I hope you enjoy this.
Chapter Six:
The results came in fast. Two detectives came in after entering the homes in the morning. They were spooked.
"What is it?" Greenaway asked when they came into her office.
They pulled out their cameras and showed her what they saw.
"Did you find any cameras in the homes?" she asked.
"I disabled them," she said.
"So, did I," the other said.
"Don't do anything else until after I've spoken with FSB," Greenaway said, referring to the lead detectives. "I'll see you later."
The two detectives nodded in agreement and left.
Greenaway texted Fenton the most damaging photo. She then sat back. Spalding was completely on the money about this. How were they going to rescue Spencer?
…
Fenton called an emergency meeting the middle of the afternoon. She took the photos and blew them up on the projector.
"If the other agents are being terrorized like this," Fenton said. "We're looking at a massive conspiracy."
"I don't like being right," Spalding said.
"So, the detectives found photos of these agents tied up and strategically beaten with a note under each saying worse would happen if they didn't do as instructed," Bridges said.
Spalding looked at the drugs photographed. "No wonder Dr. Reid is being driven to the brink of insanity. When a sane person is prescribed some of these drugs, plus what the hospital is prescribing, they are going to act out."
"How are they getting it in though?" Fenton asked.
"In high concentrations and smashed into a micro-fine power using the crushing tools on display, it can be transmitted through touch, food, and porous materials such as paper."
Greenaway looked angry.
"Someone could threaten to beat me to death and I still wouldn't do this to Reid," she said.
"They might not all be threatened with physical violence," Bridges said. "They might be threatening family members and using blackmail as possibilities."
"Thinking of the bigger picture, who has the resources to pull off something like this?" Fenton asked.
"Aside from reclusive billionaires, no one," Spalding said. "We're looking at a group with a leader."
"This team has been targeted by psychos before," Greenaway said. "How is this different?"
"Because I think this is the first known instance of crowd sourced torture," Spalding said.
"Seriously?" Bridges said.
"There was a paper published in the field of criminal psychology that suggested the technology used to crowdfund positive causes can be used for negative ones."
"So, if I were to Google 'ways to torture the BAU' threatening to physically assault team members to get them to dose another with psychotropic drugs to get him to think he has schizophrenia would show up?" Fenton asked.
"This all probably takes place on the Dark web," Spalding said. "There is a ringleader but finding most likely him will take time."
"What are the risks associated with long term exposure to these drugs?" Greenaway asked.
"Long-term abuse hasn't been studied at length in this category of drugs," she said. "Theoretically, if they stopped dosing him he should return to normal in a matter of days."
"That's the best news I've heard since this ordeal began," Bridges said.
"But we can't stop them from dosing him yet, can we?" Greenaway asked. "We need to find the ringleader."
"The facility he is being held in has sound proof rooms, right?" Fenton asked.
"I've been reviewing surveillance footage," Bridges said. "I think their phones have be jacked so someone is always listening."
"I have schematics for jack-blocking technology," Spalding said.
"I'm not even going to ask how you got them," Fenton said. "How long will it take to implement the technology?"
"It's works like a looping tool," Spalding said. "Every phone just needs to be linked for five seconds with another phone."
"I want a plan for how to implement this by tomorrow," Fenton said. "I have Reid's visitation schedule. Start linking after each person has visited to minimize risk. Then we're going set up a chat in the hospital with Jameson on Wednesday with the entire team in one of those sound-proof rooms."
She then turned to Greenaway.
"Reassign any detective who hasn't been active here for more than five years. Draft another memo that everyone needs to exercise an abundance of caution. We are on dangerous footing with this."
"Understood," Greenaway said.
"I'd like to meet with Dr. Reid before the big team meetup," Spalding said. "It would explain Jameson's visit here and the exorbitant fee charged to his card."
"He was already smart," Fenton said. "The account was for a virtually untraceable Cayman account. I attribute it to paranoia from his divorce. You have my approval."
"Okay," she said.
Fenton put her hands on the table.
"You all have every right to be scared right now," she said. "We are in uncharted territory with a criminal mastermind more sick and devious than anyone we've ever faced. There is no shame in bowing out."
"I joined up to cross lines others couldn't," Bridges said. "I'm in until the end."
"I could never abandon someone like Dr. Reid," Spalding. "I'm staying."
"You couldn't threaten or pay me to stay away from this," Greenaway said.
"I founded this agency with you three ladies to fight injustices others couldn't," Fenton said. "I am not going to stop, regardless of how big the threat is."
"Go team," Bridges said lightly.
…
Everything was in a constant state of jumble. He couldn't think clearly. Voices kept telling him to do things he shouldn't. Nothing made any sense. The world was torture for Reid.
He entered Jameson's office and saw a woman was with him. She was dressed in black and had dark hair cut in a sharp bob that contrasted against her almost paper-white skin.
"Spencer," Jameson said. "This is Doctor Sophia Spalding. She's an outside therapist I'd like you to speak with to get a fresh take on how I should be treating you. Is that okay?"
The voices were telling him to punch her to see what color she bruised.
"Fine," he said.
"I'll leave you two alone," Jameson said and left.
Spalding sat in a chair next to him instead of behind the desk.
"Which do you prefer?" she asked. "Dr. Reid or Spencer?"
"Dr. Reid," he said.
"Okay, Dr. Reid," she said. "Are there any voices telling you to do bad things right now?"
"They want me to punch you to see what color you bruised," he said.
"My skin is an unusual shade of white," she said. "I was very close to being born albino but wasn't."
"It is estimated that there are fewer than two hundred thousand people in the US living with albinism," he said.
"One in seventeen thousand have it," she said.
Reid didn't know what to say. He felt overstimulated. There were so many thoughts constantly at war within him.
"Dr. Reid," she said. "May I touch you?"
"Yes," he said.
She took his hand and sandwiched it, between hers.
"Let out your pain, Dr. Reid," she said. "I won't judge."
He looked into her eyes. They were sharp as daggers, but they were beautiful.
"I wish I wasn't crazy," he said.
"No one is completely sane in this world, Dr. Reid," she said.
"I think you're stunning," he said.
Then, before he could stop himself, he used his other hand to punch her in the face.
Reid fell to the ground sobbing.
"Why do I keep doing things like this?" he screamed. "Why!?"
"I'm not judging you Dr. Reid," she said firmly. "I'm not."
"Go," he said without looking at her. "Go please."
"Have a good day, Dr. Reid," she said. "I hope we meet again under better circumstances."
He didn't say anything in response.
…
Spalding sat in Greenaway's office with an icepack to her cheek.
"He's developed quite a left hook," she said.
"Why didn't you try to block it?" Greenaway asked. "Everyone on the mats is going to be asking about who managed to get a swipe at you in."
"It would have escalated a situation that needed de-escalation," she said.
"Find out anything useful for your troubles?"
"He's scared of his own mind," she said. "He has an awareness to what is going on that scares him."
"How does that help us?"
"It will help Jameson develop a treatment plan once we can get the drugs out of his system."
"Anything else on your mind?" Greenaway.
"Do you think the feds will let us throw a few extra kicks in when we take these psychos down?"
"We can only hope," Greenaway said. "I would."