NO GOOD DEED || S. REID

3.11

KATHARINE ABSOLUTELY HATE THE FACT THAT SHE HAD TO SIT OUT ON A CASE. After being called to the Avenger's Compound following the case involving methanol, Katharine was told that she would be needed for an entire week.

What made matters worse was that her team was investigating a case in the same town as she was in, though they didn't know that. Of course, every time she's called away to do Tony's bidding, she's not allowed to tell them where exactly she's gone.

She'd been allowed to let one person know, and she used that allowance on Spencer. After all, he was her emergency contact if anything were to go wrong. Not that anything usually would, working for Tony Stark didn't exactly mean putting her life on the line each time she made a visit.

"Sorry, Hotch," she had apologized, her phone pressed to her ear as she oversaw the trainees on base. Though the idea of becoming another person's SO made her sick to her stomach, she had been assured that she'd only be responsible for training this time around. "Mr. Stark has got me out in Oregon."

It never felt good, lying to someone that trusted her, but it was necessary. The government liaison job was utter bullshit first off. The only thing she'd done even remotely related to the title was holding a press conference in Tony's name. And even then, it was completely unrelated from the government and any of its dealings.

Hotch had understood. He told Katharine not to worry, that they'd be able to handle this case without her. He also said something that was becoming more commonplace in their phone conversations. He had told her to be safe, to which she always replied, "I always am."

She knew it was more for his state of mind than actually care about her wellbeing. He knew that she could handle herself.

And now, a week later, she was still in Upstate New York while she watched the news coverage detailing the events of the case that the BAU had managed to solve. It was a miracle, they'd apprehended the unsub and rescued a victim, though to Katharine it seemed the victim had managed to save herself.

Good for her, Katharine thought to herself as she packed away her belongings. She had told Spencer to text her when they were headed back so she could time her departure around their arrival at the BAU.

There was a knock on her door, to which she replied, come in, while shoving a pair of pants into her suitcase.

"Hey," Nina greeted, holding a tablet between her fingers and a headset wrapped around her head. Katharine heard the door close which told her this was more than just a goodbye.

"What's up?" she asked, zipping up her case. She sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her, inviting her friend to sit.

Nina sat down, crossing her legs as she placed herself more in the middle of the standard-issue twin bed. Katharine crossed her legs as well, turning so that she was facing her friend fully. She observed as the usually peppy and excitable woman barely even smiled. Nina pressed a few icons on her screen before passing the device over to Katharine.

"No," she said, her eyes widening in disbelief. "There's no way..."

"There is," Nina said, sighing heavily. "He's back and in DC."

Katharine zoomed in on the photo, taken from a shitty security camera from outside of a bank. He looked rougher than he did all those years ago but considering the circumstances, she figured he would.

"Have you contacted the JTF team that was originally assigned to him?" Katharine asked, handing Nina her tablet back. The brunette shook her head, shutting the device off.

"I figured you'd want to hear about it first," she said, messing with the mouthpiece of the headset. "Plus, you never came in contact with any of the original JTF members. You just dealt with the HYDRA dealers he just so happened to stumble upon."