Chapter 24

Giuseppe continued to laugh. And the team stood frozen wondering where exactly this was going. They wanted to know what this was all about.

"Like I told you, the business of making someone disappear and never being found. It is a perfect art- one that the FBI has had to master over the years, aren't I right? So you are going to help me and my father plan Spencer's disappearance. You are going to erase him from your life- you're going to erase his life as an FBI agent. And then, you are going to promise not to look for him. Ever. I don't care how long you consider him missing, you're not going to look for him. 'Cause he's going to stay here with Pa and me. And the rest of my brothers are going to look after him. So you won't have to worry about him."

"You mean other then the point that he's going to spend the next years in the hands of a known killer and his minions?" Derek hissed, furious with the speech. There was a long pause where everyone wondered what was wrong.

"My father is not known killer. You just think that he's a killer. That's your personnel lack of judgment. Not me. If my father says that he didn't do it, then he didn't do it. End of the story. Now, we have to talk about the terms and agreements that we are going to reach in order for this thing not to come out in the open. Either that or…we contact the media about the incompetence and little ability that the FBI has. And how well they do at ignoring and placing people with criminal records on their team." Derek paused, wondering if they were talking about him.

"What do you mean? Who has a criminal record? I background checked every member on this team." Hotch hissed furiously. How dare he call them, his team incompetent? It was annoying. There was a dark chuckle again that made Hotch stop.

"And yet, my youngest son was able to get onto your team without much problem. He gave you a fake name- a name that he created and then he worked with you for what- almost 3 years? That means that he was about 16 when he joined you. That's way too young. What would you say if I told you that I had placed my son there to spy on the FBI? That he had been helping me the entire time? Would you believe me? How much do you really know about him? About Luca?"

"We know that he is a thousand times smarter then you are." Morgan hissed. There was another pause, one that they didn't want to hear. Then there was another laugh.

"He never told you, did he? He never told you anything. Not one thing about him or his real life. Luca's got quite the impressive criminal record. So don't tell me that he doesn't. Here, I'll send it to your darling Penelope." Giuseppe said. Garcia turned towards the lap top that she had been working on. It suddenly came up. And Garcia almost choked on her coffee. Where was this file hidden away? She scanned it and found that it was the truth. Robbery, Assault, Attempted Fraud…the list kept going. And she noticed that he had also spent 3 or 4 months in prison when he was 15. That's when she seen something that immediately caught her eye. Murder. Murder? Luca was wanted for murder? She turned towards the rest of the team.

"Who did he 'murder'?" Morgan asked coldly. Spencer had played them. He had spent time in jail, he had almost been convicted of murder. What was this all about? There was no laugh this time just a silent pause.

"He actually didn't do that. It's the only thing on there that's untrue." Toni said.

"Then who did?" Hotch said looking over the case. There was another pause.

"I did. I killed the man." Giuseppe said his voice full of steel. Hotch read the man that had been killed and almost had a heart-attack. He had been a part of this case. He had been the chief prosecutor. And the man he had convicted…that's when he realized where he had seen Giuseppe before.

"I almost convicted you of this crime. You plead not guilty for the crime and you had a young lawyer, which is why we thought that you'd honestly be a pushover. We thought it was a joke. But when we actually got into court the boy completely destroyed us. That's when we really noticed that you had hired the best. He was crooked, wasn't he? He knew all along that it was you."

"You haven't figured it out yet? Luca was my lawyer. He has a Master's degree in law and he's a certified lawyer. And of course he knew the truth. He's my brother." Hotch stood for a moment and they looked at him in surprise.

"You trusted your brother?" Hotch asked.

"I'd trust my little brother with anything and everything. I trust him with my life. The time that he spent in jail, it wasn't for a crime that he committed. He smuggled me out and took my place, and then they found him and they made him stay another 3 months before he convinced them that he didn't know what he was doing. I owe him a lot. He was never convicted of anything. He was able to prove that he didn't do it every time. It was amazing." Derek slowly understood what they were saying. The time he'd spent in jail wasn't really for his own crime but for the crime of someone else. He felt awful for thinking of him in such an awful way.

"Did he actually commit any of the crimes?" Derek asked coldly. Giuseppe laughed.

"You don't give him enough credit. Of course he committed some of the crimes. Even after he left us, apparently we had installed it into him well enough. He was quite the little ball of trouble. All the teachers thought that he was crazy. A genius mind like that and he was wasting his time with crime. We thought that it was brilliant. The boy was a bloody genius. He still is." Giuseppe said laughing.

"If he was so devoted to you, then why did he come to work with us? Or did you send him to work with us?" Elle asked, talking for the first time in a long time. There was another laugh, only this time it was a bitter laugh. A cold and bitter laugh.

"If we really wanted him to be there- if we had sent him to work with you, then why would we have taken him back by force? That doesn't make sense to me. No, that was his other brothers doing. Spencer. He pulled him out of the family business and told him to find something meaningful to do with his life. So he did. He joined the FBI and stayed with you for 3 years. But we got him back."

"I want to talk to him." Hotch said suddenly.

"Talk to whom? Luca? He won't remember you. Not that he really wants to, believe me. And why should he talk to you? You're with the FBI."

"I want proof that he's still alive. I want proof that he doesn't remember us. I want proof." Hotch said with growing fear and conviction. Was it possible that Luca- Spencer was in trouble? Or was he hurt? Or…was it possible that he was dead.

"Alright, alright you've got a point. You can talk to him. I'll go get him." They heard a door open and close. They waited a few minutes before the door opened again.

"Pa? You asked for me?" a voice said. Hotch looked at the others and they gave him the same look.

"Yes, Luca. There are some FBI agents on the phone who are looking for you."

"Pa, I just got home. I haven't done anything yet!" They were frozen. Then there was a dark chuckle.

"I like the 'yet' part Luca. That's the best thing to say when the FBI is waiting on the other line."

"Shut up, Matthew." Luca said, "Just shut up." Toni chuckled. "Now, what is it exactly that you want me for?" Luca asked, directing the question towards the phone.

"Luca?"

"Pen?"

Dun dun dun...

Am I keeping you on the edge of your seat?

See ya soon.

Lots of Love.

LUCATONI