Reckless

Chapter 28

When the elevator door sealed shut, Alvez was finally able to take his one good eye off Toni and reach for his phone. This was no longer just a strange incident of a man walking into the bureau's headquarters and claiming to be related to her. Now that Toni's brother was missing and Peter Lewis was a suspect, this was an open investigation. If he was still on the task force, Luke's first call would have been to his unit chief. But he learned quickly that the chain of information worked differently in the BAU.

Penelope answered his call with one of her signature greetings, asking Luke how much longer he was going to keep her waiting upstairs. But given the circumstances, even that wasn't enough to put a smile on his face.

"Scratch has Toni's brother," he said. Before Luke could elaborate, Penelope cut the call off on her end. Luke breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she'd have the whole team on their way in before his elevator reached the floor where the BAU bullpen was located. The speed with which he knew Penelope would sound that alarm did light his face with a whisper of a smile. But his amusement quickly gave way to worry.

Toni was leaning back against the elevator wall. Her eyes were closed. From the slow and perfectly even rise and fall of her chest, Luke could tell she was using a meditation technique to control her breathing and keep herself from having a panic attack. Her one arm was rendered motionless by the sling she was wearing. Given how recently she'd injured her shoulder, Luke knew she must still be in a fair amount of pain. That, along with the stress, had her dark eyebrows knitted together between her eyes despite her best efforts to relax her body so she could concentrate.

When Toni pieced together what was going on, it took everything in him to keep her from charging back into that interrogation room and shaking the truth from her brother's imposter. If Luke thought it would do any good, he might have let her. But from what they knew about Peter Lewis, the man downstairs was almost certainly a victim rather than an accomplice. Once the man's real identity was determined, that theory would likely be confirmed. Luke was able to convince Toni to wait for the DNA results before she went back into the room with the only person that was likely to have knowledge about her brother's whereabouts.

"Toni," Luke said, his voice quiet and soft as he reached across the small space and placed his hand on her good shoulder. She was wearing jeans and a Rice University T-shirt. One that she must have had since she was a student there, based on how faded the lettering was. Her hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. Seeing her like that, it occurred to Luke that he'd never really seen Toni in normal clothes before. She was either dressed for work or for the gym whenever they were together. It made him wonder what she'd been doing when her brother's imposter interrupted her morning.

"We'll get Benny back," Luke promised. He sighed as Toni leaned into his touch, wrapping her good arm around his waist in a rough hug. He was careful with what he wanted to say next. Toni was already upset. From experience, he knew she'd get defensive in a hurry if she thought he was telling her how to take care of her son. "Whoever that is downstairs," Luke said, "...he knows Romeo's name. I think we should send an agent over, bring him and Lucia into the office until we get this figured out." Luke felt Toni's body go stiff in his arms. She moved back, raking a stray lock of hair away from her face as she nodded.

"You're right, this might be some sort of distraction," she agreed. "We should bring them in. But we don't need to send anyone, Spencer's already there."

Toni was too busy firing off a one handed text from her phone to notice the look of shock on Luke's face. They worked together for six months before she even told Luke her son's name. Toni was fiercely protective over the boy, and rightly so given her childhood experiences. She didn't even leave Romeo alone with her ex, and she was married to him for several years. Himself and Lucia were the only people Luke knew that Toni trusted Romeo with, besides her brothers.

"You let Reid watch Romeo… by himself?," Luke asked. He knew Spencer was technically the boy's father. But Reid didn't know that. And biological relations didn't necessarily make someone trustworthy.

"Well…," Toni replied, looking up from her phone. "I mean, that's his kid. I was trying to let them get to know each other." Her voice rose with anxiety as she spoke. "Romeo likes him, I thought it would be okay."

"It is okay!," Luke agreed. "I didn't mean it like that," he corrected. "It's a good thing, I'm just surprised." To be honest, he was also slightly jealous. Luke was pretty much over the possibility that he and Toni would ever be a thing. The feelings he had for her were completely eclipsed the moment Penelope fell into his arms. But he still liked being the only guy Toni let her son around. Luke didn't have a family of his own. Romeo was the closest thing he had to a son. "I mean… you must really like him if you're letting him around Romie, huh?"

Toni's only answer was a roll of her eyes as the elevator door dinged open. Luke's voice as he called out, asking Penelope if everyone was on their way yet, brought Roxy streaking out of the woman's office. She ran a double circle around Luke and Toni before falling in line beside him and following them across the bullpen.

Penelope gestured Toni into the seat next to her as she started peppering her with questions about her missing brother. Hotch was the first of the team members to arrive, with his son Jack trailing along behind him. By that time, they already knew which flight Benny and 'Agent Spencer Reid' took from Texas to Washington DC. Penelope lost them after that, which meant they could be anywhere in the city by now. Wherever Benny's phone was, it was turned off. Penelope was trying to power it back on remotely, but she wasn't having any luck.

Toni was scrolling through her phone, looking for the most recent photograph she had of her brother, when JJ arrived at the office with her husband and two young sons. The boys seemed to think they were just there for a fun visit, though JJ's husband obviously knew enough about what was going on to take the situation more seriously.

Toni gave JJ a nod as she continued to search for a photo on her phone, though she suspected the task was unnecessary. Penelope could pull a dozen photos of Benny off his social media with a few clicks of her computer mouse. But being given a task was helping to keep her from losing her shit. Toni felt like she was doing something to help. For the one member of the team without a degree in psychology, Penelope was surprisingly astute.

"I GOTCHA!," Penelope exclaimed. Toni jerked in her seat. She was already on edge and having someone yell almost directly into her face startled her more than it normally would.

"My brother?," Toni asked, leaning closer to give herself a better look at the image on Penelope's screen. "You found him?"

"Sorry, not yet," Penelope replied. She released her computer mouse just long enough to squeeze Toni's hand. Then she gestured towards the screen. "I didn't find him, but I did figure out who the guy is that's downstairs pretending to be him."

Toni leaned closer, looking over the state identification photo on Penelope's computer screen. Hotch and Luke moved in from the doorway, standing close behind their chairs and doing the same. The man in the photo had shorter hair, but he did appear to be the same man they had in the holding room downstairs. He also looked slightly heavier in the photo, which made Toni wonder how long Peter Lewis had been holding him captive. As she registered this information, Toni listened to Penelope explain how she identified him.

They still had the list of patients that were diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder from the Crimson King case. Penelope had been doing her best to contact each one and warn them that their identity had been leaked to an escaped convict. But with only their names and limited information to go on, she had not been able to locate everyone. Her hope was that if she couldn't find them, then neither could Peter Lewis. But Lewis just proved that theory wrong.

Daniel Reyes was reported missing by his sister shortly after their case in Texas. He was one of the people on the list that had a name so common that Penelope was unable to narrow down which Daniel they were looking for. Toni guessed that personal details about him probably came directly from Brian Phillips, the man Lewis brainwashed to believe he was the Crimson King. Either way, it didn't matter now. They were too late to stop Lewis from kidnapping or torturing Daniel Reyes. What they could do now, or at least what they hoped they could do, was find Toni's brother before Lewis killed him or damaged him beyond repair.

"Mamá!"

Toni turned, rising from her seat when she heard her son's voice ringing out through the bullpen. Romeo rushed across the space, colliding with her without regard for her injured shoulder or the less visible injuries she sustained when she kicked in the door of that grain silo. Toni winced, smiling through the pain as she crushed her son against her. The feeling of having Romeo safe in her arms temporarily relieved a sliver of her anxiety. No matter what happened, at least her son was safe. She also caught a quick glimpse of her cousin Lucia, before the girl streaked off to hide in the bathroom.

The moment he spotted Jack peering out of his father's office, Romeo darted away from Toni even quicker than he ran towards her. He thundered up the steps and around the upper railing, racing down the walkway and into Hotch's office. The slap of Jack slamming the door behind them was quickly followed by what sounded like a rather monumental crash accompanied by wild laughter. Hotch rushed the steps, taking them two at a time as he hurried to keep the destruction of his office to a minimum.

Despite how worried she was about her brother, Toni had been doing her absolute best to appear calm. The last thing she wanted was to be excluded from the search for her brother, something she knew would happen if Hotch thought she was unable to control herself. But the rush of love Toni felt when she hugged her son brought all her other emotions bubbling to the surface. She choked back a hard sob as Spencer closed the distance between them.

"He's got him, Scratch took my brother," Toni whispered. The desperate plea in her voice was muffled as she tucked her face into the crook of his neck. Toni gripped the back of his jacket, her fingers digging into the fabric as he wrapped his arms around her. Having Spencer's arms around her instantly made the situation feel less hopeless, but it was his words that really helped.

"We're going to get him back," Spencer promised. It was a promise he had really no business making, not with what they knew about Peter Lewis. But Spencer made it anyway. He whispered the words to her the first time. Then he caught her face gently between his palms, tipping her chin up so he could look her in the eye. "We're going to get him back," Spencer repeated, this time with so much confidence that Toni couldn't help but believe him. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to your brother."

Before Toni stopped to consider the ramifications of what she was about to do, she was pressing her lips against his. Spencer kissed her back, matching the pressure of her lips for a moment before he pulled back and began to smooth down the wild tendrils of her hair that had escaped her ponytail. The kiss was chaste, as far as kisses between them went. But still, it broke every rule they made about keeping their working relationship separate from the one that went on behind closed doors.

Toni turned, her eyes widening when she saw the majority of their team gathered in the doorway of Penelope's office watching their exchange. Luke didn't seem phased in the slightest, though that was likely because it wasn't his first time seeing them kiss. Penelope wasn't even trying to hide the smile on her face. On the other hand, JJ looked more like she just swallowed a bug. Her husband was nearby, balancing their younger son on his hip. Unlike Penelope, Will was biting back his smile, But it was clear that he was amused with both the situation and his wife's reaction to it.

Toni was almost relieved when her phone started buzzing in her pocket. She pulled the device out, hollering to Penelope the moment she saw her brother's name on the screen. "It's him! It's Benny!," Toni shouted. "Or at least it's someone calling me from his phone!"

"In here!," Penelope squealed. The area exploded with movement as Toni bolted for Penelope's office and everyone else scrambled to get out of her way.

Toni held her vibrating phone in her hand like it was a time bomb as she watched Penelope's fingers fly across her keyboard. She cautioned Toni to wait for one more second as she plugged a cord into the phone's charging port and then she shouted, "NOW! Answer it!"

"Benny?," Toni asked, turning her phone on speaker. Deep down she knew it wasn't her brother calling. But seeing his name on the screen gave her a moment's hope that somehow this was all a weird misunderstanding. There was nothing but silence on the other line, so Toni repeated her brother's name. "Benny? Is that you?"

A maniacal laugh drifted out through the speaker on her phone. The sound made Toni sick to her stomach. "Tell Aaron I said hello," a voice instructed. Toni didn't know what Peter Lewis's voice sounded like. But there was no longer any doubt in her mind that he was behind this. His greeting was followed by the sound of a man screaming in terror. Unfortunately, that voice was one Toni did recognize. She screamed her brother's name once, choking off her cry when Spencer put his hand on her shoulder and motioned for her to be quiet. Any subtle background noise might be enough for them to pinpoint Benny's location. Toni nodded, biting her lip as she heard her brother scream again. This time Benny called out her name.

"Toni! Luke! Luke!," he shouted. The sound of another scream came through the speaker, but this time it was muffled. Then the call went dead.

"I got him!," Penelope shrieked, her fingers still furiously pounding at her keyboard. "I got that creepy creeperson!" Toni leaped up from her seat the moment she realized Penelope's phone trace worked.

"Send the address to my phone!," Hotch barked, clearing out of the doorway the moment he'd issued his order. He stopped Toni just outside Penelope's office. "I can't let you go anywhere with that brace on," he warned.

"It's my brother he's got," Toni hissed back as she moved slightly forward into his space. To his credit, Hotch did not back up. A lesser man might have. But he held his ground, even in the face of Toni's terror fueled hellcat anger.

"I didn't say you can't go," Hotch corrected. "I said you can't go with that brace on. That would violate department policy."

Toni immediately reached for the adjustable strap that was holding her brace on. But Luke was already yanking it loose. The grating sound of ripping velcro filled the air, and then Toni was jerking the sleeve part of the device off her arm.

"There's medical tape in my desk," Toni said, already moving in that direction with Luke close behind her. As she rushed across the bullpen, Toni worked her faded college t-shirt up and off her arm. She was wearing a sheer lacy bra underneath. But given that she'd already sucked face with one of her coworkers in front of the rest, stripping half naked didn't in the middle of the unit didn't phase her the way it normally might have.

Toni retrieved the tape, which she sometimes used on her ankle if she'd been sparring too much, from her desk only to have it quickly jerked from her hand. Spencer and Luke fumbled with the roll, ripping off sections and applying them to her shoulder and upper arm as they argued loudly about how it ought to be done. Between the two of them, they were jerking her body around more than necessary in their panicked hurry. Spencer elbowed her in the tit as Luke caught a few strands of her hair with the tape and yanked the hell of her scalp. By the time Toni pulled her t-shirt back down over her freshly taped shoulder, she was releasing a foul stream of profanity directed at both of them.

"I'm sorry I called you a rude name," Toni offered, giving Spencer an apologetic smile as he much more gently helped her strap her bulletproof vest on over her shirt. Spencer's only response was the amused smile he was trying his best to hide.

"Are you sorry you called me a fucking asshole too?," Luke teased as he slid a loaded clip into his gun.

"Not at all, motherfucker," Toni hollered back, flipping her middle finger at him for good measure.

As they hurried towards the elevator, Spencer paused near JJ. She was kissing Will goodbye, her vest already securely in place. She turned, expecting that Spencer had something he needed to tell her. But it was her husband he addressed when he spoke.

"Toni's cousin Lucia is here," Spencer quickly explained. "I brought her in when I brought Romeo. She's deaf. And agoraphobic. She's hiding in the women's restroom next to the elevators."

"What?," Will asked, shifting his son to the other side of his body as he held him.

This time it was JJ's turn to laugh at the shocked look on her husband's face as she and Spencer hurried towards the elevator. "When this is over," JJ suggested, glancing sideways at Spencer as they moved across the bullpen. "...maybe we should talk?"