My Broken Valentine

“Damn Morgan, ever the good Samaritan,” he whispered to himself.

As he opened the door, another car pulled in behind him as the young man smiled and waved him over.

“Looks like you could use some help.”

“Yeah, I don’t know a lot about stuff like this, thanks for stopping.”

Della left her engine running and quickly got out of her car and headed toward the two men. Derek assumed that the footsteps coming from behind him was another do-gooder. Two more hands would mean he would get home sooner and that was fine with him. Just as Derek reached the disabled truck, the passenger side door opened and another man, slightly larger, jumped from the cab and headed toward them.

“What seems to be the problem?” Derek asked.

“You agent Morgan; you’re the problem.”

Derek quickly turned toward the steps now running toward him from the rear. The two men were focused on him and the two cut the distance between them just as the woman raised her hand in the air.

“What the...”

Derek felt a stabbing pain in his neck, then a punch to the gut that sent him crashing to the ground. He heard voices shouting and rushing around him, he felt his body being lifted roughly from the ground and then he felt numb and cold as he slowly fell into a pit of darkness.

Derek’s eyes opened and what he could remember from the night before rushed into the room with him. He was bound and gagged and except for lifting his head from the ground he couldn’t move. He was alone and it was hard to make out where he was except for the fact that it was cold and musty with age and neglect, Derek had no idea where he was. He struggled against the bindings around his wrist and ankles, but he was unsuccessful in getting himself free. He had a raging headache and felt a sense of doom envelope him as he stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

Home of Penelope Garcia –

Sam was nervous and he wasn’t quite ready to admit that Penelope wanted to tell him something that he didn’t want to hear; her behavior was familiar and the last time it ended in a breakup. He’d talked himself into dropping by, instead of waiting for her to call. There was a car in the driveway, so he parked around the corner. His heart was pounding as he grabbed the store-bought bouquet from the passenger seat and got out of the car. He was surprised to see Penelope and another woman leaving her apartment building. Penelope seemed upset and he was almost positive that she was crying.

“Penelope!”

Penelope heard a familiar voice calling from a distance and she wanted to run to him, but Della renewed her grip around her arm and pressed the muzzle of the gun to her side as a reminder that she was in charge.

“Don’t you move or even look his way, or I’ll kill you both!”

Penelope nodded and allowed herself to be pushed into the car.

“Move!”

Penelope climbed from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat and remained silent. Della climbed behind the wheel and started the engine.

“PENELOPE!” Sam yelled after her.

“What do you want?” Penelope asked the stranger.

Without answering, Della backed her car out of the driveway. Sam watched in shock, looking intently at the passengers in the car. How odd he thought, she had to have heard him calling...it wasn’t like Penelope to ignore him...it wasn’t like her at all.

The two women drove quickly away and Penelope tried desperately to make sense of what was happening and as they drove further away from home, she committed every turn, every landmark to memory. After a while, Della pulled the car off the road and shot a scowl toward her captive.

“Give it to me!”

“W-What are you...”

“Give me the phone! I know you have it; I know what you’re thinking that your friends will be able to track you! GIVE IT TO ME NOW!”

Penelope flinched at the gun that was now within inches of her face. Without another thought, she quickly handed Della the phone. Della tossed the phone out the window and continued down the road toward the freeway.

“What’s this about? Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

“I told you my name is Della! You and your boyfriend ruined my friend’s life, and you have to pay; you have to learn that you can’t just walk into people’s lives and take, take, take!”

“How did I ruin someone’s life? What does Sam have to do with this?”

“Sam, who the hell is, Sam?”

“My boyfriend.”

“Sam, no I’m not talking about Sam, I’m talking about Derek, Derek Morgan!”

“Derek? Wait, did you do something to Derek? Is that why I haven’t heard from him? Please tell me you didn’t hurt him!”

“JJ LET’S GO!” Will yelled from inside the house. “YOUR MOM SAID IF WE’RE NOT READY IN FIVE MINUTES SHE’S LEAVING WITHOUT US!”

JJ shrugged her shoulders and slid her phone in her backpack. She’d waited for almost thirty minutes for Penelope to call back, but she hadn’t. Maybe it was Derek at the door after all and he had distracted her from calling. She knew how Penelope was when it came to Derek and after them being off kilter for the last several months, it was totally understandable that he had her full attention.

“COMING!” She yelled back at her husband.

Derek managed to get himself to a sitting position and leaned against the wall to clear his head. It was dark but he could tell that the room was small. Once again, he began working the bindings around his wrist, he had to get free before the woman and the two men returned. The longer he was trapped here, the worse things would get for him.

Della pulled in front of the alley entrance and shot a warning glare at her passenger.

“Where are we, what is this place?”

“Home.”

“Where’s Derek? Please, tell me where he is?”

Della grabbed Penelope’s arm and pulled her toward the driver’s side door and out of the car. Renewing her grip, Penelope winced.

“You’re hurting me!”

“This ain’t nothing, blondie. You just wait, just wait...your pain is just beginning.”

Sam wasn’t sure whether to be angry or confused. Penelope had been distant with him for the last several days and he’d been patient, but now her behavior was almost disrespectful. Who was the woman with her, he’d met all her friends but this woman who was no older than thirty, was unfamiliar. Maybe he should call, but he didn’t want to seem needy. Still, something was off, something was very off.

Della pulled Penelope down the alley toward the far door, then opening the door the old smell of dampness and dust hit them both. Penelope’s heart was pounding a mile a minute and squinted against the dimly lit building to see if there was any chance of escape. The gun against her side answered her question.

Della cleared a small passageway that led to another door, then fishing a bright gold key from her pocket she let them into a room that was small and dingy. The opened door illuminated the small room slightly, but it was enough.

“Oh my god, Derek!”

He couldn’t believe his eyes, it was Penelope! This couldn’t be happening, why was this happening? He increased his struggle against the bindings, he felt them give slightly. Derek kept his eyes on Della and Penelope as he worked with all his might.

“Baby Girl!”

“Ah, how sweet! You two are something else!”

Della saw him struggling, she pushed Penelope toward him hard enough to send her sprawling to the ground.

“Don’t hurt her! Don’t...”

He was almost free...Della knew it and so without another word she pulled a syringe from her pocket and ran toward him plunging it into his neck. She chuckled at the woman’s screams; she’d won again and when she was finished with the two of them, everyone would know that she had won and that she had protected her family.

Derek’s struggle slowed as the drug took effect. Penelope slowly made her way toward him as she pleaded for their freedom.

“Why are you doing this?” She screamed. “WHY?”