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Derek takes a second to breathe before he gets out of the car. The warehouse ahead looks deserted and unassuming. It’s nestled between almost identical buildings deep within a half-abandoned industrial district. It almost disappears within its surroundings. If Derek had to choose a secret hideout, this would be at the top of his list.
He closes his eyes, just for a moment.
He’s so close, he can feel it.
“You ready?” Isaac asks carefully from the passenger seat.
Derek spares him a glance before he nods shortly. He kicks the car door open and gets out.
Boyd and Erica were right behind them when they drove into the lot, the squad cars following and the SWAT team’s black van holding up the rear. They swarm around him in organized chaos.
“Alright, you know the plan,” he says loud and clear. “Cover all the exits. Get some people on the rooftops overlooking the warehouse. I want roadblocks in every direction. No one leaves this place without us knowing about it. SWAT team, Agent Lahey and I will go in first. If you encounter him, don’t panic. We know he won’t kill, but that doesn’t mean that we can underestimate him. And I want him alive. Got it?”
There’s tension in Derek’s shoulders and he can see it reflected in their eyes. He should put them at ease, he knows he should, but he can barely breathe himself.
“Good. Get moving.”
They break it up in a flurry of movement, scattering out to find their positions.
“This is it,” Erica says at his side, confident as always. “We’ll get him.”
“You don’t know that,” Derek replies, but he knows that she can feel it, the exhilaration rushing beneath his skin. They’re so fucking close.
“We’ve planned this for weeks,” Isaac reasons. “We know this is his hideout. We’ve got footage of him entering the building. He’s here.”
Boyd doesn’t say a word. Derek appreciates his stoicism now more than ever.
The SWAT team moves in behind them and Derek nods at them in acknowledgement. It’s time to move.
It takes everything Derek’s got not to think about the magnitude of it all. A three year long investigation, a three year long excruciating manhunt that has nearly driven him to madness. All of it could end today. By all calculations, it will end today.
The door on the corner of the warehouse is unlocked when Derek tries the handle. He pushes it open carefully and the SWAT team moves on his signal, entering the building quickly. Isaac brushes his shoulder and flashes him a smile when he passes.
The light within the building is dim and it takes a few moments for Derek’s eyes to adjust. The SWAT team’s rifles have flashlights and he can see them systematically sweep the space, moving effortlessly between rows of stacked pallets. He hears their murmured clears echo through the room.
There’s a desk in the middle of the warehouse, papers covered in a familiar scrawl scattered across the surface. They’re plans. Detailed plans. Future heists?
He’s here, he’s here, he’s here.
It’s a repeating mantra in his head and it’s so loud he nearly jumps when a member of the SWAT team calls his name.
“Agent Hale, there’s no one here.”
Derek blinks.
“He must be,” he states assuredly.
“We’ve swept the build-”
“Then sweep it again!” His voice is louder than he intended. They’re all staring now. “He’s here! FIND HIM!”
Everyone jolts into motion again. Derek scours the desk for something, anything, a mistake, a clue, a huge fucking sign pointing in the right direction and there’s this buzzing, this incessant buzzing against his thigh and-
“What?!” Derek growls into his cellphone, not bothering with checking the ID.
“You’re so cute when you pout like that.”
Derek stills. Every limb freezes, his breath snuffed out, his heart finally quiet. It might have stopped.
“I especially like that V your eyebrows make when you’re really grumpy, like, how do they even do that?”
Derek’s eyes flicker around him, around the room, but all he can see are his colleagues searching for the person currently talking about his eyebrows over the phone.
“Dude, check your twelve o’clock. Up on that pillar.”
Derek turns his head. Attached to the pillar is a surveillance camera. Of course. Of fucking course. He wants to scream.
“Oh, now you see me. Hi! Good job finding this place, I’m really impressed. You’re a smart cookie, Agent Hale.”
“You were here,” Derek says through gritted teeth. “We saw you enter the building.”
“Mm, yeah, I was. You were really close, actually. Got my heart racing and everything. Then again, thinking of you always gets my heart racing.”
Derek closes his eyes. He’s never prayed before, but he hopes God hears his wish to die.
“There’s agents on every roof. Every road is blocked, every exit covered. There’s no way you got out.”
“Yeaaah, about that. Have you found the entrance to the underground tunnel yet? Real handy, ten out of ten, would try again.”
As if summoned, Isaac appears around a stack of pallets.
“Derek, we’ve found a way out. It seems to be a tunnel. Fuck, I think he’s gone.”
Derek wonders if Isaac will be scarred for life if he had to witness Derek shoot himself with his own gun.
“Oh no, now you just look depressed. I left something to cheer you up, okay? It’s a puzzle. A clue. I know you like those. Come on, Derek, talk to me.”
It takes a few seconds for Derek to find his voice and when he does, it’s low and gravelly.
“I’m going to kill you, Stilinski. With my bare hands if I have to.”
Derek is known for scaring the shit out of perps. He’s known for getting the confessions, making snitches out of the most loyal, cracking the toughest of the tough criminals with a mere glare.
Stilinski laughs.
Straight up laughs.
“Sure. If you say so. You’re going to have to find me first though.”
“Oh, I will.”
“Prove it, Agent Hale,” Stilinski replies. His voice has dropped an octave. Derek can just imagine how he looks right now, eyes bright and challenging, his tongue wetting his plump lips swiftly. “Come find me.”
The call ends. Derek lowers his phone to stare at the screen. In the list of his latest calls, My Stud Muffin followed by three heart emojis is right at the top.
Derek throws the phone across the room.