If I don't write tonight. I won't for a few days. Writing is like breathing for me.
Chapter Twelve:
On Tuesday Alton "Q" Bruel texted Cortland that the agents from Quantico were being sent to Chicago to investigate a series of home invasions. Q almost envied Cortland for this assignment. Some people considered California paradise but Q was from Boston. He missed the cold air and the seasons. California was just where he happened to get caught with no way out.
Q was surprised to see a package waiting for him from DC the next day. It was labeled express delivery. He opened it to find a snow globe of the Capital Building. It came with a note:
"This one lights up! Or the model did. I don't know if this one will as I couldn't find a tiny screwdriver to open up the battery compartment. I hope you like it. See you soon Q!
He looked at the bottom and noticed the screw was missing. He pressed open a tab in the compartment and the panel popped open. Along with the panel came a black thumb drive.
Q smiled. "How a very James Bond of you Eileen."
He plugged the thumb drive in and a PowerPoint presentation immediately loaded. They were a series of pictures of Spencer Reid. The first ones were from news clippings then they were followed by shots of Reid taken by Cortland in public. Him drinking coffee. Him reading a book on a park bench. They were very charming. Cortland had a good eye.
The next set was from taken from surveillance footage. Reid doing dishes. Him reading a book. Sipping wine while looking out the window. The pictures slowly revealed more skin. He began to get undressed. It was starting to feel make him feel very uncomfortable as the last photos revealed Reid naked in the shower and in the tub.
The next slide was blank except for a message:
"This is who Reid is now. This is what he'll become if we don't intervene."
They were all pictures of Reid in BDSM situations. It sickened him to the core. He wanted to turn it off, but it felt wrong to not see it through to the end. The last pictures were of him bloodied from head to foot.
The next slide was blank except for a quote:
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ― Edmund Burke.
The final slide contained a DC-based phone number. It stayed there for two minutes.
The show ended and Q watched as the file entered his trash bin and deleted itself. Q clicked on the thumb drive and found nothing. This was Cortland's message.
He looked around his apartment. This had been his life for so long, he never imagined a way out. Q liked to think he was happy. He had a nice circle of friends and went on the occasional date. But none knew he was hiding in plain sight from a group of people he stole from to cover gamboling debts. This was jail disguised as paradise.
Making sure he wasn't followed, Q went to the mall and bought a new phone in cash. He then went back to his apartment and dialed the number.
"Hi Q," Cortland said nervously.
"I'm in Eileen. What do you need me to do?"
