Chapter 13: The Dead Ones
Reid felt he was shivering at the thought of more clones. The professor now called him for the lunch. Reid wasn't hungry. He just wanted to be alone. The dining table was filled with food of all sort. They personal chef was roaming around in the kitchen. The professor took off his lab coat for the first time in front of the Agent. He looked so much more normal now. He sat on the head seat and placed a napkin in his laps. Reid noticed every movement he made, every word he uttered. He was profiling him, up and down. Professor might be smart, no doubt but Reid was no less. He was going to put all his learning together to bring this scientist on his knees.
"Dr. Reid, Do you know scientists in Japan were trying to clone an extinct species few years ago" He asked while cutting into his vegetables.
"Yes, I'm aware of that" He answered not even touching the food.
"But, they failed" Professor looked up.
"So you can clone extinct species in your lab too?" Reid asked.
"That's what my next project is going to be. But first, I'm starting on something even bigger" He answered.
"Really?" Reid felt he was in future.
"Cloning from the grave. Bringing the dead back. You know extinct things are dead too but if you are able to extract their preserved DNA, their cloning isn't a challenge no more" Professor explained.
"You can do that" Reid didn't know what to say.
"I can bring Haley back for your Hotch" He replied and Reid literally felt he was not in this world anymore. The power of Professor was beyond any unsub he ever heard of. Reid felt shaken, scared.
"I can clone Morgan's dad, Rossi's son, JJ's sister, back to life again" He went on. He talked like if he personally knew them all. Reid could bet they were being stalked by this man now.
"Which is why I need your assistance for my next project"
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Morgan was feeling lot better by the night. Rossi and JJ joined them in the hospital room. Emily stayed back with Hotch. Morgan was sipping in some soup with the help of Garcia. His arm was still wrapped in bandages.
"24 hours since Reid disappeared" Rossi started.
"So we know there's a team of unsubs working alongside with a look-a-like of Hotch that entered our team and started messing around. They kidnapped Hotch and may have dropped him back after the explosion. Their prime motive is still unknown" JJ explained the case to others.
"WHAT!" Morgan exclaimed "You got to be kidding me, right"
"We already suspected that after how he treated Reid" Rossi said.
"It was not Hotch all along?" Garcia's eyes widened in surprise.
"So why take Reid?" Morgan asked fuming. The room fell in silence, no one knew why was Reid taken. Was there a pattern? Is there a look-a-like for Reid too which will enter the team soon to destroy the team completely? How are they going to trust one another then?
"So what do we do with the Hotch in custody?" JJ asked.
"Are we even sure that's our Hotch?" Morgan added madly.
"I don't know" Rossi said.
"In order to act so like him, they must have stalked us or something" Morgan suggested.
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The clone kept hidden on the bed, pretending to be tired and sleepy. The lady Agent, Emily was sitting on a chair beside his bed, reading a novel that Morgan suggested few days back. But, her attention was more on Hotch than the words in front. How could she forget the slap so quickly. If this was the clone here, she wanted to launch a slap cascade. How dare someone slap her love like that? Oh God, she started to feel lonely suddenly. A whole day had passed she didn't hear Spencer talk, or smile, or just hug her. Her heart winced missing him. This case was so draining and complicated that she threw the novel aside. The clone saw how frustrated she was. He decided to inquire.
"Are you okay Emily?" he asked.
"I'm fine" She answered annoyingly and seconds later regretted immediately. What if he was the real Hotch? The clone watched her face return back to neutral. The woman was really beautiful, he could see why the Professor had dips on her. He wanted her in his house next. All the plans and tasks playing in his mind. But for all, he wanted them to believe he was their own beloved Hotchner here.
"I hope Doctor Re-Reid- I mean did the doctor check on me yet?" He stumbled, his mind drifting off somewhere else. It's Reid, Reid, Reid, not Dr. Reid for Hotch. The clone regretted speaking up. The profilers were awaiting such mistakes. He wished he could reverse it all. Emily looked back at him and slowly nodded. The clone cursed himself inside. No.
Please Review. I know it's a very short chapter but I wanted to update at least something. About cloning from grave, it's a conceptual idea so far in real research for genetics. I know it's scary!