Sincerity - Criminal Minds || Spencer Reid Fanfiction

2. Red

"Have we raised the threshold of horror so high that nothing short of a nuclear strike qualifies as a 'real' war? Are we to spend the rest of our lives in this state of high alert with guns pointed at each other's heads and fingers trembling on the trigger?" ― Arundhati Roy

The Fighter

I pushed into the foyer at Quantico to find Stewart poised and waiting.

"We're gathering in the gymnasium." She explained as we hurriedly marched to the stairwell and took the stairs down to the basement.

"Gymnasium?" I echoed. "Why are we down here?"

"It's the only place big enough for all of us." She explained, throwing me a worried look.

"All of us?" I repeated. "You mean the entire bureau is gathering?" She nodded frantically and I gulped, this was worse than I expected.

Just as we pushed out of the stairwell, my phone bleeped a text from Spencer.

I got your dad and we're leaving the house now x

Nodding, I stopped dead in my tracks and sent a text to Jack.

Pirates. of. the. Caribbean.

"Chief, I'm sorry, we can't wait." Stewart said emphatically as I stared at the text I'd just sent, hoping he'd reply instantly.

"Right, sorry." Shaking my head to clear it, I pocketed my phone and hurriedly followed her.

"Melanie," Annie gushed upon seeing me enter the gymnasium, cliques gathered every few feet in noisy bubbles. "Thank you for getting here so quickly."

Annie too was dressed in tight jeans and a long-sleeved jumper, opposite to her usual pant-suits and pencil-skirts.

"What's going on?" I asked, walking down the ramp onto the main floor of the gymnasium.

"It's a code red." She said, watching me approach her.

"I gathered that, but what the hell is going on?" I accepted the vest and radio she gave me.

"There's been a threat," She said apprehensively, casting her eyes towards the door as more Chiefs entered. "On POTUS."

The Comforter

I was aware of voices downstairs, distantly waking me up and I knew it was super late... or early. It was still dark outside and my room was still cold.

I shivered, sitting up and rubbing my eyes, glancing at the clock on my nightstand.

After a few moments, the voices stopped and the front door closed. A heartbeat later, a car engine ignited and drove off.

Melanie.

I picked up my cell-phone just as a text vibrated through.

Mel: Pirates. of. the. Caribbean.

Seeing that one message, made my entire body freeze.

I didn't think I'd ever felt like this before.

In one solitary moment, it felt as though someone was standing before me with a knife to my throat.

I couldn't blink, I couldn't think, I couldn't even breathe upon seeing that one message.

And then, suddenly all I could do was move.

I scrambled out of bed and ran for the door, throwing it open and almost frightening Beth half to death as she carried Tilly into one of the spare rooms - the room that used to be Mel's.