July 28, 2017

Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen! Damn it! Spencer Reid finally put down the pillow he'd been banging against his cell wall. He had never wanted so much to punch something -anything. He rubbed the tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes. Crying wasn't going to make anything better. He'd managed not to cry in Millburn for goodness sake, but that was because he knew he would be marked as easy prey if he showed any weakness, but now? Now there was nothing but white stone walls and bed sheets. No one to see, no one to judge. The pounding of the gavel and those damned words reverberated inside his skull, refusing him any peace. Bail denied.

He should not have been surprised. Fiona had warned him that he no longer had a clean record, that two arrests in one year would be counted against him. But he'd been framed! His protests - via Fiona - had fallen on deaf ears. Cat may have confessed but Lindsey was the one in Mexico, and Lindsey's mouth was sealed tighter than Fort Knox. Add to the fact that Lindsey had plead guilty to 11 murders, 9 of which were in Texas and the last 2 were of US citizens in Mexico- but Nadie wasn't among them. Nadie's murder was with a knife and she was fighting it. She was already in for life which meant she was simply toying with him. There was no other explanation.

He threw the pillow again. What on earth had he ever done to Lindsey? He'd saved her, for goodness sake. He had entered that godforsaken bathroom to save her without back-up. He had put his life on the line for her - and this was his gratitude? No, 'thank you, Dr. Reid for trying to save my life!' No all he'd gotten was the 'if looks could kill' stare - and this.

He laid down on his bunk, hoping a nap would help quell his turbulent emotions. Was he being stupid by pleading not guilty? 25-years to life? He couldn't live like this for 25 years! That 10-15 years offer he'd ripped up in front of Fiona was now looking very tempting - especially Garrison's "generous" offer of allowing him to pick his own prison. But that was gone now, gone with his arraignment. He picked up the case files again, only to throw them back down as the tears clouded his vision. It was hopeless.

Penelope Garcia was a splash of color, the light among all the darkness, the positive spirit that lifted everyone out of their depressions. That was how she had survived losing her parents, leaving Shane. How she had survived being shot by a man she thought had honestly liked her. Jason Clarke Battle had messed with her head, taken away her sense of safety and security, but everything paled in comparison to the mess Boy Wonder had been dragged in to.

She stood at the doorway, Emily's and Tara's calming voices in the earpiece reassuring her.

After taking 10 deep breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart, she stepped into the interrogation room. She had never felt so out of place in her life, despite the fact that she had never before blended in so well in her black skirt and jacket. The only part of her perky spirit that could be seen was in her ruby red blouse and silver heart-shaped necklace which she twisted between her painted fingernails.

She placed the small tripod stand and digital recorder on the table, fingering the files tucked under her arms. 'You've done this before, you've presented hundreds of cases.' The problem was she'd never done so before the killer herself. She's chained to the chair, Garcia reassured herself. She had confirmed so from the observation window. She couldn't go anywhere or do...anything.

"Hello. My name is Agent Garcia. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me for the FBI's Vicap Studies."

The devil that was named Lindsey Vaughn nodded ever so slightly, her petite form and small smile belying the danger that lurked behind those cold hard eyes.

She picked up the files, giving a half way smile to the victim-turned-criminal. "I must say, Miss Vaughn, I am impressed. You've been quite the busy bee, we don't often see women killers who manage to evade law enforcement for so long." Flatter her, Emily had encouraged. Flattery was the key.

Lindsey scoffed, her head held high. "I didn't evade anyone! That would imply that they were after me. No one suspected a THING." Like a snake prowling among the weeds, she could take down even the most formidable prey.

At that moment, she wished more than anything that she was safe in her lair, that it was Reid doing this interviews. He LOVED doing ViCap interviews, he'd even volunteered for them a couple of times, But Reid couldn't do this one, because of her! In that moment, she knew. She knew could do this, she could nail this snake if it meant getting Reid back. To get her Dr. Genius back, she could do anything.