I don't Criminal Minds.
Sorry for the wait on this chapter but life, work and snow kept getting in the way. Thanks for all the reviews, I love hearing from you! Just a quick note, as I said earlier, the Union Terminal Museum is a real place in Cincinnati. However, I have taken liberties with the inside layout and the old train station areas as I have never been in the basement areas and don't know what they look like. Please forgive me for any inaccuracies. Thanks.
Chapter 7
About 50 minutes into the movie, Derek watched as Averitt stood and left his seat in the auditorium. Instead of heading back towards the main entrance, he walked to the front of the theater and slid out of the fire exit door to the left of the screen. Derek knew it was time to make his move. He waited 30 seconds, drew his weapon, and followed.
"What have you got ,Penelope?" Hotch asked as he leaned over the back of her chair. Penelope had been searching the history on the computer that Derek had used in the internet café, trying to find a clue to his whereabouts.
"Well evidently Derek has been listening to me when I talk to him about computers, sir. He wiped the history clean on both the browser and hard drive before he left."
"Are you telling me you can't find what he was looking at on the internet?" Hotch asked with a worried expression on his face.
"Absolutely not, oh ye of Little Faith," Penelope grinned. "I haven't taught him all my secrets! It just took me a few minutes instead of a few seconds to find the list." With that, Penelope hit a few keys on the keyboard and a listing of websites appeared on the screen.
"They all appear to be websites of local museums," Reid observed as he peered at the screen.
"Hey, when we were looking into the Averitt brothers' pasts back at the hotel, wasn't there something about Bradley being an old movie memorabilia buff?", Emily asked.
"Yep and I've already made the connection," Penelope declared. "Derek spent most of his time on the site for the Union Terminal Museum and they just happen to have such an exhibit going on right now. They are also showing old black and white movies."
"How far is this place from here?" Rossi inquired.
"According to this, only about 2 miles, down near the train yards," Penelope answered.
"Let's go!" Hotch ordered. "Penelope, I don't think you should come, this could be dangerous. I want you to go back to the station with the Chief. As soon as there is word of anything, we'll let you know, I promise."
"Hotch?" Penelope stopped him before he turned to leave. "Do me one favor, please?"
Hotch looked into her pleading eyes and nodded once in agreement.
"When you find him, tell him I said vengeance is already ours, we have our love and that's all I need. Don't let him do anything he'll regret later."
Hotch reached over and took Penelope's hand in both of his and gave it a quick squeeze before turning around and following the others out to the SUV.
As much as she wanted to run out the door after the team, Penelope knew that Hotch was right. She wasn't equipped for what they might be walking into. She had done all that she could and now would have to hope that it was enough. "Please, My Love, listen to your heart, I'm there with you. Be careful and come back to me, I'll be waiting," Penelope sent her thoughts to Derek, knowing they were connected by something more than just love, she was sure her message would somehow reach him.
The exit from the auditorium had led into a long, dark hall that headed downward into the bowels of the museum. Luckily, Derek's sight was already adjusted to the darkness and he was able to make his way down the corridor fairly quickly. Every so often, Derek would stop and listen. He could hear Averitt's footsteps echoing ahead of him and was able to stay just out of sight of his target.
Finally, after about a five minute trek, Derek heard a door open and close in front of him. When the door opened he felt a rush of cold air hit him as if the door led to the outside. Derek made it to the door and took a deep breath, he had no idea what he was walking into and if Averitt would be waiting for him on the other side. On the other hand, he also knew that hesitating could cause him to lose Averitt again, something he wasn't willing to do.
Cracking open the door, he looked around the edge of the door and took a quick look around. The door led to the old train tracks that came in under the station. It was the old platform where passengers would have boarded the trains many years ago. Beyond the platform, laid four sets of train tracks. Looking to his right, Derek saw an old abandoned train engine parked on one of the sets of tracks. A sound to the left caught his attention and he looked just in time to see Averitt walking down the tracks towards the exit of the tunnel. He saw no one else around.
Taking a deep breath, Derek knew now was the time. Suddenly, a sense of calm came over him and a picture of Penelope flashed in his mind. "I love you, Baby Girl," he said silently, knowing that somehow, a connection had been made. 'I'll be back soon."
Derek ran to the edge of the platform, jumped onto the tracks and with gun drawn shouted, "Averitt! I think you've been looking for me."
Hotch and rest of the team arrived at the museum just minutes after leaving Penelope. It was almost 11:00 am and much to the chagrin of the team, the museum was crowded with tourists and children. Luckily, the Police Chief had been able to phone the museum security office and let them know that the BAU team was on their way.
A security officer met Hotch at the entrance. "Sir, nice to meet you. I'm Officer Taylor. The Chief phoned. I think you got here just in time."
"What do you mean, 'just in time'?" Rossi questioned the officer.
"I think we know where your man is," the officer explained. "Just about 10 minutes ago, we had a fire door open off one of the theaters where we are showing a movie. The door has a silent alarm on it that triggers into our security offices whenever it is opened. After what the Chief told us, it sounds like the man your agent was after might have left first. A few moments later the door opened again, I figure that was the Agent following him out."
"Where does the door lead?," Hotch asked.
"Down to the platforms of the old train station and then the tunnel leads to the outside from there," Officer Taylor informed the team. "If we can get back into your vehicle, I can get you down to the entrance of the tunnel from the outside. I already have officers covering the door they went through onto the platform in case they circle back and I have other units headed down to the tunnel to see if we can block that off as well."
"Let's go!" Hotch said as the team loaded back into the black SUV.
Averitt stopped and turned as he heard Morgan call his name. The two adversaries were now standing approximately 100 feet apart on the train tracks, facing each other; Derek with his gun aimed directly at Averitt's head.
"Well, well, well," Averitt said with a smirk. "Fancy meeting you here, Detective Morgan."
"Yeah, fancy that, asshole. What's the matter, Averitt, you weren't enjoying the movie?" Derek challenged.
"Ah, I thought that was you behind me," Averitt replied. "So tell me, Morgan, how's your own little Marilyn Monroe doing? Has she been enjoying the little momento I left her with? And the flowers I left last night, did she enjoy those, too?"
Derek's blood boiled hearing Averitt talk about Penelope. "Don't you worry about her, she survived your little stunts and is stronger for it…which is more than I can say for you, Averitt."
"What? Are you planning on shooting me too, just like you did my brother, Detective Morgan?" Averitt shook his head. "I should have known you had something so unimaginative planned but I must tell you, I would advise against it."
"I'm sure you would Averitt. You want to give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" Derek asked as he stared Averitt down, never lowering his weapon.
"I just thought you might like to know where the other bodies are."
"What the hell are you talking about? What bodies?" Derek demanded to know.
"Tsk, tsk, you evidently weren't paying attention to my room decorations last night. Didn't you see the picture without a body? You're not much of a profiler are you? Of course I knew that already, or else you wouldn't have let all of those other women die. How guilty you must feel about that." Averitt taunted.
"I saw it, you bastard. That was only one picture…you said bodies."
"You didn't think all of that blood came from just one person did you? Of course there's more than one. I was saving them for later but I see there's no need for that now. If you'll put that gun down, maybe I'll think of telling you where they are…if you're lucky, one of them might still be alive."
"MORGAN!", Derek watched as Hotch appeared out of the darkness behind Averitt. Soon he could see the outline of the rest of the team as they approached, all with guns drawn.
"Step back, Hotch. This is my fight! He's mine!" Derek sternly told his boss.
"Derek, I know you don't want to hear this, but he's right. We need him alive so we can find the others. If you kill him, it's going to change the rest of your life. Think about this." Hotch urged.
His determination cracking slightly, Derek's gun wavered but he yelled back, "Hotch, I have to do this, for Penelope, for what he put her through. I can't let him get away with that, she deserves to see him pay for what he did!"
"Yes, but not this way, Derek. She gave me a message for you, Derek. She said to tell you that your love was the only vengeance she needed and the only thing she wanted was you to come back to her safely. We've got him, he's not getting away this time."
Tears came to his eyes, as he realized that Hotch was right. As much as he wanted to he couldn't kill Averitt in cold blood. He couldn't reduce himself to the killer's level. Slowly lowering his gun, he felt his knees begin to buckle and fell to his knees from exhaustion as he watched Rossi, Emily and the officers place Averitt into custody.
Hotch approached his beleaguered agent and gently removed the weapon from Derek's hand. Putting an arm around his shoulder he lifted him back to standing and led him towards the exit of the tunnel. "C'mon, there's someone that really needs to see you right now."
As they passed where the officers were handcuffing Averitt, Derek paused, "Hang on, Hotch, there is one thing I gotta do."
"Derek…" Hotch warned.
Before anyone could do anything, Derek turned and landed his fist right between Averitt's eyes, throwing him back against the police car, leaving him with blood spouting from his nose.
"All right, Hotch. Let's go see my Baby Girl." Derek turned and walked back to the SUV as the team all stood watching with smiles on their faces.
After several long hours of interrogation, Averitt was finally giving up the information that the police needed to find the other women. There had been 3 others, two of them dead, and one near dead when they found her but she would survive. Averitt would be transferred to a maximum security facility where he would await trial in which they would ask for the death penalty.
After the 36 hours they had spent in Cincinnati, the team was exhausted but had decided on returning home that night. Derek and Penelope sat cuddled up on the couch on the plane as the other's read or worked on their reports in silence. Since returning to the station, Penelope and Derek hadn't left each other's sight or touch for that matter.
"Have I told you how much I love you, Baby Girl?" Derek whispered into her ear.
"Not in the last five minutes, Handsome. You're falling down on the job." Penelope giggled.
Cupping her chin in his hand, he turned her face towards his and leaned down and placed his lips on hers. As the kiss deepened, they heard Reid yell from the back of the plane, "Hey you two, get a room or something." The rest of team laughed as Penelope pulled back from the kiss, a deep blush on her cheeks.
"Now that's a good idea Boy Wonder. We'll do that, just as soon as we get back," Derek retorted as Penelope slapped him on the arm.
A few minutes later, Hotch came back and sat across from the two lovebirds. Looking at Derek, he stated seriously, "We need to talk."
"Yeah, I guess I knew this was coming," Derek said as he sat up and ran his hand over his head.
"Derek, what you did was stupid and if you ever pull anything like that again, there will be some serious consequences."
"But sir,…", Penelope began but Hotch cut her off before she could plead Derek's case any further.
"Let me finish, Garcia. Derek, I, of all people understand where you were coming from. I know what it's like to want to protect your family and the ones you love. So, for that reason, I'm letting this one slide."
"Thanks, Hotch." Derek said with a sigh of relief.
"But I want you to remember one thing, Derek. Because we are your family, you also have to learn to let us help you, especially when you need it most. That's what we're here for. We work as unit, understood?" After a few moments, a slight smile crossed Hotch's face as he said "As you were" and headed back to his own seat.
Turning back towards Penelope, Derek flashed her a smile and took her back into his arms. "He's right Baby Girl, I need someone to look after me and keep me in line. Someone I know will always be there to help me when I need it."
"That's what I'm here for Sweetness" Penelope told him as she looked into his dark brown eyes.
"What do you say we make it official then?"
"Derek, what do you mean, 'official'?" Penelope asked tentatively.
"Marry me, Baby Girl. I know this is not the most romantic place I could have asked you but it feels right, here with the rest of our family around us. Tell me you'll marry me and make me the happiest man alive."
"Oh, Derek, of course I will!" Penelope screamed with delight as she fell into his arms and the rest of the team cheered as they came forward to congratulate the happy couple.
THE END.
I hope you liked my story and the way it ended. Please R&R and let me know what you thought. Hopefully, my muse will awaken and another story will develop soon