Chapter 8 – … Apparently Not As Many As Jennifer Jareau

"What the hell do you mean she's gone, Spencer?!" Aaron yelled over the phone.

"Aaron, she was logged in the system that she came out of surgery ten minutes ago, and when I checked the room, she wasn't there. The nurses are telling me she's dead – Hotch, she can't just be dead! They told me she was fine twenty minutes ago. She was supposed to be in ICU recovering. No one is telling me anything, Aaron, just please… Just get over here as fast as you can." Spencer pleaded. He didn't like getting yelled at, but right now, it was completely understandable. He wanted to scream at the nurses and doctors himself – how could they fail to keep track of an important government agent? It couldn't possibly be that easy to lose track of an FBI agent that was in a critical accident.

She can't be dead.

He hung up the phone, storming down the hallways, demanding with the damned doctors were – the ones that worked on JJ.

He walked down the hallway. He was close to reaching someone that might be able to tell him what the hell was going on when someone grabbed his arm, and put a firm hand over his mouth, pulling him into a supply closet.

"Be quiet," Dr. Edwards said, not looking at the doctor, but still keeping watch for movement through the small space where the door met with the doorframe.

"What the hell have you done with SSA Jennifer Jareau?!" Spencer whispered with raised intonation in his voice, yet still whispering. Dr. Edwards refused to say anything.

"Shut up, doctor, we're being watched!" she muttered.

"You know what? Since you're refusing to tell me anything, you're under arrest."

Spencer grabbed her hands, before she protested.

"Agent, stop right there. I'm not supposed to tell you what's happening but I don't want to lose my job." She pulled her hands away from his grasp.

"Then talk." Spencer demanded.

She sighed, looking at the ground before looking back at the agent to tell her what had just happened with the blonde agent.

Thirty Minutes Ago

Her phone rang once more. It was a blocked number, but she knew it was Agent Cruz. She answered the phone, not knowing to expect next.

"Dr. Edwards, how is she?"

"She's still in surgery, sir. We've managed to stabilize her and repair the damage sustained in her abdomen and chest. Dr. Lewis is working on the head trauma right now."

"And?"

"She seems to be holding up just fine. It won't be long until she's out. However, there were some complications that arose regarding the head injury," She said.

"How so?" Cruz asked. Dr. Edwards paused a moment before continuing on.

"In the accident, a shard of glass penetrated the back of her head, severing the occipital vein. The only reason she didn't bleed out as quickly as normal was because the shard kept her blood intact. We're still trying to figure out how to remove it without her bleeding out on us."

"Anything else I need to know?" the agent inquired. She paused for a bit, before starting again.

"Head scans showed possible spinal cord damage, but we will deal with that after she recovers. We have the best doctors working on her, sir. I am cautiously optimistic she will pull through."

Dr. Edwards was standing, up at the observation deck, still in her scrubs. She watched, as the doctors and nurses continued to work on Agent Jareau.

"Dr. Edwards, can you tell me what kind of equipment she'll be needing to recover after the surgery?"

She paused, thinking of all the things they would need to stabilize her. It was an odd question, but nonetheless answered it.

"First of all she's going to need to stay intubated. She's in respiratory distress. Her lung capacity is too low for her to be breathing on her own. If she's off a ventilator for more than three minutes, she will arrest. She's also going to need a heart monitor and blood pressure cuff. Other than that, she'd be okay."

"Thank you Dr. Edwards. I've sent out a medical team down to airlift her to an undisclosed location. They should be arriving at the hospital in ten minutes. Once she's out of surgery my team will take over. The bureau has put a priority in her transfer, under the orders of the State Department. Now Dr. Edwards, the information I'm about to give you is highly sensitive. There are people watching your every move, right now. Once Agent Jareau is out of surgery, fake her death. You're going to report that she arrested in the ICU, and you were unable to revive her. My team will extract her – they will be dressed in scrubs, but they will identify themselves with the code word 'blackhawk'. Set up her heart monitor so that after twenty minutes, it indicates that she has flatlined. My team has their own equipment to keep track of her heart rate and vitals, and a portable ventilator that will be concealed under the sheet you cover her body with. Write up an official death report and submit it immediately. My team will place a cadaver in the morgue with her tags."

Dr. Edwards froze, trying to make sense of the orders just given to her.

"Dr. Edwards, do you understand?" He asked again.

"Yes sir, yes I do."

"Good. One last thing,"

"I'm listening."

"Tell her team nothing. If they arrest you, let them arrest you. Do not let them know what is happening at the hospital. Once you're at the station, you tell them everything you know about Agent Jareau's extraction. I will contact them over a secure line."

"Okay."

"Get rid of your sim card and phone. I imagine they'll have tracks on each and every phone in hospital. I'm talking to you over a secure line, but it won't be secure for very long unless you get rid of your phone. So please do exactly as I ask and get rid of your phone."

They both hung up.

Dr. Cassandra Edwards had never experienced anything like this before. Off the record, she was actually freaking out. How was she supposed to carry out top secret orders like this?!

Nevertheless, she put her phone away, and headed back to her office to prepare what's to come.

"That's what happened, okay. She's not dead and she's safe. As to her current whereabouts, I have no idea. He didn't tell me where she was going to be transferred to. But other than that, that's all I know."

Spencer just stared at her, still in shock. He couldn't believe this was happening again. This guy just pulled a Prentiss on them again. With JJ. He couldn't decide if he was scared or just downright angry.

But he couldn't be mad at JJ. Not after everything they've been through. She didn't even know what was going on. However, he was disappointed that she kept secrets from him again.

Jennifer Jareau. Always keeping things from us. Your family.

Then the questions started rolling in.

How come she never told us about her former superior? She never really told us who and where she worked for while she was at the State Department. And she never actually told us the real reason for coming back…

He froze in thought, finding himself in the same position he was only hours ago – asking a million questions that couldn't possibly answered at the moment; questions that he was convinced would drive him to insanity.

But she has to have a reason for doing this, I know she does… She has to.

"I have to tell my boss about this." He pulled out his phone, ready to dial the number when Edwards grabbed his arm, stopping him from completing the call.

"Dr. Reid, don't! By now they probably have access to your calls. If anything, you need to act like she died the moment you walk out of here. Tell your team that she's gone, but indicate through Morse code that she's still alive. These men after her… Should look like normal civilians, making them more dangerous than they already are. You need to sell it. I know you're a smart man, Dr. Reid. And do not tip them off – you already know too much."

He stood there once more before nodding and leaving the closet. He was good at keeping secrets, just not faking emotions.

He continued down the hallways, wanting to run away. He just wanted to run away from it all. It was becoming too much for him to take in.

There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to run.

State Department, West Wing – Chief Mateo Cruz's Office

Mateo Cruz was normally a very composed man – serious, respected and honorable. However, the situation was becoming out of hand – three of his best agents were dead, another missing, and another in critical condition. He didn't know how to keep his emotions in check. He didn't know how to approach the situation.

This time, he had no idea what to do.

He knew airlifting JJ out of Glendale wasn't the smartest idea – but she was in danger. He knew exactly who was going after her. JJ would have to come back to DC regardless.

The difficult part wasn't taking her back to DC.

It was dealing with her team.

He paced around in his office, trying to figure out how to approach the situation. He needed to tell her team, but there was so much top secret stuff they couldn't know about her. Nonetheless, he went back to his desk, and grabbed the phone, hoping to get the situation settled as soon as possible.

AN: Hola mi amigos, sorry for the late update. Struggled with writers block for a bit. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the word vomit. Also, make sure to check out my JJ oneshot if you haven't checked it out yet, and be sure to keep a lookout for my next story that I'll be uploading in maybe the next thirty minutes, "200" which will be a speculation about what's going to happen to JJ in 199/200 because I'm just that asshole who likes to ruin lives (jk I'm just trying to prepare myself for what's to come because JJ feels and my heart's exploding) make sure to review and all that wonderful stuff! Thanks to everyone who's still with me on this story. I know its frustrating, I've been frustrated with it as well, but promise I'm doing absolutely everything I can to make it worthwhile.