Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Criminal Minds or its characters. This is only for my and others' enjoyment.
The five of them rushed over to Garcia's bed, where she had hooked up the tablet to the laptop she always had on her. Seaver was sitting next to Garcia on the bed, so the others had to crowd around to view the screen. At first there was only darkness, but then light flooded the hallway. Heavy footsteps echoed off the concrete floor, along with the jangle of keys, as a windowless door was unlocked. The room beyond the door was dimly lit by the glow of some sort of monitor and sparsely furnished. Reid stood at the center with his arms stretched above him, wrists and ankles bound with heavy iron chains. They all let out a sigh of relief when his features were thrown into the light; sans the blindfold and gag he looked exactly as he had the last time they'd seen him, he hadn't been hurt. "What's up with the gag and blindfold?" Garcia asked. "Sensory deprivation, Baby Girl." Morgan answered, his hand tightening on her shoulder. "They want him as disoriented as possible, so he can't escape." "Oh." Garcia said, taken aback by the grim circumstances her junior G-man had gotten himself into.
"Shh, guys listen." Seaver hushed them as Reid's captor addressed him. "Hello Spencer." a cold cultured voice said. "Nice of you to finally wake up." The team watched as Reid did nothing; didn't flinch, didn't struggle against his bonds, he simply acted as if he was bored. His captor didn't seem deterred by this lack of response, if anything, he seemed amused. "Oh, the silent treatment? Don't worry, we'll see how you respond after the morning's news."
The team watched as Ian pulled up the morning's broadcast and hit play. Reid's former disinterest was replaced by an unwilling curiosity to see what his captor meant. "This is Kyra Chen reporting live. No groups have claimed responsibility for the bombing attack on the FBI Training Academy. Ten have been reported as dead with another eight in critical condition. We'll be continuing with this story at five. Reporting for News Center 4, this is Kyra Chen." "Shit!" Morgan voiced what was going through all of their heads, they could only imagine what Reid must've been thinking after hearing that. Garcia gripped Morgan's hand tighter as they watched rough hands remove their colleague's gag.
"How do I know this isn't some sort of trick?" Reid snarled in a voice full of loathing. His captor laughed mockingly, "What's the matter Spencer? Don't trust me?" Well obviously you're a sick son of a bitch, so why should I believe anything you say?" That's it kid! Don't let them get to you! "Maybe listening to this will convince you." The team exchanged confused glances at the sound of their own voices, "Seaver! Hey! Ashley!" Morgan's voice filled the room, and then BOOM! Then, "Did she ever say anything to you before tonight?" Garcia's voice, followed by Rossi's reply, "No, I had no idea she, they felt that way." And once again the sound of the explosion. And finally, "Agent Hotchner?" "Yes?" and then the irreplaceable sound of a gun firing. "He thinks we're all dead." Rossi said in a detached voice, "he thinks the cavalry isn't coming."
They all expected some form of grief to pass over their missing colleague's features, but were astounded by the lack of emotion Reid was portraying. It was as if he was waiting for a coffee or to catch the train, not as if he'd just learned his family had been taken from him. The only discernible change in his demeanor was when he snarled, "You told me if I went with you no one would be hurt." His captor laughed mockingly, "What's the matter Spencer? Upset that your precious team is dead?" Again the team waited for the tell-tale signs of grief to pass over their boy wonder's features, but there was nothing. It was as if his face had been carved out of stone, unmoving and unbreakable no matter the conditions.
"No, I'm pissed that innocent people were caught in the cross-fire. I couldn't give a damn about what happened to my colleagues." His words appeared to throw his captor off because he replied, "Really? I thought that you were close with them all. That they were your family." "Ha." Reid barked a short laugh, "that must be one fucked up family then. Let's see. Agent Morgan loves using me as his physical and psychological punching bag. Anytime he gets too pissed, he can't wait to take it out on me, but heaven forbid I come to him with any of my own problems. I'm just the nerd they rely on when the big guns can't kick down doors, it's probably the reason why I'm the one in the line of fire so much." "Tell us how you really feel kid." Rossi mumbled, hurt by the words he could only hope were not true.
"Agent Hotchner has proven time and time again that I am only a tool in his disposal, and it's a miracle he even puts up with me. When we were taken hostage by an unsub he told the unsub about how I'd failed my gun recertification and how he'd like nothing more than to kick the shit out of me for making his life miserable. Then he actually did. Oh, and let's not forget the time I was shot and went to visit him the next day. He pretty much told me that it was my fault that a deranged psychopath was targeting his family. That if I had actually tried with the profile, the unsub would be dead or behind bars by then. Agent Rossi's made it abundantly clear that he wants absolutely nothing to do with me and never will. In his mind, I'm just the freak the Bureau picked up because it would look good to have a 'genius' working there. Garcia is just happy that she's not the biggest freak there, and trainee Seaver is just some pathetic little bitch who's daddy was a serial killer."
"On their own, they could give me enough ammunition to write a book series about how they've treated me; but let's not forget what they've done to me as a group. It isn't bad enough that they're always teasing me and shutting me up, but whenever something goes wrong I am always the first one they blame. Take this case with a kid who was murdering his former bullies, I identified with him and, instead of helping me, they did all they could to paint him as the psychopath. I had to stand between my teammates and the boy just to make sure they didn't shoot him. You'd think that would've made them realize that they took the wrong approach, but no, all it got me was two months of being bitched out. Didn't matter why I did it, only that I had. So yes, I don't have any love lost for them. The world is so much better off without them in it."
"What about Agent Prentiss?" his captor asked quietly. Emily flinched at the mention of her name, and again at the coldness in Reid's voice. "What about her?" he asked.. "Surely she must care about you. She did take a beating for you two years ago." "Only because our boss told her to." Reid replied. Prentiss felt five sets of eyes turn towards her at that admission, luckily Reid had not yet finished his rant. "Believe me, she wouldn't have done it if she wasn't ordered to. The only person Prentiss gives a damn about is herself. It certainly isn't me! Sorry to ruin your plans."
"How do think this will ruin my plans?" Ian asked. They all watched Reid scoff as he retorted, "You think that by taking me, you'll force Emily to cut a deal or you'll hurt her, but you're wrong. She'll probably thank you, and ask why you didn't do it sooner. I'm sure every day I'm alive is a day she considers wasted."
JJ brought her hand up in horror as Reid's captor's response was to place a loaded revolver against Spencer's heart. "Let's test that theory." his captor said. "Go right ahead." Reid said with a bravado that broke the team's heart. The kid was being tortured yet again, with the same weapon no less, and it was all he could do to not show fear. Ian smirked at his prisoner's attempt at bravery, "Are you sure Spencer? Your heart tells a different story." "Yeah, well I think you're mistaking me being pissed with me being scared. EKG's will do that for you, they only tell you the heart rate, not why it is what it is." Reid retorted.
"Ah." Doyle chuckled, "yes, the EKG. Believe me that's only so that we can monitor your time as our guest. Wouldn't want you to be too uncomfortable. You see, if your heart rate got to increased levels, I might get worried. I might think that you're trying to undermine my abilities as a host." "No," Reid said, "you can't be monitoring my heart for only that purpose. You want to see how much of an effect your torture has on me." "Yes, but why rely on monitors for that? You see, I've become quite accustomed to feeling the beat of a terrified heart during my time in South Korea; and the steel of this gun is such a wonderful conductor for that feeling. Shall we begin?"
The team watched as Reid struggled against the gun pressed into his chest. They all flinched as Doyle spun the barrel and cocked the gun; it was too similar to what Tobias Hankle had done. One, two, three, four, five, six times he had pulled the trigger, but no bullets had ripped through Reid's heart; this was purely psychological. "Huh," Doyle said, stuffing the revolver into his waistband, "I guess I forgot to load it this time." He winked at the camera, knowing the team was watching, and that this was torture in the highest form; for both Reid and them. Both JJ and Garcia were shaking while Prentiss looked ready for another breakdown. Seaver held her head in her hands as Rossi rubbed her back, and Hotch and Morgan attempted to maintain a strong facade. Watching Reid be forced to play another game of Russian Roulette was worse than any physical beating they could have endured; yet Reid did not appear traumatized. If anything, he looked even angrier. As Doyle went to reapply his gag, Spencer spat in his face and muttered, "Go to hell!" through gritted teeth. "Don't provoke him Reid." Prentiss moaned at the video feed as Doyle grabbed his captive by the hair. Just before the video feed was cut off, they heard him hiss; "Don't worry Spencer, by the time I am done you'll be begging for me to kill you."
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