Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 12

We stand outside the door to Clara Robinson's apartment. An FBI vest is secured against my chest and my weapon is drawn, the cold metal resting familiarly in my hand. My left hand stings where the gun presses into my healing cut, but I push the feeling to the back of my mind.

"Clara Robinson, FBI!" I shout, "Open up!" I stand on the left of the doorway, Morgan on the opposite of the frame. Four SWAT agents are armed and ready in the hallway. Elle is directly behind me. I feel her breath on my neck as she leans closer. "Do we have a key?"

I smile. "Don't need it."

I step from the wall and turn directly towards the apartment. Keeping the gun in my hands, I send a kick into the door. The wood of the door frame splits as it swings open, smashing into the wall on the inside.

I raise my gun as I enter the room. "Clear!" I shout. SWAT rushes in, various shouts of clear coming from all directions of the apartment.

I stand in shock, my hands dropping to my sides. "Holy..."

The room I'm standing in is square, dimly lit by the sun peeking through closed blinds. The walls are covered from floor to ceiling with various artifacts. Newspaper clippings, polaroid photos, maps of the area, astrology charts. Everything is tinted in a dark red, as if someone accidentally splashed paint across the walls. The lingering scent of chemicals fills the room.

"Obsessive is right," Elle says under her breath.

I turn towards the wall on my right. I step closer, reaching my hand towards a polaroid image. I stop just before making contact. It's of two young guys with backpacks sitting on a bench together. Most likely students on campus. The polaroid film is outlined in red. The boys' faces have been scratched out with some sharp utensil.

"So I'm guessing the cleanliness factor doesn't apply here," Morgan says as his eyes sweep across the mess of the wall behind me.

"It's not organizational," I say as I move along the edge of the room. "It's compulsive."

Elle nods as she comes up to stand beside me. "If she doesn't kill a specific person at a specific time, her world comes crashing down."

I turn to my left to look at Elle. Her hair is tucked behind her ears, fully exposing the side of her face. Her lashes are long and curl upwards, her eyes searching the evidence before us. I follow the curve of her nose down to her lips. Pressed together, a light shade of pink, soft and—

I look away as she turns toward me, cursing the warmth creeping into my cheeks. After a moment I find the courage to look back at her. She opens her mouth to say something but Morgan steps between us, stopping her.

"She's not here. Evidence suggests she left a couple hours ago," he says.

I try to ignore that feeling of butterflies in my stomach, becoming more and more common. I walk to the center of the room, my hands gesturing around me. "We have to bag everything in here, get the whole team looking through the evidence. Her next target is hidden somewhere in this room."

────

I force my eyes open as I risk a glance at my watch. 3:17, it reads. I look towards my long empty coffee cup, debating the consequences of more caffeine.

Elle sits across from me, her eyes searching the evidence, looking equally as tired. Most of the team has turned in for the night, heading back to the hotel. We agreed to meet at 7:00 in the lobby the next morning. Later this morning?  Whatever.

"There's got to be a connection," Elle says. I can hear the growing frustration in her voice.

I look towards her as she frowns down at the pictures spread across the surface of the table. "I'm sure there is, to the unsub. It may never make sense to us," I say. My voice is quiet with exhaustion. I know she can tell.

"Why are you two still here?" Hotch stands in the doorway.

"Why are you still here?" I ask him defensively.

"Red tape to cut. The school holds the student files under strict confidentially," Hotch says, leaning against the door frame. "But even I'm done for the night."

He notices the look Elle and I share. He sighs and walks into the room, looking at each of us intently. "I know you don't want to stop. Not until we catch the unsub. But you're no good to anyone if you haven't slept and the only thing you've consumed is caffeine."

I scoff sarcastically. "Not just caffeine. I had a granola bar about twelve hours ago."

Hotch raises an eyebrow and Elle shakes her head. "We're going," she gives in.

"Good," Hotch says. "I'll drive."

I stand up and immediately lean forward onto the table as I feel the numbness of my legs. "Good idea," I mumble.

---

Twenty minutes later I'm standing next to her outside her room. The hotel was nearly full, so when JJ booked the rooms they were spread across the building. Morgan, Hotch, and Gideon are on the second floor, Reid and JJ on the third, and Elle and I on the sixth. Our rooms are adjacent to each other.

She stops outside her door and leans against the frame. Her arms are resting on her bag. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

I lightly tap her on the cheek. "You still with me, Greenaway?"

"Thought I told you to call me Elle," she says, her eyes still closed.

I shrug. "Gotta switch it up every now and then."

Her eyes flutter open as she gives a small smile. "Whatever you say, D'angelo." She pulls her key card from her bag and unlocks the door.

She leaves it open, stepping inside and dropping her bag on the bed, then shrugging her holster off her shoulders. I step into the doorframe, unsure whether to go any further.

She changed from her blazer around midnight. She's now wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt with a low, scoop neckline. I find my eyes drawn to her exposed collarbone. She sits on the bed and bends over to take off her boots. I'm glad for the dark room when I feel heat rising in my cheeks as I quickly look away from her cleavage.

"I, uh, I'm gonna go," I stutter. "Get some sleep, Greenaway."

"You too, D'angelo." Her voice is a force in the dark, drawing me towards her.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts as I step towards the open door.

"Goodnight, C," she says quietly to my back.

I look at her one last time with a smile. "Goodnight."

I step out into the hall, closing her door softly behind me. I quickly enter my room and shut the door, very aware that there's a single wall separating our beds.

I undress and feel something in the pocket of my blazer. Her sunglasses. I never gave them back to her. I hesitate, considering going back to her room. I sigh and shake my head. Bad idea. Just give them to her tomorrow. I leave them on the table next to my badge and gun.

---

Fifteen minutes later I'm lying in bed. I fall asleep to images of fire and red and heat. And her. Always her.

---------------------------

A/n
200 READS!!! thank you all so much <3
i hope you guys are enjoying the story
:)