A.N.: Sorry guys I kept you waiting again, I'll be posting more often from now on.
Thanks to SeeMeInTheShadows, cyn23, KASEY64, wolfeylady, the-vampire-act and tearbos for reviewing, and of course to REIDFANATIC for beta-reading!
Chapter 6: The Sanctuary
Monday came at last. Around two in the afternoon, Hotch's cell phone rang.
"Hotchner."
"Sir, it's Alan Dawson. I spoke to Mr. Hanson."
"I'm listening."
"He agreed to talk to two of your agents, having them as visitors in the sanctuary. Normally, other visitors would stay there at least two or three days to fully get to know everything, but Mr. Hanson understands that you have no time to waste, so he offered that you could leave the next morning if you want to."
"We appreciate his kindness," Hotch said politely, feeling rather ridiculous that he, as a leader of a team of FBI agents, had to be grateful that a civilian was willing to see him.
"He's waiting for you at any time today, or any other day except Wednesday and Saturday when the meetings are taking place."
"We're very likely to visit him right away."
"All right sir, but he can't take you there because he's riding a bike. Head out of town to the west; in about five or six minutes there will be a dirt road to the left. It's too narrow for a car so the agents should walk about half a mile to the sanctuary. It's impossible to get lost; all you have to do is just follow the road."
"Thank you," Hotch said briefly and ended the call. Prentiss, JJ and Reid, who were sitting with him in the empty office Trevors had given them for work, were looking at him with questioning eyes. They were going through the victims for at least the hundredth time without any result, and they envied Morgan and Rossi who were hanging around in town and questioning people in places the victims probably often visited.
Hotch tiredly rubbed the skin between his eyes. "He's willing to see us, at last. I want to have him interrogated right away. You two," he pointed at Prentiss and Reid, "can go and visit him. Can I count on you?"
Two soft 'yeses' were heard. Hotch briefly told them what he had heard from Dawson.
"I'm feeling strange." Reid announced.
He and Prentiss were walking on the dirt road Dawson had spoken of. The forest was silent around them, the trees were bald, the sky grey and the ground brown with large spots of half-melted snow. The air was cold and they could see their own breaths coming out in white fumes in front of their faces.
"Why? Because we're about to spend the night in the meeting place of a suspicious cult?" Prentiss guessed teasingly.
"No… because I haven't had enough coffee this morning," he answered plainly, ignoring Prentiss' chuckling noise. "They make awful coffee here. I doubt it has ever seen caffeine."
"So, practically… you're not feeling strange, you're feeling sleepy."
"No, Prentiss, if I felt sleepy, I would have said that. But it's just… I don't know, a kind of uneasiness."
"You're an addict, admit it," Prentiss teased more, which made Reid fall silent.
"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized, becoming aware of her words. "I mean… for caffeine."
Reid smiled. "Well tell me something I don't know."
"That's not fair," she laughed. "You know I don't stand a chance!"
"I think we're here." Reid stopped and pointed forwards. A couple of houses appeared in front of them on the end of the road. They weren't protected by a fence, just stood there like a farm, strangely in the middle of the forest. They looked very old.
The two agents approached the 'sanctuary'.
"Hello?" Prentiss called out as they entered the biggest building through an open door. The house seemed unoccupied.
Reid looked around, the uneasiness still swirling in his stomach. What if it's a trap? a sudden thought sprang to his mind. No, cool down, he calmed himself. They weren't here to catch a suspect. They are here to ask a couple of questions.
The agents entered a big hall full of chairs. The walls were plain white, with brown and red carpets on the floor and a large, strange painting facing them at the far end of the hall. It showed a brown grain field with an unnaturally dark sky, and nothing else.
"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Prentiss stepped next to Reid who kept staring at the picture.
Suddenly a noise broke the silence and a door opened near the painting. A man hurried towards them; he was in his early thirties, tall, with brown hair and a friendly gaze.
"You must be the ones from the FBI," he said before he even reached the agents. "I'm Riley Hanson, and thanks for agreeing to pay us a visit. It's a pleasure to meet you."
They shook hands. Reid resisted the urge to ask him why he was so stubborn about having them spend a whole night here instead of just answering a couple of questions.
"So, first of all, I'm going to lead you around, show you where everything is. This room where we're standing right now is our meeting place…" He seemed pretty enthusiastic.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you but you are aware that we're only here because it's our job?" Prentiss asked, "you don't have to labor so much like with other visitors. We just have some questions."
"It's okay," Hanson nodded but he didn't seem resentful. "I just thought you might be interested a bit in our religion if you've come here…"
"We are," Reid hurried to reassure him. "Could you tell me something about that picture on the wall?"
"Sure. That's my work. It symbolizes the emptiness and meaninglessness of life, in a nutshell. We think that a man needs something spiritual to show him the way, to show him how to overcome life's monotony. Most people often feel that there's nothing interesting in their lives, nothing that leads you to the greater good, or however they put it. When we come together, they can find happiness in each other's company. It's all about happiness."
"So… isn't there something you actually believe in?" Reid asked.
Hanson smiled. "There is, of course. Basically, in my opinion, everyone believes in what he wants to believe in. That's very simple. We all believe that there exists some greater force that holds the world together. Some of us call it God. I call it Mother Spirit, but these are only different names to the same thing. Come, I'll show you where you'll sleep."
They followed him through the door he'd come in, out of the building. He headed for another house, a smaller and older looking one.
"This is the guest house," he explained. "Every time someone wants to join and comes to get to know things, or a member simply comes to find peace here, they can be alone and sleep here. My closest friends, Mark and Chris are usually staying here."
"How often?"
"About five days a week. They don't have a family so I am their family. I think they'll arrive later this evening."
Prentiss and Reid looked around in the small room. Two beds, another two in another room, and a bathroom. The furniture was very old too, but it seemed comfortable for someone who just wanted to be alone here.
"Now come to my house," Hanson called them, pointing towards the third house which was larger than the guest house but a lot smaller than the first one. "I'll make some tea then I'll be at your service."
I know it's not too long but I promise next chapter will come tomorrow:)
