Romeo + Juliet | s.r

Chapter 19

Emily's POV:

Drugs.

That's what it smelt like in this old, musty bakery. All scent of what could've been homemade baked goods had been completely overtaken by the cold, hard smell of drugs. I couldn't pinpoint what exactly, I just knew there was a lot in here.

Cautiously, with my gun held right in front of me, I scanned the room. It was large in square feet but the layout made me feel claustrophobic. Well, maybe it was just the fact that I was here at all. Maybe, it was just the anxiety and nervousness. It was clawing at me so badly, I could feel my whole body shake.

It wasn't with fear of catching him. It was more so the fear of what would happen if he wasn't here.

"I checked the back, a washroom and storage room. It's clear." Morgan spoke into the earpiece.

"Front is clear." Rossi added.

I checked my position. I was in the left side wing. "Left side wing, clear."

JJ and Hotch's 'clear' came soon after too. That's when the bubbling pit of lava started in the stomach again. God, please let us be in the right place. This has been going on for far too long.

I hate that this bastard is so good at hiding. All in plain sight too. He followed us from Ohio all the way to Virginia and we still couldn't find him. God, it felt like I had been kicked in the guts.

I needed to sit down, I can't do this. All Peyton wanted was justice and even dead, we still couldn't give that to her.

I kneeled on the floor, my head feeling heavy.

This is what I was scared of.

I cradled my head in my hands and my body rocked back and forth on its own. God, it was stuffy in here. Where did all the air go? I couldn't stop shaking, my hands wouldn't stop trembling and my teeth were dug into my lip to stop myself from breaking out into loud sobs.

I flinched as my back hit the wall behind me but I still couldn't stop rocking. My back hit the wall once more. And once more.

I stopped for a second. I hit my back again, this time on my control. It made a weird sound. That's odd.

I turn out and start knocking on the wall. My eyes widened in realization.

The wall was hollow.

Taking ahold of my earpiece, I said "Left side wing. The wall is hollow." I put my ear against the wall and sure enough, there was scuffing on shoes on the other side. "There's definitely people on the other side." I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face.

Justice. What a funny thing.

An inalienable right that everyone deserves to have but in our world, few truly get it. One word from a judge's mouth can turn your whole life upside down. What a funny thing, that many become so clouded with fear and revenge, that deep feeling of betrayal spewing in their chests that they feel compelled to make bad decisions. Everyone deserves it, and it's not fair that Peyton didn't get it at first. If only she was here now to see that she isn't alone, that she is worthy of justice. Because I was going to get it for her if it was the last thing I do.

And that scuffing of shoes on the other side... they were the key to it all.

The rest of the team was by my side in no time. Rossi and Hotch were carefully peeling the wall and we got a small amount of space open for all of us to climb into. I stepped inside, JJ and the rest quickly following behind.

It was a dark, dank tunnel that I'm guessing led to a basement since there were no stairs or elevator to get there.

"Hotch, I think it might lead to a basement." I tell him, being careful not to be too loud and give our surprise element away before we see who's on the other side.