DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR ANY RELATED CHARACTERS
A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed and added this story! Hope you enjoy it! I don't recall it ever being mentioned in an episode who could swim or not, so I made it up : )
LABYRINTH - Chapter Two
"Ok, everybody heading to Deep Dark Secretsville please board as the train is now departing," Garcia said as she looked up from her computer screen.
JJ, Rossi and herself had turned the Round Room into a makeshift work space. Garcia had bough in a few of her lap tops, while JJ and Rossi combed through every inch of paper work relating to the case that they could find.
"What have you found?" looking up from the Missing Persons Report he was reading for Kelly Murray from 2009.
"The things I have found would make any daytime TV soap character shudder in anticipation of the storyline." Garcia ignored Rossi's and JJ's raised eyebrows and continued. "Each and every victim had some secret in there past, or something they ultimately regretted."
"Like?" JJ prompted when Garcia didn't elaborate.
"Ok, so from the first group of four, Macy Wickman falsely accused a man of rape when her fiancé found her in an ally at the back of a nightclub doing the dirty, so to speak. Trevor Hampton was a drug addict who got clean and lapsed several times. He was clean at the time of his abduction." She looked down at her screen before looking back up. "Sarah Lewiston had an abortion, or several, and Michael Smith was issued with a DUI after he knocked down a six year old."
"The other victims all have these sorts of backgrounds?" Rossi asked, placing down the report he had been reading.
Garcia nodded. "They vary in extremes." She looked back at the screen of her laptop. "One guy, Jayson Richards," She looked back up. "From the third group of people had countless arrests for aggravated assault, burglary, car theft, yada yada yada. Whereas another guy, Micah Roberts, who went missing at the same time, well," She shrugged. "From what I can tell, all he was guilty of was not seeing his little girl as much as he should have."
"So the UnSub thinks he's some kind of injustice collector?" JJ asked, sceptically.
Rossi nodded. "If all the victims have something in their past that could be perceived as a wrong doing, it could be why he's choosing them."
"I'll call Hotch." JJ said, pulling out her cell phone. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. "No answer." She said, looking at her cell phone confused. Hotch always answered.
"Maybe he's driving." Garcia suggested, pulling out her own cell. "I'll try Emily."
JJ dialled Hotch again. Still no answer. "I'll ring Spence." She said, trying his number instead.
"Voicemail." Garcia said, hanging up. "Morgan it is then." She dialled again. It rang a few times before she shook her head and hung up as the voicemail kicked in.
Rossi looked at his watch. "They left over hour ago." He looked up at JJ. "Try the station."
JJ nodded. Dialling the number from one of the case files and waiting for an answer from the Manassas PD. She stood from the table when the call was answered and headed over to the window to continue the conversation.
"I don't like this." Garcia said, turning back to her laptop. "One of them not answering is ok. That's fine. But all four?" She shook her head, typing away furiously.
"What are you doing?" Rossi asked, sitting up in his chair slightly in an attempt to get a better view of her computer screen.
"Tracing their phones." Garcia said simply, without looking up.
"OK," JJ said, returning to the table. "Manassas PD got a call from Hotch saying they were on-route, but were going to take a look at the dump site before they reported into the station. That was thirty minuets ago but they haven't arrived at the scene yet."
"Guys," Garcia said quietly, looking up from her laptop. "Their cell phones are located on Dumfries Road, just north of Dale City."
"Maybe they got stuck in traffic?" JJ suggested.
Garcia shook her head. "They haven't moved in the last twenty minuets." She looked at Rossi, the worry written all over her face.
"I'll call Manassas again." JJ said, pressing re-dial on her cell.
"Tell them we're on our way." Rossi said, grabbing his jacket and heading out the door. Garcia and JJ looked at each other before wordlessly following.
(((((())))))
It was cold. Freezing.
Reid had the sensation of falling, but before he'd been able to make any sense of it, his body had been taken over by the immense bitterness. It took him a few seconds to figure out that he was now also wet. It took him a further few to realise he couldn't breath. He opened his eyes to discover he was underwater. He swam to the surface, his mind racing. How had he gotten here? Where were the others? Where was here? He broke the surface of the water gulping down the air. It was far from fresh but it was air.
After a few moments, his lungs had caught up with his needs and his breathing had slowed. He looked around. The room was fairly large, around twice the size of the bull pen back at Quantico. The water was deep. He wasn't sure how deep, but he had been fully submerged a few feet below the surface and the bottom was nowhere in reach either.
The ceiling of the room was high, at least fifteen feet from where he was. It was curved at the edges to create a tunnel effect. The walls were made of dark, rough stone. In the middle of the ceiling was what looked like a storm cellar door. He guessed that must be from where he'd fallen. Next to the door hung a single light. It lit the room dimly, but well enough to take in the surroundings. There was a small ledge on one wall, slightly above the water. It was just big enough for a man to sit or stand on, although sitting would mean dangling your legs into the freezing water.
He racked his brain, trying to remember what had happened. Where were the rest of the team? The water was too cold; his memory was drawing a blank. There had to be a way out.
Before he could move to find one, the door above him opened and a limp figure fell into the water. Reid waited in shock for a few seconds before he realised the figure wasn't surfacing. He dove under the water swimming in the direction of the unknown person. He could make out a figure in the water.
Morgan.
Although he seemed to be conscious, he was making little or no effort to make it to the surface of the water. If anything, he seemed to be, well, panicking. At any other time, the sight of Morgan flustered like this would have been amusing. This time, however, it just scared Reid more.
He made his way over to the older agent, hooking his right arm under both of Morgan's arms and across his chest, making his way to the surface, grateful for the upward force of the water.
They broke through the surface, Morgan gasping for air. "Reid?" He managed to choke out between gasps.
"Yea, it's me." Reid answered, still supporting Morgan. "Where's Hotch and Prentiss?"
Morgan's breathing had evened out. "I don't know man." He said, looking around. "God, it's cold."
"You ok?" Reid asked. Morgan nodded and Reid took this as a sign to let go.
"Woah, woah!" Morgan shouted, causing Reid to stop and continue his hold on his friend. "I erm," Morgan chuckled. Despite everything else that was going on, he found he couldn't help it.
Reid paused. "Why are you laughing?" he asked, a little worried that he was no longer able to feel the cold.
"I, erm..." Morgan chuckled again. "I never learnt to swim." He confessed. "I tried, but, well, I sucked at it so I gave up."
Reid was silent. If it had been a different situation, he was sure he would have had a field day with this piece of information. At the moment, it just seemed to be another obstacle. He looked around the room again, still holding Morgan, when his eyes fell upon the ledge he'd spotted earlier. "Hang on." He said, starting to swim in the direction of the ledge. Morgan remained silent until they reached the side of the room. Reid positioned him so that he would be able to pull himself out of the water onto it. "Climb on."
Morgan did so. When he was sat on the ledge, cross legged so as to avoid the cold water, he looked down at Reid. "You need to get out of the water too." He said, looking around the room, he noticed there was only one such ledge.
"I'm fine." Reid said, holding onto the edge of the ledge for support.
"Bullshit, Reid." Morgan said, resting his head against the wall and realising it was a pointless argument. There was no way they would both fit on the ledge, and there wasn't anything similar to be seen. "Sorry, Man." He said, looking at the younger man.
"What for?" Reid asked, starting to feel the cold again. "Never learning to swim?" He asked, smiling broadly.
"Oh so now you gonna rip me for that?" Morgan said, raising an eyebrow. "We got bigger fish to fry, man." Morgan could feel himself starting to shiver. Guilt ran through him as he noticed Reid shivering in the freezing water.
"Not yet," Reid said, his voice betraying the cold he was feeling. "But when we get home, yeah." He looked at Morgan and smiled, unable to believe that Morgan, possible one of the manliest men in the FBI, was unable to swim.
"Any ideas how to get out of here?" Morgan asked, looking around again as if some magic doorway would have appeared.
Reid looked around. "Hang on." He said, looking up at Morgan before taking a deep breath and disappearing beneath the water.
"Reid!" Morgan called, leaning forwards a little. "Reid!" He shouted again. Nothing. What was the kid doing? Even Morgan had worked out that they had no doubt been taken by the UnSub, and the two victims with hypothermia had no doubt been the ones locked in this room. If he knew that, and currently had the statistics of hypothermia survival rates running through his head then it was a sure bet Reid did too, and the kid had put himself in more danger by swimming off to go knows where?
He waited for what seemed like forever before Reid resurfaced in the middle of the room.
"Jesus, Reid!" Morgan said, glad to see his friend alive. "What the hell was that about?"
Reid waited until he reached Morgan before he answered. "None of the victims drowned." He answered, his voice shaking from the cold. "That means there's a way out of here." He held onto the edge of the ledge again for support.
Morgan looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You find anything." Reid nodded, but didn't answer right away. "Reid?" Morgan said, gently placing his hand or Reid's arm. Even though he was cold himself, Morgan could still tell Reid's body temperature was plummeting. "You need to get out of the water." Morgan said, starting to make his way off the ledge. Even though he couldn't swim, he could still hold onto the edge of the ledge.
Reid shook his head and stopped Morgan in his tracks. "There's... a lever." He said, drawing in uneven breaths. "In the far corner." He turned his head to look in the direction he had seen the lever.
"You think that's the way outta here?" Morgan asked, trying not to get his hopes up.
"The floor... it's like a grate." He said, looking back at Morgan. "There's a false floor beneath it. I guess the lever makes it drop, or some... something." He was trying to ignore the cold that seemed to have seeped into his bones, but the constant shivering was making it almost impossible. "I'll be back." He said, before taking a deep breath and disappearing again.
He made his way over to where he had seen the lever. It wasn't anything special. A metal pole, around a foot or so in length, protruding from the wall at an upwards angle. He placed his hands on it, vaguely aware that he had stopped shivering again. He closed his eyes, briefly thinking about the injuries of the victims, and hoping the Hotch and Prentiss were alright, before he pushed down on the lever.
And it all went black.
(((((())))))
"Reid!" Morgan called. He knew it was futile. Despite outwards appearances he knew Reid was a though kid, and stubborn as a mule. He leaned back against the wall when a though struck him. He was mentally recounting the injuries of the victims, and the pattern Reid had noticed. Two of every four victims showed signs of hypothermia. He was pretty sure that was caused from the room he and Reid were locked in. The other two in each for had lacerations to their arms. That was likely caused by whatever hell Hotch and Prentiss had found themselves in. But there was something else.
One of each hypothermia victim had electrical burns to their hands. That meant either Reid or himself. He was pretty sure he was safe – or as safe as could be expected – where he sat on the ledge out of the water. But Reid? That's when it hit him.
The lever. Their only way out.
"Reid!" He shouted, although he knew he wouldn't get an answer. He fought the urge to dive in the water, knowing he wouldn't be able to help anyway. "Reid!" He shouted again, as if this time there would be a response. There was a loud 'clank'. The light in the room dimmed even lower for a second, then the noise of water draining. "Reid!" Morgan shouted again, as he noticed the water level receding.
The water drained fast. Morgan used his arms to extend his body from the ledge and drop to the floor. The water still came to his knees but was getting lower. He though for a moment about how Reid must have been right about the floor, noticing that it seemed to have gone and only the grate that he had spoken about remained.
"Reid!" He shouted, still not seeing his friend. He made his way through the remaining water, ignoring the chill it sent through his body, to the corner that Reid had indicated earlier. As he approached the water level was low enough for him to make out the figure of his friend, slumped at an awkward angle between the floor and wall. "God, no." Morgan said as he practically leapt the last several feet between them.
He rolled Reid over onto his back. He wasn't breathing. Morgan didn't even have to think about what to do. "C'mon, Reid." He said as he compressed on his friends chest he counted to five, before breathing for him also. "Damn it!" He shouted, continuing compressions. He repeated the cycle for what felt like forever before he heard Reid take a sharp intake of breath. "C'mon, one more." He said, continuing the chest compressions. Reid exhaled, immediately followed by him coughing up water.
Morgan picked him up into a slight sitting position, holding him to his chest. "It's ok." He soothed, as Reid continued to cough. "It's ok." He unconsciously wiped the younger mans hair off his forehead. "You did it, Reid." He said, allowing a small smile to creep on his face.
Reid smiled, still unable to speak or fully catch his breath. He hurt. Although it seemed everywhere hurt. His lungs hurt to breath. His head hurt to think. His hands hurt. He looked down, turning his hands so the palms were facing him. "Morgan." He said quietly, not looking away from his hands.
Morgan turned to see what Reid was looking at. The palms of Reid's hands were both burnt. The left was far worse than the right. Morgan couldn't look at it for too long, but he was sure the burn had damaged several layers of skin. The edges of the burns looked almost black where the skin had been killed while the centre of each wound was an angry red
Morgan closed his eyes. This could not be happening. He must have dozed off in the car on the way to Manassas and was in the middle of some nightmare or something.
"Morgan."
Reid's voice was quiet and shaky, but still sounded determined. Morgan had to admit, he admired that about Reid. He wasn't one to give up.
"Yea, kid?" He asked, looking down at Reid's face. He was pale. But then Morgan supposed, if he'd been electrocuted and half drowned, he'd be pale too.
Reid sat up a little on his own, wincing at the movement. He took a deep breath and pushed himself to sit up all the way. He looked around, noticing for the first time that a small door had opened up next to the lever. He indicated the door with a nod, not sure yet if he could use his hands. He tried to speak, coughing a little as he did. He turned to face Morgan. "We need to find Hotch and Emily."
Morgan simply nodded. He helped Reid to stand, supporting him as he did so, and they slowly made their way to the door.
(((((())))))
So what's happened to Hotch and Prentiss? Soon to be revealed! As will how they ended up in this mess, and why. Unless you can figure it out... :P Hope you enjoyed! Coments and constructive criticism welcome! Till next time! xx
PS - I did some research on hypotermia and according to what I found, swimming in cold water or fully submerging yourself for long periods of time (like swimming under water) makes it worse and can cause an earlier onset. I only found this online so might not be 100% medically acurate, but for my story, it is (admit it, you all love the Reid whump!)
