Chicago, IL – Morning –

It was early just a little after dawn. Derek pulled his jacket around his body and zipped it, which was a feeble attempt to keep warm against the sharp Chicago air. He'd gotten used to the warmer weather of Virginia over the years.

He needed to talk to someone who'd known him as a child; someone whose agenda was not building a defense against the lies and secrets created against him. That's why he found himself at his aunt Vi's house again. She'd always been straight with him whether he wanted to hear the truth or not. He needed to know if he could still trust her, if she knew his truth and if who he was would make her stop loving him.

The old man always took his coffee in the front room of his home, sitting at the large picture window staring and thinking about everything and nothing all at once. It was early and so he was surprised to see the familiar man standing in the exact spot where he stood the day before. His heart rate increased as he pulled the phone from his pocket and dialed.

Monserrat Hotel –

None of them had slept much and now Hotch, JJ and Reid had begun packing and loading the SUV's. No matter what, this was there last day in Chicago no matter what the outcome. Once again, the director had reminded them that he expected them back and ready to work at 9 a.m. the next morning. Dave had decided to use a portion of his overabundance of vacation hours so that he and Fran could be free to stay put until their son was found. The threats of the director meant nothing to Dave, and he was far too great of an asset for the director to balk at his request.

Meanwhile, Boris Koralinko made his way to the home of Vivienne Morgan. He'd sent two of his most trusted employees to her home the day before to nail things down and prepare for his target should he return. If he didn't, the old woman would simply be collateral damage. He'd waited twenty years for this moment and nothing and no one was going to stop him from destroying David Rossi. Family was everything and his enemy had done a lot to fool everyone that his son had died in the car bombing that he'd orchestrated years ago. Now, he needed to win, he needed to show Dave and everyone else that turning against the Koralinkos meant death.

Home of Vi Morgan –

Vi was terrified; she'd never been so afraid in her life. The last time she'd been this afraid was when her daughter Cindy had disappeared. The two large men had forced themselves into her home the night before demanding food, drink, and shelter while they waited on instructions from their boss. They were looking for her nephew and were certain that he would eventually find his way back to her house. What had caused someone to pull her into a nightmare like this? She was sure that her former sister-in-law and her husband would have the answers.

Derek exhaled and made his way across the street; he hoped she would forgive him for arriving so early and waking her up. He needed to talk, and he needed answers. It was so quiet and without any more delay he rang the doorbell.

The larger of the two men pushed her roughly toward the front door. The bell rang for the second time, and he warned her what would happen if she tried anything that would tip her visitor off that something was wrong.

"D-Derek?"

"Aunt Vi."

He saw the shock in her eyes and suddenly his gut told him that something was wrong, but it was too late to rethink his decision to come. A large man appeared from behind the door and placed a gun to his aunt's temple. Derek was speechless. Then he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned toward the bearded scruffy man coming up behind him.

"Derek Morgan...or should I say, Rossi. We haven't met, let me introduce myself; I'm Boris Koralinko and I think it's time we get acquainted because you're going to help me kill David Rossi."

Monserrat Hotel –

"Have you heard from Vi?" Dave asked Fran.

"No but it's early. I'll call her in a while. Maybe something has come from Penelope's searches."

"The longer he's out there alone, the more danger he's in," JJ added.

"We have to go home tonight; it' not right that the bureau is making us leave without him," Reid added.

"I'm not happy about it either Reid, but Derek wouldn't want us putting ourselves and our careers in jeopardy for him," Hotch responded.

"With what Morgan is going through, he needs to know that we'd risk our careers for him, because we love him," Reid responded angrily.

Just as Dave was about to speak, his phone rang; it was Vi. He felt hopeful for the first time in the last two days. That hope would be short lived.

"Dave!"

"Vi, good morning; have you heard from..."

"Good morning old friend, it's been a long time."

Dave's heart stopped as he shot a wide-eyed look of terror toward his wife and the others.

"Boris, what have you done?"

"The question is, what will I do, Dave."

"What do you want?"

"Come on Dave, you're a brilliant man you know what I want. I want your head on a platter."

"Is Derek there with you?"

Hotch had stepped away to call Garcia so that she could begin tracking Dave's caller's location. She was a wreck, but she needed to focus, she needed to be able to help her team to help Derek and time was running out for him and his aunt.

"Don't hurt him...don't hurt my son."

"You destroyed my family, Dave. We trusted you and you betrayed us! For almost three years you lived among us, pretending that you were loyal, Dave!"

Derek watched from a chair nearby. His aunt was on the verge of hysterics, and he had yet to be able to attend to her. Boris had arrived shortly after he had and ordered him at gunpoint into the house. Both he and Vi had been restrained to chairs from the dining room and carefully watched by Boris' men.

"Hotch!" Penelope screamed over the phone, "They're at Vi's just like you thought. I've already called Capt. Gordinski and he and some locals are headed there!"

"Call them back Garcia and tell them to wait for us; we're on our way now."

Fran gasped as Dave's phone call continued.

"Let me talk to him, Boris."

"You know, I wanted to talk to my father too. Just one more time before you shot him dead, Dave."

"Let me take his place!"

"You have to pay, Dave; an eye for an eye...it's in the bible, not that I'm a religious man," he chuckled. "You took from me, now I'm going to take from you."

"My son is innocent; your father wasn't Boris! Take me in his place!"

Boris pulled the phone away from his ear and turned to Derek.

"Derek are ready to pay for your father's sins?"

Derek glared at the man before responding. He knew that nothing he said would save his or his aunt's life and he wasn't going to play this sick bastard's games.

"What do you want Koralinko? You want me to beg for my life? You want me to beg for just one last heartfelt conversation with my family? Go to hell you son-of-a-bitch! I'm not giving you what you want; not today!"

Dave heard every word as he cringed and pleaded silently with God to save his son and to forgive him for making the decisions that had placed them all here.

"No Derek," He whispered tearfully into the phone, "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

Fran watched on in horror, yelling and screaming Derek's name. Then Dave dropped to his knees in sorrow at the blood curdling sound of gunshots and Vi's screams just before the call went dead.