2 | GREEN LIGHT. [SPENCER REID]

ONE.

"Am I the only one who knows?" Baldwin asked, making Quinn look at her in question. "You've just, never told me if there's anyone else."

Quinn hesitiated, before answering honestly, "You're one of five people."

Before Adeline could respond, there was a knock on her office door. "Could I steal Miss Croft for a minute?" asked Emily Prentiss, a small grin tugging at her lips.

Quinn furrowed her brow as her eyes scanned her boss' face, seeing through the friendly mask she wore. Her eyes were worried, words slightly more rushed than usual. "'Course you can," Baldwin told her, returning the smile. She then turned to Quinn. "Are we still on for tomorrow?"

"As long as you're buying," Quinn replied, standing from her chair, laughing quietly as Baldwin let out a yelp.

"In your dreams, Croft," she responded. "Speaking of dreams, get some sleep. You've been working non-stop for a week."

Quinn didn't verbally answer, simply giving her friend a thumbs up as she left the office, falling into step with Emily Prentiss. The two exchanged a glance as they made their way down the hall.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asked, unable to keep the words in her mouth.

Prentiss didn't look at her, pace increasing as they rounded the corner of the hall. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Your eyes," she answered. "They've always been your tell."

Prentiss then met her gaze momentarily, looking away quickly. "Let's talk in my office, yeah?"

Quinn's stomach churned. This couldn't be good.

The two soon approached the door to Emily's office, entering, then shutting the door softly. Quinn watched as her boss rounded her desk, sitting in the large chair behind it. She took the seat in front of the desk, staring at Prentiss in anticipation.

"Do you know what the day is, Quinn?" Her head snapped up at the use of her real name. Emily hardly ever called her by her true identity. Quinn bit the inside of her cheek.

"Of course I do."

Emily nodded, pressing her lips together. "Two years to the date."

Quinn narrowed her eyes at Prentiss, attempting to identify the reason for her uncharacteristically cryptic behavior. Avoidance, Quinn noted. But why? Why mention the date?

When it clicked, Quinn nearly gasped aloud.

"He's back?" she whispered, voice so soft that Prentiss nearly missed it.

Emily gulped, nodding once. "I'm so sorry, Quinn."

It was in that moment that the world caved in on her. Masters was back, undoubtedly with a new team. He didn't ever work alone.

Quinn's eyes remained glued to the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. "Does he know that I'm alive?"

"It's unclear," Emily answered honestly. That was one of the things that Quinn loved about working with Prentiss; the woman never lied to her. She was consistantly straight-forward and honest, knowing that trying to slip anything past her was useless. "Masters sent a message across every message board, social media, and newspaper known. 'When the time is right'. We haven't any idea what that means or where he is."

"We?" Quinn questioned, noting her use of the word.

Emily looked hesitant to reply to her, but spoke after a moment. "The Quantico BAU team has personally requested to be involved with the hunt for and the capturing of the Horsemen."

It seemed that all of the air had been drawn out of her body. Her team. The team that believed she had passed away two years ago. "Has Hotch told them?"

"They know about Masters," she said. "I don't think they know about you."

"Jesus," Quinn muttered, running a hand down her face, wiping the stray tear that had fallen. "He didn't happen to mention anything about a note, did he?"

Emily's eyebrows drew together as she shook her head. "No," she responded, voice laced with question. Had Spencer found the note? If so, had he told anyone about it?

"Do we know anything about the team that Masters is working with?" Quinn asked, quickly changing the subject. Emily looked at her quizzically, wordlessly promising her that they would discuss her last words later.

"Unfortunately no," she stated, turning to one of the drawers in her desk. "But," she continued, pulling out a manila folder and placing it in front of Quinn, "this is what we do know."

The girl glanced at her boss before looking down at the name written across the top of the file. "Project Lazarus?"

Emily smiled somberly at her, a light sigh escaping her lips. "When you were sent here, Hotch began corresponding with me to make a steady plan to keep you safe and well, dead." Quinn almost smiled. "This started with the 'Croft' identity that the Bureau doesn't have access to, and ended with the complete disappearance of Kyle Masters and the Horsemen group a ten months ago. Everything that has happened with you, any Horsemen activity have been kept top secret in this file."

Quinn widened her eyes. "You and Hotch did all of this?"

Emily's lips tugged upward. "We have people with tabs on Horsemen activity everywhere." She shrugged. "We had to keep you safe somehow, Quinn."

This time, Quinn let a small grin appear. A quiet came over the two as the girl looked hesitantly at the file before her. "So do we just, wait until Masters decides when the right time is?"

Quinn watched as Emily's expression became more serious. "Not exactly," she said. There was something in her tone that made Quinn uncomfortable. When Prentiss saw her questioning glance, she expanded upon the topic. "Tomorrow, the BAU is flying in to discuss the Horsemen situation with the Interpol team. We're looking for a way to identify unknown members and possibly jumpstart the 'right time'."

"How would we do that?" Quinn asked.

Emily sighed, staring Quinn directly in the eye. "You," she said. "We let the world know that you're alive."

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natalie dormer as adeline baldwin
paget brewster as emily prentiss

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we're slowly working our way back into scenes with the team and i cannot wait

i'm attempting to introduce new characters and plot lines so if this seems a little boring, please note that this is still a start and will get interesting quickly. like next chapter quickly. i think.

but anyway, thank you all for the wonderful feedback on the intro! you guys are seriously the best and it's kind of concerning how much i love you.

love you all tons!
-mags