A/N: SCIF – Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility

Chp. 13

As the jet sped back to D.C., Emily thought about seeing Derek that morning. The shock and terror on his face had been hard to miss, even though he'd tried to hide it. She felt bad for scaring him like that, but his reaction just proved to Emily how much he cared about her and Spencer. A kernel of apprehension blossomed into a full blown, gut twisting fear in Emily's mind. What if they take Spencer?

Emily knew how hard it would be. She'd heard from friends about how difficult the adoption process was. With her job and the fact that her own mother hadn't been that great of an example, could she do it? Did she love Spencer? Of course she did. She'd only known him a few days and Emily was already willing to die for him if she needed to. But that's not enough.

She watched Spencer sit at the table coloring a picture. After reading the file on William and Diana Reid that Garcia had been kind enough to compile and send to her, Emily didn't suspect that Spencer was smart; she knew he was smart. But she also felt sorry for him. With that kind of intelligence, he'd never be able to just be a kid. He'd always be smarter than his peers and resented, rather than accepted. Pushing these troubling thoughts from her mind, Emily got up and went the galley for a cup of coffee. She found Hotch already there and waited for him to finish.

"You know we've got your back, right?" Hotch asked as he finished refilling his cup.

Emily schooled her features. She couldn't let Hotch see how much this meant to her or how much she wanted to be Spencer's mother. But, by the same token, she knew the man wasn't stupid and deserved the respect of having what he said acknowledged. "So, when did you know?"

He smirked at being called out. "Morgan told me about when you found Spencer. That's when I knew."

"Do Gideon and Rossi know?"

Hotch shrugged. "I think they suspect. They know about you and Morgan. Adopting Spencer would be a logical step."

"Toward?" Emily asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Having a family." Hotch picked up his cup and went back to his seat without another word.

000

"So, how pissed do you think she is?" Mark asked as he and Will walked into the U.S. Marshals HQ in D.C.

"We were supposed to kill him, Mark. Instead, he's in federal custody. What do you think?"

"We had our reasons." Mark defended.

Will scoffed. "Reason doesn't play into what we do."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's my line."

" 'Ours is not to reason why; ours is but to do and die.'" Will said as the elevator doors opened.

Mark looked surprised at this. "The Charge of the Light Brigade? Impressive."

Will made a face as they walked through the building. "Read it in high school; did inspire me to join the Ranger's though."

Mark smirked and shook his head. Gallows humor had been a part of his life since day one of U.S. Navy Basic Training, almost fourteen years earlier. It had been strange and foreign at first, but now he embraced it as a way of staying sane in an often insane and uncivilized world. The bullpen was nearly empty and the two operators quickly walked to the SCIF. A woman sat in a chair in the middle of the room. "Gentlemen." Her tone was neutral.

"Karen, I know you're pissed, but I didn't really have any options." Mark said, trying to defend himself, if for no other reason than he wasn't in the mood for a bureaucratic tongue lashing.

Karen looked up for the first time. "Do you realize the exposure you put this program under? Have you finally let your past cloud your judgment, Mark?"

Will could almost see the switch being flipped and knew his friend was seconds away from strangling their boss. But before he could intervene, he saw Mark restrain himself. "I'd be very careful if I were you, Karen. Bureaucrats such as yourself are a dime a dozen. Trained killers, not so much."

Karen cocked an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?"

Mark shrugged. "It's whatever you want it to be. Look, I know we were supposed to kill William Reid, but he went underground and I thought the BAU would give us our best chance of capturing him. They got to him first and we were forced to play by their rules."

"We can still get to him." Will said.

"How would you suggest that, deputy?"

Will looked uncomfortable and Mark knew what his friend was thinking. "We use Spencer as bait."

Karen looked aghast that Mark would openly suggest this course of action, given his past. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand and she nodded, signaling for him to continue. "Given what he's been through, the kid's going to need counseling. He bonded with one of the agent's on my dad's team and she has custody of him until after the trial. My mom's a child psychologist, so we bug her office and use any information that we get from Spencer's therapy sessions that could lead us to his biological father."

The three sat in silence for several minutes while Karen and Will absorbed what Mark had suggested. "You think William Reid was part of some larger group, then?" Will asked.

"Absolutely. Otherwise, how was he able to murder seven children and not get caught?" Mark asked.

"And you believe that Spencer was exposed to this group." Karen finished.

"They all were. It wasn't just William who molested those kid's. He was just stupid enough to get caught." Mark said.

"Maybe he sacrificed himself to save the group." Will suggested, but he sounded dubious. The idea of assigning any noble characteristics to a man like William Reid turned his stomach.

"Get it done. We'll deal with any repercussions as they come." Karen said, signaling that the meeting was over. The two deputies stood and left the office. When they were safely in the elevator, Will asked, "You coming to the get together at your parents' tonight?"

Mark sighed. "I suppose. I've been ordered to, anyway."

Will chuckled. "Momma Rossi?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "Who else? The woman's seventy-three and she still scares me. So this is a team thing?"

"Yeah, she didn't tell you?"

"Nope." Mark said, as the car stopped and they both exited the elevator and walked to the parking garage.

"Well, don't hold it against her."

"The kid'll recognize us, though. Well, me at least."

"From the police station?"

"Yeah, maybe. But I was the lead agent assigned to the Reid family."

"Did you see him for what he was?" Will asked as they stood by Mark's car.

"Of course I did. When they sent us to Vegas, I told Karen we should've just capped William Reid in the first place and she said that she'd come to the same conclusion, but had been overruled. Guess we'll see what happens."

"Guess so." Will said as Mark merged onto the freeway, going back to Will and JJ's home. Both men knew that even if Spencer was avenged, no one was coming out of this unscathed.

000