the great war, spencer reid [ 2 ]

038. spencer

Penelope, JJ, Luke, and Bedelia are all by JJ's desk and talking. Bedelia sips on her coffee as she spots Emily and Rossi walking over, serious expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong?" JJ asks the two.

"Reid is in jail." Emily states.

Bedelia's stomach flips at her sentence, a lump immediately forming in her throat.

"Jail?" Penelope asks.

"In Mexico." Emily adds.

Bedelia feels the air get knocked out of her, the coffee cup falling from her grasp and crashing onto the floor. The others immediately turn to her at the crash of the mug.

"B?" Penelope gently calls. "Hey. No, hey, B, breathe." She instructs as the woman's breathing shortens. "Hey. Here." Penelope helps her sit in the chair.

The others watch on in concern as the brunette starts to breakdown.

"What the hell is he doing down there?" JJ asks.

"I don't know. I didn't talk to him." Emily says. "The call came in to Cruz from their lead investigator."

"What's he being held for?" Luke asks.

"Drug possession." Rossi informs. "With intent to distribute."

"Wh-- drugs?" Bedelia looks up, still struggling for air. "No. No, he-- he wouldn't-- there weren't any drugs. Not to distri-- fuck." She rubs her hands over her face.

"Hey. Hey, B." Luke crouches in front of her. "Listen to me. Can you breathe in for four and breathe out for four?" Bedelia shakes her head. "Come on. Let's try it. Breathe in..." He takes a deep breath, Bedelia attempting to copy him. "1, 2, 3, 4." He slowly counts. "Breathe out. 1, 2, 3, 4." He slowly breathes out as Bedelia tries to copy him again.

The rest stay silent while Luke manages to help Bedelia calm down to a slightly more stable state.

"What type of drugs?" Luke asks, standing up.

"Cocaine and heroin." Rossi states.

"Oh, my God." JJ mutters.

"No." Bedelia whines, rubbing her forehead.

"This can't be happening." Penelope says.

"We need Lewis and Walker here ASAP." Emily states.

"Yeah. I can call them. I can do that." Penelope says.

+++

"This has got to be Scratch." Tara states. "He was laying low. Now we know why."

"Crossing the border as a fugitive is a huge risk." Luke says.

Bedelia paces the small area of the jet, not venturing far off from the others. She rubs her hands together, gnawing on her bottom lip, a metallic taste in her mouth from the blood.

"The reward is greater." Emily says. "He's been punishing the team. Now his target is Reid."

"Peter Lewis dropped off the map after attacking Tara's family." Stephen says. "Maybe he's been hiding in Mexico this whole time."

"We also have to consider this isn't related to him." Emily says.

"Who else would it be?" Rossi asks.

"Drug cartels." Luke says. "Could have threatened Reid and used him as a mule."

"Agreed. This could simply be a case of bad luck." Rossi says. "Reid was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Theodora and Spence's mom is safe. The home nurse he hired said all is stable. Eliza assured everything's good on her end." JJ assures.

"Oh, thank the stars." Penelope sighs in relief.