The Long, Lonely Road Ahead

The following events take place after Hotch’s divorce but prior to JJ’s giving birth.

Yes, I know it’s a Mary Sue in some ways, but it was fun to write, so I’m throwing it out there for you to read and see what you think.
Please, read and review. Or at least vote on this story. I know you’re out there…

The Long, Lonely Road Ahead

Chapter Twenty-One

He talked at me the entire way. Thank God it wasn’t that long a drive. About twenty minutes later, he’d pulled over to the side near the tiny motel and I was getting out.
“You be careful, you hear? You don’t want to get mixed up with those Blackhawk nuts,” he said as I stepped down from the cab.
“I am one of those nuts,” I said, pulling out one of my guns. He looked at me astonished. “But shhh… don’t tell anybody.” He slammed his door shut and threw the truck into gear, pulling away from me as fast as an 18-wheeler can go. I waved at him with my gun, before sliding it back into my jacket and heading to the motel. MaryBeth, the same woman who’d owned and managed the motel for the past twenty years was behind the desk.


“Hey Terra! You’re early for your annual visit, aren’t you?” she greeted me.
“I am. But I’ve got business at the compound,” I said. I passed her enough in cash for a week’s stay and she passed me a key. I’d been doing this since I was eighteen. I didn’t have to sign the register and I paid more in cash than she asked for a room. She never told anyone who I was or where I was. It was just safer for both of us that way and this time, it was really very useful for me.
“I didn’t see your car out front,” she said.
“I didn’t get a chance to rent a car. I flew in this time,” I said. “It’s a long story. Kind of an emergency, eh?”
“That’s why no luggage. Gotcha. Well, if you need to borrow a car, you can borrow my Honda,” she offered.
“That’s really kind of you! Thanks!” I said. “I’m just going to check into my room, and then I’m going to take you up on your generous offer, if that’s okay.”
“Sure. I’ve already been out today anyway. Our custodian quit last week and I haven’t been able to find someone to replace him, so I’ve got to get to cleaning up outside,” she said. “You going to be here for dinner?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said.
“Well, let me know if you are, so I can make extra,” she said. They didn’t have a diner or restaurant, per se, but MaryBeth would always make meals for me. Apparently, I was the only one, ever, who stayed there more than one night.
“Thanks. I will.”

She threw me her car keys and headed out the front door to do her yard work. I headed down the hall to my room, the same one I always rented when I was visiting my mother. I let myself in with my key and closed the door behind me. Part of me wished I hadn’t run from Aaron, but I knew, I just knew that I couldn’t leave those men alive. Seeing Darrel kill those people, being forced to perform oral sex on him again, his almost killing me before Aaron killed him instead… it just brought it all back so vividly. I knew those men were doing to other girls, and boys, what they did to me. That they would be doing it to my daughters and, now, my grandbabies. Babies. I’d had two and I didn’t even think of them as my own children. I sat down on the bed and put my head in my hands. I was too damaged, too fucked up to be with anyone. Aaron was too nice a guy. He deserved someone normal, someone without all this shitty baggage. My life was insane and it needed to be over. I needed to kill Matt Shaum, Franklin Rosewell, and Josiah Herald. And then I could finally rest… in peace.

(“The police in Weed just got a tip from a trucker about a crazy woman with a gun,” JJ told the others in the conference room.
“Weed,” Reid said, pointing to it on the map. “Was she in Weed?”
“No. He said he’d picked her up in Weed, but he’d dropped her off in Gazelle,” JJ said.
“Gazelle is only five miles from the house Agent Taylor mentioned and only fifteen from the compound,” Reid said.
“That must be Terra,” Rossi said, looking at Hotch.
“Do we have people in place in Gazelle?” Hotch asked Taylor.
“Not yet. We often use the motel there as a base, though. It’s only about an hour and a half up the number five,” Taylor said.
“I think it’s time to get started,” Hotch said.
“What about the warrant?” Prentiss asked.
“We’ll set up base first and then, hopefully, the warrant will arrive. JJ, set it up so they can fax us the warrant when it gets here,” Hotch told them. “Let’s go.”)

I loaded up both guns with fresh clips and tucked four extra clips into my jacket pockets. I’d been to the compound, under cover of darkness, about eight months ago. Darrel had still been with the Militia then. I came to visit every year in May, for Mother’s day. It was her birthday then too, which was a happy coincidence. Not only that, but the second weekend of May was the only time during the year that most of the leaders were away. There was always a meeting of various militia groups around that time, always in a different location, never shared until the week before, just in case. Josiah and the other men would attend that conference, and leave the compound in the care of the women and children. My mother would sneak me in for a bit, or she would go out to get groceries and meet me in Gazelle or Weed. I was more or less familiar with the layout of the compound from my annual visits, and I knew all about Josiah’s escape tunnels. I’d even snuck down into them once. He used them sometimes to go out into the world, as he called it, and do his “business.” I’d never been too sure what that business was, but I knew it couldn’t be good. One way or the other, those tunnels were my ticket to Josiah. I drafted a short letter to Aaron on the single sheet of notepaper with the motel’s name on it that MaryBeth made sure was in every room and then left, locking up behind me. I got into MaryBeth’s Honda, waved to her once, and drove away towards the compound.

(They reached the motel in Gazelle in less than ninety minutes, thanks to the judicious use of sirens and extreme speeds. Hotch and Rossi entered the motel office, but no one was around.
“Out here!” Reid called. He was standing with an older woman, her grey hair tied in a long braid down her back, a rake in her hands.
“FBI. Ma’am, I’m SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is SSA David Rossi. How many rooms do you have here?” Aaron asked her.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m MaryBeth Lovett,” she said, holding out her hand. They shook. “Well, the motel has eight rooms, four of which have two beds. The rest have just one.” She eyed him. “I’d think the FBI could do better than Gazelle.”
“We’d like to rent all of your rooms for the next couple of days, MaryBeth,” Agent Taylor said, walking up to them.
“I was wondering when I’d see you again Agent Taylor,” MaryBeth said, giving him the eye. “I can give you seven. There’s one room occupied already.”
“Who’s renting it?” Hotch asked.
“I didn’t say it was rented,” MaryBeth said, walking toward the office. She leaned her rake against the wall, and headed inside, the agents following. “I just said it was occupied. I can give you seven rooms, take it or leave it.”
“We’ll take it,” Rossi said.
“Have you seen this woman?” Prentiss asked her, holding out a picture of Terra Garcia had provided. MaryBeth scrutinized the picture.
“Why? What’s she done?”
“You know her?” Morgan asked.
“I didn’t say that. I just wanted to know what you wanted her for, that’s all. She seems nice enough from the photo,” MaryBeth said, holding out her guest register. “Here. You need to sign in and it’s $60 a night, up front, per room. We don’t have a restaurant, but there’s a fridge and a hot plate in each room. No smoking in your rooms. Weed’s just about twenty minutes down the road, if you need anything. The ice machine is broken and I can’t see getting it fixed in the next week, so you’re SOL there.”
“You haven’t answered the question,” Aaron said slowly. “Have you seen this woman? Her name is Terra Wintersmith and we believe she’s potentially in very serious danger.”
“Danger? What kind of danger?” MaryBeth asked, clearly alarmed.
“Have you seen her, Ma’am?” Prentiss asked again.
“Look, she’s been coming here for years. And she’s never done anything! She’s been kind to me, helped me after my husband died a couple of years ago… What kind of danger is she in?” MaryBeth held their room keys her in hands, a frown on her face.
“So you do know her,” Morgan said. “Was she here today?”
“She took my car about a hour ago. Didn’t say where she was going.”
“She’s not on your guest register,” Rossi said.
“No. We’ve had this deal for years. She pays me more than the going rate, and I don’t ask questions or ask her to sign in,” MaryBeth said. “I know she’s got something to do with the Blackhawk Militia, but I’ve never asked.” She shook her head. “It’s dangerous to ask too many questions about Josiah Herald or his militia.”
“Thank you,” Hotch said. They went outside again, and Hotch looked down the road. “She’s got a car and an hour head start.”
“This is a problem.”
“That’s an understatement.”)

I parked just outside the house, around the back, away from the road It looked abandoned, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t. I sidled up to the main window and peeked inside. It was unfurnished and dark inside. I walked to the back door and tried the knob—it opened. I snuck inside, closing the door behind me silently. The house was quiet. I wandered through the main floor until I found the door to the basement. The house was dusty, unused, but not in too bad shape. There were no obvious holes to the outside, and no serious leaks or rotten spots. I tried the door to the basement. It was locked. Damn. I looked around in the kitchen drawers for a knife or a pair of scissors, but there was nothing. I looked at the door. The easiest thing to do would be to shoot the knob off, if possible, but that made a lot of noise and I didn’t want to advertise my presence. Hmmmm…. What to do? I went back to the car and rummaged in the trunk. Aha! MaryBeth had a tool kit in the back, complete with a screwdriver and a hammer. I took them inside and proceeded to hack the doorknob out of the door as quietly as possible. It took longer than I would have liked, but what choice did I have? Once the doorknob came apart in my hands, I could reach in and pull the locking mechanism out, so the door swung open. Excellent. I headed down the stairs, turning on the overhead light so I could see what I was doing.

At the far end of a basement full of clutter and debris was another door. This one wasn’t locked, and when I pulled it open, it swung easily toward me. In front of me was a golf cart, and a long dark space. I got into the golf cart and when I turned it on, the lights came on. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, but I knew it was about ten miles. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound… I drove the golf cart down the tunnel, knowing it would lead me where I wanted to go.