"Dr. Reid, there is a girl here who won't leave." said the security guard "we told her we would call the police but she just stood there looking down at her feet and mumbled something about the world being better off if the serial killer was already at the FBI"
"Where is she now?" Asked Dr. Spencer Reid of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
"Over there," said the security guard gesturing to a hoodie and blue jeaned figure, staring down at pidgin toed sneakers and playing with the scarf tied on their belt loop "she can't be more than 17 and is unusually obedient. She listened when I told her to follow me and when I told her to stay by the elevators" Reid followed the security guard over to the elevators. The first thing he noticed was the blood on the scarf. The second thing he noticed was how she didn't look up as they approached
"Who are you?" he asked speaking quietly.
"A serial killer." she replied almost inaudibly pushing her glasses up with her scarf wrapped hand.
"What happened?" Reid asked trying to find her eyes. The girl turned away and didn't respond. The security guard and Reid exchanged a look and the security guard got in the elevator.
"Follow me" Reid said walking away and into the bullpen area and over to the desk where he was sitting before he was interrupted. "What's your name?"
"It won't matter soon anyway" the girl replied in the same small voice
"Have a seat and hold out your hands." he said reaching into his desk drawer pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
The girl complied without hesitation, revealing her blood stained hands from the scarf she had been wrapping them in. Reid placed the handcuffs on her wrists watching her flinch
"Come with me" Reid began walking up the stairs toward the round table room.
The girl placed her hands down, strategically hiding them in the scarf she continued to play with, following Reid to his destination.
"Have a seat" He pointed to a chair at the left side of the table and he left the room once she was seated, her eyes still downcast. He knocked on JJ, Rossi and Hotch's doors as he went past them going to Derek's desk reaching over him to the phone and calling down to Penelope.
"Miss me so soon, Chocolate Zeus?" she answered in a sexy voice
"Garcia, I need you to come up to the round table room" Reid ignored her greeting. He waited 7 seconds exactly then hung up.
A few minutes later everyone entered the room. The girl was sitting straight up in the chair, just as Reid left her, her head still down as she continued to play with the scarf.
"Who are you?" Reid asked again. The rest of the team allowing him to lead, as being only 26 he would be the least threatening and closest in age.
"A serial killer." She spoke softly. Derek and Rossi exchanged a look and Hotch stepped forward but Reid put his arm out to stop the interruption.
"do you have any weapons?" Reid asked.
"No" the girl replied. This caused J.J. and Garcia to breathe a sigh of relief that wouldn't last long.
"Why did you come here?" Reid pressed on
"Isn't this where serial killers belong?" the young girl asked
"How many people have you killed?" he asked
"I… I can't remember…" she never looked up.
"Show us your hands." Reid knew her last response was a lie.
The girl unraveled the scarf tangled around her hands revealing her blood caked hands to everyone present.
"Whose blood is that?" Reid asked almost sounding like he knew the answer.
"Mine…" the girl whispered pushing her glassed up again. Reid was right. Garcia hit Reid on the head and took the keys from him.
"OW! What was that for?" Reid asked.
"For handcuffing a girl who is possibly hurt." Garcia said unlocking the handcuffs and pulling the hoodie off the girl's body in one swift movement. The girl's face was finally revealed when the hoodie's removal forced her head up. Her glasses were held together with tape, the lenses cracked and the arms barely attached. She had a black eye and a busted lip, some dried blood smeared on her cheek. She wore a short sleeve old work shirt with blood splotches all over it.
"Reid," Rossi started "what happened to her?"
"She wouldn't tell me." Reid said surveying the stains on the girl's shirt.
"I think we can guess part of it." Hotch said moving around Reid and coming up behind Garcia. The girl, who had been sitting on the edge of her chair with perfect posture so far during the interaction, pushed herself back as far as she could in the seat and pulled her knees up to her chest gripping the armrests as hard as she could. She looked like she was ready to fight, her eyes becoming angry as she kept her head down.
"Hold up, Hotch" Derek said knowing that look "it's still fresh in her mind"
"Not just in her mind" J.J. said as she noticed one of the bloody splotches slowly growing on the t-shirt.
"Close the blinds and shut the door" Garcia said. All the men in the room turned around knowing what Garcia was going to do. JJ allowed the guys to turn back once they saw the girl's blood soaked tank top and she went to close the door. The bleeding was coming from just under the girl's shoulder on the inside of her arm. Garcia took the scarf from the girl's belt loop and tied it around the wound. She had cuts and bruises all over her body.
"What happened?" Reid asked slowly walking closer to the girl. When she didn't answer, he began to kneel down trying again to make eye contact. The girl gripped the armrests again and kicked him hard in the chest sending him onto his back. The girl pulled her legs up again and wrapped her arms around them hiding her face.
"You ok, kid" Derek asked leaning over. Reid quickly recovered, the kick not being as hard as it looked.
"Yeah," He knelt down in front of the girl again "look at me." He noticed her guilt consuming her. The girl didn't look up but began digging at the cuts on her arms with her nails. Reid needed to snap her out of whatever was going on. His gentle demeanor wouldn't help him here but he couldn't let anyone else do this or she would be broken for sure.
"I said Look at me!" Reid forced her head up by her chin. The girl's eyes went wide with fear as she complied.
"Spencer!" J.J. moved forward but was stopped by Hotch
"Hang on J.J." Hotch put his hand on her shoulder "This is the only way to get information from her and he is the only one gentle enough to get that information"
"What is your name?" he asked firmly.
"M-m-musica Lor-r-ain J-journey" the girl stuttered "m-most peop-ple call me M.J."
"Garcia, see what you can find on her." Derek said pushing a laptop over.
"What happened to you, M.J.?" Reid asked again this time with greater force behind the question. M.J. didn't respond.
"She will be 18 years old next month, she has been home schooled for the last 3 years, after her mother passed away." Garcia started and Derek leaned to look over her shoulder "she was just reported as a runaway from Bethesda, Massachusetts by her step-father- "
"D-don't send me b-back" M.J.'s tears fell on Reid's palm "P-p-please don't m-make me g-g-go back"
"We can protect you" Reid said firmly "But first we need to know what happened to you."
"No" she shook her head vigorously "N-n-noone can know!"
"Just tell us how you killed them" Reid said, his tone never faltering despite his emotions.
"I-i-I took a knife f-from the k-k-kitchen and went to the b-bedr-r-room" she started to look down
"Eyes on me." Reid said his voice firmer still.
"Are you sure we should let him do this?" Rossi asked Hotch in a hushed tone watching M.J. struggle and Reid put his hands on her shoulders.
"This is as much for her benefit as it is for ours." Hotch responded quietly "She needs to see that not every discourse ends with her being damaged"
"Eyes. On. Me!" Reid's voice escalated snapping M.J. back to him. "How did you kill them?"
"I- I just kept stabbing and stabbing" her eyes glazing over at the memories "I d-didn't stop until the room turned red."
"How many?" Reid searched M.J.'s face as he still didn't let go. She didn't respond. "M.J. How many were there?"
"F-f-fift-t-teen." She tensed and Reid could feel it.
"Who were they?" he asked gripping her shoulders harder.
"T-truckers" she didn't provide much information.
"15 Truckers?" Derek stood straight up. This girl wasn't talking about murders.
"They work for Sordes" M.J. began hyperventilating and Reid pulled her legs down from her chest revealing new stains on her jeans. "He used to bring only one of them over at a time, but this time he brought everyone and I couldn't stop myself." Reid heard a soft drip onto the carpet as M.J. continued "I couldn't bring myself to kill them, no matter how many ways I thought of to do it." Reid pulled her tank top over her head to reveal several stab wounds on her torso haphazardly created. "So I tried killing myself instead." All other persons in the room either gasped or cursed under their breath as Reid pulled her close to him. M.J. cried gripping onto his now blood stained shirt.
"she had the opportunity, the motive and even a plan" Derek said his blood boiling
"she has the heart of a saint" Rossi remarked
"It's ok, Musica" Reid said rubbing her back "It's ok, let it out."
"She hasn't actually done anything criminal." JJ brought over a plush blanket from one of the cabinets wrapping it around the young girl then she turned to leave. "I'm calling the Bethesda Police Department and Child Protective Services."
"She doesn't have any other living relatives," Garcia added information to hopefully help J.J. who she knew was about to go on a rampage. "Her mother passed away right after marrying her step-father, Sordes Tristis. Tristis owns a failing trucking company that used to have a record high turnover for the trucker position until" Garcia trailed off and looked up at Reid and M.J. "3 years ago."
Derek followed JJ out, calling 911 on his cellphone. He was about to go on a rampage of his own on the wall by the elevators. Garcia began typing furiously, compiling records and setting up the company's downfall as a whole and then the drivers who had been employed at any time within the last 3 years.
"no family, no home, and no safety. no wonder she felt like this." Rossi said "What do we do with her now?"
"We keep her here," Said Hotch "She could be an asset to us." Garcia stopped typing at these words,
"Is that all you see in this?" she stood and marched over to Hotch "Sir, this girl is broken and all you can sa-"
"Hold up, mama" Derek came back in holding his swelling knuckles. He grabbed Garcia's arm gently taking her aside and explaining what Hotch really meant.
"The paramedics are downstairs" J.J. poked her head in
"Do you think she is stable enough to stay?" Garcia asked returning with Derek to the conversation
"She will be fine if she lives through today." Reid said, and with that he carried M.J. out of the room.