Lunch and Leverage

It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?: - Winnie the Pooh

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine

A/N: This chapter was written under the influence of far too many pain killers. Sorry.

"Wake him up. I want him to die knowing about it."

They grabbed Reid by the collar of his shirt and pulled his head and shoulders up out of the murky water. A slap around the face fed back no results. He was dropped back into the filthy bloodied water and turned over face down.

Spencer knew they were moving him but was disorientated. He couldn't remember where he was anymore – or why he was there. He just knew deep down that he had done something to deserve what was happening. This was payback for all he had done. This was because he watched Aaron in pain and lied and let it continue.

He felt them pull him out of the water and he felt the hand around the face but he couldn't respond to it. He wanted to. He wanted to scream and shout and make them stop but all he could do was stare into the dim light of the room and listen to the voices.

As they dropped him back into the water his head caught the edge of the bath and put stars in the darkness for him for the shortest of whiles. He felt them turn him over and push his face down into the cold water he had been laying in.

It was now that his body allowed him to react. He pulled his head up out of the water and placed his hands on the edge of the bath. He kicked with his feet trying to gain some kind of grip and get him self to kneel and he begged them to stop. In his confused mind this was Aaron. This was payback for what he had done.

"I'm s s sorry."

The words drifted out to Hotch who was laying on the carpet in the next room.

"I'm sorry Aaron. Please don't d d do this."

Hotch wanted to shout back but all he could do was lay and listen. Again the tears of anger welling up behind his dark eyes. He could hear Reid's cries of pain and he could hear wood on flesh. He listened to Reid begging him to stop and the sound of him struggling against the water.

Spencer felt him self being turned over again. Nothing really hurt anymore. All he could feel was something connecting with his face and his jaw feeling wrong. He begged Aaron to stop again. He asked him to let him explain. He spat out blood and teeth as something hard hit him again across the mouth and then the smashing sensation as it caught the top of his head.

Reid's moans and whimpers and cries stopped. He lay in the bath of gradually darkening water and stared upwards. For a while his hands and legs twitched. He blinked once.

-o-o-o-

Hotch lay and cried. He bit on his bottom lip until it bled. He wanted to get up and shout out to Spencer that it was alright, that it wasn't him doing this to him, but all he could do was lay and listen to Spencer beg him to stop. He could hear his voice becoming muffled and slurred. He could hear the sound of something making contact with him and the he heard the silence. The click of the light being turned off. The sound of the door being closed and now he could see the man with the bat returning.

"Get him sitting up and awake. I need him to listen to what we have to say."

They pulled him up by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the wall. Aaron stared passed the abductors to what was left of Reid on the other side of the room. He felt hot angry tears begin to creep out and walk slowly down his bloodied face.

"Can you hear me Hotchner?"

He nodded slowly.

"Good good. You are going to do what we say."

Aaron licked his lips. "You lost your leverage." His voice was shaky and quiet, but loud enough for them to hear him.

"No we haven't. You just can't see the full picture yet. I am going to make a call and you are going to talk to someone. You will tell that someone to bring the child here. If you don't do what we tell you to do you will learn the true meaning of horror. Do you understand me?"

"As I said – you killed your leverage. Floyd doesn't care what happens to me. I'm not the one he wants. I'm not the one he would give his life for. You just eliminated that person." His voice was gaining some of its strength again now.

"And as I said – you can't see the full picture yet. When you can you will understand."

He turned to one of this hench men and pointed to a large work box and bag on the floor. "Take those and start preparing it. Strip it down and bring its things out here. I have use for them."

The man picked the things up off the floor and started to walk.

"Wait. Wait – what are you doing?" Hotch's stomach began to turn over with the million sick thoughts going through his head.

"Leverage Hotchner." He turned to the man with the box. "Get to it. This agent here needs to know how serious we are about this. Strip it and bring its things out here." The man nodded.

Aaron heard the bathroom door open and the click of the light switch being pulled and then the door being closed again.

-o-o-o-

The safe house was in fact an apartment. Floyd was awake but not quite with it as they helped him down the passage way towards room 1408. He tried to walk. He didn't like to show a weakness but his legs kept being very disagreeable and collapsing under him. He could faintly hear Rosa talking to him in a worried little girl's voice. He could hear encouragement from Morgan and Rossi. This wasn't the time or place to admit to Agent Derek Morgan that he was anything less than perfect and so he attempted again to pull himself up off the floor and walk. The wall was a good help here. One hand on the wall and one hand on the shoulder of his daughter he walked slowly onwards.

"We really need to be quicker, man. Let me help you." Derek moved to take the place of Rosa.

Floyd turned his head slowly towards Morgan and just stared. It was enough to get him to back off a bit.

"I can – I can do this." And again he was on his knees. He put a hand to his chest where he had been shot and pressed it hard. "I will be – I will be fine. Just let me do this." He used the dado rail on the wall to pull him self up to his feet again. For a while he just stood with his eyes closed. His head spinning. "Shit my face hurts." And his hand left Rosa to touch the side of his face.

Morgan saw him begin to slide along the wall and his knees buckle under him again. He moved forward and put his hands under Floyd's arms keeping him upright.

"I don't care if you can do this or not Flanders. You're not doing it fast enough. We need to move now." He got no resistance as he took over from Rosa and pulled Floyd's arm over his shoulder and walked them faster down the corridor. Rossi picked up Rosa and walked on next to them.

Armed officers were standing outside the room when they arrived and they let them into the room they were meant to be safe in.

As soon as they were in the door Floyd pulled his arm away from Morgan and allowed himself to fall back to the floor. "Leave me now. Just go and leave me. Rosa – here girl – let me hold you."

"There is a bedroom." Rossi let him know.

"I want to stay here. Go – leave me." He put his arms out for Rosa who let Floyd pull her down next to him as he rolled over onto his side and curled up protectively around his girl.

Morgan and Rossi left them there for now and made sure the door was secured. Then they checked out the rest of the apartment. They stood for a while and listened to the strange noises coming from the two people laying curled up around each other on the floor.

"There is something really not right about that." Morgan stood and looked at them.

"This is not the norm for him?" Rossi stood and watched with him.

Derek shook his head. "I personally have never seen him like this before – Never seen him this weak before."

-o-o-o-

A pile of bloody soggy clothing was dropped in front of Aaron. He was sure his heart stopped beating for a while as he looked at Reid's shirt and the one green and one blue sock dropped on the top.

"We mean business Hotchner."

"I won't bend to your threats. Anything you could have used against me here you have destroyed. There is nothing else you can do. You murdered an innocent young man to try to get your own way. Well it's done. You haven't got the girl. There is nothing else Floyd holds that dear to him. You made a bad mistake doing that. He doesn't have feelings for me beyond the fact I was comfort to Reid."

He would have continued but a sudden noise from the bathroom made him stop. He tried to get up and move to see what they were doing but was pushed back to the wall again. "Where do you think you are going Hotchner?"

"What in hells name are you doing?" The sounds of hacking and sawing were coming from the echoing bathroom.

"Getting lunch ready. Nice and tender and no fat. Oh my – the thought is making my mouth water." Iolanda wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "I wanted a taste of him before, but he was so diseased and rotting from the insides but that's all changed now!" He kissed his finger tips. "You will join me for lunch Hotchner."

Aaron leaned forward and brought up anything he had in his stomach onto the floor in front of him.

"That Hotchner, is very bad manners. Are you refusing my invitation?"

"You are insane if you think I am going to devour parts of Reid."

"Then I am insane." He pushed Reid's clothing out of the way and sat down on the floor next to Aaron. "You see, you will deliver my message to Flanders senior or you will be forced to eat various body parts."

"I won't deliver your message. He won't give you his daughter."

"I can – however – hold you down and force you to eat tender parts of the man you let die."

-o-o-o-

When Morgan's phone bleeped his snatched it off his belt and spoke quickly. "You have good news for me Baby Girl?"

'I found where Reid booked in.'

He took the information from her and looked over at Rossi. "Now what? We can't leave these two here alone."

"You stay here with him. I will go with SWAT to find Reid and maybe Hotchner. I'll send an officer in here with you. Can you persuade him to get up and move to the bedroom or something?"

Derek watched Rossi leave and the officer join them. The door was once again secured from the inside.

"Stay by the door. Let nobody in." The officer nodded and took up guard position to the side of the door. Morgan went to Floyd and Rosa. "I really need you two to move."

A hand from Floyd moved out from around Rosa towards Morgan. "Where to?"

"Just across the hallway. You are in the line of fire here, man. Rosa is in danger if you stay here."

The hand returned to Rosa and started to push her away. "Go with Derek sweetheart. I will follow."

Reluctantly she got to her feet and followed Morgan through the open doorway. He moved slowly. Not able yet to get to his feet. His brain not functioning properly. His body not doing what his brain was asking it to do. Derek came back and took hold of an arm.

"There is no shame in being injured. Let me help."

He looked up at Morgan. "Something has happened to Spence. I can feel it. We are losing him Derek."

Derek half dragged Floyd to the bedroom and hauled him onto the bed. He lay where Morgan put him. "They are on their way over there now Flanders. You just worry about yourself right now. Get yourself better – quickly. Is there anything you need?" But it seemed already that the two of them were lost again in their own world – tangled up together and holding on tightly.

-o-o-o-

He held a cell phone in one hand and a strip of meat in the other.

"Make the call."

Hotch just stared at the thing in front of him. He thought Floyd was bad. He thought he would never meet anything so twisted and vile as him, but this? This was beyond anything.

"Make the call or have lunch with me." Aaron watched him slide the bit of raw flesh into his mouth and then chew slowly. "Sweet. He tastes so sweet. Please join me. A final goodbye."

Had Hotch wanted to say something he would have been unable to. If he had opened his mouth then he would have screamed and the scream would have been eternal. He knew if he started now he would never stop. He couldn't let this man see how close he was to breaking.

"Make a call."

"No."

He was pushed back onto the floor – laying partly in Reid's clothing and partly in his own vomit. They put feet on his hand and on he knees and someone tried to force open his mouth.

Aaron looked up at the slither of meat held above him. "Open up Hotchner. Say goodbye to Reid." A kick in the groin finally forced Aaron to open his mouth in a long drawn out scream of horror as the slither of meat slipped between his lips.