Chapter 5

"How the hell?..." Emily couldn't even finish her question as she stared at the room.

"I don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to find out!", Hotch said in disgust as he headed out of the room to find the officer in charge of surveillance at the hotel.

'The blood is fresh, I don't think this was blood saved from the other kills,' observed Reid as he examined the writing on the wall.

"Are you thinking, there's another body we haven't found yet?" asked Rossi as he came up behind Reid.

"It's quite possible. Perhaps the missing body in that last picture. We knew he was going to escalate, just not to this level and this fast."

Hotch came back into the room, a scowl on his face. "They saw nothing!" he spat out. "The surveillance cameras had been tampered with and a false video feed had been looped through the system, making them think everything was normal."

"So we have nothing?" Emily asked. "No way of knowing how he came or went?"

Morgan had come into the doorway and was watching the team as they tried to assess the situation. How had it come to this? Why hadn't he just gone after Averitt himself six months ago?

He knew that Penelope couldn't stand to go through any more trauma and he realized that he was almost at his breaking point as well. He also saw that going through "official law enforcement channels" wasn't going to work and if this son of a bitch was ever going to be caught he would have to be given what he wanted…Derek Morgan. "And that's exactly what he's going to get." thought Derek as a plan developed in his mind.

Leaving the doorway, he went back over to JJ and Penelope. Crouching down in front of Penelope he reached out and pushed an errant strand of her golden, blonde hair out of her eyes, "Hey Baby Girl, how you doing?" he asked her tenderly.

"I don't know, Derek. Why is he doing this to us? Why won't he just leave us alone?"

"Because of me, Baby, but I'm going to fix this, I promise." Derek stated with conviction. Looking deep into her eyes, he felt as if he was seeing into her broken soul and it was a look he never wanted to have to see in her again.

"I'm going to leave you with JJ for just a little longer, but when I come back, I promise, all will be taken care of and you'll be safe, Princess." Derek leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on Penelope's mouth, holding her face in his hands, trying to drink in all of the tastes and smells of her that he could.

"Where are you going, Derek? What are you going to do?" Penelope questioned as he pulled away from her and stood.

"Derek, don't do something stupid", he heard JJ say but by that time he was already halfway down the hallway, headed for the stairs.

"Hotch!", he heard JJ call to the team leader as the stairwell door closed behind him. He would be gone before they had a chance to figure out what was happening. Derek knew it was time to make things right and to stop Averitt from ever hurting his Baby Girl or anyone else ever again, no matter the cost. He just hoped that when all was said and done, he would be there in person to hold Penelope in his arms and let her know all was safe again.

TBC

My muse is working overtime today! Two chapters in one day but I know they are both short. Hope you are enjoying. Please R&R! I would love feedback on what you think Derek's plan should involve, I have ideas but input is always appreciated! Hopefully more soon.