Light Of My Life

Endgame

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Sorry for any flashbacks anyone might have from the title. It was difficult to use.

Words: 1,387

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Devyn really hates concussions. She doesn't remember her father ever talking this much. He usually expressed himself with his fists. And he clearly hasn't lost that trait, just added on to it. But it's given her the time to take in her surroundings, at least. The room she's in is small, an old office she thinks. There's trash littering the floor, an old desk and two chairs but not much else.

"You know what I want to know?" Devyn dares to ask after her father quiets down. "What's your endgame?" Lifting her hand, Devyn gently wipes the blood dripping from her nose. "What are you gonna do, dad? Kill me?"

"Well, pumpkin," Elias sighs and moves towards her. A quiet whimper escapes Devyn when he crouches in front of her, lifting his fingers under her chin to lift her head. His touch is light, almost gentle. But Devyn knows better than to think it's a real show of affection. Still, the young woman forces herself to look him in the eye and ignores the way her lip wobbles. "There's no other way out of this."

"You're sick," Devyn breaths out, her voice weak. She'd known her father doesn't care, that he used to hurt her, but she never thought he could...

Elias's eyes flash and his hand shoots out at lightning speed to wrap around Devyn's throat. "Am I?" He questions, his grip tightening until Devyn can't pull in any air. Her own hands grab uselessly onto his wrist in a poor attempt to push him away. "Because honestly, I've never felt better."

When dark spots start dancing in the edge of her vision, Elias releases Devyn who falls to her side, trying to suck in air while coughing. Tears spill from her eyes, pouring silently down her cheeks. Devyn doesn't bother wiping them away.

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Releasing a stuttering breath, Spencer grips the edge of the bathroom sink with his shaky hand. He'd been with Garcia when Hotch called to tell them Elias's apartment was empty. His legs were under him before he knew what was happening and he rushed from her office and into the bathroom where he struggled to fill his lungs with air.

This can't be happening. Spencer has heard so many victim's family members say those exact words but he hadn't truly known how they felt until now. Thinking of Devyn as a victim makes him nauseous. He feels as if this streak of...bad luck or whatever you want to call it will never end. It was just months ago he almost lost her when she was shot. When they did lose their unborn child. And now...

The door behind Spencer opens, causing the young man to lift his eyes. He sees Morgan in the reflection of the mirror and forces himself to stand up straight while running a hand through his disheveled hair. "You okay, kid?"

"Am I okay?" Spencer repeats in a mumble. "My fiancée disappeared, was taken, without a trace. We have no leads- I don't even know if she's still alive. So no, Morgan, I'm not okay."

"She's still alive," Derek insists calmly, lifting a steady hand to his friend and stepping forward.

"You don't know that," Spencer shakes his head, voice lowering back to its normal volume.

"Reid, you can't think like that, man," Morgan rests his hand on Spencer's shoulder, squeezing when he feels the younger man shaking under his touch. "And we're not completely lost. We do have a lead. Elias wasn't at his apartment but we're bringing in his lawyer for questioning. Apparently they're old friends."

Spencer nods and runs his hand down his face before shifting his slings cast on his shoulder. "Fiancée?" He hears Derek's question and looks up again to meet his friend's gaze. He hadn't even realized his slip.

"I proposed last night," He admits quietly. They just took a new, very big, step in their relationship and then this happens. "Or the night before last I guess." He mumbles with a glance at his watch. It's nearing the early hours of the morning now. Hours, she's been gone for hours and they have almost nothing.

"We're going to find her," Morgan assures Spencer. "Now come on, you can observe the interrogation."

Wiping his face and eyes once last time, Spencer nods and follows his co-worker out of the bathroom and into the observation room. He sees a man sitting at the metal table, his off-white button-down shirt wrinkled and ruffled, his hair equally so.

Morgan enters the room a moment later, dropping a file down onto the table. Reid has no idea what's in there but he couldn't care less right now.

"Mr. Adams," Morgan greets in a less than friendly voice while taking a seat across from the lawyer.

"I came in here willingly, I don't appropriate being treated like a criminal."

"And someone I care about deeply is missing, so I don't really care," Talking down to scumbags is a part of Morgan's job he'll never get tired of. He might even enjoy this if he wasn't pressed for time.

"I don't know anything about any missing person," Adams shakes his head and sits back in his chair, holding his arms close to himself.

"What about Elias Merrick. Know anything about him?" Morgan questions, almost rhetorically while placing Elias's mugshot down for him to see. Of course he knows the man, he's his lawyer. Derek's tempted to see if or how much Adams will lie.

Adams swallows before clearing his throat, his left hand coming up to loosen his tie. Derek almost smirks. "Uh, he was a client of mine," The man shrugs with a small shake of his head, eyes staring at the tabletop in front of him.

"Client," Morgan repeats slowly. "You sure that's all?" Before Adams can even think to answer, Derek continues. "I mean, you went to school together. Had the same classes, graduated together."

"Yeah, so what? I knew him in college. Doesn't mean we're friends."

"No," Morgan shakes his head while pulling another picture from the file in his hands. "But this picture says otherwise," He places the paper down on the table, watching Adams' eyes scan it. It's older, of two young men wearing a cap and gown, arms thrown over the other's shoulders as they smile brightly at the camera. "See, that's you," Derek points to the man on the left before the one on the right. "And that's Elias. I mean, you look pretty friendly there."

"Okay, yeah, we hung out sometimes," The older man admits. "I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"This has to do with his daughter," Derek is barely able to keep the malice out of his voice when he says this, placing yet another photo onto the table. This one of Devyn. "Who I'm sure you also know. Phone records surely say you do."

"Phone records-" Adams mumbles with a shake of his head, eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, I've spoken with Devyn. I was her father's lawyer, he was up for early release, I was informing her of this. Asking if she wanted to say a few words to the parole board."

"And she didn't," Morgan fills in. "Of course she didn't. Why would she? The only memories she has of the man, her father, is of him beating her and her mother," Morgan's voice rises with each word out of his mouth, fiery anger burning within him. "Until one day her mother doesn't get up again. So you tell me why you'd think she'd want to speak up for that man?"

"He's changed," Adams insists to the rhetorical question and Derek scoffs.

"Obviously not. People like him don't just change," Morgan emphasizes with a slap to the table. The sudden loud noise makes Adams flinch. "Devyn is missing. Taken."

"That doesn't mean it was Elias,"

"Then where is he?"

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1. Oh no, poor Devyn...We now know her fathers end game. Will the team be able to find her in time?
2. Poor Spencer man. He's really struggling.
3. And Derek during that interrogation? Oof, no one hurts his little sister if he has anything to say about it.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to know what you guys think of this chapter!

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