AN: I'm back. This is my next JJ/Reid story and the plan is to make it epic. It's certainly the longest story I've ever written and I'm not quite done with it yet. I've been working on this for a while, but I'm still making changes and adding things. This story WILL be rated M in the future for a variety of reasons. I am mentioning this now so that anyone who doesn't read that sort of thing can be forewarned and not become too attached to this story. Updates should come once a week for a while, and then more frequently after that. Here we go.
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. Any original characters are purely fictional and have no relation to names/places in the real world.
JJ sighed, looking up from her PDA to glance out the window and into the dark night. The flat, unimpressive land whizzed by in a blur, the driver of the SUV racing down the dark road as he tried to make good time on their way back to the station.
JJ had considered driving, but she was feeling particularly tired after an early morning flight and two days worth of long hours as they tried to catch this particular unsub. That was why when the young sheriff's deputy who had accompanied her, Allen Brewer, offered to drive back, JJ had handed him the keys without much of a fuss. He knew the terrain better than she did, and JJ was feeling particularly frustrated after their interview with the latest victim's parents had gone nowhere.
It was a long drive back, but the blare of soft country music from the radio helped ease her mood slightly. Neither she nor Allen had said much. Most of their small talk had been taken care of during the drive to Juanita Suarez's parent's house out in the rural countryside. Now, they mostly remained quiet, both tired, both focused on getting back so they could grab some quick rest before putting in what was sure to be another day filled with long hours.
JJ breathed in a deep breath, tearing her eyes away from the blurry blackness outside the window, and back inside the warm cab of the SUV. She sneaked a glance towards Brewer, his face a blank stare, his mind somewhere else as he sped down the road.
JJ took the stolen moment to glance over the young man's features. He had short jet black hair, high cheek bones, and a sharp-edged jaw. He was muscled as one would expect, but not overly buff. He was actually pretty cute. Good thing she was already seeing someone though.
She had caught Brewer looking her over a couple of times over the previous day, and although JJ let it slide, she knew if she were single and bold like some of her friends, she could easily have the sheriff's deputy in the palm of her hand. Instead she turned away, glancing back down to her PDA as she reminded herself of how happy she was with her current personal life. The last thing she needed was to mess things up in a sudden moment of lust. That wasn't her anyway.
JJ's fingers quickly typed a message to the man waiting for her, letting him know they were on the way back and should be at the station within the hour. She knew he'd be worried. It was late, it was dark, and the rural areas of Oklahoma, while desolate, still presented their own potential dangers.
She hoped that he would just go to bed, let his mind rest and put his stressed out body at ease for a few hours, but she knew better. As long as she was out there, away from him, he would force himself to stay awake until her return. His mind wouldn't allow any other option.
JJ unconsciously sighed again, internally imploring the ride back to hurry up and be over already.
"Everything ok Agent Jareau?" Brewer asked as he glanced over towards her, a look of concern on his face.
JJ turned to him, their eyes briefly meeting before he tore them away, back to the road.
"Yeah everything's fine." She said rather shortly.
Brewer didn't say anything. After another moment of what felt like awkward silence to JJ, she felt the need to apologize to him.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so abrupt with you. I'm just tired, and this ride seems long, especially with so little to distract me." She explained calmly.
"Hey, you don't need to apologize to me, trust me I know. I'd go faster than we are now if I thought it'd be to our benefit. We have to be careful though, roads like these you never know when some animal or something will jump out into the path. Not a lot of help if you get in trouble out here." He responded, his words more of a foreboding than either of them knew.
"I wouldn't expect so." JJ replied grimly.
She looked down at her PDA, waiting impatiently for a response to her text. The device was the only real thing to distract her at the moment. She could review more of the case if she so chose, but that was really the last thing she wanted to do right before bed. She was trying to relax a little and the back and forth chit chat with her man would serve as the perfect escape for her at the moment.
More time passed, and JJ looked back out the window into the pitch black. Her mind began to drift a little, to warmer images of being home, snuggled in her nice warm bed surrounded by blankets. As she closed her eyes in an attempt to make the image more real, the SUV suddenly jolted and a loud bang startled them both.
"What the hell was that?" JJ's eyes shot open as Brewer struggled to keep the SUV from swerving off the road.
"Feels like a flat." He grumbled as he regained control and slowly brought the vehicle to a stop.
"You're kidding, right?" JJ turned to him, her voice exhausted and filled with frustration.
"I'm afraid not, I don't think. I'm going to go and check it out if it is a flat I'll change it, there should be a spare in the back." He replied as he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his driver's side door.
'Please God let there be a spare.' JJ pleaded internally. Being stuck out here, alone with Brewer in this dark, vast, secluded area was one of the last things JJ wanted right now.
"Do you want me to call someone?" She asked politely as her thumb instinctively found her PDA once more.
"I don't think that'll be necessary. If we have a spare then we're all set and I'll have us back on the road in a couple of minutes. Just sit tight." He told her before closing the door, leaving JJ alone in the warm, lit, safeness of the SUV.
JJ's fingers found her previous conversation and typed another text, letting him know she would be a few more minutes at least because they had sustained a flat tire. She felt a rush of impatience running through her as he still hadn't replied to her previous message.
'You're just stressed, and nervous, and tired. Calm down.' She told herself.
The back hatch of the SUV opened up and a rush of cool air flew in, causing JJ to shiver slightly. Brewer lifted the bottom floor of the trunk and dug out the spare that was buried underneath.
"Our back driver's side tire is flat. The good news is we have a spare, we should be good." Brewer reassured her as he rolled out the spare.
"Ok, thank god." JJ called over her shoulder.
The hatch slammed shut, and again she found herself alone in the SUV. JJ glanced back down to her PDA, now willing it to flash to inform her that she had a new message. When nothing came, she groaned out loud into the emptiness of the cab.
After another moment JJ sat upright in her seat, straining to look into the rearview mirror. She couldn't see much besides darkness, and a small bit of light near the rear tire, likely emanating from Brewer's flashlight.
JJ sighed as she sat back. She felt jittery. She was having trouble calming her nerves. She kept telling herself everything was fine, but as more time passed, her discomfort only grew. Everything was quiet, too quiet.
She sat forward again, looking back to the mirror and wondering what the hell was taking Brewer so long. JJ jumped when she saw a figure standing, only his legs being dully lit by the flashlight near the deflated tire.
'Was that Brewer? It was hard to tell, it didn't really look like him.' JJ took a deep breath, her heart beginning to thump loudly in her chest. Her hand instinctively went to her hip, her fingers tracing over the cool, heavy metal of her hand gun.
She didn't want to go out there. She really didn't want to go out there. She didn't want to leave the vivid, warm comfort of the SUV for the dark, cold unknown of the outside.
JJ took another breath, reminding herself that there was a chance, hopefully only a small chance, that Brewer might need her help.
Slowly, she brought her hand to the handle of her door and turned it until the door hinges turned. She made sure to open it only a crack, not that it would really matter if they actually were in peril, after all, they weren't going anywhere with a flat tire.
"Everything ok out there Brewer?" She called out evenly, her voice cracking just the slightest bit.
She waited a moment, but was met with silence, her worst fear. She slowly opened the door a little more, dangling her leg towards the ground, as she prayed Brewer had simply not heard her.
"Brewer, how's it going?" She called out again, now stepping out of the SUV and un-holstering her gun.
Again, there was silence. This wasn't good, something was wrong. Even worse, if he was in trouble, she had just alerted whoever was around of her presence, twice. JJ tried to keep control of her emotions. Her senses were now on high alert as she slowly made her way to the back of the SUV, gun drawn. She tried to ignore the chill of the air as it blew strands of her hair. A distant howl pierced the otherwise silent air, sounding a lot closer to her than it likely was.
JJ cursed under her breath at the situation she now found herself in. If Brewer was ok and she found she was simply overreacting, then she was going to smack him for not answering her calls.
She was almost to the rear of the SUV, the gravel crunching under her boots, when she thought she heard a noise behind her. Startled, she whipped around quick, only to find nothing.
It was too dark; she was at such a disadvantage. The only light in this cold night was from the headlights shining fifty feet down the road, and the flashlight near the flat tire. Everything else was simply black. She wasn't one to be scared of the dark, but the fear of the unknown had her shaking just a bit.
JJ thought about calling out to Brewer again, worried that in her heightened state she might accidently shoot him, but if there was impending danger she couldn't risk it.
Satisfied that nothing was behind her, JJ turned back around and proceeded on her current path.
A couple of feet from the hatch of the SUV, she froze again.
Her eyes focused on something about a hundred feet behind their vehicle. It was hard to make out, but JJ was pretty confident in what she thought she saw. It was another SUV parked off to the side of the road, partially hidden behind a rock and conspicuously blending into the dark.
JJ's heart skipped another beat. Carefully, she took another step forward. She could call for help, but her PDA was long forgotten, her brain too focused on the potential threat. She reached the end of their SUV and pressed her body close, using it as an attempt to shield herself from a possible attack from the other side.
Slowly, she peered around, gun raised. When she didn't see anything, she looked down. On the ground was a pair of familiar legs, the mostly hidden body laid out on the road.
'Shit!' JJ cursed just as she heard quick footfalls pounding through the gravel, rushing towards her.
She turned quick, firing a shot into the darkness just as she was tackled from behind.
"Ah…!" She cried out as her body was slammed to the ground, her gun jostled loose.
JJ immediately tried to fight back, but it was futile. The heavy weight on top of her body pushed her into the asphalt, face down. She tried desperately to kick up, but it was no use. She tried to stretch her arms forward, reaching for her a gun a mere couple feet from her reach as she grunted. Strong arms grabbed hers and forced them back, pinning them to her body.
"Let go of me!" She shouted as her face was pushed to the ground.
She continued to fight, trying everything she could to buck the weight off of her. Painfully her hair was pulled, lifting her head from the ground. JJ could see from the corner of her eye a large gloved hand approaching, ready to strike her face. She closed her eyes, preparing for the painful contact, but it never came.
"Don't! You know he'll be pissed if you mark her up." A man's voice said from the darkness.
"Well hurry up with the needle then!" Another voice yelled, this one also belonging to a man, the man who was currently on top of her.
JJ strained her neck, trying her hardest to get a good look at her attackers. She could just make out partial features of the man on top of her, but it wouldn't be enough to make a positive ID.
JJ flinched and doubled her efforts to break free when she felt the man on top of her move her hair to the side and pull back on the collar to her jacket and blouse.
"Don't, please, you don't want to do this. I'm a federal agent." She tried to reason.
"I know." The man said coldly, watching as his partner prepared the syringe.
"You're making a big mistake." She tried, the man's grip on her collar never wavering as he held her in place.
"Trust me, we know what we're doing. You'd be wise to keep quiet." He warned as his partner handed him the now-ready needle.
JJ could sense the needle being brought down to the back of her neck. She didn't want to beg, but in her fear and desperation, she couldn't stop herself.
"Please, no, no, no!" She yelled out as she felt the needle break through her skin and the contents of the needle empty into her.
The man pushed down hard, making sure every last drop was emptied inside of her until he pulled the needle back out, handing it to his partner.
At first JJ didn't feel any different, but her heart was racing, her body stressed as she went through all the possibilities of what they could have just injected her with.
"Someone help me!" She yelled out into the empty air.
This earned a chuckle from the man on top of her.
"Do you think we should gag her?" The second man asked, stepping in front of her to pick up her gun from the ground. He looked to be in his thirties, but again she couldn't pick him out of a line-up if she had to.
"No, she should be fine. The sedative will keep her quiet once it makes its way through her system. Just grab the case and make it quick, I'm not sure how much time we have." The deep voice on top of her answered.
JJ's heart dropped a little. They had given her a sedative. She supposed it was better than some of the other potential options, but it also told her these men had every intention of kidnapping her. There was no other explanation. JJ watched as the second man's feet disappeared into the darkness, in the direction of the partially hidden SUV.
Everything was still as JJ began to feel herself getting tired, her limbs becoming weak. She could still hear that same howl in the distance, but now it seemed farther away. Her labored breathing tuned out some of the other sounds around her.
She was still painfully aware of the man pressed firmly against her. He had since let go of her collar, and now held her wrists behind her back in one of his firm, latex covered hands. His free hand ran through her hair, brushing it gently out of her face. JJ told her body to move away from the contact, but she found it nonresponsive, she was frozen.
Her dazed blue eyes focused on the body lying across from her on the other side of the SUV. This was her first real look at Brewer. He was laid out on the road, unconscious, blood trickling to the ground beside him as a result of a head wound. The light from the flashlight illuminated his body, and JJ could just make out his chest rising and falling, telling her that he was indeed still alive.
She was brought back to her current situation by the feel of the man's latex fingers lightly stroking her numbing cheek. She could feel his hand through the pressure on her skin, but she couldn't feel it through actual touch anymore. Her body was failing her.
"Please, stop." She whispered, surprised by how weak her voice sounded.
"Just relax. Everything will be fine if you behave." He continued to caress her cheek, enjoying the feel of her warm skin through the glove.
"Who are you?" She tried, her eyes feeling heavy.
"A friend… a friend of a man who is dying to meet you." He said simply.
JJ felt an internal shudder, her stomach felt queasy at his words. She knew he was still touching her, but she could no longer feel anything, her body was limp. The man on top of her noticed this and finally climbed off. JJ never noticed the change in the weight on top of her. She remained lying on the ground, face down.
Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, overwhelming her senses. She couldn't see anything, she panicked. She heard the slam of a door, and the approaching voice of the second man near her.
'The light is from the SUV. It's in your eyes. You're ok, you can still see.' She tried to reassure herself, although it did little to calm her.
JJ felt her body being lifted from the ground.
"I know what to do, I'll do it." The first, deeper voice said. The second man sighed.
"Fine."
"Here, just hold her for me." The first man said, passing her limp, still-conscious form to the other man.
He held her upright, still facing the SUV lights so she could hardly see a thing.
"What…what's…happening…?" She whispered out, feeling her jacket being pushed down her arms and from her body.
"Relax, we're not going to hurt you." The second man said impossibly close to her ear.
JJ could very distantly feel hands on different parts of her body. Sliding inside her pants pockets, searching, touching, and emptying. On her hands, wrists, and neck, they were stripping her of her jewelry, of her identity. Her holster was pulled from her waist, her PDA, her lifeline, was gone. By the time they were done, she stood there cold, still dressed, but vividly feeling as though she had been violated.
She watched in a daze as they took her jacket, her source of warmth, and piled her belongings inside the pockets.
"I'm cold." She said, not realizing she had said it out loud until she saw the first man stare at her.
"Sorry honey, I have to do it. We'll run the heat for you in the car." He looked at her almost sympathetically.
The second man finally turned her away from the headlights, so they could both watch as his partner took her jacket full of belongings and chucked it into the passenger seat of her SUV. The man then reached around, shutting off the lights and turning off the ignition to the car. He bent down under the passenger's side, pulling something small from the underside of the SUV and shoving it into his pocket.
The second man continued to hold her tight, not that he needed to, as the other moved to Brewer. He opened the back hatch of the SUV and, struggling just a little with the man's weight, piled him into the trunk. He picked up the last few objects from the ground, the spare tire, tire iron, jack, and flashlight, and closed the hatch back up when he was finished.
"Wouldn't want the animals to get him." The man explained to them both, though his eyes said he was talking to JJ, almost as if to assure her he wasn't a terrible person.
JJ's eyes left his and her head dipped towards her chest, her body incredibly tired. She pleaded with herself to remain awake, she still didn't know what they were going to do to her, but it was a battle she was slowly losing.
"Do you have the case?" The first man asked his partner, his hand grabbing her chin and lifting her face to meet his eyes.
"Yeah, right here."
"Good, I think we're starting to lose her." The man said as he dropped her chin.
He grabbed the pillow case from his partner, and gently pulled it over JJ's head. By now she barely noticed, her vision was already becoming dark.
"Do you have the rope?"
"Yeah, here."
JJ's arms were brought behind her back and her wrists were tied.
"Just in case." The deep voice said to no one in particular.
"Alright, let's go." The second man said, moving to the driver's side door.
The man with the deep voice led JJ to the backseat, practically carrying her to her destination. Gently, he laid her down across the seat. His eyes lingered on her body, his hand reached out for the side of her covered head.
"Just sleep, pretty." He said before closing the door and jumping into the passenger's seat.
Those were the last words she would consciously hear for a while.