Retribution, A Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 39. Fox's Payback

The visit to the monastery was disappointing.

Bescardi hadn’t expected to find any equipment or remains of her little group’s habitation, but she’d thought being there might provoke a few lost memories. As it was, every bit of evidence had been removed; everything put back in order. She wandered the dank, stony halls like a disconsolate ghost, trailing her fingers along the rough walls, scenting the air and listening for anything that might jog a sense memory.

But there was nothing.

She sniffed. When push came to shove, although the blanks offended her penchant for orderliness in all things, she supposed she really didn’t need them filled. She knew who to blame: Dr. Reid, the girl, and the lamentable watchdog.

And Rossi. She had no proof that he’d been the one to wreak havoc on the premises, but he hadn’t needed to be there to destroy her career. A lifetime of connections in government and publishing gave him enough ammunition to bring her down. And right from the start he’d made no secret of his intentions to do so if she didn’t bend to his will concerning her test subjects.

As though that glorified security guard had the right to interfere in work that could have changed the course of human development!

Bescardi would have liked to stay longer, but she couldn’t risk it. She didn’t want to lose any of the ground she’d worked so hard to gain. Especially now that she’d seen her quarry so close. The sight had been an almost visceral goad. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the wave of dizzy, disbelieving disorientation…followed by sheer elation.

Her memory might be faulty where specific occurrences during the retreat were concerned, but it was crystal clear about the enticing initial results of her tests. The most intriguing data had been the blood analysis during ESP-er activity. The implications were astounding.

Carol Bescardi spent the time driving back to civilization mentally reviewing the procedures she’d like to repeat and the new ones she’d like to conduct, if…NO! Not ‘if.’ WHEN I get that child into a nice, sterile, controlled environment.

She vowed to renew her efforts to augment her privileges by virtue of her officially ‘good behavior.’ And to ramp up her internet surveillance on the Reid family. A birth announcement should be making an appearance very, very soon.

xxxxxxx

Rossi inadvertently supplied Hotch with the inspiration he needed to execute payback for “The Incident of the Unicorn,” as the Unit Chief referred to it in the privacy of his own thoughts.

Every night Hotch had been packing up his briefcase, picking up his son, and dividing his evenings between quality daddy-time, paperwork, and fantasies revolving around lavender, plush revenge. He would stay up late after Jack had been tucked into bed with a story and a kiss. Sitting at his desk in his home office, every time he looked up, the one-horned monstrosity leered out at him from the bookcase where he’d banished it; a constant reminder of pastel purple humiliation.

The weekend that Reid took Ana to settle in at Millie’s B&B for the remainder of her pregnancy, Rossi had decided to surprise the young couple. They had moved into a larger place, but financially they could only afford the bare basics to set up a nursery.

With special assistance from J.J. and Garcia, he’d gone on a mini-shopping spree. When Reid returned, he’d find everything they’d been unable to purchase, but still needed, as well as a respectable number of luxury items, ready and waiting for the new arrival. Everyone agreed it was a thoughtful, generous gesture; the kind that Rossi’s big, Italian heart delighted in making.

That evening Hotch thought about his friend’s kindness and smiled. Then he happened to look up into The Beast’s lurid, red-lipped face, it’s horn jutting out in rainbow arrogance. His smile…transformed. Had Rossi been there to see it, he would have shivered and crossed himself to ward off sinister forces, muttering “Fox-face” as he did so.