Note: So I was actually going to update this yesterday, but I had orientation at the aquarium where I'll be doing volunteer work this morning and I wanted to wait until after that to post.

A special thanks to my reviewers: Purplehood, ahowell1993, Meritt, hippiechic81, Pink-Libra-Girl, Gawain, Dextolan, Spxxxxx and Ludub. You guys are amazing! to p

"Do you remember me now?"

He jerks Reid out of the chair, twisting his arm behind his back, holding the knife to his neck.

Hotch clenches his fists.

Michael Greer.

He's different now. But that's not surprising, considering it's been eight years since he last laid eyes on him.

"Ah," Michael smiles, obviously seeing the change in Aaron's features. He smiles, rolling his head to the side slowly, satisfied. "So you do remember me."

"You weren't supposed to get out for another three years." Hotch speaks slowly but from in between clenched teeth. He grips the arms of his chair, unconsciously straining against the handcuffs.

"Got out early for good behaviour." He turns his head and holds the knife up to his face, still keeping a grip on Reid. "What do you think they'd think of this?"
"You're going to go back," Reid says, "and you're not going to get out this time. Is that what you really want? Kidnapping and…"

"I don't care!" the man screams, spittle flying from his lips. His grip on Reid's arm tightens and Reid falls silent with a small, nearly imperceptible, grimace of pain. "I don't care," he repeats, calmer. "I'll have taken care of you." He points the knife at Hotch. "You ruined my life! I lost my career! My wife!"

Hotch's grip on the chair arms tightens.

"You were beating your wife, Michael. You nearly killed her!" Hotch grinds out before he can help it and then realizes that that might not have been the best thing to say.

He's trying to talk him down, not set him off.

"Whore had it coming," Greer spits. "And so do you!"
Hotch takes a deep breath, and remembers what his goal is.

He needs to get Greer to let Reid go, needs to remind Greer that his grudge is against him and not Reid.

"That may be so," he says. "But it's me you have a problem with. Let Dr. Reid go."

Keep it impersonal, his gut tells him. Don't show him he has power.

It's what he got off on.

It's why he had lorded it over his wife.

It's why, even now, he was choosing Reid to bully.

"No," Greer says. He shakes his head. "No. You know why? Because I want you to suffer."

"No, that's no it." Hotch lifts his chin, fixing Greer with a firm look. "You're a coward, do you know that? It's why you bullied your wife. It's why you chose to use Dr. Reid to get me to come to you. Because you knew what would happen if you confronted me on your own without a hostage."

"You're a liar!" Greer hisses.

"I don't think so," Hotch counters. Greer's face is turning an ugly shade of red. Hotch's words are working. "Even now you use him like a shield."

"I'm not coward!"

"Then prove it," Hotch challenges. "Let him go and face me on your own."

Greer glares furiously at him, but Hotch can see his resolve wavering.

Finally, the man shoves Reid to the ground and steps over him, balling his fists.

"You think I'm a coward?"

Note: So... plot twist? I wanted this to be different from all the other Reid and Hotch stories I'd read. I'm not sure if I've succeeded or not.