Title: Salutarem Via

Summary: After an international mission comes into light, Reid has to face the fact that his team will now need to know one of his biggest secrets: his life way from the BAU.

A/N: So, this chapter has zero Reid. I hope all of you deal with it better than me, because I sure had a mental breakdown.

Anyway, this chapter focuses on the team more specifically Hotch and Rossi and their suspicions about Reid's unusual behavior, though we will see Javier, Manny, and the Samuel Twins. I do want to apologize ahead of time, because I am not the best when it comes to case writing. I will try my best, but I will keep it to a minimum just for that reason.

Sidenote about the last chapter: Nikki Sex is an author and the quote I used came from one of her books. Though I have not personally read any of her work, I particularly like that quote and thought it fit with the chapter. I know someone asked about it, so I thought this would help.

Remember I have no Beta, so if you see a mistake let me know. Other than that enjoy and please review. They really do encourage me and help me get over my writing slumps faster.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of those characters. I will try to do them justice, though in my opinion the writing staff on the show does not do a good job of it either. Also, any of the unsubs both from the case in this episode or of the bigger case of the story are all fictional, and if there are any similarities to any real people it is merely coincidence.

Chapter Four: Sweating, Uniting, Struggling

"It's when we start working together that the real healing takes place...it's when we start spilling sweat, and not our blood."-David Hume

It felt wrong to be on the jet without Reid, but he needed a break from all of this chaos. Hotch knew he came back to the field way too early. He needed more time to heal physically and emotionally. He just seemed so entirely fine for the first few weeks that he never a need to give a second thought about his health until recently.

There had been a change, one he could not pinpoint exactly. He simply noticed there was a new sense of anxiety hovering over the genius that was not there before the last two weeks or so. Something happened that he had not shared with anyone, and that worried Hotch more than anything else about this scenario.

Reid always kept things bottled up until he exploded all over them with everything still hot and raging as if the event all happened yesterday. To say that he was worried was accurate. To say he was scared was an understatement. He was terrified of the day it would occur, because this bomb has its days number before he goes off. An angry Reid was the most frightening thing Hotch had ever seen. Everyone assumed Hotch was the scary one because everyone ignored Reid. He blended into the walls, yet the moment Hotch needed him Reid would step up in ways no one else could especially in the last few years.

Something changed, and now it had been changing again. It just was not as positive as the first time.

Garcia's voice shoved Hotch out of his head and helped him land on his feet in the current reality, "Well, we know that the first family lived around the border of Indiana and the second and third families lived in the south side of Chicago. All three of the families had relatively decent lives. No arrests or cheating allegations, but I'll keep digging."

Morgan thanked Garcia as she logged off from the computer. He looked to Hotch for directions for when they land in Chicago.

He did not notice Hotch's mind speeding away from the case into something bigger. One of their own was in trouble and he was not trusting the team with whatever secret that had been haunting him. It was Emily and JJ all over again. He simply wished that this one ended with just as happy ending as the last two did...with no one dying.

Rossi knew that glint in his eye. Hotch was over-thinking something, and if he knew anything about this team, Hotch currently contemplated Reid. They were going to have a long and patient conversation about the genius as no one else seemed to care.

Hotch spoke, "Morgan, I want you to drive to see the crime scene in Indiana, the Cain residence. Get all of the information from the local police and send it over to Chicago. We will be working from there. Glover, you take the scene in the McDonald's house. Dave, I want you to go to the Ryan's home. JJ, you and I will go to the station. We need you to start interviewing the families of all the victims as soon as possible. Each murder happened one week apart which means we have three days until he kills again. We have to find a connection as soon as possible."

Ending his speech with those words, Rossi stopped to analysis what Hotch said. Did he mean the connection between the victims or the connection he needed to make to understand Reid's out of character behavior. Either one, Rossi was sure they would find them.

He peeked through glass to see nothing but the fogginess of clouds. Settling back into his seat, he planned out his next move. He knew that he had merely half an hour to locate her and bring on broad with him, so they could head out before anything exciting could occur.

He most definitely did not want to deliver bad news to Addie at a time like this.

The pilot voiced out, "We will be landing in about ten minutes. Please fasten your seat belts."

Those minutes were kept in silence until the pilot left the cockpit to confront the passenger saying, "We're here, Ortiz. You owe me after this. I could lose my job."

Getting up from his seat, Javier gave him a smile and proclaimed, "If everything goes as I planned it. You won't be losing anything, but sure I owe you big time."

He walked out of the jet and into the hard part of Addie's favor. Soaking in his surroundings, he realized that he might not be able to do this despite his skill set.

He whispered to himself, "You have to do this quickly and efficiently. Anything else will lead to a dead girl and a very disappointed Adelaide. You will not be able to live that down...it could also lead to your own death which would also not be good. No news is bad news in this profession. God, this is going to be a lot more difficult than I originally expected."

A squeal sprang from her mouth, "Daddy, help me! Mama! Mama!"

The young girl kept screaming for her parents placed directly in front of their crying daughter being dragged away. Tears poured down their cheeks as the realization that their daughter was going to die without them being able to do anything.

"Please don't hurt her...please," spoke a voice with little life. The man pleaded through the desperation sparkling in his eyes.

His little girl was dragged and her parents watched knowing that that was the last time they were going to see their daughter. Looking at his wife for forgiveness for failing their family, he saw fear and death as his wife was murdered.

There was pain and then darkness.

Slamming the door behind him, Blackwell huffed all about Reid. "That arrogant son of a bitch thinks he can just decide to ignore me. What because he's sleeping with that Lancaster chick for god knows how long. He better not think he has some special commodity over her. She has been spreading her legs for anyone and everyone that could help her climb up the ladder."

He paused immediately after insulting Lancaster distressed that she may have heard that in some way. He could not afford to alienate her right now. She held that genius in her hands, and he needed him to say with the bureau for a little bit longer until he established himself.

He neatly placed himself in front of his wooden desk. He contemplated how he was going to shift this situation to benefit him somehow. He was not going to lose this battle to some profiler especially not some genius kid getting help from that pretty little thing.

No, he was going to use this for his advantage. Just because he already made director of the bureau, does not mean there was nothing else to look forward to with pleasure. Reid may not want to go under protective custody. He may not want be put out of the field, but he will show him who is unmistakably the boss around here. It will not be a skinny, little know-it-all.

Hotch sat by himself in the corner. He wanted to spend a minute in the quiet away from the craziness from the case, away from the prying eyes of his team. Not that he had much to agonize over when it came to them. Only Rossi seemed to catch Reid's unusual actions.

Well, at least, he was the only that saw the severity of it all. The rest of the team thought he was simply acting out like some kid in a tantrum that did not get his way. Hotch shook his head with his mouth wide open. He could not believe that after everything that they have survived together they could merely dismiss Reid. He may be the youngest on the team, but he was not an overgrown child prodigy that just stumbled his way out of diapers into a world full of murder and misery.

A knock interrupted his process. He answered, "Come in."

Morgan poked his head into the office. With a frown and wrinkles on his forehead, Morgan stepped inside. Heaviness accompanied him into the small space. Hotch knew Morgan carried bad news with him, and before Morgan could announce it, Hotch said, "There has been another family found has there?"

Morgan nodded his head, "Yeah, Rossi and Glover went to check out the scene."

Hotch recognized the tension getting up from his seat, "Okay, good. There has been an acceleration between the kills. This may be a sign of devolution or the beginnings of a spree. Have JJ call the next of kin. Maybe this family could be the break we need to find the connection before another family dies."

Morgan replied, "Already on it, Hotch." He walked out leaving Hotch alone thinking of Reid once more. He could not help but admit that what they needed to find this unsub was Reid.

He did not linger on the thought for much longer. They have a case that needed solving. Reid may be a member of his team, his family, but he had his priorities and right now finding a this killer came before discovering what Reid was up to nowadays.

She felt the linger of a pair of eyes. She felt it minutes ago. Someone was watching her intensely waiting for her to let her guard down long enough for them to attack without much of a struggle. Closing her eyes, she walked calmly. Strategizing, her mind wandered to all the possibilities.

Her heart hammered her chest as a voice sang into her ear, "Keep moving. I saw a car not too far from here watching you, Manny."

Peeking through the collar of her coat, she saw a tall man with olive skin and a thin scar near his lips that was only visible because of the closeness of their bodies. His hands slid to her waist and guided her away from her car further down the street toward a bus. His head covered hers.

He paid their tickets with a charming grin and a perfect English accent. He called her dear and whispered in her ear so effortlessly she began to believe their relationship. Settling into their seats, he looked at her. Dark and honest eyes stared at her face.

His voice broke the spellbound silence, "Name's Ortiz. Lancaster sent me to get you back to the states as soon as possible."

Manny responded, "Of course, she did. Well, Ortiz, I have a job here. I can't just drop everything. I know the most logical thing to do is leave with you, but I can't just disappear. My boss already thinks something's up with me. If I just leave...well, our secret won't be so secret anymore."

Ortiz's laughed, "I know, so get your stuff ready. Addie asked me to bring you to the States, so you better believe I am not leaving this country without you, and I want to be out of here as soon as humanly possible."

Manny's eyes popped out of her face. Why do men, good men at that, fall at her feet with undying loyalty? What makes Addie so damn likable that so many people are willing to die for her? She searched through her memories for an answer.

Addie was beautiful and smart, a lethal combination where Manny was concerned. She was also intimidating and confident, but most importantly she cared. She laughed and cried with you. She listened and carried your burdens easing your pain while adding to her own. She cared enough to keep tabs on her despite her limited favors for this particular case, cared enough to fly someone out here to come get her. People are willing to die for her, because they all know that she would do everything in her power to make sure no one has to die at all. They are willing because they know she would do the same, not only would she be willing to die in their place but that she preferred it.

She chuckled, "God, where does Addie find all of you?"

Javier shifted in his seat to have his eyes line up with hers, "She doesn't find us. We find her, because let's be frank...in this line of work, it's best to work for the honest and compassionate then the ambitious and cunning. Addie is one of like five people I have met that fits that bill. It is honor to work for her."

Her mouth formed a small round shape just to break into a mischievous grin, "Yeah, she really is something, isn't she?"

Javier sighed, "Yeah, she is, so we best not disappoint her. You know of a safe place we could go to for you to get your stuff ready before we head on out?"

Looking out the window, she responded, "Yeah, I might have somewhere we could lay low for a few hours. Is that enough time for you to find a plane to take us to the US in that amount of time?"

Laughing out loud, Ortiz exclaimed, "Sweetheart, do you even know Addie? When does she ever leave you hanging?"

The bus stopped, and people transferred in and out. Manny freely let her mind wonder to what she knew, what she had in her hand. Tonight, she would seal her fate. All that was left was for to decided which of the team members alive would join her in the graveyard.

She no longer walked the streets alone as a man approached her.

Calculating the possibilities of coming out of it clean, Nolan stopped Adil from stepping out of the car. Puffing air out, Adil glared over at Nolan grunting about the missed opportunity this was and how they were never going to get another one with this target. He agreed, but the man that sneaked behind her appeared to know her. He looked big and strong. Between her and him, they could take Adil as he had not planned to help with the assignment.

Nolan smiled, "Don't worry. She will come back tomorrow. We will take her then. Problem solved."

Expressing dissatisfaction, Adil's glare heated up with hatred, "You better hope it's that easy. You know he won't be happy, if this one gets away. I will be the least of your worries, especially as I can just get into a bar fight, if I need some release."

Pulling the car away from the curb, sweat covered Nolan's forehead. Attempting to settle his stomach, he ordered Adil to call the team stationed in DC, "Call Jonas or Hasim. They are going to need to know what is going on."

Pulling out his cell phone, Adil begrudgingly dialed the number and heard a voice as the otherside picked up their phone.

Just as they had hoped, the Arnold residence contained the evidence needed to minimize the suspect pool into something more manageable. With Glover interviewing one suspect and Morgan the other, Rossi found himself drinking a cup of coffee.

Both JJ and Hotch were meeting with family and friends, as he was meant to be going over the evidence with the police in all the different districts to build the case behind the pair of siblings responsible for all of the damage caused. It was an open and shut case. While most of the time districts hate cooperating with each other, the nature of this case alleviated most of the hesitation to help.

Janice and Matthew Trewer killed four families for a total of seventeen people murdered. The mother from the McDonald family was five months along with their third child when they were attacked. Angry because of their family situation, they murdered any family resembling their own(two working parents and a sibling set of one son and one daughter) starting with the children and ending with the mother.

Confession or no confession, these two sickos were going away for a long time.

With no politics between the districts, the situation left Rossi with nothing but time on his hands, time and his thoughts. Right now, his mind wondered to Reid.

Something was most definitely going on with the kid. He knew the team detected something off, but their speculation remained superficially. Hotch, on the other hand, seemed more enthralled in anything and everything but the case at hand. No one else noted Hotch being distracted, though Rossi knew Reid would have caught the unusual behavior.

Growing distant and jumpy, something was scaring Reid to death. Something big enough to have him avoid going out with the team even cancelling a day out with Henry. No one more important than Henry existed in Reid's life.

Rossi saw Hotch finish his last interview with the mother of one of the victims. He gave Hotch a look warning Hotch of the conversation they would be having later. He nodded letting Rossi know he understood the implications of his stare. Together, Rossi and Hotch were going to find a way to help their youngster trust the team (or at least the two of them) long enough to discover the truth.

Waiting had never been a strong suit for him. Always impatient and impulsive, Coby held all of those other characteristics: the levelheadedness, the rationality. He always acted too quickly, never thinking anything through until he fell flat on his face.

This could not be one of those times. He needed to get this perfectly right. He sent the message, and now he had to wait for his response. Wait to see if he would get a response. Nothing like that was guaranteed currently.

He so wanted to call Coby for advice. He yearned for his solid reasoning. They both may be computer geniuses, but Coby has a more structured and realistic approach to life. Something Quinn desperately desired in his hollowed out existence.

He could call, but that would compromise another location which would leave him with only one untouched cabin. They may need these later, if they had to go on the run.

Reid was smart. He may be unexperienced with hacking and computers in general, but he was observant and had an eidetic memory. Working with him was like being on a whole other level in a completely different world. He picked up things ungodly fast making everyone else look stupid. What he lacked in experience, he made up for in pure intelligence and raw talent. Something he had for anything he really wanted to do. He knew Reid made a mental note of everything he saw them do. Not to mention, he had been working with a first-class hacker for a decade now. Reid should be fine with the whole message thing.

That was not the problem that plagued Quinn's worries. No, the problem was someone else decoding the message before Reid even had the chance to uncover it's existence in the cyber world.

Jonas sat patiently for Hasim to fizzle out.

"Can you believe those idiots. If she sends that information out to any of the other members, we will not be able to thrive for much longer. If we cannot exist under the scrutiny of those five bastards, then how on earth are we suppose to deliver the world into greatness? How are we to purify this world of sin when we cannot eliminate the threats we have now?"

Hasim paced through the room as he spewed his speech.

Jonas was to answer his questions, but Hasim butted in before a word left Jonas's lips, "We must work together to achieve anything in this world. If she sends that information, they will unit and destroy us all. Well, we will also work together. We will wait until she sends it, and we will terminate that member before he or she gets to the others."

Perking up, Jonas suggested, "You think she will only send it to one other member. The rest are right here in the United States. We can easily eliminate that other person, but you sound like you are positive that she will fly out here."

Hasim stopped pacing to look at the mural of pictures. Staring straight at Manuela's photograph, Hasim replied, "She will, and when she arrives, we will kill her then and anyone else trying to stop us from saving humanity."

Downloading all of the information to her computer, Manuela struggled to decide who to send all of this information. Whomever it was would be condemned to death joining her.

Javier's snores broke the string of silence. Gazing over he shoulder, she knew that she should send this to Adelaide but she could not force herself to make that call. She sent Ortiz for her. Anyone who did that was not going to die by her hand. Reid was completely out of the question. That left the twins. The predicament was to which one she should send it.

Quinn has better survival skills. More adept for this line of work, he showed promise as an agent beyond the scope of an analyst. Coby, on the other hand, was a stronger bet. He was the more logical one. While Quinn had good gut reactions, Coby reasoned more rapidly. He thought through things, worked out possibilities before making a decision. Quinn would not do that. He simply would jump in head first before looking. Coby would not only look, but he would map out everything.

Swiftly sending the information, she deleted everything from the hard drive. Swallowing down the bile creeping up he throat, she woke Javier up. "Hey, let's go. I'm all done here."

Jumping from the couch, he pulled a cell from his pocket and set a quick text before turning to her with a smile. The phone vibrated in response. Javier glanced at it and said, "Plane's ready. We'll take off as soon as we get there."

She nodded hoping that one day both Quinn and Coby could forgive her.

Thirty minutes later, they were on a plane headed for DC. Seated by the window away from Javier, she knew that her days were numbered despite Addie trying to save her. With her disappearance, Emily's involvement just became unavoidable. Her absence would be felt, and Emily being already suspicious, her office would be searched. Emily would find the file, and she would fly out to Quantico. She would confront Reid. Though not happening like she originally planned, Manny could rest a little easier knowing that Reid will eventually have no choice but tell his team.

They would help him live long enough to catch the bastards behind all of this.

Morgan hugged Garcia as the stepped onto the elevator. JJ and Glover left ten minutes before them. Henry caught a bug while they were on the case and Will was working a murder of his own with MPD. Glover's wife was not adapting to his longer hours very well, so any time not spent on a case he was with her trying to appease her resentment toward the job.

With them gone, Rossi grabbed a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He headed for Hotch's office truly worried where this conversation was going to go. Reid deviated from everything he should personify. If together they could not get an accurate profile of him, how on earth were they suppose to know what was wrong? How were they suppose to confront him?

Hotch's door was wide open as he waited for him inside. Rossi silently closed the door and ambled his way to the chair where he would find himself in times of trouble. Not one of them wanted to start the conversation, but they both knew it was no longer something that could be ignored.

Being brave, Rossi started, "Well, who knew Reid was going to be trouble?"

Hotch gave a hard laugh, "You did. I could see it all over your face. You never thought Reid was a normal profile. You noticed things, because you could observe him more objectively than the rest of us. You haven't known him as long."

Rossi poured the two glasses and pushed one toward Hotch saying, "Look, all I know is this...Spencer is not some nerdy kid who simply knows statistics to make our lives easier. He's not just some human computer. He is an agent of the bureau. He has suffered tremendously at the hands of awful people. He has killed. He is not someone should be easily profiled even by us."

Gulping down all of the scotch, Hotch exclaimed, "I know. I know. I just did not realize how complacent we have become with one another. We are forgetting to not judge a book by its cover when it comes to us. I don't know what do, Dave. I know something is happening, but I don't know what or for how long. How could I have missed this?"

With the glass in his hand circling, Rossi searched for a way to comfort his friend. He settled for the least painful version of the truth, "Look, Aaron, there is no simple answer for this. For all we know, Reid did not want us to know. We may be profilers, but someone can still lie to us especially someone with the experiences Reid has had. A genius trained by the FBI under Gideon's wing, he should have no problem out profiling us."

Pushing his back into the chair, he closed his eyes and reported some of his fears, "I know that, but I can't go trough this again. The lies, the politics, the aftermath is just too much for me. What if whatever is bothering him leads to another situation like Emily's or JJ's? What if it leads to something worse? What if he dies because he could not trust us with it?"

Rossi leaned forward holding Hotch's gaze. He answered the question with the only way he knew how, "I don't know about all those what ifs, but I do know that we will try our best to keep him safe anyway we can. Besides, something tells me there is more to this story than we know. If I'm right, Reid may not be as alone as you think."

Hotch hoped for dear life that he was indeed right not knowing that Rossi was trying to convince himself of the very same thing.

Working for a security company was not exactly what Coby had in mind when he was younger, but this was much better than all of his other options. He refused to work in the intelligence game again. He threw out his ticket for that when the government screwed them over. He could have gone with his brother underground, but he would not have survived. He needed to be in civilization.

He also thought running away from the world did not solve anything. It was irrational and unnecessary. He rather confront his fears head on than to hide away in the trees. Quinn was never one to think beyond the present. That was his job. He ground Quinn when he got carried away and Quinn encouraged him to go beyond the known and have adventures.

Boston was not too far from DC. He could secretly meet up with Reid or Addie and find a way to fix this, to fight this, to make it all go away.

He did not know that the answer was being sent to him.

When his phone buzzed announcing an email, his universe collapsed in on itself. When he opened it without knowing the consequences, he waved goodbye to his well-adjusted life in Boston. When he saw that it was from Manuela Ferro from Interpol, he realized his mistake. Manny just signed his death warrant, yet as he read through all the files he came to understand why she willing ended his life. She was going down with him, and with their death sentences, they could save the rest of them.

Together, they could finish this war before it honestly began its bloodshed.