Criminal Behaviour

EIGHT

*Spencer's POV*


I watched as four bodies were carried out of that gym and seven other people injured. "The UnSub opened fire." Hotch sighed coming over to JJ, Morgan, Rossi and I after talking with the local Police Department, after they had talked with one of the injured men.

Morgan sighed, "We have to shorten down this list, Hotch. Four people got killed tonight and eight are in hospital with major bullet wounds."

Hotch and Morgan shared a look, a look that I've seen too often, "When the injured are prepared to talk, they will be able to identify the shooter and our UnSub."

JJ spoke up for the first time in a while, "Jason White was on that list, so we're now down to twenty-six."

The team began discussing patients we could talk to, but all I could think about was Samantha's ex-boyfriend she was talking to. She never even mentioned him and by the sounds of her voice, she wasn't comfortable around him either. "Reid." Hotch said for probably the fourth time, "We're heading back to headquarters. Samantha's children should be arriving soon."

And then more thoughts roamed my head. Now, I was focused on how I was going to tell Jamie and Hannah that their mother had been shot. How was I going to tell the team that Jamie and Hannah are actually my children and how am I going to talk to Jamie about this phone call.

I remained where I stood for a moment, taken from my gaze by Hotch's cell phone ringing. I shook my head slightly, trying to get my mind on things, "Hello." Hotch answered. I could see his brows furrow with confusion but then his face turned pale and he soon hung up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Rossi asked as the team formed together to inquire about Hotch's mysterious phone call.

"It's Samantha." Hotch sighed, putting his phone away, looking up at the team, "She never made it to the hospital. The UnSub took her."

And in that moment, I felt my whole world come crashing down. Samantha was gone. I felt my chest tighten, my breaths become short and my mind begin to spin. The team began making their way to the parking lot, but I couldn't seem to focus enough to actually bring myself there. My legs brought me there without realizing it as if I was in some sort of bad dream that I could not wake up from.

"You okay?" JJ said coming up behind me as we made our way to the SUV's in the parking lot.

I sighed, "I just hate when cases get personal."

"She's going to be okay, Spence." JJ said, trying to re-assure me but my mind wasn't with it and I couldn't think of a way that she was going to be okay. Four bodies found and four people killed tonight. Without Samantha's help, everything just got a lot harder and with Samantha being taken, it got a lot harder for me to focus.

I got in the SUV with JJ and Morgan - Morgan driving. I sat in the back seat alone, again, trying to think of ways around this situation and how I'm going to keep Samantha, Jamie and Hannah safe. I played with my fingers trying not to engage in conversation with either JJ and Morgan.

The SUV soon came to a stop and I realized that we had arrived at headquarters. I sighed and climbed out of the SUV, not really engaging with Morgan and JJ in any way. I just wanted to go inside, to see Jamie and Hannah. I met with the rest of the team in the elevator and we made our way to the sixth floor of the building. You'd think five people sharing a confined space would spark conversation but nothing was said among the five of us.

The doors of the elevator opened with a ding and JJ, Hotch, Morgan and Rossi walked out first, leading the way. I took my time, still contemplating how I'm going to approach this situation, "Uhm, sir." I heard Garcia's voice ahead of me. The team stopped where they were as Garcia came out from the board room to meet with us, mainly Hotch.

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch asked looking at Garcia's nervous portrayal in front of him.

Garcia fidgeted with her hands before speaking, "Jamie and Hannah are here, Samantha's children." Garcia spoke rather quickly. But as soon as Jamie and Hannah were mentioned, my heart rate increased and I couldn't focus on anything else, "And they are requesting their father."

"Their father?" Rossi asked, "Samantha never mentioned anything to us about their father."

I noticed JJ glance back at me, "What do we do?" Garcia asked.

But before a suggestion could be made, running footsteps were heard from the board room. Two small figures appeared behind Garcia. I could see Hannah and Jamie scan the team, before their eyes met me. I smiled to them while they returned the smile, "Dad!" Hannah shouted before herself and Jamie ran toward me.

I bent down with my arms open for them. My two children ran into my arms, tears flooding their cheeks, "Please tell me Mom is okay." Jamie said while holding onto my tightly.

"She's going to be okay." I said to them before the two of them broke away from my embrace. I looked into their teary eyes trying to ignore the strange looks from the team behind Jamie and Hannah. I stood up straight, "JJ will bring you to get something from the vending machine." I smiled to them. I noticed JJ suddenly become alerted and soon took Jamie and Hannah away from the group and down to the kitchen where a vending machine stood containing all sorts of things I knew Jamie and Hannah would like.

I sighed as I scanned my eyes across the confused looks on the team's faces, "Kid?" Morgan spoke first, his mouth ajar and his eyebrows raised in shock.

"I know." I sighed, bowing my head in shame more than anything.

Garcia cleared her throat, "You're their father?"

"Reid?" Hotch added in.

"Please don't hate me." I said, looking up at the team once again, "But, yes. Jamie and Hannah are my children."

I could see the shock on each of their faces grow, "So, you're telling me you kept this secret family hidden away from us? Reid, Jamie's eleven years old." Morgan spoke, anger filling his tone as he thought about the situation more.

I knew this was going to be a bad idea and hoping that I could of gotten away with it longer, "I didn't tell you because Samantha and I were never a serious thing."

"You have two children with her, Reid!" Morgan spoke again but calmed by Garcia who put a hand on his arm, comforting him but also giving him indication that his voice was becoming louder and that he should tone it down.

"I know." I sighed, "I was twenty-one when Jamie was born. I was scared and I had just started working here and I didn't want that to have an affect on how you saw me in my career or how you treated me." I thought back quickly to when I missed a case because Samantha went into labour, "Samantha and I were never a serious couple. She got pregnant when we were twenty and then again with Hannah when we stupidly got drunk." I could see the team trying to process the news, "I understand that you are angry at me and mad that I've kept Jamie and Hannah from you, but Samantha is gone and I've to sit down and tell my children that their mother might not make it home." I sighed. I felt my eyes swell with tears and a lump form in my throat, "I'm sorry that I've kept this from you, but all I ask is that you help me find her. I can't have my children grow up without a mother."

I bowed my head, tears flowing. I took in heavy breaths to try and stop the crying, but nothing seemed to be working. All of the emotion that had built up from the moment Samantha got shot to now has just escaped my body. I felt a rough hand placed on my shoulder, I looked up to see Morgan, "We're going to find her." But I didn't know how much of that statement I could believe.

I sat in the board room with the team - with the exception of JJ who was talking with Hannah and Jamie about the phone call and about anything they knew about Samantha's friends. Hotch thought it best for JJ to do it instead of myself because I may have found it difficult. Hotch got the board set up, adding Samantha's information on it which gave me chills and nothing I ever wanted to see. I tried thinking back to anything Samantha might have said about old school friends, but nothing seemed to cross my memory. I was interrupted by Hotch's phone ring, which is all I seemed to hear the last few hours, "Hotchner." He answered. Again, Hotch showed similar expressions as he did earlier and then quickly hung up the phone. We all sat awaiting the news Hotch had just been told, "The ambulance that Samantha was in was found empty not too far from here." At that moment all of us jumped up from our seats, gathering our jackets. I swung my jacket on, feeling a rush throughout my body, wanting to know who took Samantha, but I was distracted when a hand rested on my shoulder, I turned around to see Hotch, "Reid," He sighed, "I don't want you working this case."

I looked to him in confusion, "What?" I asked, hoping it was a joke, "I can't sit out of this case, especially this case."

"Your job right now is to be a father and make sure Hannah and Jamie are okay." Hotch sighed as Morgan and Rossi rushed by us, making their way to the SUV, "I know it will be tough, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm hurt enough as it is." I said gently.

"I'm sorry Reid, but I don't think it's best for you." He sighed.

I thought of a solution in my head, "Let JJ go with you then and I'll stay here with Garcia and try and narrow the list down. If you're not letting me go out to the crime scene, then at least let me stay here and help."

I could see the thought roam through his head before a blunt, "Fine." Escaped his lips. I felt somewhat satisfied but still irritated that I couldn't work the case fully or even properly.

I took my jacket back off and rested it on the back of my chair, "Any ideas, Garcia?" I asked as I could hear the typing of her fingers echo throughout the board room.

"No," Garcia sighed, "Of the twenty-six remaining UnSubs, it's really hard to narrow it down."

I could hear soft foot steps from behind me, I turned around to see Hannah and Jamie walk down the narrow corridor and into the board room, greeting me with a hug and sitting down - Hannah sitting in the seat I usually sit in and Jamie sitting in Morgan's. "Is Mom going to be okay?" Hannah asked.

I felt my chest tighten once again at the thought of Samantha not being fine. "Yeah," Garcia spoke, noting that I was lost for words, "She's going to be just fine. But I'm going to need your help."

Jamie and Hannah nodded, "Anything we can do." Jamie said. It's only in the last few weeks that I've noticed Jamie become more mature. It frightened me slightly that him and Hannah would be soon all grown up and would be going off to college, which worried me dearly but not as much as this case.

"Did Mom ever have any friends over? Like, really close friends?" I asked them as the swayed slightly in the chairs they were sitting on.

Hannah shook her head while Jamie spoke, "No, not really. Only Francis who lives next door." He sighed.

"Mom never went out," Hannah chirped, "She would always have game night with us, movie nights and would spend every afternoon with us too. Francis is really her only friend." This broke my heart to hear. Not only was Samantha struggling with her part-time job, she spent every moment she had with Hannah and Jamie. She never spent a moment away from them and I couldn't help but have myself to blame because I was always away at work and not there to help Samantha when she really needed it.

I sighed before telling Hannah and Jamie that they can go back to the room they were in with JJ where their tablets and games were. I could tell by their body language that they didn't want to talk about Sam anymore, so it would be best if they were left with their games. "Nothing is working." I sighed.

The phone beside Garcia began ringing, "It's Morgan." She said before pressing the 'answer' button and putting the phone on speaker, "Talk to me."

"She's gone." Morgan breathed over the phone, "The paramedics were shot dead along with the driver. The UnSub must of planned for that to happen and strike at the perfect moment."

I could feel my heart in my mouth. I would do anything not to listen in, but I had to, to find her, "But, by the looks of it, the paramedics never stitched up Samantha's wound."

Thoughts were roaming my mind, "She's going to bleed out." I sighed, "If the UnSub doesn't kill her, that bullet wound will."

"Rossi took pictures to send to you guys." Morgan spoke before hanging up the phone and photos appearing on Garcia's laptop screen that was projected onto the board.

Pictures of an ambulance appeared. The back doors were open with blood splattered everywhere. The two paramedics were lying inside and the stretcher Samantha was in was empty. I shared a look with Garcia before feeling like getting sick, "We need to find her." My voice cracked.

"And we will." Garcia said taking down the pictures as soon as possible, "She's going to be okay."

"He's already killed eight people along with two paramedics and an ambulance driver. Nothing is going to stop this guy." I sighed, beginning to pace and down the room trying to think back to when I listened in when Samantha was in the school gym and when Samantha told me about her old classmates but my mind appeared blank. "Twenty-six," I said under my breath, but it was loud enough, "This is too masterful for just anyone to do. Do any of the twenty-six have any criminal records?"

"Ten do." Garcia said after a moment of searching. Garcia removed sixteen faces from the board and in front of me were ten.

"Thirty-seven down, ten to go."