Resident Genius 2.0 (Spencer Reid)

36. Taken

SPENCER
I sat in Garcia's office, feeling the sting of my wounds being cleaned. I watched as she cleaned my wounds, putting bandages on my open cuts.

"What happened to you Spencer? Hotch said that you were in Vegas with your mom." She almost cried, seeing how hurt I was.

I avoided eye contact, glancing between her and the room, trying to identify where I could find AJ and the twins' location.

"I was, but she died while I was there. I found out that she was killed. A staff member of the hospital told me who killed her and- and I wanted revenge, but I swear, I didn't mean to kill them. He threatened to kill me if I didn't kill them." I lied, feeling sick. I mentally smiled at the thought of killing those men - both of whom deserved to die for what they did.

"Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you." Garcia held my hand.

"He was always watching me, making sure that I didn't say anything to anybody." I lied, pretending to feel the pain.

"Garcia, w- where are AJ and the twins?" I asked, watching as she exhaled.

"They're safe, I promise. I don't have the authority to tell you where they are." She smiled.

"Garcia, I need it be with them, to protect them. Please, tell me where they are." I begged, letting a few tears slip. She exhaled, which usually meant that she was going to tell me something.

"They're in New York. AJ's name is Julia Addams." Garcia hugged me. To keep the lie going, I coughed a few times.

"You're a life saver, Garcia." I smiled, standing up. I slowly walked out of the office, only speeding up when I knew that I wasn't being watched.

Driving to the airport, I bought myself a plane ticket, flying to New York.

AJ
I had met my neighbour, Mrs Benson, and she offered to take care for Sophie and Archer while I went out and got some groceries. As the day went on, the list of errands got longer, forcing me to call Mrs Benson to check up on the kids whenever I could.

At 4 pm, I returned to the house, confused when I didn't hear a single noice, opening the front door. I walked into the kitchen, happy to see Mrs Benson making some sandwiches.

"Hey Mrs Benson. How are the kids?" I asked, smiling.

"Oh, Julia. You're home. The kids are fine. Their dad came to pick them up 15 minutes ago. Went to go and get them some ice-cream." Mrs Benson smiled, my face dropping.

"He took them for ice-cream?" I tried to remain calm.

"Yeah. Said he'd bring them back in 20." Mrs Benson smiled before she went back to her task.

Racing upstairs, I grabbed my phone and dialled Hotch's number, feeling my heart race with fear.

"Hey Julia. Everything okay?" Hotch asked.

"He found us, Hotch. He took the kids." I could hear Hotch exhaling. Every moment that I knew Spencer had taken them, my heart stopped.

"Do you have any idea where he might have taken them?" Hotch questioned.

"No." I shook my head, holding my phone up to my ear.

"Call Garcia. See if she has any idea." Hotch spoke before he hung up, leaving me to dial Penelope's number.

"AJ! How are you? Is everything okay?!" Penelope questioned, seeming concerned.

"He took the kids, Penelope. He somehow found us and took the kids while I was out." I started to cry.

"He took them. Who knows what he's going to do to them." I shut my eyes, trying to hold back the tears.

"What do you mean? Spencer wouldn't hurt them. They're his kids." Penelope questioned.

"Yeah, but he's angry at me. He wants to see me suffer. He's using them to get to me." I exhaled, feeling sick at the thought of Spencer harming Sophie and Archer.

"I- I'm so sorry." I could hear the sorrow and fear in Penelope's voice.

"What? What's wrong?" I questioned, confused.

"It's my fault. He tricked me. He lied straight to my face and I let him go." She started sobbing.

"Penelope. What did you do?" I tried not to sound angry. I knew that whatever she did, it was an accident.

"He showed up at the office. He was cut and looked extremely injured." She started telling me what happened only hours prior.

"He seemed genuinely concerned and fearful of whoever was watching him. I felt bad." Garcia admitted everything.

"It's okay, Garcia. He tricked you." For the first time since I met her, I didn't call her Penelope. I called her Garcia, because when you're angry at someone, you don't necessarily use their first name.

"You called me Garcia. You never call me Garcia." She almost seemed surprised by my choice of name.

"Well, I'm angry enough at you to not use your name, but I'm not angry enough to ignore you." I admitted.

"I understand. Once again, AJ, I am SO sorry." Garcia exhaled again, seeming to have stopped sobbing.

"I know you are. But apologising isn't going to help me find my kids." I exhaled, not wanting to make Garcia feel even more guilty than she probably did.