Hotch lay back on his cot and waited and waited and waited some more in the utter silence of his cell. He spent the remainder of the day alone, waiting. No food was brought to him and no one visited him. He was grateful, however, to notice that the water in the small sink in his cell was still running, even if it was barely dripping. He recognized the technique - Isolate the subject and make them sweat. Well, he could play that game too.
The next morning again began with his waking up to the sun shinning through his small window. His usual morning ablutions were completed rather slowly because of the lack of water pressure and then, after an abbreviated set of morning exercises, Hotch settled down on his cot to begin some visualizations in an attempt to distance himself from his growing hunger. He began with Jack's last soccer game and then moved on to some soccer plays he and Rossi had developed and were teaching the players on Jack's team. He had finished reviewing the plays and had moved on to replaying his most recent movie night with Jack, when they had watched Jack's favorite movie while eating popcorn, when he thought he heard something outside the building.
By standing up on his cot and stretching, Hotch thought he could hear what sounded like girls' voices, laughing and chattering away. He was about to call out to them when the voices faded as quickly as they has begun. As he climbed back down off the cot, Hotch wondered whether perhaps he had imagined them. Shaking his head, he resumed visualizing his evening with Jack.
The rest of the day passed slowly and Hotch could feel the hunger pains gnawing at his stomach as he finally fell asleep on his hard cot.
It was mid-way through the next morning when the door to his cell finally opened. While Hotch could admit to himself that he was hungry, he also kept reminding himself that 415 had told him that the last thing anyone wanted to do was to kill him.
"So, 751, how are you today?" Mistress stood in the doorway looking in at him.
"About what you would expect for someone who is being starved to death," Hotch replied calmly. "Weak but awake."
"And, my name is Special Supervisory Agent Aaron Hotchner," he added heatedly.
"Perhaps in some other place," the woman told him. "But not here. Here you are merely number 751. Now, I just stopped by this morning to bring you something." She put some 8 x 10 photos on the floor and pushed them over to Hotch.
"In case you are interested," she added. "These were taken quite recently."
Hotch picked up the pictures and stared at the top one. "This is my son, Jack," he identified the subject of the picture. "Are you watching him, too?"
"He's not the only one," was the calm reply. "Why don't you look further?"
Hotch looked at the next picture and then the one after that. He then looked up at Mistress. "You are also watching my sister-in-law, Jessica?" he asked incredulously. "And my friend JJ's son, Henry?"
"It's relatively easy to do now that they have more or less resumed their normal schedules," he was told. "And, we could easily pick-up one, two, or all three of them."
"Bring them here?" Hotch demanded. "Put them in jail too?"
"Not here," was the thoughtful reply. "The people we hire to locate and make our acquisitions are always on the lookout for new members. I think that Master Jack would fit right in with them as a new apprentice. And, as for sister-in-law Jessica, they can always find a use for an attractive woman – If you know what I mean. Now, as for young Master Henry, I am sure they can find a place for him on their team, too."
"So, you are threatening to kidnap my son, my sister-in-law, and my friend's son, and turn them over to the pirates who brought me here," Hotch summarized. "You are forgetting that since I have been kidnapped they probably have federal protection."
"We would be giving them a new home and teaching them a profession," was the correction. "And, can you tell me how long you have been missing? Look at Jack and then take a guess. Any protection they have will probably be gone shortly."
Hotch squinted at the photo. "Jack needs a haircut," he observed. "And, he had one just before I left. And, I don't recognize that shirt he is wearing."
He quickly examined the other two photos. "I can't really tell," he said slowly. "But I get the impression that Jessica has changed something – Maybe the color of her hair or something like that – "
"Well, 751," Mistress stood up to go. "You need to make a decision. Are you going to become a part of our community or do you want us to begin capturing your family and resituating them in new homes – Starting with Jack? Think it over carefully. I'll be back"
She walked out of the room and Hotch could hear the lock being secured behind her.