He stood stock-still, facing the wooden house. The white paint peeled in the hot sun; clearly the place had seen better days. The front porch sagged under his slender frame; wood had rotted through in many places.
Gun secured in his belt, he tentatively knocked on the front door that stood crooked in its wilting frame, glancing deftly to the left, making eye contact briefly with a member of his team. Receiving a slight nod, he knocked a bit harder.
“FBI, open up!” He struggled to make his voice sound confident and firm; to his own ears it sounded weak and ineffectual. Damnit, he thought, what’s it gonna take for me to come across as strong? How is anyone gonna take me seriously if I can’t even speak my purpose with authority? How’s that saying go? ‘Fake it till you make it’? Yeah, right, easier said than done, he thought as he tapped on the door again, a little louder allowing for some of his self-reproach to coat his voice in projected anger, tingeing it with a bit more force, “FBI, open up!”
Hand on the loose door knob; he pulled his gun at the same time as he prepared to open the door.
Instead, he landed firmly on his butt, the hand that had reached for the knob now held to the small of his back, rubbing at the sharp pain that blossomed up his spine. The door had flown open inward and he had lost his balance. The team member to his left ran forward, gun drawn and pointed at the figure that had emerged in the opened door.
Cheeks smarting red with embarrassment, he looked up through the fringe of his brown hair and caught a glimpse of beautiful hazel eyes framed in a creamy peach colored face. Swallowing hard, Reid placed his free hand firmly on the rotting wood of the porch, keeping his other hand firmly in front of him, the gun pointed at the blond beauty before him.
“FBI,” he stated from his awkward position, “we have a warrant to search the premises.”
The young woman smirked at him, planting one hand on her shapely hips, enabling Reid to see her ample bosom. The white lace blouse barely concealed her breasts and the tight buckskin pants and light tan moccasins managed to look graceful on her.
“Here, let me help you up sweetie,” she proffered a hand. Reid secured his gun, ascertaining that, at least for the moment, she posed no threat to him; he could see no weapon on her and Morgan had his gun trained on her at the moment. Taking her hand, he let her pull him up, surprised that her hands were rough and calloused.
Stupid, Reid berated himself as he caught a glimpse of Hotch just off to the right of the porch, gun also trained on the woman. Great just great, he was sure to be in for a lecture now. He had just been lectured not even three weeks ago about taking foolish chances and now he had fallen on his butt only to be helped out by someone who could be dangerous. Good going doctor, he muttered to himself shaking his head slightly.
Reid’s face turned a brighter hue of red as he caught himself staring, not at the woman’s face, but directly at her creamy breasts which were in his direct line of sight. His eyes traveled down toward the wooden porch in embarrassment, taking in the silvery tone of the splintering wood and the rusty nails that graced it. This’ll really give everyone something to talk about now, he chastised himself.
“Well, ya’ll gonna come in or not?” The woman threw out behind her as she turned into the house with a gesture for them to follow her. Reid stood rooted to the spot, waiting for Hodge and Morgan to join him before entering the dilapidated home.
They were looking for a missing kid linked to a double homicide. The kid had presumably been present while his mother and older brother were killed. He had disappeared shortly after he’d been discovered hiding beneath the kitchen sink. The murder had taken place in the kitchen. The police officer in charge of watching him had turned around to answer a question and the seven “year-old boy had disappeared out the back door, leaving a trail of bloody sneaker prints on the linoleum in his wake. Either he had hidden again or taken off like the wind because they had been unable to find the kid anywhere on the property surrounding the house.
The kid, the authorities had surmised, couldn’t have gotten too far, and they began a search of nearby homes. Even so, they hadn’t found him yet and a day had already passed. The BAU had been called in that day to consult on the double murder as it seemed to be the third such murder in Rubin County, Alabama in the past four months. Reid, Hotch, and Morgan were aiding in the search for the missing kid, Aiken, while JJ handled the press and Rossi managed the teams’ search for the boy. Prentiss was working with one of the police teams, searching in the nearby swamps. Garcia was searching for information on Aiken and his family, seeing if he had any other family he might have gone to in his flight.
He may be the only witness to the grisly crime and needed to be found. Reid, however, was more concerned about the young boy’s state of mind. He knew that he must be frightened, and perhaps even in shock. He hoped they’d find Aiken soon and get him the help that he was sure to need. He may even need protection should the killer find out about his young witness.
This house was the last one in a three-mile radius of Aiken’s home; Reid silently prayed they would find him here. They had been searching since eight in the morning and it was already one. If he wasn’t found soon, he might not be found at all.
Search for a Young Boy by kkcrackers
Story Note:
Reid-centered, chapters fluctuate between BAU team and the boy they are searching for.
Endnotes: Next chapter focuses on Aiken.