❝ won't get fooled again ❞
________
ODETTE investigated the chess board, "Check." She made her move, smiled and leaned back in the chair she was sitting in, across from Reid.
"Just because you have check doesn't mea—" Reid got cut off.
"I see checkmate in 2."
"What? No way, thats not— No." Reid couldn't accept it.
"Told ya." Odette laughed.
Morgan looked her Reid's shoulder, "Ooh, pretty boy, that's a hard loss." He patted Reids shoulder. Reid shook his head, not just at his loss, but at Morgans comment.
Odette looked at Reid, "Aww, don't be too bummed, Boy Wonder. One loss won't do much." She teased.
"One loss will turn into several losses." Morgan joked.
"Ooh, more wins for me." Odette grabbed all her pieces.
"Ooh." Reid mocked Odette in a weird voice, making the three of them laugh uncontrollably.
"Cheer up." Odette smiled.
"Conference room." Hotch said as he walked past the group. They quickly stood up and started walking to the room that Elle had just entered.
"Pipe bombs." Gideon said.
"Packed in cardboard boxes." Morgan added.
"Package bombs." Hotch corrected.
"Sent through the mail?" Gideon asked.
"No. The other picture in your hand is of the switch that ATF found. Same mechanism for both bombs, mercury-activated." Morgan explained.
"What does that mean?" Elle questioned.
"There are contacts to a detonator on either end of a bent tube full of mercury." Reid answered to Elle.
"What it means is all you have to do is tilt the package to detonate it." Morgan added to Reids explanation, explaining it an easier to understand way.
"So they couldn't have been sent through the mail." Elle realized quickly.
"Hand delivery by the bomber?" Odette examined the pictures.
"Exactly." Morgan sipped his coffee.
"Strange way to commit an act of terrorism. Why go to all this trouble to kill just a few people?" Hotch went on.
"Let's recommend not raising the terror alert level for now. No reason to spread panic." Gideon informed calmly. Odette noticed that he always seemed to always be calm.
"We got news." JJ, their media liaison, said as she walked inside.
"This is just a local channel, but the coverage is everywhere now— CNN, Fox, MSNBC, Al-Jazeera, you name it." JJ explained.
"So much for not spreading panic." Hotch stared at the TV. Odette drank her coffee.
"According to doctors, he's badly injured, but in stable condition in the I.C.U. Now, neighbors say that they heard a blast at about 10:30 this morning, and police arrived.." The TV went on in the background as the team kept talking.
"If DHS doesn't raise the terror alert now, they'll look weak." Gideon pointed out.
"Make sure Homeland Security knows that this is everywhere." Hotch told JJ, who nodded and turned to walk out.
Suddenly, there was an explosion on the TV.
"Woah." JJ stared blankly at the TV. Odette looked at the TV in shock and set her coffee cup down. Everyone began to look at each other.
"Looks like we're going to Palm Beach. Let's meet at the Airstrip in 20." Hotch ordered.
________
"BOMBINGS occurred within 3 miles of each other. First victim was a 74-year-old widow, Barbara Keller. 2 hours after that, Clurman got hit in his driveway. And 45 minutes later... Well, we all saw that. Jill Swenson, 34-year-old housewife, who lived across the street from Clurman. Of the 3, only Clurman survived." Hotch explained on the jet.
"Is there any connection between the victims?" Reid asked.
"One. Uh, Clurman was a partner in a $10-million condo development deal in which Keller was an investor, and a few weeks ago, the whole deal went bust." Hotch answered.
"How?" Odette asked, while looking at the folder on the table she, Reid and Elle were sitting at.
"Geologists discovered that the land was on methane, the condos never got built, the land became worthless, and Clurman lost a lot of people, a lot of money." Hotch said.
"So maybe one of them was mad enough to take aim at Clurman." Reid suggested.
"Yeah, maybe one of them blamed Clurman." Odette added.
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's a little too early to theorize about motive." Gideon redirected.
"Then where do we start?" Elle asked.
"From the beginning. What do we know about bombers?" Gideon answered.
"Mostly male, loners, history of criminal activity." Reid answered.
"About 50% of all bombings are actually the product of vandalism." He continued.
"And more often than not, bombers end up accidentally blowing themselves up, so the first suspects you always look for in the bombing case are the victims." Hotch added.
"Back to what Reid said, there was only one male victim. Could it be him?" Odette looked up from the pictures.
"Clurman was the only male. Losing a large business deal like that, it.. could be a powerful stressor." Elle added to what Odette said.
"Well, then there's the crime scene. Clurman was the only victim who didn't get hit at his door. Why? What was different about this one?" Gideon asked.
"Maybe he switched up two packages, ended up taking the bomb instead of the other one. Accidentally blew himself up." Odette theorized.
________
"BEFORE Clurman passed out, what he told cops at the time was that he saw the package sitting on the stoop outside his kitchen door." Hotch explained.
"Why didn't he take it in?" Elle asked.
"Why didn't it go off until he got to his car? It's like 50 feet away." Reid realized.
"Joe Reese, one of Clurman's investors, was here before the bomb went off. The cops have ruled him out as a suspect, but he said he saw Clurman get in the car with the package." Hotch told everyone.
"So maybe Clurman wasn't receiving a bomb at all. Maybe he was on his way to delivering one." Elle theorized.
"But he drops it or tilts it, and it goes off by accident." Reid added.
"I'd like to talk to Clurman. In the meantime, let's get a warrant to search his house." Gideon requested.
While Reid and Gideon went to the hospital, Odette stayed with Elle and Hotch at the house.
"Agent Hotchner?" A man walked up to Hotch.
"Yes sir?"
"Detective Morrison, Palm Beach P.D. I'm lead on the case." They shook hands.
"Nice to meet you. This is Agent Greenaway," Hotch gestured to Elle, and Detective Morrison shook her hand.
"And Agent Monroe." Detective Morrison shook Odettes hand.
"Agents Reid and Gideon are at the hospital. I think you met Agent Jareau at the station house." Hotch explained.
"Oh, yeah, she's taken over the place." Detective Morrison joked.
"She does that." Elle added.
"ATF hasn't found any hard evidence yet, just some kitchen timers, tape recorders and electrical switches." Hotch informed the detective.
"Yeah. It's amazing how many household items count as potential bomb-making materials." Detective Morrison said.
"Hello?" A woman said, clearly confused and annoyed.
"Excuse me!"
"Mrs. Clurman." Detective Morrison clarified to Hotch, Elle and Odette.
"What's going on here?"
"Mrs. Clurman, my name is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner with the FBI."
"What are you doing in my house?" Mrs. Clurman asked.
"There's a copy of the warrant on the table. I know that this is hard to believe, but we just need to cover all of our bases. We need to make sure that your husband was not involved in any way." Hotch explained to Mrs. Clurman.
"Involved? My husband's in the hospital with his leg blown off. What are you talking about?!"
"Mrs. Clurman, there are some questions that your husband needs to answer, and the sooner that we talk to him and clear him, then the sooner we can find whoever's responsible." Elle explained, and Odette nodded her head.
"We're only here to help catch the man who did this to your husband." Odette added.
"Agent Hotchner?" Someone from ATF asked.
"We've got something." The three turned back to Mrs. Clurman and followed the guy from ATF.
"We found this buried on the back of that shelf."
"Mrs. Clurman..." Hotch stood up.
"Do you know anything about this?"
________
"MORGAN emailed these over. The three on the left are the bombs from yesterday. The one on the right's from the evidence room at Quantico." Hotch explicated.
"They're all identical. Made with steel reinforcement rods." Reid replied.
"Adrian Bale." Gideon recognized the bombs.
"Who?" Detective Morrison asked.
"He held our agents in a standoff in Boston last year. He took out 6 agents and a hostage with one of his bombs." Hotch explained to the Detective.
"So you're thinking he's behind this?" Elle asked Gideon.
"Possibly, but he's in prison. He's got kind of a cult following, like Charles Manson. It could just be a copycat." Reid explained, and Odette nodded her head.
"There's one way to find out. Let's put the screws to this guy." Morrison said pretty confidently. With wide eyes, Odette side-eyed the detective in response to his confidence in nailing Bale.
"No, no, no. Bale's too smart. If we want information from him, we have to handle him carefully. Even then you have to assume that road will lead nowhere." Gideon corrected the Detective.
"You're saying the connection to Bale doesn't help us at all?" Morrison asked.
"No. I'm just saying let us handle Bale."
"Look, we just heard from local Texas P.D. You were right about Clurman's nephew. He admitted the bomb stuff was his, which is great for the Clurmans, but it leaves us with 0 suspects. So what do you suggest my men do now?"
"Proceed from the profile." Gideon said calmly.
"I didn't know we had a profile."
"When we're dealing with a bomber, we're talking about someone who's non-confrontational. If you bumped into him in a cafe, he'd apologize. Even if it wasn't his fault." Gideon described for the profile.
"We would classify this bomber as highly organized, based on the meticulous design of his bombs. It means above average intelligence. He probably has a skilled job, a trade, one that allows him to work alone. That's how he was able to make a sophisticated device without raising suspicion." Hotch continued to deliver the profile after Gideon stopped.
"Furniture maker, jeweler, et cetera."
"Background in explosives?" Morrison asked.
Suddenly, Odette's phone began to ring. She quietly excused herself to the hall while the team continued the profile, and she answered the phone.
"Dotty, are you there?" Anastasia asked nervously on the other end.
"Hey, Ana. Is everything alright?" Odette asked, making sure nothing was wrong. Anastasia never called while she was on a case.
"Uh, I have something to tell you." Anastasia admitted shakily.
"What's going on?" Odette asked, knowing something was up, "Ana, you never call me during a case, what's wrong?" Anastasia debated whether she should tell Odette then, or wait until her case was closed and she was back in Virginia.
"I just miss you. Hangout with Dylan and Heather when you're back?" She offered. Odette laughed a bit.
"I'd love to. And I miss you, too. It feels so weird leaving so often." Odette clicked her tongue, "But I love this job." She smiled.
"I can tell. I'm glad you're finally away from just a normal P.D." Anastasia explained, "You were always too smart for them, Dotty."
"Thanks, Ana. But I've been topped with whatever 'smartness' you think I have." Odette joked, "I have a barely above average IQ. Someone on my team; his name is Spencer. His IQ is 187!" Odette described Reid to Anastasia.
"And he has an eide—"
"Is he cute?" Anastasia cut Odette off. Odette laughed lightly at her friends question.
"No, Ana. I mean, maybe, but I really don't think I can see him as more than a friend." Odette answered.
"So you do think he's cute."
"No, no, no. Ana, no." Odette defended.
"Hey, Odette. Hotch told me to check in and make sure everything is okay." Reid walked up to her, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just talking to my friend Anastasia." Odette answered.
"Ooh, who are you talking to?" Anastasia asked, "Hey!" She dragged the "ey" out.
"Hi, I'm Spencer Reid." He answered Anastasia, "I work with Odette." Odette opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted.
"Hey, guys." Hotch approached Reid and Odette, "Come on."
"Hey, Ana, I gotta go. Nice talking to you, I'll see you when I'm back home." Odette hung up her phone and followed Reid and Hotch.
Anastasia was Odette's best friend since the 3rd grade. So, Anastasia told her just about everything. The only thing she hadn't told Odette, was that every night for about a year, she has been seeing a man standing in her backyard, just staring up at her window.
She had many sleepless nights, and one evening, even saw him wave to her. She had just recently given birth to a baby girl named Sarah, and Anastasia would do anything to keep Sarah safe. And she knew that this mystery guy in her backyard was going to try to come between her and her daughter.
The real reason Anastasia called Odette wasn't to say she missed her, even if she did. The real reason was because she wanted to tell Odette about this mystery guy. But she couldn't. For Anastasia, asking for help and speaking up were the most difficult things in the world. As much as she wanted to tell her best friend about this possible stalker, she really didn't want to worry Odette.
"Hey, Sarah!" Anastasia smiled at her daughter, "Hi, baby." Sarah babbled something incoherent, and Anastasia laughed.
"I'm going to keep you safe, no matter what." She looked at her index finger, which Sarah was grasping onto. She looked back at Sarah, "Nothing will take me away from you."
________
"LISTEN, first thing we gotta to do is get the mother out of there." Hotch told two ATF agents.
The agents responded with "okay" and "got it" as Odette ran up to Hotch.
She watched as an ATF agent approached the mother and the daughter, the daughter holding a package. They got the package safely out of the girls hands and it was like a wave of relief crashed over everyone who was observing the scene.
________
HOTCH AND ODETTE were at the P.D. and got a call from Reid.
"Hey, Reid. Okay, shoot. David Walk.." Hotch was writing down the name 'David Walker' when him and Odette both realized the same thing.
"Elle." Odette shot Hotch a worried look.
"I gotta call you back." Hotch said on the phone. He quickly dialed Elle.
"Yeah." She answered the phone.
"Elle, it's him. It's Walker." Hotch informed her.
Soon enough, Hotch and Odette were at the Walker house, due to Walker running away to protect himself from being caught.
"You ok?" Hotch asked Elle.
"Yeah, I'm alright, but Mrs. Walker..." She trailed off.
"Yeah, guys a real peach." Hotch sighed, "Morrison's got a county-wide search out for the car. Uniforms are going to try to find out where his haunts are, and ATF should be here any minute." Elle nodded.
"Sure you're alright?" Hotch asked.
"Yeah, you seem a bit off. More off than you'd be after seeing that." Odette explained, "Just wanna make sure." Elle nodded quickly to confirm she was alright.
"Mrs. Walker said her husband spent most of his time in the garage." Elle leaned her head in the direction of the garage. Odette looked over at the garage, then back at Elle and Hotch.
"Let's check it out." Hotch said. Elle grabbed her purse and Odette nodded. They made their way to the garage and got the door open. They looked around for a second.
"Well, we got the organized part right." Hotch observed.
"What's this?" Elle asked.
"I've seen these. It's for electroplating." He answered Elle. He picked up a coin with tweezers, "Look at the date on the coin."
"It's half gone." Elle realized.
"He was using this to build up the metal so he could change the dates on the coins." Hotch explained.
"To increase the value."
"Make it more expensive?" Odette asked, but it was also like a statement.
"Exactly." Hotch responded to both of their remarks.
"Like what he did with Barbara Keller's coins."
"Look over here." An officer called the three profilers over, "Check this out." Odette began to walk over to him, with Elle and Hotch trailing behind her.
"'The best.'" Hotch read writing off of a newspaper clipping with Bale on the front cover, "So this is why he chose to use Bale's design."
"He idolizes him." Odette looked at the clipping.
"He was working on something." Elle lifted up a white cover that was on the desk.
"Make sure Morrison tells your officers that this guy is smart, dangerous, and he has absolutely nothing to lose." Hotch told the officer.
________
"WHAT do we know about Walker?" Gideon asked as he, Morrison, Elle, Odette and Hotch walked into the P.D.
"He's a quiet career criminal. Spent 4 years in prison for a series of forged checks when he was in his early 20s. He's now 46." Morrison explained, "Past 18 years, he owned a store which sold coins, maps, and historical documents. We raided the place as soon as you gave us Walker's name. Most of his inventory was fake, forgeries valued in the millions."
"But the walls had started to close in on him. We talked to some of his clients, and he was in debt up to his ears and promising stuff he didn't have time to forge." Hotch began.
"Then Barbara Keller found out that the coins he had sold her were fake." Elle continued.
"She was angry and said she'd expose him for giving her fake coins." Odette added.
"Yep, threatened to out him."
"And if she had, all the forgeries would have been discovered. He would've done 20 years." Hotch finished.
"So he had to shut her up?" Gideon asked. Hotch nodded and that left Gideon confused, "He planted all those bombs just to kill one little old lady?"
"Yeah," Hotch answered, "And to throw us off, he made it look like it was much bigger than it was."
"You hear me? I said stop now!" An officer exclaimed.
"Please..." A man walked in, "Help me." He opened his jacket and revealed a bomb attached to his torso. Everyone quickly reacted and pulled out their guns.
"Everyone back— now. We need a bomb squad in here." Morrison ordered.
"Please... It's not me." The man with the bomb began to inch closer, taking very small steps.
"Don't come any closer." Morrison told him, "Put your hands up and walk slowly back out."
"I can't. He'll kill me."
"Who will?" Gideon asked.
"I don't know." The man answered, "He held a gun to me, put this on me. He said.. you'll know who he is."
"What does he want?" Gideon wanted to know everything he could about the man who put the bomb on him.
"A helicopter. And passport." He motioned to outside with his head. "He's watching." He started to breathe heavily, "Once he gets what he wants, he's got instructions to defuse the bomb."
Odette looked at Gideon, then back at the man with the bomb.
"Walker's close by." Gideon realized.
"Let's get snipers around the perimeter." Morrison directed.
"Let's get snipers on the roof." An officer radioed.
"Ok, we understand. We're not gonna leave you." Gideon reassured the man.
"Plaase... Take it off."
"We need to figure out how the bomb's put together first." Gideon explained. Odette had never been this close to a bomb; one that hadn't gone off yet, that is. And she was nervous. Nervous that it would go off, but also nervous that this situation would happen again if they didn't give Walker what he wanted.
"Tracy, you're in." Morrison ordered. Tracy was taking pictures of the bomb, and the man wearing the bomb was getting scared.
"This is a really sophisticated device." Tracy was showing the pictures to Morrison, Hotch, Elle and Odette, "It looks like it was probably made by a master bomb maker, which means tampering with any part of it could set it off."
"So there's no way to just cut the whole thing off him?" Hotch asked.
"Not without cutting these wires." Tracy changed the picture, "See hoe they're threaded all around the collar?"
"Yeah." Odette saw them, "What's wrong with them?"
"They could be booby trapped, or there could be a hidden secondary trigger."
"How do we find out?" Morrison asked.
"Without knowing how it's put together, it's gonna take a while." Tracy answered, "I'll have to x-ray it, try to figure out which are the real triggers, but... I don't think there's enough time."
"What do you mean?" Elle queried.
"There's a timer." Tracy showed the picture, "We've only got about 3 hours left."
Odette watched as Gideon and Hotch exchanged a look, and Gideon began to talk to the man with the bomb.
"What do we do?" She asked Hotch.
"We wait."
________
"I don't get it. If this guy is a hostage, then why hasn't Walker tried to negotiate with us?" Elle asked as her, Odette and Hotch walked into a room.
"Maybe he's scared, or maybe he hasn't figured out what his next move is yet." Hotch answered.
They approached Morrison while he was at a desk, "We have a bead on Walker. Sniper spotted him in his scope." He pointed to a building on a map, "He's sitting in an office building across the street. It looks like a storage room with a small window facing us."
"We could surprise him." Elle suggested.
"Good idea. If he feels cornered, he might give himself up." Hotch agreed with Elle.
"Why do you say that?" Morrison asked.
"Because bombers are generally cowards. I'll take a team in and we'll go in through the back of the building."
Odette, Elle, Hotch and one other guy were walking toward the building Walker was in.
"This feels wrong to me. Why would Walker let himself be found so easily?" Elle was unsure.
"I think it's a trap. He's gonna fire at us or have a bomb ready. Why would he be so close to us?" Odette answered.
"He wants to be found." Hotch corrected.
"Why?" Elle and Odette asked at the same time.
"To negotiate." Odette made an 'o' shape with her mouth, but Elle still had other thoughts.
"Yeah, but then we lose the element of surprise."
"Hopefully, we catch him off guard and he gives himself up immediately. If not, we take a hard line and make him feel like he's got no way out." They stopped at some short stairs, "Remember, we have to take him alive. Walker's the only one who can defuse the necklace bomb."
"Yes, sir." Odette answered as she followed what Elle was doing and grabbed her gun.
"Everyone ready?"
"Yes, sir. Let's do it." The other man answered.
"We're entering the building." Hotch radioed. After a while, Hotch radioed again, "We're approaching the door now." There was Elle, Hotch and Odette at the front, and 3 men behind them.
They quickly opened the door and hid out of sight. Hotch pulled something out of his coat but Odette wasn't really paying attention.
"David Walker, federal agents." He announced. There was no answer, so Hotch tried again, "Federal agents!" Hotch started mouthing a countdown, and on '3', everyone entered the room.
"Walker, freeze!" Odette yelled.
"Ok! Please, don't shoot!" Walker was hiding behind a shelf with boxes.
"Show yourself. Show yourself!" Hotch demanded, "I'll shoot up the whole room."
"Ok.." Walker peeked over a box.
"Put your hands where we can see them." Odette pointed her gun to him.
"I can't do that."
"Then I'll shoot." Hotch added.
"My hand is on the remote. I told you what I want." Walker announced, "The passport, the helicopter, the flight!"
"Walker, listen to me. You're at the top of the FBI's most wanted list. I think you're smart enough to realize there's no way we're letting you go." Hotch tried to reason with Walker, "But here's my counteroffer: A chance to get out of here alive. All you have to do is give yourself up. Just slide the gun across the floor. You have until 3. 1.." Hotch was clearly pissed and Odette saw that.
"You wouldn't let the hostage die." Walker was confused at Hotch's counteroffer.
"You wanna find out? Don't give yourself up. 2.."
"Ok! Ok." Walker slid his gun over to Odette and Hotch, "I'm coming out. Don't shoot."
"Now walk slowly toward me." Hotch said loudly, "Let me see your hands, Walker!"
Suddenly, Gideon radioed, "Get out of there! Now! Now!" He shouted.
"Go! Go! Everybody out!" Hotch got everyone out of the room in time for Walker to blow up the room with himself inside of it.
"We're fine. Everybody made it out. Everybody but Walker. Is the hostage ok?" Hotch radioed Morrison.
"He's fine. For now."
________
EVERYONE was in a room isolated from the hostage, about to give the bomb defuser the instructions.
"Ok. I've isolated the wires connected to the device. We got one shot at this. It's either the blue wire or the red wire."
"Which do we cut, Bale?" Gideon asked, "Red or blue?"
Bale inhaled deeply before answering, "Red." Odette looked at him and immediately knew he was lying. He answered relatively quickly, which shocked Odette. Bale seemed like the kind of guy to wait until the last second to give the answer.
"You know, if you're lying, this thing goes boom, you get nothing, right?" Gideon made sure Bale knew.
"Yes."
"He's lying." Odette blurted, "If we cut the red, it's over."
Gideon listened to Odette and turned to face Bale, "You get to spend your time in a cushy asylum, bushes, trees, visits, nurses... And we get this man out of here alive."
"I don't see how I could be any clearer." Bale shook his head slowly.
"17 seconds." The bomb defuser radioed.
"Blue wire." Odette whispered to Gideon.
"Red wire, right?" Gideon asked Bale and acted like he didn't hear Odette, but she knew he heard.
"Yes."
"Cut the blue." Gideon radioed. Bale and Hotch both immediately turned their heads to Gideon.
"Are you sure?"
"Do it."
The bomb defuser listened to Gideon and cut the blue wire. The timer stopped, and everyone let out sighs of relief.
"Alright: Shouldn't take long to cut this thing off now." The defuser radioed. Hotch grabbed Bale and angrily exited the room with him.
"How'd you know?" Elle asked.
"Ask Odette. I listened to her gut, not mine." Gideon answered.
"He answered too quickly. Guy like Bale normally would've waited until later. He also didn't make eye contact. Even if he wasn't lying, he would've looked directly at Gideon, but he didn't."
________
ONCE she got back to Virginia, Odette kept her word.
"So, Odette, tell us about this Spencer Reid guy." Anastasia rose her eyebrows as she shuffled the cards.
Odette shot Anastasia a look, "What do you mean?"
Anastasia looked at her in a confused way, "What do you mean 'what do you mean?' There's gonna be something there. Tell us about Spencer!"
"What's he like?" Heather took a sip of her coke, "Is he cute?"
"Oh, my god. There's nothing to tell!" Odette defended, "He's a co-worker, and we're just friends. I don't see him as anything else."
"Okay, well," Anastasia put her cards down and sipped her drink, "You said he had an IQ of 187, and had an eide-something."
"Eidetic memory. So?" Odette didn't think they would be this interested.
"He's smart! Odette, he's perfect!" Heather teased.
Dylan began to walk into the living room from the kitchen, "I don't understand this. Her co-worker is smart so he's automatically the one for her?"
"Yes, Dylan."
"Apparently." Odette rolled her eyes mockingly and sipped her drink.
"Anyway, how's the job, Odette?" Heather asked.
"Uh, it's- it's really nice. I'd say fun but that's not the right word. I love my team—"
Anastasia cut her off, "How many women are on the team?"
"Well, theres me, then Elle, she's a profiler, uh, JJ, she's our media liaison, and Penelope, but we mostly call her Garcia, that's her last name, she's our tech analyst." Odette answered.
"And the dudes?" Dylan asked.
"Uh, there's our Unit Chief, Hotch, then 3 profilers, Gideon, Morgan and then Reid."
"So do you guys call each other by last names?" Heather asked.
"Well, it really depends. When introducing to any local P.D.s, we're strictly 'SSA last name.' Alone it also changes, I guess." Odette set down her drink "Like, Elle and I get called by first name, Morgan sometimes, Reid is usually Reid unless by JJ or me, then it's Spence or Spencer. Gideon and Hotch are last names by us, but for each other it's first names. Then we really switch between Penelope and Garcia for her."
"Oh. Well, SSA Monroe, how are the cases?" Anastasia asked.
"They're not that bad. But they're very different from being a local Seattle cop."
"Well, duh. Anyway, we're proud o—"
"Hang on, Spencer is calling me." Odette stood up, but Anastasia pushed her back down.
"Just answer right here!"
"Okay, okay." She answered, "Hey, Reid. What's up?"
"Sure, when?" She asked after Reid asked if she wanted to tag along to drinks the next day.
"Yeah, I'm free. I'll see if I can catch a ride with Elle or something. Yeah. Okay, bye." She hung up and Heather and Anastasia were practically jumping.
"Did he ask you out?"
"No! He invited me to get drinks—"
"That's a date, Odette!"
"With the rest of my team."
"Oh."
"Boo, boring."
"Okay, let's get back to our game." Dylan redirected the girls.
"Right." Anastasia slurred her words.
"She's gonna be so drunk later." Odette whispered to Dylan.
"Give her like 10 minutes, max." Dylan whispered back. The two laughed as Anastasia dealt the cards out.
The four of them had always been close but Dylan and Heather were closer and Odette and Anastasia were closer. They all met through 6th grade when they had to get into groups of 4 during P.E. Ever since then, they've hung out every weekend, sometimes more often.
Odette loved all of them and would do her best to protect each of them.
a/n: im not sure if all chapters will be this long but 4 parts in and the book is already 36 minutes 😭
it just hit me how long this book is— also the plan is for some episodes to cut off early so i cant exactly do the math correctly but if each chapter is 22 minutes (random amount thats close to the amount of time it takes to read this episode) itd be 62 hours and 62 hours is around 2.5 days 🥲🥲
so its either shortening episodes or making a new book and i rlly dont wanna so this might js be a very long book
anyway i hope yall are enjoying this so far <3