Revealed by Fire
Chapter 3
The picture

"How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June... If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that-for that-I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Back at the police station, Dave was working on a profile when Morgan knocked on the door to his office.

'CSI found a bullet embedded in the tarmac right by where you were laying, Rossi. I looks as if you are lucky to be alive.'

'That doesn't make sense unless shooting a man in cold blood doesn't do it for them. It makes me more sure that Hotch is alive still. Why take him away if they were going to kill him.'

'The SUV has also been found, burnt out at the city limits.' Morgan said. 'They swapped vehicles, so that is how they got through the road blocks.'

'Unless', Dave said, 'they are still within the perimeter.'

'That's a possibility, since the body dump was local, maybe they are too.'

Dave nodded slowly. 'The 'homeless' people disappeared by the time you arrived. What if they were not homeless after all, and just set it up to get their next victim.'

'It's not unknown for people who live on the streets to avoid trouble. Could be they just dispersed after attacking you and Hotch.' Morgan said.

'That's another possibility.' Dave agreed. 'Work on both assumptions for now until we get more information.'

Dave wasn't sure how this 'more information' was going to be revealed, other than finding Aaron. Another body was not something he looked forward to finding.

-0-0-0-

'So, I understand that you have been asking why you are here.' the man said to Aaron, pointing Aaron's own gun at him.

Aaron forced himself to stand before his tormentor, using the wall for support, trying to stand alone.

'I am Special Agent Aaron Hotch....'

'I know who you are.' he said. You can drop the 'Special Agent' nonsense. It has no weight here. Do you want me to tell you why you are here?'

Aaron scowled at the man but said nothing.

'Have you ever read the amazing book about a madman called 'A Picture of Dorian Grey'?'

Hotch nodded, but remained silent.

'Well, you are the picture, Aaron Hotchner. Although we cannot place our diseased minds onto you, we can use you to relieve the violence and anger that this world forces onto us. You will be important, and your life and death will have meaning.'

Aaron stared at the man. He had read the book, many years ago, and undersood exactly what the man was telling him.

'Do you realise how many sex psychopaths, rapists and wife beaters are kept off the streets just by your being here?' he continued. 'You are giving your life in service of mankind. You are privileged.'

'You are insane!' Aaron spoke at last. 'You can't keep me here.'

'But we can, and we are.' he said. 'One other thing in your favour is that whoever kills you will have to find the next......'picture', which is a nuisance. So we don't want you dead. That would be counter productive. Just know that you are available at any time, to any of the men, or women, but we don't see them so often. And they are allowed to take you in groups.'

He paused and watched Aaron's face. He knew that there were some clients already waiting, and they didn't like to be kept waiting for long, or they wanted a discount. And he wasn't ready to give money back on this new victim.

'Remove your suit shirt and shoes.' he said, waving the gun at him.

Hotch didn't move. The man cocked the gun. 'I will shoot you. Not to kill, but enough to hurt. So do it.' He pointed the gun at Aaron's leg. Aaron slowly removed his jacket and trousers, and took off his tie and shirt.

'Shoes as well. We can't have you running away.'

Aaron took off his shoes, and the man gestured for him to step back so that he could pick up the clothes.

Aaron stood in the cold basement in shorts and tee shirt. He shivered slightly.

'Don't fret about the cold.' the man laughed. 'You will soon warm up. Your first clients are waiting. I'd say enjoy yourself, but I doubt if you will!'

And the man left Aaron, and went back up the stairs to take the money from the men that were waiting.

-0-0-0-

Dave needed to speak to Reid. Reid had poured out his heart to Dave, and Dave had kept silent as to his own feelings. He felt guilty, and needed to come clean. He wasn't sure how he was going to put it to Reid, but in the present situation, with Hotch missing, they could support each other. He called him into his tiny office, and when he had sat down opposite his desk, Dave locked the door and pulled his chair round to face him.

'I need to talk to you about something.' Dave said.

'Is it about Aaron?' Reid asked, using Hotch's first name – unusual when they were talking about work.

Dave wondered if Reid had guessed.

'It is, Spencer. I know of your feelings of love for Aaron, and the effort you make not to let it affect your work. I need to tell you that I share those feelings, and never expect them to be returned.'

Reid's mouth dropped open. 'I'd not have guessed.' he said. 'Why are you telling me this? Are we rivals?'

'I don't think so.' Dave answered. 'Aaron is not able to return the kind of love we offer, and so there is no rivalry. But we could support each other in this crisis. I have no idea where Aaron is, and it's hurting.'

Reid was totally shocked. He never imagined that Dave could have this vulnerability. He always appeared to be an island, untouchable, and safe. It threw him to think that Dave had an Achilles heel, and one so like his own.

'Only you know, Spencer. I am good at hiding my feelings. I don't think even Aaron has any idea. But I want to be there for you. Can you be there for me?'

Reid lowered his head. His first impulse was to be upset by the news. But Aaron's love for him was selfless and self sacrificing. That was the purest love. If Dave needed support, Reid would give it.

'Of course, Rossi. ' Reid said, lost for words.

Dave smiled his lip sided smile at Reid.

'Ok. Let's get this profile out.'

-0-0-0-

Aaron stood with his back against the wall ready to fight. He was not going to submit to this insanity. The three men, ones he had not seen before advanced on him, and as soon as they were close enough, he swung at the man in the centre. He caught him off guard. They were not used to dealing with someone trained in close combat, and the man stepped back in surprise.

While Aaron concentrated on the one, the other two tried to get around the side of him to take his arms, but Hotch was too quick for them, and he lashed out sideways, knocking one of them down.

But his upper hand didn't last. There were after all three of them, and eventually, two of them had hold of his arms, and were holding him tight, their fingers digging into his skin.

'You might as well submit.' the first man said through bleeding lips.' Or we'll have to chain you up.'

Hotch struggled in the fierce grip of the two men, but his chance had gone. The man in front of him hit him hard in the face, and his head cracked to the right. Another to the left cheek, and his head jerked the other way. The man punched him under the chin on his throat, and Aaron coughed and fought for breath. A knee to the groin, and Aaron doubled over. The two men holding him let go and let him fall to the ground, where he fell on his side and curled forwards, groaning in pain. Then the other two joined in.

They held him face down on the cold floor and hit his face on the floor. He felt a pop as his nose broke, and his own blood flowed to join the stains from past victims.

Aaron coughed and vomited onto the floor as a boot caught him on his already cracked ribs. He thought about Dave and it gave him new strength. He had to survive so that he could bring the killer of his friend to justice.

He twisted out of the grasp of one of the men and caught hold of the foot that was about to impact with his face again. He twisted the foot and the man fell onto the ground. Aaron tried to get up while there was only one man holding him, but someone stamped on his face and he blacked out for a second. He felt them pull him up to his feet again and start beating him around the head. Then they threw him against the wall. His head hit the bricks hard, and this time he blacked out and fell unconscious onto the floor.

'Well that's that. I don't want to kill him.' a man said. 'Too much trouble.'

The three looked down on the beaten and bloodied man. 'He'll learn not to fight back.' someone else said. 'It only makes it harder.'

One man poked him in the ribs and pushed Aaron into the corner, then the three went back up the steps to be let out.

-0-0-0-

'We cannot trace the people whom you interviewed.' Reid said to Rossi. 'We can only assume they were fake, putting on a show to get their next victim.

'But why take Hotch?' Rossi said. 'He won't be an east target. He's trained to fight, and their usual victims aren't.'

'He was there, and they could stop looking.' Emily said.

'So we are looking for a gang.' Morgan said, 'who strike in the backstreets where there are no security cameras and no willing witnesses.'

'We need to get back down onto the streets.' Emily said, 'Only this time, we work together. These infiltrators won't be liked by the genuine homeless. Someone is sure to break.

'Unless they are bought.' Rossi said. 'These people have nothing, so they would be easy to bribe.' Dave paused, and then asid, 'But it is our only lead. We need to get to it. Is there anything on the other victims yet?'

Morgan picked up the phone and dialled the autopsy room.

-0-0-0-

Down in the autopsy room, the pathologist had the bodies laid out on separate tables. Some were too far gone to tell anything, but the two that had not been burned, one of whose photos had been shown around, had both been raped as well as beaten. There was no DNA as it had been too long, but the tell tale bruising on the buttocks told the tale, and he was just about to call Rossi when his phone rang.

He gave the information to Morgan.

'I haven't made a written report yet, but I will get it too you as soon as possible.'

Morgan closed his phone and relayed the information to the others.

'Beaten and raped.' Rossi said. 'We have to find them quickly.

-0-0-0-

Hotch gradually became self aware again, and all he could feel was pain. He wiped blood from his eyes with a shaky hand and looked around him. The men who had been hurting him were gone, and there was blood all over the floor. The concrete was rough on his skin and he tried to sit up. He had hardly had time to understand what was going on, but he seemed to be the scape goat for all the gang's frustrations and perversions.

He wrapped his arms around his bruised torso, and hoped that the next attack wouldn't come soon. The beating around his head had left him with concussion, and logical thinking was difficult. But he couldn't see how the team, without Dave, would ever find him, especially if Strauss took the lead. It was up to him to escape

He flinched as the door squeaked as it opened again.........