F O U R T Y  F I V E

SPENCER WATCHED AS Scout passed a lunch tray along the line of other police officers.

Her tray was full of various foods, ranging between hamburgers and bags of chips. Silently, he walked over to her, careful to not surprise her with his presence.

"$15.45" The woman behind the counter said as she counted all of Scout's food.

"Put it on Derek Morgan's tab."

"I don't know who Derek Morgan is, and we don't have tabs."

Scout cocked her head to the side, "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"Good." She said with a purse of her lips and began to walk away.

Spencer immediately grabbed her by her arm, gently enough to not throw her off her balance and dragged her back to the counter.

He dug out his credit card from his back pocket and handed it to the woman, "Sorry about that. Just a bit of FBI humor is all."

"Uh huh."

Scout gave him a lopsided smirk and continued on her way to one of the tables that was currently being occupied by Morgan.

"That wasn't very nice." Spencer said, trying to catch up and put his things away.

"This place isn't very nice. You were right, it's giving me a bad feeling about this whole case. I thought I might as well get a free lunch out of it."

"You did get a free lunch. I paid for it."

"You didn't have to."

He shrugged, "I'd rather my girlfriend not become a criminal. You know, just my personal preference."

Scout's blood ran cold and she got a sudden chill, shivers running down her spine. Quickly, she ignored the sudden feeling and gave him another smirk, rolling her eyes in a teasing way.

"A criminal and a FBI agent. Sounds kind of hot, doesn't it?"

"No," Spencer chuckled, "Not at all. I don't like to take my work home with me."

"Well, let's not forget, I was your coworker before I became your girlfriend. So technically, you take your work home with you practically everyday." She flirted, dropping her tray on the table.

"Now, now," Morgan interrupted their conversation with a laugh and pulled a seat out for Scout to sit. "Let's not get crazy here, kids. Need I remind you that this is a public place?"

"Yeah, Reid! Didn't know you were into voyeurism?" She said loudly, causing a few of the police officers around them to look up from their lunches and stare at the tall doctor.

Spencer, who suddenly was feeling very embarrassed, felt his cheeks start to burn and blush over in a red heat. He gave Scout a knowing look, a kind of stare that said 'You're going to pay for this later.'

He quickly cleared his throat and fixed his hair so that it tucked behind his ear, "Anyways, I better get going."

"Where to?"

"Hotch wants me to question the Logan's next door neighbor. Apparently, they have a security camera that was able to capture Olive's kidnapper but there are parts that have been cut out from the tape."

"Huh," Scout munched on her french fries, "Well, good luck with that. This case is proving to be creepier as we go through each layer."

The doctor glanced around and pointed his hand towards the door, which was positioned directly behind his girlfriend's head.

"Hey, what's that?"

She furrowed her eyebrows and turned around, "What's what?"

In a rapid pace, Spencer scooped up a handful of her fries, stuffing some of them into his mouth. He smiled happily at the salty taste but Morgan, who was smart enough to not fall for his trick, shook his head with a chuckle.

"What? I don't see any -"

Scout's mouth dropped when her eyes landed on him.

"My fries! What the hell?" She glared but pouted at the same time, ready to pounce on him for taking her food.

"Got to go, love you!" Spencer gave her a quick peck on the forehead before heading out of the cafeteria.

She continued to scowl as his figure got smaller and smaller, disappearing out the door. Grumbling in her remaining food, Scout couldn't help but get annoyed as Morgan watching the scene play with a smile tugging at his lips.

"What?"

"Hm, nothing," He raised his hands in innocence. "Just wondering when the whole 'love you' thing started happening."

Scout sighed and dropped the fry in hand, "A few months ago. When we first started dating and I recovered from the laced shot that the sniper hit me with. We kind of had this huge argument and ended with him proclaiming his love for me."

"And you didn't say it back?"

"I couldn't. If I'm being really honest, I don't think I've ever felt true love. I mean, I love my mom and my dad. I'd do anything for her and if my dad was still alive, I know he'd do the same for me. But real, infatuation? Something that isn't based on just looks and lust? I don't even know how I could begin to describe that."

"You're going around your own pace, there's nothing wrong with that.

"I guess," She said with a shrug. "I just feel like I owe him something, you know?"

'You do,' Scout thought to herself. 'You owe him the truth.'

Hotch stared at the privacy window with his stoic face stilled to a frown and his arms crossing his chest. This case was proving to be harder compared the usual ones that the BAU assisted in.

But it wasn't because of the Unsub or the crime committed. Instead, it was due to the Hillsboro Police Department and their sheriff.

Spencer, who was able to get the Logan's neighbor to admit that he had kidnapped Olive, was also starting to get extremely impatient. He stood next to his unit chief, eyeing Sheriff Truman as he questioned the man.

They had to find the location of the girl and time was starting to run out.

The door to the interrogation room swung open, revealing Scout with a confused look on her face. Mainly because of the urgent text that Hotch has sent her only a few minutes ago.

"What's going on here? I thought he admitted he kidnapped her."

The short agent turned to the window and audibly groaned.

"What's he doing in there? I thought you were questioning him, Reid?"

The doctor rest his head on his hand, "Truman kicked me out, said that it was his turn to ask questions. And that the BAU's assistance was no longer needed."

"Can't we do something about it? Don't we have the higher power? We're with the FBI, for fuckin' sake."

"Garcia is getting the paperwork done but as of this moment, we were invited to help out. Technically, they can kick us out if they please." Hotch took a step closer to the glass before sighing and handing the case file towards Scout.

She stared at the folder, "What's this?"

"Everything you need to know about him," He nodded towards Logan's neighbor. "His name is Adam Silva -"

"Wait. Hotch, you can't be serious right now?" Spencer's mouth dropped as he realized what the suit clad man was doing.

"I am. Wiley's personality directly clashes with his and it'll throw him off. She's witty enough to confuse him and Silva won't be expecting it because she's female. So far, we've only had men talk to him."

Scout froze.

"You want me to interrogate him? I - I can't. I've only talked with families or victims before. I'm not trained for an unsub."

"I believe that you can do it."

Spencer shook his head, "Absolutely not. What if he tries to hurt her? No one is going to be in there with her. And I took off his handcuffs, remember?"

"Reid, this is not the time to let your feelings get in the way of the case. Olive Logan is still out there and we have no idea where. Each minute that passes by is a minute that she could be in danger."

Scout took a step towards her boyfriend and gave him a comforting smile, "I'll be fine, Doc. I can handle myself."

"You don't even have a gun." He said with a sigh, shoulders beginning to slump.

"And I'm still going to be safe. You wanna know why? Because I know that you're going to be behind that door the whole time and that you won't let anything happen to me. Right?"

Spencer silently nodded, placing a small peck on her lips before turning towards Hotch.

"Ready?" The unit chief asked as he unlocked the door.

"Can I threaten him?"

"Yeah, sure." Hotch gave a low chuckle before his eyes widened as a smirk stretched across the brunette's lips.

"I was being sarcastic, Wiley."

"Huh, it won't look that way in the court transcript."

When the bright, irritating light of the room collided with her face, Scout could practically hear the lessons that Xander had instilled into her at a young age. He had taught her several tricks throughout her youth, all of which were useful as an agent, but none as more important as this one.

It was true. Scout was witty, sarcastic, and intimidating. And she, for the most part, attempted to restrict just how much she showed that side to people. It would slip up, yes. But this time around, she knew she couldn't hold back.

"Intimidation is making others feel fear, nervousness, or inadequacy in order to gain social standing or produce a desired outcome." Xander spoke to an 18 year old Scout.

He circled around her, watching the way she positioned her body and refused to look him in the eye.

"The gathering of information from an unwilling participant is a tricky process. Tricky, but not impossible. There will be moments when the goal is not kill someone, but to get information out of them. Those are the make it or break it situations."

Xander grabbed her by the shoulders roughly, causing her curved back to position itself upwards.

"Stand up straight and look them in the eyes. Look at them like you have a gun in your hand and you're ready to pull the trigger. Like you can end their life in that moment."

Scout walked into the interrogation room, looking directly at Adam Silva and completely ignoring the sheriff. She placed herself down at the chair across from man, slapping the file against the table.

"My name is SSA Wiley. I'm with the BAU, Adam, and I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. Tell me, how long have you been a psychopath?"

"What?" Sheriff Truman's face began to turn red with frustration. "What's going on here? I'm the one questioning, Silva. Not you. The BAU is no longer needed on this case."

Scout continued to stare at Silva across the table and ignore Truman.

"Use silence. Silence can be a powerful tool, Scout. Drop silences in after some questions or if you want them to sweat, and just look at them. Conjure up that face your mom used to give you when you did something wrong and she knew."

Xander smirked at Scout, something she returned to him when the thought of Harper's angry crossed her mind.

"Just stare at them with that face and wait. Most people, people who are obnoxious and impatient, are conditioned to be uncomfortable during silence and will end it by saying whatever they can, sometimes letting information slip."

"I said, Agent Wiley. Stand up and get out of here! Listen to your commands!"

Scout rolled her eyes, "Sheriff, would you step outside for a moment?"

"And why's that, Agent?"

"Because you irritate me."

Sheriff Truman's nose flared at the sight of her disrespectfulness and rather apathetic look. She sent him a scowl as he darted out of the room, giving Silva the same look she had given him.

"Scowl, and mean it. While a smile can convey friendliness and agreeableness, a scowl suggests aggressiveness, anger, or displeasure. This can make people slightly afraid to talk to you, which will be desirable when you want to appear intimidating."

"Now, Adam," Scout crossed her arms and leaned back into the chair, "You're going to tell me everything that I need to know on where I can find Olive Logan, got that?"

Adam Silva continued to stare, fidgeting with the hem of his jacket and refusing to look her in the eye. He was diverting. Whatever he saw when Scout took control and ordered the sheriff to leave made him feel uneasy. She was starting to break him without even fully trying.

"Adam, look at me."

His eyes shifted from the corner of the room to where her hand rested on the case file.

"Use props. This is a shady technique, but use things like full file-folders, photo negatives, plastic bags with swabs in them, SD cards, video tapes, and other props to make your subject think you have evidence that you don't. Don't say anything about the props, just let your subject see that you have them and then give them the chance to confess. They will think it's in their best interest."

"You don't have any proof connecting me to Olive. There's nothing in that folder."

Scout shrugged and opened it. She brought it close to her so that he couldn't see what was written on the inside, and began to read the empty words. It was filled with thing about him, but she didn't need to read any of it.

Silva straightened himself, trying to get a look into the folder before swung it shut and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I know enough about you, Adam. You already confessed to kidnapping her. Now all I need is for you to tell me where you have her. Where is Olive?"

"She's - Shes dead!" He sputtered out, fingers shaking.

"No, she's not. You have her hidden somewhere. You care about her. And if you don't tell me where she this, then she's going to die from starvation or dehydration. I know you don't want her dead."

"Why do you care? A person dies every second, just like that." Silva put his fingers together and snapped.

"Huh? What about those people?Where's the problem there? Does the FBI even care? She's just going to be another number on a rapidly growing list."

Scout snapped her fingers together and continued to do so, one snap right after the other, forming a rhythmic tone.

"Sure, they're dying. But they've got a great beat."

The man grimaced, flinching with every snap she made. Tears starting to welt up in the corner of his eyes.

"Think about it, Adam." Scout continued to snap, the noise echoing the empty room.

"Which of these snaps is going to be Olive?"

Silva let out a wail, the kind that sounded like he was in pain. He was infatuated with this teenage girl and kidnapped her, thinking that he was protecting her. But instead, Scout made him see the reality. The thought of her dying and him being the cause of it, made his body ache in torture.

Scout didn't stop snapping.

"T - The house on the corner of - Driver and Knight."

The small agent got up from her chair immediately, sending a knowing look to her teammates behind the glass.

When the door unlocked and opened, ready to let her out, Scout looked back to the wallowing man with eyes full of disgust but relief.

"This conversation is over. Not because you may think you're innocent but because I can't think of a single clever way to call you what you really are - a messed up piece of shit."

And slammed the door shut.

Please consider voting/commenting if you like this story and want show your support for more content.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I swear, if every single person who reads this chapter votes and comments, then I will post Chapter 46 tomorrow.

Also, going to disprove some theories that people had commented last time: Hotch and Harper DO NOT know that Scout is pregnant. The only people that know are Scout herself and Xander.

a special thanks to readers who comment:
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