1 | TREPIDATION. [SPENCER REID]

SIXTEEN.

extremely long chapter for this late night update !! but a small warning to a couple of you, a panic attack is a major part of this chapter, so just tread carefully if you're triggered by this kind of stuff. continue, hope you enjoy !! -mags

SIXTEEN ; LESSON LEARNED.

Quinn could feel eyes on her as she stood next to Rossi, interrogating a man whose house had been vandalized by the missing boy and his friends. She crossed her arms over her chest as she kept her gaze locked on the man, ignoring the stares of the bystanders and officers. Hotch believed it was time for Quinn to approach her first crime scene and help question the witnesses. There was no blood, no body at the site, nothing to trigger any memories for Quinn. It was a perfect way to ease her into the job.

She was a convict investigating a crime scene. That's how some saw her, anyway. A sad irony stood within the situation.

The way the man was speaking to Rossi made Quinn question his motives. He was hostile and self-absorbed, only worrying about what was to happen to him. Quinn may have been a part of a team of murderers, but at least she was able to empathize with the family of the abducted child.

"Is all this really necessary?" he asked the two BAU members. "I told you, I didn't see anything. Nothing but those kids egging my house!" He shook his head in an exasperated way. "I gotta go to work in the morning!" he complained.

Rossi and Quinn exchanged a look of disbelief, the older agent turning back to face the man. "Well, I'm sorry for the inconvenience sir, but I'm sure the parents of the missing child don't really care, and frankly, neither do I." The man visibly recoiled at the tone of Rossi's voice, his expression one of surrender.

Quinn took this as an opportunity to ask the man a further question. "Sir, did you happen hear anything strange? Any screams or something unusual? Anything?"

"No," he answered simply. He wasn't lying.

"You don't mind if we take a look around your house then, do you?" Quinn questioned, glancing around.

The man look bewildered. "Wait, do you think I had something to do with this?" Rossi and Quinn exchanged another subtle look and the man shook his head with a clenched jaw. "No! I-I didn't do anything. I'm not like you," he stated, glaring at Quinn. The girl but the inside of her cheek and looked away from the man, chest tightening. Rossi stiffened, eyes now in slits. "That's right, I remember you. You were apart of that group-"

"And now she's a federal agent," Rossi snapped. "One that is able to tell us whether or not you're lying just by looking at you. So I suggest you shut your mouth and don't open it unless you have some useful information."

As the man scowled at Rossi, Quinn let a small smile fall across her lips. The neighbor's eyes fell on Quinn. "Well, do you think I'm lying?"

Quinn shrugged. She saw Rossi smirk out of the corner of her eye. "You're going to have to give me a minute."