Reid was bruised and all but beaten. He wouldn't last much longer in this. Most of his focus now was on avoiding Bridget as long as possible, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Nothing short of a surprise attack would be helpful. Every now and then, his eyes would flicker to the steel door. Reid debated each time if he should make a run for it. He knew he didn't stand a chance of getting away in his current condition, not without slowing her down first.
Bridget was nothing short of psychotic, unfailing in her effort to find and slaughter her prey. She tried to remain calm but every now and again her frustration would get the better of her and she'd beat the nearest item with her pipe. It didn't seem possible to have so much strength in such a small body.
Carefully, he peaked out of his hiding place and watched her. She had smashed a few crates twenty feet away from where he sat. It amazed him how people could turn out this way. He'd had his share of suffering, too. The majority of his life had been nothing short of miserable, yet he'd managed to hang on to his sanity. If anyone had a right to turn against the world...
No, no one had this kind of right. There was still good in the world and no matter what happened, if a person strived for the light, they could survive. Maybe most people would disagree, but it was his opinion. It had helped him get out of bed in the morning until he had a reason to. Maybe he was stronger than he thought. Reid had been fighting for good his entire career - his entire life - and he had to keep fighting now.
With that realization in mind, he got a second wind. He turned back around for a moment and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, gathering what was left of his head. If there was any chance he was going to get through this, any chance he could get back to Riley, he needed to focus. Gripping his crowbar, Reid slowly began to pull himself back to his feet.
Taken by surprise, the crate supporting his back exploded, causing Reid to stumble. Before he could get back on his feet, Bridget stood over him. The side of his abdomen flexed with pain as she at last struck him. His hand lost the hold of his only weapon, the clang of the metal on the concrete shattered through the entire space, ringing in his ears and bringing another shock through his skull.
Reid gasped for air as he rolled onto his back. Bridget was smirking down at him, watching his writhe in agony for a moment.
"Is it really worth putting up such a fight?" She snarled, staring down at him like a rabid dog. She was practically foaming at the mouth. "If you had just cooperated, it would have been quick, nearly painless. Now I'm going to make sure your last breathe is excurciating and extremely slow..."
Her words couldn't effect him. He didn't care if she made him suffer, he didn't care if he lay suffering, his lungs drowning in his own blood until dawn's early light. Reid was going to fight her with everything he had.
Quickly he reacted as Bridget raised her weapon again, this time aiming for his sternum. His hand at once found his crowbar and grasped it. Reid swung it upward, stopping her strike before she could make contact. At least he would go to his grave knowing he'd everything he could to stay alive.
The alley was only on the other end of the block, but it still felt like an eternity to get there. As they pulled in, they discovered they were not the only officials there. The three spotted Rossi, Hotch, and Bradbury immediately. They were still busy investigating the recent car wreck and it's surroundings in search of clues. Emily and Morgan quickly hurried over to their team members, Eden in quick pursuit.
"What's going on?" Rossi asked once the entire group was gathered.
"Bridget's keeping Reid in a storage area belonging to the morgue." Morgan explained at once. "It's not typically used. The entrance is somewhere around here."
"We've been here for hours." Bradbury insisted. "The officers have scowered the buildings; wouldn't we have spotted it by now?"
"It's got to be somewhere out of the way." Eden assured. Her eyes scanned the area. "We need some torches if we're going to spot it. It's got to be here."
Hotch and Bradbury quickly hurried back to their car to get a few flashlights. Returning, they tossed one to Eden. Rossi teamed up with her and the two began looking for some shadowed area or hidden entrace they hadn't seen in the fading daylight. Another light was handed to Emily. Naturally, she and Morgan paired off and began to search together.
The third and final pair set forth. "How could something so obvious be so hard to find?" Hotch asked. They were much better than this. At least in DC, they knew the city pretty well, it wouldn't take too long to find any hidden areas.
"London is an old city." Bradbury explained. "Buildings here can date back to mideval times, it's not uncommon that places are hidden away when new structures go up."
It had almost gone overlooked. Rossi's tired eyes looked one way and almost trailed off, the light in Eden's hand moving in an opposite direction. But the way the wall slooped like that... wasn't exactly common.
Tapping Eden's shoulder, Rossi indicated she follow him. Hurrying over to the sidelines, he saw indeed the wall disappeared down a set of steps, leading deep into the dark.
"Guys!" He called. "I think I found it!"
Within seconds, the others bounded over towards his cry. Indeed, they say the cement steps leading into a tunnel. Their light only went so far, unable to show what lay at the very end.
"Oh my God," Eden exclaimed, her feet tumbling down a few steps and stopped. The beam of her flashlight landed on a mangled puddle near the wall. "It's a pile of sick... someone in a car accident may have suffered a concussion... and he may have vomitted right here."
"I think we're on the right track." Hotch said, and without another word, lead the way with his light. Every followed single file into the cold darkness.
It was long march down this tunnel. Emily and Morgan wanted to run, but there was no way to tell what they would meet in this. At last, Hotch's beam revealed a large steel door. The end in sight, the entire group picked up speed.
Hotch grabbed the handle, but it wouldn't budge. "It's locked," He revealed. His emotions rarely bubbled to the surface, but there was no denying the hint of dispair in his voice.
That didn't stop Morgan, however, who immediately burst forward. He jabbed and pounded on the door, desperate for it to break to his will. His shoulder and side ached in less than a minute, sure to have bruises by sunrise.
Emily, just as distressed as he, pushed through the men and slammed her fist on the metal. If they couldn't get in, maybe someone could get out.
"Reid!" Emily cried so loud and sharply, it hurt her throat. "Reid, are you in there! Can you hear us!"
Morgan still struggled at the handle. He went one on one with the lock like they were in a wrestling match. Emily continued her calls and knocks, not even certain if he was in there, if he could hear her... or if he was even still alive.
At last, Reid managed to push her off long enough to get back on his feet. He needed to be fast, but at least he was in a position to go on the offensive. Bridget was not pleased with that, rushing forward to shove him against the wall.
It knocked the wind from him for a moment, and before he could stop it, Bridget had grabbed him by his sweaty, filthy dress shirt and tossed his weakening body back to the floor.
"You have nothing left!" She cried. "Why do you keep fighting? You have nothing to live for!"
His cheek was against the cold ground. Reid had everything to live for and she was worth every effort to try to get out of here. If he could have one wish... it would be to hear her voice one more time. To hear her say 'I love you' or listen to her laugh... or simply say his name.
He almost thought it was happening. He believed he was dying and in the moment between life and death, he could hear her calling to him to come back to her... Reid almost allowed his eyes to close and just listen to her sweet calls.
But wait... Riley never called him Reid... not since she had been his therapist. The longer he listened, the clearer it became. He almost forgot Bridget was behind him, about to finish him off. He sat up, straining his ears...
"Reid!" It was on the other side of the door. He couldn't be sure, but if Reid had to guess, he'd say that was Emily. "Reid... please, answer me!"
Before he could call back, he remembered where he was and tried to roll his aching body out of Bridget's reach. It was too late however, his captor getting the upperhand once again. She fell to the floor, straddling Reid's waist to hold him still. She'd abandoned her pipe however and was now relying on the smaller weapon. The scalpel with blood sparkling on the seratted edge.
At once, Reid grabbed Bridget's wrist to keep the knife as far from his skin as possible. Emily's panicked voice kept screaming for him. He feared if he didn't answer, they would assume he wasn't here and leave.
"Emily," He called, hoping it was loud enough to make it through the door. "Emily... please... please, somebody..."
He couldn't cry out for long, however, needing to focus his fading strength on keeping this woman at bay
Emily kept continously slapping her palm on the door, crying and screaming Reid's name. Morgan was having even less luck with the handle. It was locked solid. Nothing short of a blow torch was going to break into this thing.
"Shh," Rossi called, grabbing Emily's wrist. "Listen."
Everyone was immobile, trying to hear what Rossi heard. It was soft, but sure enough someone was answering Emily's cries. She gasped, hearing her own name responded.
"He's in there." She hissed, looking at the others. "We have to get to him."
"How?" Eden replied. "We can't break that lock, there's no other way in. By the time we get a locksmith down here, that bloke's going to be dead."
Hotch, however, did not feel as hopeless. He wasn't sure what made him think of it, but suddenly his thoughts landed on the keys he found in the car accident. It was a long shot, but...
Without another word, he reached into his pocket. He should have labeled these as evidence and set them aside, but for some reason he chose to hang onto these. It didn't make any sense why this time he wavered from his usual routine, but right now it didn't matter.
"If it's any of them," He said, handing the bunch to Morgan. "It'll be the rusty one."
In the dark, it was hard to find the right key. Bradbury tried to shine the light on Morgan's shaking hands until at last, he gripped the rusty one. It was another moment before he shoved it into the lock. It clicked instantly, bringing relief to everyone.
The handle turned easily and Morgan went to open the door... only to find it wouldn't budge any further than an inch.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, confused.
"It's..." He could barely form words. "It's stuck."
"What do you mean?" Rossi wondered.
"I mean it's stuck, what the hell do you think I mean!" Morgan screamed. He slammed against the door again. "Son of a bitch!"
"It might be jammed from the inside." Hotch assured. "Bridget may have done it purposely, but we can get it open. Everyone grab on."
Morgan and Hotch in front took the handle. The other four shifted and stood together quite awkwardly, their fingertips barely clutching the metal on the side. They hated to think what time they were wasting and what Reid was enduring in there, just trying to survive.
"Alright, on three." Hotch ordered. "One... two... three!"
And with that, every bit of strength the six had focused on prying open this door. It was even more difficult than forcing open the hatch. Beads of sweat formed on their brows, even in the cold January air. They tugged and pulled for almost a full minute, but nothing was happening. It wasn't fair. Just a few feet away and they couldn't even save him. It shouldn't be allowed to end like this.
Like a marvel, the door sifted. It popped off what appeared to be small wooden wedges Bridget had slipped under the door, reinforcing the security. It slipped open wide enough to let in one person at a time. Bradbury, the only one the group with a gun, ran in first. Emily was right behind followed by Eden, Rossi, Morgan, and finally Hotch.
The flourscent lights lit up the scene. Reid was almost unrecognizable. Dirty and crumpled on the floor, a large purple bruise forming on his temple and down the side of his face. There was blood on his arm and he could hardly open his eyes, more than likely because of the pain. But even with all of that, he fought to hold off the capable, psychotic woman trying to slice his skin open.
Were they in America, Emily and Morgan would never have hurried forward like they did. They would have announced themselves and ordered their unsub to drop her weapon, threatening to shoot if she didn't. But they couldn't protect themselves. All they could do was act on instinct.
Morgan rushed to the woman. She may have been a match for the injured young man, but she couldn't hold Morgan off on his worst day. Before she even realized what was happening, Morgan had lifted Bridget off of Reid, holding her back in his strong grasp. She screamed and struggled against the unbreakable hold. The other men went to help subdue the woman.
While they assisted Morgan, Emily flashed to Reid's side, quickly joined by Eden. As soon as Bridget had been lifted away, Reid relaxed and let his eyes slip close, not even registering why he'd been freed. All he knew was that he was. He could rest now.
"Reid," Emily called, brushing his cheek. "Wake up, you have to wake up."
Reid wanted to open his eyes, he wanted to fight and hang on... but he was just so tired. He'd been at this for hours, all he wanted to do was sleep.
Kneeling by his side, Eden felt her former training kick in. She examined their victim from top the bottom, assesing what he needed. "He's definitely got a concussion." She affirmed, proving her former theory. "Get him on his feet, he needs to stay awake. Walking and talking will keep him alert.
Emily followed her command without question. "Reid," She ordered, trying to pull him up. His body was limp; dead weight. Almost nothing could get through to him. "Please, Reid, you have to get up. You have to hang on."
He let out a groan, struggling to sit up. Even with both the girls' guidance, it was a difficult task.
Eden was not about to let him quit. Leaning into his ear, she screamed as loud as her vocal cords would permit. "Get up, Reid! Come on, on your feet! Open your eyes, Yankee, stand up! Move!"
Whether it was the commands or the volume, Reid suddenly found himself with his eyes wide open. He couldn't stand on his own, but with Emily and Eden's help, he became upright. At last, his blood flowing a little more normally, easy breaths of oxygen flowing into his lungs, he could form somewhat coherent thoughts.
The light was a bit too bright for him, but squinting wasn't so bad. After a few deep inhales, he gave a weak smile. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see you guys."
They couldn't help but give a laugh. "You okay, kid?" Morgan asked, still holding on to Bridget. Her energy was running low, fighting against his grasp less and less.
It took a moment for him to form words. "Uh... I've been better." He looked over to Emily with a small smile. "I feel like I'm going to collapse any second."
"I'm here, Reid, don't worry. I won't let you fall." She said with a reassuring smile.
"You stay on your feet, Reid, or you're fired." Hotch said.
It was no doubt a joke, but Reid was so disorientated, he hadn't realized. "You can't fire me, I don't work in this country."
They tried not to laugh, but they were just so relieved their friend was okay, it couldn't be stopped. "We'll take Bridget to the Yard." Hotch explained as he guided Morgan to lead their suspect out. "You guys get him to the hospital."
"Wait!" Reid cried, so loud it sent a pain through his head. This was too important to forget, though. He couldn't believe he had almost forgotten.
"What is it?" Rossi wondered.
He was going to be sick at any moment, but he forced it back down into his stomach for now. "Her rings..."
It was so low, no one even understood what he said. "What?" Morgan asked.
"Her... rings..." He called out. "She's wearing... She's wearing Riley's rings, I need them back."
"No," Bridget cried, tears in her eyes trying to keep her hands out of their grasp. However, with Morgan holding her, the three others easily took control, grabbing her left hand. Bradbury held it as Rossi slid first the gold wedding ring off and then the silver diamond one.
He marched over and handed them to Emily. "Prentiss will hang onto them, okay?"
Reid nodded, and that was it. He buckled in the girls arms, almost falling over. Once again, he vomitted on both the floor and the hem of Emily's black pants.
She cringed a bit and tried not to be grossed out by it. Reid slowly stood up again, wiping his mouth. "Oh, Emily..." He moaned. "I'm sorry."
Forcing a smile and ignoring the smell, she put a supportive hand around Reid's back, helping him to the door. "It's fine, Reid. It's a small price to pay if it means you're alright."
He wasn't so sure he believed her at first, but the comforting pat on his back told him she was telling the truth. Everything was fine.
8 o'clock had just passed. Riley had been staring at the clock for ages, certain someone would call before the deadline passed... but it never came. And as the long hand indicated the hour, it took all her strength not to burst into tears.
The three had stopped trying to make conversation. Garcia had been working on her computer, carrying out Hotch's orders. She was trying to take as much time as possible, just for a chance to occupy each passing minute. The silence and the clicking of the keyboard was broken as at last, JJ's cell rang a second time. All three stared it, terrified like it was a venomous spider wanting to bite.
Carefully, JJ picked up the phone. She swallowed hard. "It's Hotch," She said, her voice cracking a bit. They all knew what this was about. Hope had dried out at the start of the hour. Riley had already started crying.
Still, though, JJ couldn't answer this call in front of her. She needed to be in a place where she could break down and doing it in front of the tormented bride wasn't fair. She got to her feet, clutching the device as it continued to ring. "I'll be right back."
"We'll be here," Garcia assured. She abandoned her computer and hurried over to the seat next to Riley, who immediately took her hand. Garcia's free one patted her shoulder as JJ disappeared through the door.
"You can't assume the worst yet, Sweetie." She said, though it wasn't fair to keep her spirits up when it was all but certain hope was gone.
Riley shook her head, her free hand brushing her tears away. "I just... I keep thinking about..."
She trailed off, but Garcia was too curious. "What?"
"The night we got engaged." Riley explained. She sniffled a bit, remembering that night. "I remember, it was really late and we were lying in bed... Spencer was holding me and... I was looking at my engagement ring..."
She looked down at her bare finger. It was so odd. Riley hadn't quite gotten used to her wedding band yet, but it felt so odd to be without her engagement ring. "I told Spencer how much I loved it and I promised I was going to wear it for the rest of my life... I remembered thinking that the rest of my life was indeed a long time... but with Spencer... it didn't feel nearly long enough." Her tearfilled eyes looked to Garcia's saddened face. "Interesting how the man you love can so easily change your whole perspective, isn't it."
"Yeah," Garcia agreed, giving a small smile. "Life can do an entire 180 in an instant... just because of him."
She nodded, struggling to keep from breaking down just yet. "I just figured, when we said 'til death do us part', I never would guess death was a week away."
It was too much. Riley covered her hand and silently sobbed, shielding out the light. Garcia tried to move closer, comforting her as much as possible. If all she go do was be here for the poor, grieving girl she could. It wasn't much, but even a little support could make the pain more bearable.
"Riley!" JJ exclaimed as she stepped quickly into the room. There were tears streaming down her face now and they couldn't be stopped.
Garcia closed her eyes as she waited to hear the news, Riley looked to her. She was prepared to hear it. It was going to devestate her, but she was ready.
To her amazement, however, JJ smiled, "They found him... he's okay."
It had to be her imagination. Tentatively, Riley got to her feet. "What?"
"They got to him in time," JJ said, stepping into the room. Garcia gapped at her, trying to comprehend this herself. "He's hurt and he's been beaten... but he's alive."
It was like an incredible weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Riley couldn't even form words, standing in shock. Her body was shaking and she felt ice cold, just waiting for someone to tell her it was a lie. She'd been preparing to hear the worst case scenario and now she didn't know how to react.
Reality finally sunk in and Riley burst into tears. "Oh... thank God," She uttered as the hopeless feeling lifted away. With it went the strength in her body and she nearly collapsed from relief.
JJ hurried forward to pull her into her arms, allowing her to cry on her shoulder. Riley clutched to her as she finally let everything go, relieved her entire world was not about to shatter around her. JJ was smiling through her tears and looked over Riley's raven curls. She caught Garcia's eye and found she was grinning, too.