Chapter 6
Prelude To Madness
The eerie glow from the computer screen cast light on Krys Robin's face in the dark lair. All the lights were off making it far more luminous against her fair skin. Quite a few hours had passed since the initial gathering of various agents on her home turf of Counter Terror. Now everyone, aside from a few select data driven people and a handful of supervisors remained behind.
Penelope was in one of their many labs running her own operation while Spencer was stationed more so on the main floor. In fact, Krys hadn't seen either of them since their meeting on the main floor. Of course that was to be expected given the risk and severity of the situation, so everyone was naturally hard at work. But poor Krys had already been up for two days straight since the disaster began and her eyes were beginning to hurt and even droop. Even the eighty cans of Amp energy drink she forced herself to down wasn't exactly helping.
Her right hand kept a rhythmic click as she scrolled down every site she possibly could, navigating and hacking away. But soon the various fonts were turning into blurs and she couldn't even read them anymore. She had been informed that she could go home (as everyone was working in shifts) but what was the point? Going home to an empty apartment to sleep while others lay in hospital beds dying? That wasn't even an option; though Krys badly needed the rest her desire to help these people was stronger.
Her head began to drop and she rested her cheek in her right hand, her elbow on the edge of the desk. To keep herself awake she began to hum a Beatles tune to herself. But really, it wasn't helping. About halfway through 'Hard Days Night' her voice drifted off and there was quiet.
"Go For Garcia." Penelope Garcia answered her phone as brightly as she could, even though the situation was far from being bright. It was the only thing that was keeping her sane. She had been staring at the computer screen for a few hours now and she couldn't believe that she had gotten little to nowhere with her searching. This guys couldn't be this good. They had to have left some sort of evidence.
"Garcia." Rossi voice came over the other line. It was the normal Rossi voice, though Garcia did hear a hint of frustration hidden in the flat words. She wasn't going to pry though, after all everyone was stressed over the situation. "I need you to look into all the employs of the movie theatre."
"But sir, Krys already did that…" She said a little confused by his request. Had he not known that or was there something else going on.
His words proved that there was something else going on and they made her cring back. "I know, just do it." He wasn't in the mood to be questioned, even if he knew the data analysis had done nothing wrong and by snapping at her he most likely hurt her feelings.
"Okay. On it." She said quickly already starting to type. "Is there anything I'm looking for particular?" She asked the normal spark back in her voice.
"Anything that might connect them to the virus plot." Rossi told her. "Okay Do-kay. Back in a jiff." She said hanging up the phone and starting the numerous background checks. The movie theatre wasn't that big, but there were still quick a few workers and a lot of stuff to look into. She just hoped that this would shed some light on who had done this, and in time to save all those people.
Reid was working hard on the geographic profile. He placed all the points they knew about, even if some of them seemed irrelevant like where the victims lived or worked. JJ was off talking to the press at this moment. Reid suddenly knew exactly why they tried with all there might not to let things like this get out. People as far as California were panicking. Everyone thought it was the end of the world. That the virus would spread across the states and everyone would get sick and die. Reid was there to stop it. Once they found the UNSUB then they would have the cure (Emily and Rossi had called him an hour ago with that insight.).
Reid had learned little from the geographic profile as of yet, but there was still things he could do with it, stuff that no one else would have thought. However he had confirmed that there were at least two UNSUBs, there was no way he could have done all that by himself. And there was no more than five. Reid was also pretty sure that this was not a terrorist attack, but most importantly it was aimed at New York specifically. Whether it was the trail run or the main attack Reid wasn't to sure. There was still data that Reid could put in the map. He didn't have it, though. Reid could go to either Garcia or Krys, and even though Garcia was his teammate Reid figure that this would be a good time to wish Krys a happy birthday and maybe tell her about his present, since she wasn't going to be going home any time soon to see it. He still wanted it to be a surprise, though, but he also didn't want her to think that he didn't get her anything.
As Reid walked into the computer lab he said, "Hey Kry...' But stopped short when he noticed her head down. She was asleep. His words had caused her to shut her eyes even tighter. She wasn't asleep, persay, but she wasn't wake either. Even in this crisis Reid decided that she needed her sleep, she wasn't her best when she was tired. He turned to leave but ran into a side table, knocking off a few dozen cans of Amp to the floor, causing a very loud noise. If she had been asleep before, she wasn't now. Reid cringed at what he had done.
Krys seemed to deliberate opening her eyes in an inner battle with herself when the loud crashing of numerous Amp cans caused her to jolt upright, arms held up over her head in a tense, surrendering position. She had no idea what caused the loud sound but by this point she was reacting solely by instinct, no matter how silly it was.
"I'm up! I'm up!" She announced loudly in a shaky voice, her eyes now wide open though she had no idea what was going on. After a few heavy breaths, trying to get herself under control, she slowly peered over her shoulder just in time to see a rather worried and cringing Spencer Reid. Her eyebrow raised and her expression immediately softened as her arms slowly lowered back down. There was no danger here. She knew that for certain whenever Spencer was around.
"Spence?" She blinked a few times before she knocked herself right back into 'work habit'. She actually felt a bit embarassed for him having walked in on her closing her eyes, no matter how badly she needed rest (running on nothing but caffine the last few days). So, feeling quite cornered and out of her element she fumbled to her feet, nearly falling right over by doing so. "I was just... I really wasn't..." Oh gosh, any way she put it, it wouldn't sound right and so, she swallowed all excuses down into the deepest pits of her stomach. "Do you need something?" Hopefully Spencer wouldn't entirely hate her.
Reid kind of wished he could laugh at that moment with out making her feel like crap, but knew that he wouldn't be able to. So he just smiled lightly. "Sorry..." he muttered. She really seemed to need her rest, and based on all the Amp cans around she had been up several days. He decided that she understood this and still decided against sleep so there was nothing he could say to change her mind. He just hoped they could clear this up fast so she could get to bed. Leaning down Reid picked up the dozen cans on the floor and throw them in the trashcan that was over flowing.
"It's alright Spence." Krys offered with a gentle smile. Though she was tired she noticed the awkward, apologetic sort of look that he gave her. She felt a tickling in her upper chest upon noticing it and inwardly felt guilty for feeling such a way at Spencer Reid's own expense. But there was just something about it that made her feel... She wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wasn't sure if she liked it or not because she certainly didn't know what it was.
After a few moments of delay, becoming caught up in her own thought process, she blinked bringing herself back into the living world and somewhat startled, bumbled over her feet and began to help Spencer in picking up the cans. One by one she scooped them up into her arms, subconsciously counting them in her head to keep the other thoughts out. Particularly how much she had liked seeing the awkward expression on Spencer's face when he looked at her. What the heck was going on? She needed it to stop and fast.
Then he moved closer to her. Nervously fiddling with his hands. He didn't know why he was so nervous but he just was. Maybe he was afraid when he told her happy birthday and about her party and present she wouldn't like it. Biting his lip he answered her question, "Yeah, can you print me out where all the victim's live, I want to add them to the map, see if there might be a connection some how between that and the killers. If anything it will show us how far each person was willing to go. Or maybe it was a normal place they go to or..." He noticed her was rambling and stopped. Looking at the floor he bite his lip again nervously.
It was only when she saw Spencer's shoes right in front of her that she slowly looked up, a stupid, goofy smile upon her own lips. Oh god, what was going on? Must be the lack of sleep... "What is it Spence?" She questioned gently, her brown eyes then looking to his hands which he was currently wringing. Why was that? Her gaze moved back onto his face unsure of what he wanted to say. And apparently, what was causing him so much distress was a birthday wish.
After a short silence he looked up and said, "I also wanted to wish you a happy birthday..." He laughed slightly at the bad joke. Some happy birthday. All those people dying on it. It almost felt like a crime to say something like that on this day. "Well at least I'm happy it's your birthday..." he said awkwardly, but realizing how bad that sounded he added quickly, "I mean.. .well... I'm glad you were born... um..." he shifted his weight and avoided look at Krys. He wasn't sure what he sounded like by saying that but he was sure it wasn't that good.
"Me?" She blinked, caught a bit off guard by the fact that someone had actually remembered her birthday. "You remembered?" Krys was pretty hypocritical when it came to birthdays. Everyone else's mattered but hers did not. That was just her thought process having to do with her worth, something she could never quite shake because of her past. It had practically been beaten into her skull, quite literally. There were so many things she could have said but in the end she could only get out: "T-T-Thank you." Still a bit surprised as she clung the few empty cans of Amp to her chest.
There was another pause as Reid tried to figure out what else to say. "Well... I... Garcia... well she's going to be mad at me for telling you this... but I figure it doesn't much matter any more... But we had set up a surprise birthday party for you..." He looked at her a second then looked away afraid that she would be mad. "I know you didn't want a party… but well... Its Garcia... and everyone should have a party..." The news made her jaw drop. "A p-party? For me?" The young woman who was usually filled with words of various importance, for a moment actually seemed speechless. "You guys didn't need to do any of that." She suddenly murmured before moving to the garbage can and dumping in the cans with a few scattered clangs.
Pausing he looked at Krys and added, "I also got you a present even if you didn't want one..." The smile faded as he continued. "It's at your house now... but I figure you wont be going back there for a while... And I want you to have something happy to hear on your birthday." Reid paused a few moments trying to bring up the courage to tell her. It felt like such a stupid present now. "It's... it's a... um... arcade game... Donkey Kong... Just like the ones you see in the arcade... I figured since you liked playing it so much... well now you can play it went ever you want, and you don't have to pay..."
When she heard him laugh she couldn't help but smile to herself. She did really enjoy when he did that. For some reason it made her incredibly happy. Turning back to face Spencer her jaw dropped again upon news of the present that he had purchased for her. "You what?" She nearly tripped over her own two feet as she hurried toward him, her hands reaching up to brace herself against him. "Spence you did what?" Blinking she was now smiling like the excited, tired goof she was. "That's so awesome! Oh my god!" She was too tired to care if she sounded like a girly girl in her excitement.
Reid had been dreading Krys' response since the moment he decided that that was what he was going to buy her. Many times he talked himself out of doing it, then went back to the idea. Deep down he knew it was one of the best presents he could have thought of. And that Krys would love it even if it was pretty worthless. What scared him even more was that she didn't like parties and gifts. She hated when the attention was put on her and that was what he was doing. He was worried that the small gesture would make her feel bad, and even if she didn't say it he would still know. And he didn't want to cause her any kind of pain even with something as little as that.
But when she suddenly was speechless and her face glowed like a young kid at Christmas Reid knew he had made the right choose. His heart felt warm with delight and he felt like it was him that had gotten the gift and not Krys, and in a way he had. It was the young lady's joy, even if he didn't understand why it made him feel so happy. He didn't worry about that now though, he just took in all the sunlight he could get before he had to go back to the reality of what was happening. He wanted this moment to last forever.
Without warning she threw her arms around him in a hug. "That's so great. Oh my gosh!" Pulling away, though still holding onto him she looked right up at his face the happiness quite evident on her own tired features. "I've never had anyone do something like that for me." She confessed without worrying about how it sounded, she was far too touched by the gesture. "You're the greatest Spence."
When Krys embraced him for a huge he was shocked and almost shyed away. But in the end he didn't. It was a wonderful thing. He realized that he had hugged her a few times before, but never had she hugged back, she had acted like it was the worst thing in the world. But this was the really thing, she really meant what it was saying. And it made Reid feel even better that he was smiling like a loon looking down on the shorter women. Blushing slightly at her kind words he said, "It's nothing..." he knew that it must have meant the world to her, though. "I'm sure you would do the same for me." He really had nothing to say. He wasn't good at the whole being the center of attention thing either and when it was Krys looking at him he found that even harder.
Spencer looked up for just a second from the smiling, joyful face of Krys. But the one-second changed everything. It was the air vent just over all the computers, not three feet from them. Out of it was coming a grey white mist, almost like a fog. Reid's heart stopped as he suddenly knew what it was: the pathogen that was making everyone sick. His heart sank and he knew that if Krys stayed there she would get sick, and if she got sick then she might die, and he couldn't let that happen. The fastest he ever moved was in that moment when he turned around, hugging Krys closer to him, as to move her with him. Her now being closest to the door he pushed her, sending her out of the room, only hoping that it was only coming into this office and not in the hallway as well. Then he moved and shut the door.
With widened brown eyes in absolute shock and confusion she could only blink as she watched Spencer close the door right in her face. At first it didn't register. Her eyes could only dart back and forth in her confusion and her brow furrow with misunderstanding. It was only then that she saw the ominous gray just past his shoulder slinking its way into the room and her own heart sank and then proceeded to beat at a hamster's pace.
"Reid!" She yelled out, only to watch her friend begin to cough as he breathed in the pathogen and now alarm overtook her features and voice, accompanied by panic. "Spence!" Her voice cracked in her cry out to him as she hurried to the large windowpane that allowed people to peer into the lab when she was working. "What are you doing? Get out of there!" She smacked her hands against the plexi glass in retaliation, she was panicking, and not because of the dangerous virus in her lab. No, that she could handle. It was merely the man on the other side that worried her.
Reid didn't want to look at Krys. He didn't want her to look at him. He wished that the door had no window so she couldn't see him. He could hear the pain in her voice as she pleaded with him to get out of the room. He couldn't do that, though. If he opened the door than she would get infected to. It was too late anyway, he was already infected, no need to risk her life as well. At least he had gotten her out in time. At least one of them would live. And Reid was glade that it would be her. Controlling his coughing, afraid to scare Krys even more, he shook his head. "I can't do that." And he wouldn't until Krys was either in a biohazard suit or far away. This was the FBI. The CT unit, it was suppose to be safe! How could Reid know Krys would be safe if even here wasn't? The thought hurt.
"Spencer..." Her voice was soft, practically a pathetic whimper when she knew that he wouldn't be emerging any time soon. He was too stubborn for that. Worried brown eyes peered at the young genius as he coughed and she instantly felt sick, though it wasn't because of a pathogen in her body. She was worried sick over him and there was no hiding it from her features. "Please come out..." She felt like a little girl, pleading in a meek voice. "Please?" She knew it was too late, but a small part of her had to try even as she felt a wetness sting her eyes.
"Sound the alarm..." He said coughing, as he knew the poison was entering his body. He had gotten her out of the room just in time, he hoped at least. "Their flooding the air vents with the virus..." his voice was panicked. He looked around the small computer lab and felt sick to his stomach if he hadn't been there Krys would have been seating right under the vent, there would have been no chance of her getting away from it.
It took a moment for Krys to stop looking at Spencer in disbelief to register what he had said. Finally she gave a curt, short nod and fished her hand into her pocket for her phone. It took a few seconds longer than usual, as her right hand was shaking so badly from nerves and being upset. She had taken to pacing and murmuring little facts to herself in an attempt to keep some control, but it was control that she was quickly losing.
Finally she managed to get it open and called for a 'contamination team' and the ambulance that came with it. Spencer would be transferred into Quarantine when they finally arrived. As Krys called for back up Reid let his mind go. This situation felt kind of similar. It was almost the same thing that had happened before with the anthrax. Reid was starting to understand why Morgan was so protective over him. He did get into a lot of trouble. He didn't mean to, it just followed him around. And he was starting to get tired of it. There was only so much that could happen to a person. He still remembered that Krys was okay, and that was all that mattered to him at that moment.
Turning back to the windowpane her face wrinkled again with confusion and hurt. At first the words that she wanted to say became stuck in her throat, so out came the next few rather forced. "I'm mad at you." Hoarse as she pouted.
The words brought Reid back to reality. Biting his bottom lip he leaned against the glass window. Taking and big breath he looked out at Krys. She seemed so small and innocent at the moment. He hated that she was mad but he knew it had needed to be done. In a small voice barely loud enough to make it through the door he answered, "You should be."
Both of her hands pressed against the plexi glass, just looking at the man who she cared so much about. Her face looked pained just by looking at him. Like he was an animal behind a cage, an animal she wanted to save. It would be so easy just to reach for the door and open it. But then he'd be angry with her. She was sure of that and that wasn't something she wanted but she didn't want to be alone without him either. Didn't he understand that his life was far more important than hers? He was a genius! A good person! He wasn't worthless! She'd give anything to make him see, to make him understand, to just tell him...
"Please Reid..." She made one final, whispered plea. A foolish part of her still hoped that he'd open the door and let her back in. That maybe he'd change his mind and his genius brain would figure out a way to fix everything that was going on. He was brilliant, he really was. He could do such things, this she was sure of. Krys Robin truly looked upset, a strong contrast to the goofy, troublemaking little smile she often wore. Now, she looked as though her heart was deliberately tearing itself apart.
He wasn't even looking at her and this frustrated her. "Spence." She had raised her voice in an attempt to get him just to look at her. Maybe his eyes would betray him and through silence explain what was going on in that brilliant head of his. But no such luck. There was only sadness. Only confusion. "Why are you doing this?" She forced out in a strained voice that pained her throat just to utter.
He closed his eyes and waited for the ambulance to get there. In the back of his mind he wondered how many other people in the building were sick now? Had it just been a small attack that only made it to the rooms around this one, or was it larger. He hoped for the smaller attack.
When Krys saw Reid's eyes closed, though he was standing, a rush of unrelenting panic spread through her veins as her eyes widened. Her hands turned into fists and she loudly smacked them against the plexi glass. "Spence!" Her brown eyes sought out his. "Don't you dare." She glared at him, though it wasn't an ill fated one. It was one of panic and yet a determined one. She was not going to be left behind. She was not just going to watch as he slowly wilted into nothing. That was *not* going to happen. Not on her watch.
Reid jumped and quickly opened his eyes when Krys banged on the glass. Her eyes were wide with terror and he realized that she was scared. He felt a tear run down his cheek as he watched her, so afraid that he was going to die. "It's okay." He muttered. There was a long pause before he said anything. And when he did his voice was weak and all he wanted to do was cry. He hated to see Krys this way. "I'm sorry, I had to do it... I couldn't let you get sick... I just couldn't, and if that meant me getting sick then I was willing to take that risk." It was easy to think that his actions had been stupid. He knew she would never get over what he had done, the danger he had put his life in. He wasn't sure if she could get over himself for it either. He didn't know what to tell her. What could he say? That he was sorry? He wasn't. If the same thing happened again he would do the same thing. And he would do it a thousand times over.
Truth was he didn't know why had had done it. All he knew was that when he saw the gray fog coming he knew he had to do something to protect Krys. The ideal situation would have been if both of them had gotten out of the room. But Reid had known that that wasn't going to happen, so he chose the best next thing. Even if many people would say that he had more right to live just because he was a genius. It was one thing he disagreed at. There were many people that deserved to live more than him, and as far as he could see Krys was one of them. She was younger than he was by about five years and still had so much potential. Sure he was important, but he didn't believe that his life should be judge better than anyone else's. It was his decision in the first place. And if he was going to die he wanted to do so because he had decided that it was his time.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw JJ and Chez walked down the hall toward them. He automatically felt worried for both of them. Especially JJ. If Krys had reacted the way she had to him being infected then how would JJ react? After all he had only known Krys a month or so, which he had worked with JJ for years. He knew she would be crushed when she found out what was happening. His mind then wondered to Garcia. She was near by. Had she been infected also? He felt a lump in his throat at that thought. The team already had one person in danger they didn't need another.
Chez ran an exhausted hand through her hair before shuddering a deep sigh and gritting her teeth. The dark haired woman shook her head back and forth once or twice before regaining her composure, the composure that she kept in front of them all. She didn't like the lying, telling the public not to worry, that her team would have everything under control. In reality, she felt as if she herself were losing control, a tailspin that nobody could stop.
Yet, she shook those feelings away, banishing them in a corner as she made her way through the building where she'd worked for the past year and a half. In the time that she'd been there, she'd never seen it so crowded before: this virus threat was something bigger than anything her team had ever faced, and hopefully ever would face.
Hayley Chezaneski - Chez to those on her team - had held the latest press conference only ten minutes before with JJ, and was making her way back from that room towards where the rest of the team was. Both woman felt unsatisfied by the conference, knowing that they had left more questions than answers. But what were they to do. They just had to keep going and try not and worry about the lies and questions left unanswered.
The throngs of people would have bothered Chez when she was younger, especially the overwhelming amount of men - but she'd gotten used to it, it was tolerable for her now. The outright fear that her father had instilled so long ago had been shoved down, replaced by a certain amount of uncomfortable ness that she'd managed quite well. After all, after a year and a half, nobody on her team knew about her past. And she was determined to keep it that way. The twenty five year old continued down the hall closely followed by JJ.
Down the hall, she caught the eye of Krys Robin, the team's technical analyst, and a young man that was standing behind her closed office door.. It was someone that she recognized, because Krys had talked about him quite frequently. Chez was a good listener, and always had been - good at talking things out of people, too. It was her own inner workings that she kept secret, guarded with something akin to the Great Wall of China. She recognized the man as Spencer Reid.
Hayley tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and braced her nerves. She wasn't as comfortable with Reid as she was with Matt or Jack. The entire BAU was here somewhere, out trying to save the day. At first she didn't catch the panic that was on Krys' face, she was to far away to see that she was crying. In fact it was JJ who first noticed that something was up and began to run down the hall way stopped five feet from the door when she noticed what was going on. She glanced at Chez, who had taken a spot next to her, also frozen from surprise.
Panic raced through JJ as she looked at her friend behind the plexi glass. How had this happened? How could this happen? Wasn't anywhere safe any more? Spencer made eye contact with her, telling with his stare that he was okay, even though they both knew he wasn't. She ahd to make sure Garcia was okay. Get her out before anything did happen to her. Then they both had to get out. If the virus did spread through out the rest of the building they would be endanger, and they couldn't let that happen. JJ know what he wanted. But she didn't want to go. How could see leave him? Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him. She shock her head no, but he just stared harder. There was nothing she could do for him now. She knew that. She could help Garcia though.
She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears deciding that he was right. Taking a deep breath she looked up at him and tried to smile, give him that at least. Then she said in a voice that was riddled with fear and sadness. "I'll see you soon. Okay. Spence?" She said take one more long look before she half ran down the hallway in the direction Garcia was in.
Krys quickly glance over at the sound of JJ's voice. She hadn't even heard the two women come up. Krys tuned it out however for she was too busy worrying about her dearest friend. But all at once the realization came flooding back and she looked over her shoulder at Hayley. "It came through the vent up there." She pointed against the glass. "He pushed me out but locked himself in. He's so... STUPID." She turned around and glared right at her friend, not to be cruel but she just didn't understand why he had to do that.
If Chez had thought that the area before had been hectic, it was a highway of traffic now - bustling people, on their phones, calling the HazMat team ... why did Krys' Reid have to be the one to be infected? The more people that entered the room, the more that her skin crawled. She was used to large crowds, yes, but the large crowds she was used to didn't normally push her or come in contact with her. She took a deep breath through her nose and stepped forward towards the CT's technical analyst.
The woman was pounding on the glass, her eyes watering - like Chez, Krys wasn't one to cry, at least not in front of others. "Krys, back up. There's nothing you can do." It was a familiar situation to her - being powerless, and she didn't like it. She shoved the vulnerability back inside her as Krys began to tell her what had happened. Hayley's throat closed painfully.
"He's a guy, Krys. Most guys are stupid." The words felt stupid once they'd left her mouth. The kind of stupid that she spoke of wasn't one that she would be familiar with, never having even been out on a date. It was hard to be on a date when you were as wary around men - or, as she had once been, downright fearful - as she was. It was only pushed back now because of years of practice.
"He can't get sick. He just can't. We have to help him." Turning back to Hayley she could hear the paramedics come rushing down the hall as an alarm sounded. They were all in contamination suits and were yelling for everyone to evacuate. Krys once again tuned it out. "He can't. He's my best friend." Something was stinging her eyes. Was it tears? No, certainly Krys Robin didn't cry. Now a man was pulling Hayley away, trying to get her to leave, one reached for Krys but she turned back to the glass instantly worried over Spencer's state.
"Look at me Spence! Come on." Her breath was rushed and she glanced around nervously desperate for something to help, but she could only come up with one thing. "Did you know that a peanut is not actually a nut? It's a legume." She informed him, just as a larger man's hand found her shoulder and she could only stare blankly at Spencer, her eyes filled with worry and pain. More than she had ever felt, she was certain, and that was saying a lot. "Spence..."
"KRYS. There's nothing we can do. You can't go in there, and neither can I. /Now/, Krys, before I bodily drag you from this door. I'm strong enough to do it." There were many versions of Hayley - the one that she showed to the media and to most strangers, the one that was calm and calculated, resourceful, her media face. There was the one that she showed nobody - the vulnerable one, the part of her that she wished had died back in that basement. There was the version she showed to people who got in her way - a coiled spring, don't mess with me.
And then there was the version that she put on now, the one that she showed most of the time. It was the one that was guarded, her innermost demons never in the public eye, it was the one that was sarcastic and witty, and protective of friends, the one that made her team think she was super woman, as she'd told JJ only moments before. That was the version she showed now.
"No!" Her head snapped around and for once there was a frightening glare to her. She did not want to budge. She did not want to leave him and she'd duke it out and lose if she had to. "I can't leave him alone!" She practically yelled as the men were now forcibly grabbing them, she managed to weasel out of grasp again. Pleading with Hayley, praying that she would understand. Out of everyone on the CT team her and Jack were the most relatable. They understood feelings. They had to.
"Krys, they can't get to him if we don't move." She could see the look on Reid's face - it was intensly familiar. It was the same exact look she'd seen on her brother Ryan's face as he'd slowly died from influenza. Protective.
A man's hand pulling her away startled her, making her jump, and she cursed out loud, wishing she hadn't shown weakness like that. Let the behavioral analysis in that room chalk it up to her being high strong at the moment, she hoped. "Get your hands off of me or I swear I'll have someone on you like fur on a dog. I'm moving." Hayley said, attempting to drag Krys with her. "Now, Robin."
"We can't just leave him." She forced out again as she maneuvered toward the door and the plexi glass pane, her hands moving to rest their, quite tense. She hated that she couldn't think clearly. Her thoughts weren't processing correctly. She could barely even form words as she stared at him and her eyes were wet and yet no tears fell. She wasn't a big crier, but this was bringing her to the point of it though it didn't exactly happen. "I can't leave you alone." Krys would never do that to a friend. Especially Spencer Reid. People needed people. Plain and simple. She didn't want to turn him over to people in terrifying bodysuits who he didn't know. Who would poke and prod him, though really they were just trying to help.
Reid tired not to lose control as he watched Krys fight with Chez and then the men in suits. She didn't want to live, and he understood that. She needed to know that Reid was okay. He would have done the same thing, but he didn't like it. He wanted Krys gone, somewhere safe. Out of New York if it was even possible. She couldn't be around any more. He didn't want to watch him die. He couldn't put her through that. But he also wanted her to be there. She was his security blanket. She knew what to say and when to say it, even if she didn't know it. Just seeing her made Reid feel better. It was a conflict in emotions that was driving Reid crazy.
"It's not okay." She managed to get out softly, her own voice barely holding on as she saw a tear slide down Spencer's cheek. Her heart broke and she felt sick all over again. "It's not okay at all." Her bottom lip quivered with the threat of a sob. Not even realizing it she lifted her hand to wipe his tear, only to come into contact with cool plexi glass. Her hand initially stiffened and then flattened, as if trying to touch him but to no avail.
Turning back to Krys he noticed she was trying to get as close to him as she could. Lightly he placed he's hand on the glass almost like the two hands were touching. He wished he could feel her now, her soft skin. Pushing that thought away he could tell that she didn't want to go even more. The men in the suits came up and grabbed her, and she freaked out. The sight burnt a hole through Reid.
Her body now felt shakey and her voice came out only in a whimper. "Don't lie to me Spence." She shook her head as she removed her hand from the glass. "It's not going to be okay. I know it's not. I may not be a genius but I know that much." She couldn't even wipe at her face for soon one of the larger man had no choice but to forcibly grab her in an attempt to escort her out.
Most people would have been intimidated and left. But not Krys. Shocked by this touch, let alone by a much larger man she instantly went into panic mode. She was quite hypocritical in that sense, alright when she touched someone but when they touched her first she tended to freak out. Right now, mixed in with the stress, was an explosive combination. The very look of fear spread over her features and her whole body tensed as she cried out, cringing. "No!" But the man's arms was practically around her. Flashes of her father darted across closed eyes.
"Let go! Let go!" She squirmed a bit, even kicked her body out but the man was too strong and was set on getting her out of the building. But Krys was scared not only because of the touch but for Spencer who she knew was right in front of her even though her eyes were closed. Her hands tried to pry the man's arms off of her, her breathing becoming shallow but his grasp was too firm.
He hit the glass a few times, trying to get her attention, knowing that she was having a panic attack because of the touch. "Krys!" He shouted. "Krys, it's okay!" Finally she just gave into the panic and ran her hands repeatedly through her brown hair. "Dogs hate walking backwards. Color is the refraction of light. Killer Whales are actually dolphins." Fact after fact came from the overwhelmed data analyst as she tried to tune everything out. It was all she knew how to do. And she was worthless.
Krys didn't know much in this moment of extreme emotional stress but she did know one thing and that was that she wanted Spencer Reid out of that room! She wanted him safe, even if that meant that she had to wrap her arms around him and hold onto the young genius for dear life... And quite literally! What if something worse happened to him? What if he died? She'd never be able to see him again! She'd never be able to make him smile, or laugh, or make him try new things. It had become a part of the routine that was her life and it wasn't something that she wanted to lose.
Brown eyes darted across the floor in the struggle. She just wanted Spencer to be safe, to be okay. And yet feet and plexi glass separated them. It felt like worlds away and she absolutely hated it. It made her nervous. It made her upset. Her fingers tried to pry at the arms around her with a loud grunt but with no success. She wanted to make a dash for her best friend. To somehow magically press the button and get inside, but that was no longer a possibility. The panic continued to set in. What if she never saw him again? This thought kept torturing her mind and her brown eyes darted up to look at Spencer.
"I can't go." She whimpered quietly, her eyes meeting Spencer's even with the distance between them. She appeared absolutely destroyed, as though if someone so much as poked her she would have crumpled to the ground. She was nearly begging him, for his permission that would make it okay to stay though she knew it was futile. She would have to go. She would have to leave him. "I don't want to leave you.." She managed to get out, so quietly that maybe Spencer hadn't heard it. Her hands squeezed the man's arms that was around her but she was blatantly ignoring him, her gaze so focused on her ill fated best friend.
"Krys, you have to go with them. Please. If you get sick too then this would have been for nothing." He said referring to him getting sick. He had done it to save her, so she couldn't get sick also.
The data analyst stared blankly at him. Blinking back tears. He was right. Of course he was right. He was a genius. The boy wonder. He knew everything. But that didn't mean that she had to like it. Swallowing she allowed the man to guide her away, though her head turned to look at Spencer the entire way, seemingly hesitant and pained by this decision.
"It's not okay. It's not okay at all." She confessed quietly before finally she was led out of sight.