"I've been going over what Agent Swann's team has learned so far." Hotch explained as Morgan entered the squad room, glancing at the cork board full of young faces and brutal scars. "Every couple of months, they take a new set of victims, always a young man and woman, and always either from or near a college campus. So far the unsubs don't seem to show a racial preference and most of the victims either did not know one another or knew one another only casually, so we believe that they are crimes of convenience rather than targeted attacks."

"That tracks with what I've seen on the recordings." Morgan interjected, "They leave the victims alone together for 24 hours and then use the resulting bond to control them. Hang on." He said, answering his phone, "Hey baby girl, you're on speaker phone."

"So I've been trying to track the feed, but it's been routed through like seventy proxy servers, and you know how those are my kryptonite, but I'm going to keep digging." She said, not sounding quite like her usual chipper self. No matter how hard she tried to stay focused, Garcia found herself sneaking glances at the gray monitor in the corner showing Reid's feed. But something to her right dinged and she was brought back. "Hold up, facial recognition just came back on the second victim, her name is Alexandra Davis, a 22 year old Texas native. Born to a Linda-Ann Davis and a John Davis, it looks like mom died from cancer when she was six. Oof, after that, child protective services was called several times for reports of abuse, but nothing was ever done, she left home at seventeen, dropped off the map for a few months, and then reappeared in Washington D.C. as a student at UDC. Works two jobs, as a high school tutor and a waitress at a local mom and pop shop."

"Garcia, do we have any information on the father?" Hotch asked.

"Let me check...Born and raised in Austin Texas, oh...looks like he was killed in a drunk driving accident nine months ago."

"Alright, thanks Garcia." Hotch said, hanging up. "We need to coordinate with JJ and get ahead of the press. There's no telling what the unsubs will do if they find out Reid is an agent."

"Hotch, we have a problem." JJ said, barging into the room. She grabbed the remote and turned up the TV in the corner. A young blond news woman was reading out the headlines.

"In further news, two more young adults have been taken in Washington D.C., an as of yet unidentified female UDC student and guest lecturer and FBI agent Dr. Spencer Reid."

Ka-Chunk!
Alex started awake. The sun was streaming in through the single small barred window at just the right angle to illuminate the room in a way that seemed inconsiderate given the situation. She sat up and ran her hands through her hair, causing the bandage Reid had wrapped around her upper arm the night before to tug painfully against her cut. Reid was still asleep on the other cot, his brown hair falling over his eyes as the sunlight shimmered through, casting an array of dancing shadows on his face. His slender frame rose and fell slowly, almost peacefully, with every breath.

Ka-Chunck!

There it was again! It sounded vaguely like a metal door being opened and then slammed shut.

"Spencer," Alex whispered, gently shaking his shoulder, "Come on, wake up."

"Hm?" he groaned, bleary eyed.

"I think someone is coming."

Ka-Chunk!

The sound was defiantly drawing closer.

Ka-Chunk!

It sounded like it could be right outside their door. Suddenly, a small panel in the door was slammed open with a horrendous creak and something silver clattered to the floor. Reid and Alex both jumped, but neither moved forward. The barrel of a pistol could just be seen protruding from the now open slot.

"Cuff him!" a gruff voice barked.

"What?" Alex half whispered, still startled from the sudden noise.

"I said cuff him, or I'll shoot you both!" The voice repeated.

"It's ok." Reid mouthed, nodding at Alex. She took a deep shaky breath a crept forward, making sure to keep her hands in view. Didn't want him getting trigger happy after all. Reaching the door, she knelt down to pick up the silver handcuffs off the floor. Through the door, she could just barely make out the silhouette of a man, but not much else.

Having retrieved the cuffs, Alex took Reid's right hand in hers and closed the cold metal around it. Every click of the locking mechanism sounded as deafening as her heart beat roaring in her ears, and her hands were shaking more than she would have liked. She reached down to cuff his other wrist in front of him, but was interrupted.

"No!" The voice commanded, "Behind him."

Obediently, Alex moved, gently pulling Reid's arms behind him.

"I'm so sorry Spence." She whispered, closing the second cuff.

"Not your fault." Reid replied, shaking his head.

"On your knees, both of you!" The voice ordered, "Hands on your head."

They complied, and the door creaked open, revealing three masked men, all heavily armed. One moved directly to Reid, pulling him roughly to his feet, while another yanked Alex's arms behind her back, cuffing her.

"Move." The third hissed from the door, gesturing with his gun. Alex and Reid were marched down a seemingly endless hallway, lined on each side with doors leading into small rooms much like the one they had just left.

'What is this place?' Alex wondered, 'Perhaps some sort of abandoned prison or mental hospital?'

They were lead to the end of the hallway, which then turned right into a larger room filled with discarded furniture. In the center, a space had been cleared and a camera was set up on a tripod. Alex was forced into a wooden chair at the edge of the clearing while Reid was made to sit directly in front of the camera. One of the men tied a strap around Alex's torso, securing her to the chair, while another held Reid.

The remaining man moved behind the camera.

3,

he signaled

2,

1,

"Laddies and gentlemen!" The man crowed, moving in front of the camera, "Tonight we have a very special guest watching our live stream, say hello to the FBI! What do you say we put on a good show for them?" he leered at Reid