Somebody's Watching, Somebody's Waiting - Part 2
Title: Somebody’s Watching, Somebody’s Waiting
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Jennifer Jareau/Maggie Lowe
Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is property of CBS and I don’t own anything.
Rating: PG
Summary/Spoilers: This is a retelling of the episode ‘Somebody’s Watching’. The BAU team is on the hunt for a killer stalking an actress. Meanwhile Jennifer Jareau begins dating the actress’s best friend, unaware she’s the stalker they’re searching for. Yeah that’s right I just revealed the ending of the episode, but it’s not possible to write this story without revealing it anyway. Numerous story revelations are revealed.
A/N: This episode not only had two women I really like (A.J. Cook and Katheryn Winnick) together, but the first portrayal of gay characters on Criminal Minds, with Katheryn being one of them. It had so many things going for it, but instead it was disappointing. A.J. and Katheryn’s screen time was minimal, they never appeared onscreen together, and the gay portrayals were terrible. Ironically Maggie Lowe is probably still the best portrayed gay character on the series. So I decided to write this episode the way it should’ve gone. Oh and that “lesbian” crushing on Gideon earlier in the episode because he reminded her of her dad? That scene alone warrants her getting erased from the story.
A/N 2: Special thanks to femme_slash_fan, talos13 and gbraeme71 for answering my request for a beta.
Part 2
Sunday night and Maggie sits in her desk with pen in hand and paper in front of her. She’s been sitting there for almost half an hour, rubbing her head and fidgeting with the pen. Maggie looks at herself in the desk mirror. Her inner thoughts get the better of her and she gets ready to write. The blonde reminds herself to make it sound crazy enough so that it seems a stranger is writing it. Maggie is finished and looks it over. She rests her head on her hand and a sinister smile begins to form in one corner of her mouth. Deep breaths emerge then a sadness develops in her eyes.
*****
Monday morning and Jennifer sits in the backseat of the SUV. She kept quiet and stared outside the window the entire ride. Although tired, there’s a small smile on her face. Growing up in a small town, Jennifer has always been curious about the bigger things that you only heard and saw on the television set. This was probably the reason why she quit soccer and decided to work in the media instead. She has always wanted one day to pay a visit to the city of dreams as it was called, but never found the time. Now she’s here and going to be hanging around a film studio. This wasn’t how she pictured doing so, but the press liaison wasn’t complaining.
They arrive at the entrance of their destination as the parking attendant checks them before letting them in. They get out of vehicle once a parking was found. One of the security guards approaches then guides the team through the lot. They step inside one the sound studios. A little excitement is flowing through Jennifer. She constantly looks to the sides to see if any of the other productions were anything she’s watched.
They eventually come to a stop at an artificial beach set. “Here’s the set of ‘Malibu Shores’ folks,” the guard tells them. “Now I’m going back outside to see if the rest of your team has arrived.”
Jennifer looks around the set and spots Lila still in her regular clothes at one of the crafts service tables. She approaches the actress. Lila sees her then forms a small smile, “Hi there.”
“Hello,” Jennifer returns the smile.
Lila mixes the ingredients in her coffee together with her stir straw. “So you guys are going to be staying here until I get back home?”
“Pretty much,” Jennifer nods. “Oh where are my manners? I didn’t even introduce myself yet. Jennifer Jareau,” she offers her hand.
“Nice to see you again Jennifer,” Lila shakes her hand.
There’s a brief silence between them before Jennifer speaks up again. “So how’s the coffee?”
“It’s good,” Lila gives Jennifer a subtle look. “If you want some, you can help yourself.”
“Thank you,” Jennifer smiles. “I didn’t get my morning intake yet.” The FBI agent grabs one of the cups beside the coffee dispenser and pours herself some of the dark morning brew.
*****
Michael Ryer leans on the arm rests of Lila’s chair and looks directly at his client while the makeup guy powders her up. “I love you. You’re my favourite client.”
“No,” Lila abruptly tells him.
“I hadn’t asked you anything yet.”
“I’m not stopping my life.”
“You could stay with me,” Michael suggests.
“No.”
“A hotel just until the police say you’re safe?” he adds.
Lila tilts her head to the side as the makeup guy begins powdering her neck, “Michael.”
“You know I’m worried.”
“Bye Michael.”
Michael gives up. “Okay call me. Lots,” Michael does a phone signal with his hand. “Kisses.”
The two of them do air kisses to both cheeks before Michael begins to walk off. Just as Michael begins to leave, Maggie enters. Michael stops to briefly look at Maggie just as the two of them cross paths.
“Hello. Goodbye. I’m leaving,” and just like that Michael walks off.
Lila smiles at the sight of her friend, “Hey Mags.”
Maggie gives her a slight giggle, “He’s an odd guy.”
“Yeah, but who isn’t a little odd out here?” Lila comments.
“Yeah that’s for sure,” Maggie acknowledges. She begins to search through the envelopes she has in her hands. “Look we’re ready to rehearse scene 43 and...” she finds the envelope she was searching for. “This was taped to your trailer door,” Maggie hands the envelope to Lila.
“Thanks hon,” Lila opens up the brown envelope as Maggie walks off. She pulls out the letter inside and reads it:
“LILA-
I’VE BEEN SO GOOD TO YOU. WHY WOULD YOU GO TO THE POLICE?”
Lila folds the paper then begins to crumple it up. She thinks for a bit, then steps off her chair and approaches the director. “Can we start rehearsal in a few minutes? I have something important I need to show the police.”
“No problem. How does 15 to 20 minutes sound?” the director responds.
“Sounds great.”
The director pulls out his walkie-talkie, “Okay everyone take a break. We’ll start up rehearsal in about 15 to 20 minutes.”
*****
Minutes later Lila, Gideon, Reid, Morgan and Detective Kim are inside the large modified tour bus that is Lila’s trailer to examine the letter.
Gideon has his reading glasses on and letter in hand. “I’m intrigued by this particular version of the verb to be.”
“Past participle,” Spencer adds as he stares at it with his arms crossed.
“Steady state of being,” Gideon goes on. “Proceeding adverb.”
“Always,” Spencer continues.
“In English,” Owen asks after being dumbfounded by Gideon and Reid’s conversation.
“That is English actually,” Spencer tries to explain. “We’re discussing the verb tenses...”
“Reid,” Derek interrupts him.
“Her stalker sounds like someone she knows,” Gideon tells Owen. Lila’s in a bath robe to cover her half naked body, standing almost away from the men, just thinking to herself.
“Based on the tense of the verb,” Spencer tries to explain.
“Maybe it’s time to get her off the street,” Derek suggests.
“You know there’s been no physical threat to her. She might be safe just staying put as opposed to anywhere else,” Spencer exclaims.
“I’m standing right here guys,” Lila speaks up.
“If we did remove you, we’re gonna have to take you to an undisclosed location,” Gideon informs her. “I’m sure your stalker knows where you live.”
“I’m not having the whole show closed down,” Lila responds. “I only have one more scene to shoot. Look last night I decided I wasn’t going to be afraid of this lunatic. I’m safe here.”
“We’ve since cleared everyone except essential personnel,” Owen explains. “And we have increased security at the gate.”
There’s a knock at the door. Maggie leans into the trailer, “Lila they’re ready for you.”
“I’m staying at work gentlemen,” Lila tells them before leaving her trailer.
“Well she’s one tough girl,” Derek compliments.
“Yeah,” Spencer agrees.
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of her, but his anger about her going to the police suggests he might alter his agenda,” Gideon informs Owen.
“That’s typical for a stalker,” Derek asserts.
Gideon turns to look at his agents, “You know she didn’t go alone to the police.”
“Her manager took her,” Spencer replies.
“You and Reid stay here. Keep an eye on her,” Gideon gets off his seat and heads for the door.
“Where are you going?” Derek asks.
“Talk to her manager,” Gideon answers before leaving the trailer.
“You mind if I ask you guys something?” Owen requests to the two of them.
“What’s that?” Derek responds.
“What does your profile say this guy’s delusions are going lead to at the end?” asks Owen.
“This model frequently concludes itself in one of two possibilities,” Spencer responds. “Either the stalker will kill himself, or he’ll kill the object of his affection.”
Owen looks away from them, “Okay I’m heading back.”
*****
“This was taped to your trailer door,” Maggie hands the envelope to Lila.
“Thanks hon,” Lila opens up the brown envelope as Maggie walks off. The production assistant keeps a steady pace as she moves around the backdrops of the set.
Maggie hears the director announce in her headset, “Okay everyone take a break. We’ll start up rehearsal in about 15 to 20 minutes.”
The blonde begins to speed up. She turns into the hallway and takes the nearest exit outside. Maggie begins running. She takes a short cut through one of the buildings, eventually making it to the parking lot. Maggie dashes for her car. She closes the door behind her. She removes her head set then opens the glove compartment. Inside she takes out a pair of black leather gloves and a large brownish envelope that matches the ones she’s carrying. After which Maggie places her head set into the compartment. The blonde then reaches underneath the driver’s seat to pull out an object wrapped in a towel. She unwraps the revolver handgun, then wraps the towel around it again more neatly until it covers every part except for the handle. The production assistant stuffs the revolver into the envelope, then places it in the middle of the stack she has. Maggie pockets the gloves and heads back out.
Maggie rushes for an area that’s pretty vacant. She’s at an end of the studio lot covered with bushes and trees. The blonde moves past the plants and opens a door in the gates. Now travelling on the sidewalk, she runs to a building just across the street from the studio. Maggie peeks through the glass door of the tall building, not many people seem to be around.
She heads inside and goes directly for the elevators, presses the up button and waits. She notices one of the elevators closer to the foyer is already near the main level. It opens up and Maggie can hear the voices of the two guys inside. She turns around as they step out, pretending that she’s still waiting for one of the lifts to arrive. The men are chatting away as they head outside. They’re in their own little world and don’t seem to have even noticed Maggie nearby. The blonde moves into the open elevator once the men are a good distance away.
The elevator comes to a stop on the eleventh floor. Strolling the hallway, Maggie comes to a stop in front of 1103, Michael Ryer’s office. She peeks through the glass on the door to see if anyone’s inside. When she can’t spot anyone moving or hear anything, the blonde proceeds inside. She places the envelopes on the desk and slips on her gloves. Maggie begins going through the drawers in Ryer’s desk. She knew what she was looking for would be in an envelope about the size of the ones she’s carrying. After checking the middle drawer, she moves onto the side drawers. She opens up the top drawer and quickly skims though the contents. It’s not there. The middle drawer now. After a quick examination she found an envelope with the name “Joe Martinez” on it. Maggie pulls out the envelope and opens it up. Inside are photos of Lila Archer naked. An inner rage begins to build up inside Maggie as she stares at the photos.
Michael Ryer steps out of the washroom and makes his way towards his office. He begins whistling.
It was now confirmed someone was blackmailing Lila and Maggie has his name. Maggie then snaps out of it when she hears the whistling coming towards the office.
Michael opens his door and is surprised to find Maggie standing beside his desk, “Maggie?”
Maggie turns to face Michael, “Oh hey Michael. Lila needed some notes from you, so I went to get them for her. You know since I’m the production assistant and all. You weren’t in your office, so I decided to just grab it myself.”
Michael walks to his desk, “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yes I did,” Maggie moves to the side to allow Michael to sit on his chair. “See you later Michael.”
Michael nods. He turns his chair away from the blonde and goes into the middle side drawer. He pulls out his earphone and places it on. Michael then notices the Joe Martinez envelope is out of place. He grabs the envelope and puts it back where it was.
Maggie can see what’s happening and anxiety begins to build. ‘He knows you’ve looked through the pictures. Do something before he really begins to get suspicious.’
Maggie opens up the middle envelope and pulls out the revolver. “Hey Michael,” she calls out before he could turn on his earphone.
Michael spins his chair to face Maggie and a stunned look forms at the sight of Maggie pointing a gun at him. She squeezes the trigger and a bullet enters Michael’s forehead before he has a chance to say anything. The towel suppressed the bang enough that no one else seemed to have heard it.
Maggie puts the gun away and stares at Michael’s lifeless body. She feels bad for shooting him, but it was necessary in her mind. With Michael dead Maggie decides to find out if he had ever written down Joe’s address. She puts her gloves back on and begins to go through the many notes attached on Michael’s desk and computer monitor. After finding nothing, she goes through the pages on Michael’s day planner. She stumbles upon a page with Joe’s name and mailing address. She rips it out. The blonde removes her gloves and stuffs them and Martinez’s address in her pockets as she moves into the hallway.
Maggie steps outside the building and heads back to the studio. She enters the studio lot through the rear and begins running back to the parking lot.
She’s in her car again. Maggie opens up the glove compartment and pulls out her headset. She takes out the revolver from the envelope and puts it back underneath the driver’s seat. Next she tosses the empty envelope and her gloves into the compartment and closes it up. Maggie slips on her headset and heads back out.
The blonde’s travelling back to the set when she hears an announcement in the headsets, “Does anyone know where Lila is? We’re ready to begin rehearsal.”
Maggie turns on the speaker, “She’s probably in her trailer. I’ll go get her.”
Maggie runs towards Lila’s trailer. She slows down once she’s nearby. Maggie moves up the stairwell and knocks on the door. She opens it and leans her body in, “Lila they’re ready for you.”
“I’m staying at work gentlemen,” Lila tells the men before stepping out.
The two blonds travel back. “So what did they tell you?” Maggie asks.
“They believe this stalker might be someone I know,” answers Lila.
Maggie looks at all the people around them. “That really narrows it down,” she says sarcastically.
Lila smiles, “I know what you mean. They also suggested putting me into hiding like one of those people in witness protection.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That I wasn’t going to let this lunatic control my life,” Lila answers.
Maggie puts an arm around Lila’s back and pulls her closer, “That’s my girl.”
*****
Gideon, Hotch and Elle are approaching Michael Ryer’s office. Elle knocks on door, “Hello?”
“Mr. Ryer,” Hotch calls out.
Elle knocks again then after no answer she opens the door, “Michael.” Elle moves around the desk until she’s standing in front of Michael’s dead body.
The three of them look at the guy just sitting there. “Up until now every victim was a person who can be perceived as a threat to Ms. Archer,” states Hotch as he pulls out his cell phone.
Elle crosses her arms, “Yeah but Michael was a friend.”
“He was a threat to the stalker,” exclaims Gideon.
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Part 7
Part 8