Chapter Thirteen / Disappointing Idol

Season One / Episode Fifteen Pt 1

     Monica Choung hated when plans were constantly changing, especially when it came to something as important as her sleep. In this line of work, every moment at home is bliss and savored like the birthday cakes she had received from her team at work a couple of weeks ago, but when it was interrupted it was as if hellfire rained upon them all. Perhaps she was justified in her bitter answering to Aaron Hotchner at midnight, who said they had been called in for a case. Her alarms weren't set for another six hours yet there she was already at work with a go-bag and a determination to stop yawning. She stood in the elevator with most of the team, gently massaging her tired eyelids that became more and more aggravated due to the contacts she now wore on such dry eyes. Reid, supporting a coffee in one hand and a go-bag in the other, watched her with interest before asking in his typical rushed tone, "Is everything alright?"

     She didn't know why she hadn't told anyone about her contacts, it's not like it was a bad thing. Nor was it a deep and dark secret; sure her poor eyesight nearly kept her from joining the FBI which meant it was very clearly written in her file — one which Hotch had to of read to confirm her placement in the BAU — but it could be much worse. Instead, Monica hummed, nodding her head as she gave him a small smile, "Fine, just tired. Some of us are older and need our beauty sleep."

     "So, they've been here all night?" Morgan questioned their boss, picking up his bag when the doors of the elevator opened on the correct floor. He wore a grey quarter-zip and jeans, very casual attire from his usual baggy suits he wore though Monica realised the fashion aspect came into play by the black coat he had slung over his shoulders to keep him warm in the brisk night air.

     Hotch, in his typical suit, nodded his head, "Apparently."

     "Where else would any of us be on a Saturday night? It's not like we have lives or anything." Elle sarcastically joked, flicking her hair out of the fur collar of her leather jacket. She looked gorgeous despite having just woken up, and Monica wondered if it was because of the new bangs she had gotten earlier in the week. It was a surprising change that Morgan and herself pretended to tease but absolutely adored. Monica thought it just framed her face really well.

     "Speak for yourself."

     Monica smiled towards Morgan's huff, adding in support, "Yeah, I was catching up on some necessary sleep."

     "Guys, we are about to meet Max Ryan, the guy responsible for catching the Boise child killer," Reid exclaimed, his grin wide as his finger tapped on the strap of his satchel. The group just smiled up at him, enjoying his moment of adoration without wanting to ruin it before he asked Hotch, "Have you ever talked to him before?"

     At first their boss just nodded his head before he realized he should speak more, "He's pretty intense, brusque. Not much of a bedside manner."

     "Sound like anyone else we know?" Elle posed to the group, her lips pulled into a devious smirk as she raised one eyebrow.

     Monica laughed, placing down her go-bag on her desk though she made a point of avoiding the framed photo from her birthday that sat next to her computer screen. It was a cherished one of the entire team; Monica was in the middle with her princess tiara, the girls surrounding her with the men standing behind them. They had to squeeze to fit into the camera that Anderson held, but none of them cared. The photo from Monica's birthday was on her desk, the one from Reid's birthday was on the fridge in her apartment. But Monica looked towards Elle, raising her eyebrows as she quizzed, "Are you talking about Gideon or Hotch?"

     Hotch stared at her, lips pulled into a subtle frown which Monica tried her best to replicate as she forced a glare onto her face. Yet, Hotch had perfected the Resting Bitch Face more than Monica had and within seconds she found herself smiling as Morgan cackled from his own desk. Though in an attempt to defuse the moment he wheezed, "I heard he was forced into early retirement."

     "No, he chose to retire." Hotch corrected the ghost of a smile on his face.

     Reid nodded his head, placing his cup of coffee down on his desk. While he spoke to the BAU, he worked on organizing his desk and grabbing the necessary equipment for the rundown of the case. Monica thought he looked like a student preparing to hear from his professor, "He's written a new book on the Keystone Killer case.

     "He moved to Philadelphia to be closer to the crime scenes," Hotch explained to the group, attempting to both support the joyous behavior of Doctor Reid while encouraging a professional demeanor to it.

     Elle quirked her eyebrows, "That's retirement?"

     Morgan laughed, "Well, BAU-style."

     "It's just weird," Monica replied bluntly, shaking her head as she made her way to the coffee machine — craving the boost of energy that numbed her body. She walked into the conference room last, stirring the copious amounts of sugar in her coffee as she studied the evidence on the whiteboard.

     "Who in his mind has not probed the black water?" Reid read off from the letter sprawled along it, taking his satchel off and putting it on his seat to claim it though no one would have thought to take it, "John Steinbeck, East of Eden."

     Gideon turned to face the young man, handing over the physical copy of the letter. The older man wore a maroon button-up with a black shirt underneath and his reading glasses that aged him. "Story of good and evil, love and hate."

     "There's been some new activity on the Keystone Killer case." Monica could only assume that this was Max Ryan. He wore a similar suit to Hotch only his was baggier and older, as if stretched out over time as he aged. He must have been a similar age to Gideon, a lot of wrinkles and habits that the pair shared alluded to a similar age.

     "New?" Elle queried, sitting down at her seat.

     "He was at Max's lecture last night."

     Morgan looked towards Gideon in shock, "What? He got away?"

     "Would we have woken you up if we caught him?" Ryan questioned, a challenge of authority in his tone but all it did was make Monica smirk. Morgan gave her a look, nudging playfully though not hard enough she was able to spill her drink.

     "He handed this letter to the security guard," Gideon explained, gesturing to the whiteboard.

     Ryan folded his arms, nodding, "And he included two driver's licenses with it."

     "One is from his last victim." Gideon grabbed the TV remote, peering over the top of his glasses to see the screen clearly before looking through the lenses and pushing a button to bring images of the licenses onto the screen.

     Ryan was quick to correct Gideon, "Last known victim."

     "Amy Jennings strangled in 1987." Morgan shared a look with Elle and Monica at the softer tone Gideon had taken after the correction from Max Ryan. Yet, everything seemed like nothing as the muttering of Reid as he read over the letter, caused Gideon to turn around and question, "You found something?"

     "Yeah. What is the significance of black bra and grey wool socks?" Reid asked, looking up to Ryan in curiosity.

     "That's what Amy Jennings was wearing when we found her." The older man explained.

     Monica furrowed her eyebrows, whistling softly as she murmured, "That's an insane amount of detail to keep stored up for twenty years."

     "The Green River Killer couldn't remember where the bodies were buried, much less what they were wearing," Morgan added, supporting Monica's statement.

     "Well, some UnSubs take pictures. Print them themselves so they can manipulate the scene, and bring it to life. That would explain the level of detail." Hotch offered the alternative.

     "Does 'no fight' and 'rear window' have anything to do with the Jennings case?" Reid questioned, breaking the conversation without looking up from the letter.

     "No. He entered through the front door. There's ample evidence that Amy fought him very hard." Ryan replied, walking towards the board and studying it. The BAU watched him as he added, "No, he's referring to a new victim there."

     Elle looked at the folder in front of her, offering the potential choice, "The second driver's license?"

     "Carla Bromwell," Gideon confirmed.

     Reid finally looked up from the letter, the corner of his eyes wrinkling as he gave a determinate smile, "Yeah, there is a 'C Bromwell' here in the puzzle."

     "Philly P.D. went to the address on the license a little while ago. Found her suffocated with a plastic bag." Gideon nodded his head in Reid's direction, giving the permission for Reid to continue to study the letter.

     Monica found herself frowning, snatching the folder off Elle with a short apologise to quickly skim through the previous victims. After a few, she looked up to Gideon with clear confusion, "Why did the M.O. change? The past was strangled, and Bromwell was suffocated. Why the change?"

     "He hasn't been killing all along, has he?" Elle questioned, a slight twinge in her voice.

     Hotch cracked his knuckles, grabbing his own folder while he did so to look at the same information Monica had just studied. He had his typical stern expression while he said, "It would've been difficult to tie these new murders to the Keystone Killer, what with the change of methodology and the time that's elapsed between kills."

Max Ryan rolled his eyes as if irritated by the comment made by their boss, scoffing, "If he had been active, I would have known."

"To answer Choung's question; it's not entirely impossible for an UnSub to switch his M.O." Reid rambled, not intentionally saving Ryan from the hardened glare he was receiving from Hotch, but doing so anyway, "For example, the Zodiac Killer went from stabbing people to shooting them."

"Yes, but he wanted to take the credit. This bastard didn't do anything in secret." Ryan grumbled bitterly.

Suddenly JJ appeared, her appearance neat and proper as she yawned and hid it behind a filled coffee cup that was steaming. The team sent her warm but quick greetings while Max Ryan just stared. JJ smiled at them all after her yawn as if apologizing for it, "I'd say good morning but it's still dark outside."

     The blonde held a folder of photos in her other hand, placing it down on the conference table in the vague vacancy where Morgan and Monica sat. Instead, Morgan slid the folder towards the pair, opening it to peer at the first photo of a woman whose head was covered with a plastic bag and her hands bound by cuffs. Morgan's eyebrows furrowed as he picked up the picture, jerking his head in the direction he asked, "Who's this?"

     "Carla Bromwell." JJ grimaced before turning towards the pair of older men near the whiteboard, "Gideon, can you put on the news?"

     Gideon followed his orders, taking his time to find the correct button to change the input. Instantly a man appeared on the screen, flashing lights of urgent updates flickering within the bottom subtitles. The reporter was rambling, his eyes darting back and forth quickly as he read the news of the teleprompter and refused to acknowledge the script in his hands. "The Philadelphia Police were notified late last night of a letter that was hand-delivered to this news station. Apparently, it was written by the infamous Keystone Killer, who's wanted in connection with the murders of seven women back in the late 1980s. He also included a photograph of a woman. She appears to be dead in the photo, suffocated with a plastic bag. Now, subsequently, police discovered a body in the Overbrook area, but they are not confirming that it's the woman in this picture."

     "He works fast." Hotch scoffed as the news segwayed into less important updates. When Monica turned to face him, he was checking his watch as if to add to the insult.

Gideon, though not meaning to, was smirking, "That's an understatement, huh?"

"Meet you on the plane in 30 minutes?" Hotch queried as he stood up, glancing around at his team. Most of them nodded their heads, beginning to pack up their case folders.

"I'm coming with you," Ryan spoke suddenly, causing Hotch to freeze at the door and turn around slowly to look at him. Monica spared a look at Morgan, someone who was trying to hide his growing scowl by snatching her cup of coffee and sipping it. Gideon's head had tilted to the side, and Ryan frowned, "I'm not asking, Jason."

     Then, without another word, Max Ryan piled his files together and left the conference room. Hotch glared at him as Ryan shoulder-barged him whilst leaving. Monica watched him in surprise as he disappeared from the BAU's headquarters and into the area where the elevator remained. She turned to look at Reid who appeared slightly puzzled — so much for a disappointing idol.

     Ajay greeted the team with a wide smile as everyone boarded his flight, even offering a firm handshake to Ryan who simply nodded his head and entered the jet. Monica, the last to board, gave the pilot an apologetic smile while stating she would update him when he came over for dinner. On the flight itself, most of it was spent reading over the case file and familiarising themselves with it. That was until Penelope Garcia called with a bubbly update for such a serious topic, "Philly P.D. confirmed that Carla Bromwell's been dead less than 12 hours. She was 47."

     Hotch relaxed on the couch, gazing at Garcia through the laptop screen, "Victims are getting older."

     "That is unusual." Elle murmured from aside Reid, her fingers plucking at the folded corner of her case file, "Victimology rarely changes."

     "Maybe as he ages his taste in victims also ages?" Monica offered, shrugging her shoulders. Gideon, who sat next to her, turned to look at her in genuine concern at her statement. She knew it was wrong, every textbook she read to improve her profiling skills said otherwise but she just wanted to say something, "It's weird, but could make sense."

     Garcia cleared her throat, a look of uncomfortable spreading across her face as she added, "Her hands and feet were bound with Flex-cuffs."

     "Flex-cufs? No ropes?" Ryan questioned, towering behind Morgan on the double seats.

     "That's what they said. They're waiting at the crime scene for you." Garcia smiled at them, trying to end the conversation on a more positive note than the kidnapping of women. Despite only knowing her for a couple of months Monica knew that Garcia struggled with the brutality of their cases. In all fairness Monica could not blame her, she struggled with some of them more than she would care to admit. But yet, Morgan thanked the blonde tech before they hung up.

     "So, older victims and a different mode of binding and killing." Hotch recapped, his thumb turning his wedding ring around on his finger.

      "Do you still think his taste in victims has just gotten older?" Ryan taunted after silence, turning to look towards Monica. Unexpected to the patronizing tone from a former agent, Monica was unable to calm her reaction to the comment and instead looked hurt. She turned towards Gideon after a second, looking for support but the man was just frowning as he glared at Ryan.

      "Maybe the note just means we have a copycat on our hands," Morgan spoke slowly, in an attempt to defuse the situation. When Hotch sent him a look to silence him, the man just shrugged his shoulders and slumped in the chair. JJ, who sat beside him, shook her head as she used her hand to hide her own frown from the team.

     Ryan scoffed, "A copycat who just happens to have Amy Jennings' driver's license? No. No, it's the Keystone Killer."

     Morgan watched the former agent head to the kitchenette in the back of the jet, and the moment he was far enough, Morgan leaned over the table between the pair and questioned in a whisper, "How are we supposed to work with him? Gideon, he's not even an active agent."

      "He's here because he knows this case better than any of us." Gideon murmured in response, picking up his file to give his mind something to focus on, "We're leading the investigation, he's only consulting."

      "Anyone tell him that?" Morgan accused, leaning back into his seat with a huff.

"If he knows this case better than anyone, he should be with Garcia. Morgan's right, he isn't a field agent so he shouldn't be coming with us." Monica huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. Perhaps she was being too harsh, she blamed it on the pure exhaustion she felt from waking too early, but she thought her judgment was very valid. She knew it was valid by the furrow of Gideon's brow, he agreed with her but didn't want to betray an old friend. So, Monica continued ranting, "He is too emotionally connected with our UnSub that he is taking out his frustrations on our team."

"I'll talk to him, he shouldn't have spoken to you like that, Choung." Gideon finally agreed, sparing her a look over the case file. It was brief but said enough; he would have her back despite the history between Gideon and Ryan. Monica couldn't help but smile gently, "But he is with us. He is going to help us close this case. It's too late for that to change now."

Carla Bromwell once lived in a lovely two-story house, since ruined by the tragic murder of its owner and the intensive amount of yellow police tape warding off people. The reporters sitting outside the house like vultures to a corpse jumped to their feet when the BAU team arrived, their jackets flashed the neon 'FBI' directly into their cameras. Monica was further grateful she wore sunglasses, obscuring more of her face from the vile reporters who used the murder of an innocent woman as entertainment. The Philadelphia police force greeted them with firm shakes and sharp words, giving a rough explanation of what they found which seemed to be nothing.

So, now wearing blue booties and latex gloves, Monica Choung and Derek Morgan stood in downstairs of the Bromwell house with a frown. Yet the longer they searched the more frustrated the pair became; nothing alluded to someone breaking into the house which meant there was a reason the victim trusted the UnSub enough to let them into her house. Whatever it was they were unable to piece it together, no matter how often Morgan ran through it as the UnSub and Monica as Carla Bromwell. Their fourth attempt at roleplaying the initial interactions was interrupted by Elle, who skipped down the stairs with a large scowl on her face.

     "Was it Hotch or Gideon?" Morgan queried with a playful tone. It was often one of the pair who irritated Elle the most though never intentionally and over little things such as placement during a case or the wrong coffee order.

     The brunette looked up, placing her hands on her hips as she scowled, "Neither. It was Ryan; I seriously do not understand what Reid sees him in."

     Monica smiled in sympathy, "What did he do this time?"

     And then Elle went on a ten-minute rant about what couldn't have been more than a minute of interaction. Yet by the way she paced around the downstairs, trailing after the working pair, Monica realized she needed to get her frustrations out. Morgan often spared looks to the doctor, as if playfully judging Elle's words but the woman was so focused on her own rage that she didn't even notice. Monica thought it was probably for the better since she knew that Elle would rip his head off if she noticed. After what felt like forever, she finally breathed a heavy sigh, "Sorry, he just pisses me off."

     "Really? I didn't notice." Derek Morgan joked earning a punch in the arm from Elle Greenaway.

"If we manage to complete this case with Max Ryan breathing down our necks I will pay for dinner and drinks when this is over." Monica offered, unsure herself if she was joking or not. But the look of amusement on Morgan and Elle's faces was enough for her to make it serious.

     "The rest of the team has to be included if we do this, however," Elle said a little too quickly. Monica raised an eyebrow in her direction but before the pair could notice the blush spreading on her face she turned away to look upstairs where the rest of the BAU were, "We won't tell them why it's happening. Just say that Choung was feeling generous."

     "You reckon Gideon would quit if we told him the bet we're making?" Morgan questioned, a look of interest on his face.

     It was Monica's turn to punch Morgan on the arm, "Don't even go there. Despite whatever hatred you have for Gideon, he is good for the team."

      "Hey, hey, hey! I never said I hated Gideon!" Morgan rushed, raising his hands above his head in defense.

     Elle rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Morgan. You look at him as if he will blow up like a bomb, you're just waiting for him to spiral so you can get rid of him."

     Morgan was silent for a second, looking at the two smirking women before he scoffed, "I don't hate the guy... I just don't trust him. You two just aren't concerned for the team like I am."

     There was a frown from Elle, a clear sign she was irritated by what he said even though Morgan most likely meant it as a teasing jab but before she was able to do anything Monica decided to change the subject. She was sick of discussing Morgan's distrust for Gideon anyway, "Anyway, do we have a deal? Finish the case and dinner's on me?"

     "Sounds perfect," Morgan murmured. Monica raised an eyebrow before she held a hand out, "Are we seriously going to shake on this?"

     Elle laughed as she took Monica's hand and gave a firm shake, "Sounds like a plan."

The trio shook on the bet, smiling as they made their way upstairs at the call of their boss. The crime scene hadn't been touched at all; explaining the reason for their booties and gloves for no one wanted to interfere with the evidence. Carla Bromwell's body lay on the bed, her face covered by the plastic bag but Monica could see the startled expression. Rigor mortis had already set in, stiffening the body after its initial relaxation immediately after the death and Monica hated how normal it was to see her dead body. Not because of the FBI — no, this was one of the firsts she had seen during her time in the BAU — but because of her medical career. Not all her patients survived, that was just life.

Ryan cleared his throat, snapping Monica out of her thoughts. He looked over his shoulder as the trio arrived, his face hardening as if he knew of their secret rants about him before he held up a plastic bag with another letter in it. Morgan peered in interest towards it as Ryan read aloud, "In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present."

"He's quoting Sir Francis Bacon now." Gideon scoffed, rolling his eyes as if judging the method of their UnSub. Perhaps Monica didn't know enough about the Keystone Killer but she thought this was very in character.

Ryan nodded his head, "Yeah, I use this specific quote in my-"

"In your book, on page 184." Reid rambled, cutting Ryan off. The senior raised his eyebrows in surprise, unknown how to react. Monica knew most people felt like that whenever Reid spoke. The genius became aware of the look and gave a confused smile as if wondering why he was shocked, "I read it on the plane."

"And you remember the page number of the quote?" Ryan asked, looking even more surprised.

Morgan shook his head, raising a hand to silence Reid from speaking as he warned Max Ryan, "Don't ask."

"He says to expect another gift in two days." Hotch redirected the conversation back to the case, looking irritated at where the talk had steered too.

Elle folded her arms, frowning, "A gift?"

"Let me guess, the victims are his gifts." Monica jokingly exclaimed, stating the obvious. Gideon snorted in disbelief at the mockery in her voice but nodded his head in agreement as well. There was a moment of silence as the group thought it over before Monica felt her eyebrows knit together as confusion swarmed over, "Wait, who are the gifts for?"

"For me," Ryan muttered, looking towards the group with the ghost of his past lingering behind him. Monica frowned; this man really was going to mess this case up.

Kai's Notes !

guys its only been literal months since an update for monica but like... she is here now so who bloody cares! its a very monica and morgan episode with subtle hints of father-daughter duo gideon n moni. i love my little family <3 I've finished the dialogue for the rest of the episode which will be next chapter, so hopefully that's up within the next month depending on how much i write my other books or not