5 Against the House [FanFic]
Title: 5 Against the House
Author: Tooks
Pairing: Team, Reid as narrator
Rating: FRT
Summary: As Hotch and the others test their patience and trust on a mobster Reid works to farther lessen the potential locations where Ms Todd may be being held.
Notes: First thanks to those who nominated me for the cmfanficawards, haha! Now...this is the fourteenth piece in The Todd Case of my Noir AU "Living For the Night" (thanks let_it_linger21 for the name). Again, first person (this time from Reids's POV), dark, gritty, real noir title, and some cursing.
Unsure what to do now that Hotch, Emily, and Rossi have shut themselves off from the rest of us I head towards the table. “So…uh…what, huh…what are you playing?”
“Tiddlywinks,” the guy Hotch yelled at earlier answers with a melodramatic roll of the eyes.
The others in the room chuckle save Morgan who just looks down like he’s embarrassed for me. I just smile though, toss out a nervous near-giggle, “No, I uh…I know it’s poker but, you know, um…what, uh…what variation?”
“Classic Texas Hold ‘Em, Kid,” another one of the men answers before smirking a little. “Ya wanna play?”
“Oh, well, I uh…I don’t have the money to buy in, I’m sure.”
This new, seemingly more friendly, player goes to push Rossi’s former seat out some with his foot, “Just play in Rossi’s place, I’m sure he won’t mind.”
I know the smile that everyone at the table’s giving me. It's downright predatory. They think I’m an easy mark and, when I lose all of Rossi’s money, it’ll be hilarious to watch Rossi go ballistic and exact his revenge.
“Oh, um,” I smile a little, “well if…if you’re sure he won’t mind.”
“Reid, man,” Morgan calls out, his eyes just this side of panicked as he shakes his head fast and tight. He's warning me.
I play dumb. “They say it’s alright, Morgan, don’t worry.” I sit and tuck my feet under the chair so as to not kick anyone else. I'm left with the hand Rossi currently had when we busted in as the group picked up exactly where they’d left off, but I'm not worried.
***
By the time Hotch and Emily exit with Rossi I’ve won three rounds, played two of the men out of the game completely, and am well on my way to cleaning out the rest.
Rossi’s chuckle hits my ears first, then his voice. “You all getting cleaned out by the kid?”
I smile a little to myself as I set down a royal flush and take the large pot from the table. “Did you know that the odds of this hand is approximately 1 in 649,739?”
“Reid.” Hotch’s voice is swamped in his own seriousness.
I look up as he heads towards Morgan who’s serious face is back.
“It’s time to go.”
I shrug and begin to stand, stuffing bills and other odds and ends from my defeated competitors into my pockets. I take the loudmouth’s very nice fedora too. “Thanks again for inviting me to play, everyone, it was, uh…really nice.”
“You know, technically, that’s my winnings.” Rossi points out still more amused than anything.
“Consider it my team’s fee,” Hotch counters.
Rossi laughs with a smirk. “So, what, now I pay you?”
“Hey, at least we don’t suddenly raise our prices and kidnap your loved ones to ensure you keep paying.” Morgan pointed out.
“Fair enough.”
“We’ll keep in touch,” Hotch assures the mobster before we file out.
***
“Rossi gave Emily and I four key places where someone with knowledge about his business might hide Jordon in order to either blackmail or frame him.” Hotch announces once we’re back out by the cars.
I give a slight frown, “That’s still too many.”
“And it’s assuming whiz kid and the dame here are even right in Jordan being held in that area,” Morgan adds in a slightly less pleasant, more hostile, disposition as me.
Before Emily or I have time enough to be offended Hotch speaks on our behalf. “It’s more likely than not, even Rossi confirmed that it’s what he’d do in the kidnapper’s place.” The man’s eyes then go to me, “But you’re right, it’s a number of locations and all spaced apart as far as they are...it's too much for us to cover properly.”
“So what do we do?” Emily asks unfazed, confident that Hotch won’t confess a problem without a solution.
“Go back to the office and wait.”
“Wait?” Morgan is not even remotely approving of this idea.
“Rossi’s making inquiries, inquires we otherwise wouldn’t have access to, and when he’s got something that might help narrow the search he said he'd call us at the office.”
Morgan tries to privatize the conversation by blocking Hotch off from Emily and I. It doesn’t help much; we can hear what’s being said anyway. “We’re supposed to trust Mr. Slick to come through on this?“
Hotch barely reacts, “We don’t have another option. The moment we start looking in one of the locations it could alert whoever took Jordan that we’re closing in and they could move her. They could kill her.”
“And if you’re wrong? If Rossi screws us?”
“He won’t.”
It’s the end of the discussion. Hotch gets in his car, I follow, and Morgan follows Emily into hers, jaw clenched and eyes darkened.
***
The moment we arrive at the office Garcia is up out of her chair and pulling me into a brightly colored bear hug. “Oh, god, I was so worried about you!” she declares to the group. “You poor thing, are you okay? Does it hurt still? Do you need anything?”
“Uh…” the questions pour out altogether and I’m not sure which to answer first. “I’m, uh…”
“He’s fine, Garcia.” Hotch answers for me with a faint smile. “He’s tougher than he looks.”
Garcia smiles over at Hotch before turning back to me. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay, Dr Reid. I don’t know what we’d do without our resident genius.”
I just shrug off the compliment with a pleasant thank you.
“Garcia,” Hotch’s voice pulls her focus, “We’re expecting a call from David Rossi so please keep the lines clear.”
“David Rossi?”
“Yes.”
“As in David Rossi The Mobster?”
“Yes.” Hotch gives simple answers in plain tones. He then turns to me, “I’m not sure how many, if any, locations he’ll be able to eliminate for us so I’d like you to examine the four more closely and see if you can’t cross a few off yourself, okay?”
I nod. “Not a problem.”
Hotch returns the nod before his eyes go to Emily. “Ms Prentiss, I’d like to speak with you in private, if that’s alright.”
The woman’s lips grow seductive, “That’s fine by me, Mr Hotchner.”
Hotch's own face remains business formal as he opens the door to his the inner office for her to enter before following and and closing the door behind them.
I go to the floor, spread out my colored map, and start to examine it more carefully. I focus in on the tracks, the surrounding areas, and try my best to think like a kidnapper.
***
As time passes Morgan paces, releasing small grumbles and curses as he goes, seeming unable to settle.
Garcia tries to lift his spirits in her smile and optimism...when that doesn’t work she turns to another method. “Derek, sweetie, I love you but if you don’t stop pacing I’m going to slip ludes in your coffee.”
I smile a little from my spot on the floor where I’ve eliminated another prospect. One down, three to go.
“I can’t help it baby girl,” Morgan frowns more, though does finally sit on the couch. “I don’t like waiting to start and waiting for some opportunistic mobster who’s at least partially at fault for this girl going missing in the first place is almost infuriating.”
“Well, uh, it shouldn’t be too much longer though, right?” I speak up. “I mean, he’ll make a few calls and then get back to us.”
“If he gets back to us.”
“Hotch said he would.”
Morgan just snorts.
“You don’t trust Hotch?” I ask curiously.
“Of course I do,” Morgan snaps, insulted. “It’s the mobster and his ex I don’t trust.”
“Yeah but…uh…even if you don’t trust them you should trust that Hotch trusts them, you know? That, if Hotch trusts them they might…well…be worth trusting.”
Morgan sighs as he looks over at me. “You got a lot to learn, kid.”
I smile through my annoyance, “I’m not the one who contradicts himself by claiming to trust a person then refuses to trust that person's judgment of others.”
“You don’t have to trust someone entirely all the time.” Morgan counters dully. He’s thinking about someone else, I’m sure of it. He runs his head over his close shaven head and gives another sigh before seeming to melt into the couch finally resigned to waiting.
“No, you don’t,” I concede, return to my map, "but it’s better if you do.”
Silence spreads out over the room. Morgan tries to catnap, maybe succeeds, before Garcia psst’s me until I look up.
“Whaddya think Hotch and Pretty Ms Prentiss are doing in there?” Her smile is sweet even in its deviousness.
“Talking.”
I’m sure she wanted something better, something more suggestive, but none of those options seem all that realistic to me. Not from Hotch anyway.
The phone rings out and Morgan nearly trips over himself as he jumps up. He doesn’t have the chance to even motion to Garcia about the phone either, she’s already on it.
“Private Investigator Hotchner’s, Garcia speaking, tell me something good.” It’s actually more professional than usual. “Well that is good, I’ll patch you through on his line.”
The colorful secretary hits a few buttons on the phone and then hangs up. I hear the phone ring in the inner office. I hear Hotch answer. I hear some muffled talk and the door opens as Emily slips out.
“Figured I’d give him some privacy.” The woman explains to us, closing the door behind her before heading to sit on the couch where Morgan’s resettled. “So, Dr Genius, been able to shrink the search area any more?”
“Actually I have.” I smile up at her, “One of the places is pretty close to a factory that’s still in use. For short term dealings it’s fine, even a quick, uh, murder, but in the actual holding of a captive it’s probably the least convenient of the four and whoever’s holding Jordan seems like they’d be experienced enough to know that.”
Emily nods with a smile, “Makes sense.”
The door swings open once again and Hotch steps out. “Rossi said he heard about increased patrol by the police on the south end of the tracks.”
“Off the record ones,” Morgan chimes in. He’s the cop so he would know.
Hotch still nods to add his own confirmation. “So we’ll focus there,” our boss then turns his focus to me and my map, “Were you able to eliminate any other locations?”
“Just one but, uh, it is at the southern part of the city so…” I smile a little.
“We have just one location to focus on now.” Hotch finishes my presumption as he goes to grab his coat. “Let’s go.”
We file in behind Hotch leaving Garcia behind to man the phone and wish us well.
"The life of man is made up of action and endurance; and life is fruitful in the ratio in which it is laid out in noble action or in patient perseverance." ~ Henry Liddon
Next Section:
Railroaded!
Previous Sections:
Nightgale's Welcome Me
On Dangerous Ground
Safe Passage
The Big Scare
The Third Man
The Stallion: Part 1
The Stallion: Part 2
Trouble is My Business
Detour
Night Moves
I Love Trouble
Drive a Crooked Road
The Turning Point
Author: Tooks
Pairing: Team, Reid as narrator
Rating: FRT
Summary: As Hotch and the others test their patience and trust on a mobster Reid works to farther lessen the potential locations where Ms Todd may be being held.
Notes: First thanks to those who nominated me for the cmfanficawards, haha! Now...this is the fourteenth piece in The Todd Case of my Noir AU "Living For the Night" (thanks let_it_linger21 for the name). Again, first person (this time from Reids's POV), dark, gritty, real noir title, and some cursing.
Unsure what to do now that Hotch, Emily, and Rossi have shut themselves off from the rest of us I head towards the table. “So…uh…what, huh…what are you playing?”
“Tiddlywinks,” the guy Hotch yelled at earlier answers with a melodramatic roll of the eyes.
The others in the room chuckle save Morgan who just looks down like he’s embarrassed for me. I just smile though, toss out a nervous near-giggle, “No, I uh…I know it’s poker but, you know, um…what, uh…what variation?”
“Classic Texas Hold ‘Em, Kid,” another one of the men answers before smirking a little. “Ya wanna play?”
“Oh, well, I uh…I don’t have the money to buy in, I’m sure.”
This new, seemingly more friendly, player goes to push Rossi’s former seat out some with his foot, “Just play in Rossi’s place, I’m sure he won’t mind.”
I know the smile that everyone at the table’s giving me. It's downright predatory. They think I’m an easy mark and, when I lose all of Rossi’s money, it’ll be hilarious to watch Rossi go ballistic and exact his revenge.
“Oh, um,” I smile a little, “well if…if you’re sure he won’t mind.”
“Reid, man,” Morgan calls out, his eyes just this side of panicked as he shakes his head fast and tight. He's warning me.
I play dumb. “They say it’s alright, Morgan, don’t worry.” I sit and tuck my feet under the chair so as to not kick anyone else. I'm left with the hand Rossi currently had when we busted in as the group picked up exactly where they’d left off, but I'm not worried.
***
By the time Hotch and Emily exit with Rossi I’ve won three rounds, played two of the men out of the game completely, and am well on my way to cleaning out the rest.
Rossi’s chuckle hits my ears first, then his voice. “You all getting cleaned out by the kid?”
I smile a little to myself as I set down a royal flush and take the large pot from the table. “Did you know that the odds of this hand is approximately 1 in 649,739?”
“Reid.” Hotch’s voice is swamped in his own seriousness.
I look up as he heads towards Morgan who’s serious face is back.
“It’s time to go.”
I shrug and begin to stand, stuffing bills and other odds and ends from my defeated competitors into my pockets. I take the loudmouth’s very nice fedora too. “Thanks again for inviting me to play, everyone, it was, uh…really nice.”
“You know, technically, that’s my winnings.” Rossi points out still more amused than anything.
“Consider it my team’s fee,” Hotch counters.
Rossi laughs with a smirk. “So, what, now I pay you?”
“Hey, at least we don’t suddenly raise our prices and kidnap your loved ones to ensure you keep paying.” Morgan pointed out.
“Fair enough.”
“We’ll keep in touch,” Hotch assures the mobster before we file out.
***
“Rossi gave Emily and I four key places where someone with knowledge about his business might hide Jordon in order to either blackmail or frame him.” Hotch announces once we’re back out by the cars.
I give a slight frown, “That’s still too many.”
“And it’s assuming whiz kid and the dame here are even right in Jordan being held in that area,” Morgan adds in a slightly less pleasant, more hostile, disposition as me.
Before Emily or I have time enough to be offended Hotch speaks on our behalf. “It’s more likely than not, even Rossi confirmed that it’s what he’d do in the kidnapper’s place.” The man’s eyes then go to me, “But you’re right, it’s a number of locations and all spaced apart as far as they are...it's too much for us to cover properly.”
“So what do we do?” Emily asks unfazed, confident that Hotch won’t confess a problem without a solution.
“Go back to the office and wait.”
“Wait?” Morgan is not even remotely approving of this idea.
“Rossi’s making inquiries, inquires we otherwise wouldn’t have access to, and when he’s got something that might help narrow the search he said he'd call us at the office.”
Morgan tries to privatize the conversation by blocking Hotch off from Emily and I. It doesn’t help much; we can hear what’s being said anyway. “We’re supposed to trust Mr. Slick to come through on this?“
Hotch barely reacts, “We don’t have another option. The moment we start looking in one of the locations it could alert whoever took Jordan that we’re closing in and they could move her. They could kill her.”
“And if you’re wrong? If Rossi screws us?”
“He won’t.”
It’s the end of the discussion. Hotch gets in his car, I follow, and Morgan follows Emily into hers, jaw clenched and eyes darkened.
***
The moment we arrive at the office Garcia is up out of her chair and pulling me into a brightly colored bear hug. “Oh, god, I was so worried about you!” she declares to the group. “You poor thing, are you okay? Does it hurt still? Do you need anything?”
“Uh…” the questions pour out altogether and I’m not sure which to answer first. “I’m, uh…”
“He’s fine, Garcia.” Hotch answers for me with a faint smile. “He’s tougher than he looks.”
Garcia smiles over at Hotch before turning back to me. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay, Dr Reid. I don’t know what we’d do without our resident genius.”
I just shrug off the compliment with a pleasant thank you.
“Garcia,” Hotch’s voice pulls her focus, “We’re expecting a call from David Rossi so please keep the lines clear.”
“David Rossi?”
“Yes.”
“As in David Rossi The Mobster?”
“Yes.” Hotch gives simple answers in plain tones. He then turns to me, “I’m not sure how many, if any, locations he’ll be able to eliminate for us so I’d like you to examine the four more closely and see if you can’t cross a few off yourself, okay?”
I nod. “Not a problem.”
Hotch returns the nod before his eyes go to Emily. “Ms Prentiss, I’d like to speak with you in private, if that’s alright.”
The woman’s lips grow seductive, “That’s fine by me, Mr Hotchner.”
Hotch's own face remains business formal as he opens the door to his the inner office for her to enter before following and and closing the door behind them.
I go to the floor, spread out my colored map, and start to examine it more carefully. I focus in on the tracks, the surrounding areas, and try my best to think like a kidnapper.
***
As time passes Morgan paces, releasing small grumbles and curses as he goes, seeming unable to settle.
Garcia tries to lift his spirits in her smile and optimism...when that doesn’t work she turns to another method. “Derek, sweetie, I love you but if you don’t stop pacing I’m going to slip ludes in your coffee.”
I smile a little from my spot on the floor where I’ve eliminated another prospect. One down, three to go.
“I can’t help it baby girl,” Morgan frowns more, though does finally sit on the couch. “I don’t like waiting to start and waiting for some opportunistic mobster who’s at least partially at fault for this girl going missing in the first place is almost infuriating.”
“Well, uh, it shouldn’t be too much longer though, right?” I speak up. “I mean, he’ll make a few calls and then get back to us.”
“If he gets back to us.”
“Hotch said he would.”
Morgan just snorts.
“You don’t trust Hotch?” I ask curiously.
“Of course I do,” Morgan snaps, insulted. “It’s the mobster and his ex I don’t trust.”
“Yeah but…uh…even if you don’t trust them you should trust that Hotch trusts them, you know? That, if Hotch trusts them they might…well…be worth trusting.”
Morgan sighs as he looks over at me. “You got a lot to learn, kid.”
I smile through my annoyance, “I’m not the one who contradicts himself by claiming to trust a person then refuses to trust that person's judgment of others.”
“You don’t have to trust someone entirely all the time.” Morgan counters dully. He’s thinking about someone else, I’m sure of it. He runs his head over his close shaven head and gives another sigh before seeming to melt into the couch finally resigned to waiting.
“No, you don’t,” I concede, return to my map, "but it’s better if you do.”
Silence spreads out over the room. Morgan tries to catnap, maybe succeeds, before Garcia psst’s me until I look up.
“Whaddya think Hotch and Pretty Ms Prentiss are doing in there?” Her smile is sweet even in its deviousness.
“Talking.”
I’m sure she wanted something better, something more suggestive, but none of those options seem all that realistic to me. Not from Hotch anyway.
The phone rings out and Morgan nearly trips over himself as he jumps up. He doesn’t have the chance to even motion to Garcia about the phone either, she’s already on it.
“Private Investigator Hotchner’s, Garcia speaking, tell me something good.” It’s actually more professional than usual. “Well that is good, I’ll patch you through on his line.”
The colorful secretary hits a few buttons on the phone and then hangs up. I hear the phone ring in the inner office. I hear Hotch answer. I hear some muffled talk and the door opens as Emily slips out.
“Figured I’d give him some privacy.” The woman explains to us, closing the door behind her before heading to sit on the couch where Morgan’s resettled. “So, Dr Genius, been able to shrink the search area any more?”
“Actually I have.” I smile up at her, “One of the places is pretty close to a factory that’s still in use. For short term dealings it’s fine, even a quick, uh, murder, but in the actual holding of a captive it’s probably the least convenient of the four and whoever’s holding Jordan seems like they’d be experienced enough to know that.”
Emily nods with a smile, “Makes sense.”
The door swings open once again and Hotch steps out. “Rossi said he heard about increased patrol by the police on the south end of the tracks.”
“Off the record ones,” Morgan chimes in. He’s the cop so he would know.
Hotch still nods to add his own confirmation. “So we’ll focus there,” our boss then turns his focus to me and my map, “Were you able to eliminate any other locations?”
“Just one but, uh, it is at the southern part of the city so…” I smile a little.
“We have just one location to focus on now.” Hotch finishes my presumption as he goes to grab his coat. “Let’s go.”
We file in behind Hotch leaving Garcia behind to man the phone and wish us well.
"The life of man is made up of action and endurance; and life is fruitful in the ratio in which it is laid out in noble action or in patient perseverance." ~ Henry Liddon
Next Section:
Railroaded!
Previous Sections:
Nightgale's Welcome Me
On Dangerous Ground
Safe Passage
The Big Scare
The Third Man
The Stallion: Part 1
The Stallion: Part 2
Trouble is My Business
Detour
Night Moves
I Love Trouble
Drive a Crooked Road
The Turning Point