A/N: Thanks to Silvermoon of Forestclan, pmbs1992, McGriddle96, Little Bloody Angel, lovesreidforever, Avenacookie, msdarque, inee, rya13, criminalxxxmindsxxxreid, Artemis Sparks and TenshiNanashi for the reviews! You guys are seriously amazing! I love you all! And I am having such fun writing this story…
Now… FORWARD! MARCH! Lol :P
Onto chapter 10! YAY double digits!
And YAY the BAU is arriving! Finally! WOOT!
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Chapter Ten
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Lisbon was starting to hate LA. The traffic was terrible, the people were rude and she was stuck in a car with Patrick Jane. How could things possibly get any worse than this? All she wanted was to get back to the police station, find out if the FBI agents had arrived and what had happened with the security footage and then, get back to the hotel and sleep. For as long as she possibly could before waking up again and repeating all of this over and over and over.
"I'm bored, Lisbon." Jane sighed heavily in the seat next to her and Lisbon's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Sometimes, she could swear Jane had the attention span of a five year old on a sugar high. And that was on his good days.
"What do you want me to do, Jane? We're stuck in traffic."
Jane fidgeted restlessly. "I don't know. Something." He pouted and leaned his head against the window, watching his breath fog up the glass. "Fighting crime should never be so boring."
Lisbon rolled her eyes. "You've been with us how long Jane? I'm sure you've noticed that crime fighting can't all be action and car chases."
"I know!" Jane sighed, "But it should be. It looks much more interesting on TV. If they portrayed it the way it really is, with all this waiting around and getting stuck in traffic and paper work, no one would want to be a cop anymore."
The Senior Agent snorted, "You don't do paper work, Jane."
"I know," Jane nodded. "And it's a good thing too; I'd die of boredom. Just watching you struggle through it gives me sympathy pains."
Lisbon smirked at him and rolled her eyes, thankful when the cars ahead of her started moving again. She glanced down at her phone as it started buzzing and she flipped it open. "Yeah, Van Pelt? …What? They did? … You did? Who? WHAT? !" She scowled and glanced around, phone still pressed to her ear while Jane watched her curiously.
"Are you sure?"
"What happened?" Jane asked, keen blue eyes riveted to the agent's face. "Something good? Is it interesting?"
Lisbon sent him a venomous glare and shushed him. "Of course, of course. No sense keeping him in there any longer than we need to." She sighed, "Jane and I'll head back over there." She snapped the phone shut and glared at it for a moment before clipping it back to her belt.
Silently, Lisbon swore. Why couldn't Van Pelt have called just fifteen minutes earlier when they were still in the parking lot of Celia's office? Why?
Jane was practically bouncing in his seat. "Are you finally letting Dr. Reid go? Did the FBI get the footage? What happened? Who was it? Was it her agent? Because I told you, Lisbon, soulless…"
"Jane!" Lisbon slammed her hand against the wheel to shut him up. "Seriously, calm down."
He pouted, "Well, tell me what happened then."
She sighed, ignoring him for the moment and making a sudden turn.
"Whoa!" Jane grabbed onto the handle above the door and swayed in his seat while Lisbon maneuvered the SUV expertly away from on-coming traffic and managed to turn them around. "What are we doing?"
"Going to arrest Celia Jorge; we've got her face on the security tapes from the hotel, breaking into Dr. Reid's room."
Jane grinned. "I told you, Lisbon. I told you he was innocent."
"Alright, Jane, I get it. You were right."
"I always am."
Lisbon scowled, "Seriously, shut up, or I will not only shoot you, but I'll throw you into traffic after I do."
Jane thought about that for a moment, "Hm. Your threats are getting more violent, Lisbon. Did you switch to Decaf without telling anyone?"
She sent him another death glare and he just smiled at her, eyes sparkling, as he settled back in for the drive back to Celia Jorge's office. He felt vindicated, if it were really right to feel that way when a woman's life had been taken, but couldn't help but think there was something missing.
Why would Celia kill Lila? Aside from the half a million dollars she gained from the life insurance policy, there wasn't much. And Jane had a feeling that policy was really more a red herring than anything else. So what was her motive behind the brutal murder? Just like that, his grin fell and he stared at the river of traffic lights, wondering what he had missed and where.
~/.\~
Reid's back was starting to ache and his legs were feeling numb. He'd gotten up a few times and stretched, but mostly, he just sat in the uncomfortable chair, waiting and wondering and thinking. It was strange how tired he could grow of thinking when most of the time, his mind was his solace. His one true escape. Not now, though. Now, his mind felt more like a nightmarish prison, constantly replaying the scene he'd walked in to upon arriving at Lila's house. Picking apart everything he had done and that he hadn't done, wondering if there had been anything he could do to prevent her from being hurt. To protect her like he was supposed to.
He wasn't exactly sure how long he'd been in the interrogation room, sitting and thinking. He'd stopped bothering to keep track of the time a while ago. But he was grateful that they hadn't taken him back down to one of the holding cells again. It was cold and dark down there and he was really and truly alone. At least here, he could see agents and cops and interns bustling around busily and he could pretend he wasn't alone.
The door was suddenly pushed open and a young, smiling redhead greeted him. He wasn't sure what her name was, but he knew she was one of the CBI agents that worked with Jane and Cho and Lisbon.
"Hi, Dr. Reid, I'm Grace Van Pelt." She greeted him, her smile sweet and a little bit naïve if he were being honest. He remembered when he had been like that. In fact… in all honesty, he sometimes still was. But after the incident in Georgia, he'd been less naïve, more cautious, paranoid and sometimes downright cynical.
He weakly returned her smile, "You can call me Spencer… or Reid, if you want." He shrugged absently.
Her smile broadened and Reid decided he liked the young woman, though… young wasn't exactly right. She was probably his age, if not a bit older. "Spencer then," she nodded. "I always liked that name."
He managed a more sincere smile that time, "Thanks. Uh… did something happen? Are Agent Lisbon and Jane back yet?"
"Oh, no, they're still with Lila's agent, but I do have good news." She practically beamed then. "You're friend, Garcia? She got the hotel to send us the security footage and we found Celia Jorge breaking into your hotel room earlier this morning so… you're free to go." She smiled again and Reid sat there for a moment, staring at her.
"Celia? She… she put the knife in my hotel room?" Reid asked incredulously. That made no sense. Why would she kill Lila? She had seemed so close to her; they'd been friends. At least, he thought they'd been friends. And he liked to think he was a fairly decent judge of character most of the time…
Van Pelt's smile fell a little, "She did. It looks like she's Lila's killer…"
Reid sat in silence for a long moment, dumfounded.
Van Pelt pressed her lips together, "Do you know Celia well?" she asked gently, carefully.
Reid blinked, "Uh… not well, no. We met several times though; she seemed like a nice woman."
Van Pelt nodded, recalling her previous conversations with the agent. She had seemed upset, kind, gentle and even compassionate. It didn't track that she would be a killer or that she would frame Reid for it of all people. But the video footage didn't lie. "Sometimes, you just never really know people, you know?"
Reid nodded absently, "Yeah…"
"Well…" Van Pelt cleared her throat. "Morgan and Prentiss are waiting outside and the rest of your team should be landing soon, so you're welcome to stick around and see if you can help. It's getting pretty late though…" she trailed off.
"I'll stay a while. My team's probably going to show up here anyway… And it's not like I'm getting much sleep lately." He stood and took a breath, offering Van Pelt a shaky but genuine smile and followed her out of the interrogation room gratefully, glad at least that he didn't have to worry about proving his innocence any longer.
~/.\~
The receptionist looked up when Lisbon and Jane came back through the lobby and started to greet them but Lisbon flashed her badge in the woman's face and kept going without a word. Jane grinned at the confused woman and hurried after her, that excited light dancing in his eyes.
They could hear voices murmuring agitatedly in the office and Lisbon sighed heavily. She'd been hoping that Harvey Bulkwright had gone by now; she really didn't want to have to talk to him again after the conversation they'd just had.
This time, instead of barging in, Lisbon knocked on the door and waited impatiently. "Miss Jorge, it's Agent Lisbon. We need to speak to you. Now."
The voices on the other side of the door stopped and there was a long pause before Harvey Bulkwright's angry face appeared at the door, "Look, Agent, we've answered all of your questions and it's nearly nine o'clock at night. Surely this can wait until morning?"
Lisbon's jaw was tight, "It could, Mr. Bulkwright, if it didn't involve murder and an innocent man being framed for it."
Harvey scowled, "You've already been here once, now I insist that you leave."
Lisbon glared at him, "This isn't your office; you don't have the right to make me leave and I am a State Agent, Mr. Bulkwright. Step aside. I need to speak to Miss Jorge."
"About what?" Harvey demanded.
"I don't think that really concerns you." Lisbon snarled, staring the man down with flashing green eyes. He muttered under his breath angrily and stepped aside with painful slowness. Lisbon didn't even bother giving him another look as she stepped inside and spotted the agent across the room, sitting down now, looking confused.
"Agent Lisbon, can I help you?" she asked curiously, her voice tight. She licked her lips nervously and tried to meet Lisbon's eyes, but her gaze kept swiveling away after only a second or two.
"Yes, you can. Can you explain why hotel security footage caught you sneaking into Dr. Reid's hotel room this morning while he was out?" Lisbon asked, her eyes never wavering off the nervous woman.
Celia's mouth fell open slightly and all the blood drained from her face. "I… I d-don't… I have no idea… I-"
Jane frowned, watching her have some sort of mini-seizure or stroke at her desk and Lisbon scowled, moving around behind her and pulling her cuffs off her belt. "Stand up, Miss Jorge. You're under arrest."
~./.\~
Morgan and Prentiss were sitting in the bullpen with Cho and Rigsby, talking quietly.
"So, this guy went from just killing people to playing some twisted game with Jane?" Prentiss raised a brow, glancing toward Morgan. "Really?"
Rigsby nodded, "Yeah. I mean, he killed other women after… y'know, but not as often."
"And for a couple of years he didn't kill anyone at all… not unless they were a threat." Cho nodded.
Morgan frowned, "Sound familiar?"
"Eerie is more like it." Prentiss murmured. "Except, it's not the same. Red John killed eight women before going after Jane's family, right? By that time, killing isn't as fun, remember? So, when that interview aired, he wasn't just angry, he found a new opportunity to do something different."
"And now, he's got someone to play with." Morgan mused. "Someone smart enough and driven enough to actually catch him. It's like a game to him. Cat and Mouse…"
"But which one's the cat and which one's the mouse?" Prentiss tilted her head. "Kinda hard to figure out at this point. They're both chasing the other but… for different reasons."
"What do you mean?" Rigsby frowned, "Different reasons?"
Prentiss pressed her lips together, "Jane is trying to find Red John to make him pay for what he did to his family… He wants him dead."
Cho nodded in agreement. "I think 'dead' is an understatement."
Morgan nodded, "True enough… But Red John doesn't want that."
"Want what?"
"Want Jane dead." Prentiss clarified. "He's having too much fun; plus, he's had opportunities to kill him before and he didn't take them. Because his entire goal in this is to keep the game going, to keep playing with him."
"Huh…" Cho looked thoughtful. "That makes sense."
Prentiss smirked slightly, "We don't get paid for nothing you know."
"I just talked to Lisbon," Van Pelt said, walking into the bullpen with Reid behind her looking pale and tired. "They're on the way back with Celia now."
"Great, means we can get some sleep soon." Rigsby yawned and leaned back in his chair. Van Pelt smiled and shook her head, taking a seat at a desk. Reid stood there and sighed, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.
Morgan and Prentiss eyed the younger man worriedly, wondering what exactly they were supposed to say to him. "You alright, kid?" Morgan asked gently when he sat down beside him and scrubbed him hands tiredly over his face.
"Fine, I guess." Reid sighed. "Just tired and ready for this to be over." He straightened up and blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the stray tears of frustration, exhaustion and horrible, gut-twisting pain.
"It will be," Prentiss promised him. "Agent Lisbon and Jane went to arrest Celia; they'll probably question her in the morning, right?" She glanced toward the CBI agent who nodded quietly. "And the team is on the way here."
Reid smiled, "I heard." He nodded. "Guess Garcia's not very happy right now."
Morgan chuckled, "Not happy at all, kid. She told me to tell you that if you ever do something like this to her again, she'd post her Photoshopped pictures of you on Facebook."
Reid frowned, "What Photoshopped pictures?"
"The ones you aren't allowed to see and won't have to deal with if you can keep yourself out of trouble, mister." Garcia's voice echoed slightly down the hall as she marched into the LAPD bullpen, a worried look on her face, moving quickly like a colorful, yet angry, ball of energy. The rest of the team followed behind her at a more normal pace, smiling faintly when she wrapped her arms around Reid tightly.
"Are you ok?" she demanded. "They didn't hurt you did they?" she turned to frown at Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt. "Were they mean to you? Do I need to do something?"
"I'm fine, Garcia…" he assured her, giving her a sad, watery smile. "They were just doing their jobs. It's alright."
The technical analyst grumbled under her breath, frowning at the CBI agents. "Fine." She sighed. "But I'm warning you CBI people… if you do one more thing to hurt my baby, I'll make your lives hell."
Rigsby blinked, looking somewhat intimidated by this colorful, up-front woman. Van Pelt smiled and nodded and assured her that nothing else would happen and Cho looked… well, like Cho always looked. Stoic and unruffled by even the overly-loud personality of the technical analyst.
"How are you, Spence?" JJ asked quietly, giving him a gentle hug and patting his hair motherly.
"I'm exhausted and I'm angry…" Reid sighed. "But I'm fine, JJ, really."
She sighed, nodding and taking a seat across from them. Hotch and Rossi remained standing, both looking around the LAPD with frowns. They hadn't been here in a while, but not much had changed. They'd even seen a few officers that they'd worked with before.
The Unit Chief nodded to the CBI agents, holding his hand out to Rigsby and Cho.
"I'm Aaron Hotchner," he introduced himself. "This is Agent Rossi, our Media Liaison, Agent Jennifer Jareau and our Technical Analyst, Penelope Garcia." He motioned to all of them briefly.
"Wayne Rigsby," Rigsby offered the man a somewhat dry smile and shook his hand, glancing at the other agents and nodding a greeting to them briefly. "This is Grace Van Pelt and –"
"Kimball Cho." Cho shook Hotch's hand, meeting his steady gaze with one of his own.
"Your boss isn't back yet?" he asked curiously.
"No, but she's on her way. She arrested Celia Jorge." Van Pelt explained, pressing her lips together.
"She'll be here any minute now." Rigsby added, "They just called a few minutes ago."
"Good…" Hotch trailed off, his eyes falling to Reid. The younger man looked like hell. Pale, hair and clothes rumpled, dark circles under his eyes. He even look a little thinner if it were possible to look so emaciated after only three days. He wondered if the kid had even eaten anything at all.
"You understand we're not here to interfere with the investigation, right?" Hotch wanted to make sure that they were clear on that. "We're just here to help Reid."
"Absolutely," Van Pelt nodded. "We totally understand that. And Dr. Reid is free to go of course, but I'm sure Lisbon wouldn't mind if he wanted to stay for a while," she glanced to the younger man. "See if he can help maybe."
"I think that's a good idea." Rossi spoke up. "If it's alright with you, maybe we'll all stay. At least until Agent Lisbon gets back."
The CBI agents glanced at each other, uncertain, and nodded slowly. "Sure," Rigsby nodded. "We're not really doing much of anything right now."
"Then we're staying." Garcia nodded, squeezing Reid's hand tightly in her own. "I've got a few things to say Agent Lisbon anyway… And I want to meet Mr. Jane in person."
~M/CM~
A/N2: So… Reid's out of jail, the BAU has arrived and Celia's been arrested. Why don't I think this is over yet? Oh right… because it isn't XD
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter, Garcia and Jane get to meet ;P Can't wait to write that!
Thanks so much for all of your support!
Please let me know what you think! Pwetty pwease! :3