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A/n Warning! I have no idea where this extremely questionable gem came from. I'm blaming the Muse Adele because she constantly waves her sick and twisted fantasies in front of me and this time I caved. I know we don't know much about AD Barnes's character except that she's a bitch. That being said, I'm sure this is wildly OOC behavior for her. If you can't deal with it, then turn away now. If you can, please enjoy. Many thanks to REIDFANATIC and her patience with my whims and Adele's behavior.

Dr. Spencer Reid entered the office of AD Linda Barnes at precisely two minutes before she expected him. He stood in the dim light of two lamps and ignored the chairs provided for waiting visitors. Instead, he let his eyes wander over the furnishings and the desk to his left. His eyes latched onto the Faraday case and narrowed. JJ told him that she'd been ordered to leave her cell phone in the case before the interview. It was standard procedure in the age of electronic spying, but something niggled at the back of his head…

The door to AD Barnes's inner office opened, and she walked out with a smile of greeting, which didn't reach her eyes. She held out a hand and said authoritatively. "Dr. Reid. Thank you for meeting with me so late in the day."

"Of course, Assistant Director. I'm happy to be of help."

He noticed her professional suit, her close-cropped hair, and her piercing brown eyes that reminded him of a predator bird. He suddenly remembered something that Gideon told him years ago. "Predator birds strike fast and hard without warning, Spencer. They stalk their prey from above and dive in for the kill at such speed; their prey never has a chance."

"Good. I'm sure you've talked to SSA Jarreau, and you've been told that Agent Prentiss is now on suspension."

"Yes"

"Then this will be easier. Please leave your cell phone," She gestured to the Faraday case and preceded him into her office. He looked around and took the offered chair facing her neat, clean desk. AD Barnes, sat, and reached for her recorder. "This will be on the record, Agent Reid."

Spencer noted the change on her face from one of welcome, to one of hard-ass and that she dropped "Dr, Reid for Agent Reid."

"Agent Reid, you know why you're here, I'm sure, so let's begin." Barnes started the recording with "The date is February 3rd, 2018. This conversation is on the record. This is Assistant Director Linda Barnes, and I'm sitting with SSA Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU. Agent Reid, do you know why you're here today."

"No," Reid said.

Barnes's eyebrows went up. "Let's not start off on the wrong foot, Agent Reid."

"Let me rephrase," Spencer said, looking her straight in the eyes. "I know why you called me here, but as it has nothing to do with your true agenda, I must say I'm not entirely sure why I'm here."

"Agent Reid, I assure you're there's no hidden agenda. I am reviewing all members of your BAU team as part of an internal investigation to determine if former Unit Chief Emily Prentiss should be reinstated as the head of your unit."

"No," Spencer contradicted. "That's not why I'm here."

Spencer watched her eyes flicker, then go blank. "SSA Reid," she began again. "You're here because there are troubling questions about your behavior, not only in the past year and a half but going back the span of your career with the Bureau."

"If you want me to account for every decision I've made for the last fourteen years, we're going to be here for approximately four hours, twelve minutes and fifteen seconds."

AD Barnes frowned, and her forehead furrowed. "That's more than an approximation, I'd say."

Reid simply shrugged and went silent. Barnes sat back in her chair, and he saw her, like a predator bird scan his face and down to the level of the desk between them. "Agent Reid, I've read your entire file. You have a history of rogue behavior. The most troubling instance began sixteen months ago, when you began traveling to Mexico under your passport, instead of your Bureau ID. Would you like to explain your actions?"

"As you already know from my file, I went there to consult a doctor regarding my mother's care. I was looking for alternatives to her pharmaceutical regime."

"You found an alternative, but not one approved by the FDA."

Spencer sighed. "Director Barnes. That treatment was not illegal."

"No, but you broke protocol. Why?"

"Because it's not the Bureau's business what I do on my free time, Director."

"It is when you become involved in a murder of the same doctor you say you consulted only for your mother's sake."

"I've been cleared of the murder charge, have I not?" Reid said calmly, but his hands were fisted at his sides "I wouldn't be sitting here if I hadn't, in fact, I'd probably be dead, killed by another rogue agent, or one of his friends behind bars."

Barnes didn't flinch, and her cold, dark eyes never left his face. "Yes, you were cleared, but it's troubling when personal concerns so distract an agent, that he's caught off guard, drugged and framed for murder by a known former victim of a crime, who partnered with a known contract killer from inside a prison."

"If you've truly studied me," Reid said. "You'd know that Cat Adams orchestrated it all as revenge for her capture. I lied to her, and she's never forgiven me. She wanted to turn me into a psychopath."

"Did she?" Barnes said calmly.

"No!" Reid's temper broke, and his calm fled. "I did what I had to do to survive."

"I'm sure you did," Barnes said calmly. "My concern is if you'll ever pull the same kind of stunt in future."

"I love my mother," Reid said, and his hands relaxed in his lap. "I tried to do everything I could to help her. If that makes me a threat and a liability to the FBI, then so be it."

"Agent Reid, I see you enjoy teaching," Barnes changed tactics.

"Yes, I do. Is that what this is all about?"

"I know you talked to Agent Prentiss," Barnes said. "I'm sure she told you that I gave her a choice, get rid of you and Agent Rossi, or lose her position with the Bureau. I think it's obvious what she chose. I admire loyalty, to a certain point."

Reid sat back in his chair and smiled at her. "Are you suggesting I make that same choice. I won't, and if you had anything concrete to force me out, we wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"Agent Reid, I believe we need to take a break before this becomes more heated than it is."

She shut off the recording and stared him down for long moments. "Spencer," she began, and Reid's eyebrows went up. "As Agent Prentiss can tell you and as you can see for yourself, I am an ambitious woman. You were right in guessing that I have another agenda.

"I think you should resume recording this conversation," Reid suggested, as he didn't like the look in her eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You're handsome, intelligent, andyou know how to take out an opponent when necessary. These are all qualities I find extremely attractive in a man."

"Director lets just end this conversation before you say something I'll regret."

"You won't regret it, Spencer. I've had my eye on you for years. Surely a man as intelligent and perceptive as you can see that a partnership between us could be mutually beneficial."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say, Director, but it's making me very uncomfortable."

AD Barnes smirked at him. "Don't play coy, Spencer. I'm sure you can see the wisdom in such a proposal."

"There's no wisdom, as you say, in my agreeing to anything other than a strictly professional relationship with you."

"I'm not asking you to compromise your sense of ethics, Spencer. Fraternizing with you only destroys my career. I've worked too hard to get where I am to throw it away on a pretty face."

Reid maintained steady eye contact with Barnes, despite the knots in his stomach. "Then, what are you asking me?"

"That you leave the BAU for something more suited to you, like teaching. There's no conflict of interest if we happen to meet up after you resign and hit it off. It wouldn't be the first-time former coworkers fell for each other. It happens all the time."

"You expect me to resign to cover your true purpose."

"Yes," Barnes said. "The truth is that my husband and I are separated and headed for divorce. It's a poorly kept secret here at the bureau."

"Your husband's impotence and the resulting strain on your marriage doesn't interest me, Director."

"Call me Linda."

"No!" Reid insisted.

Barnes's eyes narrowed, and anger filled them. "Tell me, Agent Reid, when was the last time you had any kind of relationship with a woman, not a member of your team or your mother. I believe it was Dr. Maeve Donovan."

"Leave her out of this," Reid said in a calm, but deadly serious tone.

"You never met her in person, did you. No," she corrected. "You did see her just once. She was killed in front of you, and there was nothing you could do to stop it."

"Director, I will not sit here and listen to –"

"Or was it a woman in Atlanta," Barnes said over his protest. "Wasn't her name Austin and wasn't she a victim of a crime, just like Lila Archer, the actress. You stayed in touch with both for a few months and then the contact with them ended."

"Director Barnes –"

"You seem to have a thing for damsels in distress, Agent Reid."

"We're done," Reid said, loudly and started to stand.

"Stay where you are," Barnes demanded. "You don't appreciate your position."

"I understand it perfectly, but I refuse to play along. Moreover, I want you treat me with the respect our professional relationship demands."

Barnes shook her head. "Spencer, it's clear to me that you think you have a choice. I know you receive multiple offers every month from corporate headhunters and schools. Just last week, you were offered a professorship in the math department at the University of Virginia. I think you should accept."

Reid sat down and watched her as she studied his reaction. "Or what?" He asked, calmly.

"If you don't resign and take the job and my generous off to help you rid your life of inconvenient and unnecessary celibacy, your team will be disbanded and transferred. Agent Prentiss will be arrested and brought before the Grand Jury."

"You have no evidence to warrant such an arrest."

"I'm sure you're not naïve, Spencer. Convincing evidence can be manufactured, evidence that will stand up in court, even in front of the Grand Jury."

Reid tapped his long fingers on the arm of his chair and glared at Barnes while she waited, silently. "I don't have a choice," he finally said, softly.

Director Barnes stood and walked around her desk to where Reid sat. She leaned against it and crossed on leg over the other at the ankles. She hunched forward and lightly pushed Reid's hair back from his forehead.

"You don't have a choice in your career, but I hope you chose to take advantage of my personal offer once you've left."

"You want me to agree to a sexual relationship with you."

Barnes tangled her fingers in his hair and tugged just hard enough to cause pain. "I guarantee you won't regret it."

Reid briskly nodded his head and attempted to stand, but Barnes blocked his way. "I trust we understand each other."

"Yes," Reid agreed. "We understand each other, perfectly."

"Good," she moved back to her seat and turned on the recorder. "This is AD Barnes with SSA Dr. Reid resuming today's interview."

She ran him through several questions about his actions in Mexico, and he played along all the way to the inevitable question of his status. He agreed that he needed a change and would write a letter of resignation.

"I expect to see it on my desk by Monday. This interview is over. I am disengaging the recording. You're dismissed."

Reid left her office without another word. He grabbed his cell phone, turned it on, and hurried to the elevator. Five minutes later, he strode into Rossi's office. The team stood waiting for him. He added his phone to Rossi's Faraday case and sighed.

"She went for it," Emily stated.

"Yes, she went for it. You were right about her." Reid reached up and removed a tiny electronic bug from his left ear. "Thank God she didn't get close enough to see it."

"If she had, you wouldn't have escaped with your badge," Emily said as she handed it to Garcia. "You know what to do."

Garcia mimed a salute and hurried from the room. "Yes I do, boss lady. I'm on my way."

"I need a drink and a long shower," Reid exclaimed.

'Then I say let's get out of here, "Rossi said. "I'm buying."

"I'm in," chorused Matt, Luke, JJ, Tara, and Emily."

CMCMCMCMCM

One week later, at a little after seven in the evening, Spencer sat at his desk attempting to finish the last of his paperwork, but he found he couldn't concentrate. Emily had spent most of the day with the Director without a break.

"I thought I'd find you here," Emily said from behind him, and he jumped.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"I'll forgive you if you tell me it's over."

"It's over. Barnes is out and under investigation for misconduct that could lead to other charges. I'm only sorry someone didn't stop her before you had to endure her indecent proposal."

"I'm not going to disagree. Thanks for standing up for me."

Emily put her hand on his shoulder and sighed. "Thank you for saving the team."

"You're welcome. Do you think we can dispense with the drama for a few days?"

Emily laughed. "I'll try if you do."

He finally smiled. "Yes, I'll try."

"Come on," she gestured toward the elevators. "I'll buy you dinner."

"I won't say no, I'm starving."

"Figured," Emily said, and they left, together.

THE END