Chapter Twenty-Two

The anger that radiated from Derek's skin was as bitter and raw as a slab of meat. It smelled of violence, of pure hatred. Sweat formed a sheen on his forehead and it glinted maliciously in the sun. His eyes were two slits of vengeance, yet if one looked deep into them, they would see the grief and pain he felt-the kind of agony that comes when one loses the world.

He entered the jail and tried to relax his muscles, to put on a mask and act calmer than he truly was. The officers nodded when they saw his badge, not suspecting that an FBI agent was almost as unhinged as the prisoner. They didn't even think to ask him to hand over his firearms….

"Hello, Agent Morgan," Kevin greeted calmly as his eyes fell upon Derek as the latter entered the cell. Lynch wasn't restrained in any way-apparently he'd exemplified "good behavior". That alone was sickening.

"You don't have the RIGHT to call me ANYTHING!" Derek bellowed, grabbing Kevin by the throat. Luckily, all of the officers were oblivious to what was going on.

"Wh-What's go-going on?" Lynch asked, trying helplessly to break free of Derek's hold. His face was starting to turn a deep shade of red.

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON!" Derek slackened his grip on Kevin, causing the prisoner to fall in a pathetic heap to the ground.

"How the hell am I supposed to know anything when I'm in jail?" he replied, coughing. "You think they let me have internet in this hellhole?"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU HAVE NO IDEA, MY ASS!" Bile burned in Derek's throat. His emotions were clawing through his entire being. Red spots dotted his vision, such was the magnitude of his clouded rage.

"Well, really, if my guess is right, you should be congratulating me for being a daddy," Kevin stated defiantly, picking himself up from the grimed floor. If it was possible, Derek's blood boiled even hotter.

"YOU SCREWED UP HER ENTIRE LIFE, AND YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN? PENELOPE IS GONE! YOUR ACTIONS TOOK HER FROM ME!" His fingers found his concealed weapon. They were aching to use it. But he didn't pull it out, not yet. Kevin had to suffer a bit more.

"Well, since I've been in this jail for awhile, I don't think I could have physically taken her away from you. That was her choice. Maybe…..maybe Penny doesn't love you anymore. I'll bet that's why she left. She's probably sick of you! Can't really blame her. Did you grab her by the neck like you just did to me? Cause if you did, well, it's understandable that she would leave you." Kevin's taunts bit deep into Derek, but they didn't slow him. In a single motion, he removed his gun from the holster and pointed it at Lynch's head.

"SHE DIDN'T LEAVE ME, SHE LEFT THE NIGHTMARE SHE WAS LIVING KNOWING THAT YOU RAPED HER AND PUT SOME OF YOURSELF INTO HER! YOU TOOK HER FROM ME, LYNCH! AND NOW, I THINK I SHOULD TAKE SOMETHING FROM YOU!" His index finger found the cold metallic trigger. How easy it would be to take out the son of a bitch right now! He had a silencer on right now, and by the time anyone figured it out, he could be long gone.

"Do you wanna know what triggered me to hurt her like that?" Lynch suddenly asked, causing Derek to pause. "It was the lily you gave her. I found it with her. If you hadn't given it to her…..well…none of this would have happened."

Derek was stunned. The wind was knocked out of him due to the force of Kevin's words. His lily….intended as a gift….was to blame? He felt sick. This was his fault. Tears clotted his throat and mingled with the sweat running down his face. He knew deep down that, really, it was ridiculous to blame a flower for what had happened, but his desperation had blanked most of his rationality.

"I don't care what your reasoning was, Lynch. You took her from me, you took the only woman that I've ever loved wholeheartedly. Now…..you will pay." His words came out whispered, yet had the same potency as his shouts. He raised his gun slightly, indecisive as to where he should aim. Hit the femoral and wait for him to bleed out? For every tear Penelope had cried, he wanted Kevin to bleed at least five times over. He wanted him to suffer tenfold for his crimes, he wanted him to feel the pain and agony she had felt as he entered her and as she saw her pregnancy test.

"Morgan, put the gun down." Incredibly, Hotch was standing at the jail cell door. Startled, Derek sharply twisted his head around, yet kept his gun pointed at Kevin.

"He's mine to finish, Hotch. Let me have him." How the hell had his boss ended up here now?

"Killing him won't help her, you know." But Hotch didn't know….he didn't know that Penelope was pregnant and had left.

"HE TOOK HER FROM ME! SHE LEFT AFTER SHE REALIZED HE GOT HER PREGNANT!" Derek bellowed. Hotch nodded somberly. In his gut, he had always suspected that something like this could happen: that Penelope, as strong-willed and courageous as she was, could snap if something horrible enough happened. Now, he had to rely on his leadership to help Morgan from the edge of the cliff and back to sanity.

"If you kill her, then how can you go try and find her, Derek? How can you get her back when you're behind bars and you don't have any FBI connections to help you find her faster?"

"I DON'T CARE!" he cried. "I HAVE TO MAKE SURE HE PAYS!" Derek's finger was mere millimeters from sending Kevin to certain doom.

"Morgan, he'll pay when he realizes that what he did didn't ruin you. When you get Penelope back, he'll pay when he finds out that he wasn't able to break you. That's the best kind of payment you can reap from him. He dies, and his suffering ends. Imagine if he is suffering for the rest of his life knowing that he lost."

Derek knew that Hotch was right. As much as it sickened him, the truth was that it was stupid to kill even pricks like Kevin. He slowly put his gun down.

And that was when Lynch lunged. Fueled by the sentence that Hotch had given him, he snapped once more. He flew through the air towards Derek….

And fell as Hotch suddenly raised his own gun and sent a bullet through his brain. Kevin slumped ungracefully back to the ground, a fitting end to his miserable life. He was now just a shell, a dirty body with no soul.

And Derek was able to take no more than two steps before he fell in a heap, breaking down completely. His cries were agonizing because they were of a man that had lost what mattered most to him and had just fully realized it. Hotch knelt next to him.

"It's all right, Morgan. It's all right," he repeated over and over, tears glistening his own face as well. He of course, understood exactly what Morgan was going through…..

"I've got to find her," Derek vowed through his tears, clenching his teeth. "I've got to find her."

Rain pattered on the jailhouse, as if the world shared his pain.