𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟒𝟕

"𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘫𝘰𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳

     EMILY rolls up to a local bar where her friend is waiting.  She would be more delighted to see him if his message was not so urgent — something has to be wrong.

Emily walks towards her friend as she sees him sitting at the bar.  She pulls the hood off her head, watching the raindrops on her coat fall to the floor.  She places a soft hand on his back.

"Hey," Emily murmurs.

"Oh, look at you," He greets her with a small smile and stands to hug her.

"Oh, sorry I'm wet," Emily says into the embrace.

"I'm—I'm sorry to make you drive in this,"

"It sounded urgent,"

"It's really good to see you, it's been forever." The man says with a sad expression.

"Johnny, what's—what's going on?" Emily asks, wanting to cut to the chase.

"It's about Matthew," Johnny says.

"Benton?" Emily questions.

"He's dead, Emily," Johnny flatly informs her and watches her face fall, "I—I didn't wanna tell you over the phone." He adds and sits down on the barstool.

"How?" Emily asks as she sits, feeling as though she is frozen in time.  It feels like just yesterday when she and Matthew were the best of friends, traveling the world together.

"His parents said that he had a heart attack," Johnny answers, "I'm, uh, I'm sorry."

"Had you seen him?" Emily asks as her voice cracks from the evolving tears.

"Yeah, a couple of times."

"And?  How was he?"

"He was Matthew," Johnny insists, "He was rambling, a little chaotic."

"He was using," Emily says with a small nod.  She had known Matthew used in the past, so him still being chaotic would mean he is still at it.

"I don't know," Johnny says, "Probably," He adds and looks away from Emily's intense eye contact.  He slightly shakes his drink in his glass, feeling fidgety.

"There's something you're not telling me," Emily states as she notices the signs of someone holding back.

—
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘶

The elevator doors roll open on the sixth floor.  Emily stands with a somber look on her face.  Her hair is wet from the rain, having no energy in her body to use her umbrella.

Penelope sees Emily and makes a comment about the rain.  Usually, her boisterous analogies would make Emily smile, but it feels wrong to.  Emily had called Penelope in the car to find information on a man that Johnny told her was murdered.  It could be a possible connection, but Emily knows she cannot jump the gun.

Emily takes the file from Penelope with few words.  She walks to Hotch's office, leaving Penelope wondering what could be wrong.

Emily explains the situation to Hotch.  He has never heard her voice so frail.  She asks for leeway on the possible case, to which he automatically agrees.

—

Emily pulls out her phone as she goes to the bathroom for a breather. She has been gathering as much information, not even thinking about reaching for her phone. Emily needs all the information she can get if she wants the team to take it as an actual case.