Chapter 02
T-minus 8

JJ ripped the hood off her head and turned in the direction of the door. It was a pocket door, the kind that slipped into a space in the wall and disappeared when open. Sure enough, it was locked. Crap. She reached in her pocked and pulled out her phone. No signal. Of course.

Okay, where was she? And what did she have to work with?

She was in a room that looked a lot like a dorm room. At the entrance end there were two small, open closets, one on either side. A quick looked revealed a spare set of bedding, lots of spare pillows and some hangers. On the other side of the closets were two beds, neatly made, of the same sort of chunky wood furniture you would expect of a dorm room. They even looked like extra-long twins. At the foot of each bed was an open doorway. Against the far wall were two chests of drawers, and in between a vanity desk with a mirror and a chair and a small case on top. Inside the case was a pair of glasses, extra-nerdy style. Huh. She went and looked in the doors and found two bathrooms, plain and clean, with standing showers and extra towels under the sinks. No windows, of course. And also no privacy. Great.

She'd seen worse prisons. After looking over everything there was nothing else for JJ to do but use said bathroom and then sit and wait. According to her watch it had been just about ninety minutes since they'd dropped Henry off, by now the team was on the case. It was surely just a matter of time.

After about ten minutes more the room door clicked and slid into the pocket.

JJ went over and cautiously looked. Beyond it was a large space set up as a living area. There were ample places to hide but these men had shown no indication of being the hide and jump out type. And what could she do if they did anyway?

They had walked straight in to this room, no turning, so she hurried to the closed door directly across from the one she was in. Unlike the wooden bedroom door this one was steel, and very securely locked. Above it was a light panel, currently glowing red. She had no idea what that meant.

When she turned to look back in the room she spotted the body lying on the floor. "Spence." She hurried over to the familiar form. Thankfully he was breathing, and his pulse was reassuringly steady. Resting on his chest was a note:

Sedation administered: 0735
Expected duration: 4 hours

If that was the case then he was picked up about the time she was, and they had about two hours before he woke up. But why sedate him and not her? Because she was easier to control, she had Henry and Michael to worry about. They likely had to jump him somehow. Okay.

She fetched a pillow and put it under his head. As she went she noticed her work tote, his satchel, and their go-bags by the door. They looked like they had been riffled through, but the only thing missing from hers was her backup weapon. No surprise there.

Okay, time to check out the prison. Call the wall with the locked entry door the north wall. The door was in the north-east corner. On the east wall was a desk set up, a bookcase with lots of books she didn't have a hope of understanding, a desk fitted out with the usual supplies, and a computer. Where there was a computer there was a Penelope Garcia so she started it booting up. The bedroom door was on the south wall, in the south-east corner. In the center of the south wall was a good sized TV and entertainment center. In front of it was a comfortable seating area, couch, chairs, decently lit. The coffee table held games of all kinds, and some bins in the area held items for other hobbies. Kind of plush for a prison. At least they wouldn't get bored.

On the far side, south wall, south-west corner was another open doorway. She flipped on the light and looked inside. It was a small medical room, a table with stirrups, various machines, and a counter on the far side that looked set up for lab work. JJ didn't go poking around; it was more than a little unnerving. She placed a protective hand over her bulging belly and shut off the light.

West wall, south-west corner also held an open doorway. Past that was a well-fitted out workout room, weights, mats, a treadmill and stationary cycle. In the corner was a large lamp of some kind. Okay, this was a very plush prison.

Past the door was another desk set up. JJ didn't stop to look at the books, but she did nudge the computer. This one was booted up already so she sat down. In the center of the very empty desktop was a note:

Internet available 1805 to 1815 daily
Also available 0955 to 1000 on Day 1
See binder for more information

If you assumed this was day one then the net should be up in three minutes. And this computer had Skype. Sweet!

JJ waited and as soon as the net became available she called up the office. It picked up right in the conference room. "Oh my god!" Penelope cried.

"Trace this line!" JJ said. "The Unsub said I only have ten minutes of internet."

"Going! Going!" Penelope said as she started to work.

Thank heaven Will was there. "You all right Jayge?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She said. "They didn't lay a hand on me, I swear. Michael feels fine too. Is Henry all right?"

"Yeah, just shaken up. He's in Hotch's office."

"Tell him I'm okay and I love him."

"We're recording this." Hotch said. That was good; Henry would hear it from her. "JJ, have you seen Reid?"

"Yes, he's here. They sedated him." She lifted the small camera and turned it so they could see where Spence was lying. "If the note they left is accurate he's due to come out of it in about ninety minutes. There was also a note saying we would get internet access from six-oh-five to six-fifteen nightly."

"That's a counter measure." Dave said. "It makes it harder to trace. How long were you in the car?"

They did a cognitive over everything that had happened. The team quickly came to the same conclusion she had. "They intend to let you go." Morgan said. "They don't intend to kill you."

"I know." JJ replied. "But based on this set up they intend to hold us for a while."

"Yeah, but why?" Dave asked.

"We don't have enough information." Hotch said. "Keep trying, we'll keep working from this end."

"I know." She had less than a minute left. "Will, I love you!"

"I love you too Jayge." He replied.

She would have said something more but the internet cut off. She looked at the clock, precisely 10am. The Unsub was keeping to his word, that was something to know.

Okay, Spence was still snoring. She had eight hours before she could call the office again. Now what about this binder? She turned to look at the rest of the room. In the west wall, just clockwise past this desk, was another doorway. It led to a well-stocked storeroom, spare clothes that looked to have come from the thrift shop, washer and dryer, dry goods to last for a while, even a very full chest freezer. Just past that, taking up the north-west corner and most of the north wall, was a kitchen area. It had all the essentials, right down to the coffee maker and well-stocked fridge. And in the west wall, next to the door to the storeroom, was a dumbwaiter. Likely the Unsub could use that to send down perishables.

In the middle of the kitchen table there was a thick binder.

JJ sat and pulled it over. It was broken down into sections. Most of them looked like instructions manuals, for everything from the kitchen appliances to the electronics in the entertainment area to information on the appliances in the clinic room. Apparently there was everything they would need to monitor her pregnancy in there. But it was the first section that caught her eye.

She was still considering the implications of that section when Spencer Reid groaned, sat up, and rubbed his eyes.