Nobody fret...everything is going completely as planned...

The only question now is...who's doing the planning??? ;)

It was only Morgan's supreme collectedness that prevented him from swerving the car when a mob of motorcycles entered the road from off the side. He hadn't even seen them. They must have been standing with their lights off.

"How many Reid?" he asked quickly, he couldn't attempt to count them and drive at the same time.

"Roughly, thirty. I can't be accurate with all this movement. Perhaps if it were daylight…" Reid was concerned, gangs didn't usually go out in this big of a number except for wars or funerals.

"Could this be Smokey Tom?" Bordeaux asked from the back.

"I didn't realized he would have this many people on call." Reid answered.

"Apparently there's a lot we don't know about Smokey Tom, including how many people owe him favors." Morgan replied. He wanted to overtake them, but considered that too dangerous. He'd just have to settle for following them.

Christopher had made his choice. He was going to help Emily and Hotch. It was the right thing to do. He didn't believe either one of them would have cheated in their relationship, and at this point, did it really matter? Besides, who was he to make those kinds of decisions or judgments about some one else's life. He quickly stood and darted over to where Hotch was trying to get out of his restraints.

"Here, let me help."

Hotch looked up in surprise, he had been so focused on getting out of the ropes that he hadn't even noticed The Exponent move. Just how exhausted was he? The Exponent was pulling at his ropes, trying to see where the knots began or ended.

"Thanks." They both worked together now.

Emily was now on the floor. At some point during T.J.'s yelling he had gotten so enraged that he had pushed the chair over, with her still attached. She was still strapped in, so she was stuck in the chair, leaning over uncomfortably. The heavy carpet pressing into her rope burns creating more pain with every slight movement. She was sure she must have a few carpet burns too. Pretty.

She was trying to surreptitiously get her head closer to her right hand's leather strap. If she could undo the buckle with her teeth, she would be able to free herself from the other restraints. But she had to do it without T.J. realizing. That was the tricky part. He was so unpredictable in his movements. He would rant and rave one second and in the next he would be quiet and watchful. At times he reminded her of The First Observer. But he had never been this out-of-control. He had prided himself on his detachment. The only time he had ever gotten angry was when she had blatantly refused to make a proclamation. That was when he had brought in the drugs. The drugging had been the most terrifying part of the whole abduction. The lack of control. The world had shifted, played games with her mind. She couldn't decipher what was real and what wasn't. The only thing she could hold onto was the idea that she should not under any circumstances make any decisions.

At one point, The Observer had drugged her and positioned her in front of the monitors, at least…that's what she had decided he must have done. She was forced to watch Roberto Manassas being tortured again, in front of his wife, and she'd been given Ketamine. At least, from what she understood of it's effects later on, she assumed it was Ketamine. The world had gone loopy, she had thought she was seeing alternate realities. She had believed she could see the electricity from the cattle prod leaking out into the air. That it had reached out and touched her too. She had thought it was beautiful. The Observer was always careful with the dosage her gave her. He never wanted her to not be able to converse. Every so often he would stop the torture and come back up, telling her she could stop all this, all she needed to do was make a decision. But she knew that was the one thing she absolutely must not do. It was the only thing keeping her going. Do Not Make Any Decisions. Even when he had drugged The Exponent she had still kept to her mantra. By that time though, Emily wasn't even sure that she was truly cognizant. She was on auto-pilot by then. Nothing mattered except her resolve. Decisions were bad. That's all she knew.

The Observer was quiet again. He felt powerful knowing she was so scared of him. She should be. They all should be. He opened his special box. He wasn't sure he wanted to do this. But she was always more truthful when drugged. He remembered when The First Observer had been trying to get her to obey, that he had threatened to kill him, to the kill The First Exponent. T.J. had known The Observer wouldn't go through with it, he was too important. At least, he had thought he was. She had said she didn't care. He had been astonished when the words had fallen from her lips. She didn't care if he died. The Observer had smiled grimly, 'very well' he said. Usually when he drugged The Decider he used a small amount. But that time, he had come at T.J. with a lot of liquid. He'd tried to struggle, he didn't know what the drug would do to him, but he'd seen the wackiness that The Decider went through. He didn't want that. But The Observer had injected him anyway. He'd gone immobile almost immediately…Emily had screamed. She must have thought he was dead. He remembered The Observer say, 'Now what is your answer'. And still The Decider refused. Even with him being dead, she refused.

That was when The Observer had taken his unmoving body down into the couple's room. They too had screamed in shock. They thought he was dead too. He taunted and severely beat the couple. And still, The Decider refused. She has no heart. That was what he had thought. That was the last straw for The Observer T.J. realized. When it appeared that The Exponent was dead, and ceaseless pain, and never-ending 'trips' couldn't break The Decider, The Observer knew it was finished. That he wouldn't ever get the answers he wanted.

He had killed the couple.

He had killed that couple in the small, cold room with The Exponent lying on the floor, eyes wide open watching everything. He couldn't move, couldn't even close his eyes. He'd watched, and listened, and heard every last breath, movement, moment of Dia and Roberto. He couldn't believe The Decider had let this happen. All she had to do was decide. How hard was it to do that?

After The Observer had killed them, he had dragged The Decider down into the room. He told them he would be back, but he needed to discard of the bodies first. He'd carelessly hoisted the woman and the man up the ladder, leaving T.J. and Emily in the room, dark, cold, filled with blood. The coppery tang saturating the air. Emily had stayed in the corner, not moving. She was probably still tripping. After a short while, The Observer came back. He had pulled Emily over to T.J. putting her hand against his throat he had said, "See? Still alive."

T.J. thought he remembered her crying, they were probably fake. She didn't care about him. That much was obvious.

Then The Observer had pushed her back against the wall, so that she was sitting up properly. He had fixed her hair, shifting it off her face. He had cupped her jaw, looked her straight in the eye and said, "You were always her favorite. I should have known."

Then he had left, and never returned.

Mwah har har!!! Too evil...I'm so happy with myself at the moment...making you all hate me with a passion...knowing you have to stroke my ego so that you can continue in this story...I'd make such a good ransomer...you'd all pay me the money, don't even try to deny it.

Have fun with reviewing me (hint, nudge, wink)

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