NOTE: I do not own Criminal Minds or the characters within.

CHAPTER 1

Spencer Reid groaned into his pillow at the sound of his alarm clock screeching in his ear. His right hand flung out from under his duvet and patted around his bedside cabinet until his hand stopped the source of the shrill sound that had disturbed his sleep. He opened one eye and peeked at the clock. It read 06.00am. With a sigh, Reid threw back his duvet and succumbed to getting out of bed into the cold and making his way into his en suite, closing the mahogany door behind him. He turned on the shower and allowed the water to crash into the basin as the water heated up. Reid leaned against the cold ceramic of the sink as he stared into his reflection. The dark circles around his hazel eyes appeared more prominent, a dark stubble adorned his chiselled jaw and his light brown hair hung in curls down to the bottom of his neck. As steam began to fill the bathroom and obscure his reflection, Reid slipped off his button up pyjamas and stepped into the shower, the hot water instantly pounding off his skin.

Feeling refreshed and more awake after his shower, Reid walked back to his bedroom with a towel around his waist and opened his closet. The goosebumps on his arms made him wish he had taken his clothes into the bathroom with him. Shivering, Reid selected a lavender dress shirt, navy cardigan, smart black trousers and a navy silk tie and slung them carelessly onto his untidy bed. Reid quickly changed into his clean clothing and sat down on the edge of his bed whilst he dug through his sock drawer for his usual mismatched colourful socks. He pulled on his socks and made his way through the lounge to the kitchen.

Reid switched on the coffee machine, the sweet sound of bubbling filling his ears and retrieved a travel mug from the cupboard above his head. As the coffee machine worked its magic, Reid returned to the lounge and pulled on his converse shoes, then pocketed his credentials and holstered his revolver. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee pricked at Reid's senses, drawing his attention back to the kitchen. Reid sniffed in deeply and sighed happily at the smell of the coffee. He returned to the kitchen and poured coffee into the travel mug, followed by a generous heap of sugar. Reid checked his watch to see that it was 06.30am. He quickly approached his front door and grabbed his black blazer and tan leather satchel from the hook behind the door. He set his travel mug down on the unit beside the bowl that held his keys and shouldered his jacket and his satchel. He grabbed his keys from the bowl, picked up his coffee and made his way out of his apartment.

The walk to the subway was short but cold. The autumn sun hung low in the sky making Reid shield his eyes. It was days like this when he wished he had the energy to fix up his car. Reid hitched his satchel further onto his shoulder and pulled his jacket further around himself. With a jog, Reid descended into the subway station. The platform was not particularly busy but several people were waiting, mostly people dressed in suits heading to work just like himself. Reid took a sip of his coffee and glanced around. It was quiet except for the occasional whistle of wind through the subway.

Reid felt the presence of a man come up close behind him but did not think anything of it until he felt something press into his side. His breath caught in his throat as his Adam's apple bobbed once. Eyes wide, Reid continued to stare straight ahead, afraid to move or speak. The man moved closer until his lips were close to Reid's left ear, breath smelling like stale cigarette smoke. The man's right hand reached around Reid's waist and removed his revolver from his holster before putting it in his leather jacket pocket.

"Not a word, Dr Reid. You're going to turn around and walk out of here as normal. If you alert anyone, I will shoot the first person I see". Reid slowly turned, his knuckles white as he tightly gripped his travel cup. The man snatched the cup from his hand and dropped it into a nearby trash can with a clunk. Reid gulped as if he had watched his entire life force slip from his fingers. Stiffly, Reid continued to walk forward with the gun pointing at his back from inside the pocket of the man behind him.

A surge of rage welled within his chest and he turned to the man, throwing his weight at him and knocking him off his feet. Reid tried to wrestle the gun from the man whilst people watched in horror at the two men grappling on the floor. Reid smashed the man's hand against the tiled floor, sending the gun scattering. Reid stumbled to his feet to try and claim the gun. The man dived on Reid's back, sending him crashing stomach first onto the floor and hitting his cheekbone on the tiles. The man flipped Reid over onto his back where he could see that the man's face was obscured by a black woollen balaclava with only dark brown orbs for eyes peeking through. Reid tried to hit out at the man but his wrists were too easily brought together and pinned above his head by the man with one hand, whilst his other picked up the gun. The man brought the butt of the gun down hard on Reid's head. Black spots danced in front of Reid's eyes as he quickly succumbed to darkness, his head falling limply against the floor. Blood trickled from his temple into his hair. The man took Reid's credentials and phone from his pocket and put them in the satchel, then removed the satchel from the unconscious man's shoulder. A few nearby people screamed as the man was easily able to pick up Reid's limp form and over his shoulder like he was carrying a sack of potatoes. He briskly continued walking out of the subway, dropping Reid's satchel into a trash can on the way.

Reid wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious for, but as he slowly wrenched his eyes open, he felt a sudden wave of impending doom. As the black spots started to shift from his vision, he became acutely aware that he was surrounded by darkness and a hard surface underneath where he lay. His head throbbed with each pulse and the side of his face felt sticky. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Reid was able to work out that he was in the trunk of a car. A strong smell of damp danced at his nostrils. He attempted to move his arms in effort to ease the cramp in his shoulders but felt the presence of plastic zip ties cutting into his wrists as he did so. He groaned in frustration as he tried to move his feet and found his ankles were also bound with zip ties. He became aware of something tickling the septum of his nose and as he tried to open his mouth to call out, he found a strip of duct tape silencing him. Reid sighed and rested his head back down on the hard scratchy floor. Not this again…