S.S.A Herrmann (Criminal Minds / One Chicago Fanfic)

Chapter 18

21st District Police Department, Chicago Illinois 

Nikki broke the news as vaguely as she could telling her parents and siblings that one of the people she was tracking down in the Army Rangers might be involved with the bombing the other day and for Nikki to protect them they'd all have to go into witness protection for their own safety. The agent made sure to explain to her sibling why they could contact their friends or our family or anyone to explain what was going on since it posed a risk of outing where they were hiding. 

Witsec arrived and transported her family to a safe house leaving her promising them she'd find who did this so things could go back to normal. Nikki spent the day staring at the bomb fragments and thinking about how her siblings were crying when they left sobbing that they didn't wanna go and it made her so mad. 

"How are you doing? I brought you some coffee," Spencer said walking across the room and handing her a mug staying quiet as he took a seat at the table in front of her. "Thanks, Spence," she replied gratefully as she took a sip of the coffee. "I'm gonna be better when we find whoever this is so my family can go back to living their lives..." Nikki said with a deep huff as she shook her head. "I'll be better when this is over," she added in a monotone cold tone as she stared at the coffee in her mug zoning out. 

Nikki thought about what she'd do when they caught the bomber, she wanted to put a bullet in her skull for being near her family and especially for impacting their lives over a score she had with Nikki. Spencer sat there watching the agent's behavior as she spoke staring off. In the few months he'd known Nikki he'd never seen her so... distant and cold, like she was here but she was also absent minded but not in a distracted way. More hyper focused than anything, reminding the doctor of a lynx, cheetah, or lion's stare once it locked on its prey, its mission. He could see how she was focused enough to be an extraordinary sniper. 

Nikki stayed silent as she took a few sips of her coffee when Mouse and Garcia practically ran into the room. "So Mouse and I did some spunking through flight records, and cross referencing woman in Afghanistan around the same time you were, then we looked into woman that flew into Chicago recently and we got a hit," Garcia said as the whole team walked in including the CPD detectives and Sargant Voight. 

"Sofia Kiev, 35 born and raised in Russia until a bomb went off in the store under her family home killing her entire family she somehow survived and got thrown in the foster care system where we lose track of her around 2002 when she blew up her foster parents home with the entire family inside," Garcia said making a disgusted and sad face at the news she shared. "Do you have an address for her?" Hotch asked, "Already sent," Garcia said as the agents and detectives started making their way towards the door when Hotch stopped her at the doorway after the rest of the team walked out. "You need to stay here, for your own protection," Hotch said. 

"I'm not gonna sit here doing nothing- Yes you can and you will Agent Herrmann, you are not coming with us this time," the unit chief said sternly cutting her off before he followed the rest of the team out of the office leaving her behind with Mouse and Garcia. 

Nikki glared at the back of Hotch's head as he disappeared down the stairs. "They'll be okay Nikki, they'll get her," Garcia said walking over and trying to comfort the agent. "Yea, well while I wait I'm gonna grab a snack from the snack machine downstairs since I haven't eaten all day and there's nothing else I can do," the brunette said with a sigh. 

"Oh um okay," Garcia replied as Nikki went down the stairs almost 5 minutes after everyone left. Nikki got to the bottom of the stairs but instead of going to the vending machine behind Sergeant Platt's desk, she snuck out of the station. "I knew you wouldn't listen, You coming or what?" The voice came from a light grey pickup truck Halstead was driving. The detective sent her a smirk as she returned it running around the truck and hopping in the passenger seat as Halstead sped off. "So how'd you know I disobey a direct order?" Nikki asked the ranger who chuckled lightly at her "Wouldn't be the first time," Halstead replied as he sped through the city. 

"So where are we heading?" she asked, "An abandoned house in Canaryville we think the bomber has been hiding out," Jay replied as they pulled up to a 3 story building and Halstead tossed her a vest. Nikki put the vest on leaving it blacked out before she climbed out of the truck only to have Halstead hand her a sniper rifle. "You ready? we'll perch on the roof, it should give one of us a direct line of sight, I'm gonna take the south building rooftop. Here, you might need this," Halstead said handing her the earpiece and radio the team was on. "thanks," Nikki replied putting the earpiece in before she and Halstead split up to perch on different roofs. 

"Snipers in position?" Nikki heard Hotch ask over the radio as she set up her spot on the roof crouched on her stomach staring through the scope of the riffle. "Affirmative," Halstead said, 'Affirmative' Nikki said more to herself as she scanned the windows in the building for movement through her scope. "Any movement?" Morgan asked through the earpiece as Nikki notice a figure move in one of the second floor windows near the front of the building. "Movement on the second floor, front west window," Nikki said through the radio keeping her aim on the window even after the team breached and she heard a bunch of gunshots before she saw the bomber in the window holding up a remote. 

Nikki easily had a kill shot but instead, she was focused on the woman's shoulder. "Does anyone have a shot?" she heard Morgan ask through the radio. "Negative," Halstead replied, "Affirmative, I have a shot," Nikki said. "take the shot," without hesitation, Nikki let out a breath keeping her eye on the spot as she squeezed the trigger. 

The bullet hit the woman in the shoulder causing her to scream and drop the remote as she held her shoulder in pain. Nikki watched as Morgan and Spencer ran over handcuffing the woman and dragging her to her feet. The brunette rolled onto her back and hopped to her feet putting the safety on the riffle as she made her way back out to the street to meet her team. 

As Nikki walked out of the building she walked over to Halstead's truck where the detective was standing around a bunch of other cop cars and federal SUVs. "That was a nice shot detective," Morgan said to Halstead as Nikki slowly made her way over to them. "It really was," Rossi said walking over with Hotch. "Thanks but it was actually all her," The detective replied nodding to Nikki who handed him back the riffle already taken apart to store. 

The team's eyes fell on Nikki as she undid her vest pulling it off. "I thought I told you to stay back agent? That was a direct order that you disobeyed," Hotch said with a look of anger clear across his face. "Come on Aaron cut the kid some slack she did stop us all from being crushed by a building and we managed to catch the unsub," Rossi said trying to advocate for Nikki. "Thanks, Rossi but Hotch is right. I defied a direct order and things could've ended up a lot worse. I accept full responsibility for my actions and the consequences that follow sir..." Nikki replied giving him the same answer she did every time she defied any order by owning up to it and accepting whatever consequences followed. Her response surprised the man and the team except for Jay who'd heard Nikki get this lecture from their higher up's and told them the same thing.