(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or it's characters)
Sorry to leave you with that last chapter, that was a little cruel. And that break! Sorry about that, I probably won't be uploading everyday, I'll try to update this story as regularly as my other one.
I know it was only an OC death, but I still feel a bit sad over it. She was always going to die, when I wrote 'Don't let go' I had planned her to be murdered in a further chapter.
That sounds really evil, I'm sorry!
"The body...i..it hasn't been formally identified yet. We need to investigate", Micheal wrung his hands nervously, his eyes avoiding the hysterical detective on the floor.
"It's not her. It's not her", Amelia whispered to herself and Micheal exchanged a look with Stanley.
"He's not saying that", Stanley uttered calmly. Amelia shook her head, placing her palms over her ears. Seeing his detective growing more distraught, Micheal pulled Stanley to the door.
"Stanley, Hotch, come with me to the crime scene, we..." but Spencer cut in.
"I'll come." Micheal went to interject when Ronnie stood up (a little shakily, but holding his ground.)
"And me."
"No. You aren't even on the force. You won't be allowed on the scene."
"Then I'll stay in the car. I...I need to know. Please."Micheal looked into Ronnie's sad, tired eyes. "I'll stay in the car. I swear."
"Micheal, we can't..."
"Fine, but you must stay in the car". Micheal turned to leave with Ronni darting out after him. Stanley gaped at his back, and glanced at Hotch and Spencer. This is not a good idea, he thought.
They pulled up at the crime scene and parked the SUV. None of them moved from the car for a good minute. They stared at the small bungalow. The windows were boarded up and graffiti painted each side of the building.
Hotch was the first to crack open his door. Then Spencer, then Stanley. Ronnie snapped off his seatbelt, but one look from Harper made him regret the move.
"Don't move", chided Harper, sliding from his seat. Hotch, Spencer and Stanley were already at the front door. "I mean it", he warned before slamming the door.
"Stanley?" Harper pushed open the front door, but only saw local law enforcement officers and not the detective.
"In here", came Spencer's quiet voice from the room to his left. He swallowed thickly and shuffled into the room.
The floor was littered with small puddles, leaking agonisingly into the wooden floorboards. The room was completely empty, bar a metal trough filled part way with water and small yellow signs to mark the evidence. Oh and also the body, lay strewn across the floor, beside the water trough. Stanley was looking at the body, his face stony.
"Stanley?" Micheal edged nearer. His eyes caught the long blonde hair, parts of which were still wet against the victims skull. Her arms were splayed out in unnatural angles, further proclaiming her lack of life. The clothes she was wearing were damp and torn, crinkling against pale flesh. Harper had seen those clothes before. He knelt down by the victims face. Her lips were blue against her cold, dead skin. Her eyes were open slightly, revealing her light green eyes; eyes that Harper could recognise any day.
He stood up all too quickly, staggering back.
"I..it..it's..." Hotch laid a hand on the older man's shoulder. Harper felt his eyes well as he looked into Mara's clouded, lifeless eyes. "I...I can't...I can't be here." He was the team leader, he had to hold it together, but he was struggling.
"Ronnie", muttered Stanley, his voice breaking, forcing him to turn from the team.
"I'll tell him", volunteered Hotch.
"No," Reid whispered, he looked up at Hotch and they seemed to understand each other. "I'll do it".
Micheal stepped out of the house, with Stanley in tow. He tried not to blink, for every time he closed his eyes the set of still green eyes that had belonged to his detective bombarded his vision. He lent up against the rough stone wall and watched as Spencer nobly walked to the car, he could tell Reid was trying to control his shaking legs. The door of the SUV opened and Ronnie tentatively slid out. Harper observed as Ronnie shook his head defiantly, his face blank with shock. He watched as the young man stumbled into Spencer's grasp and how his body convulsed with sobs. Spencer held him tight, Ronnie's cries of "no" drifted towards Stanley and Micheal and they shuddered, holding back their own tears. Spencer's strength was beginning to fail him, his knees were wobbling and on the verge of buckling beneath him.
Spencer felt his chest tighten and his ability to breath vacated him. He rasped as he held on to a distraught Ronnie. Luckily a strong hand caught him before he collapsed.
"Spencer, you need to breath", Harper instructed, his hand lay supportively on Reid's back.
"I...I need...I can't", Spencer's breathing grew heavier as he staggered back, holding his chest tight. "Gotta...get out.." he fell back into the SUV, trying to get away, to catch his breath. This isn't happening, it's not happening, it's, his head whirred with unwelcome thoughts and images, he saw Mara's body imprinted on his eidetic memory. Why did everyone think his mind was a blessing, he never forgot, he couldn't forget.
Micheal didn't go to Spencer, he too felt a consuming claustrophobia clawing at his insides.
"I want to see her", demanded Ronnie, wiping tears away and attempting to look composed.
"No." Micheal deadpanned, trying to hide his emotion.
"Please, Micheal, I need to", Ronnie pleaded, still holding himself together
"And I will not let you see her that way", snapped Harper. He put his hand on Ronnie's shoulder, unintentionally letting a tear slip through the barricades.
Spencer had an arm wrapped around his abdomen, he was desperately trying to steady his breathing. Black spots threatened to consume his vision. He thought he was about to greet the floor when Hotch pulled him back up.
"Reid. Spencer. I need you to focus. We need to tell her team", Hotch slid an arm under Reid and helped him to the door.
Hotch glanced at Reid as they drove off. His breathing was still off, but the cool window against his forehead seemed to calm him. They remained silent, Spencer's heavy breathing was the only noise to fill the car.
One of Reid's breaths caught and he broke down into sobs. His hair fell over his eyes as he pressed his hands against them to cease the tears. You're weak, he thought to himself, hiccuping. Hotch shifted uncomfortable, the outburst reminding him of Maeve's death.
"This w...will destroy her", he stuttered through hiccups. Hotch suddenly felt very heavy. He had lost his soulmate twice; once through divorce, and then in death. He couldn't even begin to imagine loosing his brother.
"If this is too personal for you..." Hotch began.
"No. Everyone's involved in this personally, we have to keep going. We have to catch this son of a bitch", On any other occasion Hotch would have been shocked at his agent's language, he might of even smiled, but not today.
When they got back (which went a lot quicker than they hoped), they found the conference room bursting with the two teams. Amelia was sat in a swivel chair, stroking her hair and staring at the pattern in the carpet, her legs pulled up under chin. Spencer avoided her eyes, which were the same green as her dead sisters. In fact he avoided looking at her at all due to her startling likeness to Mara which he hadn't noticed this much before.
"Amelia, it was Mara." Micheal gulped, wishing he could hide from the heartbroken faces of his team and the BAU.
"She's gone, I'm so sorry", Harper said calmly, somehow managing to look her straight in the eyes. The life in her light green eyes offered him comfort and pushed back the images of Mara's dead green eyes.
Amelia continued to look at the carpet, not speaking, not moving. Tears fell, but nothing else twitched.
Matthew choked up.
"I...I'll be in the...uh...the lab, if you..." he rushed out, his hand over his mouth as if he was going to be sick.
"You're not serious. She can't be. Mara, our Mara? Dead?" Conner dribbled out, fumbling with his glasses which were steaming up. Micheal only offered him a nod and Conner's breath picked up pace. "I should see if Matthews okay", he didn't wait for a reply, he couldn't let his team see him break.
"Oh God", bleated Garcia, pressing her hand to her forehead and shaking it back and forth.
JJ stood next to Emily, both had their arms crossed, JJ's mouth slightly agape and her eyes rimmed with red, whereas Emily managed to remain stern and professional, though her heart tore apart at the news. Rossi glanced to Reid who's eyes were also red from old tears and his hands were trembling badly. The kid needed a hug.
"Amelia?" Spencer croaked, trying to coax the Detective's eyes from the floor. She didn't look away from the carpet, but the tears fell faster. Spencer inched over to her and knelt beside her. "Amelia?" He whispered, pushing the hair from her eyes.
"Stop Spence. Just leave me alone", she muttered. She kept her eyes on the carpet, hoping that focusing on the simplistic pattern would keep her mind from reality. Reid stayed where he was, feeling rejected and hurt, but hiding it from the detective. He took her hand gentle, stroking his long fingers across her knuckles. Amelia released a sob, and pulled her hand from his; she wasn't ready for reality.
"Dectectives, agents, the evidence has just come in", Angela smiled sympathetically, she wished she got to play with the evidence bags like her co-workers, but she had to investigate the bodies, this one belonging to a friend.
They all nodded, heading off to the metallic table containing bags of evidence.
"What's this?" Rossi asked, examining a water damaged slip of paper. Hotch frowned and examined the note.
"We weren't in the house long enough to actually investigate", mumbled Reid, recalling the need for all of them to get out of the place where their friend was killed.
"What's it say?" Conner hobbled out of the computer lab, pushing his glasses up his nose. Rossi cleared his throat and read the note aloud.
"13 little ducks went swimming one day, over the hills and far away. Mama duck said quack quack quack quack and 12 little ducks came swimming on back." Rossi turned the bag around and saw a small illustration of a dead duckling, floating in the river.
"He's referring to us", Spencer announced. "There's 14 of us including Harper, but he refers to you as the Mama duck. He's uh...picking us off, one by one." He looked around sadly, pointing to the dark drawing, "Mara was first".
"Does that mean he's going to target us too?" Asked Penelope in a small, nervous voice.
"We're a team now, he sees us all as being against him", nodded Harper, making Penelope shiver.
"Let's get to work", Hotch said.
"Good, cus' I think I've found something. Well not something, it's more of a someone", Garcia grabbed her laptop and flipped it open, typing rapidly. She sounded tired, she seemed to have lost her bubbliness that accompanied her everywhere she went.
"Don't leave us hanging, baby girl", Morgan grumbled, leaning over Garcia, and holding her shoulder protectively.
"Family, I found his son. There was no evidence of his existence for several years. I had to dig real deep to find any existence of him at all, his records disappeared when Jason did, he was 17 at the time. He would be 23 now, but like I said, he's no longer in existence according to records."
"Did you know Jason had a son?" Hotch turned to Micheal, who just shook his head.
"He was a pretty private guy", he shrugged.
"Sons name is Lance Wolf." Garcia pulled up an image of a handsome teenager, with dishwasher blonde hair and his skin clung to his bones at sharp angles.
"What's the chances that Jason and Lance are working together?" Morgan sighed, kissing his teeth.
"So we're looking for a pack of wolves", Reid deadpanned. "Who are on the hunt."
Okay, so I'm working tomorrow so you may not see a chapter tomorrow, though I'm working on it, so fingers crossed.
This wasn't very exciting, I'm sorry, I've written an action packed chapter, but there's a few more chapters to come first.
(Jeez, anyone notice how much repetition just happened in those two paragraphs, I hate myself right now!)
Thanks for reading, see ya!