I could apologize a thousand and one times for taking so damn long to update, but it's not going to bring back the time :P But I'll say it anyways, I'm sorry. I wish I was one of those writers that can update every other year and then return and their readers just accept it and are unfazed by the delay. Eh, what can you do? Please bear with me~
Guest 1: Oh you're so very welcome :) And I couldn't just ignore you; you're one of my readers and your request required an explanation, which I was more than happy to give. Thanks for your enthusiasm :D
Guest 2: Whoa, thanks for being specific and you're welcome. Thanks for reading! :)
Warnings: blood, gruesome images, language
They were too late.
The moment Atlanta's law enforcement reached the Emerson household, Morgan just knew that Foyet and Tobias had escaped their grasp…again.
There were times when he hates being right and this was one of them.
Chief Sullivan led the police to surround the house while Morgan, Rossi, and a few officers crept up to the door, guns poised. They listened for a sound but it was quiet. Then they exchanged a look.
1, 2, 3
Morgan gave the door a swift kick, hard enough so that it broke off its hinges. Then the profilers rushed into the home, their guns raised, while the other officers followed them in from other parts of the structure.
"FBI!" Morgan was ready for anything, his body rigid and his senses heightened. As he hurried down the hallway, his eyes darted from side-to-side, on the look-out for either Foyet or Hankel or even for the Emersons or for their colleagues. He stopped to the side of an archway that seemed to lead into a kitchen. He looked to Rossi and the older man gave him a nod, indicating that he'd cover him. Without further hesitation, Morgan made his way into the room and scoped out the area.
Nothing.
"Civilian down, I repeat a civilian is down!"
"There's another one too, I think he's dead…I'm not getting a pulse…"
At those urgent voices, Morgan and Rossi spun around and hurriedly headed to a nearby room. A couple of police officers were in there already, hovering over two figures that were tied to chairs and working to undo the knots. One of the first things Morgan and Rossi noticed about the room was the blood—it was practically everywhere, on the floor, dripping down the walls…
Most horrifying though was what was on the far end of the wall opposite of the door—a message written in blood. Morgan and Rossi looked to it with shock, feeling sick to their stomachs. However, it also made them even more determined to catch Foyet and stop him from ripping away innocent lives.
They had to force themselves to tear their eyes away to concentrate on the situation at hand, each figuring that they'll address the message later once they've dealt with more pressing matters. They drew closer to the people in the chairs.
Rossi's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "That's the Emersons."
He and Morgan drew closer and the officers gave them some room. Sure enough, Martha was unconscious in the chair. Blood was splattered all over her and was gushing in torrents from her stomach where a gruesome gash was slit across her stomach. Richard, on the other hand, was slumped over in his chair with numerous stab wounds all over his torso and was completely unresponsive.
Without having to say a word, the profilers worked in-sync to grab ahold of Martha and gently lay her on the floor. Morgan kneeled down with her, yanked off his jacket and began pressing it into her wound, suppressing the blood flow. Meanwhile, the knots on Richard's bonds were undone, and Rossi went over and pressed two fingers to the man's throat.
He took his fingers away and unhappily sighed with regret, confirming that Richard Emerson was indeed dead. However, the minimal movements of Martha's chest indicated that she was still holding on, yet wouldn't be able to last much longer.
"Get a medic," Morgan called out to no one in particular. All at once, the officers left to perform his request and soon it was just him, Rossi, and the Emersons. Throughout the house, they faintly heard the policemen going from room to room, announcing that each were all clear. It was soon established that Foyet and Tobias had escaped and had taken Hotch and JJ as well. They were long gone, merely leaving behind the Emersons and that horrid message on the wall.
However, the profilers were more focused on Martha's still form than on what was happening around them. "C'mon, just hang in there," Morgan murmured to her, despite knowing he wouldn't get a response.
Rossi looked from his colleague to Martha to the bloody message on the wall before shaking his head. "He's escalating."
Morgan unconsciously pressed his jacket tighter and clenched his teeth, silently deducing the same. "I wonder what went down between him and Reid."
Rossi frowned, misinterpreting the dark edge in his voice. "I'm sure Reid did his best to prevent this-"
"I'm not blaming him," Morgan instantly put in. "I'm just concerned about what Foyet told him and what led to this. I don't want Reid to blame himself."
"He shouldn't have to. This was all Foyet's doing."
"And Tobias's," Morgan added bitterly.
Rossi raised an eyebrow, yet otherwise didn't comment and instead gestured to Martha. "How's she doing?"
"Not so good. She's barely breathing, and she's losing a lot of blood…" He quickly raised his voice and shouted, "Where's my medic?!" Somewhere within the house, more officers hurriedly moved around and Rossi took that moment to get closer, remove his jacket, and help Morgan to suppress the blood flow.
At that moment, Chief Sullivan walked in and reported, "We searched the entire house and there's no sign of Foyet or Hankel or the other agents, but I've sent out a squad of men to start scouring the city and-" He suddenly noticed the Emersons and his eyes widened. "Dear god! Are they…"
"He is," Rossi replied as he somberly inclined his head towards Richard, "but Mrs. Emerson still has a chance. We just need a medic."
The chief nodded before his gaze flickered up and caught sight of the wall. His orbs dilated further. "What the hell?! Did those sickos leave that?!"
Morgan set his jaw while Rossi nodded. Sullivan shook his head once before turning to them with concern. "Agents Reid and Prentiss are still at the station, right?"
"They should be," Morgan responded. "Once we get a medic, we'll-" He was cut off by an abrupt groan emanating from Martha, her bleeding form shifting minimally under Morgan and Rossi's hands. The profilers instinctively loosened their hands and all three law enforcers looked to her.
"Martha…" Rossi gently called out. "Can you hear me? Mrs. Emerson…"
The woman was initially slow in regaining consciousness, almost as if she was fighting to open her eyes until they sprang open without warning, darting about and filled with panic. Martha sharply gasped and her body jolted, briefly going rigid before it loosened on its own accord due to the agonizing pain of her wounds. She let out a cry that dissolved into a series of whimpers as she twisted frantically.
"Easy there," Morgan smoothly murmured, softening his features and placing a hand on her shoulder to partially reassure her and partially to keep her still. "It's okay, Mrs. Emerson. Everything's going to be alright. Just take it easy now. You're safe."
Martha flinched at his voice and her gaze focused upon him, taking him in. Something shifted in her eyes as she perceived that he wasn't a threat. Regardless, it was apparent that she was still frightened and in pain.
She briefly closed her eyes and groaned, her lips trembling out a shudder. "…"
Morgan gently shushed her and brushed his hand over her shoulder to soothe her and put her at ease. "Don't say anything. It's alright, everything's alright. My name is Derek and these are my friends Dave and Edward," he briefly indicated to Rossi and Sullivan, "and we are here to help you. We're getting you a medic, but we're gonna need your help too; we need you to stay calm, don't move, and keep fighting. We'll be here with you the whole way through, okay? Just keep your eyes open and focus on the sound of my voice."
It took Mrs. Emerson a moment to comprehend his instructions before she minimally nodded though a wince tied to a pained whimper followed afterwards. However, after only a second or two, any indication that Martha was about to try and relax disappeared when her soft brown eyes widened in alarm and she made a move to sit up. "T…T…Tob-"
The profilers immediately strived to hold her down and Sullivan took an unconscious step forward as Morgan said, "It's okay ma'am, just take it easy-"
Nevertheless, Martha began hysterically shaking her head. "N-No…T-T-T-Tobias…wh-where…?"
Morgan grit his teeth and gruffly answered, "He's gone."
Sullivan furrowed his brow at the thought while Rossi briefly frowned at his colleague before gently telling Mrs. Emerson, "Yes, Tobias is gone, but he'll be alright. My team and I are going to find him as well as the man who's responsible for all of this."
Martha's eyes widened at the mention of Foyet and she began shaking, whether of fear or pain or perhaps a combination of the two. "Wha…What's wr-wrong w-with m-my…my boy?" She sharply inhaled and more blood seemed to seep from her, some beginning to leak from her cold, pale mouth.
Morgan briefly closed his eyes and called out, "I thought I asked for a medic!" Sullivan immediately dashed out of the room to see what was keeping the medic, leaving the profilers with Martha. The woman's chest was heaving with panic and her already bleach-white face lost just a little more color, but that could've easily been the excessive amount of blood she's lost and keeps losing…
"Mrs. Emerson," Rossi softly started, wanting to comfort the woman with the truth, "your son has split personalities. What he's doing is no fault of his; he's delusional, but rest assured once we find him, we're going to give him the help he needs. Deep down, I'm sure he still loves you and I know he doesn't mean to do this. He's being manipulated by his personalities as well as by a psychopath." Morgan had to hold back a snort, yet the look on his face must've given him away because Rossi shot him a warning glance.
Martha took an excruciatingly long time to process this, yet it didn't do much to reassure her. If anything, it brought tears to her eyes and they weren't from the physical pain she was experiencing. "It's all m-my fault," she whispered, her voice raspy and strained.
Rossi and even Morgan internally winced, neither of them needing further explanation as to what she was referring to. "No, it's not your fault," Rossi began.
Martha began frantically shaking her head. "I l-left him w-with that…monster." She furrowed her brow though it appeared the mere movement was hurting her. "I-I-I should've…taken him with m-me…" Those tears began streaming down her face, mixing in with the blood trickling from her mouth.
"Easy there, Mrs. Emerson," Morgan tried soothing. "Don't stress yourself now, help is on the way-"
"Help him," Martha suddenly gasped out, looking to him with wide, desperate eyes that were losing their luster and beginning to dull. "P-Please, f-f-find him a-and help him—s-s-s-save m-my little boy f-from damnation. He…n-needed me, b-but I failed him. You have to…save him, bring him back. S-Stop that o-other man, g-get Tobias away from him." Despite that Martha struggled to speak, she seemed to have willed herself to get out what she had to say as if by some sort of long-standing maternal determination. "P-Promise me…promise me t-that you'll do whatever it t-takes to save my boy."
She gave Morgan a look that was so pleading and so heartbreaking that the profiler felt his throat constrict. Though a part of him was disgusted that this poor woman thought of Tobias as the victim rather than the criminal he is, another part of him wanted to do everything in his power to help Mrs. Emerson and ease her of her pain.
So he said the only thing he could think of.
"I promise."
He partially wanted to bite his tongue for making a promise that he not only wasn't sure he'd be able to keep, but one he wasn't sure he felt right about trying to keep. Morgan disliked the thought of 'saving' Tobias rather than catching him like how he should for any serial killer.
Regardless, he disregarded his opinion as relief lit up within Martha's eyes and the smallest bit of tension was released from her shoulders. "Thank you," she weakly whispered.
Despite himself, Morgan gave her a small albeit heartening smile. "You're welcome."
Martha attempted to smile back only to whimper and release a fragile, shuddering breath. "T-Tell him I love him…and that I-I'm sorry."
"We will," Rossi reassured her.
The smile that Martha tried to make faltered and her trembling suddenly began to slow down as the woman's expression became unseeing and listless. Within seconds her entire body became light and limp and Martha sunk into Morgan and Rossi's arms, her mouth slightly agape. Soon her chest ceased moving entirely and any light within her eyes was extinguished and were glazed over.
"Mrs. Emerson…Mrs. Emerson!" Morgan felt a twinge of panic and he quickly shook the slack form.
Martha didn't stir.
Rossi's eyes widened as he unconsciously released the woman, finding her deathly pale and cold to the touch. Morgan proceeded to get a grip on her shoulders and then shook her a lot more roughly, calling out her name once more. However, Martha was unresponsive.
Despite that he already knew what to expect, Rossi couldn't help but press two fingers to her neck and then shut his eyes, pained, while Morgan quit shaking her, his eyes becoming dismal and crestfallen.
A moment later, Sullivan rushed in with a couple of medics but they all stopped at the grave, somber looks on each of the profilers' face. No words needed to be said, it was clear that they were too late.
All they could do was set down Martha's body and wait until someone came with a body tarp.
Once the Emersons' bodies were covered, Morgan and Rossi proceed to scope out the house, trying to figure out what exactly Foyet and Tobias had done. Judging by the two extra chairs left in the living room and the small rectangular indents left on the carpet, it was assumed that those were the same chairs that held Hotchner and JJ captive and were set there for quite a while.
From what they've seen from the live video streaming, Morgan and Rossi were able to guess the general idea of what had occurred. Their unsubs had taken the Emersons hostage and kept them prisoners in their own home; then they held Hotch and JJ captive once they were abducted and, most likely, things got rough if the bruises and blood on their colleagues were any indication.
What happened next was a bit tricky. They knew that Reid had gotten a call from Tobias only for Foyet to suddenly appear and put on that 'live performance' involving the Emersons' murder. What they didn't know was what happened before and after that. Why had Tobias called Reid? Was it on Foyet's orders or by another motive possibly prompted by the man's personalities?
Also, what exactly had gone down next? They presumed that Reid had held Foyet's attention long enough for the Reaper to use his switchblade and then hightail it out of there once he finished his dirty work.
But what transpired between the young doctor and the prolific serial killer? How far ahead were Foyet and Tobias and, most alarming and important of all, what have they done with Hotchner and JJ?
However, Morgan and Rossi dared not to voice that particular concern aloud as if for fear of making its worst consequences come true.
So instead, they discussed possible conclusions to some of their other questions and searched the Emerson household for anything of worth or interest. At some point, they went into the basement and found multitudes of dried up blood as well as a half-eaten sandwich on the floor. An analyst was currently trying to scrape some of the dried up residue, so that it can be examined later—not that it would do much good since the BAU agents had an idea where it came from.
After a while, the profilers left the house and ventured to some of the neighbors' homes, hoping that someone might've seen something. They first spoke with the neighbors living on both sides of the Emersons' house but left without much to go on.
Nevertheless, the single woman living across the street informed them that she had seen a strange vehicle parked in front of the Emerson home; she noted that it had been there at least since yesterday afternoon and had just noticed that it was gone when the police arrived. Unfortunately, that was the extent of information that she had for them and hadn't seen when Foyet and Tobias left with their prisoners. Regardless, they thanked her and questioned some of the other neighbors afterward, coming up blank.
Eventually, they found themselves standing outside to explore and analyze their thoughts and assumptions.
"Alright, so what do we know?" Morgan asked aloud, partially to Rossi and partially to himself.
"We know a couple of tidbits so why don't we start from the beginning," the Italian man responded.
Morgan inclined his head in agreement and started off with, "Well, none of the windows are broken and the door is still on its hinges so we can assume that Foyet and Tobias didn't force their way in."
"Then that means that the Emersons must've let them in on their own accord. Foyet and Tobias must've used some sort of ruse or maybe Martha recognized Tobias and figured that an explanation and an apology were in order—either way, it wouldn't be a problem for Foyet and Tobias to gain access inside if the Emersons let them in."
"Whatever the case, they still got in, so it shouldn't really matter. Once they were in, they took the Emersons prisoner. Now from what we've gathered from the neighbors, they've been here since at least yesterday afternoon until they left to attack Anna Baker and her baby. Then we know the rest. While they were escaping, they got into the accident with Hotch and JJ, took them, and brought them here. From what we've seen, they've hurt them," Morgan's jaw clenched, "and tortured the Emersons."
"That's just about it," Rossi somberly commented, shaking his head. "What we really need to know is how far ahead they are and just what happened when Reid was talking to Foyet, what exactly triggered the murders. If Reid happened to upset him, then we should know so that we can be prepared for anything Foyet might attempt. After all, he doesn't take too well being defied if the gas station's fire was any indication."
"When it comes to Foyet, it's hard to tell since he can be unpredictable at times. Hell, this whole thing with Tobias is just bizarre and off the wall. None of us could've ever seen this coming."
Rossi wasn't sure what to say so he settled with, "At least our profile of him can point us in the right direction."
"But will it be enough?" Morgan looked to his colleague with the utmost seriousness. "How long will it take for Foyet to change his game plan again and will we be ready for it?"
"We will because we have to," Rossi steadily replied. "We have to for the sake of Aaron, JJ, and the rest of Atlanta…heck, even for Tobias."
Morgan's eyes narrowed at that yet the Italian ignored him and continued. "You shouldn't think so negatively, Derek. We'll find a way to catch Foyet and stop him from doing any more damage. We will because we're a team and you're the leader of this team. We've caught Foyet before and we can do it again…we will do it again." Morgan appeared caught off guard by the determination and confidence in his declarations and he sighed before nodding. Regardless, Rossi could tell that the younger man didn't believe him.
"Rossi, Morgan!" Both profilers looked to the side and were surprised to see Prentiss and Reid striding over to them, apparently having arrived in an SUV.
Once their colleagues approached, Morgan inquired, "What are you guys doing here? Is there something wrong? Has Foyet done anything?"
Prentiss shook her head. "Other than the obvious of murdering the Emersons and escaping then no…well, sort of."
"What do you mean?" Rossi asked with the raise of an eyebrow.
"What happened with Foyet?" Morgan urged, aiming the question more specifically at Reid.
The young profiler guiltily chewed his lower lip and said, "I tried to keep him distracted for as long as I could but…but Foyet was insistent on which Emerson I…I choose to live or d-die." Reid furrowed his brow, seeming by both the unwanted demand and by the fact that his voice shook ever so slightly.
He cleared his throat and continued more evenly. "I kept trying to divert the conversation but, like I said, Foyet was insistent that I choose one of the Emersons to live or die. I think he was just trying to recreate what Charles had made me do." The others internally cringed at the thought though Reid said that unperturbed.
"Eventually, Foyet had grown impatient so he decided to murder Richard Emerson first. Then he moved on to Martha but kept her just barely alive. By then I knew you guys still needed some more time so I tried to keep Foyet talking. He attempted to blame me for his crimes and I…" Reid briefly trailed off as he looked guilty and ashamed, "I'll admit I lost my temper a bit and I referred to him as a petty criminal…among other things."
As the young man chewed his lower lip, Morgan and Rossi mulled over this, finding this to be troubling. "And then what happened?" Rossi gently asked.
Reid sighed as if in resignation and proceeded, "As expected, Foyet was furious, and he asserted that he was going to prove me wrong. He…I think he's going to escalate his kills…just to spite me. I'm so sorry, I should've kept my comments to myself." His hazel eyes clearly showed his distress and regret, and he pursed his lips.
Morgan tried to be understanding, he really did, and to some degree he sympathized with Reid since this was Foyet they were talking about, but a part of him couldn't help but be upset. With the Reaper set off, who knows what that could mean for those Atlanta citizens unfortunate enough to cross his and Tobias's path. Morgan can just see their future crime scenes being a lot bloodier, the deaths a lot more excruciating, and the intent being much more sinister.
Furthermore, and most alarming of all, what did that mean for Hotch and JJ? Though the BAU assumed that Foyet wanted to keep Hotchner alive, will that change? And what of JJ? Do Foyet and Tobias plan to kill her more torturously than their usual carnage?
What's to become of their colleagues?
Despite that his anxiety and frustration was threatening to boil over, Morgan clenched his jaw and neutrally replied, "Well, what's done is done. There's nothing we can do about it now." Apparently it wasn't neutral enough since Reid's expression became more dismayed and unhappy.
"Not necessarily," Rossi put in, "we've learned from experience that any Unsub that loses their temper are more likely to make mistakes and Foyet is no different. If he does slip up, then this might be our chance to catch him."
"But what if he takes his anger out on Hotch or JJ or on innocent people…or even Tobias?" Reid frantically questioned, seeming to become more disconcerted. No one was sure what to say about that, and for a moment the atmosphere was somber.
Eventually though, Prentiss spoke up, "We need to face facts that no matter what, Foyet is going to keep on killing. It's inevitable, and it will only stop when we catch him. Hotch and JJ are both experienced, professional profilers and Hotch is an expert when it comes to Foyet," each of their expressions darkened as the simultaneous image of Hotchner obsessively pouring over all of the Reaper's records hit them, "so they'll be able to survive. Besides, we keep forgetting that Tobias is in all of this too."
She turned to Reid and resumed with, "This all began when he called you for help, Reid. If anything that shows that he still has some control and is trying to fight back. I have a feeling that he's doing his best to stop all of this and will try to protect Hotch and JJ to the best of his abilities. And, if all else fails, his personalities are a force to be reckoned with; at some point, they will clash with Foyet on something if they haven't already. We already determined that he's been lying to Raphael about the intent of the killings so maybe if we can find some way to expose that, their alliance will crumble, and it won't take much for us to track them down."
Prentiss then made a faint, wry smile. "But that means we need to be bringing our A-game and we can start with this." She gestured to the Emerson house. "There's sure to be something here we can go off on."
The rest of the BAU looked to her in awe, struck by her words, and realized that she was right. Little by little, they began renewing their mental states and unconsciously resolved to change their outlook and to work harder, for the sake of their beloved colleagues.
"You have no idea how right you are," Rossi commented with a bitter smile. "There's something you guys need to see for yourselves in there, but before you do, do you mind explaining why you're both out here in the first place? You mentioned that something 'sort of' happened?"
Prentiss nodded and explained, "We left the moment Foyet went offline. He had basically commanded us to come here and see what he left for us." Rossi and Morgan immediately noted that Prentiss used general pronouns rather than saying aloud that Foyet had done this for Reid and had wanted the young man specifically to witness this; they didn't dare correct her though, knowing that their colleague felt awful as it was. "So I assume he did?"
Rossi and Morgan each inclined their heads and the mood instantly depleted into something darker and tense. Soon, the younger of the two indicated to the entrance door. "C'mon, you need to see this." Without further ado, all four made their way into the house and down the hallway. Once they reached the living room, Reid and Prentiss gasped at the state of it, all the blood and the two bodies covered by tarp.
For a while, their focus was on the bodies until eventually they seemed to notice the rest of the room, particularly the one thing that stood out among the rest, the one thing that left them cold and that left a thick stone of dread settled within their stomachs.
They looked in horror at the wall, unable to comprehend what's there. A bloodied knife was stabbed into the wall, holding onto a note. The paper had blood slowly dripping down it yet the words were clear. Reid instantly recognized the notebook paper as well as his own handwriting.
This was one of his letters to Tobias.
But that wasn't what had the others disturbed—it was the message written in blood below it.
You're next, kid.
Well would you look at that, we've caught up to the spoiler X)
For those of you who are fidgeting and waiting for the story to catch up with the prologue, it's coming up in about 7 chapters or so from now. Hang on for the ride until then, or don't. It doesn't matter to me, nor can I make you do anything, you have free will. I just figured you should know since my updates are so sporadic.
Anyways, I can't thank you readers enough for your patience and kindness! You all are awesome :D
P.S Season 10 was a trip! Whew~! X3
