Alright guys! Here's the alternate ending my friend Nick wrote! Sorry it's taken so long, but I hope you like it and that you've enjoyed the story!
A day later, Hotch, Rossi, Morgan and Prentiss were wrapping up at the station, taking down their board and packing up the last of the files. Hotch was talking to Detective Skinner and the police chief, getting the last of the details sorted out.
The front door of the station opened, and JJ pushed a wheelchair confined Reid through. Within seconds, once everyone realized who he was, the building broke out into applause for him. Reid looked slightly embarrassed, giving a sheepish wave.
As soon as JJ had him wheeled into the back room, he turned and asked, "Why are they clapping for me? I didn't do anything but get attacked."
"Yes you did," she answered. "You survived."
"Reid," Prentiss said, walking over. "How are you out of the hospital already?"
"I'm actually not. I've only been let out for the day, so we can get back home. They decided that I was well enough that I didn't have to take an ambulance. I just have to check in with a hospital once we get there. I might have to stay overnight again just to make sure I'll be alright. But then I can go home."
"Alright! Pretty Boy is on the mend," Morgan said, ruffling Reid's hair.
"Glad you're doing well," Rossi said.
"Thanks," Reid replied. "So you caught the guy? How'd that go?"
"Well, I wouldn't quite say we caught him," Morgan said. "We got there and got in and the guy freaked. He found himself a knife," he said, pulling back his sleeve to show the bandage on his arm where Pazel's knife had caught him.
"Ah," Reid said.
"Yeah. But that was the only damage he did. He killed himself not long after that."
Reid nodded. "If he was that crazy and you hadn't stopped him, he would have just kept on killing."
"True. And we did get Nikolas, after all," JJ said. "The infamous Gentleman."
"The guy who attacked me," Reid said. "Is he still here?"
"We were going to drop him at the prison on our way back," Rossi said.
"Can I talk to him?" Reid asked, looking around at them all.
"Are… are you sure you want to do that?" Morgan asked. "You're still weak. It might be overwhelming."
"I'm sure. I'll be fine. I want to do this," Reid said firmly, looking determined.
They all sat silently for a moment, debating. But eventually Morgan stood up and said, "Alright. But I'm staying with you this time. You aren't facing him alone again."
"Deal," Reid said, and Morgan directed his wheelchair in the direction of the holding cell.
"Nikolas!" Morgan barked as soon as he came into view. "You have a visitor." He parked Reid in front of the cell and leaned against the wall, staring Nikolas down.
"Agent Reid," Nikolas said softly, sitting up and taking in Reid's frail appearance.
"Doctor Reid," Morgan corrected.
"Ah, of course. Doctor Reid. I hope I find you well?"
"Just peachy," Reid said scathingly. "I have a few questions you're going to answer. First, why did you start killing?"
"Because I'm intelligent psychopath. I figured that out when I was twelve. Why challenge it? I'd already killed several neighborhood pets. And… it was fun."
Reid shook his head disbelievingly. "Why did Pazel pick the victims he did?"
"That, I can't answer. I really don't know. He spent all day long reading those newspapers of his. He must have seen something in you he liked. Or, should I say, hated."
"Last question. Why did you choose to attack me the way you did?" Reid asked. Morgan shifted uncomfortably, but Reid remained determined and calm. "You didn't attack anyone else like that before. So why me?"
"Actually, I had stabbed someone before. That researcher lady. I stabbed her so she couldn't escape the blast."
"But that was for a purpose. That wasn't the main way you killed her, you just used that as a means of making sure she didn't get away. You attacked me with a knife only. Why?"
"Well. What can I say? I'd had fun with that researcher. Stabbing her was…" he paused, sighing. "It was a rush I hadn't felt before. And plus, I thought it would be excellent to shed the blood of an FBI Agent in a police station. Poetic, in a way. And it was."
"You're a sick guy, you know that?" Morgan said angrily.
"Well, I meant no offense to you personally, Doctor Reid. I was given a job to do. And besides, sick is a matter of perspective."
"Get me out of here," Reid said, sounding disgusted. He ignored the farewell that was called after him.
"Did you get what you wanted from that creep?" Prentiss asked as they reappeared in the back room, which was now stripped down to what it looked like when they'd first arrived.
"More or less," Reid shrugged. "Are we ready to leave yet?"
"Almost. We just need to wait for Hotch to finish talking to the police chief."
Reid nodded. They spent a few more minutes talking about the case, filling him in on a few details he didn't know, before a knock on the door drew their attention. "Excuse me. I just… I heard you closed your case?"
"Ernie!" JJ said. "Hi. Yes, we did."
"You caught the man that killed my wife?"
"Yeah, we got them."
"Them? There was more than one man involved?" Ernie asked, taking a step inside. JJ motioned for him to sit down.
"Yeah. There was the guy who went around killing everyone, and the guy who picked out who he killed and arranged it all," Morgan said.
"So, my wife was killed by a hit man? Why?" Ernie asked, looking upset.
"The man who picked the victims was a paranoid schizophrenic. He picked out people he saw in the paper," Rossi said. "And your wife's article caught his eye."
"And these men are both in jail now?" Ernie asked.
"Well, one of them will be," Morgan said.
"One? Why only one?" Ernie said, looking upset.
"The man who engineered it all, the schizophrenic. He killed himself when we went to arrest him," Prentiss answered.
"Oh," Ernie said, not quite looking happy, but not angry anymore. "And the other?"
"He's sitting here in lockup. We'll be taking him by the prison on our way back to D.C."
"He's still here?" Ernie asked.
"Not for long," JJ said. "He'll be out of here in no time. We're planning to leave in a few minutes. You won't have to worry about him for much longer. He'll be going away for a long time."
"Good," Ernie said grimly. He stood up then, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Thank you, all of you. For catching him."
"It's what we do," JJ said kindly, standing up as well. He turned to leave, but before he walked out his eyes landed on Reid, seated in the wheelchair and still frail.
"I was an intended target as well," Reid said, before Ernie could ask. "I had a run in with him. But I'll be fine."
Ernie smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear that. Thanks again."
He walked out, leaving them alone again. "And that's why I do this job," Morgan said. "To get some justice for people like him."
Hotch walked back into the room then, asking, "Are we about ready to go?"
"Yeah. We're all packed if you are," Morgan answered.
"Reid?" Hotch asked curiously, noticing JJ stand up to push him.
"I'm well enough to come back with you. I'll go to a hospital in D. C. when we get there," Reid answered.
"Good to see you're doing so well," Hotch said, sending him a rare smile. "Alright, let's get going."
They stepped out of the room they'd occupied for the past several long and stressful days, closing the door behind them. Morgan walked down the hall towards the holding cell to collect Nikolas, but he'd barely taken two steps when a loud gunshot hit their ears. They scrambled towards the holding cell, where the noise had come from, pulling their guns.
Ernie lay on the floor, unconscious. The smoking gun was laying on his right side, close to his hand.
The holding cell that had previously occupied the Gentleman was empty. There was a bullet hole in the wall only a few inches from where he'd sat when Reid had talked to him. His open handcuffs were on the floor in the middle of the cell, sitting next to the watch he'd been wearing.
Prentiss walked over and snatched the watch off of the floor. "Damn. Lock picks inside the watch. How did we miss that?"
Morgan swore as well, storming back into the Squad room. Three officers stood just outside the door. "Agent? What happened?" the one on the left said. Morgan noticed that all three had drawn their weapons.
"The Gentleman got himself out. No time for talking. You two," he replied, indicating the one who'd spoken to him and the one next to him, "go and search the entire station. He probably won't hang around inside, but it's good to be sure."
The two nodded and rushed off to begin searching, pushing their way through the people who were still in partial panic mode. "Agent? What about me? How can I help?" the last remaining officer asked.
"Officer Luther," Morgan said, reading the name off of his uniform. "You get outside and do a sweep of the perimeter. Take anyone you can with you, and make sure he doesn't get away."
"I'm on it, Agent. He won't get away with me out there," Luther replied.
"Make sure of it," Morgan said firmly. He watched Luther hurry out of the station, stopping to talk to a few others on his way, then hopping into a Squad car and driving off. Seconds, after he was out of sight, Hotch came striding out of one of the offices.
"The window in there is open. He must have gotten out from there," Hotch said, slightly out of breath. "Otherwise we would have seen him try to go. Why wasn't anyone watching him in there?"
A rather timid looking Officer that none of them had noticed walked up to them. "I'm so sorry. I just wanted to wish Doctor Reid a speedy recovery and thank you all for helping again. I was only gone for five minutes, ten at the most," he said sheepishly, looking back and forth between them all.
"None of us expected him to have lock picks in his watch, it's not your fault," Hotch said, looking distracted. The timid officer smiled all the same, looking relieved that Hotch hadn't shouted.
Skinner walked up to them then, looking furious. "What happened? How did this slime bag get away?"
"He had somewhere between five and ten minutes where he wasn't being watched," Hotch answered, leaving out the identity of the timid officer, who had scurried off. "He managed to pick his handcuffs. When Ernie tried to shoot him, he used the gunshot as a distraction. He's escaped through that window and is likely on the run now."
"I sent one of your officers outside to patrol around," Morgan added. "Luther. He may have spotted Nikolas by now. But probably not."
"Agent Morgan… are you sure it was Officer Luther you sent?" Skinner asked, eyebrows furrowing.
"That's what his uniform said and that's what he answered to," Morgan said, sounding angry. "So yes."
"But that isn't possible. Luther has been on vacation. And he isn't due back for another week," Skinner said.
"No," Morgan said, shaking his head. "That's not right."
JJ chose that moment to wheel Reid over to the conversation, Prentiss following close behind, ready in case the Gentleman tried to pull anything and finish what he had started. "What's not?" Reid asked, looking concerned.
"I let him walk away," Morgan said. "He was right in front of me and I let him go. Hell, I told him to go!" He was suddenly fighting a wall of rage that threatened to hit him at any moment. That sick, twisted… bastard.
"How?" JJ asked, looking back and forth between Morgan and Hotch.
Hotch let out a frustrated sigh before responding. "He's a master of disguise. He'd found himself a uniform and offered to help. He asked what he could do. There was no way to know."
Morgan cursed again, before striding to the door and flinging it open, going outside with Prentiss on his heels. They both jumped in an SUV, intent on patrolling around. And finding the Gentleman.
Two Days Later
A small, nondescript car pulled up to the edge of a cliff. The Gentleman stepped out, smiling to himself. He was miles, even states away from the police station he'd escaped from. They wouldn't find him again.
He pulled a disposable cell phone from his pocket, dialing the number of a floral service he'd gotten off the internet. He ordered seven black roses to be delivered to the Behavioral Analysis Unit back in Quantico. He thought he'd include their tech analyst this time, because she'd certainly had enough to do with tracking him down. On each rose would be a note, saying, 'Goodbye, BAU. It's been fun. –Nikolas'.
Then he walked up to a flat stone and placed his wallet, cell phone, and a few choice papers on the smooth surface. He placed Napalm on the stone, lit the fire, and sat back to watch it burn. "Goodbye, Nikolas. It was fun while it lasted."
He watched as the fire consumed the last remaining traces of Nikolas, before heaving the stone down into the ravine, ensuring that there was no evidence that he'd been there. That Nikolas had been there.
He walked back to his car and opened a secret department in the dashboard, smiling to himself as he did so. "Who to be next?" he asked himself, ruffling through the rows of wallets and papers.
He selected one of the identities he had hidden, and then opened a second compartment that contained his two guns. The ones he had left over from his work in the United States.
"I wonder what the weather is like in Russia at this time of year?" he asked himself, climbing in his car. He shrugged as he started the engine. He had a job to do.
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