Morgan’s P.O.V
Alex had 2 months left with her father, Desiree and Sarah had been helping her cope apparently she was getting along well with her stepsister, but she was off to college as soon as the term resumed. We were on the jet flying to my old neighborhood. Blake and I were going to the crime scene of one of the victims. Hotch told us to pick up Alex on our way through at least give her time to be with us again, even if it was only for a little bit.
We knocked on the front door and a girl with purple hair a nose ring and dark eyeliner answered the door, “hello where looking for Alexandra Stedler is she in?” asked Blake
“Blake? Morgan? What are you doing here?”
“Oh my god Alex, what have you done to yourself?” I exclaimed looking her over,
She had changed during the time she had been with her father she has purple hair a nose ring she was wearing a shirt that reached her elbows but barely covered her chest her white skinny jeans sat just below her waist revealing her four leaf clover tattoo that was given to her by Doyle when he killed her mother. But I doubt her father knew that she had also gotten her belly button pierced during the time here she also wore dark makeup.
"I'm guessing you’re not here for a hello visit," she announced
"We are working on a case and Hotch and Rossi decided that it would be good to have you on the case," Blake explained
"Sure I'll just grab my coat come in," she said opening the door fully
"Who are they?" Asked a girl who seemed just younger than Alex
"Doctor Alex Blake and Derek Morgan," Alex introduced us
"Desiree and Sarah's brother?" asked the girl
"You know my sisters," I asked
"We spend most of our time with them rather than our stupid stepfather," she replied
"So your Alex's step sister?" asked Blake
"The only person I talk to Sean my step brother is always sleeping or at school so I don't really talk to him," Alex acknowledged her
"We all have a mutual agreement to make Henry’s life a living hell and move out on the day we turn 18," the girl explained further
"Fare enough," I said
"Lidia, can you tell Henry that I will be gone most of the week," Alex asked the girl
“what do you want me to tell him,” she gave a questioning
"I don't care something that will make him shitty, like I've moved into a homeless shelter or something," exaggerated Alex
"so I'm aloud creative license," she smiled crazily
"Go for it,"
Alex rushed upstairs and came bounding back down them in a matter of minutes with her messenger bag on one shoulder overnight bag on the other and a black trench coat with a hood covering her exposed stomach. She jumped into the car and we drove away
"hey Alex don't let my family know I'm here," I said to her
"They're going to be pissed if you’re in town and don't go see them,"
"I know I just want to get this case solved first and I don't need any distractions,"
"Fair enough, so what's this guy been doing,"
"We've got three victims, all white in there middle to late 40's all had their pants and underwear pulled down to their ankles," Blake explained
"Any sexual abuse,"
"None,"
"That's odd,"
Morgan’s phone buzzed and he read the message "we've got a fourth victim,"
"Race?"
"African American,"
"Crossed the color line too, does Hotch want us to go check out the scene,"
"He sent JJ, David and Jay,"
"We have to go to the scene of the third murder, a convenient store owner,"
"Jay is here?"
"Yeah his first case with the BAU, just finished working with the linguistics department and Strauss gave him your old post,"
"Jerk," she muttered
"Aren't you two dating?"
"Yeah but he didn't tell me he stole my job,"
"Did you tell him about your hair dye?"
"No..."
"What about the piercings?
"No but..."
"So then your even,"
"There fake, the hair-dye the nose ring the tongue piercing there all fake the only thing that is real is the belly bar and I can hide that easily, I had it before I moved to Chicago,”
"Why would you fake all of that stuff,"
" because when I first came here Henry was all like no hair dye no piercings no dark make or revealing clothing no Internet in the bedrooms no phones,"
"So you are doing everything your father said not to,"
"Yep it was your younger sisters idea,"
"Dizzy no way,"
"Yes way, ask her or Sarah,"
"So how many bottles of hair spray have you gone through,"
"Only two, I have a special brand it stays for 4 washes,"
"So after you wash your hair 4 times, you re-spray it,"
"Yep, I'm just waiting to see David's reaction he is probably going to flip,"
Alex's POV
Part of me was praying the only reason David would flip is because of my hair dye and piercings and change in makeup preferences but I knew it would mostly be about the letter by now Josie David Jay and JJ would all of received a letter from Epps Morgan's will probably be delivered to him tomorrow so that means that he and Blake were completely oblivious to the fact that Epps has contacted me. but I knew that would not be true.
We arrived at the crime scene and there was stuff everywhere broken bottles burst chip packets, complete isles of the convenient store had been knocked over. “he must of regained consciousness and put up a hell of a fight,” I said entering the store
“he may have had military training, I’ll check with Garcia,” Morgan called Garcia she explained that he was in an over 50’s martial arts group and was one of the highest ranking men in his unit.
“Maybe the Unsub didn’t know he was a martial artist,” I suggested
“Perhaps he was a victim of opportunity, like the jogger,” agreed Blake
“I don’t think impulse killers leave behind a register full of cash,” Morgan said opening the cash register
“or take the security videos,” I said opening the disk drives
“this guy was defiantly mission orientated,” announced Blake looking over our shoulders
“candy and soda were the last things bought,”
“there were probably kids in here lucky they didn’t get hurt,”
“or maybe not,”
“what do you mean,”
“what if they were the reason he is dead,”
“like an over protective father,”
“ I don’t know,”
“ it just seems a little strange, the Unsub waited for the kids to be far enough away so they couldn’t get hurt if he was waiting to kill this man why didn’t he do it when there was no chance of him getting interrupted,”
We had just about finished looking through the crime scene when JJ called Morgan
“hey what’s up? Did you find anything in the alley? ... What’s it say…” Morgan poked his head up and looked around the room he pulled down the roller door where there was some graffiti “I got to go,”
“look up to the sky,” I read the words aloud.
“Linguistically it may mean god judges the victims for their sins or technically …”
“that’s not it,” Morgan cut in, Blake tried to continue explain “Blake! That’s not it, let’s go.”
The tone of Morgan’s voice scared me so I followed him out hurriedly.
We got back to the police department and the captain tried to greet Morgan but he completely ignored the welcome.
“I know what this is about,” Morgan began “this is about Carl Buford,”
I had pulled my hood over my head and taken out the nose ring even so I stared at Morgan
“how can that be Buford is imprisoned for life,” Hotch asked
“The words ‘look up to the sky’ were found at both the mini-mart and the alley,” he sighed and we all glanced around the room “it’s what Buford used to say to me.”
We stood in the conference room of the Chicago police department. We were waiting for the rest of the team. Jay wrapped his arms around me and I twisted so that we were facing each other. My hood was still covering my head he pulled the hood down and everyone gasped David looked like he was about to pass out
"Alex what have you done,"
"Oh it gets worse," laughed Morgan "go on show them,"
I slowly undid my jacket put the nose ring back on and stuck my tongue out
"Purple hair I can live with but the piercings," jay looked me over
David stared at me, " I hope you have an explanation for all of this."
"When I first moved to Chicago Henry was like no hair-dies, no piercings, no tattoos, no revealing clothing, no Internet in my bedroom I'm not even aloud a phone," I explained, this is all an act to get hank in a shitty mood so he kicks me out of his house,"
"So your re-dying your hair as soon as you get back to dc," questioned Dave
"It's actually a four washes hairspray,"
"And the piercings," asked Hotch
"Fakes," I said pulling out the nose ring and the tongue piercing, "I had the belly bar in dc and I've had the tattoo since I was 5,"
"I actually like this new style except get rid of those fakes," jay said holding me close and putting his hands in my back pockets
"Hold your tongue Jayden Parkinson," David warned and jay held up his hands in a 'I surrender' gesture
Now that the team was all in the conference and we had gotten over the fact that my hair was purple Hotch turned to Morgan "you should probably explain about Buford."
Morgan sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets "Carl Buford is an expert, at spotting and exploiting vulnerability in adolescent boys that he coached at the community center, he had the entire community thinking he was a hero parents, teachers, cops and truly everyone. After my dad died he locked onto me and he manipulated me into compliant victimization. Now you remember I got into it with that local gang banger when I was younger somehow Buford got it all expunged. And I didn’t know why a guy that didn’t know me would do that, Buford gave me his time taught me how to play football, then he took me to his cabin on the lake, I was a kid a kid from the south side I had never been to a cabin much less a lake,”
“Morgan you don’t have to do this,” Hotch’s voice was stern but comforting
“they need to know Hotch, they need to know this guy’s ammo,” Morgan replied before continuing he explanation “Buford built up my trust, then he would lower my inhibition with Helga’s and wine he called it his Jesus juice , and he would molest me. every time he saw that dead look in my eyes or I told him I wanted him to stop he would just say ‘you better man up boy, look up to the sky,’”
“did you ever tell anyone about that phrase,”
“no,”
“well then we’re probably looking at someone who Buford abused,”
“Buford ran the community center for years, he could have hundreds of victims,:”
“where is he now,”
“we got him for homicide in 06 but we couldn’t get him for the molesting,”
“let’s go over the victimology,”
“Derek, does your family know?” I asked as everyone left the room.
He sighed and lowered his head in shame, “I didn’t tell them until Buford was arrested,”
I wanted him to smile the smile I had grown to love it was a bit of a smirk combined with a laugh and a smile, I said the first thing that came into my head to get him to smile “I think that’s the best thing to do considering your mom probably would of stolen your gun and shot him herself,”
He smirked a little, “you’ve been spending too much time with them,”
“hey there a lot better than my father,” I sighed admittingly
he laid his arm on my shoulder as he lead me out of the room. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed the team. But now that they were here I figured I would probably end up hi-jacking the jet back to dc but I only have two months in left in Chicago.