A/N: Alright everybody, chapters are coming fast for ya cause you've been so nice about reviewing! As a little teaser I'll tell you I finished the sequel to this ten minutes ago! Now doesn't that just pique the curiosity! Punctuation has been fixed now!

Chapter 7

Hotchner sat staring at the evidence frustrated taking it out on the fast food. They were tearing apart Chaplin's life but they couldn't quite figure out his path. They knew that Chaplin was suffering a masculinity crisis. He'd been working as a secretary for nearly fifteen years while his wife had been a high power executive of the same company and having an affair with a janitor. They didn't know if Chaplin had known but the wife's scandal had been the cause of his termination. In every step of his life he'd been the submissive, out of control, emasculated and now he'd snapped. The progression of compensation was intense. He evolved into a sexual sadist swiftly. He was never going to admit it to his team but he was terrified by the thought of Reid and Morgan being in this guy's control as he developed his style of sadism. Morgan was the alpha male that could trigger him in his unstable state and Reid was the perfect target for him to fuel his confidence in his delusion as an alpha male. It was a perfect storm for Chaplin to practice on his men.

"Hotch, Hotch" he started looking up to see JJ leaning in the room.

"You found something?"

"A hotel in Nebraska, they may have stayed there overnight. I didn't get a lot of details but they're keeping the scene intact for us"

"Was there a crime committed?"

"Maybe? Something made them look closer at the guests but they didn't say what. Jet's ready in fifteen." Over the flight he insisted they all get some sleep having been working around the clock since it started. They needed fresh eyes. It was only a few hours later when they pulled up to the hotel. It was a bit remote but not completely isolated. It wasn't a bad spot to hide if you arrived at the right time and kept pretty quiet. They went straight to the room which was on the first floor; specially requested. The room was nothing special with one bed, primitive, small bathroom, cheap furniture and cheap carpet.

"We've got scuff marks on these pipes. They could be from handcuffs, two spots, two hostages" Hotchner circled like a hawk.

"Shower's been used The towels and soaps are gone. Blood at the foot of this bed. There are two knives and a long pin needle kicked under the bed too"

"He experimented. This is probably his first transition from spree kill to sexual sadism. It's probably Reid's blood. Chaplin will see him as the weaker, submissive of the two and easier to control. It's exactly the confidence boost he needs, especially if he's testing out his preferences."

"I just talked to the desk clerk. He identified Chaplin's photo but he said his appearance was very different. He's wearing a leather jacket but he had a dress shirt and tie underneath. He has black hair and he had half of it spiked up and half of it slicked back and silver studded half gloves like a biker would wear." JJ strutted into the room.

"He's searching for a new identity, adopting overtly masculine tendencies but he wasn't settled, still uncomfortable with his new identity. This will change the more he experiments and adapts to his sense of dominance."

"They found semen in the bed. Only one contributor which matched Chaplin." Hotchner flipped through the preliminary notes.

"So what does that mean for Spence and Morgan?"

"It means we need to get them back and soon." JJ's phone rang and the room went silent for its duration.

"We just got a 9-1-1 call. We may have a sighting of Chaplin at a rest stop on the Nebraska and South Dakota state line. They say that it was a shooting."

"They're heading consistently northwest now." Hotchner noticed.

"That's good. A consistent route means a possible destination. He may be done running wild and we can predict it."

When they arrived the rest stop was empty. A normal status by the looks of it. It was dingy with the trash from litter blown in stuck in the trees and weeds and smelled of urine. Just out of sight of the road were signs of a struggle. The dirt was kicked up and gouged. There were tire tracks leading up to it and away from it but most disturbing was the blood soaked mud next to the tracks. The alleged witness was sitting on one of the cop cars sipping water looking bored with the wait.

"A homeless man is the witness?" JJ inquired of the nearest cop.

"I'm not homeless. I'm on a road trip and wanted to travel by foot. It used to be normal you know" he walked up surprising her.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, I meant no offense"

"Whatever, I'm not out for your approval. You have some questions for me?"

"Yes sir, we want to know what you saw, no detail is too small"

"Well I was stopped here around 2 pm for a pit stop. I'd just finished taking care of my…business…when I came out a car came screeching up. It barely stopped when this guy jumped out of the back and pulled a man from the driver's seat out real fast and starting beating the shit outta him. That's when a third guy got outta the car but it was odd. He was running with his hands always held in front of him, like they were tied. Anyways, he started brawling with the first guy that got out. They kept up for a few minutes then the first guy got the third guy by the neck and put a gun to his head and started arguing with the other guy. That was when he shot the guy he wasn't choking. He threw them both in the back seat and drove off after that" Gideon schooled his reactions. One of them had been shot and beaten.

"Did you hear what they were arguing about?" the man thought about it for a moment.

"I didn't hear it real well but it sounded like he was trying to convince them he was in charge. They said something about hostages and keeping something up. I don't know. It was real hard to hear. I was just trying to keep outta sight"

"We understand. Can you identify any of these as the men you saw?" they showed him the photos of Chaplin, Reid and Morgan.

"Y-yeah all three. This guy" he pointed to Chaplin, "was the guy that got outta the back and had the gun. The black guy was driving and that one was the one that got out last"

"One last question. Which one of these men was shot?"

"The black guy."

"You're sure?"

"Yup."

"Alright thank you for your help." JJ hurried to Hotch and Gideon.

"JJ"

"We've got a problem. According to the witness the three got into a fight which ended with Morgan getting shot."

"Do we know how bad?"

"No, he said they drove off immediately after"

"It's a good sign he took them both. If he thought it would be fatal anytime soon he would have left him." Hotchner commented.

"Unless he's getting better, trying to disguise his path by dumping him elsewhere."

"No, he's not organized enough for that. Even with his development he's never shown any attempt to prevent us from finding his crimes. He just slows us down in finding him"

"He's still switching cars at every opportunity. Have Garcia dig as deep back into the family history. See if there's anyone Chaplin might idolize as masculine. He may try to emulate it or even go to them."

"Whatever we do we have to do it fast or we're going to be picking up more bodies."