It's the weekend so I'm writing.
Chapter Fifty-Five:
Reid was expecting Juno when she knocked on his door at three o'clock.
"Olivia Spur has been abducted," Juno said.
"They know about me," he said. "This case has several leaks in it."
Reid, dressed in FBI sweats, walked with Juno down to the ground floor. They took the backway out by the kitchens. A discreet high-end van was waiting for them. In it were all the currently active, members Alvez, Simmons, Lewis, and Prentiss.
"Were they at least going to wait until we got to Quantico?" Juno said irritably.
"They want this case solved yesterday," Prentiss said.
The van started moving. The driver was someone Reid didn't recognize.
Prentiss handed Reid a tablet. "Here is all the case information."
Reid noticed the tablet had a webcam.
"Guys, I need quiet while I read," he said.
Alvez knew sign language. Reid held his hand out away from the webcam and started signing. The team knew better than to ask questions.
Juno watched the interactions curiously but stayed silent.
He had a plan.
…
They were given a massive lab to work the case, outfitted with computers, TVs, and smartboards. There were six other agents Reid had never met working the case. Ever other member Reid had met from Coop's team to Alex Blake were present.
Reid walked up to the biggest smart screen, listing the crime scene locations, and unplugged it.
"We're working according to my rules now," he said.
Alvez pulled out a basket.
"Hand over your cell phones, backups, family phones, everything."
"Why should we go by your rules?" an agent he didn't know said. "You were broken out of a psyche ward."
Juno looked like she wanted to respond but Reid waved her off.
"I didn't have much of a choice. I'd prefer to let you guys work the case. But if the lives of the people I care about are going to be put in danger, I'm going to make sure everything is done according to my plan."
Phones were reluctantly handed over.
Reid started unplugging computers.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" another agent said.
"We did this without computers for a long time," Rossi said. "We need to go back to basics."
Blake took the hint. She started covering computer webcams. Seaver also realized what was going on pulled batteries out of tablets. Callahan figured out what was going on and threw her jacket over a camera in the room. J.J. printed out all the case information and then unplugged the printer.
Prentis taped the victim's photos and other pertinent information over the screens.
There was a knock on the door. A tech specialist appeared with a wand-like device. He pulled bugs out of the smart board, a camera, one of the chairs, and a printer.
"Let's get to work," Reid said.
"This unsub has partners," Hotch said. "There is no way he could traverse this much ground without help."
"Garcia and Monty, have you found any information on disgruntled employee group chats?" Reid asked.
"Nothing we could find," Monty said.
"There is a self-deleting messenger we have found traces of everywhere on this case," Garcia said. "We have yet to isolate a pattern or source."
"It's fairly obvious we're looking in the wrong direction," Reid said. "I think this is like the Reaper."
Reid saw Hotch shudder ever so subtly.
"Who would harm their relative?" an agent asked. "We didn't release to press these women were sexually assaulted also."
"Was there any semen present?" Reid asked.
"No," Lewis said. "There was only the presence of trauma, so it could have been done by a foreign object."
"This is ridiculous!" the agent who first confronted him said. "Turn back on the equipment, let's see who was in the area of the Olivia Spur abduction."
Morgan stood up. "You are outnumbered here, Feder. Most of us have worked with Reid. The way we've been investigating the case hasn't been working. It is time to try a different approach."
"He hasn't been in the field for four years! He doesn't know as much!" Feder said.
"Shut up!"
It was Juno. She was staring at the board.
"You guys missed something big because there are too many cooks in the kitchen."
"And who are you exactly?" Feder challenged.
"The second victim, Ava Womack. Her makeup isn't smeared," she said ignoring his question.
"Could it be water-proof?" a female agent Reid didn't know said.
"No," Prentiss said. "Makeup runs in the presence of excessive sweat of this kind."
Reid followed her train of thought.
"The defensive wounds aren't as severe," Reid said. "Could this have been assisted suicide?"
"Who agrees to be raped while dying?" an agent asked dubiously.
"There were trace amounts of Valium in her system," J.J. said. "We had attributed it to sleeping pills from the night before she was abducted, but it is possible she was raped while drugged."
"Tyler Womack is an anti-virus software specialist," Garcia said. "He's a bit of a nut, but most techies are."
"How is he a nut?" Juno asked.
"He refuses to eat anything that hasn't been prepared by his chef. Super-paranoid about physical security. He had a nervous breakdown when his niece Ava was abducted."
"Here is how we're going to play this," Reid said. "We throw everything back on. Agent Feder keep yelling at me. My team of people I know will work the case from the Womack angle, while I play by Feder's rules. I'll meet with my team in the regular conference room at midnight to discuss findings."
"I'll go along with it," Feder said with a sigh.
Feder for his part started turning stuff on.
"I don't care how smart you think you are!" he shouted as he uncovered a webcam. "You don't get to tell me what to do as an EX-agent!"
"I have seen monsters you could never begin to imagine. I have known the abuse at their hands and carry mental and physical scars!"
Reid pulled down a sleeve to reveal a particularly nasty cut.
"That is not my concern!" Feder said. "Let's start working the case as I want to! You can sit in a corner and review case notes."
"That's not fair!" Prentiss shouted.
"You're not in charge," he said. "If you don't like how I do things, leave."
Reid's team of former and current associates took it as their cue to leave.
Reid moved to a corner started reading. He hoped this all went according to plan.
…
As anticipated, there were no leads to be found at Harvard. Reid noticed more details such as the shakiness of Tyler Womack's alibi, which led Reid to believe he was on the right track.
It was seven p.m. and no one had taken a break. A woman whose name he learned was Agent Ella Tam, stood and stretched.
"We need food Feder," she said.
"The Director told the cafeteria to stay open late for us," Feder said. "Reid, you and your doctor, stay here. We'll send some food up."
Stretching and sighing, everyone walked out.
"Why does this feel like a trap?" Juno asked.
"It is," Reid said. "I saw the agents get texts they were told to say it was from a person of interest checking on them."
"I'm not letting anyone hurt you!" Juno said.
"I need to talk out the profile," Reid said pacing.
"No, what we need to do is get out of here!"
She tried the door. "It's jammed!"
Reid ignored her as he thought out loud.
"These aren't just the richest people on the planet, they're the smartest. Womack's mother was killed in an accident, where it was ruled the brake lines broke. The thing is, that car's registration sticker was visible. It had just passed inspection. Womack has obsessed with creating the perfect crime. He recently acquired a production company that recreates crimes for true-crime shows. He wanted me to see if he could be caught."
"But I saw the makeup angle first!" she said. "I should be taken!"
"That board wouldn't have been put up if my plan hadn't been enacted. It was a group effort."
Smoke started filling the room.
"Juno, I was never going to get out of here alive. His island is a Trojan horse, don't go there. He is also obsessed with the Vikings. Look for me in Sweden."
"NO!"
Reid was starting to get sleepy. He hugged Juno.
"Thank you and keep my friends safe."
They both fell to the ground.
…
Juno woke to an oxygen mask covering her face in what looked like the back of an ambulance. She pulled it off.
"Where is he?" she asked in a voice she was hoping would sound stronger. "Where is Dr. Reid?"
Prentiss approached her. All she needed to do was look at her face.
"NO!" she screamed as Prentiss held her. "NOOOO!"