Alex leaned back on the sofa fighting the desire to close her eyes. She had counted all of the 482 bricks in the fireplace, twice. She turned again to see Ron sitting in the corner watching her. Hank and Jake had left the cabin but she didn't want to be caught off guard when they returned. She once again played the song Crazy in her head for the umpteenth time.
Just as Alex began to drift off, the door blew open with Hank returning. The wind howled as snow flurries entered the cabin. Jake had to lean against the door to get it to close. Hank removed his jacket and sat back down in front of her. "I hope you have given some thought to our discussion earlier."
"I am sorry but I can't help you with something that I don't know about."
Hank raised his hand but then clenched his fist. He stood up and leaned against the fireplace mantel. "I have tortured before but I know that you were trained to withstand such things. So I will not be wasting my time." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his closed hand. Then his grip loosened and a small, silver box dangled by its silver chain.
Alex couldn't take her eyes off of the bauble he flaunted. "Where did you get that?"
"That is not important. What is important is what it is." Hank smirked.
Alex was confused and made no effort to hide it. "It's just a necklace."
"But it isn't just a necklace." He pushed the tiny button on the long side revealing a small key that was inside. "I wonder what this goes to." He remarked holding it up.
"It doesn't go to anything; it's just a necklace, a keepsake." She protested.
"And you bought yourself this... keepsake?" Hank asked.
"No." She responded with her eyebrows scrunched together.
"It was a gift... from my family."
"Oh I see. So now you are Little Orphan Annie and this was the locket your parents left for you saying they would return for you one day?" He said in a condescending tone. "Cut the shit. Harris Knight gave this to you, right? You started to wear it in January, so I am guessing it was a Christmas gift from him? You wore it all the time. Obviously this key is important!" Hank was showing hostility towards her and waiving the locket around as he spoke.
Alex was taken aback by all the details he knew. "I'm sorry, but it is just a key." Alex expressed her frustration with the subject. "It doesn't open anything. It was just a charming piece of jewelry that I liked to wear." Alex thought this entire conversation was pointless and that they were grasping at straws. She was tired of playing this game. She was trying to cooperate as best as she could, in hopes of getting out of this mess. That didn't seem to be working and she started working on a new plan.
JJ and Prentis tromped through the newly fallen snow. JJ appeared frustrated as they searched for any dwellings in the area.
"What's wrong?" Prentiss asked.
JJ let out a sigh. "I guess I just don't understand how we got into this mess. We're out here in the freezing cold on a hunch."
"Garcia is usually pretty accurate about her hunches." Prentiss explained. "But I don't think this is about searching for Alex. You're thinking about Reid."
"Of course I am. He has been one of my best friends and now I don't even know who he is. He's been behaving differently. Dressing differently." I just don't know who he is anymore." JJ allowed her emotions to vent.
"He's still your friend. He never lied to you about that." Prentiss kept hiking through the frosty terrain.
"What's with you?" JJ asked.
"Me? What are you talking about?" She stopped and looked to her.
"You have been the first person to justify what he's done."
"And what has he done? He was in a situation where he was unable to speak about his previous assignments. You of all people should understand that, JJ. As much as we may not like it, we have to adhere to protocol and work within our boundaries." Prentiss stopped then let out a small smirk.
"What?" JJ was curious.
"That's what Rossi told me when we were handling that anthrax case." Prentiss slowly let out a deep breath and took a step closer to her friend. "Look, I get it, it sucks; and right now there is some confusion. I bet you Reid is more confused than any of us right now. He tried to keep this all in the past but it came back to haunt him. It always does. We all have things that we want to stay buried."
"So, you have a secret life, too?" JJ asked jokingly.
Prentiss scoffed. "Of course not, but I have had my fair share of covert assignments. Things I wasn't able to talk about or wanted to share. All I'm saying is that I understand why he did what he did. The reasons are his own."
"I just don't think I could ever do that." JJ remarked as they continued their search.
"You say that now, but one day you will be read-in on some super-secret assignment and you won't even be able to talk to Will about it; and you don't because you know the ramifications if you do." Prentiss touched JJ's arm.
"Well, I hope that day never comes." JJ grinned as she squeezed Prentiss' hand.
"Come on, that looks like a cabin up ahead." Prentiss pointed out.
"Let's hurry, this wind is getting really bad." JJ followed.
Both women removed their weapons from their holsters. They steadily approached the cabin. Prentiss peeked into the window then signaled JJ to go to the door. With Prentiss now behind her, JJ turned the door handle and found that it wasn't locked. The two of them nodded to each other; JJ pushed opened the door.