The plane ride back to Washington was quiet. Everyone was still and silent trying to understand what had happened. Hotch and Rossi were both mired in guilt knowing they should have taken back as soon as the case was over. Morgan was trying to console Garcia who kept looking around the cabin at ghosts. JJ and Emily both sat at windows theoretically reading but more often than not staring out at the empty sky. The ride back to Quantico was equally silent and everyone was relieved to get back to their desks trying to bury their ceaseless self-recriminations work. The endless workday ended at 6 and the analysists left their work reluctantly knowing they were in for long endless hours and a sleepless night. Then on the third day the grieving team caught a break.
"Hotch I found her." Garcia said walking quickly into his office waving a piece of paper interrupting his meeting with Strauss.
"Who? Anastasia?" Hotch asked almost jumping to his feet.
"No, Celeste. The one Reid mentioned in his story." Garcia said, handing him the paper.
"Celeste? The girl who gave Reid liquor when he was underage. Why is that so important?" Strauss demanded.
"This is the first lead we've been able to find." Hotch said. "Gather the team, I'll be there shortly."
Garcia hurried out and within two minutes the entire team was gathered. Garcia pulled up the evidence she had found.
"Celeste Starre, she worked as a high-class escort in Los Vegas. I found her in an add with Anastasia Krasnov" Garcia said showing an ad for her services.
Emily pulled out a picture taken from Reid's apartment" that's her younger and a red head not a blonde but it's her. She said examining the two women.
"So who's the third person? JJ asked looking at the photo "The man?"
"Wait." Rossi said taking the picture then standing and looking at Celeste. "I know them" Noticing the looks the team gave hurried on "Well I met them at a party."
"A party?" Hotch said raising an eyebrow.
"Yes Aaron, the orgy was much later." Rossi said gaining the smiles from everyone in the room as he had hoped even Hotch.
"But she and Anastasia were exclusive."
"You mean expensive?" Morgan interjected.
"No exclusive, they worked for a group or person and only saw clients they approved of." Rossi said.
"So not you?" Emily asked.
"No, I was rich and well known but not high enough for them. I don't know who their clientele was just that I wasn't good enough."
"The smoke shop sent Reid visited had links to high class tobacco importers." Hotch said.
"How did Ried know these people?" JJ asked "He was barely scraping by after his dad left. He went to college on scholarship and the college fund his parents made at his birth."
"That's what we have to find out." Hotch said "Garcia found out everything you can about the Celeste, Anastasia and the man in the picture. Rossi can you reach out to your contacts find out anything you can about this mysterious pimp?" At Rossi's nod he continued "Emily, Morgan research the smoke shop find any connection between it and prostitution, any ties to illegal crimes. JJ you and I are going to reach out to the Los Vegas police see if they have any information, they're willing to divulge."
Three days of endless searching and everyone kept hitting brick walls. It seemed there was either no information or no one was willing to talk. Strauss was getting impatient and was putting pressure on Hotch to close the case. The break when it came was something no one on the team wanted.
"A contact of mine in the Los Vas Police sent this to me unofficially." JJ said holding a copy of a police file "A young woman was found in a burned down house with two other victims. The police ruled it an accident but there were cuts on the body inconsistent with a fire."
"How do you know it's Celeste?" Morgan asked.
"Facial recognition software and Garcia was able to trace Celeste's immigration records which had copies of her fingerprints. It's her." JJ said grimly
"How did she die?" Emily asked.
"Officially fire, but there were numerous cuts all over her body consistent with torture along with bruising and possible ligature marks on her wrists." JJ said "And this" she said pulling up a picture on the monitor "It appears to be the letter A carved into her torso."
"Any cigarette burns?" Morgan asked.
"No but the fire did a lot of damage."
"Wait a minute." Emily said, "Wasn't there a few other murders in Los Vegas with that symbol?"
"Yes, the police wrote it off as some sort of gang thing." Rossi said.
"It could be a signature." Morgan said, "I'll look into the other victims see if they have ties to each other."
"If someone was killing people in that circle that could explain why Reid was so scared." Garcia said.
The team went over the case file and then dove into work pulling up the other victims' police reports, trying to find any connections they could between them, Reid, and any high up crime organizations.
The team found several more bodies with the mark: twelve in total and great probability that they were many more the police had ignored or dismissed. Hotch reached out to various Los Vegas police departments and various political and government bodies with the evidence but kept getting shot down at every turn. If not for Reid, Hotch would have shut down the investigation. Cases were piling up and Strauss was breathing down his neck. The team was determined to get justice but with no leads it seemed hopeless. Then Emily who had reached out to some old friends got a name Abadon and things started to fall into place.
Abadon was a rising power in the mob world brilliant, ruthless and merciless. The massacre of whole families had been laid at her door. Several brothels destroyed, the prostitutes raped and tortured before the building had been burned down the occupants still alive inside. Men left tortured and mutilated an A carved deep into the torsos a message though no one knew who it was for. The murders had occurred in Europe and it seemed Abadon had recently crossed the Atlantic. Beyond Celeste and Los Vegas there was still no connection between Reid and Abadon.
"Hotch I think we've been going about this all wrong." Rossi said as the two men were eating lunch in his office.
"What do you mean?" Hotch asked.
"Well, we've been looking into Reid's past and found a possible cause in Abadon but we've been ignoring the most obvious place to find answers."
"His mother? She's Schizophrenic I haven't even told her yet."
"No: Jason, he recruited Spencer, if Reid had criminal connections Jason must have known."
"Would he have known?" Hotch asked, "I didn't notice any of the signs or behaviors Reid was exhibiting those last few days."
"Jason was cautious, and he would have done a thorough background check on Reid official and unofficiall."
"True and by the time I was working with him he had months in the academy to polish his rougher edges."
"So I'll track down Jason, I'm sure he'll come in at least." Rossi said.
Five days later Jason Gideon walked back into the bullpen, despite his vow to never set foot in Quantico again. All for the sake of a man he viewed as a surrogate son and a promise he had made years ago. Walking up the steps he went into Hotch's office where David and Aaron were waiting for him.
"Jason it's good to see you again."
"Aaron, David." Gideon said nodding to each man. "What happened to Reid?
"I was hoping you could tell us." David said.
"Have you hear of woman called Abadon?" Aaron asked
"No." Gideon said taking a seat on the couch.
"What about Celeste Starre? Or Anastasia Krasnov?" Aaron asked taking a seat across from the couch with David taking the other seat.
"What's going on Aaron?" Where is Reid?"
"First tell me everything you know about Reid's association with these women."
"I hoped Spencer could leave it behind." Jason said heavily pulling out a photograph handing it Aaron "Now tell me what happened to Spencer?"
Hotch visibly paled and after handing it to Rossi stepped outside.
A/N Done Chapter 2 I have chapter 3 sketched out. Please Please Comment, Follow and Favorite. I read and think on all comments and follows encourage me. Brownies for everyone who figured out who Abadon and Reid's mysteries friend is.