The Chase (Criminal Minds)

Victor Hale

"Ah-ha!" Garcia yelled triumphantly, throwing her hands up.

She couldn't stop smiling as she sent the information to the printer.

After ten restless hours of doing nothing but typing and chugging down coffee, she finally found the answers she had been looking for.

She spun around in her office chair as she rolled herself to the opposite side of the room and dialed Morgan's number. After three suspenseful rings, he finally picked up.

"W-What's up?" He answered wearily. He rolled off the couch that belonged to the Kansas Police Department and rubbed his eyes.

"Good morning, Sleepy head!" She replied and began to yawn. No matter how much coffee she drank, she was bound to crash at some point.

Morgan walked over to the coffee machine and started to brew up a fresh pot.

"It's four in the morning, please tell me you have some good news, Baby Girl."

She spun herself over to the printer and collected the pages.

"I sure do!"

"I'll go wake up the team."

...

"Rise and shine, my furry friends, because I've got some great news for you all!" Garcia greeted the team over speakerphone.

The team huddled around the phone laying on the round table as they took turns pouring themselves a cup of freshly made coffee.

"So while you all were busy snoozing away, I spent the night gathering the names of all the convenience stores in the state of Kansas," She paused as she yawned and rubbed her face with her hand. Without her proper beauty sleep, she was a mess.

Emily acknowledged the longing pause and moved closer to the phone.

"Garcia, when was the last time you've slept?"

She pulled her fingers through her disheveled blonde hair and leaned on her palm.

"Two days ago, I think. Mama needs her beauty sleep."

"Make sure you get some as soon as you're done talking to us, okay?"

"I will, no need to worry!" She answered.

She grabbed her fluffy pink pen from her desk and began tapping it against the tabletop.

"Anyways," She added, changing the subject.

"After finding the names of every convenience store in Kansas, which is one-hundred and eight to be exact, I then cross-reference them with the stores that sell disposable phones, which only decreased the list slightly. After that, I put in each phone number until I got a hit. Sounds a lot easier than it actually is. The hit turned out to be from a gas station convenience store two hours away in a small town called Fredonia. I'm sending the coordinates to your phones as we speak."

The Police Station kitchenette was quiet as synchronized chimes filled the room.

"Thanks, Garcia, you did good. Now get some rest and we'll catch up with you later." Hotch said.

"Good luck, my loves!" She concluded and hung up the phone. She felt proud of herself as she sat back in her chair and closed her eyes.

All she had to do now was wait until her wonderful family got justice for the small city of Cheney, Kansas and returned to their rightful home back in Quantico, Virginia where she could greet them all with well-deserved hugs.

...

Morgan turned the volume up on the SUV radio as they sat in silence. He had insisted on driving, but JJ told him that his driving always made her nervous, so he had to resort to the passenger's seat. At least he had control over the radio.