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Return from the Edge	By : hatochiisai Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 3693 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor do I make any financial profit off of writing and posting this work.

Chapter List
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Return from the Edge

Ahmose Inarus

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

SLASH WARNING!!! Hotch/Reid

Chapter 3

“Hey kid. How’s your mom?” Morgan asked when Reid and Hotch walked in.

“She’s good.” Reid said with a nod, watching JJ fussing with her Marilyn Monroe dress. Emily, Rossi and Morgan were already in costume. “I’ll go get changed.” And he smiled at Hotch and slipped off.

When he returned he was in his Jedi Robes, and Hotch had changed into his costume.

But then, Garcia emerged… dressed as Princess Leia.

“Oh man…” Morgan grinned. “So THAT’S what you were doing this afternoon…” Garcia flung herself at Reid, who yelped and caught her as she “swooned” back.

“U-Um… Garcia?” Reid whimpered, keeping her from falling back on her head.

“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi… You’re my only hope…” Garcia gasped, dramatically. Reid deadpanned.

“… Really?” He asked, blandly.

“Okay…” Garcia sighed and straightened, but then fixed a pathetic look on Reid, clasping her hands under her chin and letting her lower lip tremble. “Anakin…” She whimpered. “You’re breaking my heart…” Reid sighed and let his face fall into his hand.

“Garcia, let him alone.” Hotch chuckled. But sadly, Garcia flung her arms around Reid and clung to him.

“Garciaaaaa!” Reid whined.

“I’m getting jealous here, woman.” Morgan chuckled.

“Sorry, sexy.” Garcia giggled, and winked at Morgan. “Instead of a big dark blur,” she eyed Morgan up and down, then turned and looked at Reid, saying “I see a big light blur.” And she pinched Reid’s cheek. Reid grinned. He couldn’t help it.

“There’s nothing to see. I used to live here, you know.” He told her, and her smile brightened.

“You’re gonna die here, you know.” She shot back.

“Just stay close to me and Lando, we—“

“Oh, please!” Emily laughed. “Enough already!”

“Laugh it up, Fuzz Ball!” Garcia giggled, still clinging to Reid.

“Fuzz Ball?!” Emily exclaimed.

“Garcia, can you let me go now?” Reid asked, amused.

“No.”

“Garcia!”

“Qui-Gonn’s defiance I sense in you. Need that, you do not.” Garcia said, mimicking Yoda.

“Garcia!” Reid cried, trying to keep the laughter out of his tone.

“Kid… you’re fighting a losing battle. I suggest a new strategy.” Morgan said. “Let the Wookie win.”

Everyone was silent. Slowly, Garcia released Reid and turned to face Morgan.

“… What did you just call me?”

“Huh? Oh… Penelope, you know I didn’t… I mean… I was just… you… I…” Morgan stammered, backing away. “Hey… you guys wanna try to help me out here?”

“Try not. Do, or do not.” Reid announced, grinning. “There is no try.”

“I’m gonna say ‘do NOT’.” JJ laughed. At that point, Garcia reached out and smacked Morgan upside the head.

“Jerk!” She shouted.

“Good… Good…” Reid hissed. “Take your weapon… strike him down in all your hatred… and your journey down the path to the Dark Side will be complete.”

“And now that Reid and Garcia have presented Star Wars In A Nutshell…” Rossi drawled.

“Alright, let’s get to work.” Hotch called.

And two hours later, Reid and Garcia sat side by side watching the security cameras of the big party at the casino.

“Reid.” Rossi’s called in over the radio. “We’re tailing several suspects. But we have one more at the poker tables. Dressed as the Queen of Hearts.”

“I see her.” Reid called back.

“Hotch wants you playing that table. There are two empty seats.”

“I’m on it.” Reid responded, smirking to himself. Oh, if only the owners of the establishment knew who was about to grace their tables… he knew perfectly well that his picture was hanging in several security offices up and down the strip… pictures of himself at eighteen… He had grown and matured a lot since then… he wondered if he could take the tables by storm after the case was up… that might be fun.

Reid picked up some chips and swept across the floor of the casino, his Jedi cloak billowing behind him. He made his way to the table, and found that only one seat was left. He slid into it, nodding at the other people.

The next round, the dealer dealt him a hand. Reid stared at his cards, casually glancing around at the others, focusing on the Queen of Hearts. He glanced back down at his cards, quickly looking over what he had and calculating odds in his head. He watched one man place three cards down, and was dealt three more. Queen of Hearts put down one. The man on the far left kept what he had while Reid and the other man at the table both put down two. The man who had taken three cards, and the other man who had taken two, both folded. Everyone else placed their bets and laid down their hands.

Reid was satisfied when he lost. After all… he was here to keep an eye on the woman, not to win. He didn’t need to draw attention to himself.

He lost the next hand, but won the third. After a while longer, he noticed that the man on the end was having… a very lucky night. And a moment later, he noticed that a woman dressed as a She-Devil was sitting at another table, and seemed to have noticed this, too. When the man next to Mr. Lucky left, the woman left the other table and joined theirs, smiling at Mr. Lucky. She began talking to him. Reid felt a shiver run up his spine.

It was her.   He knew it. He glanced across the room and happened to catch Emily’s eye. He stared at her. She made a double take and cocked her head. He flicked his eyes over to the woman at the table, and Emily eyed her, then gave Reid a discreet nod and slipped into the crowd of people. The next hand, Reid won.

He glanced around and saw his team moving in, not to apprehend, but to watch. For the next two hours, they watched. Mr. Lucky continued to win (because Reid was letting him, of course), and the She-Devil was getting more than friendly with him.

But then, a sudden commotion erupted over at the Roulette tables. All eyes turned and watched as two men wrestled with one another. A waitress fell to the floor, glasses of champagne shattering. A man lunged for some chips on the Roulette table, and two other men howled and tackled him. Security ran in. Reid turned at a commotion near him. Mr. Lucky had gathered his chips and slipped into the crowd with the She-Devil.

Reid’s eyes widened and he followed, abandoning his chips on the table.

“They’re on the move!” He called into his wire as he struggled through the crowd after him. “We’re passing the craps tables! Heading towards a door! They’re going through… marked Employees Only!” No one responded. “Garcia! Do you have your eyes on them?!” But before the woman could answer, something struck Reid in the back and he crashed to the floor with a grunt. Then he yelped as someone tripped over him, and the next thing he knew, he was at the bottom of a pile of five people who had toppled over on top of him…

Mr. Lucky and She-Devil were gone…

Reid stared down at the body of Mr. Lucky in the alley.

“… I’m sorry.” He said softly. “I… I tried to follow them, I…”

“You did everything right, kid.” Morgan told him, gently. He put a hand on Reid’s shoulder. “You did GOOD. This isn’t your fault. You need to know that.”

Reid shook his head. “I shouldn’t have let them leave the table. I should have done something. I should have stopped her… arrested her.”

“You didn’t have probable cause, Reid.” Morgan told him. “You did the best you could.” Morgan looked up at Hotch as the man approached. Hotch immediately took charge of Reid, curling an arm around him and guiding him away.

“Don’t you start blaming yourself for this.” He told him, sternly. “Morgan’s right. This is not your fault, you did everything right. Reid blinked up at him, then sighed and nodded. Hotch hugged him and the team headed back to the hotel. Hotch and Reid showered and slid into bed.

“We’ve only got three more nights ‘til Halloween.” Reid said softy. “We don’t know if she’s going to stop killing or not.”

“We’ll get her…” Hotch murmured, pulling Reid into the middle of the bed and forcing him onto his stomach. Then he moved to straddle Reid’s legs and sit on his thighs, squirting some lotion into his hands. He rubbed it between his palms and then began to run his hands over Reid’s back and shoulders, beginning to massage his muscles.

Massage therapy had been recommended by Drs. Blair and Tsai both to help Reid with his stress and anxiety after his PTSD. It would help him to relax and get a more restful sleep. And it did indeed work. The massage soothed his lover to sleep, and there were no nightmares. And Reid was first to wake in the late morning. Hotch blinked his eyes open when the boy slipped out of bed and went to his GoBag. He changed into an FBI T-shirt and jogging pants and put on a pair of old, battered sneakers. Then he gathered a couple of things and slipped out of the room. Hotch frowned and sat up. Reid hadn’t even said goodbye. Nor had he taken his gun.

Hotch quickly rose and threw on some clothes, following. He found Reid finishing a coffee in the lobby café. Then he tied his hair back, put some ear buds into his ears and sunglasses on his face and fiddled with his iPod. Then Hotch followed him out of the hotel lobby and watched as he started jogging down the street. Hotch stared after him, then smiled and turned, going back inside.

He knew that Reid had taken up swimming and jogging while at the McBride Psychiatric Facility, and Dr. Blair had explained how Reid found it both relaxing and stimulating, both mentally and physically. Hotch made himself comfortable in the safe and waited. Reid returned an hour later, sweaty and panting, but with a brighter sparkle in his eye.   Hotch followed him into the elevator. Reid was leaning against the wall, head back, eyes closed.

“… I’m proud of you.” Reid straightened and looked at Hotch. He blinked, then smiled.

“Hey.” He greeted, and Hotch smiled back.

“You worried me, just leaving like that.”

“You followed me?”

“I was worried.”

“Awww...” Reid chuckled, grinning. Hotch smiled back and they got off the elevator at their floor. Hotch changed into his suit while Reid showered, and then they left the room together. They met the team for lunch before heading to the station.

It was halfway through the meal that Hotch turned the conversation to the case.

“Reid.” He said. “I want you working the tables tonight.”

“… really?” Reid asked.

“The one thing the victims have in common is that they’re handsome young men in their late twenties, early thirties… and they were big winners. She cruises the room and watches. Sees who’s piling up the chips. And then she gets friendly. I’ve talked to the casinos, they’ve refused to allow us to put agents at different places and fix the games so that the agents win.”

“Of course they refuse. Bad for business.” Reid chuckled.

“With you on the poker tables, we fix the game without them knowing it.” Rossi said with a smirk.

“Do whatever it takes to win, Spencer.” Hotch said, then mimicked Rossi’s smirk. “Just don’t get caught.”

Reid grinned. And with the flick of his fingers, he was suddenly holding the Ace of Spades. "You got it." He said, and with a flourish the card was gone.

Reid walked into the Halloween party and made himself comfortable at the poker tables. He sat in the middle, with Prentiss on his left. If they saw someone who matched the UnSub and there was no empty spot, Prentiss was to abandon hers to give the UnSub opportunity to move in.

Reid played carefully, making his own luck while not making himself lucky enough to draw suspicion from security. Prentiss was annoyed at just how much skill she witnessed with Reid controlling the game… she realized that he definitely took it easy on the team when they played on the plane. At one point, a blonde tried chumming up to him, but he shot her down; she wasn’t the UnSub; she was too old and too tall, in addition to the wrong hair color.

Reid had made himself several thousand dollars when he heard Morgan in his ear.

“Brunette is watching Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Reid fought not to grin and roll his eyes at that. “Wearing the 30’s Gangster Babe outfit.” There was silence for a while, as Reid won another hand. “She’s approaching.”

Prentiss gracefully bowed out of the game, shooting Reid a teasing comment about his lucky streak. A moment later, the woman slid into the seat Prentiss had abandoned.

“Hey…” She greeted after the first hand had been dealt. Reid glanced at her.

“Hi.” He said, and swapped out two cards. He won the hand.

“You look like you’re having a good night.” She said. Reid smirked and sipped his drink.

“I always have good nights.” Reid told her.

“Wait a few hands, then start responding favorably.” Hotch told Reid over the radio.

“You from around here?” The girl asked.

“I was born and raised here… moved to the east coast for work… I’m just here for the week on business, thought I’d hit up the old stomping grounds.”

“And they let you?” She asked. “I mean… you did say you always have good nights.”

“I was eighteen when they first kicked me out.” Reid chuckled. “Apparently, I’ve grown out of my picture in their security offices.” She laughed.

“I’m Brianne.”

“… Spencer.” Reid said, reaching out and taking her hand with a smile. “You from Vegas?”

“Atlantic City, actually.” The girl laughed.

“From Atlantic City to Las Vegas, huh?” Reid asked, grinning.

“Biggest change was the climate.” Brianne said, and the pair laughed together. Brianne eyed her hand then looked Reid in the eye and shoved several chips forward.

“Hm…” Reid hummed, eyeing her playfully. “You seem confident.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Just make your damn move! Flirt later!” Growled an older woman on the other side of the table. Reid grinned and stared at Brianne, and doubled what she had laid down. Then they revealed their hands.

“OH!” Brianne cried in dismay, but couldn’t stop her grin as Reid collected his winnings. “Damn… I thought I had you…”

“Make your move.” Hotch immediately said in Reid’s ear.   “That’s the perfect opening.” Reid listened to Morgan’s advice on what to say. He turned and looked at her, smirking.

“… Maybe you still can.” He said, leaning closer. Slowly, her lips curled into a flirtatious smile.

“… Hmmm…”

“Now back off… give her a chance.” Morgan advised, and Reid turned to focus on the game. After the next hand, Brianne spoke again.

“You uh… got a room here?”

“Here? Nah! My work wouldn’t spring for a place like this.” Reid chuckled.

“What do you do?” She asked.

“… Security Consultant.” Reid said, quickly.

“You revamping security at the casinos?”

“Hardly!” Reid laughed. “We work with small businesses.”

“Hmm…”   She sighed. Two more hands went by.

“Reid… say something to her.” Morgan hissed.

“I think our dealer is giving me looks…” Reid murmured to Brianne. “You uh… wanna go get a drink?” Brianne turned and looked at Reid, who was chewing his lower lip. Then, slowly, she smiled.

“Sounds good. I take it you’re paying?” She asked, pointedly eyeing his stack of chips.

“Sure… let me cash out.” Reid said. She stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay.” And they gathered their chips and headed out.

“Reid… are you really going to cash out on the job?!” Rossi demanded to know.

“Hey! Let the boy keep the fruit of his labors!” Morgan laughed.

“Reid… you’re buying EVERYONE dinner at a VERY nice place when all of this is over.” Prentiss called. Reid fought not to grin at his team’s banter in his ear. Then Garcia butted in.

“Hey guys… I’ve found something.”

“Go ahead, Garcia.” Hotch called.

“I looked up similar crimes in Atlantic City.” Garcia said.

“And?” JJ asked.

“… I have seven. They ALL match her MO. AND I have our girl. Brianne Facundo, twenty six. Three priors for Solicitation. Her mother died of an overdose three years ago, her father is serving time in New York for Aggravated Assault, Resisting Arrest, and Assault of a Police Officer. Been there since she was seventeen. And she would target big winners and get them to invite her to their rooms… once they were naked, she’d steal their winnings and run. One of them reported her… There wasn’t enough evidence to convict… but that’s when the killings started.”

“… No witnesses.” Rossi mused.

“Where do you want me to take her?” Reid asked, stepping away while Brianne cashed out.

“You know where the cameras are. I want eyes on you at all times.” Hotch said. But before Reid could answer, Brianne was suddenly clinging to Reid’s arm and dragging him away, smiling.

“Whoa, wait!” Reid yelped, stumbling after her. They moved down a hall and out of a service entrance into an alley. Reid let out a squeak as he was shoved up against the wall and her soft lips pressed up against his own.

“We’re on our way, kid, keep her distracted!” Morgan called to Reid. Reid squeaked again, wanting to cry, “HOW?!”

But then, he heard a click… the click of a switch blade. He gasped and jerked away, and put up his hand at a flash.

“AH!” He yelped, catching her wrist. She stared eyes wide, and they began to struggle, Reid trying to break her grip on the knife, and Brianne trying to stab him in the throat. With a grunt of effort, Reid shoved her away. She brandished the knife, and he pulled his gun.

“FBI! Drop the knife!” He shouted. “Brianne Facundo, you’re under arrest!” Her eyes popped and her jaw dropped. Then she turned and bolted. Reid’s eyes widened and he holstered his weapon and charged after her shouting “STOP!!!”

From behind him, he heard a bang and his team calling after him. A moment later, Prentiss and Morgan were running with him.

“Damn, Pretty Boy!   You been workin’ out?!” Morgan asked as they ran together. Reid grinned and glanced at him.

“I’ve taken up swimming and running!” Reid called back. He then looked around at where they were. They heard the screaming of tires and a siren behind them, and they knew Hotch and Rossi were following in the SUV. They all skidded around a corner.

“… Where is she?!” Prentiss gasped.

“… THERE!!!” Reid yelped, and darted across the street, barely missing being hit by a cab.

“Prentiss! Let’s take the back door!” Morgan called when they reached the club.

Reid had already disappeared inside…

Reid moved through the crowded club, filled with people in costumes or provocative ensembles. He kept his own hand tucked within his robe, fingers on his gun. His eyes darted around. Then, he saw her. She was tucked into an empty booth against a far wall, looking around nervously. Then, she saw him. Her eyes widened, then narrowed. Slowly she stood and stared him down. For a while, neither moved. Then, Reid began to move towards her.

She tensed, then whirled and bolted. And ran right into Morgan’s arms.

“You’re gonna hand over the knife, and walk out of here quietly.” He growled, flashing his credentials. Her eyes widened, and then she opened her mouth, and SCREAMED.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!!! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!!! SOMEONE HELP!!!” People turned.

“Hey! What’s going on?!” A bouncer demanded.

“He TOUCHED me!” Brianne cried.

“What?!” Morgan yelped, eyes wide as two bouncers grabbed him. “Hey! Take your hands off of me! FBI!”

“Yeah, yeah…” One of the bouncers drawled and they started dragging Morgan away. Reid ignored it… Rossi and Hotch would help him when they reached the front door where the two elder agents were. Reid’s only concern was stopping Brianne. She was trying to slip away, but Reid spun around a support column covered in Christmas lights and she walked right into his arms.

“Leaving so soon, Brianne? And here I thought things were going so well.” He smiled, and closed a handcuff around her wrist, then spun her around and cuffed her other hand behind her. “You’re under arrest for the murders of Eric Baxter, Marcus Dimatteo, Andy Victor, Jeremy Meyer and Mike Jacoby. And apparently seven others in Atlantic City.” And as he guided her out of the club, reading her her rights, nearly the entire club turned to watch as a Jedi Knight handed a gangster chick over to… well… the cast of the Matrix. Hotch, Morgan and Prentiss took control of her while Rossi talked to the bouncers. Reid turned and smiled back at the crowd watching.

“Jedi business. Go back to your drinks.” He said with a smile, then left the club with his team.

A random woman dressed like she was at Mardi Gras grinned.

“… I love Vegas!”
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