AN: Thank you to I-Wish-I-Had-A-Witty-Username, crazyobsession101, and Arwennicole for reviewing the last chapter!
"Reid how are you feeling?" Emily asked as she looked up to greet Spencer and Morgan as they entered the room to join the others.
"It was just a graze, I'll be fine. How far have you gotten?" He asked as he took a seat at the table, set on focusing on the case rather than the team's worries about his condition.
"We looked through your notes and reviewed the tapes at the specific time stamps that you labeled. I would have to agree, the activities of both men, particularly the shorter one is suspicious." Rossi answered.
"The problem is he doesn't look familiar to any of us. As you can see on the tapes, he makes a concerted effort to stay out of our way." Emily added.
"Has anyone figured out why he was here in the first place?" Spencer asked hopefully.
"That was going to be our next step. Right now we were just finishing with the information we gathered from the electronics stores." Hotchner replied.
"And?" Spencer asked expectantly.
"Take a look for yourself." Hotchner pointed the controller at the TV and played the tape where they had it paused.
Spencer studied the grainy black and white tape intently as he saw a large man approach the front counter and put his items down. The man was about six foot-four and had to be at least two hundred and thirty pounds. He wasn't fat, but he was big and buff, a man who could potentially give Morgan a run for his money. His clothes were similar to that of the other two, rather rugged, almost cattle rancher-esque, yet his body measurements suggested he was a completely different man from the other two they had on the other tapes. If anything, he could very easily have been the man Brewer thought he had seen. Unfortunately, he was wearing a large-brimmed cowboy hat which he used to help keep his face shielded.
Spencer watched as the man pulled a wad of cash from his jeans, paid in full, and confidently strode from the building after he received his change. While the man's face was unreadable, his body language didn't suggest that he was nervous or stressed. He seemed completely normal. There wasn't a hint of what he was capable of or what he was about to do.
"Have we interviewed the cashier?" Spencer turned to Hotchner as the video continued to play.
"The officer who picked up the tapes did, yes. He took down a written statement." Hotchner said as he reached across the table to hand Reid the document.
"The cashier said the man acted completely nonchalant, friendly almost, although he kept his words to a minimum. He paid in cash, and left. It was a quick, simple meeting." Emily began to summarize.
"He said the man had a deep, heavy, voice that would be easy to distinguish. He had a bit of a weathered face, suggesting he spent a lot of time outside. Overall, he was well groomed and like everything else that we just described, he blends right in with the culture around here." Emily finished.
"Any idea on his age?" Morgan asked.
"According to the cashier, probably late thirties, maybe early forties." Rossi replied.
"He appears to be different than the two we pinpointed in the other video. It would suggest that we are indeed looking for a group of people; not just the two who took her." Reid said.
"We thought the same thing. It doesn't really lead us much farther than what we already have, but it does support the original profile that you developed." Hotchner acknowledged. "There is something else we found Reid." He continued, getting the man's attention. Hotchner nodded to Emily who stood and inserted a new tape.
"This is the street outside of the electronics store. The video is from outside of one of the nearby businesses." Hotchner explained as he played the tape.
The frame moved slowly, Spencer staring intently as nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be taking place. Suddenly, right when he was about to blink, a black SUV passed by on the screen. Spencer sat forward, the excitement building inside him just a little, as Hotchner froze the video with a clear shot at the front license plate.
"Damn Hotch, we have the plate?!" Morgan said what Spencer felt.
"We do." Hotchner nodded, his face remaining even. "We also were able to match it to the video of the trackers getting planted outside the precinct hours later. It's the same SUV."
"I thought we didn't have any video of the SUV?" Morgan questioned.
"We didn't, at least not until we received a tape from about half a block up the street from a traffic light. That video, we have a image of the man planting the trackers, getting into a waiting SUV off to the side, and then later, that SUV leaving it's spot right after JJ left the precinct with Brewer. We had Garcia zoom in as best we could and while blurry, it does appear to possess the same plates." Hotchner said as he showed Reid and Morgan the printed image of the zoomed in plates.
"Garcia ran the plates through the database, right?" Spencer said quickly.
"I just finished and got the results." Garcia replied on cue from her video image on the laptop Rossi had in front of him.
"Please tell me its good news." Emily said hopefully.
"Unfortunately, it's not. Those plates, it appears, were reported stolen six months ago." Garcia said with disappointment. Spencer sighed, rubbing his chin.
"I guess that's not a big surprise. Given these guys are likely repeat offenders. Stealing or acquiring stolen license plates is pretty small compared to kidnapping." Emily said dryly.
"Garcia, do we know where the plates were taken from?" Rossi asked.
"They were taken off a family car in Southern Colorado. It was part of a rash of reported missing plates at the time. According to the report I have, there were at least twenty reports of missing plates within the span of a few days and in about a five mile radius. Almost all of the reports suggest the plates were taken at night when nobody was around."
"Garcia can you send us those reports with a pinpointed map of the locations of where the plates were taken, as well as a list of the plate numbers?" Hotchner requested.
"Absolutely sir, it's on its way." Garcia said with a couple simple strikes of the keystroke.
"Do you think these guys are border jumpers Hotch?" Morgan asked.
"I think it's possible, but more than anything I think it's something we need to be aware of, in case the evidence points us to Colorado." He replied.
"I think it would be more likely they would be from somewhere else, like Oklahoma, and cross over to steal the plates and then come back." Emily said.
"I agree with Emily. However, if the plates are missing and someone local, like say from Oklahoma, is driving around on a daily basis with Colorado plates don't you think someone would notice?" Spencer noted.
"Unless they claimed to have moved from Colorado. Or they say they just purchased the vehicle they are driving from Colorado and they just haven't switched the plates yet." Morgan replied.
"True, but after a few weeks, or say months of this don't you think it would become suspicious? If they were to be pulled over or an officer happened to run the plates, the red flag that the plates were taken would show up immediately." Spencer concluded.
"So…what are you saying?" Morgan continued, a little confused.
"At some point, they would have to switch the plates again or switch back to their real plates. While not as prevalent as it used to be, stolen license plates are still relatively common." Spencer responded knowingly.
"But if they switched back to their original plates, no one would know unless it was a neighbor or someone close. " Emily spoke up.
"What are you suggesting Reid?" Hotchner cut in, trying to follow the man's logic.
"My hypothesis is maybe they don't use that SUV much. And, maybe, they live somewhere secluded where the plates would hardly be noticed. Everything we have so far, the form of dress, the fact that the unsubs are close to each other, the fact that they might have only a few neighbors who would notice their activities, suggests that perhaps they live on a farm or a ranch."
"So do you want me to search farms and ranches in western Oklahoma for any reports of problems or police activity?" Garcia spoke from the computer.
"It couldn't hurt. Reid's thinking has been spot on so far, who's to say he won't be right again." Rossi replied with a slight smile. Garcia agreed and signed off so she could get to work.
"That's a lot of area to cover." Emily said as she looked to the map they had on the wall. "But most ranches and farms out here have acres upon acres of land. There can't be more than a half-dozen to a dozen ranches and if Garcia does come back with something, you would have to think it would only be a handful of options." Emily concluded hopefully.
"If there is something going on at one of these places, if JJ is there, we will find her." Hotchner vowed.
"Can we pop the tape of the precinct back in? I want to see why that first guy, the smaller guy was here in the first place." Spencer spoke, determined to continue to push forward if they were indeed on a roll.
Emily grabbed the appropriate tape and put it in as Hotchner handed Spencer the remote. With the tape in, Spencer rewound it, watching the time pass backwards until they were passing the point of when the two men walked out of the precinct to head to the library. Spencer rewound about an hour further before he pressed play.
At first there was nothing. Then, after Spencer moved the tape forward a bit, he noticed a man sitting on a bench, reading off a clipboard and looking otherwise bored and agitated in the same breath. It wouldn't have been that noticeable except the man had been sitting there for a while and a few moments later, another man, the familiar one, was brought into view by a police officer.
The room became noticeably tenser as everyone in the room sat forward and watched as the man from the bench stood to meet the other man and the officer. Nobody said a word as the smaller man retrieved his things as the other man passed in the paperwork. The team watched as the men seemed to exchange a few words, before walking past the bench and towards the end of the hall.
They disappeared for a moment, but Spencer continued to play the tape. About thirty seconds later a police officer, side by side with Hotchner and JJ, and followed by Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi, came into view, walking right by that same bench obliviously. Not even ten seconds later, less than thirty feet behind the team, the two men came back into view.
"Son of a bitch!" Morgan shouted, startling Spencer from his firm focus on the video.
"They were…they were right there! We walked right past them when we first got here and we didn't even notice!" Emily exclaimed with just as much astonishment.
"That's when JJ first came into their consciousness. Look at the way that one is staring at us while the other hangs back unsurely." Rossi pointed out as he leaned forward. The others watched the video closely, seeing what Rossi saw.
"I think we have our leader of this group, and it's not the man doing all the dirty work." Hotchner replied firmly, reaching to grab the remote from Reid and pausing the video. They all leaned forward, studying the clearly-visible face that was frozen on the bottom of the screen.
"This is the man we need to profile. He is the one who wanted JJ. If we can catch these two suspects, they should lead us straight to JJ." Hotchner said with certainty.
/
Sometime later, JJ found herself back in Tony's room, laying on Tony's bed, facedown. The words she had heard, been made to say, still rung in her ears.
JJ lazily moved her eyes around the room, noticing that it was still light out so she couldn't have been unconscious for that long. The next thing she noticed was the wet spot on the pillow she was currently laying on. Using the great amount of energy it took for her to lift her head, she realized that it was a small pool of her own drool. Almost embarrassed, she brought her sleeve to her face and wiped any remnants away as she slowly rolled onto her back with a groan.
Everything felt tired, and sore. The light-headed fogginess that had plagued her was no longer present. Neither was most of the numbness, although her fingers and toes were still tingling. She felt lethargic, but in all honesty, she was surprised she didn't feel worse, especially more sore than she was currently feeling.
Reaching down, she lifted her shirt and looked down at her stomach. There were two round red circles where the electrodes had been placed, but they appeared to be fading. She had no doubt she had similar marks on her chest and head. Sighing deeply, she leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling as she fingered the hem of her shirt absently.
She wondered where Spence was, about how worried he had to be. She wondered if her team was close to finding her; if maybe, just perhaps, she was mere hours or minutes from her rescue. She knew the longer she stayed here, the worse her hell would become if she didn't conform to the others. Eventually, in order to survive, she may be forced to do just that. But for now, that was not an option. She still had more than enough hope, and faith, in Spence and her team.
JJ was startled from her thoughts by the sound of the lock giving way and the door creaking open. She quickly tugged her shirt back down and stretched her neck from the pillow so she could see who it was.
Unsurprisingly it was Tony, carrying a tray full of food. He glanced over at her, his face relatively neutral as he locked the door and brought the food to the table.
As he unpacked the food, her stomach began growling. The site of the food was a sudden reminder of how little food she had today. Couple that with throwing up some of the food she had last night and JJ found herself to be famished.
Almost ignoring that Tony was in the room, her eyes zeroed in on the food as she strained to sit up, her muscles still not cooperating fully. She had finally made it into a sitting position when he turned from what he was doing and saw her.
"Hey, let me help you." He rushed over, saying almost kindly.
JJ tried to shake him off as she gradually applied weight to her feet. She was almost in a fully standing position when her knees wobbled and gave way. Tony was expecting this and caught her easily.
"Let me help you. You went through a lot this morning. It's going to take some time for your body to bounce back." He said gently, carefully pulling her to him and wrapping a supporting arm around her waist.
He studied her for a moment, noticing the light red marks on her forehead and chest, and how lively her eyes looked even if her body language gave away that she felt exhausted.
"I see Camilla treated you to some shock therapy." He said as he lightly ran his finger over one of the marks on her forehead. "I was hoping that wouldn't be necessary but I have to say, Camilla knows what she's doing. She's very good." Tony said as he slowly helped JJ towards the couch.
"Oh yeah, she's a real angel." JJ mumbled, earning a light laugh from Tony.
"Don't worry; you should start feeling better in a while. The drugs should be completely out of your system in a couple hours and Camilla gave you some pain killers just before you passed out. With a little rest this afternoon you should just about be back to normal." Tony consoled, helping JJ take her seat on the couch.
"Gee, thanks. I can't wait." She said sarcastically.
Tony smiled a little, happy to see that she still hadn't lost that feistiness. He grabbed a sandwich, taking a careful bite and sitting back, watching JJ as she devoured her food. He had been sure to give her a bit extra, knowing she had very little to eat thus far and that wouldn't be good. He wanted to keep her healthy. He watched as she chewed quietly, her complete focus on the food in front of her.
JJ had a full, filling lunch. Most of the time, they were silent, the events from the morning still hanging over them like a cloud. When lunch was over Tony silently leaned over and kissed JJ on the cheek.
"I'll be back later tonight for dinner." He said, his finger lightly tracing the back of her hand. "I'm going to leave you untied. I'm hoping I can trust you. I think you've been through enough today." He offered, but JJ kept her head bowed, her eyes staring at the table in front of them.
"I brought you the newspaper and another document for you to type. Please, get some rest and see that it gets done by the time that I return." He said as he stood, leaving her sitting still on the couch.
JJ remained there, unmoving until she heard the door close and lock. She was relieved that Tony had left her alone, and in turn she hadn't provoked him. Taking a breath, she scanned the table until her eyes came across the newspaper. It wasn't the same one as she had read yesterday, she could already tell. She reached over the table and pounced on it, her eyes scanning the title and searching for a date. Sure enough, it was dated two days ago, just before she had been kidnapped.
JJ shuffled through the pages, telling herself she'd take the time to re-read some of the articles later. When she came upon the "around the country" section, her eyes fixated immediately on an article about her team's case. She froze a little, but forced herself to read it.
Why she tortured herself with this she didn't know. Maybe it was the only way she felt connected to the team, to Spence. Maybe it brought her happier memories, memories of actually working, of being around people she loved and who loved her. Whatever the reason, she read the article. As she reached the bottom, she froze, unable to read the line that followed the previous one. It was a quote. It was a quote from her, from her press conference.
'We are confident we will find and apprehend the person responsible for this in a timely manner before there are any more victims. We encourage everyone to remain vigilante. This case will be solved shortly, and justice will be brought.'
JJ felt disjointed as the flashback hit her, the words bringing her back to the outside of the precinct, to that moment, when she had confidently told the press that they had the case well in hand. Little did she know in just a few short hours she would become a case herself.
JJ put the paper down, her hands shaking. She felt lonely, she felt sick. The isolation, the inability to interact with anyone besides Tony on more than a very basic level was beginning to wear on her. She bent her head down into her chest and took slow, deep, calming breaths.
'I have to keep my head on straight. This is exactly what he wants. He wants to break me down so he can mold me into someone new. I need to focus on something else. Spence is coming.' JJ reminded herself.
After taking a few moments to give herself a pep talk, she decided it was time to type whatever it was Tony had for her. If she could get it out of the way now, she could rest her still exhausted body later. She was ready, she could do this.
Grabbing the manila folder, she took her time to stand shakily, as some of the strength slowly returned to her body. JJ was sure finally having a real, full meal, for the first time in hours would go a long way towards her recovery. Once the computer had loaded, she opened the folder for the first time.
Her face paled and her eyes froze on the words that were handwritten on the lined piece of paper. They were identical to the words she had been forced to say, the words that Camilla had tried to force into her head. As her eyes scanned the paper, taking in the words, she could hear the woman's voice in her ear.
'My name is Jennifer Jareau…I love Tony very, very much.'
For JJ this was the last straw. She could feel the electricity as it zapped through her all over again. The words repeated in her head over and over as she leaned her head down on the desk and began to silently cry.
'Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? Where are you Spence? Damn it!' A rush of angry frustration ran through her as JJ clutched at her scalp. It took all of her self-control to keep herself from grabbing the laptop and smashing it on the floor, or from grabbing the paper and ripping it up into tiny little pieces.
JJ stood, pacing furiously, ignoring her aching, shaking legs as the adrenaline produced from her anger coursed through her. She felt like she was losing her mind, like she was losing herself. She felt so lost as she paced, she didn't know what to do. She couldn't continue like this, she was too tired, too weak.
She had to type the words; every last one of them. She knew if she didn't then she would be punished and Tony would devise something else to torture her with. She had to detach herself from the situation, from the words, so that they wouldn't affect her; particularly the words that had felt so personal, the ones that had struck such fear deep inside of her that she had blocked them out of her consciousness until she had just seen them all over again. They were words that had made her current situation seem that much more real, that much direr. They were a foreboding of what was to come if she didn't escape, if she wasn't rescued soon.
Pressing a hand to her forehead, JJ brushed her hair back. She moved her fingers down, pinching the bridge of her nose in an effort to relieve some of the stress she felt.
Finally, after taking another deep huff of air, JJ moved back over to the desk and sat herself in the chair. Quickly, her fingers rushed over the keys in a practiced whirl as she typed the written words on the sheet of paper. Reaching the end, she came to the words she still hadn't faced. The words that caused her so much fear, the words she still didn't know how to deal with. Refusing to let them get inside her head and to take on a life of their own, JJ quickly forced herself to finish.
'I love Tony very, very much. I will be a loving, loyal wife to him. I will help to love and nurture our future son together, and I will help him lead this colony as we continue to progress forward, giving all I have to offer, with all my heart.'