Resurrection Day Chapter 3

Morgan sent his phone flying across the small lair after hearing from Hotch that two more bodies had been discovered.  He blamed himself; if he hadn’t been so stubborn two more innocent people wouldn’t have lost their lives.

“Okay, so that’s coming out of your next paycheck, Mister!” Garcia scolded.

“That was Hotch! Two more bodies, Garcia! You were right, I should have said something sooner!”

“Oh my god!”

Morgan paced the room inconsolable.  She didn’t know what to do or say to him.  It didn’t matter he would never not blame himself for this. To make matters worse, his feet had been nailed to the floor by Hotch; stuck inside while the rest of the team was out looking for the son-of-a-bitch who was out there killing at will.

“What did he say?”

“The police just found two more bodies; a man and a woman with the wedding rings that belonged to the couple at the last crime scene!”

“Who is this person? Everyone knows that the Reaper is dead, Morgan!”

“Is he? Are we sure?”

“Of course, we’re sure! Hotch killed him you saw the body lying on the floor of their home!”

“I can’t stay in here while this guy is out killing innocent people!”

“That’s exactly what you have to do, Derek! You heard Hotch!”

“Hotch isn’t the one this guy is after, I am! I can’t live with myself if I know this guy is out there killing and I’m sitting in here doing nothing like a damn coward!”

“Morgan! That’s exactly what he wants you to do! He wants you! If you leave you’re playing right into his hands!”

“I can’t let anyone else die, Penelope! Besides, I can take care of myself!”

Morgan bolted toward the door. Just as he reached the handle he was stopped by her firm grip around his wrist. He paused and turned to face her seeing the look of terror in her eyes.

“Don’t do this, please I’m begging you Derek.”

“I don’t have a choice, Penelope.  I have to stop him, whoever he is! I’ve got to finish this now! Today!”

Morgan gently kissed her on the lips and left the room.  Her heart nearly leaped from her chest in panic as she quickly dialed Hotch’s number.

Crime Scene –

Hotch and Det. Purchase had just arrived at the latest crime scene.  The bloody bodies of Neil and Carla Butcher, both forty-eight, were covered where they had been discovered less than an hour before.  Similar to the Reaper’s other cases in Boston, the elderly man had been shot point blank in the head and the woman had been shot and stabbed multiple times in the upper body.  The man’s wallet was missing this time.  It appeared that the couple had been on a walk; witnesses reported seeing the couple at a nearby diner earlier. No one had seen anything unusual. 

“Why would someone want to copy the Reaper’s cases?” Det. Purchase asked.

“The Reaper proved to be one of our most challenging and memorable cases. He attacked our team personally…he killed my wife and nearly killed my son.”

“Please tell me you’re kidding!”

“I wish I was. He nearly killed me too.”

“Damn! I didn’t know.”

“This guy is dead, right?”

“I killed him myself.”

The two men continued to look over the scene while the forensics teams worked collecting evidence.

“Let’s get back to the precinct we need to give the profile.”

Police Department, Downtown D.C. –

“We’re looking for a white male, 35-45 years of age, average build with knowledge of past BAU cases.  This person is a psychopath with a narcissistic complex.  We believe these murders are being committed as an act against one of our agents who in this person’s mind has wronged him in the past.  Because of the manner of detail in these cases this person is now or was in law enforcement and still has access to information regarding past BAU cases.” Hotch began.

“This man is using some sort of ruse to get close enough to the victims without drawing attention to himself or making the victims feel threatened.”  This UnSub takes something from each victim and then leaves that item at the next murder scene just like the Reaper did.”  Reid continued.

“Because the attacks are quick and extremely violent, we believe the UnSub to be small in stature and lacks the ability to physically over power the victims or transport them to another location after he kills them.”  JJ added.

“This killer shows no remorse, and makes no attempt to hide the bodies.  He is confident and has no fear of getting caught.  Should you come across this man, please take extra care, he is copying the Reaper’s M.O. and therefore is armed and extremely dangerous and he absolutely loves what he does.”  Rossi added.

“The sooner we catch this guy the better otherwise we will have more victims on our hands. Thank you.”  Hotch concluded.

The team headed back to their work area to regroup. Just as Hotch stepped into the small work area his phone rang; it was Garcia panicked and rambling at break neck speed.

“He’s gone!” She yelled.

“Hold on! What do you mean he’s gone?”

“Morgan! He, he, took off! I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Garcia, where did he go?”

“I don’t know, Hotch! He just said he couldn’t let any more people die!”

“Okay! Okay! Keep trying to get a hold of him! We’ve got to get to him before the UnSub does! Thanks, Garcia.”

The team sat shocked! They knew Morgan and they already knew what their boss was about to tell them.

“Morgan took off, right?” Rossi asked.

“Yeah. The news of the last two victims sent him over the edge.”

“Damn! It’s exactly what the UnSub wanted him to do.” Rossi continued.

“He knew Morgan would come after him if he kept killing. So did we.” Reid added.

“I thought we had security on him.”  JJ said.

“Getting around a security detail is a piece of cake for Morgan.” Hotch answered.

A few minutes earlier…

Morgan stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the garage.  Just as the doors were almost closed Agent Anderson stopped the doors with his hand and stepped inside.  Morgan wasn’t in the mood for Anderson ever cheerful and kiss ass attitude.  Now was not the time to see that irritating smile plastered across his face.

“Going down, Agent Morgan?”

Morgan nodded to the affirmative without uttering a word.  He had the right to be in a lousy mood, Anderson thought to himself.  After all, somebody was out there killing people because they had it out for him.  He’d be in a crappy mood too. He thought again.  No worries, things were about to come to a head then everything would be back to normal. 

He’d watch the team deal with all sorts of craziness in the last several years that he’d worked with them.  He’d always wondered what it would be like to be one of them, the elite, the cream of the FBI crop. 

Derek never realized how slow the elevators were. You’d think that as much money as the government spent they would have faster elevators.  Five, four, three… Damn! Was Anderson going to the garage too?  His blood was boiling and he hoped for the younger agent’s sake that he didn’t try to engage him in any more conversation.  He couldn’t afford a reprimand in his file for beating down a subordinate, not if he planned on ever getting promoted.  Two, one, Garage…finally!  Morgan stepped past the younger agent, (was that a damn smile on his face?) and into the dimly lit garage.  He cursed himself for arriving late and having to take a parking space on the far end near the entrance.  He grabbed his keys from his pocket, so deep in thought he’d forgotten already about Anderson…didn’t even hear him walking quickly behind him and didn’t realize that he’d followed him to his car.  He pressed the button and heard the chirp disarming the alarm on his car and unlocking the door.

“Agent Morgan?”

Morgan ignored the younger man he didn’t have time for idle chitchat.

“Agent Morgan?”

Morgan turned, slightly startled that Anderson was standing way too close to him now.

“Yeah, what is it, Anderson?”  He answered irritated.

“Didn’t Agent Hotchner order you to stay in the office?”

“What business is that of yours, Anderson?”

“None, I guess. It’s just that…”

“It’s just what?”

“You should have listened!”