A.N.: I'm heading home from university tomorrow! I'll have a bunch of time to write, but I may or may not have WiFi for a few days while my parents get some renovations done on the house. I'll still try to update every few days, though, since there's still a lot to be written! For now, though... enjoy!
"Why do you want to know about them all?" Piper asked, shivering slightly. It had gotten colder outside. The sun must have gone down. "What are you going to do with it?"
"What do they do, the little things that make you angry? Do they leave coffee cups all over the break room, or leave the toilet seat up on your airplane?" Joseph asked, leaning towards her slightly. "Of do they take your lunch out of the fridge, the food you'd been looking forward to all day?"
Piper shifted in the corner of the room, crossing her arms. It didn't seem like anything dangerous to tell him. At least it would keep him talking. If she kept him talking, it would buy her time. "Rossi's old-fashioned, but it doesn't get in the way of our investigations. Hotch - Hotchner - he's the serious one, takes forever to make him laugh. Morgan's always putting himself in danger, and Garcia's a bit odd, but she's sweet. Reid… Reid drinks too much coffee and keeps me up, but he's… he's Spencer."
"You were staying with him, weren't you?"
Piper nodded. "We've been together for months now. I moved in with him after… after I got hurt on a case. We've got an apartment and a dog, and… do you have a dog? Mine's named Chester. He's not too old, but he's definitely not a puppy any more."
"You love him?"
"I've had him for six and a half years, it's hard not to. Even when he chews up my shoes."
"I meant Reid." Joseph was watching her reaction carefully. "Do you love him?"
Piper's answer was immediate. "Yes. More than anyone."
"He must be annoying, though. He's the young one on the team, the one who tries to prove he's smarter than the rest of you combined."
"He is, half the time. I mean, sure, he can miss the obvious, and he's not the best at picking up on social cues, but what are you gonna do?" she shrugged. "He's sweet."
"Every relationship has its problems," Joseph said, trying to lead her on. "I'm sure there are things he does that tick you off, the little things that build up over time that must be begging to be let out."
"He does forget to wash dishes sometimes," she said, thinking. "And he won't do laundry if he's on a case. He'll drink all the coffee in the house and then wonder where it all went. He's such a smartass sometimes, and… I try not to be annoyed, but people can only take so much of it. He'll wake me up with his theories, and it's like he doesn't realize that everyone has their own problems sometimes, like they don't wake up in the middle of the night reliving what happened to them, that he's not the only one…" She trailed off, realizing that the small green light was glowing on the wall. The camera was on. Reid was watching. Her tone changed immediately. "It's a common reaction to trauma. He intellectualizes and tries to block things out. But no matter what, he… he always is willing to sit up with me, let me talk when I have those dreams… he's always been amazing, through everything, despite everything. Spencer…"
"Maybe you want to tell him that, get all of these things out. It could be the last time you hear him alive."
"What did he just say?" Rossi asked, perched on the end of the bed next to Reid. "Think about the words. He doesn't want to kill her. He wants you."
Piper turned to look at the camera. "Spence, I know you're doing your best. I'm sorry. I know everyone's working on this, I know Garcia's sitting up in her ovvice in the middle of the night working like crazy, Morgan's trying to keep you calm, JJ's pacing and trying to think. Hotch is holding you all together, and Rossi's already got a plan. I know you all are doing great work. I trust you. Spence, I love you."
The tangle of voices on the other end of the call silenced, Reid clearing his throat. His voice was level, but Piper could tell it was just below panic. "Piper, if you can hear me… we're doing everything we can, babe. It's hard, I know, but you'll be back with us in no time. Rossi's got an idea of where you are, and i swear I'm not going to ever let go of you when I get you back."
"Spence, I -" The call cut out, Piper sinking back into her corner.
Joseph smiled at her, taking a bag out of his pocket. It was filled with white dust, something she would have said was cocaine if it had been any run-of-the-mill case. "I think it's time, don't you?"
"Time for what?'
He walked over, striding across the room in a couple of paces. "Do you know what this is?"
"I'd say cocaine, but you're too smart for that."
"Hmm, good job, Miss Profiler."
"What is it time for?" she pressed, trying to back further into the corner.
He smiled malevolently, pouring some of the powder into his hand before blowing it into her face. "This."
Reid and the rest of the team were watching all of this happen, Garcia having hacked into the camera system and transmitting constantly, even when Joseph thought the camera was off. "He's not threatening the loved ones. He's drugging them and seeing how far they'll go, how much they'll trust and listen to him. She's following every command blindly," Morgan realized as they watched. "He's moving up the chain of law enforcement, killing people higher and higher up. She's about to die."
"No," JJ resolved. "No she isn't. He's having her play something out, he's antagonizing her. Oh my God... " She turned to the others, saying, "he's training her, getting her practice. He's going to have her kill someone. And it's going to be big."
"Garcia, any word on the facial recognition system?"
"I've got a Joseph Manuel, record of drug crimes, disappeared to South America for a few years, came back as a drug smuggler," Garcia reported, typing quickly. "He's got a house outside of the city and property… he owns an abandoned building in the shipping district. I'll send the address over in a sec. I bet that's where he's got her."
"They're already on the move," Hotch reported. Joseph had guided Piper up the stairs, leaving the basement room empty. "We're going to need protective details on the city officials."
"There are too many variables," Reid said, shaking his head. "Too many people in the city they could be going after. If he's using her as a killer, it's got to be a target bigger than an FBI agent."
"He's going to get rid of her when he's done," JJ breathed, putting a hand to her mouth. "He's got an ultimate target, and now that he's got a trained fighter bent to his will, he'll get the killing done that he's always been after, then get rid of her and disappear."
"Or he'll keep her and use her to get what he wants if he's cornered. Whatever it is, he's possibly going to use her as a bargaining chip."
"They could be going for the mayor, a federal judge, what's bigger than an FBI agent?" Morgan asked. They heard a noise outside. Someone was coming into the hotel late. Probably another traveler just as tired as they were, looking for a place for the night. But something felt off.
Rossi turned to the window, looking out as the car pulled up, parking in a space close to the room they were all huddled in. He watched Piper get out, seeing that she was armed. "A whole team of FBI agents."
