Chapter one
"So, what are you thinking?" Abby walked into the conference room. Reid was standing in front of the board, he'd been staring at it for twenty minutes. In silence. Which meant his big beautiful brain was working overtime. It was late, very late. The bull pen was almost empty. But Spencer was still there, like most times.
"Something is not right…" Spencer replied, not looking up. Abby approached him and stood beside him, glancing over the board. The team was handling a very difficult case and hit a wall. A big one. The profilers had been trying to get past it for the past three hours. Emily had finally decided they needed rest and ordered everyone to get to the hotel. And everyone did, except Spencer. And Abby.
"I know it doesn't add up, Reid. We've been trying." Abby stated, glancing sideways at her friend. His face was scrunched up, his eyes squinted. She chuckled softly. "The harder you're trying to figure it out, the more clouded your mind gets, Spence." She added, putting a hand on his shoulder. She was still amazed how he didn't shrug it off. Spencer didn't like hugs that much, touch in particular. He had a thing with germs and just found it to be awkward. His brain was so big that it made him socially awkward most of the time. But with Abby he was different. Actually, with the whole team was different. When Morgan had still been here, they'd touched each other almost 24/7. Because Morgan, like Abby, showed affection by touch. And Spencer had gotten used to it, but also had learned what real touch and affection means. And Abby was still proud of that.
Spencer sighs. "There are many women at risk here, Ab." Was his short answer. "I know that." Abby retorted and moved in front of him, catching his glance. "You, wrecking that wonderful brain of yours, is not going to help us protect them. We need it sharp." She tried again. Spencer raised his eyebrows. Abby let out a breath. "Look, Spence…" She started, but was shot down. "I am not leaving until I have figured this out. I know what you are trying to do." He informed her. Of course he knew, he was always able to look right through Abby. But he underestimated her, also just like always.
"See, that's where you are wrong…" Abby grinned at him. "You are coming with me. You are going to get some rest and find the answer in the morning." She added and this time he looked at her, eyebrows raised. Almost like he was challenging her. Which was a very dumb thing to do, he should have known that. "You seem very sure of your case there." Spencer told Abby matter of factly and looked past her at the board. Abby reached her hand out and swiftly poked his side. "I am." She teased, laughing when he reacted just the way she had expected. A high squeak escaped his lips and he flinched away from her. His glare playful. "Don't you dare." He tried to warn her, only making Abby's grin grow. "You coming with me?" She asked him, eyebrows raised expectantly. Abby had been on this team the longest, together with Reid and JJ. They had been part of the team since Hotch had put it up. 14 years now. And Abby knew her best friend very well, the pair of three was very close. JJ had been the first to find out and Spencer had sworn her to secrecy. She had complied, but it had not taken long before Abby had found out. And JJ and Abby both loved to use it against their boy wonder, when he was either down, sad of making fun of them. They were like his big sisters, at least that was what their dynamic was like. And everyone knew it.
Reid seemed to outweigh his options and glanced at her. He knew she would, which was the problem. Abby decided to act, he was taking too long. She reached her hands out, taking him by surprise. "NO!" He yelled out, his arms shooting to his sides. It was too late. Her hands had reached them. Reid squealed before bursting out in uncontrollable giggles, his body twisting away from her. "Gotcha!" Abby teased, squeezing harder. Reid squealed. "Nohohohohoh Abahahahahahahaaabbyyyy!" He cried out through his snorts, trying to block the tickling. Trying to shut it out like he always did. He knew tickling was basically a trick of the mind. But his mind was never cooperating when he was tickled.
"You coming?" Abby challenged him again, twisting a hand between Reid's arm that was tightly clamped down against his side. "You caahahahahan't use ACK NOHOHOO you cahahahahaahn't…" He tried to get his sentence out, but one of Abby's hands had twisted its way to his stomach. He stumbled backwards as he tried to get away and bumped into a wall, trapping himself against it. "Why yes I can, Spence." Abby laughed as he wheezed. "Ohohohahahahahakay! OKAAY! Ahahahahahahahbby stohohohohohop!" Reid gave in when Abby made it clear she wouldn't stop until he complied. With a wide grin Abby stopped, chuckling as Reid gasped for breath. "Good." She told him, before grabbing his bag out of the corner of the room. "Damn you." Spencer giggled as he got up, his face red from the ordeal he just went through. Abby chuckled. "Come on." She ushered him, handing him his bag. He gave her a glare before following her out of the bull pen.
The two arrived at the hotel twenty minutes later. It was ten minutes to one a.m. Reid yawned as he got out of the car. Abby smiled. "Go to bed, Reid." She told him. He rolled his eyes at her before she watched him walk into the lobby of the hotel. With a sigh Abby closed the window of the car and drove towards the parking garage. She parked the car. As she got out, she heard footsteps echoing through the area. She looked up and from that point on wished she hadn't.
A man, completely dressed in dark clothes, was staring at her a few feet away. He was wearing a mask. But worst of all, he was pointing a gun at her. "Sir…" Abby let out in shock, her hands rising in the air. She had her own gun in its holster around her waist. "Sir, drop the gun!" She called out again, her hand slowly reaching down to her belt.
BANG
Abby screamed as she felt the bullet pierce through her upper leg, shot clean through. She crashed to the ground, groaning as the burning pain spread through her leg. Completely overwhelmed, she looked up and saw the man approaching. "H-hey!" She yelled at him, trying to reach for her gun. "I am FBI! Freeze!" She fumbled to get her gun out, looking around in panic. What was this. A robbery? No. An abduction? Maybe. Connected to the case? Possibly.
"I know who you are." The voice of the man was deep and cold. She recognized his words immediately. From the security tapes of the abduction of the women on the case. It was the same voice. "A-and I know who you are…" Abby yelled out, her mind remembering the beginning of the profile the team was trying to set up. Narcissist, abducting women in a wide open place for a reason that had not yet been discovered. The man stopped and stared down at her, through his mask. "I k-know about the murders…" Abby cried out as she moved to sit up, her leg trembling with the pain. "You know nothing." The man spit at her, crouching down. He reached for her gun and in a last defending resort, Abby tried to punch him away. She got a few good hits in before he crashed his fist into her face. Abby watched him take her gun in panic. She was defenseless.
Her eyes flashed around and soon found what she'd been looking for. Security camera's. She could see about four of them, which meant her attack would be recorded from four different angles. Good. "Get up." The man snarled. Abby jolted and stared right into his gun. He was pointing it at her face. Abby tried to steady her breathing as she reached for the FBI's SUV, dragging herself up. She knew she couldn't stand on her wounded leg.
The unsub turned around and Abby quickly glanced at the surveillance camera. She had to act. "Sir…" She called out, making the unsub turn around in surprise. "I know what you did… I know about the women. If you let me, I can help you." She started in a softer tone, still holding her hands up. Ignoring the burning pain in her leg. She knew the MO of this unsub and that wasn't good.
"I don't need any help." The unsub told her in a monotone, cold, raspy voice, making goosebumps appear on Abby's skin. Abby didn't know what to say to him, they had only been on this case for two days. They didn't know anything yet, they only had a very rough profile. And the way this man was acting right now, was off from that rough profile. The man approached her and pointed his weapon towards her once again. "And I am in control now. So shut up." He told her, his voice still quite calm. He grabbed her shoulder roughly and Abby grunted in pain when she was forced to use her shot leg. She did what he said. That much she knew from the profile and from the MO. This unsub killed his victims faster then any unsub they'd seen before, there was no sexual desire or fetish. The women were not surrogates, at least that's what Alvez had concluded. All seven of the victims had turned up three hours after their disappearance, somewhere in the city, dead for only a few minutes. Which was the unsubs way of taunting them, Rossi had said. And Abby remembered all of this. She felt fear rise in her stomach as she was dragged along the parking lot, trying to stop herself from crying out in pain. She did not want to give him the satisfaction.