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Working cases with the BAU was becoming easier, spending more time with Spencer was a bonus.
They were working a case in New Jersey. Hammonton, New Jersey. Jason hated New Jersey, the whole state was to close to Gotham for comfort.
The victims died from chemically induced heart attacks and had marks of struggle all over their bodies. Scratch marks, bruises, burns on some cases. All the victims that had skin residues under their nails was either theirs or from one of the other victims.
There was nothing in the FBI database that matched the chemical composition of the drug that was being used. The geographical profile was all over the place. The car of the abduction was like a ghost, disappearing the second it got out of frame. They were stuck.
In a last ditch effort, Spencer asked for the blood results from the victims, to see if there was anything on the drug composition that looked familiar.
Jason was looking through the autopsy of one of the victims, Jane Laurens, for what felt like the fortieth time.
"Jace…" hearing the nickname Jason looked over to Spencer.
All of their team left what they were doing on a instant, it was rare of them to use endearments or any kind of "unprofessional" behavior while working, too risky. They didn't need another professionalism talk on the office after Garcia and Derek's.
Jason walked towards his partner, standing behind his chair, resting his hands on the back of it. He could see Spencer fidgeting with his ring.
"Isn't this what your brother was looking for?" Spencer was talking low but the silence on the room made his words carry over to everyone of their co-workers.
"Let me see" Jason decided to ignore that for a second taking the reports and looking over the chemical composition, before muttering "Fucking Gotham".
"Ejem" Hotch cut through his thoughts effectively "Can the rest of us know what is going on and what that has to do with your brother, Agent Peters?"
Even if worded like a request Jason knew to interpret it as the order it was.
"My brother came to dinner a few days ago. He brought his work with him, like always. He's a detective working with Gotham's Police Department sometimes". The lie slipped easy, unnoticed by his peers. "They raided a storage facility from Jonathan Crane last week. A box was missing from what the inventory report and Crane assured. They've been looking for it, known traffickers, dark web, not a trace anywhere. Well, until now." Jason was pacing around the room while explaining, running his hands through his hair. He was more stressed out that any of the team had seen him before.
"This toxin is known through Gotham as Fear toxin, created by doctor Jonathan Crane as and experimental drug designed to produce high levels of norepinephrine and cause hallucinations." Spencer took over the conversation. His voice, calm and factual reached Jason helping him calm down and start thinking more rationally again. "It's vastly theorized that his lack of fear was what caused him becoming obsessed with the reactions it caused on the human brain".
"So the lack of physical torture evidence was because it was psychological instead." Derek starts "We can add sadistic back on the profile. I'll call Garcia to start cutting down the list of suspects" He took out his phone to do just that. Hotch took the pause as his time to talk, looking over to Jason again.
"Peters, call your brother, we need as much information on the missing toxin as we can get." The order is clear, Jason takes his phone looking for the number.
"Dick"
"Garcia"
Jason and Derek spoke at the same time, both receivers having picked up at the same time.
The team looked at Jason, their faces a range between disbelief, surprise and amusement.
"It's his brother's name, well nickname he won't answer to another thing half of the time" Spencer clarifies in a low tone.
Jason leaves the phone at the table on speaker, Derek does the same after a quick round down of the situation to Garcia.
"Dick, you are on speaker with all my team"
"Oh! Hi Spencer! Hello agents, what can I help with?" Dick's voice gets serious at addressing the other agents. Like flipping a switch.
Jason looked at Hotch and after getting a nodded and started talking.
"We are on a case." Jason started, Dick muttered something between the lines of 'i gathered as much' but Jason just ignored him and continued. "Our Unsub is using your missing Fear Toxin, the one from the raid last week. We need all the information you can give us from that."
"I can do that, give me a minute, I need to get to the computer and find the report" Dick's tone was professional nothing of the playful one he used to salute Spencer left.
While waiting for that they started to update Garcia. The new list had 10 men that fitted the profile, better than the 30 something from before but still nine too many.
That's when Dick voice came back from Jason's phone.
"I got it" His voice sounded with more echo like he stepped into a cave or something. "Not a ton of evidence left behind but a set of cameras caught a black car, a black 2015 Toyota Highlander, leaving the premises of the otherwise abandoned warehouse a couple of days previous. The tire tracks left behind point to them not being the originals." Dick stopped talking humming while the sound of a mechanical keyboard took over for a moment "He stopped at Crime Alley for sure, I don't know how we didn't realize that earlier, one of the tires was newer, probably got the previous one stolen."
"Found him!" Penelope's voice came out of the other phone "Liam Romstrick, 42 years old. bought a new tire on Gotham last week using his credit card. I'm sending you both his house address and a warehouse he is renting".
"Peters, Reid and David, you go to the warehouse, JJ, Morgan and me will take his house" Hotch orders "I want all of you on constant contact, no going radio silence. We'll get hazmat ready to deploy at both locations"
"Dick, is there a way you can get a pack of antidotes send my way? Just in case" Jason's voice came out hesitant for the first time in all the conversation.
"I'll try Jaybird, good luck." Those words came out of Dick as a plea, a quiet promise between them that the rest of the team couldn't even fathom to comprehend.
Both teams were already at their locations. Hotch's team was already looking through the house. There was no trace of the Unsub, but any doubt they could have about Romstrick was dismissed, the amount of evidence in that house was any attorney's nightmare. Locks of hair, video tapes, detailed notes of the victims reactions, photos of possible victims and some victims they didn't even knew about because no one associated them with the crimes before. It was sickening.
Jason had to take a deep breath and force himself to relax, he could see a bit of green on the corner of his eyes and he couldn't let it win.
Spencer noticed the shift on his stance, of corse he noticed they were few and far between the times he didn't. Not like he could do anything in such a public situation, it would be different if it was only their BAU team.
"We are going in" Jason announced, taking charge of the situation on their end. "Everyone, gas masks on, we have no evidence that Romstrick knows how to synthesize the toxin onto the gas version, but better safe than sorry".
With all their team ready, they entered simultaneously through both doors, Rossi and Spencer were leading the back door, Jason took the front.
Once inside the teams dispersed. Claims of clear ringed out through the space.
Jason found himself at the door of one of the several storage units. There was a child, not older than 14 bound with thick rope, laying on some rags.
"Found someone, a kid" He called lower than the rest, using his comes instead of calling out loud, to prevent scarring the kid. He holstered his gun, and softening his voice directed his next words towards the child. "Hey, I'm gonna get you out of here, you're safe"
He approached the kid carefully, hands ups to show him that he was no danger. The kids eyes darted from him to something behind him. At first Jason thought it was someone from the team covering him, the moment he saw the kids eyes go wild in fear he realized how wrong he was. He felt the stab of a syringe on his neck before he had time to react.
"Fuck"
With a quick movement Jason stabilized himself, pivoting on one leg while while kicking the assaulter with the other. He saw Romstrick fall on his back, syringe rolling away, empty and useless.
Even having the upper hand Jason could see the way Romstrick was analyzing him, like this was just another of his twisted experiments.
"Interesting" The man on the floor muttered while watching something on Jason's face. I he had to guess it was his eyes shifting for turquoise to bright green, like every time intense emotions took over.
Kicking the man on the side, with more force than probably necessary, Jason rolled him over to handcuff his hands behind his back. Jason tried to read him his rights but was trying to brace for the hallucinations. He was expecting the coffin, the pressure of lack of oxygen, maybe the ticking down of the bomb or the maniacal laugh of the Joker. He knew how to deal with those.
He remember calling for back up, looking towards the kid he was trying to save to reassure them that everything was alright. Just to be met by Lian's bloodshot eyes, staring up at him, unmoving. A bloody crowbar sitting close by.
Jason took a step back, tripping over the unsub and falling. He could hear anything over the loud beating of his heart, faster. He dragged himself backwards until his back hit a wall, or a shelf, or a crate. He didn't know, he couldn't be sure.
He couldn't breath, he tore the gas mask away from his face, he needed air. His breath was short a shallow.
The space was shifting, changing. The unsub's body shifted, short dark hair shifting to light brown locks. Spencer's body laying in front of him, cardigan marred by dirt and blood, his face turned towards Jason, eyes sharp, filled with hate.
"It's all your fault" Spencer's voice sounded clear over the sound of his heart beat.
Jason closed his eyes, as if that would help, coiling onto himself, he brought his kness close to his chest, burring his face on them while hugging his legs. He tried rationalizing the situation. It didn't work, to Spencer's voice joined others, Dick, Roy, Hotch, Bruce.
With his eyes still closed, Jason took the gun from it's holster with the intention of throwing it away, to prevent himself from using it mid panic. But something stopped him, he could make it stop. He could make all the voices go away, he could prevent himself from hurting his family. He could protect them.
Before he could think about it any more he felt the prick of a needle on his neck again. His heart slowed down it wasn't as loud anymore. He risked looking up in the direction the needle came from just to see Dick on the doorway with a dart gun on hand. A tear slipped past his eyelids, a small tired smile on his lips. He felt so tired, he let the gun fall, losing all the tension his grip had moments before.
"I knew you would made it this time" Jason said, voice quiet and grateful. He fell unconscious before he could see the tears that brought to his brothers eyes.