Note: I do not own 'Criminal Minds' but my own characters...I'll admit that I'm not as smart as Reid so he won't be spouting off trivia left, right, or center...Enjoy...
She was beginning to worry. He was the only person she could think of turning to but she couldn't approach him at work. When she spotted him, her heart dropped. His smile that made her stomach go all fluttery had been replaced by a frown. His hair shielded his gorgeous eyes and all she wanted to do was run her fingers through that hair.
He made it to the outer door before she stepped out. He barely glanced at her before reaching out to the door.
"Reid?" she whispered.
His head flew up at the sound of her voice. His eyes took her in and she knew that she didn't resemble her normal self. She changed everything that made her Anne Marie. Reid held out his hand and nodded towards the building. She took his hand and followed him up to his apartment.
Reid pulled her into his arms as soon as the door closed behind them. Her head rested on his shoulder as her arm wrapped tight around his waist.
"Anne Marie, are you alright? You haven't been hurt have you?" he questioned.
"Shaken up but fine. Reid, there's someone after me."
"I know. My team has been brought in on the case. Wait, how did you know I lived here?"
"Your Penelope Garcia isn't the only one who can hack. I searched alumni records for Cal Tech and once I had your name, almost everything about you was at my finger tips. I was only interested in how to reach you and I knew going to the BAU wouldn't be ideal so I waited here. Calling you was out of the picture as well."
Reid pulled her into the living room and they sat on the couch facing each other. When he had first met her, Anne Marie looked wholesome but now she was the opposite, dressed as a goth from the black hair, dark makeup, black corset, and skirt. Part of him found her alluring in that outfit. Her eyes were downcast at her hands in her lap. She was playing with the hem of her skirt.
"I've dealt with a lot of things but being stalked and hunted isn't one of them. Before the murders started, I would find little things left for me at home. Little trinkets that would put a smile on my face but then I'd throw out. I didn't see any connection when the first girl turned up or even the second. It wasn't until the third turned up yesterday that the newspaper printed their photos together. That's when I saw the resemblance.
"I took time off work and was going to disappear but when I got back home I found something more than just a trinket. He had been in my house. The furniture was overturned and what looked to be blood on the walls. I went into my room to grab a few things only to find all my clothing and belongings gone."
"What aren't you telling me, Anne Marie?" Reid asked, grabbing her hand.
"I called my stepfather's work. He didn't show up yesterday and his cell is on but he doesn't answer it. I'm worried that something's happened to him."
"Garcia found out that your stepfather went through rehab while in jail but you said that he was drunk that night. Could he be at a bar?"
"I come to you saying there's blood on the wall and you think he's on a bender?" she cried.
"My boss will ask. I'll have Garcia put a trace on the cell."
Reid stepped away from Anne Marie and called to talk to the technical analyst. The next call was to Morgan to check out the house again and to have someone look into hospitals in case the man came in for treatment. When Reid entered the living room, Anne Marie was curled into a tight ball against an arm of the couch. She had fallen asleep. He covered her with the blanket off the back of the couch.
Reid sat and waited for anything to happen. Anne Marie was still asleep and he hadn't received any calls from his team. He would select a book from his collection and flip it open only to close it and repeat the action. He hated not being able to do anything. Finally someone knocked on his door. He pulled his gun and made his way over.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"Reid, it's Hotch and Prentiss."
He glanced back at Anne Marie who was now awake, her legs tucked up against her chest. Reid opened the door with his gun at the ready. Prentiss and Hotch entered the apartment and he locked the door behind them. Reid followed them into the living room, holstering the gun.
"Emily Prentiss, Aaron Hotchner this is Anne Marie Jackson. This is SSA Emily Prentiss and SSA Aaron Hotchner."
"Hello. Have you found Paul?" she asked, offering her hand to the others to shake.
"Ms. Jackson, what can you tell us about the objects that were left behind for you?" Hotch asked.
"You're trying to change the subject, Agent Hotchner. You found Paul but don't want to tell me so that means he's severely injured and dying or he's already dead. Please do not treat me like a victim. As your look into my background has most likely revealed, I know more than your average person."
"Alright. Your stepfather has been located and unfortunately he did not survive the wounds that he received. The current homeowner found him in her backyard when she came home. The address matches that of your childhood home."
"So the murderer has a vast knowledge of my life. How was he killed? There's blood splatter and smears on the wall at the house."
"Mr. Jackson was killed similarly to the women except he was stabbed first," Prentiss said.
Everyone was quiet, the 3 FBI agents watching Anne Marie. She had watched her mother slowly die from cancer and now her stepfather had been murdered because of her. Not to mention those women who've been killed. She ran her fingers through her hair and glanced at Reid. There was something that she needed to ask but Reid's presence and the fact that she liked him was keeping her quiet.
"Reid, I hate to be a bother but could you get me a glass of water or soda please."
He looked to his friends but they shook their heads. Reid headed into the kitchen to get Anne Marie something to drink. He didn't need the high IQ to see that Anne Marie wanted to say something but without him in the room. Prentiss sat beside Anne Marie and looked at the goth.
"The newspapers said they were strangled while being raped. Were there any marks on the women?" she asked.
"Marks?" Hotch questioned.
"A pen or a burn."
"Yes. An odd shape near the pubic area."
"It was made with a brand. It is his way of identifying who belongs to him, his copyrighting symbol if you will. He burned them before he raped them. He's a sadist so the pain of rubbing the burn will cause the women to cry out. He chokes them until they black out and he'll do that for a couple of days. The third day will be the final rape and the strangulation."
"Anne Marie, how do you know this?" Prentiss asked.
"Because he did it to me. His name was Richard Krup. He was supposedly killed in a police raid when they tried to arrest him."
Reid took that moment to enter the living room with a bottle of water for Anne Marie. She took it from him but didn't drink any. He could see that she was shaking slightly from her revelation. He draped the blanket around her again and sat on the arm of the couch next to her. Part of him wanted to wrap his arms around her in a protective embrace but the federal agent in him knew not to.
"Was it reported?" Prentiss asked.
"Not formally. I knew exactly who it was and I told the details to a detective but never left my name. I heard about his death on the news the next morning and I checked with the detective. Dental records matched those of Krup. Paul was happy when he learned of it but not for the right reasons."
"What do you mean, Anne Marie?" Reid asked.
"You know of Paul's record, his assault charge on the man who was at my party saying lewd things. It should have been him who was sent to jail. He did more than talking at the party. I was too young to understand that it wasn't normal but when Paul heard what he was saying, he did what he needed to protect me even though it was too late. The man who Paul beat was Richard Krup but Paul never knew about the other things."
"When did this happen?"
"Three hundred and sixty two days ago. I had a meeting at the university about continuing my education but I didn't make the appointment. After I escaped, I called to put my acceptance on hold again and focused on living my life. I put the incident behind me after Krup died until these women started turning up."
"He waits nearly a year to continue this. What is so special of this time of year?"
"My birthday is in three days. He waited 18 years to finish what he started at my party and he thinks I should be with him for every birthday."
"You need to tell us everything that happened when he held you captive last year."
"He said he always liked me. It wasn't until the second day that I found out who he was. I thought he grabbed me at random but then he started saying things he said to me when I was a child. Every time it happened he'd say 'I always liked you, even love you and you'll be mine.'"
Something in Reid clicked. It had only been hours ago but felt like days previous. He stood abruptly causing Prentiss and Anne Marie to startle at the movement. He pulled his cell out and hit speed dial.
"Morgan."
"The man from the bar. The one who talked to us about seeing Anne Marie leaving with her stepfather last week. You talked to him when I called the DOD. Please tell me you have his information."
"I have his name here somewhere. Why?"
"I believe he's the Unsub. He said he always liked Anne Marie," Reid said.
Anne Marie gasped and her hands covered her mouth in shock. Reid had met the man who was behind all of this. Her body felt drained, like nothing was keeping her going anymore. Krup had taken a lot from her and had the audacity to talk to 2 federal agents about her.
"Anne Marie? Anne Marie!" Reid called bringing her back to reality. "The man said you'd say hello to him but never talked to him. He was dressed in a rumbled navy blue suit, white shirt, gray tie. Dark hair, blue eyes. He's an inch or so shorter than me."
"That's Shawn. He started coming into the bar six months ago. He'd try talking to me but I'd ignore him. But Shawn doesn't look like Krup. His facial features, physique, and mannerisms are all different. No, he can't be him."
"Morgan will have sent agents out to find him. Why don't we take you to the office, Ms. Jackson? You might feel more comfortable there," Hotch said.
She didn't want to leave Reid's apartment. She felt comfortable here, like nothing could harm her if she stayed curled up on the couch. Reid helped her up and wrapped an arm around her.
"It will be alright, Anne Marie."
Anne Marie looked into his green eyes and knew he would protect her. Several lines from a poem that she had read when she was younger was fitting to this situation.
" 'In this world I need a brave knight; who would never give up any fight. A knight who would dry away my tears, telling me to overcome my fears.' Reid, will you be my knight?"
"I would slay a dragon for you, my lady," he replied.
Anne Marie, Reid, Hotch, and Prentiss were heading towards the parked SUV when they were stopped. A Winchester rifle pointed at you does have the tendency to stop a person in their tracks.
"Why him, Anne Marie? I have been here your entire life and you didn't see me. You spend hours with him and he becomes the person you run to. You know I love you. You should have come to me," Shawn/Richard Krup said.
Hotch slowly moved his hand towards the gun on his hip but the Unsub saw and cocked the gun. Reid dropped his arm from Anne Marie's shoulders and took a step ahead of her.
"It might have been because I wanted to know Anne Marie for Anne Marie and not the young girl who you remember her as. When you see her, you see her as that 5 year old girl from the party. The one who allowed you to do things that no child should know. I connected with the woman. The one who sees past the conventional and is always thinking."
"I've connected with her in ways you haven't even thought about. It's too bad that you never will."
One loud shot rang out followed by two smaller ones. Two bodies laid on the pavement bleeding but only one was getting the attention. The other bled out from two bullets to the chest. There was no use to saving a dead man. He wouldn't be going to the hospital but straight to the morgue.
"Hold on. Hold on. We'll get you to the hospital."
Prentiss was on the phone calling in for an ambulance while the others tried to staunch the blood. She was no doctor but didn't think there was much they could do. After calling for the ambulance, she secured the weapon while calling Morgan to fill him in on the situation.
"We'll meet you at the hospital. Reid will need us," he said.
