Wow. I'm absolutely stunned by how many people are loving this story so far. You guys are great! Thank you so, so, so SO much! I'm trying to use this story to help me explore other characters a little, because I know I'm horrible at focusing mostly on Spencer and Morgan (mostly Spencer) and I don't want my writing to be JUST them. I want to do the others justice too. So, bear with me as I practice my other characters a little bit here and there in this story. :) And, as always, thank you for your reviews! Keep em coming you guys are making me feel so great!
This was going to be his biggest sale yet. This was the one that was going to get his foot in the door to bigger and better places. That was all Ashton could think as he waited for his buyers to arrive. The truck was waiting outside with the merchandise inside, being guarded by his men. Soon, soon, they would make the exchange, he would get his money, and then they would be out of here and it would be the start of something great. Some huge. Once this deal went through, it would be the start of him really making a name for himself in the black market. Money would never be a problem ever again.
It was all going perfectly. Everything was running on schedule. As the doors opened and his clients walked in—two men with eight guards, as agreed—Ashton felt himself grin on the inside. Inside, he was dancing with joy. On the outside, he was calm, ever the businessman. With one hand he gestured to his side, calling both Bernard and Sebastian forward. His right hand man and his, well, his accountant and slightly secret weapon; the perfect bodyguard because no one suspected him of having talent. And oh, did he have talent now. He'd taken well to training.
The group met in the middle of the empty warehouse. "You have the item?" The man said simply.
Ashton nodded. "I do." His words were just as simple. "You have your part?"
"I do."
Just as Ashton gestured Bernard forward so he could take one man out to view and assess the merchandise, there was a sudden commotion and all hell broke loose. Every door on the warehouse burst open and the room was suddenly full of cops and SWAT. "FBI!" A voice shouted out. "Everyone put your hands in the air!"
"Son of a bitch." Ashton swore. He started to move back, intending on slipping behind Bernard and off to the side before any agents could get near him; a smart man always had an escape route. But all of a sudden he found a gun directly in his face, pointed right at his forehead, and when he looked down the barrel he was stunned to see Sebastian on the other end, his sweet face gone cold and hard. "Freeze." The young man said in a voice Ashton had never heard before. "Ashton Blodgett, you're under arrest."
Shock had him frozen. "What the hell is this? Sebastian?" What the hell was going on? What was Sebastian doing?
Out of the corner of his eye, Ashton saw as Bernard used the slight chaos around them to slip back behind crates, taking the exit that Ashton had been intending on taking only moments before. He resisted the urge to smirk. Maybe these Feds had him, but his right hand man was free and they had plans in place for things like this. Ashton was always prepared for any eventuality and this was no different. Bernard would know what to do.
Hands were suddenly on him, pulling his hands behind his back and cuffing them together, and it was Jace's voice there, reciting his rights to him. Rage coiled inside of Ashton; he had been betrayed. Betrayed by two he had thought he could implicitly trust. Ashton kept his eyes on the young man he'd thought he'd known and he let a smile grow on his lips. "Just wait, Sebastian." He told him happily. "Just wait." I will make you pay for this, I swear it. You and your damn 'friend' with you.
At those words, Jace jerked hard on his arms and pulled Ashton away so that he couldn't see Sebastian anymore. It didn't matter. Whatever Jace was saying now didn't matter either. A cold fury was taking over Ashton. All of his attention was focused on the burning feeling of betrayal inside of him. Whatever it took, he would make these two pay. Oh, yes, he would make them pay.
The last twenty four hours felt like they'd been a part of some big, horrible dream. Then again, the last seven months felt that way almost. Like they had been part of some giant dream. Yet as Spencer Reid sat back in his seat—and oh, how damn good it felt to be Spencer Reid once more—he knew it wasn't. This had all been startlingly, frighteningly real. But it was finally over. They were finally done. He looked to his left and saw Morgan was mirroring his pose almost perfectly. The two sat in the backseat of the SUV as an agent drove them straight to the Bureau to make their reports. They both had their knees slightly spread to accommodate the smaller leg space back here and their arms were resting on their legs with their hands dangling between. They also had their heads tipped back, resting against the headrests. It was obvious they were tired.
Directly after the initial arrest, the two had been taken in and run through an initial debriefing. They were questioned, required to give their reports. Thankfully they'd been able to report throughout the duration of their seven months with the Genus, one of the benefits of being able to go into town. That meant that they'd only needed to report on how the final events went. That was easy enough for them both. Then, for their safety, they were being returned home. They were to go to the Bureau and report to their Section Chief and then their Unit Chief. Then they would do another debriefing before being sent home for a week of recovery, after which they would be evaluated for their psychological state. If they passed, it would be at the section chief's discretion for when they would return to work.
The idea of seeing their friends was enough to push back some of Spencer's exhaustion. He caught Morgan looking at him and gave the man a half smile, getting one in return. One thing the two of them had become very adept at on this assignment was not only being able to read one another, but being able to communicate quite a bit without ever saying a word. Eyes, expressions, body language, gestures, so many things to get a point across without the people around them understanding. It was almost second nature now.
The look Morgan gave him clearly asked 'Are you ready for this?'
Spencer snorted softly and rolled his eyes, softening it with a grin. He was definitely ready to see the people he cared about, but he felt almost awkward in his own skin right now. In a nervous gesture he'd faked for so long it was now a habit, Spencer flicked his middle finger over the pad of his thumb repeatedly, not even noticing that he was doing it. It was one of the only outward signs of his nerves. Being in a car like this, flying, being around so many people, it all felt so strange. He'd gotten so used to the quiet and solitude of the compound. Granted, the place had been…well, there were plenty of words to describe it, very few of which were pleasant. But he had grown so used to playing a part. Morgan had as well. Even at the airport when they'd been getting ready to come home, the older man had kept himself beside Spencer, moving with him and reacting to things as if he were Sebastian, not Spencer Reid. And Spencer barely thought anything of it. They were both going to have to take some time to adjust back to being themselves.
His nerves came not only from being out and about like this, but from wondering what it was going to be like to see the team once more. Were they going to be furious with them for leaving without a goodbye? IT wasn't like he'd had a choice on that matter. Was everyone still going to be okay? Had anything big happened or changed? Had anyone been hurt? Please, let everyone be okay. He knew the Bureau would've given some kind of replacement for them while they were gone; there was no way they could leave the team two members short. Would the new person just leave now that they were back or would they want to keep him or her on? Would the Bureau want to keep them there? Would Strauss see this as a good chance to start splitting up their team as she always wanted to do?
So many questions were racing in his head, aching to be answered, making him more and more nervous the closer that they got to the Bureau. Yet, as he watched scenery go by, Spencer could admit that, all of his worries aside, it felt damn good to be home.
When Drew walked into the round table room after receiving his call, he had expected to find his unit chief or one of his other teammates waiting for him. The two men that stood inside the room weren't anyone that Drew knew. He'd never seen either one of them before. One was a stocky black guy with a military buzz cut and average jeans and t-shirt. A polar opposite was the guy beside him. Tall, scrawny, pale, the kid was dressed in converse and black slacks, a purple shirt with some kind of black spray paint writing on it, a studded short sleeved black over shirt, a dark blue scarf trialing to his waist, light purple arm warmers, blue fingerless gloves, and two piercings in his bottom lip on either side.
The look he was giving them was just as strange as the one they were giving him. "Um…what exactly is going on here?" Drew ventured to ask.
The two exchanged a look but neither got a chance to answer. All of a sudden another voice joined them. "Well I'll be damned." Dave said with a wide grin as he strode into the room. He moved straight to the men and hugged each of them tightly. "It's good to see you guys. Real good."
"Oh!" The loud shriek cut off more words and then Penelope Garcia was rushing into the room and almost leaping onto the darker man, who was laughing and hugging her back just as tightly. All of a sudden it seemed the room was full of people, voices, and the whole BAU team was there, converging on the two men, laughing and hugging them. Even Aaron was there, giving them a brief hug and smiling at them in a way that Drew rarely saw on the man's face. When they all separated, Drew noticed how the big guy angled himself close to the skinny one, almost as if he were protecting him. But from what? There was no threat in here. "So." The guy said. He grinned and gestured toward Drew with one hand. "I take it he's our replacement?"
Their replacement? Wait…these were Agents Morgan and Reid, the two that were supposed to be out on some assignment? These guys were agents? Drew didn't know what he'd been expecting but he could honestly say that these two weren't it.
The darker one moved over a little, one hand held out. Automatically Drew reached out and shook it. "Nice to meet you, man. I'm Derek Morgan and the punk looking kid behind me is Dr. Spencer Reid."
"I'm Drew. Drew Carlton."
That was all he got a chance to say before Garcia was moving over toward Spencer with a squeal and a laugh. "Look at you, vanilla bean! You make an absolutely adorable punk rocker! Are those piercings real?"
Spencer pushed his tongue against his lip, fiddling with the rings there. "Yes. They were a gift after completing my first three months."
"I went with him. Wanna guess what I got pierced, baby girl?" Morgan said flirtatiously.
The sexual innuendo in that and the leer on the man's face, as well as the pet name, shocked Drew. Wait a second! This guy was an agent, a part of this team, and he was talking to Garcia that way? Even more shocking was that no one seemed to think anything of it. Drew couldn't believe it. He was used to the way Garcia had nicknames for her friends, but they were always friendly and, well, fluffy. This was blatantly sexual. Was she just going to be okay with that? He got his answer a second later when Garcia let out a warm laugh and sidled up to Morgan, trailing one finger down his chest as she almost purred the words "Sounds like fun to me, hot stuff."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Emily joked as she pushed forward. "Molest one another later. I want to hear everything you guys can tell us about what you did. You've been gone seven months. You've got a lot to talk about, boys. Now, sit!"
That was how Drew found himself seated at the table with everyone else, with Garcia gathering coffee for everyone and someone even ordered something for a late dinner. Deciding to just roll with this, he shook his head and sat back in his seat, preparing to hear whatever it was these two had been up to.