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: Hello, friends! I'm back with another chapter. The next one should be up in a week, if all goes as planned. After that I'm afraid it goes back to sporadic updates and long waits. I start the spring semester in the middle of January. I don't know how long it is going to take me to get into the groove of things.

I regret to inform you that there will be no Reid in this chapter. It looks like there will be no Reid until chapter 9 which is chapter 10 with the prologue factored into the count. Sorry, I know that sucks. A lot of the characters will talk about him, so he won't be gone completely. I apologize for the lack of his awesomeness. I actually really miss writing him.

Still no beta, so sorry if there is any mistakes. I try to get as many as I can, but I do miss some. Read, enjoy, and please review. Those reviews are the best, so this the time a give a shout out to all those that have reviewed this story so far (especially Patricia who had the 25th review). I never really thought I would get that many reviews and that many people excited about my story so many thanks to all of you that have favorited and followed my story.

If any of you have questions or comments that you don't want to put in a review, just PM me. I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its character. That honor belongs to CBS. I simply love playing around with them and coming up with theories about their lives. Sometimes I think fans take better care of these wonderful characters than the writers.

Chapter Six: Humanity's True Monster

"Monsters exists, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries that are ready to believe and to act without asking questions."-Primo Levi

She hated being in the office after hours.

Working late was something Susana had been doing as of late. She was waiting for the perfect chance to arise for her to do her job. She simply trudged on pretending to work on her desk. Filling out paper after paper, her ears still stung with the sincerity of what her last conversation with Dr. Lancaster wishing her a wonderful night. She forced herself to push the singe of betrayal out of her head. She needed to process her actions here and now. She needed her mind clear to avoid detection.

Susana prided herself on her self-declared genius. She acknowledge that before her position within this department, her position in Adelaide Lancaster's personal circle, she fancied herself smarter than everyone she met. She knew better now.

There were real geniuses on the planet and she was not one of them. What she did possess was an unique opportunity to use her position, her connections. That phone call saved her from the dullness of life behind an office desk doing paperwork all night much like she was doing that moment. The smooth voice seduced her inner beast and coaxed it out of her thin but tall frame. Her delicate face showed the ugliness she now controlled within her. She lost her average beauty to the temptation of a stranger's enticing voice.

She never spared a thought to the consequence if things went sideways. She never considered failure on her part. She never thought about Dr. Adelaide Rose Lancaster and what she would do, what she could do.

She slipped in and out of her boss's office without much problem except when she held the file in her hand. It burned her and scarred her as a traitor. It forever marked her as one of the many monsters roaming in the night.

Adelaide hated family dinners.

It was not that she did not get along with her family, but it always turned into competition between all of them. Who made the most contributions to society? Who saved the most lives? Her parents never meant to make it out that way. It just occurred that way every single time.

She sat cross-legged on the couch listening to her parents hum into each others' ears. Her mind wandered to her past when someone whispered into her own ear. How she giggled in response. How alone she felt at the moment when she realized no one was waited to welcome her home. How loveless she lived her life at least recently.

She once loved completely. He ran off to save and defend the innocent from the creatures of darkness. He left her unprotected to face her fears alone. She desired to hate him, yet every night she dreamed of his return. He did eventually, but he was too different. He was too broken much like she was.

She loved again after that almost as much as the first, but she guarded herself. She could not survive another heartbreak. It did not matter for he filled her soul with the happiness she forgot she had within her. He covered her with warmth and light setting the dark afire. He brought her more laughter than she deserved and they created a life and a family. Life had been kind if only for a few years. Then, they were snatched away from her. He died and took their son with him.

Now, she must fight the darkness alone.

Her mother's giggles made Addie turn her head to see the commotion, "Owen, Eloise! I'm so glad the two of you could make it tonight. I know the both of you must be extremely busy with everything."

Everyone heard the accusation in her statement. No one visited their parents in the last few weeks. They all had their excuses for not returning phone calls, for not driving for an hour and a half to their parents extravagant home in rural Virginia. The surprise that her children cared enough to come to this family gathering hurt both Adelaide and Eloise a great deal.

Eloise spoke first, "Mom, I'm sorry. It's just that the lab has made remarkable progress. I think we may have hit a breakthrough in one of our experiments. And, Owen just finished an important case. I'm sorry we haven't been coming by as much as either of us would like, but our schedules are lightening up, we may come more often this month."

Vivienne Lancaster hugged her daughter thanking her, "Well, we are simply waiting for your brother to arrive. He is leaving for California soon, and he promised to come by before he left."

Catching everyone's attention, a well-built man with graying hair said, "This is Dashiell, Hon. He may not show up until late."

Owen went to shake his hand, "Colonel, how's it going?"

The man laughed, "Well, I'm retired which means I have been bored out of my mind. Just me and the wife, all day, everyday."

Owen chuckled a little before he received a stern look for his own wife whom looked very similar to the older woman offering the same expression to the Colonel.

Both couples became aware of Addie's presence when she announced, "Guess, dad was wrong. I can see Dash's car pulling up right now, mom." The pause allowed her to get up and greet her sister and brother-in-law, "Hey, how's the quite life in Virginia compared to the wildness New York City can provide?"

A few seconds and the door opened to reveal Dashiell excusing his lateness, "Sorry. Sorry. I know I'm always the last one here, and I'm always late."

In the background, the hellos and welcomes blended into the air as mere echoes. Owen answered Addie's question positively declaring Virginia superior to New York and quickly turned to face the newest arrival to their family gathering.

While Owen waved and said his hello, Eloise grabbed Addie's arm and pulled her away from the crowd wanting to have a private audience with her sister. "I have what you asked."

Relaxing at the news, Addie breathed her gratitude, "Thank you. I really appreciate this especially since I know you hate being shady."

Eloise sighed, "I...I wasn't going to give it to you, but something in my gut is telling me that this is extremely important, more so than my job or my license to practice medicine. I know you wouldn't ask for it if it were not essential. I know you would not risk my way of living unless something bigger is at play. I trust you. You have a job I will never fully understand, but that is the way this relationship works. We compliment each other. I heal the people who have faced villains out there. You find those people and put them away forever." She handed her sister the little bottle and slipped away from her. Slowly walking toward her husband, Eloise directed her next words to everyone, "Before you all ask, Dylan and Sophia are with their Aunt Hannah. We wanted a some quiet time for the two of us, and the kids love going to Hannah's ranch in New York."

The older Lancasters asserted their displeasure in not seeing their grandchildren, but Dashiell and Adelaide comprehended the deeper indication of that statement. Owen and Eloise were preparing for a battle that they should never have to fight, and if Adelaide had her way they will not ever know the horrors of that nightmare.

Vivienne declared dinner ready, "Well, with that disappointment, let us beginning dinner. Kenny, dear, please grab the wine, while I finish in the kitchen."

Her husband did as he was told, and the afternoon carried on with small talk and interrogations. Vivienne and Kenneth both interviewed people as part of their jobs. Their children were no different from the people sitting across them in the interview room. They asked about their personal lives and professional lives without hesitation. Why haven't you settled down, Dashiell? Adelaide, you should find someone as well. Oh, Eloise, those kids of yours are going to fabulous when they are older. You and Owen should have more. Help today's society by spreading those genes of yours. Are you still travelling all the time, Adelaide? You really should follow your sister's lead. She traded in her crazy hours at the hospital for something more stable. I am sure Dashiell can get you a good position at CalTech, if you so desired. Though I imagine one of the ancient eight would love to snatch you right up. Be closer to home like your sister. Owen, dear, how is the new law firm treating you?

The questions flew one after the other. All of them but Vivienne were pleased that the end of the visit was approaching. Eloise and Owen cleared the table, Vivienne and Kenneth cleaned up the food placing it in the fridge for tomorrow, and Dashiell and Adelaide volunteered to wash all of the dishes hoping that as everyone else came together in the living room the water drowned out their conversation.

Addie washed and Dash dried. Both feared saying what needed to be said, but Addie blurted out, "I hate this...I hate that I can't talk about it. I hate that I know I'm losing...I hate that Ellie has to send her kids away, because she knows something is happening. I just can't tell her. I have to find them. I have to."

Dashiell yearned to make his younger sister better, to reassure her that everything will be perfectly okay. He could not; however, do that. Her life was endanger, and all he could do was watch. "Adds, I've decided to stay and help. I have firsthand knowledge about the bombs they've used. I could help. I could ask for a sabbatical from CalTech and stay until this is all over."

"No."

"What you mean, no. Adelaide, I want to help you."

"No"

Dashiell gaped at her no longer drying the dishes, "Why the hell not?" Adelaide tried to cut him off, but he forced his thoughts out, "Seriously, why not? I have helped you before. I've been helping you. I've consulted. I've remodeled my old designs. I've kept your dirty little secrets. I've practically gone back to doing my old job. The one I left for a reason. So, why should I not stay and fight this with you?"

Hiding her face as tears slid down it, she addressed his question, "I don't want you to stay. I don't need you to stay. They don't know about your involvement. You and Lucy are safe, because you stayed far enough away that they wouldn't care about you. I want it to stay that way. People have died for this, and I am not going to put my brother in the ground, because I am scared and alone. I won't be the reason you're dead. Do you understand?"

His hands instinctively reached for her, "I can't let you die knowing that I could have helped to prevent it."

She leaned into him, eyes closed, "Remember when dad used to make this big show of killing the monsters under our beds and in our closets. He would jump and make sound effects just to make sure we knew that they couldn't come after us."

"Yeah, I remember."

"He made it seem so easy. That killing the monsters was as simple as mustering up the courage to open a door or peek under your bed. It's not. The monsters look the same as the heroes, and you're never really sure who's on your side." She halted to catch her breath and look at her brother's troubled face, "When I came home after my first assignment twelve years ago, I cried for so long I thought I would never stop. Dad tried to help, but he only made it worse.

"I caught dad telling mom that he should have protected us better. He should have fought harder. That he should have never let the government get their hands on me, on us. He mentioned that you went to him after Director Chappell contacted you about one of your students. You asked him to use his connections to stop him from being recruited. you told him and I quote, 'Dad, I can't allow this. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency has shown personal interest on a kid that has no business being out on the field. He's brilliant of that there is not doubt, but he's too kind. He has the most compassion out of everyone that I know. I cannot in good conscious send him into a battleground that will kill any goodness in him.' I didn't know you were talking about Spencer then. My dad was just using him as an example. How Spencer and I were so similar. He was mad that he could have helped Spencer by convincing Gideon to go to CalTech. The FBI is softer than the CIA. He was mad that he could do that for Spencer, but he did nothing for me. He didn't know that eventually both of us would be the same. That he couldn't have save us at all even if he had tried just a little bit harder."

Dashiell's grip loosened, "What are you saying?"

Leaving his embrace completely, Addie said, "That Spencer and I never really had a chance. They just made it look like we did. That's the thing about monsters, Dash. They're smart enough to let you think that you are safe until it is too late to do anything. They appear friendly and good until they're not. Monsters don't go bump in the night just to give you the courtesy of you knowing that they are the bad guys out to get you. Monstrosity is equivalent to humanity. We just hate to admit that, because that means that we can't win. We can't defeat humanity without destroying it completely." Again she paused to clean herself up. She finished the dishes and left them on the counter for her brother to dry. Before she joined the others, she ended their conversation, "You can't save us. We were doomed from the beginning. We were always going to end up like this. Spencer and I, we're practically dead already."

She left a stunned Dashiell with a pile of soaking dishes dripping on the floor.

Henry hated the dark.

He shared that trait with his godfather. He could feel the eyes of all the creatures on him as soon. As the lights flickered off, he was left vulnerable to attack.

He awoke from a nightmare. He cried to announce to all his enemies that he was ready for battle. He cried to warn his mother to run away. He cried to alert his father that he need assistance to bring justice against the cruelty of the night. He cried to force his magical godfather to appear and save him.

Nothing happened. The monsters did not attack. His mother did not run away. His father did not help. Most importantly, his godfather was nowhere in sight.

JJ tried to bring comfort to her son, "Sh, Henry. It's okay. It's okay. It was only a nightmare. You're fine, now. Mommy's with you."

He kept wailing, never faltering once. He called out for his father and his godfather over and over again. His mother was not enough to assure him his safety. He needed someone more, something more. The problem was that Will was on conference and most likely asleep somewhere in Chicago, and Spencer had been acting weird. She could not get a hold of him.

She dialed his number one more time, "Please pick up, Spence."

Hello, you have reached Dr. Spencer Reid. I cannot come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the tone.

She hung up, "God, the one time I need you, Spencer." She approached Henry and circled her arms around him tightly. "It's okay. Henry, it was just a bad dream. Mommy's here, now. Nothing will happen to you. I promise."

Henry wanted to believe his mother, but the evil beasts existed. His mother could not make them go away, so he cried for the one person he knew was magical. He cried for the one person he knew understood his fear. He cried for his wonderful Uncle Spencer.

JJ did not know what to do. She grabbed her phone once more but dialed a different number.

It rung twice before the person picked up, "You better have a good reason for calling me in the middle of the night. You completely ruined my beauty sleep."

"Penelope, I can't get Henry to bed. He woke up from a nightmare about half an hour ago, and he won't stop crying. I tried calming him down, but he keeps crying. It's the first time I can't get him to relax him long enough for him to go back to sleep. I don't know what to do. He keeps asking for Spencer, but he won't pick up."

Penelope was fully awake now. She scrambled on her feet and reached for her home computer system. "I can see where Spencer is and try to reach him through my system. Just hold on. I'm doing it from home, so it's going to be on the slower side." She typed and typed, but no results could be found. She tried again and still nothing. "Sorry, JJ. It looks like Reid has his phone turned off. I can't track him through his phone. I could try through security cameras, but I would need to go to my lair for that to really work."

JJ sighed holding Henry even closer, "No, it's okay. Thanks for trying."

"Do you want me to come over? Maybe between the two of us, we could put him to bed."

One look at her son all puffy-eyed and she agreed, "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Pen."

Two hours later, Garcia and JJ were able to put Henry to sleep. Not that it mattered, Henry knew the monsters were still there waiting for him take his guard down. He just quit trying to protect himself.

Manny hated being trapped.

She knew this was the only way to keep her alive. She was grateful to Adelaide. Everything was wonderful and well-planned out. She did not do this randomly. She cared enough to make sure everything was perfect. It just was that she was going stir-crazy.

She needed to get out of here and face the music. She needed to do something, help someone. She needed to find Coby, so between the two of them, they may just save the rest of the team. She needed to devise a plan to break out of here.

The knob turned. Out stepped Javier looking casual and carrying bags of groceries. "Hey, do you mind helping? I'm going to put these here, and you take them into the kitchen. I'll get the rest outside."

She examined him closely as he did what he announced. He certainly had a strong, muscular form. He would not be an easy target if Manny attached straight on. She could try to outsmart him, but she doubted that he was total idiot. Addie had a reputation for working with smart and talented individuals. She knew from experience how hard it was to impress her, and he absolutely dazzled Addie somehow or he would not be in charge of watching over her.

Maybe, she could convince him to simply allow her to leave and help. He clearly held some sort of affection for Adelaide. She could use that, play on his emotions.

"Hey, Manuela, What do you want to do today?"

Manny sighed, "I want to leave, find Coby, and bring these guys down before someone else dies. Do you think we could that, Ortiz?"

Javier carried on with his actions putting things away, "Or, and I'm just spit balling this, we could watch a movie and make a delicious blend of Mexican and Italian food to celebrate our heritage. Play some card games. I need to teach you how to play viuda. You are going to love it. It's practically poker."

Manny stood there shaking her head, "No. I need to be out there helping. I can't just live indoors for however long this takes playing Mexican poker with you. I can't. This is happening because I couldn't leave it alone even after Addie told me to drop it. I needed to put all of them away. Now, Coby and Quinn and Addie and Spencer are all paying the price for my stupidity. I can't let them die while I sit here being protected by you." There was silence for a moment. "Every single day you are here with me means that there is a day Adelaide is unprotected. It means there is a day where they could get to her. Is that what you want? You want Addie to die."

The tension in his jaw told Manny she hit a nerve, "No, I don't want her to die, but I'm a soldier not a spy. I follow orders. Right not, my orders are to keep you out of trouble. Adelaide cannot afford to lose concentration worrying over you, so me being here is helping her. Now, I have two romantic comedies with Ryan Gosling, a sci-fi flick, some movie about Lincoln and all six Fast and Furious movies. Which one would you like to see first?"

Today was not going to be the day she gained freedom. This meant she was going to need to kick his ass unconscious before she walked out that door. Nothing was stopping her. She was going to help fight those beasts, that wickedness, if it were the last thing she ever did.

Susana hated the fact that she had to seat in this office again after what she did last night.

She felt dirty, unclean. She felt like the world knew she was liar. The world was pointing in her direction, and it felt disgust by her presence. Susana could not sit in this chair for a second more, or she would explode from the guilt.

He made it sound so reasonable, so right. His musical voice drenched her with honey-glazed words. When she finally saw him in person, his sultry dark eyes, handsome face, and crooked smirk won her over. She permitted him to bewitch her entirely without much resistance from her side.

"You do not look good today, Susana."

She peeked to see Dr. Lancaster's brooding expression and eyes fussing over her. Before Susana attempted to say anything. Adelaide continued, "Take the day off. There is not much to do anyway. I did have a special assignment, but that most definitely can wait until tomorrow. If I need anything. I am sure I can borrow an assistant from someone else in this hall. You feel ill, and I don't want you getting worse. Go home." She walked into her office and closed the door.

Packing up her things, her sickness intensified. She thought Lancaster a bitch, then she realized the real demon found life deep within her.