The Good, The Bad, And the Girl Stuck In The Middle

Chapter Nine

DEREK POV

"Louise Jones! FBI! Open up!" I called after banging on the door. I looked to JJ and Reid before kicking the door down. We all went our seperate ways and I continued into the back room and up the wooden stairs. The second story was completely dark and all of the doors were shut. I entered the first room. The walls were dark blue and there was a wooden bed in the center with a bed set matching the walls. There was a tv against the opposite wall with a gaming system. And lacrose sticks were against the corner. This had to have been Declan's room. I made my way across the hallway and through the next door. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a body. Louise. The cause of the death was obvious. One quick and efficient blow to the head, execution style. I holstered my gun and angrily punched the nearest wall.

"Damn it!" I yelled.

"Morgan!" The sound of Reid's voice was paired with the banging of him and JJ running up the stairs.

"Are you okay? Did you find him?" Yelled JJ. When they entered the room, they both froze, petrified looks covering their faces.

"D-did you find Declan?" Reid asked.

"There's no sign of him," I answered as I brushed past both of them.

Right now I wished I was anything but a profiler. Because being a profiler meant I knew Doyle's pathology. That I knew the odds. But even though I am a profiler, I'm also Emily's friend, and as her friend, I knew that that woman had a habit of beating the odds. And that's what gave me hope.

"What happened in there?" Hotch asked once I was outside and standing by him and Rossi.

"Louise is dead, but there's no sign of Declan, or Emily," I answered.

Hotch looked away for a second, "Do you think it was Doyle?"

"She was killed efficiently, which is consistent with a group mercenaries," I said.

"Meaning Doyle's probably long gone," concluded Rossi.

"So what do we do now?" Asked JJ and she and read approached us.

"What do you think? We keep tabs on Doyle, his aliases, and his contacts," I answered a little more sharply than intended.

Hotch shook his head, "Doyle's probably already left the country, and unfortunately we don't have the authority nor the resources to launch an international investigation."

"So what? We just pretend this didn't happen?" I snapped.

"I don't think so..." said Rossi. "We profiled that people are disposable to Doyle, right? So why haven't we found a body? Even if he didn't kill her in Boston, Prentiss serves no purpose to him. So why not leave her here with Louise?"

"We're missing something," said Hotch.

Rossi nodded.

"Do you think she's still alive?" I asked, trying to hide the desperation in my voice, to no avail.

"Morgan, can I talk to you?" Hotch asked, walking away from the group.

I reluctantly followed.

"Hotch, I don't need a lecture-" I began.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "Because, if not-"

"Okay?" I asked, "What the hell do you mean 'am I okay?' Emily is gone and it seems like I'm the only one who's trying to help her!"

"Morgan, I know this is hard on you, but it's hard on the rest of us," Hotch said.

"No, Hotch! You don't get it!" I argued. "I-I was mad at her!" I felt my voice soften and crack towards the end of the sentence, but I kept going, "I was mad at her. I blamed her. I thought she didn't trust us. But she did. And I know that. But I need her to know that."

Hotch looked at me sympathetically. "She does."