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<p>“Yes. A lot,” he said, eagerly.</p><p>This made Mia smile, a warmness spreading through her chest.</p><p>“I like kissing you a lot too. You’re a good kisser, Spencer.” She reached for</p><p>his hair, to pet him, and he nuzzled her hand, kissing her wrist.</p><p>“I like touching you.”</p><p>He held her hand in place and peppered her inner arm with soft kisses.</p><p>Mia’s heartbeat was like a samba inside her chest.</p><p>“I like touching you too,” she said back, breathless.</p><p>Feeling bold, she got closer to him on the bed and he embraced her. One of</p><p>his hands was massaging her nape and the other spanned her back, pushing</p><p>their chests together. He was warm, so warm.</p><p>“I really like how you smell,” he reverently whispered against her hair.</p><p>“I like the sound of y…”</p><p>Spencer kissed her again, this time his nervous energy seemed to have</p><p>dissipated, leaving just tenderness and the initial flame of desire. It was too</p><p>soon, way too soon, but Mia knew she would love him like she never loved</p><p>anyone before. He would ruin her and she would gladly let him.</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>I've never written anything as soft in my whole life and I'm still</p><p>processing my feelings from having written this chapter. I thought all</p><p>of us deserved some comfort after everything we have been through,</p><p>right?</p><p>As always, I wanna thank Jackie for being a great Beta and</p><p>Persimonne for being the sensitivity reader as to Spencer's sexuality</p><p>To the fans of grizzly murder, don't worry, we will go back to our</p><p>regular scheduled program soon (with more soft and secret scenes to</p><p>come)</p><p>The Wolf</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>So she ran from the path into the woods to look for flowers. And</p><p>whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier</p><p>one farther on, and ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper into the</p><p>woods.</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>See the end of the chapter for notes</p><p>Monday came and found Mia having a hard time focusing. She had left</p><p>Spencer’s place on Sunday night and moved to a decent hotel with the</p><p>money Eleanor had lent her when Ellie left her in front of Spencer’s place</p><p>on Friday.</p><p>He wasn’t sure if he was going, to tell the truth to Agent Prentiss. Mia</p><p>begged him not to, since she trusted no one else to find the truth about</p><p>Charlie, Natalya, and the other twelve missing women. However, he had</p><p>disobeyed direct orders just by seeing her and now they were on the edge of</p><p>legality due to their relationship. Mia tried to research if it was illegal for an</p><p>agent to be romantically involved with a victim and, although it seemed like</p><p>it wasn’t, all agents who had been caught in similar positions had been</p><p>fired. She knew Spencer would never forgive her if she ruined his career,</p><p>although a part of her really wanted to be free of the conflict that being</p><p>involved with an FBI agent had created in her life ― personally and</p><p>professionally.</p><p>Ishaan called her Monday morning to tell her he was moving forward with</p><p>the legal procedures of her inheritance as fast as he could and she should be</p><p>in full possession of the estate by Christmas. He had also informed her he</p><p>was dealing with the insurance company and seeing that they covered the</p><p>costs of fixing the broken doors and refurbishing the trashed areas of the</p><p>house. They would conduct their own investigation to be sure that Mia</p><p>didn’t stage it for the prize money, which amounted to over one and a half</p><p>million dollars.</p><p>Since she got the news that the Bradfords had decided not to fight the will</p><p>in court, she signed a formal contract with Eleanor, stating she would</p><p>retroactively pay for her hours as soon as she got a hold of the money. Due</p><p>to that, Eleanor also let her borrow money to stay in a hotel of her choice</p><p>under a false name, instead of a safe house guarded by FBI agents. The</p><p>simple idea of being watched by law enforcement all hours of the day and</p><p>night gave her so much anxiety that she couldn’t even breathe. She would</p><p>rather take her chances in a hotel until her house was like new, and with</p><p>updated security. Ishaan told her to prepare to be away from home for about</p><p>two weeks and asked if she needed help getting a loan or anything while</p><p>things were being sorted out. She thanked him and refused the offer.</p><p>She managed to get three sick days from Georgetown due to her throat</p><p>injury, although the doctor had told her she needed to stay away from the</p><p>classroom for at least two weeks. She almost laughed in their face and had</p><p>to hold the impulse to ask who would pay her bills then.</p><p>Spencer had gotten work calls and emails during the weekend, but he didn’t</p><p>tell her a thing. They still weren’t able to even sort out how or when they</p><p>would meet again. Mia hadn’t told him about refusing the detailed</p><p>protection and the safe house or her money issues. They agreed that they</p><p>would have 48 hours of denial, so that was what she was doing.</p><p>The hotel room was a simple executive suite, with a small shower in the</p><p>bathroom and a double bed with cheap sheets that smelled like generic</p><p>detergent. Mia’s budget plan consisted of eating mostly instant noodles and</p><p>stocking the room’s minifridge with snacks she bought in the small Latin</p><p>corner shop a few blocks from the hotel. At least the breakfast was included</p><p>in the room’s charges, so she could overeat in the morning, maybe steal</p><p>some pancakes for later, and skip lunch.</p><p>On Tuesday, she was able to place three pancakes in a plastic bag before</p><p>leaving for the No Borders headquarters. Georgetown could have given her</p><p>the day off, but her supervisor reminded her that she was late with the</p><p>monthly field report and that the grant committee didn’t care how chaotic</p><p>her life had been since Charlotte died.</p><p>She let her hair loose and threw a pretty flowery scarf around her neck that</p><p>day, hoping to avoid her colleagues’ questions about the state of her voice</p><p>with a simple “It’s just a cold” answer. Eleanor had disclosed to Daniel</p><p>Borges, the NGO’s director, what had happened to Mia, since they were</p><p>friendly, but she wasn’t interested in sharing the not-so-awesome news with</p><p>Laila, who was her annoying deskmate and hadn’t stopped pestering her</p><p>about her grieving process for “her friend” in a tone that almost let Mia hear</p><p>the quote marks around the words.</p><p>Luckily, this should be a simple week. Mia had to cross reference legal</p><p>information of people seeking asylum in the U.S. and that was pretty much</p><p>it. Sometimes she did interviews for her research or acted as an interpreter</p><p>for the people the NGO helped.</p><p>“Good morning, Amélia,” Daniel said from behind her.</p><p>Mia was suddenly startled by his presence. She had been working non-stop</p><p>for two hours, lost in the data. She took a sip of water and turned to him.</p><p>“Morning, Daniel,” she greeted him back.</p><p>He was a tall man, born in Chile, who had moved to the U.S. in the 1970s</p><p>as a child refugee. He became a citizen in the 1990s and created the No</p><p>Borders organization with a few friends after 9/11, when the U.S.</p><p>strengthened the barriers to immigration. Daniel had been on every possible</p><p>watchlist by every possible agency ever since. He would just shrug and</p><p>laugh it off, usually. His husband, Tiago, was less casual about the whole</p><p>thing.</p><p>“Listen, preciosa, I need you to drop whatever you’re doing and come with</p><p>me.” He was already pulling her chair back when he said it.</p><p>Mia locked her personal computer and got up, keenly aware of how Laila</p><p>was probably listening to everything they said.</p><p>“What’s going on? Do I need my coat?” Mia wasn’t exactly worried</p><p>because Daniel’s tone was light and, if it was another FBI or ICE raid, he</p><p>would have called Laila too.</p><p>“Oh, no, it’s just that your ex-brother-in-law is here with a bunch of people</p><p>and I need you to play hostess with me.”</p><p>His legs were longer than hers, so Mia had to almost jog to keep up with</p><p>Daniel.</p><p>“Who is what and you need me to what?”</p><p>“You know, the tall blond brother of the small gringa you used to date.”</p><p>Daniel made a dismissive gesture with his hands, like he couldn’t bother to</p><p>remember their names. Mia knew it was all</p><p>He looked at her small hand over his. And at her beautiful face. And then</p><p>Spencer started laughing.</p><p>"Share the joke with me!" Amélia demanded, sitting closer to him and</p><p>pressing their legs together.</p><p>Spencer held her face with his hands and planted a kiss on her lips. Amélia</p><p>embraced him hard, pulling him by his shirt and hair.</p><p>"It's just that… I might like this."</p><p>"Kissing me? Is the jury still out on this?" She asked in a joking tone.</p><p>Spencer kissed her quickly again.</p><p>"Sex," he answered. In the background, the record had come to its end.</p><p>Not that Mia ever doubted the powers of Caetano, but Spencer's intense</p><p>interest in exploring their physical relationship was a welcome surprise.</p><p>They were still learning each other and she was clearly the person more</p><p>comfortable in this scenario.</p><p>"I have news to tell you," she said, as they walked to his bedroom.</p><p>His hand got slightly tenser around hers and Mia wondered why.</p><p>"I'm all ears," he answered, casually.</p><p>Mia spun on her heels and turned to look at him when they got to his bed,</p><p>letting her hands trail along the collar of his shirt.</p><p>"Georgetown hired me as an Associate Professor." Saying this still sounded</p><p>like a lucid dream that filled her with almost unbearable joy.</p><p>His face lit up when he heard her words and he lifted her up by her waist,</p><p>immediately losing his balance and falling over the bed.</p><p>"Amélia, this is huge! How could you have not opened with this?!" He was</p><p>half annoyed and half laughing, lying on his side and looking at her, with an</p><p>arm slouched over her stomach.</p><p>Mia giggled like a teenager.</p><p>"I was trying to get in your pants!" She said, still laughing.</p><p>Spencer pulled her closer, crowding her on the bed with his arms, and his</p><p>overgrown hair brushed Mia's nose when he dived in to kiss her jaw.</p><p>"You need to learn more about profiling then, Professor," he huffed against</p><p>the shell of her ear before kissing her pulse point there.</p><p>Mia let out a small moan and embraced him tighter, crossing her ankles on</p><p>his waist.</p><p>"Do you..." she started saying while his idle hands navigated south on her</p><p>body again. "Have the hots for being the teacher's pet, dottore?"</p><p>He kissed his way down to her sternum and looked up at her, almost</p><p>innocently, with his chin resting on her stomach.</p><p>"Am I the teacher's pet?" He asked, with a glint of mischief in his eyes.</p><p>Mia felt lightheaded.</p><p>"Yes," she breathed out. Spencer resumed kissing her belly as his hands</p><p>raised the skirt of her dress to her waist. "O meu… O meu favorito. Meu</p><p>galeguinho. [6]"</p><p>Mia's dress was pooling over her stomach and she could feel her pants</p><p>getting wetter as he rubbed his hands over her thighs. Spencer kissed her</p><p>belly button tentatively, almost intrigued.</p><p>"Is that good?" He asked her, and his voice was muffled against her skin.</p><p>"Yes. Very good. Keep kissing me and I'll give you an A+, Spencer."</p><p>He laughed softly again.</p><p>"Should I be worried that you exchange grades for sexual favors?"</p><p>Mia pulled him by his hair, forcing him to look at her.</p><p>"Only you," she said, very seriously. "You're my only pet."</p><p>His eyes closed and, as he leaned in against her arm, his hands gripped her</p><p>thighs harder.</p><p>"And what do you want of your pet, Professor?"</p><p>Mia licked her lips and let her bottom lip get caught in her teeth,</p><p>considering what she could ask.</p><p>"Do you want to please me, pet?" She asked, hoping that her voice was in</p><p>the right tone and mood.</p><p>Spencer looked at her through his lashes and a blush raised to his cheeks.</p><p>Mia was still holding him by his hair, although her fingers were more</p><p>relaxed.</p><p>"More than anything," he whispered.</p><p>"Take off my pants, then. Pick up from where you left in the living room</p><p>and don't you dare to stop until I come."</p><p>To her relief, his breath got quicker and his pupils dilated to her command.</p><p>While Spencer fumbled with her garter belt and stripped her of her lingerie,</p><p>still leaving her high socks in place, Mia took off her dress and carelessly</p><p>tossed it across the room. He stopped for a moment, his hands holding her</p><p>knees in place, her feet planted on the bed on either side of his legs, and just</p><p>looked at her nakedness. He seemed to be mentally doing equations.</p><p>"What materials am I supposed to use for this assignment, Professor?" His</p><p>face was even redder, but his eyes looked hungry.</p><p>Mia swallowed. Did he want verbal reassurance all along the way? And</p><p>why did this make her feel so powerful?</p><p>"You have such pretty lips, Spencer, do you think you would like to kiss my</p><p>pussy with them?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>His voice was self-assured before he pushed her knees down on the bed and</p><p>dived in to lick a stripe on her sex. Mia sighed loudly and decided it was</p><p>time for her lacy bra to go too. After a small fight with the clasps, she was</p><p>free from it and could just lay down and enjoy herself.</p><p>"The taste is..." He raised his head to look at her. "Not what I was</p><p>expecting."</p><p>"And this is good or bad?" Mia asked, worried.</p><p>Spencer smiled shyly and let his fingers run over her folds, separating them</p><p>like he had done earlier.</p><p>"Good," he finally said.</p><p>Mia then propped one of her feet on his shoulder and pushed him down.</p><p>"Excellent. In that case, I remember giving you specific instructions of not</p><p>stopping until I had an orgasm."</p><p>As an answer, Spencer pushed his middle finger inside her, slowly but</p><p>surely, and lowered his head again to lap at her folds. He compensated for</p><p>his lack of experience with an abundance of interest, licking and sucking at</p><p>her inner folds and kissing her as thoroughly as he had kissed her mouth.</p><p>"Use your finger," Mia commanded, sliding her foot down his back and</p><p>pulling him closer with her leg. "Also, you can kiss me harder," she put her</p><p>hands on his beautiful hair again, pressing his face against her. Spencer</p><p>started pumping his finger as she told him to do and Mia moaned loudly.</p><p>"Crook it. There's a rugged place just under the cl… Ah… Ah, like that.</p><p>Like that. So good, you're very good, my pet. Meu galego."</p><p>He licked her clit and Mia wailed weakly. It had been a long while for her</p><p>too, and her body was already tingling from being touched and cherished</p><p>like that.</p><p>"More. More like that." He listened to her voice and licked at her clit again,</p><p>still rubbing his finger on her G-spot. "Quicker. Lick me quicker. Yes, yes.</p><p>Such a good student. You learn so… Sooo fast… Ah, harder. Finger harder.</p><p>Ahh…"</p><p>One of Mia's hands let go of Spencer's hair and she sought for his left hand,</p><p>which had an iron grip on her hip. As her toes curled and he licked her even</p><p>faster, encouraged by her increasingly incoherent words of praise and the</p><p>sounds Mia made, she wrapped her fingers around his. She wanted to hold</p><p>his hand during this. For him, for her, for grounding.</p><p>"Meu… Meu… Meu… Meu…" She muttered like a mantra, gripping his</p><p>hair and his fingers with all of her strength.</p><p>It hit her like a shock wave and she was suddenly unable to produce any</p><p>more sounds. Spencer kept going until she pulled his face away from her</p><p>and closed her legs, feeling overstimulated. He crawled on the bed and held</p><p>her back against his chest. Mia felt her whole body humming in pleasure</p><p>when she rested her head on his left arm. He took her right hand in his and</p><p>gently kissed the back of her palm before resting his head on top of hers.</p><p>"How are you feeling?" She asked him.</p><p>His left hand went to her hair and he started to idly run his fingers on her</p><p>scalp.</p><p>"Fine." They stayed in silence for a moment. "Better than fine. This was… I</p><p>really like this."</p><p>"Holding me?" She asked, almost dozing off.</p><p>He kissed her shoulder.</p><p>"Having sex with you."</p><p>She entangled her fingers on his and it was her turn to kiss his hand, but</p><p>Mia took her time to kiss each of his knuckles individually.</p><p>"It was good, wasn't it?" She asked, hoping that her voice conveyed all the</p><p>affection she felt blooming in</p><p>her chest. "You were very good."</p><p>He chuckled.</p><p>"Not very good. Not yet, at least."</p><p>She rolled to face him and let her leg rest on his still-clothed hip. Her</p><p>fingers brushed his bangs away from his face, gently.</p><p>"Stop being such a perfectionist overachiever all the time, Spencer. This is</p><p>excellent, great, A+."</p><p>His hands danced on her ribcage for a moment and he didn't meet her eyes.</p><p>"I didn't know you had tattoos." He said, running his fingers over the inked</p><p>letters under her left breast.</p><p>"You've never seen me naked before," she said, laughing.</p><p>"What does this one say?"</p><p>"'A minha pátria é como se não fosse, é íntima doçura'. It's the first line in</p><p>the poem 'Pátria Minha', by Vinicius de Moraes."</p><p>"You know I don't speak Portuguese," his eyes were still intensely focused</p><p>on her breast and the lines under it.</p><p>"It's as if my homeland didn't exist, it's an intimate tenderness," she roughly</p><p>translated to him.</p><p>His fingers stopped moving for a moment and he leaned in to kiss it. Mia</p><p>gasped when he traveled up, to the sensitive skin of her breast, and then her</p><p>nipple. He approached it as he had done with her clit, at first.</p><p>"Slower..." She instructed him. "More like a deep kiss… More lips."</p><p>He listened to her and rhythmically caressed her nipple again and again</p><p>with his flattened tongue. His hands pressed and massaged the muscles of</p><p>her back and Mia embraced his head and shoulders. This was different than</p><p>before. An intimate tenderness.</p><p>The tip of his fingers got to the roots of the tree that partially occupied her</p><p>back. He followed its silhouette, as the blind do to feel a work of art, and</p><p>his mouth let go of her breast so he could flip her and gain access to her</p><p>back.</p><p>"And this one?" He asked, kissing the highest leaf of the tree, right between</p><p>her shoulder blades.</p><p>"It's a yellow ipê. The Brazilian cherry tree, as it's known, although no</p><p>cherries come from its bloom. It's..." He kissed and licked each part of the</p><p>plant, like he could remove the watercolor from her skin.</p><p>Or mark it as his.</p><p>Amélia never thought she could get so aroused from kisses on her spine.</p><p>The roots ended just above her waist, where her garter belt still pressed</p><p>against her skin. Spencer removed it from her.</p><p>"Is this all or do you have more?"</p><p>He kissed a small mole Amélia had on her hip and his fingers kneaded the</p><p>muscles of her ass.</p><p>"Aren't you the detective here?" She sassed him back.</p><p>He pulled her right sock down and let out a small sound of glee when he</p><p>found the almost orange poppy on her calf.</p><p>"Luck or method?" Mia asked, intrigued, while he traced the lines of her</p><p>flower with his fingers.</p><p>"I don't believe in luck," Spencer chuckled. "No, you had one tattoo on your</p><p>left chest and another in the middle of your back. I inferred that, if you had</p><p>another, it would be on your right side. It's like you do with the decor of</p><p>your room, you like things to be slightly off symmetry, but balanced out."</p><p>Mia rolled on the bed to face him, not even bothering to hide her goofy</p><p>smile.</p><p>"And you don't need to ask what this one means?" She propped her elbow</p><p>on the bed and rested her head on her hand, feeling emboldened by her</p><p>nakedness.</p><p>"The tree on your back is Brazil's national tree. The poem line talks about</p><p>the homeland you don't have. So, this poppy is for California, right? For</p><p>your teen years in San Francisco."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"And DC, do you ever think about marking it on your skin?"</p><p>"DC is a barely closed wound on my face, Spencer."</p><p>She sat on the bed and kissed him to brush off the tears she felt prickling in</p><p>the corners of her eyes.</p><p>"I need to tell you something too," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear.</p><p>"I have been putting it off because I'm sure you will..."</p><p>Mia kissed his cheek.</p><p>"You're a profiler, not a mind reader, Spencer."</p><p>"The US Attorney decided to indict Marino and the Director ordered my</p><p>team to consider the case closed." His hands held her by her shoulders,</p><p>pushing her away from him. "I'm sorry, Amélia, I'll understand if you hate</p><p>me."</p><p>"I knew it already."</p><p>"What?" He raised his head to look at her.</p><p>"Agent Prentiss called me personally this afternoon and I already got an</p><p>email from Ishaan about this too," she said, shrugging.</p><p>He seemed confused.</p><p>"And you came here?"</p><p>"... Yes?"</p><p>"But… I couldn't catch her murderer. I couldn't do the right thing, as I told</p><p>you I would."</p><p>"You told me you cared, Spencer, not that you would close the case. I</p><p>always knew this would be a slim chance and, well, it's not like I had that</p><p>much faith in the FBI for starters."</p><p>And, by December, she would have the resources to finish what Charlotte</p><p>started. She could hire people who had no political interests in their way</p><p>and, later, people who would have no moral conundrums in guaranteeing</p><p>that whoever killed Charlotte wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else ever</p><p>again. But she definitely wouldn't say the last part out loud to her favorite</p><p>FBI agent.</p><p>Spencer still had a crease between his eyebrows and Amélia kissed it,</p><p>gently.</p><p>"I don't blame you," she whispered, her lips still pressed against his</p><p>forehead. She was on her knees on the bed, wearing just her left sock, and</p><p>embracing him against her chest, still fully clothed. "You're still my pet. My</p><p>favorite one. Meu galego."</p><p>He let out a sigh and embraced her back, almost crushing her.</p><p>"Don't give up on me," he whispered.</p><p>"I'm here. I'm with you, all in, if you want me too."</p><p>He looked up at her.</p><p>"I will keep investigating it, Amélia. I will never stop looking for him not</p><p>only for you, but because I know he won't stop either," he vowed.</p><p>"I know." She kissed him, soft and tender. "I will be here with you, Spencer,</p><p>for the long run. You just need to let me in."</p><p>He let go of her and took off his shirt, letting it fall on the bed. Her chest</p><p>was very pale, his nipples were almost translucent under the amber light of</p><p>the bedroom. He had no visible tattoos, but there was a bullet scar on his</p><p>left arm. Mia sat on his lap and kissed his scar. They kissed and caressed</p><p>each other like that for a while. She found out he had a birthmark on his</p><p>stomach and his nipples were sensitive to the touch. She pushed him down</p><p>on his back on the bed, so she could better kiss and touch his torso.</p><p>"Is this good?" It was her turn to ask.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Do you want to keep your pants on?"</p><p>She licked one of his nipples and he gasped, his hands were holding her</p><p>shoulders.</p><p>"I don't… I don't know."</p><p>"Ok."</p><p>She kept paying attention to the nipple in front of her and softly blew on it</p><p>after it was wet. Spencer sighed. Mia switched her attention to his</p><p>collarbone, kissing and nipping at it.</p><p>"Can I bite you?"</p><p>"Bite me?"</p><p>"Yes. I like biting," she looked into his eyes. "I can not do it, if you don't</p><p>like feeling pain."</p><p>His chest got flushed and his heartbeat got faster.</p><p>"I… kind of like pain. Not a lot. But a bit."</p><p>She smiled at him.</p><p>"I like it too." She bit his right bicep, strong enough to mark him. Spencer</p><p>yelped, and Mia sucked and licked at the bite, peppering it with kisses.</p><p>"Thank you, thank you. You're so good to me," she whispered.</p><p>He pulled her by her nape to the level of his face and kissed her, deep,</p><p>passionately licking her tongue with his. One of his large hands held her</p><p>face and the other rested at the center of her back, by the roots of her tree.</p><p>"I trust you," he said.</p><p>"I trust you too."</p><p>He took one of her hands in his and guided her to his fly. Mia opened it</p><p>while they kissed. Her hands brushed on his half-hard dick, but he hadn't</p><p>authorized her to touch him there yet, so she just focused on helping him</p><p>undress. To her surprise, his hands lowered his boxers with his jeans. Mia</p><p>kissed his pulsepoint on his neck and gently scratched her nails over his</p><p>torso. Spencer pulled her hair by the nape and rested his forehead against</p><p>hers, exhaling a shaky</p><p>breath.</p><p>"Spencer," she called him.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"This isn't a river we need to cross. This is a lake. We are just floating on a</p><p>lake, together, in the summer. The margins are not the point, the water is."</p><p>He chuckled and kissed her once more.</p><p>"Sometimes it was almost good, before. But always felt like a race," he</p><p>whispered against her temple.</p><p>Mia was partially laying over his body, her clothed leg propped across his</p><p>hips. She could feel his sex, if she wanted to, but she would only do it if</p><p>that was what he wanted too.</p><p>"It's not a race," she whispered back. "Where we are, what we are doing, is</p><p>amazing already. This is sex."</p><p>"Touch me," he asked, and she sneaked her hand down to cup him.</p><p>His cock was heavy, long, and uncut. She pumped it experimentally,</p><p>looking at his face while she did it, and she felt it stir in her hand. Spencer</p><p>breathed through his teeth and closed his eyes.</p><p>"How are you feeling?" She asked him.</p><p>"Weird," he answered, with his brow furrowed in concentration.</p><p>Mia stopped her movements.</p><p>"Good weird or bad weird?"</p><p>"I don't know. Can you kiss me?"</p><p>She let go of his cock and kissed him again, slowly. He pulled her by her</p><p>thighs so she would sit on his lower stomach. After a few moments, Mia</p><p>felt his cock, fully erect, pressing against her ass. She wiggled a bit,</p><p>temptatively. He gasped and his grip on her thighs got harder.</p><p>"Don't stop," he muttered against her lips. "This… this is really good."</p><p>This was a dangerous game, she knew it. She had no IUD, she wasn't on the</p><p>pill, and they weren't using condoms. But she didn't want to stop, she didn't</p><p>want to say no to him now. And she was liking it, a lot. So she did the</p><p>totally irresponsible thing of rubbing her wet pussy against his cock and</p><p>deftly switching the angles so his glans could rub her clit. Spencer moaned</p><p>and bit her lower lip, before pulling her hair back and kissing and licking</p><p>the fading bruises on her throat. Mia kept moving, entranced by the wet</p><p>sounds they made, only half paying attention so he wouldn't accidentally</p><p>penetrate her. She buried her fingernails in his shoulders, feeling her second</p><p>orgasm approaching her in the middle of the trance she entered at the needy</p><p>sounds Spencer made.</p><p>As she felt her body warm and cold at the same time and wailed as her</p><p>orgasm teared her apart, she felt Spencer slipping inside her. She had never</p><p>done it without protection and the feeling of his warm skin thrusting against</p><p>her inner walls in the middle of an orgasm made another one follow suit and</p><p>she seated on him, fully knowing that she shouldn't. His hips stuttered</p><p>against her a few times while he held her in place with an iron grip on her</p><p>hips. He bit her shoulder and Mia clenched her cunt instinctively.</p><p>She then realized he had come inside her and now he was crying in her</p><p>arms.</p><p>"Spencer, Spencer, what's wrong?" She couldn't disentangle herself from</p><p>him because he was still holding her tight, now embracing her completely</p><p>and weeping on her chest like a little boy. She kissed his hair and tried to</p><p>hold him as best as she could. "What's wrong, meu bem? What's wrong?"</p><p>He shook his head but said nothing. She was completely wet from him. Her</p><p>chest with his tears, her thighs with his semen.</p><p>"Please, talk to me. Did I hurt you? Did you want to stop and I didn't realize</p><p>it? Please, my pet." She was almost crying too, her post-orgasm relaxation</p><p>disappearing with the dread that took hold of her.</p><p>"It's too soon, it's too much," he finally said.</p><p>"What, Spencer? What happened?"</p><p>"I feel like I'm drowning. I like you too much, like my chest could burst."</p><p>He kept sobbing against her chest, still holding her tight. "I'm sorry, you</p><p>don't want this. I ruined this."</p><p>She let out a sigh of relief and started to cry too. Mia tilted his head up to</p><p>look at his face and wiped the tears streaking down his cheeks.</p><p>"That's all? You scared me," she whispered against his forehead and kissed</p><p>him there. "I made a whole grand gesture and professed my feelings a week</p><p>ago, when we hadn’t even kissed, Spencer." She kissed his eyebrow. "Don't</p><p>worry, I have big, all-consuming, feelings too. You're not alone, you don't</p><p>scare me." And the other one. "You're not drowning. We are swimming</p><p>together in a lake, remember? It's summer. I'm all in, if you want me too."</p><p>She kissed his lips.</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>Translation Notes:</p><p>[1] Doctor, I want to kiss you. Meet me at your place in an hour?</p><p>[2] I was born in Bahia, from a domestic slave with an overseer</p><p>My father slept on the bed,</p><p>My mom on the rug</p><p>Laia, ladaia, sabatana, Holy Mary</p><p>[3] Me, you, the two of us, we share a past already, my love</p><p>A guitar put away, that flower</p><p>And several other things</p><p>[4] (in coloquial Portuguese)</p><p>The green snake's eyes</p><p>I noticed them today</p><p>If I had noticed them before</p><p>I wouldn't have fallen in love with this person</p><p>[5] The water and the sand</p><p>Play by the ocean shore</p><p>The water goes, the sand stays in place</p><p>[6] My... My favorite. My little fair haired one. // In Portuguese,</p><p>ending words in "inho" (m) or "inha" (f), the diminutive, means being</p><p>endeared (or sarcastic. Depends on the context)</p><p>//</p><p>To listen to Transa, to read "Pátria Minha", the poem mentioned. This</p><p>poem also has a partially spoken version by Maria Bethânia, who,</p><p>incidentally, is Caetano Veloso's sister.</p><p>https://open.spotify.com/album/4NIGwEvudtT3KZrYPymOmz?si=1AD8KJytSCqIZ6pe4MDLGQ</p><p>https://vermelho.org.br/2011/09/08/vinicius-de-moraes-patria-minha/</p><p>https://open.spotify.com/track/4hdaQWCLTpTdik8IyLzd1z</p><p>An enchanted spindle</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>The wind stopped blowing, and outside the castle not a leaf was</p><p>stirring in the trees.</p><p>Round about the castle a thorn hedge began to grow, and every year it</p><p>became higher, until it finally surrounded and covered the entire castle.</p><p>Finally nothing at all could be seen of it, not even the flag on the roof.</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>See the end of the chapter for notes</p><p>Mia woke up nestled in Spencer's arms on Friday. They had taken a shower</p><p>and she took her contacts out before sleeping after he managed to stop</p><p>crying. She slept with his sweater from the University of Nevada, which</p><p>was now too small for him but fitted her just right. He wore a simple white</p><p>t-shirt and flannel pants with math equations printed all over them. He had</p><p>held and touched her all night as if he was afraid she might slip away</p><p>through his fingers.</p><p>She had no intention of going anywhere without him.</p><p>Mia reached for her glasses on the bedside table and decided to use this</p><p>opportunity to observe him in his sleep. His relaxed face made him look</p><p>younger, impossibly younger. The faint sunlight creeping through the</p><p>curtains wasn't enough to make his hair shine like honey, but it let her see</p><p>the colors in his face, the rise and fall of his chest. She should have let him</p><p>sleep more, but she also had to wake him up.</p><p>She kissed his cheekbone.</p><p>"Bom dia, flor do dia, [1]" she whispered in his ear.</p><p>Spencer stirred in his sleep and embraced her, rolling on his side and taking</p><p>Mia with him.</p><p>"No. No. Day off. Sleep more," he mumbled without opening his eyes.</p><p>Mia giggled.</p><p>"I'm sorry, meu dengo [2], but we have something time-sensitive to do and I</p><p>already postponed it yesterday because we were both really tired."</p><p>He groaned against her neck.</p><p>"What could be so urgent?"</p><p>"A trip to Planned Parenthood," she answered, and as predicted, he went</p><p>very still against her. "We did something very risky last night and I'm not in</p><p>the mood for having any surprises a few weeks from now, so, time-sensitive</p><p>appointment. And we both need to get tested."</p><p>"Could you have something?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but</p><p>failing.</p><p>"I don't know. The last time I got tested was over a year ago and sometimes</p><p>we get false negatives or are unknowingly exposed to infections, and we</p><p>both did a very risky thing the first time we had penetrative sex, so neither</p><p>of us should rely just on the trust of the</p><p>word of the other on 'never doing</p><p>this' or anything." She rolled on the bed to look at him. "Although, I</p><p>literally had never done this with, you know, someone with a penis."</p><p>He blushed and averted his eyes.</p><p>"...I have," he confessed. "My first girlfriend wasn't a fan of condoms and</p><p>my ex-boyfriend and I did it a couple of times during our relationship. But I</p><p>got tested after we broke up and it was negative. I got vaccinated for HPV a</p><p>few years ago and I have to get annual check-ups for the Bureau. My tests</p><p>always come back negative."</p><p>"Ok," she said, smiling. "Let's hope all of our tests come back negative this</p><p>time too."</p><p>"I'm sorry," he said, with his gaze still focused on the wall behind her.</p><p>"For what?" Mia asked.</p><p>"For yesterday. You know, coming inside you and everything."</p><p>"Spencer, I'm a big girl, who was very sober when this happened, and I took</p><p>a calculated risk. As you did too, I hope."</p><p>"I didn't think. I was, hm… very absorbed by the whole thing."</p><p>"Do you regret it?" She asked, feeling a pang in her chest.</p><p>Spencer rolled on his back and hid his face behind his hands, groaning.</p><p>"No. I'm horrible, I know."</p><p>Mia laughed and sat on his lap, very aware that she was naked from the</p><p>waist down.</p><p>"I guess we are both horrible people, then, for not regretting having</p><p>consensual sex with our adult partners." He didn't react to her stupid</p><p>preachy joke and Mia tried to pull his hands away from his face. "Come</p><p>ooooon, Spencer, everything is fine. I want us to get tested because I care</p><p>about us and because I have done a lot of HIV prevention grassroots</p><p>activism with undocumented immigrants all these years. I already am the</p><p>hypocrite anarchist dating an agent of the police state, I don't want to be the</p><p>girl who isn't smart because her boyfriend told her not to worry."</p><p>This made him look at her. He was adorably blushing.</p><p>"Am I your boyfriend?" He asked, boyishly.</p><p>She hovered over him, planting her hands on each side of his face, feeling</p><p>as if she could burst with endearment.</p><p>"Oh, is this a big deal for you? Do you want to do the whole dance for a</p><p>couple of months until one of our friends pressures us into defining our</p><p>relationship because we're too cool for school? Or do you want me to take</p><p>you to a nice dinner with flowers and formally ask if you want to be my</p><p>boyfriend?"</p><p>He laughed and pulled her in to kiss her.</p><p>"I mean, just checking up with me would be a nice touch," he said, pushing</p><p>her hair out of her face and adjusting her crooked glasses.</p><p>Mia did a very serious face and a solemn voice:</p><p>"Doctor Spencer Reid, would you like to be my boyfriend?"</p><p>He scratched his chin dramatically and looked at the ceiling for a moment.</p><p>"Oh, jeez, I don't know. You will have to let me think about it."</p><p>"Spencer!" Mia batted his hand out of his chin, exaggerating her shock.</p><p>"You don't let a woman say all the things I've said to you in the past week,</p><p>ask her to be with you for the long run, and then have to think about..."</p><p>He kissed her, cutting her sentence short.</p><p>"It would be my honor, Doctor Amélia Ferreira, to be your boyfriend,"</p><p>Spencer said against her lips.</p><p>Even though Spencer had a primary care physician, he scheduled an</p><p>appointment at Planned Parenthood with Amélia, because he didn't want her</p><p>to go alone to hers. She was on Medicaid, living the full irony of being one</p><p>month away from having the insurance Georgetown provided to its</p><p>employees and two months away from being rich enough to fund a hospital</p><p>if she wanted to. But, for the moment, she was homeless and broke.</p><p>They had decided to wait a few weeks before making their relationship</p><p>public, due to the trouble he could face in his career if something went</p><p>wrong with Marino's deal or the case was suddenly reopened for any other</p><p>reason. Such as the real killer striking again, as Spencer believed he would.</p><p>If killing Charlotte hadn't triggered him to escalate and lose control in the</p><p>next month or so, then certainly when his six-month window came to a</p><p>close. He didn't say it out loud to Amélia, but she understood it perfectly.</p><p>It was strange to walk beside her on the street and stand by her side on the</p><p>subway and not be able to touch her when he could still feel the imprints of</p><p>her body on his hands from earlier that morning. Amélia was wearing the</p><p>same clothes as the night before; in her backpack, she had only brought a</p><p>few personal items and another pair of panties. Spencer really liked the</p><p>whole bohemian chic, Sociology Professor vibe she had going on with that</p><p>dress, her boots, and her cape-like coat. He liked her round glasses and her</p><p>messy bun, with the little curls that escaped it and framed her face, her</p><p>smell, her smile. She was his kindred spirit, his secret girlfriend, the</p><p>forbidden fruit he chose to bite.</p><p>Under all their clothes, he had a bruise on his bicep and she had one on her</p><p>shoulder, each shaped like the others' teeth.</p><p>He couldn't remember the last time he had been in a Planned Parenthood</p><p>clinic, but Amélia even knew the protestors outside.</p><p>"What's up, Karen, still haven't found anything better to do with your</p><p>time?" She asked one of them, who was holding a large sign with an</p><p>anatomically incorrect fetus displayed under the words Abortion Is Murder.</p><p>"I pray every night for your damned soul, Doctor Herrera!" The woman</p><p>screamed at her as they passed.</p><p>Amélia ignored her and buzzed the intercom beside the bulletproof glass</p><p>doors of the clinic, saying her name and appointment, before being allowed</p><p>inside.</p><p>"¡Hola, Amélia!" The receptionist gleefully greeted her. "Que bueno verte.</p><p>¿Dónde está la chica de hoy?"</p><p>Her skin was the same color as Amélia's, but she looked shorter and</p><p>rounder. Lidia, as her name tag read, appeared to be in her twenties and</p><p>there was something in the way she spoke and moved her hands that made</p><p>him think of Penelope.</p><p>"Hola, Lidia, ¿está bien? Hoy la consulta es para mi." [3] She took her</p><p>insurance card and her Green Card from her pocket and put them on the</p><p>counter in front of Lidia.</p><p>They chatted in Spanish for a few seconds until Spencer heard Amélia say</p><p>his name and the word "amigo" and Lidia was looking at him and smiling.</p><p>"It's really nice to meet you, Doctor Reid. I understand you have an</p><p>appointment here as well?" Lidia spoke in flawless English.</p><p>"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too, Lidia," he placed his insurance card and his</p><p>driver's license on the counter beside Amélia's. "I have an appointment at</p><p>10 o'clock, I believe."</p><p>"The care provider will see you in just a moment. Meanwhile, you both can</p><p>fill out this quick paperwork here to better help their work." Lidia placed</p><p>two sheets of paper in front of them and turned to Amélia again. "¡Ay,</p><p>chica, qué hermoso es tu amigo!" [4]</p><p>Amélia chuckled and agreed with her while she wrote down her answers on</p><p>her paper.</p><p>The waiting room on that October morning had a Black pregnant woman</p><p>playing with her toddler in a corner; an elderly white man flipping through</p><p>old magazines; a white woman in her forties looking very anxious; a couple</p><p>of teen Latina girls chatting in hushed voices; and a seemingly bored Black</p><p>teenage boy very focused on his phone.</p><p>"What did the receptionist mean when she asked you about 'today's girl'?"</p><p>Spencer asked as they sat on two vacant chairs beside the elderly man</p><p>reading magazines.</p><p>Amélia smoothed the creases on her coat, now folded on her lap, and turned</p><p>to look at him.</p><p>"Ah, it's nothing. It's just that the reason why I always come to this clinic is</p><p>that here it's safe."</p><p>"With several different girls?" He insisted.</p><p>"Yes, with girls and boys and people who have no one else or need an</p><p>interpreter." She didn't meet his eyes when she spoke, looking firmly ahead.</p><p>"What do you mean by 'safe'?"</p><p>"Spencer, can we agree that I won't ask hard questions about your work and</p><p>you won't ask them about mine?"</p><p>The staff didn't ask many questions about people's</p><p>legal status in that clinic,</p><p>that was probably what she couldn't say out loud to him. They waited in</p><p>silence for about fifteen minutes until Amélia was called for her</p><p>appointment.</p><p>Spencer was checking his texts when they called his name.</p><p>The office was on the second floor. Small and clean, it had a desk, a</p><p>hospital bed surrounded by curtains, and a tinted window that allowed the</p><p>sight of a parking lot.</p><p>"Good morning, Spencer. Can I call you Spencer?" The nurse was a Black</p><p>man in his late fifties, with a strong Maryland accent shaping his words.</p><p>Spencer absent-mindedly nodded as he sat in the chair across the nurse's.</p><p>"I'm nurse Jones and I will be your healthcare provider this morning."</p><p>"Good morning, nurse Jones, nice to meet you today."</p><p>"Now, your paperwork tells me you had an unsafe relationship last night</p><p>and you want to get screen-tested for Sexually Transmitted Infections? I</p><p>must inform you that your results will be ready in two to ten business days</p><p>and, if you are worried about having contracted anything from this</p><p>encounter, we should schedule a follow-up appointment for you here in six</p><p>months due to the window of immunological response to most infections.</p><p>Do you understand what I'm saying?"</p><p>"I… I have been tested in February with my annual check-ups, it's a work</p><p>thing, and everything came back negative. But my partner... She wants us to</p><p>share test results." He didn't like medical appointments and sharing these</p><p>intimate things with a complete stranger was, to say the very least, a weird</p><p>experience.</p><p>"Oh, you're in a committed relationship?" The nurse raised his eyebrows.</p><p>"Have you two discussed what kind of protection you are going to be using</p><p>from now on?"</p><p>"Huh… Condoms, I guess?"</p><p>"Condoms are the most effective barrier method of preventing STIs if</p><p>they're used every time and correctly."</p><p>"I am aware."</p><p>"Is there a possibility that your partner could be HIV positive?"</p><p>Spencer frowned, thinking.</p><p>"I mean, statistically speaking, it's highly unlikely that she could have HIV,</p><p>although we can never be sure, right?"</p><p>Nurse Jones nodded, typing on his desk computer.</p><p>"If you want, I can prescribe you post-exposure prophylaxis to lower the</p><p>chances of you being infected with HIV. It's not a one-time drug, you will</p><p>need to take it two times a day for 28 days, no skipping, and you can feel</p><p>tired, dizzy, or have stomach aches during the treatment. It's up to your</p><p>discretion to take it or not."</p><p>Spencer did the math in his head. It would be stupid of him to pretend that</p><p>he didn't have access to everything Penelope found about Amélia’s life</p><p>during their investigation. Unlike him, she had no history of using</p><p>injectable drugs; and, according to her, it had been years since she had</p><p>penetrative sex with someone who had a penis, and she always used</p><p>condoms. He was doing this to ease her mind, but he had little doubt that</p><p>they would get out of this unscathed.</p><p>"No, thank you, I'll just want the tests, please."</p><p>"I'll also prescribe you a one-time use of a broad spectrum of preventive</p><p>antibiotics since it's the procedure for these situations."</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>"Ok, then. Please, sit on the hospital bed and roll up your sleeve for me</p><p>while I fetch the disposable syringe, please."</p><p>"Hey, Jane, what's up?" Mia greeted her usual doctor, opening her office</p><p>door.</p><p>Doctor Jane Scott was in her forties. She was a white woman, born and</p><p>raised in Texas, who worked and lived in DC since the early 2000s. Not</p><p>only she was Mia's personal OB-GYN, but she was also the go-to Doctor</p><p>for the undocumented and scared people No Borders helped. Mia prayed</p><p>that the IRS never looked too closely at her receipts because Jane had, more</p><p>than once, written real prescriptions and receipts under false names to</p><p>protect her real patients. Daniel, for instance, had officially been treated</p><p>four times for syphilis only that year, even though he had never even</p><p>contracted it.</p><p>"Amélia, dear, I wasn't expecting to see you personally until your yearly</p><p>check-up, in… May next year? Your paperwork says you had unsafe sex</p><p>last night. Is everything alright?"</p><p>Mia let out a sigh and sat on the chair across from Jane's.</p><p>"It's not a big deal. Just that same old story. Mostly responsible person finds</p><p>a new partner and, in the heat of the moment, makes the irresponsible</p><p>choice of not stopping to get one of the condoms she has in her purse."</p><p>"I see. Is your new partner a nice person?" Jane gently asked, looking away</p><p>from her computer screen to look at Mia's face.</p><p>"He's great. In fact, he also came here today and he's getting tested."</p><p>"Oh, you want to get tested besides the emergency contraceptive? Do you</p><p>think he might have something?"</p><p>"Come on, Jane, you and I know that's the HMO recommendation to fight</p><p>AIDS. If you have unprotected sex, get tested."</p><p>"Will you want to take the PEP too, then?"</p><p>"I'll buy the fast test at the drugstore for us and, if he gets a positive, I’ll call</p><p>back here today to start it," Mia said, after considering the matter for a bit.</p><p>"And, besides the emergency contraceptive, what is your long-term plan?</p><p>Are you going on the pill?"</p><p>"No fucking way. The last time I took it, my body went insane with the side</p><p>effects. No, thank you. I was thinking of, besides behaving like a</p><p>responsible adult and using the condoms I already have, scheduling with</p><p>you to insert an IUD in a month or so."</p><p>"Why not next week? With Medicaid, you won't pay a thing for it."</p><p>"Georgetown hired me as an Associate Professor; I was hoping to make</p><p>good use of their better insurance and better paycheck and get a Mirena. I</p><p>heard that it has the smallest hormonal dosage possible, but also makes your</p><p>periods stop for seven years. Is it true?"</p><p>"For approximately 90% of the people who have it inserted, yes. But even</p><p>for the ones who don't experience a complete stop in their blood flow, the</p><p>Mirena will make your endometrium get slimmer, thus, diminishing your</p><p>flow."</p><p>"Sounds perfect!"</p><p>Jane smiled and opened her planner on the computer.</p><p>"It's recommended that you should not be on your period for your</p><p>appointment because menstrual cramps increase the chance of expelling</p><p>your IUD. Mirena's contraceptive protection starts seven days after being</p><p>inserted and you can feel weakness and cramps on the day after your</p><p>appointment. Please, make sure that someone comes with you to be sure</p><p>you get home safely."</p><p>Mia made the mental note to tell Charlie to clear her schedule for it.</p><p>Except that Charlie was dead.</p><p>Ok, she could ask someone else. Eleanor, perhaps. If Spencer were in town,</p><p>maybe he could do it.</p><p>Mia cried when the needle entered her arm to draw her blood. More from</p><p>the intense feeling of grief that took over her completely than from the pain.</p><p>She realized it was October 23. It had been over five weeks since Charlie</p><p>died. Over a month. A month and things only got worse and more</p><p>confusing. She wanted to tell Charlie about Spencer, introduce them, and</p><p>share this part of her life with her.</p><p>But she wasn't there anymore. She wasn't anywhere but in the memories</p><p>that seeped through her fingers. DC was a barely closed wound on her face</p><p>that tasted like ash and loss.</p><p>After Charlie died, Mia noticed that a small and old analog alarm clock, that</p><p>her mom had given her a long time ago, wasn't working anymore. It was</p><p>frozen forever with the long arm for the minutes over the seven and the</p><p>short arm for the hours over the one. It could have stopped in the middle of</p><p>the day or the night. And Mia kept thinking of that clock, which certainly</p><p>had stopped before Charlie had left her, as if it could magically start</p><p>working again.</p><p>If it could magically start working again, Charlie could come back too.</p><p>It was insane. It was absolute insanity to create stupid bargains in her mind</p><p>and refuse to even think about doing something with Charlie's room when</p><p>she went back to a home where she didn't want to live anymore. Life moved</p><p>on, like her father always said, even if the ones we love one day leave</p><p>through the door saying "see you soon" to never come back.</p><p>When Spencer's appointment ended, Amélia wasn't in the waiting room.</p><p>Lidia informed him that she had left ten minutes ago and seemed very</p><p>distracted. Worried, Spencer left the clinic. Beyond the picket line, on the</p><p>other sidewalk down the street, was a bookstore cafe. If Amélia went to the</p><p>clinic all the time, there was a good chance she would be a regular patron of</p><p>them.</p><p>The shop was small. It smelled of new and old books, coffee, and tea</p><p>leaves. A Black woman with golden threads on her long dreadlocks</p><p>tendered the three tables inside the store. Amélia was sitting at a table in the</p><p>back, nursing a steamy cup of coffee and what seemed to be a half-eaten</p><p>apple strudel.</p><p>"You scared me," he said, pulling a chair beside her. "You can't ask a guy to</p><p>be your boyfriend, take him to a Planned Parenthood appointment as your</p><p>third date, and ditch him there."</p><p>She didn't react to his stupid joke. In fact, she didn't even raise her head to</p><p>look at him.</p><p>"Amélia?" He called her and carefully touched her shoulder. The one he had</p><p>bitten.</p><p>She blinked a few times and finally looked at him.</p><p>"Spencer?"</p><p>Her gaze wandered to the walls around them and she looked at the coffee</p><p>cup and the saucer in front of her, surprised.</p><p>"Were you talking to me?" She asked as if she had woken up from a dream.</p><p>Her eyes were red and puffy behind her glasses.</p><p>"Are you ok, Amélia?" He was even more worried.</p><p>"I don't know."</p><p>"Where's your hotel? I'll call a car and take us there so you can rest."</p><p>"It's huh… I… There's a key card in my backpack. Where's my backpack?"</p><p>She looked around, distraught.</p><p>"It's on your lap, sweetheart."</p><p>"Ah! Yes. Sure. Here. The key card." She slid the plastic square over the</p><p>table to him and absent-mindedly ate a bite of her strudel. "It's… It's so</p><p>weird. I was talking to Jane about inserting an IUD and then I was here. Did</p><p>we leave the clinic together?"</p><p>Spencer frowned. She was really disoriented.</p><p>"No, Amélia, I just found you. I think you should call your therapist, can</p><p>you do that?"</p><p>"I have an appointment on Monday, I don't want to disturb Dr. Beatrice for</p><p>nothing."</p><p>"Amélia, you just had a memory blackout and you are sober. I don't think</p><p>this qualifies as nothing. Please, call her."</p><p>"Fine," she grumbled.</p><p>Dr. Beatrice could see her at noon, so Spencer made Amélia finish eating</p><p>her strudel and drinking her coffee, while he watched her, unable to feel</p><p>hungry, even if they had skipped breakfast to go to PP. A part of him feared</p><p>Amélia could be having some sort of psychotic break and he missed the</p><p>early signs, due to being too wrapped up in the investigation and his</p><p>feelings.</p><p>As he cleaned a bit of sugar from her cheek, he asked himself what he</p><p>would do if that was the case. He barely knew her, things were too new, too</p><p>soon, for them to even consider this.</p><p>"You've met me in a very strange time in my life," she had told him a week</p><p>ago when her voice could barely be heard and a 6 ft 2" man had tried to</p><p>murder her in her own home. Having a psychotic break wouldn't be</p><p>unexpected. No one could judge her if Amélia had too much on her plate.</p><p>But could he, Spencer, deal with it? Stay by her side and wait to see who</p><p>would come out of the woods to him? That is, if she ever came out of the</p><p>woods. His mom never did.</p><p>He thought of this, feeling like the worst person in the world, while he</p><p>waited for her on a couch in her therapist's waiting room. He wanted her.</p><p>Amélia. All the sass, the dancing, the unending pop culture references he</p><p>didn't get, the fire in her eyes, the strength in her bones. No, he wasn't</p><p>leaving until he couldn't stay anymore.</p><p>After the customary fifty minutes, she walked out of the room and sat</p><p>beside him on the couch, embracing his arm and resting her head on his</p><p>shoulder.</p><p>"I entered a brief fugue state," she whispered, even though they were alone.</p><p>"Dr. Beatrice told me to rest for the weekend and avoid intense emotions.</p><p>She will talk to my psychiatrist to see if I need to adjust my anxiety meds."</p><p>He kissed the top of her head.</p><p>"Were you able to figure out what triggered this?" He asked.</p><p>"Grief. The constant feeling that I don't control anything in my life</p><p>anymore. The sudden realization that I may not have anyone to care for me</p><p>when I have my IUD appointment." Her voice was small, tired. She laced</p><p>her fingers with his. "You are going to be constantly on the road and I need</p><p>to make peace with this. But, uh, I'll understand if that’s not what you were</p><p>signing up for. You know, me being all fucked up in the head and unstable.</p><p>I'll understand if you don't… don't want to stay."</p><p>He felt his stomach drop, feeling even more horrible that she was speaking</p><p>the thoughts that went through his head while she was seeing her therapist.</p><p>"What are you talking about?" He asked, instead.</p><p>She sighed.</p><p>"Spencer, neither of us is stupid. We have known each other for a month</p><p>and things already are so complicated, and, you know, I'm barely holding on</p><p>to my own sanity. It's ok. It's ok if you want to pretend nothing happened</p><p>and go on with your life..." Her voice was breaking and she buried her face</p><p>in his shoulder, gripping his arm even harder. "I'll understand if you don't</p><p>want this, if it's too much." His shoulder was getting wet with her tears. "I</p><p>mean, it's confusing to me too. How can I fall for you while I break apart</p><p>because I still love a dead woman?"</p><p>"Do you want me to go?" He was doing his best to not cry too.</p><p>Amélia sniffed.</p><p>"No," she whispered.</p><p>"Let me take you to your hotel, then."</p><p>Mia fell asleep in Spencer's arms on her hotel bed after she ate and took a</p><p>shower. She woke up when the twilight dimmed all the colors in the room.</p><p>Spencer was asleep too.</p><p>She could smell the scent of vanilla beans and jasmine flowers.</p><p>With her half-opened eyes, Mia could clearly see her, naked, on the bed,</p><p>with her back turned to them, and occupying the unused pillow.</p><p>Her dark-brown fine hairs spread over the pillowcase and Mia could see her</p><p>chest rising and falling with her slow breath. Mia wanted to touch her, but</p><p>her limbs wouldn't move. The birthmark and the scar on her right knee</p><p>weren't visible from this angle, but she knew they were there.</p><p>She was palpable. Alive. Alive for those moments in the dimming daylight</p><p>sharing the bed with two actually living people.</p><p>Mia wanted to call her, but her voice wouldn't work.</p><p>Vanilla and jasmine.</p><p>She could count the freckles on her shoulders, the vertebrae on her spine.</p><p>She could touch her, if only her arms would move.</p><p>Charlotte. Charlie.</p><p>Charlie, can you forgive me for being alive? Can you forgive me for living</p><p>beyond you?</p><p>Charlie, we should have been together when we had the chance.</p><p>Even in her sleep, she knew this wasn't true.</p><p>The real Charlie never loved her like that.</p><p>The real Charlie would never have stayed if she broke into a million pieces</p><p>in front of her eyes for someone else.</p><p>Mia blinked awake. The room was completely dark.</p><p>Charlotte was gone.</p><p>When Spencer woke up from his three-hour nap in the middle of the</p><p>afternoon, Amélia was already awake and working on her laptop at the</p><p>small working table in her hotel room. She looked at him over her shoulder</p><p>and gave a small smile.</p><p>"Thank you," she simply said.</p><p>"For what?"</p><p>She turned completely to him, riding the chair with open legs, and propped</p><p>her chin on her hands, which rested on the backrest.</p><p>"Staying. Taking care of me. Caring."</p><p>"Aren't these like the bare minimum for a boyfriend?" He asked, sitting on</p><p>the bed and stretching. His neck was stiff.</p><p>Amélia chuckled.</p><p>"I wouldn't know. No one stayed before."</p><p>He stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at her. Spencer didn't want to ask if</p><p>she was blaming Charlotte for being dead or referring to something</p><p>she</p><p>hadn't yet shared with him about their relationship, four years ago.</p><p>"How are you feeling?" He asked, instead.</p><p>Amélia ran a hand through her hair and looked down.</p><p>"Really tired. I had some cramps and took ibuprofen. I think this morning</p><p>after pill kind of messed me up, on top of everything else."</p><p>"Oh, right. We still need to discuss our appointments and what we are going</p><p>to do from now on." He remembered. Spencer got up from the bed to get a</p><p>glass of tap water from her bathroom sink.</p><p>"I'll put in an IUD in a month or so, but I would like it if we tried to use</p><p>condoms. I mean, really try." Her voice came from the bedroom. "Spencer,</p><p>be real with me, is there any chance you have HIV?"</p><p>"What?" He asked, coming back to the room.</p><p>"I don't know," she said, defensively. "It's not like people have to have a</p><p>certain look to be HIV positive and the truth is that I know very little about</p><p>you."</p><p>"There's close to zero percent chance of me having been infected with HIV</p><p>since February, when I had my last test, Amélia. I can show them all to you</p><p>if you want."</p><p>She let out a huge sigh.</p><p>"I would like that. I can share mine with you too."</p><p>Spencer let out a small chuckle with his offer and sat by the end of the bed,</p><p>close to her chair.</p><p>"Amélia, your commitment to your beliefs is commendable and I can check</p><p>your tests if this is important to you, but I believe your word."</p><p>She frowned at him.</p><p>"That makes no sense. You know that it makes no sense, right? Blind trust</p><p>like this in someone you barely know… That's how people get infected."</p><p>"Amélia, I'm not a child, you don't need to educate me." He looked</p><p>seriously at her. "I will check your tests, you can email them to me right</p><p>now if you want. I'll get my phone and do the same for you. What else can I</p><p>do to ease your mind and help you relax?"</p><p>She climbed on the bed with him and rested her head on his chest.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I can get… preachy on these subjects. I had an</p><p>uncle, my mom's brother, he died of AIDS when I was eight."</p><p>His fingers went to her hair, caressing her.</p><p>"His partner died too. They both were gone with months of difference. They</p><p>would take me to the beach after school, to musicals and the ballet on the</p><p>weekends, and we would all go together to the street Carnaval in February.</p><p>You must have seen a picture of me as a small Tinkerbell with two pirates</p><p>in my bedroom."</p><p>Spencer remembered the picture. Amélia was probably six in it, she was</p><p>missing her four incisors at the same time, her green gown had sequins</p><p>sewn in it and she had glitter hand-made fairy wings, being raised in the air</p><p>by a man who had a smile similar to hers and lighter skin dressed as a</p><p>skimpy-dressed version of Hook, while another Latino man ― dressed as a</p><p>tropical Summer version Mr. Smee ― was showered with golden glitter by</p><p>small Amélia.</p><p>He embraced the woman in his arms even tighter.</p><p>"I'm so sorry for your loss," he whispered against her hair.</p><p>She chuckled bitterly.</p><p>"I feel like I keep throwing one personal tragedy after the other on your</p><p>lap.”</p><p>"Don't worry, I have my fair share of them too."</p><p>"You can tell them to me if you want to."</p><p>"My dad left when I was five. For years, I thought he did it because my</p><p>mom was beginning to show her first schizophrenia symptoms, but seven</p><p>years ago I found out that my mom had witnessed the murder of a serial</p><p>killer who was targeting me, by the hands of his last victim's father. My</p><p>parents helped him get away with it."</p><p>Amélia stayed in silence for a while.</p><p>"That's a telenovela-worthy amount of drama. I feel a little less weird for</p><p>sharing my insane life with you." She raised her head and gently kissed his</p><p>lips. "I'm so sorry you went through this."</p><p>"Oh, but my life is way more insane than that. This was just the beginning."</p><p>Spencer smiled, running his thumb over her brow.</p><p>"Kindred spirits," Amélia said, with her eyes closed.</p><p>"Kindred spirits," he repeated after her. "There are two more things I think</p><p>it's important for you to know right away. I should have told you already, I</p><p>think."</p><p>"I'm all ears."</p><p>"I dated a girl when I was in the FBI academy, but I wasn't in love with her.</p><p>I dated a man over four years ago, his name was Adam. I really liked him.</p><p>But the first person I really loved was called Maeve."</p><p>"That's a pretty name," she whispered.</p><p>"She was murdered three years ago."</p><p>Amélia's eyes fluttered open and she looked intensely at Spencer.</p><p>"Sometimes I still feel like I'll crush under the weight of missing her. I will</p><p>never stop loving her either, Amélia, so you don't need to worry about</p><p>hurting my feelings with your very fresh and very just feelings for</p><p>Charlotte. I would never ask you to forget her."</p><p>They kissed and Spencer wouldn't be able to know if the tears that made his</p><p>face wet came from his eyes or hers. Amélia rested her palm over his heart</p><p>while her tongue ran over his.</p><p>"Don't forget her," she whispered against his lips. "Don't leave me, but don't</p><p>forget her."</p><p>They lay down on the bed again, facing each other. Spencer was going to be</p><p>forever grateful to be able to touch Amélia as much as he wanted to. Like</p><p>he was never able to do with Maeve.</p><p>"We honor the dead by living as best as we can, Amélia."</p><p>"I need to schedule Charlotte's funeral."</p><p>"I think it would be a good thing for you. It could help you get some</p><p>closure. As much as it's possible."</p><p>"What was the other thing?" She asked him.</p><p>"I'm addicted to opioids."</p><p>She went still and serious in front of him.</p><p>"I have been sober for eight years and it's not a problem to drink or even</p><p>smoke pot around me. I don't drink, though. I don't use anything that can</p><p>relax me or alter my consciousness because I can't… I can't forget my</p><p>decision to not use it anymore."</p><p>"Thanks for sharing it all with me." She scooted closer to him in bed.</p><p>"Schizophrenic mom, dad issues, murdered first love, and addiction, is this</p><p>a good amount of tragedy to share on a third date?" He asked, jokingly.</p><p>"We seriously need to do less heartbreaking and intense things from now</p><p>on," she laughed, lacing her arms around his neck.</p><p>"It would be a nice change of pace, but, with the risk of sounding really</p><p>corny, I gladly accept whatever life throws my way to be with you." He</p><p>kissed her once more.</p><p>"Be careful with your promises, Doctor, you tend to take them very</p><p>seriously and I tend to believe in you." She pushed his hair behind his ears</p><p>and kissed him.</p><p>Amélia rolled over him on the bed, deepening the kiss and tugging his shirt</p><p>out of his pants. Spencer ran his hands over her slim body, until finally</p><p>finding the skin of her stomach under her sweatshirt. Amélia unbuttoned his</p><p>shirt and peppered his chest with kisses. There was no urgency in their</p><p>movements, no rush. After Amélia disposed of her sweatshirt, she just lay</p><p>over his torso, lazily kissing his lips and running her fingers over his naked</p><p>skin. He liked the feeling of this, of being surrounded by her fruity and</p><p>slightly citric smell and her warmness.</p><p>A lake in the summer.</p><p>His phone rang on the nightstand.</p><p>"I need to take it," he muttered against her lips, disentangling himself from</p><p>her.</p><p>Amélia rolled to the side on the bed, laying on her back and staring at the</p><p>ceiling while he fetched his phone.</p><p>"Hey, Penelope, is everything alright?"</p><p>"Ok, you know how we should have been taking the day off and resting or</p><p>whatever? I couldn't do it. I'm also super bummed with this whole thing and</p><p>there's nothing that I hate more than a little bugger not budging to my</p><p>magic fingers. Like, I had no idea that Charlotte was some secret computer</p><p>whiz, kudos to her, but I finally managed to find her decryption key. It was a</p><p>combination of several random numbers on her journals with that sixteen-</p><p>digit sequence in her book. Mad respect for her. I'll love chatting with her</p><p>for a good part of eternity when I get to the afterlife. She must</p><p>have made</p><p>friends with Ada Lovelace already. But I should have expected her to be</p><p>into coding and all, after all, who else chooses to pay homage to Hedy</p><p>Fricking Lamarr in her codename?" As usual, Penelope spoke 180 words</p><p>per minute, this time full of excitement.</p><p>Spencer got up from the bed, buttoned up his shirt, and walked to the hotel</p><p>hallway, not wanting Amélia to listen to their conversation when she</p><p>already had one mental breakdown that day.</p><p>"Yes, it makes sense," he agreed, although he didn't fully understand what</p><p>Penelope was talking about. "What did you discover in the hard drive?"</p><p>"Murder suspects galore. And our girl even originally lists Josh Marino as</p><p>a person of interest related to Natalya's murder. Apparently, the incident at</p><p>the nightclub he told you guys about did happen, but then Charlotte was</p><p>quickly convinced that Natalya's death was connected to the other girls’</p><p>disappearances. She even wrote an initial profile of the unsub, which kind</p><p>of matches ours. Seriously, I'm kind of personally invested in getting this</p><p>guy now because Charlotte seems like she would be a hoot to chat with.</p><p>Maybe I even know her from coding forums, I have to look her up again</p><p>with that in mind."</p><p>"How many suspects are we talking about?"</p><p>"Her first list, in March, had fifty names of men in the most different social</p><p>statuses in the DC area. That's when she was first convinced that the</p><p>disappearing girls were being murdered. The potential victim before</p><p>Natalya, Erzsébet Szabó, disappeared in January and she was one of</p><p>Charlotte's informants too. Charlotte apparently got rattled by it and wrote</p><p>a lot in her field journal about how Erzsébet would never leave the trade</p><p>without saying goodbye to them. This one was young, Spencer. She was</p><p>born in November of 1994, according to Charlotte's notes, and she was</p><p>working as an escort for less than a year. Baby girl died before she could</p><p>legally drink."</p><p>"We knew that already, Penelope. We had Charlotte's list from the book and</p><p>Erzsébet was there. Her only family in Hungary is her mother and</p><p>stepfather, who weren't too keen on talking about her with Emily,</p><p>remember?"</p><p>"I know, I know. But one thing is seeing a girl's pictures and documents. A</p><p>very different thing is reading about her dreams and plans of becoming a</p><p>supermodel, told through the eyes of someone who considered her a</p><p>younger sister."</p><p>"Not that I'm questioning your methods, but why are you reading those old</p><p>files now, instead of looking up things that could actually be more… You</p><p>know, fitted to our current needs? Useful to convince the Director to reopen</p><p>the case?"</p><p>"You have to consider that I have to decrypt every single file inside this</p><p>hard drive before opening it, so it's not that easy. I'm trying to find her file</p><p>regarding September because there's where our last guys will be. Oh… Oh</p><p>my god, a new one just opened here. Spencer, I think I should leave here</p><p>and we should meet at my place."</p><p>"You're at the Bureau?"</p><p>"Obviously. My personal machines aren't like this beast I have here, boy</p><p>genius. But, for real, I'm unplugging everything and erasing everything</p><p>from this machine. Spencer, can you be at my house in an hour?" Her voice</p><p>was worried. Something was wrong.</p><p>"I… Penelope, I… I'm taking care of someone important today."</p><p>"Doctor Ferreira can join us, I don't mind."</p><p>"What?" He asked, stumped.</p><p>"Come on, Spencer, you're like the worst liar in the world. I've been onto</p><p>your thing with her for a while now and she keeps texting Charlotte's</p><p>number. She kind of talked about you a few times. Not mentioning names,</p><p>but you don't need to be a profiler to crack this one. I mean, not after you</p><p>took her to your place instead of a safe house last week."</p><p>"Penelope, you..."</p><p>"I'm disobeying direct orders too and, right now," her voice dropped to a</p><p>hushed tone. "I'm committing a federal crime and stealing evidence directly</p><p>from the FBI headquarters, so I think you really shouldn't worry that I know</p><p>about your little affair with the girl genius."</p><p>"I'll be at your place in an hour," he said before Penelope turned off her</p><p>phone.</p><p>Spencer got back inside the room. Amélia was in the bathroom. When she</p><p>left, she was wearing jeans and a sweater and had loosely braided her hair.</p><p>"Can you take me to Eleanor's house before you go?" She asked him,</p><p>getting her backpack from the small closet in the room.</p><p>"Before I go?"</p><p>"You left the room when you picked up the phone, so I assumed it was</p><p>something you didn't want to share with me and that you would probably</p><p>have to leave. So, I texted Eleanor and she's working from home today. She</p><p>told me to go there, have a sleepover, and spend some time with Salem and</p><p>all." Amélia shrugged.</p><p>"Are you upset that I have to go?"</p><p>"Is it important?" Her face was gentle, although serious.</p><p>Spencer swallowed.</p><p>"Very."</p><p>"I bought a prepaid phone with that number I used to text you last night.</p><p>Let's not go a whole week without talking to each other again?"</p><p>He walked towards her. Amélia was zipping up her bag already.</p><p>"I'm not very good at texting, but I'll try to call you even if I'm not in town."</p><p>Amélia held his hands and kissed them.</p><p>"I usually hate talking on the phone, but I can make an exception for you.</p><p>Will you mind if I text you my most random thoughts?"</p><p>"I will love it. Please, try to write most of them in English, for my sake."</p><p>She laughed and Spencer kissed her, trying to drink the sound.</p><p>Right before Spencer and Amélia entered the subway station to go to his</p><p>building to get his car, his phone rang again.</p><p>"Hey, Rossi."</p><p>"Kid, Garcia called me. Everything is alright, but don't go to her place.</p><p>Come to mine instead. We decided that, if anyone knows about our little</p><p>gathering, it happening at chez moi will draw less attention to our small</p><p>conspiracy."</p><p>"It's not a conspiracy," Spencer argued.</p><p>Amélia had put on her headphones as soon as he told her it was a work call.</p><p>"That's not what IA will say, if they ever find out. Anyway, that doesn't</p><p>matter now. I'm whipping up a quick parmigiana for our dinner and I</p><p>wanted to know if la tua ragazza has any dietary restrictions."</p><p>"I'm not taking anyone with me tonight, Rossi."</p><p>"What? You're finally dating someone interesting - not that Adam wasn't a</p><p>good kid, but he never was the brightest lamp in the room - and you're</p><p>denying us the chance to meet her?"</p><p>"Did Garcia tell you about…?"</p><p>"Garcia only told me you were with your secret girlfriend, Reid. For all of</p><p>our sakes, let's hope you're better at going rogue than you are at pretending</p><p>you're not in love with our federal witness. Ok. See you in an hour, then.</p><p>Send my best wishes to Bella Amélia."</p><p>So, after dropping Amélia at the building where the Adeoyes lived, Spencer</p><p>drove to Rossi's mansion. Penelope was already there, a glass of wine in her</p><p>hands, looking very worried near the fireplace in the living room.</p><p>"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Rossi announced as he poured</p><p>some fancy grape juice into a wine glass for Spencer. "I think it will give us</p><p>time to process what Garcia has discovered.”</p><p>Penelope took a big gulp of her wine and looked nervously at Spencer</p><p>before starting to speak.</p><p>"Ok, so, remember how you guys said that Marino probably had a Master?</p><p>Some guy with money and means behind him, someone who killed all those</p><p>women before Charlotte?"</p><p>"Yes," Spencer agreed, sitting on an armchair in front of her.</p><p>"Charlotte's first suspect list had fifty names or so. The amount of guys in</p><p>DC who use the various escort businesses where those women worked</p><p>is not small. In the end, on her last entry on the hard drive, Charlotte had ten</p><p>suspects. All these men were in town on the dates of the murders ― I</p><p>believe that Charlotte did some hacking to find things about them. They are</p><p>all very powerful and very rich. Very, very powerful. I think she was right to</p><p>be worried. And I guess I know how the unsub found her</p><p>before she found</p><p>him."</p><p>Penelope handed Spencer a piece of paper. On it, there were ten names</p><p>printed, apparently in alphabetical order.</p><p>1. Dewayne Thomas, Head of Vice Presidential Protection Detail</p><p>2. Erik Stein, CEO of Pfizer</p><p>3. Ian T. Larsen, Judge, United States District Court for the District of</p><p>Columbia</p><p>4. Justin Miller, media mogul, owner of News Inc.</p><p>5. Louis Duvivier, French Ambassador</p><p>6. Mark Newlands, Chief of the MPD</p><p>7. Rep. Matthew G. Bradford</p><p>8. Peter W. Sweeney, FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in</p><p>Charge</p><p>9. Steven White, M.D., Head of Neurosurgery at Virginia Hospital</p><p>Center</p><p>10. Sen. Theodore P. Hawthorne IV</p><p>After reading all the names, Spencer wished he could have a stiff drink.</p><p>"The only good news with this list is that we can already cross a name of</p><p>it," Rossi had a whiskey in his hands and he wasn't seated, but standing near</p><p>the glass windows that opened to his beautiful courtyard.</p><p>"Which one?"</p><p>"Unless Representative Bradford isn't Charlotte's biological brother, he's not</p><p>our unsub."</p><p>"No, they are blood-related," Spencer said, although his head was still</p><p>spinning. "Matthew and Charlotte have the same ear shape as Richard.</p><p>They have several other genetic markers, but I don't think that either of you</p><p>cares for me to go on with that."</p><p>"No, we believe in you, Spencer. No need for a biology lesson right now,"</p><p>Penelope answered, standing up to refill her wine.</p><p>"Great, so, instead of ten, we need to find who, amongst nine of the most</p><p>powerful men in America, is a secret serial killer," Spencer grumbled,</p><p>feeling his heart beating against his throat.</p><p>"And one of them happens to be our bosses' boss," Rossi added, raising his</p><p>whiskey glass to Spencer and Penelope as a toast.</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>Translation notes</p><p>[1] Literally: "Good morning, flower of the day"; Meaning: "Good</p><p>morning, sunshine"</p><p>[2] Sadly, there's no translation for "dengo". It's something like "my</p><p>sweetheart", but even more tender, even more intimate. It's for</p><p>someone you can't stop touching and loving</p><p>[3] "Hi, Amélia! Nice to see you! Where's today's girl?"</p><p>"Hi, Lidia. How have you been? Today the appointment is for myself"</p><p>[4] "Hey, girl, your friend is super handsome!"</p><p>Author's notes:</p><p>So, folks, Sexual Health is very important. Always discuss with your</p><p>partners about what kind of protection you're choosing to use. If you're</p><p>in a potentially reproductive relationship, the ideal is to use some</p><p>specific method for birth control besides a barrier method of protection</p><p>for ISTs. And, remember, always, always, get tested. If you're sexually</p><p>active (even if you're in a monogamic relationship), ask to be tested at</p><p>least for HIV and syphilis annually or bi-annually.</p><p>Both infections are treatable and syphilis is curable, but timing is</p><p>important to catch them before it's too late. If you're a person living</p><p>with HIV, know you're valid, you're important, and don't forget your</p><p>meds. If you don't have HIV, you don't need to be afraid to get into a</p><p>relationship with someone who has it. Just wear condoms and talk with</p><p>your doctor about going on the PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis).</p><p>If you have multiple partners, don't forget to wear condoms and</p><p>dispose them after each use. People with vaginas in relationships with</p><p>other people with vaginas also need to take measures of damage</p><p>control and self-care!</p><p>Queer resistance is also fighting AIDS! Fighting AIDS is remembering</p><p>our herstory and our fallen foremothers and siblings.</p><p>I regret nothing for forcing you all to read about this in the middle of</p><p>my non-conventional murder mystery, but I rewarded the ones who</p><p>stuck with this story with, finally, our murder suspect list ;)</p><p>Poisonous fruit</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>From the outside it was beautiful, white with red cheeks, and anyone</p><p>who saw it would want it. But anyone who might eat a little piece of it</p><p>would die.</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>See the end of the chapter for notes</p><p>Mia went from sharing an office with four other postdoctoral fellows to</p><p>sharing an office with one other Associate Professor. She had a real work</p><p>desk now and a wall behind it to decorate as she saw fit. Professor Elias</p><p>MacLeish was a part of the Sociology of Education research group and</p><p>focused on Early Childhood Education. His part of the room was filled with</p><p>Naïve art and children's finger paintings and drawings. When Mia and</p><p>Toshiro arrived on Monday with her things, the room was decorated for</p><p>Halloween. On his work desk, there was even a plastic pumpkin basket</p><p>filled with candy.</p><p>"Ah, good morning, new colleague! Mr. Nakamura!" He exclaimed,</p><p>gleefully, with his Minnesota accent, and got up from his desk to help Mia</p><p>carry her stuff. "I hope you don't mind that I put some bats and skeletons on</p><p>your wall, but I just can't handle empty walls with less than a week to go ‘til</p><p>Halloween!" He dragged out the syllables when saying "Halloween," doing</p><p>a spooky voice.</p><p>"Good morning, Professor MacLeish," Toshiro greeted him back, putting</p><p>the two boxes with Mia's books on the floor near her new department-</p><p>issued bookshelf and starting to put them in place.</p><p>Mia would rearrange things later, making sure that the books matched her</p><p>own variation of the Dewey System, but for now she was just grateful that</p><p>her friend volunteered to help her with the move. The old group of</p><p>Charlotte's friends seemed eager to absorb Mia as one of their own and they</p><p>all insisted that they should have a small Halloween party at Kate's house</p><p>that weekend to celebrate that Mia got hired by Georgetown. "It's what</p><p>Charlie would have wanted," Kate said. Mia couldn't disagree.</p><p>She had called Ishaan on Friday, after she talked a bit with Eleanor, and</p><p>decided to schedule Charlotte's funeral for that November 2nd, even if it</p><p>was a Monday. She wasn't religious, but she needed the powerful ritual</p><p>energy of the Day of The Dead to give her the strength to say goodbye.</p><p>Ishaan said it wasn't a problem. Charlotte had set aside a considerable sum</p><p>for her own funeral expenses and she had already bought a spot in The</p><p>Gardens of Gethsemane Cemetery, in Boston. Amélia just needed to choose</p><p>the tree and invite her guests. A private plane would take them there.</p><p>She opted to go low-profile. Just Eleanor and Ewa, who had managed to get</p><p>a personal day from the hospital; Toshiro and Rachel; and Kate. And the</p><p>Bradfords, if they wanted to show up.</p><p>Their small group would fly to Boston early on Monday morning, have a</p><p>small ceremony in the garden, eat brunch at a restaurant Charlie and Kate</p><p>used to frequent during their years at Yale, and come back to DC in the</p><p>afternoon.</p><p>On their call, Ishaan also let her know that the townhouse would be ready to</p><p>move back into on Wednesday, the 28th, if Mia wanted to. She didn't. But</p><p>she had no short-term solution to her problem either.</p><p>"No, it's not a problem, Professor MacLeish," Mia answered her tall</p><p>colleague, putting the box she was carrying on top of her work desk and</p><p>hanging her backpack behind her chair. "If you don't mind, I'll bring some</p><p>flowers for the dead too."</p><p>"Oh, yeah, marigolds and La Santa Muerte? I love it." Professor MacLeish</p><p>placed the box he had taken from Mia's hands on the floor beside Toshiro.</p><p>"I'm not Mexican," Mia said with a tense smile. "I'll just bring their photos</p><p>and put some white roses in front of the pictures, that's all."</p><p>He looked a bit disappointed with her answer.</p><p>"What a shame. I love the colorful marigolds," the older man said.</p><p>Mia was using all of her self-will to not look like a bitch. That man could</p><p>potentially share this room with her for decades.</p><p>"Well, if you want to bring an offering of marigolds for the dead, it's not a</p><p>problem, Professor MacLeish. I go with white roses because they were</p><p>Charlie's favorites, that's all." Mia put up a picture of the last Christmas her</p><p>family had in Brazil, before her parents brought her to the U.S, on the desk</p><p>beside a two-year-old picture of her and Charlie on spring break in Havana.</p><p>"Have you both heard</p><p>the news already?" Professor MacLeish asked,</p><p>abruptly changing the subject.</p><p>"What news?" Toshiro, who had been silent so far, was the one to indulge</p><p>him.</p><p>Toshiro was shorter than Mia, with black hair he always wore in long</p><p>bangs, and, although he was still very slim, he was getting more buff with</p><p>each passing month on Testosterone. In the corner of his small mouth, he</p><p>had a small piercing. About his choice in looks, Rachel would joke that</p><p>Toshiro never overcame his teenage crush on The L Word's Shane.</p><p>"Apparently, some benevolent alumnus remembered his alma mater and</p><p>donated a huge sum of money to renovate the Social Sciences' library.</p><p>Wong got the news last week."</p><p>"That's nice..." Mia muttered, without paying much attention.</p><p>"It's very weird because Mr. Jim Ellison's BA was in Engineering and he</p><p>never really cared much about Georgetown until last week."</p><p>"Jim Ellison was the guy who made the donation for our library?!" Toshiro</p><p>let one of Mia's books fall to the floor, in shock. "Tech mogul Amazon</p><p>competitor NRA supporter Jim Freaking Ellison gave books to Social</p><p>Scientists? Doesn't he think that Social Sciences faculties are an inbreeding</p><p>ground for communists and the collapse of Western civilization or</p><p>whatever?"</p><p>This made Mia stop what she was doing and raise her head, surprised.</p><p>"Everyone is as surprised as you, but the favor he asked in return was so</p><p>small that the board didn't care." MacLeish shrugged, eating a candy bar</p><p>and tossing one at Toshiro.</p><p>Before Mia could ask what favor Jim Ellison could have asked in return for</p><p>his benevolence, her phone rang, so she grabbed her coat and exited her</p><p>office to pick it up.</p><p>"Hey, Daniel, what's up?" The late October wind howled through the halls</p><p>of Georgetown.</p><p>There was a lot of noise in the background of his call, like he was at a party</p><p>or something.</p><p>"Amelita, cariño, how fast can you come here?! We are bursting out the</p><p>champagne!"</p><p>"Ameliaaaaaa, come over!" Laila screamed in the back, already drunk.</p><p>"Daniel, it's 9 a.m on a Monday, what the hell is going on?"</p><p>"I just got out of a meeting with a Director from the Ford Foundation and</p><p>we got money, Amelita! A serious amount of money to finance our work! We</p><p>will be able to renovate the building, pay living wages to people, and create</p><p>that free clinic with Doctor Jane we always dreamed about!"</p><p>People screamed and cheered in the background.</p><p>"What? That's wonderful! I didn't even know that you were in touch with</p><p>them!"</p><p>"I send them proposals every year, but they had never got back to us, but</p><p>now Tiago can finally relax because we are thriving, Amelita! Thriving! Get</p><p>your butt up here ASAP, this victory is yours too! Without your data, this</p><p>would never have happened!"</p><p>"I really can't, Daniel, it's my first day on the new job. I need to be here,</p><p>even if I don't have classes to teach today. But we can celebrate when I'm</p><p>there on Wednesday, ok? Send my love to everyone."</p><p>"Boo, Amélia, don't be a drag!"</p><p>"Bye, Daniel, I'm going back into my office now. Beijos."</p><p>"¡Besos, viejita! ¡Hasta Miércoles! "</p><p>When Mia got back inside her office, she saw that Toshiro had finished with</p><p>almost all of her books already.</p><p>"Hey, do you want to get a coffee from that fancy bakery across the street</p><p>from campus? I'm buying," she told him.</p><p>Toshiro raised his eyebrows at her, incredulous.</p><p>"Are you rich already? I thought you were going to be broke until your first</p><p>payday." He got up from the floor, patting his pants.</p><p>"No, I'll charge it on my credit card and worry about that in December, but I</p><p>just got the news that No Borders had a huge funding grant approved by the</p><p>Ford Foundation and with this, the new job, and the news that we will</p><p>finally have new computers in the library, I'm in the mood for celebrating."</p><p>"It's very nice to have friends in high places, isn't it?" MacLeish spoke</p><p>without raising his head from the book he was reading at his desk, so Mia</p><p>had no idea whom he was speaking to or what he meant. She wasn't in the</p><p>mood to figure it out, either.</p><p>"I suppose so. I should be back in an hour or so, Professor MacLeish, but I</p><p>have the keys to the office, so you don't need to worry about me." Mia gave</p><p>him a polite smile when Toshiro joined her by the door.</p><p>That was when Elias MacLeish raised his head to look at Mia, with a weird</p><p>smile on his face.</p><p>"I'm not worried about you, Professor Ferreira."</p><p>On Monday morning Spencer woke up to the news that the team was</p><p>leaving town to investigate their new case. A series of four murders with</p><p>Native American ritualistic elements had horrified a small town in Alaska</p><p>in the span of a single week. Local Law Enforcement asked for the help of</p><p>the FBI when an outsider journalist, who was in town to cover the</p><p>investigation, became the fourth victim over the weekend. The town had</p><p>been founded in the 1990s and was in the middle of a tug of war between a</p><p>natural gas company and the local Natives, who claimed that land as theirs.</p><p>The murders raised the tensions even more and the Director chose to send</p><p>the BAU there before the thing turned into a bloodbath.</p><p>While he packed his bags, he called Amélia, told her the news, and that he</p><p>had no idea when he would be able to come back.</p><p>"We celebrate your birthday when you come back, meu bem." She yawned</p><p>at the end of her sentence. Spencer looked at his alarm clock once more.</p><p>5:43 a.m. "Don't forget to wear your bullet-proof vest, lock your doors, and,</p><p>please, be careful, Spencer. "</p><p>"I’ve managed to stay alive on this job for the past ten years, Amélia," he</p><p>chuckled.</p><p>"Yes, but now you need to be alive for me."</p><p>When they landed the jet on the private runway the executives of the gas</p><p>company used when they went to that town almost in the Arctic, it was past</p><p>noon already. There was a text from Amélia informing him that "No</p><p>Borders" had gotten funding from the Ford Foundation and Georgetown</p><p>had gotten a donation from Jim Ellison to renovate the Social Sciences</p><p>Library.</p><p>"I wasn't aware that Ellison even acknowledged the existence of books," he</p><p>texted her back.</p><p>She answered him with several laughing emojis.</p><p>In all the times Charlie took her to Boston, they had never even considered</p><p>going to a cemetery. In fact, Mia hadn't stepped foot in one since tio Juliano</p><p>had died.</p><p>Spencer was still in Alaska, freezing to death and calling her at the oddest</p><p>hours to talk when the Day of the Dead arrived. Not that she was expecting</p><p>him to go with her to Boston, after all, they weren't public about their</p><p>relationship yet. Only Eleanor and Ewa knew about this aspect of her life</p><p>― and thought it was a symptom that she was losing her mind.</p><p>Mia dressed all in white for Charlotte's funeral: linen pants, wool sweater,</p><p>and even her shoes. Tio Juliano was an Umbandista [1], so Margarida kept</p><p>alive in the family the tradition of wearing white for the dead and going to</p><p>the beach on the Day of the Dead to throw white roses into the ocean so</p><p>Yemanjá would take care of her baby brother in her beautiful kingdom of</p><p>pearls and corals. They dressed in white and blue for the New Year and</p><p>February 2nd [2] and went to the ocean with white flowers and coconut</p><p>shavings. Mia had an odd relationship with the ocean. She didn't believe in</p><p>a god or an afterlife or magic, but she believed in the love for her uncle she</p><p>could feel every time the waves caressed her legs.</p><p>There was no ocean in Washington. In San Francisco and even New York,</p><p>Mia was always able to go to the ocean dressed in white every February</p><p>2nd, in the middle of their freezing winters, to offer white roses and coconut</p><p>shavings and pray that Yemanjá kept her uncle safe, amongst her pearls and</p><p>corals. There was no ocean in Boston either, so she would add this one as</p><p>another of her debts to the deity she didn't even know how much she</p><p>believed in. She hoped to be able to go somewhere warm next February.</p><p>Somewhere she could pray for Charlie and tio Juliano.</p><p>a schtick.</p><p>“Matt is here? Why?” She unconsciously tugged the scarf closer to her neck</p><p>and adjusted the sleeves of her black dress, the same one she had worn for</p><p>Charlie’s wake.</p><p>“Amelia, long time no see!” Matt opened his arms when he saw her enter</p><p>the lobby.</p><p>He was tall and broad like Richard, with dark blond hair, while Charlie was</p><p>small, petite, and brunette. His shiny white smile would usually trick people</p><p>into thinking he cared a lot more about them than he likely did. People often</p><p>told him he looked like a poster boy for the US in the 1950s.</p><p>“Hello, Matt, how are Becky and Junior?” Amélia offered her hand to him,</p><p>who shook it with both of his, enthusiastic. Her smile was restrained and</p><p>polite, as she usually behaved around the Bradfords.</p><p>“Becks is great, I don’t know how she manages to handle all of her</p><p>responsibilities and be an incredible mom to Junior!” Matt said it like it was</p><p>some outer-worldly thing that a multimillionaire married woman whose</p><p>closest concept of “work” was appearing on charity boards once in a while</p><p>and who had an army of servants and nannies to take care of her house and</p><p>infant son could “handle all of her responsibilities” so well. “Junior is ok,</p><p>he’s a toddler, you know, but he’s speaking some sentences now. Becks</p><p>wanted to enroll him in some bilingual preschool next year, but I said this</p><p>was a bunch of bull, why confuse the head of a baby who barely speaks</p><p>English by adding another language to the mix?”</p><p>If Amélia’s smile got tenser with each word out of Matthew’s mouth,</p><p>Daniel could only appear more and more interested in what he was saying.</p><p>From what she knew of him, Mia could already picture the impressions</p><p>Daniel would crack later, at happy hour.</p><p>“To what do we owe the honor of such a starry visit, gentlemen?” Daniel</p><p>asked them.</p><p>Mia took a more detailed look at the group standing with Matt in the No</p><p>Borders’ lobby. They were about ten men, all white and in suits. She</p><p>recognized some faces from the news as Congressmen and Senators from</p><p>both parties.</p><p>“Goddamnit! Where are my manners?” Matt said, theatrically. “If you meet</p><p>my mom, don’t tell her I behaved so terribly, ok, Amelia?”</p><p>“...Sure,” Mia agreed, still not getting one bit of what was going on.</p><p>“These esteemed men are part of a bipartisan initiative to tweak and update</p><p>some aspects of the DREAM Act. We are going to visit a lot of NGOs this</p><p>week. I’m acting as a tour guide today because we came to see your charity,</p><p>Amelia, and formally invite you guys to be a part of the audience next</p><p>December.”</p><p>“I… I’m just a researcher and a volunteer here, Matthew, the head of the</p><p>whole organization is Daniel Borges.” Mia pointed to Daniel beside her,</p><p>who looked positively fascinated with the scene developing in front of his</p><p>eyes.</p><p>“I would love to get more details, sirs. Let’s go to our conference room,</p><p>shall we?” Daniel stepped in, like the perfect diplomat, and guided the</p><p>group of men, and Amélia, to the small room with a round table and chairs</p><p>where they had most of their meetings and, apparently, had been upgraded</p><p>to “conference room” in the last thirty seconds.</p><p>Their building was old; Daniel and Tiago spent all their savings on the</p><p>movement, which had a lot of radical positions and not as many donors.</p><p>Their central air basically only had three functioning settings: turned off,</p><p>freezing, or stuffy. Since it was a cold October day, the heating was on,</p><p>which meant that the tiny and crowded room was suddenly really warm.</p><p>Mia grabbed a hairpin from her pocket and made an improvised bun with</p><p>her loose hair. With her movement, her scarf came loose. Horrified that</p><p>someone could have noticed the bruises on her neck, Mia looked around the</p><p>room. Her eyes locked with Senator Hawthorne, one of the youngest</p><p>Republican Senators currently in office, elected by the state of Ohio in</p><p>2009. He seemed to have noticed them, but then he quickly averted his blue</p><p>eyes.</p><p>“Mr. Borges,” he spoke, butchering Daniel’s name when he said it. “I don’t</p><p>wish to be an inconvenience, but I want to know if it would be possible to</p><p>cool this room a bit, maybe crack a window? My chief of staff would kill</p><p>me if I wrinkled my jacket today.”</p><p>The men laughed and agreed it was a good idea to open a window. Mia was</p><p>surprised by the small act of kindness of the man who stood against</p><p>virtually everything she believed in her life. Pro-life, neoliberal, pro-war,</p><p>pro-guns, pro-oil… Maybe he was an actual gentleman in his private life.</p><p>He stayed behind talking to Daniel when everyone was leaving.</p><p>“I would like very much if your research team could assemble a document</p><p>with the data you collect from the asylum seekers and send it to my chief of</p><p>staff, Mr. Borges,” he said, giving Daniel his card.</p><p>“Sure, Senator. May I ask, why did you volunteer to be a part of this</p><p>initiative?” Daniel hated Ted Hawthorne.</p><p>He swore the Hawthorne family had ties with white supremacist groups.</p><p>Daniel also claimed that the Senator’s father ― the esteemed Judge</p><p>Hawthorne, who had a seat on Ohio’s State Court since the 1990s ― was</p><p>personally responsible for the increase in the incarceration of Black and</p><p>brown men in Ohio over the past three decades.</p><p>However, above all, Daniel was a diplomat.</p><p>“I recently met a very interesting person who made me realize I should</p><p>work more to carry on the great American tradition of welcoming hard-</p><p>working immigrants. How does the poem go again? Give me your poor,</p><p>your tired… Do you happen to know it, Doctor?”</p><p>Mia was the only remaining Doctor in the room. She had also stayed</p><p>behind, cleaning the mess the bunch of uninvited men left.</p><p>“Me?” She asked, with a pile of used paper cups in her hands that were</p><p>about to go in the trash.</p><p>“Come on, you must know it, don’t you?” He insisted.</p><p>“It’s The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus,” she mumbled, still confused</p><p>with the sudden attention.</p><p>“Emma Lazarus… I always found the Biblical figure of resurrection</p><p>fascinating,” Senator Hawthorne mumbled to himself. “So, you still haven’t</p><p>told us if you know the whole poem or not.” There was a teasing smile on</p><p>his lips.</p><p>Usually, Mia would have risen up to the challenge. Especially considering</p><p>that this poem was the epigraph to her Ph.D. thesis. But, on that very</p><p>specific day, she was tired, hungry, and her throat hurt.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Senator, I have a lot of work to do. Excuse me,</p><p>gentlemen." With that, Mia grabbed as many cups as she could and left the</p><p>room.</p><p>Monday was a hard day. As Spencer had imagined, the DNA test with</p><p>Marino’s sample came back negative when compared to the semen found</p><p>on Charlotte and the epithelial cells found underneath Natalya’s nails. So</p><p>Spencer and the team spent the day scouring the life of Marino, trying to</p><p>find a link to Amélia, Charlotte, Natalya, or any of the others. Nothing</p><p>came up.</p><p>Even his victimology was wrong for him to be the main unsub. Marino used</p><p>to date single mothers, who were mostly Italian-American, light-skinned</p><p>Black, and Latina women. Amélia fit his profile and perhaps that was the</p><p>reason why he attacked her. Maybe it was a coincidence and he wasn’t a</p><p>student of the dangerous monster they were hunting.</p><p>Garcia was looking through his old associates, trying to find anyone who</p><p>could be Marino’s dominant counterpart. Most of his friends were dead,</p><p>overseas, homeless, or arrested. None of them fit the bill.</p><p>She did, however, find an interesting lead. Marino was a known patron of a</p><p>cop bar close to the 3rd District Precinct. Rossi called the MPD IA to share</p><p>the news with them and question the Detectives responsible for Piotr</p><p>Kuznetsov’s arrest about this possible link. So far, the Internal Affairs</p><p>Detectives had only come to the conclusion that neither Detectives</p><p>DiMarco nor Smith had any recent weird financial movement in their bank</p><p>accounts, so bribery wasn’t the motive of their botched investigation.</p><p>“Yeah, this is Weird Josh. What about him?” Asked Detective DiMarco,</p><p>after his union-appointed</p><p>The private airplane Ishaan hired for the funeral arrived with their small</p><p>group at the airport at 8:30 a.m. A town car took them to the Gardens of</p><p>Gethsemane Cemetery, where Mia finally handed the small cardboard box</p><p>with Charlie's ashes to the employee handling the ceremony.</p><p>It was a sunny and cold fall day. The wind made Mia feel grateful that she</p><p>was already back at the house she now hated and was able to borrow</p><p>Charlie's white gloves and a white overcoat. Eleanor, Ewa, and Toshiro</p><p>dressed in white like her. Rachel and Kate opted for black clothes.</p><p>When they were about to start the ceremony, to everyone's surprise,</p><p>Matthew and Rebecca arrived. His assistant had never gotten back with</p><p>Ishaan to confirm or deny his presence, but Matt apparently had opted to</p><p>represent his family at his sister's less than ideal funeral. Rebecca was the</p><p>first one to greet Mia, with two airy kisses on both sides of her face.</p><p>Matt was staring at the young sapling that one day would be Charlotte's</p><p>tree. Mia walked to his side when Eleanor gave her a significant look, as if</p><p>to say she should inquire about their presence there and see how this might</p><p>change what they had planned.</p><p>"Cherry?" Was the first thing he said to her, still looking intently at the</p><p>sapling. "I never knew Charlie was such a fan of cherry trees." Before Mia</p><p>could justify herself, he turned to face her. "But, then again, if there's one</p><p>thing I've learned in the past month, it’s that I knew nothing about my</p><p>sister."</p><p>Mia had no idea how to respond to that, just that the woman reflected in</p><p>Matt's sunglasses didn't look anything like the image she used to have of</p><p>herself.</p><p>"She always loved DC's cherry trees. Charlie would talk about taking a trip</p><p>to Japan to see them in bloom. I thought it would be a nice idea," she ended</p><p>up saying.</p><p>Matt gave her a bitter smile. Not like the one she had seen all those years. It</p><p>wasn't the politician talking to her. It was almost like there was real pain</p><p>underneath his facade. Or, again, it was possible that Matt was so good at</p><p>faking that he believed his own lies. Like those lines in Fernando Pessoa's</p><p>poem:</p><p>"O poeta é um fingidor.</p><p>Finge tão completamente</p><p>Que chega a fingir que é dor</p><p>A dor que deveras sente." [3]</p><p>"If anyone would know what my sister would like or not it’s you, Amelia."</p><p>He made a gesture with his hand, like he was considering perhaps touching</p><p>her arm, but he gave up. "Could we have lunch sometime this week? I</p><p>would like to talk to you."</p><p>"To me?" Mia was surprised. Now that Charlie was dead, what could</p><p>possibly draw her and Matthew G. Bradford to the same lunch table?</p><p>He chuckled at her surprise.</p><p>"Yes, about my sister's legacy. I would like to know you better. Know her</p><p>better. This is Rebecca's idea, she thinks it will be good for grieving and</p><p>closure and all those things."</p><p>"Yes, those things."</p><p>"Look, I know my family treated you like shit all these years and I did my</p><p>fair share of that. But I loved her. I taught her how to skip stones and how to</p><p>ride a bike. We lost each other when I went to college. I'm not an idiot. I</p><p>know we were very different, but, I don't know, a small part of me..." His</p><p>voice trailed off and he turned his head to the side, sniffling. "I always</p><p>thought we would find each other again, someday."</p><p>"Ask your chief of staff to call me. He has my number. We'll schedule a day</p><p>and I'll lunch with you, ok, Matt?" It was Mia who ended up touching his</p><p>arm.</p><p>He was as surprised as her by the gesture.</p><p>"Ok, great. God, the air is filled with pollen today. I'll go sit with my wife</p><p>before she comes back here to check up on me. Thank you, Amelia."</p><p>Mia went to the front of the few chairs assembled on the wet grass. She had</p><p>brought no paper with her. She didn't need to.</p><p>"So, no one here is surprised that Charlie wanted to be a tree," was her</p><p>opening line. She was rewarded with a few chuckles. "Charlotte always had</p><p>this thing for trees and plants and everything that could sprout. Her cooking</p><p>was horrendous, but, in the summer, our garden always had the most</p><p>beautiful zucchinis. Her mother once told me that Charlotte would always</p><p>pester the gardener at their house when she was little, walking behind him</p><p>all day, wanting to know the names of the plants and how to tend to them."</p><p>Mia heard Matt say "that's true" to Rebecca, who shushed him.</p><p>"Charlie was a very private person, who had few close friends, all of whom</p><p>are here today. Even so, her smile was so bright that everyone loved her. I</p><p>loved her." Her voice broke into a sob. Maybe she wouldn't be able to get to</p><p>the end of this. "I feel kind of ridiculous because I wasn't a crier. She was</p><p>the crier. She cried at butter commercials, puppy videos, her culinary fails...</p><p>She was the sentimental one. And now I can't stop crying. I say goodbye to</p><p>her every day when I realize I can't share some dumb meme with her or she</p><p>can't feed Salem when I don't want to get out of bed just yet. I say goodbye</p><p>to her all the time because, when she left..." She was fully crying at this</p><p>point, and tried to clean her face with her hands. "I'll just say the poem I had</p><p>prepared for today and we can move on. It… It was one of her favorites, by</p><p>a fellow bisexual Massachusetts native, like Charlie, Sylvia Plath."</p><p>Mia was shaking. She had always been an excellent public speaker, but this</p><p>time her voice was broken and her whole body just shook like a leaf on the</p><p>wind.</p><p>"Love letter</p><p>Not easy to state the change you made.</p><p>If I'm alive now, then I was dead,</p><p>Though, like a stone, unbothered by it,</p><p>Staying put according to habit.</p><p>You didn't just tow me an inch, no-</p><p>Nor leave me to set my small bald eye</p><p>Skyward again, without hope, of course,</p><p>Of apprehending blueness, or stars.</p><p>That wasn't it. I slept, say: a snake</p><p>Masked among black rocks as a black rock</p><p>In the white hiatus of winter-</p><p>Like my neighbors, taking no pleasure</p><p>In the million perfectly-chisled</p><p>Cheeks alighting each moment to melt</p><p>My cheeks of basalt. They turned to tears,</p><p>Angels weeping over dull natures,</p><p>But didn't convince me. Those tears froze.</p><p>Each dead head had a visor of ice.</p><p>And I slept on like a bent finger.</p><p>The first thing I was was sheer air</p><p>And the locked drops rising in dew</p><p>Limpid as spirits. Many stones lay</p><p>Dense and expressionless round about.</p><p>I didn't know what to make of it.</p><p>I shone, mice-scaled, and unfolded</p><p>To pour myself out like a fluid</p><p>Among bird feet and the stems of plants.</p><p>I wasn't fooled. I knew you at once.</p><p>Tree and stone glittered, without shadows.</p><p>My finger-length grew lucent as glass.</p><p>I started to bud like a March twig:</p><p>An arm and a leg, and arm, a leg.</p><p>From stone to cloud, so I ascended.</p><p>Now I resemble a sort of god</p><p>Floating through the air in my soul-shift</p><p>Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift."</p><p>If, later, someone asked her about her speech, Mia wouldn't be able to</p><p>describe it. There were several types of fugue states, it appeared. Some of</p><p>them didn't take away your consciousness completely but made the memory</p><p>form in a blurry and vague way. Mia remembered Charlie's sapling bending</p><p>with the wind of the cemetery and being guided by gentle hands away from</p><p>her final resting place. Now, there was a tree that would make a piece of her</p><p>belong forever in Boston. A tree growing from the ashes of the dead. She</p><p>knew she had said the words of the poem correctly because, like everything</p><p>Amélia Ferreira Rodriguez had read once in her life since she was three</p><p>years old, she knew it by heart. Sometimes things went to higher and dustier</p><p>shelves in the rooms of her memory, but it was just a matter of taking a</p><p>deep breath, mentally walking her hallways until she found the file or the</p><p>book where she stored it and the words would flow again.</p><p>Even the brunch and the plane ride happened mechanically. Mia</p><p>remembered, or thought she remembered, the taste of mimosas and</p><p>pancakes on her tongue. There was something with blackberries, she was</p><p>sure of it. What it was</p><p>she couldn't say. Eleanor took her home after Ewa</p><p>kissed her cheek at the airport and said something about the hospital.</p><p>Charlotte was really actually dead.</p><p>Eleanor helped her up the stairs and left her alone with a glass of water by</p><p>Charlotte's old bed, where Mia had been sleeping alone for the past several</p><p>nights, ever since she found out she could hardly bear to walk inside her</p><p>own bedroom again. She had to leave that house. Perhaps Matt could help</p><p>her figure out what to do with Charlotte's things.</p><p>The thoughts passed through her head like clouds through the sky. It got</p><p>dark in the room. Salem needed to be fed; he meowed and meowed asking</p><p>for food. But Mia couldn't move, she just couldn't move. She had a class to</p><p>teach Tuesday afternoon at her brand new job. If only she could move.</p><p>She heard the sounds of Salem's kibbles being put in his bowl and then</p><p>someone was climbing up her stairs. Maybe Eleanor had used her spare key</p><p>to come back and check on her.</p><p>Maybe whoever was working with Marino decided to pay her a visit and</p><p>finish his poorly executed job. Well, at least he fed Salem.</p><p>Mia should move.</p><p>Someone who smelled like coffee, old books, lemons, and the ocean lay on</p><p>the bed with her and embraced her from behind.</p><p>"Eleanor was really worried about you. Worried enough to text me."</p><p>"She hates you," her voice finally worked.</p><p>He chuckled and held her tighter.</p><p>"Well, she loves you enough to agree to give me the spare key to your</p><p>house when I showed up at her place at 11 p.m."</p><p>"It's that late already? I didn't realize."</p><p>"Are you hungry?"</p><p>"No." She thought for a minute. "Aren't you in Alaska?"</p><p>"I came back this morning. I tried to call you, but you didn't pick up your</p><p>phone all day."</p><p>She rolled on the bed to look at him. There were dark circles under his eyes.</p><p>She ran her fingers over his brow and nose.</p><p>"Eu senti saudade," she whispered.</p><p>"You know I don't speak Portuguese."</p><p>"You need to learn it, Spencer. Because saying that I 'missed you' really</p><p>doesn't have the same weight as having 'saudade'."</p><p>He kissed her, gently.</p><p>"I'm glad that you're feeling well enough to scold me already."</p><p>She held him close, wishing she could disappear in his chest.</p><p>"I wasn't trying to scold you. I'm sorry."</p><p>"It's ok, I missed you too."</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>[1] Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion</p><p>[2] February 2nd is the day of Our Lady of Seafarers, a version of the</p><p>Virgin Mary which is highly worshipped in Brazil. In the times that</p><p>Candomblé, Umbanda, Batuque, and other Afro-Brazilian religions</p><p>were illegal or highly persecuted (which they still are, to this day), its</p><p>practitioners fused Our Lady of Seafarers with Yemanjá. Yemanjá is</p><p>the orisha of the ocean. Tio Juliano was a Yemanjá's devout, hence</p><p>why his family thinks he's with her in his afterlife</p><p>[3] Fernando Pessoa. These lines roughly translate to: "The poet is a</p><p>pretender / He pretends so completely / He can even pretends to feel</p><p>the pain / With the pain he actually feels". Maybe I'm a lousy</p><p>translator, because it's beautiful in Portuguese and it kind of sucks in</p><p>English.</p><p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbanda</p><p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Navigators</p><p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yem%E1%BB%8Dja</p><p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Pessoa</p><p>Hey, little songbird</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>Hey, little songbird, look all around you</p><p>See how the vipers and vultures surround you</p><p>And they'll take you down, they'll pick you clean</p><p>If you stick around such a desperate scene</p><p>See, people get mean when the chips are down</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>See the end of the chapter for notes</p><p>It was almost unbearably warm outside the water, like the summers in Rio</p><p>growing up. Havana reminded her of home like nowhere else had ever felt.</p><p>Charlie had the idea for them to leave the hotel in the middle of the night</p><p>and go to the beach for a swim. It was their first trip together, just the two of</p><p>them, after the breakup. The water was cool against Mia's skin and the air</p><p>smelled like salt. Mia laughed so loudly she woke up some seagulls, who</p><p>flew away, annoyed at their happiness.</p><p>Charlie kissed her. Her lips tasted like salt and mojitos and her pruney</p><p>fingers held Mia's face while their tongues brushed against one another. In</p><p>her drunken state, Mia was giddy for a moment, thinking this meant they</p><p>would be back together. Finally.</p><p>A big wave hit them and dragged them to the bottom of the infinite ocean.</p><p>Mia lost hold of Charlie as the tide pulled her even further to the dark. She</p><p>couldn't breathe.</p><p>There was a huge man who smelled of cheap whiskey and cigarettes on top</p><p>of her, his massive hands squeezing her throat. He laughed as Mia clawed at</p><p>his forearms, trying to get to his face. She squirmed and kicked and she just</p><p>couldn't breathe.</p><p>Amélia sat up on the bed, breathing hard and shaking. Spencer looked at his</p><p>wrist watch: 2 a.m. They had fallen asleep fully clothed on Charlotte's bed.</p><p>He was still exhausted and jet-lagged from the trip.</p><p>One more person had died before they were able to find their unsub. The</p><p>killer was impulsive, disorganized, and so very young. The sixteen-year-old</p><p>son of a middle manager for the gas company had the idea of killing one of</p><p>his rivals from school like "the Indians" and decided he liked blood and</p><p>torture too much to stop. He was an active member in alt-right online</p><p>forums and had hoped to provoke an insurrection of "the good folk" against</p><p>"the savages." When the team started zeroing on him, the boy chose the</p><p>route of suicide by cop, trying to stab Tara and forcing Luke to shoot him.</p><p>But he had to leave all of that behind. Now, Amélia needed him.</p><p>He rubbed her back.</p><p>"Hey, shh… Amélia, what's wrong?"</p><p>Her hand reached for his and she curled up against him one more time in</p><p>bed.</p><p>"I need to leave this house," she whispered, still shaking. "Or else I'll go</p><p>insane."</p><p>He held her tight against his chest and kissed her hair.</p><p>"The problem is that I don't have means for..."</p><p>"Amélia, Amélia, it's the middle of the night. We can talk more in the</p><p>morning."</p><p>Spencer reasoned with her that Mia should just give in and ask for a loan</p><p>with her bank. She was a Professor at Georgetown, who was meant to get a</p><p>massive inheritance in less than sixty days. It made no sense for her to live</p><p>in a house that didn't allow her to sleep well and count her pennies. So she</p><p>did it. She signed a short-term loan and hired a real estate agent to help her</p><p>find a temporary place to live. She didn't want to buy anything at first and</p><p>she didn't want anything big or flashy. Just somewhere where Salem, Mia,</p><p>and her things could fit comfortably. An already furnished apartment,</p><p>preferably close to the subway and the campus.</p><p>What was to be made of the townhouse, however, was yet to be decided.</p><p>Mia didn't want to rent or sell it and the idea of keeping a perfectly good</p><p>house closed without anyone inhabiting it cut her deeply. She hadn't told</p><p>anyone yet, but she had no intention of keeping the money once it was in</p><p>her possession. Not all of it, at least.</p><p>"Professor Ferreira?" A blonde woman in her late thirties, dressed in</p><p>cheerful colors, knocked on her office's door on Thursday afternoon.</p><p>She wasn't one of her students.</p><p>"Yes. How may I help you?" Mia asked, closing the book she was taking</p><p>notes from and saving the file opened on her personal computer.</p><p>The woman eyed the room, as if to check if Mia was alone, and then came</p><p>inside, closing the door behind her.</p><p>"I'm Penelope Garcia, I… I work with Spencer."</p><p>Mia blinked a few times, intrigued. She remembered Spencer talking to a</p><p>Penelope on the phone, but she hadn't shown any ID and there was no</p><p>reason for Mia to take her word that she was an FBI agent.</p><p>"Shouldn't you show me a badge or something, agent?"</p><p>She got closer to Mia's desk, clutching her huge and colorful bag against</p><p>her body.</p><p>"I'm not an agent. I'm a Technical Analyst. But I'm most definitely not here</p><p>in any official capacity. I'm… I'm here for Charlotte."</p><p>A cold feeling washed over her.</p><p>"Did… Did you know her?"</p><p>Penelope put her bag on top of Mia's desk and sat on the free chair across</p><p>from hers. She gave Mia a sad smile.</p><p>"Unfortunately, no. Not in person, at least. I have been working with her</p><p>digital footprints, trying to crack the clues she left behind. When I got a</p><p>hold of her codes, I realized that Charlotte had been on the Deep Web and</p><p>coding forums for a while, under the name of hedy_lovelace617. We kind</p><p>of knew each other from these forums; she was a serious activist for</p><p>teaching young women how to code."</p><p>Mia chuckled. Of course Charlotte's pen names were all about Ada</p><p>Lovelace, genius mathematician and the mother of coding, and Hedy</p><p>Lamarr, old Hollywood star, double spy in World War II, and inventor of</p><p>the technology that would create wi-fi.</p><p>"Yes, that was Charlie."</p><p>"Charlie, that's what you call her, right? It's adorable." There was a</p><p>multitude of compassion in Penelope's face. Mia couldn't handle it.</p><p>"Not trying to be rude, Ms. Garcia..."</p><p>"Please, call me Penelope," she interrupted Mia, putting her hand on the</p><p>table as if she wanted to hold Mia's.</p><p>"Penelope," Mia corrected herself, as a gesture of goodwill. "I have a class</p><p>to teach in twenty minutes, so, if you could tell me what brings you here, I</p><p>would be really grateful."</p><p>"Oh, yes. Yes, I'm so sorry." She took a small pendrive from her purse and</p><p>offered it to Mia. "You don't need to open it right now, but do it in a device</p><p>that isn't connected to the internet, please. I don't know if you're being</p><p>surveilled..."</p><p>"Surveilled? Who would want to do that?" Mia frowned, but she took the</p><p>pendrive from Penelope's hands.</p><p>This question made the other woman appear to be stumped.</p><p>"Oh… I… I assumed that Spencer had told you..." She muttered.</p><p>"What should Dr. Reid have told me?" Mia pressed her, feeling something</p><p>akin to rage beginning to form.</p><p>Penelope's eyes averted hers for a moment. And then she looked again at</p><p>Mia.</p><p>"Listen, I know about you two. He knows that I know. Most of our</p><p>coworkers won't speak about this out loud because it could jeopardize</p><p>Spencer's work, but I assume they know too. He's a terrible liar, you</p><p>know..."</p><p>"Who would put surveillance on me, Penelope?" Her voice was firm, but</p><p>her hands were shaking again.</p><p>"We don't know yet!" Penelope's voice was an urgent whisper. "You're</p><p>probably not being watched by anyone and I'm being paranoid, but there</p><p>was a reason why Charlotte was being paranoid, so I think that a bit of</p><p>paranoia can't hurt this time." She got up from her chair. "It was a pleasure</p><p>to meet you; I really hope that we can meet again, under better</p><p>circumstances this time."</p><p>Not five minutes went by after Penelope left before Professor MacLeish</p><p>came back from his lunch break. Mia was then glad that she hadn't given in</p><p>to the temptation of watching whatever was on that pendrive then and there,</p><p>and put it away in her blouse's pocket.</p><p>"Hey there, Ferreira." He had brown bags with a party shop's logo on them</p><p>in his arms. "Time to take down the Halloween decorations, huh?"</p><p>"I suppose so..." For the lack of anything better to do and not wanting</p><p>MacLeish in her corner of the room without a good reason, Mia got up and</p><p>started collecting the paper bats and skeletons he had put up on her walls.</p><p>"My kids make the most adorable finger-painted turkeys, if you want a</p><p>homemade touch on your corner of the room," he said, as he folded spooky</p><p>children's Halloween's drawings and put them away in folders.</p><p>"Oh, I… Are you… Are you decorating for Thanksgiving?"</p><p>"What do you mean? Of course we are!" He laughed and looked at her as if</p><p>she was insane.</p><p>Mia swallowed the words she wanted to say and bit her lower lip while she</p><p>thought of a dignified answer.</p><p>"Thank you, MacLeish, but I will bring my own decorations this time, if</p><p>that's ok with you."</p><p>"Sure!" He answered, and started to put up turkey, pumpkin, and corn</p><p>themed decorations on the walls.</p><p>Mia would have to text her friends in the Anthropology department and ask</p><p>for some Native American art to put in her corner. She would rather eat her</p><p>own shoes before she joyfully celebrated colonialism.</p><p>The pendrive weighed heavily on Mia's chest until she arrived at home,</p><p>around dinnertime. She was already exhausted, but she knew she wouldn't</p><p>be able to sleep without knowing what was on it. So she got her old laptop,</p><p>which could only work if it was plugged in, and turned it on without</p><p>connecting to the house's wifi. While its ancient drive dealt with being</p><p>pulled away from slumber after three years, Mia warmed up some leftover</p><p>chicken noodle soup and opened a bottle of wine from the cellar. If she</p><p>could be thankful for anything, it was that Marino didn't bother to go into</p><p>their basement and her inherited cellar was left untouched.</p><p>When she settled at the dinner table, with the semi-functioning laptop</p><p>opened and her dinner in front of her, Mia took the pendrive from her</p><p>pocket and plugged it into the laptop's USB port. It only had one mp4 file in</p><p>it, named "Mia".</p><p>She pushed her dinner to the side and clicked on the icon, holding her glass</p><p>of wine as if it could work as some protection spell.</p><p>Mia gasped when the image showed Charlotte's room. The tree outside of</p><p>her window was green and birds could be heard in the background of the</p><p>video. Then Charlie walked in front of the camera and sat on her bed. She</p><p>was wearing jean shorts and an old and ratty feminist t-shirt. Her hair was</p><p>braided and her skin was flushed with the heat. Mia could almost smell her.</p><p>Charlie chuckled before saying anything.</p><p>"Hey, Mia. Recording this is, like, weird," she stopped speaking for a</p><p>moment. "Especially when I'm about to leave our house and meet you at a</p><p>Solstice party with all of our friends."</p><p>Oh, she had recorded it before Eleanor's birthday, on July 21st. Natalya had</p><p>died a little over a week before this. That was why Charlie's eyes had deep</p><p>purple circles underneath them. She was crying a lot during that time. They</p><p>were fighting a lot; Mia asked her multiple times to stop her research and</p><p>she would say Mia "didn't get it."</p><p>"So, uh, it's customary ― at least in the movies ― that I say 'if you're</p><p>watching this, it's because I'm dead'. I mean, it's true, if you have my hard</p><p>drive and are watching this video, I died." Her face was very serious for a</p><p>moment, and then she snorted. "I mean, I'm probably being very paranoid</p><p>and I won't die or anything, but… I still wanted to record this for you.</p><p>Perhaps more for myself, so I can rewatch later and remember what I would</p><p>want to say to you if I thought I was going to die. Fuck, I'm being very</p><p>dramatic, huh?"</p><p>Mia let out a watery laugh and took a sip of her wine. She missed Charlie.</p><p>She missed Charlie so much. And this video was her in her most pure form.</p><p>All the quirks, the facial expressions, the arrogance, the tenderness.</p><p>"I'm scared, Mia."</p><p>She was serious again and Mia sobbed.</p><p>"Someone is killing girls they think no one will miss. I miss them. I will</p><p>always miss them." Charlie was crying now too. "You understand me. All</p><p>the times you used our house like it was some version of the Underground</p><p>Railroad and the fact that you risk everything you have to help these people</p><p>fleeing wars, violence, hunger, and lack of hope in the future… You</p><p>understand me. More than anyone else. That's why, earlier this year, I</p><p>decided to write a will and nominate you as my sole heir." Then Charlie</p><p>laughed again. "I am really sorry that I won't be able to see my parents'</p><p>faces when they find out. That is, if they ever find out. Plan A is still</p><p>surviving, finishing my thesis, finding a way to stop this bastard, and… I</p><p>don't know, be better in life. I want to be better, Mia, because I love you."</p><p>Mia couldn't see the video anymore because her tears had fogged her</p><p>glasses.</p><p>"I… It's such a weird feeling, loving someone</p><p>like I love you. I want you to</p><p>meet someone else, someone who can give you the commitment and the</p><p>stability I'll never be able to. I'll never be the person you wished I was, my</p><p>love, but… I think we met too soon, too young. Maybe, someday. Someday</p><p>I'll be older, wiser, quieter, and perhaps you will still love me too. Like in</p><p>Love in the Time of Cholera [1], that you made me read. Perhaps our time is</p><p>yet to come, Mia. But… But if it never does, if the worst case scenario</p><p>happens and I… And I meet the fate of these girls, I want you to know I</p><p>chose you to have everything that's mine because I wish I had the guts to do</p><p>that in life. I want you to do whatever you want with the money, the house,</p><p>the car, the furniture… Because I know that no one else could be more</p><p>deserving or choose better."</p><p>They both stayed in silence for what seemed forever. Separated by months</p><p>in time and by the enormity of change between the dead and the living, both</p><p>young women cried. It was like magic, because, while the video was on,</p><p>Charlie was alive, and she would be alive forever, in those minutes frozen</p><p>in time. Mia could play it and pretend that she would come down the stairs</p><p>and complain that Mia had started dinner without her.</p><p>"Ok, this was super fucking depressing. I mean, I hope that you are very sad</p><p>if I'm, in fact, dead, but I just can't with this."</p><p>Mia was confused when Charlie got up and didn't stop the video. And then</p><p>a familiar song started playing in the background.</p><p>Menina, amanhã de manhã</p><p>Quando a gente acordar</p><p>Quero te dizer</p><p>Que a felicidade vai</p><p>Desabar sobre os homens</p><p>Vai</p><p>Desabar sobre os homens</p><p>Vai</p><p>Desabar sobre os homens [2]</p><p>Charlie turned the camera and she was standing up in the middle of her</p><p>room. She picked up Salem from the floor, who immediately protested, and</p><p>started dancing to Tom Zé with their cat on her hip.</p><p>Na hora ninguém escapa</p><p>Debaixo da cama</p><p>Ninguém se esconde</p><p>A felicidade vai</p><p>Desabar sobre os homens</p><p>Vai</p><p>Desabar sobre os homens</p><p>Vai</p><p>Desabar sobre os homens</p><p>"You know I really can't dance to samba, no matter how much you tried to</p><p>teach me," Charlie said, laughing. "And my partner isn't being very</p><p>cooperative at the moment." Salem's face was a mix of horror and the</p><p>promise that he would kill Charlie if he had the opportunity. "This is how I</p><p>want you to remember me, love. This is what I want for us, for you."</p><p>Menina, ela mete medo</p><p>Menina, ela fecha a roda</p><p>Menina, não tem saída</p><p>De cima, de banda ou de lado</p><p>Menina, olhe pra frente</p><p>Oh! menina, todo cuidado</p><p>Não queira dormir no ponto</p><p>Seguro o jogo, atenção</p><p>De manhã</p><p>Charlie just danced, uncoordinated, with Salem for the whole two minutes</p><p>of the song, punctuating each of her missteps with genuine laughter.</p><p>Without realizing, Mia touched the screen before her, wishing she could</p><p>join her, wishing the song was right. In the morning, happiness would</p><p>come, no matter how much it scared her.</p><p>The video ended with Charlie letting Salem go to the floor. As soon as the</p><p>cat ran away from the room, Charlie turned to the camera and shrugged, as</p><p>if Mia was there to share the joke with her.</p><p>Mia watched Charlie dance five more times that evening.</p><p>That week, Spencer went with the BAU team to Santa Fe. He tried to call</p><p>Amélia every night, due to the time difference making calling her in the</p><p>morning harder. On the second day of his trip, she ranted about her despise</p><p>for Thanksgiving and asked him to bring her Native American art, if he</p><p>happened to encounter some, so she could hang it in her office and fight the</p><p>Pilgrim hats her colleague was subjecting her to. He laughed. And then she</p><p>changed her tone completely when she spoke again.</p><p>"I met Penelope."</p><p>"What? How?" He asked, sitting up on his bed and feeling his heart</p><p>hammering in his chest.</p><p>"She paid me a visit. She's still working on Charlie's case, but I assume you</p><p>already know this..."</p><p>"Amélia..."</p><p>"No hard questions, don't worry. I… I'm not upset that you didn't give me</p><p>any details about this. I just wanted you to express my gratitude to her as</p><p>soon as possible, since she left me with no means to make contact."</p><p>"Can I ask you what you are grateful for?"</p><p>"She gave me something from Charlie. A video she had recorded, for me.</p><p>It's some sort of a goodbye video she planned after Natalya died. It really</p><p>won't be useful to your investigation, I think. But it helped me already."</p><p>Her voice was tender and free from tears. One last message, made just for</p><p>her. He would have to talk to Penelope about her reaching out to Amélia</p><p>without telling him. They needed to keep an open channel amongst the</p><p>conspirators, Spencer thought.</p><p>"Are you upset?" She asked, as if she had heard his thoughts.</p><p>"It's stupid."</p><p>"What is stupid, Spencer?"</p><p>"I understand why Penelope sought you out, I really do."</p><p>"But…?"</p><p>"Please, don't take this the wrong way."</p><p>"Spencer..."</p><p>"I had a whole thing in my mind about how you would meet my friends."</p><p>Amélia chuckled on the phone.</p><p>"Well, I am sure that this didn't exactly qualify as meeting her. She was in</p><p>my office for, what, ten minutes?"</p><p>He still had that ridiculous feeling in his stomach.</p><p>"Show me yours and I'll show you mine."</p><p>"W-what?"</p><p>Amélia laughed again, louder this time.</p><p>"I'm not talking about sex, Spencer. Not right now, at least. I mean, tell me</p><p>your fantasy of how this should go with me and your cop friends and I'll tell</p><p>you my fantasy of how this should go with you and my communist parents</p><p>and anarchist friends. Besides the one who already knows you and so far</p><p>refuses to accept our relationship because All Cops Are Bastards."</p><p>"I'm not a cop. None of my friends are."</p><p>"Potato, potato… Come on. Do you want me to go first?"</p><p>"Fine, go first."</p><p>"My birthday is in January. Assuming you're able to get a day off, and</p><p>assuming that we managed to make this work until then, I would throw</p><p>some smallish thing for my favorite people and you would be there. We</p><p>would let them know about your Ph.D.s before sharing the news of you</p><p>being a FBI Agent, obviously, and we would hope for the best."</p><p>"January?"</p><p>"Yes, do you think it's too soon?"</p><p>Now Spencer felt especially stupid.</p><p>"No, I mean. Yeah, three months sounds reasonable. Especially considering</p><p>that your friends will probably hate me."</p><p>"They won't hate you, they just hate your job. "</p><p>He could hear the unspoken part: she hated his job too. A part of him</p><p>twinged with the realization that she wasn't entirely sure they could survive</p><p>three months together. Another part of him felt resentment bubbling inside</p><p>at having her treat his job like it was some character flaw. And this other</p><p>part was getting fed up by his unspoken shame of having nurtured fantasies</p><p>of inviting her to go with him to Rossi's Thanksgiving celebration by the</p><p>end of that month.</p><p>A holiday she hated, in a room filled with people whose jobs she despised,</p><p>and before they even had an one-month anniversary.</p><p>"Show me yours now, Spencer. "</p><p>"I'm tired, Amélia, it's past midnight and I have to be up again in less than</p><p>seven hours. We will talk more another time. Good night."</p><p>Mia refused to be rattled by the fact that Spencer hadn't called her on Friday</p><p>nor any other day over the weekend. He barely answered her texts, saying</p><p>that he was "really busy" with the case. Perhaps she pushed him too much</p><p>on their last phone call, perhaps she should have dropped the matter and not</p><p>mentioned her plans for January. Was January too soon? She had no idea.</p><p>No one had ever introduced her as their girlfriend to unknown friends</p><p>before.</p><p>As a matter of fact, Mia's love life had always been a trainwreck.</p><p>She kissed a boy for the first time when she was a sophomore in college. He</p><p>was a 21 year-old senior at the first party she went to, without her parents</p><p>permission. He was a frat guy, so Mia was beyond herself when he offered</p><p>her beer. Her memories after that were hazy until her friend, who</p><p>was like</p><p>an older sister to her, pulled her from underneath him in a guest room and</p><p>took her away from there. Her top was up and she had a hickey on her neck,</p><p>but her pants were still in place. It was also the last time she went to a</p><p>college party.</p><p>Mia became really closed-off after this episode and this was what made her</p><p>parents agree that she needed therapy. It was her therapist who explained to</p><p>her that what she experienced was sexual assault and she was a survivor.</p><p>Her parents never knew about this. No one did before Charlie.</p><p>The first time a girl liked her back was at NYU. Mia was really high at a</p><p>party a girl from her activist group had thrown and this girl, with beautiful</p><p>dark eyes, kissed her first. They went to Mia's dorm room after that and this</p><p>was also her first time. In the morning, Mia was in love and the girl was</p><p>over her.</p><p>During her NYU years, she had a string of flings in which Mia fell hard for</p><p>people who just kind of liked her or thought she was hot. The worst of them</p><p>was when she was the unicorn in a fake-polyamorous relationship between</p><p>a straight guy and a bisexual girl. They only called her when they were very</p><p>high and Mia would always go to them, because no one else called her</p><p>anyway.</p><p>She knew Charlie's family when they were just friends and, during all the</p><p>seven months they were together, Charlie eluded family celebrations, taking</p><p>Mia on trips with her instead. They shared the same group of friends, so no</p><p>one was introduced to anyone there either.</p><p>After Charlie broke things off with her, Mia derailed. For three months, she</p><p>drank too much and partied too hard, having sex with meaningless strangers</p><p>and crying alone in the shower afterwards. Then she went back to therapy</p><p>once more.</p><p>Until Spencer, she had gone on a few dates with random people, but she had</p><p>never let anyone in. She shouldn't be surprised that he was regretting their</p><p>entanglement. Mia had heard more than once when people broke up with</p><p>her that she was "too intense", "too much", and variations on that theme.</p><p>Or, perhaps, and this was the possibility that scared her the most, Eleanor</p><p>was right and Spencer was actually another crooked cop. Perhaps he just</p><p>wanted to fuck her and his scared boy act was just that, an act, and he was</p><p>only interested in her when she was a fragile thing under his thumb.</p><p>Perhaps he was working on a new prey already.</p><p>Ok, that hypothesis was insane and Mia was clearly projecting everything</p><p>that happened with Charlie on him. Eleanor was known to be the most</p><p>paranoid of her friends, and the one who disliked cops the most, so Mia</p><p>should take her point of view with a grain of salt.</p><p>She was trying really hard to not focus on these thoughts as she walked</p><p>inside the very elitist and exclusive country club where Matt had scheduled</p><p>their lunch on Monday.</p><p>She dressed in cocktail attire, with a deep blue A-line designer dress Charlie</p><p>had gifted her years ago so she could go to a tea party thrown by Laura.</p><p>And heels, obviously she had to wear delicate heels for this. She felt like an</p><p>overdressed doll, worried about not getting wrinkles in her dress on the</p><p>short car ride from her home to the club. Matt had sent a car to pick her up</p><p>for their appointment, to her dismay.</p><p>The Congressional Country Club was the natural habitat for capitol</p><p>politicians to unwind and hone their donors while practicing their golf</p><p>game. Mia never imagined she would step foot in there. Matt's personal</p><p>assistant waited for her by the door with a polite smile. He guided her to a</p><p>lavishly decorated restaurant, where Matt already awaited her at their table.</p><p>He looked nothing like the man from the week before. All fragility had</p><p>been washed away and replaced by the shiny politician smile that made his</p><p>turquoise eyes sparkle.</p><p>"Amelia, it's so nice to see you again," he stood up for her while the waiter</p><p>pulled the chair for Mia to sit. "I want to apologize for dragging you here,</p><p>but my day is packed with meetings in the club, so my chief of staff thought</p><p>it would be more practical if we ate lunch in the club's restaurant. The chef</p><p>makes an amazing steak."</p><p>She was still taking everything in, but, before she could say anything else,</p><p>Matt kept going.</p><p>"You aren't vegetarian, are you?"</p><p>"No, I..." Mia picked up the menu, trying to think of what she wanted to eat.</p><p>"Mike," Matt turned to the waiter standing by their table. "We will want two</p><p>Wagyu steaks. Medium rare. Mine will have a side of truffle fries and, for</p><p>the lady… Salad, right?" He asked, but he didn't wait for her answer. "She</p><p>will have a salad. To drink, bring us a bottle of 1982 Château Petrus."</p><p>"Do you want the wine before your meal or to accompany it, sir?" Mike</p><p>asked Matt, taking notes of his order.</p><p>"You can bring the wine now, Mike. It's 1 p.m., and I need to relax." With</p><p>that, Matt looked at Mia and winked at her, like there was some private joke</p><p>going on and she wasn't in the loop of it.</p><p>"Very well then. I'll be back in a moment with your beverage, sir."</p><p>With that, the waiter left, without having looked at Mia a single time during</p><p>this whole interaction.</p><p>"So, Amelia, tell me a bit more about yourself."</p><p>After waiting for a few moments to be sure that Matt would really be silent</p><p>to listen, Mia spoke.</p><p>"For starters, I also like fries with my steak. And I want a glass of water."</p><p>Matt's eyebrows raised on his forehead and there was a delighted smile on</p><p>his lips. He briefly raised his hand and another waiter materialized beside</p><p>their table.</p><p>"Yes, Representative Bradford?" The young man asked.</p><p>Matt folded his arms on his chest and leaned back in his chair, not saying</p><p>anything.</p><p>"Hi, excuse me," Mia called for the waiter's attention. The boy turned to</p><p>look at her as if she was a ghost. Mia read his nametag. "Hi, Walt. There</p><p>was a small misunderstanding with my order and I would like to switch my</p><p>salad for fries too, if that's not an inconvenience."</p><p>"Not at all, ma'am."</p><p>"I would like a glass of water too, please."</p><p>"Flat or sparkling?"</p><p>"From the tap is great, actually."</p><p>This made Matt snort and the boy look at her in absolute dismay.</p><p>"We… Don't serve tap water to our guests here, ma'am."</p><p>"Is Evian ok for you, Amelia?" Matt asked her.</p><p>"Yes. A bottle of Evian, then, will be great, Walt. Thank you."</p><p>When the waiter left, Matt leaned in on the table, studying her.</p><p>"So, my first lesson in Amelia Ferrera is that you don't like it when men</p><p>order for you at restaurants," he said, with a grin on his face.</p><p>This made Mia remember Spencer and she swallowed her frustration to</p><p>focus on the blond that was currently speaking to her.</p><p>"I have no qualms with people ordering for me, when they know how to do</p><p>so."</p><p>"Noted," Matt chuckled. "So, tell me a bit about your future plans as the</p><p>newest member of the Capitol's elite."</p><p>"They will probably disappoint you, Matt."</p><p>"Let's pretend that I'm a more reasonable man than you seem to think that I</p><p>am and that I just want to know your plans to help you achieve your goals,</p><p>shall we?"</p><p>"I will donate the townhouse to the NGO I'm a member of, the No Borders</p><p>organization. I'll pay for the necessary renovations and turn it into a shelter</p><p>for the queer youth of color we help there." It was really weird that</p><p>Matthew, of all people, was the first one to hear her say those words out</p><p>loud.</p><p>To his credit, Matt didn't seem that shocked by the idea.</p><p>"Huh," he said, cocking his head to the side. "Yeah, I thought you would be</p><p>one of those."</p><p>"Those?" Mia asked, not sure if he was paying her a compliment or</p><p>insulting her.</p><p>"Charitable folk."</p><p>Mia blinked a few times.</p><p>"I… It's not exactly charity. It's a private initiative giving means to a</p><p>mutual-aid group to step in and do the work the State should be doing," she</p><p>said, defensive. "Charity implies that I think that I'm superior to these</p><p>people, somehow."</p><p>There was a devilish grin on Matthew's face.</p><p>"Well, that may</p><p>be what you need to tell yourself to sleep better at night, but</p><p>the truth is that, if you want your little pet project to get off the ground, you</p><p>will need to be a little nicer from now on to the people that can help you get</p><p>funding and deal with permits, those things."</p><p>"Such as yourself, that's what you mean."</p><p>"Precisely."</p><p>"And, to do so, I need to call my redistribution of wealth 'charity'?"</p><p>Mike came back with their wine and Mia's water and served Matthew's</p><p>glass first, for his appraisal, and, when he approved the wine, the boy filled</p><p>their glasses and retreated. Matt took a sip of his wine and his eyes fluttered</p><p>with the pleasure.</p><p>"Have you ever drank Château Petrus, Amelia?" He asked, completely</p><p>ignoring her prior question.</p><p>"Yes, I have. I think I first had a glass of it on your father's birthday, in</p><p>2012. It's an excellent wine."</p><p>It was, in fact, a delicious wine. They had a few bottles of it in the</p><p>townhouse's cellar, but Mia hadn't opened one in a long time. Matt took</p><p>another long sip of his glass.</p><p>"Amelia, look, I get that you want to transform the townhouse into a shelter</p><p>for, you know..." Matt stopped talking, as if the rest of the sentence was</p><p>made of dirty words.</p><p>"Queer youth of color," Mia finished the sentence for him.</p><p>She drank a little more of her wine. With the way this conversation was</p><p>going, she would need it.</p><p>"Yes, yes. I get it. You being a lesbian and all..."</p><p>"I'm not a lesbian," she interrupted him.</p><p>Matt furrowed his brows, confused.</p><p>"What? I thought you were my sister's secret widow or something."</p><p>"We dated for seven months back in 2012 and we were best friends</p><p>afterwards."</p><p>He narrowed his eyes, as if Mia had just told him she was a flat earther.</p><p>"...But you're not a lesbian?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>There was an uncomfortable stretch of silence in which Mia wondered if</p><p>she should let him squirm much longer. She took another sip of her wine</p><p>and decided that the lunch and the bottle of Château Petrus he was paying</p><p>for her gave him the right to some patience on her part.</p><p>"I'm bisexual, Matt. I don't care for my partners' genders, I care for them as</p><p>people."</p><p>Matt seemed less confused then, but there was still something in his eyes</p><p>that Mia couldn't quite pinpoint.</p><p>"Right, that. So, as I was saying, your goals and motives sound very</p><p>honorable. I just think that you should consider, instead of burning through</p><p>every dollar my sister has left you, accepting your new place in the elite</p><p>now and using it for the greater good."</p><p>"And what would be the greater good, Matthew?" Now it was Mia who was</p><p>feeling defensive.</p><p>"Make other rich people open their wallets too and share the burden with</p><p>you."</p><p>"Ok, this is the point where I ask you: how do I do that?"</p><p>"I'm glad you asked. I think you should create a foundation in my sister's</p><p>name and throw a charity gala to raise funds for your shelter. I will help</p><p>you." He pushed his empty glass of wine to the side and Walt refilled it. "I</p><p>mean, Becky and her team can help you."</p><p>Mia drank in silence for a moment, studying him.</p><p>"And what will that cost me?"</p><p>He chuckled again.</p><p>"You're already thinking like one of us, Amelia. Not much, just sharing the</p><p>spotlight with me and my family. This will help me increase my popularity</p><p>with your demographic for future elections."</p><p>"I thought you were a conservative Democrat, Matt. What will your</p><p>electorate think if they know you're all friendly with queer Latines?" Mia</p><p>teased him, but she was actually serious about her question.</p><p>Matt put down his glass of wine and looked at her, straight-faced.</p><p>"Democracy means ruling for all, Amelia. Like I told you before, I want to</p><p>honor my sister's memory and helping you with your project means killing</p><p>two birds with one stone. So, will you let me help you or not?"</p><p>They discussed plans and the basic steps to throw a charity function while</p><p>they ate their impossibly tender steaks and delicious fries. Mia excused</p><p>herself to go to the toilet after she finished her third glass of wine. She</p><p>needed to splash some water on her wine flushed face.</p><p>On her way back to the table, she was still dizzy and distracted, and</p><p>bumped shoulders with someone taller and stronger than her.</p><p>"Oh, I'm so sorry," she muttered, raising her head to face the man in front of</p><p>her. "Senator Hawthorne?"</p><p>From that short distance, she could see that his small intelligent eyes were</p><p>blue as the clear winter sky.</p><p>"Doctor Amelia! What brings you here?" He gave her a shiny smile, much</p><p>akin to Matt's.</p><p>"I'm having lunch with Matt... Representative Bradford today at the</p><p>restaurant."</p><p>"Fascinating. Well, Doctor, the restaurant is actually the other way around."</p><p>"Oh no," she hid her face in her hands. "It's really embarrassing not being</p><p>able to handle my wine."</p><p>"Nonsense, anyone can get drunker than planned when trying to keep up</p><p>with Representative Bradford," he said, with a chuckle. "And I'll assume</p><p>this is your first time here. Getting lost in these hallways is an easy task</p><p>even when sober. Come on, Doctor, let me escort you back to your table."</p><p>Mia accepted the arm Senator Hawthorne offered her and let him guide her</p><p>through the maze of hallways in the club. He seemed to be stealing glances</p><p>to look at her every opportunity he had. His clear blue eyes seemed to</p><p>pierce through her skin and made her blush again, this time not due to the</p><p>wine.</p><p>"If I may be so forward, Doctor, you should consider dressing more like</p><p>this," he said, at some point. "A lady should look like one."</p><p>It was her time to chuckle.</p><p>"You think I'm a lady, Senator?"</p><p>He stopped walking. There were mirrors on each side of that hallway and</p><p>Mia could see infinite versions of herself reflected there, under the intent</p><p>eye of endless versions of Senator Ted Hawthorne. For a fleeting moment,</p><p>she thought he looked at her neck with special interest.</p><p>"Only a fool wouldn't see that when looking at you, Amelia." Her heart</p><p>skipped a beat with his words. "But let's not dwell too long here or Matt</p><p>will send a search party to retrieve you from my claws."</p><p>Matt got up with a laugh when he saw Hawthorne entering the room with</p><p>Mia on his arm.</p><p>"Theodore Hawthorne, you old rascal! I can't let a pretty woman out of my</p><p>sight for a moment before you go and charm her with your ways?!"</p><p>The men exchanged that weird half-embrace typical of the straights that</p><p>Mia could never fully comprehend while she stood beside them, silent as a</p><p>doll.</p><p>"Now, now. I was just escorting Doctor Ferrera back to you in safety, Matt."</p><p>With this, he turned to Mia, taking her hand to his lips. "Doctor, it was a</p><p>pleasure to see you again."</p><p>"Thank you very much for your help, Senator. I was completely lost before</p><p>you found me," Mia blabbered, still very confused by this whole</p><p>interaction.</p><p>Hawthorne's smile in return, however, could power a whole neighborhood.</p><p>"It's been my pleasure, really. I hope we will cross paths again very soon."</p><p>His voice was very soft when talking to her. And then, turning to Matt, he</p><p>changed demeanors again. "Matt, you still owe me a game, don't you think I</p><p>forgot."</p><p>"Ask your assistant to call mine and we will schedule it."</p><p>They shook hands and Hawthorne left.</p><p>"Well, well, well… Who would have guessed that Senator Hawthorne could</p><p>have a thing for you?" Matt said to her in a conspiratorial tone, as they went</p><p>back to their table.</p><p>"What do you mean by that?" Mia asked him, curious, but also wanting to</p><p>change this subject soon.</p><p>"Let's just say that Ted always had a strong preference for blondes."</p><p>They were dealing with a missing kid case in Maryland since Monday</p><p>morning, after coming back home on Friday. Spencer was forced by JJ to</p><p>eat lunch around 4 p.m. They sat on their desks and ate the leftovers of the</p><p>chicken casserole Will had made on the weekend while trying to not think</p><p>about the ticking clock hanging over their heads to get the five year-old</p><p>boy</p><p>back home safely. Spencer thought about his own mother and decided to</p><p>call her and check-in on her. When he got his phone from his pocket, he</p><p>saw a missed call and a voicemail from Amélia. He would deal with that</p><p>later.</p><p>He called Diana's care home number and chatted with his mom for about</p><p>fifteen minutes before they had to run back to the case again.</p><p>They found the boy about four hours later. As suspected, his biological</p><p>father had kidnapped him and planned to move to Argentina with the kid</p><p>because he was dissatisfied with the custody arrangement and the</p><p>prominent role the boy's stepfather was having in his life.</p><p>Before heading back home, he checked his phone. There was a sequence of</p><p>texts from Amélia, sent at 6:22 p.m.</p><p>"pls, don't listen to the message</p><p>i was drunk</p><p>if u have listened to it already, i'm sorry</p><p>saudade"</p><p>He dialed his inbox.</p><p>"So you didn't pick up the phone. Again." Her voice was slurry on the call.</p><p>"Listen, Spencer, you… You can't do that to me, ok? You can't go from… To</p><p>the silent treatment. You just can't. If you want to break up with me, do it,</p><p>but don't ghost me. And, you know, if you don't want to break up with me,</p><p>you need to fucking talk to me and tell me what's going on. But just don't</p><p>toy with me, Spencer, I'm too old for this."</p><p>Mia was eating ice cream and grading midterm papers in her fluffy bathrobe</p><p>when her doorbell rang. It was late already and she wasn't expecting any</p><p>visits.</p><p>On the other side of the door was Spencer, wrapped up in his coat and scarf</p><p>under the fine November rain. Mia held her doorknob even stronger,</p><p>bracing herself for what was to come.</p><p>"You heard the voicemail," she eventually said.</p><p>"Yes." His breath came out in smoke when he spoke and Mia walked to the</p><p>side, to let him in her house if he wanted to. He didn't move. "I am an FBI</p><p>agent, Amélia."</p><p>"I was aware of this fact already."</p><p>"And you hate my job."</p><p>She let out a tired sigh and embraced herself, starting to shiver.</p><p>"No, I don't. Can you please get in? It's really cold outside."</p><p>His hair was damp when he entered her hallway. He closed the door behind</p><p>him, but didn't take off his coat. So that was the end of them, Mia thought,</p><p>feeling sad already.</p><p>"You told me so already when we first met. I should have heard you back</p><p>then." He wasn't looking at her when he spoke, instead he focused his gaze</p><p>on a painting Laura's interior decorator had picked for the hallway.</p><p>"It's a very complicated feeling, to be honest. I don't like any law</p><p>enforcement, Spencer, it's not directed at you or your team. And, as I also</p><p>told you when we first met, I think that the BAU isn't the worst..."</p><p>He laughed bitterly, and ran a hand through his hair.</p><p>"So you don't think that my job is the worst, how comforting."</p><p>"Is that what this is about?" Mia asked, feeling hurt. "You gave me the cold</p><p>shoulder for four days because I'm exactly the person you knew I was</p><p>before you even met me? What were you expecting would happen if we</p><p>started dating, Spencer?"</p><p>He looked at her then, and there was anger in his eyes.</p><p>"I don't know!" He cried, frustrated. "Not the news that your friends will</p><p>hate me before they even meet me, who knows if they ever will meet me, if</p><p>you're not too embarrassed by our relationship to introduce me."</p><p>"Me?! Embarrassed? What the hell, Spencer? We agreed to keep this quiet</p><p>because we are in a very gray area of legality for you, if I remember things</p><p>correctly." She turned her back to him and walked to the dinner table,</p><p>getting her ice cream and walking with it to the freezer so it wouldn't melt.</p><p>She could hear him taking off his coat and following her in silence.</p><p>"You think we won't last," he said, accusatorially.</p><p>Mia closed her fridge door with strength and turned to look at him again.</p><p>"Not with you behaving like that we won't," she sneered back.</p><p>"Like what?"</p><p>"You can't shut me out, Spencer!" It was her turn to scream in frustration.</p><p>"It's really shitty of you to lash out against me with silence because you felt</p><p>bad with something I did! You need to tell me when you don't like</p><p>something, this is how these things work!"</p><p>"You need to support me!" He screamed back. "This job takes everything</p><p>from me every day and you will need to be more flexible in your beliefs and</p><p>support me because your opinion matters a lot to me!"</p><p>Mia was breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Spencer</p><p>was the first to disarm his posture.</p><p>"Amélia..." He took a step closer to her. "I need you."</p><p>So this was their end.</p><p>Mia took off her glasses, putting them down on the table top, and closed the</p><p>distance between them. She kissed him, clashing their bodies with all the</p><p>anger she felt. Spencer held her tight against his warming body and didn't</p><p>stop her when she started to undo his tie. Mia didn't have the patience to</p><p>unbutton his shirt, so she just pulled it out from his pants and unbuckled his</p><p>belt. Spencer lifted her and sat Mia on the edge of her dinner table. He</p><p>pushed her bathrobe down on her shoulders and his mouth went to her left</p><p>breast, kissing and sucking her nipple. Mia opened his zipper and pushed</p><p>his pants down, holding his hardening cock in her hand and moving her</p><p>wrist tentatively. He hissed against her sternum and his hands spread her</p><p>legs before he crouched on the floor before her.</p><p>Spencer put her legs over his shoulders and pressed a wet kiss against her</p><p>pussy. Mia arched her back and pushed his hair out of his face while he ate</p><p>her out. He parted her folds with his fingers and he alternated sucking on</p><p>her labia with painting broad strokes on her with his tongue. Mia was half-</p><p>laying on the table, eyes fluttering closed every time Spencer darted closer</p><p>to her clit and diverted to focus on her vaginal entrance and labia again. In</p><p>her fogged state, Mia heard a rhythmic sound over the wet noises he made</p><p>on her.</p><p>"Don't you dare come," she hissed, tugging on his hair. "Not until I come</p><p>first."</p><p>Spencer's right hand went to her hip then and he latched on her clit, sucking</p><p>and licking her until Mia saw stars behind her eyes. He didn't stop after</p><p>Mia's first orgasm and kept his face buried between her thighs, kissing her</p><p>as if this could stop time for them.</p><p>She was boneless when he finally stopped, two more orgasms later, and</p><p>climbed his way up to her face on the table. Mia licked the rest of her from</p><p>his lips and chin. She, too, wanted to trick time for as long as she could. He</p><p>kissed her while his hands worked the wrapper from his condom.</p><p>Spencer slid inside Mia and rested his elbows on the table, his hands</p><p>carefully pillowing her head so she wouldn't hit it on the cold hardwood</p><p>each time he shortly rolled his hips. Mia embraced him with her arms and</p><p>legs, trying to bury him inside her, make them be just one being and never</p><p>have to worry about the real consequences of the world again. It was the</p><p>end, she knew.</p><p>"Please, Amélia..." He whispered in the shell of her ear. "I need you."</p><p>Mia's hands sneaked under his shirt and scratched his back. She bit his</p><p>shoulder through the cotton so she wouldn't give him everything she had.</p><p>"Please..." Spencer pleaded one more time.</p><p>"Come for me, my pet," she said, in a sultry voice.</p><p>He dragged himself in and out of her a few more times until he came with a</p><p>low throaty sound. Mia let go of him and rolled to the side, reached for her</p><p>glasses and sat up on the table top, adjusting her bathrobe once again. She</p><p>could hear him breathing hard, unmoving.</p><p>"I will never be able to support the FBI," she finally said in a voice so small</p><p>she could barely recognize herself. "I can turn a blind eye, bite my tongue</p><p>more often, make a huge anthropological effort to see your friends as more</p><p>than law enforcement… I can even say that, between serial killers and your</p><p>team, I choose your team. But you can't ask me to go beyond that, because I</p><p>won't." She took a deep and shaky breath. "You can't ask me to accept who</p><p>you are completely at the expense of giving up who I am. Either we meet in</p><p>the middle, or there's no working out."</p><p>The silence stretched between them. Mia wouldn't let him see her cry. He</p><p>might have met her in a very fragile moment of her life, but she was no</p><p>delicate flower. She was a warrior, forged by generations of fighters</p><p>resisting imperialism. She raised her chin instead, although she couldn't turn</p><p>to look at him while she waited. An unstoppable force had met an</p><p>immovable object.</p><p>She heard the sounds of him taking the condom off, dressing himself again,</p><p>and saw him walking to the trash to throw it away. How mundane life could</p><p>be in comparison to the big and all consuming feelings Mia had. She</p><p>breathed slowly, waiting. If it was the wolf or the girl meeting his stare</p><p>when he turned was still unclear. He crowded her by the table and rested his</p><p>forehead against hers.</p><p>"I want you," he said. "I want to be with you."</p><p>"This is me, Spencer," she said back, caressing his shoulders. "This is</p><p>everything I have to offer to you."</p><p>"Please, don't hate my friends," he whispered.</p><p>Mia laughed, honest.</p><p>"I will give you my word that I won't project any of my prior issues onto</p><p>them, is that good enough?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>She embraced him and kissed his neck.</p><p>"Spencer?"</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"If you ever give me the silent treatment again, you're dead to me."</p><p>He held her tight and kissed her lips.</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>[1] A Gabriel García Márquez novel, centering the love story of</p><p>Florentino and Fermina, that spans through over 50 years in an</p><p>imagined Colombia. A master of Latin American literature and</p><p>magical realism, Márquez guides us through a love that wasn't possible</p><p>in youth, but finally finds its place when Florentino and Fermina are</p><p>elders.</p><p>[2] Brazilian composer Tom Zé wrote the song "Vai, Menina" about...</p><p>If you said "the Brazilian dictatorship", you gain this round of bingo.</p><p>The slogan of the regime back then was "Brazil, love it or leave it" and</p><p>there was this national feeling of compulsory happiness. The song is</p><p>ambiguous, it can be about eventually overcoming the regime when</p><p>true happiness arrives or it can be about the horrors of being forced to</p><p>be happy when everything is going to hell. I thought it was a fitting</p><p>song for Mia and Charlie's relationship and this story.</p><p>https://www.amazon.com.br/Love-Cholera-Gabriel-Garcia-Marquez/dp/0307389731/ref=asc_df_0307389731/?tag=googleshopp00-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=379726156276&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10885582440551407809&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1001655&hvtargid=pla-479592269684&psc=1</p><p>https://open.spotify.com/track/6A7bFw2HCDcINCCQc8YrMb</p><p>The final wife</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>At first she could not see anything plainly, because the windows were</p><p>shut. After some moments she began to perceive that the floor was all</p><p>covered over with clotted blood, on which lay the bodies of several</p><p>dead women, ranged against the walls.</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>I want to thank Jackie as my super amazing Beta, as always, and,</p><p>today there's a special thanks to copperleaves for her help too! Check</p><p>her fanfics, they're great and she's way more a Criminal Minds expert</p><p>than I am ;)</p><p>See the end of the chapter for more notes</p><p>Winter came while Mia moved out and had weekly meetings with Becca</p><p>and her team. So they could have time to organize everything, it was</p><p>decided that the event to gather funds for the shelter and the Charlotte</p><p>Bradford Foundation would be a Carnaval masquerade. The ball would take</p><p>place on February 12th, the Friday after Carnaval, at one of DC's largest</p><p>and most expensive venues. Five hundred people would attend, and pay</p><p>dearly to do so, Becca assured her.</p><p>In late November, Mia moved to a two-bedroom apartment with a small</p><p>terrace. She sold the expensive Porsche and bought a more sensitive and</p><p>environmentally-friendly car. In early December, the main research and</p><p>advocacy team from No Borders went to the Senate hearing to present their</p><p>data and propositions to help DREAMers get their citizenship more easily.</p><p>https://archiveofourown.org/users/copperleaves/pseuds/copperleaves</p><p>"So, pants," a familiar voice said, standing closer to her as she got herself a</p><p>glass of water during a break.</p><p>Ted Hawthorne had an empty paper cup in his hands, waiting behind Mia</p><p>for his turn with the water cooler. She frowned at him, confused.</p><p>"I don't think I..." She started saying.</p><p>Ted broadly pointed at her suit.</p><p>"I mean, they're very nice pants, but they don't flatter you like the blue</p><p>dress."</p><p>She took a step back from the water cooler, making way for him to pour a</p><p>glass for himself.</p><p>"I had no idea you were interested in women's fashion, Senator."</p><p>Ted chuckled and shook his head, as if Mia had just told him a joke.</p><p>"I'm not." He took a sip of his water and gave her a small courteous nod.</p><p>"I'll go back inside now. It was nice seeing you again, Doctor."</p><p>In late December, Mia paid for Margarida and Eduardo to come visit for the</p><p>holidays. They stayed in a five-star hotel and did all the touristy things they</p><p>had never done in DC before. Her parents were very suspicious of this</p><p>inheritance and very sure that it all could turn to dust in the blink of an eye.</p><p>On Christmas Eve, at midnight, Mia gave them the papers Ishaan had</p><p>drawn up for her. With a few million dollars less in her accounts, Mia's</p><p>parents now had stability and comfort for the rest of their lives. And she</p><p>was, finally, free of her financial burdens to them. Although she missed</p><p>them dearly in daily life, Mia was glad they could only stay for a week, due</p><p>to her grandmother's needs. They were a lot and couldn't stop asking her</p><p>questions about her plans for the future, when she would visit Rio again,</p><p>and who her mysterious boyfriend who traveled for work even during</p><p>Christmas and couldn't meet her parents was.</p><p>"Não estamos reclamando, Melinha, veja bem. Eu sempre soube que você</p><p>ia, eventualmente, conhecer um homem que te desse jeito, sabe?" Eduardo</p><p>said to her at Christmas dinner, already drunk.</p><p>Mia bit the inside of her cheek to keep her face as straight as her father</p><p>wished she could be.</p><p>"Eu acho que você vai ficar bastante desapontado nesse sentido com o</p><p>Spencer, pai," she said back. He, obviously, still had no idea that her gringo</p><p>boyfriend was an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mia doubted</p><p>that the fact of being a man could save Spencer from the fact of being a cop,</p><p>in her father's eyes. "Ele não é nem um pouco o homem macho que você</p><p>espera. E está muito longe de dar qualquer jeito em mim."</p><p>"Mima, você precisa me dar a receita desse seu doce! Eu vou tentar fazer</p><p>em casa para a vovó!" [1] Margarida interrupted them before the dinner</p><p>transformed into a screaming match.</p><p>Amélia opened the door to her apartment dressed beautifully in a deep</p><p>green velvet dress and let Spencer in. Christmas Day was almost at an end</p><p>and he had ditched the small gathering at Rossi's a little earlier than usual to</p><p>go visit her. The team had come back from a case in Hawaii in the late</p><p>hours of Christmas Eve and Spencer was counting down the minutes to see</p><p>her ever since.</p><p>"It's really not your fault, but I'm in a terrible mood," she said, as she</p><p>walked barefoot to her living room and poured a glass of champagne for</p><p>herself.</p><p>He took off his purple scarf, overcoat, and suit jacket and hung them by her</p><p>door before following her. He also took off his shoes, since her house had a</p><p>no outside shoes policy. Salem showed up to rub himself against Spencer's</p><p>legs and greet him.</p><p>"Are you drinking water too, sweetheart?" He carefully asked, as he</p><p>approached her.</p><p>She pouted her bright red lip at him and took another sip of champagne.</p><p>"Fine, I'll drink a glass of water after this one," she grunted.</p><p>Her mental health had increased significantly with her moving from the</p><p>townhouse and adding her own personal touches to her apartment. He</p><p>tenderly smiled at her when she put the champagne glass back on the coffee</p><p>table to lace her arms around his neck.</p><p>"What could have ruined your mood on Christmas? I thought this was your</p><p>favorite holiday, my little anarchist," he teased her, gently kissing her</p><p>cheekbone.</p><p>"Aren't you the profiler?" She tried to still sound moody, but failed.</p><p>"You shouldn't let your father get under your skin like that." He kissed her</p><p>jaw.</p><p>"He said you are turning me into a straight girl," she said, upset.</p><p>Spencer chuckled against her neck and kissed her there too.</p><p>"Well, it's amazing how people can be so terribly wrong about things." He</p><p>let his hands travel along her back and gave a soft bite on Amélia's neck,</p><p>she sighed. "If you fuck my ass tonight, will this improve your mood?"</p><p>She laughed, surprised.</p><p>"Doctor Reid! Are you proposing that I peg you just so we can show my</p><p>father? What would Doctor Freud say of this, my dear pet?" She teased</p><p>him, feigning shock and taking a hand to her chest, as if she was clutching</p><p>an imaginary pearl necklace.</p><p>"Something something Electra Complex, I suppose," he answered her,</p><p>faking seriousness.</p><p>Amélia laughed again before kissing him, smearing red lipstick over his lips</p><p>and chin.</p><p>"Merry Christmas to me then," she said, biting his chin and pulling his</p><p>sweater out of his pants.</p><p>She kissed him more forcefully before stepping back so he could take it off.</p><p>"On one hand, I want to unwrap my Christmas gift," she said in</p><p>contemplation, with one finger on her chin. "On the other, I should go to the</p><p>bedroom and get all the things we will need."</p><p>"I can undress by myself, Amélia. I have been doing it successfully for the</p><p>past thirty years." Spencer raised one eyebrow as he started to unbutton his</p><p>shirt.</p><p>"No, no, no! It's my Christmas gift!" She batted his hands away. "Ok, I have</p><p>decided. You will come with me to the bedroom and sit on the bed like a</p><p>good boy while I make everything nice and cozy for us."</p><p>Amélia took his hand in hers and guided them to her bedroom. It was</p><p>roughly the size of her old bedroom in the townhouse and she had placed a</p><p>king-sized bed in the middle of it, where Spencer sat while Amélia opened</p><p>her sex toy drawer and rummaged through it. She had taken clean towels</p><p>from the closet and thrown them on the bed before.</p><p>"Tell me, pet, how big is Santa's sugar cane for the good boys?" She asked</p><p>without turning to look at him.</p><p>"I think the purple one will do today, don't you?"</p><p>Amélia turned to look at him with a wolfish smile on her lips, holding her</p><p>leather harness with one hand and her thick and rugged silicone dildo with</p><p>the other. Not the cozy purple he had suggested, but the bright red one.</p><p>"The purple one doesn't bring up Christmas joy to me. Get the lube in the</p><p>drawer, please."</p><p>"Compensating for something today, are we?" He teased her, reaching for</p><p>her first drawer on the bedside table and getting the water-based lube from</p><p>it.</p><p>When he turned to look at her again, Amélia was very close to him and</p><p>looking serious. She threw the harness, the dildo, and a third toy on the bed</p><p>and tilted his chin so he would look into her dark eyes.</p><p>"Strip for me, pet," she commanded.</p><p>Spencer felt a shiver run through his spine and obeyed her, unbuttoning his</p><p>shirt under her intent stare. Amélia unzipped her dress and let it pool on the</p><p>floor at her feet as he threw his shirt to the side. She was wearing lace</p><p>golden lingerie underneath it.</p><p>"Merry Christmas to me then," he repeated her words back at her, feeling</p><p>his throat very dry.</p><p>He unbuckled and took his pants off so quickly he almost got trapped in</p><p>them.</p><p>"Go to the top of the bed." Amélia tilted her head to the side, as if she was</p><p>appraising him. As if Spencer was really just her plaything. He loved it</p><p>when they played this game.</p><p>When he was resting his back against her various throw pillows, Amélia</p><p>stepped out of her dress and got the toy from the bed. It was a small,</p><p>remote-operated, vibrator. Without saying a word, she put one leg on the</p><p>bed, pushed her panties to the side, and inserted it inside herself. Spencer</p><p>watched it disappear between her labia and the outside part nest itself</p><p>against her glistening clit before Amélia adjusted her lingerie again and</p><p>planted her foot on the floor.</p><p>"The control is in the drawer," she said and Spencer rolled to the side to get</p><p>it. "Do you want to prepare yourself with the lube or do you want me to do</p><p>that for you?"</p><p>He considered his options. Usually, he didn't really enjoy it when people</p><p>masturbated or performed oral sex on him. He felt exposed, vulnerable, and</p><p>without anything else to do besides letting his mind run free through infinite</p><p>facts and scenarios. This night, however, he was really invested in playing</p><p>along with the whole Christmas gift thing Amélia had created. He felt a</p><p>blush spread through his chest and neck and his penis twitched in</p><p>anticipation for what was to come.</p><p>"If it's my gift too, then I think you should take care of me," he said and his</p><p>voice was shaky.</p><p>Amélia climbed on the bed and over him, until her face was very close to</p><p>his.</p><p>"Can I put my mouth on you?" She gently asked, breaking character for a</p><p>moment.</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>"Please, touch me. I really need it, Amélia."</p><p>She dove in and kissed him again, gentle at first, but then she pinched his</p><p>nipple and Spencer moaned against her mouth. Amélia kissed his neck and</p><p>carefully bit him there until she got to his chest, where she increased the</p><p>pressure with her lips and teeth, making sure she was leaving several purple</p><p>marks over him.</p><p>"My gift, my pet," she said before licking his nipple. "So good, such a good</p><p>boy."</p><p>Spencer was fisting the comforter, and using all his self-control to not touch</p><p>her back nor start playing with the remote control before she authorized</p><p>him. Amélia was licking and kissing his navel now and Spencer breathed</p><p>through his teeth. Instead of taking his penis in her mouth, Amélia kissed</p><p>and caressed the sensitive skin on his inner thigh. She playfully bit him</p><p>there while her hands roamed across his skin, touching his legs and his</p><p>torso, but completely avoiding his sex.</p><p>He was leaking seminal fluid already when her hand enveloped his penis</p><p>and she licked a stripe from his perineum to his glans. She pushed his</p><p>foreskin down and her thumb spread his fluid over its head before her</p><p>tongue touched him. Amélia wrapped her lips around his glans and sucked</p><p>and lapped at it. Spencer whimpered when she relaxed her jaw and took</p><p>more of him in her mouth. She flattened her tongue and pulsated it, teasing</p><p>the vein he had on the underside of his penis. Giving up his self-control,</p><p>Spencer pressed the button on the remote and turned on the toy inside</p><p>Amélia. She moaned and the vibration of the sound against his skin made</p><p>his eyes roll back.</p><p>But then she took her mouth off of him and laughed softly while her nose</p><p>nuzzled his balls.</p><p>"So you decided to be a naughty boy today, huh?"</p><p>"Are you going to..." He gasped in the middle of his sentence because</p><p>Amélia had just licked his asshole. "Punish me, Professor?"</p><p>"Maybe later… Right now, I'm really enjoying myself eating your butt."</p><p>She said.</p><p>She pushed his legs to his chest and looked at him like a cat who got the</p><p>cream. Perhaps Spencer should consider letting Amélia do this more often.</p><p>"Well, since you turned this thing on, go ahead and see how fast you can</p><p>make me come, Doctor." She had one eyebrow raised and kissed one of his</p><p>knees before laying on her belly between his legs again.</p><p>Spencer made the clit stimulator on Amélia start a stuttering rhythm, while</p><p>the g-spot massager had a faster pace. She almost purred and she buried her</p><p>nails in his thighs before she started to kiss his ass again. He whimpered</p><p>when Amélia prodded his entrance with her tongue while her lips pressed</p><p>against his sensitive skin.</p><p>Spencer heard the sound of lube being uncapped. And, soon, a lube-coated</p><p>finger substituted her tongue and Amélia's mouth went to his scrotum,</p><p>taking one</p><p>of his balls in her mouth and rolling it inside with her tongue. He</p><p>barely felt it when she added a second lubed finger inside him, after all, it</p><p>hadn't been that long since she had last fucked his ass. He increased the</p><p>speed on her clit and Amélia released his ball from her mouth with a wet</p><p>sound. She rested her head on his hip and moaned while she crooked her</p><p>fingers and massaged his prostate. Spencer cried loudly, thrashing his head</p><p>on the pillows and letting his free hand go to her head. His idea was to</p><p>caress her, but then she increased the pace of her ministrations inside him</p><p>and he just gripped her hair, feeling an orgasm coming close.</p><p>"Ame… Amélia… I'm… Please..." He couldn't be coherent anymore.</p><p>She went very still against him and let out a weak whimpering sound. He</p><p>knew she had had her first orgasm. He decreased the speed of the toy inside</p><p>her so they could go on. Then Amélia removed her fingers from Spencer</p><p>and he tried to not complain about being edged. He knew it would be even</p><p>better to come while she pounded him. She gave a quick peck on his thigh</p><p>and got to her knees.</p><p>He could hear the sounds of her placing the dildo in the harness and</p><p>dressing in it before he turned his head on the pillows, dazed, to look at her.</p><p>"On your knees and elbows, Spencer." She gave a small smack on his butt</p><p>before grabbing the bottle of lube and starting to coat the dildo with it. He</p><p>frowned at her, usually they did it with him on his back, so he could hold</p><p>and kiss her. "Naughty boys don't get to be kissed while their girlfriends</p><p>fuck their asses."</p><p>Letting out a sigh, he did as he was told. He felt Amélia's hands rubbing his</p><p>back and shoulders and then she softly kissed his spine.</p><p>"Are you ok with this?" She asked, breaking character once more.</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>"Just fuck me already," he used his most bratty voice.</p><p>She laughed and grabbed a handful of his hair, tugging on it. Spencer</p><p>hissed, but the pain was good.</p><p>"I should give you a lump of coal, instead of letting you come today, pet,"</p><p>she said, lining up the dildo and sliding inside him. As an answer to her,</p><p>Spencer increased the pace of the toy inside her once again. "Puta que..."</p><p>[2] Amélia breathed out, gripping his hip and slamming her thighs against</p><p>his.</p><p>He gasped and almost meowled when the dildo rubbed against his sensitive</p><p>prostate. Amélia slid it out slowly and slid it in with strength once more,</p><p>starting to fuck him at a punishing pace, never letting go of his hair.</p><p>"Eu vou arruinar essa sua bundinha gostosa. Vou te foder tanto que você</p><p>não vai conseguir sentar amanhã, galeguinho." [3]</p><p>From the few words he could gather of what she was saying, Spencer felt</p><p>his head get light and he knew he wouldn't last much longer. Amélia</p><p>smacked his ass again, this time hard enough to burn and Spencer clenched</p><p>around the dildo. Then Amélia let go of his hair and embraced him, biting</p><p>his shoulder. The combination of pain and pleasure was enough to make</p><p>him spill all over her comforter, crying out in one of the most powerful</p><p>orgasms he ever had in his life.</p><p>He could barely have the presence of mind to roll to the side before</p><p>collapsing on the bed, so he wouldn't lay on the puddle of his own semen.</p><p>Amélia grabbed one of the towels and threw it over the puddle to absorb it,</p><p>then she opened the drawer on the bedside table and got wet wipes to gently</p><p>clean Spencer while she whispered words of endearment in English and</p><p>Portuguese against his skin. She took the remote from his hand and turned</p><p>the toy off, and stripped herself completely before starting to clean and tidy</p><p>everything up.</p><p>Amélia rolled Spencer like a ragdoll to take out the dirty comforter and</p><p>throw a clean one over him. She left the room with the dirty clothes on her</p><p>arms and Spencer could faintly hear the sounds of her putting her cutlery</p><p>away and turning on her washing machine before dozing off.</p><p>He didn't know how long it took before she climbed into the bed with him</p><p>again and spooned him, peppering kisses on his neck and shoulders. He</p><p>entangled his fingers with hers on his chest and scooted even closer to her,</p><p>feeling sated and safe.</p><p>"Eu acho que te amo," [4] he heard her whisper, before falling asleep.</p><p>Spencer managed to get the New Year's off and they decided to spend it</p><p>alone at Amélia's place. He wanted to introduce her to his friends, but she</p><p>feared it was yet too soon, so they threw their own small party and Amélia</p><p>taught him a few rituals like eating twelve pomegranate seeds and making</p><p>wishes for each month of the year.</p><p>"If only Persephone was Brazilian, Hades would have had her with him all</p><p>the time," she joked before Spencer kissed her at midnight.</p><p>January started slowly, with a few uncomplicated cases, until Emma</p><p>Sweeney, daughter of the FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in</p><p>Charge, simply did not come back home after going out with her friends to</p><p>a party on Friday, the 15th. She had turned 21 a few months before and,</p><p>ever since, appeared to be invested in experimenting with all legal drugs</p><p>possible. Emma also had multiple sexual partners and would often sleep at</p><p>their houses. However, according to Mrs. Ava Sweeney, her mother, she</p><p>would always text to warn them about changing plans so they wouldn't</p><p>worry.</p><p>As soon as she didn't come home in the morning, Peter Sweeney called</p><p>Emily to put her and her team in charge of bringing his daughter back</p><p>home. Emma was his youngest, the only daughter of his marriage with Ava,</p><p>although he had three older daughters from his first marriage.</p><p>Emma was a student at Georgetown, majoring in Psychology, and had</p><p>average grades. Her friends, Mackenzie and Hope, were pretty hung over</p><p>when Luke and JJ found them, and, at first, laughed the whole situation off.</p><p>By their account, Emma had a secret date with her secret older crush who</p><p>would finally fuck her after toying with her for weeks. None of them knew</p><p>who the man was or where they were supposed to meet. They hadn't gone</p><p>with her to the door to see how she had left.</p><p>Penelope found footage of her walking alone for a few blocks on the street</p><p>until she got to a blind spot on the street and disappeared. While the CSU</p><p>team canvassed the whole block trying to look for any material evidence of</p><p>Emma's presence, Penelope was scanning every single car that crossed the</p><p>nearest intersection where she was seen from the time Emma vanished</p><p>forward.</p><p>Spencer had a horrible feeling in his stomach ever since he saw Emma's</p><p>picture on the email Emily sent them with the assignment. She had alabaster</p><p>skin, with rosy cheeks and lips. Her eyes were blue as the sky and her hair</p><p>was naturally blonde. Looking at her tiny nose and happy smirk, Spencer</p><p>knew before his mind even supplied him with the date: it had been a perfect</p><p>six months since Natalya's death.</p><p>"Talk to me, kid," Rossi’s voice called him from his daydreaming. They</p><p>were leaving one more fruitless interview with one of the guys Emma had</p><p>had sex with before. They were all too young and too stupid.</p><p>"It's him," he said, filled with dread.</p><p>"Emma doesn't fit his victimology," Rossi countered. He knew who Spencer</p><p>was talking about even though he gave no context. "She's not a hooker, not</p><p>an immigrant."</p><p>"Neither was Charlotte."</p><p>"We don't know if he knew that," Rossi said.</p><p>"Regardless of knowing before or after, killing her must have changed him.</p><p>After at least six years of obscurity, not being truly seen by anyone besides</p><p>his faithful acolyte, he has finally known fame."</p><p>"Our profile of him and the suspect list indicates that he already knows</p><p>fame very well."</p><p>"Not this type of fame. The capital of the free world has never feared him</p><p>collectively before. It's him."</p><p>"We need to ask Garcia to pay special attention to our 9 men, then. Just in</p><p>case you're right."</p><p>"For Emma's sake, let's hope that I'm not."</p><p>Mia woke up feeling happy and relaxed on Monday morning. It was her</p><p>birthday and she had no classes, just papers to grade</p><p>lawyer signaled with his head that he could</p><p>answer Rossi’s question.</p><p>“What’s the nature of your relationship with him?” Rossi pressed, using his</p><p>intimidating voice.</p><p>“Relationship?” DiMarco scoffed. “I don’t know, man, he’s just a vet who</p><p>likes to hang with us. He was whacked in the head in Baghdad or something</p><p>and Uncle Sam just booted him home. That’s why he couldn’t join the</p><p>force, poor guy.”</p><p>“So he told you that his dream was to be a brother in blue?” Rossi’s tone</p><p>was softer now, finding himself intrigued.</p><p>“Are you kidding, man? Josh is weird, but he’s a great guy. He served the</p><p>country and he wishes he could do more. Now, why are you feds interested</p><p>in Josh? What did Camilla say this time?”</p><p>This made Rossi raise an eyebrow.</p><p>“Why don’t you tell us what you think Camilla could have shared with us?”</p><p>“Camilla is his bitchiest ex. She appears every once in a while at the</p><p>precinct with some bullshit claim about him, just to drop it when we</p><p>squeeze her a bit, you know how women are.”</p><p>Rossi’s face was open now and DiMarco was feeling at home.</p><p>“Come on, you’re Italian too, Agent Rossi. Camilla is one of those Sicilians</p><p>whose mouth runs faster than her brain and nags a man’s ear off all the</p><p>time. Every once in a while, her boyfriends lose her temper with her or her</p><p>annoying kid.”</p><p>“And Marino was one of those boyfriends?”</p><p>“She claims he’s the kid’s father. Never got the guts to actually do a DNA</p><p>test and force him to pay alimony, though. So, what did Camilla say this</p><p>time and why would this be related to Piotr’s girl?”</p><p>Rossi had a soft smile on his lips, although he wanted to smash the nose of</p><p>Detective DiMarco with his fist. He was an old man now, and respected</p><p>procedure.</p><p>“Do you or your partner happen to discuss your cases with ‘Weird Josh’</p><p>when you meet at the bar?”</p><p>DiMarco looked at his lawyer and they exchanged whispers.</p><p>“My client would rather not answer this line of inquiry,” the lawyer</p><p>answered for him instead.</p><p>“It’s no big deal, Marcello. We all vent at our local watering hole and share</p><p>some cop stories with the other patrons, you know?” Rossi baited him,</p><p>hoping he would bite. “Give me a nice Sangiovese and I’ll tell you more</p><p>stories than your Nonna, for instance.”</p><p>“I mean, yeah. Not about open cases, you know,” DiMarco said, ignoring</p><p>his lawyer’s advice.</p><p>“Exactly. You’re a careful cop. But, every once in a while, you need to tell</p><p>your pals about the bastards that you can’t seem to nail, no matter what.”</p><p>“Exactly.”</p><p>“Like Piotr, that slimy bastard you were hunting for years but could never</p><p>have enough evidence for the annoying guys at the DA’s office to finally</p><p>decide to do something.”</p><p>“They don’t know how hard it is to be a cop! We are paid pennies to do the</p><p>most dangerous job! And human trash like that gets to parade around town,</p><p>smacking his girls, selling blow… Everyone knew it and no one did a</p><p>thing!”</p><p>“But you did! You just knew it was him when his girlfriend showed up</p><p>dead.”</p><p>“Who else could it have been?!” DiMarco agreed.</p><p>“Precisely! Why even bother to waste time on a different line of</p><p>investigation when you can just help him confess?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t let him get away with it this time!” DiMarco slapped the table.</p><p>And then he turned pale instantly, realizing what he had done.</p><p>“Was Josh aware of your vendetta against Piotr?” Rossi kept pushing, not</p><p>wanting to give him time to clam up.</p><p>“You… I… I mean… They were just cop stories…” He was mumbling,</p><p>blinking a lot.</p><p>“And did you share with him your frustrations about IA and the feds</p><p>messing up your backyard, Marcello?”</p><p>“It wasn’t… It wasn’t just me!” His voice was getting desperate now. “Do</p><p>you know how hard we work to keep this place clean, just so you can waltz</p><p>over and shit on everything we do?!” There was a vein pulsing in his throat.</p><p>“I have four mouths to feed and my wife is a preschool teacher, I don’t have</p><p>the luxury to get suspended!”</p><p>“What did you do with the evidence from Natalya’s murder, Marcello?”</p><p>Rossi carefully asked, trying to sound like a friend.</p><p>DiMarco’s jaw was working and he was very red. He looked at his lawyer</p><p>in despair.</p><p>“This interview is over, I need to speak with my client in private.”</p><p>After that interview, DiMarco opted not to cooperate with the investigation</p><p>anymore. Smith had been pleading the Fifth since the beginning and he</p><p>would just listen to Emily’s theories about his corrupt behavior with his</p><p>head cocked to the side and a smug smile on his lips. When she described</p><p>the interview with DiMarco to him, embellishing it a bit and leading him to</p><p>think that DiMarco’s lawyer was negotiating a plea bargain with IA to</p><p>throw Smith under the bus, Smith’s face changed. He went from arrogant to</p><p>furious.</p><p>“I would like to see this rat try,” he snarled, between locked teeth.</p><p>“Why is that, Detective? Is it because DiMarco is as guilty as you?” Emily</p><p>pressed him.</p><p>But Smith was arrogant again. He crossed his arms over his chest and broke</p><p>eye contact.</p><p>“Nice try,” and then, under his breath, he added, “bitch.”</p><p>Those were the last words Smith spoke to Emily before reverting back to</p><p>absolute silence. They would have to try to turn up the heat on both</p><p>Detectives, try to sow distrust between them, and see if maybe one of them</p><p>would crack.</p><p>By the end of Monday, the IA Detectives informed Emily they were going</p><p>to charge DiMarco and Smith with coerced false confession and tampering</p><p>with evidence, which should trigger immediate suspension without pay and</p><p>perhaps could lead to them being fired. Although this was an unlikely</p><p>outcome since they couldn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that the</p><p>Detectives were personally involved in the disappearance of the file and the</p><p>evidence. And it was possible that a jury would be highly sympathetic with</p><p>their decision to arrest Piotr, even if he was potentially innocent of</p><p>Natalya’s rape and murder.</p><p>Marino woke up Tuesday afternoon. His Doctors authorized the BAU to</p><p>question him but insisted they remain mindful of his delicate condition.</p><p>Emily chose Luke for the task, hoping he could build rapport on the fact</p><p>that both men were Army vets. She also asked JJ to go with him, to see if</p><p>they could get a reaction from him being close to a woman who fit the</p><p>victimology of their wanted strangler.</p><p>Half of his torso was wrapped around in bandages and he had a breathing</p><p>tube taped under his nose, helping him breathe. Even with all the blood</p><p>transfusions he had gotten in the past four days, Marino was still very pale.</p><p>His size was massive, however, and there wasn’t a doubt on Luke and JJ’s</p><p>minds that he could have strangled fourteen women and dragged their</p><p>bodies into oblivion. Even if he lacked the planning skills to execute so</p><p>refined murders like the twelve disappearances seemed to be.</p><p>Still, they shouldn’t underestimate Marino. Even in a hospital gown and</p><p>bandages, he was as harmless as an injured wolf.</p><p>“Good day, Corporal,” Luke said, standing at parade rest, close to his bed.</p><p>He took his ID from his pocket and showed him. “I’m SSA Luke Alvez and</p><p>I heard that you went to hell and back in Baghdad, but what finally got you</p><p>down was a couple of MPD officers.”</p><p>Marino let out a small chuckle.</p><p>“What regiment did you serve with?” He asked Luke.</p><p>“The 75th Rangers.”</p><p>This made Marino whistle in appreciation.</p><p>“A Ranger. We have a real American hero here!” And he laughed, relaxed.</p><p>“And you, blondie? What brings you to my deathbed?”</p><p>“I’m SSA Jenniffer Jareau and I’m here to get your deposition on the</p><p>crimes you’re being accused of,” JJ spoke very firmly.</p><p>“Hey, give the guy a break, will, you, Jareau? He’s given years of his life to</p><p>protect his country and he deserves respect.” They had, obviously, agreed</p><p>on the schtick. Marino was a classic misogynist. He would probably open</p><p>up to another. “So, come on, Corporal, we are here to listen to your side of</p><p>the story.”</p><p>“What are the crimes I’m being accused of, again?”</p><p>and the masquerade to</p><p>plan. On Sunday, she had a birthday brunch with Eleanor, Ewa, Toshiro,</p><p>Rachel, Kate, Daniel, Tiago, and Esther ― who wouldn't accept Mia calling</p><p>her "Doctor Cohen" anymore ever since she had become a Professor too. It</p><p>was lovely. Unfortunately, Spencer couldn't go. Emma Sweeney's</p><p>disappearance meant that no FBI agent could have a single personal hour</p><p>until she was safe and sound back at home.</p><p>She had been in Mia's class, "Colonialism, Sexism, and the Creation of the</p><p>State", in the Spring semester of the prior year. Emma was a nice girl, when</p><p>she wasn't high or hungover, and her "B" had been deserved, in the end.</p><p>Mia was somewhat worried about Emma's safety, but she couldn't let</p><p>herself be deeply affected by every blonde woman who didn't return home</p><p>after Charlie's death, or else her life would never move on.</p><p>To improve her mood even more, when she woke up that morning, DC was</p><p>completely covered with a fresh layer of snow. She knew she should check</p><p>her phone for birthday texts and see if her mom had called her already, but</p><p>she put it off, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate on her couch with Salem on</p><p>her lap while she just watched the world outside. She thought of Charlie.</p><p>Not with deep pain, but with saudade and love.</p><p>After she took a shower, she decided it was time to start reading the texts</p><p>and thanking everyone who remembered she was now 29-years-old. She</p><p>opened her phone, saw her family's texts, and answered them first. Then she</p><p>called her mother who, like every year, told the story of Mia's birth in every</p><p>embarrassing detail. Spencer hadn't sent anything yet, but she wouldn't</p><p>worry, he was probably overworked with the case. Then she opened the</p><p>group chat with Eleanor and Ewa, there were a ton of texts from them.</p><p>"Happy birthday, my dear friend! You're almost 30 now and thriving. I'm</p><p>really happy to have you in my life and call you my friend. xoxo" Ewa</p><p>wrote first, at 5 a.m. She was probably going in or out of surgery at that</p><p>hour.</p><p>"Mate! You're almost old now!</p><p>And to think that, when we met, you were like young Bambi learning</p><p>how to walk!</p><p>This means I'm becoming an old woman too!" Eleanor sent these texts at</p><p>8 a.m. And then, soon after, there were others, in a very different tone:</p><p>"Ames, call me when you're up.</p><p>Call me first. Do not turn on the news, do you copy?</p><p>Maybe take a Xanax too.</p><p>Call me.</p><p>Amélia, call me as soon as you're up."</p><p>Mia dialed her as she asked, feeling her stomach in knots. Eleanor picked</p><p>up on the first ring.</p><p>"Ellie, what's going on?"</p><p>"Ok, Ames, you will probably see this one way or another, but that girl,</p><p>Emma… She's dead."</p><p>"Oh, poor thing. What happened to her?" Mia asked, feeling slightly sad.</p><p>"I don't know details of what happened to her, but her body showed up as if</p><p>it was a very disturbed person’s idea of a present."</p><p>"What? What do you mean?"</p><p>"Have you taken your Xanax already? Because, if you're going to Google it,</p><p>you should. Someone took pictures of it and leaked them; it's all over the</p><p>internet. It's really fucking dark."</p><p>Mia got her emergency Xanax from her purse and took it with a glass of</p><p>water.</p><p>"Ok, I'm medicated. Will you stay on the phone with me while I look at it or</p><p>do you think I can handle this like a big girl?"</p><p>"You definitely can't handle this like a big girl. I almost puked my breakfast</p><p>and this thing didn't happen at my workplace."</p><p>"Didn't happen... what?"</p><p>"Oh, fuck. Yeah, I should have said that before. The psycho who killed her</p><p>left the poor girl's corpse on the steps of Georgetown's chapel."</p><p>"What?!"</p><p>Feeling herself shaking, Mia opened her laptop and typed the name "Emma</p><p>Sweeney" in the search bar. She avoided the news with pictures, but even</p><p>the sober newspapers shared more than enough.</p><p>A TRAGEDY HITS THE COUNTRY</p><p>The corpse of Emma Sweeney, 21, daughter of FBI Washington ADIC</p><p>Peter Sweeney, was recovered earlier this morning in Georgetown</p><p>The article then explained that Emma's frozen corpse was found by a</p><p>Georgetown janitor at 6 a.m on the steps of the Chapel. She had been left</p><p>naked and tied up in intricate knots with red rope. The only apparent marks</p><p>on her body were strangulation marks on her neck and, although the FBI</p><p>hadn't issued any official statements yet, it appeared that this had been</p><p>Emma's cause of death. Another detail stood out on the scene carefully set</p><p>by whoever disposed of her body: over two dozen white English roses had</p><p>been placed around her.</p><p>Twenty-nine English roses had been placed around Emma's corpse. A</p><p>shiver, unrelated to the cold, ran through Spencer's body when he thought</p><p>they were of the same species and color as the roses in Amélia's old garden,</p><p>the ones she and Charlotte used to communicate with each other. And she</p><p>was turning 29 that Monday. It was probably a weird coincidence. His</p><p>ability to see patterns everywhere made him sometimes see them where</p><p>there were none.</p><p>However, the red rope that tied Emma's corpse with army-level knots was</p><p>made of silk. Her body had been cleaned with bleach, this time her painted</p><p>nails had been trimmed post-mortem and Spencer could bet that, although</p><p>the ME had already found evidence to support the idea that she had also</p><p>been raped, they wouldn't find any usable semen on her. This was him. It</p><p>was a taunt, but a calculated one. He wasn't trying to get caught, he was</p><p>spitting in the face of the FBI and asserting his superiority.</p><p>Naked and dead, Emma seemed even younger. He would never get used to</p><p>their faces. Mostly because he couldn't forget a single one of them.</p><p>"If no one else will say it, I will. This is the same unsub who killed Natalya,</p><p>Charlotte, and the other eleven missing women," Rossi stated at the</p><p>conference table.</p><p>"But, Rossi, beyond her physical appearance, Emma shares no overlap with</p><p>this unsub’s victimology. She was not a pro and she was not an immigrant.</p><p>And Natalya and Charlotte's bodies only appeared due to the framing of</p><p>another individual with the former and the incompetent disposal with the</p><p>latter," Luke said. "Emma's body was disposed of with surgical precision,</p><p>but clearly on display, meant to be found. Unlike the eleven missing</p><p>women, who, as of now, are still only missing, presumed dead. CSU</p><p>couldn't find a single fiber our unsub didn't want to be found so far. There's</p><p>absolutely no DNA, nothing. This could be a completely new unsub."</p><p>"It's him," Spencer said, more sure than ever. "Emma may not be a sex</p><p>worker, but she fits his physical type, and her murder comes right on</p><p>schedule for his timeline. Perhaps, with Charlotte's murder, the lines got</p><p>blurrier for him. He’s not specifically targeting sex workers anymore. Now</p><p>it’s just your basic Puritanical moral crusade.”</p><p>"He's on a mission," JJ said. "Before, he was projecting his hatred against</p><p>women onto high-risk victims and silently cleaning up DC, but Charlotte</p><p>changed the game for him. He's now going after the daughters of the elite</p><p>who, instead of performing what he considers their proper societal role, as</p><p>they should, they’re behaving like prostitutes."</p><p>"But why this deviation in disposal sites? Why Georgetown? Why the</p><p>roses?" Tara asked. "If it's really the same unsub... The rope, I get it, it’s his</p><p>signature. The one detail we have never shared with the public so we could</p><p>be sure that it was him, not Marino, all along. But the rest…? He really</p><p>went overboard with the staging this time."</p><p>Rossi glowered at the crime scene photos and tossed one aside.</p><p>“So much for keeping things out of the press. They got everything this time:</p><p>rope, roses, staging. These knots and the roses could be an evolving</p><p>signature, but now that it’s all gone public he could change everything next</p><p>time.”</p><p>“That’s a problem we’ll just have to deal with,” JJ said. “Maybe we can use</p><p>the press coverage to our advantage somehow. Draw him out, engage with</p><p>him.”</p><p>“That’s a good idea,” Emily said. “Let’s brainstorm some options.” She</p><p>noticed Spencer’s pensive silence. "Spencer,"</p><p>Emily called him. "There's</p><p>something on your mind."</p><p>"It's not relevant to the case," he said.</p><p>He wouldn't say out loud that he couldn't shake off the idea that this was</p><p>connected to Amélia, somehow. Emily didn't seem to buy it, but she didn't</p><p>press him.</p><p>"Alright, before we focus our efforts on this particular theory, let's go back</p><p>over everything we know from the previous cases," Emily said, standing up.</p><p>"No one will be punished if they’ve kept working the case on their personal</p><p>time after Marino's arrest. Assistant Director Sweeney has made it clear that</p><p>he wants all manpower directed to find whoever did this to his daughter,</p><p>and that's what we're going to give him."</p><p>She was looking directly at Spencer, but it was Penelope who spoke first.</p><p>"That's great news, because I have totally been working on this case by</p><p>myself since October." All heads turned to look at her.</p><p>Spencer used his hand to cover his mouth, trying to look nonchalant and</p><p>keep his expression neutral so Penelope's gesture to protect him and Rossi</p><p>wouldn't be wasted.</p><p>"Look, I consider it to be a personal attack when an electronic device</p><p>doesn't bend to my will, so I kept cracking away at Charlotte's hard drive. I</p><p>have decoded it all." Penelope shrugged, as if it was nothing.</p><p>"Tell me you have something for us to work on," Emily said.</p><p>"Oh, boss lady, I have a lot for us to work on. Including a suspect list."</p><p>Penelope leaned in over her laptop and connected a flash drive to it.</p><p>On the projection screen, a password-protected file appeared. With her fast</p><p>fingers, Penelope typed 21 digits as her password and clicked on what</p><p>seemed to be the decrypted files from Charlotte's hard drive.</p><p>She opened the file with the ten names Charlotte had selected as her</p><p>suspects.</p><p>1. Dewayne Thomas, Head of Vice Presidential Protection Detail</p><p>2. Erik Stein, CEO of Pfizer</p><p>3. Ian T. Larsen, Judge, United States District Court for the District of</p><p>Columbia</p><p>4. Justin Miller, media mogul, owner of News Inc.</p><p>5. Louis Duvivier, French Ambassador</p><p>6. Mark Newlands, Chief of the MPD</p><p>7. Rep. Matthew G. Bradford</p><p>8. Peter W. Sweeney, FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in</p><p>Charge</p><p>9. Steven White, M.D., Head of Neurosurgery at Virginia Hospital</p><p>Center</p><p>10. Sen. Theodore P. Hawthorne IV</p><p>Since November, Rossi, Spencer, and Pelenope had only been able to</p><p>eliminate Erik Stein from the list, due to him being in a conference in</p><p>Germany at the time of Charlotte's death. Not a single one of these men had</p><p>connections that could be traced to Marino even with Penelope's almost</p><p>magical powers.</p><p>"So, we… I mean, I..." Penelope started talking and Rossi let out a small</p><p>laugh.</p><p>"It's ok, Penelope, I don't mind if the others know I have been helping you</p><p>so far," Rossi stated, with a gentle smile on his face.</p><p>"So, you two having been sneaking around behind our backs for months</p><p>now?" JJ teased them, crossing her arms in front of her chest.</p><p>"Actually, I was in on it too," Spencer finally said.</p><p>"Call us the Three Musketeers, if you want." Rossi did an exaggerated</p><p>flourish with his hand to punctuate his sentence.</p><p>"So, tell us, Athos, what have the three of you discovered so far?" Emily</p><p>turned in her chair to look at Rossi.</p><p>"Unfortunately, not much. Penelope, do you want to keep going with your</p><p>presentation or can I share it with the others?" Rossi said.</p><p>"Oh, by all means, sir, you do the honors."</p><p>"This list was compiled by Charlotte Bradford, after months of hard work,</p><p>combing through the known Johns of the missing girls. So far, we’ve been</p><p>able to eliminate Matthew Bradford, since the unsub's DNA doesn't have</p><p>any matches to Charlotte's. We also eliminated Erik Stein, who was in</p><p>Europe for work at the time of Charlotte's death. Now that ADIC Sweeney</p><p>has given us his DNA since Emma went missing, hopefully, we can</p><p>eliminate him as a suspect too, bringing our remaining total to seven," Rossi</p><p>said.</p><p>"And we were not seriously considering Agent Thomas as a suspect,</p><p>either," Spencer said. "Research on African-American serial killers is scarce</p><p>and the available data on them is severely underreported. Little has been</p><p>improved since Philip Jenkins wrote his paper 'African-Americans and</p><p>serial homicide' for the American Journal of Criminal Justice, in 1993,</p><p>where he declared, without any concrete data to back him up, that</p><p>extrapolating the available data on homicide being usually an intra-racial</p><p>crime, one could infer that most African-American serial killers would</p><p>escape detection more often. There was a paper published in 2014 in the</p><p>Journal of Ethnicity and Criminal Justice, by Lester and White, 'A Study of</p><p>African American Serial Killers,' that also reports the lack of data on</p><p>African-American serial killers to this day. They observe that the number of</p><p>African-American serial killers has increased in the last 20 years while the</p><p>demographic of white serial killers has seen a decrease in numbers. This</p><p>can, of course, also be interpreted as a reduction in bias by Law</p><p>Enforcement and an increase in the investigation of the deaths and</p><p>disappearances when the victims are People of Color."</p><p>"Even though this is all too interesting for those of us who aren’t up on the</p><p>latest criminology research, let me sum up for you what the Boy Genius is</p><p>trying to say,” Rossi interrupted him. "We aren't placing too much stock in</p><p>Agent Thomas as our unsub, because when a Black man in America starts</p><p>killing white women, even if they are just sex workers illegally in the</p><p>country, people notice it. Especially if those white women disappeared after</p><p>meeting up with a Black ‘John’ who favors white girls."</p><p>Tara nodded in solemn agreement.</p><p>"All of the remaining men on our list are between 35 and 60 years old. All</p><p>of them are in excellent shape and hold positions of power. They all work in</p><p>male-dominated fields," Penelope spoke again. "But, now that I will be able</p><p>to work from here again, instead of using my personal machine, I will turn</p><p>over every stone in their lives to see if I can narrow down our list even</p><p>more."</p><p>"That's great work anyway, guys," Emily said, nodding. "Seven</p><p>― hopefully, six ― suspects is way better than no suspects at all." She</p><p>stayed in silence for a moment. "JJ and Luke, go to the facility where</p><p>Marino is serving his sentence and see how he reacts to the news of his</p><p>Master having abandoned obscurity after he took the fall for him. See if you</p><p>can rattle him. After, see if you can meet with Justin Miller. Considering</p><p>what Spencer has said about African-American serial killers, but also not</p><p>discarding the possibility that he could be an exception to the rule, you two</p><p>should also try to interview Agent Thomas, if not today, tomorrow. Tara and</p><p>Rossi, you two take Doctor White and Chief Newlands. With Newlands, see</p><p>if there's anything we have missed about Natalya's murder investigation,</p><p>and Detectives Smith and DiMarco. Spencer, you're with me. We're going</p><p>to visit Judge Larsen, Ambassador Duvivier, and Senator Hawthorne."</p><p>Spencer had called her around one a.m and asked to sleep at her place that</p><p>night. Mia was sleeping already, but she woke up to wait for him. He held</p><p>her in a bone-crushing hug as soon as she opened the door for him.</p><p>"I'm sorry for missing your birthday," he whimpered against her hair.</p><p>"That's ok. I'm sorry that you're having to deal with this horrible case." She</p><p>kissed his cheek and tried to let go of him, but Spencer still held her tight.</p><p>He kissed her, desperate, and Mia let him.</p><p>"I'm here, galego, I'm here," she whispered against his lips.</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>[1] "Look, we're not complaining, Melinha. I always knew that you</p><p>would, eventually, meet a man who would tame you, you know?"</p><p>"I think you will be very disappointed with Spencer in that sense, dad.</p><p>He's not at all the macho man you're expecting. And he's not taming</p><p>me."</p><p>"Mima, you need to give me the recipe for this dessert! I'll try to make</p><p>it at home for grandma!"</p><p>[2] "Motherfu..."</p><p>[3] "I'll ruin your perky little ass. I'll fuck you so hard that you won't</p><p>be able to sit straight tomorrow, blondie"</p><p>[4] "I think I love you"</p><p>Lioness</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>This is a gift, it comes with a price</p><p>Who is the lamb and who is the knife?</p><p>Midas is king and he holds me so tight</p><p>And turns me to gold in the sunlight</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>This chapter ended up being _huge_ and it's told in a non-linear</p><p>manner, so the parts will be marked at the beginning with the day</p><p>they're happening at.</p><p>See the end of the chapter for more notes</p><p>Mia hated loud clubs with a ton of people. She still couldn't believe that she</p><p>had let Ellie convince her to go to one. She liked dancing, but electronic</p><p>music isn't dancing. It's something closer to having a seizure in the middle</p><p>of similarly uncoordinated strangers. Ellie had vanished a while ago and</p><p>Mia was trying to find her in the confusing maze that was this awful club.</p><p>Behind a door, she found a balcony instead. There was a woman, shorter</p><p>than her, leaning on the handrail, smoking a joint with her back turned to</p><p>Mia. She wore a short sparkly dress and a bomber jacket. Her blonde hair</p><p>escaped from the ponytail in fine strands.</p><p>Mia walked to her, perhaps she could help her find Ellie or her way out of</p><p>there.</p><p>"Hey," she called, but the woman didn't turn.</p><p>"Hey," Mia said again, putting her hand on the woman's shoulder.</p><p>When the woman turned to face Mia, her blue eyes were glassy and her lips</p><p>were purple. There were handprints on her very pale neck.</p><p>"You forgot me already," Charlie said. "Just like everyone forgot the</p><p>others."</p><p>Screaming, Mia walked back in horror.</p><p>She curled into a ball against a cool smooth surface, trying to hide from all</p><p>the fear she felt and run away from Charlie.</p><p>Someone who smelled like cheap whiskey and cigarettes grabbed her by her</p><p>hair, pulling her up from the bathtub where she had been hiding in.</p><p>"Amelia, it's past time we had a little chat." The man holding her was so tall</p><p>that her feet were dangling in the air. He was big like a bear, with a broad,</p><p>strong chest. There was something in his face and the way his eyes were</p><p>almost green under the fluorescent light of her bathroom that made her</p><p>think she could have found him beautiful in another moment, even if his</p><p>nose was big and his chin was small.</p><p>She saw this huge knife on his hip and she realized that there wasn't a</p><p>scenario in which she would make it out of this alive. She lashed out,</p><p>aiming for his eyes. Her fingers hurt when his nose broke her nail, but she</p><p>could see his blood leaking from the angry gashes on his face before he</p><p>threw her on the floor, screaming in rage.</p><p>"YOU BITCH!" He shouted before the tile made contact with her face and</p><p>exploded her glasses into a million pieces, puncturing her skin. There was</p><p>something wet on her face now too. Like both of them were pieces of a</p><p>broken puzzle, that should never match, but did.</p><p>She tried to crawl out of his reach, but he grabbed her by her ankle and</p><p>pulled her between his legs before kneeling on the floor. She managed to</p><p>bite one of his hands before he slapped her face and got a good grip on her</p><p>throat. Stale whiskey and cheap cigarettes, she would never forget. His</p><p>beautiful lips were smiling even while she tried to kick his back and clawed</p><p>at his arms. He was smiling and Mia realized that he wasn't putting his</p><p>whole weight into his task.</p><p>Bear-man could snap her neck in two if he wanted, but he didn't. He wanted</p><p>to take things slow, to submit her to his will first. He wanted to break her</p><p>spirit before death.</p><p>Tuesday</p><p>The memory of the gunshots was what finally woke her up, in her own bed</p><p>in her own apartment, which had 4 different locks on the doors and an</p><p>alarm system, besides a doorman on the first floor. Spencer slept by her</p><p>side, exhausted. Doctor Mead, her psychiatrist, had taken her off of her</p><p>sleeping pills in December, just to see how she would fare on her own</p><p>again. She was fine. Until her birthday.</p><p>After Emma's death, something shifted inside Mia. The nightmares came</p><p>back in full force. She would be doing something in her house and the</p><p>smallest of noises would startle her. Or a tall man would come closer to her</p><p>on the street and she would smell his cigarettes and his whiskey. He didn't</p><p>break her neck, but he chipped her spirit. Joshua Marino. His arrest meant</p><p>very little to her. He wouldn't be able to come up and finish the job himself,</p><p>but Spencer had said that he didn't believe that Marino was behind</p><p>everything. An impulsive idiot like Marino would never scare Charlie like</p><p>that. Charlie, whose face would now come back to her with a pang of guilt.</p><p>Charlie. Mia counted the days and realized it had been six months since</p><p>Natalya had been murdered. This meant that another girl had probably gone</p><p>missing and no one cared about it while everyone looked for the new big</p><p>bad wolf who had taken the precious daughter of some bigshot. She</p><p>obviously couldn't tell Spencer nor Eleanor about her plans, but she needed</p><p>to pick up Charlie’s work from where she had left off. Even though she had</p><p>heard Charlie say the address to that place to her just once, a year ago, when</p><p>her research started, she remembered it perfectly well.</p><p>Being raised in a mostly Catholic environment, Mia thought a lot about the</p><p>figure of Mary Magdalene as she drove, in the late hours of Tuesday</p><p>afternoon, to the building in Anacostia where Charlie used to share a place</p><p>with five other girls. Mary Magdalene was the unholiest of all saints, the</p><p>patroness of the regretful sinners, the women, and the whores. And, yet, the</p><p>one who the lamb of their god had chosen to witness the miracle of his</p><p>resurrection. The one chosen to tell his story going forward. Mia had no</p><p>idea if Mary Magdalene had some prayer to protect those who sought her</p><p>out for help and she didn't even believe in praying, but she hoped that she, a</p><p>woman, a sinner, and, to many, a whore, could live long enough to tell</p><p>Charlie's story.</p><p>The building's exterior wall was falling apart and the street was devoid of</p><p>people. Mia could see that some cars parked on the street were inhabited,</p><p>but no one could bear to face the freezing wind on the sidewalk under the</p><p>fine and sharp January rain. The sun had gone down already.</p><p>She buzzed the intercom and was let in with no questions. The paint in the</p><p>hallway was chipped and there were mold stains on the ceiling. The floor</p><p>stuck to the soles of Mia's boots as she walked. The banisters on the stairs</p><p>appeared to be about to break down to the floor and a rat scurried across the</p><p>floor from one hole on the wall to another.</p><p>Mia knocked on the 3B door and a girl in heavy makeup and PJs opened the</p><p>door.</p><p>"And who are you?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow and a thick Hispanic</p><p>accent.</p><p>Like all the girls from the agency Charlie worked for, this girl looked like a</p><p>supermodel. Maybe she had been one, at some point.</p><p>"I'm Amy, I was friends with Valerie Lamarr. I'm looking for Savannah."</p><p>Mia answered.</p><p>The girl pursed her lips and tried to close the door.</p><p>"There is no one with that name here. Have a good day, now."</p><p>Mia almost threw herself against the door.</p><p>"Listen, I'm not with the police nor with ICE. I really was Valerie's friend</p><p>and I just want to chat with Savannah. I know she liked to see pictures of</p><p>Valerie's cat, Salem."</p><p>The girl opened the door just a centimeter more, but was still suspicious of</p><p>Mia.</p><p>"You know the cat? What happened to him?" She peeked her head through</p><p>the door opening, curious.</p><p>"Are you Savannah?" Mia asked.</p><p>"No, I'm Selena," she answered, still not letting Mia in.</p><p>Mia grabbed her new phone from her pocket and opened up a cute picture</p><p>of Salem sleeping from that afternoon.</p><p>"And I'm the person who's taking care of Salem now," she said showing the</p><p>pic on her phone to Selena. The younger woman made an endeared sound.</p><p>"If you let me in, I can show you more pictures of him while we wait for</p><p>Savannah."</p><p>This finally made</p><p>Selena open the door.</p><p>"Ok, you can wait inside. Savannah will be back soon, but I have to leave. I</p><p>have… you know it." The way she was almost sheepish in her avoidance to</p><p>talk about her date with a client made Mia's heart shrink in her heart. She</p><p>was really young.</p><p>"It's ok, I won't get in your way."</p><p>There was a futon couch and some pallet boxes being used as furniture in</p><p>the small living room. Mia remembered, from reading Charlie's journals on</p><p>the day she and Spencer had found them in the Swiss Bank's vault, that the</p><p>apartment had two bedrooms down the hallway.</p><p>Mia walked to the middle of the living room and saw that the curtains were</p><p>drawn. In her journals, Charlie said that they had more than one bad</p><p>experience with the neighbors in front of them. Mia shuddered thinking of</p><p>their conditions. Not that every sex worker's life was this vulnerable and</p><p>violent or that she thought that they all needed to be rescued. But those girls</p><p>that Charlie had met were mostly from very vulnerable backgrounds, falling</p><p>into the hands of very bad people, who exploited them to their last breath.</p><p>"You can sit on the couch. I will change, and then you can show me the</p><p>pictures of Salem," Selena said, with a smile.</p><p>"Gracias, Selena," Mia said in Spanish, walking to the couch.</p><p>"¿Hablas Español?" The girl asked, with her eyes wide as saucers.</p><p>"¿Y qué? No pensaste que yo era una gringa, ¡por supuesto!" Mia laughed,</p><p>finally disarming Selena, who laughed too.</p><p>"¡Lo siento! ¡Por supuesto que no eres una gringa! Mira, ¡con esa piel</p><p>morena! Claro que no. ¿De dónde eres, guapa?" While she spoke, Selena</p><p>walked into her room and Mia went after her.</p><p>"Brasil," she said in Spanish and the intonation was so soft, so different</p><p>from having that angry Z and the rolled R after the B. It still wasn't how she</p><p>had learned to say it as a little girl in Rio, but it was closer to home. Closer</p><p>to the South.</p><p>Selena looked over her shoulder while she got a dress from a hanger on a</p><p>clothes rack.</p><p>"¿Brasil? Pensé que ustedes hablaban portugués. ¿Te importa si me cambio</p><p>aquí?"</p><p>"Sin problemas. Sí, nosotros hablamos portugués, pero yo estudié español</p><p>además de inglés."</p><p>Selena had taken her clothes off and was fighting to dress in tight</p><p>pantyhose.</p><p>"Comprendo. Yo soy Venezolana. Vení a América hace dos años, quería</p><p>casarme con un gringo rico, pero… That's life, baby." [1] She shrugged at</p><p>the end of her sentence. "Would you zip me, please?"</p><p>Selena took her long straightened dark hair out of the way and turned her</p><p>back to Mia. She had a tattoo of a small butterfly on her shoulder. Mia</p><p>helped her with her dress.</p><p>"Selena, do you know if any girls got out of the business without warning in</p><p>the last month or so?" Mia asked her, hoping she would give her a straight</p><p>answer.</p><p>Selena turned to look at Mia again, narrowing her eyes.</p><p>"Not that I know. I mean, girls come in and out of business all the time. I</p><p>hope I can pay my debts soon and have my own place in a short while, at</p><p>least work for myself." She got her thigh-high boots with stiletto heels from</p><p>under her single bed and sat on it to put them on. "My bosses are more</p><p>professional than some of the creeps around, but they still get half of</p><p>everything I make." She stood up, walking in those heels with a certainty</p><p>that Mia would never possess, and grabbed some jewelry from a small box.</p><p>"But I don't think that anyone has left this month. Why do you ask?"</p><p>Mia bit her lower lip, thinking. She had no idea how much the girls knew of</p><p>Charlie's research or her findings. She took a piece of paper from the</p><p>notepad she always carried in her purse, scribbled on it, folded, and handed</p><p>it to Selena.</p><p>"Lo siento, pero no puedo decirte. Escucha, en ese papel yo escribí mi</p><p>teléfono. Si necesitas de algo o si sabes que falta alguna chica, me llama o</p><p>me escribe, sí?" [2]</p><p>"If I need anything?" Selena asked, sarcastic, but she took the paper. "Didn't</p><p>you hear everything I just said?"</p><p>Mia stopped for a second, thinking about how to answer her challenge. But</p><p>then Selena laughed.</p><p>"Don't you worry your pretty head, Amy! I'm not trying to make you my</p><p>knight in shiny armor," she got a small purse from the rack and walked to</p><p>Mia. In heels, Selena was really taller than her. "Although, with this blazer</p><p>and tie, let me tell you that you do look the part," Selena said, seductively.</p><p>Mia could feel herself blushing violently. Was this barely-not-a-teenager</p><p>really flirting with her or was Selena working some angle with her? She</p><p>had no experience with this type of situation whatsoever. When sex workers</p><p>appeared at No Borders, they usually had specific demands ― a lawyer, an</p><p>interpreter, condoms, birth control, a doctor who doesn't ask questions,</p><p>some work reference so they could leave the trade, some mediation in a</p><p>conflict with another sex worker ― this was uncharted territory. But then</p><p>Selena made a point of showing Mia that her dress had a hidden pocket,</p><p>where she hid the paper with her number.</p><p>"If I learn anything, or need anyone to zip me up again, I'll text you,</p><p>caballero. Deal?" Selena asked, her face just a few centimeters away from</p><p>Mia's.</p><p>"Deal," she answered, inhaling the younger girl's spicy and sweet perfume.</p><p>Selena smoothed the lapels of Mia's blazer, very focused on her task.</p><p>"Do you still need to wait for Savannah or you can walk me out to the</p><p>subway?" Selena sounded almost innocent.</p><p>"I can… I can drive you to the station, if you want." Mia said, feeling her</p><p>throat very dry.</p><p>Selena looked at her through her thick dark lashes coated in mascara and</p><p>chuckled.</p><p>"Un caballero, de hecho," [3] she said, teasing. "I would like that, thank you</p><p>very much."</p><p>She laced her arm with Mia's after locking the door, wrapped in her knock-</p><p>off designer overcoat and wearing a charming beanie.</p><p>"Tell me, caballero, what do you do with your life besides worrying about</p><p>putas?"</p><p>Mia laughed, opening the building's door for Selena, who flashed her a</p><p>winning smile.</p><p>"I worry about undocumented immigrants. About making sure they are safe</p><p>and unharmed."</p><p>Something shifted in Selena's eyes after hearing this. She held Mia's arm</p><p>again when they started to walk down the street towards her car.</p><p>"Is that why you're asking? Are you worried that some girl was harmed last</p><p>week?"</p><p>"Yes," Mia answered her as honestly as she could. She opened her car.</p><p>Selena hopped in the passenger's seat, rubbing her hands in front of the</p><p>heater Mia had just turned on.</p><p>"Valerie worried a lot too. She told me about you, you know? She would</p><p>tell everybody about the girl she would marry someday." These words cut</p><p>her deeper than the wind outside. "And then we all found out who she really</p><p>was, last year, after, you know..."</p><p>There was a moment of silence where they both just looked at each other.</p><p>"So you know who I am too," Mia said, carefully.</p><p>"You really aren't an anonymous person anymore, Profesora Ferreira." And</p><p>then she smiled, gently. "No te preocupes, caballero. [4] I'm very good at</p><p>keeping secrets."</p><p>Monday</p><p>While they were in the car driving to the facility where Marino was</p><p>currently serving his sentence, Garcia called the whole team.</p><p>"What's up, Garcia?" JJ said when she picked up the call.</p><p>"Greetings, all – your herald bears tidings. Although I wasn't able to find</p><p>anything connecting our men to any of the eleven missing girls, Natalya, or</p><p>Charlotte, besides them all being known patrons of the world's oldest</p><p>profession, I was able to connect them to Emma Sweeney. All of them, in</p><p>fact."</p><p>"This quickly?" Luke asked, before he could think better.</p><p>Garcia snorted on the other side of the call.</p><p>"Oh ye, of little faith! Newbie, I am the Oracle of Quantico, the one who</p><p>knows all things! " She retorted.</p><p>"Garcia…" Emily's voice came from the speaker. "What did you find out</p><p>about Emma and the men on Charlotte's list?"</p><p>"Ok, boss lady, ask and you shall receive. I found several pictures</p><p>online of</p><p>all of them at Jim Ellison's New Year's Eve gala this year. Apparently, it was</p><p>huge and everyone who was someone in DC went to this thing. Still, there</p><p>are pictures of Emma and several of our gentlemen chatting together or, at</p><p>least, in the same vicinity. I already sent them all to your phones. I'll keep</p><p>digging, see if I can find any personal connection or, at least, something</p><p>juicier than this." As usual, she spoke in her fast rhythm and Luke could</p><p>hear her fingers typing during the call.</p><p>"Good. It's still not enough to connect Emma with the other girls besides</p><p>Reid's gut feeling, but it's a lead, nonetheless," Rossi said.</p><p>"Keep digging, Garcia. Call us if you find anything else," Emily spoke</p><p>again.</p><p>"Your wish is my command, my liege! Garcia, out!"</p><p>Luke slowed the car as they approached the control post outside the prison.</p><p>After showing their IDs to the guards, they parked the FBI-issued SUV in</p><p>the facility's parking lot.</p><p>"What do you think?" JJ asked him, as she unbuckled.</p><p>"About what?" Luke asked back, turning off the car.</p><p>"You know. About us following Spencer's gut feeling that this is somehow</p><p>connected to the others. About us believing the investigation that one of our</p><p>victims did that said we have even more cases to connect besides her own</p><p>murder and her friend's before her. About all of this." JJ said, as they left the</p><p>car.</p><p>"Are you asking me because you want to hear my opinion due to my</p><p>expertise on illegal immigrants or because I'm new to the team and,</p><p>therefore, less likely to be biased on wanting to believe every theory that is</p><p>presented to me by my teammates?"</p><p>She looked at him with her intelligent brown eyes and her lips tugged</p><p>slightly upwards.</p><p>"Both," was her answer.</p><p>"As someone who worked on the South border tracking coyotes for a while,</p><p>I can just reassert the obvious. These women, the eleven women we</p><p>siphoned from the dozens who left the trade without warning since 2009 in</p><p>D.C., who share physical characteristics, are drifters. Yes, they might be</p><p>dead. Or just some of them might be dead. Some might have been killed by</p><p>their pimps or dealers, some might have been trafficked somewhere else…</p><p>This timeline we are working with may not even be it. Maybe there are just</p><p>two victims of the same person. Maybe not. That Natalya and Charlotte</p><p>were killed by the same unsub, that I believe. The DNA, the red rope, the</p><p>M.O., all points to the work of one man. Or two, we don't know how active</p><p>Marino was at the murders."</p><p>"Garcia couldn't find a trace of those women, Luke. Not even a whiff." JJ</p><p>retorted.</p><p>"I mean, and don't tell her that I said that, but Garcia might be a tech genius,</p><p>but she isn't really all-powerful. There are serious trafficking networks that</p><p>really vanish with people. I have seen it, JJ."</p><p>They were buzzed into the prison and had to surrender their weapons before</p><p>going into the interview room the warden had designated for them to sit</p><p>with Marino.</p><p>"That being said, Garcia, Rossi, and Reid have been working together on</p><p>this for the past three months. They must have turned over every rock</p><p>possible. So, if they believe these women are dead and the same guy did it,</p><p>I will believe their work," Luke said. "And I might not have known Reid as</p><p>long as you guys have, but, I know that his mind sometimes does</p><p>inexplicable deductive leaps that usually tend to be correct in the end. We</p><p>still have no other leads concerning Emma's death, so I don't think it's a bad</p><p>idea for us to work with this possibility for now."</p><p>JJ nodded and opened the interview room's door. Marino was seated by the</p><p>table, wearing the prison uniform. He looked even bulkier than last October.</p><p>His buzzed hair made his nose seem even bigger and drew attention to how</p><p>big his ears were. On the inner part of his right arm, a prison tattoo of a</p><p>shamrock could be seen. This was no surprise, since the intel the warden</p><p>had given the BAU prior to their visit already informed them that Marino</p><p>joined the Aryan Brotherhood just a few weeks after his arrival and had</p><p>been acting as the muscle man for their local leader ever since.</p><p>"Good morning, Corporal. Long time no see," Luke greeted him as they</p><p>walked to their chairs across the table.</p><p>"Agent Alvez, what a pleasure to meet you again," Marino greeted him with</p><p>a smile. Luke noticed that Doctor Ferreira's nails had left fine scars across</p><p>his face.</p><p>"How is prison life treating you, Josh?" JJ asked. "I see you have made</p><p>yourself some new friends." She pointed at his tattoo with a nod and</p><p>theatrically opened the paper files with Emma's pictures in front of her at an</p><p>angle that didn't allow Marino to see its contents.</p><p>"I ain't a snitch," he said, between his teeth.</p><p>"No, that you're not." Marino's eyes were so glued to the file in JJ's hands</p><p>that he didn't even turn his head to face Luke when he spoke. "But we are</p><p>not here to talk about your new friends. We're here to talk about your old</p><p>ones."</p><p>This got Marino’s attention on Luke for a moment.</p><p>"Who?" He asked, interested.</p><p>"Your old friend. The one you're so loyal to that you even decided to spend</p><p>fifty years in jail to protect him." Luke answered.</p><p>Marino laughed and the sound was almost like a bark.</p><p>"I acted alone on those two, I told you this already," he said with glee.</p><p>"And Doctor Ferreira?" JJ asked.</p><p>"Who?" Marino frowned at her.</p><p>JJ fished one of the pictures from her folder and put it on the table, turned to</p><p>Marino. It was of Doctor Ferreira's wounds on the day after she was</p><p>attacked.</p><p>"Doctor Amélia Ferreira. The woman whose neck you were strangling</p><p>when officer Miller put two bullets in your chest, back in October." Luke</p><p>almost snarled at him.</p><p>"Ah. Amelia..." He said, fondly, mispronouncing her name. Then it was like</p><p>a lightbulb had been switched on inside his head and he raised his eyes</p><p>from the picture in front of him to look at the agents again. "Is she alright?</p><p>Did something happen to her?" He asked.</p><p>"Are you worried about her?" JJ raised one eyebrow and closed the folder</p><p>in her hands, leaning in on the desk, closer to him.</p><p>Marino frowned.</p><p>"Of course. She… she..." He couldn't finish the sentence.</p><p>"She was your first, wasn't she?" Luke asked, finally realizing something</p><p>about him.</p><p>"What are you accusing me of?! I've had plenty of women!" Marino</p><p>growled, getting defensive.</p><p>"Of course you have. But Amélia was the first woman you seriously</p><p>intended to kill. You thought she was yours, you had her in your hands,</p><p>before she was stolen from you."</p><p>He seemed like he was going to agree with him, but then his face changed</p><p>again and he seemed to get broodier.</p><p>"I have no fucking clue what you're talking about. I killed those whores</p><p>before her, didn't I?"</p><p>"But did you, Josh?" JJ pressed him. "Because, if you did, who else knew</p><p>about the red rope?"</p><p>She put a picture of Emma Sweeney's staged corpse on the table beside the</p><p>pictures of Doctor Ferreira. Marino's transparent face showed surprise,</p><p>admiration, envy, and reverence, in that order.</p><p>"Maybe this guy just likes the same bondage websites that I did," Marino</p><p>said, shrugging. Luke could see that he was lying. "I would never do</p><p>anything like this for a whore."</p><p>"Like this?" Luke asked.</p><p>"Yeah. The church, the flowers…" He waved over the picture.</p><p>"But would you do it for Amélia?" When Luke said these words, Marino's</p><p>nostrils flared.</p><p>"What does Amelia have to do with this?" He asked, worried.</p><p>"You tell us, Corporal. We told you we came here to talk about your old</p><p>friend and, as soon as we mention the crime you committed against Amélia,</p><p>you ask us if she has been hurt."</p><p>"I don't wanna talk anymore," Marino grunted like a child. "Guards!" He</p><p>called out.</p><p>"If you leave now, you won't know if Amélia is hurt or not, Corporal," Luke</p><p>goaded him.</p><p>His hands spasmed on the table when he looked very intently into Luke's</p><p>eyes.</p><p>"Is she?" He asked, his face opened like a boy's.</p><p>"Who</p><p>else knew about the red rope, Josh?" JJ pushed Emma's picture closer</p><p>to him, insisting.</p><p>"Tell us about your friend and we will tell you about Amélia, Corporal,"</p><p>Luke offered.</p><p>A battle seemed to be happening inside Marino's brain.</p><p>"I don't know why you're so loyal to him, Josh. He's not loyal to you." JJ</p><p>used her soft voice when she spoke again.</p><p>"You don't know what you're talking about!" Marino lashed out.</p><p>"Don't I?" JJ pushed him. "Because, from where I'm standing, you're in jail</p><p>and he's free. You will never see your son without plexiglass separating the</p><p>two of you again, and he's out there killing more women without you."</p><p>"Lucca is being taken care of," Marino grunted, touching Emma's picture</p><p>with his fingers.</p><p>"By him? Did your friend promise you that he would look after your family</p><p>if you took the fall for him?" He looked right into JJ's eyes when she asked</p><p>him this, but said nothing. A pregnant silence stretched out in the space</p><p>between them.</p><p>"Tell us about Amélia then, Corporal," Luke offered. "You never told us</p><p>how and why you chose her. Tell us now and we will give you news of her."</p><p>"And a job at the library," Marino said. "I'll tell you about Amelia and you</p><p>will get me out of the laundry room and into the library."</p><p>JJ couldn't help but smile a little at their small victory.</p><p>"Deal."</p><p>Tuesday</p><p>Becky and Matt's house in Fairfax had a beautiful winter garden, which was</p><p>kept luxuriously green even in the middle of January. Rebecca insisted that</p><p>their meetings about the gala should be there, so they could have their</p><p>privacy and also get some sun on their skins through the glass ceiling.</p><p>The house staff would serve them the most delicate finger foods to eat with</p><p>the afternoon tea, but Becky would barely eat anything, limiting herself to</p><p>sipping her herbal tea and occasionally nibbing on a biscotti. However, she</p><p>wouldn't reprimand Mia for eating. As a matter of fact, she found it almost</p><p>delightful that her "new friend" would eat three cucumber sandwiches in a</p><p>row and drink black coffee at four in the afternoon. She wouldn't look at her</p><p>with spite when Mia arrived at their meetings exhausted after a day of</p><p>classes at Georgetown or hard work at No Borders, always wearing</p><p>trousers, ties, sweaters, button-up shirts, and a lot of tweeds.</p><p>No. Unlike Laura, who looked at her like she was something that had stuck</p><p>to the sole of her shoe, and Charlie, who used to gaze adoringly at Mia even</p><p>when she was trying to clean a coffee stain out of her shirt, Becky looked at</p><p>Mia with amusement. Under Rebecca Bradford's gaze, Mia felt almost like</p><p>a French comedy; unexpected, eccentric, and, yet, adorable.</p><p>Rebecca, on the other hand, dressed like the daughter Laura never had. Her</p><p>blouses and blazers were cut to subtly emphasize the feminine curves of her</p><p>body, and she was almost always in skirts. Never a hair out of place, never a</p><p>chipped nail, her makeup was always impeccable. She was the image of</p><p>classic white feminine beauty.</p><p>To make her portrait even more perfect, there would always be a moment</p><p>during their meetings when Junior would be brought into the room by his</p><p>nanny. He could have a drawing to show his mom ― and, after a few</p><p>weeks, Mia ― or sing a new song he had learned, or just sit on his mom's</p><p>lap and eat his baby carrots. At first, Mia felt endeared by the way Becky</p><p>connected with her son. With time, she noticed that this happened too often</p><p>to not be staged to a degree. Becky wanted people to see how she was a</p><p>patroness of the arts, a busy charitable woman in command of her own</p><p>foundation for kids with leukemia, and a dedicated mom.</p><p>"Happy belated birthday, dear," Becky said to her, as she walked into the</p><p>winter garden on Tuesday.</p><p>There was a small velvet box with a satin bow in front of Mia's seat.</p><p>"Becks, what is this?" Mia asked, frowning.</p><p>"Exactly what it seems, Amy. A birthday gift." Becky signaled for the maid</p><p>to pour Mia's coffee into her cup and took a sip of her own tea.</p><p>"You really shouldn't have..." Mia muttered, feeling embarrassed.</p><p>"Nonsense. It's what one should do for family," was Becky's answer.</p><p>Mia frowned and looked at her, still not opening the gift.</p><p>"When did we become family, Rebecca?" She asked, serious.</p><p>Becky smiled at Mia the same way she used to when she explained very</p><p>simple things to Junior.</p><p>"I think Lottie made it very clear in her will that she considered you to be</p><p>her family. So, it really doesn't matter if you're not going to live in the</p><p>house she left you or that you're going to auction every art piece ―</p><p>including that Picasso sketch ― and antique inside it for charity. We're</p><p>family, Amy. Now stop with these silly questions and open your gift already</p><p>so we can discuss the details of our first gala together."</p><p>Mia had nothing to say at this, so she pulled the bow off of the box and</p><p>opened it. It was a necklace with a huge emerald-cut diamond pendant</p><p>hanging from a white gold chain, surrounded by small sapphires. She</p><p>couldn't even bring herself to touch it.</p><p>"Before you protest," Becky started saying. "I wore this necklace on my</p><p>wedding day. It was gifted to me by Laura, welcoming me to the family. It</p><p>was my 'something blue'. After you showed me the croquis for your</p><p>costume, I knew it would go perfectly with it and it had to be yours. As</p><p>your welcome to the family, from someone who also wasn't born into it."</p><p>She had to blink a few times and swallow the huge lump in her throat</p><p>before saying anything.</p><p>"Thank you, Becky," she finally managed to say.</p><p>"You're welcome, my dear. Now, let's talk business." Becky put her tablet</p><p>on the table and Mia took out her small notebook from her purse to take</p><p>notes. "I have made the first payment to Florence Welch's manager and my</p><p>team is ironing out the last details with the string quartet you recommended.</p><p>For a band so irrelevant, you would expect that they would be more</p><p>flexible. Matt and I have done all the paperwork with the auction house for</p><p>the surprise item we are donating and we have already sold 70% of the</p><p>available tables. I will need your guest list before this month is over,</p><p>Amélia, you know I don't joke about charity functions."</p><p>Monday</p><p>"Apparently, Doctor White will be in surgery all day today. His secretary</p><p>said he will be available for an interview at some point later this week,"</p><p>Tara said, after she got off the phone.</p><p>She looked at Rossi, who drove their car towards the MPD's headquarters.</p><p>He had been very quiet since they had left Quantico.</p><p>"So, why were you one of the Musketeers?" She asked.</p><p>The Wolf</p><p>Spinning gold</p><p>homeland</p><p>An enchanted spindle</p><p>Poisonous fruit</p><p>Hey, little songbird</p><p>The final wife</p><p>Lioness</p><p>He asked, almost</p><p>innocently.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure that you’ve had your Miranda Rights read to you already</p><p>by the Agent who was here when you woke up and that she told you exactly</p><p>what crimes you’re being accused of,” JJ answered, sounding annoyed.</p><p>“Yes, yes, but I want to hear them again.”</p><p>“Trespassing. Breaking and Entering. Destruction of Private Property.</p><p>Aggravated Assault. And, finally, Attempted Murder,” she said without any</p><p>emotion in her voice.</p><p>He chuckled, delighted.</p><p>“Your list is incomplete, blondie.”</p><p>“Is it, Corporal? How so?” Luke asked him.</p><p>Marino turned to him, still smiling, and licked his lips.</p><p>“It’s missing the two whores I offed in the past months.”</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>THE PLOT THICKENS!</p><p>Some of my inspirations to write this investigation (besides IRL events</p><p>and cases) are the following shows/movies: "Unbelievable" (2019,</p><p>Netlix), "When they see us" (2019, Netflix), "Deep Water" (2016,</p><p>Netflix), "The secret in your eyes" (2009, Argentinian movie), "The</p><p>Fall" (2013, BBC), "The Bletchley Circle" (2012, Netflix) and more.</p><p>If you want to talk about this or other stuff, I'm on Twitter!</p><p>Fun fact! On my Twitter, I share my fancast for all OCs I create here!</p><p>(For instance, Daniel and Tiago are modeled after Pedro Pascal and</p><p>https://twitter.com/nerd_leoa</p><p>https://twitter.com/nerd_leoa/status/1351571350515806210</p><p>Oscal Isaac hehehehe)</p><p>I'm eager to read your thoughts in the comments!</p><p>Spinning gold</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>When the girl was alone the little man returned for a third time. He</p><p>said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw this time?"</p><p>"I have nothing more that I could give you," answered the girl.</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>See the end of the chapter for notes</p><p>To everyone’s absolute dismay, Marino provided a full account of how he</p><p>stalked and killed Natalya and Charlotte, whom he referred to by their street</p><p>names, “Irina” and “Valerie,” respectively.</p><p>He spoke of how he waited for them to leave their last John of the night, the</p><p>identity of whom he claimed to have no idea, and then dragged the girls to a</p><p>black van he had bought at the MPD’s annual auction in 2014 and added</p><p>stolen plates to, later, for this specific end. He said he met them when he</p><p>worked a temp job as a bouncer at a very exclusive club where they went</p><p>hunting for clients and they were “bitches” to him. He strangled each of</p><p>them for about two hours, while they had their limbs tied up with red silk</p><p>rope.</p><p>“Why red silk rope?” JJ asked him.</p><p>He just shrugged.</p><p>“I was feeling fancy.”</p><p>The red silk rope was a detail that they hadn’t shared, even with the MPD.</p><p>The FBI coroner found fibers of it in the gashes on Natalya’s wrists and</p><p>ankles, and Charlotte’s ankles.</p><p>“Why them, Corporal? They aren’t even your type.” With that, Luke</p><p>opened the pictures of Marino’s last five girlfriends, including Camilla</p><p>Russo, on his tablet. In the end, there was Doctor Ferreira. Seeing them</p><p>made Marino’s heartbeat increase, as the machine attached to his chest</p><p>could tell them. “Now, her? Her, I understand. She’s just how you like</p><p>them, right? Dark, unruly hair, big dark eyes, and beautiful tanned skin. She</p><p>gets your blood boiling.”</p><p>“I…” Marino seemed stumped. “They were bitches. I hated them.”</p><p>That was not the story his body was telling, however. Luke was about to</p><p>keep pressing him, and then Marino added:</p><p>“I want a lawyer now.”</p><p>Marino’s lawyer wasn’t a cheap hack like they were expecting, but, instead,</p><p>Shanice Johnson, who was one of the biggest Criminal Attorneys in the</p><p>whole southeastern US. She would always wear well-cut and extra feminine</p><p>pantsuits and heavy makeup and speak with a slow and melodious</p><p>Louisiana accent. Her extremely polite manners hid her deadly trial skills,</p><p>sharp as her long sparkly nails, which could always throw glitter in the eyes</p><p>of a jury and make them dismiss the most damning evidence. Only three of</p><p>her clients ever got the Federal Death Penalty in the over thirty years of her</p><p>career.</p><p>Shanice appeared not three hours after Marino asked for a lawyer and,</p><p>within forty minutes, she was calling the District of Columbia US</p><p>Attorney’s office to discuss his plea bargain. The U.S. Attorney had decided</p><p>to personally handle the plea bargain with Marino, which involved him also</p><p>providing testimony against Detectives DiMarco and Smith in their</p><p>upcoming trial. In exchange, Marino was going to enjoy the next fifty years</p><p>of his life in Federal prison.</p><p>Since Marino was still under medical care on that Wednesday, Shanice,</p><p>Linda Barnes, Emily, and the U.S. Attorney met in his hospital room to sign</p><p>the plea. Emily tried to argue with Linda Barnes that Marino didn’t fit their</p><p>profile and there were holes in his story. Linda didn’t want to hear it. They</p><p>had a suspect willing to confess with a good enough story. His confession</p><p>would help to nail two crooked cops, appease the press, and bring closure to</p><p>the Bradford family.</p><p>As for the other twelve missing women, they had no bodies, no evidence,</p><p>no witnesses, and no proof that they were even dead. Undocumented</p><p>immigrants and sex workers disappear all the time through the cracks of the</p><p>system. Not everything was a conspiracy and the official position of the FBI</p><p>was that this was no exception. Occam’s Razor and all.</p><p>“So, Shanice, what brought your attention to this case?” Emily casually</p><p>asked her, passing the papers to JJ, who was seated on her right.</p><p>The only things that Marino refused to cop to were the rapes. He was too</p><p>proud of his macho lover reputation to admit that he could ever rape a</p><p>woman. So, in his confession, he let that fall on the supposed unknown</p><p>John both Natalya and Charlotte had seen before he kidnapped them.</p><p>“You know, sugar, it’s no biggie to do a pro-bono here and there when</p><p>there’s this much free publicity attached to the case. Also, it’s good for my</p><p>tax refunds,” Shanice answered with the kindest smile on her face.</p><p>“That’s what brings you here, then? Fame and glory?” JJ scoffed.</p><p>Shanice tutted at her.</p><p>“I already have plenty of those, Agent, but a girl gotta make sure people</p><p>don’t forget her name.”</p><p>Spencer and Tara drove to Portsmouth that same Wednesday. It was</p><p>Marino’s hometown and where Camilla Russo had gone back to in March</p><p>of 2015, after one more frustrating visit to the 3rd District Precinct.</p><p>According to Garcia’s findings, she worked as a cashier in a local fast-food</p><p>chain and as part of the cleaning crew at one of the local high schools. Her</p><p>son, Lucca, had been born in 2005 when Camilla was a High School</p><p>Sophomore and Josh was a Senior and the star of their football team.</p><p>Camilla dropped out of school when Lucca was 7 months old, right after</p><p>Josh was deployed to Iraq. Out of her parents’ home, Camilla and Lucca</p><p>moved to a trailer park. In 2009, when Josh was discharged, she moved to</p><p>DC with him. Between 2009 and 2015, Camilla and Lucca had more than</p><p>thirty “domestic accidents” that led them to various hospitals’ Emergency</p><p>Rooms. Child & Family Services had been called on two occasions, but</p><p>Camilla ran away before they could arrive and CFS was too swamped to</p><p>follow up.</p><p>Now Camilla was back at the trailer park. Although DiMarco stated</p><p>Camilla had multiple boyfriends, that wasn’t what Garcia found out about</p><p>her. The only man who appeared to be a constant in Camilla’s life was Josh.</p><p>Why he wouldn’t claim his son was a mystery.</p><p>Tara knocked on the frame of the screen door when they arrived. According</p><p>to Garcia, Camilla was usually home around 3 p.m., when Lucca came back</p><p>from school.</p><p>It was the 10-year-old boy who opened the door to them. He wore a ratty t-</p><p>shirt and jeans two sizes too big, held in place with a grown man’s belt.</p><p>Lucca had the same brown eyes as Josh, and the same huge floppy ears and</p><p>plush lips.</p><p>“Mooooooooom! The feds are here!” He called as soon as he saw Spencer</p><p>and Tara’s badges.</p><p>Camilla showed up soon after, sweaty and tired, with her long black hair in</p><p>a messy ponytail, and still wearing her fast-food</p><p>uniform. Still, she was</p><p>strikingly beautiful.</p><p>“Good day, Agents, how can I help you?” She asked, through the screen</p><p>door.</p><p>“Good day, Ms. Russo, I’m Doctor Tara Lewis and this is Doctor Spencer</p><p>Reid, we are Supervisory Special Agents with the Behavioral Analysis</p><p>Unit, from the FBI. We would like to ask you a few questions about Joshua</p><p>Marino.”</p><p>She went very tense at Tara’s words, her right hand grabbing the doorknob</p><p>like it was a lifeline.</p><p>“Did he send you here?” She asked, in a low tone. “Oh my god, are you</p><p>friends of his too?” Camilla let out a sob.</p><p>“No, no, Ms. Russo, we can guarantee that we aren’t friends with your ex</p><p>nor are we here on his behalf. He’s the main suspect in our investigation</p><p>and we are looking for your help,” Spencer tried to placate her.</p><p>This made her look around, scared.</p><p>“I don’t believe you. This is a test, isn’t it? You can tell Josh that I’ve</p><p>learned my lesson and I’m behaving. I won’t say a thing about him.”</p><p>“Ms. Russo, Camilla, Josh was apprehended trying to kill a Federal witness</p><p>and earlier today he signed a plea bargain admitting to, among other things,</p><p>two murders. He’s going away for a long time; you don’t need to fear him</p><p>or his friends anymore,” Tara spoke.</p><p>Camilla pressed her hand against her mouth and muffled another sob.</p><p>“Lucca!” She called inside the trailer. “Go to Mrs. Williamson’s trailer! See</p><p>if Gavin is there to play with you!”</p><p>“But, mom, I don’t want to! It’s too cold there!” The boy answered from</p><p>inside the trailer.</p><p>“Don’t talk back to me, boy! I need to have a grown-up talk and you can’t</p><p>be here!”</p><p>Lucca showed up a minute later, wearing a huge bomber jacket and</p><p>dragging his feet as he walked.</p><p>“What did he do this time?” He mumbled to himself as he passed by</p><p>Spencer and Tara.</p><p>As soon as Lucca left, they were ushered inside. The trailer only had the</p><p>tiny living room, which seemed to also work as the kitchen and Lucca’s</p><p>room at the same time, and two more plastic doors. Camilla was nervously</p><p>trying to tidy things up, picking up laundry from the floor and gathering a</p><p>bunch of knick-knacks that were randomly strewn over the couch.</p><p>“Please, don’t notice the mess. You know how boys are at this age, they</p><p>never pick up after themselves and… I try, I really try, Agents.” She was</p><p>standing in the middle of the room, arms full of things, and looking</p><p>exhausted and ashamed.</p><p>“You’re doing your best, Camilla,” Tara offered, gently.</p><p>Camilla let out a deep sigh.</p><p>“Please, sit down. I’ll just… Put this mess away and I’ll get you some</p><p>lemonade.”</p><p>She opened one of the plastic doors and Spencer could briefly see a tiny</p><p>bedroom, as messy as the living room, into which she threw the mess from</p><p>her arms before coming back to the couch. Tara had seated herself, but</p><p>Spencer just couldn’t. He couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he could</p><p>see the layer of dust that covered everything there.</p><p>Camilla filled two plastic cups with tap water and threw instant lemonade</p><p>powder in them before offering them to Spencer and Tara.</p><p>“What do you want to know about Josh? I haven’t seen him since March</p><p>when he disappeared for a whole day and I took the opportunity to grab my</p><p>things and come back here.” She was standing in front of Spencer, arms</p><p>crossed on her chest, but she looked at Tara.</p><p>“You’ve known Josh for all your life. We wanted to get a good picture of</p><p>who he is as a man,” Tara answered her.</p><p>Camilla nervously chewed on her thumb’s nail before speaking.</p><p>“Well, you probably already know what I’m going to say, but, what the hell,</p><p>right? Josh’s dad took off when he was three. He was in the Army and one</p><p>day he never came back from deployment. We know he isn’t dead because</p><p>Mr. Roberts, the owner of the corner store near Josh’s mom’s house, said he</p><p>saw Mr. Marino once in Norfolk and that he had another family there. Rita</p><p>raised Josh all by herself. She worked at Mr. Roberts’ store for twenty</p><p>years.”</p><p>“We saw a death certificate; Rita passed this January?” Tara asked.</p><p>“Yeah. Cancer. The woman smoked like a chimney. She also drank more</p><p>than an old pickup truck. She was no saint, you know? Josh was a wild</p><p>child and she wasn’t afraid of beating the shit out of him when he pushed</p><p>her too far.” Camilla stopped speaking for a moment. “Excuse me, I need a</p><p>glass of water.”</p><p>She got another plastic cup and filled it with tap water, drinking in big gulps</p><p>before speaking again.</p><p>“She was mean to him, you know?” Camilla said. “But Josh was sweet. He</p><p>was really kind to me… Before.”</p><p>“Before the Army, you mean?” This time it was Spencer who spoke.</p><p>Camilla nodded in agreement.</p><p>“He always had angry fits. But, before, he would break a chair or punch a</p><p>wall. He’s big, you know, so he gets a lot of big emotions inside of him. But</p><p>I wasn’t afraid of him when we were in school. He was my first.” She was</p><p>looking through the dirty window now, lost in memories. “He took me to</p><p>prom and gave me a rose the next morning. That’s when I got Lucca.”</p><p>“If you don’t mind me asking, why isn’t Josh on Lucca’s birth certificate?”</p><p>Tara asked.</p><p>Camilla let out a sad laugh.</p><p>“She hated me. Rita. She would call me a whore and a bunch of things in</p><p>Italian as if she had ever traveled further than Norfolk in her life. She filled</p><p>Josh’s head with a bunch of shit and convinced him that he couldn’t be sure</p><p>that Lucca is really his.” Camilla filled her cup again. “As if Lucca isn’t his</p><p>father’s spitting image!”</p><p>“Now, Camilla, I want you to remember that we are Federal agents and we</p><p>are arresting Josh and two of his cop friends,” Tara said. “You don’t need to</p><p>fear us or hide anything from us.”</p><p>“That’s good, for a change,” Camilla muttered to herself.</p><p>“Could you talk a bit about his friends? Did you ever get to meet any of</p><p>them?” Tara asked.</p><p>This made Camilla start chewing on her nail again.</p><p>“It was 2009. Josh was unemployed and he wasn’t doing very well. He saw</p><p>a lot of fucked up shit in Iraq. It ruined him. The whole thing ruined him</p><p>forever.” She let out a sigh. “And then one day I got angry, I was tired. I</p><p>was working three jobs and Josh didn’t even help watch Lucca. I had to</p><p>leave him with a neighbor or Josh would just drink his weight in cheap</p><p>bourbon and let the boy starve. And… Well, I nagged him. I nagged and</p><p>nagged about how filthy the house was and how I wanted to move back</p><p>home and he lost his patience and slapped me. He didn’t put his whole</p><p>weight in it, you know, but you’ve met him, he’s huge. So I fell and hurt my</p><p>arm and one of the neighbors called the cops on us. They were busybodies</p><p>like that. Meddlers.”</p><p>“What did the cops do?” Spencer asked.</p><p>Camilla shrugged.</p><p>“Officer DiMarco, he wasn’t a Detective yet, just said Josh should be more</p><p>mindful of his size and look into VA services. And maybe go drink at a bar,</p><p>instead of doing it at home.”</p><p>“So they didn’t log the complaint?” Spencer pressed.</p><p>Camilla seemed smaller now as if she was trying to make herself disappear.</p><p>“Why should he? The whole thing was my fault.”</p><p>“It wasn’t your fault, Camilla.” Tara had gotten up and closer to her. “If you</p><p>still want to press charges, everything he did to you in the past three years is</p><p>still within the statute of limitations. If you want to report Detective</p><p>DiMarco or any other cop to the MPD IA, that’s within your rights as well.”</p><p>“Yeah, right,” Camilla laughed it off. “Sure, Doctor. I’ll think about it.”</p><p>Spencer knew she wouldn’t.</p><p>“Camilla, of his friends you have known, does anyone stand out?” He</p><p>asked.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Camilla was frowning, confused.</p><p>“Are there any of them that you are particularly afraid of?”</p><p>She laughed, bitter, again.</p><p>“Doctor Reid, there isn’t a single one of his friends that I’m not afraid of.”</p><p>Camilla ended up naming a few of Marino’s friends she was particularly</p><p>afraid of. Of them, Jack Walsh was the only one currently in the United</p><p>States and alive, approaching the end of his 180 days</p><p>jail sentence in</p><p>Maryland. Jack had been born in New York, in the year of 1978, into a</p><p>working-class family. Unlike Marino, his home hadn’t been broken and</p><p>nothing seemed out of place at first glance. His father was a plumber, his</p><p>mother was a secretary, and he had two siblings, with apparently normal</p><p>lives.</p><p>Jack finished High School in the middle of his class; his teachers’ reports</p><p>mentioned his intelligence, but also his disregard for standardized testing.</p><p>He joined his father’s business soon after and married in June of 2000. In</p><p>September of 2001, Jack enlisted in the Navy and was deployed to Iraq,</p><p>quickly rising the ranks until being recruited by the SEALs. Most of his file</p><p>after joining the SEALs was considered classified, other than his discharge</p><p>in 2008 after being injured by bomb shards in his shoulder, which earned</p><p>him a Purple Heart medal. After that, for no apparent reason, he moved</p><p>with his family to a suburban house in Silver Spring, MD. He filed his taxes</p><p>as an independent contractor and, by his account balance, they extrapolated</p><p>Jack made about $400,000 a year. His monthly income payments didn’t</p><p>stop even after he had been arrested, in April 2015. Garcia traced the</p><p>invoices to an account in the Cayman Islands, but she wasn’t able to go</p><p>further than that.</p><p>According to Camilla, Jack had hired Josh for a security detail job in 2013,</p><p>to protect some big-shot. Josh had to sign an NDA for it and hadn’t</p><p>mentioned anything about who the guy was or what the job had been about;</p><p>she only knew that he had traveled to some paradisiac private island and</p><p>come back with a tan and a bunch of money. Jack was the person who</p><p>referred Josh to his job at the company he had been working for until</p><p>March.</p><p>As to why Camilla was particularly afraid of him, she wasn’t able to explain</p><p>it well. All of Josh’s friends were idiots, drunks, and drug users. They were</p><p>all rude to her and scared her when they showed up at their place. But</p><p>Jack… Jack was nothing like that. Jack always spoke in a low voice, was</p><p>extremely polite, and even brought flowers for Camilla when he was invited</p><p>for dinner.</p><p>“He loved my parmigiana,” she had said, while locking the trailer door</p><p>when they were leaving.</p><p>They had to stop the interview for a moment so she could change uniforms,</p><p>and then interrupt it completely because Camilla was getting late for her</p><p>second job.</p><p>“What was wrong with him, then?” Tara asked her.</p><p>The young woman stood in the cold, with her ineffective coat embracing</p><p>her over the uniform she wore when she worked with the High School</p><p>cleaning crew. After a while, she finally managed an uncertain answer.</p><p>“It’s in his eyes, I guess. His smile never crinkles them.” She rubbed her</p><p>hands in front of her, trying to warm herself. “He looks at you without</p><p>blinking. Like you were… I don’t know, prey.”</p><p>Mia had to go to Georgetown in the middle of her sick leave because the</p><p>head of the Sociology department wanted to see her. It was about her</p><p>extension request.</p><p>She had to use all her strength to not cry on the subway. It wasn’t the end of</p><p>the world to be let go just a couple of months before becoming a millionaire</p><p>and Eleanor and Ewa could help her. They were already helping her. She</p><p>would pay them back in double for every cent.</p><p>Even if she had been thinking about quitting just a month before. Even if</p><p>she was underpaid and had long hours and endless work. Even if she could</p><p>talk with Daniel about staying on at No Borders full-time now. Even so.</p><p>Mia didn’t feel relieved at this meeting.</p><p>She felt like the voices in her head, telling her all her life that she was a big</p><p>fraud, were right. Her father was right. There may be such a thing as a</p><p>genius, but she wasn’t one of them. She had a few quirks and special skills,</p><p>but they were nothing to the academic world.</p><p>She knew the truth and now the rest of the world would know too. She was</p><p>a failure.</p><p>“So, Amélia, you have been a postdoctoral fellow with us for the past six</p><p>years,” Professor Wong began by saying.</p><p>They were seated across from each other on opposite sides of her huge</p><p>hardwood work desk. Professor Melissa Wong was a fifty-something</p><p>woman, who had been born and raised in California. Her Ph.D. thesis on</p><p>Gender Dynamics in post-revolutionary China made a huge splash when it</p><p>was published, in the late 1980s. Since then, she had become one of the</p><p>most respected researchers in her field and, for the past ten years, the head</p><p>of the Sociology Department at Georgetown. She was a short woman, best</p><p>known by her colleagues for her sharp and ironic remarks during</p><p>Department meetings.</p><p>She was the best friend of Mia’s supervisor, Professor Esther Cohen.</p><p>Professor Wong and Mia had a friendly relationship.</p><p>“Yes, Professor Wong,” Mia agreed, not knowing what else to say.</p><p>“I called you here because the committee decided not to renew your</p><p>fellowship,” she looked at Mia through her thick glasses, which made her</p><p>eyes look very small.</p><p>Mia swallowed the knot in her throat.</p><p>“I… Sure. I understand completely, Professor Wong. I can go to my office</p><p>and get my things…” She was interrupted by Professor Wong’s raised hand.</p><p>“I wasn’t finished yet, Amélia.”</p><p>“Oh. I’m sorry.”</p><p>Professor Wong gave her a sympathetic smile.</p><p>“It’s my understanding that you are now to inherit a large sum of money</p><p>and perhaps will be interested in re-evaluating your personal and</p><p>professional goals.”</p><p>When the older woman stayed in silence, Mia got more anxious.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but was… was that a question?” Mia asked, flustered.</p><p>“Yes, yes. Are you still interested in academic research and teaching?”</p><p>Professor Wong adjusted herself in her chair, observing Mia as if she was</p><p>an interesting subject to study.</p><p>Mia had no honest answer to that question, but she would need a good</p><p>recommendation letter from Georgetown if she wanted to keep teaching in</p><p>the future.</p><p>“Yes. All my life has revolved around Academia and I love to teach.”</p><p>This made Professor Wong’s smile get wider.</p><p>“Very well, then. We want to offer you a position as an Associate Professor</p><p>in the Sociology Department, with an annual salary of $90,000. This is a</p><p>tenure track position, so you could grow your roots and spread your wings</p><p>here, my dear, if you choose to say yes.”</p><p>Mia was stumped.</p><p>“You… You are not going to renew my fellowship because you… want to</p><p>hire me?” She asked, confused.</p><p>Professor Wong chuckled.</p><p>“Yes, Amélia. Is that so weird?”</p><p>“Well, I’m not so productive, and lately, my life has been utter chaos…”</p><p>“Let us worry about that, ok? Right now, you just need to think about this</p><p>proposition and give me an answer in the next 48 hours. Esther, of course,</p><p>has been an active part in this decision, so you don’t need to worry about</p><p>her feelings either.”</p><p>Nothing made sense lately. Nothing.</p><p>Later, Mia would barely be able to remember the words she said, accepting</p><p>the job, and how she had called her mother and cried with joy in the</p><p>hallway outside Professor Wong’s office. Reality came back to her when</p><p>she opened Charlie’s contact to call her right after.</p><p>Swallowing more tears, Mia decided to text her one more time.</p><p>She called Eleanor, instead, who invited her for dinner at her place with</p><p>Ewa. It was a Thursday, but Mia had finally gotten the job. She was safe</p><p>now.</p><p>It might seem odd to an external observer that a woman who was worth</p><p>over 130,000,000 dollars could only feel safe with a job that paid her a little</p><p>more than U$7,000 a month. But she hadn’t deserved nor liked the money</p><p>Charlie had left her. She didn’t trust it.</p><p>This, though, this was finally something she had done for herself.</p><p>Chapter End Notes</p><p>Hello all!</p><p>I had an issue with my laptop and a few friends suggested me to create</p><p>a Ko-Fi, so I did! I already got the goal money to pay for the new parts</p><p>I have to buy, but I decided to let it up in case anyone wants to pay me</p><p>a coffee (actually, it will probably pay for kibbles to my cats) for my</p><p>stories!</p><p>If any of you can and want to contribute with anything, it will be</p><p>immensely appreciated</p><p>As to our mistery... There's a thread to be pulled, but where will it</p><p>lead? And don't forget: this story is about Amélia</p><p>https://ko-fi.com/nerdleoa</p><p>homeland</p><p>Chapter Summary</p><p>"And DC, do you ever think about marking it on your skin?"</p><p>"DC is a barely closed wound on my face, Spencer."</p><p>Chapter Notes</p><p>This chapter is NSFW. It also will have a lot of discussions on the</p><p>nature of sex and sexual intimacy. It's mostly comfort, almost fluffy,</p><p>but with a smidge of hurt. Content Warning: there's a scene with</p><p>explicit Professor/student roleplay. If this is a trigger or a squick, the</p><p>scene goes from "...and his overgrown hair brushed Mia's nose when</p><p>he dived in to kiss her jaw" to "His hands danced on her ribcage for a</p><p>moment".</p><p>I hope you like reading this one as much as I liked writing it.</p><p>See the end of the chapter for more notes</p><p>After Emily told them on Thursday that the Director officially considered</p><p>the Bradford/Petrovna case closed and they would have the weekend off</p><p>before moving on to the next case on Monday, Penelope declared that they</p><p>were going to have a small happy hour.</p><p>There was nothing happy about that night. Every once in a while, they</p><p>couldn’t get an unsub right away due to lack of evidence and this was bad.</p><p>But being told to stop an investigation because there was no political</p><p>interest in undoing a clearly wrong investigation path was way worse.</p><p>Spencer wanted a drink. He wanted drugs. Anything to numb all the anger</p><p>and frustration he felt bottling up inside him.</p><p>Amélia would hate him when she knew.</p><p>“Earth to Spencer,” JJ’s voice called him back to the present and his friends.</p><p>“Oh, yes, hey. I’m sorry for dazing off,” he apologized, swirling his soda on</p><p>his glass a few times just to hear the ice clinking inside it. “It’s just… I still</p><p>can’t believe this… I can’t believe they just closed the case and chose to</p><p>ignore the profile.”</p><p>“CSU found Natalya and Charlotte’s DNA in Marino’s van yesterday,</p><p>Spencer,” JJ had that empathetic look on her face. Sometimes it annoyed</p><p>him; made him feel like she was looking at him the same way she looked at</p><p>Henry. “Look, I agree with our profile. I also think that those missing</p><p>women are probably dead and that Marino is, at least, protecting someone.”</p><p>“He didn’t kill them,” Luke interrupted her. “You were in the room when I</p><p>showed him their pictures. I could be showing real estate and he would be</p><p>more interested. And we all know that it takes a lot of interest to torture</p><p>someone with manual strangulation for two hours or more.”</p><p>JJ frowned at him, taking a sip of beer before speaking again.</p><p>“I don’t think he’s our guy either, but no one here is a kid and we all know</p><p>that the evidence against him was piling up and there was a lot of political</p><p>interest in closing this. Now Richard Bradford can stop asking for Emily’s</p><p>head to our bosses.”</p><p>“He was doing what?” Spencer turned to JJ, shocked.</p><p>Emily raised her hands on the side of her head, anxious.</p><p>“You weren’t supposed to have told them, JJ!” Emily chastised her. “Listen,</p><p>it’s not that serious, ok? He is an annoyed billionaire, used to getting what</p><p>he wants when he wants it. It took a while to convince him that we</p><p>shouldn’t arrest Doctor Ferreira, and then he was pretty angry that we</p><p>hadn’t made any arrests. His friends stopped harassing the Director now.”</p><p>Spencer’s phone vibrated on the table and the screen showed a new text</p><p>from an unsaved number.</p><p>“dottore, voglio baciarti…” Could be read on the preview.</p><p>“Baciarti?” Emily stopped her train of thought when she read it too, upside</p><p>down, from her seat across the table. “Spencer, do you have a secret Italian</p><p>girlfriend?” She teased, laughing.</p><p>Feeling his face on fire, Spencer grabbed his phone quickly and took it out</p><p>of their reach. Rossi stopped drinking his whiskey and watched the scene</p><p>unfolding in front of him with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Oh my god! You have a secret girlfriend!” JJ tried to take the phone from</p><p>his hands, laughing.</p><p>“Look how he’s blushing! That’s so adorable, dottore!" Garcia joined,</p><p>already drunk and relaxed from her mojitos, almost slouching over Luke.</p><p>He got up from the booth, trying to get away from them.</p><p>“I… I don’t have a secret Italian girlfriend!” He said, stammering, clutching</p><p>onto the fact that it was true. Amélia wasn’t Italian. And he couldn’t say if</p><p>she was his girlfriend. “And this kind of behavior would not encourage me</p><p>to tell you guys if I was seeing someone.”</p><p>They stopped laughing, looking chastised, and Spencer took the opportunity</p><p>to run to the sidewalk and finish reading the text in peace.</p><p>“dottore, voglio baciarti. incontriamoci a casa tua tra un’ora? �” [1]</p><p>His heart hammered in his chest. There was no doubt that the text came</p><p>from Amélia. She just assumed he could read Italian and Spencer hoped</p><p>that she wasn’t harboring any fantasies of actually talking to him in Italian</p><p>because his skills in speaking foreign languages never were his strongest</p><p>suit.</p><p>He typed back a simple "I'll be there," and walked back inside the bar. His</p><p>body hummed with the nervous energy running through his veins. He had</p><p>never done anything like this before. The table went silent when he grabbed</p><p>his coat.</p><p>"I… forgot I had already made plans tonight…" He fished a few bills from</p><p>his wallet inside to pay for his soda and sandwich.</p><p>"No worries, Spencer. You should be putting that pretty mouth of yours to</p><p>good use anyway," Penelope giggled.</p><p>Usually, he would just leave, but now he remembered that he should have</p><p>said something earlier. He should have corrected them on the spot.</p><p>"Adam wasn't my girlfriend, JJ," he said, looking straight into his best</p><p>friend's eyes. "You guys know this."</p><p>He looked around the table, serious. Only Penelope met his stare.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Spencer… I… I forgot," JJ stuttered. She pushed a strand of her</p><p>hair back behind her ear before speaking again. "Do you have a secret</p><p>Italian boyfriend, Spence?"</p><p>Her teasing smile was an attempt at making peace. Spencer wasn't in the</p><p>mood to fight, he wanted to meet Amélia.</p><p>"No." He put his wallet away and dressed his coat. "Ok, guys, see you</p><p>Monday."</p><p>Spencer was just finishing cleaning up a bit of the mess in his living room</p><p>when the doorbell rang. Amélia stood on the other side of the door, wearing</p><p>a hooded red coat over a long, turtle-necked, yellow-mustard dress. The cut</p><p>on her eyebrow was healing well. Her curls were very defined that day and</p><p>her lashes looked impossibly longer.</p><p>"You're not wearing glasses," he blabbered as she walked in. She had a</p><p>small leather backpack on her.</p><p>She took her backpack and her coat and hung them beside his door, looking</p><p>at him over her shoulder with a sly smile on her lips.</p><p>"I have my contacts on. All the better to see you with, my dear."</p><p>She was fumbling with her backpack, getting something from it.</p><p>"Are you the wolf or little red riding hood tonight, Amélia?" He asked her,</p><p>crossing his arms over his chest, but unable to hide the smile on his lips.</p><p>Amélia walked towards him with a slim and square object packaged in</p><p>wrapping paper in her hands. She stopped really close to him, tilting her</p><p>head up towards his face, still smiling.</p><p>"Which one do you like better, galego?" Her fresh minty breath hit his face</p><p>and Spencer let his hands hold her arms. She was there.</p><p>"Gah...leh...go?" He asked, laughing at his own accent. Amélia laughed</p><p>with him, her nose scrunched with it and Spencer was trying really hard to</p><p>not kiss her.</p><p>"It's an endearing term. Means 'fair-haired.'" Her voice was almost healed.</p><p>The hoarseness lingered on the edges of the hushed tone with which Amélia</p><p>spoke, but it was almost like before when it was strong, clear, and bright.</p><p>Spencer wondered about the bruises on her neck.</p><p>"I have a gift for you," she kept speaking and pushed the package against</p><p>his chest.</p><p>"A gift? But it's not</p><p>my birthday!" He exclaimed, taking the present in his</p><p>hands and running his fingers over the silky paper. "It's a record?"</p><p>"Yes! I like to wander through the city when I have free time and there's this</p><p>small record store near my hotel. I couldn't believe it when I saw that they</p><p>had this record in vinyl and I just knew I had to get it for you."</p><p>Spencer ripped the paper open. The bottom half of the cover was in bright</p><p>red and its top half had a simple black and white picture of a man singing</p><p>into a microphone. In stylized letters, it said "Caetano Veloso - Transa."</p><p>"This is the album that Caetano released in 1972, when he was exiled in</p><p>London. It's bilingual, the songs mix English and Portuguese, and the style</p><p>navigates through Brazilian folk, Brazilian popular music, classic rock, and</p><p>experimental. It redefined a lot in Brazilian music and inspired other artists,</p><p>even in the international scene." She was talking fast, excited. "I relate</p><p>deeply to the whole… vibe of this."</p><p>"So, Caetano is the artist."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"And what does this other word mean? 'Transa?'"</p><p>Amélia bit her lower lip and smiled dangerously.</p><p>"It's slang. It can be a noun or a verb and it means a lot of things. Vibing,</p><p>being high on drugs, connecting with someone, doing business with</p><p>someone…" She got even closer and rested one of her hands over his heart.</p><p>"And, also, it means sex."</p><p>She probably could feel that his heartbeat spiked and his breath got shallow.</p><p>"Amélia..."</p><p>"Like this, Spencer, we can mean a lot of things. I can be the little girl in the</p><p>woods or the wolf. Or none of it at all. Ask me and it's yours."</p><p>He swallowed, his throat feeling very dry.</p><p>"I'll play the record. There's water and OJ in the fridge; you can help</p><p>yourself to it, if you want some."</p><p>Amélia stepped back, taking her hand away from him, and didn't move</p><p>anymore. She was studying him, analyzing his behavior as if it was data for</p><p>her research. If she could explain it to him in the end, Spencer would be</p><p>really grateful, because he didn't know what made him run to the other side</p><p>of the room to play a record, instead of kissing her like he wanted to. He</p><p>wanted to. He could feel how much he wanted to. It almost suffocated him.</p><p>The first song started with an acoustic guitar and then an electric guitar</p><p>came right after and the instruments had a short duet in the intro before the</p><p>singer's velvety voice said his first words, almost whispering.</p><p>You don't know me</p><p>Bet you'll never get to know me</p><p>Spencer froze for a moment, listening to the lyrics he never expected to hit</p><p>so deep within himself.</p><p>You don't know me at all</p><p>Feel so lonely</p><p>The world is spinning round slowly</p><p>When he turned to look, he saw Amélia standing in the middle of the room,</p><p>her dark eyes burned him, hot as coal. She had taken her shoes off.</p><p>There's nothing you can show me from behind the wall</p><p>Show me from behind the wall</p><p>Show me from behind the wall</p><p>Show me from behind the wall</p><p>The song turned into a mantra, the singer's voice was louder now, repeating</p><p>the words over and over. Spencer could feel them tugging at something in</p><p>his chest. He got up and walked towards Amélia, not having a game plan at</p><p>all. She reached for his hand and, without a word, started dancing slowly</p><p>around him.</p><p>Show me from behind the wall</p><p>Why don't you show me from behind the wall</p><p>Nasci lá na Bahia, de mucama com feitor</p><p>O meu pai dormia em cama</p><p>Minha mãe no pisador</p><p>Laia, ladaia, sabatana, Ave Maria [2]</p><p>She ran her hands over his arms, face, and hair, and circled him, like a fox</p><p>stalks a rabbit. When she pressed her back against his and rested her head</p><p>on his shoulder, Spencer entangled his fingers with hers and let her guide</p><p>him through whatever this was. A vibe. Being high. Connecting. Business.</p><p>Sex.</p><p>You don't know me</p><p>Bet you'll never get to know me (Eu, você, nós dois, já temos um passado,</p><p>meu amor)</p><p>You don't know me at all (Um violão guardado, aquela flor)</p><p>Feel so lonely</p><p>The world is spinning round slowly (E outras mumunhas mais)</p><p>There's nothing you can show me from behind the wall</p><p>Show me from behind the wall</p><p>C'mon an' show me from behind the wall</p><p>Show me from behind the wall</p><p>Why don't you show me from behind the wall [3]</p><p>Amélia let go of his right hand and wrapped herself around him with his left</p><p>arm. They were dancing hip to hip now, her head resting on his chest, her</p><p>curls spreading over his shirt. He was in a trance, watching her relaxed face</p><p>and half-closed eyes, feeling her small fingers laced with his resting over</p><p>her hip bone. They were barely moving now, his feet were in the same place</p><p>as they had been since she touched his hand. The thing tugging in his chest</p><p>pulled harder when Amélia raised her left arm and her nimble fingers found</p><p>the hairs on his nape. She was just playing with them, appearing to have no</p><p>intent at all besides a need to touch him in every way possible.</p><p>Spencer lowered his head even more and kissed her forehead lightly. His</p><p>right hand went to her jaw and his thumb idly caressed her skin when he</p><p>kissed her hair. She sighed, never stopping to move them with the rhythmic</p><p>thuds of the song that suddenly ended.</p><p>Another began, with a quicker pace. The initial drums resembled reggae</p><p>and the singer was now talking about life and death and knowing how</p><p>flimsy everything was. Amélia tried to let go of his hand to keep dancing</p><p>alone, but Spencer pulled her against him, even though he had no idea how</p><p>to dance to this or to anything else. But, as the singer repeated in another</p><p>trance-inducing song, he was alive. Alive and Amélia was there.</p><p>She smiled and laced her fingers on his nape when Spencer let his hands</p><p>roam her back. She laughed when he tripped on their feet, so genuine and</p><p>free of any judgment that Spencer kissed her. The drums vibrated in their</p><p>bodies and Amélia pulled him harder against her lips, pressing their chests</p><p>together. His fingers found her spine and he trailed it, counting each</p><p>vertebra and decorating the path it made through her back. Her tongue</p><p>brushed his and she gently nipped on his bottom lip.</p><p>This new song had a bass and some instrument Spencer had never heard</p><p>before. He couldn't make sense of the lyrics, since they were all in</p><p>Portuguese, but it made Amélia hold him even closer to her. They half</p><p>walked, half tripped to his couch while the chorus brought even more</p><p>drums. Spencer felt them pulling and almost ripping that knot, that thing</p><p>that seemed to have always been there, but he never knew about it. Amélia's</p><p>fingers went from his hair to his arms and then she was trailing them along</p><p>the sides of his chest. He gasped against her mouth when she pulled his</p><p>shirt up just enough to sneak her cool hands under it, letting her short nails</p><p>lightly scrape against his skin.</p><p>"You're doing so well, Spencer," she breathlessly said without stopping to</p><p>kiss him. "I like this so much. I like you so much."</p><p>Spencer gripped at her hip and pressed her harder against the pillows of the</p><p>couch, feeling the thing inside him unwrap a little and not hurt so much. He</p><p>trailed kisses on her jaw and, just out of curiosity, decided to catch her</p><p>earlobe with his lips and graze his teeth on it. Amélia moaned loudly. The</p><p>song became quicker and quicker, repeating itself with no coherence,</p><p>almost sexually, and Amélia trailed her hands further up his back, caressing</p><p>and scratching. She was almost lying down now and Spencer found out that</p><p>kissing her ear could be as good as her mouth. Perhaps even better.</p><p>She opened her legs so he could crawl between them, pressing his body</p><p>over her, and her dress pooled high on her thighs. Spencer trailed his hand</p><p>down from her hips to her legs and he felt the small section of her naked</p><p>skin over her thigh-high socks. He gripped her leg, and massaged it, feeling</p><p>the firmness of her muscles against his fingers.</p><p>Woke up this morning</p><p>Singing an old, old Beatles song</p><p>We're not that strong, my lord</p><p>You know we ain't that strong</p><p>Amélia gasped. One of her hands went to the hairs at his nape again and she</p><p>pulled him away from her ear, biting his neck. Not enough to break the skin</p><p>or bruise, but he felt the pain send a jolt of pleasure through his body and it</p><p>was his turn to moan. Amélia kissed the bite and traveled up to his mouth</p><p>again.</p><p>Spencer pushed her dress even higher on her legs, marveling with every</p><p>new inch of skin he could feel, until he reached the lace of her panties. This</p><p>made him freeze.</p><p>I hear my voice among others</p><p>In the break of day</p><p>Hey, brothers, say, brothers</p><p>It's a long, a long, a long, a long</p><p>He could feel the erection in his pants pressing his dick against his fly and</p><p>Amélia… This was… It was great. He wanted this. He wanted her. But the</p><p>fear. The fear of not being as good. The fear of disappointing her. It crept</p><p>again and the thing in his chest spread a cold feeling through his limbs.</p><p>"Do you want to take a break?" She brushed his bangs away from his eyes</p><p>and there was the ghost of a smile on her bruised lips.</p><p>"I'm sorry..." He started saying, but Amélia placed a finger over his lips.</p><p>"Anything you want, Spencer. Ask and it's yours. A girl, a wolf, or none at</p><p>all, remember?"</p><p>He propped himself on one of his arms, not really moving away from her,</p><p>and his other hand went to her face, caressing her. Her eyes fluttered close,</p><p>happy, and her hand traveled to his heart, her fingers tapping over it to the</p><p>rhythm of the song.</p><p>A long, a long, a long way</p><p>It's a long way, it's a long</p><p>It's a long, a long, a long</p><p>It's a long, a lo-long, a lo-long, a long, a long, a long</p><p>It's a long, a long</p><p>It's a long, a lo-long, a lo-long, a lo-long, a long</p><p>A long, a long, it's a long, it's a long way</p><p>It's a long, a long, a long, it's a a long way</p><p>"I want you," he finally managed to say.</p><p>Amélia's smile got bigger against his palm.</p><p>"Here you have me," she whispered.</p><p>Spencer kissed her again, slower at first, still caressing her jaw. His fingers</p><p>danced over her neck and collarbone, and then he dared to palm her small</p><p>breast. Laying on her back, Amélia's chest was almost flat. Spencer could</p><p>feel her pebbled nipple through the layers of fabric.</p><p>"Is this ok?" He asked, not knowing exactly why, letting his forehead rest</p><p>against hers.</p><p>"Y-yes," she gasped, running her nails on his scalp. "This is very good.</p><p>You're..." he rolled her nipple between his fingers, experimentally, Amélia</p><p>whimpered and clutched tighter on his hair. "You're really good to me,</p><p>Spencer."</p><p>He kissed her deeply, wishing he could drink her words. Amélia's legs were</p><p>restless on the couch, but her hips stayed glued to the seat. She fisted his</p><p>shirt and kissed him ferociously as if she was trying to channel all her</p><p>desire to the places she knew she could.</p><p>Ozóio' da cobra verde</p><p>Hoje foi que arreparei</p><p>Se arreparasse há mais tempo</p><p>Não amava quem amei [4]</p><p>"I want to touch you," he said, surprising himself.</p><p>"Please, please, touch me." She lightly bit his jaw and his chin before</p><p>kissing him again. "Please, Spencer, I want it so much."</p><p>He stopped kissing her for a moment and studied her face, suddenly</p><p>realizing something.</p><p>"Keep talking to me." It was a plea disguised as a command. His hand</p><p>wandered back to her leg, toying with the garter belt that held her socks in</p><p>place.</p><p>She opened her eyes, her dilated pupils invited him to drown in the depths</p><p>of her abyss.</p><p>"Touch me," she said, firm. "Make me feel good." He felt the lace of her</p><p>panties again and broke eye contact, closing his eyes and focusing on the</p><p>soft feeling of her skin. He began just toying with her elastic waistband and</p><p>touching the skin of her hips and crotch. "Only you, Spencer. I only want</p><p>you."</p><p>The chorus came back as Spencer got to her sex, and Caetano sang about</p><p>the long, long, long, long way, as Spencer felt the soft and short hairs that</p><p>covered her mons and labia majora. Spencer sat back on his heels and</p><p>pushed her dress to her stomach, getting it out of the way. Her socks were</p><p>white, as were her garter belt and her lingerie. Her panties were entirely</p><p>made of lace.</p><p>"I dressed to see you," she said, propping herself up on her elbows.</p><p>Spencer licked his lips. His mind was blank for a moment.</p><p>"I wasn't sure how far you would want to take things today, but a girl can</p><p>hope." He looked up at her again and there it was, the dangerous wolfish</p><p>smile that made him not even hesitate to risk everything.</p><p>He ran his finger through her slit, slightly parting it and feeling her wetness</p><p>and the slippery touch of her labia minora. Amélia threw her head back and</p><p>opened her legs even wider, resting one foot on his shoulder. Her chest was</p><p>heavily rising and falling.</p><p>A água com areia</p><p>Brinca na beira do mar</p><p>A água passa, a areia fica no lugar [5]</p><p>She was warm there, incredibly warm. He used his fingers to spread her</p><p>outer labia even more, exposing her inner folds and her clitoris. Her labia</p><p>was darker than her skin and her clitoris peaked out of her. Spencer touched</p><p>it lightly, running his index finger from the apex of her labia to its glans</p><p>peeking out of its small hood. She trembled with his touch.</p><p>"Yes, very good… Very good job, Spencer," she echoed the words she had</p><p>said to him when they first ate together. "I can't wait to see… Ah..." He slid</p><p>his finger to the opening of her vagina, teasing over it in a slow circular</p><p>motion, without pressing against her. Slick trickled out of her and he spread</p><p>it through her labia. "What you will do next," she finally managed to get the</p><p>last part out.</p><p>He adjusted himself on his heels. He was getting more aroused too. This</p><p>wasn't a mere experiment.</p><p>Amélia semi-sat on the couch again, her cheeks were flushed. Considering</p><p>that her foot remained on Spencer's shoulder, she was very flexible.</p><p>"Can we… Can we go to your bed?" She asked. He removed his hand from</p><p>her, feeling his stomach drop.</p><p>"Amélia, I..."</p><p>"It's not that I'm not enjoying myself and this whole 'let's roleplay like we</p><p>were regular high schoolers,' I am. It's just that we are not teenagers and</p><p>your couch will ruin my back." Her head was resting on her shoulder as she</p><p>spoke, her curls were a cloud of messy hair framing her face.</p><p>He cleaned his fingers on his pants. There was a new song playing, slower,</p><p>sadder. Amélia rested her foot on the couch and adjusted her clothes.</p><p>"What's wrong?" She asked, looking worried. Perhaps a bit frustrated too.</p><p>"Do you want to stop? I thought you were enjoying it..."</p><p>"I was. I am. I just… I don't know if I want to have sex today," he blurted</p><p>out.</p><p>She laughed.</p><p>"What's funny?" He asked, hurt.</p><p>"Spencer, I'm sorry, I'm… It's not, it's not funny. It's just that, well, we were</p><p>having sex." She rested her hand over the one he was using to masturbate</p><p>her.</p><p>"What?" He asked, frowning.</p><p>"There's a lesbian saying that goes like this: 'sex is everything that happens</p><p>after you take your cats out of the bedroom,'" she said, simply. He didn't</p><p>understand it. "Although there are no pets here, the point still stands. Sex is</p><p>everything sensual happening between two consenting adults. The lines are</p><p>kind of blurry with sensual dancing and texting and all, but fingering</p><p>someone most definitely is sex."</p><p>"Oh," he said. And then it hit him. " Oh ."</p><p>"Oh," as in: all this time he had been taught to put a lot of weight and</p><p>expectation into one part of sex, when it wasn't the whole picture. As in:</p><p>how bizarre it was that the men who touched him before and even his</p><p>boyfriend didn't tell him that. He had to learn it from Amélia, a woman. A</p><p>very, very, openly queer woman who approached sex from the perspective</p><p>of pleasing other women.</p><p>"I mean, if you really want to stop, do something else, or just keep making</p><p>out on the couch and forget about our genitals, I'm game too, Spencer. I'm</p><p>not trying to trick you or pressure you into anything; I just think that your</p><p>bed is going to be more comfortable for whatever we decide to do tonight."</p>
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