"Did you ever get a chance to talk to Linda," Spencer asked the cashier, pushing his things towards her.
"Yeah, I did. See the thing is...she said no."
"Ah," Spencer said. He gave her a disapointed smile.
"I'm sorry," she said, sounding sincere.
"It's okay."
"Hi neighbor," Aimee's voice rang out.
Spencer frowned, looking in her direction. "What are you doing here?"
Aimee looked affronted. "I'm shopping," she said with a touch of hostility.
"Isn't this a little out of the way?"
"You're here," she pointed out.
"Yeah but I'm trying to get a job."
"I shop here all the time."
Spencer shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter."
"A job, huh? My husband insists I be a housewife," she said, a little sadly.
So she is unhappy in her marriage, Spencer thought. Why is she telling me? He picked up his bags and left the store.
Much to his annoyance, as she was driving past, she slowed and stopped. "Want a ride?"
He sighed, inwardly. "No, the exercise is good for me."
"You sure," she persisted.
He tried not to sound annoyed but wasn't sure that he succeeded. "It's fine."
"Suit yourself." Her car disapeared into to the distance.
Three hours later Spencer found himself inside of a cafe called Providence, with a stack of books and his laptop. A full pot of coffee sat on the table in front of him. He poured a cup and added sugar, tasted it and added more sugar. He adjusted his glasses and opened the book sitting on top.
"The unsub is toying with us," Hotch said to Morgan. "Normally vigilantes act out of desperation or a misguided sense of justice but not this guy. He seeks to undermine the local authorities and us. Through the photos and messages that the local PD has been sent he makes his intentions clear. He seeks to show the general public that he is superior and more efficient than the law enforcement officials by removing violent offenders from the streets. JJ's here," he said, not changing his professional tone. Because of this, it took a moment for Morgan to register the last thing he had said but by then JJ was already at the table.
"Wow, you looked pissed," Morgan told her
"Media vultures. And these heels," JJ said loosening the straps on her shoes.
Hotch stared at something off to the side for a few seconds before returning his attention back to JJ. "What happened?"
"They're are being idiots. Playing it like this unsub is some kind of hero. They don't realize that this is just another monster roaming the streets."
"No more than I expected. When you have the five o'clock press conference, give them the truth and hope that the people listen. The last thing we need is civilians impeding the investigation." Hotch looked away again, but then back, glancing at each of them in turn. "What do you guys make of that?"
Spencer finished the second cup and poured a third, again adding more sugar. The dispenser was nearly empty, he gestured for the waitress to refill it. He turned back to his books, not yet aware that he had captured the attention of all four agents.
"My god, could he look any more nerd," JJ said, taking in the sweater vest, khaki pants and dark rimmed glasses.
"Is that real," Morgan said quietly.
"I thinks so," Hotch answered. He watched with growing interest the way the boy flew through the massive tomes, moving from one to the other. "JJ," he said, tilting his head slightly in the direction of the boy.
She made a face. "Me? Really, Hotch?"
"You're closest to his age. Go talk to him. I want a way to contact him."
She looked incredulous. "Because he can read fast?"
"JJ," he repeated.
She scowled at him, pushing away from the table.
"What are you thinking," Morgan asked Hotch, leaning in closer to hear what he said.
"Yeah, I see it," he added, scrutinizing the boy much the same way that Hotch was.
JJ made a scathing noise. "I see a skinny kid dressed like MegaGeek," she said, skeptically. She then turned on her diplomatic skills, and put on a smile as she crossed the dining area.
"Hi," JJ said cautiously.
Spencer jumped, knocking over his cup.
JJ stifled a laugh, and maintained her cool, professional look.
He looked up at her and his eyes went wide. "You're FBI," he said.
JJ raised an eyebrow and turning her head, gave Hotchner a wary look. "How did you know that?"
"You had a press conference yesterday. I saw it on tv."
"Oh," she said relaxing a bit.
A thought occured to him. "Why does the FBI want to talk to me? I can think of two reasons and neither one is good."
"The FBI doesn't want to talk to you. I want to talk to you," she said firmly.
"But why? I'm nobody."
"I doubt that," she said slowly, looking at his books. "Can you really do that?"
"What?"
She indicated his books. "Read things that fast?"
"The human brain is actually capable of processing 400 billion bits of information per second."
She gave him a blank stare.
"Yeah," he said sheepishly.
