Chapter Seven

Through the bullet proof glass and the two-way mirror that separated them, Gideon watched Amy Raymond as she sat in the interrogation room. Her hands were still cuffed in front of her, a necessary precaution. She sat still, not restless and not talking.

Gideon had thought that her tendency to play games might have lead her to talk to them behind the glass, but since they had brought her in, she hadn't said a word. She just sat there and stared at the blank table top as if it would tell her something.

He turned from the mirror as Hotch opened the door.

"Has she said anything?" Hotch asked coming up beside him and looking into the room.

"Nope. Not yet." Gideon said. He looked up Hotch. "Do you want to interrogate her?"

Hotch nodded as he looked at Amy. "She seems to be obsessed with me for some reason. Maybe I can use that to our advantage."

"What did Haley when she heard about your meeting?" Gideon asked after a beat.

"She wasn't happy." Hotch said turning to look at Gideon. "She was even more pleased when she learned that it was my 'stalker.'"

Gideon gave a soft smile. They both turned as Morgan and Elle walked into the room.

"Who's doing interrogation?" Morgan asked gesturing to Amy.

"I am." Hotch said. He handed his gun to Morgan and then walked into the interrogation room. Morgan moved to stand beside Gideon.

Hotch closed the door to the room and walked to the table. He sat down the chair across from Amy. Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"How's the ribs?" Amy asked finally.

Hotch ignored her question and placed a four photos on the table. They were of the men that he and Amy had killed at the warehouse and the other two men that had been killed in Reid's car.

"Who are they?" He asked.

Amy looked the photos over quickly. "I have no idea." She said looking up at him. "Who are they?" She asked throwing his words back at him.

"They don't exist." Hotch told her. "They're ghosts. Just like you."

Amy sat back in her chair. "Imagine that." She replied dryly. "And yet you can still see me."

"Whoever you are, it's not Amy Raymond." Hotch said ignoring her quip. He slapped down a couple of papers. "Because Amy Raymond died in 1988. The man in the warehouse called you 'Ryan.' Who are you really?"

'Amy' glanced down at the papers with mild amusement. She looked up at Hotch. "Nice work. Your analyst get these for you?"

"I won't ask you again." Hotch said leaning forward. "Who are you and who are you working for?"

'Amy' smiled at him. "Give me something and I'll give something back." She replied. "Isn't that how negotiation works, Agent Hotchner?"

"What do you want me to give you?" Hotch asked, playing along with her.

'Amy' leaned forward and put her cuffed hands on the tabletop. The metals clinked against one another. "Trust." She replied.

Hotch eyed her as he thought things through. 'Amy' knew that she was in a bad position, so she was using the only thing that she had left as a bargaining chip; Reid's location. They had stripped away her fake identity and taken her freedom, so know she was holding on tight to the one last bit of control she had over them.

"Ok." He replied. "I trust you."

'Amy' tilted her head as she studied him. "No. You don't."

"I have too." Hotch replied. "You're the only way that I'm going to get Reid back."

"Alright." 'Amy' said. "What do you know about me so far?"

Hotch didn't even need a second the gather his thoughts. "I think that you were a good girl. Did everything everyone wanted, until you snapped. You couldn't take the pressure, so you rebelled. You have trust issues and are sometimes…."

Amy slammed her hands down on the table suddenly, making everyone behind the glass jump. Only Hotch didn't. He just sat there, calmly looking at Amy.

"Don't profile me!" Amy snapped at him.

"Ok. Fine." Hotch said softly.

Amy sat back and a mocking smile stole over her fine features. "Now you're just patronizing me. I was talking about the case, Aaron. What do you know about the case? Have you figured out my motives yet?"

Hotch wasn't about to give out their information on the case, which wasn't much, but still, they needed to have the upper hand. He almost snorted. Upper hand indeed. If anyone had it, it wasn't the BAU team that was for sure.

From behind the glass, Gideon ran a hand over his face as Hotch continued to talk to Amy in the background. "This is going nowhere." He said softly, speaking more to himself then the others in the room.

"Do you think one of us should go in there?" Morgan asked looking at Gideon.

Gideon stared at Amy, who had once again leaned back in her chair.

"Yeah," He said after a moment. "Me." He tapped on the glass.

A moment later, Hotch came into the room. Gideon met him at the door and pulled him aside. "It doesn't look like this is going anywhere." He spoke in a low tone.

"No." Hotch agreed. "It's like she enjoys running us around in circles."

"Or just you in-particular." Gideon replied.

Hotch nodded.

"Let me give it a try." Gideon said with a glance at the monitor.

"Alright." Hotch said as Gideon handed him his gun. "Just be careful, Jason; she's dangerous."

Gideon gave a smile. "I'll be alright." He said and then clapping Hotch on the shoulder, he walked towards the door.

"What's going on, Hotch?" Morgan asked.

"I wasn't getting through to her." Hotch said as he took his gun back from Morgan.

"And Gideon will?" Elle asked.

Hotch turned back to look at the interrogation room. "We'll see." He said simply.


Gideon walked into the interrogation room and closed the door behind him.

Amy looked up and smiled. "I've been wondering when you were going to show. Jason Gideon: One of the founding fathers of the BAU and the man who caught Adrian Bale."

Gideon gave a smile as he pulled out the chair that Hotch had vacated. "You've heard of me."

"Who hasn't when you also write books under your own name?" Amy asked leaning forward slightly.

"You've read them?" Gideon asked.

"One or two." Amy said. "Interesting reading for long trips."

"Do you take many long trips?" Gideon asked.

Again, that amused smile. "Sometimes."

There was a moment of silence before Amy spoke again. "You must not have a whole lot on the case if you're coming in here armed only with small talk."

"Tell me about Dr. Reid." Gideon asked starting the conversation on an easy topic. "Why does he have that you want?"

"Nothing that I personally want." Amy said. "But everyone has value to someone."

"Value? What do you mean by that?" Gideon asked.

"I have value to you because I know where Reid is. And of course, it also works the opposite way."

"Why?" Gideon asked. "What value do we have for you? The games? Is that what makes us valuable to you? Someone to toy with?"

Amy leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table once again. The cuffs clinked on the metal table. "What makes you think I like playing all these games with you? Toying with you has no value to me. The only thing I'm asking for is some trust."

"Trust is built on confidence." Gideon said. "So far we don't have a whole lot of confidence in your motives."

"I gave you the thumb drive, didn't I?" Amy shot back.

"Yes, but in the process you threatened Agent Hotchner's family." Gideon replied.

"Did I?" Amy asked raising an eyebrow. "That was only an assumption on your part. I never said I would do anything to harm Haley or Jack and I never would. You only see what you want to see."

"And what should we be seeing?" Gideon asked.

"Does this mean you're ready to trust me?" Amy asked.

"Maybe." Gideon replied.

"All I'm asking for is to know what you know." Amy said. "If I don't know what you know, anything I tell you isn't going to make a whole lot of sense."

"Try me." Gideon replied softly.

Amy studied him closely and they gazed at each other for a long time. Morgan shifted behind the glass.

"Where is Dr. Reid?" Gideon asked finally, his voice intent.

There was a slight hesitation. "I'll tell you under one condition." Amy replied after a moment.

Gideon waited.

"I have to show you where he is." She continued. "That means letting me come with you. That's my one and only condition."

"Not possible." Gideon replied.

Amy looked back at him. "Then you can just keep looking for him on your own. Because obviously you don't trust me enough to tell me a damn thing."

"There's nothing stopping you from telling us what you know." Gideon told her.

"But there is something stopping you from believing me." Amy replied. "I want to tell you, but I need to know what you know." Her tone was insistent.

"Tell me why you committed those four murders." Gideon said after a moment.

"Does it really matter now?" Amy asked.

"To me it does." Gideon replied. "Those were four lives gone and two of them didn't even deserve it. They were innocent. A house wife and a football couch."

Amy's face tightened at the mention of Megan Ramones and Tony Burton.

"Do you even remember their names?" Gideon continued. "Or where they just another kill to you?"

"That's enough." Amy said in a low tone.

"How many people have you killed?" Gideon asked, ignoring her. "Ten? Twenty? How many of them were innocents like Megan Ramones and Tony Burton? How many, Amy?"

"Stop it!" Amy shouted at him standing so fast from her chair that it tipped over and crashed to the floor. "Just stop!"

Gideon stood also, slower then Amy had and faced her. This was who she really was. He was sure of it. It wasn't the façade she put on. Her mask was finally gone.

Amy was obviously upset and was trying to control herself. She took a deep breath and got back some control.

"I knew afterwards that they were innocents." She told him in a calmer tone. "I never would have gone anywhere near them if I had known that they had nothing to do with this. The other two were dangerous; they were both selling to terrorists and needed to be stopped."

"Is that what you call it?" Gideon asked. "Justified murders?"

"Isn't that what you call it?" Amy retorted. "Sometimes there are no more options."

"You do realize that you just confessed to four murders and countless others?" Gideon asked her.

Amy nodded. "Honest enough for you? Is that enough to get you to trust me or do I need to cry as well?" She asked sarcastically.

"There's just one last thing to do." Gideon said.

Amy looked up at him.

"Tell us where Reid is." Gideon said adopting a slightly pleading tone.

"Tell me what you know about the case." Amy returned.

"Where is Reid?" Gideon asked again, pushing.

Amy gave a shrug. "How the hell should I know?" She replied flippantly.

"This has gone on long enough." Morgan growled from the behind the glass and then charged into the interrogation room.

"Morgan!" Hotch called sharply starting after the younger man.

Morgan burst into the room and Gideon turned at the interruption.

Morgan ignored the older man and grabbed Amy by the arms, slamming her against the wall. "Where is he?" He shouted at her. "What the hell have you done with Reid?"

"Nothing!" Amy replied fiercely.

"You're lying." Morgan told her between clenched teeth. He pressed his forearm against her throat in an martial arts move that could totally cut off her air if he chose too. Amy coughed as her air started to run out.

"Morgan!" Hotch snapped, starting forward to pull him off Amy, but Gideon stopped him.

"Tell me where Reid is!" Morgan ordered. Amy shoved, trying to break Morgan's hold. She coughed again.

Gideon stepped forward and spoke gently. "Morgan. That's enough. Let her go."

Morgan listened and dropped his arm. Amy collapsed onto the floor and coughed as she tried to catch her breath. Once she did, she looked up at Morgan, who had retreated to stand beside Hotch.

"You really care about him." She said hoarsely.

Hotch nodded. "We all do."

Amy studied them each in turn and took a deep breath. "Alright." She said. "You want to know where he is, I'll tell you. But my condition still stands."


Morgan closed the door to interrogation behind them.

"What do you think?" Hotch asked.

"Can we trust her?" Elle asked. "I mean after all she's done, this could just be another ploy to get out of custody."

"Then why the charade?" Gideon asked. "If she wanted to get out of custody, she could just make up a location. She genuinely seemed to be protecting Reid; but from what? Us?"

"The only thing that got through to her was when Morgan threatened her." Hotch said.

"You showed emotion." Gideon said turning to Morgan. "That's what she wanted to see. Emotional attachment."

"Agent Hotchner?"

The agents turned to see a tall man standing in the doorway. His hair was dark and he wore an equally black suit. The way he moved suggested a shoulder holster. He walked towards them.

Hotch held out his hand. "Agent Kittner, thanks for coming down."

"Thanks for the call, Agent Hotchner." Kittner said taking Hotch's hand. He glanced towards the interrogation room. "That her?" He asked.

"Yes. She's using the alias Amy Raymond, but I've heard her called Ryan. Maybe a last name." Hotch said. "Does the name mean anything to you?"

Kittner shook his head. "Not offhand." He replied still looking through the glass. "But I can make some calls." He turned to Hotch. "See what I came up with."

"I'd appreciated it." Hotch said. He turned to the team. "This is Michael Kittner. He's from the CIA. Agent Kittner, this SSAs Gideon, Morgan and Greenaway."

Kittner shook hands with Morgan and Elle then turned to Gideon. "Agent Gideon, nice to see you again."

Gideon took Kittner's hand. "You too. Although I wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

"What exactly is the situation?" Kittner said turning to Hotch. "You weren't really that specific on the phone."

"It's complicated." Hotch said. "Basically, she's holding one of our agents, Dr. Reid, hostage and is refusing to give up any information."

"Any demands?" Kittner asked.

"One." Gideon replied. "She'll tell us where Reid is only of she's allowed to show us."

"That's one you'll agree to." Kittner said sarcastically.

"We intend too." Gideon replied.

Kittner and the rest of the team looked at him.

"She has nothing to gain by lying." Gideon stated calmly. "Therefore she'll tell the truth."