Chapter 02

Monday, November 20, 2017

"Your Uncle Steve is here." JJ said into her phone. "Please tell me you'll be here by morning."

She winced as she heard her husband sigh into his phone. "I'm trying chère." He said. "But everyone is trying to get out of here before this storm from the looks of it. I swear people look like they are moving out of town."

"I know. I just don't like how he and Aunt Doris act around Henry. And your whole family lets it go."

"Well, they believe in the whole 'spare the rod, spoil the child thing' from the Bible."

"I don't care Will. You don't have to beat your children to be a good Christian, you know that. Their parenting philosophy is what turns normal children into people we have to hunt later."

"And they'll say they raised a half dozen successful boys that way."

"And I'll point to a half-dozen Unsubs raised the same way. When it's their boys it's their right but Henry is our son and they have no right to even speak to him about discipline. Whatever he does I can handle it, I do not need your uncle scaring the crap out of him by threatening to spank him just because you're not here."

"I know. I know. Want me to call him up and lay down the law?"

"Please." JJ sighed. Why did she come down here again? Right, because Will's family had been pressuring them for months about it. "You shouldn't have to, you know, they should listen to me."

"I know, but they don't believe in taking orders from women."

"I know. I can order around Generals at the Pentagon and major news organizations and every cop in the country but I can't get my in-laws to lay off my kid." She sighed again. "If you're not here by tomorrow…"

"If I'm not going to make it by tomorrow I'll call and let you know. You should be able to fly back to DC before the storm." JJ could hear the gentle smile in his voice, that sound she adored. "'Least you'll only have to deal with them for one day."

"One day." She could endure one day. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too chère, more than I have words for. You take care of both of you."

They spoke for a few minutes more, soft lover things, before his flight was called and Will had to go. JJ hung up the phone with a sense of foreboding. It's nothing, she thought, it's just a storm. And I only have to deal with my in-laws for one day. She stepped over to the bed and tucked the covers under Henry's chin pressing a kiss to his temple. One day and then we'll be home again.

It was the last visit that Derek Morgan ever expected.

Late one night as his Mom was putting the house to bed there was a knock at the door. "Who could that be at this hour?" She asked as she went to see who it was.

"Let me get it Momma." Morgan said. Something this late had a greater chance of being trouble, better it meet him than his family. And when he saw who it was he knew it had to be some kind of trouble. "Gordinski." He said as he opened the door. "What's going on?"

Before he even opened his mouth Morgan knew that something was up. Gordinski was acting nervous. No, more than that, he was acting afraid; looking over his shoulder like someone might be watching them. "You need to go." He said.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I came here because I owe you one, all right? Because of everything that happened. You just need to go; it's not going to be safe for your family here."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"Because of whom your father was."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, just go, all right! Pack up your family, all of them, and get out of town. Head up to Canada."

"Canada? Why?"

"Because it's not going to be safe here! I don't want your family to be hurt. Just…if they have passports get them in the car and head for Toronto. If you leave in the morning you can get there tomorrow. You should be safe there, at least for now."

Gordinski may have lost his shit, Morgan thought, but he was serious about it. He was scared. This warning might not make a lot of sense but it was real. "And if we don't have passports?" Hell, his was back in his drawer in DC

"Head for one of the cities. Not here, they know you here. They knew your dad and all that. Head for New York or LA, or maybe San Francisco, those would be the best."

"Not DC?"

Gordinski shook his head. "DC is top of the list. No, get to a city and disappear, all of you but especially your Mom. Go tomorrow, there won't be much time."

"Gordinski what the hell is going on?"

"I…can't. I gotta go. Good luck, it's been nice knowing you."

Morgan watched the older cop leave and then scanned the street. Nothing. Not even a cat moving. He ducked back in the house and closed the door. "I heard." His mother said. "What should we do?"

"I don't know. Gordinski was sincere, I know that much. Something has him well and truly spooked." He looked down and saw that he had his phone out. He was about to call Garcia, he realized, but she was off at a party, not some place where she could help.

"Maybe we should listen to him." His mother said. "I didn't want to say anything but…"

Uh oh. "But what Momma? What's been going on?"

"Nothing. At least nothing I can put my finger on but something has just been off lately. People are acting strange around me. I don't know, less friendly than they used to be. I just chalked it up to hard times but…."

No passports. They weren't going to get to Canada. But… "Call Aunt Shirell and Uncle Rodger." They lived in Oakland; it was still fairly early out there. "Tell them about it and see if we can come visit. I'll call Sarah and Desiree and tell them what happened, see what they want to do, and then I'll see about getting us tickets for tomorrow."

"All right."

Strange, Morgan thought. But better safe than sorry.