Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
The team regrouped back at the station, going over the information they had found.
"If anyone had a motive to kill Ban Vanderwaal, it was Heather's ex-husband."
"But he was in San Diego, and has no connection to the other two victims." Hotch countered, but the detective was no longer listening.
"David Rossi, we finally get to meet, Detective Hardesty. Very, very nice to have you with us," Rossi shook his hand, not exactly enthusiastic with how, well, enthusiastic fans were to meet him. Getting down to business, Morgan, and Rossi revealed that the victims were all professional hits. Rossi suggested that he "Hit on some old contacts, alone," leaving his teammates wondering.
…
Rossi walked into the near-empty bar, catching the attention of a dark-haired fellow with a thick Irish accent.
"We don't open till 5:30." The man told him. Rossi nodded.
"I'm looking for the owner of that coat," He said, and the man narrowed his eyes, standing to check him for weapons.
"Not with that, you're not." He growled as he pulled the federally issued weapon from the agent's coat. "Check out the front and back." He ordered the two goons, holding Rossi's own gun on him and eyeing him suspiciously. "Now you're either a dead man or a cop, which is it?"
"Right now, I'm just an old friend," Rossi replied coolly.
"You gave up that right the day you became a fed," The man behind him said.
"Ray?"
"David." The man in question said. Rossi knew that getting this man's help was not going to be a walk in the proverbial park. But, in his profession, what was?
…
The team had set up a meeting with Bosola. Though, as Rossi had predicted, it hadn't been easy. It took a little cajoling, a little threatening, and a little bribing, but he got information and a meeting with the apparently infamous "ghost".
"If we're not careful, I'm going to end up like the Dutchess." His old friend had only half-joked, referencing the play Bosola based his name off of. He now sat in his restaurant, waiting for his guest to show and trying to figure out his daily crossword.
"Hey, that kid, the smart one. I could use a little help," Ray said into the phone, referring to the crossword in his hand.
"Reid," Rossi said.
"Reid, here," Reid said in that dorky way, that made Lila roll her eyes. He was such a nerd.
"Crossword question," Ray said, "Ten letters, crater creator." Lila and Penelope both perked up at the same time when Reid's brow furrowed as he searched his brain for the word that fit such a description.
"Arctangent," Garcia said, smirking as Reid pouted slightly and muttered something about visual cues working better with his memory.
"Damn, she's smart."
…
In the end, Ray did end up like the Dutchess as he had so eloquently put it. The hitman had gotten the drop on them, and gotten away. Though Rossi would never admit it, he was deeply mourning his friends passing. Though he made it seem like they were simply acquaintances, Ray had been a dear friend at one point, and he felt like he was running out of those. Instead of wallowing in his grief, as that is not the type of person Rossi is, he dedicated himself to finishing this case.
The team gave the profile because there was nothing much they could do at the time being.
"We're focusing on the last three cases because they left the freshet e-prints," Garcia told Rossi. Lila had left a while ago, and they were now video chatting with whichever members of the team were available.
"Great," Rossi said, glad that something was being done at least.
"Not really," Reid said. "Over 100,000 cases pass through the Long Island court."
"Who had eyes on those files?" Rossi asked.
"Literally hundreds and hundreds of people," Garcia informed him.
"Change track, focus on the Enforcer. Mob-related murder trials in the last ten years."
"There are 93," Garcia said after several seconds of typing.
"Take out any trials that resulted in a conviction. Weed out Mistrials and arraignments."
"Nineteen," Reid said.
"Were any of those on trial suspected of being hitmen?" Rossi asked.
"Three-" Reid started, but Garcia interrupted.
"Woah, woah, woah, this one totally slipped the net. Toni Machachi, his case ended in a mistrial, but check out his supposed victim." She sent an autopsy photo that matched the M.O. of all the other victims. Everything matched up, and Rossi knew as soon as she said the judge's name that he had something to do with this. Call it instinct, or going with his gut, but Rossi knew it was rarely wrong. His suspicions were confirmed when the man himself showed up.
"I believe you're looking for me." The judge said, and Rossi pondered his impeccable timing.
…
After an intense interrogation, in which Rossi basically admitted that he had an affair with the judges late wife, they found ut the judge had made two more payments for two more hits. They figured that one of them was Dan Patten, the drunk driver who killed the judge's wife, but he was already dead by the time they found him. They still hadn't found out who the next hit would be, but they were moving the judge into federal custody regardless.
"Is it true that you are suspected of serial murder!" One of the many reporters that swarmed them as soon as they stepped out of the building shouted.
"Judge Schuler is assisting a federal investigation," JJ announced, but that didn't stop the reporters from crowding them and shouting out more questions. JJ and Rossi stood on either side of him, but Morgan had fallen back to take a call from Hotch.
"I am of the belief that justice has been served!" Was the only response that the Judge gave the crowd.
"No comment," JJ repeated as the judge turned to Rossi.
"I lied." He said.
"What?" Rossi asked. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out in the crowd, and JJ was splattered with red.
"Everybody down! Everybody on the ground now!" Morgan shouted over the chaos, but JJ touched her face and looked at he bloodstained hand. It took her a few seconds to register what had just happened, but she began to look around for the source of the shot as reported ran in all directions. Rossi and Morgan both had their guns drawn, but he was gone. Rossi looked to see judge Schuler on the ground, blood seeping out of the bullet wound in his chest. He said nothing as the man dropped a golden locket on the sidewalk next to his head and breathed his last breath. Rossi slowly picked up the necklace and opened to reveal a picture of the judge's late wife, Emma. He felt a stab of grief and guilt at leaving the still grieving man die thinking that his wife had been unfaithful. While he knew she hadn't, it was just as bad for the man to die thinking that she had.
A/N: I know it's been way long since my last update, but I've been really depressed lately and couldn't find it in me to write much of anything :(. On another note, I do plan on making this a 'Vers, so there will be other stories in which they have these powers. I thank you to everyone who is still reading this, and I hope you liked this chapter!