Something New

Chapter Nine

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yang demands, horror evident in her voice.

"The Scarlet Killer." Olivia sneers at the name the press gave their unsub.

"Wait, that dude on the news?" Yang drops her gaze, trying to even her breathing to calm herself.

"That's him," Ryan says softly.

"This guy...he abducts women then..." The surgeon leans against the table, trying to recall the information from the bits of news she had seen on The Scarlet Killer. 

"Rapes, tortures, and strangles them," Derek speaks up, his voice flat.

Cristina's eyes widen and she presses a hand over her mouth, putting more weight on the table to ensure her legs don't give out from under her. "No...no, that's not right. Her car is still in the parking lot here." 

At this, everyone perks up, and within a few seconds the entire team is rushing out the front doors of the police station. Cristina falls behind, very confused as to what is happening but chases after them. Derek is the first one to arrive at the far side of the parking lot, which is pretty deserted now.

Yang was right. There, parked in a corner spot was Meredith's Jeep. Derek moves in slowly, his right hand resting on the butt of the Glock 17 holstered on his hip. The government-issued firearm on the right side of his waist is his primary weapon. Under his left pant leg at his ankle is another concealed holster, containing a Walther P99, his secondary. 

He had learned from one of his first cases in the Bureau that it's always best to have a backup. Not to mention the pocket knife in his suit pocket. Slowly, Derek clears the car. She isn't there, instead, he's greeted with the sight of blood, Meredith's purse, and signs of a struggle.

His stomach rolls, imaging what had happened just the night before, and he has to step away from the scene. Covering a couple of feet to sit on a curb, he sees the rest of his team arrive and take in the scene as well.

"Somebody get CSI out here!" Olivia orders, quickly recognizing that their supervisor is not in any position to lead them at the moment.

"Oh god! Oh god!" Cristina's voice rings out, "No, no, no, no, no. This isn't happening- it can't be." You don't need to look at the woman to know she is barely keeping herself together. Derek can hear her tone and knows that her voice is breaking, she's trying not to fall apart. He pictures the way she's standing, tears pooling in her eyes like they are in his own.

Within a blur of minutes, CSI is outside snapping photos and collecting evidence. Derek doesn't move from his spot on the curb, instead resting his head in his hands, his mind racing. Maggie quickly moves to comfort Meredith's best friend, gently guiding her back inside. 

Derek's head was spinning. This could not be happening. Not to him. Not to Meredith. 

"H-how do we even know it's him? Maybe it was someone else who took her? O-or maybe this is all just some cruel, cruel prank." Derek starts, standing and facing his team.

"Derek," Olivia says his name, pity in her eyes for a moment but quickly covered up. "She's exactly his type. This is his MO. Everything fits the profile perfectly. It's him."

He mumbles an unintelligible amount of curses, then turns to sit back on his curb. Derek knows there's a ton of things to be done. Missing person reports, evidence screenings, and using every minute of his life throughout the next week to find the sick son of a bitch who took Meredith before they find her small blonde body in a ditch somewhere.

How long Derek was sitting there, he didn't know. He completely zoned out of what was happening in front of him, thinking about what the unsub was doing to his girlfriend at that very moment. It wasn't until a large body sits next to him on the curb that Derek is jerked out of his daydream.