Chapter 36
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.
It has been a little while since Haley's funeral and since then the team have been on Hotch's first case since then, a case in Lockport, New York.
The case seemed to be a simple case, one that they managed to solve quickly, but as the car Emily is driving in, with another office and a prisoner, was driven off the road Emily knows that things are far from good.
Ten minutes after the accident, where the other office was killed and the prisoner escaped Emily is by the side of the road when an ambulance drives up, and Morgan gets out.
"Prentiss!" Morgan yells terrified, running up to her.
"Ohh." Emily says, in pain, touching her bloody forehead.
"What the hell happened?" Morgan asks, "Are you all right?" she ask.
"Bunting's down there. He's dead." Emily explains.
"Where's Schrader?" Morgan asks.
"He's gone. It was a big… truck." Emily says, struggling to remember, "New York tags, uh, Victor Alpha 737. They went Northbound about ten minutes ago." Emily explains.
"Son of a bitch got away." Morgan says.
"He's got a partner." Emily reveals, sounding shocked, and tired.
(Line break)
While Emily and Morgan are on the road Rossi, Hotch, and Reid are packing up the boards from the last case.
"First case back, we won, and you'll be home for breakfast." Rossi says to Hotch.
"We never figured out why Schrader killed Stacy Ryan. She had no connections to his daughter, or his ex-wife." Hotch explains, and as he does JJ walks up.
"There's been an accident. Emily's in the hospital, Bunting's dead." JJ explains.
"Is she all right?" Reid asks concerned.
"She has a concussion." JJ answers.
"Is Morgan with her?" Hotch asks.
"Yeah." JJ confirms, "Apparently Emily wants Pen to know, but Morgan thought it would be better if you make the call." JJ says, looking at Rossi.
"I'll do that in a minute." Rossi says, realising not looking forward to the convocation, "Where's Schrader?" he asks.
"Northbound in a truck." JJ explains.
"A truck?" Rossi asks.
"He had a partner." JJ explains.
"What?" Rossi asks, sounding surprised.
"We need roadblocks, now." Hotch realises.
"Do we have a tag?" Rossi asks.
"Um, Emily remembered a partial." JJ admits, handing the paper over to Rossi.
"Better than nothing." Rossi says, taking the paper and starting to walk away.
"He could be headed to Canada. We need somebody who knows the area." Hotch says, as Rossi walks away.
Once Rossi is in the other room, with the door closed, Rossi takes a deep breath before making a call.
"Dad? What's going on?" Penelope asks, "I though the case was over."
"It is, but something's happened." Rossi tells his daughter.
"How bad?" Penelope asks worried.
"The car that was bringing Schrader in was hit by a truck." Rossi explains, "Emily was hurt, and Schrader escaped.
"Oh my god, oh my god." Penelope says, sounding horrified, "Is she okay?" Penelope asks, worried about the answer.
"She has a concussion, and is being taken to the hospital, Morgan is with her." Rossi explains.
"Okay. I've got to call, got to talk to her." Penelope says, and she goes to hang up.
"Not so fast, Kiddo." Rossi says, before Penelope can hang up, "Emily got a partial plate, we need you to track it."
"Give it." Penelope tells her Dad, knowing that the sooner she can track the truck, the sooner she can talk to Emily.
At the hospital Emily is on a stretcher, being wheeled, with an ice-pack on her head, while Morgan is walking next to her.
"No, we gotta find Schrader." Emily says.
"The team's got it covered." Morgan assures her.
"Don't make me stay here." Emily requests, "I'm fine, honestly, pull this thing over." Emily requests.
"Prentiss, you can't even focus." Morgan says, "You have a concussion."
"I saw the guy." Emily reminds him.
"White, forties, I know." Morgan says.
"Okay, so give me a cognitive interview." Emily requests.
"Your adrenaline's pumping." Morgan reminds her.
"Exactly." Emily says.
"Emily, you're in shock." Morgan says.
"It just happened. It'll never be clearer." Emily says, believing that at the moment.
"How many shots did you fire?" Morgan asks.
"Three." Emily answers.
"You emptied your clip." Morgan corrects.
"No… I did?" Emily asks, sounding confused, as they round a corner, and as they do Morgan's phone starts to ring.
"Baby Girl?" Morgan asks, as he answers his phone, checking the caller ID.
"How's Em? Is she okay?" Penelope asks, clearly worried.
"She's a little banged up, but okay." Morgan assures Penelope.
"Is that Pen? Let me talk to her." Emily requests, and Morgan hands over the phone, "Pen?"
"Em? Are you okay?" Penelope asks, and as soon as she speaks Emily can hear the concern in her girlfriend's voice.
"I'm fine, Pen." Emily assures her, "Just a couple of cuts, and a concussion, it's not bad."
"It sounds bad." Penelope says.
"I'm okay, Pen, I promise." Emily assures her.
"God, I love you Em, are you sure you're okay?" Penelope asks worried.
"I'm sure." Emily assures her, "And I love you too." she says, as the doctors walk up, "I'm gonna hand you back to Morgan now." Emily reveals, and she does just that.
"Baby Girl?" Morgan asks.
"Keep an eye on her Derek, please. Please make sure Em doesn't try to do too much too soon." Penelope requests, asking that as she knows her girlfriend, "Just…. Make sure she's okay." Penelope requests.
"I will, I promise." Morgan says, before hanging up.
Not long after Penelope is on the phone with the rest of the team as she paces backward and forward, looking at a picture of her and Emily that she has on her computer.
"Stacy Ryan had two times in her life." Penelope explains, "When she was high and when she was waiting to get high." Penelope reveals, "The only thread I had between them is that her brother spent time with Schrader upstate, like five years ago." Penelope explains.
"Why would Schrader kill a junkie?" Hotch asks.
"It doesn't make sense." Rossi says.
"Where's the brother now?" Hotch asks.
"Dead." Penelope says.
"It doesn't feel like Schrader does anything randomly. Stacy must have meant something to him." Hotch realises.
"Yeah, but, what?" Penelope asks confused.
A little while later Emily is still at the hospital, being pushed in a wheelchair, when Morgan walks up.
"I can take her from here. Thanks." Morgan says, showing his badge.
"Thank you." Emily says to the person who was pushing her, "I can walk." Emily tells Morgan, as she goes to get up.
"Sit. I like pushing you around." Morgan says, chuckling, telling part of the truth, but the rest of the truth is that he doesn't want to think about what Penelope would do to him if he didn't keep his promise, "Does it hurt?" he asks.
"If by 'it' you mean my entire body, then yes." Emily confirms, "Did Jenny see anything?"
"She never saw the partner." Morgan admits, "They found a truck ditched a few miles from the accident, the plates were gone, but the front definitely hit your car." He explains.
"Okay, so the partner saw everything in the woods, he ran away and stole a truck?" Emily asks, "Who is this guy?" Emily asks.
"He knew you were taking that road back to the station. He waited for you and he crashed into you. This whole thing feels meticulous." Morgan says.
"Okay, so he needs the partner for something else." Emily says.
"For what, though?" Morgan asks.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, he was locked up all the time. He planned the whole day. He should have had backup plans for his backup plans." Emily says.
"His ex shouldn't have been home for a few hours, so he clearly had enough time to get across the border with Jenny until we showed up." Morgan says.
"But he stayed local, held up in that cabin. He had what he wanted. He could have just ran." Emily says.
"There's gotta be something else keeping him in lockport." Morgan explains.
"I couldn't stop him from choking Bunting." Emily says.
"Emily, don't do that." Morgan says.
"He was right there." Emily says, clearly feeling guilty, as she and Morgan drift into silence.
A few minutes later both Emily and Morgan are in Morgan's car, and the two of them are on their way to the local police station.
"Give me your phone." Emily requests, and Morgan pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it over.
Once Emily has the phone she makes a call and places a call to Penelope.
"Derek?" Penelope asks, sounding worried, "How's Em?"
"You can ask me yourself." Emily's voice responds.
"Em! Are you okay? What are the doctors saying?" Penelope asks.
"That I'm gonna be okay, they've released me from the hospital. Morgan and I are on our way back to the station." Emily explains.
"And you're really okay, right?" Penelope asks.
"Yeah, I am." Emily confirms, and as she does she hears Penelope's computer beep.
"Ohh, that's interesting." Penelope says.
"What? What is it?" Emily asks, and Penelope starts to explain.
A few minutes later Emily and Morgan, Emily still on the phone with Penelope, arrive at the station.
"Hey." Reid greats, seeing Emily.
"Hey." Emily responds.
"How are you?" JJ asks concerned.
"I feel like I got hit by a truck." Emily admits.
"Here, sit." JJ says, gesturing to the seat, and Emily sits down.
"Thanks." Emily says, a she sits down, "Um, Pen, tell everyone what you just told me." Emily request, as she connects the phone to the speaker.
"I have unearthed more of Schrader's past. Now, what we do know is that he robbed fifteen banks in the state of New York in the nineties. However, what your resident glamour-puss smarty-pants just found out was that most of that money was never recovered." Penelope reveals.
"Where is it?" Reid asks.
"My best guess, only he knows." Penelope admits.
"Good reason to stick around Lockport." Rossi realises.
"The last robbery, the one that put him away, should have been routine, right? So what happened?" JJ asks.
"Maybe someone turned him in." Morgan suggests.
"He kept to himself, always worked alone, who'd turn him in?" Penelope asks.
"We're missing somebody." Rossi realises.
"Garcia." Hotch says.
"Yes, checking sir." Penelope says, and she start to type, causing everyone to be quiet for a few minutes, "Found something." Penelope reveals.
"What you got Pen?" Emily asks.
"Okay, records leading up to Schrader's arrest show this other bank robber named Dan Otey." Penelope explains, "and he was looking at copious amounts of time, then he strikes a deal and all of a sudden Schrader is arrested." Penelope explains.
"It can't be a coincidence." Rossi realises.
"You know, it's not uncommon for criminal to buy jobs off one another." Reid reveals, "Maybe that's what Schrader did, but Dan Otey sold him out for a lesser sentence." Reid suggests.
"It doesn't make sense. Otey was a rat, and now he's a partner?" JJ asks.
"Yeah, you're right. Schrader wouldn't trust him." Reid realises, "If anything, he'd want him dead." Reid realises.
"Probably, but he'd use him first. He'd tell Otey that he owes him one and that he might save his life if he helps him get out of this jam." Morgan says.
"Where's he now, Garcia?" Hotch asks.
"Uh, Dan Otey is local. He lives off route Seven." Penelope explains, and once she does everyone heads out.
Hours later the team have found out that Otey is dead, Emily did a cognitive interview, and thanks to that the team have realised that Schrader's partner, is a good person who is working with Schrader for some reason.
It is eight seventeen in the morning and Emily, Rossi, Morgan and Hotch are in the conference room they have been working out off.
"Anything on Schrader's case?" JJ asks, as she walks up with Reid.
"The usual suspects, judges, lawyers…." Rossi starts to say.
"They're all accounted for this morning." Morgan reveals.
"If it's revenge, then it's gonna be someone who put him away." Reid reveals.
"Well, it's not the officers who arrested him, or the judges who sentenced him." Hotch says.
"Then who is it?" Emily asks, and as he does Hotch makes a call.
"Garcia, I need the names of every law enforcement agent involved in the Schrader case." Hotch reveals.
"You know everybody." Penelope says, honestly getting a little bit frustrated with everything going on.
"Yeah, but I want every single employee the year he was arrested." Hotch says.
"Okay, give me a minute." Penelope requests.
"A whole minute? Come on, Baby Girl, what, are you losing your touch?" Morgan asks, clearly teasing.
"Oh, watch your pretty mouth, personal records come at you." Penelope says, as Reid gets them.
"Who's still active?" Hotch asks, looking at Reid.
"Most." Reid answers.
"Would he risk using an active officer?" JJ asks.
"Depends on how much he hates them." Rossi admits, "Has anyone retired?" Rossi asks.
"Yeah, two of them, let's see, Matt Massey, Jeff Messick, both married with kids, white in their fifties." Reid explains.
"Wait, can I see those pictures?" Emily asks, and as she does Reid hands her the pictures and she checks them, "No, no." Emily says, "Why wouldn't he go after one of the officers who arrested him? It makes the most sense for revenge." Emily says.
"Hey, wait a minute, guys, listen to this. There was a witness who never testified on Schrader's behalf." Morgan says.
"Schrader could see that as a betrayal. He gets out of prison and uses him to get what he wants, Garcia, I want you to run a history on a witness from the Schrader case, Joey Short." Hotch requests.
"Joey short." Penelope says, as she types, "Was born in 66 in NYC, didn't hold a lot of jobs expect for construction. In and out of rehab." Penelope explains.
"Where is he now?" Morgan asks.
"His last known address was ten years ago." Penelope explains.
"Did he do time?" Rossi asks.
"Ummm, no." Penelope answers.
"Come on, Garcia. People don't just disappear." Morgan says, "This guy's got a history with a lot of holes in it. he went to rehab. You know, maybe this guy had to walk the walk." Morgan suggests.
'He was undercover." Hotch realises.
"That makes sense. Those guys are up for anything, and they take big risks, professionally and personally." Emily says, knowing that all to well.
"It explains his behaviour too. good guy doing bad things." Reid realises.
"Garcia, can you get us Joey Short's real name?" Morgan asks.
"It's not here." Penelope admits.
"Well, if Schrader can find it so can we." Morgan says, believing that, "The guy needed to be Schrader's friend, so they're probably around the same age. Look for academy graduates in the early nineties." Morgan requests.
"Okay." Penelope says, as she continues to type.
"Did any of them not go into police work?" Morgan asks.
"Baby, I don't follow you." Penelope admits.
"If he went undercover, then anything tied to the academy would have to be severed." Morgan reveals, "I mean, the guy graduated, but then he had to immediately start working his history as Joey Short. He went into construction, made his contacts in the bank robbery world, and then he met Schrader, earned Schrader's trust, and then turned him in and got out of the game." Morgan says.
"Okay. Here's a couple of guys, look like they dropped out." Penelope reveals.
"You got any pictures?" Morgan asks.
"Sending them your way now." Penelope reveals.
"That is the guy. The picture is ten years old, but that's him." Emily reveals.
"That is Joy Muller. He has a wife and two kids." Penelope reveals.
"That's definitely the guy. Where is he now?" Emily asks curious, being glad that they finally have the lead they need.
For the rest of the day the team work the case, which ends with Joy Muller getting his family back safety and Schrader killing himself.
On the plane back to DC Emily pulls out her phone, which has been replaced, and calls her girlfriend.
"Hello." Penelope answers.
"Hey." Emily responds.
"Hey, how you feeling?" Penelope asks, clearly concerned.
"A little better." Emily responds.
"That's good. I'll be waiting for you when you get back." Penelope informs her girlfriend.
"There's no need for that. I'll just come to your apartment." Emily says.
"Are you sure you're up for driving?" Penelope asks, sounding worried.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you in a few hours." Emily responds.
"See you then." Penelope says, and they both hang up.
A few hours later Emily is walking up towards her girlfriend's apartment, and she finds Penelope waiting upstairs, and before Emily can even say anything Penelope hurries forward and hugs her.
"I was so worried." Penelope admits, as she hugs her girlfriend, causing Emily to drop her bag.
"I'm okay, Pen. Really." Emily assures her girlfriend, not really used to someone worrying so much, before kissing her.
Once Penelope and Emily break apart Penelope picks up Emily's go bag and they start to head back inside.
"So, dinner's here, and once we eat we can do whatever you want." Penelope tells her girlfriend.
"All I want, is to spend the night with my girlfriend." Emily says, kissing Penelope's check, and putting her arm that isn't cut around Penelope's waist.
"I think that can be arranged." Penelope responds, leaning into Emily's arm, and the two of them head into Penelope's apartment, and the two of them spend the rest of the night having a relaxing evening together.
It's been a few days since Emily arrived home, hurt, from the case and Penelope is walking into a bar, looking around and she sees the person she is looking for and so she walks over and sits down next to him, noticing an almost empty beer.
"No Matt?" Penelope asks, as she was expecting her oldest friend's best, other than her, friend to be joining them.
"He had to work." Stephen explains, taking a drink.
"I see you've started without me." Penelope tells her oldest friend, frowning slightly.
"It's been a long week." Stephen reveals, taking another drink.
"Yeah, I figured that from your phone call." Penelope admits, "What's going on, Gideon?" Penelope asks curious.
"Why do I do this, Rossi? Why did I decide to be a prosecutor?" Stephen asks, looking at his oldest friend.
"Because you wanted to help people. You used to say that police and FBI agents could arrest the bad guys, but it was Lawyers who get the victims justice." Penelope reminds her oldest friend, using his own words.
"I didn't get justice this week." Stephen admits, taking a drink.
"Talk to me, Gideon. What happened?" Penelope asks worried, putting her hand on her oldest friend's back.
"A really bad guy got off, because I wasn't good enough." Stephen reveals.
"Did you do everything you could? Did you try the case to the best of your abilities?" Penelope asks her friend.
"Of course! I always do." Stephen objects.
"Then it wasn't your fault. The jury is the one made the call." Penelope tells him, and as she does Stephen snorts, "Hey, it's true." Penelope says, turning Stephen's chair so that he looks at her, "You're a great Prosecutor Gideon, you've gotten justice for so many people, helped so many people. It's what you do every day." She tells him.
"It doesn't feel like it today." Stephen admits, "Which is why I'm ordering Tequila, you in?" He asks curious.
"Sure." Penelope responds, realising that her oldest friend needs support right now.
"Two tequila's." Stephen orders, and as he does Penelope suspects that it won't be the lasts drinks of the night.
Hours later Emily is fast asleep in her bed when she is woken up by her phone ringing, as she looks at her phone Emily realises that it's her girlfriend calling.
"Pen? What's wrong?" Emily asks worried, sitting up.
"Hey… Em." Penelope says, slurring her words, and clearly drunk.
"Are you drunk?" Emily asks, slightly amused, though still concerned.
"Gideon wanted to drink Tequila, so we drunk tequila." Penelope reveals, in a matter of fact tone of voice.
"Of course you did." Emily responds, becoming more amused, "You guys okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine." Penelope admits, "But we can't drive home, and there are no cabs around." Penelope reveals, "Could you come pick us up? I'd really, really appreciate it, and I'd…"
"Where are you?" Emily asks, before Penelope can finish her sentence, and she gives the address, "Okay. I can be there in about fifteen minutes, just stay where you are, okay?" Emily requests.
"Okay." Penelope responds, "I love you, I really, really, really, love you."
"Love you too. See you soon." Emily says, getting out of bed.
Just under fifteen minutes later Emily arrives at the location Penelope gave her, and as she does she sees Penelope and Stephen, though Penelope looks different than the last time she saw her.
"What happened to your hair?" Emily asks, getting out of her car, and looking at Penelope and Stephen who are sitting on the gutter, Penelope now having bright red hair instead of blond.
"Gideon dared me, I like red." Penelope reveals, like there is nothing odd about that, "And I like you." Penelope reveals, smiling at her girlfriend, "I dared him too." she reveals.
"Oh?" Emily asks, looking at Stephen, wondering just what he was forced to do.
"I got this." Stephen reveals, showing his shoulder to reveal a tattoo of the scales of justice.
"Tattoo, nice." Emily says, wondering how much Stephen is going to regret that in the morning, "Are you two okay to get up?"
"Yep." Penelope says, and she goes to get up, but then she stumbles slightly, and almost falls, or would have if Emily didn't catch her.
"I've got you." Emily assures her girlfriend.
"You always do." Penelope says, smiling at her girlfriend, and Emily helps her to the car, and into the front passenger seat.
Once Penelope is in the front seat Emily walks over to Stephen, who she helps up, and into the backseat of her car. Once Penelope and Stephen are safely in the car Emily gets in the drivers seat.
"Stephen, I need your address." Emily says, realising she doesn't know it, "Stephen?" She asks again.
"Couch, I'm okay with couch." Stephen reveals.
"Okay." Emily says, being reasonably sure that Stephen wouldn't be able to give his address at the moment, and so she starts driving, figuring that having Stephen on her couch for the night won't hurt.
Half an hour later Emily, Penelope, and Stephen are all back at Emily's apartment. While Stephen is passed out on the couch Penelope is in Emily's bed, and Emily is walking in there with a glass of water and some aspirin.
"Here, you might want to drink this before sleeping." Emily says, handing over the water and aspirin.
"Thanks." Penelope says, taking the aspirin, "You're like the best girlfriend ever." Penelope says, after drinking the water and so Emily takes the glass.
"You're not thinking straight right now." Emily says, pushing Penelope's hair back, out of her face, "What even happened? I thought you and Stephen were going to have a few quiet drinks." Emily says, wondering how a few quiet drinks resulted in Penelope having bright red hair and Stephen getting a tattoo.
"Gideon had a bad week, he needed support." Penelope says, clearly close to falling asleep herself.
"Ahh, get some rest Pen. I think you need it." Emily says, going to get up.
"Em." Penelope says, reaching out and grabbing Emily's hand, "Do you hate my hair?" Penelope asks.
"No." Emily says, meaning that, "I think it's completely you, and I love you." Emily says, before kissing Penelope, "Get some rest." She says, once they break apart.
"Okay." Penelope says, before closing her eyes, and once she closes her eyes Penelope falls asleep.
After Penelope falls asleep Emily gets up, goes to check to make sure that Stephen is still breathing, before heading back to bed herself, really looking forward to hearing all about what really happened when Penelope and Stephen are in better shape to explain.