Playing Games by JuliaBC
Chapter Three
The case was over. Kate got up from the police station's desk and stretched. One of the officers passing gave her a rueful grin, as if recognizing the hardness of the chairs in the building.
The other team members were making their way out to the SUVs. Kate ducked into the conference room they'd used for their visit and gathered her jacket, phone and go bag.
A headache was coming on. She mentally brushed it away, not wanting to deal with it now.
Hotch was waiting, holding open the door for her and she hurried a bit.
"Thanks," she murmured, and he held her up for a moment.
"Are you okay?"
"Just a headache," she explained. "I know, I'm usually friendlier."
He smiled, just a bit. "I just wanted to make sure."
She nodded, and walked to the second SUV, joining Morgan and Reid. "I see I get the backseat," she said, opening the door as Reid, like the gentleman he was, took her bags to the back.
"You're the shortest, can't deny that," Morgan grinned.
She was surprised to see Reid get into the driver's seat. "Whoa, Morgan, did you lose a bet?"
She saw Reid grin in the rearview mirror. "Something like that," he said cheerfully.
Morgan shrugged as he buckled up. "I simply said that I didn't think he'd be any better at fishing than I was, and he proved me wrong."
"Three fish compared to Morgan's one," Reid said.
"What fish were you using?" She asked, puzzled.
"Rossi had a bucket in his office this morning," Morgan said. "Plastic, of course."
As they unloaded at the airport, Hotch walked up to her from the other car. "We're having a bit of a delay," he said. "Some sort of engine trouble. Nothing serious."
"Okay," she said, and lowered her bags to the ground. He left to tell Morgan, and she tried to stretch again when Reid appeared at her elbow.
"Hey, Kate, did you, um," he fidgeted with the strap on his bag. "Did you bring another game?"
"Yeah, I did," Kate said. "I told Meg to make sure it was a two-player."
"Oh, good," he said. "So what is it?"
"I never check," she said. "But I'll look now."
Finding the appropriate bag, she knelt to unzip it. "Aha, Othello."
"Really?" Reid asked, moving around her to see into her bag.
"Yeah," she said. "You know this one?"
"I do," Reid said. "I'm certain to beat you at it."
"Just as long as you don't tell me the number of boats in the Pacific ocean, I think I'll be fine," Kate said, grinning.
"Still holding that against me?" Reid asked.
"Definitely not, just filing it under important 'Reid' characteristics. He will be right, and he will be smug."
"I wasn't smug, per se," Reid said.
"You were," Kate said.
"I never did get my apology," Reid noted, as she slid Othello back into her bag.
"Then I'm sorry for doubting you, but not for asking the question," Kate said.
"Good," Reid said. "You should never apologize for asking a question. And I accept your apology."
"Whose words of wisdom are those? Never apologizing?" Kate asked.
"Mostly my own," Reid said. "Taken from times over the years when asking a question was an offense."
"In school?" Kate asked.
"PE, mostly," Reid answered.
Kate snorted. "I was never a fan of PE either," she said. "They focused on all the wrong things."
"So what's your exercise regime?" Reid asked. "I, obviously, don't have one."
"Your arms had to have come from somewhere," Kate said.
"Huh?"
"Your arms have muscle on them," Kate clarified. "Where'd that come from if you don't work out?"
Reid looked down at his arms. "Do they?"
Kate shook her head. "Okay. Well, what I do is twelve minutes of high intensity exercise every day."
"Just twelve?" Reid asked, but she didn't have a chance to answer as the plane was ready to go.
"Okay, so it's going to be you teaching me this time," Kate said, pulling Othello out. This was the earliest in a flight she'd ever taken a game out, but Reid had sat across from her the instant after fetching some coffee.
Morgan, in passing, saw the game. "Kate, you do realize he will beat you mercilessly, right?"
"I am prepared," Kate said, taking the board out of the box.
It was a black square, with green velvet over the top molded into an 8 by 8 board. 64 squares to fill in with double-sided pieces colored black and white, which were in ridges on each side of the board.
Kate was reading the back of the box, but Reid took it away unceremoniously.
"I can teach you," he said, placing it next to him and out of sight.
"All right," she said.
"Take two of your pieces," Reid instructed as he did the same. "What color do you want to be?"
"Um, black," Kate said. "I'm not sure I get this."
"It's really easy to learn," Reid assured her.
"Okay," she said.
Reid was placing his two white pieces in the center of the board, and gestured for her to do the same with her black. "See, it's black-white, black-white. Now I go." He placed a white piece next to her black. "My white borders your black, but on the other side of your black is another white. So, I can do this." He turned her black over. "Got it? That's literally all there is to it."
"This is easy," Kate said.
"To learn," Reid cautioned.
"Can you do the conversion diagonally?" Kate asked.
"Yes," Reid said. "And if you have a move that can convert both diagonally and horizontally, you do both."
She nodded, and watched as he played again, taking two black pieces. She played, and took three white.
"You see, it's about the math," Reid said.
"Of course," Kate agreed. "Everything is about math. Let me guess: you are calculating each move I'll make and making sure you get the most of each turn."
"Pretty much," Reid said. "See here, I just got a corner space, this early in the game."
"Is that a goal?" She asked.
"No, but it's good to get because it can't be changed."
Kate, about to place another piece on the board, hands hovering in place, stopped. "No."
"Pardon?" Reid said, raising his gaze from the board.
"I bet that you can't get all four corners," she said.
"Stakes?" Reid said.
"Simply that if I can't win, I can at least take one of them," Kate said. "It's about my personal vanity."
"Oh, okay, then," Reid said. "I'm ready, in that case. Do you want to restart, with that goal in mind?"
"No, this is fine," Kate said.
Brow furrowed, she picked up her piece again and considered for a long moment before placing it down.
"You sure you want to go there?" Reid asked. "That leaves you so open."
"I'm sure," she answered.
Eyebrows raised, he studied her for a moment then turned back to the board. "Well, I'm taking six black pieces, I hope you realize."
"I did learn to count in school," she assured him. "Just not boats."
"Still talking about that?" Morgan asked from above her, and she looked up at him.
"Can't help it," she answered. He sat down next to her.
"What are you guys playing?"
"Othello," Reid said.
"Thanks, I read the box," Morgan answered. "How does it work?"
"Watch and learn," Reid said, as Kate turned over two white pieces.
Reid went quickly on his turn, barely taking a moment to turn over only one black piece. Kate's eyes narrowed at him.
"Morgan, am I walking into a trap?" She asked.
"I don't know the game well enough to say for sure, but I know Reid," Morgan began. "You could bet on it."
On Reid's next turn, he took his second corner space. Kate bit her tongue as she considered her next move.
"Okay, if I went here," she began, picking up a piece.
"That isn't smart," Reid interrupted.
"Thank you for the advice," Kate said and placed the piece there anyway.
"I get what you're going at," Reid said. "Cause if you move there, then I will place my piece here, and you can take the place next to the corner, and then you hope I'll take your bait cause that's a five piece conversion."
She nodded, watching him talk.
"But I'm not going to place it there, and nor will I place it here," he gestured to another place. "Because that would leave the other corner open. Therefore, I will take the hard road and place where I only gain one."
Kate nodded, and their play continued. Reid snagged another corner, and Kate made a few lucrative moves where she gained a lot of black.
Reid took the last corner, and Kate took the space next to him, turning over one.
"That's the last piece," he said.
"You win the bet," Kate said. "But not the game."
"What?" Reid said, and looked down at the board. "Kate!"
The score was 33 to 31, black in favor.
"Hold on a minute," Reid said, placing his hands on his temples. "Let me remember your moves... You hustled me, Kate."
"I did?" Kate asked, trying to look innocent but failing. "No, I didn't. I merely made a bet that distracted you from the real goal."
"You've played this before!" Reid said. "You said you hadn't!"
"I have not played it before!" Kate protested. "Pinky swear!"
Reid shook his head. "Hustler," he muttered, before getting up and leaving.
Kate stared after him. "Did I go too far?" She asked Morgan, whose body next to her was shaking with laughter.
"No, it's fine," Morgan assured her. Kate watched Reid fetch a book and settle into a seat, alone.
"He'll beat you next time," Morgan said. "He just needs a few minutes to sulk. Here, let me show you something."
He pulled out his phone, and was showing her a video when Hotch walked up.
"Estelle's transplant was a success," he said.
"Do you think she'll ever find out that she has her father's liver?"
"Well, the directory that was in Cosgrove's desk said that the donor would remain anonymous."
"She's gonna know he was a killer, though," Morgan interjected. "And why he was doing it. The math can't be that hard."
"No, but as we know, there are some truths the brain refuses to process," Hotch answered.
Sobered, Kate nodded. "I wonder how Rossi's doing," she said, changing the subject.
Hotch didn't answer, just leaned back in his seat.
After a moment, he sat back up. "Wait a minute, is that Othello?"
"Oh, do you know it?" Kate asked.
"Who was black?" Hotch said, adding up the pieces.
"Me," Kate answered.
"So Morgan was white?" Hotch asked, starting to put the pieces back into his tray and Kate followed suit.
"No, Reid was," Kate said.
"But white lost," Hotch answered, continuing to put the pieces away, and his hands stilled. "You beat Reid?"
The answer came from the back of the plane, loud and clear. "No, she hustled me."
Hotch's eyebrows raised. Kate looked down at her lap, fighting a grin.
"Do you want to try me?" Hotch asked.
"Sure."
A/N: All the games are real.
You can find Othello on Amazon, if you search the keywords othello game mattel.
I was going for a longer chapter here. Did it 'work'?
Also, how did this match up to the episode (Anonymous)?