"The director has given us permission to continue working the case, anything we need is at our disposal, and Detective LaMontange and the local Metro PD have been trying to locate possible cars that have damage matching with the accident, but haven't found anything yet. " Hotch said walking into the conference room, the rest of the team sat silently around the round table flipping through the small case file. "Garcia have you found anything?"
"Um… No sir" She sighed looking up from her screen. A look of dismay crossed Hotch's face. "But, but I'm searching every nook and cranny that I can on John Curtis and his known aliases." Her fingers continued to rap across the keyboard, waiting every few seconds for a response from the computer. Each response was a dull double beep, causing Garcia to type faster which elicited the same response faster. Rossi looked up from his file, and noticed a small tear running down Garcia's face.
"Why don't we do this the old fashion way." He nodded reaching over to grab Garcia's hand. He gave her a smile reassuring smile before continuing, "What's bugging everyone?" he gave a quizzical glance to everyone around the table.
"Why now?" Garcia piped in "Why take JJ? He's laid low for two years; none of us even thought for a moment that he could have survived. So why, why come out of hiding, why not start over in a tropical climate somewhere?"
"We know that John Curtis is a narcissist, he wants to feel in control and feels like others are the cause for his problems. JJ and Derek were the first ones into the room where Blake was tied up, Curtis might be blaming them for cutting his time short." Reid said rolling a pen in between his fingers.
"Yeah, but how could he have known that? The last person he saw was me, I outsmarted him, even threw 'Zugzwang' back in his face when I trapped him in the room. If he was going to blame somebody why not me?" Rossi said starting to pace by the glass panes facing the bullpen. He stopped locking his gaze onto the two missing agents desks.
"JJ always stays after everyone else has left to finish the paperwork after a case, JJ was probably the easiest to grab. Sleep-deprived, and not as vigilant as what we usually would be on a regular day, and it was at night so less witnesses." Blake said trying to calm Rossi
"There must be something we're missing." He whispered into his hand "But what?"
"Garcia did CSU recover any surveillance in the parking lot?" Hotch asked breaking the silence.
"There was only two cameras on the floor of the accident, and both went dark around 11:50 pm and came back on at 12:09 am. Oh! And CSU also gave me the results for the mystery phone, it was the phone Morgan used to call 911."
"Morgan walked into a trap." Blake stated the obvious. "But you checked his financial records, wouldn't purchasing a burner cell be a red flag, or even withdrawing enough cash for the transaction."
"Unless Curtis gave it to him." Rossi blurted still looking out into the larger area. "He went alone, told no one, had a second burner cell phone, he must have been given it sometime after JJ was abducted." Rossi stopped "But none of us have left the building, until he was taken. Which means he was given it here." He briskly walked out of the conference room towards Morgan's desk. The rest of the team watched from the glass as Rossi rummaged through Morgan's desk drawers. Reid focused his attention on the file and flipped through the papers, making a connection.
Rossi jogged back into the conference room, Blake, Garcia and Hotch gave looks of confusion, while Reid continued through the file and pulled out a small photo.
"The pendant." The two men both said at the same time.
"I thought that was just something that fell off of JJ when she was grabbed." Blake said confusion lining her face.
"Except, Morgan had the exact button in his drawer." Rossi said
"He's playing with us." Reid added, "he's giving us clues, we just need to make the connection."
"A blue and red button is supposed to be a clue?" Garcia questioned the two, she might not have been a boy genius or a seasoned profiler, but even this sounded a little to farfetched. Reid saw her confusion, "Curtis specifically gave us these buttons, this red insignia must be important to his game."
"If we find where it came from, it could be the break we need." Blake further explained, finally understanding what the two men had inquired. "Curtis is meticulous, he's spent the past two years planning, everything has a meaning, and we just have to figure it out."
"Curtis knew that taking JJ was the easiest way to exploit Morgan's protective mentallity with a ruse of a trade, a 'her life for your's' scenario. This wasn't a spur of the moment abduction or taunting, Curtis planned on taking two of us, and Morgan and JJ were the most predictable to trap out of all of us." Reid said "The insignia might tell us where he's keeping them."
"Okay, so I'll run a search on the red insignia, and cross check it with any restaurants and businesses in the area."
"Also cross check it with local clubs, bars, and police databases, some groups are known by their uniforms, like a motorcycle gang or even the KKK." Reid interjected. Garcia nodded her head in response while her fingers flew on the keyboard.
Garcia remained hard at work, as Anderson walked into the room. "Dr. Reid, this is for you." He said handing the genius a sealed envelope. Garcia looked up from her computer, giving the rest of the team a similar look of unease. "Anderson, was this examined before it was sent up?" Reid asked, placing the envelope on the table.
"Yes, it went through standard protocol security and was determined safe." Anderson replied before walking out of the room. The team remained stoic, staring at the tan envelope on the table.
"Standard protocol is an x-ray, and swabbing for explosive residue and anthrax. Do you think-" Rossi began
"It's entirely possible, the last time Curtis used drugs it was administered by contact with flesh so using lab-grade working gloves might keep any undetected poisons from entering anyone system." Blake interrupted
Reid remained silent, keeping his stare focused on the large unbroken envelope. His name printed nicely in the top right-hand corner, no return address or name, no subject, nothing to identify what might be inside the package. Curtis gave this to us for the purpose of his game, why kill us with it. There's something inside there that is important to his game, why risk the chance that we wouldn't receive it. Reid grabbed the envelope and opened the flap.
"Reid don't!" Hotch exclaimed to late as the young doctor unlatched the tie. Reid peered into the envelope and gently slid the contents unto the table. Two black and white photos glided to a halt in the middle of the table, the team glanced at the bright red letters covering the bottom, but focused their attention on the subjects in the photos. Reid shook the envelope until another button fell out rattling on the table.
"He's playing with us, taunting us. He's knows we have nothing, so he's okay with taking big risks like delivering an envelope to us. And what the hell do the damn buttons mean!" Reid yelled slamming his fist unto the table, making the button clang on the wood; he stormed out of the room, running his hands through his hair trying to clear his head.
Rossi took a step towards the door to follow him. "Don't." Hotch sighed "We all need a break, 2 hours and we'll come back with fresh eyes. I think a clear head is what we all need to bring JJ and Morgan home."
"JJ." Morgan whispered softly into the blonde's ear. He looked down at her small frame, it made his stomach roll; the once perfectly unblemished skin, now tainted with bruises and cuts all over. The bruising around the inside of her legs sickened him, he wanted to kill Curtis. I won't let him hurt you, I promise he thought lightly kissing the top of her head. "JJ." He said a little louder but kept the same sweet tone, the woman stirred in his arms. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked
"Better" She croaked scooting to the side of Derek. He knew she was lying, but he wasn't going to push her. She glanced down at his body, the deep cut to his side was still open, and she knew infection would set in soon if it wasn't treated properly. She kept examining, locking her gaze on his leg. The leg was obviously broken, a piece of the bone was clearly poking through, the bruising and inflammation around it made his leg look live a black olive with blood as accents. "What about you?" she asked gesturing to his leg. He gave an assured smile "I'm good, it doesn't hurt very much." She knew he was lying. She got to her feet, and paced in front of Derek.
"What are you thinking?" He asked, she didn't respond. "JJ, no! Don't do it." He knew that look she was giving. Her brow furrowed, and eyes that showed so much determination; he'd seen it before when she had to negotiate the press to keep them quiet while they were investigating. "JJ." He pleaded he reached for the blonde but winced as he reopened the wound in his side. Her concentration broke and she knelt beside him. "You need medical attention. A doctor, a hospital, something."
"And you think he's just going to let me go." Derek hissed pressing his hand against his wound. "Its how he gets off, not just by killing but by watching his victims slowly die in as most pain as possible. This is his way of telling me that I'm going to die." Derek sighed; JJ couldn't stop a tear from falling down her face.
"I can't lose you." She said, knowing how it sounded she tried to cover herself "I can't just watch you die of infection, while I could be doing something." She pushed herself back up and faced the metal door. "Curtis!" she yelled "Curtis! I know you're watching us, come in here."
"JJ, no." Derek said pushing himself up the wall with his one good leg. He touched her shoulder, trying to stop her from bringing him back. "He needs help. Curtis!" JJ yelled again.
The door swung open,clanging against the wall, JJ jumped at the noise. Curtis stood in the doorway with a smile on his face. JJ regained her composure, and stood perfectly still, tightening her muscles, trying to hide her fear. He took a few steps inside the room, and tilted his head staring at JJ's legs. She felt uncomfortable, and the fear building within her urged her muscles to run into a corner. "Can you help him?" She pleaded gesturing to Derek who stood against the wall behind her. Curtis remained silent and shifted his gaze to Morgan; the smile grew as he saw the blood dripping from his side. "I could yes. But you must know everything comes with a price." He purred
"Anything, just save him."
Curtis casually walked back out of the room slamming the door behind him it caused JJ to jump. The fear started to ease away and she turned back to Derek, who gave a look of dismay. "I couldn't watch you die. I need you Derek." He brought her arms around her and pulled her close, "I'm not going anywhere." He whispered. He felt his knees giveway, and collapsed to the ground. "Derek!" JJ screamed trying to stop his fall. "Derek!"
Alright I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Kind of a cliff hanger, but I really wanted to show you the team again and what they're doing. As always Comment, review, follow, favorite, suggest, or do whatever floats your boat. Be back with chapter 11 soon. :)