interesting chapter. sorry for the delay again. things keep happening in my life that i have no control over and for some reason, that effects my writing time. i think things are starting to slow down though so i might get the next chapter up sooner. its already all planned out. it just needs to be written down. anyways, on with the story and on with creepy harold
Rossi tried to cover up his head as he made his way through the crowd of people outside the police station. People were everywhere holding up signs and shouting obscenities at him as he tried to pass them. He saw teenage girls wearing provocative clothing as they begged with officers to let them inside, and then he saw parents of the victims with murder written across their faces. Rossi knew that he should be used to idiotic people flocking outside, but it was hard to watch all the young girls rooting for Harold's release. Didn't they realize that Harold would kill all of them if he was given the chance? One girl threw herself at Rossi when he was trying to walk by. She had printed out a picture of Harold, and pasted it to the poster board she was holding. Rossi guessed she couldn't be any more than sixteen years old.
"Please, let me in to see him. I love him!"
Rossi lightly pushed the girl away from him, and looked around for Prentiss and Hotch who were closer to the door than he was, but they seemed to be having similar problems of their own.
"Honey, go home. Don't you have homework to do?"
"I won't even go back to school until you release him," she threatened. "He has done nothing wrong!"
Rossi looked back at Hotch and Prentiss and saw that they were going to need assistance more than he was. They were bombarded with both supporters of Harold and people who wanted to go in there to kill Harold themselves.
"He's not what you think he is. I've been doing this job probably longer than you have been alive, and I have never seen anyone like Harold before. He's the face of evil. He doesn't care about anyone else or what other people are feeling," Rossi said. He knew that Harold loved that dog too, but he wasn't going to mention that to her. She needed to go home.
"I know exactly what he is. He is a very handsome man who was arrested because you don't think the same as him."
Rossi wanted to tell her the details of the murders more than anything. He wanted to tell her that he raped the victims before he murdered them. He wanted to tell her that a boy who really wasn't much older than her almost died before they got him to the hospital. He wanted to tell her that when they found Harold he was eating one of his servants, but he couldn't.
"I'm not leaving here until all of you release him!" she told him. "I love him, and I'll do anything to get him back out here with us."
"Do you even know him?" Rossi asked. He didn't remember seeing the girl at the party. In fact, he didn't remember seeing most of these people at the party.
"He knows me in spirit," she said lamely. Rossi guessed that with the news of Harold's arrest, his picture was plastered all over the internet. Young girls saw how handsome he was, and that he did come from a wealthy family. For some reason, that was enough to send them into the heat to protest his arrest. Rossi put his hand on the girl's shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"Sweetie, if it was up to me, Harold would never see the light of day again," Rossi told her. He saw the anger flare up in her eyes, and then she backed into the group of people. Almost on cue, all of them started yelling and shouting again. It seemed louder than the first time. He took this moment as a chance for escape, and he hurried into the station. He thought that Prentiss and Hotch beat him inside, but then he saw Prentiss almost drowning into the angry crowd. Hotch was helping to pull her out, and Rossi sent two officers out to calm down the people. By the time all three of them were safely inside, it looked like they were survivors of a tornado.
"Are you guys alright?" Hotch asked.
Rossi watched Prentiss pull her hair out of her face, and had to ignore a rip in his shirt from the people outside.
"Fine. They are crazy out there!" Prentiss complained.
Rossi was about to join in on the complaints when he saw a couple standing by the front desk. The woman had her dark hair wrapped in a bun, and the gentleman next to her had his hair slicked back. It was obvious by what they were wearing that they were wealthy. Rossi didn't think he had seen so many jewels on one person before, and the shoes the man was wearing didn't look like they had ever been worn out of the house yet.
"What do you mean I can't bail my son out?" the woman yelled.
"I don't think we're out of the woods yet," Rossi guessed. The three of them walked over to the couple, but the couple took no notice of them.
"Ma'am, he is being charged with murder. We can't just let him go," the officer meekly said.
"How much is this place worth," the lady asked looking around. Rossi noted the dark make up she was wearing, and the way that she carried herself was almost of royalty. "I'll offer you double you the cost of this station. I'll triple it. How much?"
Hotch finally broke in the conversation, and stood between the couple and the desk.
"You are Harold's mother?"
"Yes, my name is Olivia and this is my husband, Victor. Who may I ask are you?"
"I am special agent Aaron Hotchner, and these are agents Rossi and Prentiss," Hotch said. Rossi stood next to Hotch, and looked over the couple. Rossi would never have guessed that they were angry other than the tone in Olivia's voice.
"I want my son released this instant. He is probably scared to death in that cell, and I am sure he would just like to go home with his parents."
"He is not a child anymore, and he is in a lot of trouble," Hotch began.
"When we found him, ma'am, he was eating another person and he had one of our agents bleeding to death in his room," Rossi said quickly. He hated not being able to reason with people, and he knew that parents would do nearly anything to protect their child, but this was ridiculous.
"Did you ever actually see him kill someone?" Olivia asked.
"He was EATING someone! We found him eating another man!" Rossi nearly shouted.
"You have no proof of that whatsoever. What if he was just trying to save that other man? Harold studied medicines when was younger, and he was always very interested in the human body. He was probably just trying to help that other person. Harold would never hurt a fly," his mother argued.
"Well, we do have several tapes that were recorded from Harold's house," Prentiss said calmly.
"We just want our son back," the father finally said. Rossi noted that his father was an older man, but he was in good shape physically and he was probably still a looker with the ladies. "We lost our other son due to a tragic accident, and we don't want anything to happen to our Harold. He is a good boy. I am sure that all of this is a big misunderstanding."
"Sir, we understand your pain. We do," Rossi said, "but we cannot just release your son back out into the public. When we found him, he really was eating the flesh off another person. He's a danger to himself and to everyone around him."
"Like I said, what is this building worth?" Olivia asked. "I'm not going to let my son stay in jail like some common criminal. It's not going to happen. Did you know that I could easily let every single one of you lose your jobs? Don't mess with me."
Hotch leaned forward towards her, and looked her straight in the eye.
"Then don't mess with us. I am not allowing your son to be released on bail," Hotch said.
With that, he turned and made his way towards the jail cells. Rossi always loved how Hotch handled situations, but he knew that this wasn't going to be the last time they had to deal with the mommy and daddy of the sexual psychopath.
"Hotch?" Prentiss called out once they were away from the front room. "What are we going to do about them? I don't think they're going to go away."
"I don't know yet," Hotch said as he weaved his way through the different cell rooms.
"They can't bail Harold out, right?"
"I'll sit here all night if I have to. I'm afraid one of the officers will give in and do something stupid. Harold isn't going to go anywhere," Hotch replied.
Rossi had no doubt that Hotch would sleep in the jail all night just to make sure Harold never got out of his cell.
"I'm more afraid of their lawyers than I am of them," Rossi commented. He really was too. He knew how wealthy people could afford lawyers that had the power to get Satan out of charges for murder if they had to.
They stopped at another desk which was entry to the cells in the back of the building. Harold had one of those cells all to himself. Hotch signed in his name without even glancing at the guard, and the three of them made their way back to see the face of the devil.
Garcia could barely contain her excitement at actually being in the same room with Morgan again. She didn't think that she would ever get used to him not being on his feet, but she loved being with him all again. The world was going to continue spinning as far as she was concerned, but it wouldn't be fully right again until they were all together.
"Let's see what they have playing on T.V.," Garcia said. She stood up, and started flipping through the channels. She was trying her best to lighten the mood, but it was hard with all of the nurses rushing between rooms, and she knew that all of them were praying that their frantic steps weren't towards Reid's room.
"I don't think I want to watch something you pick out woman. I'm just getting a vibe that you're goin pick out something with singing chipmunks or sparkling vampires," Morgan complained.
"What have you got against vampires that twinkle?" asked J.J. with a smirk on her face.
"Aw, come on now. Don't join up against me. This isn't fair with me stuck in this stupid bed!"
Garcia laughed with J.J. when Morgan started pouting. She purposely skipped every news station that passed the screen. She knew what all of them were talking about, and that is not something that any of them wanted to hear about. They had to live it.
"Excuse me, agents?"
Garcia hated being referred to as an agent, especially in the hospital setting. That only meant that something was wrong, and what could be worse than her two special boys sleeping in a hospital at night? She felt her face get pale. Something already came to mind what could be worse. J.J. stood up to great the nurse at the door.
"Yes? Is everything alright?" J.J. asked.
Garcia moved closer to the bed to be near Morgan. He needed to protect her from any bad news. She couldn't take much more.
"Well, nothing is really wrong, but there's a bit of chaos outside the hospital."
"What do you mean?" J.J. asked after looking back at Morgan and Garcia.
"There are photographers and reporters outside. I didn't tell them anything, but they somehow knew that the agents are being cared for here. They're getting pushier too. We aren't talking to them, but I'm afraid of them getting inside. There's just so many. We don't know what to do so we thought we'd ask you," the nurse nervously said. She kept looking over her shoulder which caused Garcia to think that the hospital would soon be taken over by the media.
"I'll handle it," J.J. said. "Come with me Garcia. I might need some help."
J.J. followed the nurse out of the room, and Garcia squeezed Morgan's hand before she slowly followed. She didn't really want to go face the media. She never really had to do that before. That was always left for the others while she got to sit in the safety of her big chair. She barely turned the corner away from Morgan's room when she heard a commotion. She sped up her pace to keep up with J.J. and was almost blinded when an array of flashes went off in her face. She heard about fifty people shouting at her to look their direction, and she couldn't tell where one voice ended and the other began.
"Ma'am, is it true that the missing agents have been found and that they are in critical condition? What is the extent of their injuries?"
"Is it true that one of them has lost a leg?"
"How much was really eaten off the younger agent? We have confirmations that half of his face is gone."
Garcia wanted to turn around, and hide behind Morgan's closed door. These people were scaring her more than most of the psychopaths she had to research on a daily basis. At least they knew there was something wrong with them. These reporters really had no idea how horrible they were acting. They didn't seem to care that Harold had brutally tortured, raped, and murdered most of his victims. These people were acting like it was just a game. That made Garcia sick.
J.J. was doing a mastery job at ushering all of the freaks back outside and away from the other patients in the hospital. Garcia couldn't even make out what J.J. was telling them because of all the commotion. Whatever she was saying most be like gold to the media's ears. Garcia hoped she was telling him that Reid hadn't been eaten and that was horrible to even think of that.
She was almost too busy ranting inside her own mind to see a photographer sneak past the group and wander deeper into the hospital. She caught him out of the corner of her eye, and she tried to tell J.J. that she was going to follow the sneaky kitten, but J.J. was already gone. Garcia decided to take it upon herself to find that little nosy penguin with a camera and give him a piece of her mind. She turned the corner where she saw him go, but she couldn't see him at all. He had somehow blended in the jumble of the nurses who were hard at work. She tried to scurry past them, but she was having a difficult job trying to keep out of their way. Where did that guy think he was going? She gasped when the realization hit her. He was trying to find Morgan and Reid.
She hurried to Morgan's room, and ran in the open door to find that sneaky cameraman, but he wasn't there.
"What's wrong baby girl?" Morgan asked.
"Did you see a guy with a camera come through here?"
"No, why?"
She dashed out of the room without answering Morgan. She knew how totally rude that was, but she knew the photographer needed pictures for his paper or his blog or maybe his secret bulletins on a social networking cite, but she needed to find him. She had been turning corners and running down hallway for just over five minutes when she realized that she didn't know where Reid's room even was.
"Excuse me, nurse?" Garcia asked going up to a woman with her nose in her notepad.
"Yes?"
"Where is Agent Reid's room at?"
"He's the one who was still pretty sick, right? I think they still have him in critical care which is right down this way," the nurse said pointing down another hallway.
Garcia didn't respond to her, but she actually started running down the hallway. Garcia was out of breath before she got to the quiet hallway that she guessed belonged to Reid. She couldn't be angrier at herself for wearing heels that day, and she made a mental note to take them off when she got back to Morgan's room. When she turned the corner, she saw that fishy photographer out with his camera pointed into one of the rooms. She saw the camera flash, and she felt rage building up inside of her. How could someone actually take a picture of someone else's pain?
"Sir?" she asked, but he ignored her completely and started flashing his camera like crazy. She tripped over a crack in the floor as she hurried to get up to him, but he didn't take any notice.
"Sir? I'm going to ask you to leave the hospital now," Garcia said more sternly when she got closer to him. "Sir?"
She couldn't believe he was flat out ignoring her.
"Sir, I am Penelope Garcia with the FBI and I'm going to have to confiscate your camera and ask you to kindly leave the hospital," Garcia said in her most stern voice possible.
This time, the photographer did turn around. He measured her up and down, and before she could get in another word, he fled. He turned another corner, and he was out of her sight in a matter of seconds. She considered chasing after him until she looked in the window where he had his camera aimed, and she saw Reid for the first time since his abduction. The two nurses in the room didn't notice her peaking in, and she didn't really want to make herself known. Reid was sleeping on his side with all kinds of tubes and wires connecting him to strange machines by his bedside. All she could really see was the back of his head, but she was happy to see that his hair was brushed.
"They're getting ready to move him to an actual room," a kind voice said.
Garcia turned around and saw the doctor standing only a few feet from her. He was also looking in the room at sleeping Reid.
"One of the nurses told me that he did wake up once, but it was only for a few moments. He is getting better though. I'm confident that he will make a full recovery," Meyer said. "Was that another photographer?"
"There's been more? Why haven't you told us until now?" Garcia demanded.
"Most of them have been claiming to visit relatives, and they have their cameras hidden in their bags. I've managed to get rid a lot of them before they get here, but I'm afraid that several magazines have Agent Reid's picture," he said slowly.
Garcia knew how angry that Hotch would be once he found out, but she was more concerned about how Reid would feel if he ever found out. She looked back at the sleeping angel, and the only thoughts that filled her mind were of happier times with the young agent. Despite his sometimes annoying knowledge about every topic available, she didn't know what she would do without him.
"But I was coming to find you to tell you something else," Meyer continued.
"How did you know I would be here? I didn't even know I would be here."
"Well, I went over to Agent Morgan's room and he told me that you went out to chase away the paparazzi. I saw the other agent was getting bombarded by the reporters, and so I figured that you must be over here since you were not with her."
She knew that it was super rude not to look at somebody when they talked, but she couldn't bear to take her eyes away from Reid. She hadn't seen him in so long. She wasn't there when they found him in that evil house, and she wasn't even close to him during his numerous surgeries. The last time she saw him was those photographs that she was forced to look at. She had to blink back a tear remembering the pus all over his back and her dark hero clinging to consciousness.
"Agent?"
Had the doctor been talking to her, and she wasn't listening? She slowly tore her eyes away from Reid when the nurses started to look over his bandages. She imagined that they were checking him over before they moved him.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm listening."
"Someone claiming to be Agent Reid's father has been calling up here quite consistently. He has been demanding to know what the agent's condition is, and where exactly he is being kept. I didn't tell him because I am not going around discussing my patient's matters. It could be another sneaky reporter for all I know, and I hate them. What the boy is going through in there is between me and him, and of course, the rest of his team."
"His father has been calling?" Garcia heard herself say. She couldn't believe that he would have the nerve or even the decency to find out what happened to Reid. She was positive that Reid hadn't talked to him since the incident, and the only reason the older man wanted in his son's life was because Reid almost died.
"Someone claiming to be his father. Like I said, I don't know. The media released reports that both of the agents are being held here, and the man on the phone said that he was on his way here now. He should be here shortly."
Garcia turned back to look at Reid who was now rolled over onto his stomach. His hospital gown was open in the back, and Garcia saw red marks almost glowing through the white bandages. They were covering most of his back, and she felt a lump get caught in her throat. She didn't even see the nurse walk through the doorway.
"Doctor? Would you like to look over him now?" she asked.
"Yes, of course," Meyer answered. "Miss, maybe you should go tell the others about Mr. Reid calling or that Agent Reid's picture will soon be in several newspapers."
Garcia nodded, but she couldn't say anything. She was having a hard time attaching the bloody bandages to Reid. It just couldn't be him underneath all of that. It couldn't. She was sure that she wouldn't turn away until the doctor lowered down the curtains which blocked her view. She started questioning why they didn't have the curtains down the whole time when she saw there were several holes in the old cloth. That wouldn't have held the photographers back. She took a deep breath, and went to tell Morgan and J.J. about what she learned.
Harold felt his stomach growling, and he couldn't help but wondering when they were going to bring him something to eat. He knew that it wouldn't be right to be so demanding when he was nothing more than a guest, but he hated the feeling of his stomach being empty. He was craving meat. He would have to ask the next guard when meal time was. He felt a little bit bad inside for scaring Tubby away, but there would soon be a new one to replace him.
"Hey you," a light voice growled from the other side of the bars. Harold politely looked up at the strange man and smiled. This man was much skinnier than the first, and his uniform fell over his frail body like a bag wrapped around a tree for the winter. In a way, this reminded Harold of Reid. He missed his young companion, and he couldn't wait to see him again.
"Is it supper time already? My oh my, how time goes by. Doesn't it?"
"What are you talking about? They told me you were cooky."
"Cooky?" The younger people would never cease to amaze him. He loved them all to death, but he just wished that he could keep up with all the terms they kept coming up with. He knew that he would have to join one of those social networking cites soon enough. He wondered if Reid had one. Harold would have to look him up once he got back home.
"Weird. Strange. Some of the older guys were all telling me not to look into your eyes. They don't look so strange to me," he said peering through the bars.
"Why thank you. That is very kind. I was always told that my eyes were one of my best features," Harold said smiling.
"Some FBI agents came to talk to you."
"Did you get their names by any chance?" Harold had a very small hope that Reid had come back to him, but it wasn't likely. If the boy did come back to him, it wouldn't be this soon. He needed time to rest up and gather his strength. Harold had to plan something special for their first night back together. What would they eat? Ham maybe. Harold always favored ham.
"No, I didn't. There's three of them. I'm going to escort you to the meeting room. I'm just going to need you to cooperate with me," the young officer said.
"Anything for you…I didn't seem to catch you name," Harold said. He just hated not knowing people's names. A name was a part of a person, a way to tell them apart from everyone else, and Harold liked to see if the name fit the person.
"Jacob," he said as he opened up the cell gates. Harold decided to help the kid out. It seemed like it was his first time in a jail, and Harold knew that could be a terrifying experience for someone so young. Harold let himself get handcuffed, but he was more reluctant when a second officer came out of nowhere to cuff his feet together. That was completely unnecessary.
As Jacob and the unnamed officer led the way to the meeting room, Harold had a rather difficult time trying to keep up with him his ankles tied together. It was a horrid experience that he never wanted to go through again.
"I think he needs a muzzle," the unnamed officer told Jacob. "I heard he was found eating some other dude."
"Excuse me," Harold said. He stopped his steps, and was going to refuse to take another step until he was acknowledged. "What did you just say?"
The two officers turned around, and Harold stared at the rude fellow who suggested that Harold was tied up like a dog. He wasn't a canine. He didn't need a leash.
"I said, I think you need a muzzle!"
"I am terribly sorry, but did you hear me bark while I was back in that cell room?" Harold asked. He wanted to attack that officer right then and there, but that would seem rather rude in front of Jacob. He had to keep his manners or Jacob wouldn't want to be his friend anymore. He did take a step toward the officer which frightened both of them. He could tell that much when they took a step back. Even though they were both armed, they were still afraid of him. He found it terribly interesting. He would have taken it further if he didn't see the three agents walk by in the hallway in front of him. He remembered all three of them. They were the ones who interrupted his play date with Reid. They were the ones who took Reid away.
"I sure heard you growl like a rabid beast!"
"Gentlemen, as much as I am enjoying this chat right now, I do think it would be a good idea to get on our way. Don't you think? We have places to go, and people to meet," Harold said with a smile. He needed to see the boy again.
so basically, the next chapter will be pure awesomness. reid will FINALLY wake up, hotch gets to talk with harold, reids dad is brought into the picture, and they still have to deal with the evil media who is having a field day with a serial killer who almost killed two agents. so one two, theyre coming for you. three four, better lock your door. five six, get your crucifix. seven eight, better stay up late. nine ten, harolds back again! and poor little timothy wants you to comment so he might have an appearence in the next chapter. do it for the doggy!