Reid and Morgan entered the conference room where they found several file boxes stacked on top of the table. Morgan flipped over one of the lids to see a pile of unorganized files. He pulled out a file folder and looked through it. "Oh, what a surprise, more redacted information." He picked up the stack of paperwork and dropped it onto the table. "We are going to need to sort through all of this before we can do anything else."
"I'll do that." Reid was very eager to volunteer. "I can read through this faster than you anyway. It will be easier." He used this as an excuse. He wanted to see if there was any mention of him where it could have missed being blocked out.
As he flipped through a file, he was able to determine if it would pertain to him or not. He created several piles of information that included: Recruitment and training, field assignments, evaluations, and then possible compromised Intel.
After about an hour, Morgan was already half-way through her evaluations while Reid was focused on her training. His own memories came flooding back to him as he was reading about her recruitment.
Reid stood in a room with seven other teenagers, each standing behind a high workbench which were arranged in a half-moon around their instructor. "In front of each of you is a disassembled handgun. You will have one minute to see what weapon it is and reassemble it properly. The first person to complete this task will fire one round at this cymbal. Any questions? Good. Go ahead and remove the cloth." At that moment he started the timer.
Reid picked up the cloth to discover a glock 42, a gun he has used frequently. His eidetic memory was a major advantage. He didn't have to search for the next piece, he knew exactly where it was. After putting the final pieces together, he cocked the weapon and fired at the cymbal. The rest of the students finished moments later.
"Reid, Sullivan, come with me." The instructor announced. The two young men followed as they entered a room where Agent Parker stood. The instructor nodded at Parker then left the room. The two youths stared at Parker, almost at attention.
Parker looked at them both. "I hear you are both at the top of your class. You have both excelled in languages, hand-to-and combat, weapons, and intelligence. I am assembling at team of the best from your class to handle missions and infiltration like no other seasoned agent will be able to accomplish. This will not be easy. So, I need to know if this is something you would be interested in going forward. If you say no, you may return to your fellow teammates and continue your courses. What do you say?"
They both agreed.
"Okay, from now on, everything you do, and who you are will change. You will no longer attend college. All of your courses will be completed through correspondence. But, to your family and friends, they mustn't know of any change. Any mention of this task force and you will be kicked off and your CIA career will be over." He shook each of their hands. "Welcome to your new life as a ghost."
Hotch walked into the conference room. "What do you have so far?"
Morgan put down the file he was reading. "Well, what we are able to read shows that she is a perfectionist and high achiever. Never settles for anything less."
Reid instinctively nodded as he remembered Alex's personality.
"Is that what you show, Reid?" Hotch asked.
"Yes, I was looking through her training. She was involved in a special task force made up of the elite of the younger generation. They were all young adults, mostly teenagers." Reid informed.
"Really?" Hotch was taken aback. "Why recruit so young?"
"From what I've been able to decipher, this team was assembled to infiltrate and have access to where older agents would stick out. They used these kids to their advantage." Reid spoke from experience.
"The problem with recruiting people so young is that they can lose all sense of their own identities and sometimes can never adjust to civilian life." Hotch surmised.
Hotch and Prentiss entered an interview room where Alex Marcus was already seated and handcuffed to the hook on the table.
Alex looked up at them. "Feds, guessing by the suit." She stared at Hotch.
"I am SSA Hotchner, this is SSA Prentiss." They sat down across from her.
"What can I do for the FBI?" She asked in a condescending tone.
"We are here to speak to you about Harris Knight." Prentiss advised.
Alex stared back at them without any response.
Hotch focused on her waiting until the right moment, until she was looking at Prentiss. "He escaped from prison." Hotch divulged.
"What?" Alex was genuinely surprised. As she turned to look at Hotch.
"We are here to see what you can tell us about where he would go." Hotch confessed.
"So, you don't know where he is?" She asked.
"We have several leads, but we came to you to see if we could get our cooperation to help locate him." Prentiss stared at her.
"And you just expect me to help you from the goodness of my heart?" She snarked.
"We would see about certain allowances, depending on the information we receive." Hotch was trying to make a deal.
Alex thought for a second. "Look. I honestly had no clue that he would escape. However, I can say that I am not surprised. He doesn't like to be told what to do or be stuck in one place. But if I were in your shoes, I would warn anyone who ever crossed him to watch their backs. He would most certainly be on a warpath. I'm not even safe in here. If he knew I was talking to you, I could end up dead."
Hotch looked to Prentiss. "Let's see if Reid was able to get anything else."
Alex held her composure as she heard her old partner's name. She knew they must have reached out to him for information. If he was consulting with them she could only imagine what Intel they had already. She didn't know who to trust… if anyone.