1 | TREPIDATION. [SPENCER REID]

TWENTY FOUR.

status: extremely unedited. will be editing within the next night.

TWENTY FOUR ; AWARE.

Quinn sat in the conference room with a shock blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Though she didn't see much of the point in wearing the blanket (because she wasn't exactly in shock), the team had insisted she stay in the room with the fabric, dissecting files until they found something safe for her to do.

They had updated her on the idea that the police officers did in fact know Devon White very well (too well if you were asking her). These officers also put the inmates up against each other in fights, later betting on the outcome of the fight, hence why the young and thin Devon White made so many trips to the infirmary.

Quinn's eyes snapped to the door as she saw the team enter the room once more, evaluating what they had just seen at the sight of yet another murder. Inmate Patrick Butler had attacked Captain Shavers, the fight ending in a nasty gash upon Shavers's forehead and Butler with his skull cracked open, bleeding out. Hotch had sent her pictures, telling her to look carefully at the scene. Though she knew it was mostly busy work, she didn't complain, as it gave her something to do other than fork through papers.

JJ gave Quinn a small smile, squeezing her shoulder and taking a seat beside her. Quinn struggled to return the favor, her lips weakly turning upwards. The profilers packed into the room, laying folders out before all. The girl felt eyes on her, her gaze focusing on the file of Patrick Butler she held in her hands. She saw Spencer shift uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye.

"You really think this Butler guy did it?" JJ asked, turning to face Hotch, who stood behind her.

"It's possible," he replied, eyes trained on the board behind him. "And our profile may have led Shavers right to it."

Morgan spoke up, hands shoved into his pockets. "But if this is about foul play, why would Shavers want him dead?"

"He may have known too much about something the Captain's trying to hide," Spencer reasoned. He crossed his arms over his chest, frowning as he realized that Quinn refused to look at him- anyone for that matter.

"You think the Warden knew about this?" Kate asked.

Quinn shook her head, feeling all gazes on her once more. "No." Her voice was feeble. "The man is completely clueless to everything that has happened behind the scenes. At this point, he's just trying to stay above water and keep his job."

They all nodded, a sudden quiet falling over the group. Glances were exchanged, everyone attempting to figure out what was to come next. "So what's our next move?" Kate questioned, voicing the thoughts of all.

"We proceed as planned," Hotch instructed. "We keep conducting interviews until we find out what happened to Devon White, and then we figure out if Butler or Shavers had anything to do with it."