Sorry, to those of you who have been reading, for the hiatus. The end the chapter 5 is a little different, and here's a super-short chapter 6.
Still don't own Criminal Minds, which is just as well. The breaks between seasons are bad enough. If I were in charge, they'd be insufferable.
Reid felt a bead of sweat run down his neck as his shirt clung damply to his chest. He ran out an even rhythm on the treadmill as the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. The tempo of his footfalls was beginning to slow as his legs protested this vicious maltreatment. His lungs burned as well, but not unbearably.
This was his third trip to the gym this week, trying to set himself up as a frequent customer. Vazquez, also undercover, was pedaling furiously at a stationary bike somewhere to his right. He could hear the whir of the spinning wheel even over the rush of blood in his ears; even over the ambient noise of the work-out room. The young police officer did not seem too happy about being, in the way she saw things, assigned as glorified babysitter, and was now taking her frustrations out on the bike.
Reid slowed to a leisurely jog, then finally a walk. He grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off his face and neck, and then made eye contact with the pretty brunette at the desk, who had been stealing glances at him since he walked in. He flashed her a smile, then surveyed the room. Other than the brunette, no one else seemed to be taking an abnormal amount of interest in him, or exhibiting out-of place behavior. Aside for Vasquez, anyway; she appeared to be trying to drill a hole through the floor with the force of her glare alone.
"How's your marathon training going?" The brunette asked as he approached the desk, flicking an errant lock of hair over her shoulder with a quick twist of her head.
Kelly, he remembered. Pretty, friendly, and above all, talkative, Kelly. He had chatted her up during his last visit, giving her, and everyone else he'd talked to, the marathon cover story.
"Pretty good," Reid said. "I wish I had more time, because believe me, I can go at it for a lot longer than an hour."
" I don't know…you should show me sometime," she said, leaning over to rest her head on her hands, elbows on the desk.
"Of course, I'm nowhere near 26.2 miles," he said. "Not even close to 24.85, which was the pre-1908 distance, so you'll be seeing a lot of me. ..So…any suspicious activity on the desk-front?"
"No one but the tall, panting, sweaty dude, standing in front of it," She said. Reid suspected she was simply teasing, maybe even flirting with him. He was always a bit slow about social nuances, but never entirely clueless. A little late, he realized the possible sexual connotations of his earlier remark. A lot longer, indeed…
"Besides, I no longer represent the sole protector of the gym…" Kelly continued with a laugh, unheard by Reid.
He was still mulling over the use of double meanings in mating rituals and didn't catch the first part of what she said. His ears perked up at 'surveillance cameras', and his mind backtracked to 'just had installed', but could go no further.
"Wait, what?" he said.