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A/n hello all... Thank you all so much for your wonderful feedback. Mucho thanks to all who've made this a favorite or added it to your alerts. Please enjoy this installment.

The White Pawn

Sunlight, yellow and soft dappled the streets of William Reid's neighborhood with shadows that tried to race Reid and Rossi's SUV. They drove down Knoll Road to number 3110, passing homes with lawns already pastoral and green in the early spring afternoon.

His father's home had a short concrete driveway that led up to a garage with a shut door. No cars inhabited the driveway as they parked. Reid got out first and looked around at the neat front yard landscaped with bougainvillea, purple sage and yellow bells. The desert wildflowers and shrubs were contained in a graveled area that replaced a high maintenance lawn.

"No car in the drive." Rossi said, "But he's got a nice place here." He joined Reid at the intersection between the driveway and the walkway to his father's front door.

"Yeah… Maybe he's not here. We should go to his office instead."

Rossi shot out a hand to stop Reid from turning around back to their vehicle. "Don't you think we should trying knocking first?"

Reid looked back at the small, one story red brick home. The door, set into the brick beneath the overhang of a small porch seemed a million miles away and just as unapproachable.

"Maybe you should go knock?" He asked the older agent hopefully.

"No! You're the one he wants to see Reid. It's time to man up and face him."

Anger lanced Reid's chest like a burning arrow shot from a medieval knight. It pierced the armor he had worn around that sensitive organ for nearly twenty years. What right did Rossi have to tell him that he should 'man up,' and face the person he had hated for years?

"Don't let him chase you away Reid. Show him who's the stronger between you. You might be surprised."

Reid looked again at the door, painted black with a brass knocker hung at the right level for an adult to announce their arrival. There should be a moat to cross or a dragon to slay! He thought inanely.

He squared his shoulders and walked down the concrete walkway, up three steps to the porch, passing a swing hanging to his right. It's chains creaked a bit in the wind that sprang up to tease his hair into wispy strands blocking his view from behind the sunglasses he wore. He didn't hear Rossi follow him up the steps. The older agent hung back waiting for him to raise his hand and knock. He waited for a long minute hoping that his father's car was parked in the garage and he'd heard them pull up. If William Reid answered the door first, then Reid wouldn't have to make the first chess move.

I don't want to be white pawn this time.

The last chess game he'd played with Eric in the park suddenly appeared in his memory. The young boy had beaten him with a clever move of his last pawn that Reid hadn't seen coming. Suddenly, he didn't want to be here or knock on the door. What if something happened?

He looked back over his shoulder to Rossi who just stood there watching him with no expression. The older agent flicked his eyes up to Reid's but he didn't have to say anything.

It's up to you.

It had always been up to him. He turned back to the door that was just a door and not the gateway to another dimension and knocked. The brass knocker sounded very loud. He suddenly felt as though he were playing that old kids game of knocking and hiding from some stranger in the neighborhood. He'd never been invited to play such games, but he knew of them. He wanted to run back to the car with Rossi, gun the engine and never return. He stayed rooted to the spot through sheer force of will and knowing that something was very wrong for William to contact him as he had. They waited but no one came to the door. He knocked again, this time the knocker sounded like the brass on wood of other doors he'd had to announce himself at to do his job. Minutes went by but no one answered the knock or the next knock after that one.

"Do you think he's in there and knows it's me?" Reid asked.

"Use your head Reid, he's not going to ask you to come out here and then not answer the door."

"Right… So he's not here. Should we check out the place anyway?"

"We can't kick in the door without probable cause."

"But the file he sent to me," Reid protested.

"It's all speculation on his part. Let's go to his office and see what they know."

"Alright…"

One part of him rejoiced. He wouldn't have to see how his father lived after all. The other part of him desperately wanted to go inside. What if his dad had pictures of him on the walls or on a home office desk? What if he didn't have pictures? He decided that line of thinking hurt too much to pursue so he followed Rossi back to the truck.

Rossi turned around and held out the keys to the rental truck. "Why don't you drive? You know Las Vegas better than I do."

"But I don't -"

"I think you need to concentrate on driving. If I get behind the wheel, you'll just sit over there like a bump on a log and brood. I'm not in the mood for that today."

Reid snatched the keys from Rossi's hand and went to the driver's side of the car. So much for their agreement not to profile each other.

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They reached his father's law offices twenty minutes later. Reid pushed the button for the alarm on the car after Rossi exited the SUV and shut the door. "Feel better?" He asked.

Reid sighed. "Yes… Was that really necessary?"

"Yes… I want you to take the lead in there. If your father's there, he's expecting you this time. I think it'll go much better if you approach him. If he's not there, the staff might open up better to his son."

"Okay!"

His heart began to bang in his chest as he opened the door to his father's law firm. The woman behind the desk was the same woman that had been there the first time they'd seen William Reid in his office.

"Oh hello… You're Dr. Spencer Reid," She said smiling encouragingly at him.

"Yeah… Um we need to see him about FBI business if that's okay."

"Well he's not here. He hasn't been in all morning. I'll see if Charlotte's around." She picked up the phone.

"There's no answer at her desk. Why don't you go wait in his office? She might have run out for a minute."

She led them down the hall to the familiar office Reid had seen when he'd come looking to accuse his father of raping and murdering Riley Jenkins. It would've felt like deja vu except that his father wasn't in the room when they sat down to wait for him.

"He's not here and he's not at his home. He's not answering his cell. I don't understand." He turned to Rossi from the pacing he'd begun in the office. "I think I brought us here on a wild goose chase."

"Why don't we wait until we talk to your dad's secretary? You never know… He might be ill."

"I don't think he's sick Rossi… We're looking into something involving Mason Parker. He's not a man that got to where he was without stepping on toes even if he's squeaky clean now."

The door to the office opened and the receptionist came in. "Charlotte hasn't been in today. She left a message with Megan, one of our interns. Your father told her he was going to Reno. He told Charlotte to take the week off." She addressed Reid.

"Reno!" Reid squeaked. "He asked me to come to Las Vegas. Why would he leave town."

"Ah… Thank you for your help." Rossi said as he ushered Reid out of the office "We need to get in touch with the team." He said as Reid protested the sudden departure from the office.

"I don't understand."

"I know… You're too close to this to think objectively. Your dad sends you a coded message that only you can understand. He tries to contact you by phone. He tells you to call him the minute you get into town for a place to meet. He doesn't answer your call, and he's disappeared off the face of the earth. What does all that tell you?"

"That there's something more to this than we thought. We need to find him."

"Yes… Call Garcia and find out if your dad is registered under his name anywhere in Reno."

"Alright…" He pulled out his phone and hit his friend's speed dial.

"You've reached the FBI's hottest red head. Speak and be heard."

"Hey Garcia…"

"Be still me heart! If it isn't the cutest genius on this half of the world. What can I do for you baby cakes?"

Her carefree banter lifted his shoulders and his spirits. "Can you check bookings and find out if my dad's registered at any hotel in Reno?"

"Sure thing sweetheart… Won't take me but a hot minute."

He heard her fingers clicking over the keys of her beloved keyboard and it made him smile. "Thanks…"

"Okay… So far, I don't see any charges on your dad's credit cards for a hotel or travel to Reno. Let me looks into hotel stays and… Nope. There's nothing showing for him in the name of William Reid. He could be staying under another name."

"I don't think so Garcia. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime handsome… Can I do anything else?"

"Yeah… I need everything you can find out about Mason Parker."

"I'm already on that… I can tell you that his public persona is cleaner than an edited film for national TV."

"I figured as much. How far and fast can you dig without sending up any flags?"

"Why do you insist on insulting me after six years together?"

He smiled widely at her insulted tone. "Sorry Garcia… It's just that it's very important we don't send up any flags."

"Don't worry about it my gorgeous junior G-man. No one catches the Goddess of the information superhighway."

"Thanks!"

"Now… How are you baby cakes?"

"I'm fine!"

"Yeah… I can hear in your voice how fine you are."

"When did you become a profiler?"

"You all had to study… It comes naturally to me." She quipped.

"I'll be okay."

"I don't know if I believe you, but I'll let it go for now."

"Goodbye Garcia!"

He shut his phone and joined Rossi who'd climbed back into the passenger seat of the truck. "What did you find out?"

Reid related his phone call to Rossi. "Alright… Let's go talk to the local LEOs… We need their help."

"Do you think they'll help us?"

"We'll talk to Detective Hyde's captain. Perhaps he'll let us borrow the detective for awhile."

"Detective Hyde wasn't very happy with us the last time we were here. We forced him to arrest Lou Jenkins for killing Gary Michaels. I don't think he'll want to help us."

Reid inserted the key into the ignition and twisted it into life as Rossi fastened his seat belt. "That's why he's the perfect person to help us. He's a friend of your dad's. He knows him better than you do. He might know where your father went."

"Alright… We'll try it your way."

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Reid pulled up in front of the North Las Vegas police barracks. More deja vu washed over Reid. The memory of seeing Lou Riley leaving the station that morning hit him hard. This time, the only people leaving the building were officers in uniform and plain clothes.

He followed Rossi into the barracks, past faces that were familiar to them from the Riley Jenkins case. The office of Captain Pemberton sat at the back of the building. The glassed in office gave the captain a full view of the bullpen, but it also reminded the officers that they were under observation by their immediate boss.

Captain Pemberton sat behind a metal desk stacked with file folders, a computer and a black phone. He motioned them inside after making them wait in the bullpen for about fifteen minutes.

"Hello Agent Rossi, Dr. Reid." He greeted them. "I'm not sure how I can help you."

"I was contacted by my father yesterday." Reid said, opening his messenger bag. "He called me and he sent this file to me."

He handed it over to the Captain, waited as the man read the letter, and looked over the file. Finally, he looked up at the two agents with dark brown eyes that burned like a laser into Reid. "What's this?"

"It's a code I made up when I was six years old. Only my father and I understand it. He's onto something big regarding Mason Parker."

The Captain sat up straighter in his black leather office chair. His bushy eyebrows seemed to bristle as he regarded the young genius. "You come in here with documents in a code only you and your dad can understand and I'm supposed to just let you have the run of the place."

"Reid's father is a prominent attorney here." Rossi reminded him. "Ms. Camden's file came to him after she died. We don't know how because we can't find him to ask. He's disappeared." Rossi explained.

"I can't go up against Mason Parker on the word of a federal agent that almost cost me one of my best detectives."

"Would you rather we hadn't exposed the cover up of the murder of an alleged pedophile?" Reid asked.

Captain Pemberton swelled in his chair; his hard military bearing seemed to take over the room despite the glass walls. "I happen to think one less pervert in my town is a good thing. That man raped and killed a six year old boy."

"You don't know that for sure. A distraught parent took the law into his own hands." Rossi said.

"That may be true, but Lou Jenkins is in jail… I don't think that's fair as it was his child that died."

"We can argue about the inequities of the justice system another time." Reid said. "We need your help to find my dad."

"I can't, not with this kind of evidence. He's only been missing for twenty-four hours. You know my hands are tied for at least another twenty-four."

"Can we at least talk to Detective Hyde? He might know something."

"He's working a case. Fortunately, there's wasn't any evidence that he helped your father and Lou Jenkins cover up a murder. I had to discipline him for the accusations, but he's still working for me."

His face clearly said that they'd be in big trouble if they put Detective Hyde in another bad position with his Captain.

"It's none of our business what you do with your detectives when it's necessary to discipline them." Rossi said.

"No… You just come in here, do your job and leave problems behind when you leave that the rest of us have to clean up." His gravelly voice went up from the disbelief he'd shown to Reid's code, to anger. "I won't allow that to happen again. You better have evidence this time before you accuse one of my most prominent citizens of wrong doing."

"We will," Reid said looking very chastised.

"I'll let you have Detective Hyde for help after your father has been gone for forty-eight hours. It's the best I can do. Don't bother him until then. He has enough on his plate. It'll be up to him whether he helps you. He doesn't like the FBI very much right now."

His dark eyes flashed out that he didn't think very much of them either.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Rossi said.

Reid led the way out of the bullpen, past a few of the officers staring at the two of them and back out to the golden sunlight.

"Nice way to charm the Captain." Rossi said as they climbed back into their truck.

"I didn't charm him. He doesn't like me."

"Your look of utter chastisement got him to offer Detective Hyde for help."

"I wasn't faking," Reid insisted as he backed out of their parking space.

"Sure you weren't!"

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Mason Parker picked up the photograph on his desk. "The plan is falling into place." He told the person in the picture. "Don't worry… Soon our revenge will be complete. I promise!"

He put the picture back on the desk and picked up his phone. "Please get Hank on the phone for me."

"Yeah boss!"

"Go to the Venetian and keep an eye out for Dr. Reid. He should be checking in at any moment. I want to know everything he does. Make use of our girl if you have to."

"Okay boss."