A/N: Yes, I AM still alive. And so is this story. (grins sheepishly)
I'm truly, utterly sorry that I've been missing for so long! Lately I've had a lot of stuff I've been forced to work through. My head's been MESS. (winces) I tried to emerge from it a couple of times but… it just didn't feel right, ya know? (sighs) BUT, now I'm FINALLY back on track. And you know, I think I fell in love with this story all over again. (grins) It's a really good feeling!
Before getting on with the story, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all those reviews! (GLOMPS) You can't even imagine how much each of them meant to me! You've been more help than you'll ever know. So thank you!
Awkay… (shudders, and takes a deep breath) I REALLY hope this turn out worth the awfully long wait! Let's rock.
Unknown Subject
When Spencer woke up he wasn't immediately aware of where he was. He opened his eyes quickly and pulled in a couple of panicked breaths until he recognized the hospital room. As soon as memories clicked into place an elephant crashed onto his chest.
Sometimes having an eidetic memory wasn't such a bliss.
His thoughts strayed elsewhere when he realized that he wasn't alone. Derek's voice carried quietly from a far edge of the room. Turning his head slightly Spencer discovered that the agent was already wearing his own clothes and talking to a cell phone. "… got nothing? How did he manage to just…?" It was then Derek noticed that he was awake. The man swallowed loudly. "I'll get to the station in a bit. I need to talk to Spencer first." So saying the man hung up and tried to smile at him. "Hey there, about time for you to wake up. The doctor discharged me a while back and you should get out in a few hours, too."
It was Spencer's turn to gulp. Everything inside him felt utterly cold. "So… George got away?"
Derek looked at him long and hard, clearly wondering if he was ready to hear this. In the end the man sighed. "Look, Spencer…"
His eyes narrowed. "I'm not a child, Morgan", he hissed through his teeth. "If you want to keep me safe and protected you can't withhold information from me."
Derek's jaw tightened and the man looked away before focusing on him once more. "There were several roadblocks, put together as soon as we found out who we were after, but somehow Foyet managed to slip through."
Spencer felt sick to his stomach and had to fight to keep it from showing. "Someone must've helped him", he concluded in a oddly hollow voice and wrapped his arms tightly around himself.
It didn't help. He could still feel George's hands and lips on him.
He could still smell the roses.
The sick feeling came flooding back.
"Hey." This time the hand he felt wasn't George's. Derek was looking at him with genuine worry and sympathy, dark eyes evaluating. "Are you hanging in there? I know that this all is a lot to take in."
His eyes narrowed slightly as two beasts clashed inside him, one of them wanting to take advantage of this moment and the other screaming at him to hurry up with lifting the shields before he'd get hurt again. The latter won. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't profile me all the time." He got up a bit less gracefully than he'd intended and was reminded harshly that his body was still working through the past twenty-eight hours. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back in a second." With that as his final verdict he made his way away, no matter how cold it felt without Derek's touch.
In the isolation and security of the tiny bathroom it finally washed over him.
George was the first person he'd ever trusted with his body, perhaps even soul. Aside his mom George was the first one he'd let close enough to give a chance to hurt him. George had sneaked so close to him that he'd failed to see the man's true colors. Now he was left wondering if George imagined killing him, watching very life leaving his eyes, every time they…
Spencer had never felt as violated in his entire life.
At that moment he allowed tears to fall and gritted his teeth with all his might to keep himself from screaming out some of the acid coursing through his veins.
Walking out of the room Derek was so worked up that he was taken aback by surprise when his eyes spotted William Reid. The man appeared throughoutly exhausted and Derek felt tempted to wonder if he'd been in the hospital all night.
Finally spotting him William offered a tiny, tired smile. "Hey. I came to take you to the station. I understood you wanted to return to work as soon as possible."
Derek nodded quickly. "Yeah, I do." He needed to get his mind back on track before he'd snap.
He wondered if William knew somehow, for as they began to walk the man spoke. "I know my son isn't the easiest person to get close to. I'm one of the people responsible for that. But he really needs support right now." The man went on before he got the chance to say a word. "I'm not stupid. I know what the nature of my son's relationship with George Foyet was."
Derek frowned. "Why are you telling me this?"
William shrugged. "Because it looks like you could finally be someone who won't give up or walk out on him."
Every single muscle in Derek's body stiffened. "I'm not gay." He was getting sick and tired of saying that, of having to prove himself time and time again.
The look William gave him told that he'd said too much. "I never said you would be."
They didn't speak another word until they made it to the station.
Right outside Nevada a car pulled out before a tiny, rather isolated house.
Blue eyes darted towards the passenger's side of the vehicle. "I thought you wanted to go ghost as soon as possible."
George Foyet's eyes flashed dangerously. He licked his lips and shivered with anticipation. "There's… something I need to take care of first", he stated. The blade hidden into his clothes burned against his skin, screamed to be used. He glanced towards the battle scarred girl beside him. "Will you wait for me?" He needed the ride, after all, and she was the only person he could trust at this point. Besides, her company wasn't completely undesirable.
She smirked. "Sure thing, sugar." She lit a cigarette, stretching her long legs the best as she could. "Just hurry up before I get bored."
George's eyes flashed while something stirred inside him.
This girl and Spencer… Although they had amazingly lot in common they'd turned out to become yin and yang, polar opposites with tiny spots of each other in them. He wondered with a degree of curiosity how they'd react to each other if they'd ever meet.
Banishing that thought with the knowledge that he didn't have time to waste he emerged from the vehicle, never once looking back. It was perfectly quiet as he walked on.
While preparing to finally leave the hospital room Spencer found his thoughts spinning in a mad, unreasonable blur. Looking out the window he allowed his eyes to linger on the forever bright city spreading down below.
Spencer couldn't remember why but he'd been afraid of the dark since he was a little child. That's why Las Vegas had been the ideal place for him. It was a city where the lights never went out completely, where darkness never won. Even during the darkest times of his life he'd never lost his faith in the city's ability to pull him back into light.
Not until now.
As he looked at the city all he could think of was George Foyet. His hand found the mark the Reaper had left on his shoulder upon attacking him.
The all-seeing eye. George would always follow him, keep an eye on him.
He'd always sworn that he wouldn't end up being like his father, that he wouldn't run away from his problems. But now… Now, for the first time, he could actually understand why his father had walked away from a life that'd become too much of a burden.
Maybe they weren't as different as he'd thought, after all.
"Penny for your thoughts", Emily Prentiss, who'd appeared to pick him up, offered.
Spencer gulped, wondering how to address this to someone he didn't even really know. He bit his lip, feeling stupid. "I just… I was trying to figure out what my next move should be."
Emily smiled, just a little bit. "You make this sound like a game of chess."
Spencer frowned. "Was that a joke?" Because he really needed one at the moment.
It took a moment before Emily seemed to realize he'd been serious. She stifled a laugh. "Yeah, it was."
Spencer looked at her, then at his hands that were trembling. He rubbed them with a great deal of embarrassment, hoping that she wouldn't notice. He had to clear his throat before he managed to speak. "I just… I was wondering if it's always like this, for those that survive. If the shadows never disappear."
Emily looked at him, clearly wondering how honest she could be. "I'm… not sure if life will ever be the same", she finally stated. "But how deep under your skin it gets… I think it's up to you. You can choose how far into the dark you dive."
Spencer pressed his lips together, savoring the taste of her words. He glanced towards the discharge papers in his hands, wrote a one more signature and breathed in. It was time to go. "I've… been thinking about moving out of Las Vegas", he blurted out all of a sudden, deciding to trust the strange sensation of familiarity between them.
Emily looked at him with a slight bit of surprise, then nodded, her eyes softer than he'd ever seen them. "I think that sounds like a pretty good idea." He was glad she didn't mention Derek, that she didn't ask if he'd move to Virginia. It was something he was still debating over with himself – he didn't feel any desire to discuss it with others.
As they were about to leave he came to think of something. "Oh, and Emily?" He licked his lips. "I'd… appreciate it if you didn't tell Morgan what I just said. I want to…" He trailed off, not entirely sure what he wanted to say.
Emily seemed to know, though. She smiled once more and nodded. "Sure thing", she promised. "This stays between you and me." She gave him a beat's pause. "Now let's get to the station before William starts to wonder what's taking us so long."
It was a very long time from when reporter Jeremy Quartz last thought of George Foyet. But lately the man had entered his mind again as he followed the news of the Reaper's return. Chills traveled down his spine every time he listened to the news reports on new attacks.
He wasn't a genius, but certainly no fool either. He remembered every single one of the stories on the Reaper he'd written – they were the reason he'd been famous for a while. Some of the things he'd claimed… If the psychopath was really at large once more,he didn't think the monster would be happy with him.
That's why he'd left his girlfriend with basically no goodbye, resigned from a job he'd always loved and moved out of Vegas, into this rotten hut in the middle of nowhere. He was supposed to be safe, invisible.
So why did he wake up from exhausted sleep to the sounds of footsteps?
He bounced from his couch, wide awake in a matter of seconds. It took a couple of seconds before he recognized the figure stood in shadows by the room's doorway.
"Hello, Jeremy", George Foyet greeted like he'd been a long lost friend.
Jeremy's eyes widened and for some reason the hair in the back of his neck rose as he took a step backwards, his whole body reacting to the other man's presence. "Foyet?" What the hell was going on?
The man approached him calmly, like a experienced predator closing in on its pray. "You and I… I think it's high time we finally have a proper talk."
Back at the police station the team had gathered into the main room, around a cardboard box William Reid had just brought in. "My men finished up with Foyet's apartment a while ago", the man explained. "This had been hidden into his clothes room."
Derek peered eagerly into the box, glad to work on something he felt comfortable with. "What's in it?" he inquired.
William spread the entire contents of the box for them to see. They all shivered.
The box… It was full of old articles on the Reaper. It didn't take long before they noticed that most of them had been written by the same man.
Jeremy Quartz.
George Foyet had clearly read each article carefully. The paper was wrinkled and thin, full of markings. It didn't take long before they noticed that certain parts were highlighted with flaming red color.
'…The Reaper presumed dead…'
'…most feared serial killer has either died or been arrested.'
'…can finally breathe in a sigh of relief?'
"Foyet's been keeping an eye on Quartz's work", Derek managed after a extremely long pause, getting a very nasty feeling.
"Yeah", Emily's voice joined in all of a sudden. "And I doubt he'd be happy about someone writing stuff like that."
Derek's eyes immediately darted towards his teammate. "How's Spencer?" he inquired, not giving a damn about the weird looks he received. It felt unnerving to care so much.
Emily shrugged. He pretended he didn't notice the arched eyebrow. "As fine as can be expected. He's in the breakroom now, getting some coffee."
Derek couldn't control himself. He was on the move before anyone could say a thing. "I'm going to check up on him", he announced. "Maybe he remembers something useful."
Fortunately it seemed the others were too wrapped around the new lead to really pay attention to his odd behaviour. He heard Aaron speak just before he was out of earshot. "The Reaper wouldn't let something like this slide. I'm calling Garcia. We'll have to find Quartz…"
Derek had had no idea of what he was doing to begin with. That's why it wasn't a huge surprise that he froze by the breakroom's doorway as soon as he saw Spencer. He'd come over to talk, but what the heck was he supposed to say?
Maybe he should just…
It was too late to retreat. Startled by his sudden presence Spencer looked up with slightly widened eyes. He couldn't quite read the expression that morphed on the younger man's face when the brunet recognized him. "Hey."
Derek didn't know if he wanted to snort or smile at that. "Hey", he greeted back, examining the other with his eyes. Spencer's hands were shaking so badly that he barely managed to hold a mug of coffee and there was a great deal of tension on the brunet's face. He wasn't entirely sure why but he would've given quite a bit if he'd been able to chase some of the unease away.
Surprisingly it was Spencer who cut the stiff silence between them. "I'm… sorry I snapped at you, at the hospital. It was uncalled for."
Derek shrugged. "Don't worry about it. You're dealing with a lot of stress right now. It's only understandable that your nerves get the best of you sometimes."
Spencer studied his face carefully, and little by little something melted in the man's brown eyes. "Yeah", the brunet breathed out, taking a sip of his coffee. "I guess so." This time the silence that followed was comfortable.
Derek had absolutely no idea where the lines went between the two of them. That's why he hesitated for the longest time before speaking. "Look… I know there's a lot going on in your life right now, and I may be the last thing you need. But…" He trailed off for a moment, feeling like he'd been a teenager all over again. He readjusted his weight restlessly. "When you need and want someone to talk to… I'll be there, okay? I really want to help you."
Spencer looked at him, and he wasn't sure why he felt slightly hurt by the open shock on the man's face. "Why?" There was no accusation or anger, only pure confusion – disbelief. Perhaps that was what hurt the most.
They'd slept together, for crying out loud! Did Spencer really think that he didn't give a damn?
But then again… Could he really blame Spencer?
Derek never got the chance to answer because just then the room's door opened. There was a look Derek knew better than well on David Rossi's face. "Garcia's got something."
The three of them made their way to the rest of the team, Spencer following a couple of steps behind Derek. Everyone was staring at Aaron's phone. "You're on speaker", the unit chief announced. "We're all here."
"Jeremy Quartz moved out of Vegas and vanished completely a while ago. But I wouldn't be worthy of my reputation if that would stop me. Just before disappearing he emptied a bank account. The next day someone by the name of John Smith bought a house just outside Nevada with that exact same amount of money. It was paid in cash."
A shockwave crossed the room. "What's the address?" Aaron inquired in a tense, sharp tone and wrote down the answer Penelope gave him. As soon as the phone call was finished the unit chief looked at them all. "Let's go. We've gotta get there before Foyet finds him."
Derek nodded slowly, feeling dizzy. Could this really be over soon?
Just as he was about to walk away Derek heard Spencer's voice. "Morgan." There was something he'd never seen before in the younger man's eyes, and despite the folded arms it made him feel warm all over. "Be careful."
He nodded once more. And suddenly leaving was the last thing he wanted to do. "I will be", he promised, then kept going. Not looking over his shoulder was one of the hardest things he'd ever done.
Staring at the direction towards which Derek had gone Spencer exhaled, his chest burning with how tight it'd become. He didn't manage to inhale properly. He wrapped his arms even more tightly around himself and gritted his teeth.
All he could do was wait.
A while later Derek's heart pounded as the team closed in on the tiny house, accompanied by the local police. No matter how hard he swallowed his throat kept feeling dry.
Aaron moved, catching his attention. The man made some hand signals and the rest of them nodded in agreement, each of them knowing their job.
Derek's half of the group, which consisted of David and two men from the local police, began to approach the backdoor while Aaron led Emily and two more officers towards the front door. All they could do was hope that they weren't a blink too late already. That just this once they'd be faster than the Reaper.
None of them noticed how a car that'd been parked rather nearby took off.
Inside the house Jeremy trembled to the very core of his being as he sat in front of his laptop, typing although his fingers trembled beyond any control. While writing he was all too aware of the blade held on his throat. Threatening tears almost blurred his eyes.
How the hell had he gotten himself into a situation like this?
"You told them I was dead, or locked up", George hissed into his ear. "You told them I'd lost. I'm going to give you a chance to fix that mistake before I finish things with you."
Jeremy emitted a choked sob, his whole body trembling even worse than before. "Please…", he pleaded, tossing all pride to the wind. "Please, don't…! Please…"
George snorted. "Pathetic." The knife was pushed just a little bit more tightly against his skin. "Now keep typing. I want you to tell the world the true story."
As Jeremy swallowed down another sob and attempted to keep typing he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.
On the laptop's screen flashed a reflection of two men and two guns. George and he weren't alone anymore.
And then everything sped forward.
TBC, OR NOT?
A/N: The heat is ON. (shudders) And in case you're wondering, each cut with the actual series storyline in intentional – such as the reporter. (grins)
Soooo… How was that? Any good, at all? PLEASE, leave a note to let me hear from you! (gives puppy's eyes) I've just come back from a LONG break so I'm pretty insecure about… everything, basically. (sweatdrops)
IN THE NEXT ONE (if you still feel up to it after all the waiting…): Things climax with Foyet, but is it really over? Reid reveals a decision that once again shakes the ground under him and Morgan.
I HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER PLANNED OUT. So if you want to keep reading I'm pretty sure that I'd FOR ONCE manage a pretty quick update.
Thank you so much for sticking around with me, guys! (HUGS) I REALLY hope I'll see ya around later, too.
Take care!
Scarlett: Yosh! (beams)
Poor Spencer, no? Oh gosh, can't even imagine how he must be feeling at this point. (winces)
Gigantic thank yous for the review!
lynn: My goodness! (gasps and grins from ear to ear) That was HUGE compliment, ya know?
Enormous thank yous for the ego inflating review!
Winter Cicada: Let's say that I'm glad to hear you've toughened up against cliffies… (sweatdrops)
Oh dear! (beams beat red) You can't even imagine how happy your kind words made me. (HUGS) I can't believe someone's capable of enjoying my writing that much.
Why the heck is Reid so easy to pick on? The poor guy! (huggles)
HUGE thank yous for the AMAZING review!
nicolethecrazyone: It makes you happy? (smiles) Ah, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!
I'm really glad you're firmly on board.
Colossal thank yous for the review!
