A/N – sorry for the long delay with this chapter. I got the chance of a few days by the sea on the Isle of Wight, and there's no internet!
STOP MOTION
Chapter 7
Broken
"A warrior must only take care that his spirit is not broken" ANON
'This face looks familiar.' Morgan said, looking at the photo of the dead UnSub. He had been identified by Garcia as Peter Samuels, but Morgan was looking at the picture with a new eye. He went to the evidence board and held the picture against the artist's drawings of the men that attacked Hotch.
'It's him!'
Samuels had been in and out of juvie and had spent some time inside with Bellway. Now they knew they were on the right track.
They had to check out Connie Burrows' address. Dave wasn't able to go. His injury was giving him a lot of pain today, and he felt he would be more on a hindrance than a help.
He took out his cell phone to call the hospital to ask after Reid, but as he was about to call, it rang.
It was Reid, asking after the investigation.
'Have you found Hotch yet?'
'We have a good lead. Prentiss, Todd and Morgan are following it up.' Dave said.
'I'll be coming out later.' Reid said.
'Stay where you are, Reid. I'm wishing that I did.' Dave sat down and leaned forwards to alleviate the pain in his abdomen. 'I'll let you know when we have found Hotch.'
Dave knew about Reid's feelings for the Unit Chief, and although he didn't understand it, he knew that Reid would be in a turmoil worrying about him.
'I'll call you as soon as we have anything.'
'I'm coming back.' Reid said and broke the connection before Dave could object. He pushed back the cover on his bed and swung his legs over onto the floor and pushed his feet into the hospital slippers. He called the nurse. He needed to sign a waiver and discharge himself.
-0-0-0-
Hotch was kneeling in the middle of his cell, head forward, eyes closed. The only sound was the constant drip drip of his blood falling into a growing pool in front of him. His hands were still, hanging loosely from the manacles on his biceps. He had no strength left anymore and he was exhausted, the constant beatings had left him shattered and broken.
Two men stood in front of him. One of them held a leather whip. He cracked the whip against the wall, then he cracked it across Hotch's back. Hotch's body jerked as the end of the whip cut a deep line across his back, but he made no sound. The second crack, and the thin end of the whip snaked around his neck. He lifted his head and looked into the eyes of his abuser.
The third crack cut into his cheek, and blood trickled down his neck
'Just finish this.' Hotch said.
'We are.' he grinned.
-0-0-0-
Prentiss, Morgan and Todd were at the end of the road where Burrows' last known address was.
'Todd,' Morgan said, 'you go to the back of the house.'
Todd nodded and left. Morgan and Prentiss walked along the street to the front of the house. It was early morning and the road was quiet and free of traffic. The houses were shabby but neat except for the one that they were standing in front of. They walked to the front door.
'FBI!' shouted Morgan.
There was no sound from inside the little house, as Morgan had expected. He kicked the door, and the lock splintered leaving the house open to them.
There were no people in the house, and room by room, the three agents searched for clues as to where Hotch was being held.
-0-0-0-
The three men had left Hotch alone at last. His body was a mass of rips and tears, and blood trickled across white skin and dripped onto the floor. He was conscious, and in pain. His legs were bent beneath him, and the slightest movement sent shocks of agony through his bones. He cried out as he shifted his weight off his right arm. His forearms hung forward uselessly and blood dripped from his fingertips.
His was to be a pointless death; a killing out of revenge. He listened to his little boy playing in front of him, and he longed to stretch out to hold him, nuzzle his face in his deep auburn hair, something he would never do again. The loss brought tears to his eyes, and he wept for his child whom he would never see again. He opened his bruised and swollen eyes and almost expected to see Jack sitting in front of him. Instead he saw the door open and a man standing silhouetted in the doorway.
'Please', he whispered, 'don't do this.'
The man stepped into the room and closed the door after him. He took Aaron by the hair and yanked back his head. The man kissed his lips savagely, pulling his hair and holding his head in position. Hotch fought with his meagre strength, but he was too weak. He knew that he had no defence against the rape that he was sure would follow. His helplessness and impotence brought new tears to his sore eyes, and the man drew away.
'You may as well let me, Hotchner. You might buy a few more hours of life.'
'I will not willingly submit to your perversions.' Hotch said softly. 'If you take what you want, I don't have the strength to prevent it. But is too high a price to pay for a few hours of life.'
The man stroked his hands down the side of Hotch's beaten chest, and came to rest on his hips. He leaned forwards to steal another kiss, but Hotch turned his head to the side. The man kissed Hotch's ear. Hotch shuddered with revulsion. He thought he was going to be sick. It hurt too much to fight the man, and he didn't want to pass out and be raped while he was unconscious.
'Please...... don't.'
The man laughed and pulled Hotch backwards, so that his legs were in front of him rather than beneath him. Hotch tried not to react to the agony from his broken legs, but he screamed faintly unable to prevent the sound from escaping his lips. His pyjama bottoms were ripped and blood stained, and Hotch readied himself to fight to the death.
The man pressed his face to Hotch's bleeding neck and bit him, drawing blood. Hotch trembled, knowing his life was about to finish.
He endured the touching stoically. The man was kneeling on the floor between Aaron's legs, his hands moving gently lower on Aaron's body.
'Please....' Hotch whispered.
The man knelt up so that his head was level with Hotch's.
This is what he wanted.
Quickly, he brought his elbows together behind the man's head and used the metal fetters against his ears. The man screamed loudly as the metal cut into his ears and Hotch refused to release him. He brought his hands up and forced Aaron's arms apart.
'You will pay for that, Hotchner!' he said, holding the sides of his head. Hotch saw blood run between his fingers with some satisfaction.
He would not submit!
The man walked behind him, and pulled his head back by his dirt and blood encrusted hair. He pressed his lips on Hotch's.
'I will have you.' he growled.
He pulled at Aaron's blood drenched trousers, and began to strip his own clothes. Hotch's head fell forwards, helpless, hopeless and without power.
Then the door opened.
'You bloody pervert!'
Aaron's help came from and unexpected quarter as another of his abusers stood in the doorway.
'What's it to you?' he asked. 'We're going to kill him anyway.'
'Not like this, now get off him!'
The two men faced each other off.
'You will not do this. This man is going to die, but he will die as a man. You will not violate him. If that's what you want there are plenty of places that you can get it.'
'And who made you his keeper, Burrows?' he spat back. 'You stand there giving orders; we do all the dirty work. Why should he die "as a man"? Sammie's dead! Did he get the same consideration?'
'Leave!' Burrows said in a low angry tone. 'Now!'
The man turned and left, his body shaking with pent up rage. As he passed Hotch, he kicked his leg. Hotch groaned as he felt displaced boned grind together.
Burrows turned to Hotch.
'You are having a bad affect on my men, Hotchner.' He savagely hit Hotch across the face with the back of his hand, his ring cutting into his skin.
'When I am dead', Hotch said quietly through broken lips, 'Remember to watch over your shoulder for the rest of your life, because sooner or later, my friends will find you.'
Another smack across the face, and Burrows turned and left the dying man hanging and blood soaked.
He swung slightly on the chains, he had no strength left to stop it. Each breath he breathed was accompanied by a small cry of pain. The position he had been in for the time he was in captivity was putting a strain on his chest, and he had to make himself breathe. It hurt, and he wanted to just give up and die, but his primeval instinct for survival prevented him, and again, he took a pain filled breath.
'I am sorry, My Jacky, for being a coward.' he said out loud to his little boy playing on the edge of the blood pool. 'I can't take much more of this now......'
-0-0-0-
A search of Connie Burrows home had produced some papers referring to Peter Samuels and two other men who they had not heard of before, Roy Edwards and Glen Lester. They called Garcia to check out the new names.
'Both ex-cons.' she said. 'Not known to Bellway, as far as I can see, but they were both known associates of Burrows as teens. Robbery with violence and attempted murder. They were released within a year of each other. I have last known addresses for both of them. Sending the info now, with photos.'
'Thank you.' Dave said.
'Any news of Hotch yet?'
Dave didn't say anything for a moment, then, 'No. But we are closing in.'
Morgan printed off the mug shots of the two men that Garcia had sent to them, He held them against the artists drawing of the second man that Aaron saw when he was attacked.
Lester.
So Lester and Samuels were two of the men who beat up Hotch, and possibly the other two were Burrows and Edwards.
How had they reacted to the death of Samuels? How much more danger had they put Hotch in?
Dave felt sick with worry. They had held Hotch for three days. Would they just kill him now?
-0-0-0-
Reid was having an argument with the doctor.
'I cannot allow you to leave. Your injury was very serious, Doctor Reid. You could bleed out slowly, and not know until your BP got so low that you pass out. I cannot allow you to leave.'
'But I'm needed!' Reid insisted.
Let us find a compromise, Dr Reid.' the doctor said, exasperated. 'Stay another day and we'll review your situation tomorrow. Your life is seriously at risk if you leave now.'
Reid sat on the bed, equally as exasperated. 'Ok, one more day. I need a phone please.'
-0-0-0-
David Rossi would have been pacing if he wasn't in so much pain. Instead he sat uncomfortably on the edge of his chair, with his hand on the wound covering. When his cell rang he guessed it would be Reid.
'I can't come back until tomorrow at the earliest.' he said crossly. 'Have you got any new leads? Have you found Hotch yet?'
Dave looked at the latest photograph to be delivered, this on by a teenager who had been offered fifty bucks to drop the envelope into the FBI main reception. It showed Hotch kneeling in blood and mess with his head forward, arms out to the side. He didn't look alive. Dave felt a tearing inside him as he looked at the picture of his friend.
'No we haven't, but we are getting closer.' he said. 'We have two more addresses to follow up on. Jordan, Emily and Derek are just leaving now to visit the homes of two more men whom we think could be the third and fourth men who attacked Hotch in the street.'
And god help us, we have to be in time...........