Thanks!
Chapter Six:
Morris:
By the time we wrapped up all the loose ends, it was close to three a.m. I had told the team to go home an hour earlier, with the exception of Esper.
"Come home with me," Esper said.
"Sounds good," I said.
We entered the Esper residence to the scent of bacon. Walking into the kitchen, we found Andrea Esper cooking eggs. A pitcher of Blood Mary was on the table.
"Your wife is amazing Colin."
"Don't ever forget it," she said.
Andrea Esper was more than a good cook and wife; she was a CIA operative. Meeting at an inter-agency party, they had been making the "long distance marriage" work of over twenty-five years. She wore her graying dark hair in a series of braids. The highest-ranking woman of color in the agency, she was already on short lists to replace the Director when he retired in a few years.
Andrea plated eggs.
"You boys have had quite a night," she said. "The amount of chatter I have heard."
I wasn't afraid to talk work around her. She was a woman of many secrets, and if half the rumors about her were true, very dangerous. Andrea was trustworthy.
"The CIA was watching the case?" I said as Esper laid a kiss on Andrea.
"They've been watching Diana Reid," she said. "I warn you, if you don't scoop her up, the CIA will. Especially after tonight's performance."
"She's kind of a recognized entity," Esper said. "I don't think she could do undercover work."
"You have no idea the number jobs, the agency is prepared to offer her. Not to mention an office with a window."
"When will they start approaching her?" I asked.
"They're sending a muffin basket in about four hours."
"We're dropping by in five with coffee," Esper said.
"As much as I'd like to chat and bend your ear Morris, I have a virtual appointment with one of my contacts at the Kremlin in about ten minutes."
"Have fun," I said.
"I always do," she said and went to the den.
Esper poured me a glass. I took a slow sip. It tasted amazing.
"Is there anything Andrea isn't good at?"
"Her double Windsor knots are a little crooked."
"Have you seen Spencer Reid's file?" I asked as I picked at the eggs.
"I have," Esper said after taking a bite of bacon. "The only other place I have seen so many redacted pages were in a terrorist interrogation report."
"What bothers me are the early years. One incident the day after a Superbowl is drenched in black, along with the cases afterwards. The psychological evaluations aren't even there."
Esper took a sip of his drink. "Spencer Reid is a martyr. A saint in some circles. No one wants ill to be spoken of about such people."
"We've only admitted three agents under twenty-five since him. They all burned out over the course of ten years. One is dead, another is in prison for murder, and the latest one was forced to quit, due to reckless behavior."
"I know what you're getting at Flint. We'll do right be her. We keep her in the station as much as possible for the first few years. Mandatory counseling sessions once a month. Additional training yearly."
"We were only interviewing her, and she ended up becoming a hostage!" I shouted.
"We knew that was a risk, when we brought her with us. She inherently understood the mechanics of the case better than us."
I shook my head. "We can't do this to her. I want her on the team, but we can't make the same mistakes of others in the past."
"I know, and we won't," Esper said.
My phone rang. It was Cole.
"I'm with Esper."
"Diana's shouting while dreaming, I think she's speaking in tongues."
"It's nothing to worry about Irina," Esper said. "It's in her file she has vocalized dreams."
"It's just scary," Cole said. "She looks terrified. Should I wake her up?"
"You can," Esper said. "Just hang with us first. She'll be embarrassed enough without us listening in.
"Understood."
"We'll be dropping by with coffee in a few hours," I said.
"Okay. See you later."
"Bye," I said.
"Those dreams started after the explosion," Esper said. "She says she sees monsters torturing her father and the team. They put her through sleep studies, and have concluded, it's a relatively healthy reaction."
"Good to know," I said.
Esper and I finished our meals. He took our plates and put them in the dishwasher.
"We should get some rest," he said.
"I won't argue with you."
"Good. The guest bedroom is set up with everything you need."
"See you in a few hours."
"See you later."
I took off my shoes and suit jacket off. I didn't remember hitting the bed.
…
With a cold brew in hand, we drove in silence.
"I slept, but I dreamed of Diana," Esper said.
"So did I," I said.
Neither of us wanted to talk about the nature of our dreams about our potential agent.
We walked to the apartment complex. I rang the bell.
"Come in," Cole said.
We took the elevator up to the fourth floor. We walked around the corner.
"That coffee better be good compared to the muffins someone sent us," Cole said cheerfully.
Reid was seated at the table, picking apart a chocolate chip muffin. She was wearing a gray t-shirt and jeans.
"Thanks also for finding a store with my clothing sizes on hand," she said.
"Irina, I understand you have a rooftop garden. Diana, let's enjoy the unusually warm spring up there."
"Sure," she said.
I picked up a muffin. "I love cranberry almond."
We walked in silence down the hall and took the elevator up.
"I assume, Cole told you about my dreams," she said as we took seats on wicker furniture.
"Esper assured us they were normal. Do you know what language you were speaking?"
"Early Germanic," she said.
"Do you know why?"
"When I saw my dad and the BAU being tortured, I'd plead with them to stop. I studied the cultural origins of my dreams. I learned to curse in a language they'd be more likely to respond."
"You learned to speak a new language to fight the monsters in your dreams," I said slowly. "You are incredibly smart, even while you sleep."
She didn't smile.
"You haven't cried have you, Diana?"
"I have mild autism. I cry at different situations."
"I knew what I was doing, when I brought you along. I knew that this religious fanatic might view you as something of a marvel. I considered you a useful distraction. I didn't know that would happen. I'm sorry."
"Agent Morris, I'll hash all this out in therapy. I know how to convey my feeling in a safe setting. You have nothing to be sorry for."
I looked her straight in the eye.
"What are you not telling me? I know you're holding something back. Tell me: Why do you want to join the BAU?"
"Lucas Bello was a creep with fanatical visions, and issues with his son. The real monsters of the world call me the Cursed One. They call me Cursed because, they see I am destined to hunt them. Darkness has been following me since I was eight. I am ready in whatever capacity you allow, to start hunting them."
There was a massive BAM! Car alarms went off and about six blocks away, black smoke began to fill the air.
"That's not far from the BAU," Reid said.
My phone went off.
"That was the transport van for Lucas Bello's body," an agent reported. "A wealthy Italian family wanted the body immediately after the autopsy was concluded."
"I'm on my way," I said.
I turned to Reid.
"Would you like to come with us?"
She looked shocked.
"You speak the language well. I could use you to help with the fallout. I have no intention of sending you back in the field, even if it involves speaking Italian."
"I'll be your interpreter," she said.
"No, conditional, probationary agent, temporarily assigned to the BAU," I said. "As soon as the dust settles for a second, I'm calling the Director to have your credentials expedited as you graduate in two days. It shouldn't be a major issue."
Her smile was brief, but vibrant and filled her entire face. Then a look of determination set in.
"Let's get to work," she said.
"Welcome to the team."