A/N: SO… This story idea was once a part of my ANCIENT poll. Now it's decided to start gaining a spark of life. (grins) BUT, before letting you check it out…

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE! See any cows flying? Yeah, 'thought so. I DREAM of owning something (and who wouldn't dream of spending some time with Reid…?) but sadly that's all. My bank account just isn't fat enough.

WARNINGS: adult themes, violence, language… ya, know, the usual funny stuff…

RATED M because I prefer not limiting my options…

Awkay, because I've been stalling long enough… Let's go! I really, really hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

The Secret of White Dahlia

Prologue

"And you're sure that he's what we've been looking for?"

"Yes." A thick file was pushed forward on a shiny desk that'd been made of expensive wood. "This is all his data. The team believes that he'd fit the program perfectly."

A pair of dark chocolate brown eyes narrowed, then gazed at the papers. Each bit of information was skimmed through slowly, each word evaluated critically. The sounds of the paper rustling and their breathing were the only noises heard in the room for almost ten minutes. Then, finally, the file was snapped closed. "Can any difficulties be expected?"

"He'll be resistant." Brutally honest, as always. Nothing less would've been appreciated. "The team sent to retrieve him must be chosen carefully. It won't be easy to… persuade him."

"I see." A thoughtful frown appeared. "Prepare the team. And tell them to be… discreet. We wouldn't want to this to get unwanted attention."

"Understandable enough." The steps began to retreat. Slow and steady. Ominous.

"Oh, and do keep in mind…" The tension could've been cut by a knife. "No mistakes this time. Cleaning up after Seattle was a horrible workload."

It was one of those cases that Spencer wished would just end. Five young women, barely even adults, had lost their lives because of a sixty-year-old schizophrenic man seeing his decades since deceased daughter in them. It took them just a little too long to reach the killer. Exactly ten minutes too long for the final victim.

The whole thing… It hit a little too close to home for Spencer. Because some of the words he heard from the killer's mouth were such his own mom uttered during her darkest days.

The metro ride didn't seem to ever end. Spencer fidgeted with discomfort as he became all too aware of the far too many people around him. It didn't help that a mighty headache seemed to be creeping in. The tricks he learned from Maeve to control the discomfort hadn't worked quite as well after her death.

And why couldn't he shake off the feeling that someone was watching him?

He literally bumped into three people on his way out of the metro. The rest of the route home was full of blur. Vaguely Spencer registered himself struggling to find the keys. He also listened as empathetically as humanly possible as his elderly neighbor complained about the too loud intimate life of the young couple next door from her. As soon as Spencer made it to the safety of his apartment he released a long, shuddering sigh of relief, only then realizing how badly his hands were shaking. At that exact second he decided that he needed coffee. A lot of it, the stronger the better.

While waiting for the liquid gold to be ready to get devoured Spencer checked his cell phone. Five missed phone calls. Two new text messages. He must've been even more preoccupied than he'd thought to not have noticed those earlier. The first one of the messages was from Derek, the second from JJ.

''Hope you made it home safely. Try to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning.'

'I know that this case was tough on you. If you feel like it call me, at any time. Henry told me to say 'Hi' to his favorite profiler.'

Spencer wasn't sure if he should've been amused, touched or irritated. He decided to respond to both texts later. At the moment coffee was a priority.

With an almost purr-like sigh of contentment Spencer poured coffee to the massive mug Penelope once bought him as a gift. There was a greedy look in his tired eyes while they scanned through his book shelve, wondering which one he should choose to help him relax. That task captured his attention to a point where it took him five seconds too long to realize that the coffee didn't taste right. He frowned.

What…?

And then realization dawned, crashed on him like a ton of bricks. His eyes widened as a gasp slipped through his slightly parted lips. The mug froze right by his mouth.

At first Spencer didn't realize that the voice speaking all of a sudden was actually there. Right behind him. It closed around him with the shadows, seeming to trap him. "Evening, agent Reid. We have much to discuss. But I'm afraid that you may not have the time for it…"

The following morning the BAU-team began to march into the office, one by one. Aaron had promised them a day off but they all needed something to do. Something that'd help them let go of the nightmare they were just pulled into.

David arched an eyebrow when Derek stormed into the same elevator with him. There was a positively murderous look on the younger man's face and it had nothing to do with lack of sleep. "Rough night?" he suggested.

Derek groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "A fight with Savannah." He glared at the numbers that signaled the floors passing by. "Her bad day clashed with mine."

David winced. "Been there, done that." They'd almost reached their destination. "Did she start throwing things?"

Derek gave him a funny look. "No. But there was a lot of shouting involved. I'm pretty sure that my neighbors had fun listening."

David hummed. There was a small 'ding', signaling that they were at the correct floor. "You two will get through it", the senior agent declared.

"How would you know?"

The doors opened. David gave him a wistful look. "Three ex-wives. I'd consider myself an expert when it comes to points of no turning back. You're not there."

Derek felt tempted to pry further until the sight they encountered nearly made blood freeze into his veins. JJ, Alex and Penelope were already there waiting for them, grim looks on their faces. Aaron stood before the women, appearing even more somber than usual. It was entirely too easy to notice that someone was missing.

David tensed up and froze. Derek's lips opened. Aaron beat him to it. "We need to have a team meeting." The unit chief took a deep breath. "Earlier this morning I received resignation papers from Reid."

TBC

A/N: And that's how we begin. What in the world happened to Reid? Who are those people after him? And what happens next? Would you like to find out? PLEASE, do let me know!

Good? Bad? Deletion worthy? The word's yours! (grins nervously)

In any case, thank you so much for reading! (I seriously almost typed reiding…) I've really gotta go now. Maybe I'll see you guys later…?

Take care!