When the Levee Breaks
To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
FIFTEEN
Screaming fingers found the doorknob to the cold room, and twisted it gently. Apprehensively, she stepped out, a knife from the torture rack in one hand.
She found herself inside a house, and definitely not the kind of house that she'd expect from a psychopathic sadist. Antiques lined the walls. Classic art, vases, even a sculpture or two. What she really wanted to find, though, was a phone.
She found one in what appeared to be an office. Shining green numbers on a digital clock informed her that it was a little after three AM. They would just have to suffer through being woken up.
Shaking, the screaming fingers dialled out a familiar number.
Aaron Hotchner felt his phone start to vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket, and checked the Caller ID. Number withheld. He answered it, and his face turned white.
'Garcia! Garcia? Where is she?' he yelled.
'Toilet,' shrugged Morgan. 'Who is it?'
Aaron put the phone on speaker.
'...house, a big house,' Emily's shaken voice emitted from the tiny phone speakers. Several voices spoke at once.
'Are you okay?' asked Morgan and JJ, while Rossi said, 'What else can you tell us?' Reid had fallen asleep at one point but sat up abruptly at Hotch's yelling.
'Garcia!' he yelled again. They needed a trace.
'I think...I know I spoke to him some time yesterday. A voice, I just can't place it. An office worker, I think?' her voice was weak, and they could all hear it.
'Are you okay?' Morgan asked again, eyes fearful.
'I may need a medic,' she admitted with what sounded like guilt. There was a crashing sound on the other end of the line, and Emily swore. Everyone sat up quickly.
'Garcia!' Hotch yelled again. The technical analyst entered the room at marathon speeds. 'What do you need?'
'Trace the call.'
They heard the sounds of a struggle, and a violent one at that. There was no way of knowing who was winning and who was losing. There was a clattering as the phone was picked up again. They all held their breaths in concern.
'I hope you said goodbye to your friend,' the male voice said, before hanging up, leaving the BAU in complete and total silence.
A/N: Another short one before I go to work. I wanted to get this in before I forgot about it, but I will write more in about six hours. Let this be enough for now. Don't forget to read and review. Cheers, tfm.