Workaholic { A Criminal Minds Story }

introduction

“ This is driving me crazy.” Gabrielle muttered, head into the files. “There must be something we are missing.” She stated, not looking up at her coworker, knowing well he was also looking for any clue that could lead them to arresting the killer.
Both FBI agents had been sent onto that case three days ago when yet another child had disappeared- and they now had less than a few hours to find the poor missing boy- or else it would be too late, and they would only find his corpse the day after.
“It has to be some-fucking-where.” The other agent replied, deeply focused, as he went through the little clues they had.
This case was by far the hardest they had ever gotten, mostly because of the fact that both knew the life of an innocent boy depended onto their own work as profilers.
The silence, occasionally broken by the singular noise of files being read, was suddenly shattered by the brutal movement of Norman, who sent the box of evidence onto the floor, with a groan of frustration. “We've only got a few more hours left to save the kid. There has to be a God damn clue somewhere! It's probably staring me in the face. This kid's gonna die and we’re goin' round in circles!” He snapped, annoyed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to calm down.
“Jay, chill-” Gaby muttered as she frowned, looking away from the files as she thought. Her hands went up to tie her blonde hair in a ponytail, her face focused and thoughtful. “I- think...” she trailed off, before looking up. “It’s him.” she stated, jolting up, grabbing her FBI jacket, plate and gun as she hurried outside, followed by her coworker, as both jumped into the car.
“We knew he always acted around the town center right ? And we found that receipt, from the store, still around that neighborhood.” she started, before being cut off by him.
“Yea, and there are over than 300 people living there, we don’t exactly have time to interrogate every single one of them.” he mumbled and frowned over.
“Let me finish- that gun we found-” she went on again, being interrupted by a clear of his throat. “That gun you found.” she corrected while rolling her eyes, focused on her job. “I just checked it- and it is similar to the one those cops had- and there is only one former cop living into this area.” she finished. “We have to check it- this is our only lead and all clues lead to him. It’s worth trying  it.” she added, glancing at him for his approbation, even though she was already driving there.
If Norman Jayden appeared hesitant for a few seconds, he ended up nodding. “This makes sense.” he murmured, reaching to put on the blue flashing light. “Drive faster.” he ordered and put the siren on, as they rushed to the apartment of their only suspect.
Not even five minutes later, she parked abruptly in the middle of the road, both exiting the car in a hurry. Jayden was the fastest, and he went into the building first, immediately squinting his eyes because of the smoke. “He set the apartment on fire!!” he shouted to Gaby, just as both saw a tall figure ran the opposite way, toward a motorcycle, leaving. “I’ll go after him! Check for casualties!” he shouted over, but she shook her head. “I’ll go!” she shouted back, being closer to the exit- they had no time to lose. Jumping into the car, she sped after the motorcycle, driving the wrong way to catch up, siren blowing loudly to warn people to move away. She almost lost him twice, but as she saw where he was heading, she managed to follow, even when she lost sight of the motorcycle. The docks. That must be where he was hiding the victims until they let out their last breaths- and then he was abandoning their little corpse onto a muddy park, away from the town.
She frowned suddenly, seeing a bunch of police cars there- that meant they had found the location, and that also meant they had managed to save the little boy ! But her mission was not just saving the little boy – it was catching the monster who made him suffer hell, and who slaughtered the other ones before him. Catching a glimpse of the motorcycle, stopped on the way, she stopped the car and hurried there- the motor was not even turned off, the man had to be just there, behind one of those containers. Walking quietly around, glancing at every corner, trying not to pay too much attention onto the pouring rain that prevented her from hearing any noise or footsteps, she loaded her gun. She had seen the man- he was taller, and broader. He had have an altercation with Jayden- who was stronger than she was- and he had beaten down her coworker. Without her gun, she stood no chances on her own. A thud was heard above her, and as her eyes glanced up, she spotted the man onto the container, jumping down onto her. The fact that she saw him, gave her a single second to move, yet he was able to drag her to the ground with him, large hand into a fist that hit her temple, causing her to see stars dancing around. But she fought the dizziness, hitting him back with the handle of her gun, earning a groan of pain from the guy- and she knew she could do it. She hit him again- once, twice… three times, again and again. She kept going until he finally acted, his elbow meeting her chest harshly, causing Gaby to gasp for air, letting go of her grip onto him. The killer got up, kicking her ribs over and over, not stopping, not even when she rolled to the side, coughing blood and -apparently – curling up. Yet she was not hiding- she was checking the gun was loaded, before rolling to the side, arm out as she aimed- and shot.
The deafening silence that followed was only filled by her own heartbeat resonating into her ears, as she struggled to stay completely conscious. The man fell to his knees, looking up, his dark, evil eyes locking hers, before he fell off, head into the mud.
Letting out a long, relieved – yet shuddering – sigh, Gaby sat up, groaning at the pain coming from her ribs. It was done. The killer was out, the victims were avenged. Leaning over, she checked the pulse. It was very faint, but he was alive. Perfect. He’d live to go through trial and hopefully through a very long time in jail.
She was about to grab her phone to call for back ups and an ambulance, but Norman appeared, running over with a bunch of feds. “Hey hey don’t move-” He knelt by her side, wrapping an arm around her. “It’s over.” he promised, only earning a soft chuckle from her- as well as a wince, mostly likely caused by broken ribs. “I’m fine, don’t start going all soft on me.” she stated, as he shook his head, helping her up on her feet.
“The kid has been taken to the hospital, he is safe and will be fine.” He told her, helping her up to the ambulance, as the other feds took care of the killer. “He beat you up pretty badly- wish I could have witnessed how you took him out.” He stated, laying his steel blue eyes onto her curiously.
“I’m abnormally strong, we both know that.” she hummed as a reply, smiling faintly as he chuckled, letting go of her as the paramedics went to check her ribs. “I’ll see you later, I’ll report to the higher-ups right away.” he stated, gently rubbing her back. “Rest and heal.” he ordered softly, walking off, leaving her with the medics.
 
two days later
 
“Good to see you back.” Norman grinned over, while placing his items into a box, pretending it was normal to do so- and ignoring the look of confusion coming from his partner. “How do you feel ?” he asked softly.
“How do I feel?” She asked with a frown, shaking her head. “What does that mean Jay? Did you get fired?” She went over, hand over her ribs, as if to hold those painful and sore bones in place as she hurried to him. “Or promoted?” she asked, this time, a little more hopeful.
Jordan put his last item off the desk, smiling a bit as he held it into his hands. “None of those actually.” he stated, looking up, chuckling at her confused look. “I retire.” he clarified, offering her a smile, before placing the box on top of a cart.
“You- you what ?” she blinked, confused and surprised, before frowning. “Why? You’re one of the best agents- we wouldn’t have saved the kid without you ! And we wouldn’t have solved all those cases before either-!”
He gently cut her, interjecting. “We did most of those as teammates, but on this mission, you proved me you could handle yourself now. I’ve been wanting to quit since… since you know what. But I was asked to help form and train you- and I’m glad I got to do that- but now you don’t need me anymore.” Seeing how speechless she was, he went over, pulling her into a gentle hug. “Come on, you can do this. And we will keep in touch” He trailed off, giving her time if she wanted to speak, before going on. “I asked the higher-ups to see if you could join the BAU section, you’re gonna have a few more tests, and then you’ll join it.” Silence followed, until he broke it once again. “Come on Gaby- you knew it would happen.” he stated.
“You’re...” she trailed off, swallowing thickly before sighing, looking up. “I’m happy you made that choice Jay. I am.” she promised, giving him a quick hug, before pulling away. Of course she was mad at him- he was her only friend, only acquaintance- and he was her partner. He had been for the past five years, he had trained her, formed her, taught her all she knew- and he was just telling her now that he was living. But she was also happy for him- he would get a new start, a more normal life, and she definitely could not blame him for that. “But I- I’m not sure me joining BAU is a good idea.” she murmured.
“If the only thing stopping you is the fear of having to prove yourself, or the fear to have to work with strangers, don’t let that stop you.” He knew her by heart- she was somewhat asocial and was not completely used to socializing with others outside of her duties as an agent. “From what I’ve heard, they’re nice coworkers. I have no doubts you’ll be able to work with them, the way we worked together those past five years.” He promised her, smiling. “Try to at least. For me.” Norman added, using the tone he had whenever he gave her order.
She nodded faintly. “I’ll try.” She muttered, sighing. “You could have warned me still though...”
“So you could have dissuaded me ?” He chuckled, shaking his head, before turning around, handing her his gun. “I doubt I’m going to ever need it again- take a good care of it.” Despite being in the FBI, Norman never used a Glock 22 or a Glock 23 - instead, he owned and used a Beretta 92FS Inox with wooden grips as his standard carry gun- gun that he was now handing out to her. “And stop looking at me with those fucking puppy eyes.” He teased. “Not one for goodbyes. And we will see each other again.” he made her take the gun, kissing her forehead gently, before going to take his stuff, walking away.
Gaby honestly didn’t really had the time to proceed everything that had just happened, as she placed the gun into her gun holder, sighing. She felt so empty already- Norman had always been her mentor, like an older brother watching over her and teaching her everything. Yet she was not one to pity herself or to focus onto her own feelings – and so she brushed it off, ignoring this emptiness that was still very present. She went outside, walking out to go back to her apartment, since there was no use staying at her office anyways.

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Words : 2099
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dean xx