The elevator opened its doors on the sixth floor. Six exhausted, and disheveled people, moved off the car and into the entryway outside the double glass doors.
The Department Of Justice logo engraved on the doors of the Behavior Sciences Department obscured the bull pen, unless you knew how to look around the reminder that this was a Federal building inside a military base. This group of people made it an art form to look behind what was seen on the outside.
They walked single file into the bullpen. The tall, dark haired man with piercing dark eyes watched his team drop their ready bags next to their desks. He didn't give them time to decompress or even sit down to paperwork that awaited them.
"Everyone, I need you all in the round table room, now!" At Hotch's order, they trooped up to the room, followed by Garcia who been watching them come into the bullpen by way of the security cameras.
"I can't find anything sir." Garcia was wringing her hands and pacing while they sat down around the table.
"It's okay Garcia. Why don't you sit down?"
"Thank you sir."
She took her seat next to Morgan, who was slumped down in his chair. She touched his arm and he looked over at her. He gave her a very weak smile.
"We'll find him mama."
"Yes we will… Morgan I want you and Emily to go to his apartment immediately. Go through everything!"
"Sir, Kevin told me that Agent Calloway's team has been assigned Reid's case. Shouldn't was talk to them?"
"I'll talk to Calloway. I need you to get into Reid's lap top. I want to know who he's been talking to. I want to know every site he's visited in the last thirty days."
"But sir, should we invade his privacy like that."
"Yes!" His face softened a tiny bit at her stricken look. "We need to look into everything if we're going to find him."
"Yes sir."
"Dave, one of us has to talk to Strauss."
"I'll have a go at it. You know what she's going to say."
"I know, but I'm willing to go all the way on this, including losing my job."
"We all are, Hotch." Emily and Garcia nodded in agreement at Morgan's observation.
Hotch looked over at Jordan who'd been very quiet. "You don't have to risk your job. It's not your fault that this happened while you're filling in for JJ."
"With all due respect sir, this team is a family anyone can see that. I'll do what I have to do."
"Alright, let's get to work."
They filed out, moving much faster then they had upon entering the bull pen. Garcia brought up the rear and was stopped by a hand on her arm. "Don't worry baby-girl, he'll understand."
"I know Derek, I just hate this."
"Morgan's right, we have to do everything we can to find him." Hotch favored her with a real smile and she beamed back. "Then why are we standing here. Let's get to work.
---
Kevin put down the phone next to his bank of computers and monitors. "That was Jasper. The gang is back and they don't look happy!"
Agent Curtis had just returned to the room from dealing with Ramirez and his eye. "I didn't think they would be." She ran a hand through her hair, which was beginning to look like she just got out of bed.
"They found Reid." He announced.
"I know Lynch, I have to get in there now and make sure they didn't get too rough with him."
"How did a nurse get to be a profiler?" Kevin asked.
"I don't recall ever intimating that I wanted to be your friend."
"Just asking."
"Well don't ask!" She left the room and didn't hear him curse her under his breath.
---
Reid woke up with a screaming headache. He turned over and so did his stomach. He managed not to throw up, but it was a close thing. Bile made his stomach and throat burn. He wondered where he was till the same, damn, cloud painted sky came into view.
"Hello Dr Reid. You shouldn't have tried to run away."
Reid raised his head, fighting down the nausea again. His arm and his knee were burning with pain. He gritted his teeth against the groan that wanted to escape his belly.
"You must be in real pain. Agent Curtis is very well trained, thanks to the US military. She'll be in here to tend to you. You should have stayed here instead of trying to leave."
"Screw you!" Reid said through a thigh jaw.
"Now Dr Reid, that's not very nice of you. I would've thought that someone with your large vocabulary could come up with something much less pedestrian."
"Does the phrase, 'f-off,' mean anything to you?"
"Tsk, Tsk, Dr. Reid. I'm very disappointed in you."
"I don't care. I'm done cooperating with you."
When Calloway began to laugh, Reid forced his body to sit up on the bed. His ribs protested, and his head spun, but he pushed up anyway. "You'll cooperate with me."
"No I won't…"
"You will!"
"We can argue all day but I know that you won't hurt anyone I know. They're empty threats and words. If you let me out of here now, I'll testify to diminished capacity and you might get out of jail in seven years."
Calloway strode across the room and hit Reid in the face. Pain exploded in his cheek, but he bit back another scream. Instead, he made himself smile up at his captor.
"I knew you'd snap and hit me eventually. Guys like you can't help themselves."
Calloway was standing there with his hands in fists at his side. His chest was heaving and his eyes were blazing. He didn't look sane, but he wasn't anywhere near as frightening to Reid as Tobias, or even Cyrus had been. He was pathetic.
"I told you that torture and physical pain don't work on me. I even managed to ignore your attempt to get me to shoot up again. What else are you going to do?"
"I apologize for hitting you Dr. Reid. I abhor violence of any kind. I feel if you have to resort to acts of violence, you've failed."
"I agree."
"That being said, I don't have a problem with psychological torture."
"That won't work on me."
"I think it will!"
Kevin entered the room as if right on cue. He was carrying a lap top which he set up on the coffee table and left without a word to Reid or Calloway. Reid tried to catch his eye, but the other man wouldn't look at him.
"What's this?"
"This is going to be your best friend for the as long as you are here. You see, I have another guest and I want you to be able to see each other."
Reid slid off the bed at Calloway's 'come over here' gesture. The floor seemed to be slanted for some reason. Perhaps he had a concussion from falling and getting hit by one of Calloway's goons.
The screen of the lap top showed a black and white picture of a room that looked like his. Standing in the middle of the room was Austin. Stark was there with her and he had an arm around her. A knife was in his hand and held to her throat.
"Spencer…" She screamed through her tears.
Reid tried to go for the door, but Calloway stopped him with a word. "I'll kill you and let Stark have your girl."
"Leave her alone. Please just let her go."
"I don't think so."
"Spencer!" She screamed again.
"Dr. Reid…" Stark was looking right into the camera. "Your girl is very beautiful. It would be a pity to damage her lovely face." He moved the knife to just below her right eye.
"I'll kill you both!"
"Temper, temper, Dr. Reid," Calloway neatly sidestepped when Reid ran at him. The younger man fell into the wall and then to his knees on the carpet.
"Where is she?"
"Now you know better then that." Calloway's gun hand was steady as Reid climbed to his feet. "Don't worry, you're little girlfriend is just fine. I believe she's sleeping."
"I said… Where is she?"
"She's down here with us. Don't even think about trying to find her. There are too many hallways, and too many rooms to search, and too many cameras to avoid. Even with your big brain, you'd never figure out where she is. Now, get to work on that case. The sooner you give me something to work with, the sooner you'll get to talk to your girl. Meanwhile, Stark will keep an eye on her. I'm sure he'll enjoy that, she's very beautiful. What did you have to do to get her attention?"
"Shut up!"
"Did I strike a nerve, Dr. Reid?"
"Don't talk about her!"
Reid limped to his usual seat on the couch. He couldn't take his eyes off the monitor or Austin.
"You must be a very smooth talker to get her attention."
"You don't know anything about me."
"I know more then you think I do. I know that you've never had a real girlfriend. I know that this Austin is someone you met on the job. She lives hundreds of miles away from you, just like Lila Archer.
"You don't know anything."
"I think it's interesting that you tend to attract women that are geographically undesirable. Is that because you're afraid of women Dr. Reid?"
"Your tricks won't work on me."
"Your voice is shaking Dr. Reid."
"We're not going to play this game?"
"Yes we are… Now back to the lovely Austin. Does she know you're a virgin Dr. Reid?"
Reid began to laugh, "Is that the best you can do Calloway?
Calloway's gun hand was shaking, but his face was as impassive as Hotch on his best day. "Okay, no more games."
"I don't believe you."
"Give me a name and I'll let your girl go. She hasn't seen our faces yet. I'll even let you talk to her so you can convince her that you never want to see her again."
Don't do it. You need her!
"I won't cooperate with you."
"Then you'll both be down here forever. And the only way you'll ever see her again is through this monitor. Oh by the way, don't try to use the lap top. There's nothing on the hard drive but the program that runs the cameras to her room. Kevin's made sure that you can't tamper with them or send any messages. You might be a good profiler, but I know you aren't a computer wiz."
"Just get out of here."
"Why so testy Dr. Reid?"
"Get… Out… Of … Here!"
"I'll leave you to your thoughts."
Calloway left, locking the door behind him. Reid leapt from his chair and limped as fast as he could to the bathroom. He threw up everything that was left from his last meal. He stayed on his knees by the toilet long after it flushed away the contents of his stomach.
When he was able to get to his feet, he looked in the mirror. The eyes looking back at him as he washed out his mouth were hopeless. How was he going to find Austin and get out of this now?