- Part 1 of 2 -
Warnings: Minor violence, CLOWNS, emotional manipulation/torment, gun play, intimidation, death
Everything was far too quiet, far too easy. We probably should have known something was wrong from the second we breached that house and descended into the basement. The basement door was made of steel. We could hear the team shouting clearfrom above us as they searched the rest of the house. I hovered two or three steps behind Reid, my gun lowered but my flashlight raised to sweep the cluttered room. At the foot of the stairs, we stood side-by-side, peering in the beams of our flashlights. Clown masks hung from the walls, the shadows enhancing their grotesque features, and I felt my breath shudder out.
"This is definitely the guy," I whispered, my stomach rolling. I hated clowns. Seeing this room full of their shells was rapidly sending it to the top of my most hated places. "What a total creep... who even likes clowns this much?"
Reid's laugh was shaky, but there. "Get the lights," he mumbled, still standing at the foot of the stairs. I nodded and backed up, turning halfway to get back to the door. I stepped back into the house just in time to see my worst nightmares come true.
Across the hall, a bookcase swung open to show a hidden passage we hadn't known about. A clown in a blood soaked jumpsuit stared me down and I froze in terror, unable to even draw breath to scream as he lunged at me. The punch sent me rolling back down the stairs to the basement; Reid turned and cried my name as I sprawled on the ground. Above us, the basement door slammed shut and we were plunged into darkness.
-/-
I woke slowly, groggy and feeling like I'd been hit with a truck. Blinking, my eyes soon focussed on the scene before me and the terror was like a shot of pure adrenaline. Reid was tied to a chair, gagged, and bleeding from a cut just above his left ear.
"Oh, good," a cold voice caught my attention. The Unsub grinned at me from his perch on a bench three feet away. He held a gun and had it trained on me, though I figured that was more for Reid's obedience than mine. "I'm so glad you're awake... I was getting bored."
I shuddered. We'd profiled this guy as a childlike sadist... we knew he played with his victims before he killed them. We were still in his clown-filled basement, lit by a single bare bulb in a table lamp in the middle of the floor. "You okay?" I looked at Reid, ignoring the Unsub for long enough to see Reid nod. His wide eyes told a different story.
"Don't worry about him," the Unsub snapped. "I'm the one with a gun, remember?"
As if I could forget, I wanted to say. He waved the end of my service weapon in my face, his finger poised on the trigger. I froze, my skin turning to stone as the fear crept up my spine. "Are you going to use it?" I asked, the words blurting out before I could stop them.
The laughter made me want to throw up. "Not if you're a good girl," the Unsub coddled, jumping off the desk to approach me. I stayed completely still, wondering if I was about to die. I wasn't afraid to die... I was afraid of what watching my death would do to Reid. The Unsub stroked my face with my gun, tilting his head as if he were innocently studying me. "I have a little test for you. If you pass, I'll let one of yougo."
I didn't need to ask what happened to the other. There were five bodies that told me that very clearly. "Him," I said, my voice surprisingly firm for how terrified I was. "You let him go." I didn't look at Reid, fearing the expression on his face.
The Unsub pouted at me mockingly. "How cute," he simpered, looking between me and Reid. "Do you careabout him?" I twitched as he moved the gun back at Reid and I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to tackle the Unsub for the gun. My head was still pounding and my body ached; I was in no condition to fight a kitten, let alone a full grown man twice my size.
"Yes," I replied, my voice level.
The Unsub stood behind Reid, not touching but menacing. Ready to strike if I messed up. "Do you... love him?"
Taken aback, I pressed my lips tightly together. I doubted the Unsub could guess at what my silence meant. I knew Reid knew. He was an excellent profiler but more than that, he was a personal friend and if anyone could pick up on my non-verbal clues it was him. My secret, the one I'd been working so hard to hide, was exposed in those few seconds of hesitation.
The Unsub twisted the knot of Reid's gag, tightening it. "Answer me!" he demanded. Reid struggled but it was helpless and I felt my terror levels peak at a new high.
"Yes!" I cried, blinking back tears. "Yes, alright!" the Unsub twisted the knot further and my heart dropped to the floor in desperation. "Stop it! You're hurting him!"
Reid coughed into the gag when he was released. The Unsub stormed across the room to me and I flinched as he raised a hand as if to strike me. At the last second, he stopped and gave me a toothy, predatory grin. "Every time you disobey, he gets hurt," he hissed.
I met Reid's eyes, forcing myself to do so. I couldn't read his expression through the tears in my eyes and I didn't honestly care to. I could hear him coughing still, stretching his head to try and loosen the gag. His lips were slowly turning blue and the realisation hit me like a physical blow. The gag was too tight. Reid was choking.
The Unsub had moved back to leaning against his desk, watching me closely. "He can't breathe," I snapped, fearing the reaction but unable to stop myself. My concern for Reid outweighed my fear for myself at that point. "Let me ungag him and I'll do whatever you want."
The Unsub cocked his head at me, still holding me in place with the end of my own gun. I could hear Reid's breathing growing more tormented with every second. I glared at the Unsub, staring him down though I knew very well who had all the power here. Clue: I was not it.
"Fine," he snapped at length, and swung the gun to Reid's head. "You interrupt our game one more time, and I'll shoot you," he snarled.
I cleared my throat and he aimed at me again. Oddly, I preferred him aiming at me than at Reid. At least I knew the Unsub wouldn't kill me so long as I was playing his game. I stood between the gun and Reid as I untied his gag, pulling it from his mouth as tears sprung to my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Spencer," I whispered, pressing my forehead against his. I didn't have much time like this. Reid gasped and I watched his eyes close, the tears on his face mimicking mine. He let his breath out in a ragged exhale, shaking his head as if to try and comfort me.
The sound of a clicking gun had me standing up straight. The Unsub gestured for me to step away and I took a single step to the left, glaring defiantly. I refused to move myself further. He let out a disappointed sigh and shook his head at me. "You're boring," he said flatly.
The world slowed down and my breath escaped me in a soft cry of "No!"
Reid's face went white as the Unsub's face hardened.
His arm steadied, the gun swinging away from my head.
My mind blanked as I felt myself moving.
Bang.
Something thudded into my side, feeling like a full-force kick in the gut. I stumbled, my hand reaching to soothe the pain blossoming on my lower stomach; it came away wet, coated in red. Around me, Reid's scream faded... and silence rang in my ears as I hit the ground with a lifeless thud.