Title: Torpor â“ Part 1
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Morgan/Garcia
Prompt for 30 forbidden fruits: #5 Black
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to CBS. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time.
Summary: Part 15/? of the âLove and prejudiceâ-series.
warnings: none
AN: Here we go again. I know, itâs definitely not the update you expected, but what can I say?! You know, I love a lot of drama in my stories â“ and if I can add some angst to it, all the better. *evil grin*
Sorry for the little delay, I just didnât find the time to post this, after my wonderful beta-reader was so fast again. Sometimes life just keeps getting in the way. LOL Does anyone happen to want to help me with the bunch of term papers I have to go through? No? Yeah, I didnât think so. ;) Anyway, Iâll still keep trying to update soon â“ or at least regularly. LOL
But now, enjoy this chapter.
Fortunately, he managed to avoid her for the next couple of days. Heâd heard about her reaction to him leaving the unit. At least she still seemed to care about him. Maybe she hadnât meant what she had said. Maybe she just hadnât wanted to hurt Lynch.
What did it matter? She had said what sheâd said â“ and he was going to leave the unit, run away from her. He knew he couldnât keep working with her. Not after everything that had happened â“ or hadnât happened â“ between them. He needed to forget about her, get over her, and move on.
He also knew that if he saw her only once more before he left, he would surely change his mind and stay.
So he did his best to avoid her. Unfortunately, not having her around anymore, not talking to her, hearing her voice bantering with him, made him even more grumpy than he already was about the fact that sheâd rejected him.
So soon, everyone else was avoiding him.
He didnât really care, though. Basically, he wanted to be alone, to be able to wallow in self-pity. He wasnât actually the type who did this. Normally, he moved on, looking for another woman. But this time, everything was different. He knew he would never find a woman like Penelope again.
Wasnât it ironic that the only woman heâd actually ever truly loved didnât want him? Letâs hear it for the irony of life!
When he got the call that they had finally found a lead, Derek was on the road doing nothing in particular â“ except for avoiding his⌠Penelope. She wasnât his Baby Girl anymore, wouldnât be ever again, so he shouldnât think that way about her.
They had found some fingerprints on the window to Penelopeâs room in the other hotel, but once again, theyâd led nowhere. Then Penelope had, had the idea of taking another look at the unsubâs computer, at the software heâd used to take the picture of her.
She finally was able to track down where the picture had been sent to. So only three days later, she was able to give them an address.
Derek heard her voice over the radio in his SUV, and his hands clutched tighter around the steering wheel. God, it felt so good to hear her voice again. Did he really want to do without hearing her voice for the rest of his life? Could he?
He had to. He knew he had to step out of the picture. It was better this way. Better for him, and most definitely better for Penelope â“ maybe even better for the unit, considering the fact that they werenât able to work together anymore. If he couldnât even call her to ask for information, thinking about staying was pointless.
He pulled the SUV onto a narrow street leading into a small forested area. He could see the small hut. Taking the radio, he pressed the small button. âItâs Morgan. I arrived at the house. Looks empty.â
âStay where you are and wait for backup!â Hotch almost barked his order into the radio. âWeâll be there in three minutes.â
âWait, I see a car. Yellow Lincoln MKS,â he reported. âHow can this guy afford that?â
âApparently, he earned quite a bit of money every time someone downloaded his videos,â Hotch replied.
âItâs a crazy world weâre living in,â Derek heard Rossi comment somewhere in the background.
âThereâs a guy getting out of the car now and heading for the hut with something that looks like a bag of groceries.â Derek frowned. âAre you sure this is the right place?â
âAccording to Garcia, it is,â Hotch told him. âCan you see Marjory Dearing anywhere?â
âNo,â Derek replied, sighing. âThe hut is too far away, but if I get any closer, he might see the SUV. Maybe I should try and take a look through one of the windows.â
âNegative,â Hotch said quickly. âYouâll wait for the backup to arrive. Thatâs an order.â
Derek didnât answer. There was nothing in the world he hated more than having to sit around not doing anything â“ especially when someone was in danger. He was a man of action, not someone who sat around, waiting for backup.
Besides, he still had to settle an outstanding score with this guy for scaring and threatening Penelope. She might not want him, but that didnât mean that he wasnât allowed to take revenge for her, did it?
âMorgan, do you hear me?â Hotch shouted into the radio.
âI heard you,â he answered with a sigh. âStill, I think I should at least make sure Marjory is all right in there. He might kill while Iâm sitting here waiting for you.â
âHe might kill you if you donât,â Hotch reminded him.
Sighing, Derek took a look at his watch. Three minutes, Hotch had said. Three minutes was way too long. He was losing precious time â“ time Marjory might not have.
Finally, he decided that it couldnât hurt to sneak up to the hut a little. The forest was pretty dense, so there was a good chance he could pass unnoticed. He just couldnât sit here and wait while a woman was about to get killed.
Carefully, Derek got out of his SUV, ducking behind the next best tree. His vest was clearly identifying him as an FBI agent, so he decided to pull over a black jacket, just in case someone saw him.
Slowly, quietly, carefully, much like a lion approaching his prey, Derek tiptoed closer to the hut. Unfortunately, the windows were small, and he needed to get really close to take a look inside.
He chose the back side of the hut. Suddenly, he heard cars arriving somewhere far behind him â“ at least two of them, which were probably the backup. He was still some hundred feet away from the hut, but still, there was the possibility that the unsub might have heard the cars, as well. Derek should warn the team.
He turned around, but through the dense forest, it was impossible to see anything or anyone. The only chance to be seen by his team was to step back onto the road. But that also meant he could be seen by anyone inside the hut, so that was not an option.
He couldnât use the radio, either. Anyone inside the hut might hear it. That was why he had switched it off.
So he crept forward towards the hut. It was too late to turn around and head back to the team. First, he needed to make sure that Marjory Dearing was inside the hut and all right, to let the rest of the team know what there options were.
While he moved farther forward, he heard another car arrive. It was pointless to turn around, but Derek couldnât help but wonder why there were more cars coming. Did it really look that bad? Where they dealing with more than one unsub?
No, that simply didnât fit the profile. Theyâd profiled him as a single killer, much too sure of himself to work with an accomplice. But maybe theyâd been wrong about that. It had happened before that their first profile wasnât entirely matching.
Maybe he really should head back to the team. This could indeed be too dangerous, especially if there was more than just one unsub to worry about. Was he armed? And if so, how? He killed his victims with a knife. How likely was it that he also had a gun?
From where he was standing now, Derek could almost look into the windows of the hut. But it was impossible to see anything through the opaque glass.
Suddenly, a door Derek hadnât even noticed being there flew open, and he found himself staring into the muzzle of a rifle. A rifle? Seriously? Who the hell was this guy?! They surely had been heading for the wrong address.
It all happened in slow motion. Derek raised his gun and shot, and so did the unsub. The shots echoed through the forest as deafening bangs, and Derek felt something hitting his chest, on the left side, right under his heart. He thought he heard someone screaming, but wasnât sure.
The force of the impact threw him backwards, and he landed flat on the ground. Suddenly, all he could see was the canopy above his head. For a few moments, the pain rushing through his body took his breath away, and Derek choked. Had he hit the unsub? Was he dead?
He wanted to get up, but felt his body wouldnât listen to him. He felt strange. He knew it hurt when the bullet hit the vest, but this was different. The pain seemed much more intense, and he felt something warm spreading over his stomach from where the bullet had hit him.
Had he actually been shot? No, it couldnât be. The vest was there to protect him, and the guy had shot at the vest, not at him â“ not at any uncovered part of him, anyway. There was no way he was badly hurt. Just a bruise where the bullet had hit the vest, as usual.
But why couldnât he move? And why was he starting to feel so cold? Why was it so hard to breathe? Maybe the force of the impact had broken one or two of his ribs. Heâd heard about that happening from time to time.
Heâd had broken ribs before, though, and it had never felt like this. Something was wrong. Where was the unsub? Where was his team? They must have heard the shooting. Shouldnât they be here by now?
Suddenly, he heard voices coming closer, speaking sporadically, some almost yelling. Derek couldnât understand what they were saying, though. It was like his head was wrapped in a huge amount of cotton, so all the voices were muffled.
And then he saw her, beautiful like an angel. His Baby Girl was leaning over him, pressing her hands against his chest.
Why would she do that? Wait, was she actually crying?! His vision was blurred, so he wasnât entirely sure. But he could see fear written all over her face, or rather⌠panic. Yeah, she looked like she was about to panic⌠because of him?
Something was definitely wrong here.
Why was she here in the first place? She never went with them in the field. He was certainly dreaming. This had to be a dream; none of this made any sense. It felt pretty real, though.
Derek slowly opened his mouth in an attempt to ask what was going on, but he couldnât get a single sound out. Instead, he noticed a metallic taste in his mouth. This wasnât good. He had actually been shot; he was bleeding â“ and apparently it was so bad that he was actually coughing up blood.
But how was that possible? Heâd worn the vest.
He felt an invisible power drawing him into the darkness. He tried to remain conscious, but it was getting harder, even if he had Penelope to focus on.
She said something to him, but he couldnât quite understand it.
He tried his best to tell her once more that he loved her, but he wasnât sure the words had really left his mouth. Then, everything around him went black.
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ize678
11/20/23 09:43 am
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ize678
11/20/23 09:43 am
Thanks for A number of other enlightening weblog. <a </a>
ize678
11/20/23 09:40 am
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11/11/23 07:39 pm
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Nam
11/11/23 07:39 pm
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Pari
04/13/23 01:11 am
LilP7 you can find the link to create a series under the member account page, when you log in.
LilP7
12/10/22 07:18 am
Took the plunge and wrote a lil story. Thx to Pari and all other FF writers for inspiring me to put my idea on paper (well digitally at least)
LilP7
12/10/22 06:56 am
Took the plunge and wrote a lil story. Thx to Pari and all other FF writers for inspiring me to put my idea on paper (well digitally at least)
LilP7
11/29/22 11:54 am
As I mentioned b4, I am Garvez all the eay. Though I am definetly enjoying yr MorGar (or is that Morcia?) Ones too. Reading them again and leaving some reviews to show appreciation 4 yr hard work
Pari
11/29/22 08:31 am
@LilP7 Thank you for joining and I hope you enjoy the stories :)
11/20/23 09:43 am
Thanks for A number of other enlightening weblog. <a </a>
ize678
11/20/23 09:43 am
Thanks for A number of other enlightening weblog. <a </a>
ize678
11/20/23 09:40 am
web sot online Thanks for A number http://ize678.com/
Nam
11/11/23 07:39 pm
Only aspire to mention types written content is as extraordinary. This clarity together with your put up is excellent and that I could think youâre a guru for this problem. Substantial-excellent in
Nam
11/11/23 07:39 pm
Only aspire to mention types written content is as extraordinary. This clarity together with your put up is excellent and that I could think youâre a guru for this problem. Substantial-excellent in
Pari
04/13/23 01:11 am
LilP7 you can find the link to create a series under the member account page, when you log in.
LilP7
12/10/22 07:18 am
Took the plunge and wrote a lil story. Thx to Pari and all other FF writers for inspiring me to put my idea on paper (well digitally at least)
LilP7
12/10/22 06:56 am
Took the plunge and wrote a lil story. Thx to Pari and all other FF writers for inspiring me to put my idea on paper (well digitally at least)
LilP7
11/29/22 11:54 am
As I mentioned b4, I am Garvez all the eay. Though I am definetly enjoying yr MorGar (or is that Morcia?) Ones too. Reading them again and leaving some reviews to show appreciation 4 yr hard work
Pari
11/29/22 08:31 am
@LilP7 Thank you for joining and I hope you enjoy the stories :)
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