Painted Mirror
Appearance
The morning was not going well. Spence Reid's eyebrows were furrowed as he contemplated the ghastly pile of files on his desk. He had been neglecting them for a while, but now, with Emily and Morgan and everyone else pretty much up to date on their work, he would have to start making some progress before the stacking mounds of paper on his desk caught the attention of Hotch.
He sighed deeply. He could have left the files as they were, maybe feign illness or nausea. With the ordeal he had endured, lots of people would have been more than willing to help him, even finish up for him. But, what would that accomplish? What would he do with all the time on his hands? Reminiscence on screams of victims past, dream of the intoxicating ecstasy that seduced and exploited him night after night? "Damn…" Just thinking of dilaudid made a tremor slice through his very being; it was so terrifying, the very idea of returning to that numb haze, and yet, so very appealing.
"Stop it..." He commanded his mind, control over which he had been struggling to regain for the past year. Thoughts like these did not help in that aspect…
Sighing once again, Spence dug into the paper mountain, scribbling reports and going over reviews and descriptions of crime scenes, feeling the familiar sensation of a decrepit comfort, an escape from the haze to the screams. Still, there were times when he wished for just one hit. It would be the madness leave, even if for a split second. The phantoms of terrified eyes and pleading voices would leave him, even if for a single breath.
"Damn you..." he cursed again, scribbling even more furiously, stopping only to gulp a mouthful of very sugary coffee.
"Attention, people." Aaron Hotchner's gentle but firm voice caused Reid to look up for the first time in two hours. He looked up to see their supervisor striding down from his office, followed by an unknown female. Hotch climbed down the few steps and placed himself at the centre of their workplace. Morgan, Emily, Dave and everyone else bestowed him with undivided attention, as usual.
"Everyone, I'd like to introduce a new addition to the BAU." He looked towards the girl behind him, and motioned her to come forward. She did so slowly, and Reid noticed she clutched a file in her hands, tightly. She was terribly nervous. He snickered unconsciously, remembering his first appearance in this wide roofed room. She was almost a mirror image of himself.
Reid let his eyes slide over her physique, examining her. Of course, he wasn't being lecherous or even desirous; he simply probed her appearance like his scientific eye probed every object or person that crossed his path. She was slim, and her skin was pale, almost with a hint of sickness. Her hair, which lay in clumsy tresses over her shoulders, was of an unusual red, subdued and almost ashen. Infact, her hair color almost resembled the color of dried blood, when it abandoned its crimson freshness and the vivid red began to be consumed by starry black, as he had seen so many times at diverse crime scenes. But, the coloration, though unusual strangely complimented her equally unusual skin tone. The most remarkable feature of her, he decided were her eyes. They were large, almond shaped, and set like jewels in the almost heart shaped face. Strikingly sharp, they were green, glassy green, but not transparent; rather, when he looked at them, Reid had the impression that they were like a very attractive casket, meant to conceal twisted secrets. He shook his head. "I have got to stop thinking…"
"This is Special Agent Aisha Rose. She has specialized in Criminal Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and she's fresh out of college. Agent Rose..." He turned to her, "that's Agent Morgan." Derek raised his coffee cup in greeting. "Agent Prentiss." Emily nodded brightly. "Agent Rossi." Dave also nodded, more subtly. And "Dr. Reid." The girl smiled nervously towards each person, and all of them noticed that her fingers tightened on the file she held. Damn nervous. Emily smiled at her reaction; "she's cute..."
"Alright, Agent Rose." Hotch pointed her to a desk. "You'll be sitting there. And here at BAU, we get cases of any kind, every kind, all the time. So, I would suggest you settle quickly and start getting along with everyone..." He placed his hand on her shoulder briefly. "Welcome to the team..."
Smiling nervously and nodding seemed to be Aisha's two favorite actions. She executed them towards Hotch and as he left, she walked to her desk, her heading firmly down and her hand still holding onto the file, as if for dear life.
Reid watched her walk. Short, almost unsteady steps. "She lacks self confidence." He murmured, loud enough for Morgan, who had come and stood behind him during the introductions, to hear.
"Stop profiling the newbie, Reid." He said in a low voice, watching Emily walk over to help Aisha settle in. "It's her first day. Don't make me remind you what you were like when Hotch brought you over to the same spot." He snickered, causing the young genius to look up at him annoyingly.
"I wasn't close to being that overwrought and apprehensive, Morgan." He turned back to watched the two women speak. Emily seemed to be doing well in putting the new girl at ease. "And I wasn't profiling. I was just…estimating her presence."
"You mean, checking her out." Reid glared at him again. "Don't tell me boy wonder's developed a cute little crush on the new kid." He snickered again, and before he could be met with retort, Morgan placed his coffee mug on Reid desk. "Now. Let's not be unsocial pricks, alright? C'mon, before Rossi decides this one's his fifth..." He started moving towards Aisha's desk, where by this time, Rossi had also gathered, holding the girl in animated conversation. Reid watched Morgan join them, flashing the girl his usual amorous... ("Amorous?" Reid laughed at his choice of word) smile. She seemed much more relaxed now; she had stopped clutching the file, though she still fiddled with her fingers. He shrugged and lifted himself out of the chair. They'd have to get along anyway, so why not start now?
"There he is." Emily motioned Reid to come closer. "Aisha, there's our boy genius, Dr, Reid. You guys are gonna get along..." she smiled at him, and then her. "Aisha here has graduated at the top of her class from John Jay, and get this Reid, she has degrees in Medieval English Literature, Philosophy and Psychology. She's also working of a PHD on Literature of Horror."
"Whoa, looks like wonder boy here is gonna have a little competition." Morgan cracked. "Don't let him get to you, Aisha. We can always use another genius here. Maybe it'll let him take a break."
Reid shot a glare at Morgan (which obviously had no effect) before smiling faintly to Aisha. He was surprised, but not extremely. She was, or at least looked calm, and less capable socially. Though it wasn't to say that every social cripple was a budding genius, she was recruited by the BAU at a very young age (she looked hardly 23), especially when the fact remained that recruiting of new members, especially at this time of the year was highly unlikely. The fact that she possessed superior acumen was hardly astonishing.
"A PHD in Horror Lit is unusual, but of great interest. I've been an ardent reader of authors like Beckford, Poe and King since childhood." He said.
"What?" Rossi snapped. "You read Stephen King? Isn't that like the alphabet for you?"
Reid now threw a look at him before returning his attention to Aisha. She wore, he observed, a black V necked t-shirt and jeans of the same color. The black did wonders to set off the pale skin, as did the hair. Now that he had a closer view, he could see that her green eyes were framed with a hint of blue. "How utterly curious." He thought before turning attention to her reply.
"Actually, my study emphasizes on the effect of horror tales on the human mind. I'm actually incorporating elements of psychology, and investigating as to why works of authors like Lovecraft, le Fanu and Poe sometimes lead to violence and hate crime. Its true that popular media exerts a much more significant influence on the emergence of cults, and even individual action, but there have occurred cases where sociopaths, suffering from delusions, have killed people in accordance with various rituals described in these texts. The Necronomicon by Lovecraft would be a prime example." She talked rapidly, indicating confidence in her own knowledge.
"That's true. In 1923, Jeremy Sawyer killed 15 people before he was arrested. He claimed that the spirit of Cthulhu had invaded his victims, and he was killing them to prevent further propagation of Cthulhu's evil. He killed his victims by bleeding them, and then setting fire to the blood." Reid looked at the others. "He poured gasoline on the blood and set it aflame because he believed only fire could vanquish , and I quote "the bane of Cthulhu"
"Sawyer was an avid reader of Lovecraft, and that, coupled with his social isolation and sociopathic tendencies, led to him becoming the "Cleansing Killer." Aisha finished for him. "The nickname is terrible, though."
The rest of the team gawked at the two. "Unbelievable." Emily said. "It's Reid, and he's female."
"You know what, I think we'll leave you two braniacs to concoct theories way ahead of your time, which cannot be implemented in the 100 years." Rossi sighed deeply and went back to his desk. No, this girl wasn't going to be on his list.
"Yea, me too." Emily left, followed by Morgan, who winked at Reid before going back to piles of paperwork.
"D..did I say something wrong?" Aisha had a musical voice, with a faint accent.
"They're just being troublesome." Reid smiled again, lazily. "Its not everyday they come across someone who says something I can reply to." He shrugged. "You have a fascinating name ,by the way. Aisha ,the one who is "alive and well". It has a lovely phonetic effect, too."
He observed that when he spoke the meaning of her name, her face fell. For only a moment, a cloud seemed to pass over her glimmering eyes before they regained their luster. "My aunt was a teacher of Islamic history and the name of Mohammed's third wife fascinated her endlessly. She even wrote a number of papers on Aisha."
"Wow…Islamic history. Your family seems really diverse. And speaking of paperwork, I have some to…"
Reid was interrupted by Hotch who appeared on the stairs right above the work area. "In the conference room, please. Now." He disappeared.
"Looks like you have your first case, Aisha." Morgan called from his seat.
"From the look on Hotch's face, dosen't seem like it's pretty." Emily stood up.
"Well, its time to put those degrees to test." Reid said, looking back at her.
"I suppose it is.."
Okay, this is my first Criminal Minds fanfic. I hope it'll be okay. Please review and let me know what I should improve on. And, the plot and the cases I'll be mentioning are completely fictitious. I don't own Criminal Minds [ would be awesome if I did!] Thank you all.