Chapter Text
It was his day off, and yet Spencer Reid sat in the back of a lecture hall, glancing at his phone.
Rossi: When do you think you'll be back? Garcia was asking if you wanted to join us for a cooking lesson at my place.
Reid: The class is 2 hours, so I should be home by 5:30. Tell Garcia I'll be there
Rossi: 👍
Rossi: I remember working with Mark on a few cases back in the day, you're gonna love him
Hearing the door to the hall open, Reid quickly turned his phone on silent. This wasn't a course he planned on auditing in its entirety, but it had been recommended to him by a few of his co-workers, so he decided to attend to see 'what was up'. Considering both Hotch and Rossi had worked with the instructor at one point, Reid was interested in trying out the class. He turned his attention to the front, where he saw a man about Rossi's age walk to the front, using a cane to assist him.
"Good afternoon everyone, my name is Agent Mark Brown, and I worked in S.W.A.T. for 5 years, and for the Behavioral Analysis for another 3 years. I've been teaching at the academy for a while now, and I run this specialized 4-week course surrounding decision making in the field," he said.
"For those of you looking to be in a role which may require carrying a gun, talking face-to-face with Unsubs, and putting your and other people's lives on the line, the most difficult part of the job can often be making decisions. Sometimes each option feels like the correct one, or other times an idea might go against your own morals. When your choices can impact the lives of your co-workers, the general public, and the Unsubs we try to bring to justice, a wrong decision can lead to horrible outcomes."
Reid nodded from where he sat. The choice to split up in Georgia haunted both him and JJ, even though it seemed to be the most logical at the time. He glanced at the man's leg… was that how he had gotten shot? A bad decision.
"To highlight this, I often tell the story of how I got shot," Agent Brown explained, pointing to his leg.
Bingo. Reid smiled to himself.
"This was during a time where profiling was at it's infancy. Often times, profiles would be too similar, or not account for certain factors, at any given crime scene. A profile we would always struggle with surrounded profiling two Unsubs. At the time, we were just discovering that Unsubs working together typically profile with one dominant and one submissive, and as a result we would often end up profiling two Unsubs as only one.
"During a specific situation, which we refer to as Ozona case, a co-worker and I had cornered who we believed to be the sole Unsub in a victims home, which was out in the middle of nowhere. As a team, we had determined the Unsub would take as many innocent victims with him before his capture or eventual death, so we were very careful. However, during the chase I ended up spraining my ankle, and couldn't run, which allowed the Unsub to sneak out the back door. There were two options for my co-worker: Either run after the Unsub or stay with me in the house and wait for backup. I suppose the ending of the story is spoiled, given, well… you know, but I ask all of you this: If you were in my co-workers position, what would you have done?"
A girl in the front raised her hand.
"I… I think I would have gone after the Unsub. It's out duty as agents to protect as many innocent civilians as possible, and you said the house was in the middle of nowhere. Who knows how long it would have taken for back-up to arrive," she reasoned.
Agent Brown nodded.
"And that is a respectable decision, one I think most people would have made. Does anyone else have another opinion they would like to share?"
As the class finished, Reid approached the professors desk. Agent Brown looked up from his bag, and smiled, shifting his cane to his other hand.
"You're Dr. Reid, right?" He asked shaking Reid's hand. Reid nodded.
"Your lecture was very interesting, sir," Reid said politely. Agent Brown waved his free hand.
"Please, call me Mark," he said, "And I'm glad you enjoyed the lecture, Rossi told me one of his co-workers would be attending, but I hadn't assumed it would be the 'boy genius' him and Hotch talk about."
"Rossi and Hotch talk about me?" Reid asked, surprised.
"Well, they talk about everyone on the team, ever since I resigned they like to keep me updated. BUT… and you didn't hear this from me, they talk about you the most," Mark admitted.
"Oh," Reid said, his face turning a bit red. Trying to change the topic, he asked, "Speaking of you resigning, why did you decide to come back to the FBI as a teacher?"
Mark shrugged.
"I guess I didn't have enough of it. Y'know, the action, the mystery, the profiling… I feel good knowing I'm educating a whole new generation of Agents," Mark explained. Reid nodded.
"Oh, and also free will if you know what I mean," Mark added with a laugh. Reid stared at him blankly.
"… What?" He responded, confused.
Mark stared back.
"Oh, is that not a joke you guys say anymore?" He asked. Reid shook his head. He thought the phrase vaguely rang a bell, but couldn't remember any specific situation off the top of his head.
"I've never heard of it," Reid said, "Sorry, I've never been to great with jokes."
"No, that's all right, although I thought for sure Hotch would've mentioned it at some point," Mark said, "Crazy coincidence that this came up right as I told everyone about the Ozona case, though."
"It's related to the case," Reid asked, curious. It was a small line, but Reid had a feeling it was a little more than a joke. Call it a profilers hunch, but Mark's body language shifting from confident and joking to unsure was odd.
Mark looked at his watch.
"Look kid, I have to go right now. I'd ask Hotch or Rossi if you're curious," Mark said quickly.
He left in a hurry, leaving Reid standing alone and confused in the lecture hall.