Work Text:
“We need to determine where he’s going to strike next.” Hotch says.
The BAU has a case in Arizona, following a serial arsonist who is burning down buildings of the corporation that he believes wrongly laid him off. Even if that were true, the man has no legal foothold to get his job back, as he now is due to serve a life sentence in jail for killing three people in the process. It is believed that the deaths were unintentional and that the victims simply got trapped inside the burning office building, unable to escape before perishing in the flames. They won’t know for sure until they can capture their unsub, Evan Flint, and get a confession.
The current problem they are running into is figuring out where he will strike next. It’s coming up on three weeks since the last building burned, leading the team to believe that he will strike again soon. While the fires have been concentrated around a central area, there are two main company buildings close enough to both be possible targets. Thankfully, the company has been cooperative enough to let their employees work from home for the foreseeable future, so the next incident should be without casualty. Regardless, the team is doing its best to prevent Flint from destroying any more property.
The team is working through lunch, sequestering themselves away in a secluded corner of a restaurant and talking quietly among themselves. Spencer’s sandwich has been forgotten as he pores through the files, even as Iris continues to nudge it towards him, resulting in the occasional absent-minded bite. The current plan is to divide and conquer. Not only will they keep a watch on the two suspect locations, hoping to catch the arsonist before a fire springs to life, they will also post some team members at locations Flint frequents. Thanks to a little digging from Garcia, they were able to discover a local bar that Flint enjoys spending time in, which Spencer has been tasked with investigating.
The idea makes him a little nervous if he’s completely honest with himself. He’s not exactly the type of person who blends in well at bars if his experience with Claire has taught him anything. Spencer doesn’t think he's the right fit to be inconspicuous and blend into the background. He would feel more comfortable if he had someone else with him, but the team is stretched thin as it is, covering multiple locations, so he keeps his mouth shut. He’ll have Iris with him, but that might make him stick out even more.
If only he could meet Claire there, he thinks somewhat wistfully. He could probably get Cas here on short notice, but he’s not sure he is any less awkward than Spencer himself, so that’s probably a bad idea. Either one of the Winchesters would fit in perfectly, given Dean owns a bar himself, but they are still too recognizable even after all these years. They would bring up questions Spencer does not want to be asked or have a good explanation for.
The only other person who could get here in time would be Gabriel, and Spencer’s mind sputters over the idea. Gabriel would probably fit in fairly well in a bar setting, or at the very least, not stick out like a sore thumb. He also is disarmingly good at relaxing Spencer, even when he doesn’t notice himself getting high-strung. Once you get past all the blatant flirting, Gabriel treated him very kindly at Thanksgiving. He’s pretty sure that Iris only felt the need to protect his emotional well-being from the way the archangel’s teasing left him feeling a little embarrassed and on display. Iris is known for being slightly overprotective, and he doubts Gabriel would actually harm him.
Spencer shakes the thoughts from his head. He’s done things like this before, and he will be just fine doing it on his own again.
“There’s that hair to die for!” A familiar voice crows and Spencer’s head whips up as the rest of his team stares at the newcomer sauntering up to the table.
Fuck, Spencer thinks belatedly. This is what he gets for thinking about angels.
“Who exactly would you be?” Hotch inquires, tone cold.
Gabriel smiles somewhat teasingly, a lollipop hanging from his mouth as he addresses Spencer. “C’mon, Spencie. Don’t you tell your friends about me?”
Spencer wants to sink into the ground, suddenly regretting being trapped between members of his team in the booth. Iris stalks across the table, jumping at the angel, and for a moment Spencer is afraid she’s going to attack him. Instead, she just clamors onto his shoulders, settling there in a similar way that she does for him.
“Ow,” Gabriel whines, “You’ve got sharp claws. Does Boy Genius over here not trim them for you, or are you keeping them sharp on purpose?”
Iris meows.
“How very Little Red Riding Hood of you.”
She meows again.
“Yes, I saw that Spencer has neglected his lunch. Do it often, does he?”
“Do you know him?” Hotch asks, completely ignoring the conversation the stranger is seeming to have with Iris.
Spencer nods as he takes a sheepish bite of his sandwich. “Yeah, I spent Thanksgiving with them.” He confirms, and the team seems to relax a little bit.
“What are you doing here?” Hotch questions bluntly.
“Just visiting my favorite cute nerd.” Gabriel says teasingly, and Spencer feels his face flush even if he’s sure that Gabriel is just messing with him. Iris bites his ear in annoyance, and Gabriel lets out a tiny yelp. “Okay, fine. I was in the area and wanted to catch up. Thought you might want to hang at a bar and chat for a bit.”
That’s all Spencer needs to confirm that he must’ve accidentally prayed and is embarrassed for a different reason. For all he knows, Gabriel wasn’t actually in the area at all and is just saying so to have an excuse to stop by.
Iris seems content with Gabriel’s response and hops off his shoulders, sauntering back over to Spencer, reaching out to quell his growing embarrassment. Spencer takes a moment to focus solely on Iris as he calms himself.
Between Iris’s seeming approval of Gabriel and Spencer’s growing cloud of anxiety, Hotch sighs and decides to allow it. “It could help you blend in if you look like you’re there catching up with a friend.” He concedes. “Are you sure you’ll be able to stay on task? I’m not risking this entire operation for a random stranger if he’s going to be a distraction, no matter how much anyone vouches for him.”
Spencer glances over at Gabriel, catching the sight of something cold and angry in his hazel eyes for just a moment. But he blinks, and it’s gone, the archangel’s eyes warm and relaxed like they’ve always been.
“I promise.” Spencer swears, and Hotch nods, even as his posture screams his reluctance.
“C’mon, kiddo,” Gabriel beckons. “I’ll be the best fake date you’ve ever had.” He says, and Spencer finds himself more comforted than before, even as the team dissipates around him.
“So,” Gabriel says, tossing the lollipop stick into the trash as they step outside the restaurant. “You need me to kill someone for you?” he asks nonchalantly, Spencer taking in a sharp breath as his eyes widen in surprise, abruptly choking on nothing.
Thankfully the rest of his team has left already. “What?” Spencer asks as his mind reels, unable to form any other thoughts. Iris’ tail swishes reassuringly across his back as he gets his coughing fit under control.
The archangel shrugs. “I figure whoever you’re hunting is pretty bad. Just offering to take care of it for you, if you need.”
“Uh, no.” Spencer declines as politely as he can while trying to grapple with the implications. “I didn’t think that’s what you all did.”
“Maybe not the brothers or Cassie.” Gabriel concedes, gesturing for Spencer to lead the way. “But I’ve been trying to re-establish my Pagan abilities.”
Spencer looks over at the archangel, obviously confused.
“Oh, right.” Gabriel says, snapping another piece of candy into existence and popping it in his mouth. “You weren’t around for that. Basically, I’m also a pagan god. Some shit happened, and I lost a bunch of my power, so I was focusing on replenishing my grace first. But Sam and I were talking, and he thinks I should re-establish myself in the pagan scene as well. Now that Loki is dead, I can officially take his place instead of just pretending to, but it’s going to take some effort. Sam was thinking I could start small and work my way up.”
Spencer nods, like he understands it all. “So, you and Sam have been talking, huh?”
Gabriel’s eyes light up. “Me and Sam and Elieen, actually. She’s been on board with the idea since day one, but Sam’s finally gotten over his token protests and let it happen. Thank father, too. If I had to go another day without kissing either one of them, I think I might have done something drastic, like turned the Impala pink.”
Spencer may not know too much about the inner workings of the Winchesters, but he’d heard enough at Thanksgiving lunch alone to know that Dean is very serious about his car. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.”
Gabriel hums in consideration. “Actually, that’s the exact type of trickster thing I should be doing. I’ll have to keep that in mind for whenever Deano pisses me off again.”
“So, what? You’re the pagan god of playing pranks on people?” Spencer questions as they finally reach their destination, following Gabriel’s lead to a table somewhere in the corner.
“C’mon, hot stuff. I thought you were supposed to be a nerd. Don’t you know that Loki is the god of mischief? Playing pranks is the exact type of thing I need to be doing to re-establish myself. Although, I consider it more along the lines of delivering poetic justice.”
Gabriel snaps up a basket of fries, and mysteriously, none of the servers come over to their table. Iris directs Spencer towards the fries, she and Gabriel obviously conspiring with each other to make up for his lack of lunch. “So, who are we looking for?”
“The unsub’s name is Evan Flint.” Spencer says between bites. “He’s 5' 10" and fair-skinned with dark brown eyes and short graying hair. He’s set four buildings on fire in the past couple of months, averaging one building every 3 weeks, and is seen frequently in this establishment.”
“Ah,” Gabriel says, and Spencer tries to evaluate the way his tone changes. “We won’t find him here.”
Spencer’s eyebrows rise in disbelief. “You know where he is?”
“I know where he will be.” Gabriel confirms. “You know how I said I visited you because I was in town? Well, I wasn’t lying about that part.”
“Were you… pranking our unsub?” Spencer asks, like he can’t believe the words are coming out of his mouth.
“Not pranking. Like I said, serving justice.” He sighs. “C’mon. I’ll show you where he’s staking out.”
Spencer practically scrambles out of his seat, trailing after Gabriel as adrenaline rushes through his body. He’s mentally preparing for a confrontation. He pulls out his phone to call his team, but Gabriel stops him with a shake of his head.
“There’s not enough time for that.” He says, without really explaining anything at all.
They walk for a bit, away from the more crowded areas of town and into an older district. Gabriel must have finished his previous piece of candy already, because he snaps up a piece of hard candy, popping it into his mouth without missing a stride. When they turn a corner Spencer spots thick, dark smoke billowing up into the sky, and he worries that they might’ve been too late. But neither of the suspected target buildings were in this direction.
“What’s going on?” He asks Gabriel.
They walk a little farther until they approach the burning building. It’s large and looks like a warehouse, likely abandoned.
“This is where Evan Flint was hiding, biding his time to strike again. The last building that he burned down killed 3 people on accident because they were trapped inside and couldn’t get out in time.” Gabriel gestures to the burning warehouse that they were standing across the street from. “It seems that, unfortunately, the wiring in the building he was hiding in was just a little too old, and the place caught on fire.”
Spencer pulls his gaze away from the flames to stare at the archangel next to him as the pieces slot in place. “You rigged it. This is your poetic justice. He’s trapped inside.”
Gabriel shrugs, giving Spencer plausible deniability. “He won’t die.” He reassures Spencer as they start to hear sirens in the distance. “But he won’t escape without a few burns either.”
Spencer watches the reflection of the fire in Gabriel’s eyes, hazel irises ringed with gold, as he crushes the piece of hard candy between his teeth with a deafening crack. It’s the first time he’s seen any of the Winchester Family as a threat, as he gets a firsthand reminder that they have killed people and will again if they deem it necessary.
But strangely, it doesn’t register as a threat against him.
Spencer still remembers the bright and warm glow that settled into his bones after Gabriel gifted it to him at Thanksgiving. He notes how he subconsciously relaxes with the archangel around like his body knows everything is going to be alright. And he realizes that Iris has done nothing but sit contentedly on his shoulders, seemingly unbothered by the destruction before them.
Spencer realizes that they have just been watching the building burn for a bit, the firetrucks pulling up and starting to douse the flames. He needs to call his team and let them know if they haven’t heard about the fire already. Suddenly, anxiety sparks in his chest, threatening to consume him like the abandoned warehouse.
“What am I going to tell my team?” He asks Gabriel, hoping the archangel would have an explanation for this.
“You tell them that we saw Flint at the bar and followed him here, where the building caught fire. You tell them we think that he started the fire so we didn’t follow him and he could have a chance to escape.” Gabriel says, his words acting as a soothing stream of water, dousing the fear in his chest. Gabriel lays a hand on his shoulder. “You just need to breathe, kid. The security tapes at the bar will match your story. I’ve already altered them. It’s going to be just fine.”
“Right,” Spencer breathes and steels himself, reaching for his phone. “Hotch,” he says, voice steady and mind clear. "We’ve got him.”