𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟔𝟖

"𝙵𝚊𝚝𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘴
𝕥𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥

LOUD SIRENS BLARE as Emily rides in a SUV with Rossi. They are on their way to one of the three addresses they found through a clue from the Reaper.

George Foyet was the ninth victim of the Reaper and the only survivor.  When Foyet was attacked by the Reaper, he was on a date with a girl named Amanda — she was not so lucky.  After the attack, Foyet gave the police a sketch, but it gave them no leads.

The Reaper sees himself as a symbol of fate.  With Foyet being his only survivor and not having been served his fate, the Reaper haunts him to this day.  Foyet's glasses were left on the crime scene that brought the team in and was found to be off the grid when Garcia searched for him.

After talking to Roy, who published a respectable book about the Reaper, Aaron team was able to find Foyet.  He was living under an alias and in a small apartment.  He was scared deep down, having cut all ties in his life and forever hiding to stay off the murderer's radar.

While claiming no one can keep him safe, Foyet reluctantly handed over his other addresses and aliases.  That very night, seven bodies were found shot and stabbed on a city bus.  The words "no deal" with three numbers were found drawn in blood on the windows as well as his symbol on the windshield.

The numbers were the addresses of all of Foyet's aliases.  Splitting into three teams, the BAU sped to the addresses, hoping to find Foyet or at least a clue to bring him to safety.

Rossi flies over a bridge and rolls up next to a house. He slams on the breaks and Emily immediately jumps out of the car with her gun lowered to her side. They walk up to the door and Emily opens it with Rossi's signal.

They stealthily make their way around the home and scour every room. It is completely empty and they are left with nothing to search.

"We got nothing," Reid says into the headset.

"Same here," Rossi replies, "Have you heard from Morgan?"

At the third address, Morgan lays on the grass, having just been thrown through a window. He remains on his back, the cold feeling of the barrel of a gun on his cheek. He falls unconscious, not moving and injured from the impact.

The radio silence from Morgan kills Emily. She waits and paces around the room, hoping to hear Derek's voice in her earpiece at any second.

But it never comes.

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥

"Noah!" Jess exclaims as she runs through the open front door. She jumps down the steps of the porch and sees Noah in the driveway.

"Noah, wait!" The blonde shouts, "What do you wanna say to me?!"

"I—" Noah opens her mouth, but Jess corrects her before she can even speak.

"And don't tell me it's that you're going through a lot," Jess says before Noah can lie, "That may be part of it, but there's more and I know it."

"I can't—" Noah says as she holds in her tears.

"Noah—" Jess tries to stop her, but struggles as Noah continues to walk down the driveway, "Stop!" The blonde shouts, making Noah stop.