Upstairs


Garcia had made quick work of booting up her workstation, and she now typed in her password to pull up the new security protocols so she could run Kevin through it once he arrived. When she was done, she twirled in her chair and faced Alvez who sat on the edge of the small sofa that was nestled in one corner of the office. He picked up one of the many colorful throw pillows that adorned the chair as he smiled over at Garcia.

"I see that you have finally decorated this sofa," He said while he hugged the pillow against his chest.

"Yeah, well, no matter how hard I've tried to have that sofa removed the cleaning crew can never seem to get around to doing it. I did finally confront the cleaning crew manager, Joe, about it, and guess what he told me?"

"What?" Alvez replied with a knowing smile spread wide across his face.

"He told me that 'you' brought the sofa in one night and they helped you put it in here for me. He also agrees with what you said about me having it to rest on when we have cases that keep me in the office for long hours. You really didn't need to do that, Luke, but thank you," She said softly around a sweet smile that he returned in kind.

"It was nothing, Penelope, but you're welcome, besides this office was big enough, right?" Alvez said while he glanced about the room as Garcia stood from her seat and nodded in agreement. She then moved to stand right in front of him. The smile was no longer on her face as she stared at him. First, she stared directly into his eyes, then she scanned his face before she settled her gaze upon his lips. He frowned a little in concern at seeing the seriousness on her face. "Hey, what's wro-" The words were cut short when she swooped into him and captured his mouth in a kiss. If Alvez had been surprised by her movements he had not let on. Instead, he instinctually grabbed both of her arms into his large hands and pulled her closer to his chest, and deepened the kiss. He thought she smelled, felt, and tasted amazing, even better than his frequent fantasies had ever conjured up for him. She moaned into his mouth as she stepped even closer, and he slightly growled in compliance and surrendered when he felt himself tumbling backward over the arm of the sofa, and landed prone upon it. Garcia had fallen with him and now lay atop his body as they continued to heavily and greedily kiss while their hands rubbed and squeezed the other's body shamelessly. It had been her hands tugging at his shirt in search of his flesh that had finally pulled Alvez back to his senses, and he grasped her probing left hand as he pulled breathless from their kiss.

"We can't do this," He huffed out as he sat upright and pushed her from his lap and onto the cushion beside him. "We have to stop."

"Why?" She asked in a mournful tone. "Don't you want me?" She further questioned even though the answer was evident if the huge bulge in the crotch of his pants was any indication.

"God, Yes," He replied hurriedly. "More than you know, but this isn't the time or the place."

"All we have is now," Garcia said as she bowed her head a little and locked her sad eyes down to her clasped hands.

"Penelope," Alvez called to her gently as he reached over and cupped her left cheek. "We'll have time to explore this more, I promise you. Now that I know you want me as much as I have wanted you, I plan to definitely continue this conversation … Just later. After we find this guy who hurt you and we close this case, Okay?" She wanted to argue and scream that there would be no later, not for her, not for 'them' to get together, but she felt like it was pointless. None of them could comprehend just how dire the situation was for her. And she knew it was partially because she wasn't able to truly express to them just how dangerous and cunning her captor, this killer, was. Alvez could see just how tightly coiled her shoulders were but before he could say anything further to console her, she got a ping on her phone. She stood and moved to her desk where her phone rested. She picked it up and quickly read the message and then turned back to face Alvez.

"That was Kevin, he said he will be here in a couple of minutes," Garcia said and couldn't stop the please smiled at tickled the corners of her mouth as she noticed the look of disdain on Alvez's face.

"Your ex-boyfriend, huh?" He replied.

"A few years back, yeah, but he dumped me, so," She commented and it surprised Alvez that instead of relief he was angered by the idea that this man he had never met, or heard of before this day, had the audacity to dump her. Then he became intrigued by what might have made this man do what he thought was a very foolish thing. So, he questioned it without thinking.

"Why?"

"He asked me to marry him," She answered and Alvez's brows rose high in surprise and intrigue. "But I turned him down and told him I wasn't ready for marriage. But the truth was, I just foresaw a marriage where I'd be having the same argument with him, the only argument we ever seemed to have. Kevin could never get over the fact that my best friend was a very hot guy."

"Agent Morgan," Alvez said with a nod of his head, and she nodded back in response.

"Yep and Kevin just would not accept that Derek and I have and have always had," She tacked on and looked directly at Alvez as if to make a point to him. "A strictly platonic relationship. We flirt a lot, but it is just fun for us, nothing at all serious."

"I get that," Alvez stated with a smile and she smiled in relief. "Well, you ready to head back to the office to give a composite?"

"Uhm, yeah, you go ahead and tell Prentiss I'll be right there. I still need to show Kevin some new security features I've added. It shouldn't take more than 10, 15 minutes tops," Before Alvez could argue that he had no intention of leaving her alone a knock came on the door. "Come in," She called out, the door opened, and Kevin popped his head in first and then fully opened the door and crossed the threshold. "Hi Kevin," She greeted him with a kind smile. She noticed a couple of months back that he had started wearing contacts, and she had to admit he did look sexier without his old glasses.

"Hello, Penelope," Kevin replied as he honed his eyes onto her not even noticing there was someone else in the office. Anyone on the outside looking in could clearly see he was still lovestruck by her.

"Luke, this is a fellow TA, Kevin Lynch. And Kevin, this is SSA Luke Alvez, he stepped in after Morgan left us," She explained and Kevin eyed the slightly younger, but slightly taller man before him before he held out his hand. Alvez had also given Kevin the once over before he grasped his offered hand and gave it a hardy shake.

"Wow, the BAU definitely seems to have certain criteria for the men they recruit. I probably should never apply," Kevin spoke out jokingly though the forced smile told them he thought there was truth to his words.

"Not at all," Alvez offered as he also had to force a friendly smile. Part of him was quite jealous that this man had had the pleasure of knowing Garcia more intimately than he had thus far. "If it's something you're interested in you should definitely go for it, and if you need or want any pointers or help with the exams, I'd be happy to help you," He genuinely offered and both Garcia and Kevin really appreciated his gesture. "Anyway, I'll let you two get set up here, and I'll see you back in the office. If you're not back in exactly 10 minutes I'm coming to get you," He continued as he moved right to her without thinking about it, and to make his intentions very clear to both Garcia and Kevin, he captured her mouth into another heated kiss. Under different circumstances, she knew she would have been very embarrassed and would have chastised Alvez about such fraternization in the workplace. But instead, she gripped at his forearms, rose a little on her toes, and deepened the kiss. Her fear of this being her last chance to taste him again made her cling to him desperately, and it had been Alvez who had reluctantly pulled from the kiss as he rested his forehead against hers. "Yeah, we're definitely gonna finish this conversation later," He spoke low so only she could hear him and she smiled wide even as her unshed tears wet her eyes. Alvez then took a couple of steps backward but kept his eyes locked onto Garcia's. "It was nice to meet you, Kevin," He tossed out to the other man in the room who looked a couple of shades redder as he stared down at the floor.

"Nice to meet you too," Kevin replied just as Alvez exited and shut the door behind him. "So, you and him, huh?"

"Maybe, but now …" Garcia shook her head to clear the thought as she turned to the monitors. "Let's just focus on getting you into my systems," As she began typing and logging into different encrypted gateways another knock came on the door. "Come in," She called out over her shoulder not bothering to turn to see who it was. "Did you forget something, Newbie?" She questioned as she hit the enter key and finally turned, and she nearly stopped breathing when she saw the man now standing in her office.

"Hello, my sweet, sweet Penny," The man called out to her with a happy smile plastered on his face. His eyes held such joy as he let his eyes roam over her; head to toe. Kevin frowned a little at the familiarity this man seemed to have with Garcia. "You are even more beautiful than I remember."

"Wait, is he a 'maybe' boyfriend too?" Kevin asked as he turned his eyes from the man to look at Garcia. The smile instantly left the other man's face as he now focused his dangerous eyes onto Kevin, who hadn't noticed but Garcia definitely had. "So, did he come before me, or was he after we broke up?" Kevin smiled slightly as he spoke in a joking manner.

"No," Garcia spoke softly as she shook her head and tears spilled from her pleading eyes, which were locked onto the other man. "Please, don't, pl…please," Kevin frowned up a little disturbed by how Garcia suddenly appeared, so distraught. As well as by what she had said. Before Kevin could turn back to the other man in the room, and before he could even utter a sound, his hair was grasped, his head yanked back, and his throat cut so deeply he was nearly decapitated. The man's technique had been so well practiced that he had managed to cut Kevin's throat without getting much blood spray on himself and none on Garcia. As for Garcia she stood bracing herself against her desk and looked catatonic as she stared down at Kevin's lifeless body.

"You did that, Penny," The man said and she whimpered at his words for she already knew it was all her fault. "That's on you," The man declared as he pointed his bloodied knife at the body on the floor. "You broke your promise to me, and you let him 'touch' you. He touched what belongs to me," His face contorted in mild disgust as he spoke those last words. "You broke your promise and so I don't have to keep mine now. And I did keep my promise to you, Penny. I have not hunted in nearly 30 years. I only kill when I have to. I did that for you because you wanted me to."

"I'm sorry," She quickly squeaked out as she sobbed and looked back at him.

"Are there others?" He questioned her and she swiftly shook her head.

"No, he's the only boyfriend I have ever had," She lied easily and without any guilt, for she knew she was saving the lives of the other two boyfriends she had had, even if only for the moment. She was sure that he would eventually discover the truth and learn of the other lovers she had had. And they would meet the same fate as Kevin. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Please, please don't hurt me or anyone else … please," She spoke through her sobs and tears while she placed her praying hands to her lips.

"Oh, no, baby," He tsked at her and he sheathed his knife, moved to her, and enveloped her in his arms. She trembled in shock and fear but she melted into his arms, and he gently rocked her while he stroked her hair, and spoke against her face. "No, I would never hurt you, except…" He pulled from the embrace, cupped her face in both of his hands, and gently pressed his mouth to her forehead as he continued to speak. "I have to put the tracker back in, but this time I can put you to sleep while I do it if that would make it easier for you," Garcia clamped her eyes shut to the thought of being his captive again, and him knowing her every move. "God, I am so happy to see you, Penny," He took a very deep breath to try to cement her scent to his memory, and then pulled back again and smiled down into her wet, red blotchy face. "I've missed you so much, I've been very lonely without you. I tried to replace you, but she couldn't compare to you," She frowned a little at his words and it filled her with guilt to know that there had been another girl who had been kidnapped by him after Betty had helped her escape. Then her mind shifted to Betty.

"Where's Betty?" His smile instantly morphed into a frown as his eye glistened in what she could clearly see was anger and sadness. His silence and sudden cold demeanor made her regret asking.

"She died," He answered not caring to divulge that she had actually killed herself to be free of him. He certainly didn't want to give his Penny any similar ideas. "But you're alive and I have you with me again," He said and happiness, joy, and even pride filled his face. He danced his eyes across her face and studied her features. He knew 27 years ago that she would grow up to be a beautiful woman but she had exceeded even his expectations. He was so emotional at this moment at seeing her again, touching her, breathing her in that he allowed himself a moment to deviate from his well-oiled plan, and he kissed her. It had been many years since his lips had touched hers, and never before had he allowed their kisses to be anything more than a very chaste brush of their lips. But this time he forcefully brushed his tongue in between her lips and into her mouth, as his eyes rolled close and he groaned out his pleasure. She tasted divine to him and it pleased him greatly that she was reciprocating the kiss in kind. Yet had he opened his eyes he would have seen her terrified eyes were not closed but locked onto him. Her brain was in survival mode and she was just going through the motions. She wouldn't fight him or try to run away from him, for fear of what he might do and fear of him killing anyone else. He released her from the kiss and licked his lips and she could see his desire in his eyes. His lustful gaze was not new to her, but now it had a hint of something different from years before. The lust he'd shone when she was a teenager and he was a young man in his early twenties had been very controlled. Now, his eyes held a more predatory gaze and Garcia knew without a doubt that he would not be reserved with her this time around, and that he would pursue a sexual relationship with her, never mind his rule about waiting for her to initiate things.

"We should go, before anyone comes looking for me," She spoke out as she took a step closer to him and grasped his hand. He smiled and looked down briefly at their entwined hands. What he perceived as her eagerness to go with him, was her simply wanting to get him out of the building before he killed anyone else. She fully understood that it didn't matter to him that they were in a federal building with many armed agents, he was either going to leave there with her or die trying and before he died, he would take out as many lives as he could. He had told her once that he had one rule when he hunted, and that was 'no one lives'. "And we should probably take the stairs," She said this and she moved them to the exit.

"No, we'll take the service elevators straight down to the garage level," He stopped them just at the door before she could open it. He pulled the rag that was tucked in the back pocket of the dark blue cleaner's coveralls he wore and wiped at the blood from his face. Garcia quickly grasped the handkerchief and cleaned some spots he had missed, and then handed the piece of cloth back to him. The man smiled recaptured her left hand, lifted lift the hand to his lips, and kissed across the knuckles. He then opened her office door, took a moment to be sure the coast was clear, and then they made their escape.