A/N: I do not own Criminal Minds!
Are you guys ready?
Chapter 9
45 hours left…
They decided to join back together after each group found out more information. Garcia started off the meeting by saying, "Edward Constantine is 33 years old, he has only a high school diploma and has no record. Both of his parents died when he was young. He was brought up in foster care."
"And foster care is where a lot of abuse takes place," Rossi added. "Fits the profile exactly. You told me and Hotch that you found something interesting?"
Penelope nodded and informed them, "I was tracing his credit card and I found some weird things. Over the past two years, around the same time every month he buys lady products and chocolate."
She let this wash over the whole team. "So…" Morgan stated as he was coming to the same conclusion as everyone else, "He has a girlfriend."
"And it has to be serious enough for him to buy this stuff for her. Not every guy is willing to do such a thing," Penelope argued.
"Do you know who the girlfriend is?" Hotch asked her.
"Of course! Her name is Meredith Stefian. She's a florist. She has an apartment in the city and…" She passed each of the members a sheet of paper. "I just gave you all an address."
"Good work, Garcia," Hotch told the analyst. He then turned to the youngest agents. "Prentiss has been taken for three hours and counting. What have you both come up with?"
"Well, physically, Emily is getting to the point where she is getting enormously thirsty, if our inference that he is not giving her water is correct. Also, based on the lesions on the other victims, we suspect that she is being hanged in the air. Probably from a bar of some sort. She's probably tied to something on the ceiling. I'd guess that she is already starting to lose the feeling of her arms and legs." Reid reported to the team.
Hotch nodded, listening carefully. "Okay, but what about emotionally? We don't exactly know his reason for kidnapping these girls besides his sexual desires. Do you think Emily is playing along with his fantasies?"
"No," JJ answered shortly. "She's strong. It will take her a long time to not fight back. But she also knows him better than we do. I can't say that we can be sure of anything. She knows what to do to stay alive."
Hotch nodded curtly. "I agree, JJ. So, I think that we should visit Constantine's girlfriend. If he is able to pretend to have a stable relationship, she would have to be submissive. We might not get any straight answers if that's the case, but she may know him better than anyone."
"Agent Hotchner?" A stranger FBI agent asked as she approached the team with a file. "Here are the ME reports of the victims. The cause of death has changed."
"Changed?" Rossi wondered aloud. He looked at the file that he was given and told the team, "Suicide. We thought that he killed the victims with different weapons because he was done torturing the victims. But maybe that's part of the sexual sadism. He gets them to the point where they kill themselves for him."
JJ flinched, hating every word coming out of his mouth. "Emily would never. She wouldn't even think about it."
"This is good, JJ," Hotch muttered. "We all know that she wouldn't commit suicide. This could give her a lot more time than we had previously thought."
"But Hotch," Derek countered. "I hate to say it, but that also means he was able to drive five girls to kill themselves in less than three days each. That means that the torture must be so bad that there is no longer any hope or will to survive."
A shudder was shared amongst the team. "Derek, Rossi, interview the girlfriend. We have to keep each other updated."
"You know, my mother was a beautiful woman," Lewis whispered as he twirled Emily's hair. "She was a singer. She wasn't known for her singing, she was known for her body, but she'd sing to me every night before I fell asleep. People loved her. Watched her when she walked by. She was idolized."
"So, what?" Emily asked, her throat becoming parched. "You kill women because you loved your mother?"
"No, Emily," He sighed as he put both hands on Emily's naked waist. "I do it because she was weak. She didn't deserve me or my father. No woman is innocent, Emily. You must already know that, for you are one yourself. All women are bitches, asking for orders, but really wanted to be told what to do. You like to be controlled, don't you, Emily?" At her silence, he continued. "My mother blamed me for the end of her career. Apparently, kids ruin the body. Well, then why have sex, mommy? She blamed my father for me. He'd do anything for her. He did everything for her. But then she did what all women do. Bitch. Whine. Cry. About nothing. Never saw my father more heartbroken when he found my mother dead with a bullet in her head. I never cried. Hell, I never loved her more than when I laid next to her, the pool of blood soaking in my hair."
Emily tried to absorb in all that she was told, trying to find something about him that she can use against him. "I'm sorry that your mother died. My father died when I was young."
Lewis snickered, "I know what you are doing, Emily. You are trying to relate to me. But can't you see, Emily? The happiest day of my life was when my mother pulled the trigger. She had ruined all of us, and made the decision to end her life."
"Is that what you want me to do?" Emily asked, her voice shaking. She already knew the answer, and now understood his reasoning for all that he did.
Damien grinned at her. "You're catching on. Of course, not yet. No, you aren't anywhere close to your breaking point yet."
"If you are taking it out on your mother, Damien. You are doing it wrong. She was an unhappy woman. You are raping and torturing happy people who did nothing to you so you can get them to kill themselves."
Lewis twitched uncharacteristically. "Did nothing? Emily. You should know this. No one is innocent. Everyone is guilty. Everyone deserves what they get. Even you. Why do you get to decide who receives justice? Why do you get to refuse me? I am your superior. But then again, you seem to like it when I am inside you. They always do."
Emily wanted to throw up. Her memories of the hours she had spent with him resurfaced in her eyes. But she wouldn't let him get the satisfaction. At least, not yet. "You like the attention. That's why you kidnapped me. No one was watching you. You are like a child, begging his mother for her attention."
Lewis slapped her and pressed his mouth against hers. "I'm… not… a… child…" He murmured as he pulled out his blade again. He squatted and ran his fingers across the blade. "You must learn to obey me, Emily. You must learn that you have no power." He dragged the blade across her thigh where cuts had already started to heal. "No one is coming for you. It is just you and me."
"They'll catch you," Emily groaned as she flinched from pain. "They will never stop chasing you."
"Oh dear, don't worry about that. They won't get to you until you are dead. They will never know how much you enjoy this." He put the blade down and to trace his fingers up her thigh.
44 hours left...
"Excuse me, Ms. Stefian. I'm Agent Morgan and this is Agent Rossi and we are of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. We have a few questions about Edward Constantine. Do you mind if we come inside?" Morgan asked as he and David stood at the door of their suspect's girlfriend's apartment.
She automatically looked concerned. "FBI? Eddie? What's wrong?"
"We'll explain everything once we come inside, ma'am. It's too complicated to explain here." Rossi informed the girlfriend.
Meredith nodded worriedly and the two agents followed her inside her apartment. She took them into the living room and she sat down. "Is Eddie alright?"
Without answering her question, Derek asked, "Has Mr. Constantine been home in the last two weeks?"
The girlfriend shook her head. "No. He hasn't been home in… three weeks I think. But that isn't strange for him. Ever since he has worked with Mr. Lewis for the past year, he takes these trips all the time. That's why I never- oh god. Do you think he is dead?"
"No, ma'am. Five girls were killed in the last two weeks. All of them were at the same party that your boyfriend worked at. No one has seen him since that party." Rossi tried to explain.
Water entered her eyes. "No, Eddie would never do such a thing. He's a good man. I have been with him for four years. Plannin' on getting married in the next year. That's why he got that job. He hated it. But he said that he wanted to buy me a fancy ring."
David and Derek turned to each other, not expecting this. "Ms. Stefian, would you consider your boyfriend to be patient? Respectful?"
Meredith nodded repeatedly. "Eddie is the best man I have ever known. He's kind and intelligent. And always does whatever he can so that I can be happy. And even though we moved recently, along with his boss, he always asked me if it was alright that we were leaving. I didn't mind, though. I would be fine wherever he is."
"And is Mr. Constantine ever violent? Ever hit you or get extremely angry with you for what seems like no reason?" Derek interrogated.
"No, never. The boyfriend I had before him was like that. Eddie actually saved me from him. After breaking up with my abusive boyfriend, I became suicidal. But Eddie showed me how life was worth living. He saved my life. And ever since, we have been in love," The woman reiterated for the detectives.
"And how would you say his relationships are like with other people?" David asked.
"Good. He's always good at making friends. I never minded moving around with him because he has always had the ability to meet good people. Do you really think that Eddie could do such a thing? Is he really a suspect?"
Avoiding the question, Derek asked, "Had Mr. Constantine ever brought you to his house on the East side of town? Has he ever brought you to any other property? Do you know if he owns any other property?"
"He got that house so that he could renovate it and eventually move into it. We love it here. We were going to get married and start a family. He definitely doesn't have other property. His parents died when they were young, so he never inherited much."
Derek and Rossi were both confused, but all of their questions were sufficiently answered. "Thank you for speaking with us, Ms. Stefian," Rossi told her. "If you have any questions or anything that you would like to add, please call this number." He passed her one of his cards.
As Derek and David stepped away, she spoke up, "I know that he may be your only suspect. But Eddie isn't capable of hurting anyone. He's still sad about his parents' death. He wouldn't want to cause that pain on anybody else. He's a good man. Please, if you find him, please call me."
"We will, Ms. Stefian," Derek promised her.
The two agents left the apartment, and when they met a point where they felt like they could converse about what they had just learned, they began to talk.
"Either this UnSub is the best liar we have ever seen and can act like a decent human…" Rossi began.
"Or he isn't our UnSub." Derek finished for him.
43 hours left…
"Are you saying," JJ asked, trying to not cry on the spot. "That you don't think that Edward Constantine is the UnSub?"
Rossi put his hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't fit the profile. His girlfriend wasn't submissive. She said that they had a kind and loving relationship. He wasn't violent. She wasn't scared of him. She was only worried that he was hurt."
"Can't he just be pretending?" The blonde asked the elder agent, wondering aloud the same question that the other agents who hadn't spoken with the girlfriend were thinking.
Derek shook his head. "Psychopaths can pretend to love someone. But pretending for years? And never laying one hand on her or showing any violence at all? That's impossible."
Hotch nodded, agreeing with their conclusion. "So if it isn't him, who could it have been?"
Derek shrugged. "I have no idea. We didn't tell anyone where we were going. Except for Lewis and… damn." He said, coming to the realization. Looking at all the confused faces, he continued, "The owner of the house, Damien Lewis, he gave us directions to the house. I felt that they were too long. He seemed so… wrong."
"Wrong?" Aaron asked him, starting to get a weird feeling. "What are your instincts telling you, Morgan?"
"He was too calm. He let us come inside his house, and he never once believed that we thought that he was a suspect. His assistant was very wary of him. She looked afraid, but I… I never thought anything of it. He had acted so… confident."
"Confident how, Derek?" David questioned his colleague.
Morgan turned to the blonde, concerned. He didn't want to reveal what happened but he knew he had to. "Er- he was very flirtatious with Emily."
JJ became uncomfortable. She tried to not become angry, but everything was piling up. "Did she- did she- return the…"
Derek could read in between the lines. "Yes. Just so that he would answer more of the questions. But I never thought he was the UnSub. He just felt off. We didn't know."
"She played along," Rossi murmured, not trying to sound accusatory. "She played into his fantasies. She targeted herself without even trying to."
"He recognized her last name. Ambassador's daughter, that'll get a lot of attention." Morgan added, trying to put himself in Lewis' perspective.
"We can't let him get the satisfaction," JJ sputtered, tears bubbling up in her eyes. "We can't broadcast it to the world. Not when… not ever. She wouldn't want that."
"JJ, we have to pretend like this is like any other case. We don't want the UnSub to start killing again. Even if he has her." Hotch warned the girl.
Suddenly, Penelope ran into the room and said, "You all called me?"
"Yes," Hotch replied as the tech analyst took a seat at the conference table. "Can you do searches from here?"
"Of course," Penelope told him as she opened her laptop. "What do you-"
"We don't believe that Edward Constantine is the UnSub. His life with his girlfriend seemed too real to be faked. We now think that the UnSub could be Damien Lewis, the owner of the Nightingale house." Hotch informed her as she began to type.
"Damien Lewis is thirty-three years old. He bought the house a month ago. He has never had a job. He has inherited all of his money from his mother who was a model. She died when he was eleven. Her mother's death was ruled a… suicide,"
"If he witnessed his mother's suicide, that could be why he gets the girls to kill themselves. He views women as his mother who was too weak and selfish to live. His mother gave up on him." Rossi pointed out. "What about his father?"
"His father is in prison. For… rape."
Silence spread around them until Reid spoke up. "If he had just moved here, is there a possibility he raped or killed in the other places that he had lived?"
"I'm checking VICAP..." Penelope typed and then answered, "This guy never lived anywhere longer than a couple years. He lived in South Carolina previously and… oh god. When he lived in Atlanta, there were seven unsolved murders of girls that fit the profile. The case became cold when he moved. The officers thought that the perp must have been arrested for another crime or died. Before that, he lived in Miami… four victims. Boston… 3 victims. Chicago… 1 victim. From there, there were only rapes. I think his first murder was in Chicago."
"Good work, Garcia," Hotch thanked her. He turned to the team, noting their anger. "I know we all want to get this guy. But we can't do this hastily. Everything we do has to be by the book. This guy has money. He can find a good lawyer. We can't make any mistakes."
"Warrant?" Reid asked his boss.
Hotch nodded. "Rossi, talk to Strauss. She trusts you. You can convince her to find someone who can get this done for us fast."
Without hesitation, David got up left the conference room.
Hotch turned to the rest of the team. "He isn't stupid. He won't have the girls inside his own house. He is probably keeping them somewhere no one knows about."
"We can pretend like we have more questions," Morgan offered. "And maybe secretly talk to the assistant? If she has spent time with him, she may know where he goes."
Hotch nodded in agreement. "We can't let anytime go to waste. There's a likely chance that when we get to his house, he'll know we are on to him, so we have to be extremely careful. Morgan, are you ready to-"
"I want to go, Hotch," JJ spoke up. "I need to go. I need to feel like I am doing something. I can't handle not doing anything."
Hotch contemplated his options for a few seconds and then concluded, "Alright. But you can't make decisions. Don't attack the UnSub or the assistant. And keep a calm head. We can't let them know that we know that Lewis is the UnSub."
JJ nodded, agreeing with his terms.
She was growing dizzy. She didn't expect how fast the lack of water would make her feel this lightheaded. But she also knew that the loss of blood and all the trauma could impact her mental state. She felt lucky at the moment. He had left her alone in the silence for the past hour. Finally, she felt like she could breathe again. More than anything, she wanted to sleep. But every time she closed her eyes, images would reappear. Sometimes she wished that she could just fall asleep and not wake up. She tried to push those thoughts out of her head. She knew she was only there for a few hours. People had lived with their kidnappers for years and lived. She had been with him for less than ten hours and she already felt like giving up. She took a deep breath.
She constantly wondered about her team. If they realized that it was Lewis behind it all along. If they were investigating Constantine. If they felt pity for her. If they come to terms with what they knew was happening to her.
She tried to see herself as a different person. She tried to separate herself from the person who was being tortured. But she couldn't handle the out of body experience for as long as she used to. She kept remembering a certain blonde. And while thinking of her brought her back to her tortured self, JJ was the one thing that kept her feeling alive. Sometimes out of the corner of her eye, she thought she would see JJ coming into the room, saving her. But it was always a trick of the eye. All she wanted was to be in her girlfriend's arms. She told herself that she just had to stay realistic. Hope for the best, but expect the worst.
But positivity wasn't really on her mind. Especially when he re-entered the room. She avoided his glare. It was easy for her to stare him down at first. But now, now, after everything he had done to her, she couldn't bear to look at him and be reminded of how easily she let him touch her.
"Emily, you are bleeding," He chuckled as he walked over to her. He touched the inside of her thighs and brushed against the blood that was drying. The blood didn't come from any cuts. "Did I hurt you, love?"
She tried to stay emotionless. Tried to stay neutral. Tried to tune him out.
"Emily, not answering is disrespectful. Don't you remember the rules? You are supposed to obey my orders. And when I ask you a question, it is your job to reply." At her silence, he grunted. "I see how it is. Maybe, you are just teasing me. Is that it- Emily? Are you a tease?" He dug his fingers into her, earning a groan of pain roll over her. "Do you like that?" He went in deeper. "It's okay to want it, baby."
"Never," Emily muttered, breathlessly. "Stop touching me."
He pulled his fingers out and grabbed her head, his hands covered in blood. "You don't tell me what to do. But fine. I'll do what you really want." And once again, he unbuckled his pants.
42 Hours Left…
Derek took the lead, knowing the UnSub better than both Hotch and JJ. He knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect. The door slowly opened at a crack, Mrs. Linde behind it.
"Mr. Lewis isn't here right now," The assistant whispered softly as she began to close the door. "He'll be back la-"
"Actually," Derek interrupted as he put his foot in the doorway. "We were wishing to speak to you. And look around the residence."
Fear entered the poor woman's face. "No, no, I really don't think that is such a good idea. Mr. Lewis would not like that, no he wouldn't."
"Lewis isn't here right now," Morgan murmured impatiently. "Besides, we have a warrant." Rossi had gotten their warrant in time, and now they had full access to the whole house.
Mrs. Linde was more than surprised. "Oh, well then. Come inside," she told the team, opening the door wider, letting them all through.
As they all walked inside, Hotch asked her, "Mrs. Linde, can I get a full name for the record, please?"
"Annabeth," She told him, shaking viciously. "Annabeth Linde."
Awkwardly standing in the foyer, Hotch continued, "And how long have you been working for your boss?"
"Almost seven years," She admitted solemnly.
JJ noticed how uncomfortable she was. As much as she hated it, she put on a fake smile and said, "Mrs. Linde, would you like to sit down somewhere. This isn't an interrogation. We just have a few questions."
The woman nodded anxiously and took them all to the front room. The team sat down with apprehension. They knew that there was no time to waste.
"Mrs. Linde, are you aware of any other residences or buildings that your boss might own?" Hotch asked her politely. At her nod, he also questioned, "How often does he let you outside of the house?"
The assistant gaped at him. She never thought that anyone would ever ask that question. She never thought that anyone would find out. "How did you… he lets me… I don't understand."
"We know, Mrs. Linde," Hotch said simply. "We know the terrible things that your boss has been doing for the past decade. We know that he has power over you. But Mrs. Linde, you are safe with us. He can't touch you here."
Water entered the victim's eyes. "He always knows," She told him. "I can't hide from him."
"How long have you known that your boss has been killing pretty girls that look like you?" Morgan asked her roughly. When she shrugged he grunted, "So, what? No police? Did you never think about saving those girls?"
Annabeth trembled as he spoke the harsh words. "I don't… he knows."
JJ could read in between the lines. Understanding the poor woman she said warmly, "You were the only one, weren't you? His prize. His anomaly. You were the only one out of his victims that didn't take your own life. And now he owns you, doesn't he? He threatens and tortures and rapes, but you know how lucky you are. Because you know just how many girls he kills. But you also know how easily you can be one of those girls. That's why you don't go to the police."
Hotch and Derek turned to JJ, surprised by her ability to easily profile the woman. She nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I was 18. Just out of high school. I told my parents that I would make it without going to college. I met Lewis, who was 26. He was old. And I thought he was different. He let me think… He was rich. And I was always so poor. I just wanted to have the money and maybe be loved as well. But then I woke up in a room with no windows. There were days of non-stop touching and torture, but then days of non-stop silence. After a couple days, he took the bandages off. He left a noose in the room. I wouldn't- couldn't. Every day I wish I did. But I couldn't. He kept beating me. Kept raping me. But then he thought I was special. He let me out and took me somewhere new. He told me that if I told anyone, he'd kill me and all the girls he could. Some nights he wouldn't speak to me. Other times he'd come into my bed."
JJ tried to not picture these treacherous things that were possibly happening to her lover and continued the conversation, knowing that the assistant had trusted her. "And what about Edward Constantine?"
Annabeth bit her lip, causing it to bleed. "I know where he is. But you have to promise me, that you have to keep me protected."
"Of course," JJ promised her.
Annabeth nodded. "You have to know that he is smart. Smarter than anyone. He knew that you'd find him out. I think he was hoping for it. He killed Eddie and pinned it on him. He never liked him. He was always so nice to me. But he knew you'd find out it was him. I'm sorry about the other agent. I know he has her. And before you ask, I have no idea where he is with her. He never let me out of the house."
JJ swallowed, upset that she didn't know where Emily was. "I understand. So I thought you said you know where Constantine is?"
"I do," Annabeth answered. "Please follow me." She got up and started walking away. JJ and the other two agents soon followed.
"WAKE UP, EMILY," Lewis shouted as he shook her violently. She had passed out from the extreme pain and trauma. When she finally began to blink again, becoming more conscious, he laughed. "I thought you were never going to wake up. But I think you should be awake for this. Of course, because we are in this together now."
Emily was groggy and didn't understand what he meant. It wasn't until he thrust the tablet into her eyesight that she knew what he meant. Once her eyesight became clearer, she started to depict the video that was playing. People were entering a room. She gasped when she realized that it wasn't a film, it was a live video. Of her team. Of JJ.
"Where are they?" She croaked Out.
"My house," Lewis answered, pulling the tablet away from her. Emily wanted to keep watching the blonde, knowing that it could be her last time seeing her. But she had to let it go. She wouldn't let him know her feelings for her girlfriend. "They got there faster than I had expected. Not that I wasn't ready, of course. Just about now they will be finding Constantine's body and a flash drive."
She knew that he wanted her to ask questions, but she decided to play along. "What's on the flash drive?"
Lewis almost giggled giddily. "Us. Live video of us. You know, it's not enough to just torture the girls anymore. Who knew messing with friends could be just as fun?"
Emily sunk inside. In not too much time, JJ was going to see her. She was going to see her in this position. Beaten up. Naked. Damaged. "Do you want them to catch you?"
He scoffed, "Catch me? Emily, I'm controlling them. They are playing along perfectly. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better team. No police or detective team was ever able to get this far. Bravo, really."
"Am I your last? Is that why you are putting all your cards on the table. Are you planning on one last kill? Me?" Emily asked him, trying to get under his skin as much as she could.
He sighed, not wanting to answer. "Did you hate your mother because you were jealous of her having a relationship with your father?"
Emily was utterly confused. "Freud's theories have been debunked. I have never felt jealousy for my mother. I've never felt really anything about my mother. But did you feel something for yours?"
"She left me," Lewis reminded her. "She left me alone with him."
"She was unhappy."
"No, she was weak. She had me and my father and that wasn't enough for her. She didn't deserve us." Lewis spat, gradually getting angrier.
Emily tried to profile him, tried to understand. Even tried to empathize. "Maybe she didn't. Maybe she shouldn't have left you. But your father shouldn't have touched her like that either. Did he let you watch when he'd rape her, or did you hide when you watched?"
His head snapped up. "Don't psychoanalyze me. Don't get inside my head. And just when I thought you were learning how to obey. I think you need another lesson."
She prayed that he wasn't going to rape her again, and almost sighed from relief when she saw the blade. She didn't know where the camera was, or if he was even telling the truth about that. But she'd prefer to anything over JJ seeing her in this state.
The team reluctantly followed Annabeth down the stairs to the basement. Each agent had one hand on their gun, just in case. Hotch was in the front, Morgan in the back. JJ knew her boys were trying to protect her, but it was just pissing her off.
Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Annabeth flicked the light switch. It was there in the middle of the room as if it was a planned presentation. Constantine's body hung from the ceiling, having blood still dripping from it. On the wall, his blood outlined the words, 'having fun?'
"Did you know that this body was going to be like this?" Hotch asked the woman.
She nodded grimly. "He planned this out. He knew you guys would come. See underneath the body? The flash drive? That's for you all."
JJ shuddered and muttered, "He's toying with us. He thinks that this is a game. He never did this with the other victims."
"Why now?" Morgan asked Annabeth. "Why is he trying to give all of this information to us? Now when we catch him, he has no defense. Does he want to get caught?"
"He knows that we will kill him. After killing an FBI agent, he knows that he won't survive." Hotch theorized.
"So is this his last performance?" Morgan asked, receiving no answer.
Hotch turned around to look at the whole team. "Morgan, stay here and try to look through everything. Call forensics. JJ, we are going back to Quantico. We can't trust the drive yet. Mrs. Linde, you need to come with us. It's the only way to protect you until this is over."
Annabeth nodded. She took one last look at the body and turned away, heading back upstairs. JJ followed her as Hotch grabbed the flash drive. Before heading up, he turned to Morgan. "Come back as soon as you can. I don't think we are going to solve this anytime soon."
Derek nodded and replied, "You know what this means, don't you? He has every intention of killing Emily. No matter what. That means…"
"It might not even be by suicide. It's his finale, though. He'll want to play with her."
"But how long?"
"I have no idea," Hotch responded hopelessly.
Emily felt like she was in limbo. Not dead, but not alive. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him. She felt him. She was incredibly tired and worn down. More than anything, she wanted the time to pass. She prayed that her team wasn't watching her. Wasn't seeing how totally screwed up she was. She hadn't believed in God in a long time. Not since she was a teenager. But now, when death seemed so close, she felt that God was all she had left.
She wanted to believe that her team was going to find her. She wanted to believe that she would be in her lover's arms once again. But she knew that nothing was certain. She knew that Lewis was incredibly intelligent and probably steps ahead of her team. She also knew that from the profile she was creating in her head from what she has learned about him, that she was going to be his last victim. His last hurrah. His last farewell until he died. She just didn't know why he was giving up so soon. He could have stayed hidden if he didn't do this. He could have moved away. Killed more innocent girls. But no, he decided to take Emily. He decided to end his own life, just as he decided to end others. The reason behind that, she didn't know.
As much as she hated him. Hated everything that he did. She couldn't help but get inside his head. Know why he was doing the things that he was doing. His upbringing wasn't his fault. And technically, neither is his mental illness. But killing and raping, she didn't know if she could justify that.
The door opened again and he walked inside. For once, he wasn't smiling. He looked purely emotionless. He slowly walked up to her. He placed his hand on her cheek.
Controlling her feelings, Emily asked him, "Why am I your last? You could have gotten away with killing for a long time. Why now?"
Caressing her skin, he shrugged. "I have no idea. It felt right. Besides, killing you will make me a legend."
"You know they won't report me in the media, right?"
Lewis became puzzled and asked, "What? What do you mean?"
"They can't release my photo, and probably not even my name. If I die, my team wouldn't let my name get abused."
Emily noticed a huge change in tension. He quickly tensed up and brought his hand away. "It doesn't matter. Your team will know what I did. That will be enough for me."
"Why do you like torturing my team? Isn't it enough to just hurt me?"
Lewis scoffed, "Really? You think that me doing this to you is enough? I want to know that my art matters. That what I am doing matters. That my father- that people will one day bow before me. Like I said. Killing you will make me a legend. That is how I will live forever. Doesn't mean I still have to be alive for it."
She couldn't argue with his logic. She hoped that she would have been able to get a little under his skin, but it didn't seem to work.
"You don't scream," Lewis pointed out while putting his hands back onto her body, tracing her hips. "All the others would scream for the first 24 hours. You haven't even yelled."
"I know that there is no point. You're too smart to not have soundproof rooms. Besides, I don't want to lose my voice." Emily confided to him.
He nodded, trying to hide his ego and satisfaction at his compliments. "Did they train you for this? When becoming an agent?"
Emily snorted, "No one can train you for this."
"Then how do you handle it so well? You don't scream, you barely cry, you don't beg. Have you gone through this before?"
Emily was surprised by the blunt question. She turned to look at him, making sure that she had eye contact. "I just don't get intimidated by weak men."
That earned her a slap. She barely felt it. A slap was nothing compared to everything else. "Do weak men kill girls just for the fun of it?"
"Weak men rape girls because they can't get any themselves. And the killing, hell, the killing, that's from their insecurity about their dick. Don't forget, Lewis. I've seen yours. And I am not impress-"
He pulled a knife on her and jabbed it into her lower abdomen. She cried out in pain. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." She murmured over and over again as the blood trickled down her stomach.
"You don't have a right to say any of those lies. I thought you were learning, Emily. I thought you were learning how to obey me and be respectful. I'm disappointed in you. Guess I have to give you another lesson." He unbuckled his pants. She had lost count how many times he had done this. She just took a breath and prayed that she would be anyone else. But the out of body experience just wasn't working anymore.
40 hours left…
Penelope typed quickly on her computer as the team sat around her, watching closely. The rest of the team impatiently stood around her, waiting to find out what was on the flash drive. JJ was pacing back in forth away from the crowd in the small room.
"Ha! Got it!" Garcia yelled. JJ stopped pacing and huddled into the rest of the group. "Huh, that's strange. I was expecting the drive to at least have some encryption. Or… or a virus. But it's clean. All that's on it is a video file. And it seems to be live."
"Open it!" Derek yelled at the tech analyst.
"Wait!" Garcia shouted, trying to think through things thoroughly. "What if this is of Emily?"
"Exactly!" Morgan argued. "That is exactly why we need to open it."
"But we know what he is doing to her. We know that he is… If this is a live shot of Emily, we know that we can never unsee the things that we are going to see. I mean we are going to see her as if we see a victim. And I'm not sure I want to do that. And I'm sure Emily wouldn't want us to."
The team considered her words and took them into account. Especially JJ. She knew that Emily would be so embarrassed if she knew that JJ saw her being beaten and torn apart.
"Garcia," Hotch began to say. "I understand where you are coming from. Emily is a friend to all of us. But we have to save her. And if this helps us get any information about where she is or about how she is being handled, we need to see it. If you don't feel comfortable watching, I would understand. You have every right to leave, and we won't think any less of you. Or any of you, for that matter. What we are going to see isn't going to be easy. But, we have to look at her as if she were any victim to get her back."
Everyone turned to JJ, knowing that she was going to be affected more than anyone. She was utterly uncertain about what she wanted to do. Biting her lip and holding her tears she said, "I have to watch it. I have to know- I have to know that she is alive."
Hotch nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. "Alright. Garcia, please play the file."
Penelope opened the file, and the screen showed the scene of Emily being hung in this room. JJ let out an audible gasp, and everyone else looked stunned.
They knew it was going to be bad. In fact, they suspected it. But they weren't expecting such a real scene. They weren't expecting to see Emily hanging there: naked, shaking, and bleeding.
JJ couldn't hold the tears in any longer. And neither could Penelope. Or Reid. Or Morgan.
"Goddammit," Rossi whispered. "Is that blood?"
No one answered him, but everyone knew.
Derek put his hand on JJ's shoulder, knowing that she would need comfort. "She's alive, Jennifer. Emily is alive."
JJ nodded, listening to what he was saying, but wasn't really comprehending it. All she knew was that her girlfriend was in extreme pain, and she couldn't do anything about it.
Everyone took in a sharp intake of air when they saw Lewis enter the frame. He and Emily began to talk and JJ questioned, "No audio?"
"Nope," Penelope answered, looking upset.
A couple minutes passed of them just talking, which surprised everyone. They were all cringing, trying to ignore how Lewis was touching her. How he'd run his fingers all along her body. How he was violating every part of her. But then they saw something changed. Lewis backed off, and Emily looked enraged. She began to get straighter, and everyone knew what that meant. Emily was offending him and getting under his skin.
A slap. They all saw it. Emily barely flinched. JJ bit her lip and she took Spencer's hand. He was almost just as worried as she was. He loved Emily almost more than anyone. This was killing him.
They noticed how defensive Emily became. How pissed off he was becoming. And then it happened. Apparently, Emily said something so offensive, that it resulted from her getting stabbed in the stomach. JJ cried out and rolled into a hug with Spencer.
Once they looked back and saw his body language, they knew what was next. He started to unbuckle his pants.
"JJ, Reid, I want you two to go interview Mrs. Linde. Ask her about everything. Everyone that has visited him. All his friends and acquaintances." Hotch ordered them as he stood in front of the screen.
The blonde was outraged. "But- but-."
"No, Jennifer," Hotch said calmly. "You do not need to see this. Emily would not want you to see this."
JJ wanted to argue with him. Tell him that he was wrong. But she knew, deep down, that her boss was right.
"Okay," She said, giving in. "Come on, Spence." Without letting go of his hand, they both robotically opened the door and stepped out of the room. Both feeling nauseous and dirty.
Emily didn't know how much time had passed. She knew that she wouldn't last too long. She could barely see and her throat was already burning from the thirst. All she wanted at the moment was water. And that desire, that was keeping her going. "Lewis," she breathed out. She hated begging, but she felt like it was her only choice.
He didn't come in. Emily didn't know why she even tried in the first place. She felt as if she was slowly losing it. She didn't even know if she was profiling him correctly anymore.
"Damien!" She called out once again, not knowing why she was expecting a different result. She wondered if she was becoming clinically insane by definition.
She shook her head, disappointed with herself. When she first got here, she thought she would last a lot longer than this. She thought that she had more strength. She thought that JJ would keep her sane. She thought that just the blonde in her mind would be able to keep her steady. But in reality, thinking of her made everything worse. As much as she wanted to stay alive to be with her, she just wanted to not be here. She just wanted water. She just wanted to feel her limbs again. She just wanted to breathe again.
"Fuck, Damien PLEASE!"
He then entered the room. He was grimacing. He had been in a bad mood ever since Emily had insulted him. "What?"
"Water," Emily begged. "I need water."
Damien walked up to her, looking pissed off. "Really? You do?" he took out his knife and brushed it across her bare thighs. "I thought you were stronger than this, Emily. The other girls, they lasted hours longer than you."
"Please," Emily pleaded, her voice giving out. "Just a sip."
"But Emily, you haven't been a good girl. You haven't deserved it yet." He whispered in her ear, manipulating her.
She knew that he was just trying to get her to become submissive. But Emily was at the point that she would be submissive if it meant that she could have water and survive for a little bit longer. "I'm sorry, Damien. I shouldn't have said what I said. It was wrong and improper."
Lewis looked sympathetic for a second as he caressed her face. But then he snatched his hand away. "See, I understand you, Emily. I understand your motives. I know you don't mean it. But you will. Soon, you will understand."
He left her there. Without water. Without hope. Without a desire to live.
Hate me yet? I'm so sorry for all these cliffhangers! Okay, I'm not. But still. Thank you all for reading and staying with this story! Reviews are welcome! XX
