"You've gotta know when love is over
You've gotta learn to carry on
And with the world upon your shoulders
You walk away when hope is gone
When your golden road has reached the end
You find a way to start again you know
There's a time for love, and a time for letting go" words and music by D. Warren & M. Bolton

A Time For Letting Go

The team cautiously entered the old vacant building. A quick motion from Hotch had the members break into previously designated teams to scan out the area to find the UNSUB.

Morgan and Hotch took the first floor. JJ and Reid took the second. And Rossi and Prentiss took the third level.

On high alert and their weapons drawn, Rossi and Prentiss stealthily and quietly canvassed the box laden area. Never more than a couple feet from each other, they each focused on different sides of the room. A noise, like a scratching sound, caught Rossi's attention. Making a slight sound in his throat, he pointed at eleven o'clock.

"Hotch, we have something up here," he reported in.

Emily's senses were on high alert as she tip-toed toward the sound.

"Rossi, what do you see?" Hotch asked.

As Rossi and Prentiss rounded the stack of boxes, they literally came face to face with the UNSUB. Emily tried to remain cool as she took in the UNSUB wearing a green flack jacket and what appeared to be a detonator in his hand.

"Delaney!" Rossi commanded. "Put the detonator down and step back."

"How did you figure it out?" came the taunting retort.

"The last bomb you left at the movie theatre had your fingerprint on it. I guess you don't know that even fingerprints from 50 years ago have been entered into the FBI data base."

The UNSUB was not surprised. "I knew that. I meant, how did you figure out I would be here? Old abandoned buildings aren't part of my modus operandi."

"True," Rossi replied calmly. "But you left a clue in your last letter. We were able to break it. Maybe you're losing your touch."

The UNSUB laughed sardonically. "Ability had nothing to do with it; I let you break it. I wanted you all here."

Rossi knew the rest of the team could hear the conversation, so he kept it going. "Why would you want all of us here? What reason would you have to make it easy for us to locate you?"

The UNSUB thought for a moment, then grinned evilly. "So I can kill you."

"That would explain the contraption you have strapped to your waist. Since I don't want to die today, perhaps we can discuss how to work things out so all of this ends peaceably with no one getting hurt."

"I don't see that happening. The only scenario I see is me taking all of you with me."

Rossi was perplexed. "Why? Why would you want to do that? I don't know you; you don't know me."

"You know me; you profiled me. Now let's hear what you have to say about me and my reasons for standing here with about 40 pounds of TNT strapped to my body."

With his gun still trained on the UNSUB, Rossi started his profile: "You're a loner. Your mother died when you were a child and your father blamed you for it. But it wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was."

"No. She had Tuberculosis. But you were punished by your father. And when he wasn't punishing you, he was ignoring you. So you wanted attention. But you're not a killer; you have a conscience. So, you planted dud bombs to scare the people who hurt your feelings or fired you. But you felt bad, so you wrote those letters begging for forgiveness. But people criticized you for being a coward by planting duds."

"I am not a coward!"

Rossi remained calm. "No, you're not. That is why you made sure the next bomb did go off. But you planned it so no one would get hurt. How were you to know that there were going to be kids playing in the old house?"

"That was an accident."

"I know that. I also know that you don't want to hurt us. You made a mistake."

"I'll get the death penalty if I go with you."

Rossi stared him down. "That isn't for me to say. But I can say that there is only two ways this can work out. And I don't really don't want to shoot you."

Delaney eyed Prentiss. "I see you brought your pretty co-worker with you. I am so sorry that we couldn't have met under different circumstances."

Prentiss looked at Rossi. The time seemed to drag on forever. She felt the sweat run down between her breasts and her hands were starting to cramp from holding the pistol steady on target. But Rossi seemed cool under pressure---as though he had done this a hundred times. He was waiting and calculating how to get Prentiss and the rest of the team and officers out of the building without making Delaney suspicious.

"Prentiss, step back," Rossi commanded. She looked at him with a quizzical look that questioned his authority. "I said step back. Now." His tone warned her not to argue.

Stepping back, Prentiss kept her pistol trained on Delaney. She looked closer at Rossi. She saw a thin line of sweat trail down from his temple, down his cheek, to his neck. Rossi was nervous. It dawned on her that this was for real and the stakes were too high for any mistakes.

Prentiss took a couple more steps back. She scanned the room and tried to calculate the quickest way out. But she couldn't leave Rossi. She wouldn't leave her partner. Not even if Rossi threatened to shoot her. Never leave a man behind.

"Delaney, just put the detonator down," Rossi pleaded, but his tone was deadly serious. "You don't really want to do this. You are not a killer."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Delaney roared in anger. "I'm tired of people telling me what to do! Or telling me how to think! First my father, then the stupid news papers…now the FBI!" His face went from red to magenta. He was now pass the point of no return.

Rossi knew that look. He only had a couple seconds to warn everyone. "It's a trap Hotch!" he spoke up. "Get out! Get out now!" He watched Delaney's finger shift. It was too late. "Emily. Run!"

Rossi grabbed his partner and ran faster than he ever thought possible. Got to get Emily out of here! He thought as a loud noise and white light consumed the both of them in an instant.

Get her hand, he yelled at himself. With all his might, he grabbed Emily's hand. Then suddenly the floor gave way and he felt himself falling. And he lost Emily.

As Rossi fell into the darkness, the last thing he heard was Emily scream his name. He felt a sharp pain in his left side, then he mercifully blacked out.