A/N: Hello again, everyone!
A shout-out to Quilter1993, fishtrek, and kingca.
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. No copyright infringement intended.
My apologies if I made any mistakes but enjoy the chapter!
Warning: Sorry about the swearing.
Since I decided to do a bit of a time jump, the chapter takes place on Sunday morning, January 13th, 2013.
Get ready for one of the most infamous yet one of the most memorable Criminal Minds episodes of the series, Zugzwang, but in the Remix.
"Mmm…" Élise grabbed her extra pillow from her bedside and placed it over her head. For nearly two weeks now, she's been feeling incredibly drained out, overwhelmed, and overworked from the stress of the move, work, unmotivated, and lazy at times.
At least now, she was getting her much-needed beauty sleep.
"Mommy…"
And now it's over when a certain miniature someone crawled on their bed.
"Daddy…"
Even with his eyes closed, Reid winced when he felt someone grasping his nose. And now, they started bonking him on the head.
"Up-up."
Reid's eyelids were forced open, and with his one eye, he smirked at the sight of Séraphine over his face.
"Up-up."
She started jumping on the bed.
"I wan fod. I wan fod. I wan fod. I wan fod. I wan fod. I wan fod…"
Élise still had her eyes closed and chuckled, amused by her burst of energy. "Your daughter's awake and wants food."
Reid tucked under the covers. "Before sunrise, she's your daughter."
Séraphine stopped jumping. "Fod!"
Reid groaned, planting his hand over his face. Sitting up, trying to get his thoughts together, he saw Séraphine in her favorite white floor-length nightgown, her curly hair in pigtails, her eyes lowered, and her mouth cutely pouted to the side.
"Mommy and I are getting up, okay?" he patted her head. "Give us some time, okay, Fifi!"
Séraphine raised her fists. "Yah!" she dashed out of the room, slamming the door and making flinch Élise.
"Mmm…" Élise immediately sat up. Scratching her head, "Oh, Lord…"
Reid started laughing and pulled the duvets away, placing his feet on the carpet, and rubbing his face with his hands. "That was one way to get us up, right?"
Élise opened her mouth, getting ready to say something, but hearing Isaac's cries over the baby monitor caused her to tend to her son lovingly. Reid made the bed before making breakfast for the family.
"Okay, Fifi," Reid finished styling Séraphine's hair. "Ooh, you look pretty." getting up from kneeling, he got her to stare at her reflection in the mirror.
Her hair was sleeked back, and her tight curls up with a pink bow headband.
"You look so pretty, Fifi," Reid took her hand and twirled her around.
Séraphine pulled Reid into a hug. "Tank you, daddy."
"Mmm…" he kissed her head before noticing Élise walking into Séraphine's room with Isaac. "Hey, you two."
Élise adjusted Isaac's black Ralph Lauren Polo Bear cotton sweater. "Hey."
Isaac babbled while teething on his favorite Sophie the Giraffe toy.
"Hey, little man. Ready to go to church?"
"Ahhabb…" Isaac squealed and grinned.
Élise joked. "I think he's ready."
Suddenly, Élise felt her phone vibrating in her black satin straight-leg pants. After giving Reid Isaac, she answered. "Hello?"
Reid soothingly bounced Isaac in his arms while Élise took her call.
"Okay," she sighed. "I'll be there as soon as I can." after hanging up, she looked to Reid and shrugged her shoulders.
Reid knew, "You have to go to work?"
Élise replied, "Surprisingly, yeah. Emergency meeting."
Reid heaved a sigh. "Okay," he took Séraphine by her hand while still carrying Isaac in the other; he continued shaking him when he began to cry. "Oh, it's okay, buddy. Mommy has to go to work, but she'll be back, okay?"
Élise kissed Isaac's cheek. "Oh, I love you, sweetie," she got on her knees and kissed Séraphine's head. "I love you, Fifi."
"Luv yoo, mommy."
Élise smiled and playfully bopped her nose before she rose and passionately kissed Reid's lips. "I love you."
Reid pressed his body against Élise's. "I love you, too."
They gave each other one last peck on the lips before going separate ways.
Reid took the children to Sunday services; the Donovan-Putnam couldn't come due to BJ feeling under the weather, and they didn't want anyone catching anything.
He felt almost weird to try and focus on what the pastor was saying, especially considering Élise hasn't even called to make sure she got to work alright.
"You have reached Élise Bastien. Please leave me a detailed message..."
Reid exhaled noisily as he hung up. He wasn't about to leave Élise another voicemail message because, deep down, he knew something wasn't right. He decided to take the children straight home to see what was going on.
Reid made it home in record time. After driving the car into the driveway, he unbuckled his seatbelt, turned his head to face Séraphine and Isaac in their car seats.
"I'll be right back, okay?" he told them.
Séraphine babbled, "Yah, daddy."
Isaac prattled.
Reid turned on the baby car mirror camera and took a portable one with him. He took out his phone and called Élise's phone again as he walked up the stone pathway. Pressing the phone to his ear, Reid was stunned a bit when he heard it ring inside.
Then he noticed the front door unlocked when he tried to open it.
And it made this creepy creaking noise when he gently pushed it.
He knew an unlocked and opened door was never a good sign. Though he didn't have his Smith & Wesson revolver, he boldly stepped into the house and gasped at the destruction of the hallway and great room.
Secured moving boxes cut opened and some of the content out.
Furniture knocked this way and that.
Dents in the wall.
Reid looked at one spot in the corner. His skin turned pale when he saw the blood spots on the carpet; Élise's phone was there. And if that wasn't bad enough, Reid saw something by the fireplace.
"Opal…" Rushing to her side, he set his hand on her femoral pulse for a heartbeat. There was a pulse, but it was weak. And she was barely breathing. Stammering, "Wh-what's wrong, girl? Are you okay?"
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Immediately answering it, "Hello."
"The caller on the other line, Adam Worth, wishes to…"
Reid didn't want to waste any more time. "Yes-yes-yes!"
"Zug…zwang."
Reid was silent for a moment. "I-I-I'm sorry, c-can you please repeat that?"
"Zug…zwang!"
The caller hung up. Reid kept breathing in and out, his own pulse was racing to an unstoppable rate, and he could barely keep it together.
He was right; something horrible had happened to Élise.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he anxiously dialed a familiar number and forced the phone to his ear again, frantically waiting for the receiver to answer.
"Hello?"
Reid was not wasting time. "Hotch. Get the rest of the team here, please," he turned his head and looked around the chaotic foyer and great room. "Something's happened to Élise."
Since Rose was out of the country for a destination wedding, Reid sent the children over to the house of their soon-to-be-former-but-great-next-door neighbors—an expecting military couple—to distract them and not let them know what was going on, regarding. A crime scene unit member took Opal to the nearest veterinarian's office.
Reid stood with one of his arms across his stomach and biting down on his thumb as CSU scouted around the house. Most of them were in the foyer and great room; some were in the other rooms to see if they could find any other kind of evidence. Reid knew how many but definitely wasn't in the mood to count.
"Dr. Reid…"
Reid snapped. "Huh?"
It was CSU Tech Agent Gina Sharp, who took a step back when she realized she had startled him.
"We'll take this down to the lab and put a first-priority rush on it."
Reid placed his throat on his neck when he realized Gina held Élise's bloody phone in a plastic bag. Shuddering sighs escaped him, and he could simply nod his head.
"Excuse me…" Gina pardoned herself, leaving the house.
"Reid."
He turned to see Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, JJ, Garcia, and Blake standing by the door after coming in, all casually dressed since it was Sunday.
"What happened?" Rossi looked at the chaotic place.
Reid frantically shook his head and quivered, "I don't know. I-I…" he shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself from fidgeting them and looked down at the hardwood floors. "I mean, of course, I can think of various reasons why this is happening, especially to Élise, but now, I can't even focus on anything else because…" he bit on his bottom lip. Slowly lifting his head, revealing the team his teary eyes. "Please help me find my wife, the mother of my children. Please." Reid sniffed.
The team knew they didn't have a case, so they'd be working during their free time.
Hotch looked to them to see if any objected; everyone was silent, and Morgan shook his head.
"Let's get to work."
The unsub drove at a steady pace, constantly looking in the rearview mirror at an unconscious Élise on the floorboards with her head popping out of the garbage bag.
Hotch ordered Blake to observe the master bedroom, JJ and Morgan to look over what CSU has and profile the foyer and great room, Garcia to look over the surveillance and security footage, and Hotch and Rossi took Reid to the office for a private chat.
Reid sat on the study chair, with his fingers folded and fiddled with his thumbs, preparing himself for the obvious questions Hotch and Rossi will ask him.
"So, did you touch anything when you saw the state of your house?" Hotch started off.
Reid felt almost insulted by that question. "You'd think I know better than to do that?"
Rossi asked, "Now, when did you realize something wasn't right?"
Reid breathed out heavily, wiping and sniffing his phone. "Since Élise became a judge for the D.C. Circuit, she and I agreed that she texted whenever she arrived safely at work." he continued explaining. "I didn't get the text, so I decided to come home. And the door wasn't locked, nor was the security code logged in, and I…you know. Checking Opal, I got a call from someone claiming to be Adam Worth. His voice was electronically disguised, but he said Zugzwang twice."
"Zugzwang?" Hotch and Rossi grimaced.
Reid clarified. "From the German, "compulsion to move." It usually happens during a chess endgame. No matter what move the player makes, they're at a disadvantage, and it'll just get worse; eventually, they'll be forced to make a move."
"Did you notice anything unusual about Élise's behavior?"
Reid stared at Hotch, dumbstruck. "Yes. Yes, I did notice. That was when I decided to take her on a weekend getaway after the Adam Rain case to Baltimore. To relax and tell me what's been bugging her."
Rossi had some doubts. "And did she?"
"Yes!" Reid angrily gritted his teeth, trying to control his temper, though he was getting annoyed with the questioning. He whispered, "Yes."
"What has she told you?"
Reid opened his mouth when a three-time knock on the door forced him to close it when JJ and Morgan popped their heads in.
"May we come in?" JJ asked.
Hotch eyed Reid, who nodded in return that they could come in. Morgan closed the door behind him and opened up about what he and JJ have so far.
JJ held a smashed picture frame in a plastic bag and showed it to the team. "From the looks of the place, Élise and whoever took her put up one hell of a fight," JJ reflected back on her fight with Lady X when she had Henry.
Morgan mentioned as he studied another shattered photograph frame, "No signs of a break-in and whoever took Élise, there are no drag marks, but a body could be wrapped in something. But these photos, this is personal."
Reid was about to feel sick again and rested his hands on the desk. "Oh, my God…"
Someone knocked on the door again. This time, it was Blake and Garcia, and they came in, each carrying something; Garcia her laptop and Blake a heavy-looking black safe.
"I managed to get into the security cameras," Garcia placed her laptop on the desk and typed. "And…here we go."
The team watched in silence, and through one of the cameras, they saw a white delivery-styled truck parked on the street. Someone in a delivery uniform walked out and grabbed a big box, but no one caught their face.
The camera switched to Élise tucking in her white turtleneck into her black pants before she looked through a curtained window and answered the door, though her body language suggested that she was a bit hesitant to. She opened the door and accepted the big package before being ambushed and putting up a hell of a fight in the process, even in four-inch black block heel boots.
"I would not want Élise literally kicking my ass," Rossi nodded.
Morgan replied, shielding Garcia, "Same here."
Finally, Opal appeared and tried to fight off the attacker but got knocked out, and Élise felt a pain coming before the team realized she was tased and knocked in the head, rendering her unconscious.
"Oh, my God…" Reid pulled on his hair at the sight of what's he seeing.
"The most important thing is that Élise is alive," Garcia tried to keep positive.
Reid snapped again. "Yeah, but for how long?"
"Well, I found this hidden in the closet," Blake set the safe next to Garcia's laptop and pulled a tiny key from her pocket. "I found this key taped under it." she tucked the key in the lock, turned it, and opened it, and when she did, the team and especially Reid were shocked by what they discovered.
An unloaded Glock with a small case of rounds inside.
"Élise has a firearm?" Garcia breathed.
Rossi shrugged. "Considering her line of work, I don't blame her."
"And there's something in here," Blake pulled out a sheet from a white envelope. Her dark eyes widened. "Ooh."
"Ooh, what?"
Blake held the letter out for everyone to see what it said. ""I'M WATCHING YOU BITCH!""
Rossi looked at Reid and asked, "Did you know that she…?"
Reid folded his arms. "No. Hell, had I, I would have…." in the realization of what was happening and figured out what was really going on with Élise, "Oh, God…I'm an idiot. This was happening to her, and I didn't even..."
"Give us the room, please," Hotch ordered everyone out, leaving him, Rossi, and Reid. "It is possible Élise got the gun and…"
"And what? What, are you saying I don't know my own wife, Aaron?!" Reid exclaimed.
"Spencer, please," Rossi tried to calm him. "We're just trying to do our job."
Reid scoffed. "That's rich, considering how you doing your job cost you your first marriage," he turned his anger to Rossi and Hotch. "And how doing yours literally cost Haley HER LIFE!"
Reid realized what he said, especially when seeing the shocked and hurt reactions on Hotch and Rossi's faces. "I-I…" surprised he actually said that and too ashamed to finish that sentence, he left the office.
"He didn't mean it," Rossi quietly replied.
Hotch sighed. "I'm pretty sure he did. And he's not wrong, you know. We have to find Élise."
Rossi can barely imagine what will happen if Reid loses Élise. "And if we don't, hell will be boiling hot."
Élise couldn't believe this overwhelming throbbing pain in her head and this bilious feeling in her stomach. She started to feel this tightness around her wrists and could barely move her arms. Her eyes opened little by little, and she became aware of her surroundings. Rundown flooring, peeling wallpaper from many years ago, barely covering the dusty bricks.
She tried to slowly remember what happened and how she got here.
Élise tucked in her white turtleneck sweater into her black pants when she heard a knock on the door. She peeked through the curtained window and saw a delivery person, though she could barely make out the face. Élise was alerted by Opal's suddenly constant barking.
"I'll be there soon, okay, Opie?" Élise exclaimed as she went to open the door. She put on a smile but turned it to a smirk when the delivery person blocked it with a big box. "Nice to meet you too. Let me take that off your hands now, thank you."
Élise suspected something wasn't up; her guard was still up. She took the box from the person's hands and took a few steps back.
"Again, thank you…"
"Ahh!" Élise felt a hard smack at the back of her neck.
"I see you're up, bitch."
The hit there set her memory back a bit. She blinked her eyes until more memories rushed.
"Whoa!"
Her eyes widened when the delivery person suddenly came at her and tried to assault her. Trying to remain calm while the adrenaline was running through her body, Élise ducked her punch and surprised them by throwing the box back at them. Trying to run to the security alarm, Élise got grabbed by the neck. The delivery person threw her into the great room against some of the moving boxes and the plastic-covered couch, almost knocking her down.
Élise spotted a hardcover book there; she grabbed it and started assaulting them with it. Throwing that aside, Élise swung some punches, slaps, hits, and kicks. The assailant broke free, grabbed Élise by the neck, and threw her against the wall, attempting to strangle her.
A barking and protective Opal came to Élise's aide and bit the intruder. Élise broke free and was within an inch of the security alarm when she felt a sharp pain to her side and a brutal hit in her head.
"Hey!" the person slapped Élise's cheek. "I'm talking to you, bitch."
Élise groaned in pain, her vision still a bit hazed. Finally, it was getting clearer, and standing before her was a tall woman with long dark hair, pale skin, and piercing blue eyes.
"Remember me now, bitch?"
Élise moaned. "D-Diane…?"
After the elevator doors opened, Reid stepped out, carrying Isaac in his baby seat and holding Séraphine's hand—and the rest of the team behind him. Stepping out, he took the children to the side while everyone else walked into the bullpen. He sighed and kneeled to Séraphine's height. "Okay, you two. Daddy has to do some work right now, so I'm going to leave you with these two nice people. Be good and don't give them any trouble, okay?"
These nice two people are Agents Anderson and Sharp.
"Okay, daddy."
Reid sadly smiled before planting a kiss on Séraphine's and Isaac's foreheads before giving them to the agents and walking into a room.
Rising, he pulled himself together, walked into the bullpen, and made his way to the roundtable, seeing everyone gathered there. He took a seat, and Morgan started by questioning by obvious.
"So," he shrugged. "Why Élise? There's a reason why she's called the Silent Eliminating Enforcer."
"She got the nickname during her law school years," Reid sadly replied. "During our first date, Élise told me she got the nickname after she helped free a mother, Francine Parker, who was wrongly convicted of killing her one-year-old son, for ten years, when really, the child died from a rare disease. The judge in her case, Judge Vincent Kingsley, was disbarred when it was found out that he deliberately sentenced her and numerous innocent people to prison, based solely on who they are and not by the case."
Garcia typed. "Francine Parker now lives in Maryland with her second son, Elijah; she had him while in prison and works as a school counselor. Kingsley, on the other hand…" she got a ping. "After he was disbarred, he moved back to Washington D.C. and lives in his family's estate…"
Reid wasted no time and wanted to deal with him himself.
"Let's go."
"Send us the address," Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi followed him; Hotch ordered Garcia, "And look up anyone else who might have a grudge against Élise in D.C., Virginia, Maryland; anywhere nearby."
"You got it," the ladies got to work.
The men stopped the car in front of a large brick house. Reid stormed up the driveway with Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan behind him. Reid banged on the door.
Someone answered, and it was a woman in a black-and-white maid's uniform.
"May I help you…?"
Reid showed her his badge before walking past her and came across an elderly man who had an empty glass in his hand.
"Are you Vincent Kingsley?" Reid asked.
Mr. Kingsley grumpily replied, "What's it to you?"
Reid was ready for this man when Morgan came between them; the maid took the glass from Mr. Kingsley and excused her.
"We're from the FBI, sir," Morgan revealed his FBI badge. "We'd like to ask you some questions about Élise Bastien."
Mr. Kingsley groaned in disgust. "It was bad enough I saw her again in person and to know she's now a federal judge, ugh…" he shook his head.
"At least she would never send someone to prison just because of who they are," Reid remarked. "Remember Francine Parker?"
Mr. Kingsley scoffed. "That lady was a schizophrenic hot mess. I did society a favor; that crazy lady had no right to even bear a child."
Reid took horrible offense to that, and if it wasn't for Morgan blocking him, Reid would have lunged at the man. He growled, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Mr. Kingsley scoffed again and faced Hotch, standing in the background with Rossi. "Not going to get control of your attack dog of an agent?"
"Nope."
Rossi shrugged, "Same here."
Mr. Kingsley sneered before facing a pissed-off Reid and a neutral Morgan. "What about Ms. Bastien?"
"My wife's missing."
Mr. Kingsley replied, "Whatever's going on regarding her, I had nothing to do with it. I was here all day; ask my maid."
The maid nodded her head in silence.
"Let's hope not because if you do, I'll hunt everywhere on this Earth for you," Reid's eyes laser-beamed into the old man before calmly walking out of the house.
"Reid!" Morgan exclaimed. "You need to keep your head in check."
Reid angrily deadpanned, "Oh, I'm so sorry if I don't have the patience for dead-ends," he rolled his eyes as Morgan answered his phone.
"Hey, baby girl." Morgan put the phone on speaker.
"Hey, boo. Going through Élise's phone records, she dialed and received calls to a number that has been quite frequent in the past couple of months. The person is an Orson Frasier, a private investigator for a firm in D.C. called Alpha."
"I've heard of them and did some work with them," Hotch spoke up. "They're a very exclusive and private secretive firm; one of the founders is a former FBI agent. They do all sorts of security and intelligence, consulting, litigation, due diligence and have offices around the world."
Rossi asked, "Can we make an appointment with him?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"Why the hell not?" Reid retorted.
"Because he was found dead this morning by D.C. police."
TO BE CONTINUED…