Consume Me Like a Fire

One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Hey Wonder Boy. Nice of you to finally join us,” Derek said when he noticed Spencer walk into the conference room at the police station. Spencer shrugged off his shoulder bag and stifled a yawn.

“Hmm… Where’s the case file?” he asked looking around. Shiloh stayed over again, but she woke them both up early so she could get to class on time and Spencer could go to work. Spencer saw a manila folder laying on the table and flipped through it. His sleepiness diminished when he read what was going on.

“Covert operations… What is this?” he grumbled to himself, but Derek still heard him.

“The CIA thinks it’s a past team member or a terrorist coming after them for revenge,” Derek filled him in. Spencer nodded and walked over to the bulletin board full of pictures and maps.

“Where are the others?” he asked as he studied the board.

“Rossi and Hotch are out in the field, and JJ and Emily are back at the BAU with Garcia looking over old cases.” Spencer nodded and let a small smirk form on his face.

“Let’s get to work then.”

~*~

“What do you mean?!” Emily snapped to the person on the other end of the phone.

“Ian knows everything, Emily. Clyde said he escaped from the prison in North Korea, and that he’s here looking for us and you…”

“Tsia…. Jeremy and Sean are dead.”

“I know… You have to be careful. Ian’s still dangerous,” Tsia whispered into the phone.

“Same goes to you. But does he know about Declan?” Emily asked hesitantly.

“Clyde believes that he knows Declan’s death was faked. Emily, he can’t find his son…. Declan’s life will be over and everything we have worked for will go to waste…” Emily sighed.

“I know… Stay safe. I’ll talk to you later.” Emily hung up and walked back into the FBI building. For once, she was regretting joining JTF-12…. Covert operations only makes someone’s life harder to live normally. She hated hiding this from her team; her family, but it was the only way to keep them safe. Emily had to kill Ian before he killed her family.

“Hey, Emily. What about these? Do you think that Tom Rudder could be linked to the murders? He was kicked out of covert operations after having a violent outburst with the team he was on,” JJ said when Emily reappeared in Garcia’s cave.

“Uh, not likely. It doesn’t seem like Rudder was in contact with the victims at all…” It was going to be a long day.

~*~

“Shiloh!” The blonde turned around to see a short redhead jogging towards her. Shiloh sent the girl a smile.

“Hey Haleigh,” she said once the ginger caught up to her.

“I love that class!” Haleigh squealed as they walked out of the kitchen turned class room. Their cooking basics just ended for the day and the two girls had quickly befriended each other early that week when the class began. The two girls chatted as they walked through the campus.

“Are meeting up with your FBI boyfriend tonight?” Haleigh asked with a wide smirk. Shiloh blushed crimson.

“I don’t know yet. He just got an important case so I'm not sure if he’s going to be up working on it all night or not. He tends to lose himself in his work,” Shiloh said softly.

“Well, we can hang out tonight if you’re free,” Haleigh said with a shrug of her shoulders. After their first class together, they discovered that they lived in the same apartment building. Haleigh knew about what happened with Mr. Fritz because of the news and the gossip around campus, but she liked Shiloh and never brought it up. The two girls were forming a special bond that Haleigh valued too much to lose because of something she said.

“That sounds like fun. I’ll text Spencer and see what he’s doing tonight. Do you want to grab a coffee?” Shiloh asked pointing to the campus coffee shop near the fountain. Haleigh grinned and linked arms with her new friend as they walked together.

“I’m so getting a chocolate mocha,” Haleigh grumbled as they walked. Shiloh laughed at her antics, but decided that chocolate sounded like a good idea. They ordered their coffees and sat down at a small booth near the windows.

“I’m going to text Spencer,” Shiloh said pulling her phone out, and sending a short, sweet message to her boyfriend. Boyfriend…. The word still made her get butterflies. She loved being with Spencer.

“So, do you want to get serious with him?” Haleigh asked while sipping her drink. Shiloh thought about it and smiled.

“Yeah. Spence is so sweet and intelligent. I think I'm attracted to his nerdy charm, but honestly, I want to be with him. I hope we stay together for a long time,” Shiloh added shyly. Haleigh grinned like a mad woman and nodded.

“That’s how I feel about Toby. He and I have been together for almost 8 months. I think I'm in love…” Haleigh mumbled staring off. Shiloh laughed and pulled Haleigh out of her trance who then blushed furiously. The girls were interrupted by Shiloh’s phone ringing. The Star Wars Imperial March theme began to play and Haleigh couldn’t control her laughter.

“Oh hush! It’s Spencer,” Shiloh said with a grin. She answered her phone and excused herself so she could talk to him in private. Shiloh walked out of the coffee shop as Spencer said hello.

“How’s the case coming along?” Shiloh asked and looked around. She felt eyes on her, but no one was around besides a few passing students.

“It’s frustrating… There’s so much that the CIA is holding back from us. Without all the details, it’s hard to do our job. Not to mention another person was killed today. Emily took it the hardest…”

“Why?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not sure, but when Emily saw the woman’s body, she threw up… I’m so confused right now…” Spencer sighed heavily. He sounded exhausted which upset Shiloh a lot.

“Hey, don’t over work yourself, okay? I worry about you,” she said softly. Spencer smiled a little on the other end of the phone.

“I won’t, but I'm staying late tonight so I probably won’t be able to see you…” he trailed off. Shiloh waved it off.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll hang out with Haleigh. You just make sure to catch the bad guy,” Shiloh smiled.

“I always do,” Spencer replied smoothly. Shiloh laughed.

“Alright, I’ll let you get back to work. Text me when you get home so I know everything is still okay,” She said.

“Will do, ma’am. Be safe,” he said the last part quietly. Shiloh agreed and said goodbye before returning to Haleigh.

“Looks like I’m all yours tonight. Spencer said the case is getting complicated so he’s working late tonight.” Haleigh nodded.

“What do you want to do tonight?”

“Hmm, I'm thinking cupcakes,” Shiloh said grinning.

~*~

“Finished!” Haleigh declared and the girls stood back to look at their creations. Two dozen cupcakes were iced and decorated with edible flower petals and leaves.

“Damn we’re good,” Shiloh said happily. She glanced at the clock and saw it was nearing 11pm.

“I need to get going, but I'm taking some of these with me,” Shiloh said. Haleigh looked at the time and nodded. She grabbed a large Tupperware container and handed it to Shiloh. She put 10 cupcakes inside before putting the lid on and grabbing her purse.

“See you mañana, love,” Shiloh said as she walked out of Haleigh’s apartment. Haleigh lived on the first floor so Shiloh needed to take the elevator to the fourth floor. The doors were about to close when she heard someone call out.

“Hold the doors!” Shiloh quickly put her hand on one of the doors to keep in from closing. An attractive older man rushed in with a grateful smile on his face. His short, cropped hair was gray with speckles of white, but his bright blue eyes caught Shiloh’s attention.

“Thanks,” he beamed. Shiloh noticed his slight accent, but dismissed it.

“No problem, what floor?” she asked as the doors closed. The man looked at the key pad and hesitated.

“I need apartment 306. I'm new here, and I just got my keys,” he said jingling them in the air.

“Okay, well the numbers are pretty easy. All the threes are on the third floor,” Shiloh smiled and pressed the 3 on the keypad. The two stood in a comfortable silence for a few seconds before the man spoke up.

“I never caught your name…”

“Oh I'm sorry. I’m Shiloh Montgomery,” the blonde shifted her Tupperware to one arm so she could shake his hand.

“Ian Doyle,” he replied with a boyish grin. The elevator doors opened and they released their hands.

“Looks like this is me. Thanks for your help,” he smiled and began to exit the compact space.

“Ian, wait. Do you want a cupcake? I'm in culinary school so I already have too much food to eat alone,” Shiloh joked and she held out a flower cupcake to him. Ian accepted it kindly.

“It looks delicious,” he complimented.

“Welcome to the building,” Shiloh called as the doors closed and took her to the floor above. He seemed nice!

~*~

Ian walked into apartment 306 and stared down at the cupcake in his hand. He grinned evilly and tossed his keys on the kitchen island. This would be too easy…

“Marc! Sam!” he called. Two men rushed into the living room and waited for their boss to speak.

“Have you bugged all the places I asked you to?” he asked and he peeled the cupcake liner off.

“Yes, there are bugs and hidden cameras in all of Emily’s team members’ houses,” they replied confidently.

“Good, I also want you to bug Shiloh Montgomery’s apartment. She lives above us. Find out what number and bug it,” he said and bit into the cupcake. Hmm, she was a pretty good cook. But it would take more than good cooking to save her from what he had planned.