Supernatural: Fate or Luck Pt. 2
A/N: And I return with part two of Fate or Luck. As you know, I ended the first story with Penelope Garcia having been shot, and I'm sure that you're all wondering what will happen to our favorite computer techie. So buckle up and let's get started.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural or Criminal Minds; I just own the characters that I happen to create.
CHAPTER ONE: WHO WOULD SHOOT PENELOPE?
"And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?"
1 Peter 3:13
Penelope Garcia always prided herself for being tough for her friends and for the job when needed, and also being able to detach herself from the stress and sometimes, the grossness of the job, so when she found herself shot and slumping slowly onto the steps, she detached herself from the pain.
Now she was drifting in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of someone standing over her at one point, and then a whole lot of flashing lights, noises, and people kneeling over her, asking questions.
Penelope was vaguely aware of something being put on her neck and one of the questions asked actually came through. `"What's your name? Can you tell me your name?"`
"P-Penelope Garcia," she gasped as she was placed onto a stretcher.
"Ok, Penelope, just stay with us, and we're gonna get you some help," one of the paramedics told her as he helped wheeled the stretcher toward the ambulance, and then loaded her in, just as one of her neighbors called out.
"I think she works for the FBI!"
The Winchesters were leaving the BAU headquarters, having just spooked Erin Strauss with their arrival and were glad that she was willing to listen to their case, and were now heading to the Impala when someone called their names.
"Dean, Sam, Liz! Wait!"
They turned and saw Hotch, Rossi, and JJ running up to them.
"Hey, what's goin' on?" Sam asked, trying to make sense of their emotional turmoil. "Hotch?"
"It's Garcia," Hotch answered. "She's been shot."
"What?!"
"We don't know more then that," Hotch cut in. "Only that she's being taken to the hospital right now, and she's in critical condition."
"Then why are we standing here talkin'?" Dean demanded. "Let's go!" and he yanked open the driver's door on the car, prompting Liz and Sam to get in, too.
Agreeing, Hotch, JJ, and Rossi headed for the nearest SUV.
By the time that both Emily and Reid heard the news and got to the hospital, Penelope was already in surgery, and it wasn't looking good.
"How'd this happen?" Reid asked, death-gripping his bag, and it was obvious that this was overwhelming him.
"We're not real sure," JJ admitted, "but she's in surgery, and we just have to wait."
"Where's Morgan?" Emily asked, noting that he wasn't there.
"I've tried calling him," Liz told her, "but his phone keeps goin' to voicemail."
Needing to do something, Reid pulled out his own phone to call their missing teammate.
"I can't believe that this is happening," Sam muttered, shaken.
That was the general agreement as they all waited in the waiting area for some word or sign that Penelope was going to be all right.
Meanwhile 'Colby' calmly walked along a bridge, paused at the trailing, and then tossed into the water a box of ammo and the revolver into the river below.
He watched them sink into the dark water, smiled, and then walked away.
Back at the hospital, the BAU team and the Winchesters waited for some word about Penelope while the doctors and nurses fought to keep her alive and repair the damage, and at one point, had to use paddles to restart her heart.
It was 3 am by the time Morgan showed up, finding that everyone, minus Hotch and Rossi, were sitting, and wasn't surprised when Rossi shoved a gold chain with three charms on it in his pocket and knew that the older man had been fingering it again.
"She's been in surgery for a couple hours," JJ told him, standing up.
"I was in church, my phone was off," Morgan told them, and it was obvious from his tone that he'd wished he'd left it on instead.
"There's nothing you could have been doing here," said Reid.
"The police have any leads?" Morgan asked, not taking any comfort from Reid's words.
"I spoke to the lead detective," Hotch answered, "but he doesn't think they'll get anything out of the crime scene."
Just then, a door open, and they all looked around to see one of the doctors walking toward them; he was in his mid-forties, wearing blue scrubs, a surgical cap that he was pulling off, and was carrying a clipboard.
"Penelope Garcia?"
"Yes," said both JJ and Hotch as Reid, Emily, Liz, Dean, and Sam all stood up.
"Well, it was touch and go for a while, but she pulled through, and is in intensive care sleeping," the doctor told them. "You can see her in the morning."
"How bad was it?" Emily asked.
"Well, it was a chest to abdomen shot, and had it been a centimeter further to the left, it would've hit her heart," he explained. "I say it was a minor miracle. You can see her all once she wakes up."
The team gave their thanks and the doctor left to attend other business.
"What do we do now?" Sam asked.
"David, Dean, and I will go examine the crime scene," Hotch responded. "The rest of you should get some rest and then come back to be here for Garcia when she wakes up." He then turned extra serious. "I don't care about procedure, I don't care if this isn't our case; we're not going to work any other cases until we can find the son of bitch that did this to one of our own."
The rest fully agreed since this attack on one of them, and they weren't going to stop until they found the unsub responsible.
Some time later, Hotch, Dean, and Rossi carpooled to the apartment complex and met with the lead detective on the front porch, where the concrete steps had a faint blood stain on it.
"We figure that he saw her go in, he followed and kicked the door in; she chased him when he grabbed her purse, and he shot her," Detective Walker explained. "And he went through the purse before running off."
"What was the distance of the shot?" Hotch asked, looking between the porch steps and the fountain in the middle of the courtyard.
"Fifteen feet."
"Quite a shot on the run," Rossi commented while both Hotch and Dean went to stand by the front of the fountain, and turned to face the porch. "Any shell casing?"
"None."
Thanking Detective Walker, Rossi went to join Hotch, who was pretending to use his fingers as a gun and Dean was doing the same. "He must've policed his brass."
"Or he could've used a gun that doesn't eject the casing," Dean guessed. "Like a revolver maybe."
"Why would he risk entering an enclosed courtyard?" Hotch wondered.
"World bravest purse-snatcher?" Rossi suggested.
Hotch's phone rang and he answered it. "Hotchner. She is? Thank you." He then closed his phone. "Garcia's awake," he told Dean and Rossi, who were relieved, and they headed for the SUV. "Victimology: Why Garcia?"
"Why not?" Rossi retorted, earning two confused looks. "Look at Garcia, you don't just happen to look like that. She wears her individuality like a shield."
"So, the unsub must've been watchin' her," Dean guessed. "Figured out her routine."
"A classic sadist," Rossi agreed. "One who was either attracted or offended by Garcia without her knowing it."
Hotch agreed with all of the theories, but it didn't answer the obvious question. "What are the odds that he would target an FBI technical analyst?"
Both Rossi and Dean shrugged and they all got into the SUV. Who would target a federal employee?
At the hospital, Penelope was lying in the bed and was looking very pale especially without her makeup and glasses; she was hooked up to several IVs, a heart monitor, and an oxygen tank.
She weakly smiled as the team entered and gathered around the bed with both Liz and JJ kissing her on the cheek. "No tears. If I start crying, I'll come unstapled," she requested.
"How're you feelin'?" Morgan asked, taking her hand
"Stupid and in pain," Penelope answered unhappily. "He – he seemed so deliciously normal," she added.
"You know him?" Reid asked, surprised.
Penelope nodded and looked at Morgan. "It was the guy at the coffee shop, the one that I told you about."
"Garcia, do you know why this guy would try to kill you?" Emily asked.
Penelope shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "No, I – I just thought he liked me for myself." She swallowed. "I don't know why this is happening to me."
Realizing that Penelope was stressing out, JJ patted her friend's hand. "We'll leave so that you can rest, Garcia."
"We need a name," Emily pressed, notebook in hand.
"James Colby Boyler," Penelope recited from memory.
Nodding, Emily wrote the name down and left to make a few calls; as the others left, Penelope spoke to JJ and Liz. "JJ, Liz, could you both stay a moment?"
"Ok," said Liz.
"Sure," said JJ.
"I like your outfit, Liz," Penelope told her.
Liz sheepishly smiled and looked down at the pale green blouse, dark blue suit and pants, and the dark blue heels. "Yeah, Hotch made it clear that if we're gonna stick around, we should dress professionally, and you can imagine how Dean reacted to that."
Penelope chuckled. "Yeah, I can actually. JJ, I need you and Liz to do something for me…"
Outside the room, Morgan hit one of the walls with his fist, making Sam wince at the emotional rage he was sensing.
"Morgan, you need to calm down," Reid advised, fully understanding his friend's frustration.
"Don't tell me what to do," Morgan snapped, but with much less anger, having seen that he was giving Sam a headache. "We need to get this guy."
"And we will," Sam promised. "Even if it means risking the chance that Agent Henriksen will find us, we're stayin' right here."
Emily joined them. "Hotch called, he and Dean think that the unsub used a revolver, and they'll be here soon."
"A revolver wouldn't leave behind a shell case," Sam remarked.
"If the unsub used counter forensic measures, then he had this all planned out," Reid theorized as JJ and Liz joined them.
"What'd she say?" Morgan asked them.
JJ sighed. "She's asked that we don't talk about her as a victim." And they all glanced at Penelope, who was now dozing.
When Hotch, Dean, and Rossi arrived, the others updated them on what Penelope managed to tell them, including the name that the unsub provided on their first meeting, James Colby Baylor.
"It could be that the name he gave to Garcia could be fake," Reid added.
"Could be," Hotch agreed, "but until we know more, we can't put aside any leads."
Everyone agreed with that and went back into the room to see Penelope, who was slightly more aware, and she weakly smiled.
"How're you feeling?" Hotch asked.
"I've had better dates," Penelope responded. "I shouldn't have let my guard down, but he seemed normal."
"It's all right, Garcia," Dean said reassuringly. "We'll find this guy."
Just then, a nurse came in to check Penelope's vitals, and they went back to the hallway.
"It's clear that this unsub sought Garcia out, gained her trust, and then attempted to kill her," Rossi concluded. "But why?"
"That's what we need to find out," said Hotch. "Morgan, Liz, Reid, stay here and find out what you can from Garcia, and a sketch artist should be here soon; the rest of us will head back to the BAU."
"Yes, sir."
"Got it."
"Will do."
A short while later, Morgan, Reid, and Liz waited near the doorway while the nurse changed the IV bags.
"You know, I asked her out last night," Morgan told them, "but she was pissed at me. Blew me off."
"You couldn't have know," Reid pointed out.
Morgan sighed. "Yeah. On one hand, had she gone out with me, none of this would've happen; but on the other hand…" he shook his head. "What are the odds that the first time I pray in twenty years that Garcia would end up on the table?"
"Sometimes things happen that we can't fully understand, Morgan," Liz pointed out. "I mean…I could've let Dean make that deal, I didn't, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if it means savin' my brothers."
Morgan could agree with that, and they all looked around when the nurse came out with her clipboard. "She's asking for you."
Thanking the nurse, they went back in, and Morgan gently placed his hand on top of Penelope's hand, and she smiled. "Hey, baby girl. How're you feelin'?" he asked, making a mental note to never piss her off again.
"Good news, bad news, the morphine's wearin' off," Penelope answered.
"Hey, um, we have an sketch artist coming in," Reid told her.
Penelope weakly nodded. "Okay."
"You know you don't have to do this right now," Morgan told her.
"I can do this," Penelope said firmly, and she told them that the car was a four-door white sedan, American-made, and it smelled new. "A-after he shot me, I could hear him coming up the steps and I held my breath so that he would think I was dead. Later, when I was in the ambulance, I was in and out of consciousness, I could hear "Heroes" playing in my head, and I thought "Wait, is David Bowie really God"?"
"You did the right thing, Garcia," Liz told her.
They stayed with Penelope for the rest of the day, and they only left when the nurse chased them out.
Four days later…
'Colby' revisited the crime scene and was examining what was left of the bloodstain when the neighbor that'd called 911 walked up, and he moved aside so that she could walk up the steps.
"What happen here?" he asked, getting her attention.
"There was a shooting here four days ago," she answered. "It's a miracle that she survived."
'Colby' looked up upon hearing that. "She's alive?" he asked, hiding his alarm. 'Dammit! I thought she was dead.'
The neighbor nodded. "Yeah, although I don't know how it's possible."
"The miracle of science," 'Colby' guessed, waited until she'd gone inside and then rubbed his fingers over the faint stain. 'I can't get to Garcia while she's in the hospital. I need a new gun.'
At the BAU, Hotch left his office and was heading toward the conference room, just as Rossi left his own office with the sketch and several folders in hand.
"You look like crap," he remarked.
"After four days with no leads, I feel like crap," Hotch admitted, and it also didn't help matters that Strauss was bugging him about the Winchesters' presence in the building and was threatening to call Henriksen if they didn't leave.
"Well, we can always bring in the thirty million men that matches this," Rossi suggested, holding up the sketch as they entered the conference room.
"The police took the sketch back to the coffee shop and the restaurant, and got nothing," Emily informed them.
"Nothin' from the car rentals either," Sam added.
"And the number that he gave to Garcia belongs to a disposable cell," Hotch concluded while Rossi pinned up the sketch.
Dean sighed, frustrated. "So, we have a big steamin' pile of nothin', and no way of findin' this scumbag."
"We'll find him," Hotch promised. "Any word on Garcia?"
"She's been moved from the ICU," JJ answered. "The doctor said that she should be able to get out in a few days; Morgan, Reid, and Liz are with her right now."
"Let's hope she can recall enough details to help us find this guy," said Rossi, and the others agreed.
The gun shop owner eyed the ID he'd been handed, and returned it to 'Colby', who was purchasing a new revolver and ammo.
"You know," said the owner, "most people get an automatic these days."
"Really?" 'Colby' asked, examining the gun and testing the weight.
The owner nodded. "Yeah, they hold more rounds."
'Colby' chuckled and practiced aiming the revolver. "You don't need more rounds if you're a good shot."
A/N: Who is Colby really and why does he want to hurt, Penelope? Stay tune for next week to find out. R&R everyone!
