Chapter 31

FBI Safe House
Somewhere in Washington DC

Morgan didn't know how she did it and he didn't dare ask. But by the next morning Spencer was considerably calmer. Even with the strange agents around them.

Although it might have something to do with the chain he now had hanging around his neck. Nothing flashy, the kind of thing that might hold dog tags. A lot of guys wore one, but he'd never seen one peeking out from Spencer's collar before. "What is that?" Morgan asked.

"Kind of private." Spencer replied.

At one point Morgan caught a glimpse of it. It was some bright bit of something, a little charm hanging there, all bright colors. "Like, maybe, a piece of broken china plate?" Rossi asked.

Morgan considered what he saw. "Could be."

"Yep, it's private. And don't tell him you told me either."

"You know, I hate it when people keep secrets. And I don't like not knowing what someone on my team is up to."

Rossi sighed. "In that culture it's something like an engagement ring."

Ohhhhh. "Oh. Okay, I can get with that."

"When they want to make it public they will."

"That's all right."

But private engagement would mean public engagement at some point and then sooner or later marriage, which to Morgan's mind meant one thing. "You two need to learn to live in a house." He said the next morning.

"We...we what?" Spencer asked. "Why?"

"You just do. You don't know how to load a dishwasher?"

"Um, no."

"Come here. Might as well start somewhere."

Burn Center
MedStar Washington Medical Center

The big reason for not sending them somewhere outside DC was because Alice needed medical treatment. Burn scars were fragile, they tore easily, needed gentle soaps so they wouldn't dry out and lotion to keep them supple and a healthy diet to support the structures under them. During her time in captivity Alice had not been able to look after herself as she should and now she needed to be evaluated and perhaps treated. She would bounce back, Spencer was certain of that, but she would not do it alone.

And they were not alone at the medical center. A brace of agents and Morgan had gone along with them. This was the only place they were allowed to go right now, but even just this was a pain. Like most medical offices these days it was a rat's warren of hallways and office spaces, doubling back and crossing each other as partitions were put into place to accommodate new equipment or new desks. From where Spencer and Morgan were sitting, just outside the exam room where Alice was meeting the doctor, flipping through magazines, they could hear the front desk, but it took a while to walk through the maze to get back here.

Which was why it happened the way it did. "Can I help you?" They heard the receptionist ask.

"I'm looking for the other agents." A male voice replied.

The sound of that voice sent a chill down Spencer' spine. He immediately reacted, getting Morgan's attention. "What?" Morgan asked.

"Schrader."

"You sure?"

"Yes." Spencer thought very, very fast. "Here's what we'll do."

A few moments later a very tall man in a neat suit with an FBI badge on his belt and a gun in his holster followed the nurse down the hallway. He smiled and murmured his thanks and sat in the seat right next to Spencer. They sat there quietly for a long moment, then there was a noise down the hallway. Schrader turned and looked, saw that it was just the business of the office, and went back to waiting. After a moment Spencer spoke. "I know why you're here."

Schrader looked at him.

"You want one more shot at me." Spencer went on. "You could have run, Canada or Mexico. You could have told Blackburn you wouldn't be his errand boy. You could have even taken Alice out as a sniper, you have the skills, it's in your file. But you needed to come here. You need one more chance to see if you can make me submit to you."

Schrader smiled.

"That's what you want, isn't it? You want me on my knees before you, begging, willing to let you have everything I am if you would just...well, why doesn't really matter. Provide sexual release would have been ideal but stopping the pain would have worked just as well. And now begging for my life, or Alice's, will have to do the trick."

Schrader chuckled a little.

"That's what you always wanted, isn't it? You killed the others because after you broke them into submission you realized they weren't good enough, it was too easy, not enough of a challenge. But an FBI agent? That would have finally satisfied the need in you." Now Spencer quirked a smile. "Unfortunately that need is never going to be met, not because you're a psychopath or because of some childhood issue, which I could go on about in depth, or because you're under arrest for multiple murders..."

Schrader looked up as Morgan came around the corner, his weapon pointed at the other man's head. The other agents were also clustering around, having moved the clinic personnel and patients out of the way. Schrader moved to draw his weapon and found that, just like magic, someone had slipped a set of cuffs around his wrist and cuffed him to the chair. By the time he could think to attempt to awkwardly draw with his other hand Morgan had taken his gun away.

The whole time Spencer had not looked up from the magazine on his lap. "...but because I gave that to Alice before you even got started. In fact I was on my knees before her last night, quite the amazing sensation. She said I was remarkable..."

That finally broke Schrader. He growled in his frustration and anger and tried to get up but the cuffs held him fast. The other agents quickly moved to subdue him.

Spencer was smiling as he got out of the way. It all happened so quietly that he had to go tap on the exam room door once they had Schrader secure. The doctor opened the door and revealed Alice buttoning her blouse. She took one look at the man just going into custody and her eyes went wide. "Oh my god!"

"I'll call that a positive ID." Spencer said.

"I agree." Morgan replied.

The last thing Schrader saw as he was taken away was Alice stepping in to Spencer's arms.