Author's Note:
I try very hard to ignore the urge to beg for reviews but I would appreciate it if a couple more people were to write something quick about my story. It helps me understand how well the story is working. Thank you! This chapter got a little long for my taste but I will add another soon.
Chapter 9:
Hotch and his team was very tired by the time they arrived in Las Vegas late in the evening. Garcia was the only one who seemed mildly energetic as Hotch had called her in to hack some of the UNSUB's computers that could not be accessed remotely. She mainly kept to herself busy knitting. They had also been calling Reid all day for help on how to access a house with special design elements where the UNSUB was keeping his victims. They gave up on contacting Reid and managed to apprehend the assailant before anyone else was further harmed. Nobody noticed the plane seemed was moving faster than usual.
When they arrived on the tarmac Hotch noted that Agent Rose looked even more exhausted than he felt despite her crisp appearance. Dressed in a black pants suit and purple top with a slightly larger amount of jewelry that one would expect for an agent wearing such a severe look, her eyes gave away deep sense of weariness. When she caught him looking closely at her and she straightened up and offered her hand.
"Hello, I am Agent Clara Rose," she said as she shook hands. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I am also glad your most recent case came to a relatively satisfactory conclusion."
"Thank you Agent Rose," Hotch said carefully. "But I'd rather skip further formalities and ask about the condition of my agent. You were exceptionally vague on the phone and I'd like to know in detail what happened to him."
Rose nodded. "I understand your frustration. Can we please get in the van first? It is getting very windy out here and it will be dark soon."
The agents nodded in agreement and approach an SUV that looked only slightly larger than what they were used to.
They were shocked it was actually larger on the inside and resembled a bus more than anything. Each agent had a window seat and plenty of leg room. No one was quite sure what to say. Hotch was staring daggers at Rose.
"Would you care to explain the meaning of all of this?" he said in a dead serious tone that carried throughout the vehicle as though they were all sitting right next to him.
Rose held his gaze. "SSA Reid suffered third-degree burns throughout one hundred percent of his body while confronting an UNSUB that you and everyone else thought was dead for several years. He only survived because he was wearing several magical amulets, and-yes I just said magical along with robes that prevented the burns from becoming fourth-degree burns. I am taking you to see him now as your assistance is his best hope in survival."
All of the agents sat back in shock. Reid was dying. Reid possessed magic. Reid needed their help.
Rose sensed that they were trying to process the information. "I am sorry to so quickly immerse with all of this information, but as your lead agent noted, there is really no time for niceties. As you can probably guess, now the vehicle is made by magic. It only resembles an FBI-standard SUV. You can swivel each of the chairs to look at what are basically computer screens to learn more about the situation while I drive to the hospital. There are also earbuds so you can hear actual conversations I had with Reid yesterday and earlier today. They are my memories and some of them are edited for time and privacy reasons."
The agents still looked shocked but Hotch cut through the confusion. He spun around in his chair to face the team. "Information is important to helping Reid so I suggest we do access all of the information Rose has provided us with."
He spun to face Rose who was starting the ignition. "How long before we reach the hospital?"
"About ninety minutes. Even a magically designed car cannot cut through Vegas traffic."
"Thank you," he said and paused before he turned to examine the information. "Do you mind if I ask what your full title is including within the world of magic?"
Rose began to exit the airport. "Not at all, I am Secondary Guardian Special Supervisory Agent Clara Rose."
"Who is the primary?"
She kept her eyes straight on the road. "Cesar Coyle," she said in a tone that somehow indicated fear and agitation. "He is currently under deep-cover and if we're lucky we won't meet him any time soon."
Hotch decided not to press for more details about the tense relationship and turned to find out everything he could about the background and current situation of one of one his most valued agents.
…
By the time they arrived at the parking ramp that was smaller than it appeared, everyone was filled in about Reid's background and recent activities outside the duel that lead to his condition as she had been too far away to gain access about the spells used. Some team members were not surprised that Garner had survived if only because the rest of his plan had been laid out so deliberately that his death seemed to make the case feel less complete. Hotch thanked her for such a thorough explanation but still wondered how they could help Reid survive his injuries. Rose promise an explanation once they entered the hospital.
As they left the vehicle, Garcia finally got up the nerve to ask the question she had been considering for a while. "Agent Rose," she said tentatively, "I know this isn't relative to the case at all but are you by any chance related to-"
"Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series," Rose said lightly as she entered the elevator code that would lead them up into the hospital. "There is a complicated answer to how that world and ours are connected but the short answer is yes. She is my great aunt and I have been I told I am more abrasive, break more rules, and am actually a better chess player than she is and I'll take the last one as superb compliment," she said with a thin smile as she entered the elevator.
Garcia silently cheered in delight. Her dearest friend was dire danger but she also now knew that magic was real and it somehow made things brighter. Morgan suddenly rubbed her shoulder and they exchanged a quick smile.
Rose entered another set of elevator codes. "There is also a pair of descendants of the Weasley twins who I can personally tell you are the most clever, troublesome human beings on this planet," she said as the doors closed.
…
Any questions about their presence in the magical hospital were swiftly silenced with a piercing look from Rose. Most of the hospital workers looked like people one would find in a normal hospital with people wearing surgical masks, the patients they glimpsed were in hospital gowns, and the workers wore scrubs. The few things that did stand out were the families who wore all sorts of robes and many had intricate tattoos on different parts of their bodies. Many also wore a larger more visible variety of amulets compared to what Rose had on and more than a few people were carrying wooden staffs with symbols carved into them. Hotch and many of the agents wondered what amulets Reid was wearing to keep himself alive.
Rose stopped just short of the entrance to the burn ward and stared at them. "I need all of you to remember that when you see a fellow agent and your friend that he is indeed very much alive. He is also not in pain at this moment. I have brought you here because I know you can help him." She let the words linger in the air before entering the code of symbols and opening the door.
Reid was covered head to toe lime-green bandages. There was a thin white sheet that covered him up midway. There was a pair of tubes protruding from his nose that only slightly reminded Morgan of his time on the bomb squad and visiting burn victims. Even his eyes were covered in in green bandages. For all intents and purposes, Spencer Reid looked like a lime-green mummy.
The doctors/healers paid little attention to them while they checked Reid's vital signs frequently with wands and amulets waved over him. Hotch turned to Rose and asked what all of the agents were thinking. "Agent Rose how can we possibly help Spencer?" in an almost pleading tone.
Rose kept her voice steady. "I assume after the incident with the Fisher King some of you are now passingly familiar with the tales of King Arthur. Even if you aren't that is fine as I think my notes gave you some ideas. There is a prophesy that states that one day that one of a Mordred's descendants would need the magic of a parent to summon the power the knights of the round table to defeat a power that threatens to destroy the balance between good and evil."
They all simply stared at her. She gave the slightest shrug. "I don't write this but I do believe in prophesies. One did predict Diane Reid's downfall though no one believed it at the time. Another predicted my arrival in Las Vegas as a relative of a strict educator in a popular mortal story."
As usual and expected, Hotch took the lead. "Where are these prophesies kept and how are we 'knights of the round table?'"
"Prophesies are kept in the council building of our governing organization. I have memorized several different ones in the event I need to have one fulfilled and I am in no way happy to have this one realized. As for the knights of the round table part, all of you gather around a circular table to break down and analyze a case. You are all also from different backgrounds united by the goal to apprehend criminals of the most dangerous variety. There are may be similarities in other law enforcement agencies but none containing a descendant of Mordred."
J.J. glanced at Reid and almost broke down like she nearly did when she came in. "It doesn't matter prophesy or not how do we help him?" She then caught herself and looked at Hotch but he nodded.
"J.J. is right, we are wasting time," he said and looked closely at Agent Clara Rose. He stared at her for a long moment and assessed her past actions. She always remained calm and answered every question. He could tell she was a woman who wasn't afraid of using deceitful tactics when necessary. He also sensed a desperate comradery she felt despite knowing his team for such a brief period. Secondary Guardian Agent Clara Rose was a highly competent agent secretly desperate for professional relationships and fearless when it comes to breaking rules to save lives.
Rose watched him passively profile him. She had no secrets to hide from him. The same cannot be said of the people she regularly worked with.
Hotch nodded again. "What do we need to do?"