Summary: What if three particular agents took a different path and they were the criminals. Can the others stop them in time, or is there more to their crime than what meets the eye ?Morgan/Emily/Reid focus.
A/N: I've had this story on my mind for awhile, and I actually had it written, I just never got around to posting it. I'm board now (Even though I should be studying for Finals) I'm going to post it now. OH! and for everyone who is reading my other stories (like Unspoken words, Silent Sounds, etc...) I promise, promise, I'll update soon. I had this weird writer's block for all of my stories, where I could write 2/3rds of the chapter, but couldn't figure out how to finish them. Well, I got most of them finished, so expect updates soon.
Oh The first sentence is a quote from the book Vanishing Acts, written by Jodie Picoult.
A Second Glance
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference," ~Robert Frost; The Road Not Taken
Chapter 1
You can't exist in this world without leaving a piece of yourself behind. There are concrete paths. Different paths you can take everyday. Some harmful; some beneficial. Some life changing; some deadly. Some make none the difference. But either way it's a path, and as soon as you take that first step onto that dusty road, there is no going back – you can't. Even if you want to, for you can't turn back the clocks.
And this is how the word regret came to be.
Now – five minutes before 'the plan' – Derek Morgan wonders what would have happened if his father hadn't died or if he hadn't dropped out of school, or if he hadn't gotten into that fight with Rodney so many years ago. He could even go as far as to question what would have happened if he never met Emily or Reid. Surely not what he is about to do now.
So many unanswered questions, so many regrets, and yet he's glad he has them. In an odd way they are family. Family met by chance – or maybe by fate. He can't be sure. But they are family and the only ones he has left.
"You should have walked into that bank thirty-two seconds ago."
The voice roughly breaks him from his thoughts. "Why do you always have to be so exact, Kid?" Morgan says into the ear piece. It's not hidden. It's not meant to be. It looks like your normal headpiece. Far as anybody who sees him knows, he is just taking a business call.
And technically he is.
Reid stutters on the other line. "Emily's, already in there. She might be –"
"Kid, Emily isn't watching the clock like a hawk. I don't think she'll mind if I'm thirty seconds late." Morgan takes the smallest of glances towards the car that is parked not more than a block away. It's not your typical getaway car. It's small and sliver, and it can hardly hold four people. But it looks like every other car in Washington D.C., and this is why they always get away with it.
"Well, I…" Reid begins, but must have decided against it, because he goes with, "The security is down and the cameras are already switched."
"All good then?"
"Yeah."
And because Morgan can't help himself, he adds, "See-ya later, Sundance." He hears Reid grumble on the other line, which only makes him laugh harder.
"Why do I have to be the Sundance Kid?"
It is their code names. They once saw a movie about the famous robbing duo, so they split it into three names instead of two, and it just sort of stuck. Him as Butch. Emily as Cassidy. And Reid as the Sundance Kid.
"Would you rather be Cassidy?"
"No, but –"
"Exactly my point. Over and out."
And even though Reid can just very well watch the whole thing fold out on his laptop, he doesn't hang up. This way, if something goes wrong, they'll all go down together. The kid doesn't know it, but Morgan is thankful that his friend is just a word away. It's comforting.
And Morgan wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
***
"A man and a woman robbed a Capital One about one month ago from today," JJ tells them, and then clicks the remote to the next picture slide. "And then another Capitol One was robbed three months before that. Police believe that there have been other cases going all the way back to three to five years. Each robbery takes place between a one or eight months span. Since the robberies have been so scattered, police didn't believe that it was the same duo. "
"What makes them believe that it's the same unsubs now?" Gideon asks.
JJ passes out the folders for all of them to examine. "Witnesses all gave the same description on how the bank was robbed, and the man calls 911 himself." She clicks to the next slide, but it was grainy and utterly pointless. If you look hard enough, you might be able to make out a blob that could be a person. "This picture doesn't give us much now, but I was hoping Garcia might be able to do something with it."
Garcia looks unsure. "I'll try," is all she says.
"Camera and security was all shut down. The police aren't sure how they managed that one."
"What about the hostages?" Hotch asks. "What did they say?"
JJ sighs before glancing down at the file, just to see if she got it right. "The woman's tall. Pale and dark-haired. But another witness, from another robbery, swears that the woman had blond hair. Another claims that it was red. The only thing that they agreed on was that the male is African-American, and – quote –'hot'."
"So basically that could be anyone in D.C," Elle argues. And because she always has to make things difficult, she asks, "How the hell are we suppose to catch them if they haven't robbed a bank in a month? You said it yourself they could wait six months before going at it again."
"Not quite," Rossi cuts in before JJ can. "The robberies are getting closer together. Look at the dates."
Gideon adds, "They're beginning to thrive off of it. They live off of it now. They won't be able to stop."
JJ nods. "Police believe that if they keep it up, their next robbery will be in the next few days. And judging from the previous robberies, it won't be long."
"They appear to favor Capitol One for whatever reason," Hotch notes. "That's most likely their next target."
"Do you know how many Capitol One's there are in the city?" Elle argues. "Not to mention outside the city. They could be anywhere."
Garcia looks ready to throw up. "I go to a Capital One."
"Do you realize the chances of them robbing the same bank you go to? Not to mention at the same time you're there." Elle raises her eyebrows smugly.
"Maybe our unsubs works with the company or delivers something to these banks," Rossi points out.
"On it," Garcia says, jumping up, and more than ready to get out of the conference room, she runs out the door.
Hotch stands up, ready to give orders. "JJ and Gideon interview the hostages. See if you can get any information on how the robberies took place. Surely, something stood out. If we know their tactics, then we can set up a press conference." He pauses to lock eyes with Rossi. "Rossi stay here and work on victomology. Elle you're with me."
And like always, they hold their heads up high, ready for a long day of work.
***
Morgan walks into the bank with his head held high. He is dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt; just like every other guy, but because the security guard is a prejudice asshole, he sees him as a threat. And because of this, Morgan can almost feel the man's eyes on him now.
But it's part of their plan.
If every eye is trained on him they won't even notice Emily. He has to admit though, it bothers him sometimes. Why is he always the one that automatically gets a red warning sign above their head? Even when he tries to look non-threatening, he still manages to attract someone's attention. It's not like he looks anymore dangerous than the white guy in line with the multiple tattoos covering his body.
"Emily's to your left. At the table," Reid says, and the earpiece echoes in his ear.
He causally walks over to where Emily is standing. She can not look anymore normal. Blue shirt, jeans, kind smile. He smirks. It's always the people you'd least expect it.
Slowly, they lock eyes. Nobody notices. It's now or never, so he gives her a wink – their signal. And just for the kick of things, he gives her a grin that could simultaneously weaken any girl's knees. She sends him one back, and then quicker than he ever could, she pulls the gun out of her boot and fires three warning shots into the air.
A/n:So I decided to bring Elle into this because I thought if she never knew Morgan, then they never would have gone to that beach or wherever they went in the final of season one. And if she never went there, then that guy might not have shot her, and then so on. So she's in the story. Gideon and Rossi are in it at the same time because - really I just didn't feel like making up characters.
If I continue, I might make this a Emily/Hotch story with hints of Emily/Morgan. And possibly Garcia/Morgan. Idk yet. but for now there's no pairings
But what do you guys think. Should I continue?