Note: So just a point of clarification, which I forgot to make known when I posted the first chapter. This does take place in season two, but it's before the Hankel case. Revelations has not occurred yet.
The rest of the team (or at least some of them) will be showing up later on, but the focus will stay on Hotch and Reid.
Thank you to my reviewers: meritt, tannerose5, San child of the wolves, Dextolan, Ludub and Gawain.
Hotch has his gun drawn when he reaches Reid's apartment twenty minutes later.
He prepares to kick down the door, but then notices that it's already left open a crack.
An invitation.
One he has no choice but to accept.
He realizes how foolish this is, going into an unknown situation without backup present, but right now he doesn't care.
Hotch pushes the door open.
The first thing that registers is the mess. Shattered glass on the floor.
There was a fight.
And one that likely didn't end well for Reid.
"Whoever you are," he calls, "I'm here."
It's stupid, calling out to warn an unsub of his presence, but if the man knows he's arrived, there's a chance he won't hurt Reid any more than he already has.
There's a chance, there's always the chance, that Reid might get hurt anyways, but Hotch is going to do what he can to ensure that that doesn't happen.
No one answers him. The apartment is deathly still.
Hotch feels an involuntary shiver rush its way up his spine at the unconscious use of the word "deathly."
He steps inside, gun held out in front of him.
The attacker is waiting for him, somewhere inside, which means he needs to be ready.
The apartment, however, is silent. No sign of human activity.
Hotch wonders briefly if the assailant has already taken Reid elsewhere.
His eyes fall on several spots of blood scattered across the hardwood floor and he feels a pang of anxiety.
Unless he managed to get a few good hits in at his attacker, Reid has been hurt.
There isn't a lot though. Not enough for it to have been fatal, or even serious, and it's most likely a result of the broken glass, Hotch reasons.
It's still enough to worry him.
He ventures further into the apartment.
It seems disturbingly empty.
Either the intruder is lying in wait for him, or he's already left.
Considering the phone call, the former is the more likely.
The living room is empty, aside from the signs of a struggle.
So is the kitchen.
He enters the hallway.
There are only a few doors: the bathroom and, presumably, the bedroom.
The bathroom is small, the door left open wide enough for him to easily see there's no one in there.
That leaves the bedroom.
Hotch pauses a moment just outside the door. His training is kicking in and he's unwilling to burst in without having some idea on what to expect.
Finally, he takes a step forward…
… and freezes.
"Reid!"
The younger agent has been positioned in the center of the room, in a chair that's likely been dragged there from the kitchen area.
His hands have been bound behind him and there's a strip of duct tape stretched across his mouth.
Aside from the trail of mostly dried blood leaking down the side of his face, Reid seems to be unharmed.
Automatically, he lowers his weapon to rush to the younger man's side.
Reid's eyes widen and he shakes his head, whatever sound he tries to make muffled behind the tape.
Something slams into the back of his head, sending him to the ground and knocking his gun from his hand.
Groaning, he reaches blindly for it.
"Agent Hotchner," the same voice he heard over the phone speaks from above him, "so good of you to join us."
A kick to the back of his head sends him reeling into darkness.