Being a Victim (Criminal Minds episode fanfic)

Chapter 20

Garcia tapped her computer keys furiously as she tried to trace the call's location. Come on, he had to slip up now. This had to be their ticket to finding this girl. She'd sounded so helpless on the phone as she spoke to Reid and now they were even more determined to track this unsub down.

"She'd said it looked old inside, so narrow the search for older people who own houses in that area. Possibly who have died and left the house to their next of kin." Reid paced up and down in the room with the other team members sitting down, desperately trying to piece the last bits of this puzzle together. From the phone on loudspeaker, Garcia typing at her keyboard can be heard.

"Ok, its narrowing... anything else would be great." Garcia spoke, her usual cheeriness being swallowed up with nerves and anxiety. They were so close but yet so far. There had to be something else.

"How about old ladies who only had sons in their will? She would have been in her late fifties at least." Reid spoke again before anyone else had a chance. His frantic actions had caught the attention of the team who were all exchanging glances between each other. This wasn't like Reid. He never acted out.

"We're down to ten." Garcia said.

"Do any of those addresses have any sons that have medicines delivered monthly? Everyone said this guy looked ill." Prentiss asked, getting a few approving nods. More typing filled the otherwise silent room as everyone eagerly awaited an answer.

"Nope." Garcia cut that suggestion down as quickly as it came up. This was going nowhere and fast. This girl was going to end up marrying this guy soon and they had ten houses to check. They'd never get there in time.

"What about people who have hired DIY equipment or skips or tools?" Reid rushed. "She said the basement stairs looked handmade and not properly done. He must have done it." Reid stopped pacing for a second as the typing filled the room once again.

"Yeah!" Garcia said. "And we are down to two. Adrian Martinez and Tony Proctor. Adrian was an only child to his mom , Florence, and dad, Henry. Henry wasn't a great man, he was away at work a lot and let's just say wouldn't get husband of the year award! They split shortly after Adrian was born. Henry died three years later of a heart attack. Florence died in a car accident five years ago with Adrian as her sole beneficiary." Garcia said as she sent all the information to their tablets. Within seconds everyone was staring at the faces of this family and their birth and death certificates. "Tony Proctor was the only child of Linda and Samuel. Samuel was a sergeant in the army and died on the front line while Linda was pregnant. She gave birth to Tony not long after and brought him up alone. It says here that Linda passed away five years ago from cancer, which she had been fighting off through Tony's life. She'd got rid of it twice but it kept coming back." Once again pictures were loaded to the tablets and phones within seconds.

"We don't have any more time." Hotch said sternly. "We'll have to split up and search both houses at the same time. It's the only way to guarantee this girl's safety. Reid, Morgan and Prentiss you take Tony's house. JJ, Rossi and I will take Adrian's house. Whoever gets to the correct house, call for backup and wait. We don't know what this guy is capable of and he will kill her if he feels he needs to." He ordered as everyone scurried around to get to their designated places. As everyone left, Morgan grabbed Reid's arm and held him back.

"Reid, is everything alright with you?" Morgan questioned,  although his smooth voice made him seem a lot less worried than he really was.

"Yeah. Why?" Reid answered shortly. He checked the time once again as he packed his stuff away and got ready to leave.

"This is why, man." Morgan pointed over to Reid. "This isn't you. You're not acting like the Reid we all know." Reid stopped for a second and just stared at Morgan before letting out a sigh. "Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to... but I'm worried about you man. This case seems to be taking its toll on you." Reid hesitated for a minute after Morgan had finished talking and just stared at the board with Grace and Penny's pictures on it. Is this really the time to tell him what's going on or can it wait? Maybe it's all just a stupid phase.

"I don't know." Reid sighed. "Since I spoke to her I just... she's just on my mind a lot." For once he was having a problem with words.

"Of course!" Morgan smiled and for a moment Reid sighed with relief. "We all get the odd case we get really involved in and we feel it's our responsibility to help them. That's normal!" He continued as Reid's face fell. That's not what he meant.

"No, not because of the case." Reid whispered just in case someone heard. He knew the best way to describe what he was feeling but it meant bringing up a very painful past.

"What do you mean then?" Morgan leant his head on his hand.

Reid gulped. This was it. He had to say it like this or it would never be said. One simple word. "Maeve." Morgan's face fell instantly and he looked around the room to check no one else could hear what was said or what was going to be said.

"Really?" Morgan ran his hand across his hair. Reid looked down at the floor. This was only going to end badly.

"Yeah, I think so." Reid shuffled around awkwardly as a silence ensued. Morgan quickly patted Reid on the shoulder and let out a smile.

"Reid, I get it. She looks kind of similar to her and you're scared that finding her will result in the same ending as Maeve but don't worry, we're finding this guy and-" Morgan was trying to help but in Reid's mind it was all just winding him up. He was frustrated that this wasn't as easy as he wanted it to be. It's not as easy as a simple equation or something. Feelings can never be planned or worked out.

"No." Reid cut Morgan off mid sentence. This was unusual of him too, so Morgan shot him a confused look straight away.

"I-I think I have feelings for her." Reid finally breathed out and a weight felt lifted from his shoulders. "I'd fallen for Maeve before I'd met her face to face and I feel like it's happening again. This girl on the phone... she was so..."

Morgan stared blankly at Reid for a moment. Reid being tongue-tied, this was definitely new. "Reid." He said, his voice low. "This is a victim, someone we are trying to save. This is a case. You shouldn't be getting your feelings involved with people on this case."

"Like you and Tamara?" Reid shot back, walking a few steps away from him. "Sometimes we can't help our feelings Morgan, I thought you of all people would know that." He walked out of the room quickly, leaving a speechless Morgan alone in the room to quickly pack his stuff and get to the house. Regardless of this conversation, this girl needs to be saved.