Chapter One
Unwelcoming the Wilkes
The BAU was finally, almost, but not quite, back to normal. It was getting there, non the less. Emily was back, JJ was back, and all was right with the world. The team was happy! A family was back again! Or was it?
Erin Strauss was outraged. The lies that had been told to her! Oh! She poured another shot and popped it back in her mouth and then headed down the stairs. She only had to peep her head into Hotchner's office and say,"Gather your team," and he obeyed her like a dog.
"What do you thinks going on?" Emily nervously asked Morgan.
"I dunno,"he replied stupidly. Reid didn't know either, and was glad he wasn't asked. He didn't like not knowing. Garcia fluffed her hair, and JJ tucked her back into it's pony tail. Rossi smoothed his shirt and Hotchner looked them over. He nodded, and they barely relaxed.
Strauss stomped down the stairs, he little sneer smudged on her stout little face.
"Gentlemen, women,"Emily didn't even roll her eyes at this comment out of fear,"I do not,"(was there enough emphasis put on 'not'? YES!),"Like was has been occurring in this Unit. Too much trouble...too, too much! And to avoid this trouble," she sang and as she said this, the elevator dinged,"I have asked two close relatives of mine to be my eyes and ears while you are away. Meet your new coworkers,"her stubbly arms gestured toward the elevator, and out walked two...children?"My niece and nephew,"said Strauss.
Everyone could have screamed. Could have died! Children? Children at the BAU?!
Now, not young children, no. The boy, Strauss's Nephew, was at least in his early twenties. His jaw was stuck out in a arrogant way, and his hair (which was badly in need of a trim) fell to his chin in little red-blonde waves. He was tall, taller than Reid. He wore grey slacks and dress loafers. He had a little red cardigan (looking vaguely like a woman's...) wrapped around his white, crisp oxford and little plaid tie.
The girl, who was easily 5' 8", was less...cocky. She looked meek as she kept wringing her little hands (she did this so much Hotchner was worried they would fall off) and looking this way and that, never keeping her eye on something or someone too long, worried they might say something to her. Her hair was also blonde, but held no reddish tent to it. Her skin was pale, but not too pale. She was clad in the same uniform as her brother, but she wore a little plaid skirt, with gray knee socks, and little Mary Janes. Her lips were pursed so tightly they looked like they would burst inside her mouth. When she finally let them out, the team noted they were the color of blood, and she continued to chew on them.
"Charles Wilkes," Strauss said, gesturing to the boy. He bowed. "And Melanie Wilkes," she started to nod her head, but when Strauss gave her a look, she curtsed in a little scared way.
"They will be going with you on every mission, every where. They outrank Hotchner and they are in the lead. But, for now, they will only overule, so you make the decisions and they aprove them. Understand?"
The team hissed their reply and were left alone with the children, their new superiors.
The girl continued to chew her lips, staring at the floor, while the boy smirked at them. Cocky little shit.
"All right team, on the plane," he barked, his head cocked as the team filed in a line in front of him, then he going, his sister going last.
This continued all the way on the plane. The girl going behind the boy. She didn't speak the entire plane ride, but her brother didn't shut up about the case, not waiting to tell the team when they were wrong (which was far too often to be accurate). She was always behind him, signaling the bond between the two-non. No bond was there. He was her superior, end of story. Had it always been this way? Brought up in the same house-a military government house-they must have the same personality, right? Why were they so...different? They had lived together...right?
It wasn't possible the two were married, no the looks were to similar to be married. And neither showed any sign of love, and no rings were on their fingers. So they must be siblings. The girl, who looked...18? 19? (too young to be here) and the boy, of 20 or 21, were brother and sister. This was confirmed on landing.
"Come now, you lazy lot. Off the plane to the station!" barked the boy, Charles, as he descended off the steps. The girl, a few steps behind, stopped and turned to the team. She wouldn't look them in the eye, but her eyes flicked from each of their faces very fast as she spoke;
"I would, uh, j-just like to say t-that...that I speak for both my brother and I when I say we are both very happy and honored to be here and-" she hadn't taken a breath, and this was spoken so fast only Reid really understood.
"Sister!"barked the boy from outside.
"Oo!" she squeaked and flew down the stairs, Melanie's blonde hair flying out behind her, like cape or robe of sorts. Her blood red lips pursed in fear.
*********************************************************************************
At the station, Charles took charge. The officers thought him cocky and unwise, as did the team.They did what he asked reluctantly, cursory, and beside themselves. Little Melanie spent most of her time running her little bony hands through her slick, blonde hair, while reading a thick book. She immediately put it away when her brother entered the room. It was easily observed how much she feared her brother.
"So, are we certain that the victim is male?" she asked, quietly. No one heard her, except Reid.
He looked around, to be certain no one heard. No one showed signs of answering. She was a few steps away from him. They were both standing and he was pinning things onto a cork board.
"Uh...no, only a guess," he said, not looking. When he did look, she was looking at her feet, a smile on her red lips. They held no shine or glow as if sticky lip stick had been applied, so the color was real. She looked up and saw him looking at her. She mouthed the word,"thank you," and took a small, surreptitious step toward him.
"You're Dr. Reid, right?" she asked,"My brother told me so before we came. He told me..." she stopped.
"Yes, I'm him. Just Reid, though," he said, smiling.
"I'm Melanie, my brother probably wouldn't like you to address me as that though. It would probably be more appropriate to call me Miss Wilkes," she again looked sadly at her feet, biting her lips.
"Sister!" he brother yelled from outside the room in which the FBI was lodged, in the lobby of the police station.
"Coming, Brother!" she replied, fleeing the room.
"And I thought I was weird,"Garcia muttered over the speaker.
"Hey! Baby Girl! What do you got for us?" Morgan asked.
"Well, the victim is male, I just got back his dental records. His name was Drake Shay, married, two kids, perfect little suburbian family."
"Why would our un-sub-"
"Un-sub? Do you mean unknown subject?" Charles Wilkes growled from the door.
"Yes, why would he or she, kill an innocent, normal man?" Hotchner asked, then looked at the children, testing them.
"Because he's jealous of his normal life,"Cried the boy, snuffing them.
"The word normal,"began Melanie,"is a misconception coined by the weak whom need it to feel better about themselves. There is no such thing as normal," she left the room without being dismissed,"I'm going to the morgue to look at the body,"she said as she left,"Anyone is welcome to join."
No one did.
*****************************************************************
Two more bodies were found, both male, both lived normal lives, worked in little cubicles from nine to five.
"Jealous?" supplied Melanie.
"Very possibly,"Rossi said,"They were castrated too."
"Ehh!!"cried the girl, then bit her index finger to keep from sounding juvenile.
"I have a lead!" cried Garcia over the speaker of Morgan's phone.
"Go ahead, Garcia."
"Joseph Sumner, 1189 Gopher Street, Jules, IN."
"That's five hours away!"cried Charles.
"That's why it took so long to find the new bodies, brother. He only dumped them recently because he was so far away," said Melanie, touching his arm. He shook her away.
"Who is to go?" Hotchner asked.
"You decide, that's what you're getting paid for, right?" Charles hissed.
Hotchner growled,"Melanie, Reid, Prentiss, go," he said when Charles grabbed his arm.
"Don't call her Melanie. Call her 'Miss Wilkes' and call myself 'Master Wilkes' understand?"
Melanie looked for a second as if she might reprimand her brother, but stopped and looked at her feet and wrung her bony hands. She gathered her bag and left the room, and Reid ran after on her heels. Emily went slower. They took the jet.
"I do apologize for my brother's behavior. He doesn't...understand when to curb his tongue," she said. Emily reluctantly touched her hand, like a mother.
"You don't when to release yours,"she whispered. Melanie jerked back her hand, as if she had been struck, the second Emily had touched her. Emily waved a hand in front of her face and Melanie flew back into her chair and made a scared noise. Her eyes closed and face scrunched up and her arms went to protect her chest and neck.
Reid and Emily exchanged glances.
"I-I'm sorry. I always do that...always have. My friends used to tease me for it. They'd always move quickly by me and I'd scream or jerk back. I was so afraid...." her voice trailed off and she looked off into the distance.
"Honey?" Emily asked. Melanie looked and Emily slowly moved her hand onto Melanie's,"We're not gonna hurt you, okay?"
Melanie shook her head,"You can't make that promise. You could be the end of me. You may never know it though."
"Melanie..."Em began, but Miss Wilkes stopped her.
"Call me, Melly," she whispered, and gave a weak smile. She hid her head in her shoulder, and her watery blue eyes looked like they might cry.
*****************************************************************
Emily was the one to take down Sumner, he came peacefully (a rare occurrence in this business). Miss Wilk-Melly-was very happy with this outcome, and Reid was worried she would always expect it.
Back at Quantico, the Wilkeses desks had been set up. They each had a different office, below Hotchner's and Rossi's rooms, on the first level. His office was dark, dim, and was filled with files and a creepy set of rules and manners posted on the wall.
Her room was...not bright. It had purple velvet chairs (which she found perfect for reading) and a big book case that filled two walls held books thicker than her head. She had a little lamp, only one. A desk was in the middle of the room, but she pushed it toward the front so she could curl up with Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich. She was tired and dozing when her Aunt called the team to another meeting.
"Melanie, Charles, how did the team do?"
"Oh, go-"Melanie began but Charles...
"Awful! There an uppity bunch that has no respect for their superiors! They treated me with terrible, terrible manners! And Melly! Oh, I know she was in pain! How it greaved her to see such ill-tempered people!"
"I'm sure..." said Strauss eyeing her,"the Wilkes siblings will continue to watch over you until I see improvement in this team. Significant improvement, Hotchner," she glared at him. When she left, so did Charles. Still under the eye of Strauss, Melly took Emily's hand, who was standing next to her and mouthed "sorry". Emily whispered that she knew.
The girl continued to chew her lips, staring at the floor, while the boy smirked at them. Cocky little shit.
"All right team, on the plane," he barked, his head cocked as the team filed in a line in front of him, then he going, his sister going last.
This continued all the way on the plane. The girl going behind the boy. She didn't speak the entire plane ride, but her brother didn't shut up about the case, not waiting to tell the team when they were wrong (which was far too often to be accurate). She was always behind him, signaling the bond between the two-non. No bond was there. He was her superior, end of story. Had it always been this way? Brought up in the same house-a military government house-they must have the same personality, right? Why were they so...different? They had lived together...right?
It wasn't possible the two were married, no the looks were to similar to be married. And neither showed any sign of love, and no rings were on their fingers. So they must be siblings. The girl, who looked...18? 19? (too young to be here) and the boy, of 20 or 21, were brother and sister. This was confirmed on landing.
"Come now, you lazy lot. Off the plane to the station!" barked the boy, Charles, as he descended off the steps. The girl, a few steps behind, stopped and turned to the team. She wouldn't look them in the eye, but her eyes flicked from each of their faces very fast as she spoke;
"I would, uh, j-just like to say t-that...that I speak for both my brother and I when I say we are both very happy and honored to be here and-" she hadn't taken a breath, and this was spoken so fast only Reid really understood.
"Sister!"barked the boy from outside.
"Oo!" she squeaked and flew down the stairs, Melanie's blonde hair flying out behind her, like cape or robe of sorts. Her blood red lips pursed in fear.
*********************************************************************************
At the station, Charles took charge. The officers thought him cocky and unwise, as did the team.They did what he asked reluctantly, cursory, and beside themselves. Little Melanie spent most of her time running her little bony hands through her slick, blonde hair, while reading a thick book. She immediately put it away when her brother entered the room. It was easily observed how much she feared her brother.
"So, are we certain that the victim is male?" she asked, quietly. No one heard her, except Reid.
He looked around, to be certain no one heard. No one showed signs of answering. She was a few steps away from him. They were both standing and he was pinning things onto a cork board.
"Uh...no, only a guess," he said, not looking. When he did look, she was looking at her feet, a smile on her red lips. They held no shine or glow as if sticky lip stick had been applied, so the color was real. She looked up and saw him looking at her. She mouthed the word,"thank you," and took a small, surreptitious step toward him.
"You're Dr. Reid, right?" she asked,"My brother told me so before we came. He told me..." she stopped.
"Yes, I'm him. Just Reid, though," he said, smiling.
"I'm Melanie, my brother probably wouldn't like you to address me as that though. It would probably be more appropriate to call me Miss Wilkes," she again looked sadly at her feet, biting her lips.
"Sister!" he brother yelled from outside the room in which the FBI was lodged, in the lobby of the police station.
"Coming, Brother!" she replied, fleeing the room.
"And I thought I was weird,"Garcia muttered over the speaker.
"Hey! Baby Girl! What do you got for us?" Morgan asked.
"Well, the victim is male, I just got back his dental records. His name was Drake Shay, married, two kids, perfect little suburbian family."
"Why would our un-sub-"
"Un-sub? Do you mean unknown subject?" Charles Wilkes growled from the door.
"Yes, why would he or she, kill an innocent, normal man?" Hotchner asked, then looked at the children, testing them.
"Because he's jealous of his normal life,"Cried the boy, snuffing them.
"The word normal,"began Melanie,"is a misconception coined by the weak whom need it to feel better about themselves. There is no such thing as normal," she left the room without being dismissed,"I'm going to the morgue to look at the body,"she said as she left,"Anyone is welcome to join."
No one did.
*****************************************************************
Two more bodies were found, both male, both lived normal lives, worked in little cubicles from nine to five.
"Jealous?" supplied Melanie.
"Very possibly,"Rossi said,"They were castrated too."
"Ehh!!"cried the girl, then bit her index finger to keep from sounding juvenile.
"I have a lead!" cried Garcia over the speaker of Morgan's phone.
"Go ahead, Garcia."
"Joseph Sumner, 1189 Gopher Street, Jules, IN."
"That's five hours away!"cried Charles.
"That's why it took so long to find the new bodies, brother. He only dumped them recently because he was so far away," said Melanie, touching his arm. He shook her away.
"Who is to go?" Hotchner asked.
"You decide, that's what you're getting paid for, right?" Charles hissed.
Hotchner growled,"Melanie, Reid, Prentiss, go," he said when Charles grabbed his arm.
"Don't call her Melanie. Call her 'Miss Wilkes' and call myself 'Master Wilkes' understand?"
Melanie looked for a second as if she might reprimand her brother, but stopped and looked at her feet and wrung her bony hands. She gathered her bag and left the room, and Reid ran after on her heels. Emily went slower. They took the jet.
"I do apologize for my brother's behavior. He doesn't...understand when to curb his tongue," she said. Emily reluctantly touched her hand, like a mother.
"You don't when to release yours,"she whispered. Melanie jerked back her hand, as if she had been struck, the second Emily had touched her. Emily waved a hand in front of her face and Melanie flew back into her chair and made a scared noise. Her eyes closed and face scrunched up and her arms went to protect her chest and neck.
Reid and Emily exchanged glances.
"I-I'm sorry. I always do that...always have. My friends used to tease me for it. They'd always move quickly by me and I'd scream or jerk back. I was so afraid...." her voice trailed off and she looked off into the distance.
"Honey?" Emily asked. Melanie looked and Emily slowly moved her hand onto Melanie's,"We're not gonna hurt you, okay?"
Melanie shook her head,"You can't make that promise. You could be the end of me. You may never know it though."
"Melanie..."Em began, but Miss Wilkes stopped her.
"Call me, Melly," she whispered, and gave a weak smile. She hid her head in her shoulder, and her watery blue eyes looked like they might cry.
*****************************************************************
Emily was the one to take down Sumner, he came peacefully (a rare occurrence in this business). Miss Wilk-Melly-was very happy with this outcome, and Reid was worried she would always expect it.
Back at Quantico, the Wilkeses desks had been set up. They each had a different office, below Hotchner's and Rossi's rooms, on the first level. His office was dark, dim, and was filled with files and a creepy set of rules and manners posted on the wall.
Her room was...not bright. It had purple velvet chairs (which she found perfect for reading) and a big book case that filled two walls held books thicker than her head. She had a little lamp, only one. A desk was in the middle of the room, but she pushed it toward the front so she could curl up with Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich. She was tired and dozing when her Aunt called the team to another meeting.
"Melanie, Charles, how did the team do?"
"Oh, go-"Melanie began but Charles...
"Awful! There an uppity bunch that has no respect for their superiors! They treated me with terrible, terrible manners! And Melly! Oh, I know she was in pain! How it greaved her to see such ill-tempered people!"
"I'm sure..." said Strauss eyeing her,"the Wilkes siblings will continue to watch over you until I see improvement in this team. Significant improvement, Hotchner," she glared at him. When she left, so did Charles. Still under the eye of Strauss, Melly took Emily's hand, who was standing next to her and mouthed "sorry". Emily whispered that she knew.
