The Long, Lonely Road Ahead

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

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The Long, Lonely Road Ahead

Chapter Thirty-Two

“Well, that’s friendly,” Rossi said. “We’ve got two different militias mentioned by name at least, so that’ll help narrow it down.”
“You’re a popular person,” Prentiss said. “What the hell are we going to do about this?”
“You’re going to have to go to a safe house and now,” Morgan said.
“Let’s wait for Hotch and the bomb fragments,” Rossi said. “I’ll call Reid. He should be here to help.” He walked out of the room, his phone in hand.
“Good idea. We’ve got to find out which of these threats are real and which are just that—threats,” Morgan said. My phone rang suddenly.
“Uh, should I answer it?” I asked.
“You don’t know who it is,” Prentiss said, looking at the call display. “Unknown number.”
“It’s not Aaron then,” I said, picking up the phone like it was a bomb. I put it on speaker phone. “Hello?”
“Terra Wintersmith?”
“Yes?”
“You were warned. Someone else has paid for your arrogance. Next time, it’ll be you.”
“Who are you? What do you want from me?” I asked, trying to be calm.
“You know who we are. We are death. Your death.”
“Why?” I asked, but the speaker had already hung up. “Crap.”


“Well, there are a few things we know now that we didn’t know before,” Rossi said. He’d come back into the room when I put the call on speaker phone. “But I think we should wait for the rest of the team before we begin working up a profile.”
“Isn’t it more than one person?” I asked. “We’ve got at least four different people and groups that want me dead. How do you work up a profile of so many people?”
“Right now, we just want to find out who the bomber is,” Morgan said. “That’s the immediate threat. He sent the bomb and now he’s called to follow it up. We don’t know if he’ll send another bomb, or if next time it’ll be a lot more personal.”
“This wasn’t personal? I think it was pretty personal,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Rossi said. “We’ve got work to do on this, that’s all.”
“One of the groups knows about Hotch,” said Prentiss.
“I noticed that,” Morgan said. “Not only do they know about him, they know about his connection to Terra.”
“FBI agent lover boy,” Rossi said, a small smile on his face. “I think Aaron needs to hear that one.”
“I think he needs to hear all of them,” Prentiss said.
“This coffee sucks,” I said, pushing it away from me. “What are the chances of getting some Starbucks? Or at least something to eat? I didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast.”
“It’s almost noon. What were you doing all morning?” Prentiss asked. Morgan grinned behind his hands and looked at the ceiling. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
“I slept in,” was all I would say.
“What are you going to do?” Morgan said quietly. “Are you going to talk to the DA?”
“I’m dead anyway,” I said. “If I go to jail, I’ll be dead within the month, I’m sure.”
“You’re really well trained,” Prentiss said. “You could probably hold off anyone who tried to take you down.”
“Would you want to spend potentially years in jail, worrying about where the next murder attempt is going to come from?” I stood up. “I’m going to the washroom and then I need something to eat. Or at least a better cup of coffee.”
“Come on” Prentiss said. “I’ll escort you to the bathroom.” We headed out into the hallway just as Pen and Reid came into the office.
“Terra! What’s going on? I got a call from Rossi to come back in,” she said, hugging me.
“I’m just going to the washroom and then we can talk,” I said, Prentiss waiting for me at the door to the washroom.
“We’ll be in the conference room,” Pen said, bustling upstairs, Reid in her wake.

Shortly after, I was back in the conference room with a bagel and cream cheese, and a cup of better coffee from Starbucks. I wasn’t special that way, though—everyone else had something to eat and a cup from Starbucks as well.
“Well, Happy New Year everyone,” Pen said. “Despite the rather unfortunate circumstances… how was everyone’s night last night?”
“Let’s just say I’m pretty tired right now, and leave it at that,” Morgan said with a grin. He took a bite of bagel. “How ‘bout you, baby girl? You and Kevin go out?”
“We did,” Pen said with a grin. “It was the most stupidly romantic night I think I’ve ever had.” She looked at me a bit guiltily. “Sorry Terra.”
“Why? I’m sure if I’d been there it wouldn’t have been half so romantic, so things worked out well in the end for you and Kevin.”
“But I wanted you to be there! That’s what we planned, right?”
“I know,” I sighed. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that things don’t often work out the way we plan them.”
“The best laid plans of mice and men…” Rossi began.
“Gang awry, yes,” I said, finishing the quotation. Rossi’s phone rang at that point. It was Aaron.
“He’s on his way back from the hospital,” Rossi told us.
“He’s okay?” I asked.
“He’s fine,” he assured me. “Apparently there’s been no further hearing loss.”
“So we’ll wait for Hotch to get here, and then we’re going to have to move you to a safer location,” Morgan told me. “You can’t stay here and you definitely can’t stay with Hotch any more.”
“Not that it was a great plan to begin with,” Prentiss said under her breath.
“True,” Rossi said, “but Aaron thought that the additional officers on the scene would prevent something like this.”
“What else can I do?” I asked. “Is there anything else you need to know?”
“I’d like to know more about these other militias,” Reid said, looking at the notes Morgan had made about the phone messages. “The Patriots and the Silverados. What can you tell us about them?”

So we spent the next hour or so going over everything I could think of about the Patriots. Obviously I wasn’t going to listen to their threats. It wasn’t that I thought the FBI could protect me; I was pretty damn sure nobody could, in the end. But I thought that it was more important to try and prevent these groups, these home-grown terrorist groups, from hurting anyone else. Half way through the hour, Aaron came in quietly, pulling Rossi out to talk to him in his office. He didn’t look at me, but I figured he was in work mode and didn’t take it personally. As I answered questions, Pen looked up information about the things I was talking about, pulling up maps and photos, and detailed biographical information on as many people as she could. The Patriots soon led to the Silverados, a group out of San Jose. They were the group Brad was running guns to when he took me across the country. I knew more about them because we were in the same state together at least. Pen continued to make notes, Reid, Morgan and Prentiss asking me questions that I tried my best to answer, but Rossi and Aaron stayed in his office for the rest of the day. It grew dark outside; the lights inside seemed that much brighter. I was tired and my head hurt. I wanted to go home, but I wasn’t sure where home was.

“I’ve had enough,” I said finally, just as Reid was obviously getting ready to ask another question. “My brain is completely picked clean.”
“I was just wondering…” he began, but I put up my hand.
“Done. Finished. Finito.”
“I get that,” Morgan said, shaking his head. “We can get at this again tomorrow.”
“I have to answer the DA’s questions tomorrow,” I corrected him.
“That’s right! I hope this doesn’t, like, negate what you’re doing for him,” Pen said, closing up her laptop. She shook her fuzzy pen at me. “You, Missy, have a lot more ‘splaining to do.”
“Don’t I know it,” I groaned. “So… what’s going to happen to me now?”
“I’m not sure,” Prentiss said. “I’ll go see what Hotch says.” She left the conference room. I rested my chin in my hands on the table.
“God, I’m tired,” I sighed.
“If you’re receiving threats, then even if you tell the DA everything, you won’t really be able to go free,” Reid mused.
“I know.” I sighed again.
“Way to state the obvious, genius,” Morgan said.
“I’m not trying to be negative,” Reid said, sitting up. “I’m just wondering what you’re going to do. Can we do witness protection in cases like this?”
“And why would I want that?” I asked.
“You’ll be killed…” Reid said, obviously confused.
“Who cares?” I asked sullenly.
“I do,” Aaron said, walking into the conference room.
“Uh, me too, you goof,” Pen said, whacking me on the shoulder.
“Aaron!” I said, sitting up. “How are you? Are your ears okay?”
“I’m fine. I just shouldn’t be close to any more explosions probably ever.” He smiled just a bit, and then his face grew very serious. “We have to put you into true protective custody tonight, Terra.”
“Which means what?” I asked.
“We’ve got a couple of rooms here in the building that we use sometimes for witnesses, people we need to keep under lock and key for a night or so, but who aren’t under arrest,” Rossi said. “We’ll put you there and post agents at the door around the clock.”
“Alone?”
“Yes,” Aaron said, looking down at me. “And we’ll have to take your cell phone. We need to see what kind of information we can get from it about the callers who left those voice mails.”
“I see. Can I have a book or something at least?” I asked.
“We’re not doing this to punish you,” Aaron said quietly. “You need to be kept as safe as possible until you can answer the DA’s questions.”
“And after that?” I asked. “I’ll answer all the questions I can. Hell, I answered a ton of questions today! But afterwards, when he’s got his info and I’m free to go… what will happen to me then?”
“As long as threats are being made against your life, you’ll be safer in protective custody,” Rossi told me.
“Like what? Witness protection? A new identity? That won’t stop anyone,” I said.
“I can erase you completely from the system,” Pen said, holding up her fuzzy pen. “I can make sure no one can find you, ever.”
“But I can’t change my appearance,” I said. “And I can’t change the people I know and love, can I? What if they kidnap my brother? Or you?”
“You’ll have to never contact them again,” Morgan said. and Pen got a stricken look on her face.
“Oh. I hadn’t thought about that,” she said.
“You can change your appearance enough to be more or less unrecognizable,” Reid said. “There are ways to alter how you appear to others that are cosmetic.”
“I don’t know that you’ve got another choice,” Aaron said. “You’re being threatened by a lot of people, Terra. They’ve already sent you a bomb and it’s killed an officer.”
“And hurt you,” I said. I wanted to touch his poor, cut-up face, but I didn’t. I just sat like a lump at the table.
“It could have been you,” he said. “You can’t take chances here. And you can’t do this yourself.”
“Fine, whatever. Take me to this apartment thing you’ve got here. I’m done.” I stood up, exhausted.
“Come on,” Aaron said, gesturing me out of the conference room. We walked towards the elevators. “I’ll send over some clothing and your toiletries.”
“I’d appreciate that,” I said. I could be professional too, I thought. I didn’t have to touch him. I didn’t want to touch him.

We stood in the elevator silently as it ascended fourteen more levels. The door opened and he led me to the left.
“Terra,” he began, as we stopped at a door in front of which stood a huge man in a suit. “Agent.” The man stood to the side and Aaron unlocked the door. We entered a small hotel-style room, with a bathroom and a kitchenette. He closed the door behind him and we stood for a moment. “Terra,” he said again, “I didn’t want this.”
“I know,” I said. “I get that. I’m so sorry that the bomb hurt you, that it killed that man.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the threatening phone call you’d received?” he demanded.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” I said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Really. It was scary but I didn’t think it was going to lead to anything. And I didn’t want you to try and call the deal off.”
“I wouldn’t have done that,” he said, sitting on the bed next to me. “You need to go through with this deal with the DA. It’s that or go to jail. But we could have done something about your safety. The bomb might not have been sent if you hadn’t been with me at what was effectively an unsecured location.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” I said, putting my head in my hands. “I just wasn’t thinking.”
“I know. I’ve been guilty of that myself recently.” He took one of my hands. “I have no idea what I’m feeling for you. It’s too soon for anything really serious, I know that, but I can’t seem to leave you here. I know I have to, but I don’t want to.” He shook his head.
“Go,” I said. “I’ll be all right.”
“For tonight,” he agreed. “But what about after that? There’s a lot that needs to be done to keep you safe, to keep you alive, and it means we won’t be able to see each other again.”
“Ever?”
“Yes. Seeing me would create a link between us,” he said. He sighed. “You’ll need to cut off all current ties, so that no one would ever suspect who you used to be.”
“That sucks. What if I don’t want to do that?” I demanded.
“I can’t let you risk your life!”
“You don’t have to have anything to do with it! If I can’t see you, or Pen, or my brother, or anyone I know… then what’s the point of living? Really?”
“The problem is that it isn’t just you, Terra,” Aaron said, standing up, frustrated. “You’ve got to think about other people too! If you stay on the militia’s radar, then Penelope might become a target. Did you want that?”
“No,” I said quietly. “I don’t want anything to happen to any of you.”
“Well then.”
“I know,” I said, sagging. I flopped backwards on the bed. “Fine. I give in.”
“I’ll have some dinner sent over, along with some books and your things,” Aaron said, taking my hands and pulling me to my feet. He put his arms around me and held me close. “It will be all right, Terra. It will.”
“I know,” I whispered. We kissed briefly and then he was out the door, and I was alone.