A/N: Here is the next chapter. Sorry it took me so long to upload it. I am already starting on the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one, I had a lot of fun writing it:)
Chapter 8- Progress Being Made
Back at the apartment, still seated at the table, Gina and Beth continued to review the case file while Garcia ran the phone number that Sam had asked her to check. It wasn't even a full minute after Garcia had ended her call with Sam that Beth's phone beeped with a text message from him. Immediately upon opening the text message Beth handed the phone to Garcia so she could punch in the number into her computer to begin her search. The search itself didn't take long at all; after only five minutes of typing away on her computer Garcia ceased typing and leaned back in her seat, a look of annoyance on her face. Looking up from their case files both Gina and Beth looked over at their technical analyst; seeing her annoyed expression Beth asked,
"Is there a problem Garcia? Were you not able to find anything on the phone number?"
An exasperated sigh escaped Garcia's lips as she waved her hand at her computer,
"No there's no real problem, it's just that the number that Rawlins used to contact our Mr. Sean Quincy is from a pay phone. I'm not sure what else I can do from here…"
Both Beth and Gina remained quiet as they considered what else they could do to locate Rawlins whereabouts. It should have been obvious that since Rawlins had no real means of acquiring a disposable cell phone that he would choose to use a payphone as his means of communication. The only thing was that with the increase in cell phones pay phones had started to become obsolete. With that thought in mind Gina looked back up at Garcia and asked,
"Is there any way you can determine where the payphone is located?"
Her curiosity peaked, Garcia countered,
"I can try, but do you think you can share your new theory with me and Beth?"
Giving them an apologetic smile Gina replied,
"Alright, think about it, how many payphones have either one of you've ever seen here in the Quantico area? As long as I've lived here I haven't seen many. Ever since the demand for cell phones has increased there have been fewer and fewer payphones on the streets…"
Catching on to what Gina was saying Beth cut in,
"And because Rawlins used a payphone to call Sean Quincy that means that he's probably hiding out in an older area of Quantico that still has the use for payphones."
As she listened to Beth and Gina's combined explanations of Gina's theory Garcia, with a better understanding of what they wanted her to look for, quickly started typing away on her keyboard as she said,
"And if I can figure out in what area that payphone is in then you all will have a better idea of what general area this psycho is in."
For a while the sound of clicking keys was all that was heard at the table, until the sound of Sarah's crying started to ring out from the monitor still positioned in the center of the table. Glancing over to Beth, and seeing her start to rise to her feet, Gina, after patting Beth's hand, jumped to her feet as she said,
"Don't worry Beth, I'll check on her."
Waiting for a response Gina watched Beth return to her seat, and when she nodded her head in agreement Gina made her way to Sarah's nursery. A couple of minutes later Sarah's cries went quiet, only a soft comforting shushing sound could be heard through the monitor. Curious as to how long Sarah had slept Beth glanced down at her watch. A small smile spread across Beth's face as a soft giggle escaped her lips, Sarah had slept for just about an hour; the same length of time she always slept during her second nap of the day. Just by discovering the length of Sarah's nap Beth already knew that Sarah wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon. Beth's thoughts were confirmed a minute later when Gina returned to the table straddling Sarah on her hip.
Looking to Gina as she sat back in her seat Beth's smile grew bigger as she asked,
"She didn't want to go back to sleep, huh?"
Glancing down at the wide awake toddler sitting on her lap Gina returned the smile as she replied,
"No she wouldn't. And you being her mother probably knew that she wouldn't."
With a look of innocence on her face Beth shrugged her shoulders slightly as she said,
"It didn't occur to me until I looked at my watch just a minute ago, and saw that she had slept just about an hour. For some reason that's the longest she sleeps when she takes a second nap during the day."
Still clicking away at her computer Garcia said,
"She's a spunky girl who only requires little amounts of sleep. I tell you, when she gets older she's going to be just like her mommy and daddy- able to do things on small amounts of sleep."
With her head still cradled in her hands from while she listened to Garcia talk of her daughter's prospective future sleeping habits Beth, along with Gina, turned to look at Garcia as she said,
"Not meaning to be mean Garcia, but I really hope she doesn't continue with this sleeping habit as she gets older. I'm also going to hope and pray that her little brother or sister doesn't acquire the same sleeping habits."
Realizing how silly and ridiculous her final words Beth, along with Gina and Garcia, burst out in laughter. Because of the volume of their combined laughter the three women didn't hear the lift return to the apartment. Consumed in their own individual fits of laughter the three women also didn't hear Sam, Mick, and Prophet walking down the hall towards them.
Stopping in the doorway the three male agents paused to witness the women's continuous laughter. Noticing that none of the women had noticed their arrival Sam motioned to Mick and Prophet to quietly make their way into the room while Beth, Gina, and Garcia still had their eyes closed. Standing behind Beth's chair Sam quickly glanced across the table to Mick, who was standing behind Gina, and then to Prophet, who was standing next to him behind Garcia, and gave them both the go- ahead signal. Bending down close to Beth's ear Sam softly whispered,
"Something must be extremely funny for the three of you to be bursting at the seams."
Gina and Garcia reacted just as Sam, Mick, and Prophet had hoped, by nearly jumping out of their skins in surprise. Unfortunately Beth didn't have the same response; upon hearing Sam whisper in her ear Beth was immediately reminded of Rawlins when he snuck up on her. Heart pounding in her chest, Beth's face turned white as a sheet, like she had just seen a ghost, while her breathing quickly became chaotic. Witnessing her overly traumatic response Sam quickly knelt down beside Beth's chair, placing his hands on her shoulders as he calmly said,
"Beth honey, it's alright. No one is going to hurt you; it's just me, Sam. The guys and I just thought it would be fun to surprise you girls while you were busy laughing. I didn't mean for you to react like this, I'm sorry."
Upon hearing Sam's voice Beth immediately started to calm down as she wove her arms securely around Sam's neck in a tight embrace. As she relished the feeling of being in Sam's arms Beth's breathing and heart rate returned to normal. Deeming herself completely calmed down Beth slowly released her vise grip from around Sam's neck, and pulled herself away slightly. Staring into his deep brown eyes Beth said,
"I'm ok now. You'll just have to give me some time before I'll be ready to handle people coming up behind me and whispering in my ear…" Seeing understanding shining in Sam's eyes Beth decided to change the subject, "Were you guys able to get anything useful out of Sean Quincy besides the phone number?"
Realizing Beth's need and desire to forget her little freak out Sam went along with her casual change of subject as he replied,
"We didn't learn a whole lot. Sean Quincy works from his sister's apartment as an on call tech support guy. It seems that Rawlins has only contacted him once, and it was to have him look up personal information of each of us. He claims that that was the only time, and that he hasn't heard from him since."
Silence descended on the table as everyone contemplated Sam's words. After what felt like an eternity Garcia spoke up,
"When you say that Rawlins asked Sean Quincy to look up your personal information, exactly what kind of personal information are we talking about?"
Bowing his head for a split second to quickly collect himself Sam raised his head and replied,
"From what Sean Quincy told us, Rawlins had him look information such as our addresses, and things like that."
From across the table, with worry and fear shining equally in her eyes, Gina asked,
"Should we be worried about that? I mean Quincy was even able to find out that you and Beth are living together, and he probably also found out that you're married. Who's to say what all he was able to find and figure out about the rest of us, and then handed it over to Rawlins?"
Sensing how worried the piece of information had made Gina Mick, having already reclaimed his previous seat beside Gina, quickly pulled her into his arms. Looking over to Sam, whom Mick considered his brother, with a pleading look shining in his eyes, Mick asked,
"Do you believe that Rawlins will try to come after the rest of us as well as, Sam? Maybe he had another reason to have Sean Quincy look up our personal information."
Sam, having already arrived at the same conclusion-like suggestion, quickly shook his head no to reassure both Mick and Gina before he replied,
"No Mick I don't think that Rawlins will try and come after the rest of us. We weren't the ones to escape him like Beth did; that's why Rawlins decided to come see her personally, to get back at her for escaping him. Now, I do agree with the second thing you said Mick, I do believe that Rawlins had another reason for having Sean Quincy look up our personal information. But what that reason is exactly I'm not quite sure yet."
Prophet, now standing next to Garcia, looked up from the electronic images of the crime scene photos, and said,
"I think I know why Rawlins had Sean Quincy look up our personal information- he wanted to make sure he chose the right victim to symbolize each of us…" Prophet slammed both photos of the Morton's and the Willows' upon the table, "the victims he chose needed to exhibit specific features, Rawlins chose the Morton couple because Mark Morton resembled Mick, while Janice Morton resembled Gina. He even shot Mark Morton in the same shoulder that Mick shot Rawlins in, a personal message for Mick. Now, the Willows couple was chosen because they resembled you and Beth, Sam. In Rawlins' own twisted mind he has symbolically killed each of you."
Staring transfixed at both crime scene photos a look of pure hatred covered Mick's face as he hissed,
"That bastard, he's playing with us, trying to make us feel vulnerable. He's not going to get away with doing this, he's going to pay for everything he's done."
All around the table everyone nodded their heads in agreement with Mick's words. Staring down at the horrid crime scene photos a feeling of dread began to squirm within Beth's stomach instead of nausea, looking around the table at her team members and family Beth said,
"But if these two couples are supposed to symbolize myself, Sam, Mick, and Gina, then that means Rawlins still has another murder planned, this one to symbolize Prophet. Who knows, Rawlins may have already committed the murder and we just haven't been notified yet…"
With no response on the possible murder to come a silence once again enveloped the table. Since there was no real proof of another possible murder Sam, while holding Beth's hand firmly within his own, said,
"Unfortunately we don't have any proof that there will be another murder. So as a way to ease everyone's minds why don't we put this to the side for now, and talk about something else?"
Hearing no objections around the table Sam turned to Garcia and asked,
"Garcia, were you able to get anything on the phone number that Sean Quincy provided us?"
Tilting her head slightly to the side Garcia scrunched up her face as she replied,
"Kind-of, sort-of. When I ran the phone number I found that it was from a payphone. Then with guidance from Gina and Beth I ran a check to see what area of Quantico still had payphones that worked so as to narrow down your search area. As it turns out the old business district is one of the few areas in Quantico that still has payphones, three to be exact. Cross checking the phone number with that specific area I found the exact payphone Rawlins used, its located on the corner of Harris Road, and Jefferson Boulevard, just outside yet another abandoned courthouse."
Hopeful smiles appeared on everyone's faces at Garcia's results. Nodding his head in thanks to Garcia Sam then said,
"Alright so it's probably safe to say that Rawlins is hiding out somewhere in that specific district, but we'll have to wait till we get more information to be sure…"
At that moment from within Sam's pocket his cell phone started ringing. Having pulled the phone from his pocket Sam glanced down at the caller ID, and swiftly rose to his feet, and as he raised the phone to his ear, said,
"It's Director Fickler. Let me see what he has to say and then I'll be back…"
The rest of the team exchanged glances with one another, the only reason the director would call Sam would be if there was another murder connected to their case. The phone call lasted a little more than a minute before Sam made his way back over to the table. The dejected look upon Sam's face when he rejoined them was enough to confirm everyone's suspicions, there had been another murder. Feeling the need to get everything out in the open Sam looked around the table as he said,
"That was Director Fickler; he just received a phone call notification from local Quantico PD of another murder containing the same MO as the previous two murders. He also took the time to go ahead and send the address to all of our PDAs."
That said everyone started to quickly gather their things. Rising from the table as well Beth made her way over to the head of the table where Sam now stood, and with a look of determination on her face, Beth said,
"Sam I'm going with you guys to the crime scene…"
Not even bothering to stop a second to think Sam shook his head no as he replied,
"No Beth, you're still recovering after what happened this morning. I don't want anything else to happen to you or the baby."
With the heat of anger burning on her face Beth crossed her arms across her chest as she heatedly replied,
"I'm fine Sam. Besides I want to go see for myself what Rawlins has done to those people. And who knows, Rawlins may be watching from some hiding place close to the crime scene, and if he sees me not among you all then he might begin to think that he hurt me mentally as well as physically. I can't let him think that of me, I have to show him that I'm strong and that he wasn't able to hurt me as much as he had hoped."
Even though he understood Beth's reason for going Sam still shook his head no yet again as he replied,
"I just don't think it's safe for you to be going to out in the open this soon, even if you are feeling better."
Beth's face and eyes burned with anger as she replied,
"If I don't go now Sam then who's to say when or if I will ever be able to go to another crime scene, or even work on another case again."
Swinging her arms back down to her sides Beth turned on her heels and headed to the living room, away from Sam. As he watched her make her way to the sofa Sam made to follow her but stopped when he felt someone's hand touch his arm. Turning around Sam found himself face to face with Garcia, who gave him a sad smile as she said,
"Don't worry Sam; I'll go talk to her. She just needs a little time to calm herself down."
Nodding his head Sam said,
"Alright Garcia, can you tell Beth that I understand her reason for wanting to go, and if she does go then she has to listen and do exactly as I tell her."
Noticing the ultimatum that he was willing to give Garcia nodded her head before she herself made her way into the living room. Quietly and carefully Garcia approached Beth and settled down beside her on the sofa. Beth, leaning forward resting her elbows on her legs, looked over to Garcia and gave her a saddened smile as she said,
"Hey."
Giving her own smile in return Garcia wrapped her arm loosely around Beth's shoulders as she replied,
"Hey, you know just like the rest of us that Sam is just worried about your safety and well-being as well as that of your unborn child. The same is said for the rest of us as well."
Heaving a light sigh Beth nodded her head as she replied,
"Yeah I know, and I love all of you for your love and concern for me, but sometimes it seems like Sam goes a little too far. The way he's been treating me after what happened this morning as well as because I'm pregnant again proves it. What he needs to understand is that I have to prove to both myself and to everyone else that I'm really ok, and that I can still do my job…"
Understanding Beth's train of thought completely Garcia gave Beth's shoulders a slight squeeze as she said,
"I understand completely Beth; I went through almost the same thing after that psycho jerk Jason Battle shot me. Now, please don't shoot the messenger, but Sam asked me to tell you something, and in my opinion if sounds like a good ultimatum for you to take."
Seeing the look of true sincerity on Garcia's face Beth heaved a light sigh and shrugged her shoulders as she asked,
"Alright, what did Sam ask you to tell me?"
A small smile appeared on Garcia's face as she replied,
"Sam said that he understands your reason for going with them, and if you were to go then you would have to listen and do exactly as he tells you… Do you think you can deal with that?"
For a moment Beth didn't say a word as she took her time to seriously contemplate Sam's words. A minute later, still seeming to be a little reluctant, Beth nodded her head in agreement as she said,
"I guess I should be able to deal with his bargain. Besides when have I ever not listened to what Sam has asked me to do?"
Happy that Beth had agreed to Sam's ultimatum Garcia couldn't help but smile. Knowing that they needed to go rejoin the others both Garcia and Beth rose to their feet and began making their way to the dining room. As they walked back into the dining room they found the team still standing around the table, their gear and belongings already on their backs. Beth, noticing that Sam hadn't left his previous position, went to rejoin him at the head of the table. Looking up into his dark brown eyes Beth nodded her head slightly as she said,
"I will listen and do exactly as you tell me Sam."
Keeping his face neutral Sam nodded his in return as he bent down and picked up something from the floor. As he rose back up Beth saw a bag, her bad, dangling in his hand. A small smile played at Sam's lips a he said,
"Even though I wasn't sure if you'd agree to the deal, I figured I'd go ahead and gather your things for you."
Returning the smile in full Beth rose to her tip toes and pecked Sam on the lips as she replied,
"Thank you Sam, that was very sweet of you. Like I've said before, underneath your tough exterior is a soft, generous, and caring heart."
Taking hold of Beth's hand Sam gave it a gentle squeeze. Turning to Garcia, who now held Sarah in her arms, Sam said,
"Alright Garcia, we'll call you if we learn anything new at the crime scene. You and Sarah have fun."
Garcia nodded her head as she replied,
"We will, and while you guys are gone I'll go over Beth's rape kit results, maybe Rawlins' DNA will be among the results."
At the mention of the rape kit results Sam felt Beth freeze beside him along with Gina, Mick, and Prophet. Not wanting to dwell on the results for long Sam quickly nodded his head to Garcia before turning to the rest of the team and said,
"Alright guys let's get going to the new crime scene."
That said everyone headed once again for the lift. Turning her head to look at the toddler in her arms Garcia said,
"Alright sweetie-pie let's go have some fun."
Hearing Sarah squeal in delight Garcia quickly grabbed her computer before they made their way to the living room.
