1 | TREPIDATION. [SPENCER REID]

FOUR.

"-And four squares carved into his back," Rossi finished for the technical analyst, shaking his head.

"You got it," Garcia replied. Her tone was somber but it held a hint of determination. "How's Carson doing?"

Hotch cleared his throat. "She's slowly opening up. She's the one who gave us the tip on Peterson."

There was a lull in the conversation. Glances were exchanged between the group, each member with the same thought on their mind. Spencer Reid was the first to break the silence. "She's not lying about her ability. She's good at what she does."

"Hell, I can't even detect some of the stuff she did," Morgan added.

"We can focus on what the girl can do after we catch the Horsemen," Hotch demanded, eying each person that stood around the table. "But for right now, we need to focus on how and why Quinn Carson joined the team and what the Horsemen's endgame is." The leader leaned closer to his phone that he had placed on the table. "Garcia, do your best to find anything associated with any of the Horsemen. Any person, any event, any day; it could lead us to them."

"I'm on it," Penelope stated, pressing the end button on her phone.

Spencer unintentionally caught JJ's attention as he walked in direction of the interrogation room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the genius pace the hallway, mind undoubtedly spinning with thoughts she couldn't fathom. She followed the doctor's path and stood beside him with one eyebrow raised. "What are you thinking, Spence?"

JJ tried not to notice the subtle blush upon his cheeks as she broke him out of his thoughts. "Quinn doesn't fit the Horsemen's idea of a member."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've studied The Four Horsemen since I've been invested in FBI work. Joseph Lawrence is one of the greatest criminal masterminds of all time," Spencer explained, eyes trained on the wall in front of him. "That means he plans everything to the minute. He has standards for his members. Quinn just doesn't fit those standards. She's not vengeful, she's not murderous. She's anxious and fearful. There's no doubt in my mind she's brilliant, she's proved that much to us. But Lawrence wants a team that's loyal to him and that can help him get away with murder." He paused to catch his breath. "But Quinn has been helping us. So I guess my question is, why her?"

JJ was unsure of how to respond to the ramblings of her friend. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, leaning up against the wall of the hallway. "Well, we know she didn't join willingly," she began. A thought sparked in her head, eyes flashing to Spencer's. "You said Lawrence plans everything beforehand. He probably saw something in Quinn one day and decided she'd be a good addition to the team. So he learned more about her, found her weaknesses, discovered ways to convince her."

Spencer's eyes widened. "Do we have any background on her family? Anything on who she was acquainted with or what she did?"

"No." Was JJ's simple answer. "We have her birth certificate and that's it."

"If we can find out what happened and what she did, maybe we can figure out what they needed her for and what they're going to do," the doctor suggested. He began to walk down the hall to the room where Quinn sat.

"Do you think she knows more than she's letting on?" JJ asked him, not far behind.

Spencer paused before answering. "I think we need to get her to trust us completely before we can know for sure."

The agent sighed, walking to the two-way mirror to see Quinn Carson with her head rested atop of her hands. Her eyes would close for a moment as if she were falling asleep, then she would open them suddenly, a glazed look in her eye. This action repeated a couple of times.

It made sense, JJ thought as she watched the girl. She'd been awake for almost thirty eight hours. No matter how well Lucas Nelson trained her, she had to be tired.

Spencer's lips twitched upward as a thought came to his mind. "What if we took her cuffs off?"

"Spence, I don't know-"

"We have to get her to trust us, right?" he asked her, turning towards the blonde. "How can she trust that we believe her if she's chained to a table?"

JJ sighed as she weighed the options in her mind. "I'd ask Hotch about it. I'm not sure if that's the best-"

"It's a good idea," Spencer insisted. He believed that she better than what her status was. He believed in Quinn. "She obviously doesn't have the same mindset as the rest of them. I'm not saying we let her go, just give her a bit more freedom than we are."

"That's actually not a terrible plan," a voice said from behind the two. They turned to see Hotch approaching them with a shrug. "She's not going to do anything harmful. There aren't any cameras or windows in the room." He turned to Spencer. "She needs to put her faith into us. I say we go for it."

A soft smile came across the doctors lips as he nodded toward his boss. Hotch called over to an officer in the corner of the room, asking for the keys to the cuffs on Quinn's wrists. The man obliged and handed the keys to him, Hotch then passing them off to Spencer. Reid furrowed his brow, looking at him confusedly. "Why me?"

"She didn't seem as intimated by you," Hotch replied. Spencer felt a sense of pride in his chest, his eyes unconsciously flicking to the partially asleep girl in the chair.

The genius nodded, grasping the keys and flipping them between his fingertips. He opened the door to the interrogation room and watched as Quinn's eyes snapped open. Her stoic posture returned now that she was in the presence of someone in higher power. Spencer wondered if this was how she greeted Lawrence, Nelson or Masters.

The door shut behind him and he slowly put his hands up, shaking them slightly. "No, no. I'm not here to ask you anymore questions." Quinn seemed to relax slightly, although her glance remained suspicious. "I'm just, uh, here to unlock you."

Spencer's words were quick and sounded as if they were uncomfortable coming out of his mouth. She watched as he approached her with keys in his hands. He walked slowly, as if he were with a small and skittish animal. As he rounded the side of the table, Quinn moved her wrists towards him. The doctor placed the key in the hole and unlocked the right cuff, then did the same with the left. Quinn immediately began to rub her wrists, frowning at the red skin where the cuffs had been. "Thank you," she whispered.

Spencer nodded at her, an an awkward, tight-lipped smile appearing on his face. "Not a problem," he responded. There was a silence between the two, neither of them knowing what to say. This was why Spencer Reid didn't do interrogations often. "Do you, um, need anything? Water?"

"I'm okay." Her response was short. She did not make eye contact with him.

Again, Reid nodded. "Okay," he said, glancing towards the mirror where he knew JJ and Hotch were watching. "We'll be in soon to ask you a couple more questions, alright?"

Quinn didn't respond. She was tired; tired of questions, tired of sitting in the rooms, tired from a lack of sleep.

Spencer took this as his cue to exit. As his hand touched the doorknob, he heard her voice speak softly. "What did you say your name was?" He looked to her to meet her eyes. He gave her a small smile.

"Spencer," he answered.

Quinn felt her lips move up. "Spencer." The name rolled off her tongue for the first time and Reid cocked his head to the side slightly. "Thank you," she finished.

And with that, Spencer Reid exited the interrogation room.

-----

thank you so much for the positive feedback this story's been getting, it's a pleasure to write and it's so much fun developing the plot.

ok this is a quick note bc i have to pack for nyc so byeee

love you all tons!
-mags