NO GOOD DEED || S. REID

2.11

KATHARINE'S BODY WAS LITERALLY VIBRATING WITH EITHER NERVES OR ANTICIPATION AS SHE SAT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT OF THE BLACK SUV. Derek was in the driver's seat, allowing Katharine to make a call to Nina in an attempt to confirm that the woman was okay.

"Hey, Jupiter," she used Nina's codename, letting her know she was on the job. "It's Songbird. Let me know if you'll need an umbrella."

That was it. She ended the call and turned her phone in her hand. Katharine bounced her knee up and down anxiously, hoping for a call, or even a text, back.

"Umbrella?" Derek asked, looking at her briefly before returning his attention to the road.

Katharine nodded. "We based our code off of old SHIELD admittance codes. It'll help tell me if she's okay or not. Weather's nice but I still carry, everything's fine. Looks cloudy and I could use one, might need back-up. It's pouring and I could use one, imminent danger."

Derek nodded, coming to a full stop at a red light. There was no one else at the intersection but the light stayed red.

"That's smart," he commented, looking up through the rearview mirror. "That car's been following us since we left the BAU."

Katharine turned in her seat so that she could look out the back window. It was a black 2007 Saturn VUE. The driver looked caucasian with sunglasses shading their eyes. They had blond hair, cut military style, and a sharp jaw. Beyond that, Katharine couldn't make anything else out. The tint on their car was just a tab bit too dark and the glaring midday sun didn't make identification any easier.

"Should we try to shake them?" Derek asked, moving his sunglasses back up his nose. He glanced nervously in their rearview once more as the light turned green.

"I'll call Hotch, let him know we're gonna be a little late," Katharine said, scrolling through her contacts and finding their boss's number.

The phone rang twice before the man in question picked up.

"Hotchner."

"Hey, Hotch," Katharine said, looking behind them as their stalker followed them with their next turn. It was strange. "We seem to have a bit of a problem. There's been a man following Derek and I's SUV since we left the BAU. We're gonna try to shake him before meeting up at Triangle PD."

"Stay safe," Hotch said before hanging up.

"You know," Katharine said, slipping her phone into her pocket. She ran her hand against her thigh to ensure her knife was still strapped there. "It's nice that our boss has so much trust in us. Didn't even ask us any questions."

Derek took the next right, driving away from Triangle PD and back toward the BAU. "I've worked with him for long enough."

"Is that so?" Katharine pointed off to the side where a ramp onto the freeway sat. That too was strangely void of cars. "We can try to shake our guy on the freeway, take the next exit and circle back."

Derek nodded and signaled right, taking the entrance ramp and soon merging with traffic. He moved to one of the center lanes and watched as their stalker followed them over. His grip on the wheel tightened as he merged with the right lane, slowing down just enough that the flow of the traffic carried their stalker away.

Derek exited the highway on the next exit and looped back around, getting them back on track to Triangle PD.

"Did you see a plate on that car?" Katharine asked, trying to bring any useful information back into her mind. Not only was the fact that the plate seemed to be missing, but the details of the entire encounter seemed to be slipping out of her grasp.