Evolution, a Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 40. Mental Maze

The hunt for Dr. Bescardi was fueled by a desperate sense of urgency.

The monastery was huge, but only a small portion of the space had been utilized. Carrying their own bags, as well as Hotch’s, Reid and Ana checked the rooms that the doctor had used as an office, as well as those she’d used for testing. They made a quick run through the cells until they found what must have been her sleeping space, judging by the mussed bedding and luggage stowed in a corner.

At each location, Reid searched with the professional precision of a crime scene investigator. He was looking for the keys to Bescardi’s van. And his concern overrode any tendency toward neatness. Whenever the doctor returned, she would find Reid’s handiwork in tossed blankets, and opened drawers and containers whose contents were spilled across the floor.

He had no success. There were no keys.

Their last stop was the refectory and kitchen area.

Dr. Bescardi was waiting for them.

The young couple stopped abruptly on sighting her. Reid shook his head in stunned disbelief. The woman had set the table as though this were just another routine morning. She stood in the kitchen doorway, disheveled, but calm. Eerily so.

Reid and Ana exchanged looks. What Reid gleaned from a profiler’s assessment, Ana felt in disconcerting, emotional waves. Both could almost smell the stench of fanaticism. They approached her with caution.

“Give me the keys to the van.” Reid’s voice was coarse with anger and urgency.

Bescardi blinked, taking a moment to compose her response. “Dr. Reid…Ana…I spent last night tabulating your test results. Aren’t you curious to know my findings? Don’t you want to know what…”

“All I want to know is where the keys are.” Reid’s interruption seemed to go completely unnoticed.

“…what the significance is? Dr. Reid, we are on the threshold of creating that brave, new world that the common man fears, but the visionary knows is the next step on the evolutionary ladder. Please, just look at what I’ve found…we’ve found…and then consider how much more we could do!”

Reid was about to reply when Ana placed a restraining hand on his arm. He looked down at her.

She spoke quietly, but he heard fear beneath her tone. “Spencer, she’s not going to let us go. Don’t you feel it?”

All Reid felt was the near-frantic desire to go in search of Hotch. Thoughts raced through him at a fevered pace. He needed to focus. Or…maybe he needed to use the disadvantages of his situation to increase the advantages.

My skills strengthen when I’m tired and scared. We hardly slept last night and God knows I’m scared for Hotch. And…after the workout I got yesterday, my abilities do feel stronger.

Reid recalled the surge of information when he’d touched the man who’d murdered Ana’s sister. He knew he needed to touch Bescardi. And this time I can’t wait. I was a coward in California and it cost Sarah her life. Can’t, can’t…won’t let that happen to Hotch. Not this time.

Bescardi saw a shift in Reid’s expression. But it wasn’t one she’d hoped for. It didn’t echo her commitment, her passion. It looked like…resolve to do something dreaded. It was the look of someone forcing himself to overcome his own limitations. She might have admired it, if she hadn’t remembered their first meeting when the young doctor had told her about his psychic experiences. He was psychometric. He could read events by touching objects. When he took a step toward her, she was sure of it. He wants to touch me!