Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds
A/N: Still enjoying all the reviews. You guys are the best!
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A steady drizzle fell as the plane touched down in Kansas City. The weather seemed to reflect his mood, Reid thought as he and Evan headed through the airport concourse to the car rental desk. Evan had been unusually quiet on the plane. Perhaps the dismal weather had affected him as well, Reid considered, and hoped the storminess was not a harbinger of trouble when they reached Leavenworth.
Reid drove the black Ford Taurus out of the airport. He noticed that Evan had started to fidget. Had his desire to see their father finally given way to nervousness? Reid continued through Kansas City until he eventually got on the I-29 north. They traveled the interstate to the Platte City exit which took them through Platte City. A mere twelve miles later, they were turning into USP Leavenworth.
Evan looked at the massive structure and his jaw dropped. "I didn't realize it was so huge," he said!
"Well," Reid said, "It sits on 1583 acres with 22.8 acres inside the penitentiary walls."
"Wow, look at those walls! How high are they anyway?" The boy asked.
"They're forty feet high and they go forty feet underground," Reid informed him. He parked the car in the parking lot. He sat silently for a moment, then said, "Take your cell and put it in the glove compartment. They're not allowed." Reid opened the glove compartment and placed his cell there. His brother did likewise.
"How much money do you have in your wallet," Reid asked as he removed money from his wallet along with credit cards and added them to the cell phones.
"Fifty bucks, why?" Evan asked.
"Because you can't take in more than twenty. Put the rest with your cell."
Evan did as his brother told him unquestioningly, but he looked bewildered. Once he had finished, he looked at his brother. Reid heaved as sigh, "Okay let's do this." The brothers got out of the car and made their way to the entrance.
In the entrance, behind a glass partition sat the intake officer. Reid approached and told the man they were here to see William Reid. The man tapped something into a computer. "How old's the kid," he asked.
"Fourteen," Reid replied.
The man nodded and took two sheets of paper and attached each to a clipboard. He handed them to Reid. "Sit over there," he pointed to some chairs, "And fill these out. Any unanswered question will result in denial of visitation." He turned away, dismissing Reid.
Reid took the questionnaires over to the chairs, handing one to Evan. "You have to answer all the questions or they won't let you visit." Reid told him.
Evan took the clipboard from his brother. He sat and began to answer the questions. When they were done, Reid returned the questionnaires to the intake officer.
"Return to your seat; we'll let you know," he said.
Reid returned to the chair he had vacated. "What happens now," Evan asked?
Reid looked at his brother, "We wait."
Reid watched as the intake officer picked up the phone and spoke to someone, hung up and looked over at the brothers. The outside door opened, admitting two men who approached the glassed-in desk. These men were also given questionnaires which they completed and returned to the intake officer. Shortly thereafter, another guard appeared and the men were told to follow him to the visiting room.
"Spencer, how come those guys came after us but got in before us," Evan asked, confused.
Another uniformed officer appeared and entered the glass partitioned area, speaking quietly with the intake officer. He pointed at the Reid brothers; the other man nodded and picked up the phone.
"They're trying to decide whether to let us in," Reid informed Evan.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't they let us in," the boy asked?
"Because, their main concern is maintaining order in the prison and they can't allow anything that might disturb that," Reid explained.
"But," Evan was trying to get his head around what his brother was saying. "But why would they think we'd disturb the order. I don't get it."
"Okay Evan, it's like this, there are a lot of really bad criminals here, some serial killers. Some, I helped put away. My presence here could upset things."
"You mean, they think the prisoners might get mad because you're an FBI agent?"
"Yes."
"So you think they might not let us in because of that?"
"Yes."
"But, that's not fair!"
"Evan, fair is not even a word in this place. They don't care if it's fair or not. If my presence might upset the order, we're out, no questions asked."
"But we came a long way," Evan persisted.
"Evan, they…don't…care. All they care about is maintaining order."
"You knew about this, didn't you?" The boy asked.
"I suspected there might be a problem," Reid admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have believed me? I doubt it. You would have thought I was trying to get out of bringing you. I tried to tell you and Allie but you both had your heads in the clouds and refused to understand. You're fourteen years old. You shouldn't have to understand the workings of a federal penitentiary."
"You're trying to protect me again."
"Damn right I am. I'll always try to protect you. I make no apologies for that." He looked around him. "Though I don't seem to be doing a bang up job of it at the moment."
"Okay," Reid could see the wheels in his brother's head turning. "So, if they don't want to let you in because you might cause problems, I got that, but they could let me in and I could visit with Dad while you wait here. I mean, you weren't keen on seeing Dad anyway."
"No Evan, that won't work." Reid hated to dampen his brother's hopes still more.
"Why not," the boy's voice rose?
"Evan, keep your voice down." Reid said quietly, smiling. "We don't want to appear to be having an argument over here. It won't work because kids under sixteen must be accompanied by a responsible adult."
"Oh for crying out…" Evan stopped talking when Reid elbowed him in the ribs gently. Spencer gestured to a man in a business suit who had just arrived and entered the glassed-in area.
"Who's that," Evan wondered?
"I suspect that he's the warden. They've probably called him down to make the decision. He's the boss. His decision is final." Reid told his brother.
The three men talked, gesturing now and then to the Reid brothers. Finally the man in the suit came out of the partitioned area and headed toward them.