Criminal Mind stories (most specifically Reid)

Secrets of the Past

AN-I do not own Criminal Minds
The team had been in Las Vegas for a few hours now. They were working a case where local prostitutes were being raped and killed. Seven have so far lost their life and the BAU were determined to put an end to this killer's parade. Reid hated cases that brought him back home, but this case was even worse than the other ones previous. This case had brought him back into the area that he used to live in. The area now was just as bad as it was when he was growing up in it. There were prostitutes and drug dealers on almost every corner, not even at night, but during the day as well. The crime rate in this area was higher than the average area in Las Vegas, due to the increase number of low risk victims. The houses weren't all run down; they were more on the medium-low side of the economical spectrum. They weren't run down and infested with insects or rodents. They weren't bad for those that didn't have high standards; more geared to that of a single parent household. Growing up Spencer always remembered living in the high level of the spectrum, but that all changed when his father left at the young age of ten. Reid had tried with everything in him to make it work. He pushed through for two years trying to balance school, the bills and his mother's worsening health all on his own. After two years though, he just couldn't do it anymore. The only way to get out of the debt was to sell the house and move into something cheaper. That's how they ended up in this neighborhood. Reid had never gotten in trouble with the law, but he did get harassed by the local police for being on the street. One officer used to harass him almost every day he was out there and Reid was hoping that that particular officer had moved on from this station. He was one of the very few who knew his real name and not just his street name. Reid had worked hard to put the past behind him and he had worked even harder to make sure that no one on the team found out about it.
Reid was over in the break room refilling his coffee when the one person he didn't want to see showed up beside him. It was officer Roberts who was now, Detective Roberts the lead detective on this case. Reid had recognized the name on the case files, but he never thought it would be this man. Reid had thought he would have long moved on to a better area. Now here he was with his team that didn't know about his past and the one man that actually knew who he used to be and hated him. Reid just tried to focus on his coffee and wanted to get the hell away from him. Detective Roberts had other ideas though.

"Well well well it if isn't Spencer Reid or should I call you Marcus?" Detective Roberts laughed. "Who would have thought someone as disgusting as you would ever become a G Man? Let me guess you slept your way to the top."
"I see you haven't changed after all these years. In fifteen years I have become a Federal Agent working with the BAU and you have only managed to become a detective in the same rundown area. Makes you think which one of us should be laughing at the other."
Reid went to walk away and back to the safety of the team in the conference room at the station. He stopped when he heard Detective Roberts voice.
"You are nothing but a worthless, disgusting whore that slept his way up to the FBI. They might not know you, but I do and it would be a shame if they ever found out about your past."
Reid didn't say anything he just went and continued to walk towards the conference room. Detective Roberts though followed him the whole way there. Inside the room the team was there as well as another detective.
"We can't get the prostitutes to talk. This area is different these prostitutes keep their mouth shut no matter what is going on. They will only talk to one of their own and never ever to a cop little lone a fed." Detective Voit said.
"I understand that, but we need to try and get through to one of them. These women are in danger they might talk to us." Morgan said
"Agent Morgan you don't know these women and men. They didn't just decide to be a prostitute one day they have literally been left with no choice. Some of these people have been doing this since they were sixteen or so. This is the only choice they have so they won't talk, because they know what will happen if they do." Detective Voit said
"No offense Detective, but they might not speak to you or your men for the reputation this station has for mistreating prostitutes in the area. I grew up in Vegas I know how this station has treated working girls in the past and it's far from legal. They may be more willing to speak with someone that has yet to disrespect or hurt them." Reid said
"Really did you grow up in this area?" Detective Roberts asked with a smirk
"We should go and speak to them ourselves, but send the less intimidating ones." Reid said
"Reid's right Hotch, Rossi and myself should stay back we might be too intimidating. Reid, Prentiss and JJ should go speak with them." Morgan said
"You three go do that we need to warn them and see if any of them recognize the profile." Hotch said
"Hey you just might see some of your old friends Agent." Detective Roberts said with a disgusted tone in his voice. Reid ignored the comment as well as the looks from his teammates.
"Let's head out."
Reid said as he walked out of the conference room and headed for the exit with JJ and Prentiss following behind him. Hotch didn't waste a second before he turned his attention to Detective Roberts. Over the years that Reid had been with the BAU there had been a few incidents where the local police had given Reid a hard time. Mostly it was due to his age and even at the age of twenty-five Reid still took some criticism for his young age.
"Detective do you have a problem with my agent?"
"Agent, I'd hardly call that an agent." Detective Roberts said
"If you have a problem with Agent Reid then I suggest you get over it, because the next time you speak to him with disrespect I will speak with your supervisor. I will not tolerate my agents being disrespected."
"Ya well maybe the next time you hire an agent you should make sure they don't have a criminal history."
"Reid doesn't have a criminal record." Morgan said in Reid's defense.
"Yes he does, a juvi record. He got it sealed by a judge when he turned eighteen. The judge knew that his mother was ill and took pity on him. Said he was a genius and that he shouldn't have to keep reliving his mistakes. Said his mind was too great of a gift to let it rot away. So with it sealed he was able to go to university. Maybe you should do better checks on your agents Agent Hotchner."
With that Detective Roberts and detective Voit left the three agents there in the room.
"This guy has to be lying there is no way that Reid, our Reid has a record." Morgan said
"He did say he knew this area." Rossi said
"Reid knows every area in the United States he reads anything with words in it." Morgan said
"The records are sealed so there isn't anything we can do about this right now. Once the case is over we can ask Reid, but it's his past and his business." Hotch said
"You know it is possible that it could just be underage gambling. Reid's father did walk out when he was ten and there's no way his mother would have been able to work. The record could be something small and simple like that. Just a way for him to help make money." Rossi said
"That might be it. For right now we have to focus on this case." Hotch said.
Reid, Prentiss and JJ were walking up and down the street trying to get anyone that would listen to them. Reid didn't know if he should be happy or worried when he came across a familiar face. She was older now, it had been close to eight years since he had seen her. She had long red hair now, she would be thirty- two if Reid remembered properly and if she had told the truth about her age back then. She was thin and Reid knew all too well that it was a thinness associated with heroin. Reid walked over to her.
"Hey kitty cat."
She turned around and couldn't help, but smile when she saw Reid.
"Well if it isn't Marcus. What the hell are you doing here?"
"How have you been Kitty?"
"Oh you know just fine and dandy."
"You're looking pretty far gone."
"Well what can I say whatever keeps you going in the day. What brings you back here? I heard you left for university."
"I did and I am now working with the BAU."
"What's that?"
"It's a department in the FBI. I'm here with my team to investigate the murders of the working girls in the area."
"So you're a G man now eh. I don't know if I should say good for you or not."
"I need your help Kitty. My team and I want to catch this man that is killing these women. Talk to me help me out."
"You're just one of them now. Why the hell should I help you?"
"Because I'm not like them. Because a lot of women are being killed by this man and I want to help put an end to it. I'm not them I know what it's like to be out here you know that. Help me catch this guy."
Kitty stood there fidgeting and thinking about it. It was true that she knew Reid from way back. She didn't like that there was a serial killer out in the area. She had been worried ever since the first murder, but she still had to be out here.
"Look there is this guy that kinda creeps around here. I've seen him a few times he is usually here once a week. He just looks around for a little while then when he finally comes around to asking one of us. He goes for the birds their not blue, but they're no alumni. It's like he can spot them from a mile away, cuz once a week when he shows he waits for them to show. It doesn't matter how hot the other girls are he likes the birds."
"A lot of men do. What is more disturbing is there are a lot of men that like the baby birds. Do you know what he looks like?"
"Built, short brown hair, green eyes, I don't know maybe five foot seven, around one eighty. He shows up every single Tuesday around nine. He should show up tonight just like every week."
"Will you help me catch him?"
"What like bait? I'm an alum sweetheart you know that he won't go for me."
"I was more thinking along the lines of one of my teammates coming in and you teaching her the ropes. I just need you to play the part."
"Alright, but only cuz it's you and I don't like these birds dying."
"Thank you kitty cat. Come with me my two teammates are with me. We can go back to the station and set it all up. They don't know though, what I did growing up."
"I'm not gonna say anything hummingbird don't you worry."
"Thanks."
They made their way over to where Prentiss and JJ were talking to some other working girls. When they were next to them Reid spoke.
"Hey this is Kitty she's going to come in with us. She's seen the UnSub."
"That's great, because we have nothing." Prentiss said
"Hey I'm JJ and this is Emily. Thank you for agreeing to work with us on this. We really do need the help."
"Well I just don't want these girls dying no more. So let's just get this over with."
The four of them headed over to the SUV then headed off to the station to speak with the rest of the team. Once back at the station they headed into the conference room, but Detective Roberts was also there along with Morgan, Hotch and Rossi.
"Well looks like you brought back a stray." Detective Roberts said
"I see you're still an asshole." Kitty said
"You would know you've slept with hundreds of them."
"You know what fuck this I'm outta here. I don't need to take this shit from a bunch of cops."
Kitty turned to leave, but stopped as Reid grabbed her wrist gently.
"Cat wait."
"You know some things never change hummingbird."
"He's just a hobbyist, but my team they are defenders and they can make him leave. You're our only shot at getting this UnSub. Do this for the birds that have died and the ones that could be killed by this man. Come on kitty cat help me out."
"Kitty cat?" Prentiss whispered to Morgan.
"Hummingbird?" Morgan whispered back
"Fine, but the hobbyist leaves."
"Hobbyist?" Rossi asked
"A hobbyist is someone who patronizes working girls, and a defender is someone who defends them." Reid explained.
"It's whore language. I guess you never forgot the language eh agent." Detective Roberts said
"Detective Roberts get out. This is our investigation and you are now disrupting it. Get the hell out." Hotch said
"Fine by me I'm sick of being around hookers." Detective Roberts said as he headed out of the room to go back to his desk.
Kitty looked at Reid and then back to Hotch with a smile on her face.
"Well that has to be the best thing I've seen in a while." Kitty said
"I'm sorry about that. My name is Agent Hotchner. This is Agents Morgan, Rossi, Prentiss and JJ. You already know Reid."
"Kitty has seen who the UnSub might be." Reid said
"Can you tell us about him?" Rossi asked
"He shows up once a week every Tuesday around nine. He hangs around just watching for a few hours until he sees a bird he likes."
"Bird?" Morgan asked
"Bird is lingo for a working girl. There's baby bird and that's an underage prostitute. Bird are those that are just of age, but are fairly new to the game. Then you have the alumni they are of age, but have been in the game for at least five years or more." Reid explained
"I'm assuming you have a plan Reid?" Hotch asked
"We have no reason to arrest this man even if it's for solicitation of a prostitute. We need to catch him trying to abduct one."
"You want to put one of us in as bait." JJ said
"He's supposed to be there in three hours. We could just watch and wait for him to pick up a girl, but we can't guarantee we can follow him. If we send in Emily we can keep trace and follow her. When he tries something we can move in. We know that he doesn't do anything sexual with the women until he has them back at his location. When he goes to abduct Emily we can take him down then." Reid said
"It would allow us the chance to catch him in the action. If nothing else it would give us enough cause for a search warrant." Rossi said
"Ya, but it's dangerous for Emily to be doing this. Plus how do we know if he will even pick her?" Morgan said
"Emily is the physical type of this UnSub." Rossi pointed out.
"We can make her look the part and tech her a few terms. Then all she has to do is attract his interest." Reid said
"But how is she going to do that? There's no guarantee that the UnSub will pick her over the other girls that fit his type." Morgan said.
"Each bird that was taken was with an alumni. Us alumni we like to keep the birds and baby birds close until they get into the swing of things. She can hang around me and we can draw his attention to her. The birds that were taken they were shy and quiet types. They weren't aggressive to johns at all." Kitty supplied
"This station would have clothing for a working girl. They have a monthly quota they have to reach for solicitation. A lot of female detectives go undercover for it. We can have you looking and acting the part then we just have to wait." Reid said
"The choice is yours Prentiss. If you want to do this then we can set you up and have you monitored at all times." Hotch said as he looked at Prentiss.
"I'll do it. This may be our chance at nailing this guy. So what do I need to learn?"
"A bird is basically a newbie, but you are of age. You need to be shy and not fully confident in doing this job yet. Kitty will be right beside you and just act like your best friends. If other johns come up and approach you simple shake your head no. If they give you a hard time Kitty will chase them away. That's the point of the birds staying by the alumni. The alumni have more confidence and courage to stick up for themselves. They like to watch over the birds and make sure nothing happens to them." Reid said
"This guy he likes to talk to the birds before they go anywhere. Now it's only what I've heard from other girls that have seen it, but after a few minutes of sorting out the details. He takes you to the side alley where his van is. Birds don't ever get into cars alone. Birds like to keep it to a nearby motel or the alley so if something happens they can run. Alumni will willing get into a car cuz at this point we can keep ourselves safe. So when he tries to get the bird into his van they say no and he knocks them out and away they go." Kitty said
"We will get you though, before that happens. You will be wired so we can hear everything that is going on. If at some point you can't handle it say a safe word and we will get you out right away." Hotch said
"What type of things will he ask me?" Prentiss asked
"What type of things you do. He'll use the lingo FS is full service, BBBJ is bare back blowjob, he'll ask you if you are a CC Rider that means you charge less than two bills an hour. From what I've heard the more you say yes to the more interested he gets. He's asked a few other birds before he picks the one he wants. The one that gets picked is the one that is willing to do anything for anything." Kitty said
"The ones that will do anything for any price are the ones that no one misses when they're gone. They're the ones that are desperate and are doing the job, because there is no other way. They are also the easiest targets for the simple reason that no one will care if they live or die." Reid said
"Okay so basically I just agree to whatever he says for less than two hundred." Prentiss said
"Why don't you and Kitty go and get ready while we work out the other details." Hotch said
"Sounds good. Come on Kitty let's go see what we can find." Prentiss said with a smile.
Kitty looked over at Reid and only when Reid gave an encouraging nod did Kitty go with Prentiss.
"So where do you know her from?" Morgan asked
"She's an old friend from growing up." Reid answered
"Was she a prostitute when you knew her?" Rossi couldn't help but ask
"Why does that matter?" Reid asked
"It doesn't. I was just asking. She seems like she's been in the game for a while that's all."
"She's a good person. She has problems but who doesn't?"
"Based on the shaking and fidgeting I would say one of those problems is drugs." Rossi said
"So, because she does drugs that makes her a bad person? Lots of people have done drugs in their life that doesn't define who they are Rossi."
"I never said that they did kiddo."
"Kitty may not be perfect and ya she's got demons, but a lot of girls are alive today because she has protected them over the years. She has put her own life at risk to protect the birds and the babies."
"Including yours?" Hotch couldn't help but ask. He had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"What?" Reid asked trying to think of something to say.
"You know her from when you were living here. That was eight years ago and you said she was a prostitute then. Which means she has been doing this job for at least eight or nine years. My guess would be closer to twelve or fourteen years. You know the lingo and how the streets work. You even know how this station treats them. That's a lot for someone to know about prostitution considering you wouldn't have been eighteen at the time." Hotch said
Reid didn't get the chance to answer, because Prentiss and Kitty came back into the room. Prentiss had some clothes in her hands that she could try on and see what would work. Kitty could tell the tension in the room the second she walked in. She went over to Reid's side and stood ready for a fight if need be.
"You alright?" She asked him in a serious tone not even bothering to whisper it.
"Ya everything is fine Cat. Did you find what you needed Em?"
"Ya got some clothes to try on. I figured I would grab the wire so I can try and hide it with what I pick out."
"We only have roughly two hours to set this whole thing up so let's get this worked out." Hotch said
With that the conversation was over and they all knew it. At least for now it would be over. Over the course of the next few hours they had prepped everything for the take down and stake out. Prentiss and Kitty were all set to go and they were already on the street. It took them a total of five hours from the time they began to prep and to take down the UnSub. Now they were all back at the station wrapping everything that they needed up. Officers went over to the UnSub's house to collect any evidence that he was in fact the man they were looking for. Sure enough he had videotaped everything he did to the women. It was a slam dunk case for the prosecutor. Prentiss had gone and gotten changed back into her normal clothing. Now they were all in the conference room including Kitty and Detective Roberts. Over the course of the evening Kitty's condition had gotten worse. It was clear that she needed a fix. Reid took the opportunity to speak to her before they had to fly back home.
"You alright there kitty cat?"
"Just fine and dandy."
"You're shaking pretty bad."
"Adrenaline."
"You and I both know that's not from adrenaline. You know I'll always be there for you."
"I know hummingbird, but this is one thing you won't be able to understand."
Reid took a moment to decide if he was going to say anything or not. Sure the team had all known about his drug problem they had been there to see it with the exception of Rossi. He too had figured it out though. The thing was Reid had never actually admitted it out loud to any of them. Even though they knew it felt like it was a huge step to say it out loud to them. It didn't help that Detective Roberts was still in the room.
"Yes I would."
Reid finally whispered to her, though they all heard him. The team had to admit they were shocked that Reid had said that. That was the closest thing to actually saying he was a drug addict that they had heard from him. They all stopped what they were doing when they heard Reid say that. Detective Roberts on the other hand was more than ready to play with this new piece of information. After the way this case had gone and the things said to him Detective Roberts was not going to let them leave without telling them the truth.
"Wow not only are you an ex whore you're also a drug addict. The FBI really knows how to pick em."
Reid's heart caught in his throat and what Detective Roberts had just said. Any doubt in the team's mind as to how close Reid and Kitty were just went out the window. Morgan didn't even wait for Reid to say anything to defend himself or deny it. He pushed Detective Roberts up against the wall with both his hands balled into the detective's shirt.
"You want to say that again?" Morgan growled
Hotch and Rossi went over to get Morgan off from Detective Roberts before he did anything to drastic. That didn't mean that Rossi and Hotch weren't pissed off either though.
"Morgan let him go now that's an order." Hotch said in an angry stern voice.
Morgan hesitated for a second before he slammed Detective Roberts into the wall as he let go of his shirt. Now it was Hotch's turn.
"Detective with the level of disrespect that you have shown not only to my agent but to this women who was helping with a case. I will be speaking with you chief of police and you can consider this your unofficial termination. By the time I am done with your chief of police you will be lucky if you can find another job guarding a food stand. Now I suggest you get the hell out of our site before Agent Morgan takes you out of this station."
The next few seconds felt like hours. They all stood and sat still no one moved. They all waited to see who would make the first move. The tension in the room was so thick the sharpest knife wouldn't have been able to cut through it. For a second you could see that Detective Roberts had thought about not moving and waiting to see if Morgan would. The look on Morgan's face though told otherwise. It was clear that he would drag him out of the station and he would be doing it with a smile on his face. Not even a minute later Detective Roberts was making his way out of the room. Though, it didn't seem to lessen the tension at all. Kitty was the one to break the silence.
"You were on drugs?" she whispered, but in the room it felt like she had just screamed it.
"Just over a year ago we were on a case. A serial killer was killing sinners, he would watch them from their webcams and when they made a sin he would go and kill them. We had profiled that it was a team based on the 9-1-1 calls that were made right before the killing. JJ and I went to speak with who we thought was just a witness. It turned out he was the UnSub we were looking for. He went out back into his barn and we had split up. JJ stayed out front of the barn and I went around back. At the time it made sense to split up and wait for back up. We had him pinned in the barn it was more dangerous out back so I went, because I had more field experience than JJ. What we didn't calculate were the chances of him already being outside of the barn. He came out of the cornfield and hit me over the head, then again when I was on the ground and I was out. He had split personalities, three of them to be exact. I spent two days roughly with him before I was found. During those two days he had beaten me and psychologically tortured me. He had also injected me with dilaudid eight times in two days."
"Drug store heroin. You would have been addicted by the third time he injected it into you." Kitty said
"Yes. During those two days at one point near the end he had killed me, but gave me CPR and brought me back. In the end I had shot him while he was forcing me to dig my own grave. I've been clean for ten months, two weeks and three days, but even still I don't know what made me continue the drug use. My memory definitely didn't help, but the thing is what bothered me the most was the fact that I killed him. The man that beat me was one personality, his father. The man that tortured me was a third personality, but the man that drugged me and saved my life was Tobias and the man that I shot. He was sick and dangerous, but the actual true person was just a gentle lost soul. I get what you're going through we all have our own demons. You deserve better than this life style. It's been thirteen years since you got into the game and you've survived all that time. It's time for you to get out and get sober."
"It's not that simple you know that."
"I do know that. I also know that you have family in Texas that would love to have you back. You don't have to decide today, but just promise me one thing. When you do decide that enough is enough call me and we can go through it together. Trust me withdrawals suck doing it alone."
"I promise, but don't hold your breath hummingbird. I need to get going I've been around far too many cops in the last few hours. Though he was right you guys are certainly defenders from what I've seen."
"Everyone in life has a road to go down. All it takes is one thing to alter it. It could have been any one of us out there on that street." Rossi said
"I'll think about it, but I'm not making any promises." Kitty said as she got up and headed out of the conference room.
"We should get everything wrapped up here so we can head back home." Hotch said as Kitty walked out.