Title: Fear Will Lead You To Your Downfall
By: RutsuSatoshi
Pairing: gen
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Information on child abuse was taken from this website: http://www.education.com/
Summary: Reid fears that Gideon is angry at him for putting himself in danger during an interrogation with a sociopath.

***

All of the evidence pointed towards that slender built man sitting in the interrogation room. Arms crossed, body slumped lazily in the uncomfortable chair and on his face a smug grin. It was up to the BAU team to get a confession out of him, which proved to be extremely difficult. Reid was going through his file one last time before walking in there with Gideon.

Hotchner stood still in front of the mirror observing the suspect.

"Be careful with your choice of words."

Hotch paused for a moment before saying: "Look at his body language. He's made his mind up."

He turned his head to look at the youngest member of the team. " Good luck" he sighed, softly but still stern.

Jason motioned for the genius to come. "Reid, before we go in there, I want you to promise me a few things." Spence raised his eyebrows at the serious tone of voice but said nothing. He watched the older man unbutton the first two buttons of his shirt. It was in the middle of July and most likely the warmest day of the decade.

"David probably won't talk, but I guess you know that already." Reid nodded and waited for Gideon to continue. "We need to go all out this time if we want him to confess. However..." Jason now put his hand on Spencer's shoulder so the young man would know just how serious he was.

"However, do not give him any personal information, alright?"

"No personal information, got it. Because he will use that to get control over me, right?"

Gideon smiled. Even though Reid was a competent and appreciated member of the team, he still needed affirmation. He knew he needed to discuss that with the young genius. Now was not the time though. So he did what was expected of him.

"Right."

"You said promises. Plural. What else is there I should or shouldn't do?"

"Don't get too close to him."

"I won't. He's restrained though, what could he possibly do?"

"A lot. If you let him. So no personal information and don't get too close to him." Gideon was about to turn around and start walking when he changed his mind. "One more thing, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure." Reid sounded surprised.

"Let me go in first, then wait for a minute or so before you walk in."

"May I ask why?"

"To see how he reacts to you."

Reid nervously tucked a lock of hair behind his ear before saying okay. And with that, Gideon entered the interrogation room. Spence checked his watch. He decided to give the older man exactly 2.5 minutes. When he opened the file once more, he noticed that his hands were trembling a little. He took a deep breath before looking at the photographs of the six victims. There was still a boy missing. The first time Reid saw the photo's, he couldn't help but notice the similarity between the victims and himself. All six were quite skinny, white, highly intelligent and most of them were in their early twenties. That was probably the only reason Hotch and Gideon let him assist with the interrogation.

The 2.5 minutes were up. He took another deep breath before opening the door.

The first thing Gideon noticed when David saw Dr. Reid walk in was that the suspect bit his lip for a second or two. His arms were no longer folded either. It was exactly that moment that Jason knew, David took the bait.

Spence sat down next to the older profiler. "Sorry for being late." Reid said quietly, refusing to meet the suspect's gaze. This way, he wouldn't see the lust, not hidden at all in those piercing green eyes.

In the meantime, Gideon introduced him as Dr. Reid. All of a sudden, Reid wanted nothing more than to live up to his title. Well, actually, it wasn't all that sudden, but especially with this case he wanted to be successful in getting that confession. It would mean a lot for the team. He would be able to prove that he wasn't the weakest link of the group. Even though no one said it to his face, he was pretty sure it was on everyone's mind. Why else would they treat him like he was still a child?

Surprisingly, David was the one to be the first to speak.

"Aren't you a bit young to be a doctor?"

His voice sounded warmer than Reid expected. He opened his mouth to talk but closed it again, thinking about the promise he made. Gideon took over.

"You used to be impotent and I'm guessing it took one of those little blue pills to solve that problem." Jason took one of the photographs out of the case file. "But it didn't take away the need to prove yourself. Isn't that right, David?"

The suspect looked away, never letting that sly grin fall. The older profiler slid the photograph of a heavily mutilated young man across the table.

"He looks pretty now, forever safe." David whispered almost inaudible.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Gideon asked gently.

Whatever that was, it was gone now. David folded his arms over his chest again and kept staring at young Dr. Reid.

On the other side of the mirror, Hotch was still observing the suspect. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried about what the effect of the case would be on Reid. His initial plan was to send Morgan in there with Gideon. Unfortunately, he was at home with a bad case of the flu. David's victims were so similar to Reid that it was uncanny. He was certain that even Spence had noticed, blind and naive as he could be. Oh well, at least Jason was there. They might even get a confession, even though other detectives had already interrogated the suspect. Those detectives didn't know what they were dealing with, they were just too eager to put this man behind bars. The interrogation wasn't even authorized. Hotchner couldn't stand those ego's that got in the way of putting the bad guys in prison. When the BAU was notified, those egocentric detectives had already spent over two hours in there, doing God knows what. Yes, the suspect is a sick bastard. But he's also a living, breathing human being. And now, thanks to their ego's, they might not be able to get him to talk. There's only so much a profile can do.

"Oh, looks like Gideon's taking another picture out of the file." He leaned in a little closer to the see-through mirror. "This might get interesting." He scratched his forehead absentmindedly. "And now...hm...and I'm talking to myself...great."

Meanwhile, Gideon showed him the picture of the second victim, hoping David would react.

"This is Josh, only twenty years old when you killed him. First you gained his trust and when he least expected it, you locked him up, tortured him in every...way...possible."

He stretched the last three words for the dramatic effect. No apparent reaction. David just kept staring at the youngest member of the team. Of course, Gideon had already anticipated this. He looked at Reid to see how he was coping with the unwanted attention. Spence tried to ignore David's gaze, tried not to show how nervous this was making him feel. The young man cleared his throat and said:

"Did you know that there are 336 dimples in a golf ball?"

This caught the suspect's attention. His penetrating gaze wandered from Reid to Gideon and back to Reid.

"What?"

"Well, you don't seem to verbally respond to any questions regarding this investigation."

"So you want to talk?"

Reid still avoided those green, piercing eyes by keeping himself busy, fidgeting with his pen.

"That could be helpfull. Not just for us, but for yourself as well."

David leaned forward, elbows on the table, hands holding his head. "Alright, I'll talk. I'll answer a question, but you'll have to answer one of mine first. If I feel the information is honest enough, I'll be honest about my information as well." He tilted his head a little in an attempt to get Reid to look him in his eyes.

Reid stole a quick glance at Gideon. He knew he would break his promise, but this way they would get the information that was needed.

David was getting restless, he kept shifting from one side to the other in his seat. "Well, smart guy, what do you think?"

Spence nodded. Gideon was not happy about this agreement. However, he did his best to hide this.

"I would like to add a rule." Jason said while placing the pictures back in the file.

"And what might that be?" The suspect replied.

"The minute you provide false information, this interview is over. We walk out of here."

David didn't even blink when he accepted Jason's rule.

"You wanted to go first, so go ahead."

The suspect's smile disappeared for a second. He bit his lower lip again. David was obviously thinking about the first, perfect question he could ask. The young genius braced himself for what was yet to come.

Suddenly, the slender built man sitting in front of the two profilers lifted his hands above his head. Reid dropped his pen because of the sudden movement. David chuckled. "Jumpy, aren't we? I have a question for you. How often do you feel unwanted, Dr. Reid?"

Luckily, Spence already figured out what kind of questions David would ask and felt like he could handle this situation. He knew he had to be honest though, David would see through it if he'd lie. He probably knew the answer already, why else would he ask that?

"At times, I do feel unwanted, I guess."

"I thought you might say that. Next time, I want you to give more detailed information. It's only fair, since you plan on asking me a specific question. Am I right?"

Reid didn't answer but instead asked his question. "The boy that hasn't been found yet, Sam, is he still alive?"

The suspect leaned back a little, showing that he wasn't impressed at all. "If I would have been the one responsible, I'd say yes. Yes, he is most likely to be alive."

"Well where is he?" Reid asked hastily

"Ah, one question at a time. My turn, Dr. Reid. Hmmm...Let me think. Since I know your question is going to be really important, I'm going to ask a more difficult question. "How do you think Gideon feels about you right now?"

Reid looked at the older profiler, hoping that he might be able to help him. Gideon either hadn't noticed or didn't look at him on purpose because he kept observing David. Reid knew Gideon probably was not very happy with him now but he hoped that the man he looked up to still respected him, if there ever was any.

Gideon knew that Spence needed just a small sign, just one look to know that he wasn't angry or anything. He couldn't give him that reassurance right now though. That would show David how insecure Reid really was. So he kept staring at the suspect, hoping the young genius would understand.

"I..I hope..no..I think that Gideon thinks that I, that I'm...that I'm smart and err..." Reid started.

"tss tss tss, that's not what I mean and you know it. Now try again."

Damnit. This was not going as well as Reid had planned.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." he mumbled to David. The suspect seemed pleased for a moment, something that went unnoticed by the youngest member on the team.

Hotch, who was observing, did notice. "I hope Gideon will stop this before David goes too far." he muttered quietly to himself. He wish he was able to give signals to Reid without having anyone else finding out. That was impossible and the only way he could do something to change the current situation, was to walk into that interrogation room. There was no way he could do that though. Spence got himself into this mess. He was capable of getting himself out.

"He respects me." he simply answered. Spencer sounded a little unsure, something the suspect picked up on right away.

"Yes, but does he like you?"

"I think...Yes he does."

"How sure of that are you, exactly?"

Reid seemed to have some trouble finding the right words, something that always bothered him when that happened. He didn't like feeling incompetent. He was about to answer the question when Gideon slammed his fist on the table.

"One question at a time. Your rules, remember?"

With this, Gideon hoped he had given Reid the hint he needed. Sadly, Spence completely misunderstood.

All the young man could think of was that the man he looked up to was angry at him. "R..right! Where would Sam be?"

The suspect laughed, although it seemed more like a giggle. "Fair enough. The kid's in the shed hidden in a coffin near the church of the village I live in. I didn't really like him anyway."

Gideon took a quick look in the mirror knowing that Hotchner was already on the phone.

"We'll find within ten minutes if the information is correct." Jason said. He got up and moved his chair at the head of the table. This way he could observe both Reid and David. The suspect seemed to be a bit more talkative now.

"Well isn't this fun? Say Dr. Reid, how many people do you trust?"

For a split second, Reid thought about the promise he made. But since he had already broken it, he might as well continue.

"Not many."

his reply sounded void of any emotion. The young man heard Gideon sigh deeply. Now he knew for sure he had let him down. He would probably get kicked out of the BAU after his next evaluation. He was about to inquire about David's youth when a telephone rang. Gideon answered. "Yeah, so he's been found and still alive, that's good news." He continued the phone conversation with his back to the table.

Because Reid was still avoiding eye contact, he didn't notice that David moved his chair a little closer. Suddenly he leaned over the table and grabbed the shocked Reid's hand. Just as sudden, he let him go again. Spence didn't like physical contact very much and didn't know what to think of David's unpredictable behavior. He turned around to see that Gideon was still on the phone and it sounded like he was arguing about something. A foot rubbed gently up and down his shin. David bit his lips, brought his thumb to his mouth and gave it a quick lick. That was enough to send a shiver down Reid's spine. And not a pleasurable one at that! He wanted David to stop messing with him, but at the same time he didn't want to bother Gideon. So he did the only thing he knew how to do really well.

"Did you know that child abuse is the number one cause of death of a child? Abused children are more likely to experience generalized anxiety, depression, truancy, shame and guilt, or suicidal and homicidal thoughts or to engage in criminal activity, promiscuity, and substance abuse."

At least that stopped David from continuing his sick game.

"You brought that up for a reason?" David moved his hand to Spencer's head to carefully stroke his hair.

Luckily, Gideon saw the inappropriate action and grabbed the psychopath's wrist. He didn't say anything. Jason wanted to, but changed his mind and gently lead Reid out of the interrogation room.

As soon as Gideon closed the door he said: "Reid, we need to talk."

***

The instant Gideon closed the door of the interrogation room, Reid began to apologize. Jason just shook his head and lifted his right hand to signal that the young man should stop.

"Listen very carefully to what I have to say."

Reid forced himself to look at Gideon. Oh he was serious alright. Probably angry too. And he had every right to be. And somehow, he just couldn't get David's voice out of his head. There was respect, but did the older profiler, his role model one might say, did he even like him? "How sure of that are you, exactly?" David had asked.

"Reid, have you even heard a single word I just said?" Jason asked a little louder than intended.

"No, no I haven't, I'm sorry." Spence said remorseful. He was surprised at how easy he had slipped into his own little world.

"For God's sake, stop apologizing." Gideon said warily while handing the young genius a cup of coffee. "I'm guessing you think I'm angry at you. Well I'm not. Intrigued by your choice of how you handled the situation in there. Worried at some point maybe. But angry? Nope."

"You're worried that I might do something wrong. You think that...that I'm not capable of handling this situation." Reid never meant to say that last sentence, but the words were out now. He couldn't go back in time to swallow those words. Not yet anyway.

"Is that what you're thinking?" Jason replied. he placed both of his hands firmly on Reid's shoulders. The youngest member of the team flinched at the contact, but didn't move away. "Now how rational is that thought?"

Spence shrugged. He wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Answer me. How rational is that thought?" Although it was clear that Reid was not comfortable with the physical contact, Gideon didn't budge. He had to make Spence understand before they went back in there.

"It's not rational, then?" Reid finally asked. Jason shook his head. "But why are you worried if you think that I am capable?"

Still holding on to the young man's shoulders Gideon answered: "Being worried comes with the responsibility of the job. It also seems to be getting stronger, the older one gets." Gideon added with a smile. "Of course I worry about you. I mean, look at David's file. Look at the pictures of his victims. I think that's a really good reason to be worried about you."

Reid nodded slowly, a thought creeping into his head. "I let David get to me, didn't I?" Gideon released him and gave the genius a friendly pat on his back. Suddenly Reid jumped a little. His face lit up and with that his entire composure changed. "I have an idea. Can we go back in there?"

"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't." was all Gideon could say.

Hotchner watched the two members of his team walk back into the interrogation room. He noticed that the grim expression on Reid's face was gone. He thought he even saw a hint of a smile. That at least was good news. Not even a minute ago, Elle had called to let him now that the only surviving victim was too traumatized to talk. There was probably enough to get an indictment against David but it would be better if he confessed to everything he had done. Gideon and Reid had already gotten further than he thought was possible with this case.

David was humming a song Reid didn't recognize. "I missed you, Dr. Reid." Spence ignored the suspect the best he could although the warm voice unnerved him a tad.

"They're using you Dr. Reid. I might be a suspect in a murder investigation, but at least I'm honest about my intentions." The suspect stated.

For the first time since the interview started, Reid looked David straight into his eyes. "Are you? Because I don't think you even know your what your intention is." Before the suspect could reply, Reid continued.

"I know why you have that need. That need that gets out of control. The need that first surfaced when you were a teenager. It probably started when you survived. Isn't that right, David? You survived such a severe form of abuse which eventually formed the basis of your behavior."

The suspect slumped back into his chair, seemingly in control. A small muscle near his left eye was twitching dangerously, though.

Out of the blue, David started laughing. "Ah Dr. Reid, you crack me up. What's your first name?"

Before Reid could answer, Gideon interfered. "You don't need to know his first name. And I think Dr. Reid here is right about you. Why don't you go into that? Are you afraid to face your past?"

"Dr. Reid, could you tell your pops to cool down?" Although Gideon's comment didn't seem to have any effect at first glance, it was obvious that David was getting agitated. When Spence continued to ignore the suspect, David became even more restless. "My pops already showed me the fears I had to face. This little mind game? This is nothing compared to his parenting. "You are..." He pointed toward Gideon "absolutely nothing!"

"Then why are you so angy?" The genius asked innocently.

The suspect breathed in and out until he seemed calm and under control. "Hmmm...Dr. Reid, did your parents understand you at all? And what about your classmates? Did they...hurt you, Dr. Reid?"

"You loved them, didn't you?" Reid asked while taking the photographs of the victims out of a file. He placed those neatly next to each other on the table in front of David. He glanced at the dead men in the photo's for a split second. All of the dead men in the pictures had been heavily mutilated.

"This is how you see yourself, am I right?" Dr. Spencer Reid asked

"Calm down Dr. Reid. You remind me of a happy little golden retriever puppy, wagging his tail, peeing on the brand new carpet just out of sheer excitement." David was starting to lose his patience.

"So you see me as a puppy that needs to be trained?" Spence continued questioning the suspect. "Is that how you saw those young man?" He said, pointing at the pictures on the table.

David leaned in a bit to make sure the young profiler would be able to hear his whispers. "No sweet Dr. Reid," David whispered. "They're not dogs, you know."

Their was a moment of silence which reminded Hotch of one of those western movies, the part right before the shooting would begin. He poured himself a glass of cold water. When he looked up again he saw the suspect slowly getting up from his chair. "What's he doing..." Hotch wondered.

The suspect went on playing his sick games. "Dr. Reid, what's your worst fear? Wait, don't tell me. Your worst fear is going insane, and not being aware of it." David knew he found another weak spot. The suspect was now standing and so was Reid. David was only a few inches taller than Reid, but that could make a huge psychological difference.

"People have let you down, just a little too often, haven't they? Well sweet Dr. Reid, you can trust me. you know. You can. I know how you feel. I do, I do, honestly."

Spence cleared his throat. "Golden Retrievers can learn really fast and they remember what they've learned for the rest of their lives."

"Do you always blurt out facts like that when you get nervous, Dr. Reid?"

"No, I don't." Reid answered honestly. "However, you compared me to a golden retriever puppy, which I found very interesting. You see, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense."

"What do you mean?"

"For instance, your father was a very cruel man. But you seem to worship him. You mentioned that he showed you the fears you had to face. Do you mean the abuse, physical, psychological and sexual abuse that you have suffered? Is that what you call parenting? Is that what you were doing to these men?" Spencer asked while touching each photograph.

Without any warning, David wiped all of the photographs off the table. He was breathing heavily.

"I helped them! They, They're safe now!" David yelled with a strange, high-pitched voice.

All of a sudden, the sick man grabbed Dr. Reid by his collar. However, Spencer stayed calm and said: "You're right. My worst fear is going insane. But at least I know I have friends who would help me get through it. People I can trust." And at exactly that moment, police officers stormed in and took the murderer, David, away.

The older man rushed over to Spence. "Are you alright?" All Reid could do was nod, and walk out of the interrogation room, leaving a proud profiler behind. "Good job, Reid." He said quietly.

The End.

***