2 | GREEN LIGHT. [SPENCER REID]

EIGHT.

EIGHT ; CONFESS, DISTRESS.

IT WAS A challenge to stump the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, but Elliot Higgins had risen to the occasion and succeeded.

His laptop, which was now in the possession of the Bureau, had left the team with a sour taste in their mouth. The locked computer had what Garcia called a 'guess limit', and unfortunately, they only had three attempts left. It was frustrating, to say the least. No one knew what the five places could be, and if they believed that they did, they didn't want to risk being wrong.

"For all we know, it could be a random line of letters and numbers that only Higgins knows," said JJ, hand placed underneath her chin to support her head as she rested on it.

Prentiss shrugged, as if evaluating her friend's point. "That is possible, but that's not the way that The Horsemen do things," she replied. She sounded regretful. "Everything represents something. Every problem that they throw at us is ultimately a part of their game."

Quinn nodded. "Em's right. They want to prove to us that they're smarter. They see their puzzles as a way to do this."

"Well, I can't say that they haven't been successful," Rossi muttered.

There was a knock at the door, followed by an overdramatic sigh. The team turned to face Derek Morgan, watching as he shook his head at them. "What? I'm not even gone for a year and you're suffering without me?"

Quinn froze, immediately turning away from him, eyes wide. As her colleagues got up to greet him, she remained seated, too frightened of the outcome to move. She heard him greet JJ, Rossi, Emily, Hotch, Garcia, and Spencer, hearing the doctor laugh as Morgan ruffled his hair. He was introduced to Alvez, Lewis, and Baldwin, suddenly going quiet as Quinn felt eyes on her.

"Hotch," she heard Morgan's voice say. She detected curiosity, disbelief and a slight sense of anger in his tone. "Who's this?"

The room went silent. Hotch placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder, unsure of how to approach the situation. He had remembered how he had reacted when Prentiss had returned. "Morgan—"

"Is that-"

"Morgan, why don't you step outside with me for a moment?" Emily said carefully.

Derek shook his head, taking Hotch's hand off and moving closer to where Quinn sat. "Quinn?" he asked, voice soft. Quinn shut her eyes. When she didn't reply, he moved closer. "Q? Is that you?"

Quinn didn't need to answer. With her silence, Morgan had his already. He approached her cautiously, rounding the chair she sat in. When the two met eyes, Morgan froze momentarily, as if he had seen a ghost. He then shook his head, stood up straight and looked at Aaron.