Salvation 27

There is always inequality in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded and some men never leave the country. Life is unfair. – John F. Kennedy

You don't know what it's like to be helpless!

Michael Nassar stood there watching as the young man James was taken into custody. That day was one of the fastest moving days of his life. It was fast in that the frequency of the attacks were alarming. Since the first attack, he and the BAU were on the move.

It had been frustrating in that the unsubs had been a step ahead of them until the team started unraveling the motive and what they were looking for. It was one of those situations were the urge to move fast was rearing his head. Michael had that feeling often especially in Afghanistan with his team, but more often he had to rein in the hothead of the group when the news hit that a patrol was ambushed or something like it.

As in those cases though, he knew that the best thing to do was to work fast but slow. He couldn't help but smirk when he told Emily that earlier when she grew frustrated. The look on her face was priceless, but his logic was sound, and he explained it to her. Yes, they needed to move fast but they also needed to slow down, meaning that they had to follow protocol, look at everything… what they always did. It paid off.

Eventually, they did realize that their unsubs were making a social justice statement. It was extreme and very wrong in that innocent people were hurt and killed. Yet, Michael knew that it was something that needed to be said.

It was disheartening that where you lived determined the level of care in services to the public. The disparity was massive, and he appreciated it and didn't take it for granted. What he saw in Afghanistan had him appreciate what he could come home to. He practiced his Christian principles of charity along with his wife with her free clinics and his helping with food and charity for the church. He also questioned whether or not they were doing enough.

The inequality that occurred that started all this… it wasn't something that wasn't going to go away overnight. Nor was it going to go away with everyone on board. Those with power always looked for an angle of how it would benefit them. The rich didn't want to share. It was always the same. It was one of those vicious cycles and what they dealt with today was the result of that.

Michael stared at the two young men. They were grieving and now their lives were over. They were to be charged with murder since two people died in the course of their attack. He doubted that it would change anything. More than likely it would be spun that they were degenerates and their story would never be told, or not in the way that it should.

He mulled on it as he watched the young men were taken to be booked and entered into the system. His thoughts went into that rapid fire calculation mode he was well known for. He mulled over things that could be done and what their outcomes could be.

"You of all people know what it's like."

Michael was drawn from his thoughts and he turned to the one that broke his thoughts. He gave a slight smile as he replied, "And I know what a lot of things are like, Ems."

Emily gave a slight chuckle, "You know what I mean."

Michael sobered and said, "If you mean that I understood what James was speaking of about being helpless, then yes. I do."

"And?"

"And… I'm not about to wage war on the terrorists single handedly. That's just foolish." Michael gave a wry smile at that.

Emily felt her lip twitch. She knew that he would deflect, preferring to avoid his personal thoughts and experiences but he wasn't averse to sharing if necessary. "But you do understand the feeling. I know you've had that."

"And there goes Spence or my record," Michael replied with a sigh, appearing to be annoyed but he wasn't. He looked at Emily and nodded, "I do understand the feeling. There is nothing like that feeling when you are holding someone's life in your hands and you watch them die and there is nothing you can do but watch. It stays with you. Even more so when it is someone that matters a lot to you."

"But as you said, you didn't start killing people."

"True. And I've had my fair share of keeping men in my unit from reacting when we heard our friends died because of an IED or an ambush. We knew the risks. Didn't mean it hurt less. Pain and suffering are the same. Just… different circumstances," Michael said and shrugged his shoulders slightly. He looked back at the squad cars and could see the news vans starting to gather. "It was a statement Ems. A statement that the system is broken."

"Mistakes were made."

Michael turned to look at her and gave a sad smile, "Pretty words Ems, but the truth is that we like to delude ourselves in that things are just. True the system works. I've seen it, but who does it really work for. The stats say it all."

"And what can we do?"

Michael shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I can see where change is needed but the obstacles in the way… not our best friends." He gave a wry chuckle in reference to the politicians. "Maybe things have improved since this country was created, but reminders like these, kinda tells us that we really haven't gotten very far."

Emily studied the man. He was rarely philosophical about things and was often an objective observer, giving his input when he felt it was warranted. He was a good profiler and yet kept a youthful atmosphere with the way he could play a prank to his ability to get people to smile. She could tell this would have him thinking and was well aware of the work he did outside of the BAU.

"Mindset."

"What?" Emily frowned at him, not sure of what he meant.

"Mindset, the way how we've been conditioned to think. It's what needs to change. A challenge I think." Michael grinned at it.

Emily gave a tolerant smile. The man did like a challenge when presented to him. He didn't know the meaning of the term backing down when it came to a challenge. "And one you aim to undertake?"

"Wherever I can," Michael replied. "Starting by teaching my whirlwind with curls."

"Rory?"

"The first step to changing existing thought is to start with the ones that will be the ones to change it. The young. Sarai and I try to teach Rory by our Christian principles. I do the same with the youth group at church. Changing how we view others… it's a start."

"And I know Rory is going to grow up to be a beautiful and kind woman all because of you," Emily pointed out.

"It's what we can do. I do think though that things like this, it will get to a boiling point and nothing will hold back the reaction."

Emily nodded, "Then we do what we can. It's a fix up job, but better than nothing right?"

"I agree," he said. He then added with a slight toss of his head, "Come on. Time for you to calm the masses."

"Only if you have my back."

"Always."

They walked towards the reporters. Michael's thoughts were at the back of his mind and he would come to think about it later. At the moment, they did the job and stopped two people that felt the only way to be heard was through violence. Maybe that could change along with other things. But that was a fight for another day.

As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest. – Nelson Mandela

A/N: Taking a time to breathe and really think about the world we live in. Tag to 27.

A/N2: The title is named such because 27 refers to the ministry of salvation.