#12
"The extreme form of passionate love is secret love."
~Japanese Proverb
The job was a pain. Conducting surveillance on an FBI agent. The odds of her getting caught were astronomically high. Eileen Cortland was to watch and study Spencer Reid's life and daily habits and report back to San Diego in three weeks' time.
With light brown hair and brown eyes, Cortland could easily get lost in a crowd. Her skill in staying invisible was useful in high school when it came to hiding from bullies. In the police academy, she easily hid in plain sight in their role-playing exercises. If only she were swifter when it came to getting dirty for the right reasons.
She arrived on a Sunday afternoon and set up shop in a vacant apartment across from where Reid lived. The renters had been kicked out a month ago and the owner was having a hard time finding new ones as the price was so high. It was a level below Reid's but it was fine for her needs. This was the first of many crimes she would be committing on this job.
…
Cortland woke up early and dressed business casual. Through her camera she caught her first glimpse of him an hour later already dressed for work. She quickly took the back entrance out of the building to follow him.
The distance between Van Ness and Quantico was commutable either by car or subway. It was a nice day, so Reid appeared to walk to the subway. Cortland always stayed a few feet away from him in the crowd. Once they got underground she tied her hair back and threw on some glasses. There was no such thing too much paranoia in her job.
Reid took a seat at the end so she was forced to sit in the middle. She pulled a People magazine out and began to read. Cortland glanced once him and found him staring out the window. She wondered how many of the world's problems he was trying to solve.
When the Quantico stop came, Cortland tucked her feet in to let Reid pass. She didn't look up until he passed her. It would have been risky to follow him any closer. She stayed on for two more stops. Once she reached the surface, she let down her hair and ditched the magazine. The real work was about to begin.
Most of her jobs had been legal investigative work. Catching cheating spouses, employees who weren't injured but claiming workman's compensation as examples. But what she was doing now could land her in jail at least a few years.
Careful about not leaving scratches, she broke into Reid's apartment in roughly a minute. She was amazed at the size of the inside. He must be investing his money carefully. There were bookshelves everywhere. The tech department said his cyber footprint was small and that explained part of it. She glanced at the titles ranging from a Nigerian dictionary, a large selection of Russian literature, to soap digest books. She noticed there was less dust on one row and a book sticking out. She carefully pulled it out and found a quotation written in the book.
Cortland sighed. "You were in love once," she murmured. "But not anymore."
After carefully putting it back she pulled out her surveillance equipment. She rigged cameras and microphones in the main sitting area, kitchen, bedroom, and the place she was dreading the most, the bathroom.
She wasn't paid to ask questions but doing this made her feel dirty. It was specifically requested that the bug be placed in the shower stall. Cortland could have said there was no good place to fit it. But they would be able to tell she was lying. All the bugs would be transmitting back to her, not cloud storage, which meant she had some control over how it was presented.
Cortland took her time examining his apartment further. He had take-out menus from every cuisine culture in the world and were organized alphabetically. His desk was extremely neat with a fountain pen at the head of the blotter. In it was a sobriety coin. She looked through his mail and found that he did diversify his investments well. She also found the latest report from a sanitarium where his mother appeared to be staying at. Reading that made her feel dirtier than when she was in the bathroom. His clothes were all sorted neatly according to color with darker ones closer to the front. He seemed to favor dark suits with handkerchief pockets.
Before leaving she took another glance around his apartment. He had pictures, music CDs (all Beethoven) and some Dr. Who paraphernalia. It was refreshing to be in an apartment with such a strong personality. She both dreaded and looked forward to seeing him in it.
…
In the afternoon the tech specialist in San Diego texted her that Reid was in Boise on a case. This left Cortland free to roam the city. She had never been to DC and always wanted to. The closest she'd been was New York where her mom only wanted to shop.
As she spent time in some of the museums, she wondered about Reid. She wondered what this client wanted from him. Asking was dangerous. Cortland knew better and she usually didn't think too much about these cases. Something about Reid felt very special.
She arrived at "her" apartment late at night. She pulled out her camera in case there was any activity. The curtains at his window were unmoving. Cortland cuddled up in a blanket and slept.
…
By the third day of doing touristy things, Cortland was going crazy with boredom and anxiety. The tech finally texted her that the case was complete and he should be home by around six o'clock.
She watched him come in around six thirty. She turned on the surveillance cameras and began to watch. Upon entering his apartment and turning on the light, he dropped his bags and rubbed his eyes. He looked exhausted. She watched uneasily as he entered his bedroom and began to undress down to a t-shirt and shorts. He then pulled the blankets up and laid on his bed. He appeared to fall asleep instantly.
It must have been a hard case. Cortland drafted some notes:
Subject falls asleep quickly after exhausting cases.
…
The next day she woke up extremely early and got dressed. Reid looked so peaceful as he slept. He woke up two hours later and began to undress. Her stomach churned as she watched him enter the shower. She didn't watch long. Cortland only took notes about the scars on his skin. She refused to admit to herself the possibility that she enjoyed it as she minimized the screen showing the bathroom.
It was raining today so he drove. Cortland grabbed a taxi and paid extra for him to follow her specific instructions. Reid always drove the speed limit and sometimes a few miles under. He followed all the rules of the road. She was careful to turn away when they drove past him as he took the off ramp to Quantico.
Cortland returned to DC to play tourist again for a few hours. She mulled over what she saw in the shower stall. She wondered what the client wanted to do with this information. It started to scare her to think about the possibilities.
…
Reid liked to play chess in the park. He adored Derek Morgan's son. He spent Sundays with Jennifer Jareau's family. His favorite coffee spot was two blocks away called Culture Café. Two cases made him cry in the shower when he came home. His letters to his mother were at least three pages long. While doing simple chores a he played Beethoven and hummed along. When he didn't come home late from cases he usually settled down and read three books before ten o'clock and the subjects ranged from the history of cartography to medical textbooks on podiatry. He kept a busy if lonely, life.
She kept her bosses in San Diego informed about his habits as requested. The woman she only knew as Tasha asked for pictures of him in the shower. She could hear a hint of a smile in the woman's voice when she asked and that terrified her.
"I want full-body shots," she said. "Both back and front, especially the front."
"I'll send them to you when my report is complete," she said trying to stay calm.
"Why not now?"
"Because I don't think I've gotten the best shots yet," she said.
Tasha sighed. "I suppose, they're worth the wait then. I can't wait to guess his measurements."
"I've got to go," Cortland said. "I think I see Reid leaving."
"Then back to work you go," she said cheerfully and hung up.
She let her back fall again the wall. Cortland had a decision to make. After watching him for over two weeks, she realized what she wanted. She had been alone in her misery for too long. If she was going to go to jail, it might as well be for the right reasons.
…
Reid should be happy. He found the women locked in the attic safe before they were about to be sacrificed. But the images of the burned women threatened to haunt his sleep. He just wanted to go into his apartment and lay down.
Unfortunately, he found a woman sitting on his couch in the dark. He pulled out his weapon.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Can you turn on the light first?" she asked calmly. "It is kind of hard to talk in the dark."
While still aiming his gun at her, he turned on the light. He saw a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair dressed in a white blouse and beige pants.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked firmly.
"My name is Eileen Cortland. I am a private investigator based in San Diego sent to monitor your activity using illegal methods that include bugging your apartment. This is a great place by the way."
"Why?"
"I do not know much about who is asking for this information. I am not paid to ask questions."
Reid didn't lower his gun.
"How long have you been watching me?"
"Fifteen days."
"Where are the bugs?"
"Here, the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom."
Reid couldn't help but turn red. He was growing angry too.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because I've grown a conscience," she said casually. "I have done some scummy things for these people but I found the line I couldn't cross when they asked for naked pictures of you."
"It's not in cloud storage?" he said.
"Nope, the bugs are of an old-school design. Cloud storage is also more prone to untraceable hacking."
"What do you want?"
"To serve my time in a federal super-max. The people who hired me are dangerous."
Reid watched her. Something hit him.
"You used to be police," he said.
"How'd you guess?" she asked.
"Your wording, and many PIs are former police. You were forced out weren't you? What does this organization have on you that you're afraid of?"
She sighed. "I was caught stealing money for my mother's escalating medical bills. I ratted everyone out to avoid jail time. Even though my mother is dead, I am still paying bills. The people I work for say that a powerful cop on the inside has put a hit on me. They've offered protection and cash for servitude."
Cortland was telling the truth and Reid could see in her micro-expressions that she was on the verge of tears. He lowered his weapon and holstered it.
"What if we tried to this organization down together?"
Her eyes filled with hope. "You're willing to risk that?"
"No life should be thrown away due to some bad decisions. Keep up your job we'll work out something with my team."
"You're amazing," she said. "Even better in real life."
"Thank you," he said uncertainly.
"You know I've seen naked pictures of you right and you still want to help me?" she said rapidly.
He turned a deeper shade of red. "What matters is taking this organization down," Reid said.
She stood up and walked to him. "Will you still want to after I do this?"
She pulled him forward by the tie and kissed him. She kissed him so hard he forgot to breath.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I think I fell in love with you a couple days ago."
"I-I feel honored," he sputtered out. "I think, I don't know what to think."
"That must be a first for you," she said shakily.
He laughed. He really didn't know what to think. He just knew he wanted to be kissed by her again.
End note:
This one was a lot of fun. If there is interest, I might write a multi-chapter story to it later.