Gray Rooms Chap 1 divided

The Clues

Chapter 1

Rossi had moved to the buttersoft sofa in his office an hour earlier, but now felt that wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. He yawned widely, hunched his shoulders and then scrubbed at his eyes.

Fuck this, he thought, it has to be past time to go home. He stood and closed the folder he'd been working on. He realized he had no idea what it dealt with. Pulling on his sport coat he started out the door. He'd check on Hotch and then get out of Dodge. He didn't bother to put anything into his briefcase, he'd be back within six hours. The briefcase light in his hand he walked out of the office. He saw Hotch stretching and smiled, yep he was gonna excuse the group tonight.

Looking into Hotch's office he smiled. "Hey you going to go home tonight? I think you should take advantage of the quiet. Let's get a coffee so we can make the drive."

Hotch looked up at him as if he didn't recognize him for a split second.

"My god Dave, I can't believe it, but I think I was asleep. Coffee sounds good ."

"Yeah, I know the feeling, come on let's get out of town. Meet you at Peet's around the corner?"

"I'll catch up, just need a minute. I'll be right behind you. " Hotch stood looking around his office.

"Your keys are in the briefcase." Dave laughed tiredly.

A grin spread across Hotch's face. "Got it."

Hotch looked across the catwalk and saw Morgan still in his office. "I'm going to get Derek out of here."

Dave turned and headed toward the elevator, waving a hand as he went.

He leaned against the elevator wall, had the ride been long enough he wasn't all that sure that he'd not have taken a nap on the floor.

Walking out of the lobby he instinctively tapped the gun at his hip. The lobby doors let out into the light snow. He adored the light snow of Virginia, it was a totally different thing than the snow he'd grown up with in Long Island. It was like candy, it didn't try to smother you. He laughed at himself, romantic nonsense. But he looked up into the snow that flew through the streetlight.

The garage structure stood solidly near his building. He quickly looked back to see if Hotch was in the lobby yet. No, probably still talking to Morgan. The door to the garage structure required his badge to get into it; and that was, of course, on his shirt not his jacket or overcoat. Another sigh escaped him, he should have taken the covered pedestrian bridge to the garage. He did feel much more awake though so that helped, even if his stupid badge was nearly on his skin.

His phone rumbled and for a moment he thought he'd wait till he was inside to answer it. But as always he worried a case would have come up and he'd be late to answer.

"Rossi."

"Dave. It's Hotch I'm a few minutes behind you. You parked on 4?"

"Yeah, almost there. Don't tell me you don't want coffee?" Dave had almost called to cancel after his self search for his badge.

"No, just wanted you not to give up on us. Morgan's on 6 so he'll meet us at the store."

"Got it…"

And from nowhere Rossi felt an arm around his neck and another holding his arms down. "Say goodbye Dave."

There was no way Dave could speak. "Wha…what?"

"Dave?" from the phone.

"Dave can't talk to you now," the assailant looked at the phone identifier, "Hotch, he's busy."

Dave struggled with the assailant, but the man kept up the pressure on his throat. Dave's trapped arm tried to get to his gun, but he couldn't get it to work well enough. He was getting light headed and all he could think to say was, "why?"

"I'm going to catch the whole gang, no one will be safe from me. It's you. You did this, it'll all be because of what you did to me."

"Hotch," Dave whispered.

"You think he'll save you, you just don't get this whole set-up do you. Do you think you're my first target? No Rossi." And with that the assailant dropped his arm from Rossi's and took Rossi's gun from his nerveless hands. He held the gun to Dave's head.

Hotch and Morgan appeared across the parking lot from each other, Rossi and the assailant between them.

"Drop the weapon." Hotch called. "Let's talk about it, you haven't done anything that can't be worked out between us."

Morgan inched closer as Hotch moved in as well.

"You don't know what he did. If you knew you wouldn't protect him."

"Tell us," Hotch said calm and continuing to move in. "We listen, that's what we do."

Morgan was within a few meters of the gunman. "Come on man, it's late, let's get inside where it's warm and talk this out."

The assailant moved Rossi with him. "I will kill him. He ruined my life."

Hotch looked at Rossi who shrugged clueless of who the guy is.

"I don't understand. Do you have a name?"

The assailant looked at Hotch, "Do you think I'm stupid? Back off, back off." This to Morgan.

In an instant Hotch was rushing the man, who immediately dropped Rossi. "Down." Morgan called and fired. Hotch had his gun out and as he hit the ground realized the guy had taken a shot. Not at Rossi but at him.

The assailant ran from the garage, wounded and trailing blood. Morgan followed him into the dark and snow. Within a short period of time he lost him in the whiteout conditions. "Dammit, damn you to hell." Morgan ran back into the garage.

Rossi knelt over Hotch, Rossi had Hotch's phone in his hands. "Calling 911. Bastard took my phone. How the fuck does this phone work."

Morgan shot Rossi a look. "You ask it." Morgan took the smartphone from Rossi, slid it on and asked it to call 911.

Hotch lay face down on the asphault, his back felt like it was on fire. He turned his head to see Rossi's worried face. He grimaced with the pain then said, "this was my favorite overcoat."

Rossi's raised eyebrows made Hotch want to laugh, but he couldn't get past the pain. "I'll get you a new one. Hotch I'm so sorry."

But Hotch had lost his battle with consciousness.

Once the medics arrived Morgan helped Rossi to his feet. He had the medic check out the bruises on Rossi's neck. With just the warning to ice, take it easy and take aspirin Rossi started back into the building. Morgan stopped him. "Come on man, let me drive you to the hospital."

"I have to call Jack. Reid is going to kill me."

"Jack and Spencer are going to meet us at GW Hospital."

Dave nodded. "He said it's my fault somehow. Sounded like maybe I put him away. I don't know, the guy made no sense. But he told me Hotch was his first target."

"He told you that?" Morgan stopped. "Anything else you can remember?"

"Did you get a look at him? He held me so I could never see him."

Inhaling loudly Morgan tried to see the assailant. "White, dark hair, light eyes, something odd about his mouth, I'll get an artist to the hospital. Right now we need to be there when Hotch wakes up. You know how he is."

"Call Strauss we're going to need US Marshals."

"Rossi, listen to me, I'm going to take care of this. You just think about this guy. Anything you can come up with."

The Hospital

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They arrived at the hospital in time to already be sitting in the waiting room while Hotch was in surgery. Reid and Jack arrived, both looking a bit wild eyed and newly awaken from sleep. The driver from the FBI hadn't said anything when he arrived at their door but that they were needed at GW General. And of course they assumed the worst since the call from Morgan just before the car arrived let them know Hotch had been shot.

Jack's tearstained face made Rossi's heart feel crushed. He knelt down in front of Jack and hugged him saying, "your dad's in surgery, he's very strong, chances are really good he'll be fine."

"Coach? You wouldn't lie to me cause I'm a kid?"

Dave reddened. "No kid, I wouldn't. He's been shot, that's bad. But your dad, he's strong."

Sighing Jack nodded. "Okay. But don't lie okay, I need to know."

"What happened?" Reid looked about as pale as he'd ever seen him, and Morgan decided that was probably paler than when Reid himself was injured. Jack walked up and held Spencer's hand.

"Some guy was threatening Rossi. When we get back to work we'll start this as a case. Hotch and I were closing in and when we got close, he let Rossi go and hit Hotch who I'd just warned to get down. The guy must have been aiming low cause he caught him across the back. Missed the spinal cord, but went through a lung and out on his right side. "

Spencer released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Chances?"

"When we got here the chances were slim, but the surgeon just told us that his chances are now better than half. Cause Hotch's so strong. All that training." Morgan smiled. "That whole lean thing is workin for him."

Jack put his arms up so Spencer would carry him. And for some time they spoke quietly together. Spencer assuring Jack and then Jack would assure Spencer.

Finally Spencer sat with Jack clinging to him and both dozed for a little while. Waiting.

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The team worked unflaggingly on the case, resting only to visit Hotch or when they were just too tired to go on. But on reviewing Rossi's old cases and getting a drawing of the out to the press there were just no clues. Garcia used a facial recognition program that got no matches, but had contacted a friend at Cal Tech who ran a program with different parameters for facial recognition and his program was still crunching.

Reid was more distracted than usual, but worked at it almost as much as the rest of them. Nothing gelled, there were no further attacks, at least nothing similar. He worried the unsubs line, you aren't our first target, he is.

"Look guys, we're assuming he meant to get Rossi, but what if he really was after Hotch?"

"He was, he said I wasn't his target. But how would he know Hotch would follow me?" Rossi's exasperation bled through his worry.

"I know, I know, but he could have shot you, he could have strangled you."

JJ nodded in agreement, "He could have shot Morgan if it was just a guy in the FBI." Her phone pulsed. "It's Garcia."

"But he said it was my fault." Rossi murmured, totally not himself.

"He was playing you Dave." Prentiss frowned at her teammate.

JJ looked up with a smile. "Hotch has been responding, his chances just went up."

"I'm going." Reid said as he grabbed his coat and messenger bag.

"I'm with you." Rossi was at a near run up to his office.

"We'll follow." JJ said and Prentiss and Morgan started to gather their gear. Garcia was at the hospital already. She'd taken a book earlier that morning and was either reading to herself or Hotch.

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