Chapter 12

After Hotch left in a very foul mood, Rossi knew he had to find out where Hotch was going. He took his laptop to Garcia and had her install the tracing program on it. Rossi didn't want Garcia to know that Rossi had put his own phone in Hotch's car, that he was tracing his own number. If Garcia traced Hotch's, it would be innocently at home, and that's all he wanted anyone else to know right then. Once he was on his way home, he stopped and picked up a rental car. It wouldn't help to sneak up on Hotch in a vehicle he knew all too well. Rossi sat in the rental on the side of the road and ran the program to search Hotch's phone; sure enough, it was at Hotch's house. Rossi took a deep a breath and had it trace his phone. He sighed heavily as soon as he realized it was zeroing in on Alexandria. Rossi started the car and pulled onto the street; the gnawing feeling actually making his stomach hurt. Do I really want to do this? Do I want to violate Hotch's trust and track him down? What if I don't like what I find? What if I find out my best friend is doing something that I can't handle? Rossi shook his head. He had to know, and that's all that mattered at that point and time.

By the time Rossi got to Alexandria, Hotch was parked outside some dive bar. Rossi took a deep breath and walked in. He found Hotch much like the first time he'd found him, in the back playing pool. Rossi could instantly tell Hotch's anger was gone, and he thought for a second that Hotch had been telling him the truth. He noticed, though, that as Hotch was lining up a shot that Hotch's left hand was severely bruised and bloody, and he knew he was too late to find out what Hotch was doing. Before Rossi could turn around and disappear, Hotch notice him. The look of shock was very evident on Hotch's face.

"How the hell did you find me?" Hotch asked as soon as Rossi was close enough for him to hear over the music.

"I have my ways," Rossi told him with a grin.

Hotch studied his face. "Garcia and her damned traffic cams. I will have to have a talk with her about tracking her boss."

"She had nothing to do with it."

Hotch knew Rossi was telling the truth, but he couldn't figure out any other way that Rossi could have found him. "Go home, Dave. You don't belong here."

"And you do?" Rossi asked as he looked around at the people in the bar. While there was a mixture of people, Rossi would classify them all as thugs and criminals.

Hotch shook his head. "You won't leave unless I do, will you?"

"Nope."

"Damn it, Rossi. Why can't you just leave well enough alone?" Hotch asked him as he headed to the exit.

"You should know me better than that. I don't just leave things alone when I feel like one of my friends is in trouble."

They made it to the outside and Hotch turned to face Rossi. "I'm not in trouble, so you can stop worrying."

"Secrets have a horrible way of turning around and biting you in the ass eventually, Aaron."

Hotch looked around for Rossi's car. "Did you hide in my trunk?" Hotch joked trying to avoid the discussion.

"You might as well just tell me. You know I will find out."

"There's nothing to find out!"

Rossi studied his face. He was pretty sure Hotch was telling the truth, but the little voice in his head laughed at him again. "Then the next time you need to blow off steam, let me go with you." Rossi saw something flicker across Hotch's face but before he could figure out what it was, Hotch smiled.

"Fine. If that's what it will take to put your mind at ease, but when I treat you like an ass the whole time, don't say I didn't warn you." Hotch turned to walk to his car, but then stopped and turned back. "Do you need a ride?"

"Nope."

Hotch looked at him questioningly, shook his head, and then went to his car.

Rossi watched him drive off and then when and got in his rental.

XXX

The next morning, Rossi was getting ready as the news was playing on the tv. "Does the metropolitan area have a vigilante?" The reporter asked.

Rossi's coffee cup froze inches away from his open mouth. He put his cup down and grabbed the remote to turn up the volume. The reporter went on to talk about several mysterious deaths that had been occurring in and around DC. The latest death had happened the night before when a man suspected of raping several young girls in the area had turned up dead. He had been beaten and then impaled on a wrought iron fence. Without any structures for the man to have fallen from, they police knew he had been murdered. All of the victims had been convicted of crimes or were suspected of committing them, but none of the deaths revealed any evidence or any witnesses. The police were claiming the deaths to be related to the victims' way of life, but the reporter insisted that they were all connected. The scene then cut to the reporter talking to the public. Almost every person that was interviewed was praising the killer for getting rid of criminals that the police couldn't. Some of the people were even comparing the man to comic book heroes. The reporter ended the segment by dubbing the vigilante 'The Dealer of Justice.'

Rossi had watched the whole thing in shock. He didn't want to be thinking what he was thinking. No! It can't be! Rossi turned off the tv and grabbed his laptop. He searched the murders and after looking at several of them and comparing them to his case calendar, he hung his head. Oh, Aaron. How could you?

Rossi jumped when his home phone went off. It was Garcia; they had a case. Rossi took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle his suspicions, but he knew he would have to look into it to find out for sure. He got up and turned off the tv, put his cup in the sink, and left for the BAU.

"Sorry about the early morning call, but the US Marshalls need our help," Garcia told everyone as soon as Hotch walked in the door; he was the last to show up. She went on to tell them that the Marshalls were in the process of protecting a man who had witnessed the murder of a judge. The man who committed the murder was supposedly connected to the organized crime families in New York. Several Marshalls had been killed already and they suspected a mole, so they wanted the FBI to come in and take over the protection detail for the next week until the trial began.

"Wheels up in twenty," Hotch told them, gathered his stuff, and walked out of the conference room.

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked Rossi.

"Huh?" Rossi asked, snapping out of a daze.

"What's wrong?" Morgan repeated as everyone else left the room.

"Nothing. Why?"

"Cause you seem distracted."

"Sorry. I didn't sleep well last night. It's fine," Rossi told him as he stood up.

"It's fine?"

"I mean, I'm fine. Damn, Derek, give an old guy a break," Rossi told him with a smile.

Morgan shook his head but left the room. Rossi sighed and went to his office. He stopped outside the door; Hotch was in there waiting for him. He took a deep breath and steeled himself so he wouldn't give anything away. "Hey," Rossi told Hotch as he went in and grabbed his go bag.

"I think you dropped this the last time you were in my car," Hotch told him as he held out Rossi's phone to him. The look on Hotch's face told Rossi that Hotch knew he had put it in his car.

"Thanks. I've been looking for that damn thing," Rossi lied as he took his phone back.

"Funny thing is, though, that I can't even remember the last time you were in my car."

"I have been looking for it for a while," Rossi told him as he headed back out of his office.

"Uh-huh," Hotch said as he followed Rossi, he already had his bag in his hand.

XXX

The team met with the Marshalls and they took Mike Johnson to a hotel. They had decided they would work in eight hour shifts on protective detail and the rest of the team would work on finding out who had killed the Marshalls. Hotch paired them up with Blake and Reid taking the first shift. Morgan and JJ would be next, and Hotch and Rossi would go last. The four of them not on protective detail went to a hotel across town and set up Hotch's room to be their work space. Morgan and JJ left to go get the files the Marshalls had on the case. "Why are looking at me like that?" Hotch asked Rossi.

"What?"

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"I didn't realize I was looking at you any certain way."

Hotch studied him for a few seconds. "Is there something wrong?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because you seem to be searching for something or trying to figure something out."

Rossi tried to look innocent. "Nope, just tired." Rossi could tell Hotch didn't believe him, but he didn't press him anymore.

XXX

Three days later, the team hadn't had any problems with their protection detail and they had narrowed down the mole in the Marshall's office to three people. Hotch stretched as he got out of the SUV. He and Rossi had just gotten done with their overnight shift at protecting Mike. They had decided to stop and grab a bite to eat at a diner on their way back to their hotel. Hotch froze; he felt he was being watched. Rossi noticed Hotch's demeanor. "What?"

"Do you feel that?" Hotch could tell by Rossi's expression that he had no idea what he was talking about. Hotch shook his head. "Never mind. I think I'm just tired."

They went into the diner and ate. When they walked back to the SUV, Hotch suddenly felt someone behind him. Before he could even turn around, though, something hit him in the back of head. He fell to the ground and before the darkness enveloped him, he saw Rossi lying on the ground on the other side the SUV.