Evolution, a Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 45. Rampage

It took nearly four hours to reach civilization and the small hospital at the base of the mountain.

Morgan tried to spare Hotch as much of the rough road as possible, which meant taking the ruts and craters at a lesser speed. Throughout the journey, every time he looked in the rearview mirror, he saw a hand over Hotch’s heart. He didn’t know if Reid and Ana were keeping the injured man from slipping away again, or just keeping him company.

Don’t ask, don’t tell. Morgan steered conversation away from things supernatural, things paranormal, things-that-went-bump-in-the-night.

When he pulled into the ER entrance, he didn’t wait for a rush of orderlies and technicians to unload Hotch. He scooped the man up as though he weighed no more than a child and was halfway through the automatic doors when two men in scrubs, wheeling a gurney, met him. Morgan laid his burden down with care. He was relieved and grateful when Hotch stirred and gave a deep sigh, settling onto the padded surface with the ghost of a smile.

“Thank you.” It was so faint, only Morgan, who had been leaning over, his ear close to Hotch’s lips, heard it.

“Any time, man,” he whispered back, giving Hotch’s arm a gentle squeeze before relinquishing his place and letting a host of medical personnel swarm his friend.

Morgan went to where Reid and Ana were huddled together. A frisson of worry ran through him at the sight of Ana burying her head in Reid’s chest, her body tensed, almost trembling.

“Kid? She okay?”

Reid tore his eyes away from the sight of Hotch being examined. He glanced down and wrapped his arms more tightly around Ana. “Yeah…yeah, she’s fine. It’s just being here. She feels things, ya know? From people? Hospitals are hard.”

Morgan nodded and took a step away, hoping he wasn’t contributing to the girl’s discomfort. He hated hospitals, too.

xxxxxxx

“David! Hello! I didn’t expect you.” Dr. Bescardi’s greeting was automatic, unthinking. She looked perplexed, straining to see around and beyond Rossi. “Where are the others? Dr. Reid and Ana…where are they?” When there was no response, she frowned. Her tone was almost scolding when she continued. “We have wasted almost an entire day! Dr. Reid owes me at least one more eight-hour session.”

“He’s gone, Carol. They’re all gone. They’re not coming back.”

There was that leaden tone again. Bescardi appreciated lack of sentiment in all things, including speech, but there was something…forbidding…in Rossi’s voice. It made her think of storm clouds gathering; of the poised moment between accumulation and unleashed devastation.

“Aren’t you going to ask about Aaron Hotchner, Carol?”

“Mr. Hotchner? What about him?” She had a wary feeling. Something told her to step carefully, to stick to the story she’d told her test subjects.

“You left him to die. Aren’t you curious to know if he did?”

Bescardi disliked emotion in others, but she herself was a quite creditable actress…when the need arose. She did her best shocked-and-offended imitation. “I did no such thing! How can you say that!” She crossed her arms and raised a defiant chin, trying to take the upper hand and put this disturbing man on the defensive. “Mr. Hotchner went for a drive yesterday. He was not specific about his schedule. When he didn’t return by nightfall, we assumed he didn’t want to drive back in the dark and risk getting lost.”

Rossi wasn’t responding correctly. In fact, he wasn’t responding at all. Perhaps another angle would be more effective.

“But, David! You should see what I’ve discovered so far! Already this is proving to be the discovery of a lifetime. It’s…it’s positively career-making! Astounding results! Wouldn’t you like to see?”

Rossi’s expression shifted. My God in heaven. She really doesn’t care if Aaron’s dead or alive. As Bescardi’s enthusiasm warmed, Rossi’s rage grew chillier; his plan of action more precise.

“Yes, Carol. I’d like to see what you’ve done. All of it. Show me everything.”

xxxxxxx

For the next hour, Rossi let Dr. Bescardi wax eloquent about her work.

While she bubbled and fizzed and overflowed with her own genius, he kept careful track of where her data resided. The hard copy was negligible. Rossi wanted original files. When he expressed his admiration for her overcoming the primitive surroundings, she gave him a coy look and crooked a finger at him to follow her.

She gave him a tour of her lab facilities and her office. She didn’t have internet connection; landlines were nonexistent and wireless didn’t reach this far into the wilderness. But she had opted to bring in a monitor and a sizeable hard drive where she had meticulously stored and labeled every iota of data.

Rossi smiled at her.

Bescardi was ecstatic! She’d underestimated David Rossi, and was so grateful to find she had. She was sure the man had influence over her test subjects. If he grasped the full import of her findings, she was sure he would persuade them to return.

When she had talked herself dry, she turned to him, eyes glowing, eager for his approval, his cooperation.

“So! Remarkable, is it not?” She held her breath and waited.

“Is that it? Have you shown me everything, Carol?”

Something was wrong. Rossi’s smile wasn’t that of appreciation. He looked like a cobra, fixing her with his dead-eyed stare. She faltered. And faded. And because she was indeed brilliant, she finally understood.

“David. No.” They had ended at the cell she’d converted into her office. She backed toward the computer she’d filled with data. And the flash drives she’d used to make copies…to ensure the security…the immortality…of her work. “David, you can’t! Think! Please!”

Rossi shoved her aside and in one swift movement released all the rage he’d built up listening to her prattle on about results when the image of Aaron, lying on the ground, giving up, leaving, was still fresh before him. The computer monitor tipped over and gave a satisfying crunch as he smashed it repeatedly against the ancient stone walls. He gave the hard drive a thorough working-over. When he was convinced it was past saving, he turned to the flash drives.

But Bescardi had taken them. In her estimation, Rossi was committing a crime against science and the betterment of humanity. Unconscionable. Intolerable. Cradling the precious remnants of her professional life, she had run back to the kitchen. The keys to her van were there.

Thank God Dr. Reid and the girl ran off before searching that last room. She wasn’t sure what had happened after Ana had hit her, but she’d been tremendously relieved to find her keys where she expected them. Especially after seeing how those two had ransacked her other possessions. At least they hadn’t destroyed her data. That ignorant ape, Rossi, was murdering her career! But as long as she had even one flash drive, she would triumph.

Breathless from running, heart pounding with the terror of being alone with a madman capable of destroying the gift of knowledge, Bescardi grabbed her keys and sprinted for the driveway.

When she rounded the rental car and saw what was left of her van’s engine, her gorge rose. With a last, illogically desperate hope, she slapped her pockets, looking for Hotch’s key ring. And then she realized, of course, the car wouldn’t be here if Rossi hadn’t somehow obtained the keys. The test subjects must have stolen them from her after the girl stunned her.

She was trapped. The gravel crunched behind her.

“Hello, Carol.”

God, his voice still sounds so…dead.