ARDENT [A Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fan-Fic]

NINE | PANIC

(Spencer's P.O.V.)
I raced into the center of the BAU, JJ coming up beside me, asking, "what's up?"

"I found something." I said, rushing into the room. Hotch stood to come examine what I had. He grabbed the note from my hands and read it. He lowered it once done.

"They deserved it." He looked up.

"Garcia." I said, turning to her, as she was looking at her computer.

"Yes?"

"Do the any of the vics have a criminal record?" I asked, sitting in a chair. Her fingers tapped the keys at the speed of light. She looked up at me, "nada."

"Well, obviously they have somehow wronged the unsub." Jj suggested. "But how?" Jj looked to Blake, who shrugged. They both had gears turning, I could see it. The door flew open in the middle of their thought process, causing them to jump. Rossi rushed in with a sticky note in his hand, which was raised in the air. 

"I found something." He announced. Hotch charged towards him, taking the sticky note, and reading it aloud; "They took people and take them for granted."

"Okay, well obviously this guy is assured he has done something good, and the victims must have not appreciated him to his liking." Blake said, looking around.

"And where would you see that?" Jj asked. I thought...

"In a work environment and all three of the unsubs work in a healthcare facility. Garcia," I turned. "Where did the victims work?"

"Uh, let's see." Her eyes moved as she read words on her screen. "Marvin and Sarah both worked in the same hospital... and as for Susan..." She paused, her eyes opened wide. "She works three days a week in the hospital."

"Okay, go and see if you can find someone who is working there that would have a job that is low and not very appreciated. Cross check that with people studying to be a doctor, or maybe drop-outs that have studied but didn't make it."

Her hand continued pressing the keys, moving fast. She stopped. 

"Tom Birdstein. A doctor's assistant. He dropped thousands of G's going through medical school. Life has not been kind to this poor man lately. With all of the college money, he lost his house and his car. He currently lives with his mother who was diagnosed with cancer two weeks ago."

"That was the trigger." Jj said. 

"He found out his mother had cancer and decided to start stepping up in his job. He probably gave continuous suggestions, which the doctors ignored. Who did he assist?"

"Two people... Uh." Garcia paused again. "Dr. Sarah Harvey and Susan Mingo."

"That's our unsub. Reid, call Mor-" Hotch began to say before he was cut off by his own phone ringing. He flipped it open. "What do you have, Morgan?" He put him on speaker.

"Hotch, I got a new note over here. He was here today. It says, "they will all pay today... Every last one of them. They will burn." 

"Morgan, we know who the unsub is. I am sending you the address of his workplace right now." He closed his phone.

"This is his end-game." I said. "He is stopping early because it only took him a few days to get his victims dead." I said.

"He said every last one will pay. What is he going to do?" Blake asked. 

"I don't know but it will be big. We need to get there soon, get Birdstein, and evacuate the hospital immediately. Lets go." We all raced out the door. I jumped into the black Sedan with Rossi, Jj hopping in the backseat. 

We drove out a few minutes before I received a call from Lauren. I answered. 

"You never called." She sounded upset.

"I know. I am sorry, you know how work is." I said, looking over at Rossi.

"Okay well, I just went to the baby store. I ordered a white wooden bed, like we planned. And I am walking over to the coffee shop, and I am going to bring you some to work, okay?"

"I am sorry, Laur. I am not there right now." Quickly, I remembered that the coffee shop and baby store were in the same area as the hospital. You actually had to cross in front of it to get from one to the other. "Lauren... go home." I demanded.

"Spencer, you haven't called, you have been gone since really early this morning and I wanted to show you the photo of the bed I got."

"Lauren, please, just listen to me." I begged. 

"My god, Spenc-" I heard a loud thundering noise and I heard the phone fall.

"Lauren?" I said into the phone. I heard various screams in the background, and no Lauren. I got worried. "Lauren!" I screamed. Hotch called Rossi and put him on speaker.

"A bomb just went off at the hospital." Hotch said. "It was his end-game." 

My jaw dropped as I broke into panic mode. 

"Drive!" I shouted. "She was there. Lauren was there."

JJ's voice came close to me, as she leaned towards the front. "What?"

"The bomb went off while she was on the phone. She's not answering. Drive!"