This chapter is going to be big! Not in size but in awesomeness! You'll see! Read and find out!
Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Interfering
As soon as Team Phantom left the classrooms, JJ, Prentiss and Reid met up with Rossi, Hotch and Morgan (who was off talking to the teachers) about what they learned.
"So, what did you guys learn about these kids?" asked Morgan.
"Well, Samantha made it no secret that she's head over heels in love with Daniel," said JJ.
"She's also rather skeptical about our interfering with the investigation," added Prentiss.
"Daniel's sister seemed rather offended when I mentioned her brother's possible connection to the disappearances," said Reid. "She's also rather observant to her surroundings. She even knew why she was here in the first place."
Morgan chuckled. "Wow, Reid. Sounds like you just met your match."
"Judging by the how straight forward she was with my questions, I'd say she's hiding something," Reid concluded.
"We felt the same way about Samantha," said JJ.
Reid looked at her. "Maybe you should have addressed her as Sam. Danny told me she prefers to be called that."
"You might be right, Reid," said Prentiss. "Sam's a Goth. All she wants is for people to respect her individuality."
JJ smirked. "Kind of like how you were when you were in high school?" she asked as she remembered Emily's old high school photo. Prentiss glared at her warningly.
"I'd say we got the best results with Daniel," said Rossi. "When we dismissed him, he ran off faster than you can recite the Miranda Rights."
"He obviously has something to hide," added Hotch. "There was also something that was off about him."
"What do you mean, Hotch?" asked Morgan.
"His voice sounds almost exactly like Phantom's," said Hotch. "When I shook Daniel's hand, it was cold, cold as a corpse's. That's exactly how Phantom's hand felt when I shook his hand last night."
"Sounds like there's a connection between Daniel and Phantom," said Reid. "I've mentioned this to Hotch and Rossi already but if you think about it, their names do sound alike. Danny Fenton. Danny Phantom. Notice the similarities?"
Everyone thought it over in their heads. The names did sound alike but it could just be a coincidence.
"You going to confront Phantom about this tonight?" Rossi asked Hotch.
"I'll have to see how the meeting goes," he said. "Phantom said that he has more information regarding Aragon. If I see an opening, I'll ask him about it."
"He has to tell us tonight," said Rossi. "Time is running out on these girls. If what Phantom said is true then we're dealing with a ticking time bomb."
"It's official! I don't do well under pressure!" Danny exclaimed as the trio walked toward the fountain in the park later that evening.
"Don't tell me you caved!" Sam moaned.
"No, but the way I acted just makes them more suspicious of me!"
"And I thought I was terrible under pressure," Tucker muttered.
"I have no doubt that Agent Hotchner is going to confront me more about this whole thing," said Danny.
"If he scares you that much, dude, ask one of those ladies to interrogate you," said Tucker. "I don't know which one is hotter: the dark-haired one or the blonde."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh grow up, Tucker." Tucker grinned cheekily as he ran up the same tree as last night. Sam then turned to Danny. "So, are we still on for tomorrow?" she asked nervously.
"Totally," said Danny. "I've never been to a drive-in movie so this will be an awesome experience. Wanna do a countdown every time Jason's about to kill someone?"
Sam smiled. "You bet! That's what I do every time I watch those movies."
"Alright then," said Danny as he changed into Phantom. "Tomorrow at 7:45."
Sam smiled again. "I'll pick you up," she said as she climbed up the tree to join Tucker.
The techno-geek grinned smugly at the Goth. "You finally asked Danny out?" he asked smugly.
Sam scowled at Tucker. "None of your business, Tuck."
"You two going to make out during the movie?"
The tree shook as Sam gave Tucker a punch in the face.
Hotch walked to the fountain at the appointed time. Against his wishes, his teammates put a wire on him hidden under his shirt.
Hotch looked around. No sign of Phantom. The air suddenly felt cooler, like a cold front just came in but without the wind. Thinking Phantom was trying to make another dramatic entrance, Hotch called out, "Show yourself, Phantom. I do not like being taken by surprise."
"Sheesh! You're no fun," pouted Phantom as he became visible on the same bench they sat on last night. Hotch studied the boy closely. Phantom blinked. "What? Do I have something on my face?"
Hotch shook himself out of his daze. "Forgive me. You just remind me of someone I know, that's all."
Phantom blinked again. "Okay," he said slowly. "So, did you find anything about Aragon?"
"Nothing yet," said Hotch. "What about you? You said that you have more information about our unsub."
"Unsub?" asked Phantom even though he already knew what it meant.
"Unknown subject," said Hotch. "What else do you know about Aragon?"
"For starters, he lives in a place called the Ghost Zone," Phantom started. "Pretty crazy, I know."
"I'm aware of the Ghost Zone," said Hotch. "The Guys in White are part of the FBI. I've heard them mention the place a few times." It was true. The BAU has heard the Guys in White mention the Ghost Zone more than once.
That bit of information caught Phantom off guard. "You've heard of it? I thought you didn't believe in ghosts."
"I still don't. I think their work is utter nonsense."
"Speaking of which, you guys aren't in cahoots with the Guys in White, are you? Because if you are, you're on your own," Phantom warned.
"I can assure you, Phantom, if we were in cahoots with the GIW, they would be helping us find these missing teenagers based on witnesses' statements," said Hotch.
"Really?" Phantom asked skeptically. "They're after me for no reason. If they saw you with me, I wouldn't be surprised if you sided with them."
"Why would I double-cross someone who is trying to help me solve this case?" asked Hotch. "The GIW can either help me with this case or they can stay out of it."
Phantom scoffed. "I doubt they'd help if they knew I was there."
A blast broke the bench in two, barely hitting Phantom and Hotch.
"What the hell?" Hotch shouted.
The two looked up and saw two men in white suits approaching them on hovercrafts.
"Operation: Search and Rescue is a go," said Operative O.
"Ghost Kid is in sight," said Operative K. "Fire!" The two agents shot at Phantom and Hotch, nearly hitting them.
Hotch pulled out his credentials to put a stop to this mess. "FBI! STAND DOWN!"
K pulled out his binoculars to get a closer look at Hotch. "That's Special Agent H from the BAU." The two operatives quickly landed.
Phantom wanted to flee but Hotch put his hand of the boy's shoulder. "Stay here. Don't even think about running away."
Phantom frowned. "And let them blast me to bits? I don't think so!"
Rossi and Morgan quickly approached the scene.
"Hotch! You okay? What's going on?" Morgan asked as he pulled out his gun.
"Operatives K and O. That's what's going on!" barked Hotch.
Rossi and Morgan held up their credentials. "Special Agents Morgan and Rossi of the BAU! Stand down!" yelled Morgan.
"Step away from the prepubescent specter!" ordered Operative K as he and Operative O pulled out their weapons.
Phantom frowned, insulted. "How many times do I have to tell you? I've already hit puberty! What's it gonna take to convince you idiots?"
"Quiet, Phantom!" barked O. "You're coming with us."
Hotch stepped in front of Phantom. "He's not going anywhere with you, O. He's with us."
"A prepubescent specter affiliated with the BAU?" said K. "It's scandalous!"
"Isn't that what the government is all about?" Phantom muttered to himself.
"This ghost or whatever is helping us find four missing teenage girls," said Hotch. "If you take him with you, you're interfering with our investigation."
"That's not our top priority," said O.
"Well this case is our top priority," said Rossi. "This boy is the key to finding these missing girls. If you take him away, you've sealed those girls' fates and you'll have to answer to their parents. Does your superior really want that on his plate?"
"Stay out of this, Agent R!" barked K.
Morgan rolled his eyes. "I hate it when they address us by the first letter of our last names," he muttered.
Phantom kept looking at the tree where Sam and Tucker were hiding. 'Please! Stay right where you are, guys. The moment they see you, they'll figure it out!'
"You two better not interfere any further," Rossi warned. "Don't forget, the BAU is ranked higher than you. Now, I'm going to ask you two again: stand down!"
The two operatives looked at each other and then disarmed their weapons.
"Very well, Agent R," said K. "But if we see this kid again without any of you present, we will not hold back. Consider it a warning." The two operatives then jumped on their hovercrafts and flew off.
"How the heck did they find us?" asked Phantom.
Hotch glared at Morgan and Rossi. "Told you it was a bad idea. They must have hacked in and eavesdropped on us," he said.
"Hacked in?" repeated Phantom. Something then clicked in the hybrid's mind. He frowned at Hotch. Phantom turned his hand intangible and searched Hotch and found the wire underneath his shirt. "You had your buddies listening in on us?" he asked angrily as he used his ghost energy to destroy the device.
"It's not what you think," Hotch started.
"I should have known! I should never have trusted you guys! If I can't trust the FBI, I can't trust anybody!" yelled Phantom. He then flew off in a huff. As soon as Hotch, Rossi and Morgan were gone, Sam and Tucker shakily got down from the tree and followed Phantom home.
Hotch marched out of the park fuming. Morgan didn't want to say anything. He's known Hotch long enough to know to give him time to cool off before talking to him. Rossi, however, was different. He was the only one brave enough to confront Hotch whenever he was in a bad mood.
"Talk to me, Hotch," said Rossi as Morgan went back to his hotel room. Rossi and Hotch went to the empty conference room they used yesterday.
"What's there to talk about?" Hotch asked coolly. "I warned you guys that wearing a wire was a bad idea. Now because of you, we've lost our only chance to rescuing these girls."
"If we had known that the GIW would be eavesdropping, I would have asked Garcia to block anyone from doing so," Rossi defended.
"But you didn't," Hotch snapped. "Now we lost what little trust Phantom had in us! Without that trust, we're sitting ducks!
"So we find another source," said Rossi. "When we lose a source, we find another."
"How many teenage kids are there in this city that know how to stop this guy?" Hotch yelled.
"You're forgetting that Phantom is not the only one who hunts creatures like the ones we saw yesterday," Rossi said back.
"The Guys in White can't catch a cold," Hotch remarked.
"I'm not talking about them," said Rossi. "I'm talking about Daniel Fenton's family. Garcia said that his parents specialize in hunting these creatures. If we talk to them, it could get us closer to the unsub."
"I had Garcia get the parents' backgrounds. The whole town thinks they're a joke," said Hotch. "I can see why Daniel gets bullied on a daily basis."
A knock on the door interrupted their argument. Reid poked his head into the room. "You guys might want to see something Garcia found. It's pretty big."
Rossi and Hotch followed Reid back to Morgan's hotel room. Reid's laptop was on with Penelope's face on the screen.
"What did you find, Garcia?" asked Rossi.
"Something big, bigger than big! Like Godzilla huge!" Garcia exclaimed.
"What did you find, pretty girl?" asked Morgan.
"Hotch, I know you record every interview you've ever done. Well, while listening to your meeting with Phantom, I thought I recognized his voice so I did a little comparison to the interviews you've done so far and – get this – I found a match!" Garcia exclaimed.
Prentiss's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you saying that someone from Casper High School is Phantom?" she asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," said Garcia. Reid, Hotch and Reid exchanged looks, like they knew who it was going to be. "After comparing voice patterns, I found only one person who matches Phantom's perfectly – Daniel James Fenton."
The jig is up! They know!
I know Garcia does a lot of hacking to get information for the BAU but I don't know if she does voice comparisons. If not, oh well! My story!
I threw the GIW in there since they've been mentioned a lot during this story. Besides, now the BAU knows why Danny hates the Feds so much!
