Wheels are Spinning
Back at headquarters, the team had retired to their respective desks. They couldn't for the life of them even begin to profile the person who had taken JJ. Without any hair or fibers or prints they didn't even know gender of the unsub.
"Hey Morgan," Emily called, rolling her chair over to the edge of his desk.
"Hmm?" he murmured, looking up from his computer screen. He'd resigned himself to playing solitaire. It wasn't productive but it was at least keeping him sane.
"I just had a thought. Garcia said that she found some ex-boyfriends from college. How about we take a trip and talk to them," she suggested.
"It's as good a place to start as any…especially since we have no idea where to start," he agreed, reaching for his keys.
"Hey Hotch. Prentiss and I are going to check out the ex-boyfriends. See if that turns up anything," he called, seeing Hotch walking out of his office.
"Stay in contact," he stated. Reid watched them go and let out a sigh. He couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that had been eating at him all day. He didn't hear footsteps until Gideon spoke.
"You doing ok?" the superior agent asked. Reid looked up at him.
"I just feel so helpless. I mean we have no leads, no place to start. And all the while, who knows where JJ is," Reid began to ramble.
"JJ is strong. She won't make it easy for whoever took her," Gideon tried to reassure the young genius. Part of it was to reassure himself. It seemed as though they were having a string of bad luck with unsubs lately. First Reid was kidnapped and tortured and now JJ had gone missing.
"This must have been how she felt when I went missing," Reid murmured.
"We were all worried about you. But you didn't let him win," Gideon reminded him.
"I wouldn't say that," Reid mumbled. Gideon recognized that this topic was not one Spencer wished to discuss and let it go.
"Keep in touch with Morgan and Prentiss. The minute they know anything, I want to know," he instructed the agent. Reid merely nodded and got on the phone with Emily to let her know to call him if they found anything.
"So where are we going first?" Emily asked as they limbed into Morgan's car.
"Well we've got one guy who lives in DC and another in New York. I vote DC as it's closer," he said.
"You want me to navigate?' she asked.
"Sure," Morgan answered as he pulled onto the highway.
Two and a half hours later thanks to traffic on the beltway, the arrived at the residence of Anthony Pierson. Morgan pulled a halt at the end of the driveway, both agents climbing out. They moved up the front walk and Morgan knocked on the front door. At first there was no response. He knocked again and this time the door was pulled open by a young woman with a small child in her arms.
"Can I help you?" she asked, bouncing the child on her hip.
"We're looking Anthony Pierson. Is he home?" Emily asked.
"Tony! Some people are here to see you," she called. More footsteps resounded inside and a man in faded jeans and a grey tank top appeared behind the young woman.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Agent Morgan, this is Agent Prentiss. We're with the FBI. We'd like to ask you some questions," Morgan explained.
"Look…I'm late for work. Can this wait until later?" he asked.
"I'm sorry sir but we really need to speak with you now," Emily replied sternly.
"Maybe you just talk to them," the woman said, shushing the child.
"Fine…come in," he said. The woman backed up to allow the two agents in. He led them into the kitchen where they sat. The young woman disappeared upstairs with the child.
"Look…did I do something wrong?" Anthony asked bluntly.
"You tell us," Emily replied, pulling out a picture of JJ and sliding it cross the table to him.
"You know her?" Morgan asked.
"No," Anthony denied.
"That's funny…you dated he in college," he countered.
"Wait a minute…Jenni?" he asked. Emily raised an eyebrow at Morgan.
"Jennifer Jareau," Morgan stated and Anthony nodded.
"Damn, I haven't seen her in years. What's she doing these days?" he murmured.
"She's an FBI agent," Emily answered.
"Well shit. Good for her," he said.
"She's missing," Morgan said coldly.
"And you think I had something to do with it? Hell no. I haven't seen or talked to her since sophomore year of college," he said, standing up.
"I got a fiancé and a daughter, man. Why would I go and do something stupid like that. An FBI Agent for Christ sake," he continued to ramble.
"We're just trying to rule out suspects, sir," Emily assured him as she and Morgan stood up. They let themselves out of the house. Once they were back in Morgan's car, the agents shared a look.
"I don't think he's lying." Emily said. She sounded disappointed.
"I agree. He was surprised to find out she was an agent," Morgan stated.
"Guess we head to New York," she sighed.
"We should call Reid and let him know what's going on," Morgan sighed and pulled out his phone. He dialed Reid's number and waited for the other agent ot pick up.
"Reid," He said.
"Reid, it's Morgan. We struck out with the first boyfriend. We're on our way to New York," Morgan explained.
"I'll let Hotch and Gideon know," Reid stated and the call ended. With a sigh, Morgan pulled the car out of the driveway and maneuvered his way back in the direction of the highway.
Back in Virginia, Reid went in search of Gideon and Hotch. He found them in Gideon's office. He cleared is throat to alert them of his presence. Both agents looked up hopeful.
"They didn't find anything with the first boyfriend. They're on their way to New York," Reid reported.
"Alright. Why don't you go home for a while, Reid? Come back in a few hours with some fresh ees," Hotch suggested. Reid looked apprehensive about heeding his superior's orders. Hotch had given Elle similar instructions during the Fisher King case and that had put her life on the line. Gideon seemed to sense Reid's anxiety.
"As far as we know, this unsub isn't after the rest of u s. Go home," he said firmly.
"Yes, sir," he murmured and went to grab his bag and keys from his desk. As he climbed into his car he didn't want to be alone. He pulled out of the garage and took a left onto the main road. Instead of heading home he headed for Elle's. He pulled some fifteen minutes later and found himself on the front steps, knocking on the front door. It opened after a few seconds.
"Hey," Elle said, looking surprised.
"Hi…" he murmured.
"You're here a little earlier than usual. Is everything ok?" she asked, letting him in.
"Just a case we're working on. Gideon sent me home," Reid answered, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
"And you didn't want to be alone," she stated more than asked. He nodded and they sat on the couch.
"Where's the rest of the team?' she asked.
"Morgan and Emily are out of state doing some interviewing," he answered. He knew he couldn't really discuss the case with her even though that was exactly what he wanted to do.
"Well I was just about to order some Chinese for lunch. Do you want some?" she offered. He gave her a smile and nodded. He caught her in a kiss before she stood up.
"I'll be right back," she said and disappeared from view. She grabbed the phone and dialed the number for the Chinese place down the street. She quickly placed her order and scribbled down the total. As quietly as she could she slipped downstairs to make sure JJ was still out. The blonde's chest rose and fell steadily. Elle couldn't help but brush a lock of hair from her face before heading back upstairs.
"It should be here in about fifteen minutes," she told him, rejoining him on the couch. They shared a sheepish grin before Reid leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. They broke apart only when the doorbell rang. She disentangled herself and grabbed her purse. She exchanged money for the bag of food and shut the door with her shoulder.
"Let's eat," she said.
Miles away, Morgan and Emily had pulled over on the side of the road. They had a map laid out on the hood of the car. Morgan was trying to figure out where'd they had taken a wrong turn.
"We can't be lost," she groaned.
"Well we are. Hopefully not too lost," he sighed, finally finding the road they should have turned off.
"Ok…so we need to go back to here…and take the second exit instead of the first," he said. She helped him fold up the map and climbed back into the car.