"What?, Reid asked quickly, tension clearly audible in his voice.

No matter how much he felt like spitting into Seth´s face right now: If there was any way to save the girl he had to try it, even if it meant bartering with these men or compromising himself.
Seth smiled at his eagerness, his grim expression lightening up a bit: "You´re going to call your agency and tell them we want to cut a deal."

"What kind of deal?", Reid blinked, so surprised at that answer that he forgot to glare for a moment.
He hadn't expected anything that…simple. Seth actually wanted to talk to his team? Didn't he know they were experts when it came to negotiating with criminals?

But Seth didn´t tell him anything else. "You´ll see soon enough.", he merely said.
Then Hazel hurried out of the bathroom and their conversation was over for the time being.
Again, Reid cleaned up as best as he could, the tape around his wrists making a shower impossible.
When he came back into the room, Richie had returned with sandwiches for all four of them. Seth removed Hazel´s gag and made her sit down at the table, then gestured for Richie and Reid to follow suit. Reid sat tensely, trying hard not to look too glum for Hazel´s sake, all the while avoiding looking at either brother completely.

They ate in silence which was only interrupted by Richard´s complaints about the motel and Seth´s annoyed answers.
Afterwards, Hazel was told to sit in the bedroom where Richard turned on the TV for her to watch. Reid looked after her warily, only relaxing when Richard closed the door behind her and went to stand next to his brother.
They young agent sat on the couch, nervously looking between the two.

"Alright.", Seth had his arms crossed as he leaned against the desk by the wall. His face was determined but not overly threatening. It seemed he had already forgotten about what had happened that morning: "This is what we´re gonna do."
It was obvious that he was talking to Reid, be it because his brother already knew or because he didn't need to.
"I´m sure you´re valuable enough for your team for them to make a deal with us. Let´s say, they can have you back for five hundred thousand dollars and if they stop chasing us."

Reid had trouble controlling the motion of his jaw as he blinked at that ridiculous idea.
That was the plan?
Did they actually think that would work? The FBI would never agree to cooperate with criminals. Even if Hotch and the others were to cave in worry for him, Strauss would never allow it.
His mind started racing automatically. Seth had to know his plan was idiotic. What was going on? What was he really planning? Was he setting him up to feel safe only to…
Reid stopped, unable to bring himself to think about him and Hazel in connection to the murder victims they suspected to be on the brothers.

No, that wouldn't make any sense. Unless he was really sadistic, he would have no gain from playing that kind of game with them.
He must actually want the money and have some sort of plan to get it. Reid gulped, praying silently that the latter was the case.
For now it seemed like he had no choice but to play along anyway.
Maybe Seth really only thought of them as hostages. Bargaining chips.
In that case, every second he believed Reid was valuable to them was another one they didn't kill him, was more time for the team to find out where he was.
If he was just letting him believe he was safe while already planning to r…kill them no matter the outcome of the negotiation –he would be quite literally fucked.

He looked up at Seth, trying to figure out which one it was. Seth returned his gaze neutrally, giving nothing away.
He was right after all. In the end, Reid could only hope.
"How am I supposed to contact them?", he found himself asking: "You crushed my phone."
Seth nodded, elucidating: "We´ll go to a phone box somewhere a little off in case they trace the call. After that, we will leave here, Hazel goes free and you stay with us until we exchange you for the money a couple of days later. Does that sound acceptable, Agent Reid?"

It sounded too good to be true, that´s what it sounded like. He nodded, careful to keep his face neutral, void of any emotion that might betray him.

"I´ll try.", he offered, hoping it sounded less wary than he felt.
Seth nodded in satisfaction and straightened up, shrugging on his suit jacket: "Great. We´ll leave as soon as I have figured out from where to make the call."
He walked over to the door, pulling Richard with him by his sleeve. Reid tried not to be too obvious as he listened in on their conversation.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seth take his brother´s arm: "Richie, keep an eye on them, I´ll go down to the store and ask for the best place to do this. If they don't know there, I might have to go further into the village, so don't get nervous if it takes a while. Just stay put, ok?"

"Okay, Seth.", Richard replied and Seth grabbed him, pulling him into a brief bear hug.

"Just a little longer, little brother, and we´ll be out of this mess, sipping tequilas under the Mexican sun with our pockets full of money!", he grinned, all but shaking his brother in his enthusiasm.
Richard smiled at that, though looking a bit overcharged at Seth´s outburst.

It wasn't until Seth had left that Reid realized that this left them alone with Richard.
He watched the younger brother nervously from the couch, almost expecting him to go into the bedroom where Hazel was. He didn't though but just sat down at the desk chair, silently looking at a map of Mexico that was spread out there, glancing at Reid from time to time to make sure he didn't try anything.
Several minutes passed in which Reid could only hear the rustling of the paper and the animated voices from the other room and eventually he relaxed a little..

He started pondering the situation again, trying for the dozens time to determine how much he could give on Seth Gecko´s words.
What it came down to was that there were two basic scenarios both based on the notion that's eth was somehow able to steer and control his brother.
If Seth really only wanted money so they could escape, he might just have a chance to get out of this alive. Of course, he might still be shot if anything went wrong during the transaction or if Strauss refused to cooperate, but there was a chance. The good thing about this would be that even if he got into the line of fire, Hazel would be long gone and safe by then.
Then there was the second, muss less pleasant scenario.
Which included one or both brothers being compulsive serial killers who would not spare them no matter how much money they received. In that case, they would either end up with a hole in their heads or worse …like their assault victims.
Reid shuddered at the notion. How was he supposed to know which of those was the case and how he should react if it was the second one?

With nothing else to go by, he started going over the little information he had to make the best educated guess he could muster.
Firstly, there were the victims they had found. There was no doubt they had been assaulted by Richard. But they never did find out if he really killed them too, they had just assumed it as logical. It likely was.
More interesting was the question if Seth had been with him during those attacks, if he knew about them and if he would let his brother continue them now. After all, there was no proof of him sexually assaulting or killing anyone and he had been in jail for a good three years in which Richard had continued in his assaults, escalated even.
Reid remembered the man's statement under oath, the contempt he´d shown for sexual offenders in the court house. It was possible that he would ground Richard now that they were back together, if he even tried to.
Speaking against that was his threat to Reid this morning, his utter lack of empathy when he had threatened Hazel. But Reid had provoked him then –so he might have only used that to scare him off, nothing more…
Either way, the key seemed to lie in Seth.

If Seth could retain his brother, they might have a chance. The question was how to best make sure that he would….
He was interrupted in his thoughts when Richard Gecko suddenly spoke up, turning to look over at him.
Reid all but jumped out his skin when the silence was suddenly broken but tried not to let it show.
Richard´s voice sounded weirdly soft and polite, almost shy as he asked: "Hey, you´re a doctor, right?"
Reid looked at him nervously, not sure what to make of this. Richard had never really spoken directly to him before but he sounded a little too…normal.

Richard held up his bandaged hand for an explanation as he continued: "Can you help me with my hand? I think it´s infected."
Reid tried to see any sign of deception on the man´s face, any sign that this was some sort of trap, but Richard seemed completely authentic in his request. Also, there was no arguing he did have a hole in his hand.
"Uhm, I'm not a medical doctor.", Reid replied, wishing they could just go back to being silent. He didn't know how deranged this man was, how solid his connection to reality was, if he would even understand his reasoning.
Right now it looked like he didn't.

Richard blinked in confusion at the differentiation.

"But you know about medicine, right?", he repeated, his injured hand still hanging in the air like he had forgotten to take it down.
"I…", Reid hesitated, trying to think of a way to decline that wouldn't include the risk of setting the man off.
"Please.", Richard smiled innocently from behind his glasses, looking like he couldn't harm a fly: "I don't think the tape should be on it any longer. I have gauze and a clean bandage here but I can't really do it myself."
Reid bit his lip as his stomach clenched with a sinking feeling. No matter how innocent the man´s request seemed, he didn't like this…it felt wrong…

Richard saw the apprehension on Reid´s face and promptly misinterpreted it: "It's okay. Seth won't get mad at you, I promise."
Like Reid was worried about that. He was actually kind of wishing Seth would come back already, and that said something. At least he knew what to expect there.
Richard on the other hand behaved like a small boy in the way he talked and depended on his big brother…and Reid really didn't want to find out if he was prone to tantrums.

"Ah, I can't…use my hands… I mean…", Reid lifted his bound hands, praying that the man would just let it go.
"I can take that off. ", Richard suggested, like he didn't know it would get him in trouble with his brother.
When Reid still didn't move, he shrugged and started to get up: "That's okay, I´ll just ask the girl then..."

"No, wait!", Reid practically jumped off the couch, earning himself a startled look from Richard with his violent reaction. He didn't say anything though because Reid made himself walk over to the desk then.
His heart was racing again, every fiber of his being screaming to back up, to not let this man near him. Knowing there wasn't much of a choice though, he finally lifted his bound hands.
He jumped slightly when Richard´s good hand quickly wrapped around one of his wrists and he suddenly had a knife in his other one. Where had that come from so fast?

Before he could freak out though, Richard had already cut through the tape around his wrists and sat back in his chair again.
Reid forced himself to take another calming breath, telling himself he was being ridiculous. He was in no more danger than he had been all along when Seth had still been here –and even if he were, Richard wouldn't do anything against his brother's orders…would he…?
He quickly pried the remainders of his restraints off his skin, grimacing at how much they had cut into his skin. He felt a little better with his hands free though and so he told himself to just get it over with as quickly as possible.
Richard smiled encouragingly and extended his injured hand expectantly. Reid took a deep breath, trying to will his fingers to stop trembling as he reached out and carefully started peeling the bloody tape of the man's hand.
As much as he tried, he couldn´t seem to relax even when Richard just sat there and let him work; he still felt like impending doom was just around the corner.

But what choice did he have? He couldn't and wouldn't let Hazel near this guy…
He dropped the used tape onto the table top and soaked a clean tissue with the disinfectant standing next to the bandages.
He could practically feel Richard´s eyes burning on his skin, making him even more jumpy as he cleaned the wound, all the while trying to touch his hand as little as possible. Finally he could start wrapping a new bandage around the wound and hurried to finish.

Richard smiled at him as he watched him work: "You're very gentle. It almost didn't hurt at all. It always stings when Seth does stuff like this for me."
Reid did his best to muster a smile in return even if it looked strained, glad that his hair was covering part of his face: "Um…thank you…"

He finished almost hastily and was about to walk back to the couch when Richard´s hand was suddenly around his wrist again, holding him in place with surprising strength.
A jolt of shock shot through Reid as he literally jumped at the touch, his eyes becoming wide.
Richard mustered his hand, seemingly neither noticing Reid´s startled gasp nor that he was trying to pull away. Instead he pulled Reid´s hand closer to him, mustering the torn skin on his wrist with what seemed like concern.
"That must hurt.", he stated: "We should fix you up, too."

Reid was fighting to stay calm but it didn't help to realize just how much strength was behind that restraining hand. He might not be able to break free if he had to…

"No, that's alright, thank you.", he forced himself to say: "It's not that bad."
Richard shot him a patronizing, almost tender smile, lightly shaking his head: "You don't have to pretend like you're strong. Seth and I both knew it the first time we saw you…you're fragile, so easily breakable…"
The last part sounded almost distant, like he was speaking to himself, his thumb moving in light circles over the inside of Reid´s wrist. He didn't seem to notice the young man recoiling from the touch.

When he looked up again, something in his eyes had changed; he was still smiling but in a way that sent chills down Reid´s spine: "You're no threat to us. That's why Seth kept you alive, you know?"

Reid didn't answer, his words stuck in his throat as his mind was racing.
There was definitely something wrong with this man, it was obvious in the way he talked and behaved. It set him on edge even though he was only talking. Reid almost felt like spider webs were crawling up his arms and legs, ready to tighten and trap him by surprise.
He tried to pull away more vigorously, wondering if Richard really didn't notice or if he just pretended to.
This time though he got a reaction.
Richard relaxed his hold for a brief second without warning, causing Reid to stumble backwards into the desk. He had barely caught himself when the man was suddenly standing right in front of him, towering over him much like Seth had this morning.
Reid shuddered at the comparison. It was a completely different situation for some reason and he felt real panic rising in his chest, paralyzing him.

Richard´s hand had found its way back around his wrist, but this time he moved the other one too, lifting it to lightly push some loose streaks of hair out of Reid´s face.
Reid shrank back instinctively when the man touched his hair and face, but Richard´s grip was like steel and he had no room to back up.
Images tinged in crimson flashed across his mind for the second time that day, feeling more real than ever.
His breath caught I his throat, his legs feeling like they might buckle under him at any second. Not that it would have mattered with the way he was wedged in the space between the larger body and the desk.
The man leaned in uncomfortably close, still seemingly oblivious to Reid's reaction.

He frowned lightly, shaking his head disapprovingly as he inspected the wound Seth had inflicted on Reid´s temple.
"He should have been more careful with you though.", he murmured like Reid was some object that would easily dent: "Seth can be rough sometimes… but don't worry, he won't hit you again if you're good. I'll make sure of that."
He smiled again while Reid forced himself to keep breathing.

"Thank… you.", he grit out again, praying that this would be the end of it, that this disturbing conversation would be all Richard was aiming for. If he came any closer Reid would have to push him away, and then the whole situation would surely escalate….
His hopes faded when the hand in his hair tightened and cupped the back of his head, immobilizing him. Richard now seemed a little uncertain, hesitating before he continued:
"You…about what you said earlier…"
Reid blinked in confusion, too tense to think clearly anyway.
"You know…", Richie explained, seeming a little flustered now: "…before I went to the store…if you…I can do that for you….cause… if you really want me to I will…."

The hand on the back of his head flexed, inevitably pulling him closer.
With no idea what the man was talking about it, Reid just stared up at him, his mind screaming to break free, to put some much needed distance between them already.
He tried to pull away again, wincing when Richard´s grip became crushing, pulling him closer inevitably.
"Please…", Reid gasped at the pain, feeling his heart thumping in his throat: "You´re hurting me…"
It was as though he hadn't spoken.

He felt bile rising in his throat when Richard´s thumb moved to stroke the side of his mouth, his bottom lip.
He moved his head back and to the side, trying to avoid him unsuccessfully. Richard just leaned closer, his eyes livid, his touch just a snap decision away from becoming crushing.
Bruising.
Stabbing.
Deadly.
A small whimper escaped him before he could get a grip on his fear.
Was this what all their victims had felt, seen in their last minutes…?