Chapter 9

Derek Morgan figured he would not get much sleep that night despite how exhausted he was. He suspected his teammates felt the same way. So, after a dinner of Chinese food and non-case related conversation, the team returned to their hotel. Hotch had ordered everybody to get a good night's sleep and be ready to look at the case with fresh eyes in the morning. After bidding the others goodnight, Morgan went inside his room and closed the door. But instead of going to bed, he turned on the television to catch the late-night sports scores. With the audio playing in the background, he walked into the kitchen, opened the mini-fridge, and grabbed a bottle of cold beer. He slouched on the sofa with feet on the table, and took a swig of beer. After finishing his first, he had started on his second when darkness overcame his weary body.

Morning came too soon as far as the agent was concerned. With a groan, he winced as he wiped the crustiness from his eyes. The pounding in his head wasn't helping at the moment either. He found an empty beer bottle on the table, and another on the floor. The television was still on, and a reporter was discussing the morning news. With another groan, Morgan lifted his arm and looked at his watch. It was going on five-thirty a.m. He figured he had enough time to catch a quick shower before he had to meet the rest of the team downstairs for breakfast. He dragged his tired body up off the sofa, grabbed the beer bottles, walked into the kitchen, and dumped them into the trash. Walking out of the kitchen and toward the bathroom, he spied an envelope on the floor, partially hidden under the door to his room.

Curious, Morgan walked to the door and crouched down to get a closer look. Suspicious, he reached into his back pants pocket and removed a pair of Latex gloves. After putting them on, he picked up the envelope and checked both sides before looking at the front. His name was written out in block letters. As the envelope was sealed with scotch tape, he carefully opened it, and removed the folded single sheet of paper. After he unfolded it, he read the contents, eyes narrowing. He stood up, hurried to the coffee table, and grabbed his cell phone. He scrolled through the names, and pressed speed dial for the one he wanted.

"C'mon, man. Hotch…Morgan. Listen, I found something slipped under my door when I woke up this morning addressed to me. You'd better come and see it yourself." He disconnected the call and waited after he left the letter on the coffee table.

Less than ten minutes later there was a knock on Morgan's door. He approached the door with gun in hand, and leaned against the door.

"Who is it?" he asked warily.

"It's Hotch."

Morgan put the safety back on his glock, and unlocked the door. He opened it wide enough for his boss to enter the room. To his amazement, Hotch was immaculately dressed in a navy blue pinstripe suit and tie, and every hair in place. For a moment, Morgan wondered if his boss had slept in his suit considering how fast he arrived. He closed the door.

"Where is it?" Hotch asked, concern etched on his face. Morgan gestured with his weapon towards the coffee table.

"On the table," he said.

Hotch strode towards the table as he removed a pair of gloves like Morgan's and put them on before he picked up the sheet of paper and envelope. His eyebrows knitted together as he read the message. He examined the envelope and the print of his subordinate's name caught his attention right away. There was something familiar about the block lettering. If he could only remember where he had seen it before now.

"Anybody else seen this?" he asked looking at Morgan.

"Just you."

Hotch nodded and produced two evidence bags from inside his jacket. He dropped the sheet of paper and the envelope inside each and sealed them. He reached into his pocket again, removed his cell, and pressed speed dial.

"Dave…Hotch. Listen, I'm in Morgan's room. You'd better get here right away. The Unsub's targeted his next victim. Okay." He tucked the phone back inside his jacket. "Rossi will be here in a few minutes. We need to find out why our Unsub is targeting you right now."

"C'mon, man. This guy kills boy, girl, boy, girl. He hasn't killed a girl yet so how could he be after me?"

Hotch had to admit even to himself Morgan had a point. A female's body hadn't been found yet, although Clarissa Meadows was still missing. Was the Unsub trying to throw the team off his scent? Or had Clarissa Meadows been murdered and her body not found yet? Hotchner needed answers to these questions. But regardless, it was his job to protect the members of his unit.

Both men turned when the door opened as Rossi entered the room, followed by JJ, Reid and Prentiss. The older man jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "They should hear about this," he added.

Hotch handed the evidence bags to Rossi who studied each one for a few seconds. "Morgan found this slipped under his door this morning."

"Any idea who sent it?" Rossi asked Morgan. Morgan shook his head and shrugged.

"No a clue. It was there when I woke up this morning."

"From the looks of it…" Rossi began looking at the letter. "…Derek has come across something our Unsub didn't want seen." He handed the two bags to Prentiss for her, Reid and JJ to examine. Rossi stuffed both hands in his jeans.

"That's impossible, Rossi," Morgan said. "I have no idea who this guy is anymore than the rest of you. What could I possibly have seen to make this guy find me a threat to him being caught?"

"I have no idea," Rossi replied. "But whatever it is, our Unsub seems to believe you've stumbled onto something that could result in him being found out."

"Which is why beginning today, Morgan, you will stay in the police station and work with Reid on trying to find something we can use." Hotch's face was serious. Morgan opened his mouth to argue and Hotch held up a hand stopping him. "Or…you have somebody with you at all times and go nowhere alone."

Morgan's annoyance showed and he rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Hotch. I don't need a babysitter."

"I know you don't need a babysitter," Hotch replied. "But it's a matter of keeping you alive until we catch this man. And you won't like it, but those are your choices. If you can't decide, I will restrict your movements to the police station."

Morgan let out a deep breath and stared at his boss, hands on hips. "Fine. I don't like it, but I'll take the babysitter. I have no intention of letting this bastard keep me from finding him."

Hotch smirked. "Good. Prentiss, beginning today, wherever Morgan goes, I'm assigning you to go with him."

"Yes, sir," Emily replied handing the evidence bags back to her boss. She glanced at Morgan. "And for your information, I am not your babysitter. If I was, I'd send your spoiled butt to your room and have you take a time out."

Morgan chuckled and shook his head. He glanced at the brunette woman. "C'mon, Princess…."

"Don't Princess me, Morgan. You step out of line just once, and I'll call Garcia and tell."

The others smiled at the banter between the two. Rossi caught a change in Hotch's expression.

"Aaron, what is it?" he asked, concern for the younger man on his face.

"I have no idea," Hotch replied looking at the envelope again. "But this block lettering seems familiar. I just wish I can remember where I've seen it though." He sighed. "The rest of you go to breakfast. I'm going to drop this off at police headquarters and checked for prints although I doubt they'll find any." He tucked both envelopes in his jacket pocket. "I'll meet you at the precinct."

Rossi let out a deep breath and looked at the others. "You guys go ahead and have something to eat. I'm not hungry anyway."

"You sure, Rossi?" asked JJ.

"I'm sure," the older man answered with a smile as he herded the others toward the door. "Hotch and I will meet you at the precinct after we hand these items to the police." He waited until the others left the room leaving Hotch and Rossi alone. After the door closed, Rossi gave his friend a look, indicating he understood Hotch needed to talk about something.

"It's you and me now," Rossi encouraged the younger man.

Hotch walked away from Rossi and rubbed the back of his neck. After a few minutes, he turned and faced his friend. "I can't explain it, Dave. I just can't."

"Okay. Tell me what's going through your mind right now. You still believe you've seen the blocked lettering before somewhere?"

Hotch stopped his pacing and stared at Rossi. "Yes. But for the life of me, I can't remember where I've seen it. But I know I've seen it somewhere."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"But you have no idea where. Okay, could it possibly have been from a case we've had recently?"

"All I know, Dave, is right now I can't think about anything except Morgan. For some reason the Unsub has targeted him. And if this note is genuine, then we've got another problem."

"And that would be?"

"The Unsub will have changed his MO and targeted two men in a row, and that's if Clarissa Meadows turns up alive. His kills have been boy, girl, boy. Until we find out what happened to Clarissa Meadows, we have no idea what may have caused him to change his MO again."

Rossi pondered what his friend was saying. "What do you think?"

Hotch shook his head. "Reid may have been right when he said the BAU's presence is this guy's stressor. But I can't help feeling that wanting the BAU here is not this Unsub's only reason. But why target Morgan? What does he hope to gain?"

"What is your gut telling you?"

"That his targeting Morgan is a ploy to throw us off the track just as killing Gannon and Carstairs the same day was. Everything this Unsub has done since we've been here has been for a reason, Dave. But still, I can't dismiss this threat against Morgan."

"And you won't. But right now we have to figure out if Clarissa Meadows is another victim of this bastard. And you're already taking steps to keep Morgan safe by assigning someone to be with him at all times. But you know Morgan. He's not gonna take kindly to being treated with kid gloves just because he's been targeted. Hell, you saw how he reacted when you assigned Emily to keep an eye on 'im. You're doing everything you can short of locking him in a bank vault for safe keeping until it's time for us to go home. There's only so much you can do, Aaron."

Hotch looked at his friend. "But what if it's not enough, Dave?"

Rossi smiled at his friend. Hotch always acted as the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders. "But it will be. Take my word for it. We won't let him get to Morgan and we will catch this bastard. Aaron, you don't have to do this on your own. We're all here with you. Trust me when I say we will not let anything happen to Morgan." He draped an affectionate arm around Hotch's shoulders and grinned. "Now, since neither of us are really that hungry, how about I accompany you to the police station?"

Hotch let a small smile appear. He always felt better when he spoke to Dave Rossi. He could discuss his inner-most demons with the man who knew him and everything about him. "Thanks, Dave," he added.

Armitage sat in a far booth of the coffee shop enjoying a leisurely breakfast, but close enough where he could watch the people of interest. He realized he was taking a risk being here, and hoped the disguise he wore was adequate enough. As he drank from his coffee cup, he studied the seated forms of Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Spencer Reid, and Derek Morgan. He smirked seeing the look of anger on Morgan's face which he suspected would be the agent's reaction to being threatened. Well, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs anyway, he thought. He didn't give a damn about Derek Morgan.

His eyes shifted when somebody else entered the coffee shop, and a slow smile appeared. David Rossi and Aaron Hotchner walked right past his table without so much as a glance in his direction, and joined the four agents but didn't sit at the table. Hotchner stood talking to the others, while Rossi walked to the counter, and spoke with the waitress behind it. But he focused on the dark-haired man. To him, Hotchner looked worried judging by those frown lines, and that suited him just fine.

"You okay, Hotch?" JJ asked, worry on her pretty face.

"I will be once we catch this guy," Hotch replied. He put on his stoic face before he and Rossi had entered the coffee shop. He didn't want his team worried about him; it wasn't their job. It was his to worry about them. "Dave and I are going to head to the precinct." He glanced over when Rossi reappeared with two Styrofoam coffee cups.

"Hotch, why don't you and Rossi have a seat and have breakfast first?" asked Morgan. "I mean, the evidence will hold long enough to at least have something to eat."

"Dave and I will grab something from the machine when we get to the precinct," Hotch replied as a sudden chill permeated his entire body. The subtle change in his expression didn't escape the others.

"What's wrong?" asked Prentiss, worried, knowing her boss would deny anything was wrong. But she had to ask. "Hotch?"

"Nothing," Hotch said quickly. He looked at Rossi. "Let's go."

The others didn't speak until their teammates had left the shop.

"For a few minutes Hotch looked like somebody had walked over his grave," Emily replied taking a drink of coffee.

"I think this case is getting to him," JJ added. "Even more now that Morgan's been targeted. I mean, we don't know why he has or why the Unsub has changed his MO again. Add to that we still don't know what happened to Clarissa Meadows."

"It's more than that," Morgan chimed in with a shake of his head. The others looked at him for clarification. "I have no idea what. But trust me when I say something's eating at him."

"What's wrong, Spence?" JJ asked, blue eyes looking at the man she considered a younger brother.

Reid awoke as if from a dream. "I just realized something," he said, hazel eyes alive with excitement.

"Well, you gonna keep it to yourself or let us in on it?" asked Morgan.

"Hear me out before you say anything," Reid continued, animated now. "That letter sent to Morgan. It never mentioned Morgan by name. It said and I quote: 'I am watching you. Soon. Very, very soon we will meet,' whereas the one to Thomas Gannon said 'I am watching you. Soon, Thomas, soon.' It's like night and day."

"He's right," JJ remarked. "The Unsub never mentioned Morgan by name. If it hadn't been left under his door, that letter could have been meant for anybody."

"What do you suppose it means?" asked Prentiss. Everybody looked at Reid for the answer, and the genius didn't disappoint.

"What it means is that the Unsub is trying to throw us off the trail again by making us believe he's going after Morgan next when he's not. He wants us to be distracted."

"Distracted from what?" asked JJ. "Looking for him?"

"No. He wants us to be distracted from seeing who the next target really is. He wants to catch us off guard."

"Who's his next target, kid?" Morgan was puzzled.

"I have no idea. But think about it," Reid continued. "He stepped up his killing time to lure the BAU here to help investigate. Everything he's done since we've been here is for our benefit. He wanted us here. We are the reason he changed his MO. We are the reason he left a letter threatening Morgan which didn't specify him in any way, other than his name being on the envelope. He's after somebody on this team and is purposely trying to throw us off the scent by leaving that letter for Morgan."

"How do you know he's after somebody on the team?" asked Prentiss, still confused.

"It's the only thing which makes sense," said Reid. "If he really wanted to target Morgan, he would have mentioned him in the body of the letter same as he did Thomas Gannon. The wording of the letters is nearly identical."

The others exchanged worried looks. Then as a group, they got to their feet and left the coffee shop, passing by the now empty booth in the rear of the shop.

Armitage sat in his cab parked outside the coffee shop sipping a cup of coffee. Despite the disguise, he didn't want to risk being seen and maybe recognized. And while Hotchner was the one who had seen his face years ago. He didn't want to take a chance he might remember him. He was too close to capturing his prize, and would let nothing get in his way. Nothing or nobody. Out of the corner of his eye, the door of the coffee shop opened, and he pulled his cap a little lower to conceal his face. The four agents hurried outside and headed toward their SUV parked in front of his cab. He smirked watching the agents hurry toward their vehicle oblivious to his presence only a few feet away from them.

Earlier, he had seen Hotchner and Rossi leave in a separate SUV suspecting they were taking the letter to the police precinct and have it dusted for prints. He chuckled knowing they would find none; he had made sure of that. Hotchner looked so worried about his subordinate. Now all he could do is wait. Everything was ready for Hotchner.

Enjoy the precious hours you have left, Aaron. Enjoy them worrying about your Agent Morgan. When I'm ready, I guarantee you will never see it coming.

Hotch and Rossi had barely walked through the door of the police precinct when Detective Parsons approached them. He seemed to be in a hurry and looked worried. The two agents exchanged troubled looks. Something had happened.

"Agent Hotchner. Agent Rossi. I was just about to call you," Parsons explained.

"What's happened?" as Hotch.

"We received a tip about ten minutes ago. A jogger found Clarissa Meadows' body while on an early-morning run this morning."