𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, aaron hotchner

VIII.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Violet seethes, glaring right at Hotch. He ignores her, proceeding to dial a number on his phone.

"Get the rest of the team down here." He orders. "Send reinforcements and any available units—including SWAT. And have the evac plan ready for an extraction."

"This all could've been avoided had you followed the plan."

"I appreciate the concern but I can take it from here." Hotch says, unlocking the door and walking out. The door slams shut behind him, leaving Violet inside.

Pacing back and forth, she needed to come up with something quick. Her initial plan fell apart since she relied too much on Hotch, so she planned around his unreliability.

Before she could conspire too much, Hotch appears in the doorway. "You're coming with me."

"You think I'm going to cooperate with your plan after you disregarded mine? Think again."

"There's no time to debate this—your life is on the line." Hotch says, glancing down at his Rolex for the time.

"Because you put it there!" Violet snaps, turning to face him.

"Your plan would have never worked." He retorts. "Lorenzo wouldn't have fallen for it."

"And yours is any better?" Violet asks enraged. "Hotch—you just pinned the biggest target on your back and you know better than anyone that his aim is lethal."

"Violet—" Hotch starts off, only to get cut off by the sound of the emergency alarms going off. Sirens wail loudly, piercing the air with its shrillness.

"We need to leave now."

Pulling the door open, Hotch and Everest come face to face with the chaos. Agents were scattered all over the place, heading for the nearest exit. From the corner of the room, a raging fire grew uncontrollably, eating away at everything in it's path.

The office was illuminated by hues of red and orange. The fire nipped at their skin, raising the temperature of the room rapidly.

"Come on." Hotch says, escorting Violet out of there. Resting his hand on the small of her lower back, the two of them make their way towards the exit.

As the fire continues to burn, grey smoke clouds the air like a heavy blanket. Using her arm to cover her mouth, Violet begins to cough from smoke inhalation.

Seven identical FBI vehicles were at the ready, waiting for Hotch's arrival. Making sure that they weren't being watched, Hotch and Violet step into one of the cars.

"Are you alright?" Hotch asks, turning to look at Violet who was coughing from all the smoke she inhaled.

"Pull a stunt like that again and I'll be the one to put a bullet in your brain." Violet threatens, glaring at the federal agent beside her. The driver of the van tenses at her words, knowing the reputation that preceded the criminal.

"I'll call Garcia to let her know about forging your death certificate. All records will say you perished in the fire, with dental records proving it." Hotch explains, dialling the tech analysts number. As he relays the message to Penelope, Violet comes up with a plan of her own.

In a couple of hours, the Kingpin would recieve the news of Violet's death. It wasn't exactly in the way she expected, but the bottom line was that the Kingpin would be thrown off their tracks.

Now, the only problem was the execution—was it convincing enough for the Kingpin to believe? Surely he'd see how uncontrollable the fire had grown and with altered dental records proving her presence at the fire, it had all the elements to be convincing.

"I held up my end of the bargain—not only did I find you a lead, the Kingpin himself contacted you." Violet reminds him of the conditions of their initial bargain. "If you want this partnership to work, then I suggest you think twice about undermining my decisions and the plans I've set."

"You want to talk about our bargain? Let me remind you again—we agreed that you call the shots, but I get the final say."

His voice is dangerously low, huskier than normal from the fire and smoke. His signature glare was piercing right through Everest, almost as if he could see right through her tough facade.

Neither of them refused to break eye contact, fearing that they'd show weakness.

"Do I make myself clear?" He asks when she remains silent. Violet wanted nothing more than to scare Aaron Hotchner into submission, but as long as this bargain was in place, he'd always be the one in charge. Biting back a rude response, she swallows her pride and responds simply.

"Yes, sir."

. . .

"TELL ME YOU HAVE HER." The Kingpin says, staring at his crew before him. A glass of brandy was in his hand as he leaned further back into his velvet chair, waiting for their answer. When no sound escapes their lips, he throws the glass at them without warning.

They flinch as the wall shatters the glass behind them, sending pieces of glass flying.

"They had an evacuation team in place. They were gone before we could step in." One person tries to justify their failures, only to anger him more. In the matter of seconds, the Kingpin had unsheathed his gun and shot him in the head. The others beside him stand still, not wanting to be the next target.

"I don't want fucking excuses." He says, rubbing his chin. "I gave you an order—find Violet Everest and bring her to me alive."

A man, standing in the doorway interrupts. "That's not going to happen."

The Kingpin turns to see who interrupted him. It was Dante, his security detail or as Violet put it 'the Ace of Diamonds'.

"She's dead." Dante says bluntly, showing no emotion. Seeing the surprise flash on the Kingpin's face, he explains what happened.

"That fire your goons set? It killed her. The body was burned beyond recognition, but her dental records proved that it was her."

That was all it took for the Kingpin to lose it. Unleashing his anger on the men standing before him, the sound of gunshots firing drone out the silence. One by one, they fall to the ground.

There was no mercy in their execution.

"I'm sorry." Dante tells the distressed Kingpin, watching as the life drained out of them as their blood spilled onto the ground.

The Kingpin's jaw clenched. His expression was unreadable but Dante knew him well. Underneath, there was a fury waiting to be unleashed. Violet Everest was a different entity—one that the Kingpin felt ownership over.

She was his and only his to destroy.

After a couple moments of calculated silence, the Kingpin finally reached his decision. Dante knew that expression by heart. It was a look that meant destruction and chaos.

Almost like an omen of death.

The Kingpin breaks his silence, his tone as steady as his aim.

"Bring me Aaron Hotchner."

. . .

HI BESTIES

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've been super busy lately, so finding time to write has been challenging.

I'm super excited for you to see how this story unfolds! It's taking a bit longer to put out these chapters because I hate filler chapters and want to make this story the best it can be.

FOLLOW, VOTE, & COMMENT <3