A/H: Hello again, everyone!
I'd like to give a shout-out to ahowell1993, the two Guests Martha and Kelly, Hippiechic81, tannerose5, and giderasia for reviewing Chapter 6, favoring, and following the (For)Ever After! I do appreciate it!
COLLEGE FINALS ARE FINALLY OVER! PASSED ALL MY CLASSES! YEAH-YEAH!
AND...CM'S GOING TO SEASON 14! BRING IT ON, 300!
Please, do enjoy my story and please do review; new ideas and constructive criticism are always appreciated.
Also, hope you all had a good Mother's Day!
"Hey, guys," Prentiss greeted Tara minus Alvez and Reid.
"Where's Reid?" Simmons asked.
"Hotch is with him; they're going to pick up Anastasia."
"Garcia, can you pull up the image again?" Prentiss asked him.
"Yeah."
"Does anyone know what this could mean?"
"Calvin Shaw."
Everyone turned to look at Alvez, who had just walked into the room and took a seat.
"Remember when Reid put him in solitary confinement after he stabbed himself?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, he received a note from Shaw about growing a set of eyes on the back of his head."
"You don't think…?"
"I did warn him that Reid better not get hurt again while he was in prison or I'd make him suffer and I did; I had him transferred to Michigan."
"This could also be payback. Did you get anything from Cat?"
"Do you smack her?" JJ eagerly asked.
"I will admit, I wanted to smack the smug look off the little puss," Tara answered. "But she didn't do it. In fact, she seemed genuinely happy when she found out someone else was giving Reid misery. I've never seen anyone that determined to make someone's life miserable."
"To be safe, when Reid gets back, I'm having him, and Anastasia planned in protective custody here," Prentiss started giving out orders. "I'm going to talk to Cruz about it. Luke, Matt, and Tara, head over to the prison, JJ, Rossi and I will focus on Élise's background. Let's get to work."
"Prentiss, if you don't mind, I want to take a flight to Michigan to talk to Shaw; I want to see if he wrote that note. I got my go bag."
"Sounds like a good idea."
"I promise you this, if he's involved, I'll do much worse to him."
"And when you do, I want in." Rossi declared.
"And this is where you and your precious little joy will be staying at the BAU Hotel," Garcia introduces to the room she stayed in during her time she spent when the team took on the Hitmen Network to Reid.
Anastasia was sleeping on Reid's shoulders as he was carrying her. "It'll have to do."
"Now, all you need to do is write a list of things you need, and an agent will pick up whatever you need."
"I already have a list." Reid gently sets Anastasia down on the couch, digs into his pocket and gives sheets of paper to her.
"Okay," This hardly phased her in the slightest. "We'll get you two something to sleep in soon. And I'll give you some of Élise's files."
"Thanks, Garcia." As Garcia left, Prentiss entered. Reid put his index finger to his mouth, signaling Prentiss to talk quietly as Anastasia was still napping. "So, how are you doing?"
"Hanging in there."
"Luke's on his way to Michigan to talk to Shaw about the note, Matt and Tara are on their way to the prison to talk to some inmates, and I've asked Cruz if Hotch can help consult with us on Élise's disappearance."
"Good."
"This won't be like last time with..." Prentiss was hoping to reassure him, but the look on Reid's face was doubtful. "If you want to sit out…"
"No." His voice tone was a quiet determination. "I want to help find Élise and I don't care if it takes us days, weeks, months, years even, to find her."
Prentiss was about to say something when they both noticed Anastasia was starting to wake up. "I'll give you two a moment to be alone. And I'll have Garcia give you the files from her apartment." Soon after leaving the room, Reid sat down on the couch and placed Anastasia on his lap, wrapping her arms around her.
"Hey there, Anastasia," Whispering to her. "I have to tell you something. Looks like we're on a semi-vacation; we're going to be staying here for a while, but I promise you this: it wouldn't be for very long, okay?" Kissing the top of her head. "I'll do whatever I can to make sure this wouldn't be for very long?"
"Okay," Prentiss got straight to work with Rossi and JJ by her side; Garcia just walked into the room again. "Now that Reid and Anastasia are settled in, let's look at the files Élise kept in her home office."
"But first, let's think about victimology for a second," JJ proposed. "Why Élise?"
"Well, she only has three neighbors and according to them and the tenant, she was always quiet, paid her rent on time but they all weren't home, and they probably wouldn't notice."
"You think the Unsub knew that?"
"If the Unsub did stalk her, it's possible that he knew."
"Any idea how he got in?"
"No. I don't think techs found anything and her security system wasn't alarmed."
Garcia hacked into Élise's security code time records. "The last time it was set alarmed was…about a few hours before she disappeared. I can't seem to find anything else. I just can't believe she's been missing for almost two days."
"A home is where you're supposed to feel safe," Prentiss sadly said as she looked at the pictures. This reminded her of a case from nearly a decade ago. "No one deserves to have that taken away from them."
"Well, well, well," Luke said with a smile on his face as he confronted the former FBI agent and sat down. "If it isn't Calvin Shaw."
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the mouth-breather himself." Shaw shot back at him along with a smug smile.
"What up with the bum shoulder?" Luke wondered as he took a notice. "Someone rough you up?"
"One of those days. How's Reid's doing? He finally grew a set of eyes on the back of his big head?"
"I figured you say that, wiseass."
"If you figured that out, wiseass, why'd you come here?"
Luke pulls out a picture of Élise and Shaw takes a quick look. "Who's she?"
"I think you know who she is."
"Well, give me some details about her and maybe we'll talk."
"Her name's Dr. Élise Bastien and she's been missing for a few days now." Luke hands Shaw another photograph, this time with her and Reid. Shaw started to chuckle to himself. "Something funny to you?"
"The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. He sweet on her?"
"You know anything about her disappearance?"
"Nope."
"And I believe you because…? I mean, according to Reid, you send him a note saying he should grow a set of eyes at the back of his head." Luke pulls out the sealed note and tosses it across the table. "So, you didn't write this note?"
"I did write the one before his release, I'll admit that, but not this time and I'm already in prison, dude. You got what you wanted, right? And why haven't you brought Dr. Reid to come for a visit one of these days?"
"And forget about the last time? No way in hell. Now, did you have anything to do with her disappearance?"
"What more would I have to do? Like I said, I'm already in prison, I barely see my kid. What more can you do?"
"Well, allow me to make myself clear," Luke warned him as he stood up. "If I knew you had anything to do with her disappearance, I will do far worse to you than what I did to you. Let's just say I know some people who could, oh, I don't know, arrange more people you help put away before your days as an FBI agent ended, perhaps maybe…the ones who would be…so looking forward to seeing you again. I could do that. I am not the one you want to cross"
"I didn't do anything."
"Yeah, let's hope not. Guard!"
"Uh," Simmons groaned as he left the prison with Tara. "I have to give Reid credit. I don't know how the hell he survived in there."
"Agree. And thanks for taking care of those two scumbags who assaulted Reid and his friend. Had anyone else on the team saw them, hell, if Luke saw them…"
"Anytime," Matt said as he answered his phone. "Simmons. Hey, Luke. You got anything?"
"As much as I hate to admit this, he claims he knows nothing about Élise's disappearance."
"Same on our end; some of those guys told us to tell Reid 'hi' for them. And I'm not talking about a friendly 'hi.'"
"We're not getting anywhere with this. Why Élise out of all people?" Tara thought as she answered her phone. "Lewis here. What? Alright, we'll be right there. Matt, tell Luke to take the next flight back and quick."
"Did something happen?"
Tara and Matt rushed right back into the bullpen room. They did not even notice Reid was not in the room with them. "Luke's on his way back and we got your message."
"What happened?"
"Pull it up, Garcia." The second Garcia pulled the image up on the screen,
"Oh, god."
"The unsub…"
"…Held Élise at gunpoint in her own apartment."
"And…that's not the only one Reid got."
Despite the overwhelming nausea that went through her stomach, the massive headache she was experiencing and the allover slugging pain to her body, she woke up to the sound of a loud shriek. She was just glad the noise didn't damage out her eardrums. Now, she was starting to see water pooling by her feet. She ignored the pain and pulled herself up. Her wrists and ankles were still in chains and it was still dark.
And soon finds herself being sprayed down by a powerful hose.
"Oh!" The water was hitting Élise so hard she lost her footing and fell to the cold hard ground. "Stop! Stop!"
"Have you had enough?" It said to her.
"Please! Stop!"
"Mmm, let me think about it…"
"SSSSSSTTTTTTOOOOOOPPPPPP!"
Finally, the water spraying stop.
Then came again the loud shriek. Élise could barely focus on anything else other than being sprayed down with water like she was some damn garden in need of hydration. Like cold little needles stabbing her entire body. She started to shiver, her teeth chattered, slow and shallow breathing. She couldn't think about anything but the pain.
She just wanted the pain to stop.
"Why?" She slurry ask.
"Why not?"
Élise wasn't paying attention to the black rods it had in their hands.