Despite the fact that the heavy rain and strong winds persisted throughout the night, Hotch slept soundly, exhausted by his sexual gymnastics. When he awoke, it took him several minutes to realize why the room was dark.
"Shutters must have been put over the window to keep the rain out," he assumed.
He stretched his legs and realized that the manacle and chain were still missing. Despite his experience the previous two mornings, he still hurried to pull on his clothes and then rush over to the door. When he turned the handle, the door initially refused to budge. However, after he jiggled the handle several times and then pushed again, it immediately opened. After looking carefully in both directions, Hotch stepped out into the hallway and took a moment to get oriented.
"The way out of the building had to be to his left," he thought. So, he began hurrying along in that direction, passing several closed doors as he went.
He hadn't gotten far when two large men emerged from one of the rooms, took one look at him, and each grabbed an arm.
"Hey Man!" Hotch protested, hoping he could bluff his way out. "What are you doing? I need to get to work!" As he began struggling, he realized that each man had an iron grip on him.
"Hey 415," one of the men called out. "Look what we found!"
"We were checking for a leaky roof and we found a leaky room," the other man added with a chuckle.
"Thanks, Guys," 415 appeared from down the hallway. "The lock on that door doesn't hold as well as it should. I'm going to have to get it fixed before we use it again. If you could take him back to his room?"
"He's a strong one," one of the men commented as they half-carried, half-dragged Hotch back to his cell. "We could really use him out in the fields."
"Don't worry, you'll get him eventually," 415 assured the men as they reached Hotch's cell and thrust him inside. "It's just a matter of time."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"I understand that, despite the incident this morning, you acquitted yourself quite admirably." Mistress was sitting just inside the door to Hotch's cell talking to him. "The woman you were with was quite impressed with your performance."
"It sounded like she had been brutalized and badly hurt during her previous encounters," Hotch replied heatedly. "That should not have happened – Not to anyone!"
"And, it's not that I personally had any choice in the matter," he added hotly. "I just tried to treat her with respect."
"I appreciate your – passion – on the subject," Mistress sounded pleased. "Now – " She put an item on the tray with his lunch and slid it over to him. "This is for you."
"It's a book," Hotch realized as the tray reached him. He reached down and picked it up.
"The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper." He read the title off the old leather cover. "I've heard of it, of course, but I've never read it."
"I thought you might be getting bored in here," Mistress told him. "And, you are going to have several days to rest up before your next encounter. So, this might help you pass the time. Also, there is a picture inside the front cover you might want to look at. Just as a reminder – "
She stood up and prepared to leave. "Keep up the good work," she told him. "You might find out that you like it." After the door had closed behind her, Hotch heard the familiar sound of the lock being turned.
When he opened the cover of the book, Hotch found a picture of Jack and Jessica. Both of them looked different – Older he thought - Than the last time he had seen them, but it definitely was them.
"Just a reminder," Mistress had told him. Well, it was working.