A/N: Wow my brain officially short-circuited due to the power outage on campus to the point where homework is impossible. It's a ghost town here. a special thanks to Scottish Halo for helping me come up with a part towards the end of the chapter.
Chapter 5- His Worst Nightmare
June 23rd, 1997.
Chicago, IL.
He didn't remember running out of the theater. He had been too concerned about Angie being trampled by the large amount of people running around in a panic.
At least they were out. He kept looking to make sure she was there, still not believing this had happened.
The movie theater wasn't a location that Myers would want to target, which told Rossi that Myers was either devolving or planning something bigger.
Rossi got Angie away from the crowds and called Hotch as he watched the bomb squad go into the building.
"Will they find it?" said Angie.
"I think so," said Rossi. "They have a lot of devices that help them do that."
The two of them sat on a bench as Hotch and Bobby arrived. Angie looked overwhelmed and upset by the night's events.
CRIMINAL MINDS
It was about an hour later that Rossi was waved over by a member of the bomb squad. Hotch had arrived a while ago, and Rossi sent him over. Hotch came back with a piece of paper in his hands. The two agents tried to talk out of earshot of Angie.
"It was a fake," said Hotch. "Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," said Rossi. "What's the note?"
Hotch handed it to Rossi, who read it.
Gotcha this time, didn't I? See you next time, kids. That's when the fireworks will really go off.
CRIMINAL MINDS
"What's going on?" said Angie.
"The unsub planted a fake bomb," said Rossi.
"Why would he do that?" said Angie.
"A chi fa male, mai mancano scuse," said Rossi.
CRIMINAL MINDS
After everything was under control at the theater, Rossi, Hotch, and Angie went back to the house. As soon as Hotch went upstairs, Angie sat on the couch and began crying.
"I – I'm sorry Uncle David," said Angie. "I was scared."
"You don't need to apologize for feeling scared, Angie," said Rossi. "What happened back there was something that would scare most people."
"Even you?" said Angie.
"Yes," said Rossi.
The truth was he normally wasn't scared when it came to dealing with unsubs. This time Angie had been caught in the crosshairs. She could have been hurt or killed and that terrified him more than any unsub he would ever come across.
CRIMINAL MINDS
June 24th, 1997.
Angie was playing Go Fish with her grandfather, Johnny Rossi, and trying on her black dress reserved for funerals, when Katherine and Marie Rossi, Angie's grandmother, realized Angie had gotten too tall to wear it.
"Angie, we need to get you a new dress for your father's wake and funeral," said Katherine.
"Mom, I don't want to go to the mall today," said Angie. "Can't we go tomorrow?"
"It can't be helped, sweetie," said Katherine. "You've grown out of your other black dress."
"No I haven't, it still fits," said Angie.
She stood up and turned around, trying to demonstrate to her mother and her grandmother that the dress fit.
She didn't want to go out. Not today. She wasn't even sure why she was so resistant to the idea. Angie usually loved going to the South Side Mall. It was like an adventure, looking at all the stores and observing the shoppers.
"Kneel down," said Marie.
Angie did as she was asked. Marie shook her head.
"Skirts are supposed to touch the ground when you kneel, Bambina," said Marie.
Angie looked down and sighed. The skirt hit her knees, but barely.
"Go change so we can go shopping, okay?" said Katherine.
"I'm coming with you," said Marie.
"If you go with her, who's gonna make my dinner?" said Johnny. "Besides, I want to finish this game of cards with my granddaughter."
Marie rolled her eyes.
"The two of you can finish your game, but then she needs to get ready to leave," said Katherine. "I'm not sure when Angie and I will be back, so eat when the two of you are hungry."
"What about David and that guy he's training?" said Marie.
"David and Agent Hotchner are raiding the bomber's house today after they get the warrant," said Katherine. "Hope called and told me she would personally give them the warrant so it wouldn't get 'lost'."
Marie looked confused.
"The politicians are dirty, Grandma," said Angie.
The women went into the kitchen.
"Grandpa, got any 2s?" said Angie.
"Shit," said Johnny.
CRIMINAL MINDS
Hope left the courthouse with the warrant in her hands and heard police sirens. Seeing Bobby in his police car, she walked over.
"You got it?" said Bobby.
"The ink hasn't even dried yet," said Hope.
"I love you," said Bobby.
He grabbed Hope and kissed her passionately. She returned the kiss, but they parted a few seconds later.
After all, they had to catch Myers first.
CRIMINAL MINDS
Bobby and Hope ran into the precinct, the latter clutching the warrant in her hand.
"Thought I'd bring it personally, I don't trust any of those assholes," said Hope.
"Then why are you still in Chicago?" said Rossi.
"Two months out of law school and I'm already an ADA in a major city, Agent Rossi," said Hope. "Wasn't gonna pass that up for anything."
"That's how my future wife does it," said Bobby. "Goes for the top and doesn't let anyone stand in her way."
"I'd actually like to marry you when this is all over so watch your back," said Hope.
They began kissing again until Rossi kicked Bobby, causing the couple to separate. Bobby had to drag Hope away before she could kick Rossi in the groin.
"You can maim him later, he has to go on the raid with Agent Hotchner and I," said Bobby.
CRIMINAL MINDS
Katherine and Angie entered the South Side Mall and went into various stores to try on clothes.
As they walked from one store to another they passed a portion of the mall that was under construction.
CRIMINAL MINDS
Myers had just finished setting the bomb when he heard someone approach him from behind.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed it was one of the security guards he had seen walking around the mall last night when he had slipped inside with everything he had needed to blow this building sky high.
After all, there was a restaurant near one of the side entrances that served alcohol. He couldn't let that go and that security guard was about to ruin everything.
Myers turned around and stabbed the guard.
As he pulled the knife out and the guard slumped to the floor dead, he saw the girl looking at him. She appeared to be eleven or twelve and had long brown hair in a ponytail.
She was staring straight at him, her mouth open in an O of horror.
Myers realized the girl had seen everything. He would have to find her and make sure she never left the mall. For now, he would drag the body out of sight of the rest of the shoppers.
CRIMINAL MINDS
"Mom! Mom!" said Angie. "Someone stabbed and killed a guy!"
She pointed where she'd seen everything happen. There was nothing there.
"Angela Dahlia Rossi, stop making stuff up," said Katherine. "I know you don't want to be here, but we need to check two more stores. Two more, and then we can leave."
"Promise?" said Angie.
"Promise," said Katherine.
Rows of houses, all bearing down on me
I can feel their blue hands touching me
Rossi, Hotch, and Bobby arrived at Myers' house and split up to find him. They didn't find Myers, but they did find what appeared to be the room he had constructed the bombs in. The bomb squad was picking up large amounts of C4, possibly from a bomb that had been planted at a new location.
The agents and Bobby found newspaper clippings of the car accident that had claimed Bailey's life, and the boating accident that had killed Svetlana's brother. Clippings of other accidents caused by drunk driving were also present, along with restaurants that had gotten citations for serving alcohol to minors.
Clippings of the restaurant bombings and the movie theater hoax were also present, along with the blueprints for each.
That was when Rossi noticed a blueprint that didn't have a newspaper clipping next to it. Instead, the date for the coming Saturday was crossed out and today's date had been penciled in.
"It looks like he downloaded these from the internet," said Hotch. "They're still detailed enough that he can use them."
Bobby came up behind them and looked at the blueprint.
"Shit!" said Bobby. "That's the South Side Mall! We gotta get down there before whatever he rigged blows the building straight to hell!"
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
Angie stood near the entrance to the dressing rooms waiting for her mother to come back when someone grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. She saw the man's hair and realized it was the same guy she'd seen murder the security guard. Thinking fast, she bit his hand and tried to run.
The man was quicker. He grabbed Angie's hair with one hand but she didn't stop struggling until she felt something else – the cold end of a revolver's barrel against her hair.
"You pull a stunt like that again I'll shoot you in front of your mother," said Myers.
"What do you want?" Angie whispered.
"To escape the cops, and you're going to help me," said Myers.
He got Angie onto an elevator that went all the way down to the parking garage, this time holding the gun to her side so it wouldn't be as noticeable by passersby. As they walked, Angie looked around.
"Don't bother trying to escape," said Myers. "This gun has six bullets in it and I don't miss."
And fade out again and fade out
Katherine went back to the spot near the dressing rooms she had had asked Angie to wait at while she put some dresses away.
She couldn't see Angie anywhere.
She contemplated calling Dave, but she knew he'd chew her out for allowing Angie to go missing.
Missing? How did Katherine even know that? Maybe Angie had gotten annoyed and run off… No. Angie didn't behave like that and something told Katherine that her daughter was in danger.
This machine will, will not communicate
These thoughts and the strain I am under
They walked a short distance to another elevator. Myers pressed the button for the third floor, wanting the elevator at the top floor and the mall was only three stories. He pressed a button to jam the elevator then shot the button out to make sure the elevator was permanently stuck and that Angie wouldn't be able to escape.
"Don't even bother calling for help," said Myers. "They haven't installed the radio system yet."
He then left the elevator through a hatch. When he was out, he closed the hatch and made sure it was locked before crawling into the hatch of another elevator and making his way back to the mall.
CRIMINAL MINDS
Katherine was running through the mall calling Angie's name when she literally ran into a man walking the opposite path she was.
"Have you seen my daughter?" said Katherine.
She took Angie's picture out of her wallet.
"She looks like this," said Katherine.
"Yeah I have," said Myers. "I'll take you where I saw her, she was in the electronic store and you can't get in through the front because they're doing construction in the front. There's a back entrance outside."
Katherine nodded and left with Myers.
Be a world child, form a circle
Before we all go under
Angie looked around. There were windows in the elevator, so she could see outside. She realized she was on the side of the mall undergoing construction. She could hear power tools and saw steel beams protruding from the building.
As she looked around the elevator, she realized the man who had kidnapped her hadn't been lying. The radio system wasn't installed yet. There was simply a hole in its place.
Angie was about to bang on the windows when she saw something in the hole that looked like a phone. She pulled it out. It was a two-way radio.
She tried turning it on and realized it worked so she quickly changed the channel to the one she knew the Chicago PD used.
And fade out again and fade out again
Myers led Katherine outside to the parking lot in front of the mall.
"She wouldn't come out here! What did you do to her?" Katherine yelled.
She tried to slam him against a car, but Myers stabbed her in the heart.
"I… I hope he kills you…" Katherine whispered.
Myers pulled the knife out as Katherine breathed her last and tossed her body to the ground. Hearing sirens, he ran.
Cracked eggs, dead birds
Scream as they fight for life
I can feel death, can see its beady eyes
Rossi, Hotch, and Bobby sped into the South Side Mall parking lot and jumped out of the car. Bobby jumped out so fast he forgot to take the keys out of the ignition.
"How much time do we have?" said Hotch.
"I don't know," said Rossi. "Bomb squad can't disable it even if we find it. Our best bet is to evacuate as many people as we can."
"Shit!" said Bobby. "We have a body!"
The three of them ran over and realized in horror it was Katherine.
"Damnit!" said Bobby.
As Rossi walked towards the patrol car to call his parents and notify them of Katherine's death, his two-way crackled.
"Can anyone hear me?" said a voice. "A – a man kidnapped me and locked me in an elevator on the third floor of the South Side Mall. I – I'm trapped and I can't get out."
Rossi felt the color drain from his face. He knew that voice. It was Angie.
"Angela? Is that you?" said Rossi.
"I'm sorry, Uncle David. I – I know you're busy, trying to catch the guy who killed Dad," said Angie.
This couldn't be happening. Not again. Eighteen years had passed since he lost James.
No. Not Angie. He couldn't lose Angie too.
"I'm never too busy for you, Angie," said Rossi. "Y – you've meant more to me than the BAU since the day you were born."
He got into the car, shut the door, and thanked the big man upstairs that Bobby was stupid enough to leave the key in the ignition.
"I'm in the parking lot. Tell me where you are, I'm coming," said Rossi.
"Side where they're doing construction on the mall. The elevator has windows, I'll be able to see you," said Angie.
He hit the gas and sped around the corner, not caring that Bobby and Hotch were chasing him on foot.
As soon as he got to that side of the mall, he jumped out of the car. The two-way went off.
"I see you!" said Angie.
He looked up and was able to see her. He also saw a crane with a bucket attached to it. All he had to do was flash his credentials at the guy operating it and get hoisted up there.
"I'm going to get you out of there," said Rossi.
He immediately walked towards the crane.
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
Suddenly a huge explosion reverberated throughout the entire mall.
Rossi, Hotch, and Bobby were thrown several feet. Rossi's two-way landed a few inches away from him.
An elevator stopped at the third floor of the mall plummeted all the way down to the parking garage and crash landed after its cables snapped during the explosion.
And fade out again and fade out again
It didn't take long for Rossi to come around.
When he did, he saw that the bomb Myers planted had been enough to reduce the mall to rubble. Only a small part of the building was still standing.
It wasn't the part where he had spotted Angie.
That entire side was gone, and fires had sprouted up in its place. He found his two-way and grabbed it.
"Angie? It's me," said Rossi.
The two-way was silent. Knowing that she was possibly hurt or worse was killing him.
All he wanted was an answer.
"Angie! Please answer, I need… I need to know that you're okay," said Rossi.
She never answered.
Song is Street Spirit (Fade Out) by Radiohead. Translation for what Rossi said in the beginning is 'Who does evil, is never short of excuse.'