The door was locked when Spencer led Hotch, JJ, and Emily to his apartment. He slid his hands through the hinges and scanned the top of the door.

"Okay, so they're inside." He determined.

Something was different about the house. Either someone was already there or they had been.

Spencer inched the door open only to get it wrenched from his hand and be flung against the closest wall.

"Codename." He ordered lowly.

The intruder, a dark-skinned man with brown hair and forest-green eyes, reared back as if he'd been burnt. Whether that was due to what Spencer said or because the rest of the team had guns trained on him, Spencer didn't care.

"Codename." Spencer repeated. The man narrowed his eyes but responded anyway.

"Snow Leopard. You're the ones who found Kenzie."

"We are." Spencer exhaled roughly. "My condolences."

"What are you doing here?" The intruder, Snow Leopard, wondered.

"We should be asking you that question." Hotch growled suddenly. "This is Reid's apartment."

"This was a safehouse ten years ago." Spencer recalled. "If Snow Leopard has been out of the game that long, it'd make sense for him to come here. And he wouldn't know much about the Crusade from them on."

"Besides, this place has been wiped. It's not yours anymore."

"Have you checked it for anything?"

"Yeah, it's safe. Just empty." Snow Leopard insisted. "Name's Barkley, by the way. Since I know yours."

"Much obliged. Why don't we go elsewhere and I'll work on getting you all some answers."

"Good idea." Emily muttered as the five of them shuffled into the hallway. Spencer shut and locked the door behind him, placing the key on the frame above the doorway.

"How did Mackenzie Waller come up with a name like Snow Leopard?" JJ wondered.

"She didn't." Barkley said. "You must be one hell of a Chameleon if a bunch of profilers haven't sussed you out."

"There is a difference between keeping secrets and telling lies." Spencer insisted.

"For example?"

"I actually did go to college. No one ever asked what I did outside of that."

"Because college is a full-time job for most, especially if you're gonna be little busy-body and get a doctorate." Barkley teased.

"Five." Spencer corrected cheerfully.

"Pardon?"

"Five doctorates."

"Didn't catch that, Weedling."

"Math, Chemistry, Engineering, Psychology, Sociology."

"And you're how old?"

"I got them before 21."

"You… y'know what, kid, you're a gem. Your handler must have despised the very air you breathe, how in the world-?" Barkley burst into laughter as the elevator dinged and they shuffled in.

"Five doctorates. How much did you get in scholarships? Or did they pay your way? Or did you pay your own way, you sneaky little shit?!"

"A change in attitude would be appreciated." Hotch informed Barkley.

"Sorry, G-man, it's just… five doctorates? And if you were in with the Calvins those last two had to be put to good use."

"I was invited to one party and stayed there for not even a full night."

"Wait a minute, you got into a par-. Should you be telling me this?" Barkley asked seriously as they trooped through the lobby.

"Last mission was fresh out the gate. I figure there's been enough time."

"In any other case I would believe you, but the Calvins? How are you alive? What the hell happened to the guy who got you in?"

"He still runs with them. Had to claw his way back into their good graces but he did it… somehow."

"I'm guessing you don't approve?"

"It's a long game." Spencer offered as Barkley dropped his keys and slid under the black truck to retrieve them. He shimmied from under the back end of the truck and nodded.

"We're good. You were saying?"

"It's a long game." Spencer admitted as everyone shuffled into the truck. "He's been under since we graduated. Eighteen and that's the first mission they send him on. Around 2007, they start testing his loyalty. You try spending that much time under and see how long you last."

"Is that why you left?"

"I left because I couldn't handle the scope of things. Their carelessness only made me glad I did."

"You'd call it carelessness? He's got an in with the Calvins, do you know how much of a break that is?"

"And now they're cutting him off. Great way to treat someone who's been doing that big a favor and hasn't tried to kill anyone he wasn't supposed to."

"You're friends with an assassin." Emily realized.

A high-pitched whine emitted from Barkley's throat and he shook his hand in a not quite gesture.

"Jack is… technically not an assassin." Spencer offered.

"Wait a minute, the guy you had over last Christmas was an assassin?!" JJ hissed. "You said he was an old friend with no place to go!"

"Because he is. That was his first on-the-books vacation since 2005, can a guy live?"

"What about Layla, is she an assassin too?"

"Oh for-. We're CIA, profiler, is that what you want to hear?" Barkley scowled. "I highly doubt that anyone has been doing any assassinating and even if they were, no one would know! It was a joke. The kid was obviously joking."

"It's not their fault nobody knows anything, Originally they thought it was some Girlfriend from Canada situation."

"But she's real." Barkley confirmed. "What's her codename?"

"Snow Leopard." Spencer deadpanned.

Barkley hunched over, wheezing into his arm. When he came up for air it was obvious that he'd been laughing.

"Oh, this is gonna be great! I fuckin love being retired. Seriously, my sister-in-law will never believe me. She's FBI too, for some reason. And she's gonna kick my ass when I get back."

"You came out of hiding for a good cause." Hotch offered wryly.

"Yeah, I've got to keep believing that."

They ended up going to a hotel near Quantico. Spencer paid for two rooms and when each of them were asked for identification, Barkley surprised the others by revealing his.

"Your name really is Barkley?"

"Had this name all my life." He chirped, flashing the ID card that clearly stated he was Terence Barkley.

"Really?" Emily drawled.

"What dumbass gives you a reason to think they're lying about their own name?" Barkley scoffed. "If they have then they shouldn't be doing work of any sort, let alone government work."

"You call killing people government work?"

"I've never killed someone in my entire career. Never had to. Maim, injure, sure. Outright kill? Nope. And I'm glad for it. That does shit to you."

"Please keep the theatrics to as much a minimum as you can manage." Hotch drawled as they stood in yet another elevator. His eyes gleamed and something of a smirk showed.

"I might not be a Chameleon, but I've kept my mouth shut before." Barkley snorted. "I will admit that this has been something of a rough week."

For a while they were allowed to forget exactly what brought them together, as they learned more about Barkley and he about them. But now it was evident that the case of Mackenzie Waller would not go away. Or be the end of their problems.

"Kenzie retired before I did. Like Dr. Reid, she couldn't handle the scope of what had been asked of her. She served a number of missions, and we weren't always privy to what the other was doing. I can tell you what she was like more than I can tell you what we did, and even if I get permission it never ends well."

Their conversation was derailed by a loud high-pitched yowling, and every head in the room swiveled sharply in search of the source. On the rail of the room's balcony crouched a golden tabby with amber eyes. A brown falcon perched atop their head. Spencer snorted and opened the sliding door as the cat sprang for the concrete porch below the railing. They'd been holding on for dear life to that railing, and he could only assume that the bird, as exhausted and drooping as it was now, had carried the cat some distance. From where, he had no idea. But it would be interesting to find out.

The cat limped into the room and eventually started pacing, meowing with each turn.

"How the hell did you train those two to find you?" Was the first thing to be said. Barkley was the one to speak, and Spencer didn't have to look back to know that the older man had a stunned look on his face.

"I didn't know you had time for pets, Reid." Emily noted.

Spencer thought briefly of addressing her remark, but figured they would see for themselves soon enough. Instead, he focused on the strange pair he'd let in.

"I hope you know that we can't understand you." He informed the cat. The cat didn't so much as miss a step as they continued pacing. Spencer got an annoyed hiss for his words.

"Just saying."

The cat scowled at him and… got bigger. Way bigger. Stood up on hind legs. The limbs grew longer, paws more pronounced. The cat slowly turned into a human-cat hybrid, a human with feline features and thick striped fur that covered her skin. Her tail peeked out from a leotard and tights, flicking back and forth as she paced. Her meowing turned to mutters now, and it was easier to see why she was so agitated.

"Stupid flying rat with his stupid claws and stupid flying. What kind of dumbass doesn't at least stop for a break? I don't know what I was thinking, letting this go on for as long as it has. Should have gotten Link out way before this. Fucking birds. God, I hate birds. Why the hell would he turn into a bird and then snatch me up out of nowhere? Who thought that was a good idea?"

"Long day?" Spencer snorted, noting that the bird on her head hadn't so much as chirped in acknowledgement.

"You could say that, yeah." She snorted.

"What the hell happened to cause a partial shift? You haven't been this trapped in years."

"Link hasn't responded to anyone's calls and then I hear from Jake that we're all off-leash so of course I try looking for him-. What are you staring at?" She demanded, turning to face him.

"Your friend hasn't moved a muscle since you both got here. I'm assuming they're stuck as well."

"He probably is, the dumbass. Though I can't say I remember him having a shifting power. It has been a while-."

"You've met him before?"

She nodded and stopped, staring up to where she presumed the bird to be.

"Aw shit, I didn't expect you to be that stuck. Is this your first shift?"

The bird croaked weakly and ruffled their wings. Layla scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hard way it is, then." She grumbled. Without so much as a warning cry, she plucked the bird from atop her head and threw it at the opposite wall like a star pitcher at a baseball game. The bird hit the wall and then the floor with a loud thud, and was quickly replaced by a man Spencer definitely knew. The only problem? This wasn't Link.

"You have a terrible habit of picking up strays, Layla." Spencer grumbed.

"Well he had no trouble picking me up and dragging me all the way back here with no warning whatsoever. Have I mentioned that I hate heights?!"

"It might have come up once or twice." Hotch deadpanned.

"SSA Hotchner!" Layla crowed, eyes bright as they narrowed in on the room's remaining occupants. "Always fun when you're in the thick of it."

"Much the same can be said for you, Agent Jones. Is there a reason you're harboring a wanted criminal?"

The man on the floor groaned and mumbled something barely audible.

"Pain…" He mumbled. "God, just kill me now."

"That can be arranged," Spencer offered, amused, as he loped toward the man. "if you don't find who you're looking for."

"I will get him back."

"Forgive me if I don't hold my breath. You can barely blink let alone sit or stand."

"Can I die on your floor, then?"

"If you must… Sleep well, Calvin. Might be the last chance you get for a while."

The strange man, Calvin, rolled over with a pained grumble. Spencer settled himself beside the ailing intruder.

"Link really did it, the crazy bastard." Spencer groused. "Honestly, of all the tricks to play…"

"You think this was a trick?" Layla scoffed. "That fucker just flew halfway around the world to drop off someone he barely knows. If this thing of theirs is a trick then I want a divorce." Layla yawned widely, showing off sharp canines.

"You actually think they're serious?"

"Link wouldn't have survived this long without an anchor. On top of which that guy you're sitting on is half dead in enemy territory. Of fucking course they're serious."

"Oh that'll go over real well with Faulkner." Spencer snorted.

"We were cut off, Spence, Faulkner can't do shit now."

Layla froze in her tracks and stared at her feet, tail lashing.

"We were cut off." She mumbled again, eyes glassy.

"You gonna throw a fit?" Spencer prompted, suppressing a yawn.

As if on cue, Layla's form flickered heavily until she looked more cat than human.

"No." She growled. "I can deal with this, I just… fuck."

"Yeah, sounds about right." Barkley scowled. "Your reaction to all this is surprisingly underwhelming. Are you seriously more upset about heights?"

"She almost got thrown off a building, so I can't exactly blame her for prioritizing." Leo grumbled from his corner. "Stars above, everything hurts."

"Then go back to sleep." Layla snorted.

"Can't." Leo grumbled. "Dying on the floor."

"You're too coherent for that. You probably just need sleep like the rest of us." Spencer offered. "Which you likely won't get in this state."

"Death."

"Jack would kill me and I'm not nearly as suicidal as you are."

"That painkiller thing you do? Should last long enough to get moving."

"Find your own high, Calvin." Spencer snorted. "Or just go back to sleep. There's no point in trying anything else."

The man on the floor twitched feebly, a full-body shudder that was barely visible to the human eye.

"Fine." He said at last, closing his eyes. "Wake me up when it's time to go."

Spencer snorted and turned so he faced the room's remaining occupants. Layla was done pacing, and chose to curl up at the edge of one of the beds. She managed to keep her shift as a cat and somehow commandeered Hotch in favor of a headscratch.

"I feel like this should be your job." Hotch snorted as the golden tabby butt her head against his hand.

"It's anyone's job." Spencer mumbled drowsily. "She's not picky when stressed."

"Are you guys seriously not freaked that Reid is dating a cat?" Emily blurted out.

"Layla Jones is a shapeshifter under a CIA program known as the Children's Crusade." Hotch informed she and JJ. "She graduated along with Reid and their friend, Jack Lincoln, at age 23."

"A shapeshifter… and Leo Calvin is a shapeshifter as well?"

"Calvin is a Mirror." Barkley murmured, confused. "I thought those were schoolyard tales. Stories our handlers made up to keep us in line. But if he's really like that…"

"He is." Layla yawned through cat's teeth. "When he's around Jack, he can teleport. I thought that was his power until he shifted today."

"And, what, he's a double agent?"

"I'm starting to think he was never one of them in the first place."

"Really? Where's that come from?" Spencer wondered.

"He came way too quietly. Jack's good, and he's had long enough to be effective, but Leo was never a fan of his brother's work. We could never get ahold of him, even if he was confirmed to be one of Peole's inner circle. What's more is that the Calvins completely left him alone. If they hadn't then they'd have found Jack a lot sooner than this. He's one of them in theory, but I bet he could pick up and leave any time he wanted."

"How'd you come up with that?" Hotch wondered. "That's a hell of an accusation."

"His first response was to drag me back here when I found him. His apartment was ruined, Jack was nowhere in sight, he was obviously stressed, but instead of kicking me out of turning me into the rest of his crew, he came here. I wasn't kidding when I said it was a nonstop flight. He's got no loyalty whatsoever to whoever's in charge of the Calvins right now."

"So what happens now? He came all this way. We're not leaving him for dead, are we?" JJ asked, concerned.

"Nope." Layla chirped. "I don't know about you, but I definitely need a nap. How long have you got this room for?"

That seemed to be the end of that. Hotch was wary about leaving the former CIA agents to fend for themselves, but they were too tired to move. He and JJ, at least, had family to check on and Emily certainly had plans that did not involve staying in an unknown hotel room. With multiple assurances that they would check in as needed, the BAU trio left the hotel.