CHAPTER 99
PRENTISS IS GOING TO KILL ME!
"Hey, guys. Can we come in?" Tara asked with a tiny smile when Rossi opened the door for her and Angie.
They both walked in and Reid frowned.
"Poor JJ…" He said quietly, knowing that at that very moment, a very angry Unit Chief was probably yelling at his best friend. He also knew that JJ deserved it, but that did not make him feel any better.
"You know, I have my own Dr. Reid, at the Academy." Angie sat next to him, trying to offer some peace and distraction.
"There is another genius at the Academy!? I mean, besides you?" He asked in disbelief.
"Oh, no. He's ex SWAT. He used to be David…and some number…" Angie chuckled. She would tease Bryan about that until her last day on this planet.
"A David? Lieutenant?" Matt sounded impressed. He knew the lingo.
"Sergeant, I think…I don't know. My point is, this guy – Bryan, is always there for me, since day one. And it really gives me the strength to keep going when things get rough. And lately, things have been hectic. Our schedules are insane, training gets harder and we get less and less sleep. I guess this week is Heaven sent to me, I get to have fun and to live a somewhat normal life and to meet cool new people like all of you…"
"She called us cool and normal!" Rossi smirked.
"Yeah, why?" Angie shot him a glance.
"Usually people think we are some sort of circus freaks who run on never ending batteries. They expect us to be superhuman and to have magic powers and healing abilities." Reid explained.
"Well, you guys kind of do." Angie's eyes darted back to Reid. "Growing up, I always knew that FBI Agents were real, normal people, but then I also saw them as…I don't know how to explain it…like Guardian Angels of some sort. You guys hunt serial killers on a daily basis and you have seen some of the most gruesome things in life, and yet you are so down to Earth and loving. You have friends, families, even kids. But to a child, you guys are real life superheroes. You know, the ones that really exist. You have no idea how inspiring that is, to a child." Angie was smiling, but Rossi could tell that she was smiling through pain.
"While this is very sweet of you to say, you do realize it is kind of not normal for a child to look up to FBI Agents?" He challenged her.
"Oh, I've never been a normal kid. I'm okay with that. The other kids wanted to become Superman and ballerinas and all kinds of random things. As far as I know, none of them fulfilled their dreams when they grew up. And I've always wanted to be an Agent. I made sure I have the right education and training, so I'd be up to the Bureau's standards when the right time finally came."
"You also drew a gun on your desk at school…" Rossi remembered what she had told him on the plane.
"Yeah, but that was only because I was reading a book on automatic guns and I wanted to challenge myself and see if I can remember the specifics. And since we were doing some stupid test at school, which I had already finished filling in, I had no other piece of paper available, so I drew on the desk. With a pencil! I fully intended on erasing the drawing after that."
"Vandalism, with a heart of gold." Tara laughed, remembering her own high school days when she'd do so many stupid things and never had a backup plan to undo and erase the consequences, if possible.
"Why do you want to join the Bureau?" Rossi asked.
"Because I want to make sure less families suffer the consequences of gruesome attacks." This was the second time Angela had connected her FBI dreams to the word 'family'.
Rossi kept on looking at her and she knew he was reading her, so she had to be careful how much she opened up to him.
In any other occasion, Angie would have been comfortable with someone whose eyes were glued on her. But not now. She shifted and turned to look at Reid once more.
"My point from earlier was that your support and friendship must mean the world to JJ. So, try not to worry about her too much. I'm sure she's able to handle herself and if she isn't, then she'd undoubtedly search for your shoulder afterwards. At least that's my own experience with my own Dr. Reid. You might not be doing much right now, but her, knowing that she has you, is support enough at the moment."
"Guys, is she real?" Reid asked his colleagues with a small voice before he did something unexpected and gave Angie a hug.
"Thank you so much for the kind words. You have been brought up well, young lady." His words made Angie frown a little, but she chose not to reply.
"Anyone hungry?" Matt broke the silence that followed.
"I saw a sign at the reception desk, the restaurant is open until two o'clock." Angie said.
"I would like a hot meal." Reid replied.
Rossi, Tara and Matt were also hungry.
Before Luke could offer his reply, Angie spoke.
"Oh, that's too bad. I eyed a cool pizza slice place on the way here and I wanted to go. But you know, I'm just a young girl, in New York City. Probably not the best idea for me to walk the streets on my own…"
"You're an FBI Agent!" Reid argued.
"Not yet!" Angie opposed with a smirk.
"Uh…I could use some fresh air. And pizza sounds way better than restaurant left over food at this hour anyway." Luke shrugged.
"Fine, then it's settled. See you guys in the morning." It took Angie two seconds to reach the door and to look back, as if she was urging Luke to hurry up.
Angie knew how to get what she wanted in life. She had made them feel guilty for leaving her on her own, out on the streets, at night, so Luke had offered to join her. That had only taken her a few words and a tiny smile. She wouldn't call herself a 'master manipulator', but she sure knew the art of being one, way too well.
"You are screwed, my man!" Matt whispered to his best friend before he saw him leave.
"Where's the pizza place?" Luke asked after a ten minute walk down a street he did not remember from earlier.
"Why? Are you really hungry?" Angie raised an eyebrow.
"Uh. Yes. Isn't that why we are out?"
Angie chuckled. He was quite slow, for a hot guy.
"Fine. Let's go get some pizza first." She gave up and caved in, feeling hungry herself.
"First?" Luke was now suspicious. "Why? What's second?"
"Oh, dear Luke. Curiosity killed the cat."
"Don't even mention that in front of Garcia. She'd flip out and carry out a memorial for that poor kitten." He laughed.
"I love Garcia! She's so much fun and she's so incredibly smart. I mean, you all are…" She trailed off.
"Except that you were dumb enough to let me change the topic and fool you before I even replied to your question what comes after the pizza" She thought to herself, smiling innocently on the outside.
They found an open pizza place and ordered themselves something nice. Angie relaxed on her seat and yawned a few times.
"Baby is tired…" Luke joked.
"I'll make you pay for those baby references. Keep that in mind." Angie sounded offended. "And yes, I've been up since six this morning. I did some training before I met with Emily Prentiss."
"Oh yeah. What is it that Prentiss does on the mornings of the sixth of each month? We've always wondered. Tara thinks it's something kinky and that's why Emily doesn't want to tell us about it. But then again, JJ would know about it. And she does not. I know, I've bribed her with great stuff that she could not possibly say 'No' to, and yet she did. So, what is it?"
"How desperate are you to find out?" Angie smirked. She had a game to play with this one.
"What are the stakes?"
"One night. You do whatever I want and you ask no questions."
"Yeah, if Emily's half days off did not sound kinky enough, your statement sure does. I'm in!"
"Are you sure?" She said challengingly, while chewing on a piece of her pizza. "Because once you give in to your Master, there is no turning back." She added with a kinkier voice.
"There's always the code word!"
"Oh, someone is a pro at kinky games, I see…"
"No, I didn't mean…" Luke felt like an idiot. Angela was teasing and he only replied back with the same tone as hers, but somehow she turned him out to be the weird one.
"Fine then, choose a code word, for when you chicken out and want to stop."
"Bagels!"
"Bagels? This is so lame. Like, do men think about food all the time?"
"Uh. Yes." He admitted and stole himself a piece of her pizza. "That and one other thing…" He smirked.
"Fine."
She then grabbed a piece of his pizza, as revenge.
When they were done eating, Angie asked to borrow his phone so she could check something on the map and he gave it to her willingly. However, the map was far from what she needed. As she handed it back to him after just a minute, she grinned, knowing that she had made a very special reservation for both of them and that Luke was about to be teased mercilessly.
"What the-…" Luke groaned, not finishing his sentence.
After the pizza, Angie had dragged him to the entrance of a building where she had asked him to close his eyes and hold her hands. They walked in and he felt an actual piece of fabric being tied to his head, preventing him from seeing anything, in case he'd cheat and want to open his eyes.
Silk. It felt so nice and soft against the skin on his face. It also smelled like cheap female perfume…and cigarettes.
Angie had then walked off to another room and he could hear her whisper something to another woman, the one that had opened the door for them and had tied the blindfold on him.
A minute later, only Angie came back.
"Are you ready?" She asked, her hand barely touching his shoulder.
"Uh…look, you're great and all, but-…" It had been all fun and games when she teased him earlier, but this was turning into something Luke was not sure he was up for.
"Shh." Angie put her finger on his lips, preventing him from saying another word - ultimately, not allowing him to make a complete fool out of himself.
"Come on. Just a few more steps. That's it. Good boy." She bit her lips so hard. It was nearly impossible for her to contain her laughter.
He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. Not just that night, but after having met Angela, in general.
"Don't be afraid…" She whispered when she felt him resist when she tugged on his hands, urging him to walk further into the new room.
"Don't you trust your Master?" She asked and there was something so soft about her voice. So mysterious. So suggestive. So damn irritating.
"Prentiss is going to kill me!" Luke gulped, considering his best option: mentioning bagel.
Angie almost felt tears in her eyes, from the suppressed laughter. Her stomach was hurting from clutching and trying not to ruin the game.
"Dude, what the-…" Luke tried to swear one more time, but Angie's hand shut his mouth forcefully.
Chains.
Cold.
Metal.
That was what he felt.
A few seconds later, his both hands were chained to the wall. The chains were long, so he could still take a step left and right, but he was chained, nonetheless.
"What's wrong? Big bad FBI Agent doesn't like the adrenaline?" Angie kept on teasing.
"You can now start." The other female voice sounded, as if on a loudspeaker.
"Start…what?" Luke was almost afraid to ask.
Angie stood impossibly close to him and she removed his blindfold, so damn slowly.
"I am going to murder you!" Luke said through gritted teeth, the second he realized what was actually going on.
"Come on, partner! We only have sixty minutes." She hurried around the room, being the one free of chains and cuffs.
Luke rolled his eyes, unsure if he was actually upset that she had led him on like that. But the idea of an escape room sounded almost as fun. Almost.
"I have a directional lock here." Angie pointed to a corner of the room.
"I can see a set of keys up on the ceiling." He added.
"Great! I used to be a cheerleader. I'll show you how to grip my feet and you'll push me up so I can get those!"
"I don't think that's how we're supposed to play, though." He laughed out loud.
That girl was nothing short of fun, spontaneous and weird.
"Oh, there's a magnet…my handcuffs are magnetic. The hole for a key is probably just misleading." Luke said after a thorough inspection of the chains and cuffs.
"Wait, that's code." Angie read something on the wall.
"Where is Reid when we need him?"
"The key is in the light." Angie said.
"Huh?"
"That's what the code translates into."
"What? Those scribbles on the wall?
Angie nodded.
"How on Earth were you able to decipher it so fast!?"
"I'm Baby Genius, remember?" Angie smirked and walked over to the only source of light in that room.
"Plus, I take interest in cyphers. Some people do crosswords or Sudoku, I prefer deciphering. It's fun!"
"Nerd!"
"Thank you!" She smiled, unscrewing a light bulb carefully. Inside the lamp there was nothing but scratches.
"Great, there is no key." Luke sighed.
"Wait. Look at those scratches. Think of them as blood spatter. They each have a specific direction. And there's also an arrow, pointing from right to left, so this should be read backwards. Now…try this on the directional lock…"
Luke reached the lock and waited for her instructions.
"Left, down, right, left, up, down, right, up."
"Done!" He said triumphantly.
The lock was holding a small wooden box together, inside of which Luke found a whole bunch of chessboard pieces.
"Yup, this is definitely a game for Reid."
"Do you give up this easily on the field, too?" Angie kneeled by his side and inspected the pieces.
"Horseshoe…" Angie chanted to herself, as if she was remembering something.
"There was an imprint of a horseshoe on the wall, over there. Quick! Give me the horse figure!" She commanded.
"Jesus, you're feisty!" He laughed, loving the way she barked out orders.
"Oh, you have no idea. Sassy, too!" No matter how innocent she tried to sound, she somehow sounded alluring. Authoritarian. And that, to Luke, was sexy.
Angie put the horse chess figure against Luke's handcuffs and they flew open at the touch of the magnet that was hidden on the bottom of the piece.
"Fly free, my bird." She sung, sounding like a magician now, which made him laugh again.
They scanned the room and found a few more items. At some point, a secret pathway unlocked. They had to open a wardrobe and push aside its back wall, which led them to a pitch-black hallway that led them into a second room. A few more enigmas later, they were in a third room.
"Girl, you're killin' the game!" Luke pointed out after Angie kept on crushing every next step of the game.
Before they knew it, the final door opened and they were free.
"Congratulations, guys! You just beat our current record by a whole minute!" Said the girl, who Luke now realized was the game master – the one who had followed their game.
"Cool." Angie smiled.
"He had no idea what he was in for, did he?" The girl laughed. She had seen Luke's face when she put the blindfold on him, and he had looked terrified.
"Nope." Angie replied to her before she turned to Luke again. "I told you you'd pay for calling me Baby."
"I hate you…" He rolled his eyes, only pretending to be annoyed.
Truth was, it was refreshing to him to do something spontaneous, fun and challenging.
"You two were the perfect partners. How long have you been together? Have you been to a lot of escape rooms before?" The girl asked while Luke swiped his card, paying for the adventure.
"We just met, actually." Angie pointed out. "Like, this afternoon."
"No way!" The girl could not believe that. They had acted like they had known each other for years. "You two cracked me up with those FBI jokes."
"It's not a joke. We are FBI." Angie said contently. It felt so good to say it out loud.
"Well, I am an Agent. She's a Trainee at the Academy." Luke smirked, knowing he'd piss Angela off with that specification.
"You're just jealous that I'm younger and hotter than you!" Angela motioned with her hand, giving him a view of the best, most obnoxious hair flip she could master.
"Plus, you're going to pay for this, too!" She then added.
"Baby, if the punishment is anything like this one, then bring it on…" He leaned in, whispering in her ear.
"Stop calling me Baby!" Angie tried to slap his shoulder, like she always did with Bryan.
"Ouch!" She retrieved her hand instantly.
He was as hard as a rock. She was now praying that her hand won't get swollen after the hit had backfired.
Note to self – never slap Luke Alvez again.
"Well, hello Lauren!" Victor said with approval, sneaking up behind Richard and finding his eyes fixated on his phone screen, with the photo of him and Lauren on it.
Victor was over for dinner, at Richard's house, but he had walked out to take an urgent phone call and as he joined his best friend on the terrace twenty minutes later, he found him sighing at the sight of the woman who had managed to steal his heart.
"Hello. What can I do for you today?" A female voice startled Victor, as it came from inside Richard's bedroom.
"Dude, don't tell me you…" Victor was at the loss of words.
He had tried to joke with Richard, but then was it Lauren who was replying, from his bedroom? It couldn't possibly be…Could it?
"Is she…" Victor stuttered.
"Duuude, you didn't…Oh my God, did you!?" He kept on half-asking, but both knew what the question really was.
"You don't want to know. Trust me…" Richard rolled his eyes, placing the phone on the table between the two terrace lounge chairs before he walked into his bedroom.
Victor followed him with curious eyes.
"Lauren, please switch off and don't talk to me until tomorrow morning." Richard commanded.
Victor eyed him up and down. Had he lost his mind? Who was he talking to?
"Okay. Goodnight, Richard. I will wake you up with our song tomorrow morning." The female voice replied instantly and Victor's eyes snapped in direction of a small blinking light, coming from a plastic box with loudspeakers on it.
"My Goodness, you are way more smitten than I thought." Victor kept shaking his head.
He knew exactly what Richard thought of this 'Lauren' woman. He also knew why. However, he could simply not quantify just how much this entire thing - this nonexistent relationship, meant to his best friend.
"You have no idea…" Richard murmured, unhappy and a little mad at himself for forgetting to switch the AI off.
It had been a week since he had bought it and the first time he had used it had been a disaster, a total failure. The second time had been weird. But from the third time onwards he had learned how to make the most out of it and how to appreciate his newly found – and quite disturbing, friendship with an artificial intelligence.
"Okay, I can't stand this anymore!" Victor came out with it suddenly before he elaborated.
"You need to do something about it. And since I know you will say 'No' to that very plausible suggestion of mine, then let me rephrase it – You need to let me do something about it! It's been more than a month and you're over here, still weeping. I don't want you to turn into an old, sad, mellow man. My best friend kicks ass and he has all the women he might ever want, lining up for him and awaiting his attention. He doesn't need this…a machine…to be by his side. Wake up – if she isn't contacting you, go find her yourself. It's that simple!"
"Are you a complete idiot?" Richard sighed. "Should I enlist all the reasons why I can't do any of what you want me to do? Plus, I don't want any of these other women. I want her! And I'm willing to wait until she calls."
"And what if she never calls?" Victor challenged him, eyeing him disapprovingly.
"She will." Richard smirked.
Deep down inside of him there was no doubt Lauren and him would be a thing. He knew it would take time – for her to accept what he had done; and then it would take even more time - for her to understand his reasons for having to do it all, for having to lie, for everything. There was a lot she did not know and it wasn't just a harmless little lie. It was game changing. It was life altering. It was huge. It scared Richard, but at the same time he had faith that if there was one woman on the entire Earth, who could understand it all, it would surely be Lauren and no one else. He knew her, despite the little that she had shared about herself. He never needed her to open up and talk, in order for him to get to know her. He just did. And that was the main reason why he felt so connected to her. He not only knew her, but he was her - a male version of who Lauren had been. If he could understand her struggles, then it should be reciprocal – she should understand his own.
"I know she will…" Richard repeated once again, purely because he liked the sound of his own voice, saying these words out loud.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello everyone :)
Just a little info: I'm back working 15 hour shifts five days a week, on top of having to move house.
I will post SURELY ONCE a week! I will try to maybe post twice when I can, but right now as we've picked up after lockdown it is hard and I come home super tired and don't have it in me to produce/edit something good and readable/fun. From September things shall (probably!) calm down and I shall return to having time to relax, to sleep and to write more and update more often :)
BTW, I've written ahead, so I know you are about to be showered with some Angie/Emily and Angie/BAU-fam bonding scenes and I hope you all enjoy those. To the ones of you who have theories - keep looking for subtle clues, because I'll keep on dropping them!
Stay safe and be kind to one another. Thank you for being such wonderful readers, it is because of you (ALL the readers!) that I will do my best to post at least once per week for July/August, despite my hectic schedule. Thank you for the continuous support :)
REVIEW REPLIES:
"Ducksdragonfly" Yeah, I really like the friendships within the BAU, especially between the women - no cattiness, jealousy and petty crap going on! As a girl in the working world, I myself admire that bond! Em&Chay will be discussing some more ehm, private aspects of the Emchard relationship soon, LOL! Just because Em has no filter on her mouth hahaha! And yup, I play with the characters' inner feelings and thoughts a lot. I especially love dream sequences and OMG - flashbacks and at some point (later on) these will play a MAJOR role in the story! There will be lots of Lauren and her previous life undercover. Maybe you will see an UnSub we love to hate...*wink* PS: Richard is going to affect the team in a major way, one you can't even imagine right now. But, does it necessarily have to be a BAD way? Hmm, we shall see. For now, he's just a lovesick puppy and I want to give him a hug...or two :P!
"rmpcmfan" Yes, JJ's story is finally out. And lol, I don't like Will either, so I sacrificed him, in order to have someone have some serious drama going on :P Poor JJ, though, I could only imagine what a shock it must be to hear such things. However, she does have tough skin and amazing friend support! As for JJ/Emily, they have their ways of talking without speaking (I hope that makes sense). JJ is most definitely going to be of BIG influence for Remily...Emchard...(We still need a ship name, HELP!). You won't believe the lengths both Emily and JJ will go, lol! Hopefully it makes you laugh, when you read what I have planned. And that will be soon, finally, the time is nearing for things to get resolved lol! As for JJ and Angie...ay ay ay...you just wait for it, lol!
"sweetkid45" LOL, I feel like nobody likes Will, from what I read online. Poor JJ, people have it out for her husband! I agree that Henry and Michael deserve both parents at home. You'll learn how the situation evolves/gets resolved.
