Merciless
Chapter 6
Endings

"If you want a happy ending, it depends of course when you end the story." – Orson Welles

Hotch was rambling with pain. The man had been away for a long time and he was thirsty and hungry, although he doubted that he would be able to eat. The device was left on his foot and the blood pool around his foot was growing as it bled more and more. He tried to concentrate on Reid, who was moaning in delirium.

'Spencer..... please, Spencer, stay awake.'

There was no response from him. Hotch was very afraid that he was at the end now, the poison coursing through his blood stream slowly killing him.

He stopped calling to him as he heard the door open. The man was back.

'I told you the consequences of disobedience when you first arrived here.' the man said. He went to Reid. Aaron held his breath.

'Do not touch him.' Aaron said. 'Let him go and I'll stay and do whatever you want. Just get him to a hospital before it is too late.'

'He is my leverage.' he answered. 'Pay attention now.'

Aaron could see that Spencer's eyes were open and staring up at the man. He felt a sudden rush of guilt that Reid was here. It was only through his intense love for Aaron that he was here at all. And he felt guilt that Reid was going to die for a love that he couldn't return. He felt hot tears as the man bent over Reid. He couldn't see what he was doing but he heard the thin scream of agony from Reid.

'Please.... that's enough....' Aaron sobbed, desperate to get the man's attention away from REID

'The man turned around ahd faced Aaron.

'I will give you another chance to consummate your love, otherwise this man is dead.

Aaron lowered his head. There was no decision to be made. He would not violate Reid.

'I will not do it. You will have to kill him.'

Aaron could hardly believe that the words came from his mouth. He couldn't do this wicked deed.

The man looked at Reid. 'Do you love this man?' he asked.

'Yes.' Reid said softly.

The man went to the other side of Reid's cot, lifted his head and punched him.

He didn't stop. He hit him as blood poured and spurted and traced arcs through the dim light. Aaron screamed at him to stop, but the man was enjoying beating Reid to death. At last he stopped, and dropped Reid back down.

Aaron was crying in rage as his own pain seemed insignificant compared with the pain of what he was witnessing. Reid's face was unrecognisable, and Aaron thought he was probably dead.

'There, he is finished. The guilt for his death is on your shoulders.' the man said. 'You will have to live with his death for the rest of your miserable life.

Aaron didn't speak. He didn't think the rest of his life would be very long, this man murdered with impunity, and Aaron expected to die at his hands. But the guilt for Reid's death consumed him. He watched in silent grief as the man released the chain from Reid's wrist and dragged him off the cot and onto the floor.

'I will now dispose of the carcase.' he said. 'See you later.'

He dragged Reid's body out of the room and closed the door. Aaron lowered his head and wept.

Should he have violated Reid to save his life? Would he have lived if he had? Could he have returned the love that Reid had had for him?

Tears mixed with the blood on his face and rolled down his cheeks. He wished that he could have died in his place. He wished that he could have loved him.

The room seemed silent without the sounds of Reid's breathing.

-0-0-0-

It was a long time before he was back. Aaron had long since stopped crying, and he sat with his head down, thinking about the times he had spent with Reid, not knowing of the feelings he had for him, unable to come to terms with his death. If only he could have loved him. If only Reid hadn't loved him.

'So now what?' Aaron said to the man when he returned. 'Nothing that you do to me can be worse than that which you have already done.'

'You came here to test torture instruments. That is what you will continue to do.' he said. 'I have to be sure that they work. Then I will kill you.'

He went to Aaron and examined his foot that was still clamped into the press. The blood had congealed around Aaron's feet now, and he turned the screw and tightened the plates. Aaron's body stiffened as the blood ran again and squirted through the holes in the plates. Then he stood back and looked at his captive.

Aaron was covered with blood and was pale and weak. The man was not sure how much longer he would last. He would have to hurry.

The piece of equipment that he now had in his hand looked simply like a six inch wide metal strip. He put his arms around Aaron and fastened the strip around his chest. Then he began to tighten it.

Aaron stared at him with wide open eyes. He couldn't breathe, and he tilted his head slightly and blinked slowly. His vision was becoming blurred as his mind fought to live when his heart wanted to die. He groaned softly as the pain increased, and spots danced in front of him. The pain of death was nothing to the pain of living. Without a further sound, he closed his gentle dark eyes and fainted.

-0-0-0-

'I have something!' Emily said, excitement in her voice.

Dave and Morgan were at her side in an instant.

'What have you found?'

'Look here.' Emily said, pointing to the screen of her computer. 'These torture devices have been purchased in this last year by the same person. I have a name, and an address!'

'This could be it.' Dave said excitedly. 'Have Garcia cross check the sketch with his drivers licence, let's see that we have the right man before we go in.'

Emily called Garcia and asked her to cross check. It was seconds later that she came back.

'It's the same person – Edward Kaye, aged thirty nine. The address is different though.'

'That's ok. I have a shipping address rather than a home address.' Emily said. She broke the connection and turned to the others.

'It's him.'

As they were about to leave the office, Dave's phone rang.

'We have found a victim of torture and beating.' the cop on the phone said. 'It could be one of your men, but he is too beaten up to identify. He's still alive, but only just.'

Dave sighed and told the others.

'We don't know if it's Reid or Hotch.' said Dave. 'He's on his way to hospital now, but it's touch and go.'

Emily felt a surge of fear followed by guilt. She tried to push her feelings to the back of her mind and keep her attention on her job.

If it was Hotch she wanted to be with him. She wanted to leave the others to be with him. Her mind was confused. She had dumped him, the best man in the world, because of his intense passion. But now he was in danger again, she couldn't stop thinking about him, and how she wanted to be with him.

She kept the thoughts to herself. She had blown her chances with Aaron. Now she had to live with that decision.

She silently got into the car next to Morgan. Dave got in the back.

-0-0-0-

Kaye loosened the band around Aaron's chest. Yes, it worked fine. Kept at that level of tightness it would eventually kill. But the idea of torture is to keep the victim alive throughout the ordeal to extract information or force a recant.

While his victim was unconscious, he removed the foot press. The foot was a bloody mess now. The skin was split and bleeding.

He woke Aaron up by smacking his bloody face.

'Don't die just yet.' he said. 'I have one last game for you. This one requires no special equipment, but I believe is very effective.'

Aaron was weak and shaking with grief and sorrow. His hands were pulled behind his back and cuffed. He cried out as his mangled hand was roughly forced into the manacles.

'Stand.' the Kaye said.

'Can't.' Aaron whispered. 'Help me.'

The man removed the chain the chain that was around Aaron's waist, and hooked the end on the cuffs, he pushed Aaron off the chair and he fell to the floor. The man stood on the chair and threaded the chain through a ring set in the ceiling. Holding onto the end, he got off the chair. He pulled Aaron upright, and pulled on the chain.

Aaron hung forwards as his arms were pulled up. His head fell forwards and his hair hung over his eyes. The muscles and sinews in his arms and shoulders screamed and twisted un naturally as he was pulled up until his feet just touched the ground.

Aaron's breathing came in harsh gasps as he struggled to breathe. Kaye raised Aaron's head so that he could look into his face. His hair was stuck to his bloody forehead where the ring had previously cut deeply into his skin. Aaron fought to open his eyes and face off his aggressor, but it was difficult to focus.

'What..... do you want?' Aaron gasped.

'I want your suffering. I am experimenting.' Kaye responded. He pulled the end of the chain and Aaron's feet left the ground. The stress on his shoulders suddenly became too much and there was a sucking sound as Aaron's shoulders dislocated. He screamed, his scream softening into pain filled cries as blood bruised his skin from ruptured vessels. He fainted, but this wasn't in line with Kaye's plans. He smacked his face again with some force, and Aaron woke up again to the pain and torture. Kay raised Aaron's head again and forced him to look at him. Aaron's eyes opened a little, and the look that Kaye saw was one of utter defeat.

-0-0-0-

Reid had been found by the road side where he had been dumped from the car that Kaye was driving. He had been found shortly after by a cyclist who called nine one one on his cell. The ambulance paramedics at first thought that the man was dead. he had an old badly infected chest wound that poured pus when they moved him. it looked as if an attempt had been made to clean it up, but the smell was overpowering, and when they realised that the men was alive, they wondered how.

They loaded him into the ambulance and gave the man pain killers The man was awake but in a delirium, crying out for someone called Aaron. One of the medics wrote down what he was saying in case the man died, he could tell the next of kin.

They radioed ahead for a bed to be made ready in Intensive care, and Reid was rushed through the streets to the nearest hospital. He looked as if he had been beaten and the cuts to his face were stitched as they drove through the streets.

In the ER he was cleaned up and his vitals checked. He was breathing very slowly and had septicaemia from the chest wound. They passed him up to the ICU and doubted that he would make it through the night.

-0-0-0-

Aaron was still hanging . His tormentor was watching him and writing notes – how long he remained unconscious, how quickly he fainted. Aaron silently endured, awaiting death. He wanted to scream, but he refused to give Kaye the satisfaction.

'You are very strong, Hotchner.' Kaye said, pulling up his head to speak to him. Aaron's eyes were open but unseeing. They were glazed over, dead. Aaron could hear him but he was in too much agony to respond. He was hanging on his dislocated shoulders and longed for release. He was consumed by guilt over Reid's death, and just wanted to give up.

If only he could have loved him.

Images of Emily flashed before him. The only woman that he had loved. Why..... why..... why.....

Kaye pulled on the chain which yanked at Aaron's arms. This time Aaron did scream, even his strength wasn't enough, and he fainted with the renewed pain. Kaye pushed him so that he swung on the chain.

'I'll see you in the morning.' he grinned. And he left the room.