Fic: Visitors of Several Sorts, Chapter 8 (Criminal Minds, Reid / Morgan, Hotch / Chad)
Title: Visitors of Several Sorts, Chapter 8
Pair: Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan,
Aaron Hotchner / Chad Christensen
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Criminal Minds Main List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
“Spencer? You awake?”
Reid blinked furiously, trying to shake off the signs of tiredness.
“Did they call?”
“Yeah, and…..” Chad paused to take a look at Jack, who was dozing on his pile of pillows. “Is he really asleep?”
“I think so.”
“Morgan called. He said you had made some joke, about keeping an evil twin pickled in a big jar.”
“What about it?”
“You were wrong, he’s not in a jar. He’s in several jars. In little pieces.”
Chad was quiet for a minute, letting the genius digest the news.
“So…. He’s really dead?”
“They don’t know yet.”
“They have to know, it should be pretty easy to-”
“They can’t use fingerprints, due to the fluid he had preserved the fingers in.”
“What about dental records?”
“Well…. That would take a lot of time.”
“Why?”
“Because the teeth were in their own jar. He said the place looked like Frankenstein’s workshop.”
“There has to be some way….. What about the gunshot wound? If the remains have that, it has to be Mark.”
“The body was chopped to pieces, but they are pretty sure there’s some parts missing. I think they thought about that possibility too.”
“I’ll call them myself.” Reid grabbed his phone from his pocket and glanced down at Jack. “Better call from the kitchen.”
He came back few minutes later, still clutching his phone.
“I can’t get a connection, just noise. Something’s interfering with the signal.”
“We’ve never had any problems. Show me.” Chad took the phone and walked into the kitchen. The screeching sounds grew louder. “Weird, usually we-”
Chad turned to look at Reid. The expression on his face proved that the same idea had crossed his mind. Chad moved the phone across the kitchen. The noise became quieter. When he turned around the it became louder again.
“Chad?”
“When did you bring that here?” He pointed to the messenger bag, that was on the kitchen counter.
“I took it with me from home after we found the book.”
Chad pressed the cell phone against the bag and the sound increased tenfold. He snapped the phone shut and grabbed the bag. He held it upside down and shook it, till all of it’s content was on the counter. He riffled through the usual motley of papers, books notes and pens and picked up something from the bottom of the pile.
“He left it there when he broke in to leave the book.” Chad showed the tiny gadget to Reid. It was a small tracking device. “How big is radius in one these?”
“About five or six hundred yards.”
“So he has to be close.” Chad left the device on the counter and headed back to the living room and grabbed sleeping Jack up from the floor. “Study.”
Reid followed him mutely to Hotch`s study. Chad placed Jack on one of the overstuffed armchairs.
“What are you planning?”
“If he left that thing to your bag, he’s somewhere near.” He opened the tiny gunsafe and pulled out a handgun. He checked the magazine and snapped the safety off. “Lock the door and stay here, I’ll check the rest of the house and the yard.”
“No, you stay here too. Morgan and Hotch are probably coming back soon.”
“And the creep would get time to escape. Stay here with the kid and stay quiet.”
He stepped out and Reid locked the door.
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“That’s funny….” Morgan kept tapping the keys of his cell phone. “I just called Chad’s phone and the connection was good.”
“So?” Hotch lifted his eyes from the glass jar which seemed to contain ten severed toes.
“I can’t get through to Reid’s phone. All I hear is static.”
“Excuse me.” A redheaded investigator tapped him on the shoulder. “I think you wanna see this.” She shoved a pile of receipts to his hand.
“What am I looking at?”
“The guy bought several appliances from the same store few days ago. Check the last item.”
“What is it?” Hotch asked.
“A tracking device.” Morgan explained. “One of those cheap ones that parents plant on their kids schoolbags.”
“Bags? Like a messanger bag.”
“That thing was at the house when the guy broke in. And Reid took it with him when we left.”
“And it can disturb the cell phone signal.” Hotch finished. “I`ll call for back-up on the way.”
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The shadowy figure moved slowly across the hallway. He didn’t notice Chad until the lights suddenly snapped on.
“Hands up.”
The man turned around and a grin appeared on his face.
“I should have know you’d be here somewhere.”
“I live here, that’s not really hard to guess.”
“You were always there, circling around like a vulture. When Spencer had one moment of weakness you swept down and destroyed everything. He loved me and you destroyed it.”
“I think you got the wrong guy. Hands up.”
“I forgave him, I know you manipulated him.”
“Save that crap for someone who caress. Hands up right now.”
“You came between us once. This time I’m going to play it safe.” The man’s hand went behind his back and he pulled out a gun. “I didn’t want to do this, but your kind of people didn’t leave me another choice.”
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Reid pressed him ear against the door. He could hear faint voices. Then a gunshot.
Jack snapped awake in his armchair. Spencer pressed his finger on his own lips, gesturing the boy to stay quiet. On the other side of the door quiet footsteps came closer.
“Spencer, I know you’re there. You can come out now.”
Reid didn’t answer.
“I meant what I said on my note, I’ve forgiven everything. And that ape’s not gonna come between us again.”
“What did you do?” Reid tried to keep his voice steady, but it shook uncontrollably.
“I didn’t have a choice. He did it once, I can’t take that chance again.”
“Michael-”
“No, Mark.”
“Michael. I didn’t date Mark that long, but I do know you’re not him.”
“I am. And he was me. Always.”
A low groan made the man turn around.
Chad was leaning heavily against the wall. The wound on his side had left deep red streaks on the wallpaper. He tilted his head back against the wall and lifted his gun.
“Someone should have taught you how to aim.”
He pulled the trigger.
Chapter 9/10