Echos of a Genius | Spencer Reid

Beyond The Eye

Stephie

Day 1

We've set up a temporary office inside Tobias Hankel's house. Hotch even flew Garcia in, a clear sign that we're throwing everything we've got at this. The sun is beating down, and all I can think about is how different life was the last time it was light out. Reid was still here.

"His computer is an extension of his brain. I need you to dissect it," Gideon instructs Garcia, his voice carrying the weight of urgency. She nods, resolute, as Morgan escorts her to the room cluttered with Hankel's unsettling array of computers.

Emily and JJ fill Hotch in on what we've uncovered since he left, which is nothing. Tobias hasn't left his house in years, meticulously documenting every detail of his life, and yet, we're still peeling back the layers of his madness.

"Stepheni," Hotch calls my name, breaking through the fog of my thoughts. I've been staring at the same piece of paper for ten minutes. When I look up, he's already motioning for me to follow him outside.

"If this case is too much for you, I understand—" Hotch starts, but I cut him off, knowing exactly where this conversation is headed.

"Hotch, stop. Just stop right there. I know you mean well, but I'm not going home. Let's be honest—I'm not okay, and everyone knows it. I'm not okay with how things have to be between Reid and me. I'm not okay with how you run things. I'm not okay with anything right now. But what I'm definitely not okay with is you trying to send me home when someone I care about is missing. So, thanks, Hotch, really—but fuck off."

I cross my arms, bracing myself for the backlash, for Hotch to put me in my place. But he doesn't. He just nods and walks back inside, leaving me standing on the porch. I sink down onto the steps, the weight of everything crashing down around me.

I'm not okay.

I walk into a room where Gideon and Emily are going through things. I watch Gideon pull back wallpaper, underneath it is words scribbled all over Latin words at that.

"Honora patrum tuum." Gideon says and Instep i to the room, Emily turns and looks at me before looking back at the wall. Gideon turns around, I fold my arms over my body.

"Honor thy father." I translate and Gideon nods, we walk out of the room and I stop in the bathroom to actually get a glance of my arm, it's all wrapped up now but that adrenaline rush I had earlier is starting to wear off.

As I stare into the mirror I let my head sink down, everything just feels so unreal. That's when I hear the growling, I slowly left my head and look in the mirror. There's a dog standing behind me, you've got to be kidding me. I grab my gun and turn around only to see Emily staring at me and holding her hands up.

"It's me, Stephie!" She shouts and I take a deep breath. Oh my god.

"Are you alright?" She asks keeping her distance, I don't blame her.

"Uh, yeah. I'm sorry Emily, you just scared me."
I put my gun back into the belt of my hoister.

before anything else can be said, we hear Derek's voice calling from outside. We all rush out to see that he has discovered a cellar, wonder where this leads. Hotch and Derek go down while Emily and I stay above ground.

"We found Hankles father, dead." Hotch says coming back up from the cold cellar, I can feel the air spilling from the open doors.

Day 2

JJ and Emily went to talk to someone who attended narcotics meetings with Tobias a few years ago. Meanwhile, the sheriff discovered that Tobias's father has been dead for six months. Morgan believes we need to focus on that time. He thinks that was the stressor and that it will lead us to where Tobias took Spencer, but I disagree. My gut tells me that focusing on that period won't help us find Spencer—it'll just waste precious time.