AN: Thanks for hanging in here with me! I have been sooooooo busy that I actually had to hire someone to take my dogs to and from daycare…
There is a violence warning here and moving forward. Shocking, I know. This chapter isn't overly graphic but does mention what has happened.
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You take a deep breath, pulling yourself together. JJ has been transferred to the ICU and the doctor has warned you that it will take at least an hour or two before you can see her. They have to get her situated, but they did grant your request, rather your order, that one of your team accompany them. You were not going to leave JJ alone, not yet, not now.
Emily had gone with JJ and now you can turn your focus towards the monster who did this. You grab Morgan and Reid and the three of you mentally prepare yourselves for what you are about to do. None of you want to do this, none of you want to hear it. Each of you want to watch as he talks himself further into a hole that he has already buried himself in. But you will let him dig and dig and dig. Every word he speaks will bury him deeper. And all three of you know that, all three of you know your roles in this interview and all of you know how to compartmentalize enough to not show the emotion that you know will bubble up. You've done this enough to know your own triggers and signals, know how to calm it down so that you do not show anything to this monster.
Yet, all of you will be feeling it. And once you three leave the room, you will briefly go your separate ways to handle the information in the way you all individually do.
The three of you come to a stop at the trauma room, which, incidentally, is next to the room JJ's life was hopefully saved. You cannot help but glance over as you pass by. It has not been cleaned yet and you take in everything.
You know the ER doctor has requested that it not be touched, not be cleaned. It has been sectioned off, a guard standing outside of it. Because there is so much evidence in that room right now.
Your quick glance saw blood, a lot of it. Saw discarded medical equipment, bloodied blankets and sheets and the tape. That God-awful tape that had been used to restrain her. And the horrific weight that had been attached to her, the weight and the chain that had been tied to her ankles, caused her to sink much faster than the divers could catch her.
The evidence guys will handle it and you look over your shoulder to see them heading in. Rossi is with them; Rossi will fill you in later.
"Ready?" You turn and ask Reid and Morgan. Both men silently nod and you take a collective breath before walking in.
Your senses instantly go to high alert and you take in everything. But they hone in on the monster sitting contently on the gurney. He is restrained to the bed, unable to move very far in any direction.
"C'mon man, are the chains really necessary? I'm an injured innocent man and you feds believe it is appropriate to restrain me to the bed like this?" He smiles and lifts one arm up, you hear the familiar clink of the metal chains on the hospital gurney.
"You were grazed by a bullet to your shoulder. If it's too painful for you, let me know and I will see if I can find a substitute mommy for you to come kiss your boo boo." You bait him, knowing he will fly into a rage at this.
And he does. On cue.
"The fuck you think you are?" He yells almost immediately; his face turns a dangerous red and purple and you see him pulling on the cuffs.
"You know who I am," you counter, calmly. Further egging him on.
"You think you're hot shit just 'casue your get to wear letters on your vest?" He shouts back.
"Those letters are exactly why I have control now. Not you. Not anymore and if you ever want any semblance of control over your decisions again, you will answer my questions."
"You can't take all control from me, that is unethical and illegal. The advocates would be all up your ass if you so much as touch me." His grin grows broader.
"You do not know what we are capable of. And what advocates? As far as I know, you have nobody. You have no family or friends, you have no job as your license was revoked years ago. No neighbors, nobody would ever notice if you were to vanish from this earth. You are nothing to anyone. How are you going to get a powerful advocate, or someone who gives a damn about you, when nobody really cares that you exist?" You look at him, watching the smile fade.
"Once the media knows my name…"
"Who says we will release it? We don't have to. We have not released any information and considering the charges you are about to face, we can make sure your name is never released. The trial will have a gag order and when you are convicted, you will simply vanish from anyone's memories. You are nothing to nobody."
He stares at you and you know you have hit that nerve. "I was something to you." He growls back.
"No, Agent Jareau is something to us, not you."
"And when she dies, my name will be forever connected to her in your memory. We are forever entwined to you, you will not be able to think of her without seeing her for that last time, her body… me."
"Who says she is going to die?"
He laughs, "nobody has said it, I just know it."
And here it is, you have your in. "And why is that?"
And he rambles, on and on and on. He simply cannot stop himself, you almost see him getting happier as he talks about what he has done; as he incriminates himself. The more he recalls it, the more details he gives, the sicker you feel to your stomach.
He talks about how he initially grabbed your agent, how he simply ambushed her that horrific day and dragged her to the car before hitting her over the head with her own gun. "She went down like a sack of potatoes," he slaps his knee laughing at the memory.
He recalls the horrific details of JJ's two months in captivity, talks about he starved her, tortured her, beat her and forced her into unspeakable acts.
"Have you ever been with her, Agent Hotchner?" He grins at you. "Because let me tell you…" he whistles and you feel emotion flooding you.
"Tell us what?" You glare at him. "We know you can't get it up. Are you going to tell us how you failed, how even with her completely drugged and restrained and unable to fight? We know you had to assault her by other means because no matter how hard you tried, no matter what medications you used, nothing worked. Was she too intimidating for you, too powerful, too strong? Or were you simply scared of her and you had to nearly beat her into submission so you could try…"
He glares at you and grins before leaning closer to you, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Why don't you go watch all the videos of what I did to her? They've all been uploaded to a website. But you will need to pay to access them; they are going for thousands of dollars per view. And those videos, that money has already paid whatever price the judge sets as bail. And the money keeps coming." He leans back and crosses his arms. "You weren't the only one who got those videos, Agent. In fact, thousands have them and are enjoying them as we speak. You didn't see half of them. So, let's try this again, shall we? I have more friends then you will ever know, and those friends are paying big bucks to see those lovely live videos of a beautiful federal agent being tortured. Even more when it happens live, and then there are those who beg for their deepest fantasies to be brought upon her and shared live. It is always done provided the money is right. They will do whatever they need to continue getting those videos. It's their addiction. She is their addiction and they will stop at nothing to get her back. They will post my bail, they will guarantee my freedom and I am damn sure that if she survives, they will want their princess back. At any cost. So, let me ask you this. Did pulling her from the river and rushing her here, save her life, or just extended her torture?" He pauses as he looks at you. "Check mate, agent."