A/N: Sorry for the length of time between updates. I've had the handwritten version of this done for at least three or four days; I've just not had enough time to type it up. I'll try to do better next time, lol! Currently working on the next chapter of 'A Force of Nature: Part II'.
Disclaimer: See my profile!
Spoilers for '52 Pickup' (Season Four).
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'Weird, Alaska'
Chapter Eleven
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Reid poured over several large maps he had spread out on the table in the workroom the team had been given. "Notice anything else about the Great Circles?" Rossi asked.
Reid looked up and shook his head. "I don't think I am going to get anything more precise out of that. The calculations to get a circle going through this area and the exact location around Catalan Point* where Sheriff Reich was stationed probably would not have been possible. It's only a Great Circle if it divides the sphere, in this case the Earth, into two equal hemispheres."
"So the UnSub was just telling us Australia and Weird, Alaska," Rossi stated.
"Yes. Since the Sheriff was only stationed one place the two years he spent in Australia, the point is not that difficult to make."
"Same thing with Korea as well?"
Reid nodded. "Yes. I haven't found any other locations the circles pass through that are associated with places Sheriff Reischl has been stationed, vacationed or visited."
Hotch had been half listening to Reid and Rossi's conversation while he spoke with JJ on the phone. "So it's clear there is a connection to something the Sheriff saw or witnessed, or someone he knew in both Australia and Korea."
"That has to be the case," Morgan added. "What would be the point of giving us both locations otherwise?"
"Is it possible he knows these girls and just doesn't realize he does?" Prentiss asked.
"You tell me Emily. We have known Sheriff Reischl for a few days now. He doesn't strike me as someone who would forget these four young girls even if they were a lot younger when he knew them," Reid responded.
"What if they're related to people he knows? If that were the case the key to figuring out what the UnSub's point is would still be identifying them," Morgan added.
"It's also possible the girls have no actual connection to Sheriff Reischl, and only the locations do. Therefore we have to help him figure out who or what he knows that the UnSub expects him to figure out," Hotch said.
"What if he doesn't know the girls themselves, but does know someone he was stationed with or met in Australia or Korea or both who is from the same hometowns they are?" Rossi asked.
Jacob chose just that moment to walk out of his office. "I need a break," he complained. "I've been sitting at that damn computer for way too long. I sill have a job to do, therefore I am going to go make my regular rounds." He handed Morgan two sheets of paper. "Here is part of your list. It's the names of about three fourths of the personal I served with in Australia."
"Already? That was quick," Morgan answered.
"It wasn't that difficult Agent Morgan. There are only 140 active U.S. military personnel stationed in Australia right now. When the ones who came and went were taken into consideration there are only about 200 names to worry about. I was able to come up with around a hundred of them on my own, and another forty-five through public records. The rest I had to put in an official request for."
"Did you say 140 active duty?"
Jacob nodded. "There are no active U.S. military bases in Australia Agent Hotchner. I mean Hotch, sorry! All we have there are intelligence stations, a satellite installation and a training camp. Occasionally there are additional personnel in the country to conduct or take part in training exercises with the Australian Defense Force; however most of the time we have less than 150 people there."
"I had no idea," Prentiss said. She turned to Reid. "How come you didn't know that?"
"I keep telling you, I don't know everything."
"Sorry," Prentiss responded.
"Sheriff," Reid began. "Did you meet anyone while in the military that was from Boulder, Colorado?"
"Excuse me?"
"I had a thought," Rossi began. "I was thinking perhaps the UnSub might be trying to tell you he's picking girls from the same home towns as people you met while you were stationed in Korea or Australia."
Jacob stared at Rossi. "You're kidding me! I just spent three hours trying to make a list of everyone in my units; and contacting the U.S. Army for names of those I can't remember on my own. Now you want me to try and figure out what their home towns are?"
"If we have the names we can find the home towns on our own," Prentiss said.
"Depending on how thorough whoever responds to your queries is, they may even provide you with that information without being asked," Hotch added.
"Any maybe the Big One will hit tomorrow and California will break off from the Continental United States and float away to China."
"To be honest Sheriff, that can't actually happen. You see, the seismic forces, plus the thickness of the land mass, couple with the rate of Continental Drift at approximately one inch per year along with…"
"Reid…" Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi said all at once.
"Uh yeah, sorry!" Reid quickly shut up and looked down at his maps.
"The army can be very efficient," Hotch said.
"They can be they can not be. Why would they volunteer information they haven't been asked for? I asked for names, units and dates of deployment. I didn't ask for home towns." He looked at Reid. "Agent Reid, I think if you have something to add to the conversation I personally believe you should feel free to say it. If they had someone like you in Hollywood perhaps some motion pictures would contain more science and less fiction; or at least more believable fiction coupled with science."
Reid looked back at him. "Well I…"
They all turned around as the door to the outer office opened and a tall man in his fifties with graying black hair walked in. "Morning Sheriff," he called out.
"Morning Dooley. What can I do for you?"
"Del told me he returned 'Deception'. I wanted to check it out."
"You are next on the list. Lloyd is asking for 'The Lost Symbol'. Did you bring it back?"
"I have it right here."
"Okay, you know what to do. Sign 'Deception' out, sign 'The Lost Symbol' back in." Dooley looked curiously at the BAU team. "Uh Dooley, there are Agents Hotchner, Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss and Reid from the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the F.B.I. Guys, this gentleman is Dooley Lynwood. He owns the General Store."
"Oh yes…the F.B.I. people." Prentiss smiled at Dooley who then looked at Hotch. "Lloyd is right; you do look like his son." He headed for the small room Jacob had set up as a library.
"I would like to meet Lloyd's son someday," Rossi said with amusement.
"Dylan's been down in Anchorage for a few years now. He comes up this way every now and then. Maybe when you head back to Anchorage you could run into him," Jacob grinned.
"Sure," Hotch responded. "By the way, I just spoke with Agent Jareau. She and Garcia have spoken with the parents of Christina Belkas, and they've identified our fourth victim via photographic evidence as their daughter. We are going ahead with DNA analysis. She is going to speak with them again in a couple hours regarding what she may have been doing in Alaska. She offered to fly down and speak to them in person; however they said she didn't need to go to all that trouble."
Jacob sighed. "I don't know if I could be as strong as some of these families are if anything ever happened to Daniel like that. It's hard enough dealing with him being over in Iraq. At least I know where he is." He mentally shook himself. "I've got to get going. I'll be back in a couple hours."
"May I come along?" Reid asked.
"If you like." Reid stood up and grabbed his jacket. As he was putting it on Dooley came out of the library carrying three books. "What else did you find?"
"I have a novel by Alistair MacLean I haven't read in a while; and I found this book about the minds of serial killers that looks interesting. It's by someone named David Rossi." He looked over at Rossi.
"I have all your books," Jacob explained.
"Not only do we have the F.B.I. up here, we also have a celebrity," Dooley commented. "Nice to meet you," he told Rossi before going out the door.
"He seems pretty sharp," Rossi commented with amusement.
"He and Lloyd especially are highly intelligent. They try to outdo each other on how many books they can read in a month, how many subjects they can expound on and so forth." He looked at Reid. "You set?"
"Yes, all set."
After the two men went out the door Rossi said, "Did Reid do that on purpose?"
"Do what on purpose?" Morgan asked.
"Ask to go along with the Sheriff. Do you think he did it for a reason, or does he just want to go out walking around with Sheriff Reischl?"
"He likes the guy," Hotch responded. "Maybe he also figures he might notice something we can use while they're out going around town."
Prentiss chuckled. "I was just thinking about what the Sheriff said about Dooley and Lloyd 'expounding'. That sounds just like Reid."
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"Is your knee up to this? I do a lot of walking on this job."
"I'm fine." He fell into step next to Jacob. "I'd like to take a look at your library, just to see what you have in there."
"It's fairly eclectic because I do buy some books just because I think someone in town will be interested in them. Michael Crichton, Tony Hillerman, Dick Francis, Jonathan Kellerman, Alistair MacLean, Dan Brown; I have all of their books. And, of course I have all of Agent Rossi's books as well. There are a few other authors who I have most or some of their books. I even have a few romances. I have two copies of the Complete Works of Shakespeare, and I also have some children's books for the kids. A couple of the high school students talked me into getting all four 'Twilight' books for them."
"I've never read 'Twilight'," Reid commented.
"I guess you are in the minority. Anyway, I order most of these books online. , , ; they all love me. Hell, I think I'm their best customer!"
"You buy all these books out of your own pocket?"
"Some of the people in town will contribute books or magazines they have; or purchase something they think it's a good idea to have; however I probably have purchased close to seventy-five percent of what we have myself."
"I think it's a wonderful idea to start your own library."
"I guess that small room full of books has made a pretty good impact. Dooley actually used to let people exchange books and magazines through his store, but it's more convenient to do it this way." He pointed down the street. "We're going to do a walk around the school yard first." He looked over at Reid. "Agent Reid, why did you want to come along with me?"
"I just wanted to."
"Really?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"I was a little surprised is all."
"Why?"
Jacob looked at him. "I hope you won't take this the wrong way… I just can't help wondering if you only came along to see what information I can provide you once I relax a little in your company."
"I won't deny that thought crossed my mind. However, I also wanted to get out of the office and see more of the area." He looked straight ahead as they walked.
"I didn't mean anything by it Agent Reid. I was just curious."
"It's not a problem Sheriff."
"I bet people are constantly underestimating you Agent Reid."
Reid looked him. "I bet people underestimate you as well Sheriff."
/\
"If they think it would help for us to come down there in person we can easily do that JJ," Hotch said. Hotch, Rossi, Morgan and Prentiss sat at the table listening to JJ and Garcia over speakerphone.
"Her mother told us everything she could remember about this job her daughter applied for; however her father seems to think a friend of Christina's might know more. The friend is out of town until tomorrow though; so I can't talk to him just yet."
"But do they think it would help for us to come down to Colorado in person to speak with some of her friends? We can be there tomorrow if they do," Rossi said.
"It might help. Mrs. Belkas said a lot of Christina's friends are in shock right now just like she and her husband are. If we were there in person it might help to put them at ease."
"It's a long way to travel," Prentiss said.
"I agree it's a good idea to go, but if we drive down to Anchorage, unless we all go or are dropped off, whomever stays behind won't have access to a vehicle because the other SUV is in Fairbanks," Morgan said.
Hotch thought for a moment. "JJ, contact our pilot down in Anchorage, and have him fly the jet up to Fairbanks. Morgan, Rossi, Prentiss and I will drive into Fairbanks. Rossi, Prentiss, you and I will fly down to Colorado while Morgan, Garcia and Reid remain in Alaska to work on the case from this end."
"Oh yeah," Garcia piped in. "I get to stay in Alaska with my two favorite men!"
Rossi chuckled. "I'm disappointed Garcia. I thought I was one of your two favorite men!"
"You are sir," Garcia giggled. "So is Hotch!"
"So you are saying all four of us are your two favorite men?" Morgan grinned. "What about Sheriff Reischl?"
"Oh yeah, that's a bonus!"
Hotch rolled his eyes and then sighed. "Focus people, focus," he commanded.
"I'll call the pilot right away. When will you be here?"
"We will try to get there later this evening. We need to talk to the Sheriff before we leave."
"I'll let you know as soon as I've spoken to the pilot."
"Thank you JJ," Hotch said. He disconnected and turned to the others. "Here's what we will do; we'll drive into Fairbanks and Morgan will keep the SUV and pick us up in Fairbanks when we come back."
"Shall I stay in Fairbanks or come back here?" Morgan asked.
"I know what Garcia would prefer!" Prentiss teased.
"That probably depends somewhat on how long we'll be gone," Rossi said.
"Let's see what the situation is with the State Police once we arrive; and then we can decide. Either way it won't be for longer than a day or two," Hotch answered.
/\
As soon as Reid and Jacob reached the school the younger children swarmed around Reid asking him to show them another magic trick. Jacob couldn't help smiling as he watched one boy jump up and down with excitement. Reid laughed as he looked at Dina. "I don't usually receive this sort of reaction from children. In fact, aside from my Godson I usually scare them. My other team members refer to it as 'The Reid Effect'."
Dina laughed. "I like this 'Reid Effect' better."
"So do I," Helen, the other teacher, added. "It's nice to see them so excited."
Reid reached into his bag and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. He then set the bag down on the ground. "Do you see this pen?" After the students nodded he continued in a stage whisper, "This is a magic pen!" He held up the paper, on which he had sketched a drawing.
"It looks like an alien," Timmy, one of the boys, laughed.
Reid looked at the drawing. "Hmm… If he were green we could call him a Martian, and then he would be a little green man from Mars." He nodded at the children. "Now, what we're going to do is take this magic pen and poke a hole through the paper right here…" Reid pushed the pen through the paper and showed the students it was sticking out the other side.
"You made a hole in it," Timmy protested.
"I did? Oops! I didn't mean to make a hole!" Reid pulled the pen to the edge of the paper and showed it to the students before placing it in an outside pocket of his bag. He then held up the drawing which had no visible hole and no tear where he had pulled the pen to the edge of the paper.
"Where's the hole?" Roger, another of the students, exclaimed.
"I told you it was a magic pen," Reid said, relieved the same trick he'd used to impress Austin a couple years previous had also impressed the young students. He handed the drawing to Timmy, who turned it over a couple of times looking for a hole or a tear in the paper. Reid looked around. "Where is my magic pen?" he asked.
"I saw you put it in your bag," Roger said.
Reid pretended to look in his bag. "I don't see it in here." He looked at Jacob. "Sheriff, how did you get my pen?" He reached over and pulled the pen out of a pocket on the front of Jacob's shirt.
"How did that get there?" Jacob asked with a smile on his face.
Reid reached into his bag once more and found a few more sketches he had idly drawn and handed one to each of the children, who seemed impressed by them. A few minutes later after walking around the school with the six young students trailing them Reid and Jacob headed for their next destination. After waving goodbye to the children and the two teachers Reid said, "I think I better come up with a better trick for the next time I see those kids. That one was on the fly."
"I thought it was pretty good. Maybe you should plan on giving a magic show for the whole school," Jacob laughed. "If the older students find out they'll want to see also."
"I don't know," Reid smiled. "I'm not that good in front of crowds."
"Neither am I most of the time."
Just then Reid's cell phone rang. "Hey Morgan." Reid listened for a moment. "Okay, we'll come right back." He closed his phone and put it back on his belt. "Morgan said part of the team needs to fly down to Colorado. Hotch wants us to come back to your office so they can explain."
"Let's head back then. We can finish this later."
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*Fictional location.
A/N: I think I did a bad job of describing this trick…
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