Stronger in the Storm (Sequel to We Found Love In A Darker Place)

Chapter 6 - Rain Like This

When we stepped off of the plain, it was pouring down rain. It was a good thing I had grabbed my umbrella before leaving the house. I had a feeling it was going to rain like this for days.

"Alright, Rossi and J.J. you head to the morgue, see if there is anything specific about the killings, look for a signature; Morgan and Jones, you head to the park and get a feel for what the area is like; Reid and Emily, you are with me, we are going to go visit the families, see if they knew each other." Hotch said, as the black Chevy Suburbans pulled up.

Reid grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him in a tight hug. "I love you." He whispered, before letting me go and climbing in with Hotch and Emily.

Derek put a hand on my shoulder. "It's ok. We're going to find this son-of-a-bitch before he can hurt anyone else." He turned and got into the passenger set and I got into the back. The local police had brought us the SUV and we're taking us back to the station to drop them off.

When the officer got out, Derek got into the drivers side, but I stayed in back. He drove to a park that sat pretty close to the road, in a high population area. "He either worked at night, or he is quick." I said, noticing the many people who were driving by and around the park.

"Yeah, he must know what he is doing, and probably wanted us to find the bodies. There was no way someone wasn't going to find them here." Derek said.

"What's that?" I asked Derek, noticing something that looked like a black duffle under the slide.It had stopped raining for the most part, which I was particularly thankful for, and it made it easier to see. I walked over to the slide and bent down. Sure enough, it was a black duffle bag. I pulled out gloves from my bag and put then on, dragging the bag in front of me.

"What is it?" Derek asked, standing over my shoulder.

I quickly unzipped the bag and my jaw nearly hit the floor. I could not believe my findings. "It's duck tape, rope, name tags. Everything he would of used. So, that means he must of done this here, right?" I asked.

"Or he dropped it off when he dropped them off. He could of just wanted to get rid of anything tying him to the case. Which also means he is either done or will just get more supplies as needed." He said. He pulled out his phone, which was ringing and answered it. "Yeah, we're on our way."

"What's up?" I asked him. He looked as if something horrible had just happened and I was about to be dead center of it.

"Well, he did drop his stuff, but he isn't done. Another body was just found. It had Garica's name on the tag." Derek said. I quickly grabbed the bag and followed behind him, throwing the bag in the back seat.

Morgan started the SUV and hit the gas. The new play ground that was picked was just around the corner, a few blocked away. When we pulled up, everyone was already there. "Same M.O.?" I asked, walking up to the group.

"Yes. The others were strangled and had a few broken ribs. As of the looks of it, it looks like the same thing happened here." Emily said, trying to sound calm.

"But, there was one thing different at this one. A note was placed in the mouth." Hotch said, handing me the evidence bag.

I took it reluctantly and quickly read over it. "What does it say?" Derek said.

"Glad you could finally join me. This is going to be an eventful chase. See you soon my friends." I said, reading it outloud.

"This guy isn't going to stop until we catch him. Pure psychopath." J.J. said.

"That is without a doubt true. He is showing signs of basically wanting to play a game of chase. So what do we do Hotch?" Spencer asked.

We all turned to Hotch, waiting on an answer. "We play." He said.