ahead for their plans and were all going through with them. Casey had plans of her own as she sat at the local coffee shop by herself. She had been waiting on an old friend of hers so they could catch up.

Casey looked around, keeping aware of her surroundings at all time. She looked down at her coffee cup and was immediately reminded of Sawyer. She had been doing better since his death - but it hurt because she was reminded of how he wasn't here. She had wanted a life with him. And for that to be taken away so quickly made her sad. She smiled at the memory of meeting him for the first time, though.

The girl had immediately gotten out of her trance once she saw her friend approaching her with a huge smile on her face. Casey stood up and her friend exclaimed: "Casey!" She rushed over to her and gave her a big hug to which Casey accepted. "April!"

It had been a while since Casey had seen her good friend, April. She had met April in her freshman year, class valedictorian, student council leader and goody-two shoes. But Casey liked her, they were pretty good Facebook friends.

The two sat down. "How long has it been?" April asked, setting her bag down. "Too long!" Casey smiled. "I'm so glad we finally get to see each other," April said. "How have you been?" She asked.

"I've been pretty good," Casey told. "You know, coping... but... I'm good." April knew of what happened with Sawyer. (Months ago, they were supposed to go on a double date but it never happened). "You?" Casey asked.

April nodded, "Really good." She rested her hand on top of Casey's and squeezed it before removing her hand. "It's so good to see you." Casey shook her head. "I'm sorry I kept having to reschedule. You know how tough my job is."

April nodded once more, "I understand all too well," She said. "But speaking of which... I'm taking on a new expertise." Casey raised her eyebrows. "Which is?" She asked. "Catering." April stated.

"Really?" Casey asked. April smiled, "Yeah, I've worked it all out. Catering has been my passion. I like bossing people around and I like working for the government, believe me, but you know, I can only take so much adrenaline."

"So, catering?" Casey leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "Yes, catering." April nods. "Also, I may as well be catering my own wedding."

"Huh?" Casey furrows her eyebrows in confusion. April holds her left hand up and reveals a rock of a diamond on her ring finger and smiled widely. "Oh, my gosh!" Casey gasps. April nodded, "Yes, Bill finally proposed! Isn't it amazing?" Casey nodded too, "Yes! Yes, congratulations."

"I can't believe I'm finally living that apple-pie life I always told you I wanted. This is so exciting!" April cheered and Casey began to think and showed her support with her face. "Yes, so exciting!"

As April began to talk about her wedding, Casey couldn't help but think that maybe she was missing on an important piece of her life. Sure, she knew that marriage and the job wouldn't work well together, in fears of what happened to Hotch and Haley and on top of that, what happened to Sawyer — but a girl could dream. It could've been the jealously that maybe people like April and JJ could make it work. She was beginning to think that maybe she would never find true love.

After Casey's reunion with April, Casey had decided to go to the bookstore. She had a cup of coffee in her hands as she roamed the streets. She had passed by a building and heard her name being called. Casey turned around and spotted Reid and Garcia, in goofy-looking costumes and Casey burst out laughing. "Oh, my gosh!" She pulled her phone out and took a photo. "That is definitely the new lockscreen." She joked.

She stopped laughing and asked questions. "Anyways, why are you guys dressed like elves?" Reid shook his head, "We're not elves." He told. "No, we're here for the Doctor Who convention." Garcia confirmed and Casey nodded, "Oh, cool."

"What are you doing on your day off?" Reid asked, curiously. "Oh, I just went to go... see a friend. Yeah, my friend April, we were friends in high school. And I've discovered that she's living an apple-pie life and it's a life I'm never gonna have." Casey thought.

"Apple-pie life?" Garcia asked.
"Oh, forget it, it's an inside joke." Casey shook her head.

"Whoa, Rossi!" Reid spoke and the three turned over to see their other co-worker and he looked at the costumes and shakes his head. "Why doesn't this surprise me?"

"Are you here for the convention?" Reid asks. "Who schedules a cigar aficionado event back to back with... this?" Rossi motions to the costumes. "I'm not with them, by the way." Casey added.

     "It's the greatest party ever. Well, it was gonna be." Reid said, with a sad expression on his face. "Unless it involves Gentlemen Jack and pre-embargo Cuban cigars, I find that statement to be highly dubious." Rossi told.

"Kevin brought another woman," Garcia spoke, making Casey almost spit out her coffee. "What?" It had been known for a while that Garcia and Kevin broke up. He had proposed to her but Garcia liked what they had at the moment and Kevin wasn't fine with that, so they broke up. Casey always managed to give him the stink eye whenever she saw him in the office. "I'm plotting revenge. Do you want to help?"

"Yes!" Casey told, wanting to be on-board with this revenge. "No." Rossi said and the three co-workers looked at the man.

"Now, you know I love you all, but this is Saturday and it is my day off, so I'd prefer to love you from afar." Casey looked as the man began to walk away. "Well, we... love you too, I guess?" Casey says with a confused expression written on her face.

"Have fun. It's my bedtime." Rossi told. "It's 9am." Reid stated "You're judging me?" Rossi questions as he heads into a cab and Casey looked back at Reid in the costume.

The girl had turned her head and noticed Strauss exiting a building. She wasn't in her professional stance like she was always in, she looked a bit disheveled, if she were being honest. "Guys, look." Casey nudged Reid and Garcia and three all looked in the woman's direction.

Casey had pieced some things together about her and Rossi and thought long and hard. "You don't think—?" She paused mid-sentence once she realized Garcia and Reid were coming to the same conclusion. "Oh, my God! Are they—?" Garcia asked. "Ew." Casey scrunched her face up, not wanting to picture the two together.

Not even an hour later, the BAU team had been called in due to a local robbery and hostages were involved and the unsubs were known. JJ's boyfriend, Will, had called in the team after his partner died and was shot at. He ended up shooting one of the unsubs before another unsub pulled him back inside. The team had now been waiting on JJ to arrive as the scene was surrounded by police officers, the SWAT team, helicopters, fire trucks, ambulances. It was a chaotic mess.

JJ shortly arrived and immediately rushed over and embraced Will. "You okay?" Will nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine." He said and turned back to the bank. "It's definitely them. I only saw the King and the Jack, but I figure the Queen's inside, too."

"The media's calling them the Face Cards." Hotch informed. "Seven bank robberies in seven months. They've killed one person at each robbery."

"M. O.?" Rossi questioned. "Single gunshot wound. Each of the victims has bled out." Emily chimes in, "Serial killers with a 30-day cooling-off period and we're only just hearing about this now?" She asked.

"Well, headquarters has always characterized them robbers first and killers second." Hotch explained. "No one's killed 7 people without serious psychopathic tendencies." Reid spoke. "I disagreed with the original assessment. I was overruled." Hotch added.

"So why are we here now?" Casey asked. "Because crisis negotiation is overseas." Hotch answered. "What more do we know about them?" JJ asked. "They're organized, they're efficient. Each strike lasts about 2 minutes." The team continued to walk up the street.

"They gotta be scouting the banks in advance." Morgan told. "Why haven't we been able to ID them off of surveillance footage?"

They walk into a building that Garcia is already in. "They hack the security feed and turn off the cameras, both during the initial canvass and during the robbery, until the masks come back on, and then we're allowed to watch." Hotch explained and the team stared at the cameras at the unsubs pointing their guns towards everyone. The hostages were lined up in front of the building.

"They're using the hostages as human shields." Rossi stated. "This is the first time they've been interrupted. What went wrong?" JJ asked. "It's a big bank. It's possible they weren't about to round everybody up before someone triggered an alarm." Emily stated. "Why haven't they cut the feed now that they've been cornered? Letting us see inside gives up a tactical advantage. They gotta know that." Morgan told.

"They don't seem to care." Hotch told. Casey shook her head and crossed her arms. "They're overconfident, arrogant. They were sure nothing was gonna go wrong until now." Casey told. "The face card masks add to their narcissism. Their personas are the royalty of poker." Reid added on.

"JJ, Reid, and Prentiss, look at past robberies. That's gonna be our victimology. Pull another analyst if you need to. Dave, Willows, I want you to handle negotiations. And, Morgan, strategize tactical options with MPD." Casey looked over at Rossi and nodded.

As everyone walked out, Rossi, Garcia, Hotch and Casey stayed in the room staring at the cameras up until Erin Strauss walked in, making uncomfortable eye contact with Rossi — but only for a split second.

"Chief Strauss." Hotch nodded towards the woman. She nodded back at the unit chief and the two members. "The Director ordered me to supervise your operation." Strauss informed. "Puts you right in the spotlight." Rossi added.

"Well, you've got gunmen with hostages in the Capital. The Hill's concerned." Strauss told. "We're about to open lines of communication." Hotch informed the woman.
"What about a tactical assault?" Strauss suggested. "I don't think it's a good idea. There are hostages in front of the doors and windows." Hotch shakes his head. "What's your negotiation strategy?" Strauss asks.

"The Jack's bleeding out. They'll ask for medical attention." Rossi sighs. "The female unsub might have something to say about that." Hotch tells. "Yeah, look at her body language. She's cold and detached." Casey pointed out.

Rossi noticed it, too. "The King seems genuinely concerned about his partner's welfare. But she couldn't give a damn."

"The men probably know each other. Garcia?" Garcia already knew what Hotch was going to ask. "Yes, shuffling my technofabulous deck of databases, sir."

        The three had begun with a line of communications and Rossi was the first to step in with the speaking. Hotch and Casey had been listening in. The line picked up. "Who the hell's this?" A man's voice on the other side questioned.

      "My name is David Rossi. I'm with the FBI. To whom am I speaking?" Rossi began. "All right, I want a doctor sent in, and then I want out of here." The voice said.

       "Well, we certainly can discuss that. Let the hostages go and we'll give you all the medical help you need." Rossi told. The man laughed, "I can't do that. I need the leverage."

       "How about a sign of good faith?" Rossi asked. "Send out the women and children and I'll see what I can do." "He's trying to negotiate." The man spoke to who Casey had assumed was the Queen. "Negotiate? We're not playing games." She stated.

        Casey watched the cameras as the Queen approached a man and his young daughter. She grabbed ahold of the daughter and yanked her away from the father. "Either we get what we want or everyone in this room dies." The Queen stated and the man tried to reason with the woman, plead to her.

       "Do that and you get nothing." Rossi stated. The woman looked at the camera before looking back at the man and shooting him in the stomach. The girl rushed over to her dad and Casey shook her head at what occurred just now.

      "You better send in some help or more people are gonna die." The man told and hung up soon afterward.

      Strauss started heading over to the three. "We're sending in a medic." She told. "That's just gonna give them another hostage." Hotch told. "If they stop shooting people, it's worth it." Erin tried to reason. "If we give in to one demand, we'll have to give in to them all." Rossi told.

     "The Director disagrees." Strauss sighs. "At least make it an Agent with medical training. That way he can take advantage of an opportunity if it comes." Hotch suggest and Erin nods, "Fine."

      Casey steps over to the men. "The brass thinks they'll act rationally, but there's no evidence of that. Another person could die if we send them in." She tries. "This is personal for the men. The King could have run after the initial gunfight, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled the partner inside out of harm's way." Hotch explained.

     "And stayed with him, while the woman searched the bank, presumably for a way out." Rossi told. "He's more worried about the partner than he is about her running away." Casey adds on.

      Hotch dials Garcia's number in and she answers almost immediately. "Garcia, narrow your search. I think the male unsubs might even be related."

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      They discovered that the brothers were related — Chris and Oliver Stratton. They weren't successful enough by themselves and the woman with them was more skilled. After sending in an agent with medical training, it didn't blow over so well with Chris shooting and killing the man. Which was never part of his own MO, the woman was the one that shot and killed the victims.

      They were currently standing in front of the phone with Will and Morgan, trying to investigate more. "These guys were too good to get caught, so why did they?" Rossi questioned. "911 received a call alerting them to a robbery in progress." Will informed.

     "Actually, it was a text," Garcia chimed in. "DC added 911 messaging after the Virginia Tech students texts went unanswered during the massacre." Casey furrows her brows. "Can you trace it, Garcia?" She asked.
     "You bet I can, fair maiden. The message was sent from a cell phone that is currently inside the bank and was registered to a Larry Phillips Jr."

      "Why does that name sound familiar?" Will asked. "That's the name of one of the gun from the '97 North Hollywood bank shootout in California." Rossi stated. "So is this an homage?" Morgan asked.

       "Guys, that text was sent 30 seconds before they blacked out the security feeds for entry." Garcia told. "How is that possible?" Strauss asked. "That means it didn't come from a hostage. It came from one of the robbers." Casey thought aloud. "She wanted us here." Hotch added.

      Rossi, Hotch and Casey all joined Garcia and Strauss in the building. "It's more than the media outlets, sir. Anonymous international entities are hacking the feeds as well." Garcia explained.

      Strauss' cell began to ring but she immediately declined. "You were saying?" She asked. "I was tagging IP addresses and someone hacked the surveillance cameras at 7am this morning." Garcia informed.

     "Was that how they shut down the cameras for entry?" Rossi asked. "No, sir. This is an entirely different hack, one that's still receiving." Casey looked at the security camera footage. "Somebody else is watching, then. But who?" Casey questioned. "Whoever it is she's dressing up for." Hotch stated.

      "I thought that was for the media." Strauss assumed. "The media didn't have eyes inside before today." Hotch tells. "But she dresses up every time." Garcia tells. "Because someone is always watching." Rossi pieces and Casey also pieces it together in her head. "Her real partner, a fourth unsub." She says aloud.

     "I doubt if she was forthcoming about this other partner to Chris." Rossi tells. "I think it's time we bring Chris up to speed." Hotch suggest. "He is not gonna be happy." Casey told as she followed Rossi outside to the communications line.

      Casey watched the cameras and listened in on the conversation with the headphones. Rossi began the conversation and got right to it. "You know my favorite card in poker, Chris?" Rossi asks. "What's that?" Rossi continued, "The wild card."

      Chris scoffs, "I don't believe in wild cards. They dumb down the game." He tells. "Well, I couldn't agree with you more, but, uh, in this case, you're the one that's dumb." Chris chuckles, "This your new negotiation tactic, insulting me?" Rossi shakes his head, "Oh, it's not a tactic. It's a fact. Didn't you wonder why you got caught, what went wrong when you did everything right? We got a message from someone in the bank before you started shooting."

      "Impossible." Chris told. "Now, I know it wasn't you, and I'm hoping it wasn't your brother. So, who does that leave?" There's a pause on the other line and Casey watched the camera as Chris looks over his partner. "You're lying." Rossi adds, "Ask her."

      "Did you call the police?" He asks her and the woman chuckles. "Is that what they're telling you?" She questions. Rossi interferes, "That's not an answer."

      "Of course not. What do you think?" The woman pieced in her head. "They're trying to turn us against one another." The man looks at the woman. "Why would you even do that? Olly's dead 'cause of that." The woman holds her arms up and begins to approach him. "I wouldn't. I'm trapped here, too."

      Chris points his gun at the woman. "Are you lying to me?" He questioned. "We've come to far for you to start doubting me now. Lost too much." Casey looks over at Rossi.

      "Hey. Hey... don't let them tear us apart right as we're about to win. If you do that, Olly's death won't mean anything." The woman gets in Chris's personal spaces, hypnotizing him and he talks to Rossi next. "Enough. I'm done talking to you. I want to talk to someone who won't jerk me around face to face. No more Feds. I want to talk to the cop who shot my brother."

      Casey looked over at Rossi and they both knew that the cop that shot his brother had been Will.

      Casey had called Hotch to give him the news and the girl knew that JJ would automatically refuse to let Will in that building. Rossi called the man back up since they were getting the news that Will was on board with the idea of going in and JJ was not.

      "Where's that cop, huh? I ain't got all day." Chris questioned. "What you're asking is difficult." Rossi told. "Well, I'll make it easy. Send in the cop, I'll let a couple hostages go. A sign of good faith. Isn't that what you said?" Chris questioned.

       "Releasing the hostages is a great first step in resolving this conflict, but we can't send someone else in to be killed." Rossi told. "This ain't a friggin' debate." Casey watched as the man dropped the phone and she turned back to Rossi, who didn't know what he was doing.

       Casey watched the cameras as Chris had pulled a man to pick up the phone himself and yelled at his to pick it up and aimed his gun at him. "Tell him your name." Chris told.  The man spoke on the other line, "It's... It's Shawn Harper." Chris shot the man in the head, making Casey clasp a hand over her mouth at the sight.

      Chris picked the phone up. "You just killed Shawn Harper. Not me, you. I'm gonna shoot another hostage every 60 seconds until you send in the cop. Every 60 seconds. Who's next? Huh?" Casey looked at Rossi, who nodded at her to go and tell the team what just occurred and what Chris just told them.

      Casey rushed to the building and met with JJ, Morgan, Emily, Hotch and Will. "Guys!" She panted. "Whew, I'm out of breath. He's threatening to shoot more hostages unless he has Will." She informed and sighed, "Man, I need to work out more."

      "Screw this. I'm going in." Will told, standing up. "No, you're not," Hotch told. "We are."

       "We are?" Casey asked.

       Hotch had pulled Will aside and told him that he would be going in. He had said they were to make JJ believe that they were and to throw her off. It was for the best, Casey hoped. She had joined JJ, Emily and Morgan near a police car and Casey noticed Will slowly walking towards the building. Soon enough, JJ noticed, too.

        "What's he doing?" JJ questioned. She began to try and make her way to him but Morgan, Emily and Casey all held her back from doing so. JJ kept trying to fight them off but all three knew that Will had to do this. "Will! Will!" JJ screamed and Will had already made it to the building.

         A woman and two children were let out when Will went in. Only a few minutes lasted until the team heard a loud gunshot. Casey's heart dropped as JJ tried fighting her way over there once more but was held back again by her team. She clasped a hand over her mouth in shock and Casey looked across the building, hoping they didn't just get Will killed.

        The team regathered in the building and discovered the cameras were all cut and they didn't know if Will had made it. They all say in silence, trying to get JJ to calm down. Soon enough, she did but she was angry and had every right to be.

      "Did you see where he was shot?" JJ asked Garcia but Garcia didn't have an answer. "Is he alive or dead, Garcia?" JJ questioned. "I don't know." Garcia answered.

      "He was wearing a vest," Emily tried to make JJ feel better and hopeful. "He might be okay." JJ scoffs, "Might be." Casey looks at JJ. "He might be. Which means, there's just a 50/50 chance he's alive. And Will's a tough guy, he can fight through this." Casey tells with false hope filling her lungs.

      Rossi walked in the room. "They're not answering." He informed. "All right, we need to get inside." JJ stood up. "JJ, it's too risky," Morgan told. "We don't have eyes in there anymore."

      JJ looked over to Hotch, with tears in her eyes. "Aaron..." She said.

     Hotch knew that he was partly to blame but they had no other choice but to send Will in. He owed JJ. Casey looked over at the man as he took a deep breath and decided, "Let's go in."

      With that, the team got ready to get into the building. They had let the hostages out but Will was nowhere to been found. They still had to go in. Casey had been paired up with Emily to go into the building with SWAT by their side. They went through a back door and entered the dark building.

      The last thing Casey heard had been: "Abort! Abort!" coming from Rossi through her mic before looking over at Emily for a second and Casey was flung towards a wall and she hit her head, getting knocked out cold. The building just exploded and Emily and Casey were inside.

lol hi guys😁
kinda enjoyed writing this chapter lol
anywaysss
how you guys feeling???
i'm literally terrified yet so excited for what's to come lol
-mya <3