CHAPTER 2

A sound of laughter emanated from the lift as the doors opened. Tara Lewis, Luke Alvez, Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau and Matt Simmons stepped out of the lift. Tara had been tormenting Luke with 'your momma' jokes, Luke's mouth bobbing in protest, not knowing how best to respond. JJ and Matt watched the pair in amusement. They walked into the bullpen, expecting to see Emily Prentiss and David Rossi in their respective offices and Reid sitting at his obsessively tidy desk. Emily was indeed in her office with her head bowed, no doubt working her way through piles of paperwork. Rossi was sat in the bullpen reading a newspaper and turned towards the group at the sound of the laughter. Reid, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

"No Reid this morning?" asked Luke, eyes scanning the bullpen for any sign of Reid. Tara glanced over at the kitchenette to see if he was there making coffee with his usual half a cup of sugar but the only person to be seen was Agent Anderson.

"Perhaps the train is running behind?" offered Matt innocently. JJ's eyebrows knotted together as she pulled her phone out from from her dark jeans pocket.

"He hasn't texted me. Spence would tell me if he was running behind." replied JJ, her voice tinged with worry as she pocketed her phone. Rossi sighed- he could see where this was going. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of the fast approaching clicking of heels. Penelope Garcia darted into the bullpen and directly to Emily's office without acknowledging the rest of the team, her face pulled tight in distress. The team followed Garcia quietly to try and ascertain the cause of her troubles.

Thrusting Emily's door open without so much as a knock, Garcia stepped into the office. Emily snapped up her head in concern. Her dark eyes met Garcia's brown eyes and noted that she had tears streaming down her face.

"Pen, what is it?" Garcia opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to find her words. The team gathered in silence at the door.

"I received this recording from the local PD around fifteen minutes ago." She retrieved a pink phone from the pocket of her pastel blue dress and pressed play.

"911. What's your emergency?" came the sound of a very calm male voice.

"Hello. There was a fight at the subway station and a man was knocked unconscious and taken by someone" returned a panicked female voice.

"Can you tell us exactly where this occurred, ma'am?"

"It was the subway station on Third Street. You know, the one just off Hoover Street?"

"Yes, ma'am, I know the one. Can you describe the men?"

"The man that was taken had long brown hair and he was wearing a purple shirt, blue tie, black slacks, navy sweater/cardigan thing and a black jacket. He looked like a college professor."

"And the other man?"

"He was tall, quite well built. He was wearing a black leather jacket and a balaclava so I didn't see his face."

"Okay. Thank you. We will dispatch officers to your location immediately. Please remain there and try to stay calm."

Garcia pressed the stop button on her phone and looked back at Emily. Emily's mouth was agape and her eyes wide. Their attention was quickly turned to the group at the door as JJ had been unable to stifle a gasp.

"She just described Spence."

"Let me try calling him," offered Luke, taking his phone from his pocket and scrolling through his list until he found Reid's name.

"Hello, this is Dr Spencer Reid. I'm afraid I can't come to the phone at the moment but if you leave me a detailed message with your name and number, I'll return your call at the earliest convenience," came the cheerful voice of Reid. Luke sighed and hung up.

"Garcia, run a trace on Reid's phone please," asked Emily as she rose to her feet. She leaned against her desk, her left hand on a pile of files and the other hand pinching the bridge of her nose. Garcia nodded and hurried off to her lair. Emily glanced at Luke and Matt, "I want you both to head to the subway and see what you can find out from the local PD. Tara and JJ, I want you to go to Reid's apartment and see if there's anything there." Each of the team nodded and parted ways to attend to their tasks. Emily slumped into her seat and sighed. This can't be happening again… He just got out of prison…