"Spencer!"
Chapter Seventeen: Emotional Damage
02x17: Distress

*Trigger warning*

There had been something seemingly wrong with Reid, and Eden wasn't the only one noticing the signs. He was anxious, closed off, acting as if he didn't care. It wasn't sitting right with her. She didn't like it. Reid hadn't been talking with her as much as he usually did. Not to mention he was a lot more irritable, which wasn't like Reid, he was sweet and gentle, never irritable and rude. Sure sometimes he could come off as rude but not intentionally and certainly not to anyone on the team.

Emily and Eden were sitting down there was an Empty chair in between them, Reid was late and this wasn't the first time. Jj was debriefing them on the profile.

"This is Houston's fifth ward. It accounts for a large percentage of the city's growing homicide rate, Due to gang violence And a bustling narcotics trade. Although in the last 48 hours, There have been 3 distinctive murders in the ward."

" Distinctive?"

"Three men, three different socioeconomic groups, All killed on the street with their necks snapped. There appears to be no other injury, And there's no apparent connection between the victims Or motive." JJ looks at the door seeing Reid Sauntering In he was drinking coffee from his mug. He says nothing taking a seat in the empty chair between Emily and Eden who send a worried glance at each other. "The ward's detectives are inundated with homicides. Gang violence is a big problem. shootings, Armed robberies, it's an everyday occurrence, But this type of street attack Is new to them."

" Could it be gang-related, Maybe some new type of initiation rite?"

" The gangs in the ward use gun. In fact, no known gangs exhibit this type of M. O," JJ explains.

" What about dope? These guys come up with pretty freaky ways Of killing the competition to get their message out."

" Yeah, but there just doesn't seem to be any connection Between the victims and the drug world." JJ continues.

"Homeless man, A construction worker... Security guard."

" Just 3 dead men and no witnesses," she says with a sigh.

"We're looking for a homicidal serial criminal In a neighborhood populated by criminals. The challenge will be separating him from the rest"

"We have no evidence, no apparent interaction between the unsub And the victims pre Or postmortem, And an indistinguishable M. O. Should be simple," Reid grumbles as everyone looks at him,

"our life is made by the death of others." Leonardo Da Vinci.

"We got a construction worker... Outsider in the community. We got a security guard... That's an authority figure. And then we got a homeless man. That's a powerless victim that no one would notice missing. So who's he targeting?" Derek asks walking back from the coffee machine.

" Let's see if any of the victims frequented the same stores or sites."

" He used blitz attacks, Which means he most likely lacks interpersonal skills. He needed to coerce his victims into coming close. And he also used the element of surprise, Which means he may have stalked his victims prior to killing them." Reid explains.

" Well, if that's the case, I want to go to the last crime scene To see where he may have been hiding. I want to see the neighborhood for myself."

" Good. I'll go with you." Gideon nods to Derek who sips his coffee.

" The rest of us will go to the precinct and set up shop."

" I'll map out the area and see if I can find any places The victims would have visited in the neighborhood."

" Good. Maybe we can find a connection between them." Eden smiles at Reid who just sends her a tight-lipped smile.

" I'll help you with that."

"We can handle it." Reid snaps at Emily as Eden gives Reid her signature "Excuse me" look

" I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't."

"Isn't that what "I'll help you with it" means?" Reid sasses.

"Spencer!" Eden scowls at him that was the first time she ever used his first name, which meant he was definitely in trouble. " Emily we could use as much help as we can get with the geographical profiling And victimology." Eden turns to look at him. "She is helping us." Hotch just nods. He wasnt stepping in between that not with her.

" Fine." he shrugs as everyone looks around at each other. If it was anyone else they would be getting their ass chewed out by her but it was Reid and she was going to talk with him about it while still figuring it out.

"Remember, this is a high crime area. Be vigilant. Nobody goes anywhere alone." Hotch explains as everyone nods.

Back at the station, Eden was helping Reid, Hotch was watching from the corner of the room. Like a parent watching over their kids to make sure they get along. Eden and Emily were sitting back against a table. While Reid was pinning things down on the map on the board. The window was open and construction work was happening.

" What's that?" Hotch asks as the trio turns to See JJ with a plate full of cookies.

"One of the detectives' wives made us cookies."

" Wow. Homemade cookies?" Emily beams as JJ nods munching on a cookie she places the plate down in the middle of the table.

" Yeah, I guess that's what they mean by southern hospitality."

" What are you saying?"

"Southern hospitality!" Emily shouts taking a seat at the table followed by JJ as Reid growls.

He walks over to the window and slams it closed. " I need to concentrate... How can anybody hear with all this work going on?"

"Well, you're gonna have to get used to it. Construction crews are working around the clock."

"Saw it on the way in," Eden says as Reid just looks at her, they lock eyes and he clears his throat going back to his work.

"City's trying to return to its splendor, And that means that Houston's poorest Are being kicked out of their homes." while JJ is talking on and on about the construction Derek and Gideon walk in.

"Unsub might be homeless. Appears to have been living in a building Next to where the security guard was attacked." Gideon walks up to Reid at the board.

" These are the locations of the last three murders, all near abandoned buildings." Reid steps back to Let Gideon look.

" He knows the neighborhood. Maybe he was recently displaced."

"Could be a motive. Construction worker, a security guard at a construction site. Payback?" Emily says as Eden nods.

" What about the homeless man?"

" We get a lot of beef down there among the homeless. That one could have just been a fight about space or food." The detective on the case explains.

" Let's get a list of residents Who've been kicked out of their homes by the gentrification." Gideon looks at Prentiss. "You, Eden, and Reid check the shelters?"

Emily stands up from her chair. " Yeah, we're on it. Unless... you ok with that, Reid?"

" I'm fine with that." they grab their coats and leave.

//

Eden, Emily, and Reid were at a homeless Shelter it was full of people. Eden felt her heart break as a volunteer pointed them int he direction of a woman.

"I heard you all are looking for someone in charge. I'm Angie, one of the administrators." she puts her hand out for them to shake Reid declines politely.

"Hi. I'm Agent Prentiss. This is Agent Reid. and Agent Hunters. We're with the FBI."

" Really?"

" Really," Reid replies as Emily flashes her credentials.

" It looks like you have your hands full."

" With the demolitions in the projects and the abandoned buildings, There's no place else for people to sleep," Angie says.

" Well, thank god there are people like you who take the time..." Eden was cut off by Reid.

" Do you have a list of everyone who comes through here?" Eden just stares at him with angry eyes.

"Uh, we have a sign In sheet, But we don't force anyone to sign if they don't want to. Some don't even use their real names. Elvis eats here a lot."

" We would appreciate any lists you have," Emily speaks up.

" Why?"

" Have you noticed anyone who acts Unusually aggressive towards the other residents?" Reid continues.

" What's this about?"

" A series of murders in the area. The perpetrator may be a homeless man. Maybe someone who stays here. He may even be in this room as we speak." Reid explains.

" My god,"

"Spencer!" "Reid!" Eden and Emily say at the same time.

"Have you noticed anyone who acts paranoid or displays explosive, unprovoked bursts of violence, More than just pushing and shoving? I mean, someone who really tries to harm others."

"There are territorial fights over food and places to sleep. The nurse treats people for minor injuries all the time, But no one's seriously hurt."

" If anyone does come to mind, give us a call." He hands her his business card. "Thank you." before walking off.

" A murderer?" Angie looks at the two women.

" I'm sorry. Uh- Um... This investigation is still... No one's actually been hurt in a shelter. We're just.."

". We're acting with an abundance of caution. So, please, let the police know If anything unusual occurs." Eden says as Emily nods they leave. Meeting up with Reid outside.

"There's a high presence of mental disorders with the homeless."

" Yeah. What the hell was that in there?" Eden asks as Reid furrows his brows.

"What?"

"He may even be in this room as we speak"? We have nothing to support that." Emily says.

" We're investigating a serial homicide. Should I have pretended there's no danger?"

" We just left that woman potentially afraid Of every man who walks into this shelter." Eden continues.

"Again, until we find this unsub, how is that a bad thing?"

" What is the matter with you?" Eden was yelling now.

" What do you mean, what's the matter with me?"

" I have never seen you act like this," Emily says as Eden nods.

"I agree," Eden crosses her arms over her chest.

" Oh, really? Oh, in the months that you know me, You've never seen me act this way? Hey, no offense, Eden, and Emily,  but... You don't really know what you're talking about, do you?" Reid walks away as the two women shake their heads stunned by his actions.

They go back to the station and Eden is irritated between this unsub, and Reid she was begining to become overwhelmed, unhinged even, Reid was her best friend and he was treating her like utter shit. She wondered if this is how Derek felt she had been avoiding him at all costs, not on purpose but because her best friend was acting out and she needed to know why.

" Just got back from the local homeless shelter. The administrator hasn't noticed anyone new displaying aggressive behavior." Reid walks up to Hotch filled by Emily and Eden.

" He's not in a homeless shelter. I just talked to Gideon and Morgan. They think that he's killing To protect some makeshift shelter of his own."

" So are we ready for a profile yet?" Reid asks.

" We're missing something. How did this homeless man learn to kill so efficiently?"

" You know what we need?" Emily speaks up.

" We need to get lucky. We need him to make a mistake."

It was late and they were still working diligently. When a little girl runs in.

"Please help my daddy! I need help! I was attacked!" Her dad runs in behind her with a bloody nose and lip.

" Can I get some help here, please?" JJ asks as Eden is already running up she is inspecting the father.

" Please... Call my house to come to get my daughter. Please." he says and before long Hotch and Emily take the daughter Maria into a different room to talk with her.

Eden was at the coffee station she was making herself a cup of coffee when she accidentally spilled the hot liquid on herself, she winces and yelps grabbing at the burnt spot on her wrist. She begins grabbing at it holding it tightly in her hands and she walks through the room trying to get to a sink.

She makes it to the other side of the room where there's a small kitchenette and turns on the sink just as Morgan is refilling his mug at that coffee station, he places his cup down on the counter as Eden pulls up wincing.

"Fuck." she curses as he turns to see who is swearing.

He watches as she pulls it back revealing some pinkish skin. It was red and blistering. "Oh easy there, hey you okay? Let me help me." he reaches for her wrist and she groans and winces pulling it back from his grasp. "Let me help you," he says in a gentle tone now. She was biting back tears it hurt like hell sure, and sure she had literally been through much much worse, but it wasnt at all about the burn at least not the physical one.

"Oooh Ouch looks like you burned yourself pretty good," Derek comments as she winces as he dabs paper towels at her wrist trying to clear the area from all the coffee.

"Yeah" she shrugs looking at the wound. " I just need some burn cream from the first aid kit It'll heal up nice." Derek just nods looking through the cupboards for first aid. He finds it in a cupboard  in the back and picks it up just as Eden shakes her head. "Oh no, I brought my own," she explains pushing herself off the counter. She goes to her bag and riffles through it finding her hand-held first aid kit. She always brought two, a bigger bag full of a lot of big medical supplies for when they couldn't make it to a hospital on time, and a small one for in the field that fit in her bag to carry out with her.

Derek just watches as she takes everything out getting a few gauzes and some wraps out along with some ointments and disinfectant. She was prepared. Way too prepared now more than ever. Since the whole Tobias Hankel thing, Eden couldn't watch another person die at least not in front of her, and certainly not until she said declared them dead herself.  He was amazed at how skilled she was even while she was injured she was diligent and careful, and her hands were steady never shaken or wavering. She finishes up before covering the area with her sleeve again.

"Thank you for helping me."

Derek shakes his head "You did all the work."

She sighs feeling like complete and utter shit. "Reid isn't himself and I don't want to lose him. But he won't....he won't talk to me. Does he think I won't understand? I mean Tobias Kidnapped both of us he pumped us with Dilaudid....and for the first time in my life I wasnt anxious or worried. I wasnt looking over my shoulder or dreading being awake, I liked it, I liked how I felt and that scared me." Derek nods he was listening intently studying her trying not to profile the situation.

"Reid just needs time, he knows your intentions are good and he loves you for it."

Eden nods. "You think so?"

"Yeah."

She thinks for a second walking back into the room where everyone else was. A few moments later Hotch and Emily arrive.

" He asked if she was ok and why was she crying. He wasn't aware of what he was doing to her."

" Garcia's on line one." JJ Sits on the edge of the desk she presses a button on the phone that was in the middle of the table. " Go ahead, Penelope."

"Hola, cowgirls and boys."

"Hey."

" I've got the comparison satellite images Of the before- And- After pictures, and I found something. Check it. Do you see it yet?"  a photo shows up on the screen it was a picture of a rough that said S.O.S.

"Yeah."

" Yeah, an S. O. S," Emily says.

"Yeah, it's made of debris and other rocky bits of gobbledygook. This is the building where the security guard got killed."

" He's asking for help."

"Wait, guys. Listen outside." Reid says as everyone in the room goes quiet to hear.

"Chaos. S. O. S."

" He's a war veteran. He thinks he's in a war zone." Eden says simply as he nods.

They call Derek and Gideon who were canvassing the area with the lead detective.

"He left a distress signal on the roof of one of the buildings," Hotch explains.

"The quick strikes are consistent with trained military tactics. "

"He must have served in a place That looked or sounded like this ward," Emily speaks up.

" Well, we were right about him being homeless, in a sense. Wherever he is, in his mental state, he's certainly not at home."

" He may not even be aware he's killing," Eden says.

" Now, how's that?"

"When soldiers suffered from anxiety, depression, And flashbacks in world war I, it was called shell shock. In world war ii, battle fatigue. Now we refer to it as PTSD, Post Traumatic stress disorder, or war-related. A side effect of which is slipping into dissociative states." Reid babbles.

" The mind divorces itself from reality So it can cope with the trauma."

" He's reliving a memory. He's trapped in his head in some war zone. Hiding and defending himself from the enemy." Gideon explains. JJ nods.

"Ok, so how do we find a man who's trapped inside his head?"

"He's got a wedding ring. Someone's missing him." Emily shrugs.

" Good. I'm on the way with Detective Fuller. Morgan has the last crime scene to check."

Hotch hangs up. " J. J., check missing person reports, See if anyone matches the description. It would have been filed recently, The last two or three days."

"Ok." JJ gets up to leave. 

After an hour the blonde is leading a couple into the room that the team is using. Dana Woodridge and Max Weston...her husband Roy Woodridge has been missing since Tuesday.

"He was on his way home from work. He called before he left the office And said we needed to talk when he got home. He sounded upset. That was the last I heard from him." Dana explains.

"What was he upset about?"

" He didn't say." She sniffles both hands grasping the mug of coffee that JJ offered them.

" Dana called me that night When Roy didn't show up. So... The next morning we filed a missing person report."

" Mrs. Woodridge, where does your husband work?" Eden speaks up.

" He's a consultant at a security firm downtown."

" Did your husband ever serve in combat?" Hotch asks.

" Excuse me?"

" Is he a war veteran?" Gideon nods to Max.

"Yeah. Uh... We both are. We were in special ops. 75th ranger regiment, Bravo company, 3rd battalion. But Roy... He retired shortly after things went bad in Mogadishu."

" That was back in 1993. Let me ask you this... Does he display any sort of, uh... Behavioral tics... Certain everyday things, make him jumpy or startled?" Reid asks.

" Why?"

" Does he?" Reid raises his brows.

" Is this going to help find him?"

" Mrs. Woodridge, please. We need to know everything we can about your husband." Emily replies as the woman nods.

" We all had a... hard time over there, You know...you bring some things home with you." Max interrupts stopping her from speaking.

" Like what?"

" He has a hard time with loud noises. He can't be in crowds. He has nightmares And wakes up in cold sweats. The smells are the worst. He... If he smells something burning, Like a barbecue or gas or fire... He gets sick. It really only got bad about a year ago." Max rubs his hand over his face.

"What happened to him in Somalia?"

" Nothing." He chuckles slightly. " Combat happened"

" What does that mean?"

" I'm gonna get a drink of water." He clears his throat leaving Gideon to follow after.

"Thank you," Dana says as Hotch places down a fresh mug of coffee in front of her. Derek enters the room he places a hand on the small of Eden's back and walks past her and over to another chair.

" Could somebody please tell me what's going on?"

" There have been some people hurt recently, And we think that there may be someone lost on the streets. Someone who thinks that he's still at war" Hotch explains.

"But Roy would never hurt innocent people. Why would he even be in this neighborhood?"

The phone rings and JJ answers it. " Hey, Garcia. We have Mrs. Woodridge here with us."

" Oh, uh, well, I found an'02 white ford f150 pickup truck."

" Oh, my god. That's his truck." Dana gasp.

" It was impounded. Uh, it had a flat tire and was picked up on Lyon street About a quarter of a mile from highway 59."

" He takes the east tex freeway to work every day," Dana says.

" Mrs. Woodridge, I'm very sorry... But this is definitely your husband."

Gideon enters the room a little later after Dana, and Derek left again along with Emily and Eden.  everyone is either going to stretch their legs or refill their mugs.  " We need to put an S. W. A. T. Team together, Plan a grid search and go building to building."

" He's reliving the war, isn't he?" Hotch asks as Gideon nods.

" A specific incident in which he killed a child."

" Guys, the S. W. A. T. Team's gonna have guns, right? What happens if he tries to fight them?" Reid asks as everyone stays silent after a while everyone gathers in the room again. Minus a select few. 

"We were right. He had a nest of sorts right near every murder scene." Derek enters the room, he slides down in a seat Next to Reid.

" There was a burglary of a two Way radio From a construction site recently."

"That could be Roy. We only used UHF back then." Max explains.

" He's looking for help. And he'll keep trying to contact operations command."

" Detective, can we get a dozen UHF radios set up in this room, And each of them tuned to each of the preset channel frequencies?" Hotch asks as Fuller nods.

" Right away."

" Wait a minute. When he calls, we need to be very careful With the communication, Because we set up specific responses to contact op com So we could avoid hostile interception And establish "no danger" signals. And we had specific names to identify our squad to the operator." Max continues.

" Do you remember the language you set up?"

" I couldn't forget it. Roy and I wrote it. The callout was, "this is John Doe looking for Mark Ripen." Rippen was our hero at the time... Number 11, quarterback for the redskins in 1993" Max explains.

"Now we know where he is in his head. He calls in, we'll be on the other end when he does."

" What if he doesn't call? What if he just killed someone else?"Fuller asks.

" Well, we'll deal with that if it happens."

" Kind of easy for you to say. This guy may be messed up, but that doesn't change the fact That he has killed 4 innocent people. Now, why don't we just do the grid search?" He says as the men look at him.

" If you set up a grid search And he confronts one of your men, You'll be planning a funeral."

" I can guarantee you we're right about his profile. This man wants to get rescued. All I'm asking is that you just give us a chance to bring him in." Gideon says and everyone else comes back into the room they were all gathered around the radios and the phone.

" It's channel 11," Fuller explains.

" Are you ready Garcia?" JJ asks.

" I've got nat recon satellites all over the ward."

"Stand by," JJ tells her and before long the radio clicks. A voice is heard. " This is John Doe looking for Mark Rippen."

Gideon turns to Max. " Can you help us? You know how to do this better than we do."

He takes a radio in his hand. " Roger that. This is number 11, all clear."

" Maxey, boy, am I happy to hear from you. I'm taking heavy fire. Request immediate extraction."

"What are your coordinates?" Max asks.

" Unknown. I lost my land navigational aids. I went high, but I don't recognize anything. I don't have a fix on my grid coordinates."

" Any other way for him to signal his location?" Gideon asks as Max thinks for a moment.

" Did you put up any flags?"

" Yeah, you bet your ass I did. I'm holding cover here"

". Roger that. Hold your position." Max turns to the group. " He triangulated. We need to look for 3 large, colored flags, Maybe on rooftops. They'll be identical in size and shape."

" Did you get that, Garcia?"

" Yeah, I got it." She replies.

" Number 11, do you still read me?"

" Garcia,"  Gideon says.

" I'm working as fast as I can."

" I can still read you loud and clear. Stay put." Max says.

" I found one. I found one. I got them. I see... Housing projects and a courtyard."

"We need street names, Garcia," Hotch explains as typing his heard.

" Farmer and Capron! Farmer and Capron!"

"I know where that is. There are some abandoned buildings right there. I'll have construction sites to halt work and secure the streets." Fuller explains.

" He's gonna expect men in fatigues and a chopper as cover."

" I can take care of the choppers." Fuller shakes his head,

" We're in black SUVs. Tell him we're security executives. You're coming with us. We need to do this fast." Hotch says as everyone starts hurrying around the room.

" Tell him to stay there, we're coming to him."

"Roy, we're coming to you, buddy," Max says into the radio they pile into the SUV heading to the street names that Garcia gave them, and everyone climbs out of the cars. Standing out onto the street.

"Sergeant Woodridge?" Hotch calls out everyone looks around for him.

"Got him"

" Where's Max?" Roy asks as Max steps into his view.

"Roy. It's all right. It's time to come in."

Roy steps from around the corner. " He's got a weapon!"

A jackhammer starts going off. "No! No! Stop! Stop Look, it's all right. It's all right." Everyone was yelling at the construction worker. A little boy rides by on his bike and Roy runs towards the child and a swat agent shoots him in the back. He dies on the street with Gideon holding his hand, The women and Reid were back at the station they had to break the news to the wife.

And after some time everyone returns to the station and begins packing up. Fuller thanks them for taking this part of town seriously because well no one ever does and it's heartbreaking for them to hear. On the jet ride, Eden is watching Reid who is sleeping. He never sleeps on the Jet in fact he usually is reading or playing Chess with Gideon. Derek slides into the seat next to her.

"You know, he will come around when he is ready, we just have to be there for him until he does."

"I know, I just really want to take away all his problems. He doesn't deserve it."

"No one does." Derek murmurs as Eden sighs, she was watching over her friend without the knowledge that she was being watched over as well.

"If there must be trouble, "Let it be in my day, That my child may have peace." Thomas Paine.

Word count: 4659