Chapter 15
"Son of a bitch!" Rossi yelled as he watched the morning news. The Dealer of Justice had struck again. This time he had killed two known drug dealers. They had been beaten and then injected with copious amounts of their own heroin causing fatal overdoses. Rossi shook his head. He didn't think that Hotch was even that mad by the time they left the bar. They all knew he wanted to kill the man who had punched him, but that was a good two hours before they had went home. Well, some of us went home! Rossi mentally kicked himself for not realizing that Hotch was at the point of blowing up.
His phone rang. "Yep, I see it. Sure I'll meet you there," He told Morgan. They all wanted to meet at the scene. Damn it! He quickly grabbed his stuff and walked out of his house.
XXX
Rossi joined Morgan as they looked at the scene. They were the only two there at that point. "It looks like the same guy," Morgan told him. "And just as pissed as ever. It's definitely personal for this guy."
"You think he knows them personally?" Rossi asked him.
"You think it's just someone who's pissed at the world?" Hotch asked him.
Rossi flinched. He hadn't heard him coming up behind him. He looked at Hotch's face. Hotch had his sunglasses on so Rossi couldn't read his eyes, but he didn't like the grin Hotch was wearing. He also noticed that Hotch's hands were in his pockets. "Possibly."
Hotch nodded and kept staring at him. Rossi finally turned away from him and knelt down by the bodies. The breath caught in his chest as he noticed a black hair on one of the blond men's shoulder. Shit! Just then JJ and Reid arrived together. Morgan went to greet them and Hotch was talking to the police officer who had found the bodies. Rossi reached up and quickly grabbed the hair and put it in his pocket. He stood up and took a deep breath. He couldn't believe what he had just done, but what else could he do? He had to have proof, but he didn't want the whole team to share in that proof until he could make up his mind on what to do with it. Rossi knew of a private lab that would test the hair for DNA for him without any questions.
"What did you just do?" Hotch asked him from behind,
Rossi flinched because he hadn't heard him again. He stood up quickly. "I. . . nothing," Rossi stammered.
Hotch stared at him. "My God!" he started quietly. "You think I did this."
Oh shit! "What?"
Hotch laughed. "You really think I'm stupid enough to do something like this right under the team's nose?" Rossi looked at him with concern. He didn't like the way he didn't deny the other killings. "You do! You think I did this!"
"I never said that," Rossi finally told him as he stepped closer to Hotch so they could talk quietly.
"Wow. I thought you didn't like me now, but it just turns out it's because I'm a killer, huh?"
"Hotch. . . I . . ." Rossi didn't know where to start, but he definitely didn't want to discuss it there. "We can talk later."
Hotch shook his head and walked away from him.
Damn it! Rossi shook his head. He went to talk to the local police and decided he was done there. He took the hair to the lab on his way back to the BAU.
XXX
Later that afternoon in the bullpen they all came to the conclusion that even with another crime scene, they still had no clue who their unsub was. They had started checking out all of the men on Garcia's list, but so far every one of them had a solid alibi for at least two of the murders. Without getting anywhere, Garcia told them about a case in Arizona. A suspected rapist had turned into a killer and the Phoenix PD wanted the BAU's help. They were on the jet before dinner time. They all noticed that Hotch and Rossi weren't talking again.
XXX
Two days later, they knew who their unsub was and they were staking out his house to wait for him to return from work. Hotch and Rossi watched from one SUV as Truman Stewart walked towards his door. "He's almost inside," Hotch told the team through the com link. As soon as the door shut, Hotch and Rossi jumped out of the vehicle and crossed the street to serve their warrant. Morgan and JJ were waiting by the back door of the unsub's house. They didn't want to take any chances of losing him.
Before Hotch could even attempt to kick down the door, a shot rang out and Hotch dove into Rossi to take him to the ground. Another shot rang out and a hole was blown through the front door. "Are you ok?" Hotch asked Rossi frantically. Rossi nodded and they scrambled out of the firing line.
They heard a shot from inside the house, and Hotch realized that Morgan and JJ had breeched the back door. Suddenly the front door flung open and Truman was running for the street. Hotch jumped up and took off after him. Truman ran across the street and was jumping the fence on the other side by the time Hotch made it to the street. Hotch ran without even looking and as soon as he stepped out into the street, Rossi heard wheels squealing and glass breaking. "No!" Rossi yelled as he watched Hotch get hit, roll up onto the hood of the sedan, smash into the windshield, and then come rolling off as the vehicle skidded to a stop. Rossi ran as fast as he could and his heart stopped beating as he watched Hotch fall to the ground; the back of head slammed down onto the pavement. Rossi ran to his friend and knelt down next to him. "Oh God, Hotch!"
Morgan came running up to him and saw Truman still running through the park on the other side of the street. Rossi looked at Morgan. "Go! Get that bastard!" Morgan nodded and took off after the man.
JJ came running up beside Rossi, she had her phone out and was calling for an ambulance. The driver who hit Hotch came up, crying hysterically. JJ took her away from Hotch.
Rossi grabbed his friend's hand. "No, Hotch. Not again!" He reached up and felt for a pulse. He let out the breath he was holding when he felt it beating strong. He thanked God for Hotch being in such good physical shape; it probably saved his life. Hotch moaned and tried to reach for his head. Rossi grabbed his hand. He didn't want him to hurt himself even more. "Hotch?"
"Da. . . "
"Come on, open your eyes."
"Dave?" Hotch asked as his eyes fluttered and he tried to focus.
"Right here. When are you going to stop scaring me to death?"
"Sorry," Hotch told him weakly as he finally saw his friend knealing down next to him.
"You know an old man like me can only take so much," Rossi told him with a smile.
Hotch smiled back at him and then looked around. Hotch's smile was replaced with one of fear and confusion. "Dave?"
Rossi didn't know what to make of Hotch's expression. "Right here," Rossi told him with concern.
"Where are we?" Hotch asked him as his eyes darted around.
Rossi could hear the fear in his voice and it made his chest tighten.