I noticed I have a lot of loyal guest reviewers that don't have an account, so I want to thank you guys as well.
A Lack of Color
Chapter 7: Shattered Resolve
"So you're ass was actually able to make it over here?"
Morgan greeted his friend with a hug. "When it comes to giving you a whupping in your own sport I never decline Jacky."
"Hey I told ya the last time my leg got cramped."
"We're here five seconds and you're already making excuses."
Jack chuckled and held the basketball up. "Get your game on brother."
The pair soon found themselves sitting on the park bench after the lengthy game, each sipping on a bottle of water. It was pretty early so not many people had been in the courts.
"Did you take notes Derek?" Jack taunted.
"So someone thinks their funny now, I just let you win dude." Morgan replied.
Jack leaned back and smiled contentedly. "But really though, it's good to see ya man."
"Yeah I know it's been hard to visit, the jobs are a hassle." Morgan said. "Just recently we got this case, it was rough."
"Oh yeah? What happened?"
"There was this guy whose son passed away, apparently the son had been bullied a lot at school. The kid eventually reached a breaking point and wounded up taking his own life. He was only fifteen years old man."
Jack turned to the ground. "I see."
"But that's not all. Afterwards the kids who'd been harassing him at school began disappearing one by one. It turned out later that it was the father of the kid who had been killing them all along." Morgan squeezed the bottle slightly."It makes me wonder what I'd do if I had been the father."
"It really is hard when you think about it, but even I can see that this world is filled with lots of pain and most of all hatred."
"Hatred?" Morgan repeated.
"Yeah, you see when the people we cherish are hurt we feel the pain as well. When they're killed we feel a hatred for the person who did it, whether it was on purpose or accidental. Sometimes we get revenge, and in doing so we make that person's cherished ones feel the same way we did. It's all just a never-ending cycle of hatred."
Morgan listened intently to his friend's words.
"The monster known as hatred won't ever die. You and I are law officials Derek; our job is to confront that hatred. It's for that very reason that I do what I do."
Morgan lowered his eyes and frowned. "But it never stops Jacky, no matter how many people we save there's always more."
"There is always more isn't there," Jack agreed with a nod. "That's why I'm going to stop as much hatred as I can while I can; I'm going to save as many people as I can. That's the path I've decided to walk on Derek."
Morgan was put in awe by his declaration.
Jack gave him a grin. "I can't do much by myself though, you think you can lend me a hand?"
Morgan grinned and held his fist up. "Hell yeah, you can count on me man."
Jack smiled and met the fist with his own. "I knew I could depend on you, brother."
It didn't take much for Morgan to reach his destination. The area where there hotel was, wasn't far away from these types of parts. Now that he was here though, he had no clue where to begin. He needed answers, and to get those he needed to ask questions.
He walked over to where two homeless men and a woman were hauled up.
"What in the world do you want?" One of the men asked.
"Calm down sir, I'm not here for trouble. My name is Derek Morgan and I'm with the FBI."
"FBI?" The other, shorter man repeated. "The hell do you want? We ain't doing anything illegal."
"I know, I just got a question."
"So shoot."
"What can you guys tell me about the Scorpion Killers?"
"I got something for you," the female finally spoke, her tone sharp. "Leave them alone."
"You sound defensive towards them, why?"
"Cause they do your job better that's why." She retorted. "They make sure the horrible people go away and stay away."
Morgan frowned. "By killing them, they do it by killing them."
The short man shrugged. "Serves them people right if you ask me. I got absolutely no sympathy for killers and pedophiles."
"Right, I could understand that. Do these guys contact you or do you see them around here often?"
The lady scoffed and crossed her arms. "Why? So you can arrest them? Sorry but we don't know anything bout' them and even if we did we wouldn't sell them out."
The taller one nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sorry but we don't know nothin'."
Morgan sighed. "Right, thanks for your time." He headed off to another direction. It took two more groups for him to realize that he was going nowhere with this. Not one of these people gave him anything useful. Each and every one of them refused to sell out the Scorpion Killers.
"You're jealous they doing your job better?"
"Just stay away from them!"
"I can tell you I feel much safer with them."
Morgan slammed a fist into a nearby wall. Those freaking people who they babbled about and worshipped so much killed his friend. That was why he would never forgive them.
His thoughts were interrupted when his phone began vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and it read 'Prentiss'. He should've known Garcia wouldn't be able to keep a secret.
"Hello?" He answered it.
"Morgan, God what were you thinking?!" It was clear by her tone that she was far from happy.
He sighed. "I probably shouldn't have taken off like that but—"
"You probably shouldn't have taken of? Morgan you're letting your feelings cloud your judgement! Why do you have to push everyone away?"
His hand subconsciously clutched the phone tighter. How could he tell her? He just wanted them to be safe; a trait he felt he couldn't give them. How could he tell her that he can ensure her safety if she had come with him when he didn't trust himself to guarantee it?
He couldn't.
In his current state he couldn't ensure it. He couldn't guarantee her safety. And that killed him. They were a team, but he didn't feel he was doing his part.
It vaguely occurred to him that his entire life had been a reflection of this moment. A mélange of failures. The BAU team was like family to him. He couldn't bear to lose them.
"Morgan?"
Her tone was soft and gentle now, as if she'd somehow felt the turmoil erupting throughout his body. And he realized he still hadn't responded.
"Where are you Prentiss?"
"Starting the car and you?
"I'm just a few blocks down. Do they know?"
Emily chuckled on the other end. "Don't worry Morgan, I didn't rat you out to mom and dad." She sighed. "But you left Garcia a wreck. She really is worried about you."
"I know. Believe me I didn't mean to make her upset. Don't bother coming here Emily, I'm on my way back. Just tell Penelope I'm going back."
"Right, just be careful and—"
Morgan didn't hear the rest as something hard collided with the back of his head. His cell flew out of his hands and he could hear his partner's panicked voice; it only lasted a few moments as the perpetrator reached out and ended the call.
All he saw were the same two thugs hovering over him as his vision blurred out and his mind drifted into unconsciousness.
Morgan felt an aching throb jolt through his head as he began opening his eyes. He was met with a pitch black room; everywhere he turned it was the same. A part of him vaguely wondered if he was dreaming.
He attempted to move his hand, but when he felt them tied to something that was when his rationale kicked in. It was what made him become fully aware that he was a captive. His feet and hands were tied and he seemed to be tied to a chair.
"Yo!" At least his mouth wasn't gagged. "Who's out there?!"
Suddenly a very bright light beamed up and it blinded his retinas. He averted his gaze before squinting to adjust slowly to the object. It was a lamp on a desk. The two unsubs had been in front of him the entire time. Had he not been tied to the chair he was sure he'd of jumped.
"What the hell is this?!" Morgan demanded. They wore hoods and black attire; there was no way to identify them. They were practically invisible. He was able to deduce— under the short light that is— that one was slightly taller.
"I told you that you shouldn't have gotten involved." That same voice from before said.
"Like hell I won't!" Morgan barked. This was a poor attempt to intimidate them and he knew it.
"Our leader wants to speak with you." The other unsub spoke up.
"Leader?" Morgan questioned.
The shorter one disappeared from his line of vision but he was able to hear the clatter of his steps. He couldn't be more than a few feet behind him. The bright light from the lamp was shut off only to be replaced with another one.
This one was from a different source and wasn't meant to blind him but to light up a screen that seemed to appear from nowhere. Morgan didn't need to look at the machine to know what it was. He'd seen plenty of them before.
A projector.
The other unsub also stepped out of his vision and moved behind him. The image on the other side of the screen was dark as well, odds were he wasn't going to get any clues as to the whereabouts of the 'leader'. Although he was able to make out the shapes of a chair, an armchair.
Soon that was out of his vision and was replaced with something more amorphous.
A person.
"Derek Morgan." He said.
"Why don't you come out in person you God damn pansy!" Morgan snapped. "Show your face like a man so I can rip you apart!"
"I brought you here because I know you're trying to stop us." The man stated unfazed by Morgan's harsh tone. "I will tell you this once, that it's pointless to try. You are only thwarting the manifestation of peace."
Morgan clenched his tied hands. "Here you are spouting your bullshit speech about peace when you killed my friend just barely twenty-four hours ago! Tell me where's the peace in that!"
"You're only looking at the tree, not the whole forest. You're friend stood in the way of our ideals, hence why he had to be dealt with. You and your other 'friends' stand in the way too, step down. It will lead to peace."
"Shut your mouth!" Morgan retorted, his words being fueled by the intensity of his hatred and anguish. "You're fucking twisted! You disgusting freak, you make me so sick! All it is you're doing is killing people of the street!"
"Not people, I kill the trash." He responded inching slightly closer. "Tell me agent, once a serial rapist is released, can you guarantee that they won't attack again; that another person and family won't be traumatized?"
Morgan paused.
"You release convicts because you deem their crimes as minor compared to the others. Is that what you tell the poor soul who was at those monsters' mercy or do you merely brush it off? Do you simply forget the fact that they have to live with that nightmare for the rest of their lives; do you cozy in your bed knowing that you did your part already, that the rest is out of your hands? You can't understand someone's pain until you yourself have gone through the exact same pain."
And Morgan found that he just couldn't answer. Didn't know how to answer.
"When a convict gets parole, can you ensure that they'd be stopped before their thirst for blood kicks in and someone pays the price? Can you guarantee me that a killer will stop killing when he is released?"
Morgan averted his gaze to the floor.
"I, on the other hand can guarantee it. I can ensure you that these scum will never harm another person. That tears won't have to be shed. I'm getting rid of the wretchedness in order to preserve the peace."
Morgan furiously shook his head. "And you really think what you're doing is right?! You're killing people just because you think it's what should be done; well that isn't how things work!"
On the other end the man remained firmly unmoved by Morgan's disagreement.
"You are a law enforcer, you live bound by what you have been told to accept as correct and true. That is how you define 'reality'."
Morgan was taken off guard by that statement.
"But what does it mean to be 'correct' or 'true'? Merely vague concepts... your 'reality' is only a mirage. You are living in a world shaped by beliefs that aren't even your own. How could you possibly understand my ideals?"
Morgan went silent. He didn't know how to respond to that. Was it true? Is what he was doing and saying being influenced by the job? Were these his true beliefs or was he just blindly going by with what ever it was his demanding occupation fed him.
Was this what made Gideon and Elle quit? Were they tired of following orders? Were they tired of being bound by what this occupation made them carry on a daily basis? Did they choose to shape their own reality? If that was the case then what is it that he should do?
"I have shared my ideals with you, what you choose to do now is up to you." The man spoke up. His voice shifted from calm to a dangerous tone. "But mark my words, should you decide to continue pursuing us I will kill you, as well as those who you have involved."
Before Morgan could respond the same pain he felt prior to being a captive was inflicted upon him again. Right as the darkness on the edge of his vision claimed him he heard his voice again.
"I bid you farewell Derek Morgan."
Author's Notes
So we finally hear from the man in charge and his motives. How will Morgan cope with the sudden blow to his resolve?
