CHAPTER ELEVEN:
ANDERSON AND HUXLEY
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Once he's finished writing his bullshit 'witness statement' about his phone call with Nina, Spencer steps back into the bullpen (he'd been in the round table room, alone and in silence, for privacy and thought) to find that the rest of the team, minus Garcia, are gathered at his desk. They're fussing around someone that, once he gets close enough, he realises is Anderson, except he's in a Dickies blue boiler suit.
Rossi is the first to see him coming, and he must look sour because the man remarks with a tinge of amusement to his deep voice, "What's up with you -- you need a hug or something?"
Spencer ignores him (it's either that or lose his temper like he did in Hotch's office), glancing among his team. "What's going on?"
"Anderson's going to stake out James Huxley," JJ answers, looking over her shoulder at him, and when Spencer frowns in confusion, she adds, "He's the agent who was assigned to watch you in Florence."
"Our mole," Hotch adds with a curt nod.
Spencer swallows, feeling a strange mixture of guilt and joy. He'd gotten what he wanted, at least, which is an investigation into the middle man linking them to Nina -- but he'd only gotten it through throwing a complete temper tantrum. The embarrassment about doing that had hit him half way through writing his statement, and it hadn't faded in the slightest ever since.
Plus, they're sending Anderson of all people undercover, which means two things: one, this undercover operation is a piece of information that's remaining inside of their team, and won't be spread to Strauss, SWAT, the Director, anybody; and two, Spencer's thrown a fit like a child and now one of his friends is being thrown into the firing line.
What happens if Edelstein finds out? Or another one of his minions? What if, in two weeks time, Anderson's the one with stones over his eyes and his throat cut?
"The main goal is to see if it appears he's being watched," says Prentiss, as Anderson shoulders a heavy bag, no doubt made to look like it holds tools but inevitably contains a microphone. "At least, by people who aren't us."
"That's unlikely," remarks Rossi. "But you need to check for more than a van on the street. He might have cameras or microphones in lightbulbs, in cupboards, under pillows, in his fruit bowl -- anywhere. We have no idea how much control this Edelstein clown has over Huxley's life."
"Or Nina's," says Spencer.
A few of them glance at him, and beside him JJ bristles, before Prentiss says, "Me and Morgan'll be listening from the van, but Huxley knows what I look like and he probably knows Morgan, too. But if you need us, we're there."
"If you can confirm that he isn't being watched, call for backup and we'll bring him in," adds Hotch.
Anderson is dismissed, Prentiss and Morgan following. They all watch the three of them disappear from their line of sight, and Spencer really does feel like a stone's lodged in his throat -- and it's all thanks to Nina. Nina, Nina, Nina. Maybe he finally understands the metaphor of her signature.
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"How long has it been?"
The question comes from Garcia, who's marching over with her familiar clicking heels to join Reid, JJ and Rossi by their desks, where they each are waiting with baited breath.
"Five hours and seventeen minutes since the elevator left," Reid answers, glancing up at her uneasily.
It doesn't need to be said aloud how unusually long that is for simple surveillance, especially when all they'd been sent to do was to decipher if Huxley's being watched. The last call had been to Prentiss, four hours prior, announcing that there didn't seem to be anybody on the street watching Huxley's every move. That left it to Anderson to check the apartment; and once it hit the three hour mark of them being gone, all of the team had started to get uneasy.
"It's not gonna be easy," Rossi comments, maybe trying to be reassuring. "There's a lot of things to check in that apartment when you're looking for wires or cameras. Under beds, in lamps, in pillow-cases."
"He's covering as a repair-man, Rossi," says Spencer, swallowing thickly even though his throat refuses to close. "He doesn't have a lot of time in that apartment that can be explained away with an excuse."
"I almost don't want there to be a mic in his apartment," says JJ. "Imagine the implications if there is. How many eyes does this Edelstein guy have? He must be able to see all over the place."
"And if we can't bring him in, it's another dead end," adds Hotch, arriving behind them. Spencer glances up at him, and Hotch sends him a secure nod, much less curt than the last; relief sweeps through him at the minuscule sign that his earlier moment of fury is forgiven. "You know we can't go after the entire system -- the employers -- but Huxley's almost the only thing we have on Nina Scott."
"Is Strauss still on your ass?" asks Rossi.
JJ and Reid share a look; clearly, JJ knows as little as Spencer does about Strauss getting involved, and such an anal-retentive bureaucrat is the last thing they need nagging at them. Clearly, this is something that's been itching at Hotch in private.
"Yeah," Hotch says slowly, "she just wants results, but when it comes to our methods she isn't always so understanding. Let's just say, when it comes to this part of the case," he must mean the investigation of Huxley, "what Strauss doesn't know, can't hurt her."
"Aaron--" Rossi goes to say, but at that moment the elevator let's out a chirpy Ding! of promise and excitement, and all of them twist around to look, their hearts leaping collectively.
First is Prentiss, half smiling and slightly breathless as she picks up her pace when she enters the bullpen through the open class doors; she's followed closely by Anderson, still in his 'costume'; then, finally, finally, Morgan arrives, hand wrapped around the arm of a white man -- who is, no doubt, James Huxley.
All of the team by the desk move toward them, meeting the other three agents in the middle; hurried questions are exchanged, choruses of 'What happened?' and 'Is this him?'
And of course it's him. Moments later, he's in an interrogation room down the hall, the rest of the team gathered outside, minus Garcia and Anderson: the former disappearing to complete the background check. "Strategy?" Prentiss asks.
"We have to throw him off balance," says Hotch, before his dark eyes blink up to meet Spencer's. "Nina didn't plan that phone call last night, did she?"
"It didn't sound like she did," Spencer answers, ignoring JJ muttering incredulously, She called you? "She lost her temper with me. It wasn't pre-planned."
"Are you sure?"
After a moment of hesitation, all eyes on Spencer (which makes him pale at the same time as he feels hot all over), he manages to nod. "The likelihood of him knowing about her calling me is low."
"I'm hoping he doesn't."
"Knowing that she's gone AWOL might be enough to make him anxious," adds Rossi. "It might make him confess something. We can use it against him."
"Not just the phone call," Morgan adds, glancing sideways at Reid with furrowed eyebrows. "Did she reveal anything about herself when you spoke on the phone?"
Spencer closes his eyes and thinks back. "My father has quite a few complaints about you, Dr Reid. I have that right, don't I? Doctor?" he recites, keeping his eyes closed, the irises flickering beneath the lids as he mentally traces back rapidly to the previous evening. As if he's hearing her again, his heart races. "She'd googled me. She mentioned my Wikipedia page. She called as soon as I got home... I'm in a phone booth in Wisonsin, that's what she said. Which means, if you consider our flight, the traffic, and then our five to ten minute visit in the bullpen..." He opens his eyes. "She had five hours at most to visit her father and then call me. Mr Scott must have given her the paper with my number on it. Then, she mentioned her hotel only being around the corner from the cafe we visited in Florence."
"Okay, so first, the phone call," Hotch says, looking at Prentiss, and Reid realises with a twinge of disappointment -- like a fist closing around his lung -- that he isn't going to be the one going in there. "We show that she's going off track. We put him on edge. Then, when you can, you let it slip that we know which hotel she stayed in in Florence. Then we talk about how we know she was in Wisconsin last night -- make it seem like we're closing in on her, imply surveillance, anything you can do to get details."
"Details about Nina Scott," Rossi adds. "Don't mention Edelstein's name."
"Don't mention any superiors," Hotch clarifies sharply. "Just Nina."
His eyes bore into Emily's, serious and dark, shadowed by heavy eyebrows. Spencer's heart is thrumming, and once again he feels the same sense of solemness as when he first signed that none disclosure agreement -- no, it's not just that; he feels out of his depth.
Maybe the look in Hotch's eye has set him off, because it seems to put Emily on edge too. He sees her gulp.
"Just Nina," she repeats. "Got it."
"All he needs to know is that we're closing in on Nina Scott, and he has a chance to save his own skin now."
Emily nods hesitantly, takes the case files from JJ, and heads into the interrogation room. Rossi and JJ and Morgan turn away, probably to go discuss the afternoon's events over a cup of well-needed coffee, but when Hotch heads into the room behind the mirrored glass, Spencer follows, even though he too is desperate for an energy boost. All that sitting around all day, followed by the burst of relief and adrenaline with the team arrived with Huxley, has made him feel sluggish.
But he has to speak to Hotch -- before he explodes. Nods of forgiveness and hard stares and pursed lips are Hotch's normal way of communicating, and Spencer's had enough of it -- at least for today.
"Y'know, the likelihood of Huxley betraying Edelstein is unlikely," he says as he enters, voice heavy. "We don't know how Edelstein treats his employees -- there could be threats involved to keep him silenced about Nina, as well as just money."
"That's why we won't ever mention his name," Hotch replies steadily, eyes on Prentiss through the glass, who's sat opposite Huxley flipping through his files, her voice faint but firm. "If he thinks his boss will be okay in the long run, maybe he won't think twice about selling out our unsub."
If he thinks, Spencer repeats in his head. If he thinks. He doesn't want to get his hopes up, but maybe that slip of the tongue is a sign that Hotch is changing his mind about only going after Nina. Maybe.
Authors note:
ya girl hates this chapter with a passion, mostly because it's just typical criminal minds stuff and has no SPICE 💦💘💕 or anything much to do with Nina, or her relationship with Spencer
plus, i seem to be hating my writing nowadays and i feel like this was super dull and made no sense. hopefully i can edit out any plot holes, or explain anything that's unclear in the comments if there's questions
but unfortunately, this chapter was 100% necessary because it shows the bau closing in on nina, so spencer and nina meeting isn't far off!! and then we get to the REAL drama and sexual tension and violence and aaaaa !!! i'm so excited for that part of the book, it's gonna help all of this slow ass mystery shit pay off
please like and comment! especially comment, because i'm super anxious about this chapter lol
(tbh i'm anxious about the whole book, considering it's entirely my storyline, including no show plots)
thanks for reading! have a great day!