Keep your poker face Morgan. He thought. He had dialed Garcia back, interested in an update on the videos she was receiving. Judging by her reaction over the phone something big had just happened. He could still hear her sobs on the other side of the call, he only hoped Reid didn't. His stomach dropped with the new urgency of their situation. He had to do whatever it took to keep the young man calm. He glanced at the seat next to him. For once he was thankful Reid's mind was elsewhere. Morgan was at a loss. The man never struggled for words but nothing he thought of seemed to be enough to provide any sort of comfort to Garcia.

"Listen baby, I'll call you back okay?" He whispered into the phone watching Reid the entire time. He hated to let her down like that but at this moment in time, he was more concerned about Reid. The kid didn't even look his way. Morgan wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

The SUV pulled to a stop at the police station, all six members of the Behavior Analysis Unit got out and quickly walked inside the brick building. Morgan made eye contact with Hotch, gesturing to his leader his need to speak privately. Hotch crossed over to him and both men watched as Reid followed Prentiss into the building.

"Hotch, something has happened to Lindley. Garcia's received e-mails with video files attached. The unsub….he's torturing her."

Aaron Hotchner's world spun with the memories of everything this team had been through together; Haley's murder, his own near death experience, Hinkle and Reid's addiction. Now this? Hotch wasn't sure Reid was strong enough for this one. The boy genius was slowly withdrawing into himself and the longer his sister was missing, the less likely he was to come back.

"Hotch?" Morgan called, snapping him out of his mental timeline.

"Let's get inside. We'll talk about it in there." Hotch said. Morgan looked like he wanted to say more, but kept his mouth shut at his leader's direction.


As the two men made their way into the building, they were instantly greeted with a flurry of activity. Apparently this unsub has sent the world of the Charlotte Metro Police Department into a tizzy. Everywhere they looked men and women took notes from phone calls and shuffled through files of papers. The smell of burnt coffee lingered in the air suggesting the true source of the room's buzzing energy. In the center of the busy room was a large dry erase board with pictures of the four missing women taped in a row. Reid stood in front of Lindley's picture. No one on the team knew he had a sister. Morgan stared at her picture from behind. Now that he saw her, he could easily see the similarities; and the differences. It was easy to tell that Reid's mind was always calculating, you could see it in his eyes. Sometimes it was like he looked right through you. The kid only saw facts and numbers in way of the people and places that surrounded him. Morgan was pretty sure Reid was happier that way. Hard facts and formulas were easy. It was human interaction that he struggled with.

Morgan profiled Lindley's picture. Young, brunette, active, she was intelligent, but not a genius like her brother. Her eyes were lit with excitement that led him to believe she excelled in social situations. People liked her and it was clear why. She drew you in and made you feel like you'd known her forever. He imagined how effortless a conversation with her would be. It was amazing to think that she and Reid shared the same genes. Almost as if he had heard his thoughts about him, Reid turned around to face Morgan. Their eyes briefly meeting as he walked past. Morgan sighed at the look he saw on Reid's face. The boy was breaking.

"Alright, listen up. This is Agent Hotchner with the FBI's Behavior Analysis Unit. They're going to take lead with the Barrett case." Captain Emerson announced to his force. Hotch stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Captain Emerson has kept us up to date with information from the previous three homicides. We believe that they are connected even though all three women were murdered in different ways and their bodies were found spread throughout the city. We believe he abducted Miss Sutton, Miss Denners and Miss Archer in practice for his fourth victim, Miss Barrett" Hotch said pointing to each picture as he spoke each woman's name.

"Why?" came a call from the back. "What does the fourth victim have to do with the other three?"

Hotch didn't answer right away. His gaze flittered over to the corner where Reid stood. He looked completely out of place in the room. For the first time in years, Aaron Hotchner wondered if Spencer Reid was too young for this job. Hotch knew he had to be delicate in his answer to the room of waiting faces. Technically Reid shouldn't be working the case, but he knew better than to keep the young man out of the loop. There was a very good chance that Reid was going to be the one to fit all the pieces together in the end. As he prepared to provide an explanation to the room Emily answered in a way that only she could.

"This" She said pointing to the tall man wearing a sweater vest in the corner, "is Doctor Spencer Reid. Lindley Barrett is his sister. We'll need any information you have on this case." Every eye in the room fell on one man. His body seemed to sag with the weight of the stares cast in his direction. Slowly, Reid lifted his head scanning the length of the room. His mind taking in more in those few seconds than anyone else would have gathered in a few hours. He stood up straight and made his way across the room. No one said anything. Suddenly, this wasn't just about a pretty young girl who had gone missing. This was the realization that it could have been any one of them on the other side of this case. It could have been their sister, mother, daughter or wife. As Reid crossed the room and walked out the door, every man and woman in that room saw themselves in his shoes and their pity for him grew. This was now personal for each of them. Lindley Reid Barrett would be found, and she would be found alive. This was the case that would stay with them all for the rest of their lives.


He burst through the front doors of the police building, gasping for air. His body shaking, he leaned over the handrail and gave into the dry heaves that rose from his empty stomach. As his muscles settled he slid to the ground and wiped the sweat off his face. He pulled his knees to his chest. This was too much. His wandering mind took him to places he never wanted to go, always assuming the worse in any situation. Would he know if she was dead? Would he feel it? He hadn't even known she'd existed for several years and now he was on the verge of losing her. They had nothing to go on in this case, but had surely solved others with less. Only, he couldn't remember any. He couldn't focus and he feared that would cost his sister his life. The doors to the building slowly opened. He wanted nothing more than to be alone, but wasn't surprised when someone sat beside him.

JJ.

She put her arm around him, but made no effort for conversation. She couldn't tell him things would be alright and she wouldn't try. Empty words were useless. Spencer Reid accepted her company.


She realized the beauty and peace of unconsciousness was slowly slipping away. Clinging to the final wisps of darkness, she bit back a cry of desperation as the awareness of her situation grew. The copper tang of her blood lingered in the air. Her arms were slick with the red runoff. She opened her eyes and watched as the room swam. The pounding in her head grew to a climax as she struggled to hold back her sick. She yelped as the light flooded the room and embraced the merciful darkness as it closed around her again.

Owen licked his lips. The joy he was experiencing was better than any drug he could have gotten his hands on. He watched as tiny drops of blood collected into bigger puddles on the stone floor. He was then struck with a thought: What if she bled out? He knew human bodies held quite a bit of blood, but he wasn't sure how much. That was something he couldn't let happen, he was having too much fun! He left the mirror, returning with several rolls of bandage. When he opened the door he was overwhelmed with the metallic ring of blood in the air. A small laugh escaped from his lips. Things could not have been going any better. Owen wrapped the bandages around her arms staunching the wounds. He lifted her head up and ran his thumb along her jaw line. She really was beautiful. It was a shame but his need for vengeance was greater than his need for THAT kind of satisfaction. It was time, he decided for step two.

They both screamed; she with pain and he with pleasure. The electricity flowed through her body in waves. She strained against the bonds around her wrists, her head thrown back in pure agony. He relished her terror. He turned the knob, getting higher than he had with any of those other girls. She was stronger than he had given her credit for. It pleased him even more. Her screams grew hoarse and he knew they would eventually be silent cries that no one but he could hear. That might be his favorite part. She bled for him and now she cried for him. Vengeance is oh, so sweet.


The chair laid on the floor on its side. Lindley's body was still tied to it. Everything hurt more than she could have ever even imagined, but the man was gone. For now. She didn't remember falling over but she remembered the pain. The electricity that flowed through her body, causing her muscles to contract and release as if her whole body was a knot being pulled tighter from both ends. Every muscle cramped together at the same time. Just the memory of it made her nauseous but if she threw up, she'd be lying in her sick. Her shoulder dug into the cement floor, bone against concrete. Chills raced through her body. She struggled to fill her lung with a full breath. The man had left her to suffocate, tied to this chair laying in puddles of her own blood.