Fic: Unintentional Under-Cover (Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan)
Title: Unintentional Under-Cover
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pair: Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Notes: Thanks to Karyng for inspiration for this one.
Criminal Minds Main List
Follows: Muffin Run
“You think this will work?” Reid kept eyeing the victim photos on the wall. “The guy may have moved to a different location, increase his pace-”
“If he had killed more people, we would have heard about it. He always leaves to bodies on some public area. And we got a sketch of the guy, and DNA samples from the victims. When we snatch him, and match him with the samples he’s cooked.”
“I know.” Reid sighed. “I know that, but I’m not sure if baiting him like this is the best solution.”
“We’re running against the clock here. We know his type and where he likes to pick them up. When he goes there for his next fix we’ll bag him and tag him. And the guy from tactical operations is trained for stuff like this, he’ll have the guy wrapped into a Contractor’s Knot if he tries to resist.”
“That’s not exactly what I was worried about.” Reid sat down on the edge of a desk.
“I’m trained for it too! And the guy preys on young hookers, who are travelling with a pimp. It has to look real, that’s the whole point. Our unsub enjoys snatching his victims right in front of their “protectors”, it gives him an added sense of power.”
“I know that.” Reid crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. “But I don’t need to like it.”
“Baby, the whole bar will be full of cops, I’m not there on my own.” Morgan glanced at the window to the hallway. The police station was almost deserted at two in the morning, and those who were around had better things to do than keep an eye on them. He sat down next to the genius and wrapped his arm around his waist. “But now you know what I was thinking when you went to talk to that unsub in Texas and took your vest off.”
“Do you really need to bring that up every time?”
“Yeah, because it’s engraved to my mind. I didn’t like it, but was part of the job.”
“We seem to have that kind of jobs on very steady intervals, so there’s really no need to go and meet them half-way.” Reid let out a long sigh and tilted his head against Morgan’s shoulder.
Both men jumped up when Hotch opened the door and marched in, looking like a living, breathing, extremely pissed-off stormcloud. Prentiss followed him in and closed the door.
“Just listen-” Prentiss started.
“No, I already listened and I said no. Find somebody else, but that’s out of the question.”
“What’s going on?” Morgan asked.
Prentiss went to the window and pulled the shudders down. “Agent Jenkins from special ops, who was supposed to be our happy hooker. Right now he looks like his price is about fifty cents.”
“Translation?”
“He’s got the mumps. His temperature went up during the drive here and we had to send him to rest. We need a new bait.”
“Don’t they have anyone else in special ops?”
“Have you seen those guys?”
“Right…..”
“And I suggested a solution-”
“And I said no.” Hotch interrupted.
“No to what?” Morgan demanded.
“Look at the victims.” Prentiss grabbed few photos from the wall. “Early to mid -twenties, slightly built, long hair, brown eyes, baby face, do I need to draw a map here?”
Morgan looked at Reid, then Prentiss, then Reid. “No way in hell.”
“You’ll be there with him, and the place full of undercover cops, it’s safer than walking to a grocery store.”
“I don’t care.”
“Morgan, you said it’s part of the job.” Reid commented faintly. He was fiddling with a notepad, but his eyes were fixed to the table.
“I wasn’t talking about you!”
“We have the sketch of the guy, we know what he looks like. He’s not reckless enough to try something in the middle of a crowded bar. If we catch him and match him with the DNA evidence we have, the whole case is done.”
“Exactly.” Prentiss looked absolutely thrilled.
“Reid-” Hotch started, but paused. “It’s up to you. But I don’t like this.”
---------------------------------------------------
“Can you hear me?” Morgan tilted his jaw down closer to the mic hanging inside the collar of his shirt. After getting a confirmation he focused on Reid, who seemed to be surprisingly calm. The genius was leaning against the bar counter and awkwardly picking on the buttons of the new shirt they had bought for his role. A tight black button down, with ornamental patches of see-through fabric. Morgan had picked him a pair of jeans that looked like the exact opposite of Reid’s normal style. They were tight and hugged the man’s assets from all the right places.
“We’re gonna be doing some role-playing when we get home.”
“Okay.” Reid grinned.
“Where did you hide your gun?”
“When we went to get clothes you said these jeans are so tight I can’t wear any underwear. What makes you think I have a gun somewhere?” He paused to tap his own earpiece. He pulled it out as discreetly as he could and rubbed his ear. “I think this one’s broken, all I hear is high-pitched noise.”
Morgan gestured him to be quiet, and listened to the message from his own earpiece.
“They spotted our guy. Second floor, next to the stairs.” He turned to look at the stairs and saw a man matching the sketch, coming down the stairs. Fifties, stocky, half-bald. Two undercover cops were already approaching him. “We got him. Stay here.”
Morgan disappeared to the crowd and Reid turned to lean on the counter trying to figure out what was wrong with his earpiece. He heard a low chuckled from behind his back.
“Very nice.”
Reid turned to face the man. Mid-fifties, well dressed man wearing red-tinted sunglasses and an ill-fitting toupee. He was glancing down Reid’s shirt.
“Thanks.” He nodded awkwardly.
“New?”
“Yeah.” Reid admitted. “But I’ll get reimbursed. It’s for work.”
“Of course. How’s work?”
“Active.” Reid’s was focusing on the faulty piece of electronics, and didn’t really pay attention to the man. “I’m still tired, we were up all night.”
“You get a lot of all-nighters?”
“All the time. You know what it’s like when you keep slaving away on something but it never really lead anywhere, it’s frustrating. Even when you have your team with you.”
“I didn’t knew there was a whole team involved.”
“Of course everyone has the same basic training, but we all have different strengths.”
“Basic training?”
“Yeah, that was tough. And was still studying when I did that, so I should be used to the lack of sleep by now. From the scientific point of view a complete absence of sleep over long periods is impossible to achieve, brief microsleeps cannot be avoided, but-”
“I had no idea you need to know that in your line of work.”
That was the last thing the man said before Morgan tackled him to the ground. He didn’t try to fight, instead he just let himself be cuffed. When the locals had taken him away Morgan grabbed Reid by the shoulders and scanned his face over and over again, like he was waiting for injuries to show up.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Tackle that guy! Morgan, I’ve told you before: Jealousy is not an attractive feature-”
“That was our unsub.”
“You said you had our unsub.”
“That was a wrong guy.”
“Reid?” Prentiss walked past them and gave Reid a slap on the shoulder. “Good work
keeping him here.” She walked out after the local cops and Reid gave Morgan a questioning look.
“Keeping him here?”
“Pretty Boy, that was the unsub.” Morgan explained, sounding like he was talking to a little kid. “He thought you were a hooker, and he tried to pick you up.”
“He did?” Reid recalled the conversation. “I thought he was just being friendly.”
“Friendly?”
“Yeah, he complimented my shirt and asked about my work and….” Reid turned bright red. “He tried to pick me up and when he asked about my work…..”
“What did you tell him?”
“That it’s a team effort.” Reid hid his blushing face with his hands. “I can’t believe this.”
“Me neither.” Morgan smirked. “We`re definitely gonna try some role playing when we get home.”
“No. Never again.”
“Come on.”
“If I can pass for a hooker that easily without even trying, I’ll never do that again. Ever.”
“Baby boy, just for me......”
Reid tried to keep the sulking look on his face, but failed.
“How much are you gonna pay?”
“We can negotiate when we get home.”