Top Notch Agent ; A Criminal Minds Fanfic

Plain Sight

Y/n's POV

"Come on man! Blow," Derek instructed as Spencer tried to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. Spencer blew on the candles again, and just as quickly as the flames were extinguished, they popped right back up again.

"They're trick candles, Spencer," JJ finally told him. "They gonna come back on every time." 

Spencer chuckled and shook his head. "I hate you all."

"Okay, so I know you said no gifts, but..." I trailed off as I grabbed a small box from my desk and handed it to Spencer. "As your best friend, I had to get you something. Brody helped me pick it out." Spencer took the box from my hand and unwrapped it to reveal a new watch.

"Y/n, you didn't have to buy me anything. And this was probably expensive," Spencer noted.

"Spence, your old watch barely works anymore, and I hardly spend any money on myself," I admit. 

Spencer smiled softly and took off his old watch, replacing it with the new one. "Thank you."

I took a bite of my cake. "No problem, birthday boy."

"Please don't call me that," Spencer pleaded as he ate.

"Sorry, guys, the party's over," Hotch interrupted. 

"Ugh," Derek groaned. "I've been waiting to have a party for forever. Y/n, when's your birthday?"

"Uh, I turn 24 in August," I respond.

"Wait. I thought Reid was the youngest person to ever join the BAU," Elle brought up.

"I am. I joined at 22, Y/n joined at 22 and a half," Spencer smirked, proud of his achievements.

"Yep, and you bring that up every time someone asks," I mutter and head towards the conference room, everyone else following behind me.

"We're going to San Diego. They're calling him the Tommy killer. 6 women raped and murdered in their homes in the last 3 weeks," Hotch informed us. 

"6 in 3 weeks? That's a short fuse," Elle acknowledged. 

"And getting shorter. The first 2 were 8 days apart then the next 4 in 2 weeks," Hotch added. 

"Rapid escalation. Do you think he's regressing to a psychopathic frenzy?" Spencer asked. 

Hotch shook his head. "No, he's too controlled for that. See you on the plane."

................................................

"Brenda Samms was found yesterday by her children when they got home from school. She had been strangled with a thin ligature, possibly a wire. No weapon left at the scene," Hotch briefed us. 

"Residue on the wrist and mouth indicate that duct tape was used and then removed. Also not found at the scene," Spencer murmured. 

"He also started leaving messages at the fourth scene. This was on the mirrors. 'Fair lady, throw those costly robes aside. No longer may you glory in your pride. Take leave of all your carnal, vain delight. I've come to summon you away this night'," Hotch read aloud. 

"It's a ballad from the late 1600s. A dialogue between death and a lady. Essentially, a woman is begging death to live," Spencer explained. 

"What kind of person knows this ballad? Are we looking for a literature professor?" Elle questioned. 

"Anyone with an internet connection, actually. You should see what comes in when you type the word 'death' into a search engine," Spencer responded.