In the shadows of his car, a man watched his prey leave the house. The larger of the two got into the driver’s seat of the car while the smaller, his Damien, got into the passenger’s seat. The man followed in his own car as the two went down the road. He followed, watching, as they went to the university. Damien was taking classes today. The man wouldn’t bother him there; Damien had always been so focused on studies. He would get angry if disturbed too much while working. That was ok; the man could wait. He would wait eternity for Damien.
So instead of following the one he wanted, he followed the other. After Damien was dropped off, the car started to move again, the man following discreetly behind. He hoped that by watching this other one, he might be able to figure out a way to get him out of the picture. He was in the way of the man and Damien’s happiness. This ‘Derek’ fellow needed to be gone. But how? How would he get him away? Or should he just take them together like he’d originally planned. Yes…he could do that. Then he could dispose of Derek in any way he wished and then he and Damien would be together. Forever.
The gleeful feeling in him froze when he saw where it was that Derek was pulling into. The police station? Why was he at the police station? The man had been watching the video stream since last night and he’d seen no phone calls that should have brought them back to the station. Plus, it was Damien who had been hurt. Damien was the one who had been attacked and who had almost died. Derek had failed to protect him! So the man had stepped in to protect him.
He felt that rage build in the pit of his stomach again. How dare someone attack what was his? It had been so satisfying to plunge that knife down into the boy’s back; to stab him, over and over, until he couldn’t harm Damien anymore. Then—oh, sheer heaven!—he’d been able to stroke Damien’s face. Touch him. Talk to him.
Watching, he saw Derek climb from his car, saw him go into the police station. Through the windows the man could see as Derek was led into the room the FBI was using. Now, what the hell was that? If he’d been talking to the cops it would have made a little sense. Maybe he’d be checking up on the report on Damien. But why would he be talking to the Feds? Why had the Feds been the one to interview the two men last night? Something was wrong here. Something was very, very wrong.
The man pulled away from the station, plotting in his mind. There was something off about all of this and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He knew of only one way to get his answers. Driving his car to a specified place, he used a payphone to call in a disturbance. He’d seen the cop car nearby on his drive over and knew that only one cop was in that car. That cruiser would be the one to respond to this call and the man would be alone.
Waiting in the shadows, the man watched as his plan unfolded. He watched as the officer pulled into the run down lot, parking near the man’s empty car. When he walked over to look inside, the man moved slowly and quietly. Soon, he would have his answers. Soon, this cop would tell him everything he wanted to know.
CMCM
When the last class of the day was done with, Spencer gathered his things together, stuffing them down into his messenger bag. He actually felt his lips curve a little as he thought about going ‘home’. Morgan was supposed to pick him up. While he put his stuff together and headed out of the lecture hall, Spencer’s thoughts traveled back to that morning at the house.
Trisha’s arrival had broken the mood between the two men. That frisky feeling had been gone and reality had come crashing back in. For the longest time, Spencer had simply stood in the circle of Morgan’s arms, trying to lock everything away again. He knew that others might think it was impractical of him to grieve over Timmy’s death, but Morgan understood. They had both liked the man. It just went to show that even some of the most wonderful people, people you never would have suspected, could do something wrong.
After a while the two had moved to the couch, settling down together. Just being around one another had been enough to ease their tension, but Spencer hadn’t been ready to talk and his throat was too sore to handle more talking. So Morgan had put a movie on and Spencer had grabbed a book. When Morgan stretched out, his feet propped on the coffee table, Spencer had shifted sideways and put his back against the side of Morgan’s chest and Morgan’s arm had wrapped loosely around his stomach. Together they sat there for a few hours. Spencer went through a few books while Morgan watched his movie. It had been the perfect way to relax.
But then the time had come for Spencer to get ready to go. He’d found himself eager to go; looking forward to learning new information. Knowledge was something he was always seeking. Anything that allowed him to learn something new was wonderful. Morgan had laughed at him for being so eager, but Spencer hadn’t been able to help himself. He’d been smiling slightly when he’d headed to his first class.
Now as he walked to the parking lot, he was smiling once again. That smile grew even more when he saw Morgan leaning against the side of the car, waiting for him. For one of the first times in his life, Spencer didn’t think about being in public or about who could see him. He didn’t realize that people were watching and he didn’t feel embarrassed. His eyes locked with Morgan and he walked straight to him, moving into his arms as if it was something they’d done for years, pressing a kiss to the older man’s lips. When they pulled apart, Morgan was smiling back at him. “Hey, pretty boy. Good day?”
“Yeah.” Spencer leaned in and stole another kiss. “I’m feeling better, I think. You know me and school.”
“Always eager to learn more. You’re one in a million, Spencer.”
Chuckling, Spencer broke free to get into the car. “I can’t help that I like to learn!”
“I wouldn’t have you any other way, baby boy.”
That comment had Spencer smiling to himself while the car started and they pulled out of the parking lot. Neither noticed the black car that followed them, blending into the traffic. As they headed down the road, Morgan quizzed Spencer on his classes, actually seeming interested in the long-winded responses the younger agent gave. Encouraged by that, Spencer said more than he normally would have, giving more detail as he tried to describe what it was they were learning.
“The only downside to this all is maintaining the cover while I’m in class.” Spencer admitted after a few moments. “Hotch said it’s ok for me to read at my speed, but I have to cover up the rest of my intellect. I don’t quite know how to do that very well. It was hard not to correct the one professor when he misquoted our textbook.” Scowling, Spencer looked out the window. “How does someone misquote a book that he assigned for his class? Shouldn’t it be a requirement to know what you’re assigning to the student body to read?”
Morgan’s laughter only spurred Spencer on. He turned his body in his seat, hands moving as he got into what he was discussing. “I understand that he teaches quite a bit and sometimes a person can just be tired and make mistakes. I also comprehend that it’s logical for someone to paraphrase something. But the way he misquoted it actually changed the meaning entirely! What is that going to do to the students he teaches? If you’re teaching something, you should teach it correctly! I had a professor at Cal-Tech like that. That man was an abysmal professor. I wasn’t the least bit offended when he banned me from his classroom. I found a much better teacher instead.”
“You were banned from a classroom in college, pretty boy?” Morgan said with another laugh. “What did you do to him?”
“If he hadn’t been so idiotic, I would never have called him out the way I did. But one can only take incompetence for so long before it becomes too much. If you’re not prepared for a student to answer a question then you shouldn’t ask it to begin with! When he put the equation on the board on the first day of class, he challenged us all to solve it. A contest, to see if any of us could.”
“And let me guess, you did, didn’t you?”
Spencer shrugged, but a small grin was tugging at his lips. “Before class was even finished.” He admitted. As Morgan’s laughter grew louder, Spencer’s cheeks heated with his blush. “I didn’t realize he would get so upset! How was I supposed to know that the equation had taken him three years of hard work to solve? He simply put it up there and asked us to solve it. So while we worked in class, I let part of my mind wander over it. Was it wrong of me to solve it when he’d asked us to?”
By then Morgan was grateful that they were pulling into the driveway. It allowed him to put the car in park and laugh without fear of crashing. “You solved something in one class that took your professor three years to solve?” He managed to snort out.
“Well, yes. It wasn’t that difficult, see. All I had to do…”
Morgan brought a hand up, cutting him off before he could get going. “You know anything you say to me about a mathematical equation is going to go right over my head, Spencer, so you might as well stop now. Tell me what happened once you solved it. I’ve got to hear the ending of this.”
Still embarrassed, Spencer chewed on his lip and looked over at Morgan, who was now turned in his seat to face him, grinning like a loon. That relaxed Spencer enough that he smiled as he finished his story. “When the class was ending, I was finished with my work ahead of the other students, so I put my hand up for his attention like we’d been instructed to do. He called on me and I told him that I was finished with my work and that I had the answer to his equation. He didn’t believe me. He said there was no way I had the answer but that I was more than welcome to come up to the whiteboard and try. So I did.”
“And were you right?”
Spencer gave Morgan an offended look. “You think I’d go up there with a wrong answer?”
Chuckling, Morgan shook his head. “Of course not. What was I thinking? Finish the story, baby boy.”
For a moment Spencer stared at Morgan, unsure if he was still making fun of him. Then he shrugged and continued, smiling to himself as he remembered that day. “I wrote the answer on the whiteboard. I knew I was correct, as did he. When I turned to him, he accused me of cheating. I mean, I was young. The youngest in the room. So it was slightly understandable that he assumed I wouldn’t know the answer. Yet, my age should have been an indicator that I was more intelligent than the average college student. I was annoyed that he thought I cheated, though. I was tired of having to prove myself to him. I told him I’d figured it out in my head while we were in class. He said there was no way.”
All over again Spencer felt the annoyance he’d felt that day. It showed in his face and his gestures as he continued talking. “He actually had the nerve to say I’d been warned that he used this equation and had looked up the answer somehow. So, frustrated with him, I figured the easiest way to prove to him I had done it was to show him. I erased the board and wrote out the equation and my process from start to finish, explaining it as I went. When I was done, I set the pen down and told him that it was really a simple equation when one stepped back to look at it. He accused me of mocking him, which I hadn’t been doing, and of trying to make him look like a fool in his class. Then he told me to leave and not come back. I was happy to oblige.”
This time Morgan shook his head as he laughed. He impulsively leaned in and gave Spencer a kiss that left the younger man smiling. “You are one in a million, pretty boy.”
Both men were smiling as they climbed out of the car. Spencer followed behind Morgan, waiting for him to unlock the house before they headed inside. This place had almost really come to feel like home. Spencer put his bag down by the coat rack in the living room before adding his coat and the scarf he’d worn to hide his bruises. For a moment that thought tried to push in, but he shoved it back. That was the last thing he wanted to think about at the moment. School had helped him compartmentalize, shoving back the things he didn’t want to think about. For now that was how it had to be. If he wanted to be able to do his job than he couldn’t allow himself to freak out over what had happened and what had almost happened.
He went back to the kitchen where Morgan was rifling the cupboards. “Nothing really looks good to eat. We should have picked up something on the way home.” Morgan said, his voice muffled from inside the pantry.
Spencer moved directly to the coffeepot. Wonderful man that he was, Morgan had made sure there was coffee waiting, knowing Spencer would want it. He was pouring his cup and adding sugar while he answered Morgan. “If you want something, go ahead and go get it. I can get some laundry started while you do.”
“Why don’t we get something delivered?” Morgan suggested. He straightened from the cupboard and turned to look at him, smiling as he saw Spencer sighing over the first sip of coffee. “What are you hungry for?”
Mm, the coffee was wonderful. Now that he had it in his system, Spencer smiled over at him. “Chinese.” He decided. That sounded wonderful. So long as Derek doesn’t give me too much crap about the chopsticks his mind teased. He didn’t even notice that Morgan had now become Derek, even in his mind. “But they don’t deliver. There’s that place that’s only a couple of blocks down the road.”
Something passed through Morgan’s eyes and his smile wiped away. “I’m not fond of leaving you alone, Spencer. Not after last night.”
“I’ll be fine, Derek. Nothing is going to happen to me here. The police will find the guy and we’ll be fine.” In that was the silent message Nothing is going to happen to me tonight. You know he has a time schedule and this isn’t it. But he still saw the indecision on Morgan’s face. Sighing internally, Spencer walked over to him, giving him a gentle kiss. “Go, honey. I’ll be perfectly fine for the twenty minutes it takes you to go get our food and come back.”
For a long moment Morgan only stared at him, a silly little smile growing. Looking at hm, Spencer couldn’t help but smile back even as he asked “What?”
“You called me honey.”
Chuckling, Spencer stepped away, moving back to lean against the counter. “So I did.” He teased easily. How was it that things that had scared him at the start of this job now came so easily? Talking, flirting, it had seemed so hard before. Now, with Morgan, it was almost as easy as breathing. “Does that make you happy enough to go get me the Chinese I want?”
That had Morgan laughing. “All right, all right. I’ll get your Chinese. But I’m going to make you try the number two pencils again.” He darted past Spencer before the younger man could reach out to smack him. His laughter echoed through the house as he hurried out the door. “Be back soon!” There was no need for him to ask what Spencer wanted. They’d eaten take out together often enough to know what the other liked.
Even as the door was shutting, Spencer was still laughing. It was good to see Morgan in a playful mood. It was good to be in a playful mood, himself. He’d been afraid that the events of the night before would make the next little while difficult. But it seemed that they might do ok, so long as they had each other.
Spencer hummed the music of Moonlight Sonata to himself as he headed down the hallway to gather the clothes. They really did need to do laundry. He put everything in the basket, keeping his coffee cup nearby, and once it was ready he put the basket on his hip and picked up his cup with his free hand. On his way to the laundry room, which banked off the kitchen, he had to chuckle to himself. Didn’t he just look so domestic right now? Gathering laundry while his partner went to get them dinner.
Maybe when Morgan got back they could go set up on the back porch to eat. The night wasn’t too cold and the stars would be pretty to look at as they came out. It would almost be like a little picnic for them. Plus, they’d be out of the range of the cameras, so it would be like they were actually having a private moment together. That would be something special to him.
He’d thought before that he loved Morgan, but over the short time they’d been here together, Spencer was realizing just how much that love could grow. It seemed to do so every day. Each morning that he woke up in Morgan’s arms, he felt the love he had for the man grow a little more and a little more. This whole faux dating underneath the cover dating had started as Morgan’s way of showing Spencer what their life could be like together. If this was what they could have together once they were back home, he’d be a fool to pass it up. Every day was wonderful. There was no pain from being hurt, no fear of being hurt. Just love and friendship.
He couldn’t stop smiling as he put the clothes into the washer. Maybe Morgan really was right. Maybe, when they got home, together they could find a way to get things with Michael taken care of and then he could really start his life with Morgan. The idea was thrilling. A job he loved, friends, a person he loved and who loved him. What more could someone want?
Wrapped in his fantasy, Spencer was still smiling when he stepped back into the kitchen. That smile wiped away when he saw the figure standing by the dining room table. It was the face he’d seen so many times recently, following him. The face that had loomed over him just last night while a bloody hand stroked his hair. Yet where there had been compassion before, now Spencer only saw rage and insanity. He took a step back, shivering in the suddenly cool house, his throat going dry.
The man gave him a smile as hard and sharp as a shark. “Hello, Spencer. Or, should I say, Dr. Reid?”
For just one second, Spencer felt his heart stop. All his brain could think was Oh, shit.