Chapter 14
Defying the Higher Power
Disclaimer: I'm sorry to say I can't take credit for this genius.
A/N: I have three words to say to whom it may concern: I. AM. BACK. For one day at least. But, it means a new chapter and luckily, I had seventeen days to think it over. Enjoy!
"Derek! Stay with me! Come on! Keep your eyes open!" I felt desperate hands put pressure on my stomach and winced when I cracked my lids. The world seemed incredibly bright and I immediately closed my eyes again. "Morgan stop that!" I realized it was Garcia screaming my name and once again forced myself to look at her. He hair clung to her forehead by sweat and her clothes were covered in blood. Her eyes were wide and frantic, but I didn't see any of that. All I saw was the blood on her hands. My blood. Almost hers. I shut my tired eyes again. She slapped me across the face. I groaned. "They are almost here! Help is coming. Talk to me!"
"I..." I couldn't form the words. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the pain in my mid-section. I screamed. She grimaced but pressed on.
"Morgan! Talk to me about your family. Your sisters!" she yelled. I felt the blood rushing from my wound and realized then that I was going to die. People don't survive injuries like this unless they get immediate medical attention; something I didn't have.
"Garcia, I need to tell you something. You need to know how I feel about you. You need to know-" She slapped me again.
"You can tell me when you're out of the hospital. You can tell me when..." Tears left her eyes and landed on my face. I shook my head.
"Penelope." She hesitated but didn't speak. I continued. "You are the light in my world."
I closed my eyes.
...
Two Days Before
"No. Absolutely not," I told her and she laughed.
"Oh, come on," she sighed, exasperated. "You know you want to..." I grinned. The truth was, I did. Going behind Agent Greene's back as well as Hotch's, appealed to me. I wanted to continue with this case. Prove we weren't 'traumatized'. I didn't let her know this as I sat down on her couch, watching the moon drift behind the clouds.
"Let's say we did do this... Where would we start?"
"Well, it would mostly be my project. I would look deep into Ryan's past and find a place he might have gone in his childhood or even as an adult. I'll make a list of all the possibilities and we can check them out. Simple as that." She smiled, proud of her plan.
"Just one problem," I told her. Her eyebrows raised. "What the hell are we going to do with Kevin?"
...
Lily's fingernails scraped what was left of the food from her dinner off of the dishes. She enveloped her hands in the soapy water and was aware of Ryan's eyes on her back.
"So... Did I do a good job with dinner?" she asked. A smile erupted on his face.
"It was delicious. Couldn't have done a better job myself," he told her, genuinely happy. Lily did a small smile and stacked the plates neatly on the counter. It was dark outside and nothing could be heard in the house but Ryan's ragged breath and the sloshing of water. Lily's feet were chained together, but her hands were free from any bonds.
"It would have been easier to make if you had let me use a knife." Ryan's smile fell off his face.
"It would have been easier?" he growled. Lily cursed herself silently. She wished she would just stay quiet. She turned and clumsily sat in his lap, putting her arms around his neck.
"I'm sorry. I'm glad you liked it," she whispered, her voice shaking in his ear, praying for forgiveness. He loosened his grip on the table and relaxed into her. He took her hand and stood her up. She followed him obediently as he led her up the stairs, into the bedroom, and watched him shut the door behind them.
...
Thank God Garcia's office was located before the main room. I don't think we could have made it past everyone and come up with a liable excuse for being there. Good thing we didn't try either, because Agent Greene was in the middle of it all, speaking with Reid.
"I don't care about the percentage of people that die from toxins each year. It has no relevance to the case," he shouted at him.
"Actually sir, it does have some relevance since we're-" He stopped talking because Agent Greene had left the room. I was boiling inside. I wanted to go tell him that... I trailed off because Garcia had pulled me down the hallway.
"That selfish, arrogant-"
"Morgan. Deep. Breaths," she said. I nodded.
"So... What exactly is the plan?" I asked as we approached her office. She didn't say anything. When we reached her door, she rummaged in her bag and came up with a one of those things you stick in a computer to input information. A flash something?
"This is the plan," she said slyly. She threw open the door and ushered me inside and I closed it behind us. Kevin looked up from his work and gasped. He reached for a button on the phone but Garcia slammed her hand onto his. He yelped in pain. "Listen to me, Kevin."
"I was given direct orders from Agent Hotchner to alert him if you came back without his permission," he stammered and he stood up. I took a step forward and him a step back. Garcia pulled up two chairs.
"Sit down." He sat. "Now, here is how things are going to go. You are going to stay and help us find out who did this. If someone calls, you are to answer and do work as usual. If you say anything of us, I will take this," she held up the device, "and put it into your home computer." He shrieked. He began to talk unintelligently.
"That's a... T-that's a... A..." he choked out and she nodded.
"I know what it is. Do we understand each other?" she asked. And to my great surprise, he agreed to our ridiculous little plan.
...
When the sun rose, it was Lily who awoke first. Ryan lay sleeping next to her, his arm across her chest. Her heart started to beat rapidly and she gently moved his arm away from her. She slid out of the covers and grabbed his shirt that lay on the ground. She opened the door and drifted down the hall, avoiding all the creaks and moans of the old house. When she made it to the kitchen, she was running. Grabbing a knife along the way, she considered going back upstairs to kill him. If she got away, but he found her in the end, this would all be a waste and he would lock down the house more securely next time. There would be no way for her to escape. She decided it was the only way and she turned, ready to make it back upstairs. She took it step by step and when she made it to the bedroom he was still asleep. She breathed a sigh of relief and took a confident stride forward.
"This is for Connor," she mouthed. She aimed to stab him in the back, but changed her mind in the last second and stabbed him in the leg. She twisted the knife and he let loose a scream to wake the dead. She took it out and stabbed his lower back, twisting the knife. Blood soaked the sheets and her hands and she took out the knife. She ran down the stairs towards freedom. Near the bottom, she tripped and fell. This would have been fine, seen as Ryan was so far behind her, if she hadn't fallen squarely on her weapon.
...
Garcia's fingers were a blur as she searched Ryan's background, every so often she would write something down and I would look over her shoulder to read it. So far she had:
Apartment he leased in1996. 5520 Rose.
His old friend George Hansen's house. Realtor. 1600 Gove Park.
Both of those seemed unlikely to me. I took my attention from her and focused on Kevin. When my eyes met his, he looked away and resumed his work. I kept thinking I heard someone coming and would rise to go in the closet like we planned and each time Garcia would laugh and say I worried too much. That the only person usually came into the room was me. The phone ringing didn't help. I jumped in my seat and Kevin scrambled to the phone.
"Hello, this is Kevin," he squeaked when he answered. Garcia pressed the speaker button.
"Hey Kevin, it's Prentiss. I was told to inform you that a Lily Whittman was reported missing just over twenty for hours ago. She has family just like the others and she matches the description." Garcia almost gasped, but my hand shot out and covered her mouth. "Hotch wants us moving as quickly as possible and wants me to get an update. Have you found a place he could have taken another victim perhaps?" He paused and I pointed to our list.
"I have two possibilities you could look at." I could almost hear the surprise in her reply.
"Great. Let's hear it."
"He leased an apartment in 1996. That's 5520 Rose Ave. And he has a friend at 1600 Gove Park. He used to be his realtor."
"That's great Kevin, I'll tell Hotch. Good work."
"Thanks you... Agent Prentiss." They both paused.
" Kevin? Have you heard anything from Morgan or Garcia? I'm really worried about them," she asked. Kevin opened his mouth and Garcia took out the computer thing again, waving it in his face. It didn't faze him.
"Actually, Garcia came by with Morgan earlier this morning to pick up some things. They were fine," he said, looking at us.
"Oh, that's great. I just feel really bad about them not being on the case. Even Hotch is disappointed. But, as long as they're fine. Someone will call back to tell you how it went. Thanks again." She hung up and we all took a deep breath. Then we remembered Ryan had taken someone else and Garcia's fingers were once again a blur of action.
...
Lily woke up in Ryan's bed, a bandage tied around her stomach; soaked through with blood. It was dark again and her body was covered with sweat. She felt sick. She looked next to her and saw a note, written in a messy scrawl.
Lily,
I've gone to the hospital. I think I'm going to live, but we will talk when I return. There is water on the bedside table along with fruit. Hope you feel better.
Love, Ryan.
Lily felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders for two reasons. She would act on the first now, she was unsupervised. She sat up, but was hit with not only pain, but the clinking of chains. Her eyes opened for real now and she saw her arms were the only thing free. Her feet were chained to the bed and well as her waist.
"Goddamn it," she cried. She calmed herself and said she probably had a few days to figure this out. Then she remembered the second reason she was happy. She had seen the news with Ryan. Everyone knew his face. Someone had to recognize him. Hope emanated from her body and wrapped itself around her in a warm greeting.
...
It was about five in the afternoon when Garcia found it. We had looked all night and through the day and I was starting to lose hope. Buried in his past, his childhood home. Apparently, that part of his life had been covered because of the lawsuit that condemned the home. That didn't make much sense to me, but we had an address and that's all I cared about. This had to be the place. But, because I didn't have a gun, we couldn't go right away. It was Garcia who thought of how to get one.
"It will be easy," she had said. Turns out, it was. Reid agreed to our plan in the end, though he took some convincing.
"I don't understand why you need my gun Morgan! You're likely to shoot someone with it," he had told me. I rolled my eyes. Exactly.
"Reid, I just need it for the day. All you have to do is not tell Hotch. I'm giving you the address to where we're going, in case we don't come back." He nodded and I walked away.
That was four hours ago.
...
Ryan pulled up in his car and flinched when he jerked to a stop. He had only been gone two days because he insisted he had to leave and the hospital was relucant in letting him go. He finally managed to sneak out after dark. He now had two bandages covering his wounds, and he had to say he was relieved. He couldn't believe no one recognized him. Although, Susan had told him not to go.
"They'll arrest you Ryan! You're all over the news," she'd screeched. Luckily, he was getting better at turning her out. Lily was helping him in a lot of ways.
"Lily!" he called up to her. "I'm home. All stitched up!" He heard an intake of breath in response and he chuckled. Where he entered her room, she was just as he left her. She seemed surprised to see him.
"I... I'm so glad you're back!" she said.
"Me too."
...
"Hey, Mary..." a surgeon asked. His name was Jim Neus.
"Hmmmm?" she said, distracted. It was late, and the hospital was the only thing alive for miles. Doctors hustled by and new patients were brought in. The lights never turned off.
"Who was the man in room twelve?" he asked nervously. She looked up and blinked.
"What do you mean who was he? He's still here! Had two stab wounds!" she told him. His eyes widened.
"I think we may have a problem."
...
We pulled into the driveway after midnight, and only one light was still on. I took out Reid's gun and started the argument I knew I was going to lose with Garcia.
"Stay here." As soon as I said it, she refused. "Please, for me. You don't have a weapon and it was be hard for me to protect you when trying to save the hostage."
"Morgan, I don't know what you've got in your mind right now, but it's pointless to try to keep me here. It really is." She opened her door, but I reached across and shut it.
"I know. I had to try." She nodded and tried to open the door again. She frowned when I didn't move. We sat that way for a long time, watching each other and waiting for the other to move. In the end, I moved first. Pressing her lips to mine, I locked her in that position, my mouth fierce. I chuckled to myself at her smell. She hadn't slept in thirty-six hours and she still smelled like vanilla. When I pulled away, she looked sad. "What?"
"Do you think something is going to happen?" I looked at her and answered as honestly as I could, without telling her that I, in fact, did.
"I have no idea."
...
"Who the hell runs this place?" Prentiss screamed at the closest surgeon. Hotch couldn't blame her, but he told her to try to be civil.
"I need to speak to the people he came in contact with," Hotch told the secretary.
"I can't believe this," JJ groaned. "He came in here, used his real name, and no one recognized him? Not one person knew who he was? I thought the people who worked in hospitals were smarter than average!" she told the nearest nurse, who promptly ran away. "Hell, I thought he was smart, why wouldn't he use a different name?"
"Insurance," Reid told her.
"What were his injuries?" asked Rossi.
"Two stab wounds; one in the lower back and one in the leg. Can't believe he survived," Mary Yale told them. "Jim Neus operated on him. He's over there. He already made his statement."
"Do you have any idea where he's going or where he came from?" Hotch asked.
"He said he was staying at his parents' house." He nodded and she walked away.
"I remember from the report, he didn't have parents. He lived in a foster home," Reid said. It was then, in the following two seconds, that realization dawned on them.
...
I gave Garcia a crowbar that I'd found out back. We were both at the entrance to the house and I was telling her my terms once more. I think, to my satisfaction, I was really irritating her.
"After I find them, call the team. I'll get Lily out of there and you stay out of sight," I told her.
"Got it, got it," she grumbled. I twisted the doorknob and pushed it open lightly. We walked through the kitchen and I pointed the phone out to Garcia. I stayed to watch her dial the number, but felt my heart sink when she spoke.
"The lines disconnected," she said. Damn. Our cell phones didn't have service so I was relying on this to get the team. I looked at her.
"Stay out of sight." I left the room and walked upstairs. I heard voices and pointed my gun at the door. "Ryan Walters! Come out of your hands raised!" I waited for five seconds. I heard a crash and I kicked open the door. Ryan had Lily chained to the bed and a gun pointed at my head.
...
"Almost there, turn left at the next exit," Reid told Hotch.
"Great, Reid? I'm going to need you to come inside with me and Prentiss. The others will patrol the outside," Hotch said. Reid grimaced. "What?"
"Well..." he started.
"What, Reid?"
"I don't have my gun," he said, wincing.
"Excuse me?" Prentiss yelled from the front seat.
"I gave it to Morgan. He said he and Garcia knew where they needed to go and that they would call when they got there. I'm sorry!" he pleaded. Hotch ignored him.
"How long ago?"
"Eight hours, forty seven minutes and-" he glanced at his watch, "Sixteen seconds."
"Damn."
...
I was aware of two things and I only saw one. I heard myself speaking to Ryan, trying to get him to let Lily go. He started shouting to someone next to him, calling her Susan. I talked with him for three minutes and almost had him, I felt his grip on the gun loosening, when Garcia entered the room. Observation number one. The next came with Ryan firing at Garcia, dead center and me diving in the way, dropping my gun.
"Derek! Stay with me! Come on! Keep your eyes open!" I felt desperate hands put pressure on my stomach and winced when I cracked my lids. The world seemed incredibly bright and I immediately closed my eyes again. "Morgan stop that!" I realized it was Garcia screaming my name and once again forced myself to look at her. He hair clung to her forehead by sweat and her clothes were covered in blood. Her eyes were wide and frantic, but I didn't see any of that. All I saw was the blood on her hands. My blood. Almost hers. I shut my tired eyes again. She slapped me across the face. I groaned. "They are almost here! Help is coming. Talk to me!"
"I..." I couldn't form the words. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the pain in my mid-section. I screamed. She grimaced but pressed on.
"Morgan! Talk to me about your family. Your sisters!" she yelled. I felt the blood rushing from my wound and realized then that I was going to die. People don't survive injuries like this unless they get immediate medical attention; something I didn't have.
"Garcia, I need to tell you something. You need to know how I feel about you. You need to know-" She slapped me again.
"You can tell me when you're out of the hospital. You can tell me when..." Tears left her eyes and landed on my face. I shook my head.
"Penelope." She hesitated but didn't speak. I continued. "You are the light in my world."
I closed my eyes.
A/N: So, a couple things. I am leaving for a trip tomorrow, but I probably with have a computer. It may be possible for an update to occur while I am gone, though I'm making no promises. Next, I am wondering if I should do a sequel (I have a plan for one if it happens) and I want opinions on that. Thanks so much for the reviews!