This chapter is starts as Morgan's POV, but since Hotch does most of the talking, it'll kinda of move to him and his feelings.

AN 1: I might have already mentioned it, but this will NOT be death of any characters from the show *cough cough* Reid *cough cough*

Chapter 4: A New Game

"Hotch, what's going on?" Morgan asked as he tiredly entered the BAU conference room. All he knew was that Hotch had called him and told him that everyone was meeting there and that it was urgent.

By the looks of things, Reid was the only one yet to show. Odd, Morgan thought to himself, Reid was usually the quickest to make it there.

"I believe Reid's in trouble," Hotch said rather bluntly.

"What?" Morgan asked in disbelief as he dropped into an open seat. "How can that possibly be? We haven't been back for five hours and he's already in danger? How do you know?" Morgan asked.

"He called me earlier-"

"Wait, Reid called you? So why do you think he's in trouble?" Prentiss asked.

"Well, He sounded very nervous, like he was unsure of what he was calling me for. The whole conversation was incredibly un-Reid-like and very suspicious. Also, he told me to get everyone here then call him back and you know Reid wouldn't have me wake you all up and come down here unless it was important."

"What do you think could've happened?" Garcia asked fearfully. Her Junior G-man was in danger again! Didn't the poor kid ever get a break?

"Only one way to find out." Hotch pulled out his cell phone. "Now," he said as he looked around at everyone, "I'll talk to him and try to figure out what's going on. Garcia I want you to try and trace the call, everyone else, please try and stay quiet. Listen for things in the background and anything in Reid's voice that might help. Also, Garcia, can you record the conversation, just in case?"

Garcia nodded then worked her tech-magic before nodding to Hotch to begin. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever he might hear. Reid's number was swiftly dialed and Hotch set the phone, on speaker, in the center of the table.

"Reid?" Hotch asked immediately. "We're all here, even Garcia. Now what the hell is going on?" A few people around the table raised their eyes as Hotch swore, but he ignored them. Perhaps it was a bit unprofessional, but he was far more worried than he was willing to say. Something was definitely up, he could feel it.

"It's Aaron, right?" A young, feminine voice said. She sounded confident. Hotch's attention was caught by Morgan as he leapt up from his seat, throwing his hands down on the table.

"Mayella?" Morgan sounded some combination of pissed and frightened. Everyone's eyes widened. Mayella? The Mayella?

Reid was in a lot more danger than they thought.

"Hello, Derek." Her voice was cold. So it was her. JJ and Garcia both gasped and Prentiss' mouth hung slightly agape. Rossi was, as usual, a cool face of neutrality, but Hotch could detect a hint of worry in his eyes. Morgan's eyes turned hard as steel and he went rigid.

Then there was Reid.

What must he be feeling? Hotch couldn't imagine. To not only be attacked once, but to be attacked again a week later? Hotch would be scared out of his mind.

"What the hell do you want? Where's Reid?" Morgan demanded. Hotch sent a look at Morgan. Control yourself, he mouthed. They didn't know what frame of mind the young woman was in and if Morgan pissed her off, then she might take it out on Reid. Hotch wouldn't let that happen.

"Watch yourself, Derek, I'd hate for Spencer here to suffer because of your temper," she warned. Hotch could practically hear the smirk on her face. It only fueled his anger more. She was cocky, the ball was back in her court. Hopefully her arrogance would lead to a mistake.

Hotch looked over at Garcia and nodded, signaling her to start tracing the call.

"Miss. Roberts, can you tell me what you hope to gain from this?" Hotch asked, trying to stay calm.

"I'm not an idiot, Aaron, I know what motive means," she snapped irritably. "But, what I want? Hmm… that's a tough one. Well, actually, it's quite simple when you really get down to it. My motive is a need for revenge for my brother's death. I want you to feel the same loss I did. I want to make you suffer for killing him, to know the pain I know."

"We didn't have a choice, he had pulled a gun-" Hotch tried to reason, but she cut him off.

"You had plenty of options. Do not delude yourself into thinking otherwise," she snarled.

Garcia suddenly made a noise and her eyes widened. Hotch wondered where May had taken Reid that was so shocking. He held up a hand telling Garcia to wait a minute before telling him.

"You could have aimed to disarm, not kill." It was true that perhaps they had let their personal feelings towards Reid's kidnapper dictate their actions a bit more than they should. "But, that's not the point," she said calming down once again, "this is not about what could have been done. What's done is done as they say. Now, I do believe your technical analysis is there, correct?"

Garcia made another noise and Morgan put a hand on her arm, though he continued to glare angrily at the phone.

"She had nothing to do with your brother's death-"

"Didn't I just go over this? What's done is done, the past is in the past, whatever you want to say. Anyway, I merely wanted to tell her that I am aware she is tracing this call and I am aware that she will figure out that I'm in Spencer's apartment, so I won't bother being all mysterious about my location"

So that's what had Garcia so shocked.

Hotch remembered Elle telling him how hard it had been for her to be attacked in the one place a person should always be safe, their home. Hopefully Reid would be able to come out of this.

Hotch trusted Reid, had total faith in him. But sometimes things were just too far out of your control. Reid may be smart, but he wasn't a miracle worker.

He didn't have long to ponder about it, because Mayella continued.

"Do you like games, Aaron?"

"This isn't a game, though. These are the lives of actual people you're-"

"Did I ask if this was a game? No, I did not. And quite frankly, I don't care if you like games or not. I was merely asking to be polite. It doesn't really matter if you like games or not because it's too late."

"Too late for what?" Hotch asked, fear building in his chest.

"To turn back. The game has already begun. Now, the first rule, if anyone, anyone at all, enters this house, I will kill Spencer before you even have a chance to tell me to freeze, understood?"

Hotch closed his eyes and let out a pained sigh. This couldn't be happening. He felt sick to his stomach as he thought of how relieved he'd been just yesterday to be finally leaving New Hampshire. It felt like some warped dream. But, at the very least, Reid was alive, albeit potentially hurt to an unknown degree, but alive. And that was what mattered at the moment.

"Am I understood?" she snapped, irritated with his lack of answer. Hotch opened his eyes and looked around. Both JJ and Garcia's eyes were suspiciously wet and although Emily's eyes were dry, the pain was evident on her face. Morgan's elbows were resting on the table and his head rested on his hands. Rossi's eyebrows were slightly drawn together and a calculating look dominated his face.

"Yes. But why?"

"Two reasons really. Like I said I want you to know the pain I knew. Waiting, unknowing if precious Spencer is injured or even dead – and that's tortuous, isn't it?" she asked gleefully. "And two, I need a little time to…plan my end game, you could say."

End game – that wasn't good at all. But apparently she hadn't decided yet how she wanted it all to end. That meant there was still hope she'd keep Reid alive as long as they didn't break the rules. That meant there was a chance Reid could talk her down, change her mind. Hotch didn't get a chance to decide what to say before she started again.

"As I've pointed out, I am not stupid. I know you'll find a way to eventually get to him. It's just a matter of whether you'll find him in time or not."

The line went dead.

TBC…

*dodges tomato* I'm sorry! I know how you all feel about cliffys but I couldn't help myself!

Thanks so much for reading and please review!