SALVATION

by PanicButton

Reid/OMC plus one. Reid has a visitor asking him for help with something unusual. Language, slash,

38. Chapter 38

38

When the pair of them walked, not touching, into the waiting area of the hospital the following day, Hotch was still there sitting as though he'd not moved from the spot since they'd left. He looked up with tired eyes at Floyd and Spencer and then gestured towards the plastic covered soft chairs lining the yellow wall.

'He's awake.' Hotch mumbled. 'But he's not in a very good mood. It should have been you here. He immediately assumed you were dead or in prison. It makes me wonder what sort of a life he has and the experiences he's had to think that.'

Floyd raised a weary eyebrow. 'Well I think you know the answer to your own thoughts Aaron. Spence and I had a lot to talk about. Not really something we could have done here, or in front of you. How's Sam's face?'

'Considerably better than yesterday. You can see it's him again. They've drained and he's not on morphine anymore. But Flanders, it's going to take a while for him to recover from this. They were saying about more surgery on his jaw. It was shattered.' Hotch tried not to look at Spencer when he said that last bit, but found he couldn't help himself. Spencer looked down at the floor. He didn't have to be reminded. 'You will have to talk to them about that though. I have no authority over what surgeries he goes through. His glasses have arrived too. He's refusing to wear them. Tinted lenses. He said it will look as though he's blind.'

'Which he likely will be if he doesn't wear them. You can go now.' No word of gratitude for staying awake all night. Just a dismissive wave of the hand. 'I'll have a coffee, babes, and then we'll go pay Sam a visit. I think further surgery is going to just upset him. He needs a rest from all that shit.'

And he wants to get him out to the bunker for some reason Spencer thought.

Hotch didn't leave. At least not yet. He sat and waited until Floyd had left to see Sam and then spoke to him.

'Is everything all right?' Hotch… stupid question. He could tell by the odd pallor of Spencer's skin that everything wasn't all right.

'It's been stressful, Hotch.' No point in lying. Hotch would know. 'But I think it will be fine. He's been worried about Sam… which is understandable. And his time locked away seems to have changed him slightly. Not for the worse… just different. I cant put my finger on it. He seems almost sad. Or maybe defeatist? I cant put my finger on it because I know neither of those emotions are ones he'd feel. So I'm confused. I'm sure once the Sam situation is sorted that all will be good again. We need time alone.'

It was a request that Hotch left and Hotch knew that, but he stayed seated nonetheless. 'Do you feel as though you are in danger?' Again maybe not the correct thing to say.

'Only when I try to tell a joke. Really Hotch, everything will be great. Settling in time. You know?'

'They found the remains of Mr Teevy out on the highway. At least part of him.' Spencer said nothing. 'They're still trying to recover the remains of Mrs Teevy.' Again Spencer said nothing. 'Natural causes will probably be ruled out.' Spencer fiddled with his shirt sleeves. 'If you know anything Spencer…'

'I don't.'

Hotch sighed. 'The ground doesn't magically open up and swallow a house. A man doesn't explode at the side of the freeway without something prompting it, though forensics is having a problem finding out exactly what did do it. Two joggers were mown down… Floyd suddenly takes authority of Sam…'

'Sam is old enough to decide where he wants to be, Hotch… and I think you will find that it is Floyd paying this medical bill and not the Teevy family. Now I don't know if you're trying to tell me or hint at me that Floyd made someone explode or make a house fall down, but if you are, you know you are talking rubbish. When has he ever shown that he could do something like that? He has never used explosives. EVER! It's not his MO. You know that, so I don't know why you're even suggesting it. As for the two joggers, well I don't know. I really have no idea, but as far as I know nothing of that nature has happened and I think I would notice it if I was sitting in the passenger seat.' Spencer was sure that Hotch could see this heart thumping through the cotton of his summer shirt.

'We will be keeping and eye on Flanders.' Hotch stood. 'And when I have enough evidence to arrest him, I will.'

Spencer nodded. 'If he tells me anything of use I will let you know.'

o-o-o

Floyd stood and looked down at the kid on the bed. It was obvious now it was Sam. The swelling had gone down very fast. Floyd could make that even quicker, but not here. He'd fuck Spencer in a hospital bed, but not Sam. Not with Hotch outside. Not worth the risk of being arrested for some kind of paedophilia or incest or rape or some such imagined crime. Floyd could say till he was red in the face that those margins don't count with Sam as he's not actually human, but then they'd try to do him for bestiality or cruelty to animals… dog rape of some description. He thought it best to just not do it here. He sat for a while and watched Sam's eyes twitching under his eye lids.

'Are you ready to go?' Floyd asked as he sat in the chair next to the bed.

'No. I feel sick. I have a headache. My hips hurt and I think I have a broken pelvis and by the way I have some kind of STD again.'

'So apart from that, are you ready to go?'

'I guess so. Where are we going? To the hide out? In the desert?'

'Yup. We're going to hide away like armed criminals on the run.'

'OK. As long as they have pain killers there.'

'Oh Sammy boy. I can promise you heroin and coke if you come quietly and don't disturb the whole of the hospital. You can have any damned drug you want except crack. I don't like that shit.'

'Well you just spoiled my day out now haven't you?' Sam draped his legs over the side of the bed. 'I have to keep the bandages on my face and change them every other day. And I need stuff for the ulcers in my mouth and the infection behind my jaw. You know I might never be able to fully open my mouth again.'

'I'm sure that can be fixed.'

'Thank you Floyd.' And a painful looking small smile. 'I will hate Spencer forever for this.'

Floyd rubbed at his face with the palm of his hands. 'Sam… please just stop with the bitching will you? I've enough to worry about without your constant whining and moaning about things which cant be changed. You need a hair cut. You need to put those glasses on and you need to get dressed. Not necessarily in that order. I can do your hair later… don't look at me like that. You'll do what I fucking tell you to do and apologising for your bitchy attitude towards Spencer is top of your list.'

'Oh for fuck! You cant make me! I can still see him over me battering my head in! I'll see that forever! How can you possibly expect me to forgive him for doing that?'

'Because I can fuck you if you've a broken neck or not. Get yourself sorted. We need to leave. No more arguments. Try to be nice. Stop picking at your scabs, you'll get scars… and get a fucking move on.'

'You threatening to break my neck if I don't say sorry to Spencer, when it was him who hurt me?'

'Yes.'

Floyd turned away from Sam and back out into the corridor. 'What do I have to sign to release Sam Trent-Saviour from this shit hole?' He called out loud enough to get everyone's attention.

o-o-o

Hotch had left by the time everything was sorted out. He'd left but told Spencer that he was not to leave town any time soon. Spencer told Hotch that he had no intention of leaving Vegas and so that was all right. However he had no control over what Floyd or Sam were going to do next. Was there a point in Hotch telling Floyd not to leave town? No… no point in the slightest, but that wouldn't stop them from keeping track on him. They knew where the motel was. They knew the car Spencer was driving. They could track them easily if needs be. Hotch just hoped that they didn't have to. He hoped that the deaths of The Teevy's was not something which could be connected to Floyd and not because he didn't want it to be Floyd, but because he knew trying to pin anything on the man would be impossible unless he admitted to it to protect someone else and then that would mean again that Floyd would be protecting Spencer from something. Hotch would like the case to be closed. For the house to have just fallen down and for Mr Teevy to have been attacked by a pack of wild dogs. Hotch didn't think that what he liked or wished was going to have any bearing on what was eventually going to happen.

Spencer led the way out to the car. Sam followed Spencer and a snarling angry Floyd took up the rear. They had bags packed and ready. They had a car. They had a destination… A shame that it didn't feel as though they were going on a fun vacation. Spencer looked scared half to death and Sam looked like a deep dark gloom had set over him. He didn't want to wear the tinted glasses, but told Floyd that he'd wear them because he'd told him to.

The real fact was that Sam was finding it harder and harder to focus and had a horrible pain constantly behind his eye and was now thinking that he probably had a tumour there slowly growing and making him go blind. Wearing glasses allowed him to focus better, but it didn't stop the pain. And in case Floyd or Spencer were wondering he did have a pain in his right hip, and his pelvis did hurt like hell, but neither of them wanted to listen to Sam. Both of them seemed miserable as sin and Sam didn't want to talk to them. At least not yet.

Floyd was tingling all over again. Lights buzzed as he walked under them and the elevator shuddered and squealed in a way which alarmed all of them. Down in the lobby the fire exit light exploded suddenly and the computers went dead. Floyd broke into a very fast walk, over taking Sam and Spencer and then once out of the building the jogged quickly to the slowly disintegrating car.

The next dispute was over who was going to sit in the back, and who was going to drive. Floyd insisted that he'd drive, even though he stood there making no move towards the driver's door. Spencer likewise insisted that as it was his rental he would drive. Sam was also moaning about the matter of being told that he would ride in the back.

'There's sticky stuff all over the seat. Cant Spencer sit there?' His voice sounded muffled.

'This vehicle wont get us across the desert.' Spencer now announced.

'There's blood on the hood.' Floyd pointed out. 'So we are going to get moving now. Sam in the back. Spencer drive. I'll sit shotgun. And any more moaning or bitching from either of you and you'll be in the trunk. Understood?'

Spencer understood, but Sam seemed to still be having a problem with this decision. 'Right, so Spencer wants to drive so you let him. I want to sit in the front but I still have to go in the back on that fucking sticky stuff which you've not explained yet. I'm not sitting there until I know what it is. There's buzzing things all over it. So there… you have my decision too. I'm not sitting in the fucking back like a kid.'

Floyd gave Sam a very tired look. 'It's green tea and alfalfa soda. It tasted like fermented horse shit, but it's not going to hurt you. Get in the fucking back of the damned car before I keep my word, boy, and stuff you in the sodding trunk. Move you little arse now!'

'But I'm in pain!' Sam wailed as he climbed over the seat into the back. 'It's so unfair! Why am I always treated like the kid! I hate you!'

Floyd was tempted to pull Sam's glasses off and rip out his eyeballs right there in the hospital parking lot, but he gripped a hold of the closed car door and gave Spencer the nod to get in. 'You know where we're going?'

'Nowhere in this thing. It wont get us to where you want it to.'

'It will.'

'Floyd…'

'Drive or get in the trunk.' Floyd snapped back.

o-o-o

The car rattled and bounced and scraped over the blacktop of the road. Spencer was very sure that it'd not get them all the way there. The suspension seemed to be in serious trouble and the engine temperature was rising rapidly. He was also having to be very careful when he applied pressure to the brakes as the car really didn't seem to want to stop when Spencer demanded it.

He knew the best way out to the scrubs. He'd lived here long enough and wandered around here as a kid and a youth long enough to know the best short cuts and the easiest ways to disappear into the desert.

An hour later saw them pulled up next to a monster of a cactus which looked as though it could kill a man if he stood too close. Floyd had ensured Sam that indeed it would kill a man and asked if he needed proof.

This subjected both Spencer and Floyd to a tirade of insults and impossible things to do to each other and said cactus.

Thus Spencer sat in the driver's seat with his head resting on the steering wheel and his cap (provided by Floyd) on backwards and Floyd stood next to the car with sand popping and crackling under his feet. The only sound was the wind rushing over the desert… and Sam's screams from the trunk.

'He deserved it.' Floyd told Spencer.

'He will die in there. Let him out.'

'And I let him out and he will carry on. He wont let up until he knows my threats are real. You know that. If I let him out now he will know I don't mean it.'

'Well maybe you shouldn't mean it! You cant keep him locked in there.' Spencer didn't move his head from the wheel he was clutching hold of with white knuckles.

'Want to join him? I'm sure there's room and he can take the chance whilst squashed up together to make that much needed apology he's going to make.'

'Get in. If he has to stay there then we have to move faster. I'm not going to be the cause of his death again. I thought he needed nurturing and love, this isn't the way to show it.'

'Like you'd know.' Floyd snapped. 'Love can be shown in different ways.'

'Locking someone in the trunk of a car isn't one of them.' But Spencer started the engine again. He crackled and burped and then chugged and belched, but it did start. Long gone was the gentle purring sound it had made when Spencer had picked Floyd up from the prison. 'They will be able to track the car. They have…'

'I disabled it. Don't worry. You worry too much. Sing to me.'

'Sing?'

'Sing! Come on Spencer! Sing me a song!' Floyd turned to Reid and smirked a happy face.

There was no song. Spencer was angry. He thought had he been Floyd he'd have been shooting bolts of lightening from his fingertips, but all he could do to show how against what Floyd had just done was to grit his teeth and keep driving in silence. The banging and rattling of the car increased as the screams and kicking from the trunk decreased and it was an hour later that the car belched its last breath and came to a shuddering halt in the shade of a rocky ledge. Spencer way sure that the car gave out a final last sigh, but it might have been Floyd who just sat and looked out of the sand battered windscreen. Still there was no real reason to talk. Spencer carefully opened the car door which just crashed and landed in a cloud of dust, having come off the hinges. Spencer then walked to the back of the car and released the trunk.

'You fucking cunt!' Sam greeted Spencer.

He was tempted to slam the lid down again and leave him there to cook in the desert, but he put a cautious hand out to him. 'It wasn't my decision.' Spencer tried to reason with the unreasonable. 'Come, I'll help you out.'

'Don't touch me! Don't you dare fucking touch me! Just go away and leave me alone. I've puked all over my dressings. I've pissed myself and I think every bone in my body is smashed. I hope you're happy!'

'And the car's on fire.' A voice said from behind Spencer. 'Get out or burn.' Floyd said. He really didn't sound bothered one way or the other. And this worried Spencer a lot, but not half as much as it worried Sam.

This time Spencer reached down and grabbed Sam who protested weakly but didn't try to bite or scratch, which was just one small very miniscule plus on top off all the crap going on. He helped Sam to walk away from the car and then sat him down in a slither of deep black shade. Floyd was standing back shielding his eyes with one hand watching the thick black plumes of smoke rising from the impossibly expensive car which Spencer had meant to have just for a couple of days to cheer up Floyd. It was going to cost him a lot of money. Spencer hunkered down next to Sam and handed him a bottle of water, telling him to sip slowly or he'll be sick again. Sam snatched it but did what Spencer advised. No… Sam sipped despite what Spencer advised. If he'd been asked he would have announced that he didn't have to be told to sip. It didn't stop Sam from leaning forward and puking some more though, making a hot puddle of mess between his feet. The puking noises were followed by a soft splat sound as his glasses slipped off his nose and down to join the mess.

Spencer though was watching Floyd now. He was trying to figure out exactly what it was going on with him. He'd thought it was maybe that Floyd was feeling defeatist. He thought maybe Floyd was dying. He thought that Floyd had given up. Now though looking at the way Floyd was watching the car melt away and be sucked down by the desert sands Spencer thought maybe he'd been wrong. Perhaps Sam had been correct. He turned now to look at Sam who was cleaning his glasses and kicking sand over the mess.

'You see that rocky ledge over there beyond this?' Floyd moved rapidly to Sam and dragged him to his feet. He turned Sam in the direction he wanted him to look in. 'You see it?'

'Let the fuck go of me.' Sam snapped back. 'Yes I see it, but no need to fucking pinch me at the same time.' Sam snatched his arm away from Floyd but now he was doing what Floyd had been and was shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun.

'Good. That's good.' Floyd ruffled Sam's hair. 'Well that's not where we are going. Turn twenty five degrees to your right. That is the direction we are going in. Here's your bag.' Floyd passed Sam his pink rucksack. 'Shoulder it, and start walking. It'll take us about half an hour.' A prod now in Sam's back and as Sam started, with no more complaints, to walk towards where Floyd had directed him, Floyd turned to Spencer with a frown on his face. 'His sight is worse than he's letting on.'

Spencer nodded back. 'I thought so too, but didn't want to cause ripples in the already stormy waters. We will have to watch him carefully or he's going to end up having another nasty accident.'

'Very carefully. He's going to fucking flip if he thinks we know.' Floyd took a tight hold of Spencer's hand. 'Now babes… we are nearly there. Time to relax and prepare and tell a few stories I think. I'd also like to have the chance to get totally off my face and sink to an all time low and fuck Sam. I hope you don't mind.' The fingers wrapped tightly around Spencer's.

'I don't mind.' He whispered back.

'Actually you do… but you're just being way too nice to me. All things taken into consideration, when you think about what I'm going to do to you down in that place, you're being awfully nice to me.' Another tightening of the fingers.

'Fine, yes I do mind, but what's the point in protesting? I've nowhere to go. You are all I have.' Spencer gave the tiniest of shrugs. 'I just wish you would explain to me exactly what is going on with you. I thought… I really thought that you were dying.'

The hand released Spencer's. 'I know.' Floyd replied. 'Come on now… Sam's getting away from us.' Floyd then broke out into a long loping run after Sam. Spencer hung back slightly but watched the pair of them closely. Floyd had hooked a finger around one of the loops on Sam's belt and was pulling him along slightly. He could see that they were talking but the words were too quiet for him to hear. It irked Spencer that Floyd swung so easily from one to the next. He knew it shouldn't. He knew where his place was, but that didn't stop him from grinding his teeth in annoyance, which was a habit Spencer was doing with more regularity than he'd wish. A quick glance behind him showed no sign at all that there had once been a car there. Whether it had been a fluke and an abnormality in the desert floor or if it had been something Floyd had done he didn't know, but he wanted to think that the sand had done that with no assistance.

Now looking back at Sam and Floyd he could see that Sam had wrapped an arm around Floyd's waist. Tempted though he was to run forwards and tear Sam away, he didn't. He walked quietly and probably forgotten behind them, slowly making their way to the place Spencer had driven out to in a land rover to ensure that Sam's remains were kept secure. He wished now that he had dumped them in a bin in some backstreet behind a casino in Vegas proper. He had tried to do the right thing, but it seemed what whatever he had done would have not been good enough for Sam…

'Why are you limping?' Floyd had asked Sam.

'I was squashed up in the trunk of that pile of shit.'

'That pile of shit was really a rather nice pile of shit, but that doesn't answer my question.' Floyd replied.

'My hip hurts.' Sam whined.

'Just your imagination.' Floyd let him know. 'So how's it going with Spence?'

'I wish he was just my imagination. I hate him. I really fucking hate him. I don't trust him and I don't like him. He's a sneaky little shit and I'm never going to like him.'

'You getting on OK then?'

'I guess.' Sam sighed. 'I want to hate him, but he's so fucking persistent and in my face all the time. He acts all nice, but I know that he's just waiting for me to be in a position for him to smack my head in again. Why does he have to be with us? What is it you see in him?'

Floyd thought for a moment on this one. He chewed on his bottom lip for a second and then replied. 'He doesn't stink of piss and vomit. He doesn't have puss leaking out of his face… and he's nice to fuck.'

Sam attempted to pull away from Floyd, but couldn't. 'I'm only like this because of him. If he'd not done that then I'd have been fine. None of this would have happened. It's all his fault.'

Again Floyd took a few seconds to consider his answer. 'Actually no, I have to disagree with you Sam. It's your fault in the entirety. Had you not gone so far thinking you could seek salvation by killing yourself then you'd not have been with the two of us on that trip, you'd not have fallen down that pit, I'd not have tripped trying to stop you, Spencer wouldn't have ended up saving you… maybe you'd have listened to me and carried on going north. We would never have ended up in that building, the shadows' wouldn't have taken you. You wouldn't have run off down the sewers and gone on a killing spree and therefore you'd not have been caught gloating and been hung. The incident with the near death wouldn't have happened, and I wouldn't have had the chance to get you to scare the shit out of Spencer. Then! And then you come after me when I've told you to leave and Spencer being half out of his mind clobbers you. That… that is the reason. So don't you blame Spencer for something which you brought on yourself. Everything you do has a consequence. It might take a while for the shit to ooze out of the cracks made, but believe me it will. And it will keep on happening until you can see that what happened to you was all your doing.'

Sam looked up at Floyd and shook his head. 'Actually if you'd not sent out those emails to people I would never have tried to do what I'd been instructed. Therefore it's you fault.'

'But…' Floyd paused. 'But… I only did that to form a link with Spencer again.'

'So it's Spencer's fault.'

'No… I can actually take the trail back further and place you there once again. I only left for those two years to get training so that I could guide you better, so it's still your fault. If you learnt quicker… the woodcraft… then I'd not have left.'

'But…'

'Nope… it's your fault. However far back you want to drag this I can take it a step further. You shouldn't have gone begging them. You should have thought carefully about what you wanted. You should have double thought it and then forgotten it all and tried again. They're tricky bastards. They will offer you everything you've ever wanted.'

'They did.'

'And you in your greed accepted it… you accepted the offer of the thing you wanted most.' Sam nodded slowly… This wasn't going the way Sam thought it would. He'd been sure that this was all Spencer's fault. 'At the time they ask.' Floyd now said. 'At the time they offer that thing you want more than anything what were you thinking of?'

'I cant remember. They never asked.' Sam sounded a bit puzzled by this.

'They don't need to ask. They know already. You Sam are a whore. You like to spike things into your arm. You like mirrors and accessories… you like pretty things. That's exactly what you got. If you weren't thinking I want to be eternally beautiful then Sammy boy you don't get it.'

'So I'm going to be ugly like a fucking pig forever just because I forgot to think something I thought was obvious?'

'I'll fix you. I can fix you this time. I too have things I asked for, and keeping company with a puss filled baby wasn't one of them. So I can assist you, but I'm going to let you suffer if you don't make things right with Spencer.'

'If you can fix me, why leave it till we are out in the middle of nowhere? Why not do it back at the motel or something?'

'Because I like to see animals suffer. It's my sadistic side. Cant help myself! You see that slit in the rock face. Looks like a cunny… that's where we're going. Keep walking in a straight line.'

Sam squinted behind his glasses then gave a small nod as Floyd slapped him on the butt.

o-o-o

Floyd turned now from Sam and walked back to Spencer. 'Come on! Nearly there.' Floyd shook out his hands as though getting rid of water. 'I've had a word with Sam. Put things kinda in perspective for him, but you're still going to have to make more of an effort. Cant leave it all up to me. I'm too fucking tired to keep being the peacemaker here.'

'Peacemaker. That's a new one.'

'I liked it. Made me feel all fuzzy and warm inside.'

'It think it's sun stroke. And I will try to make things better between us, but he doesn't make it easy.'

Again Floyd shook out his hands and then hunkered down and pressed his hands against the sandy floor. 'Fucking hands.' Floyd muttered.

Once more a horrible feeling of doom swept through Reid. He looked at Floyd who seemed to be trying to crush the rocks under the sands and then over his shoulder to where they'd walked from. No way back. Only forwards now. He stepped over to Floyd and looked down at the top of his head. Slowly he lowered his hand and watched as Floyd's hair seemed to sway and try to rise up to meet his fingers. Quickly Spencer moved his hand away again.

'You know how I can do locks.' Floyd turned his head to look at Reid who nodded. 'Electronic shit… I don't show up on surveillance… I can do fancy crap and unlock doors and mess with computers.' Again Spencer nodded. 'Well it seems to be a bit out of control.'

'I thought you were going to kill me last night.'

Floyd stood up and placed his hands on Spencer's shoulders. 'Well yeah, I know. I thought that too for a few minutes. I should have discharged a bit first. In more than one way, but… I guess I just forgot all about that once I got you alone. You've not forgotten what I said though have you? About when we are there? I will need to do something and it will cause you a small amount of pain.'

Spencer sighed. There was nothing like a lamb being led to slaughter. He was going to walk through that gap in the rocks and be sucked down an elevator which shouldn't exist and then be hurt beyond all measure… and why? The only reason he could think of was because that was what Floyd wanted to do.

And Spencer was going to let him do it.

o-o-o

The three of them stood in front of the metal door at the end of the tiny fissure in the rocks. They could just about see the sky above them, but the rocks towards the top jutted out to a degree that they almost touched either side. It was actually more like a narrow cave with a small gash in the very high ceiling. The green light was blinking happily next to some squiggles engraved into the oddly shiny metal.

'Mar-ka-van.' Sam muttered.

'Mar'har'vern.' Floyd corrected him. 'You need lessons on your vocabulary.'

'What?' Added Spencer.

'Mar'ha'vern. Staging post number one. Loose translation. It doesn't really translate very well.'

'Staging post for what?'

Sam snorted a small laugh and Floyd prodded the boy on the shoulder. 'For someone who can barely read you need to keep your amusement to yourself. Spencer love, it will all become clear.'

'But I've been down there before… it wasn't clear then.' Spencer went to grab Floyd's hand and then thought better of it.

'Because we didn't go forwards babes. As said. It will all become clear. No need to worry. Let's go!'

'Open pod safe stage one.' Sam said. 'That's a better translation.'

Floyd nodded. 'Stage one elevation pod.'

'That's still not really right though.' Sam mused. 'Elevation one pod stage. It's a secure level. That's what it means. Pod elevation one - secure stage.'

'It really doesn't matter what it says.' Floyd sounded a bit annoyed with Sam's persistence as he pressed the only button on the small panel. The green blinking light stabilised, went orange and then red. The door slid downwards to reveal the small elevator car. The three of them stepped in and the door slid back up again. They stood at the back wall shoulder to shoulder each of them expecting Floyd to touch something and blow them skywards, but Floyd now had his hands stuffed down into his pockets. As the elevator car came to a smooth stop, Sam stepped forwards and pressed the 'open door' button. It made a soft click and a voice spoke out from above them.

'Unauthorised access. Authorised personnel only beyond this point. Unauthorised access... Five, four…'

Spencer stepped forward and pressed the button. 'Access granted.' The door slid down to reveal the corridor, but not before Spencer heard Sam say… 'Fucking cunt. Got door access and I don't.'

Ahead of them was a long corridor. Sam stepped out into it first. It was almost like the two doting parents letting the child have a look around the holiday apartment first. 'Go choose a room. One on the left.' Floyd told Sam. 'Bathroom is here.' He tapped on a sliding door. 'That's storage, more storage… a kitchen… armoury bottom left.' The door hissed closed behind them. 'There's a computer security room and right down the end is the lounge with a TV and games console. Go explore. If a door is locked it is locked for a reason.' Floyd then turned to Spencer. 'Damn this feels so fucking good!' He placed a hand on each of Spencer's cheeks and gave him a long comforting kiss on the lips. 'I can feel all that shit draining from me already. Going to be a while, but fuck that feels so good. Like having a piss or shit you've been holding in forever. Goddamn! Come on. First things first. Coffee and food and then we'll sit and relax… then I will sort out what I have to do tomorrow. Should really help Sam clean up too and I want to take some snort and relax right out.'

'Why is the armoury locked?' Sam called from the other end of the corridor. 'And why could Spencer unlock the door back there and not me?'

Floyd ignored him. Floyd thought both of those things were more than a little bit obvious.

'Why is there a red wheelchair in the lounge?' Sam now called back. 'Who else is going to be here? Who's the chair for, Floyd? Floyd! Floyd! Are you listening to me? The picture on the TV is crap. Can I play a game? I'm going to take these things off my face and have a shower.' All pain in Sam's hip seemed for now forgotten as he raced around the small set of rooms looking to see what he could find. He chose the bedroom nearest to the bathroom, which had a toilet, washbasin, and shower. No tub.

Spencer and Floyd went to the kitchen and prepared coffee and a snack, but questions were now buzzing through Reid's head. Questions he'd not thought to ask when he was fourteen and there was no one to answer when he came back with Sam's remains. They were there now screaming at him.

'So… what is this place? What is it for? What powers it?'

Floyd opened a large fridge and pulled a carton of fruit juice. 'This place is what is seems to be. At least on the surface. You don't need to know more for now. I'll tell you when the time arrives, if it does arrive. I'm sort of hoping that it wont. Look!' He held up the orange juice. 'I was half expecting it to explode in my hands. I think I'm going to be able to have you and not feel you're dying. As to what powers it? Well again you don't really need to know do you? It's magic. Yes… that's what it is. A secret magical hiding place which no one can enter unless I've programmed it to let you in. Or out.' Floyd walked to the kitchen doorway and looked around for Sam. Seeing that he was probably in the shower he returned to Spencer and put the carton on the counter. 'Sam is a loose cannon. I don't totally trust him not to turn against us if he feels that the chips aren't falling the way he wants. I don't want him wandering in and out of this place in a tantrum. You though, I trust. However, things will work out far nicer for us if you two get along. You understand that don't you? I know he's a nasty mouthed little shit sometimes but he's my nasty little shit and I think if we can keep him away from temptation then we can attempt to mould him to be a better person. What do you think?'

'I think that trust is something which is earned. I think that if you hold back information from people then trust is going to be damaged. I think that if there is danger then you should inform me of it. I need to be prepared. I don't know if you're keeping things from me because you don't think I'll understand or if it's because you are lacking in trust. I don't know if it's because you don't understand it yourself and so wont risk looking a fool by giving information which proves to be incorrect. I think, Floyd that you need to tell me what this place is and why we are here. I don't believe that it has anything to do with parenting Sam. Something very strange has been happening to you and again I don't think you understand fully what it was. It worried you. You need to learn to confide in people if you are worried or if there is something going on you don't understand, because maybe, just maybe I'm not as stupid as you imagine I am. Maybe I'm a bit more understanding. Maybe I wont laugh at you when you're feeling insecure. Perhaps you need someone you can tell things to who you know wont mock you for or go reporting you for. I know that you killed Teevy. I know that you killed Mrs Teevy. I know that you ran a couple of people down when you took my car.'

Floyd leaned on the counter on his elbows and rested his head in his hands. 'You might be right about a lot of things, but I didn't kill Mrs Teevy. Nope. Wasn't me. That was Sam.'

For a minute maybe there was silence, which was only disturbed by the bubbling of the coffee machine and then Spencer spoke again. 'Just so you know. I'm ready to listen. I'll try to understand.'

'We've only just arrived, Spence. I want to at least wash the desert dust off my face before we get into the what's and where's of this place. I'm tired and I want to explain things properly and Sam needs to listen too. He understands some, but far from all of it. I think he knows what this place is. But Sam gets shit wrong. He doesn't always listen.'

Spencer sat on a kitchen stool and sighed. 'Am I a prisoner? Can I leave if I want to? How long do you intend staying?'

'No, yes, I dunno, days, months, years? I don't know. When he time is right I guess and that, Spencer is going to depend on Sam and what he can do. He has a very special talent which he'd been extremely lazy with. I want him to practice whilst we are here and see if he can oil out those rusty spots. Let me show you something. Sam doesn't know about this and so keep it between the pair of us. Yes I know what you said about secrets and trust, but you have to trust me too. And you have to keep your mouth firmly shut about this. Sam's too unstable to deal with it right now. He'll fuck up. He'll get us all killed. So I'm going to need a promise from you Spencer.' Floyd lifted his head and looked at Reid.

'OK… a promise. I'll not say anything to Sam.'

'What wont you tell me?' Sam hissed from the doorway where he'd just appeared.