Psychosis

Chapter 17- Los Angeles, City of Psychos

Isabel looked back and forth from one of her new teammates to the demon in front of them. Her teammate had done nothing wrong, but she knew the demon wouldn't think the same way. Before her teammate could explain though, something strange happened. Isabel watched as the demon switched to a woman, and back to a demon, and back to a woman, at first switching somewhat slowly. The switching picked up speed until she couldn't tell when it was a woman and when it was a demon. It hurt her head so much, that she put her hands to her temples, trying to alleviate the pain. When that didn't work, she did the only other thing she knew would help her out. She started to scream.

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Reid looked from Akilah to Erin Strauss, and back again. Akilah looked down at her hand, which was still bruised, and back over at Ciara's face, which was still bruised and swollen. Reid looked at Ciara then and noticed she was rubbing her forehead as if she had a terrible migraine. However, for everyone but him, that was the least of their concerns. He was a little worried about her, yes, and started to dig in his go bag to see if he had any pain medicine she would borrow, before remembering that he never kept any narcotics with him. Ever. Even when he was infected with anthrax, he refused narcotics, so it would make sense that he didn't keep them on him. Akilah took a deep breath, but before she could speak, Strauss did it for her.

"Agent Ganem, I am inquiring why your hand is bruised and your knuckles split while Agent Byrne's face looks like she has been beaten," Strauss asked, and Akilah tensed at the tone of her voice. She took a small piece of her hijab and began to twist it in her hands, making sure it didn't come off and expose her hair, and that was when Reid realized.

Oh my God, Akilah is actually scared of Erin Strauss. Akilah, who came across as a badass who was scared of nothing and no one, was scared of Erin Strauss.

"Please, Chief Strauss, call me Akilah. Agent Ganem sounds so-"

"I do not care what you think it sounds like. Now, Akilah, please answer the question," Strauss shut Akilah up quickly, and everyone looked at Akilah, wanting to help, but not really sure how. Akilah would have to dig herself out of this hole.

"Well, um, I actually have a really good explanation. You see, the reason for that is, well, um-"

"It's my fault, Erin." Everyone turned to Rossi, not quite sure what he was doing. Reid knew it wasn't his fault. It wasn't really anyone's fault.

"And how is that, David?" Strauss asked.

"You see, last night most of us went out to try and welcome Ciara and Akilah into the team. Ciara here got overwhelmed with it all and needed to step out for a minute. I went and talked to her, and she asked me to leave her alone for a minute to clear her head. I did, and once I left her alone, she was attacked by four strangers. They might have killed her had Akilah not come along and knocked them out," Rossi explained.

"Ms. Ganem, you knocked four strangers out all on your own?" Strauss asked.

"Well, yeah, um... I mean yes, I did," Akilah said, straightening herself out and letting go of her hijab, getting back the confident composure she usually stood with. "I know what I did probably wasn't the best course of action, and Hotch and I have already had a small conversation on keeping my temper under control. However, as Rossi said, those men would have killed Ciara had I not done what I did. I was only protecting her. I still stand by what I did, and I would do it again without blinking. Ciara is my partner, and I will do whatever it takes to protect her." Reid not only looked at but up to Akilah at that moment. She stood up to Strauss, which was more than he could do. Strauss intimidated him, just like most people did. Finally, Strauss nodded.