A/N: Sorry to make you all wait for this next chapter. Plot bunny hopped away from me for a few days. He's back now, though...so here's the next chapter!
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"Morgan, NO!" Reid clumsily knocked the gun out of Morgan's grip. "Garcia wouldn't want this, Morgan. Think about Garcia!"
"I AM thinking about her, kid! You think I can think of anything else? You and I both know that after 5 days, the only way I'm getting her back is in a body bag. You saw that picture! She's gone, Reid. She's..." his voice cut off on a sob.
"Listen to me, Morgan. We are going over the photo in detail. Why would the UNSUBs taunt you like this, only to kill her? It doesn't make sense. I...I think she's alive, Morgan."
Morgan picked up his head, tears running unabashedly down his cheeks. "Reid, don't play me, man. The odds are not in her favor...or mine. That picture...it's just the proof that she...she suffered."
"Morgan, you have to promise me...until we find a body don't give up hope."
Morgan gave a short humorless laugh. "Funny, that word...hope. It goes right along with solace, kindness, peace, beauty...those are all missing without her here, Reid. I want her back. I...I need her back."
"I know, Morgan. I need her too. We all do. We're going to find her." Reid awkwardly hugged Morgan.
Morgan latched on tightly, holding onto his unlikely savior. "I just... If there's any goodness, or right in this world... we're going to find her alive." He looked up at Reid. "I can't live without her, Reid. I won't. She's the only thing that keeps the demons away."
"I know, Morgan. She does it for all of us. I heard you call her your 'God Given Solace' before. What you don't know is that she's the solace for all of us on this team. She's the bright light waiting at home for us to get warm after dealing with the cold. I can't think of her gone. We'll prove she's still waiting for us to bring her home."
Morgan nodded. "Okay. Okay, Kid. Let's go look at that picture again. Let's figure out what's not right."
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"How you doing, Morgan?" Emily asked as he and Reid walked into the conference room.
"Not good, Emily. I need to find her. Dead or alive, I need to bring her home."
"Did Reid tell you? We think the picture is a fake. There's a weird coloring to her skin tone. It's not normal, it may be make up."
"So how do we find out for sure?"
"We put it through a computer recognition software."
Morgan snorted softly. "So in other words, we need Garcia to find out if she's alive or not. Wonderful."
"The FBI does have other analysts, Morgan." Rossi commented dryly.
"None that are as good as she is. Even Kevin... Wait, Kevin Lynch could do it. Penelope insisted he was second best."
"I don't think that's the best idea." Rossi murmured. "We don't know who did this. I don't want to use anyone connected to either you or Penelope until we know for sure who did this."
"Actually, I don't think we need to use computer software anyway. There is a photographer in the area who specializes in determining fake or real photography. She might be able to help us. Her name is Jessie Grange." JJ input as she looked up from the computer screen she was looking at.
"Let's do that first. We want to keep this as close to the vest as possible." Hotch stated calmly.
"I've just gotten off the phone with her. She's willing to see us immediately."
"Good. JJ, you and Rossi go to the photographer. Emily, you will try to speak to the shooter again. Morgan, you, Reid and I are going to work on victimology. Why Garcia? Why you?" Hotch rattled off instructions as they broke into their separate assignments.
"Me? Wait, why are you profiling me?"
"Whoever did this, is trying to hurt you, Morgan, by taking Penelope. You may be the target. Perhaps someone doesn't like your relationship?"
"Everyone loves Penelope. You know that! She's kind and loving. The only one who ever got angry about us being together was Kevin. But you know, he always was jealous of us. After the Alaska case, we just got closer, and he couldn't handle it. I can't see him doing this though, Hotch. He was hurt...angry a little, but not psychotic. And Penelope would be able to beat him. She's physically stronger than him, too."
"We found two sets of prints other than yours at the scene. That means there was a trio. Our shooter, and two people to take Penelope. If one of them was Kevin, she may not have thought to yell as much. And the other one could help subdue her physically."
"Did you check on Buford, Hotch? I mean, he IS still in prison, right?" Morgan worried aloud.
"I checked, Morgan. He's not only in prison, but currently under solitary confinement for having a weapon in his cell. It's not him. He hasn't even had internet or phone privileges for the past 3 months." Reid quickly answered.
"Was there ever any racially motivated slurs against your relationship? Anyone who didn't like Penelope dating a black man?" Hotch gently steered the questions back to Penelope.
Morgan sighed and ran a hand over his head. "Her brothers didn't like it. Said she should marry a nice, Catholic boy and make beautiful Anglo babies." Morgan laughed. "She told him that she'd rather have a man who didn't follow a religion like a sheep and caramel colored babies so they wouldn't have to worry about having fair skin to sunburn like she does."
"So we can't officially rule them out."
"That shooter isn't her brother, Hotch. I've met them. And honestly, we got along pretty well after that first really tense meeting. I got the feeling that they ended up okay with us as a couple. I was even invited to their family reunion next month." He paused. "Has anyone called them about her disappearance?"
"No. We wanted to keep it as quiet as possible until we were able to find out something more concrete."
"Concrete like that picture?" Morgan closed his eyes, battling back the demons inside.
"No, Morgan. Concrete like a body or a ransom note." Hotch paused. "You have to fight the despair, Morgan. I know it's not easy. When Haley...When Haley died, I thought I would die with her. But I had Jack, not to mention all of you to help me survive. We will help you through this, no matter what happens." Hotch paused again, silence settling between them. "Morgan...Reid told me about earlier. Should I be asking for your gun?"
Morgan hung his head between his arms, as he crouched down. Finally he picked up his head. "No. Not yet anyway. Not as long as there is a chance she's alive. If we get confirmation that she...that sh..." He stopped to take a deep breath. "If we find out conclusively that she is dead, then...yeah. Yeah, take my gun."
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She was scared, terrified of what was to come, but the hiding and waiting was killing her inside. She just knew if she could get free of the cuffs that she would have a shot at getting away. Derek had taught her to play along until she had an opportunity. He had also gone through a lot of trouble after Battle's attack to show her how to fight, street style. Dirty and to use whatever means necessary to survive. It was time to stop waiting. She knew the team was looking. It was her turn to do something to help them.
"Could you uncuff me? Please, my arms are really starting to hurt."
"No. Your present wants you just as you are."
"But, does he want me damaged? The cuffs...they are too tight. They're rubbing and feel really raw."
The UNSUB sighed heavily before walking over with a key in his hand. "I just checked them while you were asleep. They were f...OW!"
Penelope sat forward as quickly as she could, ramming her head into his jaw, seconds after the cuffs opened. She quickly swung her bound legs around, hitting him again in the face, using all the force she could get. She hopped as quickly as possible off the bed, trying to reach the knife on the table next to her. She grabbed it, as he got to his feet once again.
As he neared her, she curled her body into a tight fetal position, waiting for him to get closer, then as he stood over her, uncoiled quickly, slamming the balls of her feet into his testicles. As he fell to his knees, she quickly sawed away at the rope, feeling it give as she scrambled to he feet, gripping the knife.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" He roared as he gained his feet as well, rushing at her.
"NO!" She screamed and thrust with the knife, dodging with her body.
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"The picture is a fake. Ms. Grange just verified that while it is a very good fake picture, the head wound is clearly make-up. She couldn't conclusively answer regarding the bruising or clothing, but the gun shot is stage make-up. She said that the coloring is similar to that of a brand of stage grease make-up used by a local theater company." JJ confirmed happily.
"We need to check with this company. I want to find her. NOW!" Morgan roared.
"It's a group called B-Town Players. It's headed by a man named Jason Flue."
"Get me an address for Jason Flue!" Hotch barked at the computer tech working at the police department.
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Penelope gasped as warm, sticky blood ran over her hands. "Oh...Oh,my..." She gasped, then ran as quickly as she could. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, running into the dark.
A/N: So, is everyone happier with me after this chapter? :)