Neighbourly – Part 1 – Nimue of the North

Reading Time:
11 Minutes

Ian tried to crack his neck as he stepped out of the elevator. He’d caught up to his latest fugitive easily enough but the guy had struggled and whined all the way into a holding cell, giving Ian a twinge in the shoulder along the way. 

“I didn’t know you were in town, Edgerton,” Don Eppes greeted him with a handshake. “Everything okay?” He pointedly looked at the shoulder Ian was rubbing absentmindedly.

“Yeah, nothing big. I dropped off my target in your holding cells and I’m very glad to be rid of him. The annoyance has become physical.” He gestured at his shoulder but then dropped his hand down.

“Ah, one of those.” Eppes had certainly had his share of annoying criminals; they all did after a few years on the job.

“Barely got through the whole booking process before I heard you’d called in the BAU. So you must have caught a bad case yourself. Between your brother and Reeves, I would have thought you had such things covered.” Ian kept his tone neutral because he was genuinely intrigued and this wasn’t the matter to tease a fellow agent about.

“It is really bad and looks to be escalating.” Don’s tone said it all. “And when my expert and local genius tell me we’re out of our depth and need the specialists, then I’m calling the specialists. If we solve this before more bodies drop, it’ll be a borderline miracle. This has the potential to create real panic in the population and if it looks like we didn’t do all we could out of pride, the backlash would be ugly. No matter what the bosses think.”

Ian just nodded. Their job was to get the criminals off the street and keep the civilians safe, no matter how—within legal limits. It sucked when people rose in the ranks to a point they forgot those priorities. “Well, I’m here and ahead of schedule, so if my skillset raises your odds, I’m available. After some coffee.”

Don snorted. “Appreciated, truly. In the meantime, let me ply you with some caffeine.”

The coffee in Eppes’s bullpen was always better than what Ian was used to from most offices and precincts. He figured it had something to do with the regular presence of scientists who’d likely riot over the standard issue tar most LEOs lived on. They sipped their coffees in companionable silence, looking towards the glass cubicle Charlie Eppes dominated more often than not. Right now he was deep in an animated discussion with who Ian knew to be Dr. Spencer Reid. The taller man wasn’t the most public member of the BAU, but Ian paid attention. Both had various coloured markers in their hands and were jotting down numbers and equations on the boards, pointing, crossing out, wiping away, and rewriting quicker than seemed comprehensible to Ian.

“Never thought I’d see two of them in the same space. What are they on about?”

“Who knows.” Don shrugged. “When I left them twenty minutes ago, it was all still case related though I couldn’t follow anything and it was giving me a headache. But that’s enough time for them to have taken a dozen turns and leaps and they might be on to a unification theory or something.”

Ian raised a single eyebrow. “Unification theory?”

“Just because it’s not my area of expertise or interest doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention. Or academics are infectious. They sure are like two peas in a pod. Charlie has already bemoaned that Reid studied at CalTech and they never met while he lived here. Says it would have been so cool for them to be child geniuses together.”

Colby Granger tossed a file on the table and reached for the coffee pot. “The rest of us are doubtful that the state would have survived that level of IQ, in close proximity, on teenage hormones, so we consider it a lucky choice on fate’s part.”

“You think they are less dangerous as adults?” Don sounded as doubtful as Ian felt.

Granger shrugged. “Probably easier to reason with and a little more likely to consider ramifications. But, yeah, we might want to keep a close eye, just to be safe.”

“I just got out of there and haven’t recovered yet.” Don raised his hands, earning some snorts of laughter.

Ian’s eyes had wandered over to the subject of discussion again. “They sure are a sight to behold.”

The looks thrown his way told him his tone had betrayed a little more than he intended. That was the problem with trusting people enough to let your guard down.

“So, argumentative academic is your type, Agent Edgerton?” Granger’s tone was teasing but clearly also curious.

“Don’t tell me intelligence isn’t attractive,” Ian shot back. “They’re also obviously passionate about their subject, not afraid to serve the public, and good looking. It’s a beguiling combination for many.”

“That’s my baby brother you’re talking about.”

Ian patted Eppes’s arm. “No need to get defensive and sharpen the shovel talk. Charlie has never given off the slightest indication that he’s anything but straight. It’s also been obvious from the beginning that his heart was taken and by whom. That kind of challenge has never intrigued me. I honestly don’t get why people would want to pursue someone fundamentally uninterested in them.”

Don didn’t look convinced but was slowly relaxing, so that was something. Ian would have to watch his words a bit more carefully to avoid antagonising the protective older brother. In the grand scheme of things, it was rather charming. But they should avoid such distractions.

“So, what you’re saying is,” Granger was clearly going for some sort of diffusion, “that Dr. Reid would be totally up your alley, should he prove receptive. We could act as wingmen.”

“Thanks for the generous offer but I’m not sure that would improve any potential chances. As for the rest—I’m a free agent and I am allowed to look. I also know the meaning of the word professional.”

“Speaking of,” Eppes executed an overexaggerated conversational U-turn. “Anything new of interest?” He pointed at the file Granger had brought in.

“Not really. Just the compiled data the BAU asked for when they arrived. I forwarded everything to their analyst as well, but Prentiss mentioned that Reid would do much better with printed versions, so that’s his copy. You think I’ll be safe to interrupt their math bromance?”

“It seems you won’t have to.” Ian nodded to where the two men were leaving the cubicle with empty mugs in hand, headed their way.

“I hope you didn’t drink all the coffee.” Charlie Eppes went straight for the pot. “We need refueling.”

“We wouldn’t dream of it.” But Don’s assurance was obsolete as Charlie was already pouring for himself and Reid.

“Sadly, I have to get back to campus,” Charlie said between quick gulps of coffee. “I have a class I can’t pass off and a faculty meeting the was labeled high priority, will therefore be a complete waste of time, but my colleagues will give me sour looks for at least a month if I skip it. But I think we’ve gotten as far as we can right now, anyway.”

“Agreed,” Reid spoke for the first time, having already drunk most of his coffee. “The geographical profile isn’t as precise as we would like it to be, but I need more data points that the rest of the team might provide later. I also think I need to see his dump sights myself, especially the first one.”

“I’ll leave the traipsing around the woods to you guys. I really have to run. Good luck, see you later!” And with that, Charlie rushed off to catch the elevator just as the doors were closing.

“I’d be happy to accompany you, Agent Reid. Or do you prefer Dr?” Sharp hazel eyes snapped towards him and Ian knew he could so easily be in trouble.

“Have you met Ian Edgerton, yet, Agent Reid?” Don smoothed over the awkward moment of silence.

“No, I haven’t had the pleasure. It’s great to meet you, Agent Edgerton. What brings you into town? And either title will do, depending on the context and intention of the speaker.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I got sent out here to find a fugitive whose skillset was drastically oversold, so he’s in a holding cell sooner than expected.”

Reid tilted his head a little as he considered Ian’s words. “You’re the type to enjoy a challenge and get really disappointed if one doesn’t materialise, aren’t you?”

Ian shrugged and avoided wincing as it pulled on his shoulder. “I’m not one to complain about an easy resolution. But I took a rather long flight for a very short hunt and that just doesn’t seem efficient.”

“Edgerton offered to support our case, if his skillset is welcome,” Eppes offered. “And Granger has a printed version of the compiled data your team asked for for you.” He gestured at the file on the table.

“Oh, thank you, Agent Granger, that should be helpful.” Reid gave the man a distracted smile as he pulled the file close and started flipping through the first pages. “As for your offer, Agent Edgerton, I’ll have to ask Agent Hotchner what he thinks, but looking at what we know so far, you might indeed be a good addition to the team for this case.”

“Always glad to help.”

Reid nodded thoughtfully as Granger topped up his coffee. “I just want to have a quick look at this data and give Hotch a call, but then we could leave in about twenty minutes?”

“I’ll be ready to go whenever you are.” Edgerton had an almost there smile on his lips, that Spencer had no idea what to do with.

He swallowed. “All right then. I’ll just take this back to our work area.” And because even he only had two hands, he carefully tucked the file under the arm that was carrying his coffee so he could pull his phone out with the other and start dialing as he walked back to the dubious shelter of the glass cubicle. Why had he thought it looked cool earlier? He needed a retreat!

“Hotchner”

“Hotch, Professor Eppes and I have refined the geographical profile as much as possible but it’s still too vague to be useful. I think I need to go see the dumpsites for myself.” Spencer started reading through the file Granger had compiled for him.

“You can’t go out there alone, Reid.” Yeah, Hotch was still in protective mama bear mode. It was only the third case back after Spencer had gotten injured on a case because a local LEO hadn’t been paying attention. And the person attacking Reid hadn’t even had anything to do with their case, he was just your beyond average enraged with the government idiot. It had been a very untimely distraction from their UnSub.

“I wasn’t intending on going alone. Because that’s the second reason I called. Agent Edgerton is in town and at loose ends. He’s offered our investigation his assistance and to go with me to see the dumpsites. Agent Eppes seems comfortable with his inclusion, so it’s up to you.”

Hotch sighed. “We’re certainly dealing with difficult enough terrain to make his expertise useful. And the timelines imply that we might find ourselves with a hostage situation that could get volatile.”

“Agreed. No matter how many good shots we have between our team and Eppes’s people, Edgerton is in a league of his own.”

“I’m happy to include him in the case. I’d still prefer you’d wait for one of us to go with you.”

Spencer frowned. On the one hand, he was touched that Hotch cared, but on the other, the overprotectiveness was a little much and he needed to nip that in the bud. “One, we’d be losing daylight if I didn’t get going soon, meaning it would have to wait for tomorrow and cost us time we potentially don’t have. And two, do you really mean to imply that Ian Edgerton doesn’t have the necessary focus and situational awareness to watch my back in the field?”

“No, because that would be ridiculous and insulting.” Spencer could just imagine the disgruntled face Hotch was wearing right now. “Okay then, keep me posted on where you’re going and be careful. We should all be back in the office within the next two hours.”

“Will do and I’ll let Agent Eppes know.”

They hung up and Spencer read over the rest of the file faster, now that he didn’t have to split his focus anymore. He sipped his coffee to calm himself down. He had no desire to make a bad first impression on Edgerton.

When he’d reached the end of both the file and his coffee, he headed back out to where Eppes and Granger were briefing Edgerton on their case. They all turned his way as he approached.

“Agent Hotchner thanks you for your offer of support and I’m ready to leave when you are.”

Edgerton was already getting up when Granger couldn’t contain his curiosity.

“Were you really reading that entire file that quickly?” He gestured to where Spencer had left the papers neatly stacked on the table.

“Yes, I can read 20,000 words per minute. Mind you, that’s just reading. I’ll have to properly analyse everything at a later time. But reading has confirmed that there is nothing significant in the data that we didn’t expect. I can analyse the data in the dark or while we’re driving for that matter. I can’t get a good impression of a forest clearing after the sun has set.”

Granger just stared at him with the kind of disbelief or overwhelm that Spencer had gotten used to ever since he was a child. He refused to apologise to people for their reaction any longer.

Edgerton gently cleared his throat. “You’re correct about the daylight. Eppes has given me an overview over the case and I have all the locations we might need. Shall we head out?”

Spencer nodded as Eppes waved them off and gave Granger a slap on the shoulder.