Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters.
I appreciate reviews and comments!
"Jacob is your brother?" Reid asked, unable to hold his surprise back. There had been no record of a brother that he knew of.
A small nod from Chris answered his question. He led him towards the back of the house to a living room area, Reid taking note of every little detail along the way. Chris waved the gun in a motion towards one of the couches, and Reid took it as a sign to sit.
Reid didn't want to ask too many questions, but curiosity was starting to get the best of him. "How exactly am I supposed to help you get him back?"
Chris didn't answer him, so he tried again. "Did Jacob ask you to do this?"
Again, Chris didn't answer. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow. Reid used this as a starting point to try to talk Chris out of whatever he was planning.
"You need to see a doctor, Chris."
"Aren't you a doctor?" Chris asked a bit too hopefully. He must have seen Reid's title somewhere and came to the same wrong conclusion that many people have made before.
"Not that kind, Chris," Reid responded. "You need to have the bullet wound looked at by a medical doctor."
Chris shook his head. "No. I can't. They'll catch me, then."
"Let me take you in. If you come willingly, it will be so much easier on you. I know you didn't kill any of those women." Reid was going out on a bit of a limb by saying this, but judging from what he saw in Chris and the fact that they hadn't even known about him, he was certain that he was right. "Jacob was the one who did it, right? You can't be blamed for that. You haven't killed anyone. You can stop this before it's too late."
Chris's eyes shifted as they looked away from Reid. "It's already too late."
"The knife wounds on the officer's throat tells us that he's inexperienced," Hotch began as they gathered in the conference room. "It also tells us that Jacob was the one who killed the women. Those were quick, clean cuts. This was slow and hesitant."
"Probably his first kill," Rossi added.
"Was there a need to kill the officer?" Prentiss asked. "By the looks of it, he didn't want to kill him, but he might have been able to get to Reid without doing it."
"He's scared of getting caught. He doesn't want to take any chances, even if it means he has to kill."
"If he wants us to release his partner, why hasn't he contacted us yet?" JJ asked.
"Again, inexperience," Hotch answered. "If Jacob has done the killing, then he's most likely the dominate one."
"So, why is the submissive one suddenly taking control and killing and kidnapping?" Morgan asked. "I know he doesn't have Jacob to give him orders anymore, but that's a big jump to take."
"Well, maybe that's it," Prentiss suggested. "Maybe Jacob ordered him to do this."
"How would he do that? He hasn't had any contact with him since we took Jacob into custody."
"I think he did it before we had Jacob in custody," Hotch said. "Jacob might have told him what to do in case they were caught, but I think it's more likely that he said it just before he let him escape. The second unsub shot Reid and was gone before I got to the room. Jacob could have ordered him what to do before he snuck up on me and took us hostage."
"Why didn't the both of them just run?" JJ asked.
"We would have caught them. Jacob knew the rest of you would be coming up, so he created the hostage situation to distract us and let his partner escape."
Rossi nodded in agreement. "That's why he's determined not to give us anything. He's distracting us further by attracting our attention to trying to get him to talk."
"He's just waiting it out while his partner does the work," Morgan commented.
"We have no leads on who the partner is or where he's keeping Reid, so we're going to have to wait until he contacts us."
Reid was unsure what Chris meant, but he didn't like the way he said it. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to willingly back down, so Reid decided to try a different tactic.
"If you want to get your brother back, you're going to have to call my team." If he couldn't talk Chris down, he could at least try to help his team find the two of them. If they were able to keep Chris talking long enough, Reid had no doubt that Garcia would be able to trace their location.
"I know," Chris replied quietly.
"The sooner you talk to them, the sooner you can get him back."
After a few minutes of silence, Chris finally asked for a number to call, and Reid waited while he dialed.
"This is Agent Hotchner," Reid could hear coming through the speaker. "Who is this?"
Chris ignored his question. "I-I want Jacob back."
"I can't just give him to you. I can't let a murderer run free."
"You give him back, or I'll kill your agent!"
Reid was surprised by Chris's sudden burst of confidence. It was amazing what sheer determination could do.
"No, you won't," Hotch replied calmly. "I know you don't want to kill him. It's not in you to kill people."
"I've done it before! Or did you forget about the guy outside your agent's apartment? I'll do it again if you don't do what I say!"
Reid's heart sank as he heard this. He hadn't even thought of the officer that had been stationed outside his apartment, but he hadn't exactly had a reason to. He was more concerned with his own predicament.
"If you kill him, then you'll never get Jacob. You know that."
"No! You will release him! You have two hours, or your agent is dead!"
Chris hung up the phone, and Reid could only hope it had been long enough for Garcia to trace the call. He knew this wasn't like Simon. Simon had been smart enough to figure out a way to block the trace, but Chris was obviously not. He may not be entirely smart, but Reid knew he was still dangerous. He had already shot him once, so Reid had no doubt that he would do it again, especially after hearing that Chris had killed the officer. He was obviously willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted.
