My Broken Valentine

Derek slowly backed away from the door and turned to face the man, who was still struggling to regain his breath, the rod still in his hand; anger flashing in his eyes. Derek had to admit that the only way to keep Penelope safe was to remain a prisoner.

“Now, get over here!” Paolo ordered.

Derek, keeping his eyes on the man did as he was told. The rod in his hand was now being used to help the man get to his feet.

“You’re going to pay for what you did! My stupid brother screwed up, but I won’t!”

“Look, just let her go, I’ll stay I won’t try to escape.”

Paolo approached Derek as he reached into his pocket pulling plastic ties from his jacket. Then without warning, he jabbed the rod into Derek’s midsection; a jolt of electricity sent him to his knees in pain.

“AHHH!” he screamed.

Paolo hit him again for good measure.

“AHHHH! Okay, okay!”

“Show me your hands, show me your hands!”

BAU Headquarters – Late Afternoon –

Both Sam and Savannah had been brought to the Federal building under protest. Now each sat in separate rooms clueless as to why. The team split up to question the two people who’d both been involved with their missing friends.

Savannah watched as JJ and Hotch stepped into the room. She couldn’t help but see the suspicion in their eyes as they both sat across from her.

“Listen, I need to get home to my son. Why am I here?”

“Savannah, when was the last time you spoke with Derek?” JJ asked.

“What? Derek, why?”

“Answer the question; when did you last speak with Derek?” JJ repeated.

“I-I called him yesterday, I wanted to meet with him...to apologize...in person...”

“Apologize for what?” JJ continued.

“I wanted to apologize for everything I’d done; for closer, I guess I’m not sure.”

“Savannah, Derek is missing,” Hotch began.

“So is Penelope,” JJ added.

“What? Oh my god; maybe they ran away together.”

“You don’t think that’s a possibility, do you?”

“I told you everything I know!” Sam yelled.

Reid and Dave exchanged looks before waiting for the man to calm down.

“Look, Sam, you said you thought that Penelope was going to break up with you,” Hotch started.

“That’s right, she’s been distant, and it seems like she’s been avoiding me.”

“I’m sure that upsets you,” Reid added, “enough to hurt her?”

“I DIDN’T HURT PENELOPE!”

Home of Savannah Hayes – Evening –

Hotch and JJ had allowed Savannah to call home and thankfully, Della agreed to stay as long as she needed her to watch DJ. Della’s plans were dangerously at risk; her brothers were getting impatient and hungry. It was nearly seven when Savannah walked through the door. Della saw the look of confusion and fear in her eyes.

“What happened?” Della asked.

“Derek’s missing! The BAU thinks I had something to do with it!”

“What? That’s crazy! You wouldn’t hurt him.”

“That’s what I told them, but they didn’t believe me.”

“Now what?”

“Look Della, thank you for watching DJ. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Savannah you and DJ are like family and anything, anytime you need me, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Della. Thank You!”

BAU Headquarters –

“Do you believe them?” JJ asked as they headed toward the elevators.

“Yes, I believe them,” Hotch answered. “Neither Savannah or Sam have anything to do with Derek and Penelope’s disappearance and that scares me more than anything.”

“Me too, because that means we’re no closer to finding them then we were when we started,” added Rossi.

Skid Row Abandoned Building – Evening –

Paolo had kept his word; he’d made Derek pay for his escape attempt. It was getting late, and his body bore the bruises of being kicked and punched while once again bound. Silently, he swore to kill the younger man and whoever was working with him once he was free again.

“How long are you planning to keep me here?”

Before Paolo could answer, the door opened and in walked the young woman who’d brought him here the day before.

“As long as it takes to teach you where you belong.”

“Well, right now I belong at home sleeping in my own bed.”

Della pulled her cellphone from her pocket.

“I need to show you something.”

Then shoving the phone in Derek’s face, she waited for his reaction.

“You sick...what happened to her? What did you do?”

“It’s not what we did, it’s what we will do if you don’t do as you’re told. Besides, she’ll be fine...in time,” she chuckled.

Derek struggled against the new restraints around his wrists and ankles.

“What do you want? Whatever it is, just don’t hurt her!”

“It’s time for you to go home, back to your family, back to Savannah and your son!”

“I don’t have a son and Savannah and I are divorced!”

“You took vows; to death do you part, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“You need to make this right! You need to go back and make your family whole again!”

“Savannah cheated and had a child by another man, I think she’s the one who broke our vows.”

“You broke her heart, that’s why she did what she did! You flaunted your feelings for another woman in her face!” She screamed.

“That’s not true. I tried to make my marriage work.”

“LIAR!”

Della began to pace the room to calm her nerves. Paolo looked on worriedly.

“Sis, are you okay? Why not let me kill them both and we can cut our loses.”

“No, no, that’s not the plan. We have to save Savannah’s family.”

“How do you plan on pulling this off? I’m an FBI agent, my friends will be looking for both of us! This is crazy, you’re crazy if...”

Paolo sent his foot into Derek’s midsection silencing him.

“See, see, let’s just kill them! No one will know we had anything to do with this!”

An eerie determination came over Della as she turned to face the two men.

“No, I’m not ready to kill them just yet. Besides, we have a wedding to plan and Derek if you think you can outsmart me, if you try and double cross me, I’ll kill Penelope myself.”

Then pulling a syringe from her pocket, Della moved toward Derek.

“No, I’ll do what you say. Please you don’t have to give me that, you don’t have...”

“Hold him down! Hold him down!”

BAU Headquarters –

Just as the team stepped off the elevator onto the first floor, Reid stopped in his tracks. The others turned back to face him.

“What’s up Reid, we know that look,” Dave asked.

“The nanny.”

“What?”

“Savannah had to call her nanny to let her know she’d be late.”

“Okay, so she has a nanny,” said JJ.

“I remember Derek said that Savannah always took the DJ to the hospital’s staff daycare when she worked so she could spend her breaks and lunches with him.”

“So, she decided to hire a nanny,” Hotch added.

“I get it and hiring a nanny on the surface is fine, but I think maybe there could be someone close to Savannah or Sam that may be invested somehow. I mean to have both Derek and Penelope missing at the same time, just when they decide to give their relationship a try. If it’s not Savannah or Sam, then it’s somebody close to them.”

Hotch scratched his head and hit the up button for the elevator.

“It’s a stretch but right now it’s all we have,” then as the doors opened, “let’s go, it’s going to be a long night.”