A/N: Thanks again to everyone who's reading this :)
Again, I want to apologise for anything, particularly the medial stuff to do with Reid, that isn't accurate. I've tried my best, though virtually every website I looked at said something different... So please just ignore anything that's wrong!
Thanks heaps (again) to my amazing beta, Cliara Aedai, you're awesome :)
So please read and review!
Disclaimer: I'm still waiting to read a fanfic that says; 'actually, I do own Criminal Minds.' Sadly, I still don't :(
Chapter 6
Rossi, Morgan and Prentiss took one location, Hotch, JJ and Reid the other. They set off simultaneously, sirens blaring as they sped through the morning's peak hour traffic. The sun glared down on them as they wove in and out of the sea of vehicles, desperate to reach their designated destinations before it was too late, and another innocent victim's life was lost.
In the first SUV, Morgan spun the steering wheel from left to right at ridiculous speeds, screeching around corner after corner. It didn't take long for smooth, well made asphalt roads to turn to the crunching gravel of more remote areas, and though he had to slow slightly in order to stay in control, he continued as fast as was physically possible.
Behind him, Rossi looked somewhat terrified by the speed, his knuckles beginning to go white as he clasped the assist handle tightly. His other hand rested on his knee, clenched into a fist. He pursed his lips together in an attempt to hide his worry, though Prentiss in the passenger seat saw through it immediately.
"Come on Rossi, you can't find speed all that bad, you've worked for the FBI for years now," she teased with a smirk. She had become used to Morgan's occasionally erratic driving style, and now found it exhilarating rather than terrifying.
"Yeah, well in my day the BAU didn't do high-speed police chases," he retaliated, though he began to relax slightly as he became more accustomed to the speed.
"Because the cars weren't fast enough back then?" Morgan asked with a chuckle. Rossi merely shook his head, unable to hide a smile.
As Morgan continued to hightail towards their address, they got back to business by discussing the case. They had been so eager to check the two remaining address and save the woman currently unaccounted for that the team as a whole hadn't had much time to go over the new developments, including Reid's lucky escape, the fraudster past of the Unsub and this most recent kidnapping.
"This guy, Hughes, or whatever his name really is, the Unsub, must have been thinking well in advance to pull off something like this. To have a secondary location as well as back up equipment to perform his mummifications, it's almost as though he expected to be caught," Rossi said.
"He's obviously intelligent; given the numerous articles he's written about Ancient Egypt, not to mention his past as a con man. It takes a lot of skill to pull those sorts of large-scale frauds off," Prentiss noted.
"Yes, that's true, but even the smartest of Unsubs don't tend to predict that their crime scenes will be discovered," Rossi continued sceptically. "In fact, the opposite is normally true. They're normally so reassured in their own intelligence that they write off discovery altogether, which is often what ends up getting them caught. They overestimate their own abilities. That's true even more so with con men."
"So you're saying there's some other reason the Unsub had a backup plan?" Morgan asked, intrigued.
Rossi pondered this question silently for a minute, a frown of concentration etched across his brow. The more he thought about it the more peculiar this man's actions seemed to be.
"I'm not sure. It doesn't seem likely that he'd assume he'd be discovered, the profile suggests he's very self-assured, arrogant even. But I can't see any other reason for this alternative location."
"Maybe he didn't have it all planned out as early as we're giving him credit for," Prentiss suggested. "I mean, it is possible he simply came across another deserted building after kidnapping this girl. Unlikely, but possible."
"True," Rossi nodded. "Maybe he found his old location after he kidnapped his first victim, and then simply continued to use it. Once it was compromised, he moved on. But again, it's not really likely."
"Unless…" Morgan began, though stopped, as though still uncertain.
"What is it?" Prentiss questioned, encouraging him to continue.
"It's just, Hughes - I mean - the Unsub seems to have watched his targets prior to kidnapping them. He was a removalist a couple of doors down from Reid, after all. That can't have been a coincidence."
"Yes," Rossi agreed, interested.
"Well if he was indeed stalking his victims, he would have had to know Reid worked for the FBI. And of he knew that, it's likely he would have assumed we would be on the case."
"So you think he kidnapped Reid deliberately because he worked for the FBI?" Prentiss clarified.
"Not exactly. What if he kidnapped Reid because of the original victimology - his connection to mummification - but realising that we, the FBI, would be on the case he came up with an alternative plan were we to find Reid in time."
"So that he could keep killing," Prentiss said with a nod.
Morgan's eyes suddenly flashed with realisation, and he pulled off the gravel track. Ignoring Morgan and Prentiss's confused expressions and insistent questions he pulled out his mobile. Once it was ringing he held it to his ears, and whilst waiting for the calls recipient to answer, he explained to them his thought process.
"Okay, so he knows Reid works for the FBI and he knows we'll be on the case," he began, suddenly talking much fast. "No doubt he'd have researched us and discovered our success rate. Even though he knows he's intelligent, he feels somewhat threatened and works out an alternative plan. Reid said it was likely his MO would change eventually and he'd kill for pleasure rather than scientific purposes."
Prentiss and Rossi both nodded that they followed so far.
"We always presumed this change hadn't occurred yet, since both Reid and now Melissa still fit the mummification victimology. But what if he continued choosing these victims to throw us off? He's certainly smart enough, he's a fraudster. Throwing people off track is his business."
"So you're saying that, rather than being overly self-confident with his intelligence he's actually far smarter than we've been giving him credit for?" Rossi asked, beginning to understand.
"Yes, exactly. So know he is actually killing merely for the pleasure of it, and is unlikely to stop. So when he kidnapped Reid he already had in place a plan that would not only back himself up were his location to be discovered, but also a plan that would simultaneously cause him pleasure because of the pain experienced by his victims, and also eradicate the only people standing between him and his pleasurable activity."
"Us?" Prentiss gasped, eyes wide. "His next victims are us?"
"Damn it, why is Hotch not picking up his cell?" Morgan cried, suddenly becoming frustrated, though this was primarily caused by his concern. Hotch always answered his phone. What was preventing him from doing so now?
"So the location we were headed to or the one Hotch, Reid and JJ are on the way to right now is a trap," Rossi confirmed with horror.
No answer was necessary, the three agents just staring at each other in shock.
Meanwhile, in the other vehicle, Hotch drove not quite as fast as Morgan, but not much slower either. Thankfully the traffic was lighter on their route, and they were quickly onto the more rural roads that would lead them to the address written upon the crinkled strip of paper JJ held tight between her fingertips.
She sat beside Hotch, fiddling with her necklace, Reid in the back seat as they sped towards, hopefully, their Unsub and his current victim.
"So Reid, is much of your memory beginning to return?" JJ asked, hoping the Reid they all knew and loved would return sooner rather than later. He had been so awkward since leaving the hospital; overly polite, easily distracted and oblivious to any kind of playful joke.
"Not really…" he replied with little emotion. He was gazing out the window, watching as houses, trees and the occasional cars zoomed past them. He still felt uncomfortable around everyone, since in his mind he'd only known them for less than one day, and there were so many things he didn't understand. The sooner his memory returned the better it would be for everyone involved.
"The doctor said it would return eventually, though he wasn't sure of exactly how long. He says it varies from person to person, and no doubt it would also depend on the severity of the injury," Hotch told them both.
They continued to drive in silence for a further 10 minutes, until they pulled of the main road onto a smaller gravel path. The address was a few miles down this long and winding, poorly built track. It was the only property for miles, their SUV surrounded by nothing but dirt, small bushes and trees.
As they drove closer and closer, the small building they were heading to became visible, silhouetted against the bright blue sky.
"Is that a light on inside," JJ asked, frowning slightly to try and make out the source of the yellowish glow. "This might be it, that's probably the Unsub."
Hotch eased off the accelerator, not wanting to alert the Unsub of their presence just yet as he eased the SUV up to the barn-like wooden structure. They were close enough now to see that JJ was right, and there was a light on inside, on the second floor. Hotch turned around to Reid, who passed bulletproof vests to him and JJ, then moved to pull on his own.
"Reid, you should stay in the car," Hotch suggested, though sternly enough to imply it was really a polite order.
"But Agent Hotchner, I'm fine. The hospital discharged me; I'm perfect well except for my loss of memory, which isn't really a physical injury anyway and therefore should not affect my performance…"
"Firstly, call me Hotch, that's what you normally do," Hotch cut in, smirking slightly at Reid's ridiculous politeness. "And secondly, I'm not negotiating this. You should really be resting, not out in the field. If you weren't so involved in this case I would have sent you straight home. You're waiting in the car, end of story."
With that, Hotch and JJ exited, fastening their vests and pulling their guns out. Together they walked slowly to the wooden steps, up to the front door. Hotch knocked three times, then waited for a response.
Back in the SUV, Reid watched with a bored expression. He had a strange, uncomfortable sensation that something wasn't quite right, though he couldn't put his finger on exactly what. Suddenly there was a buzzing sound from the front of the car. It took him quite a while to pinpoint the source of the sound, but then he noticed Hotch's mobile vibrating on the empty driver's seat. It must have fallen out of his pocket, Reid guessed, but before he had the chance to answer it fell silent once more.
After the call had rung out, Morgan immediately floored the accelerator, spinning the car into a u-turn and flying back the way they had come.
"Why wouldn't Hotch be answering his phone?" Prentiss asked in worry, trying to think of a reason that didn't involve him having already walked into the Unsub's trap.
"It might have run out of battery, or he could have left it in the office, or it's just off for some weird reason," Rossi suggested, though none of these really seemed plausible. Hotch was always available by phone, he had to be, after all, as the leader of their team.
"Come on!" Morgan cried, cursing loudly at the cars that wouldn't get out of their path despite the blaring siren and flashing lights. They had rejoined the main road now, and the built-up traffic was getting on his nerves. Hotch, Reid and JJ's lives could depend on them, and here they were, stuck in traffic.
"There is still the chance our address is where the Unsub is," Prentiss whispered hopefully. "They might just be inside some old, deserted shack with no phone reception."
"I'll try calling JJ, see if I can get through," Rossi announced, pulling his phone hurriedly from his pocket.
"Damn, no, that won't work," Prentiss remembered with a defeated sigh. "JJ was complaining this morning that she couldn't find a charger anywhere, so she left her phone at home."
"This is crazy, it's like the Unsub planned it all," Morgan said, exasperated that there was rapidly becoming less and less they could do to warn their friends.
"Reid! I'll call Reid!' Prentiss gasped. She had overlooked him initially, forgetting that Hotch had eventually allowed him to come despite his recent brush with death.
Not long after Hotch's phone stopped ringing, his own phone began to buzz. He fumbled with it for a moment before finally pulling it from his pocket.
"Hello?" he answered, wondering who on earth would be calling him, and hoping he would remember them.
"Reid, oh thank god, are you okay? Where are Hotch and JJ?" Prentiss nearly screamed into the phone, so loud that Reid had to hold it at arm's length to prevent himself from going deaf.
"Uh, I'm fine… Who is this?" he queried, completely confused by the whole situation.
"Prentiss, it's Prentiss, remember? I'm in the team. Where are Hotch and JJ?" she persisted.
"They're just checking out the building, Hotch made me stay in the car because he said I shouldn't be out in the field even though the doctor discharged me and I'm perfectly fine apart from my loss of memory which wouldn't really effect my ability to investigate a property and…"
"REID!" Prentiss cried, cutting his rant abruptly short. "Call them back Reid, it might be a trap. The Unsub, we underestimated him, call them back!"
"What? Oh, okay. Hold on a sec…" he said, finally realising the urgency of the situation. Shock and worry twisted at the pit of stomach, which surprised and confused him slightly. Whilst it was apparent he'd know these people for a number of years now, he had no recollection of this. To him, right now, they were virtually strangers. He could barely remember their names, yet still he was overcome by sheer terror at the thought of them being in any kind of danger. He nearly fell out of the car, hurrying towards the door that Hotch had just kicked down. He and JJ had entered the premises only about 60 seconds earlier.
"Hotch! JJ! Come back, Prentiss says it's a trap," he yelled at the top of his lungs, the phone still clutched in his hand. There were footsteps, and then Hotch poked his head around the door frame.
"What did you say?" he called back, a confused frown on his face. Reid knew they were going for the surprise tactic, why would he call out all of a sudden and break their cover?
"IT'S A TRAP!" he screamed. A flash of horrified realisation cross Hotch's eyes, just moments before the building lit up with the red/orange flame, and the intense heat overwhelmed them.
Prentiss had put the phone on speaker, so all three agents heard the deafening bang. The horrified silence that followed was unbearable as they stared at each other, eyes wide and mouths ajar. They snapped back into reality a moment later, Morgan driving even faster than he had been, Prentiss snatching the phone up once again.
"REID? REID?! ARE YOU THERE? ARE YOU OKAY?!" she yelled desperately, tears brimming in her eyes with worry. They were still more than twenty minutes from the address, though with Morgan's sped they would hopefully arrive in less than ten.
"HOTCH? JJ?"
There was no reply, only the rushing sound of flames and the crackling of burning.
Meanwhile Rossi had dialled 911, reporting the explosion and requesting an ambulance and fire trucks in a wavering voice. He hung up shortly afterwards, redirecting his attention to Prentiss' call.
"He's not answering. None of them are answering," she murmured, turning to Rossi behind her, a single tear streaming down her cheek. Rossi put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, though he was too stunned to speak. The case had changed for the worse so suddenly, it was all like some sort of sick dream.
They were plunged into an agonising silence as Morgan raced them towards their friends at an insane speed, all praying they would make it in time. If it wasn't already too late.
