Crossing Boundaries
Chapter 4: Division
When the team returned to their headquarters, everyone immediately began asking questions about the young woman. The ruckus was overwhelming; each wanted to be heard over the other. Finally, Gideon waved his hands in a manner which suggested that they settle down.
"Everything shall be explained." He pulled out the newly created case file and started to lay out the basics. "Anika Paranosz: female, twenty-two years old, recent immigrant to the US from Croatia. Physical description: slight build, dark wavy hair, grey eyes…"
"Enough with the prelims," Elle cut in. "What did she say to you and Reid?"
Gideon and Reid shared a look. Reid stepped up, taking a deep breath before he began talking about the interview with Anika. "Miss Paranosz suffered greatly at the hands of a man whose violence knows no bounds. She was sedated with ketamine to ensure that she could not fight back. Her body suffered severe trauma - trauma that should have in all likelihood killed her."
"Is there any evidence?" Morgan snapped.
"The unsub was quite careful to avoid leaving any evidence." Reid glanced sadly at the file.
Elle growled in frustration. "The bastard left nothing? You're sure there's nothing?" She grabbed the file from Reid's hands, flipping through to see if anything could be used as evidence.
"Elle," Gideon warned. "Don't let your encounter cloud your judgment." He chose his next words carefully. "We only have two options: 1) look into immigration and see what reports have been made or 2) wait for him to do this again."
Neither of these options sat well with the team members. They wanted to do something. The Bureau had been slow lately, and they were itching for a good case. Miss Paranosz's incident provided the perfect opportunity to get back out in the field. What goaded them was that Anika had only spoken to Gideon and Reid.
Reid and Gideon, on the other hand, were hoping that they did not have to wait for Anika's attacker to strike out again.
The team was starting to divide. All because of a young Croatian woman.