Disclaimer: See my profile.
This story, while it can stand on its own, is also a continuation of my story 'A Force of Nature'. This story picks up several days after the end of that story.
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'A Force of Nature: Part II'
Chapter One
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The elevator doors opened and Derek Morgan walked into the BAU. He called out a greeting to several people he passed on the way as he headed to his desk. He saw Reid already sitting at his own desk, which wasn't a surprise. "Good morning, pretty boy."
"Morgan, must you refer to me as 'pretty boy'?"
"Yes, I must." Morgan leaned back in his chair and looked at Reid. "You okay, kid?"
Reid shook his head. "I don't know, Morgan. I'm a little concerned about Daniel."
"Any particular reason?"
Reid sighed. "I talked to him yesterday. He wanted to let me know he had gone and taken that achievement test. He felt like he did well, but he won't know officially for a couple of weeks. He mailed out college applications to Oxford, Columbia and the University of Maryland. They'll also get the test results. And I also know he and Garcia set a date for going out dancing. What I'm concerned about is he received another letter, but he won't tell me what the letter said. I don't even know which stalker it relates to."
Morgan sighed. "At least he's communicating. I don't understand why he would tell you all that but not tell you more about the letter."
"I think he's kind of in denial. If he doesn't talk about it, it doesn't exist, you know?"
"After everything that's happened already he should know better than that."
"He should…"
"Reid, can I ask you something? Why hasn't Daniel been seeking out a program within Russia for Russian Literature?"
Reid shrugged. "Believe it or not the best rated programs are outside of Russia."
"Hunh. So, when is this big date with him and Garcia going to a club?"
Reid laughed. "Friday evening. They want me and Karyn to come along. I keep telling Garcia I can't dance and I don't want to embarrass myself trying to pretend I can."
"Unh, hunh… Karyn the waitress. So, how was your little breakfast date yesterday?"
"That's none of your business, Morgan."
"Is she still talking to you?"
"Yes, Morgan."
"Then I guess it must have gone okay." Morgan leaned forward. "How come I haven't been invited along on this little soiree?"
"What little soiree?" Prentiss asked, as she walked over and set a cup of coffee down on her desk.
"Daniel and Garcia going out dancing."
"Ah! When is that happening?"
"Friday night, and Garcia didn't even let me know. I found out from Reid, who apparently was invited along, although I was not."
"I see. Apparently I haven't been invited along either, because it's news to me."
"What's news?" JJ said, coming out of her office with a stack of folders.
"Garcia and Daniel are going dancing. They invited Reid, but not me and Morgan."
Morgan stood up. "I'm going to go find out from Garcia why I'm not invited along."
"Maybe it's because the world doesn't revolve around you?" JJ teased as he walked away and she headed for Hotch's office with her folders.
"Ha, ha!"
A few minutes later Morgan returned to his desk and sat down. "Well Prentiss, it appears I'm invited, in fact we're all invited; you, me, JJ and Will, Rossi, and Hotch. That is, we're all invited as long as we promise to behave and not poke fun at anyone's dancing ability or lack thereof." He turned toward Reid with a grin.
"Morgan, why are you smiling at me?"
"No particular reason."
"Unh, hunh. Well, just remember I will already have a beautiful woman with me, and you'll have to seek one out who is willing to put up with you."
"Hey, dance clubs are my specialty," Morgan joked.
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Friday morning the team had barely arrived when JJ walked down into the bullpen to gather them. "Can I have everyone in the conference room, please?" she told them. She headed for Garcia's office. "Can you come to the conference room please, Garcia?"
Five minutes later the group walked into the conference room to see Rossi and Hotch waiting for them. "Ladies and gentlemen, care to guess who I just got off the phone with?" Hotch asked his BAU team.
"Who?" Reid asked.
"John Walsh, from 'America's Most Wanted'. He wants to do a segment about the capture of Dolby Carriol on the show because he was on our Ten Most Wanted List. The show's crew will be coming into the BAU and shooting some scenes here. The rest of the segment will be shot on location at the gas station where Reid took Carriol down, with a few scenes shot in Bermuda." Hotch looked directly at Reid. "Walsh also wants to have you appear in the studio on the show."
"Me?" Reid squeaked.
Morgan laughed. "What's the big deal, kid? John Walsh has been in here before to film segments for 'America's Most Wanted'. You've been introduced to him."
"Yes, but I've never actually been on the show before."
"You are responsible for Carriol's capture, Reid. And of course, they also want Daniel on the show," Rossi added.
"Oh!" Garcia said excitedly. "Can I be the one to tell him about it?"
Hotch couldn't help smiling. "I guess I can give you that, Garcia."
"I'll tell him tonight when we go out dancing! Or maybe I'll tell him at lunch today when we go shopping! This is so cool!"
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Early Friday afternoon the Emergency Room at Georgetown University Hospital was not that busy. There were people sitting in the waiting room, but the air was one of relative calm. The staff enjoyed breathers like this one as much as they could since they certainly did not get them very often. Outside the building a metallic blue vehicle parked haphazardly in a spot as close to the building as its driver could manage. The driver climbed out of the car and briefly leaned against the side of the vehicle before staggering toward the building. Blood was visibly dripping down his left arm as he managed to walk through the Emergency Room door. Two interns stood just inside the door talking as he came in. "Sir?" one of them said upon seeing him. "Are you okay?" He looked at the intern before collapsing onto his knees. As each of the interns grasped onto one of his arms they noticed the blood dripping down his arm and more seeping through the front of his shirt.
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"Reid, something is wrong! I know it!"
"Garcia, I tried calling. There was no answer."
"I know Reid! I must have called half a dozen times already."
"What's up?" Morgan asked, as he arrived back at his desk after lunch Friday afternoon to see Garcia talking to Reid, who was sitting at his own desk.
"Daniel was supposed to go shopping with me during my lunch break. You know, for a new outfit for me to wear tonight? He never showed up, and I can't reach him on the phone."
Morgan shrugged. "Maybe he forgot."
"No. There's no way he would forget. I just talked to him this morning. We even joked about the fact you all might be called off on a case and miss tonight just because you haven't gone anywhere for a few days. He said it would be fate or something."
"Okay. Well, I'll try calling him." Morgan picked up his phone and dialed Daniel's home number. "Straight to voice mail. I'll try his cell phone… Same thing. Hey Daniel, it's Derek. What's up? Give me a call back, okay?" He hung up and looked at Garcia. "I don't know, Baby Girl."
"I've left half a dozen messages like that in the last couple of hours," Garcia said, clearly upset.
"If we don't hear from him within the next couple hours I'm heading straight over there after work today," Reid said.
"I'll go with you," Garcia added.
"Is something wrong?" Hotch asked. Garcia turned around to see him and Rossi standing behind her.
"Daniel didn't show up for our lunch date and none of us can reach him."
"Maybe he forgot?" Rossi said.
"I don't think so, Sir."
"Between the three of us we've left him a dozen voice mails on his home and cell phones," Reid said. "At the very least he should be calling and yelling at us for bugging him."
Hotch was silent for a moment. "Ordinarily I wouldn't worry too much about something like this. However, given the circumstances of his stalker…" He thought for a moment and then pulled out his cell phone. "JJ, its Hotch. Can you please call the D.C. Police and ask them to do a welfare check on Daniel Meier?" He listened for a moment. "Thank you. Please let me know the minute you hear anything."
"Thank you, Hotch," Reid said. "Garcia and I are going to go over his house after work and find out what's going on."
"Good idea," Hotch said, as he and Rossi headed for their offices.
Reid, Garcia, Morgan and Prentiss all looked at each other after the two men left. "Okay," Morgan said. "Let's all try to relax and get some work done. I'm sure everything is okay."
"Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?" Garcia asked anxiously.
"Of course not, Baby Girl. Just pull up a chair."
Half an hour later Hotch came out of his office and walked back over to their desks. "D.C. police just stopped by Daniel's house and received no answer when they knocked. They were able to see inside the garage and determine his car was gone."
"I don't know if that's good or bad," Reid said. He looked at Hotch. "Garcia and I are going over there after work to check on Daniel."
"Reid, I have a bad feeling about this. Don't wait until after work. Go now. And call me as soon as you find anything out. Yes, Garcia, you can go with him."
"I'll go get my purse."
Reid saved what he was working on and turned off his computer. Just as he reached for his messenger bag JJ came rushing out of her office and over to his desk. "Spence, what kind of car does Daniel drive?"
"A Lexus RX Hybrid. Why?"
"What color is it?"
"Kind of a metallic grayish-blue. JJ, what's wrong?"
"One of my contacts with the D.C. Police just called me back. An unidentified man just stumbled into Georgetown U's Emergency Room. The only thing they knew was that a security guard saw him get out of a blue Lexus; so the department ran the plate and its Daniel Meier's car. I was hoping they were wrong, that's why I asked you about his car…"
"JJ, why is he at the Emergency Room?"
"He's bleeding from several stab wounds, Spence."
"Oh, my God!" Garcia gasped, her purse dropping forgotten to the floor.
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A/N: I had to tweak this chapter a little bit and then repost it. I realized that I wanted the mention of 'America's Most Wanted' to be in chapter one, so I had to do a slight rewrite.
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