Bullet From A Gun (Criminal Minds)

The Flight

Chapter Three: The Flight

 
‘And you've been up all night, and the night before, and you've lost count of drinks and time. Your friends keep calling worried sick, and there's strangers everywhere.’
- Snow Patrol: This Isn't Everything You Are
 
 
Stepping onto the jet, JJ let out a sigh. Next to the office and her house, this place was where she spent most of her time. Placing her tablet on a table, she pushed herself into the window seat and leant back as she watched her team file in. Hotch had that face on; his case face, whilst Rossi had his calm demeanour that he upheld so well. Morgan just fell onto the long sofa and Prentiss sat beside her. She looked around for Reid, and noticed he was sitting behind them with - surprisingly enough - a pair of earphones in.

“Reid?”
Looking up towards the person who had said his name, he got up, grabbing his paper file as opposed to the team's tablets.
“So, why does this UnSub give his victims pain relief before he kills them?”
Morgan, plunging on into their review, was thinking of Reid and his strange behaviour lately. There was one assumption that played on his mind, yet he refused to believe it.
“Maybe it’s a sign of remorse?” Prentiss replied, flicking through pictures on her tablet.
“I doubt it; maybe it’s a sign of torture. Garcia, do any of these people have a prior history with drugs?”
The blond on the computer screen, typed furiously as she spoke, “Only one; the missing girl, Hannah Jones. She has a history with heroin; she was pulled out of college to go to rehab, she got out, and made something of herself. She now owns a small business with her sister Caitlyn.”
“Okay, Reid and JJ; you work on geographical profile and victimology. Morgan; you and Prentiss go and talk to Hannah's sister, Caitlyn. Rossi; you and I will go to the dump sites.”
 
After getting their assignments, they split up and went to their separate seats.

“Hotch?”
Looking up from his file into his friend's face, “Yes, Dave?”
“What was going on back at Quantico? With the Dilaudid?”
Rossi, who hadn't been there when Reid had suffered through his addiction, was confused. He wanted to know and he knew he had to know.
Hotch's calm exterior suddenly began awkward as he looked over to where Reid was sitting. The young man had his eyes closed and a pair of white earphones in.
 
“Well, a year before you returned, we were called to Georgia for a case, and there was a witness called Tobias Hankle. I sent Reid and JJ to interview him, but Reid quickly discovered that he was actually the UnSub. They split up to catch him. JJ was almost savaged by dogs and Reid was kidnapped. Hankle had been living as three people: himself, his father and an archangel, Raphael. The side that was Raphael told Reid to pick people to kill, the father personality beat him senseless and the real side of him injected Reid with Dilaudid to ease his pain.”

Rossi took a deep sigh, knowing straight away, “And he became addicted?”

Hotch nodded, a frown appearing, “But that was a long time ago.”
 
Sensing that they shouldn't talk on the topic any longer, Rossi sat back and thought about what he had just learnt about his younger co-worker.