Please see my profile for an important A/N.

Deal with the Devil- Chapter 11

Into the Fire

SSA Aaron Hotchner closed the door behind him as he turned around to face Penelope Garcia. She frowned at the sudden intrusion, but when she realized who had entered her office she smiled the best she could. "Hey Boss-Man! What can I do for you today?"

"You can start off by telling me why you lied to me," Hotch said without skipping a beat.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Garcia frowned. It was the half-truth at the very least. She had a feeling she knew exactly what he was talking about, but she just had to make sure…

"You told us you didn't find anything about 'John'," Hotch glared.

Garcia bit her lip; she had been hoping that her little fib wouldn't have been found out. Besides, she was only lying to make sure that she was right, because if she wasn't her mistake would have very steep consequences, and she wasn't yet willing to accept how fatal they may be.

A knock on the door paused the conversation. Both agents looked up at the new guest, and Hotch immediately fell back into his 'Section Chief' mode. "Just get back to me as soon as you can so I can complete the file, alright?" he easily lied.

"Of course sir," Garcia smiled. "It should be up to you soon."

"Very well then," he nodded. Hotch stood up and brushed passed Rossi. "Excuse me," he muttered as he left the office.

Rossi waited until the door shut again before sitting down opposite of Garcia. Sighing, he leaned forward and watched the red head reach for an unlabeled file. "I suppose you want these," she said quietly, never looking up from her screens. "I don't want to know what's in there Rossi, but if something happens, you have to tell me, alright?"

"You didn't look at them?" Rossi asked. "Weren't you curious?"

"Of course I was," Garcia scoffed, "but my Boy-Genius is entitled to his privacy, and it's clear he doesn't want us knowing about…John." She turned around in her chair, waiting for Rossi to open the file. "I may respect his privacy, but I need to know if Reid's in danger. I'm not a profiler- I can't access that threat."

"I won't let Reid get hurt, Garcia. I can promise you that much," Rossi nodded. "I'll…I'll look over this before we hand it to Hotch, alright?"

"Yeah, sounds good," she nodded, pretending not to know that Rossi was planning on giving only an edited file to Hotch. Then, as Rossi stood up to leave, she spoke up again. "What exactly does this mean, Rossi? What is all this sneaking around about?"

Rossi bit his lip and searched around the room as if an answer would just suddenly appear from the sky. Deciding that the sky gods were against him for the day, he sighed and shook his head. "This means that Reid might've gotten himself in trouble again, but I'm not so sure anymore. If Hotch sees what I think is in the file, both him and Strauss might make a terrible mistake."

"You're answering my riddle with more riddles," Garcia scolded. "You know what? I don't care anymore." She threw her hands up in the air in mock defeat and cut Rossi off from trying to butt in again. "No, just take care of this, alright? And at least talk to him!"

"I'm 'talking' to Reid tonight," Rossi reassured, "and you shouldn't worry. If all works out the way I think it will, this is the last time you'll be caught in the middle of this."

"Good, because I don't like being torn between my family," she mumbled. "Just…just make sure he's okay and drop this whole sneaking around business, alright?" She was met with a small smile as a reply, and she too allowed a smile to spread on her face. "Now go save my baby!"

~* DWTD *~

Spencer Reid stared back and Emily Prentiss with wide eyes. He knew that Foyet would escape, but so soon…?

"Damn it, Reid," Prentiss cursed. "We have to tell Hotch…And Morgan."

"Alright," he nodded. "Let's get this over with."

"Get what over with?" Morgan asked as he approached the two. The nervous demeanor of his two friends made Morgan suspicious, and as he saw the flash of sadness pass Prentiss' eyes, realization dawned on him. "Oh no- no, no, no, no…'

"I'm so sorry Morgan," Prentiss almost whispered.

"Sorry about what?" Hotch asked as snuck up on the group.

Reid placed a fake look of dismay on his face before he said, "The Reaper broke out of jail."

~* DWTD *~

Later that night, Spencer Reid promised Rossi to catch up with him before heading home. Agreeing that they were both hungry, the two profilers decided to talk over a late dinner. Before pulling out of the BAU parking lot, though, he took out the box Foyet had given him and finally opened it. The inside of the black box held an envelope and some sort of golden chain. He went for the envelope first and carefully read it:

Spencer,

In case you haven't already figured it out, I'm not in jail anymore. Don't try to find me, because even if you do, it'll only lead to trouble right now. Things are about to get really messy, and by the time I'm done with Aaron, I can almost guarantee you that you'll no longer want to be with me. If you want me back, I still promise to keep all the promises I made to you. Either way, I will be in contact with you soon enough. Stay safe and keep this necklace with you in case you need reassurance.

With Love Forever,

-Dark Eyes

Sighing, Reid placed the letter in his messenger bag and fingered the golden chain with precision. The inside of the oval charm had a rare thing in it- a picture of the Reaper smiling as he kissed his boyfriend happily. Grinning himself, Reid read over the words printed on the thin paper on the opposite side of it. "I didn't hurt him that day," he read aloud, "but asked him if I could keep the photo instead of hanging it up." His grin momentarily faded as he thought back to the night the photo had been taken. He was sure that his boyfriend had hurt the photographer, but hearing this news brought a bit more relief to him.

Spencer quickly turned his ignition on before finally deciding to put the locket on. Luckily Foyet had made it low enough as to where his team members wouldn't be able to see it. Then, driving off, he prepared himself for whatever may happen next.

~* DWTD *~

A little shorter than I wanted, but *Shrugs. I can only do so much! Up next: The fairy tale relationship w/ Foyet and Reid is tested when Rossi finally speaks up about it. Also, check out my profiler and new poll!