Two Existentialists | S.R.

4

Spencer groaned as his phone buzzed. "Hello?" he said as he picked up his coffee mug and sighed.

"We have a case," Hotch said quickly. Spencer gulped down the last of his coffee and grabbed his bag, which was always by the door.

"I'll be there in 15 Hotch," he replied, pulling the door closed as he walked out of his apartment. He decided it would be easier to drive to headquarters, seeing as it was rush hour. In a record 12 minutes, he pulled into the parking garage and entered the building, being the first in the round table room.

He sighed again, being utterly defeated. He was looking forward to tonight, to spending the day with a girl that fascinated him. And instead he had to work. Not that he didn't love his job, but it was interfering with something he was excited for. Was this how everyone else felt? Did he finally feel their pain?

He opened his phone and began typing.

Spencer: "I'll have to cancel on dinner, I'm getting called away on a case"

He stared at the screen, waiting for a reply. In a few minutes he saw three dots appear on the screen. You were typing.

Y/N: "Ah I see the majority is being saved again. Go do the most good Spencer"

Spencer grinned as he read your message.**

Spencer: "I'll make it up to you, I promise"

Y/N: "I expect something big Dr. Reid. In the meantime, I'll eat enough dinner for the both of us."

Spencer's smile didn't leave his face. Nor did he realize other people had entered the room.

"Pretty boy, who's got you smiling like that?" Derek asked, taking a seat next to him, clapping his shoulder lightly.

"Uh no one. I was reading an interesting philosophical piece," Spencer lied as he shut his phone off. He would have to respond to you later.

"Hmm what was it about?" Garcia asked, putting a file folder in front of him. Spencer looked up at her as she raised her eyebrows at him, as if saying 'checkmate'.

"The most good benefiting the majority while hurting the minority. Specifically about the tyranny of the majority," Spencer replied, trying not to smile as he thought about your messages.

"You lost me at tyranny, 187," Garcia muttered as she grabbed the remote for the TV. "Alright this case is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There are 2 victims so far, both found drowned in the rivers. One in the Allegheny and one in the Monongahela. They were found at the same time but the M.E. report shows that they were killed two weeks apart, with the second victim's death being three days ago."

"Any evidence of sexual assault?" JJ asked, reaching for the tablet.

"Yes, on both victims."

"The unsub may be keeping these girls hostage until he no longer needs them and then drowning them," Derek mused.

"Two weeks is a long time to keep someone, and we don't know how long he had the first victim before he killed her," Rossi interjected.

"Maybe she no longer filled whatever void he was using her for. Or maybe she stopped complying?" Emily mentioned.

Hotch nodded and stood up. "The flight is less than an hour so we won't have much time to theorize on the jet. Wheels up in 30."

Within 30 minutes, the plane was en route to the city of bridges. "Did you know all three rivers come together in the center of the city at a place called 'The Point' and they made it into a fountain? It's right next to Fort Pitt, which was essential during the French and Indian War," Spencer explained as he looked up from his book. Everyone on the plane smiled at his facts.

"Reid, What correlation does that have with our case?" JJ asked softly.

"Well both victims were found drowned in different rivers. Pittsburgh has 3 main rivers. Could it be the unsub will drown the next one in the Ohio? Maybe they're doing it so it won't look too suspicious."

"Pittsburgh PD called us in for this because they think it's connected. I agree with them, the coincidences are far too similar to be chance alone," Hotch interjected. "We'll be landing in 5 minutes. Reid and Rossi go to the Allegheny crime scene, as that is where the second victim was found. JJ and I will go to the station. Prentiss and Morgan, you two go to the M.E. and see what else you can find."

Spencer looked down at his phone and decided to send you a message.

Spencer: "Just landed in Pittsburgh, hope your night was ok. Sorry about how it ended up."

You replied almost immediately.

Y/N: "Stop apologizing, you are quite literally hunting a serial killer. I ordered some sushi and watched a movie to tide me over until your big make-up date."

Spencer bit his lip as he typed his response.

Spencer: "A lot of pressure has been put on this make-up date. I hope I don't disappoint."

Y/N: "I don't think the word disappoint is in your vocabulary, Mr 3 Ph.D.'s."

Spencer blushed, coughing to cover his face.

Spencer: "You're wrong about that. It is in my vocabulary, in 10 languages no less."

Y/N: "and you're sure you don't have a degree in linguistics?"

Spencer: "I'm a man of many talents"

Y/N: "Oh, Dr. Reid, I'm sure you are. Now go use some of them and catch a killer"

Spencer was so concentrated on his phone that he didn't notice when the plane landed. "You coming?" Derek asked him, breaking his trance.

"Yeah, sorry, I was thinking about something," Spencer muttered, standing up.

"Or someone," Derek teased, ruffling Spencer's hair.

"Oh shut up, definitely not," he retorted, stepping out of the plane onto the tarmac.